Saturday, May 14, 2022

Minding My Peas and (Barbe)Cues


That may well be some of the last of the green peas. I have enjoyed them so much this year. Sweet as candy. Delicious cooked or raw. Mr. Moon has even eaten some and he really does not like peas. But it's hard not to like these. 

Our evening with Owen was lovely. We watched the British Bake Off while we ate our chicken parm which he claimed was even better than his mama's but I doubt that. Lily is an excellent cook. The chocolate ice cream was just ridiculously good. He helped me get the ice cream maker all set up and ready to go. He is just a very fine young man. He was tired after supper and took his shower and got in his bed and I kissed him good night and that was that. 

This morning we had our pancakes and then the three of us played Yahtzee. I'm glad I got that game out the other day. I'd forgotten how fun it is. Owen won today, of course. I felt so grandparent-ish, playing a game like that with him. We met up with Lily and the other two kids after that at the Hilltop for lunch. 



There was some sort of craft fair going on down the road and there's also a motorcycle thing happening in Tallahassee and even at 1:30 the place was crowded. It's not a big place and I couldn't deal with all the people waiting for their orders so I went outside and vultured the people eating at the tables there in order to snag one for our crowd. 


It's set up oddly. On the left there, you can see the few shelves of convenience store groceries they carry but their main business is the selling of food made to order. You stand at the counter and look at the two huge chalkboards and one white board with menu items, make your choice, order, and then wait. For quite awhile, usually. You can get everything there from subs to salads to fish dinners to shrimp po'boys to barbecue to Reubens to Cubans. The side orders range from the usual cole slaws and french fries to fried okra, green beans, fried green tomatoes, potato salad, onion rings and so forth. There is also a cold case with cakes and pies. 
When you get your food, they call your name and you go collect a styrofoam box with an order ticket on it and you take that and your drink (they have excellent iced tea) up to the counter and pay and then you can either take it with you or find a seat. 
The food is not very healthy nor is it fantastic but it is food and generally good and there is a grand variety of it and it's the only place to get food between Tallahassee and Monticello. 
For now, anyway. I imagine things will be changing. 
There are always workers of every kind there along with hunters, fishermen, sheriffs in their full regalia, families who are treating themselves to a meal out, folks just driving the backroads for sightseeing, people who don't have time to cook, and, today, lots of motorcycle riders. Like the Wacissa river, like a watering hole in the Serengeti, like the DMV, it is a place where all gather peacefully. Today Patsy Cline was playing on the sound system and the man running the cash register was singing the words to "Crazy" right along with Patsy. I had a pork barbecue sandwich which was delicious and a side of coleslaw which was definitely made in-house and was actually incredibly good.

I know I've written about the Hilltop before but it's a part of the local color and it's also a part of our lives. 

Everything seems to be fine in chicken world. I saw Darla and her kids taking a dirt bath today, wallowing down into the soil of the kitchen garden and it was too cute, watching those babies sift the gritty dirt through their little wings. I saw one stand up to his full hight and I really cannot believe how much they've grown in such a short time. 

It poured rain here for a very short amount of time yesterday evening and today has been the more beautiful for it. Everything as green as it can possibly be, the birds happy, Daddy cardinals feeding their young on the feeder, and the sun still luminous and not yet a burning coal in the blue, blue sky yet. 
It'll get there but for now, it's all pretty much a joy. 

Love...Ms. Moon




20 comments:

  1. I love the sound of Hilltop. Unpretentious, comfortable, my speed.

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    1. Not one molecule of pretension. Trust me.

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  2. I absolutely love how different and delicious regional coleslaws are. The one sure thing a vegetarian can always find at a bbq stand. Not anonymous it’s me Rebecca.

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    1. This was excellent coleslaw. Crispy cabbage and not too heavy on the sugar or mayonnaise. Just nice. Barbecue joints aren't famous for their veg cuisine but the Hilltop has plenty for all! Fried okra, for example.

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  3. yes, Hilltop sounds good, local, interesting! Haven't played Yahtzee in 40 years.....may have to try it again? Glad Owen visit good, I knew it would be. I'm testy today because it's still 91 degrees at 5pm......I am NOT happy. Fans going....... cripes. I'm not a Floridian.......but even us Cali. people *get* it periodically and for me, NOT fun at all. I droop and sag in this heat with no motivation whatsoever. A slug. Have managed to make a salad and making sandwiches (no cooking) for din. Ugh
    Susan M

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    1. I like Yahtzee because there is some strategy involved and yet, luck has its way with you too. I hope you have air conditioning. That sounds horrible. 90 degrees is damn hot.

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  4. That Owen is a good karma child. What am I saying? Young man!

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    1. Young man, indeed. I know his voice will start breaking here soon and that's going to kill me.

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  5. My hubby and I like places like the Hilltop. I looked it up on the map. It's near Letchworth Love Mounds which sounded positively sinful until I looked it up, still interesting though:)

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    1. Yes! We've been to Letchworth several times. It's a nice place for a picnic. I think if you do a search for it on my blog you can find some pictures.

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  6. A wonderful evening followed by a perfect day. What more could anyone possibly want? I watched a bird taking a bath just yesterday, but water not sand or dirt. He/she spent almost five minutes dipping in and out of the water dish, splashing about.

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    1. We watched a mama cardinal bathing in the bird bath today. Why is that so thrilling? They're so graceful about it, for one thing.

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  7. Glad you had fun with Owen.
    You describe things for us so well! Thanks for that!

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  8. "Crazy" might be one of the best records ever made.

    Glad you had a good visit with Owen! And yeah, if that development gets built in Lloyd at the Interstate, I'm betting some fast food will go in there. The Hilltop will lose its status as the only food place between Tally and Monticello, but it won't lose its charm.

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    1. I remember my friend Spencer Bohren used to call Patsy Cline one of the greatest blues singers of all times. He was right, too. Nobody better at what she did.
      No. The Hilltop won't lose it's charm but I bet it'll lose a lot of customers when they start putting in the fast food crapstations.

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  9. Such a good visit with Owen, the one who named you Mer Mer. He's growing beautifully.

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    1. Yes. My grandmother name giver. He's MY boy, that one. Always precious to me.

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  10. I'm jealous of your rain. We had a ½" or less in April and none so far in May. The ground is cracking. I'm having to water something in the yard every day and somethings every day.

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  11. Oh god, Ellen. We're getting more rain this afternoon. I am thinking of you and feeling so bad for your drought.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.