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.