Carson Village, Birmingham, Alabama
For the king of the North (Antiochus III The Great) will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. ~ Daniel 11:13
- In 199BC (18 years after the Battle of Raphia), Antiochus III The Great tried to capture Egypt again. He almost succeeded
I wanted to include a remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day – “A day that will live in infamy” seems to have been nearly forgotten except by those of us who lived it, and those of us in the following generation (like Blaine and I) who were reminded of it often. It’s been 81 years since 2,335 miliary men and women and 68 civilians lost their lives on the tropical island of Hawaii to a surprise air attack by 353 Japanese planes. An additional 1,178 were injured. Two battleships were permanently sunk (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) and 188 planes were destroyed.
For a bit more information, visit:
We’ve been continuing our visit with my brother David, and when we’re not eating, we’re talking about eating. When we’re not talking about what we’ve eaten over the years, we’re planning how to make new food memories. These are the things over which real bonding is achieved. 😊
Because we spent so much time eating large quantities of outstanding cuisine, we also had to exercise at least some of it out of our systems.
One day, while David was working, Blaine and I ventured onto a local path, where he forced me into a 9 ½ mile rails to trails walk. Of course, he didn’t tell me that. And it was actually three miles further than even he was expecting. There was something about that walk that wore us and our pre-arthritic bodies out, making a dose of Aleve at bedtime a necessity.
It all looked like this. : )
And we continued baking and working on various Christmas gifts, as we began preparations to return to our roots and family Christmas.
When December 10th rolled around (that being a Saturday), David suggested a visit to a new park – Double Oak Park. As we were preparing to start out, a couple came towards us warning us that the trail goes straight up – and even more than what we could see from the starting point. They turned around. About halfway up, we were wondering if we should too. I had thought about wearing shorts. I probably should’ve worn shorts (Blaine too!), but I (we) chose not to. I didn’t even wear my pair of jeans that are a size too big, allowing for more ventilation. Why? Because we didn’t know where we were going to stop for dinner afterwards. There’s that food stuff again; dictating even what we wear. 😊 As it turned out, shorts would’ve done it because we spontaneously ended up at Culver’s – our #1 fast food burger joint. Yummm!
It was a good hike, despite being so steep in several places. And we actually felt better after the day’s workout than we did after the rails to trails flat hike!
This hill was STEEP!
Blaine and I revisited the Baptist church on Sunday and we all three decided to take a day of rest. Our final day, Tuesday, we met David after dinner at the place where we began – Casa Fiesta – for what else? Fiesta bowls!
Blaine found the recipe, so we decided to try them. They were fabulous!!!
Recipe at the end of this post.
Wanna take a guess at the year?
1987!
They had a great time!
I finally received the free picture in my email! : )
Wednesday morning, we left on our journey home – right along with a large storm dumping ocean’s of rain. Fun times.
Fortunately, most of it was just regular rain, as opposed to this downpour.
Surprisingly, we didn’t lose any time over it, and arrived on schedule late afternoon at a Drury Inn outside of Cincinnati. Wonderful place to stay! We had their pool and hot tub all to ourselves, and a free dinner followed by free breakfast the next day.
By Thursday afternoon we were moved into the Residence Inn on Arlington Street in Green, Ohio, ready to see family and friends again.
And Blaine informed me there’s to be a white Christmas in Ohio this year! He’s promised me lots of snow next week, so we’ll see!
Family pictures from Kyle’s tribe, as well as more Peter antics. Enjoy!
Parmesan Potatoes
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/2 to 2 pounds of small red potatoes, washed and patted dry
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 ½ T. Italian seasoning
½ t. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for brushing potatoes
Chopped fresh parsley or chives, optional for serving
- Place a 9 x 13 pan in the oven and turn the oven on to 400 F to preheat. When the butter is bubbly, remove the pan and set aside.
- Meanwhile, halve each potato and score the flesh by making a crosshatch pattern about 1/8-inch deep.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- Mix well and add to the pan. Mix with melted butter to form a paste and spread in an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
- Nestle the potatoes cut side down into the cheese and butter mixture. Brush the skins of the potatoes with olive oil, season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.
- Place the pan in the oven to bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender with a crispy crust.
- Remove potatoes from the pan and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the cheese to set. Top with parsley or chives, if you like, and serve.