Saturday, February 23, 2019

Even More Adventures. Plus, Recipes


Mr. Moon and I drove up to south Georgia today to go and look for a few pieces of furniture that we sort of need and never get around to buying and just to get out of the house and take a little trip. We went to Moultrie, Georgia first which is one of the small towns that we knew had antique stores. To get there we drove through farm lands and little wide spots in the road and past pecan groves and planted pines and old, old houses and newer houses and mobile homes and barns. Sometimes I just have to wonder out loud, "Where do these people buy their groceries?" They seem so far from any sort of civilization.
But Moultrie is a real town with shops and motels and restaurants and businesses and a downtown area and we found a nice enough antique store but it did nothing for us. The county courthouse there did impress me, though.


A typical southern county courthouse. It's like someone said, "Let's make it fancy and like ancient Greece! Or Rome!" 
And then they just went crazy with eras and styles and design. Gotta love it. 

We drove on to Tifton, a little farther up the road where I took that picture of the old movie theater downtown. I really love the space-age ornament thing at the top. I guess it's now a performance space. Which is good.

We found a nice antique store there with beautiful old things, most of which I'd gladly have in a house of mine and also, I found this lamp and it's mate.


I learned from the tag on another lamp like it in the store that it's an Italian Capodimonte lamp and I don't know if you remember but a while back I bought a lamp very, very much like it at the Wag The Dog thrift store in Monticello. Here's mine. 


I'd seen it there and somehow felt it was something special and besides, it appealed to my sense of ridiculous style, which is to say, no real style at all. I asked Jessie if I should buy it and she laughed and said, "No." 
But again, as with the purse, I couldn't stop thinking about it and I drove back the next day and bought it for maybe, what? Twelve dollars? Seventeen dollars? I don't know. But it would appear that it's worth a bit more than that. Not Antiques Roadshow worthy but nice to know. I'm going to do a little research on it because I'm interested and I'd like to know what I have there. 
Mr. Moon bought a little coffee table thing there to put his TV on because what it's been on is taller than he wants it to be and then we went to lunch at a casual little place where we were the last customers before they closed up for the day and because of that, the owner asked us if we'd like to take home some fried chicken because they have to throw that out and he can't stand to waste food and we said, "Sure!" 
That, too, is what the south is like. 

We went to one more antique store and the smell of potpourri was so strong I almost just turned around and walked out but we were there so we looked around and actually found a small, square, solid coffee table for the library that I do sorely need for favorite books and puzzles. It's quite close to the ground so the children will like that. It needs cleaning up and it sorely needs a rug under it but one step at a time. 


And we also bought two very light old chairs that are small enough not to take up much room but will come in quite handy when the whole family is here. There are never enough chairs. 

So that was a good day and by then we were exhausted and drove on back to Lloyd. 


The sky looked like this. 

And now we're home and I'm going to make us a little supper of a salad and some clam spaghetti, my favorite go-to quick, cheat meal. Here's my recipes. 

Clam Spaghetti

Get two cans of minced clams. Open them. 
Saute a good-sized onion in a skillet with some olive oil and maybe some butter if you feel celebratory or wild. Maybe a little smushed garlic, too. While you're doing this, start a pot of water for your pasta. When the onions are soft, throw the clams and their juice into the skillet with the onions. Add a little oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Put a lid on it and set it on low, low simmer. Cook your pasta. I like angel hair. Drain, serve the clam sauce over it. 
Done. 

Salad With Mandarin Oranges 

Start with very good salad greens. Any will do but if you have arugula to use either alone or with other greens, that's the best. Wash and put them in your salad bowls. Open a can of mandarin orange sections in light syrup. It's better if they've been chilled. Drain the juice into a bowl and divide the oranges onto the greens as generously as you feel you want to be. Sprinkle with toasted sunflower seeds. Make a dressing with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and some of the reserved juice from the oranges. Mix it up good. If you want it sweeter, add a little sugar. I won't judge you. 

There you go. Enjoy. 

Love...Ms. Moon




17 comments:

  1. that is my idea of a perfect day.If Mr. Man ever went antique shopping with me it would have to be as a dead guy and I would have to carry him. Love the table!

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    1. Well, you can mark this shopping trip down on the calendar because it rarely happens here either. For some reason, shopping for antiques is not that horrific for Mr. Moon. I'm glad because I'd hate to kill him and could not possibly carry him.

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  2. Very like my clam sauce, but I sauté some mushrooms with the onion and garlic, add some bottled clam juice and white wine and toss some chopped Italian parsley on top. Angel hair or vermicelli, nothing any thicker.
    Margaret

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    1. Sounds wonderful! I've fooled around with my basic recipe but I always come back to this most basic version. It's just my favorite.

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  3. sounds like a successful day and some good purchases. I've been thinking about rearranging my living room.

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    1. Rearranging furniture used to be a joy of mine. Now, for some reason, I just don't. Maybe because in most of my rooms the furniture is in the only places it could be without just being really weird.

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  4. My kinda day. My sister and I used to do this all the time. Then her husband retired. Maybe I'll start weaning her away. It is so satisfying to fill in the chinks with good pieces!

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  5. I love that your lamp is a identifiable!

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    1. Me too, Jo! Gives me new appreciation for it.

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  6. I have never been to that part of Georgia, but I remember once in Tampa getting an FM radio signal from Tifton, which I thought was just insane. I think I actually called the station to tell them I was receiving it so far away. It doesn't sound very dramatic in this age of Internet radio but back then it was unusual. Something about the atmosphere, I guess!

    It's cool to hear your lamp is something fancy! Tell us more about it!

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    1. That's so funny! I bet you WERE amazed to get a signal from Tifton. I think it's pretty amazing that Tifton had a radio station.
      I'm trying to learn about the lamp. Not finding a whole lot of definitive information on mine in particular.

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  7. I used to make a clam sauce spaghetti very like that for my kids. They loved it.


    I can't believe you have azaleas already! They are a true sign of spring.

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    1. My kids now inform me that they didn't like the clam sauce so much.
      Poor things. I used to make it a lot.
      Yep. The azaleas are busting out.

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  8. That salad sounds nice, and so simple. My style. I keep pretending I have gone off picking up stuff at thrift shops etc. but it's remarkable how often I find myself going into them. I think it's the thrill of never knowing quite what you're going to find - perhaps something you never even dreamed existed in your whole life!

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    1. Yes, Jenny! That's it exactly- the titillating possibility of a treasure. It rarely happens but when it does it is so thrilling.

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  9. I love that you and your love have these adventures. You definitely netted some treasure, material and otherwise.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.