They Must Go

It started as a small rustling in my ceiling.
The kind of small sound where you wonder if you are imagining things.
"Did you hear that?"

It is now a very large sound in my ceiling.
Definitely not my imagination.

The squirrels have moved into my attic.
They are establishing their winter home.
Stocking their pantry with acorns.
And hickory nuts from the tree in the backyard.

They gather soft debris to make their nests for the upcoming winter.
All day; All night.
They scurry and scamper.
In the attic.
Right above my head.

My dogs are going crazy.
They bark at the ceiling.
My cat is going crazy.
She stares at the ceiling and twitches her tail.

I am going crazy.
I grunt and yell at the ceiling.
And bang on it with the broom.

How do I get rid of them?
I rather like them, but not in my ceiling.
I like them in the hickory tree in the backyard.
Oh, but my attic is warmer, drier, cozier.
Smart squirrels.

But no matter.
They must go.
Today.
For real.

I think.

Have you any insight? Or ideas?
Have you been forced to rid your own attic of these clever creatures?

The Old Freezer

When I moved here a year ago, I brought with me an old freezer.
And I put it in the garage.
And I did not plug it up.
Because I decided that we did not need it,

That plugging it up was being an energy hog.

And I do not want to be a hog.

Of anything.

Especially gifts from the earth.

My Old Freezer
My Young Dog (on left)
And a filter I must change (on right)

So it sat.
The old freezer.
In my garage.
And I stacked all kinds of things upon it.
A box of Christmas ornaments.
A hand shovel.
A pair of shoes to give away.
An old telephone. The rotary dial kind like my Grandma had.

And people would bring me food.
Vegetables from their garden.
Zucchini. Eggplant. Squash. Corn. Green beans.
And they would bring ice cream.
And tater tots, because they were on sale.
And casseroles for my convenience to cook later, on a too busy day.
And frozen knishes, because I like them.

And I would say.
No. Thank you kindly.
But I do not have room in my freezer.
And I would show them my refrigerator freezer in my kitchen, filled to capacity.

And the next day I'd say.
Danged, but I wish I had some of that Butter Pecan Ice Cream Grandpa brought us.
And that Grandpa took back home because I insisted that I did not have room in my freezer.

And that is how I decided to plug up my old freezer.
It was the Butter Pecan Ice Cream.

So we moved all the treasures from on top of it.
My Daddy and me.
The ornaments. The shovel. The shoe. The phone:
Which Daddy said reminded him of his Mom's.
Which is the reason in the first place I had bought it at the garage sale.
And put it in my own garage.
And we moved all the other treasures.

Daddy opened the lid for the first time in a year.
My old freezer was most unpleasant inside.
So we cleaned it out and cleaned it up.
And it became white again.
And smelled fresh again.

So naturally I made a hand shadow puppet inside.

But not a very good one.

Daddy smiled anyway.

And then Daddy plugged up my old freezer.
And lo and behold, it still worked.

It purred.

And so now

I will fill it with things on sale from the frozen food aisle at the grocery store.

Even pizza.

I will fill it with containers of black bean soup.

That I made. And need to freeze.

Not to mention the pesto I'll create before

the first frost takes all the basil in my garden.

And wrapped slices of my mother in law's homemade pound cake.

To toast in the mornings.

And I'll buy bags and bags of Peppermint Coffee beans they sell during the holidays.

And I will fill it with zipper peas that my Daddy grew and my Momma shelled.
And pecans from south Georgia.
And Butter Pecan Ice Cream.
And frozen Kisses.

Do you have a freezer?
What do you have in yours?
Ciao, Ya'll!
Rebekah

Autumnal Owls

There's a hoot owl outside my window.
I think that's what it is.
It sounds very much like "who, who, who."
As in the books and the cartoons.
That tell us the way owls are supposed to sound.

And there's another one answering from across the backyard.
The answer is longer.
More who's.
More to say.
Same with people.

I stepped outside on the porch to hear better.
To look up at the trees.
To confirm my owls.
The who-who-who-ing stopped.

