Here's hoping everyone enjoyed themselves without too much in the manner of over doing it :)
For my first Thanksgiving in my new home I was completely satisfied. It couldn't have been better unless you could have been there. We had great company, wonderful food, strange but accommodating weather and much to be thankful for.
I had vacation days Wednesday and Friday so I've been gone from work for 5 days. Needless to say, it's not so easy getting back in the swing of things. It took the better part of the morning just to get through all my email.... ugh! That being said, here's how it all panned out...
On my way home from work Tuesday I stopped at the Triple L Ranch, just off Hwy. 100 about 15 miles. The ranch sells grass-fed beef in a variety of cuts and they do some horse boarding and training too. They have a beautiful place that's well off the beaten path much like we are. They are some really nice people who take care to raise their cattle in the most natural way possible. No hormones or antibiotics are given to the animals and they are raised primarily on grass just like cows are supposed to be raised. During the last few days of their life, they are gradually moved to a grain-fed diet and then slaughtered in the most humane way possible. I don't know what that means but that's how it is described. From what I've gathered, they don't want the animals to be under any undue stress as that causes them to release a hormone which is detrimental to the flavor of the meat.
Perhaps my Grandma could enlighten me on that subject. Before I go on I have to tell you this part. It's a little bit humorous so I don't want to forget to tell you about it. I was talking to Mom and as it turned out, I drove right past the exit I needed to take to get to the ranch. Had I been in Orlando, this would have meant driving to the next exit or frantically trying to find a good, safe place to turn around. It would have been somewhat stressful to say the least - you've all been there so you know what I mean. As I'm no longer in Orlando (you're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy! LOL) I simply slowed to a moderate speed (from 55 mph) and pulled a U-E right there in the middle of Hwy. 100. There was no traffic in front or behind me - just me and the road and I was able to keep Mom on the phone the whole time. Tell me when was the last time you were able to do that? :)
So with my two chuck roasts in hand I drove on home where Wally had just arrived after picking up a few things in town. We were set for the weekend as far as supplies went and we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of our guests on Wednesday. I ran the dry swiffer around the floors and then cleaned the bathroom. I got some laundry done and then made the cranberry salad recipe you see to your left on the blog. I also took out the whole wheat bread and cut it into cubes for my stuffing. It was seasoned and then heated in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. There wasn't much else we could do so we had some time to just chill out and relax. Imagine that - chilling out and relaxing two days before Thanksgiving.
Wednesday came and we were up early with plenty to do. I had put one of the roasts in a bowl to thaw for dinner Wednesday night so I took that out of the refrigerator. It was a big 4 pounder so it needed some extra time to defrost. Meanwhile I cut up some carrots and onions to go in the roasting pan with it. I cleaned up the kitchen and we headed for the barn.
I was the assistant mechanic for a couple of hours while Wally figured out what was wrong with and how to fix the truck - apparently it was something to do with a U-joint which made no sense to me at all because this supposed U-joint is actually in the shape of a T. Those are mechanical terms for which I have no definition or experience using so I'm going to have to say that Wally was right in what he called it. LOL I had my hands all greasy and dirty and I had been holding up a drive shaft (got my mechanic lingo on...lol) that's really quite heavy when Wally decided it was time to head to the parts store. Now I have to say that painting wasn't much fun and neither was being an assistant to the mechanic but of the two, I'd probably choose the assistant mechanic gig. When I asked what it paid, he told me flat out "not much." Had I known that I might not have worked so hard at it... ha ha ha
So off to the parts store we went. Right next door was Save-A-Lot where I picked up the green beans and fried onions for the green bean casserole. That was a fiasco in itself. First I looked for them on aisles where I thought they might possibly be but weren't then when I was about to give up the cashier asked if I had found everything I needed. She asked another lady where they might be and this lady sent me down aisle 1 towards the end on the bottom left. WRONG, no sign of them there. I went back to the cashier, where there were now about 5 people behind me and Wally, waiting ever so patiently (yeah right), where I was then told that they were on aisle 2, not aisle 1. Here I go again... down aisle 2 on the left at the end... NOPE... arghhhhh!! Finally a lady came by with a Save-A-Lot uniform on and I asked her. She walked right over to them (on the end cap of aisle 3 by the way) and handed me two bags (they don't come in cans at Save-A-Lot - possibly why I couldn't see them...?) and asked if there was anything else I needed. Um, maybe a beer at this point... lol
We were finally checked out with auto parts and groceries in hand and back home we went. It's crazy how things work out like that sometimes.
I seasoned the roast, carrots and onions and slid that heavy thing into the oven. It needed to cook for about 4 hours and that was working out well because we weren't expecting Jay and Teri until 9:30-10:00. I also peeled, boiled and mashed some turnips and added some butter, chives and black pepper. We started smelling the roast after about an hour or so and both agreed the scent should be captured and made into a candle....mmmmm good!!
It was getting colder outside so I changed into some sweat pants, we turned on the heater and the tv and watched it while awaiting our company. I made the mistake of laying on the couch where I fought sleep as long as I possibly could but finally succumbed around 8:30ish when I promptly fell to sleep... :) zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
That's all it took for company to come down the drive - just fall asleep and it will happen every time :) LOL We spent some time catching up and discussing the plan for the next day which was basically, cook, eat, rest, eat more, and so on and so forth. Teri, ever so kindly, offered to color my hair for me and I, ever so gratefully, accepted that offer in a heartbeat! We planned it for Saturday as neither of us really wanted to go out on Friday if we could help it.
Thanksgiving Day arrived and the cooking began. First I made the stuffing since it takes 40-45 minutes for the barley to cook. While that was going on I blended together the dry rub for the bird and then smashed those whole wheat breadcrumbs for the stuffing. I chopped up the celery and onions and put the whole huge pile into a hot skillet of melted, simmering butter. Loaded with salt and pepper, the vegetables sauteed to tenderness in just minutes. The bird came with a bag of gravy but we all prefer homemade so the bag was put back in the refrigerator for another use.
Teri brought a homemade, sugar-free pumpkin pie that she had cooked the night before so dessert was ready. She also brought a Pillsbury, Sugar-free cake mix which we had never seen before and clearly didn't know existed. What a pure delight to know that we could add cake back into our mostly sugar-free diet. It's been years for the diabetic in the house and many months for me... Cake, perfectly moist, puffy and light, no icing necessary... what a treat to be thankful for :)
In lieu of the frosting, Teri had a bag of frozen fruit which she thawed, sprinkled with Splenda and poured over the cake. How good does that sound? Yeah - it was that good! It reminded me of a birthday cake that Mom made for me one year. It was a chocolate cake that was cooked in a bundt pan and after it cooled, she topped it with whipped topping and fresh strawberries. Indeed, that was a cake to remember as will be the Thanksgiving cake of 2010!
While the turkey roasted, we loaded up on the 4 wheelers and Wally took us through all the trails and down to the holler. From there we went to the swimmin hole so they could see it too. They were very impressed with the size of the thing and from the sound of it, I take it they'll be back for some swimming next summer :) I introduced them to the roosters and warned that their timers were off since the time change. They got to witness how the thugs leave little Roo to himself. He doesn't mind. He always gets to the food first!
Darryl stopped by for a short visit and I would have made him a to-go plate but the turkey wasn't ready yet. He did try the cranberry salad and agreed with everyone else how yummy it was. I still haven't seen Marie to thank her for it. I do recommend you try it - it's very surprising how good it is. We were hoping Darryl could stay for dinner but he had to get back to Pee Wee's to work. Bummer.
The weather was very strange all day. It felt like being in FL when a hurricane is on the horizon. The colors were weird, it was windy but somewhat warm and very humid. I don't know exactly how to describe it other than to say that it was just off...
Kurt, Beverly and Tenneshia showed up and the bird was put into the oven to crisp the skin for those who partake in it. Teri had the green bean casserole done and the mashed sweet potatoes. I spooned out the stuffing and got the plates and silverware out while Teri made the gravy. It was some awesome turkey gravy if I do say so myself. It had just the right balance of thickness to creaminess and salty, peppery and turkey dripping flavors... I could drink it!! I don't know too many people who have mastered turkey gravy but she sure nailed it on the head.
We all had bellies full of food and our minds full of memories of another Thanksgiving coming to a close. When I went to bed that night, it was with a smile of happiness the likes of which I haven't felt in a long time. It could only have been more perfect if you had been here.
How could Friday ever top the wonder of Thanksgiving? Well, just by being Friday. I was off work, we had friends to spend our time with and Teri and I were getting the Christmas stuff out of the trailer and into the cabin. With her guidance, we set up the 9 foot tree that Dizzy Debbie gave me and then dug into the tangled mess of lights that I found in a box. I knew I hadn't packed those lights as I would never have been able to sleep at night seeing the condition they were in but since they were available - we worked to untangle them. There were 3 or 4 strands, one worked the others were only half lit. You know what that means - a trip into town...ugh!!!! This was black Friday - there was no way I was going to town. The Christmas tree was put on hold but we did manage to get quite a few boxes inside for me to sort through.
From the leftover chuck roast and carrots I made a hearty and robust beef stew for dinner. Friday had been cold, windy and drizzling a light rain all day so by the time we were ready to eat - beef stew seemed to be the definitive meal :) Cooking it made the cabin smell good, eating it made us feel good and it wasn't long before bed was sounding good to everyone.
Come Saturday morning, one Mr. Jay Johnson had had enough of my "damn roosters!" LOL ha ha ha I warned him they would be crowing before daylight... oh how I laughed at him for cursing them!! They're just doing their job and what a good job they do of it! Perhaps he had a little too much to drink the day before??? hmmmmm that might make 6 crowing roosters pretty unpopular :)
Teri and I were off to Wal-Mart (dreaded but necessary) so I could get some hair color and some storage bins for when the ornaments have to come down. I need to reorganize the whole mess and she found some bins in GA that were really cool. We got everything and then some of what we needed at Wal-Mart - it wasn't so bad with two people working the place. She went one way with part of the list and I went the other with the rest of the list. We met in the middle and were out of there in record time. We stopped at Lowe's for the bins because Wal-Mart won't be putting out theirs until after Christmas.
We strung the 5 sets of lights we got from Wal-Mart and then had to resort to the half lit strings we had untangled the day before. After much deliberation and some fancy stringing, the tree was lit and I was ready to start on the ornaments. I had finished with one box when everyone said how nice it looked. Well, little did they know there was much more to come. I think I went through three boxes before I was too tired to go on. I did get my snowmen out and on display on the bookshelf. I also got the top of the piano decorated with the crystal-like snowmen that Chrystal (that's her name for real) gave me for Christmas. The guys brought me some cedar branches which I put up on the mantel and decorated it with another grouping of snowmen. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow for the pictures. Truly I didn't have another ounce of energy left in me by the time all that was done. You see, in order for anything to be decorated I first had to pack up everything on the shelves, piano and mantel. I just unpacked all that crap in March and now here I was packing it back up... that's the way things go sometimes but at least the cabin is starting to look like a Christmas village. I can't wait for you to see it.
Football was on all day Saturday and left overs were reheated for anyone who had room to stuff more in. After the tree was strung with lights, we started in on the hair dyeing process. Finally the gray has been covered and the washed out ends match up with the rest of my hair!!! I'm ever so thankful for that. Kurt had brought us a deer that someone gave him. He didn't have room in his freezer so he brought it to us. Wally cut it into manageable pieces and I sealed it with the Seal-a-Meal machine we bought over the summer when we processed the pig. What wasn't cut into steaks or tenderloin medallions was put into a bag to be made into sausage tomorrow. Darryl is offering up his services again so unless we eat it all before you get here, we'll have venison sausage for breakfast :)
Sunday meant that our company would be leaving soon and it seemed they had only just arrived. We took Jay to the meat place so he could see the operation and pick up some meat if he so desired. It's hard, if not darn near impossible to resist. We added a few more bags to our supply and he had a box full before it was all said and done. We even remembered to get more bones for the dogs.
This week they were serving country ham and biscuits as well as the much loved sausage biscuits. I don't know how many we had between the three of us but we clearly had made pigs of ourselves. I thought of Dizzy Debbie the whole time :)
The bacon still was not cured so we'll have to make another trip back but the smoked sausages and hams were hanging along the walls. I got us a smoked sausage - it's kind of like summer sausage - to enjoy as the winter days go by when we want something smokey to eat but can't quite bring ourselves to go out into the cold and light the smoker :) With pure will-power, I will try my best to save some for Neccy and Jack when they come for Christmas. Either that or I'll just have to buy another one... LOL :)
I think we saw one other vehicle the whole way there and back. In fact, we saw more deer than we did traffic. The morning was very cold and frost had covered the ground. It crunched when we walked on it. We could smell the sausage and ham cooking before we ever opened the doors. The place was packed too. People were lined up out the door as we were leaving. There's no telling how much this guy is making. It benefits his pockets and it benefits my pocket since there's no tax to be paid. We're going to buy ground beef anyway - might as well be fresh off the cow.
Back at the cabin, Teri began the process of packing up their stuff. I remembered having to leave this place before I moved here and it was never a happy occasion. There's just something about it. The cabin was quieted as they headed down the driveway. We stood there watching and wondering when they could come back again. We had a good visit. I went back to work on the tree while Wally sat in his chair watching me and watching tv. After about 20 minutes, we decided to go to Pee Wee's. I packed up some food for Darryl and Wally packed up the cooler. Off we went.
I wore my "joe-veralls" with a red, long sleeved t-shirt (Rebecca) and my $1.25 Timberland boots and topped it all with a light weight jacket. It was sunny outside and just a little cool and I was sporting my new hair color. We visited with everyone and Darryl fed us some venison that was cooked to perfection. Anyone who says they don't like it, it's because they haven't eaten it how he cooks it. It melts in your mouth. There's no gamy taste to it at all - in fact, you would be hard-pressed to guess what it was if asked.
He showed me an article in the paper where a young boy shot a 10 point DOE (yes, it's true) during the juvenile hunting season. They say it happens very rarely but was verified by the wildlife people to be true. I thought surely he was kidding. I read it myself and saw the picture so I can tell you he wasn't kidding. It's just a rare freak of nature.
As Sunday came to a close and the work week loomed on the horizon, we made our way back home where the kitchen light made for a welcoming sight on a chilly November afternoon. The roosters had already put themselves to bed so we turned on the light for the dogs and put ourselves to bed too.
I hope you make it up next year so you can enjoy this experience too.
"My home is not a place, it is people." Lois McMaster Bujold
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Good Morning my Loyal Readers,
Today will be the last posting until Monday when I return to work. I hope that your Thanksgiving proves to be well spent with family and friends should you so desire. For us, we have friends coming in from Atlanta and according to the weather person, lots of rain. Come Friday, it's supposed to be sunny with a low of 25 degrees and a high of just 46 degrees. Weather doesn't matter though when you don't have to go to work :)
So to get you caught up on things...hmmm where were we? Well, it doesn't matter, here is what has been going on as the days have been going by...
Friday I took a day off to spend with Wally so we started by going to the diner for breakfast. They are really nice there and the lady doing the cooking said I could have a cheese burger - she said it's just as easy to make as frying eggs so no big deal. We like her :) we like her a lot! lol
With breakfast out of the way we drove over to the barn and picked up supplies for working on the trailer. Wally wanted to tear down the back porch. The wood had rotted on the floor and it was no longer safe to walk on. Jeff helped us and eventually that porch did come down. It was amazing to me to watch this from start to finish. I knew it could be done, I just had absolutely no idea how they were going to do it. Little did I know, I would be part of it...
Wally showed me what he called a fencing tool and he showed me how to remove heavy duty staples by pounding the fencing tool with a hammer after you have wedged it between the heavy duty staples and the wall. Sounds simple enough but I'm not really known for my coordination so it took a few times of him showing me before I got it down pat. Okay, okay, so he went the whole way around the porch with me - whatever! I'm sure he was just making sure I didn't hurt myself... it's that whole process of holding onto one tool, while pounding it with another that just doesn't compute in my brain. I can watch him do it and I think - hey, that looks easy enough. Then he hands the tools over and I'm on my own. Now, it's not so easy anymore. I managed though and when all was said and done, I had only missed about 6 staples. Well hey, they were rusty and kind of blended in so it was hard to see some of them.
Next up for me... a power tool! I'm moving right along, aren't I? Boy he sure is trusting with his tools... LOL!
For the first time ever I used a drill. That's right - me and a power drill! Pretty scary if you know me very well... lol!! My job was to remove the screws that held the aluminum siding in place along the bottom of the porch. This took a little more training than the staple removing. Okay, lots more training. For one thing, I'm removing screws rather than screwing in screws. Why you have to push on the screw to remove it is quite beyond my comprehension but low and behold, he was right and it worked. The trick now was getting those darn grooves lined up so I didn't "strip" it (whatever "it" was, I wasn't supposed to strip it). I got my power tool lingo going on for a minute there... lol!
The "bit" was one for a phillips head (that word I already knew - so there!) and it proved to be pretty tricky business trying to line up those grooves when the screws are not always facing straight out at you... sometimes they would just unscrew right out of the hole, other times, I'd be fighting with it to the point of just saying "the heck with the drill, I'll just unscrew it with my fingers..." That wasn't always the best option but it was better than what I wanted to do which was banging the screw with the drill in aggravation when it wouldn't come out of that darn hole! Neccy is so much better with tools! Truly most anyone is better than I am but she's really MUCH better :)
I finished up my busy-work while the guys did the real labor. They took off the tin roof, they pulled the screening free and pushed down the railing and then Wally hooked up the floor to the tractor and pulled the whole thing free from the trailer. Amazing. I never saw anything like that before. We loaded up some junk in the back of Jeff's truck and took it to the barn to be sorted through and our work day was done :) We still have to go salvage any wood that might be worth using and the tin and screen will come in handy later. As for the rotted wood, I don't really know. I think we'll end up burning it.
