Did I Feel A Little Nip In The Air????

WHY just the other morning I walked outside and to my surprise, it felt cool!! Not cold, not chilly, no where near brrrrr. Just cool. It was the most delightful cool we've felt in many, many months. I drove to work without the a/c. I didn't even break a sweat. It was reminiscent of springtime and it felt so nice I wanted to stay home and play. Of course, that didn't happen but it would have been nice :)

As the day wore on it did warm up but the high reached only 89 degrees. There was a nice breeze blowing so between that and the sunshine, it was a great day to be outside. On my break I walked out to the car to get a magazine and I could have stayed out there all day! I did sit in my car and read a little of the magazine but there was work to be done, so back inside I went.

Driving home I saw that the schools all have their "Welcome Back Students" signs posted. Last week there was a pool party at the recreation center for the incoming 6th graders. The high school is open and in full swing. The elementary school hosted their "Meet Your Teacher - Open House" Monday, from 6-7:30.

School supplies take up the space in the ailes of the Dollar General and Fred's and a couple of weekends ago was the tax free shopping weekend for those who wanted to take advantage of it. You know where I was? That's right...at home in the cabin where belong!! LOL You wouldn't catch me out shopping on that weekend for nothing!! Well, on any other weekend either but especially that one!

I did have to go to the dreaded Wal-Mart the other day. I wanted to pick up more mix for the bread maker and Food Lion no longer sells it. Well, Wal-Mart didn't carry the brand I used from Food Lion so I bought the mix they had and took it home to make the bread. Yuck. It wasn't even close to being as good as the one from Food Lion. We ate it but it was yucky. I forget the brand but I won't be buying that one again. Get this though, since I loathe going to Wal-Mart, I bought like 4 boxes of the stuff...Great - now I have all this bread mix and I don't even like it.

Since the weather has gotten so nice, the 4 wheelers are back in action. Being outside and riding the trails is a great way to end the afternoon.We found that the storms blew down trees and limbs and all of those needed to be cleared from the trails. There are many more but the majority was taken care of. They were loaded on the trailer and brought up to the house for a bon fire.   

Of all the sunflower seeds I planted, only one lonesome flower bloomed. It's not very tall, only about a foot and a half, so it must have been a dwarf LOL although I don't recall planting any dwarf seedlings... It's over by the outhouse and it has bright yellow petals with a dark black center - very pretty even if it is very little!

Sweet Sydna (back from her trip to Costa Rica!!! brat) sent me some 4 O'clock seeds so I sprinkled a few in a little pot to start them in the kitchen windowsill. Within just a few days they popped up out of that dirt and got so big that by the 5th day they needed to be transplanted! They now sit proudly on the front porch next to the sacrificial geraniums... hahaha I was so happy with those results that I planted 6 more in the same pot on the windowsill and guess what? I now have 6 more plants to transplant this weekend. If they would only bloom before it gets too cold...

I also started a sweet potato vine. Talk about easy!!! I cut the end off the potato, stuck a toothpick into either side of it and propped it in a glass of water. I set it in the windowsill and within a few days, it too had sprouted some leaves! This plant is so pretty! The leaves are a super-bright green and should eventually turn into a vine. Right now, everything is still standing quite upright and proud :)  If you think you can't grow anything, try this one. It takes care of itself except for the addition of water in the glass until time to transplant. How easy is that????
As you know, our little Ruger ran away about a month and a half ago. Well, Wally was taking a friend of ours to a swimming hole across the road from where we live. As they drove up the hill, a guy on a tractor was driving down the hill and along side the tractor ran Ruger!! Wally stopped the truck, got out, called Ruger to him, picked him up and loaded him in the truck. He told the guy he was our dog and asked what happened to his collar. The guy said he chewed it in two...I don't know how he could have done that when the collar was around his neck...well, Wally let it go and brought him home and now he's safe and sound back with us where he belongs.

He was so happy to see Colt and Smith and he ran around, jumping on us and wagging his tail and peeing on every tire, tree and bush he came near. He really grew while he was gone and is now quite a bit bigger than Colt. He was always a little bigger but the size difference is much more apparent now. As they used to do, he and Colt rumbled and tumbled down the hill in the front yard and when it was time for treats, they all lined up just like they always did. He remember the rules for treats but not the rules for jumping. He jumped up on me and about knocked me down. When he jumped on Wally, his paws came up to the top of Wally's chest. That's how big he is now.

He's learning not to jump and not to put his big heavy paws on us when we're sitting on the porch. He wants to be right in the middle of the action and is so hyper he finds it difficult to sit for very long. He'll do it but we can tell it's a struggle for him. For now he's back on the chain until we fnd that we can trust him again. It may never happen now that he's had a taste of the outside world but we're hoping he'll want to stay with us now that he's finally home again.