Autumn, indeed.
Hoot owls. And the chilliest morning we've had in ages.
My feet feel cold now from walking on the cold concrete, looking for owls.
I go to get a pair of socks.
My orange argyle ones.

Autumn's Black Bean Soup

Are you in the "Autumn Spirit" yet?
Oh, how I adore Autumn. I look forward to it every year.
I just posted over at my blog at maryjanesfarm.com about how I finally found Autumn. I hope you'll join me there in the "comment-versation."
I make a lot of soup in Autumn. I particularly adore Black Bean Soup in the Autumn. Today I'm making my first batch. It's on the stove right now.

(Now I also must warn you that my camera is broken. The pictures I took were so crummy, I'm not going to post them. Well, maybe the one of the basic ingredients; that pic wasn't too bad. Just know, even tho I don't have a play by play, this is an easy soup to make. And it is totally YUM!)


This makes a lot so I'll freeze some of it for later. It's so good and filling. And meatless (unless you add the bacon crumbles), which is something I like to be on Mondays and Fridays-----meatless.


Autumn's Black Bean Soup

16 oz. bag black beans, soaked as directed and drained

1 TBSP olive oil

1 head garlic, peeled and chopped
(yes! "head"! lots of cloves, but you can certainly use less)

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 green or red bell pepper

1 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp thyme, ground

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

32 oz vegetable broth

4 cups water

28 oz can tomatoes

optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped green onions, chopped fresh tomatoes, bacon (cooked and crumbled) hot sauce, lime juice, chopped fresh thyme, parsley or cilantro

Heat olive oil in large pot. Add garlic and onions and bell pepper and saute until softened. Add cumin, thyme, pepper and salt. Pour in vegetable broth. Add beans and tomatoes. Finally, add the water and bring mixture to a boil. Turn down heat and cover partially with lid.

Cook over LOW heat for an hour.

Stir every so often to avoid sticking in the bottom of the pan.

Spoon into bowls and add optional toppings as desired. My favorites are cilantro, sour cream, tomatoes and green onions.

Totally and healthily YUM.

Okay, Okay. I know you like pictures. I'll show you just how bad they are.

Here's the pot on the stove. Not too bad.....

But inside the pot?

I know!! What is it? Is it the night? Are those stars twinkling?

Nope, it's Autumn's Black Bean Soup, taken with a crummy little camera with no features. Oh well. Such is life. It's what I have at this point. So be it. Make do or do without, right? The Farmgirl's Motto.

Now, on to another matter----should I admit that I signed up for another race?? I'm sounding "wacked" about this whole running thing, aren't I?? The race is on Saturday and is a 4 miler OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS. And up a mountain. How could I resist that? I love the woods. And the rivers. And the mountains....What a perfect way to RING in the Autumn Season! Wacked or not.

Ciao, Y'all!

****later that night.****
Here's dinner. No, you don't need glasses, it's the crappy little camera I using.

I topped Autumn's Black Bean Soup with cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream.

I also had some leftover roasted sweet potatoes that I threw in at the last minute. They were a delicious addition. Those are the orange chucks you see.

If you can see orange chunks in that terrible picture.

And, I forgot to mention this, but many folks take a cup or so of the soup (after it's prepared) and swirl it around in the blender. Then, add it back to the soup. I don't do that very often just because I hate washing my blender. ha. but true.

Finally, somehow, someway, I made it through childhood without knowing the little ditty about eating beans. Hubs taught it to me very recently.

"Beans, beans, good for your heart, the more you eat the more you---, the more you---, the better you feel, so eat beans at every meal."

And then Hubs' sister taught me another one about eating beans.

"Beans, beans, the magic fruit, the more you eat the more you---...." Wait. I don't remember the rest of that one. I'll have to phone her today and ask her (she's 56 or so) to teach me (I'm 47 or so) the limerick about beans and gas....

Shrimp and Grits Festival 2010

I've been going crazy to get this post done.

