Cooking and Baking

Today I cooked those collard greens that we bought at the market Saturday. I still can't believe the size of those leaves! The outer most leaves went from my finger tips to my elbow and I couldn't resist snapping a photo as I was cleaning them up and prepping them for cooking. They were so good! I made a terriyaki pork tenderloin, corn and baked beans to go with the greens.

I also baked two loaves of English Muffin bread; I use the recipe that came with my Kitchen-Aide mixer and I've had requests for the recipe so here it is...

Just like English Muffins the slices of this bread are best toasted with something yummy spread over the top... cream cheese, jelly/jam, butter, etc...

More from the Springfield Flea Market

"Chicken John" a very colorful character

"Chicken Joe" said, "Be careful... don't break your camera" "And don't look me up on America's Most Wanted". He was such a card.

Further into the market we came across these harsh reminders of the past and were shocked to see the Confederate grave marker on the table for sale. 

Slave Manacles and a plantation lock.

Beautiful Collard greens - only $2 a bunch.

When Scott took this picture of the collard greens the little girl sitting in the back of the truck asked, "Why is that man taking pictures of Collard greens?"... I told her , "Because we're weird like that and enjoy taking photo's of interesting and beautiful things" and then we bought a bunch.

An Early Sunday rising

I've been awake since a little after 1 AM; I can definitely see a nap in my future. I just woke up with that feeling of being late for something... not sure what since I am off from work today. So I got up and made a cup of tea and have been reading blogs. SO many people are having enjoyable weekends or are starting out on new endeavors and taking blogging breaks. I hope those seeking a new direction find much success and that they don't stay away from their blogs forever it'll be nice to read of their success.

Scott is sleeping deeply so I'm trying very hard not to make too much noise and wake him. He so needs the rest. The fat cat (Tesla) is begging for his breakfast even though it's no where near his usual breakfast time - hey "Mom's up... must be time for breakfast". If we fed him as often as he begs for it he'd weigh over 20 pounds instead of the 16 pounds he does weigh.

Once Scott is up and a bought I will start doing the laundry as we will require clean clothes for work this week and since we "played hookie" yesterday I will need to get it done today. I also have some sewing I want to do as well as working on the paper bag album. But for now I think I may try for a few more Z's...

More.... Doors and Windows of SC Back Country

 These first 5 photos were photos that I took in Blackville, South Carolina. We got a kick out of the shorts in the doorway - I guess someone was in a hurry for something. And the tile work of course caught my eye again - Did the same person lay all the tile in this small town? We think so - it's all amazingly crafted.

 The large window was one in the old Shamrock Hotel . If you follow the link and read the article about it you'll be like me and wish you could still walk through the doors and see all that was described in the article. I bet it was magnificent.
Now for some of Scott's photos of doors and windows...
Swansea, South Carolina

Scott took these photos along the old Main Street in Swansea. I used to go through one of these to pick up our mail from the post office. It had those really old tarnished gold post boxes. I wonder what happened to them.

We were both intrigued with the old building that contained hay. So much character in these old doors.

Blackville, South Carolina

Door to the Mennonite school

Sorry about the graffiti on the one door... didn't see it until I had already posted it to the blog. Perhaps that tells a bit more about the shorts in the doorway than we really needed or wanted to know.

Day 2 - a Day of what we call FUN!

Scott and I hit the road about 9 AM and drove down HWY 321 through Swansea, SC; the town I moved to after High School Graduation in 1982. And then picked up #3 to Blackville, SC; on our way to Blackville we stopped at Healing Springs... lets do this by the photos I took. Scott took many and I mean many more and I won't be posting them all.

"Main Street - Swansea SC" it's really fallen into disrepair since the 80's

Interesting storage barn by the RR tracks in Swansea

Feed Mill in Swansea, SC

Cotton wagon with bits of cotton hanging from the sides

Close up of "raw" cotton hanging in the wagon

After we left Swansea and turned onto #3 we came upon the Springfield Flea Market. This was a real eye opener as it was a lot of really poor folks trying to scratch out a living in this rural setting.

South Carolina's OLDEST FLEA MARKET

We are planning another trip down to this flea market with more cash in hand - some REAL bargains to be found here.

This fella sold fishing rods.

I'm going to add some of Scott's photos from the flea market as well as he caught some interesting shots with the larger camera... I've decided to write a separate post for his photos as this is all ready going to be photo heavy enough.

HUGE head of Collards that I bought for $2

After we left the Springfield flea market we drove on to Healing Springs.

People come from miles away to get water in jugs. 

Spanish Moss covered trees in a yard we past on our way to the Springs.

Where the tree's were in that yard they also had angels all around the lawn.

Scott took some wonderful photos of this yard as well as some photos of the Mennonite school that is located across the street from the "Angel Yard".

After we left Healing Springs we drove on to Blackville, SC.

Down the Center of the Main Street

A little history of Blackville. SC

I loved this tile border - made me think of a quilt border possibility.

Loved these green windows in this Antique store

This old wagon was across the street from the Antique store.

This window was HUGE! And BEAUTIFUL!

This is where we thought we'd catch lunch today but ended up eating down the street. Perhaps next time we will eat at this famous restaurant.

Blackville, SC Town Clock.

The beautiful bones of the old hotel.

The Shamrock Hotel

The final two pieces of THE BEST Pizza in South Carolina right before we consumed them. We ate at Russell's Pizza in Blackville, SC. We will definitely drive to eat there again.