shrimp boil

I love shrimp. Have I ever told you that? I really love shrimp. I like shrimp boiled. I like it fried. I like it broiled. I like shrimp blackened. I like it dipped in cocktail sauce with a lot of horseradish. I like shrimp on top of grits or with french fries. I love shrimp and hushpuppies. I also like a good shrimp boil and have been privileged to eat yummy food from a shrimp boil two different times this summer.

A couple of weeks ago, we drove out to our friend's house that is about 45 minutes away. We arrived to a big tub of ice filled with various drinks. I had been to my photography class that morning so I was practicing fun shots - I think this one was pretty cool! The shrimp boil was delicious - filled with yummy potatoes and little tiny bites of corn. We had oriental slaw as a side. I have never seen anything like what happened though - you know when you are eating outdoors, you usually have to fight off a few flies . . . .but on this night, every single time we uncovered the food, a horde of flies descended. Not just a few would arrive, but hundreds. I'm surprised you can't see someone's arm fanning the food in this picture!!

During the evening, some backyard fishing occurred. If you look really hard and squint your eyes and use your imagination, you can actually see the lake that is behind their house. But these guys weren't lake fishing, they were backyard fishin'! Mark asked Jason to give him some fly fishing lessons. Actually, I think he asked him to critique his fly fishing technique. Mark started whipping that line back and forth and Jason said, "Mark, you are doing it right. I don't think you need any more instruction."

If you look closely in this one, you can see the lake through the trees on the right side of the picture - look closely now.

It was a hot night, but they had ceiling fans underneath the deck. The fans kept a nice gentle breeze blowing but I do remember having some sweat running down the middle of my back!

Here is a picture of Jason in "instructor mode" - fly fisherman extraordinaire!

Jason was a like a magnet for the men that night. They all had to talk about it and discuss it.

Jason is giving some major instructions in this one. He is pointing that finger!!

We all participated in the dinner that night. Mark made his momma's homemade ice cream - the kind where you cook the custard on top of the stove and then chill the mixture overnight and then freeze it in the White Mountain ice cream freezer. He did a great job and it was delicious. Phella made a peach and blueberry cobbler which was also yummy. Nothing says summer like a cobbler with fresh fruit and homemade ice cream! We also had a yummy buffalo chicken dip that Bonnie prepared for our appetizer (it is ALL gone in the pictures!)

This was another of my practice shots with my camera. I think it turned out really cool, too. Donna had seen the Mason jars with candles in a magazine. She added the colored marbles around the base of the candle. I loved the idea so much that I went out and bought some jars (couldn't find Mason - had to buy Ball jars!) and used them last week and I am using them again this week for our centerpieces for our Tuesday night dinner.




While we were sitting outside talking, I could remember being a little kid and sitting on my granny and grandpa Walls screened in front porch. It would be hot like it was on this night. The adults would be talking about all sorts of things - I'm sure they were talking about things that I didn't understand. On this night we sat outside in the heat, slapped at a few mosquitoes, enjoyed the glow of candlelight and the whisper of the ceiling fans and we talked . . .and talked . . .and talked. We laughed a lot, too!! We could hear the cicadas in the woods just like when I was a little girl. What a special night with special friends.