Christmas and "The Young Guns"

Here's hoping that all of you had a wonderful holiday season and that you enter the new year rested in body and spirit, and looking forward to another year's progress in meeting your life's goals.  Jim and I had a wonderful season, though I confess to being glad to be back into a routine.

We actually celebrated Christmas in fits and starts...with my mother the week or so before Christmas; with Jon and his family, a day or two before Christmas; with our friends, the Longs, on Christmas Day; and with my sister and her family the week after Christmas.  It was fun on all fronts, but my tree was up for over a month as were the other decorations, and I was really, really glad to get back to normal.

"Reni Oakley"

JJ "Shooter"

Now a little history is in order.  Jim and our grandson, JJ, love to go to the gun store in Charlotte.  JJ squats down in front of the display cases and picks out guns that he would like to have, so Jim decided that this was the year to give him a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.  If you have ever seen that wonderful Christmas movie "A Christmas Story" you will know what that gun is like.  Anyway, he bought it for him, waited with breathless suspense, and had it under the tree when they came up right before Christmas.  It was rainy and foggy the day they arrived, but the day after dawned crisp and clear, so the game was on!  Jim and Jon took JJ and sister Lauren outside to teach them to target shoot.  The barrel was too long for each of them, but Lauren compensated well by developing a rather unorthodox stance, and became a "Dead Eye Dick"  We started calling her Reni Oakley.  JJ, on the other hand handled a rifle like he does video game controls.  We don't think he ever really hit anything since his plan seemed to be "Fire, Aim, Ready".  Katie watched these goings-on from the inside for awhile and then apparently decided that her 11 year old self was not too good to try this activity.  The gun was not too long for her and she was an equally good shot when compared to Reni.  So now, we have the Oakley Sisters.  Reni asks her dad everyday when they are going back to shoot.  Included are some pics of the "Young Guns".

"Katie Oakley"

Snow Update:  We have had two snows since Christmas Day, both very moderate with only about a 1-2 inch accumulation.  Those of you familiar with snow know that this is negligible.  The latest snow came on Monday night.  I had a hair appointment yesterday and JR said that he would take me down and then we would go do some rat killing.  Now, mind you, we have TWO 4-wheel drive vehicles sitting in our driveway.  However, JR decided that we would take his company car (a Ford Fusion) because "It'll be fine."  Yeah, it was fine for getting down the drive, but when we got back the car (after 4 tries) wouldn't go back up.  So, we parked it and walked straight up hill for a little over 1/2 mile.  I was okay, but JR's knee hurt.  I volunteered to go up and get the truck or the 4Runner and come get him, but he had to be Macho Man.  So...I let him walk and declined to feel sorry for him when he complained about his knee the rest of the night!  I had to take him down this morning to get his car...no problem for ye old 4Runner!

Water Update:  I still don't have regular water.  The hold-up now is Duke Energy which has to come up and hook up the power to the new barn.  The water pump at the spring will be run from there, and we currently do not have water that continually pumps from there .  I do, however, have a pump in the holding tank at the top of the drive (see last post) so the inside water is normal acting.  However, the plumber has to come out about once every 5 days or so to top off the tank, which requires hooking up a generator to the pump at the spring and about 2 hours labor.  It's just like paying for water in Charlotte!!  To date, I have been without normal water since November 30.  Do I need to say that I'm over it?

It's beautiful here and I will leave you with a landscape from the ridge.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Above it all on the ridge

The Joys of Construction

About a year ago, JR decided that he would like to build a barn in which to house his tractor and its implements, and to have a workshop.  Just like everything Jim does, it has taken on proportions way beyond its original conception.  Not only is the "barn" bigger than one would generally expect a barn to be (it is bigger than my mother's house, I think), but the scope of the project has taken on a life of its's own.  A trench was to be dug for electric lines to run to the place, so Jim decided that we might as well replace our rather decrepit water lines in the same trench...and while we were at it, why not replace the holding tank at the springhead with a 1000 gallon tank; and, oh, by the way, let's put another 1000 gallon tank at the top of the drive so that if we lose electricity, we can have gravity fed water.

One of the 1000 gallon holding tanks

Now please note that the weather has not cooperated and our workmen can't work in the snow and rain, but Louis did fill up one of the holding tanks, and, guess what, we have gravity fed water (see picture above).  The only issue is that we are now on our 12th day with this tank of water and we are conserving like crazy.  Can't get hot water in the kitchen (not enough pressure to push the heated water from the water heater), so I boil water on the stove to wash dishes.  I have not been doing too much cooking...clean-up is too much of a hassle.  Pressure is too low to use the dishwasher...which, by the way, was full.  It's ripe by now.  I have avoided opening it.  I take a shower about every third day...speaking of being ripe... (though I do a little bird bath routine and brush my teeth).  I am so glad that I was not a pioneer woman.  The very thought of trudging 1/3 mile down a steep hill to the spring head with a bucket and hauling it back up here is just nauseating!

