Lady Jupiter Podcast

Surprise Vineyards

August 08, 2022 Lady Jupiter Season 1 Episode 82
Lady Jupiter Podcast
Surprise Vineyards
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Show Notes Transcript

Episode № 82 shares another non-chaotic week, so we used it to explore and found some real gems outside of Little Rock AFB.

Full transcript available for free on LadyJupiterPodcast.wordpress.com

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Episode № 82 Surprise Vineyards

Welcome back everybody!
Lady Jupiter Podcast is the audio accompaniment to LadyJupiter.com a lifestyle blog where I write about my family’s military life, our home life, and other tiny details that I just like to share. I’m happy that you’re here with me.

In this episode I’ll share an update on our life as affected by the U.S. military, then continue with a blog update, and wrap up with something domestic.

Today in our military-affected lives I have nothing significant to update.

It’s been another blissfully slow news week. We thought we would surprise some friends on base with pastries - but they immediately counter surprised us with at least one positive covid test. So we just dropped off frozen pastries and we had a quick FaceTime chat that afternoon.

Otherwise we recently visited three new-to-us establishments in town, so about 30 or 40 minutes away from Little Rock AFB.

Camp Taco is just south of downtown, and it’s basically an 80’s theme version of our favorite local brewery - so that’s fun on all counts. Earlier this year I had some of their take out, and it was great, but last weekend we dined indoors with some friends. Holy cow is was loud. It’s a small space, but everything was the perfect volume and frequencies that I was straining to hear the conversation at the table, so I busied myself with Kid Jupiter and didn’t talk much because I couldn’t hear anything. Next time I’ll try to sit out on the patio - or just get another carry out order.

Then we finally visited a local winery - and honestly I don’t know why I haven’t searched for nearby vineyards. Rusty Tractor Vineyards is a 30 minute drive from our house, and they are open to the public on two Sundays of most months. It was a perfect afternoon - Mister Jupiter and I had mimosas, Kid Jupiter nibbled on my charcuterie and otherwise complained. But despite the Kid not loving the vineyard, we’re probably going to be there on as many more public afternoons as possible for the remainder of this year. I’m eyeballing their wine club because that’s an easy way for me to really enjoy our last several months stationed here. Next time I’ll take more allergy medication to be ready for the grass, and maybe I’ll bring a picnic blanket and sit in the grass. Chairs and tables are available (both indoor and outdoor), but that’s boring. I can sit in chairs indoors easily for the rest of my life. But perfect picnic sunny days with a substantial mimosa bar? That’s special…even with my grass allergy.

But we’re not done yet! More recently we visited a franchise called Healthy James, and I kind of love it. It’s a meal prep business that is open to the public. We walked in and checked out the freezer and coolers of pre-prepped and ready to microwave meals. They also have a smoothie bar AND the owner delivers all around Central Arkansas. I thought it would be perfect for some of Mister Jupiter’s students - specifically the ones who want to eat healthier and can’t meal prep. Mister Jupiter bought a few meals for future lunches, and I’ll make a point to drop in for a smoothie and grab some frozen pizzas on the way out.

Now I’m somewhere between “motivated to find more fun things in Little Rock” and “kind of tired and just want to stick to my favorite restaurants.” Luckily we’re not in any huge rush - but I know that our nine remaining months will feel faster as we get closer to our actual exit.

In the meantime I found another winery about 40 minutes from our house that’s open more often, so I think I know where we’re going for lunch next weekend. Why haven’t I looked for local vineyards before now? Geez. Oh well, better late than never.

For today’s LadyJupiter.com update…I have a million things that I want to write about, but I continue to squander my precious writing time with eating, sleeping, and bathing. One day I’ll get my act together.

And lastly something domestic.

The nice thing about a “slow news week” is that *everything* is generally slow and pleasant, so even our household matters are unremarkable.

I did recently make a surprisingly good shrimp linguini. For some reason it’s rarely on our menu - despite our love of shrimp, and the simplicity of the meal. So last week I was slowly cooking - while referencing a few recipes because it’s been a while, and I couldn’t cook it from memory. I was a little heavy handed with the chardonnay and butter, so the garlic got a nice long simmer with red pepper flakes while I waited for the pasta to finish cooking. And wow. That extra long simmer was worth it. It was hands-down the best shrimp linguini that I’ve made…so I’m trying it again in a few days, but this time I’m going to use the lid and steam the shrimp in the crushed-garlic, pepper-flake butter and chardonnay. I have high hopes!

And that’s it for today’s episode.

Show notes and transcript are available online. Visit LadyJupiter.com/podcast. 📌Ladyjupiter.com/Podcast

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