"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!

More Flowers and Celebrations

Here I am, once again, trying to figure out what I did with my time. Of course, we did actually finish moving and we closed on the sale of our house. We are now the proud owners of only one residence! And today is my birthday, so I wanted to get this done before I got a year older.


After an extraordinarily rough winter, the spring was extraordinarily beautiful. I want to share some pictures of the wild flowers that were on the ridge. If I can figure out how to get some pics on, I'll share some with you. I now have the pictures on, but whenever I try to caption them everything goes haywire. So, you'll have to settle for running commentary. These three wild flowers (from left to right) are trillium, wild strawberry, and flame azalea. They are some of the most dramatic flowers in the springtime landscape up here. I have more, but getting pics on is so tedious that I quit!


Of course, the Fourth of July always brings an excuse for getting together with friends. Jarleth and LT came, as well as Jim's niece, Fran, and her husband, Neal. The Longs from Cashiers came along with their daughter and her significant other. We had a wonderful time cooking out, eating, sitting by the fire, and watching fireworks off our deck.











These pics on the left are of Christine Long and her daughter, Elyse. On the right are the "boys"... JR, Curt, and Neal, all standing around Lynn's raised bed garden. It is doing very well, by the way!

Adam and his family came to visit from Texas. While they were here, Jon and his family came up. It was such fun having all the grandchildren together in one place...even though it was very much like a gerbil cage around here! The kids went gem mining and went in search of waterfalls. JR and I stayed home and rested up! The following pictures are of us with the boys and their children; the boys and their families; and of us with our 5 grandchildren. Aren't they beautiful? MiMi and PapaJim love those little things! Well, we love the big ones, too, but grandchildren are just the best!

This past weekend our friends Jim and Eileen came for the weekend. We were great friends in Charlotte when Eileen and I were teaching in the same school. Our kids were about the same age and we played bridge together regularly. When the kids were little, we'd take them over to Jim and Eileen's and they'd do the same. Now, their children are "mature" and so are ours! It was a great weekend. I forgot to take any pictures, though, and Eileen forgot her camera. Well, age is a beautiful thing! We haven't seen them in about 10 years. They have moved to South Carolina (via Orlando and Atlanta), so we're going to visit them in September at their lake house. It was such a fun weekend. Jim P. and I won at bridge! I'll take pics then...but not one of me in my bathing suit!

The next family thing is "Celebrate Everything" at my sister's house in Rural Hall, NC. That's a little thing we do at least once a year and sometimes more to celebrate friends and family and all the good things in our lives. JR and I are going to spend the night with Judy and Johnnie. It'll be like a slumber party...if we can stay up that late!

Just so you know...as I post this, I am STILL only 63 years old!

So until next time. I love you guys!