I am going to Charlotte and Greensboro leaving tomorrow and will return Thursday.  I'd better have some water that is delivered with pump power when I get back!  Or else...I'll be coming to visit you!!!


I'll leave you with some "construction sights".

The well-bred always have a potty

The beginning of the barn

This picture of the spring head isn't very sharp, but the white pipe is coming from the holding tank (1000 gallons) and is dispensing cool, clear water.  All this will be eventually covered up and attached to the lines that go to the house...better be soon!

The spring head with all that beautiful water...not coming to my house!

  
Merry Christmas!  


Love, Lynn and Jim

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Jim and me with Jon, Patti, and the Munchkins

Thanksgiving has come and gone, the tree is up, the cards are mailed, gifts are purchased, and I'm just enjoying the season!  We went to Jon's and Patti's for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time.  It was their maiden voyage for hosting the annual celebration, though Patti's mother and I prepared most of the food.  It was so much fun, and we are looking forward to their visit before Christmas to go skiing.  Mind you, I'm not going skiing, but they'll have a good time!

Lynn with youngest sister,  Mary

The elder Riggsbees with Patti's parents, Tom and G with our common grandchildren

We missed the Texas Riggsbees, though.  Shanna sent a darling picture of G and A in front of their tree.  We hope to get there soon.  I miss those little things.

Avery and Gracie

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whatever you want to call it!  We love you guys!

The Making of the Stew

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will recall that JR and I went to his niece's home last year to make Brunswick Stew.  Well, it's a long trip down there so we decided to do some ourselves.  So, we invited my sister Judy and her husband to come for the weekend and make some.  Now, making the stew isn't that hard...you just have to pay attention to it, but the prep is tedious and time-consuming.  Judy and I each did a batch prep before the stew day.  By the time I was finished I didn't care if I ever saw a cow, a pig, or a chicken as long as I live.  Judy expressed similar sentiments!  But we got our stew pot out and tried to set it up on the patio.  However, the wind was blowing (not an unusual thing up here), and kept blowing the propane fire out, so JR and I had to move the pot to the covered porch where there is some protection from the wind.  Our batch was a little soupy since I guess we put too much liquid in it.  Judy and John's was a bit thicker, but it wasn't as thick as the stuff we made with Neal and Fran last year.  Nevertheless, it was delicious and we are going to enjoy it all winter!  It reminded of the stews that the men of the church made when we were girls.  Mama says they still make it every year. JR and I are going to make another batch this fall.  Judy says she "might" do it next year!  Wuss!

John doing his stirring.

Jim with Chester batting cleanup!

We had a great weekend with Judy and John.  It was fun to spend some time together.  Judy does a lot of work for Mama (for which we are all grateful) and I know it was good to get away for a couple of days.  Mary picked up the slack that weekend.  Mama is doing much better, and I think she is as good as she is going to be.  We have some plans for later when she needs more help.  It is hard to watch one's parents age.  I know most of you are familiar with that.

The picture below is of me and Judy on stew weekend.  One of our Facebook friends expressed shock that I am so white headed!  No respect!!

Lynn and Judy, November 6, 2011

 Happy Thanksgiving!  We'll be Charlotte with Jon and his family as well as some of Patti's family.

Once Again, It Ends

Autumn on Bobcat Ridge 

 

 The mountain "season" lasts from May to October.  And a glorious season it is!  Pleasant days followed by cool nights, nature abounding, many opportunities to be with friends and family.  But, inexorably, the trees dress in vibrant reds and yellows, the days are cool, and nights bring the need for heat.  And when the trees drop their beautiful foliage, unveiling their bare branches, it is time to accept the frost and snow and move into the slowness of winter.  I'm really ready (thought that would never happen), but would like to share some of the fun.


First, there is the plethora of wild life.  Jim and I love to watch it, and we have even made some of the little critters part of our family by naming them (more or less).  There were "Daddy and the Girls"...a small family of grosbeaks.  For one reason or another the female adult was absent, but the two adolescent females ran their father a merry chase.  He nearly wore himself out feeding them, but it was almost poetic to watch him teach them how to care for themselves.  The two red squirrels, Junior and Freddie, were tiny, tiny little things.  Unlike gray squirrels, they didn't run...they just hopped from place to place.  They visited the bird feeders everyday until one day they were just gone.  The hen turkey, Mamalade, lived in the yard for weeks until she disappeared, perhaps to hatch a brood of her own.  I saw her last week, though, so I guess she is still around. Rackayla, the mother raccoon, still brings her brood onto the porch nightly, looking for whatever the birds and chipmunks leave behind.  Chester (our dog) wakes us up wanting to get at them.  We decline to allow him to do so.  And then there is Scooter...about the most industrious chipmunk I've ever seen.  We can all learn a lesson from him.  He is on the porch looking for dropped bird seed at first light and makes many trips before dusk.  Tuning in to wild life is easy up here, and provides many hours of enjoyment for us.