It was still a nice, warm-ish, sunny day so we decided to go to Pee Wee's Place. Jeff headed out while Wally and I stayed back and had a sandwich (I offered Jeff one be he declined) and then we planned to meet him there. Well, he turned out to be a no-show which was no big deal. We stayed for an hour or so and then went home. On the mirror was posted an announcement that it was Pee Wee's birthday party on Saturday at 6pm. Fat chance of us making that one...it was way too late to get started on a Saturday. ha ha ha! We're usually ready for bed by then!
We had ribeyes on the grill for dinner and they were cooked to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, red (me) and pink (for Wally) and juicy on the inside. I heated up a can of peas and dinner was served. The roosters had already put themselves to bed and we fed the dogs the fat from the steaks. I flipped the switch so they would have some warmth in their dog house and we were done for the night. We did watch some tv but Friday was so long ago that my brain didn't hang on to what it was we watched... probably the usual :)
Now Saturday we had a bunch of plans but after breakfast we decided to go help Jeff since he had helped us so much the day before. He was painting the ceiling of his home and we figured three would be faster than one. My job, critique their jobs... lol
Before we left to go to Jeff's I donned my muck luck boots and a jacket and we went to feed the horses. I was petting Rebel at the gate when I saw something moving back behind him. He's a pretty big ole' horse so I wasn't really sure I saw anything but once I got over to the right side of him, sure enough there stood a 6 point buck (now I got my hunter lingo on...lol) not 15 yards in front of me. Rebel kept moving over when I did because he thought I had food for him so I thought I was going to miss out on seeing that deer in the clearing.
I called for Wally and he walked over so he could see it. Turns out there was a female with the buck and she was a pretty good size deer. The buck, while he was a six point, was not very big. He was big enough to run off the other buck who thought he was going to take the doe though. Wally saw the second buck coming towards the first and told me to watch as they will sometimes go to fighting. I was watching and wishing I had my rifle with me... :) The second buck wasn't so brave after all. As soon as ole' 6 point jumped toward him, he took off down the holler! chicken...
Well the deer were not in fear of us so instead of running off, they just stood there on the path that the horses take all the while nibbling the grass and watching us feed Smokey and Rebel. Now, if I were truly the "Great White Hunter" that everyone now calls me, I'd have gone and got my gun and shot that buck in a second. Alas it was not to be and for many reasons.
I wanted to shoot him, don't get me wrong, and hopefully his day will come but you see, I've come to care dearly for the horses and this is their space. The path is the one they use daily to come up and see us. We call them to come up that way. We feed them in that same area. This time of year, more so than any other, they come up every morning. I think it's because hunters are down at the bottom of the hill near their pasture and they get scared when the shooting starts. It could just be that they are pigs who know we'll give them sweet feed and carrots... lol!
In any event, it wouldn't be right of me to fire off a round and scare the daylights out of the horses when they've always felt safe in their space. Besides which, a gunshot would likely have Smokey tearing apart the gate, the fence, or whatever happened to be in his way. He's shy like that sometimes :) No - it just wasn't meant to be, not that day anyway. The horses got petted and fed and the deer got another reprieve from the great white hunter. Off to Jeff's to do some painting.
The guys got right to work while Jeff's wife, Alice, and I talked about Thanksgiving and recipes and recipe websites. She's into cooking like I am and we found we had a lot in common. She's going to share her steak and gravy recipe with me. She said I can cook it in my electric skillet even though hers was cooked in her cast iron skillet. She invited us to Thanksgiving, which was very nice, but they are having upwards of 20 something people. We declined as we prefer to stay home and enjoy a smaller, but every bit as fun, holiday with Jay and Teri.
I have to thank Bev for that electric skillet as it has come in handy in many, many ways. Steak and gravy sounds warm and filling and when it's in that electric skillet, I'm assured of very little in the way of clean-up. All you do is wipe it out with a soapy sponge, rinse, dry and put away. It's so non-stick that even the soap beads away from it. And, yes, I put the cord back in the re-sealable bag, the lid back in the bubble wrap and the skillet back into the plastic bag, Styrofoam ends and box in which it came. Laugh if you will (Ernie, Rebecca, Jarrett, Kain, Dizzy, etc...) but it still looks brand new and I use it all the time! Thank you Bev!!
After the painting was done, we went to Food Lion in Dickson. We needed to get beer while it was on sale and I needed cabbage and dried cranberries for the cranberry salad. We took hwy. 48. That's the one, if you recall, where they say it's so curvy you can see your own taillights... yeah. Wally drove :) I'm still not ready for that one yet - at least not if you want to make good time. lol!
We stopped at Tractor Supply and got sweet feed and then we went to Lowe's and then we were homeward bound. We took a back road that Wally hadn't ever been on and it turned out to be a really nice ride. We kicked back and watched as the road ambled along going up and over the hills, winding its way through curves and narrow passages. People always wave even if they don't know us and when we're in that big, black truck, they actually stop whatever they're doing and just watch as we go by. Grown men and little boys alike are all attracted to the sight of that truck.
When we went to Lowe's I stayed in the truck (we had all that beer you know...) while Wally went inside. This guy comes out with his two little boys and they just stopped and stared... he asked me what we had in it...huh? I'm so unqualified in these situations. I apologized and told him I had no idea - you could just see the disappointment set in. I told him my boyfriend would be out in just a few minutes if he wanted to talk to him about it. Not long after that another couple of guys came by and they too stared at it and then they started discussing what was in it without even asking me... I guess by now I probably had the look that says "I don't have a clue" so they left me alone. When the wife/mother came out and joined them, the son said something like, "Mom, did you see that truck?" She was like, "yeah, that'll be you someday son." It's just an old truck with a cool paint job but everybody wants to ask about it. Every single time we're out in it, someone says something about it or asks if it's for sale. I could never see me doing that.
Well now, we made it home and put away all that we had gathered on our trip into town. Wally took care of the sweet feed while I put away the food. The beer was stacked on the back porch as it is cool enough outside to keep it cold without freezing it. I fed the roosters and seasoned the salmon for dinner later on. It was clouding up and getting windy so we put off painting the doors until Sunday. We turned on the Nationwide Series and watched the race.
I cooked the salmon on the stove top and it was pretty good that way. I prefer it be grilled on a cedar plank but the weather kept us from that. We had our dinner, watched as the full moon rose in the sky off the front porch and listened to the roosters as they flew up into the trees and put themselves to bed. While we weren't flying up into the trees we weren't far behind them in going to bed. lol
Sunday called for rain but it was long in coming so we set up to paint the front doors barn red. They sell that color here and you can get it in a gallon or 5 gallons as you see fit. A gallon suited us perfectly. Before I painted I took the leaf blower upstairs and blew the leaves off the deck. They were piled so high I had to kick them out of my way just to get to one side of them. It probably took me 20 minutes to get them all blown down to the ground. Of course there's a learning curve with a leaf blower - hello, who knew? Not me. I made the mistake of blowing across the top of the leaves rather than towards the ground about a foot away from them. All I did was cause a full on leaf tornado up there! LOL ah ha ha it was pretty darn funny if I do say so myself!
I finally got the hang of it but it could have been a contender on America's Funniest Videos!
Painting the doors - that's another story. First of all, like using power tools, I've never painted anything other than water colors (which I'm pretty good at, I must say) and that little piece of trim on the trailer. The process is quite foreign to me when it comes to painting the doors of the house I live in. Apparently there's a technique. Apparently there's stirring to be done, brushes to decide on, taping of the glass, and putting down of the life-saver called a "drop cloth."
Fortunately for me, Wally has painted so he was able to guide me in the right direction. Let me say that taping is my least favorite part. Boring and tedious not to mention very little in the way of gratification. As I was soon to learn, the gratification comes in the end. All that taping paid off when we pulled it from the glass and trim. I had clean barn red lines going all around and the doors looked so pretty that I just wanted to keep staring. They aren't perfect by any means but perfect wasn't the look I was going for. I wanted a distressed look so they would match this old red box that we have. I think they came out perfectly distressed looking - you'll just have to come see for yourself.
I got my laundry done while the race was on and I took from the freezer some of the beans that I had put up over the summertime. I'm not sure if they came from Darryl or if they came in my CSA basket but I am sure that they were super delicious! I opened a couple cans of corn and seasoned it with black pepper and then set it to boiling. I seasoned the beans with beef bouillon and garlic powder and they were put on low so they could thaw gently without breaking them all apart.
When everything else was just about ready, the steaks went on the grill. They were grilled up and ready and in about 10 minutes we were seated at the table enjoying a nice, green bean-y, corn-y, beefy, quiet evening in the cabin. :) it was the perfect close to a perfect Sunday when perfection wasn't even the goal. Lots to be thankful for.
On the menu for us: Herb seasoned, roasted turkey stuffed with whole wheat bread and barley stuffing (lots of celery, onions, butter, sausage, apples and nuts), cranberry salad, green bean casserole (wouldn't be the same without it) and mashed sweet potatoes. Teri and Jay are bringing the pumpkin pie and whatever else she takes a liking to.
In light of that, Happy Thanksgiving! Good luck on the football pool and remember to drive safely if you must drive at all. If you happen to see my kids over the holiday, please give them a hug for me. Thanks :) Love to all!
"May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!"
~Author Unknown
Today will be the last posting until Monday when I return to work. I hope that your Thanksgiving proves to be well spent with family and friends should you so desire. For us, we have friends coming in from Atlanta and according to the weather person, lots of rain. Come Friday, it's supposed to be sunny with a low of 25 degrees and a high of just 46 degrees. Weather doesn't matter though when you don't have to go to work :)
So to get you caught up on things...hmmm where were we? Well, it doesn't matter, here is what has been going on as the days have been going by...
Friday I took a day off to spend with Wally so we started by going to the diner for breakfast. They are really nice there and the lady doing the cooking said I could have a cheese burger - she said it's just as easy to make as frying eggs so no big deal. We like her :) we like her a lot! lol
With breakfast out of the way we drove over to the barn and picked up supplies for working on the trailer. Wally wanted to tear down the back porch. The wood had rotted on the floor and it was no longer safe to walk on. Jeff helped us and eventually that porch did come down. It was amazing to me to watch this from start to finish. I knew it could be done, I just had absolutely no idea how they were going to do it. Little did I know, I would be part of it...
Wally showed me what he called a fencing tool and he showed me how to remove heavy duty staples by pounding the fencing tool with a hammer after you have wedged it between the heavy duty staples and the wall. Sounds simple enough but I'm not really known for my coordination so it took a few times of him showing me before I got it down pat. Okay, okay, so he went the whole way around the porch with me - whatever! I'm sure he was just making sure I didn't hurt myself... it's that whole process of holding onto one tool, while pounding it with another that just doesn't compute in my brain. I can watch him do it and I think - hey, that looks easy enough. Then he hands the tools over and I'm on my own. Now, it's not so easy anymore. I managed though and when all was said and done, I had only missed about 6 staples. Well hey, they were rusty and kind of blended in so it was hard to see some of them.
Next up for me... a power tool! I'm moving right along, aren't I? Boy he sure is trusting with his tools... LOL!
For the first time ever I used a drill. That's right - me and a power drill! Pretty scary if you know me very well... lol!! My job was to remove the screws that held the aluminum siding in place along the bottom of the porch. This took a little more training than the staple removing. Okay, lots more training. For one thing, I'm removing screws rather than screwing in screws. Why you have to push on the screw to remove it is quite beyond my comprehension but low and behold, he was right and it worked. The trick now was getting those darn grooves lined up so I didn't "strip" it (whatever "it" was, I wasn't supposed to strip it). I got my power tool lingo going on for a minute there... lol!
The "bit" was one for a phillips head (that word I already knew - so there!) and it proved to be pretty tricky business trying to line up those grooves when the screws are not always facing straight out at you... sometimes they would just unscrew right out of the hole, other times, I'd be fighting with it to the point of just saying "the heck with the drill, I'll just unscrew it with my fingers..." That wasn't always the best option but it was better than what I wanted to do which was banging the screw with the drill in aggravation when it wouldn't come out of that darn hole! Neccy is so much better with tools! Truly most anyone is better than I am but she's really MUCH better :)
I finished up my busy-work while the guys did the real labor. They took off the tin roof, they pulled the screening free and pushed down the railing and then Wally hooked up the floor to the tractor and pulled the whole thing free from the trailer. Amazing. I never saw anything like that before. We loaded up some junk in the back of Jeff's truck and took it to the barn to be sorted through and our work day was done :) We still have to go salvage any wood that might be worth using and the tin and screen will come in handy later. As for the rotted wood, I don't really know. I think we'll end up burning it.
It was still a nice, warm-ish, sunny day so we decided to go to Pee Wee's Place. Jeff headed out while Wally and I stayed back and had a sandwich (I offered Jeff one be he declined) and then we planned to meet him there. Well, he turned out to be a no-show which was no big deal. We stayed for an hour or so and then went home. On the mirror was posted an announcement that it was Pee Wee's birthday party on Saturday at 6pm. Fat chance of us making that one...it was way too late to get started on a Saturday. ha ha ha! We're usually ready for bed by then!
We had ribeyes on the grill for dinner and they were cooked to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, red (me) and pink (for Wally) and juicy on the inside. I heated up a can of peas and dinner was served. The roosters had already put themselves to bed and we fed the dogs the fat from the steaks. I flipped the switch so they would have some warmth in their dog house and we were done for the night. We did watch some tv but Friday was so long ago that my brain didn't hang on to what it was we watched... probably the usual :)
Now Saturday we had a bunch of plans but after breakfast we decided to go help Jeff since he had helped us so much the day before. He was painting the ceiling of his home and we figured three would be faster than one. My job, critique their jobs... lol
Before we left to go to Jeff's I donned my muck luck boots and a jacket and we went to feed the horses. I was petting Rebel at the gate when I saw something moving back behind him. He's a pretty big ole' horse so I wasn't really sure I saw anything but once I got over to the right side of him, sure enough there stood a 6 point buck (now I got my hunter lingo on...lol) not 15 yards in front of me. Rebel kept moving over when I did because he thought I had food for him so I thought I was going to miss out on seeing that deer in the clearing.
I called for Wally and he walked over so he could see it. Turns out there was a female with the buck and she was a pretty good size deer. The buck, while he was a six point, was not very big. He was big enough to run off the other buck who thought he was going to take the doe though. Wally saw the second buck coming towards the first and told me to watch as they will sometimes go to fighting. I was watching and wishing I had my rifle with me... :) The second buck wasn't so brave after all. As soon as ole' 6 point jumped toward him, he took off down the holler! chicken...
Well the deer were not in fear of us so instead of running off, they just stood there on the path that the horses take all the while nibbling the grass and watching us feed Smokey and Rebel. Now, if I were truly the "Great White Hunter" that everyone now calls me, I'd have gone and got my gun and shot that buck in a second. Alas it was not to be and for many reasons.
I wanted to shoot him, don't get me wrong, and hopefully his day will come but you see, I've come to care dearly for the horses and this is their space. The path is the one they use daily to come up and see us. We call them to come up that way. We feed them in that same area. This time of year, more so than any other, they come up every morning. I think it's because hunters are down at the bottom of the hill near their pasture and they get scared when the shooting starts. It could just be that they are pigs who know we'll give them sweet feed and carrots... lol!
In any event, it wouldn't be right of me to fire off a round and scare the daylights out of the horses when they've always felt safe in their space. Besides which, a gunshot would likely have Smokey tearing apart the gate, the fence, or whatever happened to be in his way. He's shy like that sometimes :) No - it just wasn't meant to be, not that day anyway. The horses got petted and fed and the deer got another reprieve from the great white hunter. Off to Jeff's to do some painting.
The guys got right to work while Jeff's wife, Alice, and I talked about Thanksgiving and recipes and recipe websites. She's into cooking like I am and we found we had a lot in common. She's going to share her steak and gravy recipe with me. She said I can cook it in my electric skillet even though hers was cooked in her cast iron skillet. She invited us to Thanksgiving, which was very nice, but they are having upwards of 20 something people. We declined as we prefer to stay home and enjoy a smaller, but every bit as fun, holiday with Jay and Teri.
I have to thank Bev for that electric skillet as it has come in handy in many, many ways. Steak and gravy sounds warm and filling and when it's in that electric skillet, I'm assured of very little in the way of clean-up. All you do is wipe it out with a soapy sponge, rinse, dry and put away. It's so non-stick that even the soap beads away from it. And, yes, I put the cord back in the re-sealable bag, the lid back in the bubble wrap and the skillet back into the plastic bag, Styrofoam ends and box in which it came. Laugh if you will (Ernie, Rebecca, Jarrett, Kain, Dizzy, etc...) but it still looks brand new and I use it all the time! Thank you Bev!!
After the painting was done, we went to Food Lion in Dickson. We needed to get beer while it was on sale and I needed cabbage and dried cranberries for the cranberry salad. We took hwy. 48. That's the one, if you recall, where they say it's so curvy you can see your own taillights... yeah. Wally drove :) I'm still not ready for that one yet - at least not if you want to make good time. lol!
We stopped at Tractor Supply and got sweet feed and then we went to Lowe's and then we were homeward bound. We took a back road that Wally hadn't ever been on and it turned out to be a really nice ride. We kicked back and watched as the road ambled along going up and over the hills, winding its way through curves and narrow passages. People always wave even if they don't know us and when we're in that big, black truck, they actually stop whatever they're doing and just watch as we go by. Grown men and little boys alike are all attracted to the sight of that truck.
When we went to Lowe's I stayed in the truck (we had all that beer you know...) while Wally went inside. This guy comes out with his two little boys and they just stopped and stared... he asked me what we had in it...huh? I'm so unqualified in these situations. I apologized and told him I had no idea - you could just see the disappointment set in. I told him my boyfriend would be out in just a few minutes if he wanted to talk to him about it. Not long after that another couple of guys came by and they too stared at it and then they started discussing what was in it without even asking me... I guess by now I probably had the look that says "I don't have a clue" so they left me alone. When the wife/mother came out and joined them, the son said something like, "Mom, did you see that truck?" She was like, "yeah, that'll be you someday son." It's just an old truck with a cool paint job but everybody wants to ask about it. Every single time we're out in it, someone says something about it or asks if it's for sale. I could never see me doing that.