Nothing like getting back into town and seeing your inbox. The Virtual one on your computer AND the Real one on your desk. Now I remember why I hardly ever go out of town. Whew. Catch up, catch up, catch up.

And why is it that the time at the beach flies by and Fridays at work drag?
Some kind of time warp.....

Anyhoo.....it's Friday at lunchtime and I've got to tell you about IT.

Y'all! IT was just so much fun.
IT being the 5th Annual Shrimp and Grits Festival at Jekyll Island this past weekend.
It was named one of the top festivals in the southeast, and I can see why. It had all the elements of a great fair. Great food. Great music. Great weather. Great arts and crafts. Great people. Great planning. A Super Great setting.

On the lawn of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and throughout the Historic District, people converged.
Cooking people, crafty people, talented people, hungry people, happy people.
Young and Old.

I asked one guy who was working there: How many people do y'all expect? He said: Oh, this is a big festival. People think it's small, but it's a big deal. We're expecting over 600 people this year.
Now that is funny. I told him I thought it would be WAY OVER 600 this year.
He was young. And uninformed. (Reminds me of the Thanksgiving interviews of second graders about how to cook a turkey. "You put the oven on 50 degrees and  you....")

There were over 18,000 people there last year, and they were expecting more than that this year.

Friday night was "Sample Night." (Wow, has it already been a week?!)

That's a chance to taste lots of the various vendor's Shrimp and Grits. On Friday night, they sell samples for $3.00 each.

My favorite was from the Jekyll Island Hotel Club. That's bread you see on the left, by the way. The good part is beside it! Mmmm...Mmmm...Mmmm. This is exactly the way I like my Shrimp and Grits.

My second favorite was from Latitude 31. Everything fried. Yep, I LOVE the south~Even the grits were fried.

Close up of the fried grits.

Here's yet another plate I enjoyed.

Believe me, I know! I ate so much shrimp last weekend. Loved every bit of it. But, I haven't stepped on the scale since I've been home. In denial!

There was also a band playing almost all the time up on stage during the entire festival. Sometimes folks would dance.

One thing that made me laugh was how many different times I heard the song "Spooky." (In the cool of the evening when everything is getting kinda groovy.....youtube link ...) Anyway,  I think every single band played that song. Mayhaps it is the theme song for Jekyll Island?

There was a large area for arts and crafts booths under the huge oak trees. I wish I knew how many vendors were there. (If I asked the fellow I mentioned above he probably would have told me: "Wow. Way over 10.") I'm telling you---there were hundreds. And you wouldn't believe the talent represented there. Amazing. REALLY amazing.

And I've already bragged mentioned (was right the first time) bragged that I won the Overall Female Masters Award for the Challenge Races. WooHoo! I couldn't believe it. Honestly. I'm not a fast runner. Doing the happy dance here:

"I-won-a-bag-of-grits-I-won-a-bag-of-grits"

Truth is that I'm just lucky. Hey, I'll take lucky any old day. These races were filled with the nicest people. All the way up to the race director. Everyone was excited, yet laid back. The people who participated were friendly and light hearted. This series of races has got to be my favorite race yet that I've done.

In fact, I hope can go back every year to this FUN FESTIVAL! It earned it's reputation: it is definitely one of the best in the southeast. Now is not too soon to put it on my calendar. I need to train better next year for that killer 4-mile beach run. My knees still hurt....Ah well! I sure wish I had some of that delicious shrimp and grits tonight....daydreamin' again about our time in Jekyll.....got to get back to the rat race.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

"This is the house that Jack built."

Well, not Jack.
 
More like the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, the Goodyears, the Fields, the Morgans, and other wealthy industrialists. They came to this place, Jekyll Island, Georgia, and built an elite, private, social club here. This was the place for them to spend their winters AWAY. In general, they spent from New Year's until Easter here.
 
They rested, hunted, played sports, ate well, dressed up, visited with each other, danced, had high teas, and tooled around the island in horse and carriages (or later in go-cart like vehicles called "Red Bugs.") This was a place for their pleasure.
 
AWAY FROM IT ALL.
 