When Wally called him over to the doghouse, he ran over there without hesitation and sat beside Wally while he put his chain back on him. He didn't seem to mind at all and wagged his tail to be petted more. We put Colt on a chain too but he's still Mr. Houdini and escaped it before dark. LOL He's so funny! Just the look on his face when he comes running up to the porch is so cute. He knows he's supposed to be on the chain yet he can't help but be proud of himself for getting free of it. I just laugh.

All that being said, I have to also say that while we are elated to have Ruger back we also lost one of our old dogs. We didn't lose him as in we can't find him. We lost him as in he passed away. I came home one afternoon and only Colt and Smith came to greet me. This was very odd because Wesson always came with them. After putting away my things, I went back outside and called him. He didn't come. I went back in and told Wally I couldn't find him. He said he couldn't find him a little while earlier either. We decided to have dinner and then get on the 4 wheelers and go looking for him. He has been known to hang out at up by the mailbox where there's a pretty little female dog.

As it turns out, Wally found him in the back yard about 10 yards into the woods. He had already left this world. There was no sign of anything hurting him so we think he simply died of old age. Wesson was 15 years old and from what I hear that's a pretty good run for a rottweiler. He was a good old dog and we sure do miss him. His brother seems to be handling it well but I was worried at first. I hope he doesn't miss him too bad and now that Ruger is back, he has both puppies to annoy the heck out of him. We treat him special and maybe we even spoil him a bit but he's a good dog too and after losing his brother, he deserves it.

All the things I want to write about are scattered in my brain so you'll have to excuse me if I hop from subject to subject in an effort to get it all out before my brain explodes...hahahaha!

Our FL company arrived Thursday afternoon (last) and it was fun catching up, sitting on the porch, enjoying a nice breezy afternoon. Everyone had so much to say that it seemed all we could do not to talk over each other! The girls had on their FL sandals which I'm sure they quickly learned weren't the best footwear in TN. The rocks are pretty tough in this neck of the woods so sneakers or crocks would suit you better if you're going to be outside. If sandals are a must, I suggest a pair with a thicker than usual sole so you have some protection from the rocks. That, or walk in the grass...hahahahaha

Well, Ernie didn't like my crocks (which are really fake crocks that I call 'frocks' because I got them from Fred's LOL) but Dizzy Debbie sure did give them a workout! They come in handy when you're on the 4 wheelers, walking in the creek or trying to get down to the swimming hole. You'll have to ask her about swimming in them. I guess I forgot to show her how to keep them on :) She tells a funny story about it though!

Darryl showed up early Saturday morning with fish, frog legs and lard in tow. We were all busy putting on the final touches before the other guests began to arrive. Ernie made a Buffalo Chicken dip that was out of this world GOOD!! Several people asked for the recipe because it's one of those that you just can't stop eating. You have to walk away! LOL I'm pretty sure we all walked back too...hahaha! I made cole slaw and put some green beans in the crock pot with ham bouillon and a handful of chopped onions.

I sliced up some green tomatoes and some okra that were donated by one of the local farmers so in addition to all the other food, we had fried green tomatoes and fried okra! Most people will only eat okra fried so that worked out really well. Of course, I had to pick the fish from the bones so Dizzy Debbie could eat some of it. I couldn't have her choking on a fish bone on my watch!! lol Will she ever figure out how to de-bone the fish?? Probably not as long as I'm doing it for her hahahahaha

While I was in the kitchen (you know I'm there quite a bit LOL) I picked through the okra to get the smallest, tenderest pods for pickling. I made the brine, poured the okra in, let it simmer for just a minute and then cooled it down. From there I crammed the okra into jars - you really want to cram it in because it tends to shrink and then you have lots of room left in your jars. I put some of the brine in the jars and sealed them up to go in the refrigerator. This pickled okra is spicy as the recipe calls for whole jalapeno peppers to be added to it. They have to sit in the refrigerator just like the pickles did so I won't know if it's any good for another week. Keep your fingers crossed!! Since Darryl helped out so much, he got a jar all to himself!

As the day wore on more and more people arrived and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. We moved from the outdoor kitchen to up under the shade of the porch and then back out to the kitchen when the evening temperatures cooled. The karaoke was in full swing by the time it started getting dark and you can rest assured that was a fun and funny time for all!!

