Driving Mr. Ned

So, as it turns out, my cousin Nancy called this morning and collected Mother at 11 AM for a day at the lake, so Ned and I skipped brunch and came straight home. As Nancy got in her car with mother and my aunt, who isn't too far from being in about the same fix, I said, "Go with God" and I meant it. She'll be slap worn out by the time she goes to bed tonight. Ned only asked about the cat and dog twice and then let it go. He didn't even talk to himself about it as we made the hour drive down the country road. I was amazed...

He IS a bit fixated on the selling of the house in Hometown...he and Hank are out in the pool and I'm pretty sure that's what they're discussing for the umpteenth time. He says he'd like to go back and "rake the yard one more time" and "take sleeping bags and spend the night." Considering he's never raked a day in his life, much less slept on anything other than a Serta Perfect Sleeper or some such mattress, he must REALLY want to go. We're playing it down...I don't think it would be a good idea.

I've fixed one of Ned's favorite meals for supper. BBQ chicken, rice, butter beans, and potato salad, with chocolate ice cream for desert. I'm using my grandmother's chicken recipe, which is really more of a smothered chicken cooked in the oven but she always called it BBQ chicken. It isn't Hank's favorite as he's more of a grill it kind of guy, so I only fix it when we're feeding Ned. The men (yes, Hank and Ned) are going to eat an early lunch here tomorrow (Grandmama's spaghetti sauce recipe...nothing Italian about it) then they're going over to the farm for the afternoon. I'm staying home. YAY!

I do want to tell you about the potato salad. My aunt Zoie made the best and I've tried to replicate it for years...just can do it, even though I know exactly what's in it. Potatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, onion and bell pepper. Today I did a switch up and the end result is DELICIOUS! I caramelized the onion, and threw in the diced pepper for the last five minutes. OH MY GOSH...I wish you could taste it.

Ta ta for now!