Rainy Days and Mondays...

It started raining just after dark last night and was still raining this morning when I woke up at 3am. I tried going back to sleep but my mind started wandering to all the things I want to get done today and I couldn't go back to sleep. Not to worry though - I had gone to bed around 7:30 and was probably asleep before 8:00. Seven hours of sleep for me is like sleeping in and I felt wide awake and ready to go.

I did wake up around 10-10:30 and caught the tail end of the Greenbay Packers/Minnesota Vikings game when Brett Favre was trying to get the game winning touchdown. Too bad that didn't happen. At least when he's playing the Packers I'm happy with whoever wins! Did anyone pick the Browns over the Saints? That had to be the upset of the day!

Our weekend was fun and pretty busy. Friday we needed a few things from town so we loaded up in the big, black truck and headed in. We stopped at Lowe's and picked up a few things then went into Dickson to have dinner at the Mexican restaurant. I ordered the beef and chicken fajitas for two. They brought the standard chips and salsa and that white, creamy cheese too. We could have just eaten the chips and been done with it. But alas we had the fajitas coming...

The plate of fajitas was so big and so full of food we could have fed at least 6 people! It came out smoking hot and still sizzling on the skillet. We both ate until we were stuffed full and it didn't even look like we made a dent in it. The meat was very tender and seasoned just right. The vegetables were still a little on the crunchy side, which we both prefer and everything else that comes with it was the standard Mexican fare; refried beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, guacamole and sour cream. Each of us received a plate full of the sides - one plate would have been more than enough.

Once we were convinced we could eat no more, we boxed up our leftovers and set off for the farm. We took Hwy. 48 going home. This is the road they say is so curvy you can see your own taillights. We'll they aren't lying! lol It's hilly and curvy and thank goodness Wally was driving. He knows the road like the back of his hand whereas I would have been going about 20 mph and still hitting the brakes. There sure is some pretty countryside out that way. I could just gaze on it for hours. Old farmhouses, decrepit but still functioning barns, wood fences holding in all manner of cattle, goats, mules and horses. Halloween decorations dot the landscape and as the sun was setting, the wheat fields were shining gold in all their late fall glory.

We came up through the holler and spotted a nice size deer. She was running up the hill like it was nothing to her. I might have made it ten feet up before I would have been panting and huffing and puffing. Had I a gun, I'd have had to have taken her home with me. I didn't though and most likely she was too quick even if I did. My time will come - hunting season is just inside of November. There are hunters out already because of it being archery season but they don't really scare the deer like the constant barrage of gunfire. For the most part they are setting up their stands and likely baiting the surrounding area. I'm not sure that's legal but I am sure they do it.

This weekend is the Junior Hunt. Kids from three or four surrounding counties can bring their kill to the check in stations and prizes are awarded (1st & 2nd place) for the biggest rack and again for the biggest doe by weight. The co-op, Tractor Supply and Feed & Farm Stores are all jam packed with hunters of all ages getting their gear together. Camouflage is the color of choice no matter who you are, where you are going or what day it is. I bet they even wear camo to church! LOL j/k

Our little town of Centerville made national TV last Thursday. There's a show on NPT called Tennessee Crossroads and on the show they take you all over the state highlighting some of the coolest things to see and do. One show was a story about a man who makes all different kinds of hats out of wood. That's right. Wood. Some of them are just for display but others are lightweight enough that they can be worn. Amazing the talent these people have.

So the host goes to Centerville and tells about "The Grinder Switch Hour" that is open to the public every Saturday morning from 10-11 am. They have free music; bluegrass, country, old country & western like Hank Williams and they have a museum you can tour right there in the town center. We were going to try and make it this past weekend but we had much to do in order to prepare for and get over to Kurt's birthday party. We're going to try again this next Saturday coming up. As you may or may not know, Centerville is where Cousin Minnie Pearl hails from - she's the claim to fame in these parts :).  If you care to, you can Google Hickman County and there you'll find all you need to know about where I'm living.

You may be able to go to the Tennessee Crossroads website and catch a replay of the show.

