A weekend in Pleasant Hill, Louisiana

This last weekend we made a run to LA (read that as Louisiana, not Los Angeles) to see one of Rod's aging relatives. His aunt Joyce is almost 87 and is the sweetest thing alive, I think. Her health is starting to deteriorate and his cousin called us Saturday morning to let us know she wasn't doing well so after we closed the shop we headed that way to spend some time with her. We had a nice visit but she kept trying to cook for us! Ahhh, that southern hospitality just never ceases! She really is a very gracious and loving woman and the visit was nice.


From left, Gloria (wife to Kenneth), Joyce (almost 87), Kenneth (93) and Terry (Joyce's son)
We found out while visiting that the Battle of Pleasant Hill re-enactment would take place just a few miles from where we were staying so when we left Sunday, we stopped by there. That was the first re-enactment I've ever seen and it was a lot of fun. But was it ever noisy!


Here's "the boss" riding into the fray at the re-enactment.


And here's the flag, flyin' high!


And here's those damn yankees! They'd been adding to the noise pollution. ;)


And this is one of the women at the re-enactment. Talk about out of place!

Anyway, we had a nice time and the weather, though a little too windy, was great for such an event. The local scenery is lovely, too. You can see woods, a few hills, and even swamp! By the way, Pleasant Hill, Louisiana is just a little spot in the road now. It has a few shops, a funky little grocery and the battle park but there's nothing there today that would let a person know it was once a resort type of town with upper crust land owners, a school for girls, and a college for boys! It just goes to show you something but I'm not sure what...

If you haven't ever been to a re-enactment, you should try it. And take the kids! It's a good opportunity to learn a little about history.

Julian Bakery's Smart Carb No. 1 bread

Out of curiosity, do any of you low carbers eat Julian Bakery's Smart Carb No. 1 bread? It's awfully pricey at $7.99 a loaf but if it's good tasting (which it seems to be from what I've read) and it doesn't spike my blood sugar (which it seems it might not from what I've read) I'm willing to pay that. Of course, I'll eat it sparingly. At $7.99 + shipping I can't afford to eat a lot of it but still...what would I give to enjoy a turkey bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich? French toast? Wow, it's been years.....

I have three loaves of Julian's breads coming to me and I can't wait to try them. Watch this blog for more!

Long John Silver's Freshside Grille Smart Choice Meals

Yes, it is possible to have a relatively inexpensive low carb meal on the go!

A few days ago I was very hungry after work and stopped at Long John Silver's. Knowing that my blood sugar can't handle their fried fish, hush puppies and french fries, I opted for the grilled tilapia with rice and vegetables (though most of the rice ended up in the trash) and it was excellent so when DH requested the salmon today, I was ready to go get it.

Each of the salmon meals had two small fillets that were placed on top of a carrot and green bean medley seasoned with a sauce that's vaguely reminiscent of Italian dressing and wow, did we get a lot of vegetables! The salmon fillets, though small, were tender and flaky and quite delicious.

According to Long John Silver's, the carb count for the salmon and 1 serving of vegetables is 6 grams so with double vegetables the meal came to about 10 grams of carbohydrates. And the price wasn't bad, either - $10.80 for the two meals.

We were both very satisfied with the taste and quality of the meals and except for the fact that I'd love to have some broccoli thrown in the vegetable mix, I say Long John Silver's new Freshside Grille Smart Choice meals really are smart choices and they're worth your attention!