Darryl fried the fish and frog legs to a golden, crunchy brown and by the time it was all said and done, there was very little left to put up. As our guests began to take their leave, so did all of us head off to bed. Another party in the books and plenty of pictures to share. Debbie (not Dizzy) must have taken a picture of every inch of the property - it was a rare occassion when she didn't have the camera in her hands :)

The FL group was well on their way home by the time breakfast was made but that was their plan all along. Not that they don't like my cooking...they just needed to get home at a decent hour so they could get some rest and be ready for work the next day. I made a breakfast casserole for those of us who were left and while it baked in the oven we sat on the porch and shared our stories of the party! We were all laughing by the time the casserole was ready to eat.

The recipe is simple, depending on how many you're feeding is how you decide how many eggs to use. I had 7 people and used a dozen eggs. I could have used less but then we wouldn't have any left-overs and it's really, really good heated up the next day :)

I chopped up some onion and part of a sweet red bell pepper and sauted those in some butter for just a minute or two to soften them up. I stirred them into the eggs, added a couple tablespoons of salsa (homemade of course!!) and finished up with some chopped cilantro. I poured all of that into two 9 inch cake pans.

Well, you have to have meat for a crowd like this so I took some smoked turkey sausage and sliced it up into bite size pieces. Idivided it between the two pans and dropped them on top of the eggs. Over top of it all, I sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese and into the oven it went. I baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and it came out bubbling hot with gooey melted cheese all over the top of it. You're pretty good if you an resist that dish. No one at the cabin was able to :) :) I just love it when people want to eat what I cook!!!

I served sliced, fresh, homegrown tomatoes on the side and for those who like it, there was plenty of hot coffee. I didn't make the coffee, Claudia did. I don't even know how that thing works yet! lol but I'm glad we have it because lots of people seem to enjoy coffee in the morning and especially after a party like that :) :)

When the kitchen was cleaned up and the lingering guests had departed, we walked around the place picking up all the inevitable trash; beer boxes, cigarette butts, bottle tops, etc. I found 4 pairs of sunglasses, a t-shirt, a hairbrush, some cologne and a beer huggy-zippy thing. We hauled some of it to the burn pile and some of it went into the garbage cans. The sunglasses and things went into a bag for us to take to Pee Wee's. We called it Pee Wee's Lost and Found...hahaha

The next day we hauled the garbage to the dump and sprayed down the concrete areas, the picnic table and the trailer. I found a couple of wet towels in the trunk of the 4 wheeler and put them in the wash along with all the other towels that accumulate when you have company. I think it was the first time I had a full load of just towels! lol

Since I had Monday off, once those chores were done, we just stayed at the cabin chilling out. I made 12 jars of pear preserves and 7 and a half jars of chow-chow. I hadn't ever made either before so this was definitely trial and error. I had plenty of pears that Jay brought from his pear tree in Atlanta and I had lots of little green tomatoes that were donated by a local farmer. What else was I to do???? And yes, this is relaxing for me :) :)

I cooked the pears down and added artificial sweetener until they were sweet enough to go on toast or a peanut butter sandwich, whichever you prefer. I filled the jelly jars, wiped the rims, set the seals on them and closed them with the rings. Within about 15 minutes all the lids had popped and I had pear preserves that even a diabetic could eat!!

Next, on to the chow-chow. Now this recipe came from Ernie's sweet, sweet momma and it doesn't really have any measurements. As she said, it depends on how much you have. I set about chopping more of the green tomatoes (I started out with about 10-12 pounds in all - some went to the fryer, some to the windowsill and some to the chow-chow and still I have more lol), I chopped up a head of cabbage, a whole onion and a few jalapeno peppers. Everything went into the blender but then I found that I could do a better job of chopping than that thing so I changed over to my cutting board.

With the help of a friend we added vinegar, a sweet, red bell pepper and a little bit of the sweetener. Chow-chow is supposed to be a bit spicy so not too much sweetener. We cooked it down and did about a million taste tests on it until we were satisfied that it would be really good over a bowl of beans and cornbread. Into the jars it went and since it was really hot out of the pot, within seconds those lids were popping.

In all I do believe it has been a successful canning season for me. My shelves are packed with jars of all shapes and sizes and even with the FL crowd taking 3 (oh my gosh!!!!) jars of my pickles, I still have plenty for me and Wally to eat on our burgers and sandwiches.  :) :) Dizzy Debbie better make sure Neccy gets her jar or somebody is going to be in big trouble... lol!!! When you see her, you might just want to remind her hahaha.

Well folks I have lots more to tell but it's quittin time in these here parts so I'm off to the farm for a weekend of relaxing, riding the 4 wheelers and trying my hand at steak and gravy. I'm using a recipe from the same friend who showed me how to make fried chicken so hopefully, it'll be just as good!!!

Have a great weekend!! I know I've been a blog slacker, I'll try to do better next week!