Fridays on the Front Porch

One of the best things about having a local newspaper that provides excellent coverage on events Triangle-wide is that they produce eye-catching headlines like: "Fridays on the Front Porch series kicks off April 29." These headlines alert me to fun and exciting events around town and I couldn't be happier.

I called hubby upon reading this headline regarding this annual summer series hosted by the Carolina Inn that showcases bluegrass and other local bands, good beer and great Bar-B-Que. Plus it's kid-friendly and runs from 5 to 9 pm every Friday throughout the summer.  All those ingredients add up to awesome.

We invited some friends to last night's kick-off event, which featured the band Big Fat Gap, a favorite of ours.

 

 

 

 

This was new mommy Adriana's first sip of alcohol post baby.  I'm glad I could witness the event. Congratulations Adriana and Mike!  And thank you Carolina Inn and Big Fat Gap for a wonderful evening.

Homegrown spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter has come and gone

Easter has come and gone, but I'm just now getting the time to share how the Busbee family celebrated. It was a glorious, sunny day - the first warm Easter we've had in a long time. I feel like Easter typically brings with it a surprise frost.  But not this year!

We celebrated in Morganton at Mimi's house and attended church with her in the morning, which was followed by an Easter egg hunt in the cemetery.  The church provided Easter baskets for all the kids and even treated us all to a visit from the Easter bunny.

Caleb caught on quickly to the concept of hunting for Easter eggs. And mostly he just followed his cousin Madeline around. She clearly knew how this game was played. I believe she even ended up with two baskets.

 

 Then came the Easter bunny, to whom all the children flocked.  Well, all except Caleb.

 

He waved from afar. There was both a desire to meet the Easter bunny and an obvious fear.

 

 

 

 

  

Then we drove up the mountain to Asheville to feast on a late brunch at the Grove Park Inn, our traditional Easter haunt. The buffet is endless and includes a dessert buffet that forced me to eat chocolate, which I had given up earlier that day.

 

 

 

 

 

And then we relaxed on the 4-hour drive home to Durham.  Caleb stretched out his legs as if to say, it was a good, good day.

Mango mania

I have developed a rather unhealthy addiction to champagne mangoes.  I only recently discovered them - probably 2 months ago - and almost by accident.  They were nestled in the produce section beside the regular mangoes and I thought I would live on the edge, try something new.  I picked up one single champagne mango and placed it in the cart beside the rest of our $250 groceries. 

I tried it that night and fell head over heels in love.  It was juicy, dense and tart - not nearly as sweet as a regular mango.

I began buying them each week and eating one for dessert every night.  Having now consumed them in mass quantities, I consider myself a champagne mango expert. The green ones still have time to ripen, the yellow ones are ripe and more tart than the blushing orange ones that are very sweet, just like a regular mango.  I have become skilled at peeling and slicing.  I have begun to purchase them in bulk at Sam's Club - just $7 for a 5-pound box.

After doing some research online, I discovered that these delicacies are in season until August or September. I feel like I've stumbled upon something great.

Family photos by Pam

My dear friend Pam, who has blossomed as a photographer, offered to take spring portraits for the family and I. We headed to Duke Gardens on a warm spring day, Hubby, Caleb and I all clad in shades of blue. I am so lucky to have skilled photographers in my life to capture these moments. Thank you Pam!

I've attached a number of favorites below so that you may feast your eyes upon this delicious little son of mine. More of Pam's work can be seen on her Web site: http://pamlappegardphotography.com/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of the Day

After the tornadoes flew by our little town of Durham on Saturday, we ended up with a beautiful weekend. Almost everyone I talked to on Sunday said they were spending time in the garden - or at least thinking about being in the garden.

If  left to his own devices, Caleb will always make plans to be in the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for this last photo all I can say is that it's a good thing we don't have screens in our storm door.  We planned it that way of course.  It's not as if our dog ate every last screen off the house or anything.  And even if the dog did do such a horrid thing as that, he did it with kindness. He was thinking of Caleb and of what a great climbing piece a door with no screens would be.