Making Dinner

I knew I wanted to make a quiche since I have a lot of eggs and tomatoes. I bought some Gruyere cheese, an onion, and a pie crust (sorry, Jen, I just haven't quite tackled making my own).

Time to make dinner! Mmmm... I have chorizo sausage in the fridge. I start cooking the chorizo and chop up an onion. As I add the onion to the chorizo, I realize... Gruyere cheese doesn't pair so well with that flavor. I had already defrosted my chopped spinach. What to do?

Make two quiches, of course! I made a crustless quiche with spinach, tomato, and Gruyere. Yum!

The second was with a crust. I put the chorizo and onion on the bottom, poured the egg, spinach, and cheddar mixture on top and then topped it with sliced tomatoes (just for looks).

We'll see how it turns out!

Tree Climbing

Today was just a typical morning drinking coffee and looking at Facebook. Dizzy and Miles have been staying out all night playing. Dizzy came to the door ready for breakfast. I go down to the basement door to call in Miles. He was mewing but there was no sign of him. I race back upstairs to get my shoes and go find him. Sure enough he had treed himself. I wonder if something scared him or if he was playing and raced up a tree only to realize he could not get back down. Silly kitty...

I try to coax him down but he didn't want to do it. It was only about 10-12 feet. I know Miles can climb down a ladder, so I found one and took it out to him. It wasn't tall enough to reach him, so I had to hold it up. He climbed down and was safe.

Moldy needs to teach her brothers how to climb back down trees. She's a pro.

Camping

Last week Matthew and I bought a camper! So what do we do? We went to the beach, of course. Since it was a HUGE holiday weekend, a lot of places were full, but I managed to find a place in Hardeeville, SC. It was a sleepy little RV park. It was pretty late when we pulled in (already dark), but we plugged up the power and the water and were good to go! I don't know why we haven't done this sooner.
The camper is a 5th wheel which means there is a hitch that goes in the bed of Matthew truck. The camper is 23 feet long (which is not huge for a 5th wheel). It can sleep 4 comfortably. It could sleep 6 if 4 people are willing to share a large bed. It has a couch, a table with bench seats which all turn into the big bed. There is a sink, stove, oven, and microwave. It has a fridge and freezer, too. And never fear! There is a complete bathroom! But I think the most important feature, since we are doing beach trips, is the air conditioning. It's super cold! We had to turn it off a few times.
OK. So we arrived Friday night and got it all hooked up. The next morning we were on the beach. Matthew caught a few waves, and I read a few pages of Harry Potter. We took a trip to Wal-Mart to stock the camper.

We had a blast! After our shopping trip we just hung out at the picnic table at our campsite. We found FRESH shrimp for $4.50 lb. I had to cut their heads off but I got to cook in our new camper! It was all I could talk about before we actually bought it. They were the best shrimp I've ever had.

The next morning I made coffee! It's a percolator.

After sleeping in, doing more reading, we spent Sunday in Savannah just walking around. There are some really neat buildings. We tried to go check out Tybee Island. I think they were having fireworks because 5,000 people were all traveling down one lane of road onto the island. It was OK though because we found a bar. LOL!

Monday morning we off to Hilton Head. We did some walking/jogging. I went ahead and wore my swimsuit so I could jump directly into the water. We had a wonderful morning, but it was time to head home. Matthew emptied the holding tanks (yes, there is a tank for grey water and a tank for you-know-what). I packed up everything.

I can't wait to go again!

Redneck Tendancies?

Last night I was dreaming that I was in Wal-Mart looking for a special hook to crochet with or something. So I found the section with the string, yarn, and lace. They had samples of different things you could make. One item was lingerie. It had silk straps and cups and the body of it was camo.

Needless to say, I woke up laughing.

Rainbow Falls

Last week I traveled a few mountains over to hang out with my family. As soon as I arrived, we were loading up and heading to Gorges State Park. We were all armed with a camera, and my sister carried the pack with waters.