As I said we had much to do to get ready for Kurt's birthday party. We had breakfast - namely the left over fajitas with some scrambled eggs! Wally went down to the barn while I stayed at the cabin making the squash squares and marinated mushrooms. Kelly called while I was cooking and it was so nice to talk to her. She recently celebrated a birthday and just picked up the cards we sent and was calling to thank us. I mailed them to Marcia because I wasn't sure what address to use for Kelly. We had a nice long chat and I was feeling good all over. We don't get many calls so it kind of scared me for a second when the phone first rang. LOL

My squares finished cooking, the mushrooms were soaking up the dressing and Wally was just coming in from the barn. I got a quick shower and tried to figure out how to dress. It was supposed to be 74 during the day and then dropping into the lower 50s at night. I put on a sweatshirt and carried another heavier one in case I got cold - you just never know.

We arrived at Kurt's house to find a few people up by the cooker (I'll come back to that) enjoying the late fall afternoon breezes all the while laughing and talking about the night before. Kind of reminded me of all us when we have a really good Friday night at the Oriole's and then meet back up there again on Saturday so we can put together all the pieces of the puzzle! lol They had gotten into the White Lightning so I guess there was plenty of pieces to fit into place. There were some hangovers being tended to and, of course, the lusciousness of the pork simmering and smoking on the cooker. You can see the picture of it on the flickr site.

They told me they were going to cook it on a portable grill. A portable grill, as it turns out, is stacked cement blocks on three sides with three braces running from side to side. One end is open so they can shovel coals while the pig cooks. The coals are pieces of oak set aflame in two big rusty barrels that have been serving this purpose for longer than anyone knows. They have a shovel that's been modified so that it has a 10-12 foot metal handle - the better to scoop and shovel the hot coals into the pit with my dears. A piece of fencing is placed over the braces and the hog is placed upon it. It gets flipped once during the cooking process and ends up skin side down. In this manner the cook is able to keep all the juices in the meat so nothing gets dried out. Talk about smelling up the neighborhood - I was on roasted pork scent overload! 

They cover it with two big pieces of cardboard which is held in place by rocks - much like those growing in my garden. In fact, Wally said it looked like some of them probably did come from our place. They certainly do serve many purposes!

It was an awesome experience for me to be part of. The seasonal weather, the roads off the beaten path, the smell of pork simmering over a wood fire, friends around enjoying familiar conversation and a few new people to meet as they stopped by to greet the birthday boy. We were fortunate to see a mule wagon team as they made their monthly journey along the road leading to Kurt's house. There were likely a good 20-25 teams pulling covered wagons. Some wagons with their sides let down, others with the sides up so we could see the people sitting within them. The mules were all shades of black, brown, gray and white; some with jingling harnesses others with just the bare necessities. What a sight and sound to behold! They waved as they passed by even though they knew no one and vice versa.

Jeff had his karaoke set up in Kurt's front yard so as the pork finished cooking and the frog legs were being fried, we took up our cooler and moved to an area with a view. Kurt's front yard overlooks a pond where he has stocked catfish and bream. A few people took to fishing while others helped set up the food table with styrofoam plates, plastic utensils and bags of napkins. Trucks were pulled up, tailgate first, and little kids were intentionally racing as they rolled down the hill on the far side of the property.

We filled our plates and our bellies and listened to the music and singing while savouring one of the last few nice weather evenings. "Before long," as they say, "there won't be no more of this outside stuff going on." Beverly had made potato salad, turnip greens and baked beans. She also made a homemade banana pudding that I'm sure was delicious but I didn't actually try it. There was plenty to go around and maybe even a little bit leftover. Claudia made it in from NC and came to join the party but she missed us. By the time she got there, we had already left for home. I think it was around 8ish... lol we're not much for the late night stuff anymore.

Sunday I tried a new grilled cheese recipe. I know - what could possibly improve on the greatness of the existing grilled cheese sandwich???   Well, instead of using butter for the bread you use mayo. I'm no fan of mayo but when melted it makes the bread crunchier than butter. Slather on the mayo and get the bottom bread cooking but keep an eye on it - it'll burn quickly. Layer on Monterrey Jack cheese along with cheddar or swiss - whichever you have or whichever you prefer. Sprinkle on some parmesan and let it cook until the cheese is all warm and gooey.