But we're never willing just to let the good times go, so we've had our annual "Big Chill" with our college friends.  This year there were 8 of us, the Teasleys, the Shopes, the Blaylocks, and JR and me.  We missed the Brooks', but I held true to my promise to stick pins in their dolls.  This is always a fun occasion and we act just like college kids ...not always a good thing!

The girls:  Claudia, Jane, Marti, Lynn (rear)

The boys:  Jim, Bob, Ken, Dave

I promised!!!

 And, other than my sister and her husband coming to make brunswick stew in a couple of weeks, we finished up the season with our Charlotte-made friends, Jim and Eileen (who live in SC now), and Jim's niece Fran.  Jim and Eileen have been good friends since Eileen and I taught together in the 70s.  Our children are about the same age, and we used to play cards at each others houses while our kids socialized.  Fun!  All the kids are grown and have families of their own, but we still have fun!!

Old Friends:  Jim R, Lynn, Eileen, Jim P

Jim's niece lives in Louisburg and decided to come for a few days.  We missed her husband Neil, but do appreciate her helping us season our stew pot.  Now perhaps we won't burn our stew when we make it!

Fran and an interesting "guest"

The leaf season has long since passed its peak, we've had our first dusting of snow, and cool nights are the norm, though the days are still generally pleasant.  JR and I go to Charlotte for a wedding this weekend, and we hope to spend some time with Jon and his family.  They're so busy that I have to get on their schedule early!

Love to all!

Bev, Friend Extraordinaire

Bev and Lynn in the 80s

 

My exceptionally good friend, Bev, left us on September 28, 2011.  She was a sweet and gentle soul, and the world is less without her.

I first met her when she and her husband, Joe, moved in next door to us in Charlotte in March of 1976.  Adam was two weeks old.  Although I didn't notice any action over there that day, Jim came in and said he thought there was somebody in the house next door.  So, while Adam slept, I ventured over and knocked on the door.  Bev answered, carrying 18 month old Joey on her hip.  (I can still see that picture today.)  When I introduced myself, she immediately invited me in for refreshment and a visit.  I did go in briefly.  Bev had a cooler, a lawn chair, and a diaper bag, but she was generous enough to offer hospitality to me!  As it was clear that she was waiting for the movers, I made an excuse about the baby sleeping, but invited her over after the movers left.  She came, we had tea, and a wonderful friendship sprouted that day.  It endured over great time and great distance, but we always picked up where we left off...giggling like school girls; musing about husbands and children, parents and siblings; lamenting the state of public education; and all those other mundane matters that weave the fabric of life; and which cement the love that friendship brings.

Bev had a sweet and gentle nature that calmed even the most restless, but that gentleness belied a constitution of steel...the consummate "Steel Magnolia", despite her northern roots!  Her unrelenting devotion to her family was reciprocated in their unrelenting devotion to her.  Husband Joe calls her "my beautiful Bev", and is as clearly in love with her today as he was they day they married in 1972.  Her children have basked in her love and have observed the strength of character that it takes to rear a loving and productive family...with uncomprising love and support, while allowing each member to grow in his/her own way.  They have each established strong nuclear families of their own, and are a testament to the power of "Mama".

I bid her farewell reluctantly, for she has enriched my life beyond measure, but her spirit will always live in my heart.  I will always love you, Bev.

Things that are IN

Katie is IN middle school.  Her extra-curricular choice was cheerleading.  Having chosen that, she had to go to a cheerleading camp before school started.  It was, to my understanding, a week long 8 hour a day camp.  Katie's mother, Patti, called it the "cheerbeast" camp.  Here is a pic of Katie after a day of "camp".  She had used muscles that she didn't even know she had!

Mama has been IN the hospital.  She had (has?) a condition known as atrial flutter, and she had a procedure that shocked her heart back into rhythm.  We haven't been back to the cardiologist for a check yet, but we are hoping for good news and a continuation of a regular heart rhythm.  Otherwise, she remains weak and wobbly, so we are taking turns caring for her.  I go tomorrow for the rest of the week.

There was a new cat who was supposed to be IN my house.  He is a little, sweet, black and white kitty named Oreo.  He had a brother named Cookie that disappeared from our friend, Jaime's house.  He lived outside and proceeded to grieve himself, and since Jaime is allergic to dander, she could not keep him in the house.  So, we agreed to take him.  Then Mama got sick, so that's on hold for a bit.  I really am looking forward to him, but don't feel like I can take him and then abandon him.

And then, there are things IN the pantry.  While it hasn't been a great gardening season, we have managed to put up some things in the larder.  Some things we bought from the farmer's market, but some things came from our own garden.

And the BG's were IN the mountains! We had a bridge weekend that was SO MUCH FUN!!!  Four of the 8 members of my Charlotte bridge club came for the weekend...Vicki, Susan, Ann, and Gayle.  We had to take turns playing, and JR filled in as player and "Butt Boy", even cooking us omelets on Sunday morning!

The BG's...Ann, Gayle, Susan, Vicki, and Lynn

 

I leave in the morning to go back to Mama's. Will let you know how she is progressing.  Love to all.