Sunday Stealing

Yay - Bev is back! She had some formatting problems today but hopefully, will be back to 100% soon. You can check out her blog and those participating at Sunday Stealing.

1. What did you do today? I did a long weekend recap but on Sunday, we got up at our regular 5:00 a.m. I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes, showered, got ready (including make-up . . .I’m terrible about wearing it during the week), worked the Welcome Desk at church, went to the second half of early worship, went to Sunday School, went to my mother-in-law’s for a big lunch with family, made taco soup for my lunches, read a little, watched one episode of The Americans and one of Rookie, and blogged.

2. 5 things about where you live. I live in the south and am southern through and through. I live in a great neighborhood (still do even though we can’t live in our house BUT we are in an apartment nearby). I have amazing neighbors. We have more warm days than cold days. It is only a four hour drive to the Gulf of Mexico and amazing beaches.

3. What are the must-sees sights around you? Alabama’s gulf coast is gorgeous. Here in town we have a decent zoo, a lovely botanical gardens, a really cool statue called Vulcan and some really amazing places to eat. The greater Birmingham area is a foodie paradise.

4. What’s your favorite restaurant meal? I order shrimp a lot. I love a good restaurant baked potato. The thing I eat most often in restaurants would be a salad and if I can add grilled shrimp . . .all the better! If I didn’t have to watch my weight, my favorite restaurant meal would be from a meat and three – country fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, and some sort of veggie like green beans.

5. What was the last thing you cooked or ate? I just ate homemade cornbread and a little bowl of soup.

6. What is something you learned from your grandparents. My grandparents have been dead so long that I don’t remember learning anything from them. I do think it is cool that my daddy’s mother (Granny) was a Methodist and I’ve been a United Methodist almost all of my adult life.

7. What’s the weather like as you are writing your postcard? I would want it to be sunny with blue skies and the sound of waves in the background . . .and I would write “wish you were here.” If I were writing from right now, it would be cloudy and humid with some rain!

8. Share an interesting fact that you’ve learned, and which most people are not aware of. On Wednesday nights, we feed about 400 people at our Wednesday night suppers at church. We have a chef but sometimes extra help is needed in the church kitchen so some of us help for 30 minutes to an hour on Wednesday afternoons. If you make soup (or anything hot) that you need to refrigerate fairly quickly after cooking . . .and it is still hot . . .you need to make an ice bath and sit your container of soup in the ice bath to get the temperature to drop before refrigerating. Otherwise you run the risk of bacteria growing in the soup and causing food born illness!

8. Are there any local events or festivals in your area? I’ve seen lots of signs for fall festivals. Our church had Art in the Lot on Saturday. Our neighborhood used to host two amazing events – The Moss Rock art festival (they moved the location during covid and didn’t move back) and we used to have a great Jazz night (not sure why we don’t have that anymore). The Bluff Park Art Show happens the first Saturday of October every year and people come from all over.

9. What was the last concert you attended? I don’t even remember the last real concert I attended. I guess the last concert at all was the last Jazz Festival we had in our neighborhood and it has been several years ago (pre-covid).

10. What is your favorite charitable organization? Since we are church goers, most of our giving goes to our church. If you aren’t familiar, most Christians are encouraged to give 10% of their income to help others. Our church does TONS of stuff to help others so the money goes to lots of places. Over the years, I’ve given to Susan Komen foundation (breast cancer) and to St. Jude Hospital and I’m sure I’ve given to a few other things, too.