White Christmas...No Dream!

It began Christmas morning, before good light, as a white cloud coming across the valley; its backdrop a thin band of red (soon obliterated) above the ridges where the sun usually rises.  When it ended in the late morning on Monday we had a foot of snow.  It was (and still is) breathtakingly beautiful.

Although we were unable to get down our drive for a bit, I don't feel so bad about being "rapunzeled" this time.  There are several reasons for this:  1) Jim is here, so I'm not stuck alone with just the animals; 2) the whole east coast got this one; and 3) I've learned what to expect so it's not as scary as it was last year.  It was a happy and peaceful holiday!

The picture at the top is of a tree that we call the "Charlie Brown" tree. We bought it the Christmas that my father was terminally ill.  It was an ugly misshapen tree, and we had little hope that it would turn into a beautiful plant.  Yet, here it is, eleven years later, a lovely specimen.  I have interpreted this transformation as proof that the corrupt will be made beautiful.


The following pics are the same view at different times during the storm.

Mid-morning Saturday, Dec 25

Early afternoon, Dec 25

Late afternoon, Dec 25

Dec 26, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We love you guys!!!

RAPUNZELED...AGAIN

The snowy driveway...at the bottom where it isn't steep.

Honestly...I don't know about this weather.  We have had this place on the ridge for 14 years, and we visited it regularly (until we moved here) in all seasons.  Never, never, never, have I seen weather like these last two winters.  We, only one time, were unable to get up the drive.  We were snowed in for four days once over the Christmas holidays, and my sister and her friend Abby were snowed in once.  But, OMG, what a change the last two winters.

You have, of course read the saga of last year, but this one has started similarly.  Geez.  It snowed Saturday night.  Adam was here and when he left on Sunday there were about 3 inches on the ground.  By Monday morning there were seven.  JR and I went down the mountain to buy chains for the truck, but since the snow was soft and wet, he didn't need them to get back up.  Then he left.  It was very cold and I didn't try to get out, though I did move my car into the sun so some of the white precipitation would excuse itself.

The drive going down...I slipped all down this area.

Expecting icy conditions today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the temperature had risen during the night and that instead of ice, we had rain.  The temperature stayed well above freezing during the morning and about noon I decided to brave the elements and head to town.  The snow was slushy, there was no ice, and I figured that I could just get into 4-wheel drive and take myself down the mountain.  WRONG!!!

I slid down the hill, only managing to stop myself before running off into the woods.  Luckily, I remembered how to turn the wheel during a skid.  I could have chosen wrong, you know. I stopped the car, put on the brake, got out, walked back to the house, canceled two appointments set for tomorrow, and called JR to tell him that when he comes home, he'll have to walk part of the way.  Not sure how I'm going to handle this winter stuff.  My doctor suggested that I get some exercise with snowshoes. Maybe I'll park my car at the bottom of the hill and snowshoe down, dragging my belongings up and down in a sled!  Can you imagine?  The other option is to be sure I always have what I need, so I don't have to go out!

However, the silver lining is that the snow is pretty and we will probably have a white Christmas!  One of the benefits of snow is that it decorated our wreaths. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Thanksgiving at the O'Connors!!!

Lynn and G...I promised

Usually,our family has Thanksgiving together...parent(s), siblings, cousins, grandchildren, etc.  However, this year conspired to change tradition.  Adam is is in Texas; some of Jon's in-laws were coming from New York; my brother and his sons were going hunting; my sister and her family wanted to have their first Thanksgiving in their new house, my other sister was going to Mama's, and who knows what else went down! 

  So, JR and I decided that we would use this time to move some of his Charlotte office which has to be closed by the end of January.  On Wednesday, we cooked our turkey (and froze most of its carcass); made the trimmings, and ate a lot!  That meant that we could go to Charlotte on Thursday and spend the time working.  However, Gina, Jon's mother-in-law, discovered that and invited us to come celebrate with their family.  How could we resist?  So, we journeyed to Charlotte, got a room at the South Park Marriott (the presidential suite, no less...not as good as you would imagine)...and went over there.  Such fun has been had by no one!!!  There were 11 children and about 15-16 adults.  Non-stop laughter, jokes, and family pathos.  What more can anyone ask for?  Thanks, G and Tom.  It was great!!!  The pic at the top is my other favorite "mother-in-law". Gina.  I love her just like I love Judi  And now for the other pics!

The O'Connors..aren't they big?!!!

9 of the 11...too cute

The Kellys

And the Riggsbee's...we need some more!  Adam?  Jon?

 And, I hate this program...the pics never do what I want them to do.