Pretty darn good I must say. All those cheeses got melted together and were trying to drip from between the bread slices. The sandwiches were warm on a chilly October morning and we washed them down with big glasses of tea. Hot - cold, salty - sweet. Breakfast in the cabin in Tennessee. I was lovin' it :)

We worked on cleaning out the phone booth so it can finally become a working elevator. It's has the phone in it and it works too but we'll be using it elsewhere in the cabin. Meanwhile, the hydraulics are all that's lacking and once they are hooked up - we'll be able to elevate to the upper level instead of stair climbing. Not that I mind stair climbing but it'll be so cool to elevate up instead :)

The phone booth was built into the wall next to the fireplace and it's got the folding door on the front. The door is wood and glass so it fits the decor (?) like it was meant to be there. All sorts of things had piled up in there over the years so it did take some time to clean it all out. I windex'd the glass and the linoleum floor and it looks so much better now that it's clean and empty. In there I found an old doily that belonged to Wally's grandma and a place was found immediately for it to be on display. That's my kind of stuff! :) 

We watched the race and then some football all the while the laundry was going and the roosters were clucking outside. We had the windows and doors open and the breeze blew through just enough to bring leaves in from outdoors and onto my freshly swept floor - ha ha, isn't that how it always goes? I put some peanuts in the oven to roast and picked up my holiday magazines to start getting in the "holiday" mood.

We tested the peanuts after about an hour and a half (according to Mom that's when you test them) and they were perfect. We took them warm from the oven and poured them into a cloth-lined basket which we then carried into the living room to enjoy in front of the tv. While all this was well and good I knew I still had to take my car into town and get it fueled up. I sure didn't want to leave the sanctity of home but I also didn't want to be stuck pumping gas in the rain that was sure to come this morning. So, off we went. We didn't go all the way into Dickson, we stopped on Hwy. 46 at the Shell station. It's not far from Hwy. 100 and the gas was five cents cheaper than going into town. We fueled up the car, picked up some beer (while we were there we figured, what the heck) and then I went into the little Food Town grocery and picked up a pork tenderloin for dinner.

You would think after Kurt's party we would have had enough pork but noooooooooo. I still had a hankering for more.

We got back home and took a few minutes outside to appreciate our surroundings. The leaves are mostly brown now and what few remained on the trees Sunday afternoon, likely blew off in the rain overnight. I put on my muck boots and made for the outhouse where the chicken scratch is kept inside in a garbage can. I filled the jar and called the roosters to come eat. They came running along behind me like they hadn't had a bite to eat in days. We all know better. All they do is eat and sleep...:) and crow! lol I still laugh at that. If you look at the pictures you'll see one of me at the stove with the roosters in the background. The back door was being held open by a grocery bag so the breeze could cool me while I was cooking.

We had our sliced pork tenderloin and I planned to cook some black eyed peas to go with it. Well, I opened the can and it was full of a brownish liquid but no peas. Guess I got ripped off on that can! lol  hmmmm what to do, what to do? I dug in the freezer and pulled out a bag of that okra we put up over the summertime and another bag with some speckled butter beans. Together with some ham bouillon and black pepper the day was saved after all. I made some cornbread and dinner was served.

I forgot to mention that since Beverly made that banana pudding and neither of us partook of it, I thought it would be nice to have one of our own - sugar free of course. I mixed everything together and put it in the refrigerator to set up. Oh boy was it ever good! All my thanks go to Marcia for that recipe - she used to make it whenever Wally came to town and now I know why he liked it so much.

As I always do, I cleaned up the kitchen and threw the scraps to the roosters and dogs. We turned off the lights, shut the windows and doors and hit the hay. My laundry was done, my floors and kitchen were clean, the phone booth was ready for completion and we were tired... that's why I'm pretty sure I was asleep before 8:00 pm rolled around.  :)  LOL big party animals aren't we?

I hope you spent your weekend enjoying every minute of it. They only come around once every five days :) There are about 20 something new pictures on the Flickr site. Some are filed under the sets to the right but you can just scroll down on the main page to see them all in one place. I hope you have fun looking at all the stuff I get to look at! Don't forget to feel free to comment. I'll go in and comment back if it allows me to :)

"A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience." Sydney Smith