Saturday morning we woke up, and all ate Stripling's sausage biscuits...the best fuel for a day on Lake Blackshear. We geared up, loaded on sunscreen, packed the cooler, hopped on the boat, and went on our way. We weren't on the boat for five minutes before Abigail fell asleep in my arms. She was so relaxed with the wind on her face, she just tuckered right out...despite the fact that her life vest looked like it was suffocating her. Even though I was sweating my butt off and I knew I would have an Abigail outline tan line, I let her snooze away....Oh the "sacrifices" aunts have to make! HA! Wouldn't trade moments like those for anything in the world.
We made it to Booger Bottom for lunch just before the swarm of hungry boaters hit. We still had to wait about 45 minutes for a cheeseburger, but it was so worth it. Booger Bottom burgers are by far the best. Anyone who has had one knows...If you haven't had one, you need to change that aspect of your life STAT. You won't regret it.
(Disclaimer- You have to look beyond the hole in the wall that it is. Also, you have to ignore that the burgers are cooked on a small electric kitchen griddle. These are minor details, compared to the happiness you will feel after trying the burger!)
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| Good Stuff |
Upon leaving Booger Bottom to get back on the lake, our sweet Abigail had a little accident. Poor thing. I guess all the socializing over lunch upset her stomach. Let's just say- We definitely will not go on another boat ride without carrying some baby wipes. I'll spare the details.
I spent Saturday night with the Parentals and Abigail. We had a quiet, but fun night. Abby and I shared fresh boiled peanuts- Her favorites are the "babies." She was feeling like such a big girl, she actually let me get two splinters out of her hand without even crying! Whoa- that was a serious accomplishment. So proud of her.
Sunday was another big day- Nanny's 85th birthday!!! Hooray for eighty five years! We hosted lunch at our lake house, and Nanny and Papa (my mom's parents), Aunt Kathy and Uncle Brian, cousin Ana, and her boyfriend Brain came over for the birthday festivities. We had an awesome lunch of grilled chicken, potatoes, green beans, and napa salad. The star of the lunch time show was the napa salad- It's always a big crowd pleaser!
Napa Cabbage Salad
Ingredients: 1 head Napa cabbage
1 bunch of green onions chopped
1/3 cup of butter
1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, broken
(Don't need flavor packet)
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1 cup silvered almonds
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1.) Finely shred the napa cabbage. Do not chop.
2.) Make the crunchies: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Combine the ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Sauté the combination until brown, then remove from heat. Place mixture over paper towels for excess butter to drain.
3.) Make the dressing: In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.
4.) Combine cabbage, crunchies, green onions, and dressing right before serving. Serve right away or crunchies will get soggy.
We wrapped up lunch with "Brownie Delight" for dessert, instead of a birthday cake. The name of this little goody goes way back to my younger years when mom would make it for us. Brownie Delight is always another crowd pleaser as well. It's layers of crumbled brownie, chocolate syrup, and the cool whip. The secret is to make sure the brownies are top notch- we always use Betty Crocker's Turtle mix, which has caramel and nuts. SO good! And, of course, Abigail had to help Nanny blow out her candles.
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| Birthday Girl |
After lunch, Kelly was complaining about burning her hand getting the potatoes out of the oven earlier in the day. Oh, it was a nasty burn. It kind of made me cringe. So, we were all trying to come up with home remedies for burns, seeing we didn't have any special burn ointment. Then, the secret comes out that Papa has some type of VooDoo Burn Magic!? Seriously? How can we not know this by now? So, Papa rubs his hand over Kelly's burn, while muttering some special words. We all stared in disbelief. I mean this was a serious Harry Potter type moment. You can just see Kelly thinking, "Ok. My burn still hurts. Someone go to the store for burn cream because this crazy voodoo isn't working." Papa then tells us of how some woman years upon years ago taught him how to "talk the fire out of a burn." WHAT?! Then my mom and Aunt Kathy tell stories of how this voodoo magic works. We all just laughed it off as good fun, remaining skeptics....trying not to think how crazy our family really is.
We all made it to Monday safely. Sadly, no boat rides today because of Tropical Storm Beryl, so we packed up and headed home early. Normally, it is all too easy to overlook the reason for this holiday by spending the day grilling, laughing, and drinking in the sun. Even though we usually spend this Monday celebrating, it is so important for all of us to remember the reason for the holiday- the men and women who fight now or have fought for our country. It's important to remember them today and everyday.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Kelly's burn doesn't hurt at all today. So, Papa's voodoo actually worked. He down right talked the fire out of her burn. So cool.
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| Papa's spiffy white loafers- Love it! |
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