That’s my niece, capturing the excitement of our road trip to Mom’s.
Hello, everybody… I’m back! My week-long visit to Mom’s was most excellent. I picked up Big Sis and her daughter in Dallas and we beat cheeks north to avoid the thunderstorms that chased me from Houston all the way to Mom’s. From my door to Mom’s is about 9 to 10 hours, which made for a long drive, but it allowed us to get an early jump on Saturday morning. To add to our excitement, Sister #4 drove up from Dallas late Friday night to join us for our first weekend because in our family, the more = the merrier.
Saturday morning started with a trip to the farmers market in Fort Smith, which totally blew my mind. The variety and quality we found was shocking and wonderful, and this from someone who visits farmers markets in Houston and Austin. I’m telling you, these folks weren’t messing around. We hit that market like we were preparing for the apocalypse and ate like kings off our bounty for an entire week. We had bags upon bags of field peas, carrots, kale, squash, heirloom tomatoes, okra, Asian eggplants, honey, homemade bread and more. In fact, Big Sis and I ended up bringing some goodies home. She ended up with kale, carrots and assorted other veg. I brought back peaches, blackberries, blueberries and Thai bird chilies. Win/win all the way.
We also hit a vintage flea market at the fairgrounds and picked up a few great pieces for great prices. I bought vintage kitchen utensils and pans for blog props (of course), including an antique cake comb for my friend and fellow blogger Anne of From My Sweet Heart. She should be getting that box any day now. Then it was on to Van Buren for lunch and more antiquing. So fun!
Overall, our week consisted of way too much really good food, including that Blackberry Cake I made for Berry Week. It died a noble death. We also whipped up a few cocktails, got in a few rounds of croquet when the oppressive Oklahoma heat wasn’t trying to kill us, played more than a few board games chased with a few rounds of Mexican Train dominoes, and tackled some crafting. (I tried to crochet but failed miserably.) There were also visits from our Baby Sister and her son as well as a day spent with our oldest niece. Mostly, our week can be summed up as: we spent our week running Mom ragged by dragging her to every antique and quilt shop within a 100 mile radius. And it was glorious.
Here are a few snaps of our week in the country.
Typical sunset over Mom’s place in rural eastern Oklahoma.
One of the many cottontail bunnies that live in Mom’s yard and terrorize her attempts at gardening. It’s a good thing they’re cute.
Mom’s yard is covered in althea bushes – nicknamed Rose of Sharon.
Mockingbird eggs – there were four in that nest by the time we left.
A day trip to White Rock Mountain for a picnic lunch.
Mom at the overlook gate at White Rock Mountain. I’m comin’, Ma!
Mom, Big Sis & my niece checking out the cliffs at White Rock Mountain.
34 miles to Fort Smith, Arkansas where we spent our formative years.
Big Sis & my niece check out the treacherous drop at the overlook.
A peck of perfect peaches from Poteau, Oklahoma. Gorgeous!
What to do with a peck of perfect peaches? Preserve!
There was much, much more to our week – most of which I did not photograph because I was too busy enjoying it. We took a day trip to Eureka Springs, which was lovely and included a stop at an old favorite – Bubba’s Barbeque.
Nothing says pulled pork like the pink pig at Bubba’s. Photo taken by Big Sis & used with her permission.
In the end, we had a lovely week and were thoroughly exhausted by the time we all got home; I can only imagine how tired Mom must have been. We totally wreaked havoc on her quiet country life for an entire week, but we had such fun doing it. We did it all – from feeding fruit to the cows to playing croquet with the bunnies. Our hearts and stomachs were full, even if our wallets were significantly lighter after all that shopping. Still, it was so worth it.
Since my niece kicked off this story, I’ll let her finish it. Even though she’ll most likely be horrified. Sorry, K. When you pose around a blogger, things happen.
The End.
Inside NanaBread's Head 