Well now, we made it home and put away all that we had gathered on our trip into town. Wally took care of the sweet feed while I put away the food. The beer was stacked on the back porch as it is cool enough outside to keep it cold without freezing it. I fed the roosters and seasoned the salmon for dinner later on. It was clouding up and getting windy so we put off painting the doors until Sunday. We turned on the Nationwide Series and watched the race.
I cooked the salmon on the stove top and it was pretty good that way. I prefer it be grilled on a cedar plank but the weather kept us from that. We had our dinner, watched as the full moon rose in the sky off the front porch and listened to the roosters as they flew up into the trees and put themselves to bed. While we weren't flying up into the trees we weren't far behind them in going to bed. lol
Sunday called for rain but it was long in coming so we set up to paint the front doors barn red. They sell that color here and you can get it in a gallon or 5 gallons as you see fit. A gallon suited us perfectly. Before I painted I took the leaf blower upstairs and blew the leaves off the deck. They were piled so high I had to kick them out of my way just to get to one side of them. It probably took me 20 minutes to get them all blown down to the ground. Of course there's a learning curve with a leaf blower - hello, who knew? Not me. I made the mistake of blowing across the top of the leaves rather than towards the ground about a foot away from them. All I did was cause a full on leaf tornado up there! LOL ah ha ha it was pretty darn funny if I do say so myself!
I finally got the hang of it but it could have been a contender on America's Funniest Videos!
Painting the doors - that's another story. First of all, like using power tools, I've never painted anything other than water colors (which I'm pretty good at, I must say) and that little piece of trim on the trailer. The process is quite foreign to me when it comes to painting the doors of the house I live in. Apparently there's a technique. Apparently there's stirring to be done, brushes to decide on, taping of the glass, and putting down of the life-saver called a "drop cloth."
Fortunately for me, Wally has painted so he was able to guide me in the right direction. Let me say that taping is my least favorite part. Boring and tedious not to mention very little in the way of gratification. As I was soon to learn, the gratification comes in the end. All that taping paid off when we pulled it from the glass and trim. I had clean barn red lines going all around and the doors looked so pretty that I just wanted to keep staring. They aren't perfect by any means but perfect wasn't the look I was going for. I wanted a distressed look so they would match this old red box that we have. I think they came out perfectly distressed looking - you'll just have to come see for yourself.
I got my laundry done while the race was on and I took from the freezer some of the beans that I had put up over the summertime. I'm not sure if they came from Darryl or if they came in my CSA basket but I am sure that they were super delicious! I opened a couple cans of corn and seasoned it with black pepper and then set it to boiling. I seasoned the beans with beef bouillon and garlic powder and they were put on low so they could thaw gently without breaking them all apart.
When everything else was just about ready, the steaks went on the grill. They were grilled up and ready and in about 10 minutes we were seated at the table enjoying a nice, green bean-y, corn-y, beefy, quiet evening in the cabin. :) it was the perfect close to a perfect Sunday when perfection wasn't even the goal. Lots to be thankful for.
On the menu for us: Herb seasoned, roasted turkey stuffed with whole wheat bread and barley stuffing (lots of celery, onions, butter, sausage, apples and nuts), cranberry salad, green bean casserole (wouldn't be the same without it) and mashed sweet potatoes. Teri and Jay are bringing the pumpkin pie and whatever else she takes a liking to.
In light of that, Happy Thanksgiving! Good luck on the football pool and remember to drive safely if you must drive at all. If you happen to see my kids over the holiday, please give them a hug for me. Thanks :) Love to all!
"May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!"
~Author Unknown
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
An Amazing Transformation and Other Stufffffffffff
THEY say the changing of the seasons is really something to see and I don't know who "they" are but "they" are so absolutely right. While we're not fully out of Fall yet, we do seem to be having a Fall/Winter fluctuation of temperatures. I'm certainly no expert - this is just what I've been told :)
We're in that funky stage where you have to wear long pants, long sleeved shirts, coats and gloves (I do anyway) and you hope you'll be warm enough. It's that stage where you have to let your car warm up in the morning and you drive all the way to work with the heater on. It's that stage where when you leave work for the day, you're peeling off that jacket and those gloves, you're turning off that heater and rolling down the window just a crack.
I never know what to wear... not that I'm trying to make a fashion statement (ha ha ha) but it is nice to be warm enough or cool enough either way.
So in my (almost) 8 months of being here I have witnessed partial springtime where the trees, shrubs and flowers were all in full, glorious bloom. I witnessed summertime when it was as hot as any Florida summer where the grass turned brown and was begging for water and the dusty, dirt road coated my car with a dry, tannish hue. I witnessed the on-set of Fall and the leaves of the trees changing from bright, shiny green to all the different colors of the rainbow. I witnessed that colorful display of leaves fall to the ground and cover any semblance of white or yellow lines on the roads.
November has been a mix of warm temperatures reaching as high as 80 degrees and cold temperatures dipping as low as 28 degrees. It has been a mix of glowing sunshine and of heavy, gray, rain clouds that block almost all measure of that same sun. It has changed from gentle, cooling breezes to bone chilling 25 mile per hour winds.
Driving home I now see brown grasses that used to be a luxurious green. I see tree trunks and the bare limbs that used to be filled with leaves blocking my view of the houses behind them. I see the farm houses with wrap around porches and smoke rising from fireplaces burning within. The houses and barns are all cloaked in the white mist that hangs in the air around the mountains. The horses in the pastures have capes on their backs and I can see their breath as they stand eating their hay.
As Days Go By, we'll see what the next 4 months hold for me as I round out my first year here (can you believe that?) and I'll keep writing about it on the blog so you can experience it vicariously through me. That is assuming you want to :) While I do miss everyone in FL, there's no changing the fact that I am loving living here in Tennessee and I'm looking forward to all the exciting adventures (ha ha) to come.
Although there was a 100% chance of rain yesterday, we did get a little break from it in the afternoon. To my benefit it decided to stop raining right about the time I was leaving work. Hello? That never happens. Literally, it rained all day. It was raining while we were still in bed, it was raining while I was getting ready for work and it was raining the entire ride to work. I got soaked coming into the building because, of course, who knows where my umbrella is...? Behind me are windows that span the length of the area where I sit. Looking out periodically all I could see was rain, rain clouds and trees blowing in the wind. It was supposed to be 57 degrees but I hardly think it made it that high.
The clouds took pity on me just long enough to make it to my car however, and then they let loose again. It rained all the way home and was still raining when I got out of my car to get the gate....arrrgggghhhhh
Since I was already wet, I went ahead and fed the roosters. They were making their little noises and acting like they hadn't been fed in days. Hardly - not with me around :) Since they did such a jam up job digging the dirt away for my Hosta, I decided to let them do the same over on the side of Dizzy's Apartment (the outhouse). Once they have dug sufficiently deep, I'll stick a couple tulip bulbs and a couple daffodil bulbs in the ground and we'll have red and yellow flowers come springtime. Good ole' roosters! They may not lay eggs but they sure do cut down on the digging time :)
I've been getting some sage gardening advice and tips from my new gardener friend, Arlene. Arlene is up here in TN and from what I hear she has a beautiful garden practically year round. We have only met via email so I have yet to see her place. Regardless of that her advice and tips have been so helpful that my plants are no longer in danger of, well, winter demise. Those day lilies I thought I had to separate before winter? Turns out I needn't bother with that until spring. Whew! With everything else I want to do that is a big relief.
The stinky albeit beautiful paper whites...turns out they will not over winter here in the great outdoors and will have to be brought inside the cabin. I have no idea where I'll put them when they start blooming and letting off that horrendous odor but I'll have to find somewhere suitable... lol I can't see letting them die when it's my fault they were planted to start with.
The irises that still are not in the ground? She tells me they will be fine no matter where or when I plant them. She says they are very hardy and will survive the winter without issue. I've tried to get these bulbs in the ground but we've been so busy, I just haven't had the time. Now that I know they'll survive no matter what, I can relax and maybe think about getting them planted this weekend.
As Francis told me earlier in the year, as long as they have "flags" on them, they will bloom the first spring. When I described them to Arlene, she said they will stay green like that throughout the winter and blooming in the springtime shouldn't be a problem. Claudia probably knew that when she separated them to share with me. How sweet!
Darcy, Darcy (instead of Mary, Mary) quite contrary, how does your garden grow???
I have yellow, red and white mums and a variety of colors of pansies all at the cabin and all in bloom as I write. Hopefully by Christmastime I'll have blooms of paper whites and red amaryllis. For spring so far I have purple irises, red tulips and yellow daffodils and a bright, green Hosta - all up at the cabin. I have hollyhocks of varying colors, mystery plants (Allium) and delphinium down by the flag pole (where my decorations used to be...) all waiting for summer. I have a "Lily of the Nile" lily that I brought from Florida (thank you my friend Kathy) and which decided not to bloom this year. I have hope that once it goes through its first TN winter, it will put on a most delightful show for all to see. Don't forget the wild roses, wild daisies and those huge spreads of day lilies (that Arlene said I didn't have to separate until later...). Not bad for my first year here... I'm no where near through :)
I haven't completely finished the cookbook from Connie's mom but the completion is probably only a week or so away. In the meantime I found another old cookbook stored upstairs in the cabin. This one dates back only to 1985 but it is a collection called "Kentucky Kitchens" and at the bottom it says "Favorite Recipes of Telephone Pioneers." What are the chances of that? I work for a phone company and this book has recipes from folks who worked at various phone companies back in the 80s. Yes, AT&T is one of the employers represented in the book. Pretty cool, huh? Remember, if you have old cookbooks that you don't want or no longer care to cook with, I'll take them off your hands :)
The first recipe in it goes like this...
"No Los Baloney"
"Slice baloney to desired thickness. In skillet, saute onions in bacon grease. Throw in baloney. When baloney is half done, cover with slice of American cheese. Cook until cheese melts. Scoop works on toasted bun; add lettuce and tomato; salt and pepper to taste. It's great!" Chef Keno
Isn't that funny??? Now I don't know about y'all but this sounds like a cholesterol bomb to me... lol I mean, it sounds good and I would certainly eat it but my gosh, it couldn't be more bad for you unless it was deep fried. lol!!! So you see how this cookbook begins with a slightly different twist than the one from Connie. It should be interesting and amusing to compare the two as I read through the Kentucky Kitchens book.
You can still buy slab baloney here. I imagine you can in FL too but I don't remember seeing it. Maybe at Winn Dixie? To put it in bacon grease and then cover it with cheese... then keep it together with a bun... it's a heart attack waiting to happen. Ernie - whatever you do, don't feed this to William. If, one day, we find him with a half eaten one dangling from his stiffened fingers... we'll know what you were up to!!
As I said earlier, it was cold and rainy when I got home yesterday. After I fed the roosters I went to check on the dogs. The light wasn't on in the doghouse and only Wesson had come out from under the porch. About that same time Wally pulled up so he fixed the warming light for them and while he was in there, he filled their feeders. For a doghouse, it looks pretty cozy LOL The floor is covered with straw, the straw is covered with two old blankets and then they have the warming light and feeders full of dog food. Well, it didn't take them long to pile up in there and get warm. It's so cute to see them like that. I know, I know, show you the pictures! I will - soon as I can. Promise :)
By now the cabin was looking warm and inviting so we headed inside and I started heating up some chili that we had frozen a month or so ago. It didn't take long before the whole place smelled like chili powder, onions, tomatoes and beef....mmm mmm good! As I stood there stirring the chili, I watched through the kitchen window as two small deer came walking out of the woods behind Dizzy's Apartment. They were too small to shoot so we just stood there watching them as they calmly grazed in the yard and along the driveway. Every now and then they would raise their heads and their ears would go up as they listened to the sounds of the evening closing in. Before long, it was too dark for me to see them even as close as they were.
I served up those steaming hot bowls of chili with some cheese sprinkled on top and we filled our bellies until we could fill them no more :) The time change still has us messed up. I think we were ready to go to bed around 6:00 - which is insane - but it had already been dark for 2 hours. I cleaned up the kitchen and made my lunch for today and off to bed we went. We watched Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother and by then we were sacked out... lol! Three am comes pretty darn early in the morning and that's what time we woke up.
Since I got to work early today, you know what that means... woo hoo!!!! I get to leave early :) :) :) That being said, I need to finish up before I go :)
"Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning."
George Carlin
We're in that funky stage where you have to wear long pants, long sleeved shirts, coats and gloves (I do anyway) and you hope you'll be warm enough. It's that stage where you have to let your car warm up in the morning and you drive all the way to work with the heater on. It's that stage where when you leave work for the day, you're peeling off that jacket and those gloves, you're turning off that heater and rolling down the window just a crack.
I never know what to wear... not that I'm trying to make a fashion statement (ha ha ha) but it is nice to be warm enough or cool enough either way.
So in my (almost) 8 months of being here I have witnessed partial springtime where the trees, shrubs and flowers were all in full, glorious bloom. I witnessed summertime when it was as hot as any Florida summer where the grass turned brown and was begging for water and the dusty, dirt road coated my car with a dry, tannish hue. I witnessed the on-set of Fall and the leaves of the trees changing from bright, shiny green to all the different colors of the rainbow. I witnessed that colorful display of leaves fall to the ground and cover any semblance of white or yellow lines on the roads.
November has been a mix of warm temperatures reaching as high as 80 degrees and cold temperatures dipping as low as 28 degrees. It has been a mix of glowing sunshine and of heavy, gray, rain clouds that block almost all measure of that same sun. It has changed from gentle, cooling breezes to bone chilling 25 mile per hour winds.
Driving home I now see brown grasses that used to be a luxurious green. I see tree trunks and the bare limbs that used to be filled with leaves blocking my view of the houses behind them. I see the farm houses with wrap around porches and smoke rising from fireplaces burning within. The houses and barns are all cloaked in the white mist that hangs in the air around the mountains. The horses in the pastures have capes on their backs and I can see their breath as they stand eating their hay.
As Days Go By, we'll see what the next 4 months hold for me as I round out my first year here (can you believe that?) and I'll keep writing about it on the blog so you can experience it vicariously through me. That is assuming you want to :) While I do miss everyone in FL, there's no changing the fact that I am loving living here in Tennessee and I'm looking forward to all the exciting adventures (ha ha) to come.
Although there was a 100% chance of rain yesterday, we did get a little break from it in the afternoon. To my benefit it decided to stop raining right about the time I was leaving work. Hello? That never happens. Literally, it rained all day. It was raining while we were still in bed, it was raining while I was getting ready for work and it was raining the entire ride to work. I got soaked coming into the building because, of course, who knows where my umbrella is...? Behind me are windows that span the length of the area where I sit. Looking out periodically all I could see was rain, rain clouds and trees blowing in the wind. It was supposed to be 57 degrees but I hardly think it made it that high.
The clouds took pity on me just long enough to make it to my car however, and then they let loose again. It rained all the way home and was still raining when I got out of my car to get the gate....arrrgggghhhhh
Since I was already wet, I went ahead and fed the roosters. They were making their little noises and acting like they hadn't been fed in days. Hardly - not with me around :) Since they did such a jam up job digging the dirt away for my Hosta, I decided to let them do the same over on the side of Dizzy's Apartment (the outhouse). Once they have dug sufficiently deep, I'll stick a couple tulip bulbs and a couple daffodil bulbs in the ground and we'll have red and yellow flowers come springtime. Good ole' roosters! They may not lay eggs but they sure do cut down on the digging time :)
I've been getting some sage gardening advice and tips from my new gardener friend, Arlene. Arlene is up here in TN and from what I hear she has a beautiful garden practically year round. We have only met via email so I have yet to see her place. Regardless of that her advice and tips have been so helpful that my plants are no longer in danger of, well, winter demise. Those day lilies I thought I had to separate before winter? Turns out I needn't bother with that until spring. Whew! With everything else I want to do that is a big relief.
The stinky albeit beautiful paper whites...turns out they will not over winter here in the great outdoors and will have to be brought inside the cabin. I have no idea where I'll put them when they start blooming and letting off that horrendous odor but I'll have to find somewhere suitable... lol I can't see letting them die when it's my fault they were planted to start with.
The irises that still are not in the ground? She tells me they will be fine no matter where or when I plant them. She says they are very hardy and will survive the winter without issue. I've tried to get these bulbs in the ground but we've been so busy, I just haven't had the time. Now that I know they'll survive no matter what, I can relax and maybe think about getting them planted this weekend.
As Francis told me earlier in the year, as long as they have "flags" on them, they will bloom the first spring. When I described them to Arlene, she said they will stay green like that throughout the winter and blooming in the springtime shouldn't be a problem. Claudia probably knew that when she separated them to share with me. How sweet!
Darcy, Darcy (instead of Mary, Mary) quite contrary, how does your garden grow???
I have yellow, red and white mums and a variety of colors of pansies all at the cabin and all in bloom as I write. Hopefully by Christmastime I'll have blooms of paper whites and red amaryllis. For spring so far I have purple irises, red tulips and yellow daffodils and a bright, green Hosta - all up at the cabin. I have hollyhocks of varying colors, mystery plants (Allium) and delphinium down by the flag pole (where my decorations used to be...) all waiting for summer. I have a "Lily of the Nile" lily that I brought from Florida (thank you my friend Kathy) and which decided not to bloom this year. I have hope that once it goes through its first TN winter, it will put on a most delightful show for all to see. Don't forget the wild roses, wild daisies and those huge spreads of day lilies (that Arlene said I didn't have to separate until later...). Not bad for my first year here... I'm no where near through :)
I haven't completely finished the cookbook from Connie's mom but the completion is probably only a week or so away. In the meantime I found another old cookbook stored upstairs in the cabin. This one dates back only to 1985 but it is a collection called "Kentucky Kitchens" and at the bottom it says "Favorite Recipes of Telephone Pioneers." What are the chances of that? I work for a phone company and this book has recipes from folks who worked at various phone companies back in the 80s. Yes, AT&T is one of the employers represented in the book. Pretty cool, huh? Remember, if you have old cookbooks that you don't want or no longer care to cook with, I'll take them off your hands :)
The first recipe in it goes like this...