Their beautiful clubhouse, now the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, was finished in 1888 to the tune of $45,000.

The Jekyll Island Club Hotel is the pinnacle of the Historic District in Jekyll.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel at night
I took this picture from the Shrimp and Grits Festival, held on the lawn

Their winter retreat was private. Set completely apart from the "world" by water. The only access was by boat. Or in the case of these folks, by yacht.

Jekyll Island, off of the southern Georgia coast, was their own private island.  They purchased it in 1886 just for this.

Now, something to note is that the Jekyll Island Club Hotel is not on the beach. Interestingly that's not where Jack, I mean the Jekyll Island Club, built their clubhouse. The view from the Hotel is of the "river" or "intracoastal waterway" rather than the ocean.

Great oaks, covered in Spanish moss, surround the property.
It is said that these great oaks exist 300 years. They spend 100  years growing, 100 years living, 100 years dying.

Only lucky family and friends of those wealthy families were invited to come to this enchanted place.

How lucky we are that it is now part of the State of Georgia.
How lucky I am that I got to attend the "5th Annual Shrimp and Grits Festival" and stay in this hotel.

I am particularly drawn to historic places.

I like the way old things look and smell.

I like the way they share their past with us.

I liked the view of the turret, looking out of the upstairs window.

The turret was used to look out for the arrival of guests by boat.
Eventually the wealthy no longer came here to get AWAY from it all. Eventually, I guess, there was no getting AWAY for anyone.

What, with the advent of the world wars, the stock market crash, the Depression-----Even the rich people couldn't justify spending the kind of money necessary to keep their enchanted retreat open. It ultimately fell into a state of partial disrepair.

In the mid '40's the State of Georgia purchased the island from Club Members through condemnation proceedings.

Now it has been renovated and rejuvenated.

It maintains its relaxed air of comfort and charm. Yet, there is a definite air of sophistication.

In the main building you will find the Grand Dining Hall. It is grand, indeed.

A baby grand sits in the Grand Dining Hall.
Hello there, Baby....

No one was playing during breakfast, so I was tempted to sit right down and play my rendition of

 "Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley grow..."
My family begged me not to. I complied. So we were able to stay...

This is known as the Hall of Mirrors. There are numerous floor to ceiling mirrors lining the hall. This is the area with conference rooms. They were all being used when I was there.

The Main Building also has this bar.......

The bar is not original to the place; it was added after the movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was made here. They needed a bar, so voila. I've got to see that movie now that I've been here. Have you seen it?

Everywhere you look, there is somewhere soft to sit down and rest.

And if you look hard enough, you might see someone who was told to hide so they wouldn't show up in the
pictures....

This cozy fireplace is outside of the Grand Dining Room and is surrounded by inviting leather chairs.

Here's where you check your look before you step out of the elevator hall.

The staircase is spectacular. It is not original, but was re-made. The State of Georgia removed the original staircase to install elevators. In the '80's a staircase modeled after the original one was built and the elevators were moved.

looking up----

looking down

This is the upper floor and must lead to the Presidential Suite. The hallway was long and narrow and the ceiling low. (Feels rather like that scene from the original Willie Wonka movie.)

Our room was in the Club Building. 

It was spacious and welcoming.

With a lovely sitting area.

You might be reminded of a room you'd stay in at your rich aunt's old house.

There were closets on each side of the REAL fireplace.

Funny thing. We were in a handicapped accessible room. Turned out that it was a perfect fit. After that killer 4-mile beach run Saturday night, those bars to hold onto in the bathroom were well appreciated.

Surrounding the Jekyll Island Club Hotel are several homes built by Club Members who wanted some of their own space. These homes, along with a Chapel, comprise the Historic District.

Crane Cottage





There are lovely gardens outside of the Crane Cottage.

You can see why it's a popular place for a wedding.

Crane Cottage Garden

There were three separate weddings at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel over the weekend, one was at the Crane Cottage. 

