Heading Home

Today I'm going back home to the coast, leaving the beautiful mountains. The coast is very beautiful too, of course. I've loved every minute of being here with my mother and caring for her. Do you ever wish you could be in two places at once? I do. 
Here are a few random photos from the last few days.

My brother Max with two of his kids, Nathan and Katie

A fun sign at mother's friend's house

This delightful fellow is the local post office dog.
The P.O. lady said she had to bring him to work each day
 because otherwise he tears up her curtains!
 He is just darling, sweet and friendly.
Look at that face!!

Bonnie has a good life.

Mother's maidenhair fern and orchid, on her desk in brilliant morning sunshine

 And now for a study in cardinals!

 See the male cardinal? The female is below the two box feeders.

 Each morning, Mr. Cardinal comes to the window several times during breakfast. Mother says he sees his reflection, but I think he is checking on Mother to make sure she is recovering well.

 Here they are again. And again.

 I painted a couple more cards.

 I'm enjoying the wreaths. A circular shape is so pleasing to the eye.

There's an old restaurant in Lewisburg called Jim's Drive-In.

It's been around for many years, and when highway 60 was the main route into town, its location was prime. You park, and the girl walks up and takes your order. Soon the food appears on a tray that perches on the edge of your window. Their specialty is an "English hot dog" -- buttered, toasted bun, with onion, chili, and slaw. Delicious!!!

 Last night we had the delight of dinner with Max and Anne. Anne always makes her home look warm and inviting, especially in colder weather.

 This is an osage orange fruit. Isn't it strange? They picked it up on one of their walks along the river trail, along with the tulip poplar leaves Anne put in a wooden vase.

Yesterday Mother had an MRI to assess her liver, which had a mass removed from it two weeks ago, in addition to the tumor in her colon. She's had an exhausting time. With elderly people, one health issue often leads to another, and another. The doctors do their best to guess and diagnose. Mostly we are trying to encourage her to drink a lot, eat more, and rest. That's the best medicine on a daily basis.

Eating Japanese

This post is honestly for my daughter who spent two years in Japan and knows so much about the food of that lovely country. Tonight my son took a bunch of us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant, Two Ten Jack, in celebration of the upcoming birthday of another of my children. We had so much fun.

First, I'll show you most (but not all!) of the little dishes that arrived at our table.

pork

chicken/green onion skewer

pork dumpling

some sort of fabulous beef?

sushi - I didn't eat this one

These were like hush puppies with little cubes of
 octopus inside with a honey glaze on the outside.

There were tater tots in this dish - oh my goodness, SO good.

salmon with some sauce and a slaw on the side

ramen bowl with pork

ramen bowl for a vegetarian

birthday dessert!

This meal was superb for two reasons: the food was brought to the table and shared among the five of us, and the food itself was phenomenal. Sharing food makes the meal very fun -- exclaiming about a bite, showing it to your neighbor, comparing to something else, having so many various dishes and not too much of any one. It was delightful, and the knowledgeable waitress was a huge help, while making our experience delightful. 

Sweet and Savory Cafe

On our long date to Wilmington yesterday, Adam and I ate dinner out. We planned carefully to eat at one place, but arrived at 3:30 to discover they were closing at 4:00. It was raining steadily outside, and we needed a restaurant where we could sit, warm and dry, until the real event of the date (which I'll share in the next post). We ended up eating at The Sweet and Savory Cafe, and we're so glad we did!

Adam said to  give them a very good review and take a picture of their kitchen -- that real "foodies" would care.

This eatery started as a bakery. Unlike most restaurants, which get their meals off the Sysco truck, a bakery prides itself in making food from scratch. They still sell delicious sweets:

When they expanded to a full restaurant, they maintained that made-from-scratch approach, and we could tell Adam could tell from their food. (I don't have a very elegant palate.) They stock a lot of wine and had $2 draft beer, which is an excellent deal. 

I had hot tea because it was cold and wet outside, and we were destined to become much colder and wetter before the night was finished! (I'll leave you guessing what our date would be.)
Adam ordered the Don't Mess With Texas plate, spicy smoked brisket and homemade potato chips, plus those crunchy onion rings, all made in house.

I don't like sandwiches with big hunks of bread, so I ordered the meatloaf plate. Their meatloaf is made with veal, beef, and pork, topped with a sweet tomato jam, greens, and homemade mashed potatoes. It was delicious and not over-filling.

Adam was so enthusiastic about his meal. Often after eating out, he leaves the restaurant saying he could've made it better at home for a fraction of the price, and he is right. Not this time! Plus, it was not expensive. His meal was $9.99, and mine was $8.99. We split the chocolate cake too. If we return to Wilmington, we'll definitely eat there again.

Autumn Beauty, Christmas Shopping

Is your weather chilly at last? Ours is. I didn't quite get the heat turned on last night, and it was a four-blanket night! The watercolor above is for my Autumn Journal. 
I'm listening to Christmas music -- John Rutter's Star Carol album on my iTunes :)

Adam has had a hard day. He began by clearing out the back of the garage in preparation for making that space his new concrete-leaf-making studio. It will serve the purpose well. But then he went to finish the repair on our eaves that causes the living room ceiling leak. (He's putting on some special tape, followed by a tar/fiberglass mixture.) While on the ladder, he noticed another leak, a leak from our kitchen sink that was going down the outside of the foundation. (Sigh. Oh, the joys of a cheap fixer-upper.) He is handy at all manner of work, but plumbing is certainly his least favorite. He's spent the afternoon tending to that, with several trips to the hardware store.

We went to the beach yesterday with Beau and Trixie. Here are a few photos:

Trixie went for her first shots today.
The vet says she may well be part Pom.

I knit on the ferry.

 We ate lunch at a well-recommended place: Royal James Cafe in Beaufort on Turner St. We had  peeked in there last year, but decided ... no ... it looks like a bar.

 Well, it is a bar ... but not at 11:00 a.m. I must say, that burger was the best burger I've had in years. I kept mentioning it all day long. A double cheeseburger for $3. Small fries for $2. Can't beat that! They only put onions, mustard, and "chili sauce" on the burgers. Chili sauce is sweet, sauteed onions. It's like the most delectable Krystal burger you've ever dreamt of, for those who grew up with Krystal burgers as I did -- but bigger, moister, yummier.

 I mostly sat in my chair and stared at the sea.

 I've now purchased my Christmas books! Here they are:

 The Silmarillion was supposed to be for Adam, because his copy mysteriously disappeared with one of our children departing for college. The day after this one arrived, I saw him walk into his office and return with his own copy! Ah well. He'd bought it at some point, so now we'll have two.
My local Michael's art store no longer sells any watercolor sets with half-pans - a "travel set." But the store in Morehead City still does, so I got one for me for Christmas (from Adam) - with a 40% off coupon :)

 This one has different colors, and more, than my current set, which is running low.
I found this gorgeous cast iron Asian tea pot, brand new, at the local thrift store. It's for Anna (for Christmas, of course). I already showed it to her to make sure she would like it.

 I truly am trying to get Christmas shopping done early, but some family members are so hard to shop for. You know who you are! If you don't want socks again ... you'd better let me know what you need or want.
Keep those autumn lights burning, ladies.

 Dig out your favorite warm socks and sweater, light a candle or three, do whatever creative thing you do, and notice the new slant of light that happens this time of year. Find a nice winter movie, make some popcorn, and snuggle on the couch for the evening.

Bye-bye for now!