"No Los Baloney"
"Slice baloney to desired thickness. In skillet, saute onions in bacon grease. Throw in baloney. When baloney is half done, cover with slice of American cheese. Cook until cheese melts. Scoop works on toasted bun; add lettuce and tomato; salt and pepper to taste. It's great!" Chef Keno
Isn't that funny??? Now I don't know about y'all but this sounds like a cholesterol bomb to me... lol I mean, it sounds good and I would certainly eat it but my gosh, it couldn't be more bad for you unless it was deep fried. lol!!! So you see how this cookbook begins with a slightly different twist than the one from Connie. It should be interesting and amusing to compare the two as I read through the Kentucky Kitchens book.
You can still buy slab baloney here. I imagine you can in FL too but I don't remember seeing it. Maybe at Winn Dixie? To put it in bacon grease and then cover it with cheese... then keep it together with a bun... it's a heart attack waiting to happen. Ernie - whatever you do, don't feed this to William. If, one day, we find him with a half eaten one dangling from his stiffened fingers... we'll know what you were up to!!
As I said earlier, it was cold and rainy when I got home yesterday. After I fed the roosters I went to check on the dogs. The light wasn't on in the doghouse and only Wesson had come out from under the porch. About that same time Wally pulled up so he fixed the warming light for them and while he was in there, he filled their feeders. For a doghouse, it looks pretty cozy LOL The floor is covered with straw, the straw is covered with two old blankets and then they have the warming light and feeders full of dog food. Well, it didn't take them long to pile up in there and get warm. It's so cute to see them like that. I know, I know, show you the pictures! I will - soon as I can. Promise :)
By now the cabin was looking warm and inviting so we headed inside and I started heating up some chili that we had frozen a month or so ago. It didn't take long before the whole place smelled like chili powder, onions, tomatoes and beef....mmm mmm good! As I stood there stirring the chili, I watched through the kitchen window as two small deer came walking out of the woods behind Dizzy's Apartment. They were too small to shoot so we just stood there watching them as they calmly grazed in the yard and along the driveway. Every now and then they would raise their heads and their ears would go up as they listened to the sounds of the evening closing in. Before long, it was too dark for me to see them even as close as they were.
I served up those steaming hot bowls of chili with some cheese sprinkled on top and we filled our bellies until we could fill them no more :) The time change still has us messed up. I think we were ready to go to bed around 6:00 - which is insane - but it had already been dark for 2 hours. I cleaned up the kitchen and made my lunch for today and off to bed we went. We watched Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother and by then we were sacked out... lol! Three am comes pretty darn early in the morning and that's what time we woke up.
Since I got to work early today, you know what that means... woo hoo!!!! I get to leave early :) :) :) That being said, I need to finish up before I go :)
"Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning."
George Carlin
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Weekend Went By So Fast...I want it back :)
Did you ever have one of those weekends where the time just fairly flew by? Indeed that was how mine went this past weekend...already I miss it and wish it were still going on :)
Friday's drive home was nice and sunny. It was, from what I hear, unseasonably warm. The bank temperature was 74 degrees at 3:30 pm. I arrived home to find that Kurt and Beverly were coming for dinner and Wally had taken out pork chops (from the freezer where my lovely summer piggy now resides). Well they were no where near thawed out so I took them from the bag and immersed them in cold, cold water. I had no idea what time our guests were to arrive but I knew we wouldn't have any dinner if those chops didn't soon thaw out.
While those soon to be yummy chops soaked in the cold, cold water Wally and I made the rounds on the farm. My early evening routine consists of checking to see if we have horses up at the gate and if so feeding them, calling out for the roosters (which I call "chick-chick-chick-chickens...") and feeding them in what's sure to be a nice flower bed someday and feeding the dogs any leftovers from the night before or that have come about during the day.
The horses were at the gate but Wally had fed them earlier in the day so we're not really sure why they had stayed up at the top of the hill. Normally, after eating their sweet feed, they would take off for the lower pastures where they can graze and where they have access to fresh, cool, spring water.
The roosters were following us around so I took the jar and filled it with chicken scratch. If they happen to not see me when I go fill the jar then I have to shake it to get their attention. That's when you'll hear me calling "chick-chick-chick-chickens..." It's just easier than "roost-roost-roost-roosters..." Try it, you'll see.
Besides, they don't know the difference either way (well, Roo probably does but he's not telling the rooster thugs).
The dogs had dog food and I knew later on they would be happy to devour the bones and fat from the pork chops so my feeding chores were done. With everyone fed outdoors, I checked on my "paper whites." Remember those? The stinky, but oh so beautiful, flower bulbs that I planted a couple weeks ago? They are coming along very nicely. The bulbs have sprouted and the green tops are about 4 inches tall. They'll get to be about 12-16 inches tall before they bloom so we have a ways to go yet. If we could find Wally's phone, I'd post some pictures. Oh yeah - I still haven't had time to figure out the camera thing but maybe tonight???
Back inside, I tried separating the chops and a few did come loose but the rest were still rock solid and there was still no sign of company. You never really know if people are going to show up on a Friday night... I changed into my sweat pants and a tank top and sat down to watch tv. I had just returned to the chops to do some more separating and had them laid out on a baking sheet to season them when I saw the headlights coming down the drive way...So off I go to the bathroom to bra up and get dressed again... I quickly found a long sleeve t-shirt and donned my "joe-veralls" and boots and I was ready.
Wally was talking to Kurt, Beverly and Tenneshia when I came out of the bathroom. The guys walked outside while us girls stayed in the kitchen getting caught up for a few minutes and then we made our way outside to hang with the guys. The night was so nice, we didn't want to waste it being inside if we didn't have to plus, they all smoke. I grabbed up a bunch of boxes that we had broken down and Wally got a fire started in the pot belly stove out at the outdoor kitchen. We fed the fire some dried leaves and twigs and a few pieces of firewood from our stack. It was blazing hot in just minutes! We had a cooler filled with ice cold beer and we all stood around the bar talking, laughing and enjoy the mild Fall evening that rarely happens this far into November.
Our company stayed until just after 10:00 (whew! late night for us) and then we bid them goodbye. We made plans to get together the next day Kurt is off work. They weren't hungry for the pork chops so when Wally and I went inside, I cooked a few for him and I and put the rest back in the refrigerator until morning. That's all we had. Lightly seasoned with Lowery's Seasoning salt and a healthy sprinkling of black pepper, the chops were pan fried in EVOO (thank you Rachel Ray) until they were just browned and slightly crunchy on the outside, white and juicy on the inside. There's a trick or an art (?) to getting the chops perfectly well done inside without burning them on the outside. It worked out to my benefit this time :) that's not to say it always does LOL!
Now surely you know that after being outside for a few hours, after hanging out with friends laughing and talking, after having a few beers and a plateful of pork - we were done for. No ifs ands or buts about it - we were ready for bed. Once again I changed into my tank top and sweat pants and with the addition of some warm, comfy slippers, we headed up to bed. I couldn't even tell you what was on tv. I'm not sure who I heard snoring first...me or Wally. LOL! ha ha ha probably me :) (Ernie)
Saturday had a little more chill to the air than Friday but we were up early and the sun was shining through the kitchen window when we departed for the barn. Breakfast you ask? Well, we had leftover pork chops (remember I thought I was cooking for five and it turned out to be only for two) and whole wheat pancakes with honey-butter. For a change I had no laundry started and I even left the breakfast mess for later in the day. We wanted to get to work before the projected rains came through.
We loaded a bunch of firewood into the back of the truck, we brought water, Mt.Dew and beer on ice (never know how long you'll be gone...) and the rifle and binoculars (never know when a deer will cross your path...lol). We drove down through the holler and it's an entirely different story now that the leaves have turned brown and fallen to the ground. It's still a sight to see going through there. You can see the rise and fall of the hills and there are green ferns scattered about still growing strong despite the cold temperatures we've experienced already this year.
The trail is much wider now since the flood came and the holler had to be repaired but it's not difficult to find your way through to the top of the hill and around to the barn. My winter ride sits there as you round the corner. It's just waiting for a little repair work and then I'll be off in my red Ford Bronco 4 wheel drive. It's up high but not too high. It's just right for me and I'm anxious to drive it to work. The thought is that I'll be safer in a truck and especially a 4 wheel drive since the roads I travel are little back roads and they may not be cleared as regularly as the main highways. That's assuming it will snow or ice or both...
We go on by my winter ride and up to the barn where we have plenty to do to keep us busy for the day and then some. As plans sometimes do, ours changed within minutes. We did get the firewood unloaded and stacked but that was all we got done at the barn. We ended up down at the trailer (aka condo) where I went to work painting the trim while Wally cut out some rotted wood from the back porch. We still have work to do down there but it's shaping up nicely.
The temperature was really starting to drop as the day wore on and I was getting a little hungry. We decided to call it quits and headed back up to the cabin. Our original plan was to go get a burger at the Diner and then come back home. Well, again, as plans sometimes do, ours changed again within minutes. It was still nice outside and we knew the rain was coming so we took a drive to Centerville. We decided to have Mexican food and stopped at the Mexican restaurant next to O'Reilly's Auto Parts. We both ordered fajitas, mine were chicken, Wally's were steak. I don't know if I was just really, really hungry or if it was the day we were having but the fajitas were wonderful as were the chips and salsa.
They only gave me three tortillas with which to wrap the meat and veggies and I thought, I'm going to need more of these! Yeah, right. I could barely get three down and I still had lots leftover. I hadn't even finished my rice and stuff but I was full. We asked for a to-go box for my leftovers and sat there for a few minutes just chilling out.
A mom came in with a couple kids and they sat behind us. Before they ever ordered I said to Wally, "hamburger and fries with a coke." Sure enough, when asked what he wanted to eat, the little guy said exactly that. LOL it was so funny.
Well, now, we can't hardly go to Centerville without stopping in to say hi to Darryl over at Pee Wee's Place. We were over half way there already so off we went. There were two other people in Pee Wee's when we got there and it was the usual cutting up except this time they were laughing at my attempts to shoot a deer out the bedroom window. That brought on all manner of hunting stories which was okay because it took the heat off me :) Darryl, my friend, said he would come out and spray paint a target on the deer for me so I'll know where to aim...ha ha ha ha ha I'll get mine and they'll all see...
We stayed for just a little while and then went home. There's just something about pulling up to that cabin when it's cold and rainy outside that makes you feel warm and comforted inside. It was cloudy and starting to get dark and the roosters had already put themselves to roost in the trees. We hooked up the warming light for the dogs and and went in the back door. We turned on the heater and I started cleaning up the kitchen - that's what I get for leaving it messy in the first place...lol Aw that's okay - while I stand there at the sink I can hear the final rooster crow and I watch as a few leaves trickle from the almost barren trees. It's the time of day where cleaning up the kitchen isn't such a bad thing at all. Not if you can do it with a view like that in front of you.
Wally put the Nationwide race on and we watched it until we couldn't take it anymore. Another day on the farm had come to a close...
Wally said it rained throughout the night but I never heard a drop hit the tin roof. I slept right through it all. Sunday dawned chilly, sunny and windy outside and so we decided to return to the barn. One of the bags of pork chops turned out to be ham steaks (lol) so we had those for breakfast along with some scrambled eggs and some muffins made from spelt flour.
Spelt flour is a whole grain and this bag happened to be organic as well (all the better!). It's similar to wheat flour in looks but the flavor is decidedly different. Spelt has more of an "oaty" kind of flavor and it's very mild in comparison to whole wheat. It is light and airy like white flour when it's baked but unlike white flour, it still has all of its nutrient value. We slathered (love that word!) on the honey and butter (so much for nutrients!), added thin slices of the salty, crispy ham and finished up with the fluffy, slightly moist scrambled eggs that still come to me fresh from Mrs. Hilda's farm. In all it was a very hearty breakfast and one that was sure to give us the energy we were going to need to get the work done down at the barn. For real this time :)
I cleaned up the kitchen and fed the roosters while Wally fed the dogs. We both went to feed the horses and they were all riled up. We figured there must have been hunters down at the bottom of the hill because the horses were jumpy and shying away at the slightest movement. It's kind of normal for Smokey to be that way a little bit but not like he was on Sunday. Rebel rarely shies from anything so something had to be going on. Well, we gave them their sweet feed and I stayed to pet them for a little while.
Next on my list was getting those tulips, daffodils, irises and the hosta in the ground. The roosters had done a pretty fair job of scratching up the dirt for me so I didn't even need a shovel. I just took the rake and raked out a space for the hosta and down it went. I went and scooped up some of the home made fertilizer, compliments of the horses, and mixed that in as well. I made a ring around it with the rocks that are always in abundance and moved on to the potting of tulips.
They say they need to be 6 inches deep and 4 inches apart so I planted 5 of them in one planter and then a couple of them in individual planters where there's only enough room for one at a time. I hope they make it. I may have to stake them up if their pots are too small to hold them. I have a few more to plant tonight but the front porch is looking pretty with the pots in a line and soaking up the sunshine. They don't bloom until spring - gosh, that seems like forever away...On November 26th I will have been here 8 months. I know - right?
We watched Tennessee's WildSide, Volunteer Gardener and Tennessee Crossroads before going down to the barn and I have more flowers added to my list and more places to visit as well. Between those three shows I make more plans to garden and tour than I'll ever have time to actually even get started on but I still love watching them. The barn was waiting....
Down through the holler - no sign of deer :( but we did stop at my winter ride and Wally got it fired up. Now this truck has been sitting for at least 3 years and while some of you might think at first sight that it would never run, it took just minutes for Wally to get it fired up and running like it had never been parked. Amazing!! Of course now all I wanted to do was go riding in it... ha ha ha it was out of gas...:( off to the barn...
We worked in the barn for a few hours and made some real progress getting things organized for the winter. There are two wood stoves (hence the firewood from yesterday) and two, big, huge sliding barn doors. We left the doors open, turned on the radio and got to work. For me it was like organizing a closet or a pantry... I couldn't wait to get going on it and see the end result. I must say we did a darn good job of it. We must have cleaned out 10-12 boxes of plumbing, electrical and auto parts stuff. We threw away old spray paint cans, old shop rags, and old drills that could no longer be repaired.
As I was washing my hands at the water pump, I heard gunshots. It's not really unusual seeing as how it is hunting season and all but I realized I had my hair in a ponytail and I had white socks hanging from my pockets. I could easily have been mistaken for a deer! LOL I tucked those socks all the way in my pocket and got myself right back inside that barn with Wally.
When we decided we could do no more short of starting another big organizing project, we loaded our stuff and called it a day. I did find a box of video tapes from when Rebecca was a baby. I don't have a vcr hooked up from which to watch them but maybe we'll find a place where they convert them to discs (dvd? cd? whatever...) so she can have a copy. Poor Jarrett - I don't think there are any video tapes of him when he was little. I didn't have a video camera and I don't know if his dad took any or not. Sorry son. That's just the way things were back then.
For dinner we had decided to have chicken wings again. We didn't want the oil to go bad from our last experiment with them so into the big red pot it went. While the oil heated up, I dredged the wings in flour seasoned with crushed red chili peppers and Lowery's Seasoning salt. You may have noticed I go through quite a bit of that stuff. Well the wings came out perfectly browned and perfectly crunchy! We poured some Trappey's Bull hot sauce in a bowl and mixed the wings around until they all had been thoroughly sauced - lol and we dug in. Whew were they ever hot!! We both agreed they were just as good as Pretzel's wings and we're adding them to our regular menu - they'll be a treat when we have them next because they are incredibly fattening... we don't need that!
I'm so glad they worked out for us because no where around here is there any place like Pretzel's or Wings N Things, or Scruffy Duffers or any of those places... they just aren't into wings I guess? I could open my own wing place...!! lol no way - then I'd be around them all the time I wouldn't want them anymore... ha ha ha ha ha
I did get some laundry done but it's not done to my liking. I didn't have time to hang and fold everything so it's all lying out flat on the couch in the hot tub room. There'll be time for that tonight if we don't end up at Pee Wee's. From the looks of the weather, we'll likely stay home. You just never know. We watched the race and we were glad to see Carl Edwards pick up a win in the Sprint Cup series. While I wouldn't mind Kevin Harvick taking the lead in the points, as long as Denny Hamlin hangs on to it, I'll be just as happy. I might even pick him as my driver for next year. I'm still driver-less since DJ quit and went into commentating instead.
So, yeah, our weekend went by so fast that I didn't even feel like we had one. We did get a lot of stuff accomplished and we ate some really good food. We spent time with our friends who we haven't seen since mid October and we got outside in the sun for some much needed vitamin D. In all I guess we can't complain. Unless you count the fact that the deer numbers haven't dwindled on account of me... not that I didn't try again, I just don't seem to be capable of hitting one... :( Even if I am shooting from the "comfort of my camouflaged, feather, deer stand (according to one smart-alecky Jay Johnson!) lol whatever.
"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." -Thomas More.
Friday's drive home was nice and sunny. It was, from what I hear, unseasonably warm. The bank temperature was 74 degrees at 3:30 pm. I arrived home to find that Kurt and Beverly were coming for dinner and Wally had taken out pork chops (from the freezer where my lovely summer piggy now resides). Well they were no where near thawed out so I took them from the bag and immersed them in cold, cold water. I had no idea what time our guests were to arrive but I knew we wouldn't have any dinner if those chops didn't soon thaw out.
While those soon to be yummy chops soaked in the cold, cold water Wally and I made the rounds on the farm. My early evening routine consists of checking to see if we have horses up at the gate and if so feeding them, calling out for the roosters (which I call "chick-chick-chick-chickens...") and feeding them in what's sure to be a nice flower bed someday and feeding the dogs any leftovers from the night before or that have come about during the day.
The horses were at the gate but Wally had fed them earlier in the day so we're not really sure why they had stayed up at the top of the hill. Normally, after eating their sweet feed, they would take off for the lower pastures where they can graze and where they have access to fresh, cool, spring water.
