#252 Nomad Diary. 16-22 August 2025. Week 4 of 8 in Madison, Alabama Airbnb. Darrell's Pancake Recipe. My Pork Tenderloin Recipe. Our Big Breakfast. Playing With Grandkids Owen and Esther. Walking at Indian Creek Greenway. EPT 30 Year Reunion in Huntsville, Alabama with Dr. Annette and Former Work Colleagues.

One of Our Very Tasty Pancake Breakfasts. This Picture Shows About Half of the Fruit, Yogurt and Cottage Cheese That I Eat with This Breakfast.

 

Local Isom's Farm Field of Flowers Near Athens, Alabama

Owen Getting Grandpa to Play With Him

Esther in Her Princess Dress Halloween Costume

Esther in Her Princess Castle Tent

Saturday. 16. Darrell made his fabulous pancakes that we have been looking forward to eating almost every morning that we can. His current recipe is a mix of oat and barley flours, nonfat greek yogurt, and shredded apple, along with all the other ingredients. I’ll put the recipe at the end. We helped our friends, the Bacci's, move out of their current house. We showed up with a whole lot of other friends to get them moved from one house to another house. We stayed a couple of hours and then went to lunch with friends in Hartselle, a 30 minute drive.  When we were finished visiting with Roy, Hilda, Diana and Alton, we drove back to our son Eric’s house. We spent some time visiting with him and Erin and then about an hour singing some hymns that he has put together from one of his friends. Today’s selection all came from Psalm 119. We played a few minutes with Owen and Esther and came home for dinner.

Sunday. 17. Had friends from church over for a taco lunch. Kim and Jackie came and ate with us. We enjoyed company and visiting together. Jackie asked for another get together at her house next Sunday at lunch time. She’s so enjoyable and friendly to make the next meeting. 

Me Playing with Grands Owen and Esther

Owen and Esther Playing at Our Airbnb

Chilling at Our Airbnb in Madison, Alabama

Esther and Owen at Our Airbnb Enjoying a 'Grandpa' Cracker

Monday. 18. Morning at home. Walk at Swan Creek. Some grocery shopping. Discovered that coffee has about doubled in price! This price increase is about a shortage in the supply chain somewhere. I got a haircut. We are working at home on computers. I’ve planned a family get-together for Sept 14th, Wesley, our 2nd son and Owen, our grandson have the same birthdate, 38 and 4 respectively. 

Tuesday. 19. Bible class at the church building and a second one online. 

Wednesday. 20. Sit with Owen and Esther for a couple hours. It was sweet to be with Owen and Esther today. They enjoyed giving us hugs and playing together with us. Afternoon heavy rain. PM Bible class.

Thursday. 21. Sit with Owen and Esther for a couple of hours. Evening ladies supper club at friend, Mary Katherine’s house. Everyone brings a salad to share.

Friday. 22. Meeting up with friends for lunch in South Huntsville. Marcy and Laura. Laura and I are sharing a hotel room tonight to attend the 30 year EPT reunion with many others we have known through EPT and through our years studying it and practicing it. Tonight is a pizza party and tomorrow is a whole bunch of talks! 

Darrell at Indian Creek Walkway. Our Stomping Grounds for Many Years that We Lived Close to Here.

View of the Swimming Hole at Indian Creek Parkway on Dog Park End of Walkway

Nomad Notes.

Trying to Control.

This week I’ve looked at a real estate listing in Harvest that we drive by often. I like the house, and Darrell and I talked a little about it. In conclusion, we will keep renting furnished houses for our stays. Neither of us are ready to own a house and settle down yet. The cost of owning versus having our house money invested and growing is the detail we are discussing. Part of my thinking is about knowing what comes next and feeling like I have more control over what comes next. Our whens and our wheres and our upcoming timeline. Darrell has gotten really comfortable going for a short timeline. Part of this is because he’s having to go to the eye doctor every 5-7 weeks. He’s hoping that the weeks between his appointments will spread out further so we can stay away longer. So, I’ve come up with a concept that I don’t know if we will do but it settles my mind to be okay with this possibility. I suggest that for 2026 we plan on one month stays and move each month. This gives us a reasonable length to stay in any place we decide. One month usually gets us a discount on rent. We can go to places that are short drives from Huntsville. We can move between several states so as not to become a state resident and maintain our South Dakota residency. We can enjoy a variety of towns and explore new places with varying geographical and historical features. We have yet to see how my ‘plan’ works out for next year! Lol. 

Our Current Favorite Pancake Recipe

Pancake recipe (enough for 4 people) ala Darrell Hamilton

1.5 cups flour – nearly any kind. Gluten free works as long as it isn’t heavily tapioca.

Current favorite is 1 cup Oat flour with 0.5 cup Barley flour

3 tsp baking soda (less soda if using self rising flour)

3 eggs

0.25 cups olive oil

0.33 cup water, increase water as needed for batter consistency

1 cup Greek Yogurt (this used to be buttermilk before we switched to increased protein in Sept 2024)

– must be the good kind that is only milk products and bacteria, ANY additions in the yogurt that usually are used to make it "lite" have the effect of making the batter sticky. It will stick to even the best non-stick pan. Buttermilk can substitute for Yogurt and Water. Sour Cream or regular yogurt can substitute for Greek yogurt, but it has a different flavor. Substitutions may require a different amount of water.

Optional ingredients (one, both or none)

1 tbsp molasses

1+ tsp cinnamon

Optional fruit (pick only one)

1 mashed banana

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup applesauce

1 cup -ish shredded apple including peelings. (we use this option the most)

1 cup -ish shredded pear including peelings.

For slightly better results, blend the liquid ingredients independent of the dry and then mix the two. Otherwise blend everything until just smooth and then add the fruit. Frozen blueberries have to be added by scattering over the batter and blending in as needed. If dumped at once they clump together.

Depending on what you add, the batter may be a bit thick. Usually the fruit thins it out enough. If not adding fruit, you may need to add a little more buttermilk or water. Usually not more than a tbsp of water or a quarter cup more buttermilk. The goal is to have a batter that is slightly thick. It should pour out of the ladle but not be runny. When putting on a hot griddle, it should spread slightly.  

Added by Sherry: Serve with real Maple Syrup. I also like Crofter's Organic Wild Blueberry Preserves. Fresh fruit, toasted nuts, Cottage cheese, flavored Skyr or Greek yogurt, Cinnamon, hot coffee in a real mug (lol). We also like to serve a small portion of warmed pork tenderloin (low calorie option for bacon or sausage).

Cooking Pork Tenderloin

When we can we cook two pork tenderloin each week. I season the meat in an open roasting pan or glass dish, slightly under-bake the tenderloins to an internal temperature of 140. I then cut them into 4 pieces. I put one piece into the refrigerator and freeze the rest.  We cut thin slices off of the thawed piece and heat in a skillet. We serve a measured 40-50 gram serving along with the pancakes. 

I try to eat about 35 grams of protein at breakfast and Darrell goes for 45-50 grams of protein at this meal. The calories for my breakfast are usually under 600 calories. Darrell usually has under 800 calories.