Sitting in McKinney, Fresh Strawberry Pie

We made it to McKinney with no mishaps. I thoroughly enjoyed riding with my honey, Chloe, and the boys!

It was great sitting up high, and Phil does a terrific job driving the Kenworth.

After we had been on the road awhile I opened the boys' kennel and let them out to see what they would do. At first they were cautious, but then Whiskers came out and laid down beside Chloe on her dog bed. Smudge was content looking out the sleeper window. Whiskers always feels safer when he can be close to Chloe. She is his security blanket.

Chloe seemed to enjoy this trip.
She sat right between mommy and daddy so she could be petted all 550 miles. :)

We had to go through the Border Patrol check point in Falfurrias. I was a little concerned because I didn't know if they would want to search the Teton, but they just waved us on through. It's not that we had anything or anyone illegal in the fifth wheel; I just didn't want the hassle. I thought this sign said it all!

Big hugs to the boys in green. I think they do an awesome job!

We decided we didn't want to drive straight through for nine hours, so we stopped at a campground in Waco.
It was a really nice campground called I-35 that was just a ways off the interstate. They had a catch and release pond and some ducks. Nice big pull through spots too!

We left about 9:30 Sunday morning and made it to McKinney around noon. The spots here are tight, but what can you expect? It's not a campground, after all, and we were just pleased to have full hook ups and free wifi.

Yesterday morning the boys from MCD Innovations came in early to take the measurments for our blinds.
We then went to get the estimate from Bobbie, the incredibly sweet girl at the desk.

This sign coming into the office was a nice touch, I thought. Phil said he thought it looked like the sign at the funeral home directing you to the viewing rooms:)

The first estimate came in a little too high for us, so after making some changes to our selections and one correction, we finally got the price down to something we felt like we could live with. I can't wait to see them installed!

We then went to Costco to cash our rebate checks (we live nearly five hours from the nearest Costco, so they'd been sitting around for a long time) and to buy some things that we can't get at Sam's Club back home.

Phil had a little accident when we pulled in our spot Sunday afternoon, so he had to go parts shopping while I took a nap. After napping I made a terrific dinner for us both: Liver and onions for Phil and BBQ beef ribs with mashed potatoes for me....oh man yum!

I watched a pretty decent movie last night called The Gathering . It was a low production movie but the story was interesting.

This morning I had a ton of laundry to do and then I made a fresh strawberry pie from the four pounds of strawberries we bought at Costco! Phil made the crust. He always makes the most delicious, flakiest crusts in the world. I made the filling. It won't be ready to cut into and eat until after dinner but here is a preview. This is without the whipped cream. You'll have to imagine that. :)

Here is the recipe; it is super easy y'all

Easy Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

1 baked nine-inch pie shell

3 pounds quality strawberries (you’ll have some extra berries to snitch or use for garnish)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
couple drops red food coloring (optional)

1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions

1. Prick the surface of the pie crust with the tines of fork to allow for steam to escape and avoid bubbles in the crust. Bake the crust for eight to twelve minutes or until it just starts to brown.

2. Wash and hull the strawberries. Do not allow the strawberries to sit in water since they will absorb water and make the pie runny. Mash enough strawberries to make about one cup of pulp.

3. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, crushed strawberries, and water in a saucepan. Stir well and cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to boil, stirring often. Cook for two more minutes or until the sauce becomes thick and translucent. Stir in the butter. Add the red food coloring if desired. Set it aside to cool.

4. In the meantime, fill the cooled pie shell with strawberries. If the strawberries are small, use whole berries. If not, cut the strawberries into chunks. Pour the cooled glaze over the berries. Let the pie chill for 2 to 3 hours.

5. Whip the cream until peaks form, adding the powdered sugar when the cream begins to stiffen. After the pie has chilled, garnish the pie with whipped cream.