The roosters were following us around so I took the jar and filled it with chicken scratch. If they happen to not see me when I go fill the jar then I have to shake it to get their attention. That's when you'll hear me calling "chick-chick-chick-chickens..." It's just easier than "roost-roost-roost-roosters..." Try it, you'll see.
Besides, they don't know the difference either way (well, Roo probably does but he's not telling the rooster thugs).
The dogs had dog food and I knew later on they would be happy to devour the bones and fat from the pork chops so my feeding chores were done. With everyone fed outdoors, I checked on my "paper whites." Remember those? The stinky, but oh so beautiful, flower bulbs that I planted a couple weeks ago? They are coming along very nicely. The bulbs have sprouted and the green tops are about 4 inches tall. They'll get to be about 12-16 inches tall before they bloom so we have a ways to go yet. If we could find Wally's phone, I'd post some pictures. Oh yeah - I still haven't had time to figure out the camera thing but maybe tonight???
Back inside, I tried separating the chops and a few did come loose but the rest were still rock solid and there was still no sign of company. You never really know if people are going to show up on a Friday night... I changed into my sweat pants and a tank top and sat down to watch tv. I had just returned to the chops to do some more separating and had them laid out on a baking sheet to season them when I saw the headlights coming down the drive way...So off I go to the bathroom to bra up and get dressed again... I quickly found a long sleeve t-shirt and donned my "joe-veralls" and boots and I was ready.
Wally was talking to Kurt, Beverly and Tenneshia when I came out of the bathroom. The guys walked outside while us girls stayed in the kitchen getting caught up for a few minutes and then we made our way outside to hang with the guys. The night was so nice, we didn't want to waste it being inside if we didn't have to plus, they all smoke. I grabbed up a bunch of boxes that we had broken down and Wally got a fire started in the pot belly stove out at the outdoor kitchen. We fed the fire some dried leaves and twigs and a few pieces of firewood from our stack. It was blazing hot in just minutes! We had a cooler filled with ice cold beer and we all stood around the bar talking, laughing and enjoy the mild Fall evening that rarely happens this far into November.
Our company stayed until just after 10:00 (whew! late night for us) and then we bid them goodbye. We made plans to get together the next day Kurt is off work. They weren't hungry for the pork chops so when Wally and I went inside, I cooked a few for him and I and put the rest back in the refrigerator until morning. That's all we had. Lightly seasoned with Lowery's Seasoning salt and a healthy sprinkling of black pepper, the chops were pan fried in EVOO (thank you Rachel Ray) until they were just browned and slightly crunchy on the outside, white and juicy on the inside. There's a trick or an art (?) to getting the chops perfectly well done inside without burning them on the outside. It worked out to my benefit this time :) that's not to say it always does LOL!
Now surely you know that after being outside for a few hours, after hanging out with friends laughing and talking, after having a few beers and a plateful of pork - we were done for. No ifs ands or buts about it - we were ready for bed. Once again I changed into my tank top and sweat pants and with the addition of some warm, comfy slippers, we headed up to bed. I couldn't even tell you what was on tv. I'm not sure who I heard snoring first...me or Wally. LOL! ha ha ha probably me :) (Ernie)
Saturday had a little more chill to the air than Friday but we were up early and the sun was shining through the kitchen window when we departed for the barn. Breakfast you ask? Well, we had leftover pork chops (remember I thought I was cooking for five and it turned out to be only for two) and whole wheat pancakes with honey-butter. For a change I had no laundry started and I even left the breakfast mess for later in the day. We wanted to get to work before the projected rains came through.
We loaded a bunch of firewood into the back of the truck, we brought water, Mt.Dew and beer on ice (never know how long you'll be gone...) and the rifle and binoculars (never know when a deer will cross your path...lol). We drove down through the holler and it's an entirely different story now that the leaves have turned brown and fallen to the ground. It's still a sight to see going through there. You can see the rise and fall of the hills and there are green ferns scattered about still growing strong despite the cold temperatures we've experienced already this year.
The trail is much wider now since the flood came and the holler had to be repaired but it's not difficult to find your way through to the top of the hill and around to the barn. My winter ride sits there as you round the corner. It's just waiting for a little repair work and then I'll be off in my red Ford Bronco 4 wheel drive. It's up high but not too high. It's just right for me and I'm anxious to drive it to work. The thought is that I'll be safer in a truck and especially a 4 wheel drive since the roads I travel are little back roads and they may not be cleared as regularly as the main highways. That's assuming it will snow or ice or both...
We go on by my winter ride and up to the barn where we have plenty to do to keep us busy for the day and then some. As plans sometimes do, ours changed within minutes. We did get the firewood unloaded and stacked but that was all we got done at the barn. We ended up down at the trailer (aka condo) where I went to work painting the trim while Wally cut out some rotted wood from the back porch. We still have work to do down there but it's shaping up nicely.
The temperature was really starting to drop as the day wore on and I was getting a little hungry. We decided to call it quits and headed back up to the cabin. Our original plan was to go get a burger at the Diner and then come back home. Well, again, as plans sometimes do, ours changed again within minutes. It was still nice outside and we knew the rain was coming so we took a drive to Centerville. We decided to have Mexican food and stopped at the Mexican restaurant next to O'Reilly's Auto Parts. We both ordered fajitas, mine were chicken, Wally's were steak. I don't know if I was just really, really hungry or if it was the day we were having but the fajitas were wonderful as were the chips and salsa.
They only gave me three tortillas with which to wrap the meat and veggies and I thought, I'm going to need more of these! Yeah, right. I could barely get three down and I still had lots leftover. I hadn't even finished my rice and stuff but I was full. We asked for a to-go box for my leftovers and sat there for a few minutes just chilling out.
A mom came in with a couple kids and they sat behind us. Before they ever ordered I said to Wally, "hamburger and fries with a coke." Sure enough, when asked what he wanted to eat, the little guy said exactly that. LOL it was so funny.
Well, now, we can't hardly go to Centerville without stopping in to say hi to Darryl over at Pee Wee's Place. We were over half way there already so off we went. There were two other people in Pee Wee's when we got there and it was the usual cutting up except this time they were laughing at my attempts to shoot a deer out the bedroom window. That brought on all manner of hunting stories which was okay because it took the heat off me :) Darryl, my friend, said he would come out and spray paint a target on the deer for me so I'll know where to aim...ha ha ha ha ha I'll get mine and they'll all see...
We stayed for just a little while and then went home. There's just something about pulling up to that cabin when it's cold and rainy outside that makes you feel warm and comforted inside. It was cloudy and starting to get dark and the roosters had already put themselves to roost in the trees. We hooked up the warming light for the dogs and and went in the back door. We turned on the heater and I started cleaning up the kitchen - that's what I get for leaving it messy in the first place...lol Aw that's okay - while I stand there at the sink I can hear the final rooster crow and I watch as a few leaves trickle from the almost barren trees. It's the time of day where cleaning up the kitchen isn't such a bad thing at all. Not if you can do it with a view like that in front of you.
Wally put the Nationwide race on and we watched it until we couldn't take it anymore. Another day on the farm had come to a close...
Wally said it rained throughout the night but I never heard a drop hit the tin roof. I slept right through it all. Sunday dawned chilly, sunny and windy outside and so we decided to return to the barn. One of the bags of pork chops turned out to be ham steaks (lol) so we had those for breakfast along with some scrambled eggs and some muffins made from spelt flour.
Spelt flour is a whole grain and this bag happened to be organic as well (all the better!). It's similar to wheat flour in looks but the flavor is decidedly different. Spelt has more of an "oaty" kind of flavor and it's very mild in comparison to whole wheat. It is light and airy like white flour when it's baked but unlike white flour, it still has all of its nutrient value. We slathered (love that word!) on the honey and butter (so much for nutrients!), added thin slices of the salty, crispy ham and finished up with the fluffy, slightly moist scrambled eggs that still come to me fresh from Mrs. Hilda's farm. In all it was a very hearty breakfast and one that was sure to give us the energy we were going to need to get the work done down at the barn. For real this time :)
I cleaned up the kitchen and fed the roosters while Wally fed the dogs. We both went to feed the horses and they were all riled up. We figured there must have been hunters down at the bottom of the hill because the horses were jumpy and shying away at the slightest movement. It's kind of normal for Smokey to be that way a little bit but not like he was on Sunday. Rebel rarely shies from anything so something had to be going on. Well, we gave them their sweet feed and I stayed to pet them for a little while.
Next on my list was getting those tulips, daffodils, irises and the hosta in the ground. The roosters had done a pretty fair job of scratching up the dirt for me so I didn't even need a shovel. I just took the rake and raked out a space for the hosta and down it went. I went and scooped up some of the home made fertilizer, compliments of the horses, and mixed that in as well. I made a ring around it with the rocks that are always in abundance and moved on to the potting of tulips.
They say they need to be 6 inches deep and 4 inches apart so I planted 5 of them in one planter and then a couple of them in individual planters where there's only enough room for one at a time. I hope they make it. I may have to stake them up if their pots are too small to hold them. I have a few more to plant tonight but the front porch is looking pretty with the pots in a line and soaking up the sunshine. They don't bloom until spring - gosh, that seems like forever away...On November 26th I will have been here 8 months. I know - right?
We watched Tennessee's WildSide, Volunteer Gardener and Tennessee Crossroads before going down to the barn and I have more flowers added to my list and more places to visit as well. Between those three shows I make more plans to garden and tour than I'll ever have time to actually even get started on but I still love watching them. The barn was waiting....
Down through the holler - no sign of deer :( but we did stop at my winter ride and Wally got it fired up. Now this truck has been sitting for at least 3 years and while some of you might think at first sight that it would never run, it took just minutes for Wally to get it fired up and running like it had never been parked. Amazing!! Of course now all I wanted to do was go riding in it... ha ha ha it was out of gas...:( off to the barn...
We worked in the barn for a few hours and made some real progress getting things organized for the winter. There are two wood stoves (hence the firewood from yesterday) and two, big, huge sliding barn doors. We left the doors open, turned on the radio and got to work. For me it was like organizing a closet or a pantry... I couldn't wait to get going on it and see the end result. I must say we did a darn good job of it. We must have cleaned out 10-12 boxes of plumbing, electrical and auto parts stuff. We threw away old spray paint cans, old shop rags, and old drills that could no longer be repaired.
As I was washing my hands at the water pump, I heard gunshots. It's not really unusual seeing as how it is hunting season and all but I realized I had my hair in a ponytail and I had white socks hanging from my pockets. I could easily have been mistaken for a deer! LOL I tucked those socks all the way in my pocket and got myself right back inside that barn with Wally.
When we decided we could do no more short of starting another big organizing project, we loaded our stuff and called it a day. I did find a box of video tapes from when Rebecca was a baby. I don't have a vcr hooked up from which to watch them but maybe we'll find a place where they convert them to discs (dvd? cd? whatever...) so she can have a copy. Poor Jarrett - I don't think there are any video tapes of him when he was little. I didn't have a video camera and I don't know if his dad took any or not. Sorry son. That's just the way things were back then.
For dinner we had decided to have chicken wings again. We didn't want the oil to go bad from our last experiment with them so into the big red pot it went. While the oil heated up, I dredged the wings in flour seasoned with crushed red chili peppers and Lowery's Seasoning salt. You may have noticed I go through quite a bit of that stuff. Well the wings came out perfectly browned and perfectly crunchy! We poured some Trappey's Bull hot sauce in a bowl and mixed the wings around until they all had been thoroughly sauced - lol and we dug in. Whew were they ever hot!! We both agreed they were just as good as Pretzel's wings and we're adding them to our regular menu - they'll be a treat when we have them next because they are incredibly fattening... we don't need that!
I'm so glad they worked out for us because no where around here is there any place like Pretzel's or Wings N Things, or Scruffy Duffers or any of those places... they just aren't into wings I guess? I could open my own wing place...!! lol no way - then I'd be around them all the time I wouldn't want them anymore... ha ha ha ha ha
I did get some laundry done but it's not done to my liking. I didn't have time to hang and fold everything so it's all lying out flat on the couch in the hot tub room. There'll be time for that tonight if we don't end up at Pee Wee's. From the looks of the weather, we'll likely stay home. You just never know. We watched the race and we were glad to see Carl Edwards pick up a win in the Sprint Cup series. While I wouldn't mind Kevin Harvick taking the lead in the points, as long as Denny Hamlin hangs on to it, I'll be just as happy. I might even pick him as my driver for next year. I'm still driver-less since DJ quit and went into commentating instead.
So, yeah, our weekend went by so fast that I didn't even feel like we had one. We did get a lot of stuff accomplished and we ate some really good food. We spent time with our friends who we haven't seen since mid October and we got outside in the sun for some much needed vitamin D. In all I guess we can't complain. Unless you count the fact that the deer numbers haven't dwindled on account of me... not that I didn't try again, I just don't seem to be capable of hitting one... :( Even if I am shooting from the "comfort of my camouflaged, feather, deer stand (according to one smart-alecky Jay Johnson!) lol whatever.
"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." -Thomas More.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Took My First Shots...
I was standing there at the kitchen counter cutting up carrots, onions and garlic when I happened to look out and see two fairly good sized deer having an afternoon snack of grass, leaves or whatever else they may be finding out there in the grass.
I debated... Wally wasn't home yet and I knew he would be coming down the driveway before too long. Should I risk taking the shot and possibly hit the truck or even worse, Wally? hmmmm the deer were so close and so without worry that I was really, really tempted. But good sense won out and I went back to making dinner.
Sure enough, here comes Wally down the driveway and the two deer took off into the woods. I kept putting dinner together while he told me all about his day. When I looked back out, there were those two deer again. Now I didn't have to worry about hitting the truck or Wally so the game was on.
Wally got the rifle for me and since it had already been loaded, all I needed were my earplugs. I walked off the porch and stood behind his truck but the deer were either too far for me to see clearly enough or it was getting too dark for the shot. They both fairly blended into the scenery and through that little sight, I couldn't see anything but brown. I don't have a scope on the rifle...
After trying to get her in my sights for a few minutes I gave up and went back over to the porch. I told him I could see the deer when I have both eyes open and I look down there but once I close one eye - I got nothing. Darn vision! We went back in and we were getting ready to finish up getting dinner ready when the deer walked back into the clearing and this time, even closer to the cabin. Again I got the gun and got the earplugs but this time I took my aim from our spare bedroom window. It may sound silly to shoot from comfort of our spare bedroom but it's really the perfect spot. The window comes down so that makes for a great place to rest the rifle and take aim. I'm not out walking through the leaves making a ruckus and the deer were right in line with where I was.What the heck, might as well use whatever help I can get at this point. I watched as she lifted her head to look around and then she put it back down. I took my shot. She stood still. She didn't fall over, she didn't run, she acted like the shot never even happened. I must have been way off... lol
I'm sure some of you pro-Bambi people are probably glad that I missed the shot. However, if you do your homework you will learn that if the deer are not taken during hunting season, within 5 years they will completely double their population thereby putting themselves at risk for starvation. We're actually doing them a favor. By "we" I mean respectful hunters. I don't mean poachers who kill anything that walks no matter the age, sex or time of year. Trust me, I'm not like that at all.
So back to my evening...
I looked out there and she was still there, still standing in the same spot, still eating. What else could I do but take another shot? I took it and I missed again!!! I guess it wasn't meant to be. Still they kept eating and before long there were four of them up there munching away like me and my gun didn't even exist. Curses! Wally and I both laughed at what a "great white hunter" I turned out to be and then we cleaned up and got ready for dinner.
That was my big night of hunting. I suppose now that I know where they are going to be feeding, I could just set up my chair this afternoon and give it another shot... (ha ha pun intended) Maybe I'll try it with a scope so I can't use my poor vision as an excuse for missing two perfectly good shots. lol!!
Well the freezer didn't get filled with venison last night but we did have the Hamburger Buddy recipe again. It was just so so compared to the first time. I was missing the mushrooms and thyme and apparently they are two critical ingredients. They really make a big difference.
If you're looking to make the Hamburger Buddy Recipe, go to a website called everydayheath.com and search their healthy dinner recipes. It should come up for you there. I'd type it here but the list of ingredients is kind of long, even though most of it you'll have on hand, and I don't want to take up your available reading time. Or, if you really, really want it, I can find it on-line and email it to you. Be sure and get the whole wheat macaroni noodles (unless you have an aversion to wheat), they make a big difference in not just flavor but texture too.
It's good, wholesome, filling, comfort food. Perfect for a chilly fall evening after a near fatal deer hunting escapade... lol!
I did leave the gun loaded for tonight. It's waiting patiently on the bed in the spare bedroom along with my earplugs and binoculars. We wouldn't typically leave a loaded gun lying around the house but it's just the two of us and we both know it's there and it's loaded. We're careful so don't worry.
We watched Seinfeld, Archie and a couple episodes of Two and a Half Men and then hit the hay. It was 7:00. LOL It had been dark for almost 2 hours so that made it feel like it was much later. I thought it was about 8 or 8:30 anyway.
I didn't even want to come to work today because it's supposed to be sunny with a high of 72 degrees. I could get out there for a morning hunt when my vision is at its best and the deer are hungry from being down all night. But alas I got up, got dressed and left. Again they get a reprieve...Wally says I have what's called "buck fever." I don't think I'm that bad... YET! :) LOL
My thanks go out to all who helped me get points on the "No Texting While Driving" pledge. I noticed that I never got an acknowledgment from Ernie saying that she would pledge for me. Does this mean we have a driving texter out there putting us all in jeopardy on the roads??????? watch out for her folks, she's a crazy driver as it is without adding in text messaging!! LOL j/k
By the way, if I win one of the phones, Neccy already called it. lol you gotta be quick around here.