I'm sorry to say that I didn't lay my eyes on one bride in a wedding gown the whole weekend. I had my camera ready, just in case. (I did however hear some serious partying going on all night long in the room across the hall from us. I'm pretty sure they were the groomsmen from one of the weddings. Let me just say that they had a really good night....)

What I longed for on this trip was more details. More details about the way it was at the Jekyll Island Club. More photographs of those days in the late 1800's and early 1900's. More specifics. What was it REALLY like for them, the wealthy U.S. elite? That is my misson----to find out more. I'll back one day with that goal in mind. But this trip was all about the Shrimp and Grits Festival and the Challenge Runs.
Next post I'll tell you all about the Festival and the Races!

I'm Baaaaaack

Wow, what a trip.


I've never gotten back from a beach trip not sunburned. Until now. I kept that sunscreen lathered. And it apparently worked better than I expected. I mean, you want a little some color on your nose when you come back from the beach. Not sunburned is certainly a COMFORTABLE condition, however....

I've never gotten back from a beach trip so tired and sore. Until now. It was that first challenge run in the sand that did me in. I was feeling like such a wimp because it was so hard for me. Sheer determination took me to the finish line. Then I talked with the guy who won that race, as well as the whole series of races. He was saying how difficult that particular sand was to run on---there was a storm out in the ocean which altered the location of the tide, giving us no "packed" sand to run on. Instead, it was soft. AND BRUTAL. So, you see, I'm no wimp. It was just a tough course.

I've never gotten back from the beach without having cracked my beach book open. Until now. Little Bee must wait. There really was no time on this trip. With the Shrimp and Grits Festival right outside my door, and with the Shrimp and Grits Challenge Races spanning over two days. Well, I spent my time eating shrimp and running. And showering after the runs.

SO I'm back.
And I'll meet my running buddies this morning and see if I can run. Maybe yes, maybe no. If not, I'll take it easy and walk.

And rest on my laurels.
You know what they say---what good are laurels if you can't rest on them---

Y'all ENJOY your day. No matter what's on the agenda, squeeze out all the joy you can!
(I'll post pictures later today of the trip!)

News Y'all....

Y'all, I've got a ton of news to share. And lots of pictures to post of the Shrimp and Grits Festival and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.
I can't wait to tell you all about it.
In the "surprising" news category, I won an award. Believe you me. I was surprised about that one!
But.
I just learned that my Aunt Sybil died.
She was in terrific health. I've never known her to be sick at all.
She was 86 so I shouldn't be so shocked.
But I am.
Shocked.
And saddened.
My thoughts and prayers are with her husband, her daughters, her brothers (my Daddy being one of them), her sisters, and all the rest of the family.
So sad....

Oh Me. Oh My.

First Race. Shrimper's 4-Miler Beach Run.
6:30 pm

Hubs took a pic of me in the registration line.
Charms Blow Pop and all. (Remember those? I had totally forgotten about them until I had a daughter.)
Anyway, I'm trying to mask my level of intimidation by sugar and bubble gum. And sun glasses.

Oh me. Oh my.
TOUGH.
I had never run in/on sand before. It was soft, making it SOOOOO tough to get through. Everything hurt below my knees.
I'm such a wimp. I know.
I actually said these two words to the water guy at mile 3:
"Holy Crap." And I meant it.
But I did it.
I didn't walk any of it. I ran the whole 4 miles.
My feet are still burning. Weird.
The run was TOUGH, but gorgeous. The ocean on one side, the sand dunes on the other.
There was such a pleasant breeze. People laying on the beach on their towels looked up to cheer and clap.
We even ran past a beach wedding in progress. 'Congratulations!'
Here I am coming into the finish line.



My shins are wrapped because of those shin splints I just can't get beyond.

So I'm back in my luxurious hotel room, on a soft bed, with this computer on my lap. I would write more about the Festival itself.
But I'm beat.
Let's see. It's not even 10 pm and I'm beat.
Hubs just rubbed my poor shins and calves with this:

He's so sweet to support my latest endeavor of running.

