Well, I was out of the office Tuesday and doing all the catch-up work on Wednesday. Come Thursday I started a self-taught Microsoft Access class and it's giving me some problems. For one thing, most of it makes no sense at all... LOL I'm going by the book, with examples and definitions and I'm still not getting it. I guess I'm getting some of it but mostly - it makes no sense! Arghhhh others on my team seem to have mastered it while I struggle to get just the basics.
We have a Learning Library where we can check out books for all kinds of courses. That's how I ended up with this one. I'll keep pegging away at it but I'm surely going to have to go in and renew the book. They only give you a month - ha! yeah, right. I'll need at least that and then some. For now though, the course is what has been keeping me from the blog. For that reason alone, you can dislike it as much as I do... ha ha ha
The weekend is upon us and the temperatures promise to be cool to cold, sunny and windy. This morning it was 37 degrees when I walked out the door to drive to work. I had gone out to start my car so it could warm up while I packed my lunch. Even after about 5 minutes, there was no warmth inside that car. I donned my gloves (thank you sooooooo much Ernie) and cranked the heater all the way to the end of the red on the dial and I was off and running.
As I drove down the leaf strewn driveway, four little furry rabbits went dashing across in front of me. They did their little zigzag run and were gone before I knew it. This is the first I've seen of them since springtime when I first arrived in Tennessee. Where they've been hiding, I've no clue but it was fun watching them run again :)
Arriving home yesterday I had Wally with both dogs and all six roosters greeting me in the driveway. We had a few things to take care of outside in preparation for the cold weather to come. After we brought in the groceries, we headed back outside to check on the doghouse. Now that the dogs are older and in more feeble condition, we decided to hang a warming light in their house. They already have blankets and food in there, what more could a dog want? Wally got the light hooked up while I fed the roosters - trust me, you don't want me working with electricity if you can help it.
We called the dogs over and showed them their new sleeping arrangements. They weren't impressed. They came back out of the doghouse and followed us over to the porch. Well, so much for that idea. LOL They may have gone in there when it was their bedtime but we didn't check to see. If they want to be warm, they can sleep in the doghouse, if not, they can just keep on sleeping up under the porch on their bed of dried leaves. At this point, it's clearly up to them.
I had thrown out a jar full of scratch for the roosters and they pecked away at it for a good 10 minutes or so. With no rhyme or reason, they just stopped eating and in single file they began the trek to their new roosting place. Of course, Roo brought up the rear. This time I followed them so I could see where their new home is. Come to find out, it's right outside our bedroom door (I thought they were kind of loud the other morning!) and about 10 feet into the woods. They squawked and cooed and then at once, they flapped their wings, flew straight up into the branches and settled themselves in for the night. It still tickles me to watch them put themselves to bed - same time, same routine, day in and day out. Their schedule never varies.
I'm anxious to see what they do with the upcoming time change. Will they somehow know that they need to wait an hour before they start singing or are we destined to be awakened at 3 am instead? Ha ha ha I have a feeling I know the answer to that one. Why does the darn time have to change anyway? I like it like it is. Although, according to the Farmer's Almanac, the coming time change is actually the way time always was before someone came up with changing it. It's not going to matter. I'll be just like the roosters - my body will think it's 4am when the clock will show 3am. It takes much getting used to...
Unlike most people, I do better springing forward than falling backward. LOL Then there are those people in Arizona (Dizzy Debbie!) who never have to worry with it. AZ doesn't change its time - ever. Must be nice. At this point Debbie is two hours behind me (3 behind y'all) so with the change, she'll only be 1 hour behind me. That makes talking to her much easier :)
It's already hard enough for me to stay awake past 8:30-9:00. Imagine how it will be when it gets dark an hour earlier.. jeez, I'll be in bed by 5:30 LOL!
Our weekend plans? We haven't really made any which is just the way we like it. We'll be up early Saturday morning, I'll fix breakfast and start my laundry. It's almost too chilly to hang clothes on the line but maybe I'll get one more load out there :) Otherwise, in the dryer they go... :( The dryer does have its winter weather benefits. Indeed it most definitely keeps the hot tub room and our room considerably warmer when a couple loads have been run. It's just that I'll miss the way the clothes smell and feel when they come in off the line. You know what that means - something to look forward to when springtime comes around again!
If it's sunny outside, we might just go horseback riding. We might get on the 4 wheelers and ride the fence line in an effort to run off any hunters who might just be hunting on the farm. The signs have been posted and the trees in between signs have been painted blue. The blue paint indicates a no hunting zone that hunters are supposed to respect. That's not to say that they do though, hence the ride on the 4 wheelers. We'll be on the lookout for tree stands, broken fencing and tracks not belonging to our vehicles. I have my orange vest so as not be confused with a deer (ha ha ha) and we'll carry a gun to do some target shooting out on the trails. If that doesn't scare the hunters off, at least the deer will be on red alert!
Hunting season actually opens Monday. I may just have to join in for the evening hunt if I can get my CSA basket and get home in time. Wednesday when I came down the driveway towards the cabin a deer ran across the driveway and into the woods on my right. She was just above where the road goes down into the holler. She ran into the woods and then just stopped and looked at me. I just stopped and looked at her right back. What a beauty! I'm sure her thoughts were the same... lol ha ha ha Don't get your hopes up that I'm becoming a softy... I still plan to have one in the freezer if at all possible.
