We are on the road again. Back to Asheville to spend a week with EdieB as she is on spring vacation. We have big plans but at the moment they might be tempered down a bit as she is suffering with a cold. However, we don’t mind. We can sit and watch her play with the doll house and sit in the sun for every day there is sun. At our Air B&B, Tracy our hostess, put her daughters old doll house and books in the suite for Edie to play with when she comes to see us here. It took all of five minutes and she was setting things up. That and reading books with her grandfather are about the best things ever.
April 1, 2023
Mother Nature played a good one on us. We had four days of snow showers every day but we woke up to a winter wonderland on Saturday morning. I had been somewhat encouraged the day before as the snow showers gave way to warm sunshine and I actually could feel spring in the air. It was also very, very blustery. I am really hoping it was winter blowing itself out of the way. We flew to Asheville and despite a very rough start to the flights the rest wasn’t too bad. The flight from Charlotte was very fast as the pilot did his best to avoid the gusts. It was bumpy but not white knuckle. We arrived here to find that a number of trees were down including one on Margot and Hadley’s street and they were without electricity. Our B&B had electricity but no internet. It took until Sunday afternoon for both to come back. We also were able to see a forest fire burning bright orange off in the distance which added a little more spookiness to the whole evening.
Update on Jenny Lane
The demolition of the bathroom continued this week. This picture is of Les taking out the bath tub. This is not something to be taken lightly. When sledge hammering the porcelain it shatters like glass with shards everywhere. There really is no other way to take out a solid cast iron/porcelain tub and this one had to go. The entire house shook every time he hit it with the sledge hammer. I didn’t move from my safe spot in our bedroom, almost terrified to see what was happening. And then it was over. The tub was gone and the house was still standing.
Walking This Week
Most of the week I was on the treadmill but the dogs and I did get out on one of the better days for a walk on the rail trail. I wasn’t sure what to expect but when we got there we found that the snowmobile trails were closed. The gates were back across the trail so snowmobile season is officially over. There was some snow on the trail but it was soft and not too slippery. A good bit of the walk was on dirt with only a little snow off in the woods or in the shaded areas. The river hadn’t flooded yet so we didn’t have to wade through fields of water. We had a wonderful time. By the time I get home, even with the latest snow, I think it will be pretty clear.
Recipe For You
We are big fans of anything shrimp and this week this recipe just grabbed our attention. It was delicious and pretty easy to make for a mid-week dinner. Served with some rice, something green and the delicious bread to sop up the sauce we have a winner. We served it on a bed of fresh spinach cooked in olive oil and garlic. Oh, my was it good!!!
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound (16/20 count) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1¼ teaspoons dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup clam juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- crusty bread, for serving
Preparation
1.Heat oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high. Pat shrimp dry and season with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add to skillet in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until shrimp turn pink and begin to curl, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.2.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 7 minutes. Add oregano and red pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, clam juice, water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, 18 to 20 minutes.3.
3. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve with bread and lemon wedges.
