Recent Events

Recent dinner pics

We do eat well here every night.  Sometimes simple, sometimes fancy.

Hmong eggrolls and Gochujang miso soup
Grilled avacado tacos
Mississippi roast with mash and veg
Chicken katsu, lotus/salmon/panko cakes with rice and miso and slaw
Steak, asparagus, roasted pepper rice
Pork Katsu with salad

Fox Smokehouse BBQ

We have ordered takeout from Fox Smokehouse a number of times, but eating out of styrofoam is never the best option.  So we went in person.  They spent a small fortune renovating the old Casa Flores building in town.  The place was packed.  The parking lot is tiny so expect to park in the street and walk, but it’s worth it.  Portions are huge and you will have leftovers.

Cowboy cornbites: Cheese and corn balls. Really good with their fry sauce
Prime Rib: HUGE thick slab that really is smokey. Fatty but not dry.
BBQ Sundae: Mash, slaw, mac-n-cheese, beans, cheese, texas toast topped with tri-tip. Totally carb-o-licious. My only complaint is the presentation. I would put this in a giant sundae bowl and top with cherry tomato.
Spicy JD Burger: Not 1 but 2 Brisket patties. Bacon, mac-n-cheese, cowboy cornbites, cheese, jalapenos. Over the top.

 

More Solar panels

I added 2 more panels for a total of 4 now on the workshop.  I ordered them a year ago and they finally showed up.  This should be 600 Watts max now. I also rewired the antennas for better communication.  I also added a high end inverter.   This will allow specific AC devices to be plugged in if the power goes out.

all 4 panels now up and getting covered with bird droppings
Inverter above the battery. I have switches in between to isolate the system from the roof above.

Ashiana

We haven’t had Indian food for a long time so we tried out a new place in Henderson.  Ashiana is Northern India style.  The owners (?) working there were super friendly and nice.  I noticed they were playing Bhupinder Singh in the background.  Have been listening to him since hearing this song on the Shantaram.  Anyway.  We started with Chicken 65, Samosas, and mango lasse.  We then pigged out on Lamb Biryani, Mahi Mahi tikki masala, chicken mango curry, and garlic naan.

Of everything, the masala was truly magical. We need to go back and try a few other things on the menu.

Masala is one of the best I have ever had. Perfectly balanced.
Biryani is good. It is different from the Mint. Very aromatic. The rice used is different than the indian basmati I was expecting. The lamb was good and not gamey.
Samosas look hand made. Perfectly cooked. These were filled with ground chicken.

Halloween

One block away from the neighbor that goes way overboard on Christmas lights, there is a house that is setting the standard for Halloween displays.  These all have lights, sound, and motion.  The pupils will blink and focus.  I have never seen anything this elaborate.

Meanwhile, I am just trying not to eat all the candy for the trick or treaters tonight.

 

 

 

 

New House

We haven’t posted in a while as we were busy with a new project.   Christopher needed a place to live and there is a dearth of affordable housing in this country.   Instead of being a slave to a landlord and never being able to save we thought it would be a good idea to find a second house in town.  We found a fixer upper on the other side of town that has a lot of potential.  It was a rental property for a few years and allowed to get run down.

We spent a few weeks just cleaning and hauling junk out.  Bug bombs, bleach, and carpet cleaners.   There is still a lot of work to be done but it is now clean and livable.  The MLS pictures are from BEFORE the renters moved in.  It will take a few years to get it 100% but it should be a fun project.

Street view when the hedges were trimmed
Backyard is shady and tropical.

 

SK Seafood

We haven’t ventured into the ChinaTown/SpringMountain area in a while (due to gas prices) but were told by the previous owner of China Bistro to check out SK seafood.

This is real Cantonese style cooking.  They have a fish tank and were observed bringing fish and lobster to the tables to let the patrons select. We ordered lunch portions so we could try more items but every plate is HUGE.  Lots of leftovers.  No pictures or descriptions on the menu so you have to guess.

Potstickers: They were out of egg rolls but the hand made dumplings were a good substiture
S&S Pork: We were told to order this one. I prefer a sesame or orange sauce but this was very good.
Spicy Eggplant: This sauce was really good – like the old China Bistro mongolia sauce.
Seafood pan fried noodles: Seafood really is their specialty here.  Good sauce but not as buttery as the original China Bistro.

 

South Carolina: Food

Seafood out here in the desert is way below average so when going to either coast, we make sure to order fish whenever possible. Everyone has shrimp and grits on the menu.

Unfortunately, we never made it to a Waffle House but we will try again someday.  This is a southern staple that everyone must experience once.

In Charleston, we found the Fleet Landing out on the pier.  Fabulous location and good food.  Worth the long wait but that gave us time to explore the city.

steak salad, carolina crab cake salad, shrimp, she-crab soup, gumbo

In Murrells Inlet, we found a fabulous strip of restaurants all connected with a pier.  We stopped at the Dead Dog Saloon which was a good choice.

In Mt Pleasant, on the Isle of Palms we found really good seafood at the Lawrence Seafood Company

Bang Bang Shrimp, Lobster Mac-n-Cheese, Lobster Roll, Brussels and bacon

The whole photo collection on shutterfly is here.

South Carolina: Surfside Beach

I happened to find a Holiday Inn right on the beach. Not a block away from the beach or across the street – you could walk out of the pool area directly onto the sand and into the water. If you go, make sure to upgrade to the beach side of the hotel.  You can see and hear and smell the ocean from your room.

It looks like Myrtle Beach rivals Las Vegas for hotel numbers as the beach is mile after mile of highrise hotel buildings.  Surfside was much more home owner occupied.

There are 50 miniature golf courses in town, I have never seen anything like that.

We rented an umbrella to stay out of the direct sun and watched the waves all day long – like the video above.

There were also lots of birds and even goats on the shore.   The whole photo collection on shutterfly is here.

Egret hanging out looking for breakfast

Sunrise from the hotel room

Sandpiper running in the waves digging for crabs
Goats on an island in Murrell’s Inlet
High tide at Murrells Inlet
Mile after mile of clean sandy beaches
Another swampy high tide at Murrells inlet

South Carolina: Charleston

We flew out to Charleston SC for a few days.  We spent a couple days in the Charleston area in the historical district and then spend a few more days south of Myrtle Beach.

Here are some pictures of the city.  We toured the old Yorktown aircraft carrier deployed in 1943 and then went downtown to see some pre-revolutionary buildings.

Tourist selfie
Typical alleyway between houses in the historical ‘rainbow row’. All the houses are very well maintained and painted in pastel colors. Lots of brick and cobblestone.
Dungeon underneath the pre-revolutionary exchange building. They stored prisoners, slaves, gunpowder, in here over the centuries. The arched brickwork ceilings are amazing.
Charleston has a very nice tree lined parkway along the shore.
The Yorktown museum is a must see. You get to tour the living quarters and mechanical rooms on this 1943 air craft carrier.

The whole photo collection on shutterfly is here.