Memorial Day Weekend Motorcycle Trip

Hope you had a safe and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend and that you took a moment to Honor the meaning of this special holiday.

We are not big fans of taking off during "holiday" weekends. We hate crowds, we hate traffic and we hate rushing. Instead, we prefer to take our three day weekends one day at a time -- maybe catching up on a little work, or yard work, hanging out with the kids and, such as was the case this weekend, taking a day trip on the boat or the motorcycle.

This weekend, Blaise and I got up very early on Sunday morning and decided to head out toward Wilson - a historic town, named as one of North Carolina's Most Beautiful Cities. And THAT it was -- with gigantic oak-lined streets, to sprawling historic southern mansions, Wilson is an absolutely lovely town that epitomizes "southern charm."

From Raleigh, we drove about an hour and a half through the country. We were surprised to see how far along the tobacco and corn crops are this early in the year -- and WOW do they look healthy. Last year it was rather a depressing site as the drought took a huge toll on the the crops causing many of them to wither and die before coming into fruition. And I know I've said this before, but one of the things I love so much about riding the Harley out in the country is the smells. Every corner we turn brings about a new smell -- freshly cut fields, recently turned earth, animals, jasmine, magnolia, etc., etc., It's beautiful -- and there's nothing like it.

Continuing on our journey, after exploring Wilson for an hour or so, we decided it was time for breakfast. We drove around a bit looking for a place to eat and didn't have any luck until we came upon a rather dapper gentleman obviously on his way to or from church. We pulled over and asked him if he could recommend a place nearby where we could have breakfast. He immediately told us to turn right at the light and go down a "piece" and there is a place right there on the right hand side of the road.

Well, we did just as he said and sure enough -- there was a restaurant with real down home cookin' -- right where he said it would be. It was an adorable looking little restaurant, but as good as "gizzards and livers" sounded (at 7:30 in the morning!) I really had my heart set on french toast -- so we continued on until we found a Denny's!

I think we were only gone about 4 hours -- start to finish. That's another thing we love about living in North Carolina -- in an hour we can get far enough away it actually feels like we took a "trip" somewhere. We came home from our little excursion renewed and refreshed -- ready for part 2 of the weekend and ready to spend time with the kids.

Alas -- the weekend is over and it's time to get back to work!

Have a great week -- and don't forget to checkout our website when you get the chance. There you can search for homes (without passwords), check out schools, universities and employment, and just get a really good feel as to what living in the Raleigh/Triangle area is all about.

The Fruits of our Labor are FINALLY, Paying Off!!

Ok, I admit it - I'm addicted to HGTV. I started watching it 8 years ago while we were still living in Florida -- the land where NOTHING grows -- other than pricker bushes, palm trees, St. Augstine Grass, and other stuff that never DIES! Maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit -- but I couldn't grow anything in Florida.

Well it's been three years now since we put our first sets of plants in the ground here in North Carolina. And, if you watch HGTV you know what they say:

"The First Year They SLEEP...."

"The Second Year They CREEP...."

"The Third Year They LEAP..."

As is evidenced by the growth occurring in and around our yard -- that addage is so TRUE! The lavendar bushes and roses I put in exactly three years ago are huge and proliferating with blooms. They are really taking off -- and smell sooooo good. There is a special hybrid lavendar that grows particularly well in this area of the country (zones 7-8) and is pretty much ever green and blooms all but 2 months of the year. Sabrina loves to make Lavendar sachets from the dried lavendar buds.

The purple salvia in the front of the house I just planted last summer - and they were tiny. For our clients who are currently living in North Carolina -- Salvia plants from Home Depot are the way to go. You can't kill them, they're drought resistant and they make wonderful visual impact with planted "en masse." We have an exceptionally long driveway, so I had to put something in that would get pretty dense and be able to be seen from the street. These did the trick -- they are gorgeous -- and again --flower right up to the first heft freeze and begin flowering again before the last frost.

Horticulturally speaking - the only downside of living in an area where things grow so prolifically -- is the TRIMMING. And, as Blaise will tell you -- that is a never ending job. As soon as he finally makes his way around the house -- the bushes in the spot where he began are almost ready to be trimmed again. It's a never ending job. Thank goodness we both enjoy working in the yard.

Finally - I send a question out to YOU, What is LEAPING in your garden? Click on comments (below) and tell us all about it. Even if you're not living in North Carolina (yet!) we'd love to hear from you! Gardeners LOVE to share stories and we'd sure enjoy hearing yours.

North Carolina State Farmer's Markets....

One of our favorite things to do is to take off early in the morning on the motorcycle and head out to the farmer's market. The Raleigh Market is awesome -- it's huge!

We love to stroll down the isles tasting samples as we go of fesh strawberries, apples, cider and honey. There are rows and rows of fresh vegetables in season and at the very end of the market are all the plants. That's my favorite section. They have the most gorgeous geraniums, petunias, flowering bushes and flowering trees. Come to think about it -- I think that's why Blaise likes to take the motorcycle when we head out there -- so we can't buy too much as we can't transport it!!

The main market downtown also has a fabulous restaurant that only uses items sold by local farmers -- so everything is fresh, fresh, fresh. Fresh Vegetables, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Bacon and Eggs -- it's wonderful. You gotta get there early though -- because that place is packed all the time.

What's also great about our farmer's market here is that they have set up little markets all over the county so that if you don't have time to go all the way downtown -- chances are you'll pass right by one one the way home from work. They have one set up in historic Wake Forest, and a few up off Capital Boulevard right in Raleigh.

Strawberry stands are everywhere right now. We live just down the street from a BP Gas Station -- and they have a huge strawberry stand right out front - we drive by it every day so fresh strawberries are at our beck and call. We eat them every day in something -- strawberry protein shakes, strawberry smoothies, fruit salad, etc. Scroll down below for one of my favorite strawberry pie recipes.

NORTH CAROLINA STRAWBERRY PIE.....

It's time for another "Southern Favorites" recipe -- and since strawberries are in season right now here in North Carolina and the Farmer's Market is just brimming with them -- I'm going to share one of my favorite strawberry pie recipes with you today.

It's ridiculous how easy this is to make -- and people just ADORE it! Ready???

Ingredients
Crust...

Your own favorite pie crust recipe, or - store bought pie crust is fine for this.

Filling...

2 Cups Fresh Strawberries

1/2 Cup of Water

2/3 Cups of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of FRESH Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons of Cornstart

6 more cups of Fresh strawberries

Topping....

I like to make my own whipped cream because it is so easy to make and tastes so good, but Cool Whip, Ready Whip, will work in a pinch. (click on the link for directions on how to make your own)

Preparation.....
Preheat oven to 350°.
Bake pie crust at 350° for 10 - 15 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, mash 2 cups strawberries with a potato masher. Combine mashed strawberries and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press the strawberry mixture through a sieve (to eliminate seeds) into a bowl, and reserve 1 cup strawberry liquid (add enough water to measure 1 cup, if necessary). Discard pulp or - I keep mine to make healthy smoothies from!)

Now, you combine 2/3 cup of sugar and the cornstarch in a pan; add strawberry liquid, stirring well with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in FRESH lemon juice. (Lemons are so inexpensive, ALWAYS use FRESH lemons or lime for juice!!)
Arrange a layer of strawberries cut in half (flat sides down) in the crust. Spoon about one-third of sauce over the strawberries. Arrange the remaining strawberries on top, and spoon the remaining sauce over the strawberries. Chill for at least 3 hours.

When you're ready to serve, whip up your cream and spoon it on top. I think you and your family are gonna love this.

Enjoy!!!!