Perdue Cemetary

One day after running errands and taking photos of old buildings and barns Mike told me to head down a road near our home. He had me pull over at this cemetery. As we very carefully walked around I took photos and was intrigued by the headstones. This is a very old cemetery. Here is Pvt. John Perdue, he died in the civil war on the Confederate side. He was only 34 years old.

Here is his brother who also died in the civil war.

From the back of the cemetery it almost looks like piles of rocks,,

But a closer look shows that rocks were used to mark the edges of the graves and most likely to keep wild animals from desecrating the graves.

At the back corner there is a grave for two infant sons. One boy lived 62 days the other about 2 weeks.

Recently someone re-did the grave with a new marker.

Standing off to one side it's hard to see the different graves, except for the tall headstone.

From the very back looking towards the street.

Off to one side of the cemetery there are small rocks, all that is left to remind the world of someone who is no longer here. You can't read any information off these old stones.

Work in Progress

A couple of weeks ago we had a hard frost,,shortly followed by another. Between the two frosts, I had to pull out some of the dying or dead flowers and plants in the front circle. This is what was left after the first frost.

After the second frost, I pulled out everything else except these two Pansies that came back from last winter.

Mike said he has always had Pansies in the front area in the winter and they survive the season. We headed off to the Farmers' Market where we got our goat cheese fix and then picked up these 4 flats of Pansies.

After I planted the first four flats or 144 Pansies.

Here is another shot. I really need a better camera,,,,

We planted some lovely peach colored Pansies,

Some yellow ones,

And some purple with white faces. But that was not enough. So we went to Lowes and bought 3 more flats of Pansies. Still not happy with the results we bought 5 more flats from a garden center and then picked up 2 more flats.

After 14 flats or a total of 504 Pansies this is what it looks like.

In person it looks really good.

Actually in person it looks awesome. As they grow larger I'll take more pictures. Next up, a rose garden.

The Barns of Guilford County

I am sure that most of you out there remember the movie "Bridges of "Madison County" which starred Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. I am not a great photographer and my camera is not the best but I do love to take photos of what we see, where we've been and what we've done. Since I moved out to this part of the state I had commented, frequently, to Mike about all the old log barns or other buildings. Over a couple of days I took my camera with us on trips here and there while running errands and here are some of the local sites. This barn is in Stokesdale, just off the main road.

This one is also in Stokesdale, just a little way down the road from the one above.

Also in Stokesdale, Mike says this used to be a hardware store.

We have to head over to Kernersville every once in awhile and we pass this building on the way to and from. Kernersville is in Forsyth County.

On the same road as the building above, there is this huge barn.

Back in Stokesdale. This old house is right at the junction of NC 158 and US 220. The DOT has put in an off ramp right next to this place and I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before some idiot is going too fast and hits this neat house. What I really liked is that you can see how the people used the local red clay mud as chinking between the logs.

Another shot of the same house. The day after I took this photo the DOT had erected a barb wire fence and big metal gates at the end of the new off ramp. 24 hours after I took this I would not have been able to get this close.

Heading home from the place above we pass this building and off the the right its companion, sitting out in a field.

And there is this place. It is in front of a retirement home but is extremely well kept.

As time goes by I will take more photos, especially now that almost all the leaves are gone and you can see more buiildings along the road sides.

Shrimp Twice Baked Potatoes

We went to Costo a couple of weeks ago and picked up a bag of potatoes, a 20 pound bag of potatoes. There are some nights we cook a potato and top it with chili and cheese for dinner. Today I wanted something different and this recipe fit the bill.I found the recipe in The Ultimate Shrimp Book by Bruce Weinstein. It has over 650 shrimp recipes.

I pulled a pound of shrimp out of the freezer and thawed them in a bowl of water while I cooked the potatoes.

Once thawed, peeled and deveined, I sauteed the shrimp with some onion in butter.

After the cooked potatoes had cooled a bit, I sliced off the top and scooped out the insides.

The cleaned potato shells ready to be stuffed.

I mixed up the stuffing in a large bowl.

Ready to be baked.

The finished product. Now before we get to the actual recipe I will admit that I made a few changes. For starters I halved the recipe. However, I used a full pound of shrimp for 2 potatoes instead of only a half-pound. I added a lot more cheese than the recipe called for. I added some minced onions to the shrimp while they were sauteing and,,,,I completely forgot to add the eggs. I also did not beat the mixture until smooth, I like lumps in my baked potatoes. But they were wonderful they way they came out.

Shrimp Twice Baked Potatoes Serves 4 4 large baking potatoes, scrubbed (about 3/4 pound each) 1 pound small shrimp, peeled & deveined (I used large shrimp and chopped them up) 2 tblsp unsalted butter 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley 2 tblsp dill 2 large eggs 1/4 cup milk - do not use 1% or skim 1/2 tsp salt black pepper to taste 1 cup plus 2 tblsp shredded cheddar cheese 1) Preheat oven to 400 2) Bake the potatoes until they feel soft when pierced with a sharp knife or skewer, about 1 hour. 3) Meanwhile, chop the shrimp 4) Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until pink, about 2 minutes. Break up any clumps of shrimp with a wooden spoon as you cook them. Remove the skillet from heat and set aside. 5) When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool until they are easy to handle. Maintain the oven temperature. 6) Cut the top 1/3 off the potatoes the long way. Using a spoon, scoop the inside of both sections of the potato into a large mixing bowl, leaving a 1/8 inch layer of potato in the shell. Discard the tops. 7) Add the parsley, dill, eggs, milk salt and pepper to the potato insides. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture until it is smooth. Add the 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and shrimp to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. 8) Fill the hollowed-out potatoes evenly with the filling. Top each with 1/2 tblsp of the remaining cheddar cheese. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and puffed on top/ Serve immediately.

A Fun With Food Afternoon

Halloween was a cool and windy day here so I decided to have a fun with food afternoon. First off, I made myself a Manhatten. I had not had one of these in several months and the weather was perfect for enjoying one.

Then I got out some recipes and a few of my favorite things: my pure vanilla from Mexico, and the stainless steel measuring spoons and cups I got from my daughter for Mother's Day.

I have to admit there are lots of good things about living at 975 feet in elevation. I can now bake cakes from scratch and they will actually rise! I tried making this cake once when I lived in the mountains and the layers came out of the oven at the same height as when they went into the oven. Even Toll House cookies came out looking like cow pies unless you altered the recipe. I have been able to bake bread again and it actually rises,,,WOO-HOO!!

We barely finished supper before Mike was slicing into this beauty.

A carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Very tasty.

While the cake was baking I made us a pot of soup for supper. Caramelized Onion With Potato and Ham. I sort of expected it to turn out like most potato soups, on the creamy side but this was like French Onion soup made with chicken broth instead of beef broth and then with added potatoes and ham, topped with a dollop of sour cream and bacon bits. Sinful,,simply sinful.