Dixie Dining

Tropical Storm Fay was a dud here on Siesta Key. We haven’t even seen any rain yet. It’s been breezy all day, but that’s no big deal. We loaded up the crew and headed over to the beach for a walk this afternoon. The image shown above was shot looking north on Siesta Beach.

Here is a shot looking south towards Venice/Ft. Myers/Naples. Some dark clouds that appear to be heavy with rain. Not sure if we’ll see any this go around. Fay is headed east and is now more of a threat to Central and Northeastern FL.

The conditions gave Eileen a chance to wear her Baltimore Orioles lid

“My boys, my boys!”

Fay’s winds did wreak some havoc on Travis’ hairdo

This is one of those sleeper John Wayne flicks. I really like the Quiet Man, but the tropical locales and the macho interplay between the Duke and Lee Marvin make Donovan’s Reef a fun film to watch. Catch it the next time it comes on TV — it’s shown quite a bit. This one is directed by the great John Ford and features many recognizable character actors of the period.

Trpoical Storm Fay has been slowly bearing down on us over the past day or so. My wife Eileen snapped the above image last night — as the sun was setting on Siesta Key. Pretty ominous sight, but beautiful at the same time.

As it turns out, the mighty Fay has fizzled a good bit and appears to be turning east at this time (10:15 am on Tuesday, August 19th). The bands of rain are knocking on our door and it’s quite breezy this morning. Looks like we dodged a bullet this time, although some localized street flooding can be expected in our area. After all, the highest point around here is only about 10 feet above sea level.

We first tried this tasty dish when we were traveling through the Bluegrass State in 2006. I have searched for recipes and this one is the closest thing for us. Note: Pecans or Walnuts can be subsituted for the Cashews, which we prefer.

Kentucky Olive Nut Spread

1/2 package or 4 oz of cream cheese softened 
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup green olives with pimentos
Crackers or Bread

Mix first three ingredients well in a food processor. 

Serve spread on crackers or bread of your choice.