Tomorrow!  I can't wait to see San Francisco.  It will be my first time there and only the second time to visit California.  Then, we're on to Yosemite.  We hope to catch the July 4th celebration in the park...  See 'ya later!

I've been called for jury duty soon and I don't care what anyone says, I don't like it.  I always get picked.  Not that I can't decide what is right or wrong, but being forced to doesn't seem like the right answer.  I don't wanna...

Chicken in Reisling with carrots and potatoes

Rick's choice... Chicken in Reisling Wine, braised with leeks (lots of leeks), shallots, butter and a touch of fresh lemon juice.  The carrots cooked with the chicken, but the new potatoes were cooked separately and tossed with fresh parsley and salt and pepper.  It was good, good enough that I kept nibbling on the chicken long after I shouldn't have.  However, I agree with Rick who said it not memorable enough.  I liked all of it including our first-time-ever-eating leeks (liked, not loved), but would if I could, I would use chicken broth instead of wine and I'm not sure about the leeks.  I'd probably like onions better.  Now, we've got a southern dish I could learn to love.   

Shrimp With Shallot-Tarragon Sauce Over Wilted Spinach

Father's Day lunch was another gourmet success for the Lewis family.  Shrimp with Shallot-Tarragon Sauce served over Wilted Spinach was my choice.  Beaty joined us for the feast and we all remarked how we could taste so many different flavors, such as...shallots, fresh Texas tarragon (from my garden), parsley, lemon and ginger.  Butter and sweet cream were added at the end to thicken the sauce.  The fresh baby spinach leaves were cooked all of 30 seconds in a little olive oil and fresh lemon juice and had more flavor than that awful spinach souffle I tried a while back.  Baked potatoes, fruit salad and our famous, Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding with Chocolate Chunks filled out the menu.  Happy Father's Day, darling.  You are a great father.

My own dad?  Sadly, I lost my father in 1976.  Click Here to see a picture of him on my sister Carla's site.  I think she does a great job posting beautiful pictures and I love this one of dad.  He retired down there and had a ball living on the coast.  Just sorry he didn't have but a few years of the easy life.  He too was a great father... four daughters... shudder... he was always outnumbered.  Happy Father's Day...Dad.  Love 'ya.       

May Peppers

I love seeing my ornamental peppers bloom.  They add great color to the garden and can take a lot of heat... something crucial these days.  

May Flowers

Another view of my patio flowers.  The purple petunias surprised me this year...I didn't expect them. 

The yellow bougainvillea is called California Gold.

Probably everybody finds a penny on the ground once in a while like I do.  I figure whoever dropped it knew that it was just a penny and they let it go.  And, even though I don't believe in superstitions, each time I pick one up, the phrase "See a penny, pick it up and all day long you'll have good luck", goes through my head.  Well, maybe my luck has finally gotten better because the last three times I found a coin on the ground, it was either a nickel or a dime.  Inflation gets everyone, I guess.

What did we have for our last gourmet meal?....  Tournedos of Beef with Bernaise Sauce.  We found a new meat market (Meat Masters on Fry Road) that has some wonderful cuts of beef.  We actually purchased two very thick filets and decided to cook them that way instead of the smaller tournedo cuts.  We wrapped them in bacon and cooked them in butter......wow.  They were so tender and tasted so good.  The bernaise sauce was made from scratch and again...wow...so much flavor.  It came out perfectly.  To that we added some fresh green beans almondine and the meal was fantastic.  I could only eat half of my steak, so Rick had the leftovers for lunch the next day.  Still good, he said.

Doug and Stephanie invited us over for desert afterwards and a game of 42 (dominoes).  Homemade (soft) strawberry ice cream with a strawberry cake to go with it...yummm.  I love strawberries.  Believe it or not, I've lost 5 pounds recently and still haven't put it back on in spite of these gourmet meals.  Yeah!  This week is my choice and I don't have a clue yet what I want.  Perhaps I should think of some of the other meat that store has, such as ostrich or buffalo.  Hmmm... doesn't really sound like my style.  Okay, maybe some more shrimp! 

Rainbow

Caught this the other day while watering my backyard...

Okay, I cheated and used Epicurious.com's picture for this one because I forgot to take pictures as we were cooking... but they would've been just as beautiful!  Honest.  My choice for our gourmet dinner this week was... Chicken and Shrimp Kebabs with Lemon & Garlic, plus a tangy Tomato-Advocado Salsa to dip it in.  It was a very good choice on my part.  Nice flavors...nothing too strong, yet it held its own.  I let the meat marinade for about a half hour before I fired up my grill and then cooked them quickly over the flames.  This dish gets my vote for ease and flavor. 

Key West collection

I'm so jealous.  My sister Nonie and her husband got to go to Key West.  Look at how much fun they had...  Oh well, good for you, girl.  I like EJ's new pirate girlfriend there...  ;)

I'm actually going to get to go to the beach for a little vacation myself thanks to Rick.  For Mother's day he made reservations for us to stay in Corpus Christi, right on the beach (on the bay), for two nights and on the first night we will get to see Ron White in concert at the Selena Auditorium.  I'm really looking forward to it.  (It won't be for a couple of months yet.)

Just before that, Rick and I will get the opportunity to go to San Francisco for one night, and then we'll spend three nights in exciting Mariposa, Ca. with our days spent wandering through nearby Yosemite National Park.  We owe someone a great big thank you for making this trip possible.  I'm so anxious to see San Francisco (for the first time) before it falls into the ocean!  Just kidding...