I knew when I was writing yesterday's post that I was leaving out important Daddy-isms, and Mother reminded me of one last night.
If that ain't good, grits ain't groceries!
That usually came out when he was eating something particularly delicious. Often, it was somethnig he cooked for himself, or I should probably say grilled, since that was what he mostly cooked.
I have been longing lately for more fish. The kids like it, I like every kind of fish and seafood, and we used to eat it 2-3 times a week. We only stopped because I saw a report on TV about how imported fish aren't inspected, and are sometimes bred in filthy ponds and have all sorts of diseases. Yuck! So we stopped buying tilapia and shrimp and salmon and all that great stuff.
We recently found a place close to the house called Southern Seafood. It's a fish market; that's all they sell. Everyone in there is a tiny Chinese person, and only the people behind the counter speak English. The seafood is awesome - it doesn't taste like it's full of chemicals, like the stuff from the grocery stores.
Mike and I went in there the other night and bought 2 lbs. of beautiful, big shrimp, scallops, and salmon for grilling. We had the shrimp just sautéed in butter and garlic and lemon, the other night. Last night, I cooked the scallops. I sauteed onions and some slivers of green pepper [from our garden!] with lots of fresh ground pepper, in olive oil and a little bacon fat. I then threw in the scallops and seared them on high heat, turning constantly. Next I added in heavy cream with fresh garlic, basil, and a little butter - yummy! Even Mike tried one and said he liked it. Thanks be to God we aren't on a low fat diet. LOL
Our movie last night was the biogrphical film about Muhammad Ali, starring Will Smith. When I was a kid I idolized Ali. I wanted to be a boxer. I didn't know much about him personally, but I knew he was a phenomenal boxer. My boxing obsession meant I would box in the garage where my brother had weights and other exercise equipment. I think we even had a speed bag. The day I hung up my gloves was the day I fell down an bruised my hip, a deep bruise that had me in pain for days. I decided then I was not going to be the world's first female boxing champ.
The children didn't know anything about Ali. I had to stop the film and explain a lot of things - Sam Cooke, segregation, black muslims, boxing licenses, etc. It was very educational for them. We didn't finish the film, but we will tonight. My biggest quarrel with it is that we don't really see the man as a person, in unguarded moments. It's too much about surfaces, events, and some clever banter. It's not telling me anything about Ali's heart. Too bad, too, because Will Smith is excellent.
We have tall bamboo in our backyard , for privacy, and it was planted by a former owner. It screens us from the neighbors really well, but I HATE the stuff. It pops up little trees all over the yard, all the time. We have to kick them down to prevent a forest back there. Maybe this is where Mike got his first English phrase "I'm gonna kick him up!" which we still laugh about. So one of Michael's birthday gifts is a hatchet. It's a nice one, with a leather hood over the blade that snaps in place. I will try to teach him proper respect for it and to not run around like a maniac. I think he will be OK. I won't have to worry about him cutting off any of his own fingers. He likes cutting. He got outside with me last night and had great fun with some new garden clippers, helping me deadhead our three large rose bushes.
We got a lot of thunder last night and it looked like it would rain but it didn't. Mother said we got a shower there today, though. We need rain, bad. I might have to get out in the yard and do a rain dance. That always works.
