4 ibises

My favorite local musician

This is Al who plays for us a lot of Fourth Fridays. He is from a family of musicians and is multi-skilled. It is a real treat to hear him.

a nice spot at WB

the current hobby

I must have about 25 of these so far.
Same place, but the sky is always different at sunset.

gravlax

Something new I tried this week was curing salmon. I bought a small whole, wild Alaskan salmon and fileted it the best I could. Then, following a recipe, I covered it with equal parts sugar and kosher salt and a lot of fresh dill. A couple of days later it was preserved and ready for eating. It was not perfect, but it was edible. A little too tasty. I guess the best thing was using some in scrambled eggs. From what I read, it is Norwegian. Probably the men who fished the North Atlantic took it with them on their expeditions.

another outing. going local.

Today a 24 mile drive south to Brunswick Town.
It consists mainly of pretty property close to the river, a welcome center that provides history of the place, some graves, and various remnants of the Revolutionary War. I can check it off my to do list now.

tonight's pic

I am enamored with these sunsets. Tonight I heard one appreciative visitor saying, "We never see the sun in Ohio."

and to the south

is Southport, a town on the mouth of the Cape Fear River that fits the definition of quaint.

another pretty beach north of here

Yes, there is a Surf City in North Carolina, and this is a snapshot of it today. The blues and greens of the ocean are darker than the Wilmington beaches, and there were fewer people on the beach despite the beautiful weather during 4th of July week.

another one

I have done a lot of these now.

hits and misses

Since I don't use recipes and rarely measure, my cooking is a bit of a crapshoot that leans toward less than desirable results. Once in a while though, I come up with something pretty decent.
On Saturday while I was out, I sampled a chocolate chess pie. Oh my. It was so delicious, and the rich flavor lingered in my palate. I wanted more but didn't want to go to the trouble of making a pie once I got home. Instead I made a small pan of brownies that ended up close to perfect. I've been baking brownies for fifty years now with most batches being neither pretty nor delicious. But topped with a scoop of ice cream straight from the oven? Who cares. Recently I learned a better way to assemble brownie ingredients, and I knew what to do to get a taste and texture like the pie's.
I also pickled some red onions. Very easy to do. Today I made potato salad and added chopped pickled onion. It was a great flavor addition.
And I must note the cherry scones I made yesterday. Fresh cherries baked inside rich biscuits. So good with coffee.
I've been eating a little too good.

Sunday Evening

Not having had much physical activity today, I went for a walk around the neighborhood late this afternoon. It was a beautiful day, just like the one yesterday. Everything seemed so clear and bright, so green and blue. Birds chirping in trees and flying overhead. Crepe myrtles filled with big blossoms of white, pink and red. I am glad I didn't miss it. Then I thought we would probably have a beautiful sunset, and since I am into sunsets, it wasn't long before I was three minutes down the road at my new favorite place. Other people like it, too, and there is almost a feeling of reverence at the end of the dock.
(a paparazzi picture)