Me and the Rooster Thugs woke up at 3am again this morning. Wally says their timers are off. LOL I guess mine is too... I think I already told you about my idea to have them dig the holes for the bulbs I want to plant, right? I plan to just toss their scratch in the area I need dug up and let them go at it. They have the claws and persistence to carry out my plan so why not take advantage. They aren't about to stop scratching as long as there's corn to be found. Yesterday was their first attempt and they did a fine job. All the leaves were scratched out of the way which saved me from having to rake them and a little bit of the dirt was scratch up and cleared out of the way. A couple more days in the same spot and it will be bulb planting time for me :) Who needs a post hole digger and a shovel when you've got roosters around? lol!
Good work roosters :)
I know some of you get sick of reading about food but I'm still reading Connie's Mom's cookbook and this morning I came to the page with Popcorn Balls. Who can pass up a good popcorn ball? Not me! So here goes... "Discard all imperfect kernels and put the popped corn into a large pan. Cook sugar (1 cup), syrup (1/3 cup white corn) and water (1 cup) to the medium-crack stage (280 degrees). Add flavoring (1 tsp lemon or vanilla) and salt. Pour over the corn, stirring with a spoon so that all kernels will be evenly coated. Shape into balls, lay on waxed paper and wrap in waxed paper. How darn easy is that????????? and just in time for the holidays :) You're welcome :) :) :)
November has proven to be a pretty good month to be in Tennessee. While the leaves have mostly fallen and the temperatures have become fickle, it's still nice enough to be outside and since the leaves have mostly fallen, I see things I couldn't when the woods were thick and green.
Yesterday on my way home, I saw two houses that I didn't even know existed. They are tucked into the woods and up on a hill. They are what you think of when you think of a nice, cozy, little shack in the woods. They are wood and they are painted white, they appear to be older. One has black shutters, the other has red. They both have tin roofs. On their porches are a couple chairs, stacks of firewood, possibly a little table and usually a dog or two. They look like exactly the kind of place where you would like to sit, put your feet up and watch the Mother Nature do her thing. You can bet I'm now on the look-out for more of these little treasures and I can't wait to see the smoke from the fireplace billowing up out of the chimney letting me know they are warm inside.
I forgot to tell you about the last basket for the 2010 growing season. Well it was loaded with goodies and I'm really going to miss all the fresh, good for me, organic vegetables that have come my way.
For the finale I got a nice, big, crisp head of Napa Cabbage. I plan to saute it with the bok choi and add red pepper strips, chicken strips, garlic and ginger. There were 4 or 5 Hakurei Turnips with the greens. The turnips will get mashed like last time with garlic, cream and black pepper. The greens will get rinsed over and over and I'll mix them with the mustard greens that were also in the basket and then they'll be bagged for the freezer until another time. I got a huge head of "Gourmet Lettuce" which has already and will continue to make up salads for my lunch along with the lettuce mix that was also in the basket. The lettuce mix breaks up the monotony a little bit as it is full of dandelion greens, arugula, spinach and a variety of other lettuces/greens. Lastly there was a nice bunch of green onions.
In all I truly enjoyed getting to know and support my farmer and her family. I especially liked having the Monday delivery to look forward to, helping support my community and thriving on the delicious fruits, vegetables and herbs that my basket brought me throughout the seasons. As my spring, summer and fall come to a close I've set my sights on winter and what the outdoor scenery will hold when it finally comes.
Already I'm looking to collect the tiny branches with the tiny pine cones still attached that fall when the winter winds pick up speed. I've got a bird feeder (the one Rebel tried to raid) and it's going to be moved to the front porch so it shines in the winter sunlight. I haven't had any birds visit it yet but everyone tells me they will. I've learned to be patient - if I feed them, the birds will come. I have plenty of cedar trees from which to trim the bottom branches and once trimmed up I'll set them around the cabin as an air freshener. aaaahhhhhhhh
I'll probably become very good friends with the library :)
As days go by, we're enjoying the last of the Fall season with morning low temperatures that force us into coats, gloves and thick socks (well, me anyway) and afternoon high temperatures that have us shedding all of that in favor of a well worn t-shirt and jeans.
I debated... Wally wasn't home yet and I knew he would be coming down the driveway before too long. Should I risk taking the shot and possibly hit the truck or even worse, Wally? hmmmm the deer were so close and so without worry that I was really, really tempted. But good sense won out and I went back to making dinner.
Sure enough, here comes Wally down the driveway and the two deer took off into the woods. I kept putting dinner together while he told me all about his day. When I looked back out, there were those two deer again. Now I didn't have to worry about hitting the truck or Wally so the game was on.
Wally got the rifle for me and since it had already been loaded, all I needed were my earplugs. I walked off the porch and stood behind his truck but the deer were either too far for me to see clearly enough or it was getting too dark for the shot. They both fairly blended into the scenery and through that little sight, I couldn't see anything but brown. I don't have a scope on the rifle...
After trying to get her in my sights for a few minutes I gave up and went back over to the porch. I told him I could see the deer when I have both eyes open and I look down there but once I close one eye - I got nothing. Darn vision! We went back in and we were getting ready to finish up getting dinner ready when the deer walked back into the clearing and this time, even closer to the cabin. Again I got the gun and got the earplugs but this time I took my aim from our spare bedroom window. It may sound silly to shoot from comfort of our spare bedroom but it's really the perfect spot. The window comes down so that makes for a great place to rest the rifle and take aim. I'm not out walking through the leaves making a ruckus and the deer were right in line with where I was.What the heck, might as well use whatever help I can get at this point. I watched as she lifted her head to look around and then she put it back down. I took my shot. She stood still. She didn't fall over, she didn't run, she acted like the shot never even happened. I must have been way off... lol
I'm sure some of you pro-Bambi people are probably glad that I missed the shot. However, if you do your homework you will learn that if the deer are not taken during hunting season, within 5 years they will completely double their population thereby putting themselves at risk for starvation. We're actually doing them a favor. By "we" I mean respectful hunters. I don't mean poachers who kill anything that walks no matter the age, sex or time of year. Trust me, I'm not like that at all.
So back to my evening...
I looked out there and she was still there, still standing in the same spot, still eating. What else could I do but take another shot? I took it and I missed again!!! I guess it wasn't meant to be. Still they kept eating and before long there were four of them up there munching away like me and my gun didn't even exist. Curses! Wally and I both laughed at what a "great white hunter" I turned out to be and then we cleaned up and got ready for dinner.
That was my big night of hunting. I suppose now that I know where they are going to be feeding, I could just set up my chair this afternoon and give it another shot... (ha ha pun intended) Maybe I'll try it with a scope so I can't use my poor vision as an excuse for missing two perfectly good shots. lol!!
Well the freezer didn't get filled with venison last night but we did have the Hamburger Buddy recipe again. It was just so so compared to the first time. I was missing the mushrooms and thyme and apparently they are two critical ingredients. They really make a big difference.
If you're looking to make the Hamburger Buddy Recipe, go to a website called everydayheath.com and search their healthy dinner recipes. It should come up for you there. I'd type it here but the list of ingredients is kind of long, even though most of it you'll have on hand, and I don't want to take up your available reading time. Or, if you really, really want it, I can find it on-line and email it to you. Be sure and get the whole wheat macaroni noodles (unless you have an aversion to wheat), they make a big difference in not just flavor but texture too.
It's good, wholesome, filling, comfort food. Perfect for a chilly fall evening after a near fatal deer hunting escapade... lol!
I did leave the gun loaded for tonight. It's waiting patiently on the bed in the spare bedroom along with my earplugs and binoculars. We wouldn't typically leave a loaded gun lying around the house but it's just the two of us and we both know it's there and it's loaded. We're careful so don't worry.
We watched Seinfeld, Archie and a couple episodes of Two and a Half Men and then hit the hay. It was 7:00. LOL It had been dark for almost 2 hours so that made it feel like it was much later. I thought it was about 8 or 8:30 anyway.
I didn't even want to come to work today because it's supposed to be sunny with a high of 72 degrees. I could get out there for a morning hunt when my vision is at its best and the deer are hungry from being down all night. But alas I got up, got dressed and left. Again they get a reprieve...Wally says I have what's called "buck fever." I don't think I'm that bad... YET! :) LOL
My thanks go out to all who helped me get points on the "No Texting While Driving" pledge. I noticed that I never got an acknowledgment from Ernie saying that she would pledge for me. Does this mean we have a driving texter out there putting us all in jeopardy on the roads??????? watch out for her folks, she's a crazy driver as it is without adding in text messaging!! LOL j/k
By the way, if I win one of the phones, Neccy already called it. lol you gotta be quick around here.
Me and the Rooster Thugs woke up at 3am again this morning. Wally says their timers are off. LOL I guess mine is too... I think I already told you about my idea to have them dig the holes for the bulbs I want to plant, right? I plan to just toss their scratch in the area I need dug up and let them go at it. They have the claws and persistence to carry out my plan so why not take advantage. They aren't about to stop scratching as long as there's corn to be found. Yesterday was their first attempt and they did a fine job. All the leaves were scratched out of the way which saved me from having to rake them and a little bit of the dirt was scratch up and cleared out of the way. A couple more days in the same spot and it will be bulb planting time for me :) Who needs a post hole digger and a shovel when you've got roosters around? lol!
Good work roosters :)
I know some of you get sick of reading about food but I'm still reading Connie's Mom's cookbook and this morning I came to the page with Popcorn Balls. Who can pass up a good popcorn ball? Not me! So here goes... "Discard all imperfect kernels and put the popped corn into a large pan. Cook sugar (1 cup), syrup (1/3 cup white corn) and water (1 cup) to the medium-crack stage (280 degrees). Add flavoring (1 tsp lemon or vanilla) and salt. Pour over the corn, stirring with a spoon so that all kernels will be evenly coated. Shape into balls, lay on waxed paper and wrap in waxed paper. How darn easy is that????????? and just in time for the holidays :) You're welcome :) :) :)
November has proven to be a pretty good month to be in Tennessee. While the leaves have mostly fallen and the temperatures have become fickle, it's still nice enough to be outside and since the leaves have mostly fallen, I see things I couldn't when the woods were thick and green.
Yesterday on my way home, I saw two houses that I didn't even know existed. They are tucked into the woods and up on a hill. They are what you think of when you think of a nice, cozy, little shack in the woods. They are wood and they are painted white, they appear to be older. One has black shutters, the other has red. They both have tin roofs. On their porches are a couple chairs, stacks of firewood, possibly a little table and usually a dog or two. They look like exactly the kind of place where you would like to sit, put your feet up and watch the Mother Nature do her thing. You can bet I'm now on the look-out for more of these little treasures and I can't wait to see the smoke from the fireplace billowing up out of the chimney letting me know they are warm inside.
I forgot to tell you about the last basket for the 2010 growing season. Well it was loaded with goodies and I'm really going to miss all the fresh, good for me, organic vegetables that have come my way.
For the finale I got a nice, big, crisp head of Napa Cabbage. I plan to saute it with the bok choi and add red pepper strips, chicken strips, garlic and ginger. There were 4 or 5 Hakurei Turnips with the greens. The turnips will get mashed like last time with garlic, cream and black pepper. The greens will get rinsed over and over and I'll mix them with the mustard greens that were also in the basket and then they'll be bagged for the freezer until another time. I got a huge head of "Gourmet Lettuce" which has already and will continue to make up salads for my lunch along with the lettuce mix that was also in the basket. The lettuce mix breaks up the monotony a little bit as it is full of dandelion greens, arugula, spinach and a variety of other lettuces/greens. Lastly there was a nice bunch of green onions.
In all I truly enjoyed getting to know and support my farmer and her family. I especially liked having the Monday delivery to look forward to, helping support my community and thriving on the delicious fruits, vegetables and herbs that my basket brought me throughout the seasons. As my spring, summer and fall come to a close I've set my sights on winter and what the outdoor scenery will hold when it finally comes.
Already I'm looking to collect the tiny branches with the tiny pine cones still attached that fall when the winter winds pick up speed. I've got a bird feeder (the one Rebel tried to raid) and it's going to be moved to the front porch so it shines in the winter sunlight. I haven't had any birds visit it yet but everyone tells me they will. I've learned to be patient - if I feed them, the birds will come. I have plenty of cedar trees from which to trim the bottom branches and once trimmed up I'll set them around the cabin as an air freshener. aaaahhhhhhhh
I'll probably become very good friends with the library :)
As days go by, we're enjoying the last of the Fall season with morning low temperatures that force us into coats, gloves and thick socks (well, me anyway) and afternoon high temperatures that have us shedding all of that in favor of a well worn t-shirt and jeans.
"Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head." ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Thanksgiving Day Approaches at a Snail's Pace...
I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving Day as a holiday to remember, to recognize and to celebrate. Whether you have friends or family around or both, or neither, you still have plenty to be thankful for. For me it's about making the house feel welcoming, it's about sharing funny tales and cooking healthy, nutritional, tasty food for all who come to feast with us. The fond memories of Thanksgiving when we were growing up will always be treasured and sometimes be laughed about but they're ours to keep and keep them we will. I'll try to share some here as days go by and Thanksgiving finally does arrive...
I'll take you back some years now to a time when the four of us kids were all living at home. Mom and Dad had everyone coming to our house for Thanksgiving Day dinner so the typical hysteria ensued. There was the house that had to be cleaned and you would think with four kids to help, this would be quickly checked off the list. But no, we were lazy like all kids and didn't really think the house was all that messy. Besides, with everyone over, it would only get messier so why bother?
Well, Mom wasn't having anything to do with that theory. Not that she was a "Suzy Homemaker" by any means but she wanted it clean by her standards. I think I ended up with the bathrooms as my chore. Back then, there was no Clorox Clean-up or Windex (if there were, we didn't know it) or Instant Mildew Remover to make the job easier. It was good old Comet Cleanser and a weary old scrub brush. Remember how you had to rinse the tub first so the sprinkled Comet would actually stick to it and do its job? You had to do that step first so the tub could soak while the rest of the bathroom was cleaned.
On hands and knees the tub was scrubbed to a brilliant, white porcelain shine. It was rinsed and checked and scrubbed again. The soap dish was scrubbed and any dirty wash cloths and clothes were put in the hamper. I would wet a paper towel with ammonia to clean the fixtures and quickly dried them so no water spots would show. Nothing of real interest in all that except for the fact that it was always baffling to me why I had to clean the tub so thoroughly when surely none of our guests would be bathing at the Thanksgiving Day dinner? Perhaps it was Mom's fear of someone actually pulling back the shower curtain and seeing that dreadfully embarrassing ring of soap scum...LOL! C'mon, I bet you've looked! ha ha ha
The flower vase and doily were moved from the toilet tank so the dust could be wiped from it. The lid, bowl and base were all cleaned and shiny so that our guests would think it was always kept that way. You know, just like we all still do to this day... With the sink scrubbed of all evidence of toothpaste, the toothbrush and soap holders likewise and the medicine cabinet mirror just beaming with my reflection, I was finished with my chore. I hope those people appreciated the work...especially the ones who peaked behind the shower curtain lol!!
Our living room floor was wood and it was my favorite part of the house next to the closets. I have a thing for closet organizing that I just can't control. A messy pantry and refrigerator will do me the same way. Wally says you know that I'm really friends with you when I organize those things for you and enjoy every minute of it. But back to the floors. Every so often they had to be shellacked so they would be protected from scarring and so they would shine again. This process usually happened around the holidays. For us kids, it meant putting on our socks, getting a running start out of Mom and Dad's room and sliding all the way from the hall to the far wall in the living room. We could really get flying when those floors were first done.
I remember us kids sliding along those floors and being perfectly content to keep doing so until Mom made us quit because one of us was inevitably going to get hurt. I remember the smell of the varnish like it was yesterday and of course, the cursing and the "Ronnie - you missed a spot" that made the process so special and so looked forward to in the years to follow. I don't remember anyone ever getting hurt :)
The turkey was put in the oven early in the morning and the whole house had those perfectly mingled scents of turkey roasting, potatoes boiling and celery and onions having been sauteed for stuffing. Mom would be delegating orders to everyone, Dad included, and the phone never stopped ringing. Everyone had to call to make sure we had what we needed, to make sure they knew what time to show up and whether or not they could bring someone else with them. There was no such thing as call waiting. It never really mattered what time they showed up as long as the house was clean and food was cooking. Since Dad took most of the calls, that's what most callers were told.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on tv until time to switch to football. The parade used to be a real treat to watch. In recent years, not so much. Football was on tv all the rest of the day and no one minded getting up to change the channel. There were no remotes back then. The table was cleared of all the bills and miscellaneous mail and ashtrays were dumped and wiped clean and placed strategically around the house (yes, people smoked in their houses back then). We always had a big bowl of assorted nuts on the coffee table with a nut cracker close by. It wasn't the holidays without those nuts. We always had a glass candy dish that Mom would fill with hard candies. Remember the ones that looked like ribbons? Then there were the white ones with the silky green and red stripes running through them? And, of course, My all-time favorite - cinnamon! They would all melt a little bit and stick together in the November Florida heat but we had them and we gladly ate them nonetheless :)
Uncle Dee, Aunt Karen and their kids, Uncle Mike, Aunt Sally or Aunt Patty (depending on the year) and their kids, Grandma and Pa, Doozie and Pap (when they were still with us) and all of us. The house was filled with Mom still giving orders for someone to set the table, get more butter out, check the rolls, help the grandparents into the house and make sure the salt and pepper were out on the table. Uncle Dee always made everyone laugh by telling his funny stories or making fun in general. Davey did his Lilly Tomlin and Tiny Tim imitations and we all watched football and cheered for our favorite teams. Dougy, Dane and Dale played army men or matchbox cars while Neccy played outside with the neighborhood kids. Me and Patty Ann traded off carrying Dean on our hips until he was too old and then we took up Darren and carried him instead.
The food everyone brought was set out on the table or kept warm in the oven. By the time the turkey was ready and on the table, there wasn't one person who wasn't hungry and it didn't matter how big a breakfast you had. You were ready to eat. The feeding frenzy typically began somewhere between 12:00 - 2:00.