But...I talked to my friend Bev today.  I love you Bev.

Plus, it snowed here last night and is snowing now.  How exciting .  ( I'm hoping for a milder winter!)

Love to all and Merry Christmas or whatever!

The Great Brunswick Stew Party; Ghi-Ghi and MiMi Do Lunch; and Turkey Foot

Our Pot of Brunswick Stew

Neal Starts the Cooking

Last weekend JR and I went to Louisburg, the home of JR's sister and niece, to make Brunswick Stew.  Now if you don't know what that is, I'll try to enlighten you.  In times past, it was a wild game stew with rabbit, squirrel, and venison.  Some people (well, few) still make it that way, but the most commonly accepted ingredients today are beef, pork, and chicken.  To those one adds veggies, broth, and various condiments.  JR and I had never done this before (see, education lasts a lifetime!), so Fran gave me the job of cooking and shredding the beef and the chicken.  She did the pork and veggies.  She said I did a good job! We dutifully went to Louisburg with our offerings, and worked ourselves silly the next day.  Fran tells me that it is much easier if you have help...there were six of us...and if you spread the prep work out over the week instead of doing all of it the day before.  I believe that!!!  Still it was great fun...like a party!!!  In addition to us, Michelle and David (Fran's and Neal's friends) joined us and brought stuff for the second pot.  Neal, Fran's husband, knows just about everything there is to know about many things, and Brunswick Stew is one of them.  He started cooking about 7 a.m.  There is a particular order of ingredients and he kept all of us on the straight and narrow as we cooked and stirred.  Okay, I assiduously avoided stirring.  Instead I washed dishes and documented the process.  I think I got dry skin from the detergent!  Who would have guessed that there are so many nasty dishes?  By 1:00 p.m. we had 61 quarts packaged from our pot and 51 quarts packaged from the other pot.  JR and I brought home 30 quarts, but not before JR decided that we needed a pot of our own...so, we went to AgriSupply in Raleigh and got one of our very own.  It only makes 16 quarts, but sister Judy has volunteered herself and her husband to inaugurate our own attempt.  I hope we can pull this off.  However, we're not going to do it anytime soon.  Thirty quarts lasts a long time!

JR Takes His Turn

Now, I have to be about the luckiest mother-in-law in the world.  Not only do I have wonderful daughters-in-law, but I have been fortunate to be able to develop relationships with their mothers.  They are wonderful women, and I love them both.  I know that it was their influence that made Patti and Shanna the wives that they are to my sons.  Can a mother ask for more?  Anyway, Gina, Patti's mother, lives in Charlotte.  Judi, Shanna's mother, lives in Asheville.  On Thursday, Judi traveled from Asheville to our humble abode for lunch.  (I think she was induced in part by the offer of Brunswick Stew.)  We share common grandchildren, Gracie and Avery, who belong to Adam and Shanna and live in Austin, TX.  We just had the best time!  We busted out the Brunswick Stew and the garlic bread, added a salad and some fruit, and gorged ourselves all the while talking about our grandchildren and Judi's new house.  Above is a picture of us together, courtesy of photographer JR.  G....you're next.  When I come to Charlotte next time, I'm getting a picture with you!  Our common grandchildren are Katie, Lauren, and Jon, Jr. who all live in Charlotte with Jon and Patti.

 This is Turkey Foot.  I didn't know it's name until yesterday when Mountain Man, Alan, told me.  Now that I know the name, I can see why it is called that.  Jim's mother had some of this stuff on her Chapel Hill property, down in the bottom land that was very damp.  It apparently grows in bottom land that is near creeks and streams.  That's where this is on a piece of property that we own in Jackson.  The best part however, is that it is wonderful greenery for Christmas.  It never loses its green color, even though it drys out, and it doesn't wilt.  You can put it up at Thanksgiving and it will still be wonderful at New
Years.  It must be part of the running cedar family, but it is much hardier than running cedar.  It is a prolific grower and no matter how much you take, it will be replaced and multiplied by the next year.  If you want some, come on up.  I have an endless supply!

Love to all.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and hang tight to your families!

When Did He Get to Be Forty? and The Munchkin Weekend

Today, November 10...I put that in there in case I don't get this posted today...our oldest child is forty.  I'm not sure when this happened, I mean this growing up thing.  I believe that it was only yesterday that I looked into his squinty, red face for the first time.  And what happened?  I was assaulted with the greatest emotion that a woman can have...a passionate, unrelenting, and unending love for my child.  I think that one is never prepared for that feeling...no matter how many children she has.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of him, and how I admire him for his perseverance in hard times, for his extraordinary work ethic, his attentiveness to his family and to us.  I salute him for all that he is and for all that he will be.  Jon, in case you are reading this...I love you more than you can know.











