Sweet Spring!

Hooray!!!!!!  Spring has finally opened her eyes and is stretching into the dawn of a beautiful season!  I'm sure some of you have daffodils that have already bloomed, trees that have beautiful, plump buds on them, and grass beginning to green up.  Here in Central Virginia, we have daffodils that have budded - I can see yellow on the outer petals so I know they'll soon open.  I love spring time.  It's my favorite time of year.  I love the freshness, the beginning, the promise of life to come.  The singing birds take me back to my early days of childhood and early days of marriage.  I see so many babies that have been born over the winter and are now becoming alert to their worlds. The days are now longer and warmer.   I see restaurants prepping their outside spaces, making room for tables, sun umbrellas, and chairs.  We're so lucky in this town that we have so many wonderful outdoor eateries.  So many food choices!!  We have excellent restaurants.   We also have multiple bakeries, two cupcake bakeries, and now a pie shop has opened.  Lawdy!!!!  Just what I need - another vice to fight.  And they make a daily assortment of scrumptious, mouth watering savory and sweet pies.  My favorite pie?  Chocolate.  This pie shop makes dark chocolate and chocolate hazelnut.  They make apple southern comfort, bourbon pecan, lemon chess, peanut butter, banana rum, whiskey chocolate chip, citrus, and many others!!!  Their savories include sausage, gravy and egg, sausage, goat cheese, and honey, fresh salsa, white cheddar, and scrambled egg, baby spinach, feta and egg.  And they also have pot pies - chicken, bacon, and roasted garlic, pork and pepper, porcini mushroom, leek, and gruyere, and broccoli and pimento cheese.  Geez Louise, this was just yesterday's menu.  It changes every day!!!!!  I've spent many a dime at Sweethaus, my favorite cupcake shop in the world, but I have to get myself to the Pie Chest.  I just looove a good pie, although I must confess to being quite the snob.  I make a damned good pie myself.  I'll have to taste test the Pie Chest pie to see if they can best me.  It will no doubt take many testings.  If I were you, I would go down there and get myself a slice of pie.  They sell out by around 2:00 every day.  And while you're indulging yourself in a slice of springtime, buy one for me.  I done told you what I like.  I'll even reimburse you if you drive it over.  Or I might even bake a pie for you and you can tell me which pie is your favorite.  Go on.  Get that pie.  Don't even start in about the calories.  Life is short.  It's good for your soul.