The hike to the falls is a 1.5 mile strenuous trail. It is mostly down hill until you get close to the falls, and then you climb up and up.

I am very proud of my mom and Josh for making that 3 mile round trip hike! It was not easy! We had a great time. As you see, Josh was worn out.

This is the next day. Dad kept the boys entertained with golf and such while the girls (mom, Michelle, and I) went shopping! It was great fun. The last day was a bust because of rain. We had hoped to go paddle around the lake but instead we played games.

Friday we all went home. I arrived back in town just before lunch time. I met Matthew at Habitat Home Store where we found a bed frame for the spare bedroom! Yay! Then we got to have lunch together. He had some errands, and I decided to return home. Instead of unpacking, I finished my book, "True Detectives" by Jonathan Kellerman. A good read.

When Matthew came home, we hung out on the porch. The sunset was a beautiful end to the week!

Moldy

Starting Monday, Moldy had a little cough and sneezing episode. I went out of town for the week, and when I returned Friday she was about the same. She would cough so bad that she gagged (sorry, gross, I know). I took her to the vet today, and after waiting an hour (our vet is worth it), Dr. Beverly said Moldy has allergies. Moldy has been to the vet off and on for the last 3 years for the same thing. So she was given a steroid shot and an antibiotic which I get to give her twice a day. It is a liquid so that makes things a little easier.

Meanwhile, Miles and Dizzy are doing great! As far as I can tell they are done growing, but they might have another growth spurt since they are just barely a year old. Later today, everyone gets their Advantage treatment! Yay!

Weekend Adventures

Matthew is working hard during the week and cannot take a week off for vacation. Since he plays in the Cafe String Quartet (Google them, take a listen, they are amazing), several of his Saturdays are spent playing weddings. This past weekend was free, and we went to the beach!

Matthew's passion for surfing has been the driving force for us going to the beach on free weekends. Despite a crummy wave forecast we went anyway. Friday afternoon we were on the beach. After about an hour, it was time for dinner.

Here is the Charleston bridge at sunset.


We ate at this great place called Vickery's next to the waterway. All the shrimp boats were already back.


We saw this huge cargo ship passing by before our meal.


Matthew had scallops and grouper which was so good he didn't want to ruin it with any sauces. I had jerk shrimp on a salad which was delish!

Saturday's waves were not looking good, so we went with Plan B - Plantation and Kayaking Tour. Our first stop was Drayton Place. It was built in 1738! This place was the Biltmore of its time. The house was incredible. The company which owns it has gone with preservation instead of restoration. Our guide said 85% of the house is original!

There is no plumbing inside so there was an outbuilding with a 6 seater. The seats are no longer there, but here is a picture. I like that there is a child's seat on the end.

There are two entrances to the house - by road or by river. The Ashley River runs along the end of the garden area.

After lunch, we headed to our kayak tour. It was fantastic! The guide put Matthew and I in our own boats (thank goodness!). Gates (our guide) is a biology major, and he was full of information. When we paddled the water way, there were dolphins that would swim close to us. (This is a picture taken when we were at dinner because I couldn't take pictures when I was paddling.)

This is the same water way in second and third pictures! It was cool that we paddled down it. We saw male Fiddler Crabs waving their big claws trying entice a female. We saw several different birds - Great American Egret, White Heron, Pelicans (and babies), sea gulls, and birds I can't remember the names. There was one that Gates said the feathers were made into big hats that were shipped back to London. I'm going to study my sea birds so next time I can tell you.

Sunday we went to the beach early to "run". I put this in quotes because I am not a runner. I would walk and then give myself a goal to jog a block. It felt really good. Matthew finally decided that we would check out of our hotel and come back with the board. I sported my new purple bikini. Matthew put me on the surfboard, and I think I might like it! I have been hesitant because I am not the best swimmer. I caught three waves, and on the last one I managed to get on my knees. Next time we go, I will try it again!