Left here Thursday morning at 4:00 AM. Got to Bob and Ginger's at 8:00 AM.
It was the first time I drove at night since the cataract surgery. What a
difference it made. I can see.
Unloaded the loaner power wheelchair and tried it out roaming around the
place, down to the gardens,, they have 2, Corn, tomatoes, beans, squash,
okra, peppers and some of the best tasting red onions you ever wanted to eat
and a few other things. Almost everything we ate was grown on the farm by
B&G including the hog of honor.
For lunch we had a one dish meal that had okra, sausage, onions and 3 or 4
nice cayenne peppers I had just picked off my one lonely bush. I got about ½
a gallon bag full off it. They added a nice touch to it. Some folks may not
have eaten it because it was too hot.
John and Leslie Grissom came in later that afternoon and we had a very
nice Indian meal, you'll have to ask somebody else what it was, I ain't got
a clue, but it shore was good.
John had made arrangements with B&G to get 2 hogs for his freezer. They
run around 180# each. Not really large but nice and fat. They were ½ wild
and ½ domestic. Beautiful pigs.
Friday, John and Leslie show up to butcher his pigs. That was the deal,
they had to butcher them. They had bought a nice book on butchering and had
read that and at least knew what to expect. John knew where he was expected
to shoot the pig and did just that. His first kill.
Then after sticking and bleeding it was drag to the hoist cut the
heelstring out and lift the pig for her final bath. Once all the dirt was
washed off the pig was lowered head ½ into the scald pot, The water was
already hot. Roll the pig around till the hair slips, Drag it out on the
scrapping table and scrap the hair off, Then repeat on the back end. When
that's all done, hand the pig back for more scrapping and washing. Then the
gutting careful to keep the good organs, live, lights (lungs) and heart.
Saw the pig down the middle and lay the ½'s on the cutting table to remove
the fat to render for lard. Then cut it up into hams, shoulders, butts,
chops and sausage meat.

This was done a total of 4 times. John and Leslie butchered 2 hogs ands the
other guests did 2.
By now other guests started to show up.
Ziggy The Hobby Farmer and step-son (sorta) Alex from the Home
butchering list/
Ziggy bearing gifts for the hosts. A bright chartreuse green Tee shirt for
Bob and at least a dozen White midget Heirloom turkey poults for Ginger. Who
got the best of that trade?<g>.
Bruce Cook, Jack, Mary and Kait Waibor. Andrea and her kids Vicky and
Darby, PigMan Jim and Myra Stewart, Bill Tolbert and Christy (Kristy), Ed
Clay and Diane.
For lunch we Grilled hamburgers with homemade buns. Fruits and veggies.
For dinner we had a low country boil (well maybe a little High country
too) we had homemade sausage, red onions from the garden, fresh corn on the
cob, catfish, clams, mussels and shrimp all boiled up in a really spicy
bath. I cooked that in a pot of about 40 quarts and it was at least 3/4 full
and the folks eat it all. There were drinks and cigars and off to bed.
Saturday morning breakfast/brunch was around 11:00 AM. We had deep fried
fresh farm eggs, biscuits and gravy, old fashion yeller cheese grits (the
kind it takes 30+ minutes to cook. fruit salad, Gingers homemade cinnamon
rolls and a bunch of stuff I never saw. OH yeah we boiled the rest of the
seafood with the breakfast
While this is going on, Bob starts the fire for the coals to cook a pig
(butchered a couple of days before() and brisket (store boughten).
Jack Waibor with help from Bruce Cook did the honors on that and did a
great job of shoveling the coals under or around that pig. I hear it was
very hot in the pit house. Out in the sun it was in the 90's.
Let me tell you that pig was fit to eat all chopped up with some of the
crisp skin and Bob' vinegar sauce, Brunswick stew that Bob make using pig
heads.
I cooked a big pot of red beans and rice and fixed up some hushpuppies.
Plain and tuna and tomato. More drinks and cigars, Thanks Tom Garrou in Va
Beach.
Sunday morning Ginger made waffles and a fruit tart more fruit salad, I
fried the leftover grits and cooked some hoecakes and fixed omelets for them
that wanted them.
I only did a small fraction of the stuff and due to my now limited
mobility it would not have been possible without the help of everyone that
was there.
God Bless You all.
Thanks for allowing me to be there



--
James A. "Big Jim" Whitten

www.lazyq.com

"Big Jim" > wrote:
> [ . . . ]

Glad to hear that yer seein' better, Jim.

Sounds like a spectacular weekend. People, place, pigs, food, drinks,
cigars; all good! Doesn't get much better, eh?

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~