Sally's Blog: Some of Everything - Jay's Sauteed Chicken

Since my last post in January we've truly experienced some of everything. Snow, wind, rain, hail, warm sunshine - and that was all in one day last week.

Tears, laughter, joys, sorrows, exercise, napping, singing, silence, thinking, praying, working, playing. That was all in one day too. Pretty much everyday.

Life is full and beautiful and I am always grateful for the chance to experience some of everything.

Peace Avenue continues to be vibrant and fun and I am happy that Beth and John let me be a part of it all. Pax is the orange guy in this picture. He is wearing a Banjo t-shirt, a Peace Ave doggie bandana and signaling the International Peace Sign. Pax is the mascot for Peace Avenue and he appears in many different ways depending on his mood. It's always fun to see what Pax is up to on any given day.

We had a winter storm named Pax too. Pax means Peace in Latin and there is something peaceful about watching snow silently falling. This snowfall measured a little over five inches in our backyard.

In the front yard we can watch sledders playing on the hill on the number 8 Fairway.

These snow bunnies appeared during the big snowfall on their way to the hill to sled. Jay was sautéing chicken and we all enjoyed this visit.

And what's a good snowfall without Snow Cream. Jay harvested a huge bowl of snow and we added sugar, vanilla and milk. It's the perfect time to enjoy a slushy dessert in front of the nice warm fireplace. Followed by a nice warm nap.

Music is always part of the mix and we were lucky to hear Travis Tritt solo at the Don Gibson Theatre. He had just been in Shelby for the Scruggs Center opening but this time he was alone on stage with three different guitars. He played non-stop for about 2 hours and we loved his enthusiasm, his stories and his amazing talent. He was down to earth and funny and seemed to be having a really good time. He played my favorite "Where Corn Don't Grow" early in the set and then I was so happy I just sat back and enjoyed the rest of the show.

Earl Scruggs' niece, Grace, is a friend of Travis from way back when everybody used to go to pickin' parties at Earl and Louise house. Grace was sweet to get us together for this picture after the show.

Mom and Dad, uncharacteristically, became Snowbirds during the cold weather and flew to Florida to visit Judy and friends. They met smiling faces at the airports coming and going.

I had to laugh when I took them to the airport. Dad was riding shotgun and said, matter of factly, "When we get to Florida I'm going to take out a big legal pad and Mom and I are going to write.." -- so now I'm about to get teary eyed thinking they are going to write down instructions for me, or last wishes, or something like that. So I look over at Dad and he has that grin on his face and that twinkle in his eye and he finishes his sentence, " we are going to write out our BUCKET LIST!" And we both crack up laughing. He's 91 and she's 88 and they are flying to Florida and writing out their bucket list. Gotta love it.

This cool cake was made for a retirement party for our friend Phillip. He is retired from the NC Highway Patrol but he is energetic and fun and I look forward to whatever is next on his bucket list.

Holly, Phillip, Allie and William are good friends and a super sweet family.

Somehow 50 years have passed since my sisters and I sat in front of the black and white TV with rabbit ears in the old, fun house in Lattimore to watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It's funny now to think that there they were in their black suits with ties, singing four part harmony and were considered in any way radical. I still know every word to every song on their first album.

Another musician that meant a lot to me died recently. We sang a long with Pete Seeger like he wanted everybody to do. Mostly I sang at Young Life or riding on a lawn mower where nobody could really hear me but I was grateful to Pete for insisting that everybody sing along.

March Madness went into full swing and so there has been a lot of basketball to watch. If we don't attend the games, we watch Big South Basketball through the internet on the iPad. Nothing more cozy than a rocking chair, a fireplace and a basketball game.

We've carved out some time at Lake Lure and enjoyed watching collegiate rowing teams practice. These teams spend about a week at the lake during their spring breaks and row all over the place. They were doing this rain or shine and it's pretty amazing how fast they can go and also how quickly they can turn these long boats around. It takes some precise teamwork for 9 people to work together like this. Some of the basketball teams we've watched could take a lesson.

Somewhere a long the way I spent a night with Jackie, Hayes and Porter in Chapel Hill. We all had work and meetings but Jackie and Hayes fixed a great breakfast of pancakes, bacon and coffee.

