Burt is a tease

Our peach tree, Burt, has been so laden with fruit that the branches are working hard just to stay off the ground. Just walking into the back yard, we have a curtain of branches we have to navigate through. The orange fruit screams to be picked. I think it says something like this: “Look at how bright and juicy I am. I am so full of flavor, even the branches can’t hold me up. YUMMMM. If you don’t pick me soon, the critters will get me and you will have waited to long. PICK ME NOW!”

What a tease.

I could no longer ignore the Burt’s taunting, so Tuesday was HARVEST DAY. We only picked about half the fruit, hoping it would lessen the load on the young branches. No success, the branches still hang heavy with abundant fruit. We are trying to let as much of it ripen on the tree without losing the fruit to the critters. I think a dinner bell rings when they hit peak ripeness. We’ve lost an entire harvest to the critters before.

So now, how to take advantage of all those peaches? First, sangria with fresh Peaches on the back patio with Linda while the pups play. Second, a peach cobbler to celebrate Momma T’s birthday. I found a great recipe that calls for crystallized ginger – yum. Hopefully I can do Burt’s peaches proud and honor Momma T by baking something delicious.
What about all the rest? We’ll eat them for snacks, give them as gifts, and they’ll be gone before we know it (kinda like summer itself).

Sammy's Never-Ending Search

Just recently I bought matching ID tags for the Dog and the Cat. These are very durable metal tags with their names and our phone number engraved on the back.



Just Monday I received the new tags in the mail. I immediately went to work, attaching them to the kids’ collars. The next day that I arrived home to find Sammy in a heightened state of alertness. I walk into the living room and she is intensely searching every nearby surface for something. Husband is watching the scene with amusement.


It just so happens that around 6:00 PM the sunlight streams in through the living room window. As Sammy walks through the stream of sunlight, the light reflects off her new ID tag. The reflection inevitably lands just in her peripheral vision. Surprised by this flash of light, she jumps quickly to get a better look. With her sudden movements, the reflection jumps or disappears. We were entertained enough to take the following video.





We soon tired of her relentless attempts and moved on. Even after the sun set, she waited patiently for the light to return, providing her with another opportunity to “GET IT”.


Sure enough Husband called me at 5:45 yesterday to tell me it is now a daily event. She is again positioned near the window, chasing the elusive reflection.

DVR tonight

Be sure to record No Reservations tonight as Anthony Bourdain visits C-bus and the restaurant I write about here.

Fourth Annual 4th

Last weekend the Husband and I hosted our fourth annual Fourth of July cookout. I think it was un-officially the biggest event yet.

 

Every year we set the stage as relaxed atmosphere with an open invitation to come when/if you feel like it. While I like the relaxed attitude, it makes it impossible to plan. We ran out of everything, bugers, dogs, lemonade, Sangria and even PROPANE for the grill (where were you Hank Hill?). I have no idea how many people showed up, but I would guess that throughout the day, we had anywhere from 50 to 75 people.

 

It has taken us (me) four years of throwing this party to learn not to take it all on myself. I’ll just go crazy from the stress and break the bank while doing it. It takes a community to throw a party that big. I hope that everyone had fun and would like to throw a shout out to my community that helped us keep the tradition alive:

 

Thanks to the following:

•  Both my BIL’s (Brother In Laws)
• One BIL for providing the awesome tunes. You can check his record collection and DJ stylings here at Queen City Crates.
• 
• The other BIL for always managing the grill. The Husband tends to be too social to suffer the task of paying attention to the cooking. But we can always count on my BIL to be the master of the grill.
• 
• Biscuit for helping me all weekend long AND bringing the liquor, you kept the party going girl.
• Monkers for ALWAYS being there to help keep things flowing and organized while I run around helpless and hopeless. I am not a hostess by nature, she is.
• 
• Momma T and Padre for showing up. What a great surprise! And Momma T even tried her hand at spinning 45s.
• 
• EVERYONE that brought food. It was all so delicious. Special shout out to my SIL’s mac and cheese- yum.
• The neighbor for NOT calling the cops this year when our fireworks show was underway.
• Cory and Zach for supplying The BAC (Big Ass Canopy), Corn hole boards, and all the extras we forget.

We had a great time with lots of corn hole, wiffle ball, home run derby and a fireworks display. Hard to believe we are halfway through summer already!

 

I’ll leave you with the Sangria recipe, which was the only thing I could claim as making for the party.

 

White Peach Sangria 
1 bottle white wine (dry Riesling)
4 peaches quartered
1 cup Grand Marnier (I used Triple Sec because I’m cheap)
1 can ginger ale
Mix the first three ingredients together 2-3 hours before serving and refrigerate. Add the ginger ale right before serving.*


*Fourth of July recipe modification per Biscuit – when the sangria is gone, but peaches are left, cover with vodka and hand over your keys.