Fried Green Tomatoes -- well, not quite . . . .

A beautiful yellow squash grown by my good friend Nancy covered for the green tomatoes.  Sliced into half inch rounds and liberally salted, it began sweating while I prepared the rest of the essential ingredients.

An egg and about a half cup of milk (should've been buttermilk for true Southern tradition) in a bowl, flour mixed with cajun seasoning on a plate and cornmeal and Panko bread crumbs on another plate

the stage was set.  After wiping beads of moisture from the salted surfaces, the dipping and dredging began.  First the flour/cajun seasoning mixture, then the egg/milk, then the bread crumb/cornmeal and then

into the hot oil in a big skillet.  What a delicious meal with a green salad and a glass of Merlot!  Who knew  fried yellow squash could taste so good!

Here's a little guilty secret:  I made a crepe from the leftover egg/milk and flour and rolled it up with blackberries.  It was very ugly but the very first bite confirmed my hunch:  the combination of salt, spice and sweet along with all the little crispy debris was sensational!

Unfinished Painting and Pre-holiday Musings

Two hours of sifting and sorting through notes from previous Thanksgivings, making shopping lists and detailing those items that must be transported from the Seattle house (having breakfast at the same time), then looking for the cranberry relish recipe that used to be on the cranberry bag and researching the perfect method for roasting the turkey -- whew!  I just want to get back to my paintings now.  The painting is going well, especially the last thing I did last night -- loosely brushing in the beginnings of trees against a luminous background.  This sort of effect tends to get lost as the painting gets finished.  This time will be different! (I hope.)  

Now, if I can just tear myself away from this comfy couch with the view of birds on the suet, hummingbirds at their feeder and the soft light on the Sound, I might get some work done before it's time to get ready for my 2 o'clock shift at the gallery.  Oh, today the Dish Network is sending out a repair man.  We have "drift" and no TV since Thursday night.  We miss trouble free cable TV.  Comcast is getting closer but hasn't reached our road yet.  This is a very slight and really inconsequential flaw in "country living" and the only one I can think of so far.  Even heating with a wood stove, lots of work, is satisfying.  Yesterday we went up in the woods and sawed up parts of a big tree, maybe a wild cherry, that had been down maybe since last year. We hauled out four wheelbarrow loads of fire wood.  It really was enjoyable working in the woods in the fresh air.