Sunday will be racing and football on the tv but first we have a visitor coming over. Joe is one of the guys from Pee Wee's Place and he's an older fellow who I sit and talk with quite a bit. His father passed away the day I arrived in Tennessee to stay. He gave me an old pair of his father's overalls that I wear on occasion and have named them my "Joe-veralls." He gets a kick out of that! Joe is going on 62, I believe, and he has some really funny stories to tell. His are reminiscent of Roy Woods' stories if you ever took the time to sit and chat with Roy.
Joe is coming over to do some logging. Nothing extensive but we do have some trees that need to be cut up and hauled off. Namely that big beauty that you see me sitting on in the pictures. We would love to keep it and use it when we're out riding the trails but it will eventually rot and deteriorate serving us no purpose any longer. If Joe comes and takes it off, he can bring it to the sawmill where it will be sliced up and put to good use as slab wood, maybe even part of a new home, cabinets or furniture for someone. He and Wally will split the profit - whatever that may be. That's their business, I want no part of it :)
At 60 something years old, Joe has been a truck driver most of his life. He has also been a heavy equipment operator, he has farmed, raised kids, helped raise other people's kids, married a couple times (and divorced) and currently works for the county hauling chert (churt? chirt?) for road repairs due to the May floods. He'll work as many hours as they will give him. With the onset of colder weather, his part of the county job has been discontinued. If he can do some logging on our property, it will serve to help him make some money when otherwise there would be no work or income for him and it will get the fallen trees off the property. I'm sure he has some money stashed - who doesn't? That doesn't mean he wants to spend it and it surely doesn't mean he'll sit back on his haunches and do nothing all winter. He's not a sit around kind of guy. I hope I have the stamina Joe has when I'm his age. He is one tough cookie and a sweetheart to boot. You'll meet him when you come up.
My lady farmer tells me we might have Skyphos Red Butterhead Lettuce in our baskets this week. She says it's not one that's sold in stores so the likelihood of us having tried it is very slim. I'm certainly looking forward to that! The baskets have had lettuce again for a couple weeks now and it's soooooo much tastier than the store bought varieties. I know soon enough I'll have to go back to buying lettuce at the store but for now, I'm savoring every last bite of the fresh, green (and now red), crunchy, curly, leafy goodness :) yum! I'll definitely get a picture of the next two baskets as they will be the last for this year. Can you believe it's gone by so quickly? I just celebrated my 7th month here.
The turnips in Monday's basket were superb! Big orbs of creamy, white roots with bright, green, crispy leaves just begging to be cleaned, peeled, sliced and steamed into such tenderness as for mashing with just a little butter, salt, pepper and garlic.......talk about mouth-watering! I think that even if you have an aversion to turnip roots, in this kind of weather, it would be a recipe to warm your insides for sure. Think about a fresh, lightly seasoned, pan fried pork chop sitting along side the turnip mash and then some carrots cooked with honey and butter sauce to round it out. Care to join us? LOL I'm sure some of you are saying "uh, thanks but no thanks Darcy..." Well, hey, I believe in eating what's in season as long as you can find a way to cook it in a palate-pleasing manner. This one suits us just fine and I would hope that you would at least try a bite - even if you were unsure whether or not you would be in favor of it. ????
In the basket with the turnips was a nice big head of lettuce, I believe it was the Black Seeded Simpson variety again, hot peppers, green peppers, radishes, arugula and a big bunch of purple kale. Some of the kale has already been used to go into a pot of white beans and ham. The lettuce was used for my lunches as were the radishes. The peppers went into a pan with steamed cabbage and spicy sausage. We ate that for dinner last night! The arugula will be chopped and stirred into a creamy alfredo sauce to cover grilled chicken over whole wheat noodles. It's all planned out and there's plenty to go around so come on up and enjoy it with us! We would love to have you :)
I was reading one of my "Everyday Health" emails that comes to me automatically. Sometimes they have pretty interesting information on skin care, vitamins, blood pressure, etc. Well, this time it was a quiz called, "Is Your Skin Aging Faster Than You Are?" I took the quiz and I didn't do too bad for being 47 years old. After the questions it provides you with some steps you can take to help keep your skin looking young or at least keep it from aging so fast - if you actually have this problem. Not saying you do, not saying you don't...
I was advised to begin using an anti-aging product that contains retinol, to continue using sunscreen everyday and to continue wearing sunglasses to protect that very thin skin around my eyes. I posted the link at the top left (where the pictures are) just in case you want to take the quiz and see what advice you will be given to help keep your skin from aging too soon as well. To all you smokers out there - well, you know what advice it's going to give about that...
Around here, the grocery stores are packed with new displays promoting canned pumpkin, canned cherry pie filling, boxes of Domino Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Cook & Serve Jello Pudding boxes and a multitude of other typical holiday offerings. They have the cinnamon brooms out on display and Food Lion is even having a turkey dinner give-away. You have to visit the store and spend a certain amount of money each time you're there. Points are awarded for each visit. If you have enough points by 11/23/10 - you get a $15.00 certificate good towards your turkey dinner. I'll take $15.00 worth of free groceries - I'm going to be shopping there anyway so why not?
This weekend is apparently Fall Festival weekend. I travel 37 miles to work and on my way, there isn't a church or recreation center that doesn't have a roadside sign advertising their festivities. If you don't make it to a Fall Festival, it's not because you weren't invited... lol! Halloween is being celebrated on Saturday evening rather than Sunday - not sure why? Everyone goes out so early these days that it's not like the kiddies will be up too late for school the next day...maybe it's because of all the anticipated junk they'll be eating.
I'm looking forward to hanging out at the cabin, cooking for my Honey, feeding the animals and scouting my hunting spot for the coming week. What are you looking forward to doing this weekend?
"Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
John Howard Payne
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