Saturday, June 25, 2016

Special Whiskey

For as long as I've known Toby, he's had this bottle of  JD Bicentennial Whiskey tucked away.


Over the years, I would randomly come across it and lustily ask him when we were going to drink it. He's always responded in the same way.....On a very special occasion.

The other day I was craving something harder than my usual nightly glass or two of wine. I tend to want to drink for self-entertainment when I get bored of my family or my daily, mundane routines.

I remembered the whiskey hiding away somewhere in the closet, and told Skye the story of the whiskey bottle. She asked me why we hadn't drank it when she was born. I guess she figured her entrance into the world was a special enough occasion to drink  the special whiskey.

In reality, there have been a few special occasions the whiskey could have been drank, but there it still hides, tucked away in the closet, sealed in it's original packaging.

At this point, I'm not so sure it would be safe to drink.

On another note, I want to tell you about something I got a little excited about recently.

For awhile now, I've been interested in wild edibles. My sister-in-law sparked my interested years ago, when she would come visit and point out different plant edibles growing wild, tell me the name of it, how it was used, and sometimes even sample it. I was intrigued because I like free food, and I'm always interested in adding extra nutrition into my morning smoothies.

Not long ago, I came across an article about purslane describing it's nutritional value and it's ability to prevent cancer. Many times I have picked these "weeds" out of my yard. The stuff grows like wildfire around here. Once I found out how special this "weed" was, I began to keep my eye out for it.

I walk out one morning, and lo and behold, there it is conveniently growing right in my garden!


The best part about it, is it grows fast and it's super easy to propagate it. I just pick some fresh off the plant every morning and throw it in our smoothies. I've become a very seasoned smoothie drinker. I add a little bit of everything...broccoli, purslane, parsley, basil, mint, celery, cilantro, tumeric, ginger, most any kind of greens and a dash of whatever fruit I have on hand to sweeten it up.

Now that the spring rains are gone, we've had some pretty nice sunsets recently.....





This little guy built his web right at our front porch exit. We have to duck, just to miss it when we walk out...


Now that Skye is older and not interested  in doing any of things Toby and I enjoy anymore, we've been taking the time to enjoy our weekly "dates" as a couple. We mostly love going downtown and walking around, then stopping in for a Purple 'Rita, or going to Elgin for their Sip and Stroll. Last week we went to Barton Creek to hang out on the flats....


I could have stayed here all day long. I much prefer the clean, crisp spring water than I do the ocean any day. There is no shame in Austin either. There were a couple of gals down there (most likely college chicks) enjoying the freedom of topless swimming.


Here's a little clip of the creek....


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