I remember Grandma's cole slaw and I still make her recipe to this day. She never failed to bring the cranberry sauce or at least the can of cranberry that you opened from the bottom. The cranberry still had the can rings on it so it was easy to slice. I remember Mom's stuffing - there was none better and I would be sure to stuff myself (ha ha) with as much as possible because I knew there would be no leftovers. I remember being one of the few who liked dark meat so a big, fat juicy leg or thigh was just fine with me. I remember Mom making the gravy in the roasting pan and my mouth would water for a taste of it. It was poured into a gravy boat and passed down the line. There was always "just" enough. Like the stuffing, there was no better gravy to be had. Mom's mashed potatoes were second to none and I'm pretty sure they were all Darren ate. To this day, he still requests them. Doozie would bring rolls and green beans and Aunt Karen would bring sweat potatoes or another such vegetable. The rolls were so hot, if you didn't break yours open before buttering it, the butter would slip right off. Aunt Sally always had pies in hand - cherry, apple, pumpkin - all of them were wonderful. All of them got eaten.
At the table or sitting around the living room, everyone talked about the food, what they had been up to lately and what the plans would be for Christmas. The house was full of Thanksgiving Day smells, our bellies were full of Thanksgiving Day food and our hearts were filled with thanks for being in a family such as ours. In the end when all the food was put up or sent home and the dishes were washed, dried and put away (no dishwasher -please), you could feel the calmness coming over the whole house. We knew no different back then and it was a wonderful way to grow up.
"Forever on Thanksgiving Day
The heart will find the pathway home."
~Wilbur D. Nesbit
I'll take you back some years now to a time when the four of us kids were all living at home. Mom and Dad had everyone coming to our house for Thanksgiving Day dinner so the typical hysteria ensued. There was the house that had to be cleaned and you would think with four kids to help, this would be quickly checked off the list. But no, we were lazy like all kids and didn't really think the house was all that messy. Besides, with everyone over, it would only get messier so why bother?
Well, Mom wasn't having anything to do with that theory. Not that she was a "Suzy Homemaker" by any means but she wanted it clean by her standards. I think I ended up with the bathrooms as my chore. Back then, there was no Clorox Clean-up or Windex (if there were, we didn't know it) or Instant Mildew Remover to make the job easier. It was good old Comet Cleanser and a weary old scrub brush. Remember how you had to rinse the tub first so the sprinkled Comet would actually stick to it and do its job? You had to do that step first so the tub could soak while the rest of the bathroom was cleaned.
On hands and knees the tub was scrubbed to a brilliant, white porcelain shine. It was rinsed and checked and scrubbed again. The soap dish was scrubbed and any dirty wash cloths and clothes were put in the hamper. I would wet a paper towel with ammonia to clean the fixtures and quickly dried them so no water spots would show. Nothing of real interest in all that except for the fact that it was always baffling to me why I had to clean the tub so thoroughly when surely none of our guests would be bathing at the Thanksgiving Day dinner? Perhaps it was Mom's fear of someone actually pulling back the shower curtain and seeing that dreadfully embarrassing ring of soap scum...LOL! C'mon, I bet you've looked! ha ha ha
The flower vase and doily were moved from the toilet tank so the dust could be wiped from it. The lid, bowl and base were all cleaned and shiny so that our guests would think it was always kept that way. You know, just like we all still do to this day... With the sink scrubbed of all evidence of toothpaste, the toothbrush and soap holders likewise and the medicine cabinet mirror just beaming with my reflection, I was finished with my chore. I hope those people appreciated the work...especially the ones who peaked behind the shower curtain lol!!
Our living room floor was wood and it was my favorite part of the house next to the closets. I have a thing for closet organizing that I just can't control. A messy pantry and refrigerator will do me the same way. Wally says you know that I'm really friends with you when I organize those things for you and enjoy every minute of it. But back to the floors. Every so often they had to be shellacked so they would be protected from scarring and so they would shine again. This process usually happened around the holidays. For us kids, it meant putting on our socks, getting a running start out of Mom and Dad's room and sliding all the way from the hall to the far wall in the living room. We could really get flying when those floors were first done.
I remember us kids sliding along those floors and being perfectly content to keep doing so until Mom made us quit because one of us was inevitably going to get hurt. I remember the smell of the varnish like it was yesterday and of course, the cursing and the "Ronnie - you missed a spot" that made the process so special and so looked forward to in the years to follow. I don't remember anyone ever getting hurt :)
The turkey was put in the oven early in the morning and the whole house had those perfectly mingled scents of turkey roasting, potatoes boiling and celery and onions having been sauteed for stuffing. Mom would be delegating orders to everyone, Dad included, and the phone never stopped ringing. Everyone had to call to make sure we had what we needed, to make sure they knew what time to show up and whether or not they could bring someone else with them. There was no such thing as call waiting. It never really mattered what time they showed up as long as the house was clean and food was cooking. Since Dad took most of the calls, that's what most callers were told.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on tv until time to switch to football. The parade used to be a real treat to watch. In recent years, not so much. Football was on tv all the rest of the day and no one minded getting up to change the channel. There were no remotes back then. The table was cleared of all the bills and miscellaneous mail and ashtrays were dumped and wiped clean and placed strategically around the house (yes, people smoked in their houses back then). We always had a big bowl of assorted nuts on the coffee table with a nut cracker close by. It wasn't the holidays without those nuts. We always had a glass candy dish that Mom would fill with hard candies. Remember the ones that looked like ribbons? Then there were the white ones with the silky green and red stripes running through them? And, of course, My all-time favorite - cinnamon! They would all melt a little bit and stick together in the November Florida heat but we had them and we gladly ate them nonetheless :)
Uncle Dee, Aunt Karen and their kids, Uncle Mike, Aunt Sally or Aunt Patty (depending on the year) and their kids, Grandma and Pa, Doozie and Pap (when they were still with us) and all of us. The house was filled with Mom still giving orders for someone to set the table, get more butter out, check the rolls, help the grandparents into the house and make sure the salt and pepper were out on the table. Uncle Dee always made everyone laugh by telling his funny stories or making fun in general. Davey did his Lilly Tomlin and Tiny Tim imitations and we all watched football and cheered for our favorite teams. Dougy, Dane and Dale played army men or matchbox cars while Neccy played outside with the neighborhood kids. Me and Patty Ann traded off carrying Dean on our hips until he was too old and then we took up Darren and carried him instead.
The food everyone brought was set out on the table or kept warm in the oven. By the time the turkey was ready and on the table, there wasn't one person who wasn't hungry and it didn't matter how big a breakfast you had. You were ready to eat. The feeding frenzy typically began somewhere between 12:00 - 2:00.
I remember Grandma's cole slaw and I still make her recipe to this day. She never failed to bring the cranberry sauce or at least the can of cranberry that you opened from the bottom. The cranberry still had the can rings on it so it was easy to slice. I remember Mom's stuffing - there was none better and I would be sure to stuff myself (ha ha) with as much as possible because I knew there would be no leftovers. I remember being one of the few who liked dark meat so a big, fat juicy leg or thigh was just fine with me. I remember Mom making the gravy in the roasting pan and my mouth would water for a taste of it. It was poured into a gravy boat and passed down the line. There was always "just" enough. Like the stuffing, there was no better gravy to be had. Mom's mashed potatoes were second to none and I'm pretty sure they were all Darren ate. To this day, he still requests them. Doozie would bring rolls and green beans and Aunt Karen would bring sweat potatoes or another such vegetable. The rolls were so hot, if you didn't break yours open before buttering it, the butter would slip right off. Aunt Sally always had pies in hand - cherry, apple, pumpkin - all of them were wonderful. All of them got eaten.
At the table or sitting around the living room, everyone talked about the food, what they had been up to lately and what the plans would be for Christmas. The house was full of Thanksgiving Day smells, our bellies were full of Thanksgiving Day food and our hearts were filled with thanks for being in a family such as ours. In the end when all the food was put up or sent home and the dishes were washed, dried and put away (no dishwasher -please), you could feel the calmness coming over the whole house. We knew no different back then and it was a wonderful way to grow up.
"Forever on Thanksgiving Day
The heart will find the pathway home."
~Wilbur D. Nesbit
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Whole Wheat Pancakes... they really do taste good!
Yes they do. Believe it or not. I didn't think they would but I've since been converted. Aunt Jemima makes a whole wheat pancake mix that we tried over the weekend. The pancakes were fluffy, hearty and full-flavored. I was very surprised and impressed. We will definitely be purchasing more of this mix. It does have a minimal amount of sugar in the mix but not much in comparison to the fiber it has. When used with sugar free syrup or, in my case, honey, you can't go wrong.
My only problem was the deer in the yard distracting me to the point of burning that last wonderful pancake! LOL So here is how our weekend went...
After work on Friday I met Wally out at Pee Wee's Place and we stayed just long enough to get our drink on...For whatever reason there were more people there than usual and it was a fun night. They were playing pool, singing with the jukebox and swapping lies, uh stories... and generally enjoying the evening. Being the big partiers that we are, we were probably home by 9:00 - 9:30 :)
I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and we mellowed out in front of the tv. The heater was on in anticipation of the low twenty degree temperatures that the weather person said were coming. We hooked up the light for the doghouse so the boys would be comfortable and we talked about what we needed to do on Saturday.
Well Saturday rolled around and we tossed all those well made plans out the door as we decided to lay up in the warmth of the covers and catch the early morning news show while the sun came up over the hills. Gosh, are we old or what? lol The news was mostly about the weather and how everyone needs to start preparing for what's to come. They showed a couple of places where fake snow was being brought in so kids could play in it meanwhile the parents were expected to bring canned food donations for helping feed the hungry people of Nashville. It seems to me they could just use the money they spent on the fake snow and buy a bunch of food with it instead... hmmmm?
The weather girl said it was going to warm up to about 47, 48 degrees and then drop back down to the 20s overnight. That little piece of information is what changed the day's plan for us. Too cold to be on horses, too cold to be on 4 wheelers. It sounded like a ride in the black truck was our best option. I made us some breakfast, which we favorably called gruel for lack of a better word, and then we made our list. I'll get back to the list... for now, here's how the gruel was put together:
Ingredients:
1lb hamburger, 1 onion chopped, 1 green pepper chopped, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can dark red kidney beans with the juice, a pinch of anise, Lowrey's Seasoning salt and a generous helping of black pepper.
Instructions: brown the meat, add in everything else, cook until the vegetables are tender and devour!! It just doesn't get any easier than that. If you really don't like the whole business of chopping the vegetables, you can buy a bag of frozen ones already chopped up and you can sometimes even find them already mixed together.
For those of you without an aversion to starchy vegetables like potatoes, you can drain a can of sliced potatoes and add them to the mix as well. You could even substitute them for the beans if you don't like beans. However, keep in mind, beans are REALLY, REALLY GOOD FOR YOU. They have more fiber than any other food, they provide a healthy dose of protein and they make you feel fuller faster so you eat less. We could all stand to shed a few pounds. I'll get off my bandstand now...
The list was pretty much all about stocking up on supplies so we don't have to leave the farm. There's just something about being here that makes you want to stay here. First up, the bank and the post office. They are pretty close together so it's easy just to go from one to the other. In fact, when people come to visit, the bank is usually where we meet them so we can bring them the rest of the way in. There's only one so it's not like you can miss it. If you do, just ask someone. It's right across from the school...
We needed to stop at Tractor Supply before heading to the grocery store and they just happen to have one in Fairview so off we went down Hwy. 100. We bought 50 lbs of dog food, 50 lbs of sweet feed for the horses and 50 lbs of chicken scratch for Roo and the Rooster Thugs. It's not just me and Wally that I feed... lol! I named another rooster, by the way. He is called "Feather Foot." He has feathers down at the very bottom of his feet just before the feet actually start. At first I thought he had a leaf stuck to that back claw that they have but closer inspection proved it to be feathers. So Feather Foot it is :)
Next on the list was Food Lion in Fairview. I usually go after work but remember I met Wally at Pee Wee's last night instead. Food Lion is just down the road from Tractor Supply. It's about the same distance as the Food Lion in Dickson but the ride is much more pleasant. It's the same route I take to work so I'm in favor of it. Horse and cow pastures, old barns now full of hay, goats and chickens roaming around, fresh eggs for sale $1.75 a dozen, newly posted deer processing signs and chimneys smoking from the fires burning inside to keep the families warm.
All that and we're only going to the grocery store. Food Lion had all kinds of sales but we stuck to our list and we were out of there in about 1/2 an hour. Not bad all things considered. That's why it's nice to have a list. The problem isn't so much finding everything on the list but rather sticking to it. We did good this time. We didn't get anything that wasn't on the list :) Rarely happens!
We had one more place to stop and it is one that just opened a couple weeks ago. It's one of those places where they sell the dented canned and boxed goods or stuff that's being discontinued, you know what I mean? Well, they had some deals we just couldn't pass up! I bought a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour for $1.00 > it's $3.99 in the grocery store. Does flour go bad?
I got some Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares for .50 a bag. C'mon people - that just never happens and you know for a fact that dark chocolate won't go bad with me around. Before we knew it, we had canned olives, Hooters Hot Sauce, Sugar Free candy, some onion soup mix for Darryl, Trappey's Jalapeno Black Eyed Peas and some spices (2 for a $1.00) like chili powder, sage, etc. There were a few other things in the buggy and we got some really good deals. Who cares if a box is crushed so long as the oatmeal packets inside are okay? For $1.99 I got my Quaker Oatmeal with 40% fiber that would normally cost $2.99 in the store. I was feeling all thrifty!!
It's a good thing we took the truck because you better believe it was full by time we made all of our stops. Wally took care of the animal food and I put away the people food. We were only gone a couple of hours but it felt like forever. I seasoned a pork shoulder and browned it in the big red pot. It went into the oven for a couple hours while another pot of pinto beans simmered on the stove top. We had all our running around done and the cabin was smelling delicious! That's how a Saturday morning should be. Well, unless I can make it to the Grinder's Switch Hour... then it's a whole different story.
As it turned out, the weather was nice enough for us to hop on the 4 wheelers and take a ride around the fence line. No cuts in the line and we didn't see any hunters although we did hear gunshots so we knew they were out there somewhere. It doesn't appear they're on our property though - not yet anyway. Wally saw two deer running up the hill but they were too fast for me to see them. We rode for about an hour and then headed for the cabin.
I think I mentioned already that the horses dismantled my Fall Decorations... well, I had to get that mess cleaned up. The mums were out of the pots, the pansies were half in, half out of their pots and the hay was strewn all over the place - I mean it was everywhere. I found the pumpkins and gourds under the hay and one of the pansy containers was completely crushed. No biggie - it was from the Dollar Tree so it wasn't a great loss. Everything was scattered about so I cleaned up as best I could and loaded the flowers on the 4 wheeler. I rearranged the pumpkins, gourds and milk jug (the big brown thing that was in the middle) so I still have a little something to look at when I come down the driveway. What about the 2 straw bales, you ask?Ha! Perfect condition. Not a straw out of place. Horses don't eat straw. Mental note for next year... ha ha ha ha ha
Wally took the straw down to the dog house and spread one bale underneath their blankets. The second bale wouldn't fit so we set it outside the door. Eventually they'll kick out some of what's there and we'll have plenty to replace it. Those dogs are spoiled huh? Well, it is getting colder and the extra insulation will be nice for them since they're getting so old.
I brought the flowers up to the cabin and I still need to re-pot them and set them on the porch or the old cart I found out by the grill. Tonight? Hopefully :) We only have a few more days of 70 degree daytime temperatures and then it gets cold again this weekend.
We ate the pork roast with the pinto beans and some leftover mashed sweet potatoes that I heated up. It was a good dinner, an easy one to fix and very warm and comforting after riding the 4 wheelers and working around the yard on a chilly November afternoon. Can you believe it's November already?
Now that the time was changing, it was starting to get dark around 4:30. We sat in the living room in our comfy clothes, looking out over the hills in the front yard, watching the horses blow steam out their noses and felt pretty much like the luckiest two people in the world, if not the happiest.
I slept like a rock. A little physical labor like that will do me in every time :) We awoke Sunday morning to below freezing temperatures and were sure glad we didn't have to go anywhere. Remember those pancakes I wrote about in the beginning? Well, here's where they came into play.
I gathered all the ingredients, a bowl, a whisk and a few measuring cups and I stood at the kitchen window putting everything together. The whole wheat pancake mix comes out looking like whole wheat bread crumbs that have been very finely ground. It smells so fresh and the texture is light and airy just like white flour but with a little edge to it. Not much though.
So I'm looking down at the bowl as I whisk everything together and then I take a glance down the driveway. There were 4 or 5 deer standing right there. They were maybe 75 yards away but not as far as where my decorations were. Just so you know, I didn't shoot one yet but boy they sure were tempting. As I stood there watching they took off running down towards the holler. I couldn't see any reason for them to bolt like that but Wally explained someone was probably hunting on the property that borders ours and it was likely a gunshot that spooked them.
I poured some batter into the skillet and waited. Now, I have to say that pancakes, like fried chicken, have been a challenge for me. The first time I made them, I put too much oil in the skillet (the directions didn't say exactly how much, they just said oil the skillet so that's what I did) and they were floating and boiling and popping all over the stove top. It was an utter disaster, a goopy, gloppy mess, and I didn't try them again until Jarrett was about 2 years old.
I mastered the Jiffy Blueberry Pancakes with the help of the cast iron griddle that Ernie gave me and we were fine with those for years. I still burned the occasional "first" pancake but from what I hear that's how it's supposed to be. Jarrett eventually took over as head pancake maker in the house and his are so much better than mine. His are fluffy, tender, and with just the right amount of brown on them. When he serves them with a little pat of butter and swirls of syrup why you just think you're in heaven. Ask Beverly, she was the recipient of his very first one and claimed it to be the best she had ever had :)
So back to November, 2010... Wally said for me to watch for the bubbles. Well, I watched for bubbles but didn't see any. I kept watching... no bubbles. I saw holes - but no bubbles. He laughed at me and I laughed too because you sometimes have to be very specific with me when it comes to cooking. Ask Neccy or Ernie or anyone, I'm just funny that way. He said bubbles but what I saw were bubbles that had popped and when that happens (as you well know) you get holes. Well that solved a big mystery for me! I watched for holes, not bubbles and my pancakes came out perfect.
