I ran across the first book in what is known as "The Mitford Series" a few years ago at a yard sale and I was hooked from page one. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading these books, I highly recommend them.
The main character that links the books is Father Tim, rector of Lord's Chapel in Mitford, a small little town in the mountains of North Carolina. Father Tim is a sixty year old bachelor who has served the town for twelve years and is yearning for more to his life. And he gets it in spades in the very first chapter of the book as a huge black dog decides that he will make Father Tim his new owner! He is followed by the introduction of a very attractive new neighbor just next door and a boy who is in need of a home and love.
The town is full of characters from Emma the church secretary to Uncle Billy who always has a joke to tell. Getting to know all the townspeople is half the fun of reading the books. I kept comparing them to people I have known through the years.
This is a Christian series and that is reflected in Father Tim's ministry to his parish and the abundance of prayer and references to scripture, but I never felt I was being preached to throughout the nine books. The spirituality was more like a warm hug and fit well within the text.
There was love, pain, a little mystery, comfort and lots of laughs within the pages and I never finished one book without wanting desperately to begin the next. And there was enough food talk within the pages of the original books that author, Jan Karon, actually wrote a cookbook which featured the recipes for items prepared in them.
You can go to www.mitfordbooks.com and click on "First Chapters" and then "At Home in Mitford" and read the first chapter of the book.
What ever happened to the Chinese restaurant of decades past? The ones where you go in and are seated at a round table with a turn-table in the middle?
They offer pots of hot tea and glasses of sweet plum wine. There is a bowl of fried noodles and another with sweet and sour sauce to dip them in and they never bring enough.
There are appetizers galore, but the kids love the PuPu Platter with its little hibachi and the varied selection of delicacies.
And the soups? My husband and I loved this little place that had the best house soup with well seasoned chicken broth, big pink shrimp, and just the right amount of vegetables! It was so good and we took it for granted!
And the restaurant that was just a few blocks from our old house...the one that taught us about Chinese cuisine back when we were in our 20's and had only heard of a handful of Chinese dishes? We eventually tried every item on their menu from Fong Wong Chicken...a favorite of mine with a piece of ham wrapped in the middle of a chicken breast, dipped and fried, then sliced and served with a wonderful sauce and vegetables!...to the whole fish that was dipped and fried and served whole on the platter. The waiter tried to convince us not to order it but we defied him and loved it!
There were several of these restaurants around the city including more than a few just on the south side that were convenient to us. And now they are gone!
All that remains are the Egg Roll Kings and the buffets and they are just not the same!
We searched the internet, the phone book, and even drove by several of our old haunts and they were closed...closed...closed! So sad!
Our older daughter and son-in-law took us to one that still exists on the east side a few months ago and it was pure nostalgia walking in and seeing the old decor and the original menus! Truth be told there was a lot of dust and the building was in need of a few updates! But the food...down to the fried noodles and sauce...were a sweet trip down memory lane.
I suppose people prefer the buffets and quick Americanized carry outs or they wouldn't be the fashion, but I wish someone had been able to preserve a few more of the PuPu Platter joints! Just for old times sake!
Yesterday was much too hot for yard sales and it is raining steadily here this morning, so I will have to amuse myself in other ways. My husband took a second week of vacation so we've had a week of his being home after his week away for his Canada fishing trip.
He has plenty of vacation days coming each year so I don't know why we've never put two weeks together before. But, let me say this...it has been good for him. He actually slept until 8 this morning and has had a chance to really relax and shift his mind and body away from the work routine.
We have had a chance to do some things that we've put off for a while like getting a new set of tires put on the Trail Blazer along with an oil change and general servicing. Gotta take care of it...don't know when the next new vehicle is likely to make an appearance in our "we're getting perilously close to complete retirement" budget!
We've been debating buying a new television for a long time but our old one has been such a reliable friend that the thought of a bigger screen and better picture just wasn't enough to lure us in, but we finally took the plunge this week after The Husband struck it rich at the Wheel of Fortune at the local casino! A thousand bucks just fell into our hands and we made a bee-line for the door before we could reinvest our windfall! It just seemed like it was meant to be so we bought a 40" RCA with HD and 1080 something or other and now we just have to figure out how to hook it up so we can see all those warts and bad complexions we've been promised with the new televisions!
The old trusty model will go in another room for the grandkids to watch while they are here. Spongebob needs his own space! I am nearly certain that moving it will break its spirit and its days will be numbered, but we will see.
Word broke this week that my favorite race driver will drive only a limited schedule next year...as I have suspected...and will devote more time to being a team owner. It is a sad announcement for me, but he has had a really long career as a driver and it is probably time to hang up the helmet and fire suit! Martin Truex, Jr. will be driving the 56 NAPA car beginning next year and I will have to see if my heart will make the jump to a new face in the NAPA car.
Things never stay the same and we have to be flexible enough to embrace the new and shed the old.
I don't think I've cooked a meal at home all week and I really need to get back into the kitchen and put some fresh vegetables and fruits on our plates. As good as restaurant meals can be, they do tend to feature the same meat, potato, and salad routine that gets a little stale after a few days! We have our own cucumbers and a few tomatoes that we've been picking and snacking on so we haven't gone completely without veg, but we do need to step it up. I like to eat as close to WW Core as I can through the summer just for health's sake.
Have a fantastic weekend, Blogger Buddies! Hope the sun is shining where you are!