The other good thing is that we got to spend a weekend with our Charlotte grandchildren while their parents went to New York for a wedding.  It was SO wonderful!!!  Katie, 10; Lauren, 7; and Jon, 6 were so good and they were a joy to be around.  They are very pleasant children and they play well together most of the time.  We only had one small incident.  Jim took Jon to the gun shop, and the little thing hasn't stopped talking about it yet.  He's a man's boy.  Above are a couple of pictures that we took while we were there.

I have spent the last two days cooking and shredding beef and chicken to take to Louisburg this weekend when we go to make Brunswick Stew.  Jim's niece and her husband do it every year and we volunteered to join in the fun this year.  I can already tell that this is not going to be one of my favorite activities!  It takes forever to cook 9 pounds of beef and four chickens, and then shred them in preparation for the stew.  But...the stew is wonderful and I can't wait to bring home my 25 quarts!  I'll chronicle this activity this weekend and will share with you at the next post.

Oh, one more thing.  I've just finished a wonderful book...The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak.  It is a book for young adult readers, but I decided that I qualified.  Read it!!

Love to all.

"Chillin' at the Big Chill, and Spooky Spooks

Dave and JR

The Girls, Marti, Lynn, and Jane

One of the best things we have ever done is to get our college friends together.  We do this every October (mostly...though we missed a couple of years while our house was being renovated).   It is so hard to believe that we are all in our mid-sixties.  Seems like just yesterday that we were college young'uns.  Most of us are grandparents, or have children who are adults.  But when we get together, we are just college kids having fun with our friends.  We were missing Keith and Carol, Bob and Claudia, and Penny and John.  They say they are coming next year!  We love you guys!!!

"Santa Claus" Chapin

JR, the "Woodsman",and Marti

Dave and Jane

Chapin, Marti, Kenny , and Jane

Dave, Lynn, and Kenny

 The Crew...Lynn, Jim, David, Tony, Marti, Kenny, Jane

Now the other important thing is the GRANDCHILDREN!!  Patti sent us pics of the Charlotte spooks.  Adam sent us a cell phone image of his spooks, but I couldn't figure out how to get it on the computer.  So, Shanna, I'm sorry.  Send me some pics and I will edit this post.  So now for the Charlotte Spooks...dah, dah!!! 

Katie, Lauren, Jon

Lauren, The Cat in the Hat!!

Katie

Katie

Adam sent me a picture of the Austin Spooks.  So...for your viewing pleasure.

Gracie and Avery

And, just one more obnoxious comment...this was a beautiful election; a fitting rebuke to the overreaching of the last two years!

Love to all, Lynn and Jim

Good Friends, Good Color, and the Invasion of the Unwanted

A couple of weekends ago, Cathey and Tom Ward, good friends of ours from Charlotte, came to see us.  Cathey and I both began working for CMS in 1974 at Steele Creek Elementary School.  She was a school counselor and I was the resident special ed teacher.  We became very good friends and that friendship has lasted across the decades.  She and Tom are progressive liberals, and JR and I are damn near Libertarians, so you can imagine the spirited conversations we had regarding the past administration, this administration, and the forthcoming elections!  And, while they were spirited, they were respectful and non-toxic...well, each of us raised our voices at least once!  :):):)  When we weren't talking politics, we visited a piece of property on the other side of the county that the Forest Service had mistaken for their own, and managed to ruin, resulting in a citation of violation to us from the county government.  JR has spent much of the fall with the governments in three NC counties.  It's no wonder we are over government in almost all forms!  We had a great time!  Cathey has had some health issues, but things are all positive now.  For that I am very grateful!

   







The fall color has been spectacular this year.  I have heard that the absence of rain during the spring and summer results in more vibrant colors in the fall.  That seems to be the case this year.  I have taken some pictures, but since I am a lousy photographer, it is likely that they do not capture the splendor.  This is probably peak weekend at our elevation, but the color has already begun its relentless march down the mountains and into the foothills.

JR and I have decided that we live on a old Indian burial ground.  There is some veracity to this as our mountain used to be in Cherokee territory and was used as a pasture for their horses.  Odd things happen here from time to time.  For example, we have unexplained noises.  They sound like boards dropping, and even when you know where the noise comes from there is nothing to see.  And then there are the migrating smells.  They are vaguely unpleasant, but not horrific.  One can identify the room where the smells emanate, but can find nothing that can be producing them.  They last for about 12 hours, and then are gone.  So far, we haven't had any guests when they have made their olfactory appearances, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time until somebody has to move out of their bedroom!  Perhaps I should contact an exorcist!