He also brought me some sweet iced tea and a peanut butter cookie from Cafe Solterra. Cafe Solterra is in the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. It's a great spot for coffee and ice cream. The sandwiches look great too, though we haven't tried them yet. I've eyed some of the wraps as we've walked by the tables on the outdoor patio

.

My daughter just read this over my shoulder and said, "Don't I get any credit?"

I must credit her with picking out a peanut butter cookie for me. Apparently Hubs was stuck between a chocolate chip, carrot cake, and peanut butter. Good choice! She's also always cheering me on! It's amazing to have a cheerleader cheering me on. Always.
On the way down here, she said in the car to Hubs: "She's so funny. Don't you like her?" Cracked us up. She's such a doll.

Okay. I've got a lot to talk about with this Shrimp and Grits Festival. I loves my shrimp.
I had fried shrimp for lunch.
I had friend shrimp for dinner.
I wonder if someone would serve me fried shrimp for breakfast.

But.
As I mentioned. I'm tired and sore.

And

Race Number Two in this series is in the morning at 7:30.
It will be a cross country 5k race through a golf course rumored to be hilly.
Send speedy wishes in my general direction----

So let me say good night and leave you with another picture of this fabulous hotel.

Good Night. Sleep Tight.

I Needed This

See that?

That is a shrimp boat off of Georgia's coast.

And I need that shrimp boat.

And the folks who are busy catching the shrimp.

'Cause I'm gonna eat me some shrimp.

Tonight. And tomorrow. And the next day.

At Jekyll Island's Shrimp and Grits Festival.

See those?

Those are comfy wicker rocking chairs. I'm gonna do myself some rocking.

It's on a breezy veranda at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

They overlook the intracoastal waterway side of the Hotel.

Later tonight you will find me in one of these.

Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let me back up....

To this morning....

To about 8 am....

See that?

I offer you the token "blogger in the mirror" shot.

I'm no blogger without that, right?

See in there?

That's the Grand Dining Room at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

I ate breakfast there. In all that fanciness.

Isn't it wonderful?

Gary was quite attentive to my cup of coffee, keeping it piping hot and full.

May I also offer you the blogger's token picture of food?

  

See over there? In the bowl?

Yep, them are grits.

After all this is the Shrimp AND GRITS Festival.

The omelet is the Pulizer Omelet. As in Joseph Pulizer, who had a home on Jekyll in his day.

The omelet was stellar. Exactly what I was in the mood for. Yum.

Here's an outside shot of the veranda room I ate breakfast in. So quaint. I'm really loving the charm and history of this hotel.

And do you see him?

He is Chester the Squirrel.

That is not his official name, I just named him that.

He begged me for food.

Two things.

One, I ate all my omelet. And the grits. Nothing left for you, Chester.

Two, I am a rule follower.

The signs say not to feed him. Or any of the other wildlife.

Oh well.

 See this?

This is a bike trail. Jekyll Island is THE place for bicycles.

So we rented some bikes right at the hotel to tool around.

As we rode we saw that the set up had begun for the Festival that starts tonight.

This is the area where there will be arts and crafts vendors.

I love wandering though arts and crafts booths.

I'm constantly in awe of that kind of talent.

Being completely and utterly void myself.

Can you guess where we took our bikes?

We headed to the beach.

For an ocean stroll.

My child finally got her toe-sies in the ocean.

Wanna see some more food?

Okay.

See this?

Lunch at BlackBeard's.

Almost ate outside on the terrace, but opted for a/c.

This is their lunch salad with grilled shrimp.

Delish.

It was about $10.

Now I'm about to change clothes and head out to the festival for sample night. $3 buys you a sampling of the various dishes. Wonder how many I can sample?

This trip is developing a theme.

I thought it was going to be about the RACES. The Runs.

Not.

It is about the food.

And the rocking chairs.

And this wonderful hotel.

And the ocean waves.

AND I JUST GOTTA ADD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY! THANKS FOR HOLDING DOWN THE FORT. I'LL EAT SOME SHRIMP FOR YOU. AND BAKE YOU A CAKE IN A COUPLE OF DAYS.

LOVE YOU.