Saturday morning Dave took care of his chores and errands, I took care of my morning have'tos, then left for the flea market. I left late for various reasons, but one was that we had an early morning storm pass and I wanted to make sure it was all clear. When I left my house, it was bright sunshine and nothing anywhere near us on the radar.
But . . . . . . . as my luck would have it, just as I was about 2/3 of the way to the flea market, the sky opened up and dumped rain down on me so hard that the windshield wipers couldn't keep up. I was about to pull over on the shoulder when I finally drove out of the hard stuff. As I pulled in, quite a few were set up, tarps loosely draped over all, vendors and customers standing inside the units waiting for the rain to stop.
The rain soon stopped, I went into the store to grab a bowl of the chili that was being served for lunch (great day for it!) and began setting up. But, once again, as my luck would have it, the rain came again and most people broke down and left. Four of us ended up trying to stay, but one by one, they all left, leaving me there by myself. One last one was going to stay, but as one last thunder clap rumbled, they, too, left, thinking it was going to storm again. But just as they pulled out, bright sunshine emerged.
Yes, I stayed. For one thing, Dave was on his way and I was unable to reach him by phone in the area he was driving through. The other was, well, I was already there, the sun was out, I had no other plans, so might as well stay and open (the main store was still open). Of course no one came because they were afraid it would rain on them so I made good use of the time getting some much needed cleaning and organizing done while everything was quiet and calm. I had sure wished for some sales, though. Most of the vendors figured they would just wait and reopen on Sunday when it was pretty (yes, Easter), but I wasn't, as Dave and I were taking the day off together. So I needed to be open and have some paying customers come in. But when everyone else bails, it really hurts the one that stays.
When Dave got there we stayed until the time I had planned to leave, closed up, ran a couple of errands, went back to my house to feed my critters and gather up my junk to take, Dusty, the puppies and all of their junk. (The puppies aren't old enough to leave overnight, and I am really hoping they are all sold before they are that old). So, we were off to Dave's Farm with 5 dogs in tow. But we did stop and deliver one on the way. Gosh, it is hard letting them go!
With the type of 'ills' I have had lately, the car vibrations really mess with me. That, combined with the hectic day, and I was pretty worn down. Dave got his chores done while I got the dogs settled in, we talked for a little while, then crashed for the night.
Easter morning Dave had to leave for a bit to go give someone a hand. While he was gone I decided to surprise him with breakfast. Unlike me who can't seem to beat the varmints to my eggs and have none, Dave had a good supply. So I decided to make something out of them. I just kept looking around and finding things to toss in with them, including some Henbit I found right outside the kitchen door. Since it was Easter, I wanted to make a large enough pan for us, Dave's dog, Dusty, and the 3 pups. Here is how I made it:
In the cast iron skillet, I heated up some lard. In that I sauteed some finely chopped garlic. While that was cooking I broke some eggs into a bowl, added in some Ranch Salad dressing I found in the fridge, the bits of Henbit (including some of the purple flowers), a couple spoons of water, pinch of salt, and whisked it all up good.
I also had brought a half a loaf of left-over homemade bread that I had. I cubed some of that up, tossed it into the skillet with the garlic, and sauteed it all until it was toasty. Then I added the eggs and cooked it all together until it was done. The indescribable surprised smile on Dave's face when he walked in and smelled breakfast cooking warmed my heart like it hasn't been in a long time. And I was proud of myself for figuring out how to work his stove without any help. We sliced up the rest of the bread and buttered it to eat with it. I was wishing I had remembered to bring some of that Pear Butter I had made last Fall to go on it. It was all so d e l i c i o u s ! ! ! The dogs all approved, too!
I went around with Dave while he did his chores, helping what I could, and enjoying seeing the new kids. Dave fired up his smoker (a wonderful one he made himself years ago) and got a big pork roast on to smoke. While he got that going, I got a loaf of bread going in the bread machine. (Yes, I cheated. I just don't have the strength to knead it yet.). The wonderful aromas coming from that smoker tantalized me and the dogs ALL DAY! Dave kept meticulous watch over it throughout the day, and the pups closely supervised. In between, we got to spend some much needed time walking around the yard and house, making our future plans, talking, and just getting to be together. We also picked out the spots to plant two of my rose bushes I got this year. It was some much needed, well appreciated time together.
The roast was finally done, I baked some potatoes to go with it, and Dave rustled up some sour cream while I went out to the cold frame to grab a handful of green onions to go on them. Oh, how I love stepping out the door to pick something to eat!!! We totally forgot that I had brought dill pickles. They would have gone so well with dinner. Dave really knows what he is doing with his smoker. That roast was absolutely PERFECT! It had just the right amount of smoke flavor, and was melt-in-your-mouth tender and juicy. We ate it with some of that Apple Maple bbq sauce that we had and it really went well with it. Sorry there are no pics. We had devoured nearly everything before we thought to take pics!
For dessert, Dave made some Blackberry 'pudding' out of the wild blackberries he had canned last summer. It, too, was delicious, but we didn't eat much of it because we were so stuffed from everything else. Sure wish I had a bowl of it right now. He tried to get me to take some home. But you know how it is when you are full, you don't think you will want it later. We got to enjoy some more 'together' time, and I also spent quite a bit of time picking ticks off of me and the dogs. The dogs had enjoyed romping and playing in some brushy areas, and I had unknowingly sat down to rest, at one point in the day, in a leafy area where the blasted things were breeding. With our ultra mild winter, I am afraid the ticks and fleas are going to be worse this year than we have ever seen, especially since they are becoming immune to everything, too.
Then it came time to load up and take me home. We had just loaded the dogs and I was taking out the last little bit when I ran *smack* into the corner of the hatchback door (it was pretty dark), with my head. My head cracked pretty loudly, my jaws slid sideways, my teeth clanged together, and I stumbled back, but managed to keep from falling. I really could have done without this little remembrance of our first Easter, lol, but I was very thankful that it had just missed my temple. So with ice to my head we headed for Anna's Farm. The trip home was over all too soon, we unloaded sleepy pups, my junk and all, sat on the bench enjoying the spring night air for awhile, then said our dreaded 'good-byes' as our first Easter ended. That was the hardest part. Oh, how we look forward to the day when we are living under his roof and have just our business set up under my roof!
It was a most wonderful and blessed Easter! We hope yours was, too!
I have been running into things this week, too! Hope you are feeling better...and...Happy Belated Easter!
ReplyDeleteMary, a Happy Belated Easter to you, too! Yes, I am feeling somewhat better. Seems I was running into things last week, too. That was the second time I dinged my head. The first time, I managed to whack the other side with a t-post!
ReplyDeleteStill trying to remedy this sinus infection, but making some good headway.