Until the very last one... remember those deer in the driveway? Well, they came back up from the other side of the driveway this time. Probably another hunter over there shooting at them and running them back up to our place. They must have felt safe there because they dropped their heads and started eating. What got me was the last one to show up. He was really big and he had a 6 point rack. I sound like I know what I'm talking about huh? lol That just means he had horns and the horns had 6 points on them. He was a good size deer and apparently the females were his herd. I had a perfect shot, too bad my gun wasn't loaded. As I stood there in awe and watched him through the window, the last whole wheat pancake burned to a fairly crispy crunch! booooooo it wasn't so bad that it couldn't be eaten but it sure wasn't pretty like those first few.... lol! Darn deer! I should have shot him. I didn't.
The deer ran back and forth like that for about 3 hours that morning. At one point when I was cleaning up, Wally noticed that there were two little ones right in front of the dog house. As we watched, they came closer and closer to the cabin. I couldn't believe they were walking right up like that. It didn't last long though because Wesson caught on to them and started barking. They took off into the woods but not really far. I could still see them and after a minute or two they were back in the yard eating again. Viscious dogs we have, lol! Those two deer would have been perfect for shooting too. Not too big (sometimes tough meat), not too small (illegal to kill them when they're too young), just right... like my pancake would have been were it not for the darn deer. lol!!
My day will come. I think I'll set my sights on Saturday morning. We already found a good place for me to sit and wait for them. We already know other hunters will unknowingly send them my way and we know we want venison in the freezer. That makes for a good plan.
Sunday was nice all day. We fed the horses and then let them go back down to their lower pasture where they have access to water in the creek. When it gets below freezing, the water in the bucket ices over and we have to break it for them to be able to get a drink. When it freezes in the creek, they can break it themselves with their hoofs. Plus, and it's a big plus for me, I don't have to get the gate when I leave in the mornings. When it's cold, it's no fun getting the gate :)
We were having chicken wings for dinner but the big red pot had pinto beans in it so Wally dug out one of our cast iron dutch ovens instead. Well, it hadn't been used in a long, long time so it needed some work. It needed a fire to burn off the old stuff so we could start the re-seasoning process. We took a big stack of beer boxes, Mt. Dew boxes, cereal boxes, anything that would burn hot and quick, and we stuffed them into the wood stove that we use at the outdoor kitchen. Wally lit the fire while I collected sticks and stems and other pieces of wood to keep it going.
The sun was shining, the dogs were napping in the leaves, the roosters were pecking and scratching the ground and we were having a couple beers outside, in the sunshine, while the cooker did its thing... I had my "joe-veralls" on and a thermal shirt. I had my pant legs tucked into my muck luck boots and I had on the wool socks Mom gave me before I came here... peaceful and relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.
We ended up using the red pot after all. The cast iron was too hot to take out of the cooker because it was cold outside and we didn't want it to crack. The red pot was filled with oil and we dropped the wings in gently. They sizzled and simmered and eventually floated to the top of the pot so we knew they were done. We melted some butter in the Hooters Hot Wing sauce and added the wings. They were heat hot, crunchy, spicy hot from the sauce and juicy on the inside. I've never made them like this before and they turned out really good. The only thing I would do differently is maybe run them through some flour first. They didn't get brown like the ones in the restaurant and even if there is no flavor difference, I still like to see the color.
We saved the oil since it was only used for the wings and I'm hoping it will still be good for the next batch. I know restaurants keep their oil but I don't know how long used oil stays good. Anyone? I remember Marcia always had to clean the fryer and change the french fry oil every Thursday. You could always count on fresh oil for fries on Thursday! I bet she's glad that fryer is out of action even if we do miss those yummy fries she used to make us :)
Well our weekend came to a close while we watched the race and darkness descended on the farm. We headed for bed and cozied up for our night's rest. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Me and the roosters woke up promptly at 3am - darn time change! lol as days go by, I'll get used to it but for now, I'm wide awake at 3am because my body thinks it's 4am. What's a girl to do?
I hope you spent your weekend doing things that make you happy. Not that it's so obvious, but I sure did...
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn." Henry David Thoreau
My only problem was the deer in the yard distracting me to the point of burning that last wonderful pancake! LOL So here is how our weekend went...
After work on Friday I met Wally out at Pee Wee's Place and we stayed just long enough to get our drink on...For whatever reason there were more people there than usual and it was a fun night. They were playing pool, singing with the jukebox and swapping lies, uh stories... and generally enjoying the evening. Being the big partiers that we are, we were probably home by 9:00 - 9:30 :)
I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and we mellowed out in front of the tv. The heater was on in anticipation of the low twenty degree temperatures that the weather person said were coming. We hooked up the light for the doghouse so the boys would be comfortable and we talked about what we needed to do on Saturday.
Well Saturday rolled around and we tossed all those well made plans out the door as we decided to lay up in the warmth of the covers and catch the early morning news show while the sun came up over the hills. Gosh, are we old or what? lol The news was mostly about the weather and how everyone needs to start preparing for what's to come. They showed a couple of places where fake snow was being brought in so kids could play in it meanwhile the parents were expected to bring canned food donations for helping feed the hungry people of Nashville. It seems to me they could just use the money they spent on the fake snow and buy a bunch of food with it instead... hmmmm?
The weather girl said it was going to warm up to about 47, 48 degrees and then drop back down to the 20s overnight. That little piece of information is what changed the day's plan for us. Too cold to be on horses, too cold to be on 4 wheelers. It sounded like a ride in the black truck was our best option. I made us some breakfast, which we favorably called gruel for lack of a better word, and then we made our list. I'll get back to the list... for now, here's how the gruel was put together:
Ingredients:
1lb hamburger, 1 onion chopped, 1 green pepper chopped, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can dark red kidney beans with the juice, a pinch of anise, Lowrey's Seasoning salt and a generous helping of black pepper.
Instructions: brown the meat, add in everything else, cook until the vegetables are tender and devour!! It just doesn't get any easier than that. If you really don't like the whole business of chopping the vegetables, you can buy a bag of frozen ones already chopped up and you can sometimes even find them already mixed together.
For those of you without an aversion to starchy vegetables like potatoes, you can drain a can of sliced potatoes and add them to the mix as well. You could even substitute them for the beans if you don't like beans. However, keep in mind, beans are REALLY, REALLY GOOD FOR YOU. They have more fiber than any other food, they provide a healthy dose of protein and they make you feel fuller faster so you eat less. We could all stand to shed a few pounds. I'll get off my bandstand now...
The list was pretty much all about stocking up on supplies so we don't have to leave the farm. There's just something about being here that makes you want to stay here. First up, the bank and the post office. They are pretty close together so it's easy just to go from one to the other. In fact, when people come to visit, the bank is usually where we meet them so we can bring them the rest of the way in. There's only one so it's not like you can miss it. If you do, just ask someone. It's right across from the school...
We needed to stop at Tractor Supply before heading to the grocery store and they just happen to have one in Fairview so off we went down Hwy. 100. We bought 50 lbs of dog food, 50 lbs of sweet feed for the horses and 50 lbs of chicken scratch for Roo and the Rooster Thugs. It's not just me and Wally that I feed... lol! I named another rooster, by the way. He is called "Feather Foot." He has feathers down at the very bottom of his feet just before the feet actually start. At first I thought he had a leaf stuck to that back claw that they have but closer inspection proved it to be feathers. So Feather Foot it is :)
Next on the list was Food Lion in Fairview. I usually go after work but remember I met Wally at Pee Wee's last night instead. Food Lion is just down the road from Tractor Supply. It's about the same distance as the Food Lion in Dickson but the ride is much more pleasant. It's the same route I take to work so I'm in favor of it. Horse and cow pastures, old barns now full of hay, goats and chickens roaming around, fresh eggs for sale $1.75 a dozen, newly posted deer processing signs and chimneys smoking from the fires burning inside to keep the families warm.
All that and we're only going to the grocery store. Food Lion had all kinds of sales but we stuck to our list and we were out of there in about 1/2 an hour. Not bad all things considered. That's why it's nice to have a list. The problem isn't so much finding everything on the list but rather sticking to it. We did good this time. We didn't get anything that wasn't on the list :) Rarely happens!
We had one more place to stop and it is one that just opened a couple weeks ago. It's one of those places where they sell the dented canned and boxed goods or stuff that's being discontinued, you know what I mean? Well, they had some deals we just couldn't pass up! I bought a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour for $1.00 > it's $3.99 in the grocery store. Does flour go bad?
I got some Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares for .50 a bag. C'mon people - that just never happens and you know for a fact that dark chocolate won't go bad with me around. Before we knew it, we had canned olives, Hooters Hot Sauce, Sugar Free candy, some onion soup mix for Darryl, Trappey's Jalapeno Black Eyed Peas and some spices (2 for a $1.00) like chili powder, sage, etc. There were a few other things in the buggy and we got some really good deals. Who cares if a box is crushed so long as the oatmeal packets inside are okay? For $1.99 I got my Quaker Oatmeal with 40% fiber that would normally cost $2.99 in the store. I was feeling all thrifty!!
It's a good thing we took the truck because you better believe it was full by time we made all of our stops. Wally took care of the animal food and I put away the people food. We were only gone a couple of hours but it felt like forever. I seasoned a pork shoulder and browned it in the big red pot. It went into the oven for a couple hours while another pot of pinto beans simmered on the stove top. We had all our running around done and the cabin was smelling delicious! That's how a Saturday morning should be. Well, unless I can make it to the Grinder's Switch Hour... then it's a whole different story.
As it turned out, the weather was nice enough for us to hop on the 4 wheelers and take a ride around the fence line. No cuts in the line and we didn't see any hunters although we did hear gunshots so we knew they were out there somewhere. It doesn't appear they're on our property though - not yet anyway. Wally saw two deer running up the hill but they were too fast for me to see them. We rode for about an hour and then headed for the cabin.
I think I mentioned already that the horses dismantled my Fall Decorations... well, I had to get that mess cleaned up. The mums were out of the pots, the pansies were half in, half out of their pots and the hay was strewn all over the place - I mean it was everywhere. I found the pumpkins and gourds under the hay and one of the pansy containers was completely crushed. No biggie - it was from the Dollar Tree so it wasn't a great loss. Everything was scattered about so I cleaned up as best I could and loaded the flowers on the 4 wheeler. I rearranged the pumpkins, gourds and milk jug (the big brown thing that was in the middle) so I still have a little something to look at when I come down the driveway. What about the 2 straw bales, you ask?Ha! Perfect condition. Not a straw out of place. Horses don't eat straw. Mental note for next year... ha ha ha ha ha
Wally took the straw down to the dog house and spread one bale underneath their blankets. The second bale wouldn't fit so we set it outside the door. Eventually they'll kick out some of what's there and we'll have plenty to replace it. Those dogs are spoiled huh? Well, it is getting colder and the extra insulation will be nice for them since they're getting so old.
I brought the flowers up to the cabin and I still need to re-pot them and set them on the porch or the old cart I found out by the grill. Tonight? Hopefully :) We only have a few more days of 70 degree daytime temperatures and then it gets cold again this weekend.
We ate the pork roast with the pinto beans and some leftover mashed sweet potatoes that I heated up. It was a good dinner, an easy one to fix and very warm and comforting after riding the 4 wheelers and working around the yard on a chilly November afternoon. Can you believe it's November already?
Now that the time was changing, it was starting to get dark around 4:30. We sat in the living room in our comfy clothes, looking out over the hills in the front yard, watching the horses blow steam out their noses and felt pretty much like the luckiest two people in the world, if not the happiest.
I slept like a rock. A little physical labor like that will do me in every time :) We awoke Sunday morning to below freezing temperatures and were sure glad we didn't have to go anywhere. Remember those pancakes I wrote about in the beginning? Well, here's where they came into play.
I gathered all the ingredients, a bowl, a whisk and a few measuring cups and I stood at the kitchen window putting everything together. The whole wheat pancake mix comes out looking like whole wheat bread crumbs that have been very finely ground. It smells so fresh and the texture is light and airy just like white flour but with a little edge to it. Not much though.
So I'm looking down at the bowl as I whisk everything together and then I take a glance down the driveway. There were 4 or 5 deer standing right there. They were maybe 75 yards away but not as far as where my decorations were. Just so you know, I didn't shoot one yet but boy they sure were tempting. As I stood there watching they took off running down towards the holler. I couldn't see any reason for them to bolt like that but Wally explained someone was probably hunting on the property that borders ours and it was likely a gunshot that spooked them.
I poured some batter into the skillet and waited. Now, I have to say that pancakes, like fried chicken, have been a challenge for me. The first time I made them, I put too much oil in the skillet (the directions didn't say exactly how much, they just said oil the skillet so that's what I did) and they were floating and boiling and popping all over the stove top. It was an utter disaster, a goopy, gloppy mess, and I didn't try them again until Jarrett was about 2 years old.
I mastered the Jiffy Blueberry Pancakes with the help of the cast iron griddle that Ernie gave me and we were fine with those for years. I still burned the occasional "first" pancake but from what I hear that's how it's supposed to be. Jarrett eventually took over as head pancake maker in the house and his are so much better than mine. His are fluffy, tender, and with just the right amount of brown on them. When he serves them with a little pat of butter and swirls of syrup why you just think you're in heaven. Ask Beverly, she was the recipient of his very first one and claimed it to be the best she had ever had :)
So back to November, 2010... Wally said for me to watch for the bubbles. Well, I watched for bubbles but didn't see any. I kept watching... no bubbles. I saw holes - but no bubbles. He laughed at me and I laughed too because you sometimes have to be very specific with me when it comes to cooking. Ask Neccy or Ernie or anyone, I'm just funny that way. He said bubbles but what I saw were bubbles that had popped and when that happens (as you well know) you get holes. Well that solved a big mystery for me! I watched for holes, not bubbles and my pancakes came out perfect.
Until the very last one... remember those deer in the driveway? Well, they came back up from the other side of the driveway this time. Probably another hunter over there shooting at them and running them back up to our place. They must have felt safe there because they dropped their heads and started eating. What got me was the last one to show up. He was really big and he had a 6 point rack. I sound like I know what I'm talking about huh? lol That just means he had horns and the horns had 6 points on them. He was a good size deer and apparently the females were his herd. I had a perfect shot, too bad my gun wasn't loaded. As I stood there in awe and watched him through the window, the last whole wheat pancake burned to a fairly crispy crunch! booooooo it wasn't so bad that it couldn't be eaten but it sure wasn't pretty like those first few.... lol! Darn deer! I should have shot him. I didn't.
The deer ran back and forth like that for about 3 hours that morning. At one point when I was cleaning up, Wally noticed that there were two little ones right in front of the dog house. As we watched, they came closer and closer to the cabin. I couldn't believe they were walking right up like that. It didn't last long though because Wesson caught on to them and started barking. They took off into the woods but not really far. I could still see them and after a minute or two they were back in the yard eating again. Viscious dogs we have, lol! Those two deer would have been perfect for shooting too. Not too big (sometimes tough meat), not too small (illegal to kill them when they're too young), just right... like my pancake would have been were it not for the darn deer. lol!!
My day will come. I think I'll set my sights on Saturday morning. We already found a good place for me to sit and wait for them. We already know other hunters will unknowingly send them my way and we know we want venison in the freezer. That makes for a good plan.
Sunday was nice all day. We fed the horses and then let them go back down to their lower pasture where they have access to water in the creek. When it gets below freezing, the water in the bucket ices over and we have to break it for them to be able to get a drink. When it freezes in the creek, they can break it themselves with their hoofs. Plus, and it's a big plus for me, I don't have to get the gate when I leave in the mornings. When it's cold, it's no fun getting the gate :)
We were having chicken wings for dinner but the big red pot had pinto beans in it so Wally dug out one of our cast iron dutch ovens instead. Well, it hadn't been used in a long, long time so it needed some work. It needed a fire to burn off the old stuff so we could start the re-seasoning process. We took a big stack of beer boxes, Mt. Dew boxes, cereal boxes, anything that would burn hot and quick, and we stuffed them into the wood stove that we use at the outdoor kitchen. Wally lit the fire while I collected sticks and stems and other pieces of wood to keep it going.
The sun was shining, the dogs were napping in the leaves, the roosters were pecking and scratching the ground and we were having a couple beers outside, in the sunshine, while the cooker did its thing... I had my "joe-veralls" on and a thermal shirt. I had my pant legs tucked into my muck luck boots and I had on the wool socks Mom gave me before I came here... peaceful and relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.
We ended up using the red pot after all. The cast iron was too hot to take out of the cooker because it was cold outside and we didn't want it to crack. The red pot was filled with oil and we dropped the wings in gently. They sizzled and simmered and eventually floated to the top of the pot so we knew they were done. We melted some butter in the Hooters Hot Wing sauce and added the wings. They were heat hot, crunchy, spicy hot from the sauce and juicy on the inside. I've never made them like this before and they turned out really good. The only thing I would do differently is maybe run them through some flour first. They didn't get brown like the ones in the restaurant and even if there is no flavor difference, I still like to see the color.
We saved the oil since it was only used for the wings and I'm hoping it will still be good for the next batch. I know restaurants keep their oil but I don't know how long used oil stays good. Anyone? I remember Marcia always had to clean the fryer and change the french fry oil every Thursday. You could always count on fresh oil for fries on Thursday! I bet she's glad that fryer is out of action even if we do miss those yummy fries she used to make us :)
Well our weekend came to a close while we watched the race and darkness descended on the farm. We headed for bed and cozied up for our night's rest. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Me and the roosters woke up promptly at 3am - darn time change! lol as days go by, I'll get used to it but for now, I'm wide awake at 3am because my body thinks it's 4am. What's a girl to do?
I hope you spent your weekend doing things that make you happy. Not that it's so obvious, but I sure did...
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn." Henry David Thoreau
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