Carol and I visited with Mom and Dad and enjoyed some good political stories.

Carol thought it was cool that Dad wanted to show us some pictures on his iPad.

March is full of birthdays and for my birthday this year Mom and Dad gave me Tim Conway's book, "What's So Funny?" Dad's inscription says, "for Sally - Remembering loving your laugh." This is because I loved watching the Carol Burnette show and especially Tim Conway. I used to sit up and watch it by myself but I would laugh so loud Mom and Dad could hear me across the house. Carol, Harvey and Tim still crack me up.

David and I took a birthday trip to Asheville and had dinner at Curate. Rhett had told us what a great place it was and he was right as usual. We loved being there and had a great time in Asheville. Then like horses to the barn we headed back to Lake Lure. David had to go work but Carol came up later and brought a wonderful birthday dinner of shrimp salad. These were real shrimp caught on the Carolina coast and they were scrumptious. It was a nice 58th birthday.

Meanwhile Big South Basketball was wrapping up and this was a pic from one of the last home games. Jay kept his eye on the away bench for any surprise substitutions.

Typical GWU/Big South Basketball score. Tied with 24.7 seconds to go.

No telling which game this was or which way it went.

Too many of these games have to stop while referees confer with each other to make calls. The new stricter rules this year made for a lot of confusion among players and refs.

David got this shot from TV when GWU for once did not have a nail biter but soundly defeated Longwood.

This was Jay's last season as a Graduate Assistant for GWU basketball. It has been a great opportunity and a learning experience and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

One of the most beautiful sights of early springs. Jonquils on Hunt Farm Road.

I have written the story of these jonquils before and if you want to read it look back in most any spring during the past four years. The long and short of it is that years ago Mom and Dad found a few little jonquils growing on their farm where there had been grading and plowing and jonquils would not have been expected to survive. They believe these small yellow flowers to be a 100 year old variety and they loved the jonquils resilience for springing up despite the odds.

So they dug up the jonquils and transplanted some on Hunt Farm Road. These flowers have flourished and spread and this year were the prettiest they have ever been. All of us look forward to watching for the jonquils in early spring. As Wordsworth wrote, "And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils."

People, cows and baby cows have a pretty good life on the Hunt Farm.

Mom's birthday is in March too and we met at the Italian Garden for a birthday dinner. I saw June at a stoplight on the way and motioned for her to join us. She jumped right in and took this picture of our family.

Mom is a very petite and dainty woman who has a tremendous appetite. Dad says his Dad always loved to watch Mom eat. We all love it and especially when she gets anything chocolate. Because she always recites the old Nestlé's commercial with great dramatic flair. N-E-S-T-L-E-S. Nestles makes the very best... chooocccllaaatte. Honestly it's hilarious but you just have to be there.

These are more spring flowers in Mom and Dad's yard. They were so pretty I just had to share.

Mr. Cat has a favorite perch on the window ledge. He is a superb hunter and sometimes proudly brings a catch home. He cannot understand why we aren't delighted with these gifts.

Simba and Mr. Cat. The lion laying down with the lamb. I'm not sure which one is the lion.

David, Jay and I took a short trip to Ike's Korner Grill in Spartanburg the other day. There's no where else like Ike's.

The Scruggs Center held an afternoon tea recently and one of the displays was this Mustache Cup that says, "forget me not". I sent this pic to Libby and we both wondered if Aunt Burnette had donated this cup to the center. She collected mustache cups so it wouldn't surprise me if this were one of hers. She especially got a kick out of the left handed variety. I don't know for sure if this Forget Me Not Cup is from her collection but, as Libby pointed out, it worked because it made both of us think of Aunt Burnette.

No post is complete without a picture of a Lake Lure sunset. This one is from early March.

Jay has become quite the chef recently. His sauté boneless chicken breast is good anytime and everytime. David says its the one meal he could eat everyday. Jay varies the spices but mainly he sears the meat on both sides so there is a crispy crunchy outside and a juicy tender inside. Sometimes he does like Sis taught and adds a little water and covers it so it will steam a little bit. Sometimes he doesn't. He always uses lemon pepper and cavender's greek seasoning. In this picture he is using a cast iron frying pan, but he also can make it in any sauté pan.