Category Archives: de rebus familiaribus

Scenes from an East Texas 4th of July

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Watermelon lady Maria gets her melons from Pitkin, Louisiana, where the sandy subsoil and high potassium content are ideal for the cultivation of tasty watermelons, she said.

This sweet lady made her patriotic vest herself.

We saw this license plate on our way over to Port Arthur. Translation: “Oklahoma University girl.”

Tracie P and I went bowling with nephew Brady to celebrate his birthday (4th of July).

Purple hull peas, cooked with okra and served over crumbled cast-iron-skillet-fired corn bread was the highlight of dinner at Uncle Tim and aunt Ida Jean’s house on Cow Bayou. I had two servings of Tim’s award-winning potato salad.

Sunset on Cow Bayou. I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th!

On deck for tomorrow: the origins of the word “bric” and “bricco.” Stay tuned…

Rev. B’s birthday and the BEST chocolate cake

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Yesterday, we celebrated Rev. B’s 60th birthday in Orange, Texas, where Tracie P grew up, on the Lusiana [sic] border. All the Johnson and Branch families were there, all the children, the Croakers and even the Manascos were there, too.

Mrs. B made homemade chili for DELICIOUS chili dogs and all the fixings for perfectly sized hamburger patties.

Tracie P made what everyone said was the BEST chocolate cake ever (and it was), now our official family chocolate cake recipe (if you’re real nice, maybe I could be convinced to share the recipe).

Jason M’s key lime pie — made with 20 key limes — was pretty spectacular, too. He made it fresh, just for us. It was rich in flavor but wonderfully light in mouthfeel. If you saw all those tattoos on Jason, the thought of him holding a pastry syringe doesn’t immediately come to mind. But man, that dude has a way with whipped cream!

Happy, happy birthday Rev. B! Know that we love you a lot and that I couldn’t have asked for a better father-in-law… :-)

Did you know that Rev. B is a blogger, too?

Happy fourth of July, ya’ll!