Motley lately

Funny sad story about Motley. We dog-sitted Bannister last weekend. Motley does not like him. Hence her judgmental stares in the guest bedroom. Well the other night we had a thunderstorm and Motley hates hates hates storms. She turns all scaredy cat on us. Bryan and Bannister were in the kitchen and Motley was hanging around Bryan's feet rubbing up against his legs. Then she rubbed up against Bannister like she used to do with Bosco. After rolling on him she realized it wasn't Bosco and lit into him with her claws.

Sadly for Bannister this happened twice. Motley misses her sister. Her cuddle buddy. Her rock.

Garden update

The plants are doing really well. I took a few pictures last night as Bryan was grilling dinner.











I planted lettuce seeds in the last empty bed this past weekend. Looking forward to some fall vegetables and salads.

Garden - nearly there

The last week of July Bryan worked really really really really hard on getting the garden ready for planting. I had started some seeds a few weeks back and it was time to start planting.

I'm so proud of Bryan for kicking some butt in the backyard. Saturday morning I was able to start planting as he put some finishing touches on it.







This was a week ago and its already amazing to see how much some of the plants have grown. Specifically the cucumbers and okra. The broccoli is thriving in their new space as well.



I also decided to move most of my herbs to the backyard. It just made sense having to water everything in one location. The only things that did not move were the lime trees and the tomatoes. Tomatoes will be planted in the garden next year.

Still left to do:
- Find a matching rock or stepping stones to fill in the rest of the pathways.
- Plant lettuce in the empty triangular bed.
- Clear the wild flowers and plant winter squash.
- Move into phase two: moving and planting new shrubs.

Cookbook Review: The New Orleans Cookbook by the Collins

Out of the handful of cookbooks I've tried this summer, this was one of my favorites. It might be because of my fondness for New Orleans and its food, or it could be that I finally succeeded in making a roux!

Here's what I made:

Creole Jambalaya - apparently if I don't make jambalaya often enough Bryan starts getting punchy. This was delicious and satisfied his jambalaya craving for a little while.

Shrimp Stew - first successfuly roux! It took a long time to cook, but Bryan liked it. I cannot remember what this was like. Oops.

Steak with New Orleans style Butter sauce - yummmmmm

Sauteed Broccoli with rosemary - delicious. I often cook broccoli steamed, it was nice to have a change.

Braised Okra - I love okra, but had never had it braised. It was delicious and super fast to make.

Cookbook Review: Centre St. Cookery

During the week that my parents and brother were at the beach, I thought it only appropriate to cook from the cookbook I got there last summer. Not that we can get the freshest of seafood in Memphis like you can on the Island, but it was a nice change of pace.

Here's what I made:

Crab Soup - My mom makes crab bisque when at the beach and its my favorite thing. This was a nice, hearty soup. I liked that it used half and half which made it a tad thicker than most bisques.

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes - Bryan insisted that I make these. There was a significant amount left over that got thrown in the trash. It was okay, just not my cup of tea. I've never been a big fan of sweet potatoes.

Amelia Island Boiled Shrimp - Good. There's nothing like fresh shrimp in the summer.

The Best Chicken Dish in the World - not appropriately named. It was fine, just not the best chicken dish in the world.


I still have a recipe marked to try, but its a cocktail. 1 can of frozen pink lemonade, 1 can pineapple juice, 1 juice can of tequila and crushed ice. What could go wrong?

Baddorf Boys... and girls

Di asked me to take some photos of all her boys while they were together a few weeks ago.









I couldn't resist on getting one of the girls too.

Bocce Ball

The family that bocces together, stays together... or something like that.

The Saturday evening after the Hope 5k we had Bryan's family over for dinner. Brett was in town and it was Genevieve's birthday. Plenty of reason to celebrate and be together.