And then there are the ladybugs.  The Forest Service releases them every fall so they can attack some bug that lives on Christmas trees.  Of course, trees are big business here, so it's hard to complain except that they get in the house and it doesn't even matter that doors and windows are closed.  They were released on Sunday, and we saw them coming in a cloud across the valley.  I suppose this is what the biblical locusts looked like.  I hate them.  Every morning I go around sweeping them up off the floors and the window sills.  They get in drawers, and I've even found them in the bed.  Did you know those little suckers bite?  They'll be here until spring.  Geez.

We are looking forward to the Big Chill this weekend.  We began this annual celebration a number of years ago and invite our old college friends.  This year there will be nine of us here.  We were hoping for 13, but Bob and Claudia, and Keith and Carol couldn't make it.  I'll take pics and share them with you next time.


Until...love to all.

Oh, what a wonderful weekend!

Last weekend we went to visit our friends Jim and Eilleen (sometimes we all her Arlene..private story) Palmer.  The live on Lake Marion in South Carolina.  That is a lake that is in some proximity to the Santee and Cooper Rivers which are in the vicinity of Charleston, SC.  I'm not real sure of the geography, but I loved the wild beauty that was afforded us.  There were cypress trees, herons, egrets, alligators, ospreys (I got a picture of an osprey nest) and fish that I never even saw.  Jim P cooked us shrimp and catfish on Saturday night...SO SO good!!!  But the best part was being with friends.  Only one small hiccup...JR  had to go to the Urgent Care Center because of a knot on his leg that was bleeding into his leg because of the aspirin he takes.  Geez.  After my trip to the hospital a few weeks ago and this, I feel like we've been snake bit!  Anyway, it was a great weekend and we can't wait to go back and FISH!!!  Jim P and I, once again, won at bridge!  :):)

This week, I've spent most of my time at health things...mammogram and lifeline screening.  I did get my hair cut, and took the cat to the vet.  She is very old and I think that her remaining time with us is short.  We'll keep her as long as we can.

Next week I am off to Charlotte for a couple of appointments (dentist and eye doctor).  Need to find those folks up here!

Am having several groups of friends up in the next few weeks.  I'll be in touch then.  Love to all.

Creamed Corn, Ugly Cabbage, and a Really Scary Event

JR brought home a bushel of corn the other day, so we figured that we should do something with it before it went bad. Mama and Daddy used to get bushels and bushels and make creamed corn, so I called Mama for her recipe. She said, "Shuck and silk the corn. Cut it off the cob, add a "little" water, and a "little" butter, and cook it until the kernels are done." Well, I had a roadmap, but wasn't sure how much a "little" was, so I got online and found a recipe that gave me a little more specificity and it makes a delicious summer dish. Here it is:

1 dozen ears of corn
3/8 cup butter
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt

Shuck and silk the corn. Standing the cob upright in a pan, and using a sharp knife, slice down the cob through about 3/4 of the kernel. Do this all the way around the cob. Then, using the edge of your knife, scrape down the cob all the way around. The milky stuff that is released is the starch in the corn, so you don't have to add cornstarch or flour. When you have cut and scraped all the corn, put it in a pan with the water, salt, and butter (melted). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and cook for 8 minutes, stirring as necessary. Eat.

Now , a couple of things: 1) you will never get all the silks off the corn, so you may be forced to pick them out as you cut. You will still never get them all, so just think of them as fiber and eat them. 2) If you do not use a non-stick pot you will have to stir constantly as the corn cooks. If you use a non-stick pot (I use teflon), then you can cover it while it simmers for the required amount of time. The recipe is easy to adjust for varying amounts of corn. This recipe serves about 4-6 people, depending on how much you like creamed corn. It is, however, labor intensive. You can not start this 5 minutes before supper! We creamed and froze our bushel of corn. I'll be thinking about you while I eat fresh corn this winter!

I've told you before about our garden. Everything did very well, except for the cabbage. It got something that ate it, resulting in ugly leaves that looked pretty lacy. I finally decided to pull them up, tear off the affected leaves, and see what I could salvage. The picture above is the result...really ugly cabbage, but it is really good. We've eaten it nearly every day for a week!

And now for the really, really scary episode! Last Thursday morning I got up, showered, and began dressing as I was going to town to the post office and the grocery store. JR was preparing to go to Charlotte. Suddenly, I had this terrible pain in my chest, along with a cold sweat, nausea, and dizziness. I had never experienced anything like this, so I waited for it to go away. It didn't, so JR put me in the car and took me down to the little hospital between Cashiers and Highlands. (The rescue squad is volunteer, and is not close to our house, so this seemed a better option than waiting for them.) Luckily, I had on clean underwear and had just shaved my legs!! To make a long story short, they treated me as if I was having a cardiac event. I spent 24 hours and no telling how many thousands of dollars having every test known to man, only to find that I had acid reflux. If only I had called my sister-in-law, she could have diagnosed me and I could have turned left instead of right and gone to Ingles where I could have bought Prilosec for less than a dollar a pill! Still, it was scary and we are not sorry that we behaved in a cautious manner.

All clouds have a silver lining, though. I had been worrying about finding a doctor up here, but just didn't quite know how to begin. Now I've found him! Doctor Matthews is wonderful and I have found that he has a wonderful reputation. Our children worry about us being up here in the "sticks", but we were happy to tell them that this little Highland-Cashiers hospital is state of the art! They have two helicopters available 24/7 that fly patients that they can't treat to Asheville, Greenville, or Atlanta, but the adjacent office building has every specialty known to man, as well as a surgical center, an imaging center, and I don't know what else. And everybody was SO NICE! There was none of the surliness that one finds in Charlotte. Anyway, I speak to you safe and sound, being treated for acid reflux!

Hope you had a good Labor Day! Love to all! We are looking forward to a visit with our friends, Jim and Eileen Palmer this weekend!

When Did It Get To Be Fall?

I think it was this week. I can sit on my porch and look across the mountain ranges and see subtle changes in the verdant green that is characteristic of the summer mountains. The wild cherry trees, first to poke their little green noses out in the spring, are also the first to yellow and surrender their leaves in the fall. The sun is lower in the sky during the day, and it makes its appearance much later in the morning. The nights have a distinctive nip in them, though the days are still warm. The seasons come and go and are mirrors of how life unfolds...this, too, shall pass. Regardless of what your experiences are, they will pass, and their heart-rending throes will pass along with them.

I love you guys!

Celebrate Everything and Other Stuff

One of the things my family does every so often is to have a "Celebrate Everything" day. It is a chance for all of us to get together and to celebrate all the things that are good in our lives. We trade around places to have it, and the hosts invite not just family, but others in their sphere that are important to them. It is always a great time...good food, good drink, and good companionship. This last time it was at my sister's house. She and John have a new house with some acreage and it was so nice! The only thing is that it rained all day.. Luckily, her wrap-around porch sufficed to keep people dry and comfortable!










I really hate blogspot. I can never get it to work right. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my expertise! Anyway, here are pics of my sister, Judy, and my brother, Charlie. I can't find a picture of Mary so, oh,well! It's hard to put toothpaste back into the tube!

Other good things that have happened is that I went to Green Mountain (about 40 miles northeast of Asheville) and spent a couple of days playing bridge with my friends from Charlotte, Nancy, Millie, and Gayle. It was such fun! Nancy has this great farm in Green Mountain...not sure what county that is in..that she and John have restored and it is just beautiful! Her daughter is going to be married there next spring and Nan is busy with all those plans. I can't wait to go back, but she has to come here first!


This is Nan and Millie. I'm going to try to put a pic of Gayle on here, but, geez, I really struggle with this! I love all of them (even if they are Democrats)! Oh, here's Gayle!





A couple of really good things: Our garden was just stupendous this year. We have terrible dirt up here, so we made raised beds (sort of like square foot gardening) and planted tomatoes, squash, cukes, broccoli, cabbage, okra, radishes, green beans, beets, and onions. They were just prolific! I had many picking of green beans, the squash nearly ran me over, and I threw out cucumbers in droves because I could not give them away or even pickle them fast enough. I hope the raccoons enjoyed them! Tomorrow I am going to blanch and freeze some tomatoes to use in soup this winter. Here's a picture of the basket I picked this morning, only one of many this season!


JR and I tried to take a picture of a beautiful phenomenon (a?) last night. It had rained all day, just a nasty day, but it cleared up later. Last night, we woke up (to put the dog out) and saw this wonderful scene. The fog was in the valley, but we were above it and the moon was shining to beat the band. There is a "widow light" down below us and it made a truly eerie view. We captured it on film, but it is not good as we are not photographers. Every day up here I find something new, and just wish that I could capture it. This is the most amazing place! I get up, look out, and am awed that I can experience this.

Love to all of you!