Even in the Rain.....

....sorry about the quality of this picture....
but.....it's RAINING...!!

And even in the rain the trucks must roll....
soooooo....they keep on packing those trees.....!!

It's a Dirty Job....
Where's Mike Rowe when you need him....??

Enjoy

Delivery Day...

....and i'll give you a little sneak peak.....

These are the memory quilts i have been working on...
and finally they're done and ready for delivery to their new owner..

Can only give you a peak 'cause she hasn't seen them yet ....

Then it's off to buy deer corn, mail some bills and run by the library again...(it was closed on Saturday...!!)

I just LOVE Mondays....!!

Enjoy

I Can't Help It.......

....sometimes i run across a book that i can't put down......!!

This is one.....if you like a really good police drama.....you'll like this ....!!

And if you've seen the movie...."The Bone Collector" with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie....
you'll know the major characters and the inner workings of their relationship....

Not gonn'a write any more......go to the library.....get it....read it.....enjoy it.....

Gott'a go ....... i'm almost done.....they're closing in on the killer.....!!!

Enjoy

They're Back....!!!

Yep......the big trucks are back...
And being loaded with Christmas Trees....
Maybe they're coming to a tree lot near you...

There's just NO end to the excitement up here...!!
I can hardly contain myself....!!

Next we're gonna bundle-up and go to the library...

Wooooo Hooooo...!!

Enjoy

Not Me....Man...!!!

To all you "Black Friday" shoppers out there....

"More power to ya......go girls and guys...."

"But.....Not Me Man....!!!

You won't find me out there in the malls at midnight.....
Nor lined up outside of Wal Mart for the 5 AM specials.....

Nooooo Wayyyy...!!

The winds in the high country today are gusting up to 60 mph...it's over cast and there is some slight snow flurries in the forecast.....

Now....my female child and her SIL we're up and out shopping at 4 AM...

Sometimes i wonder if she's got any of my DNA...??

Enjoy



ps....flags at 8 AM.....during a wind gust....yikes...!!

Thankful Thursday......

MissKitty here...

Wishing all of Bloggerville...

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING!"

Enjoy

Almost Wordless Wednesday.....

Snapped these pictures this AM.....

Could this be why they're called....

"The Smokey Mountains"....??

Enjoy

Let the "Prep" Begin.....!!!

Well.....it's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving....
And it's not Throwdown with Bobby Flay....
But with the amount of "Prep" time this one dinner takes....
The TV crew should be here anytime now.....!!

Today's the day that.....

• The bird gets taken out of Mom's freezer and begins the defrosting..
• I have to make the final decision on mac & cheese....yes - no......crock-pot or oven style..
• Should i go with mashed potatoes....we're already having sweet potatoes, turnips and dressing..
• Gott'a make that last run to the food store and/or Wal*Mart..
• Do i have time to clean the windows and the bathrooms..

Ok....here's what will really happen...

• Bird will get yanked out the freezer and thrown on the front porch for defrosting....maybe i'll remember to bring it in tonight..
• I'll flip a coin on the mac & cheese..
• I'll do mashed spuds next year instead of turnips..
• I'll run to Wally World ...cause i need more quilting thread..
• Forget cleaning...it's only family..

Then i'll finish the second memory quilt..and be happy..

Enjoy

It's Time....

....time to hang up the Native Americans and the Pilgrims....

And bring the "mother"of all crock pots out of storage....

THE TURKEY ROASTER

Love my turkey roaster...!!

I can cook a 12lb bird in about 2 1/2 hours......sleep in.....
no more stuffing the bird at 5:30 AM....!!

(And i think i read a Wally World sales flyer that they are on sale again)

Enjoy

Natural Disaster.......

Enter the "sewing room"....
Your greeted with boxes of batting....unfinished projects....hoops stuck in the corner.....jelly rolls.....charm packs.....and assorted other things i have not found a place for yet.....

About one half of the stash...
small quilts and UFO's on the top shelf.....watched over by my Xmas Moose.....

Oh Yeah.....glue gun and industrial electric stapler up there, too....

Hummmmmm....on top of the sewing box......
I think it's all "quilting kits" and magazines.....
I think...??!!

Ironing board.....memory quilts..... and.....oh Look!!!....

Pioneer Woman's Cookbook....!!!
Did you watch her on Throwdown with Bobby Flay...!!??

Go Ree......Go Reeee.....Gooooo Reeeeee....!!

Such a deal.....on Amazon......reduced price and free shipping.....!!

(oops......sorry it's blurry....)

Words to live by....

Enjoy

Morning Frost.....

Apparently we've been having a heavy morning frost for over a week now......
and i've been missing it.....

Maybe....i've seen it and it just has not registered in the brain.....
(shrug shoulders here)

I've been working like a quilting fool on the two memory quilts .... and i'm almost finished...!!
But had to take a break......cause.....hunched over the cutting table and sewing machine has created muscle spasms in my neck......resulting in a semi-migraine ..... FUN!!??

Sooooo....to get me away from the "machine"....
CityBoy and i are doing the Thanksgiving Dinner shopping today.....

Hope Mom has room in her freezer for the turkey....
My freezer is full of bargain box stuff....!!

Enjoy

Almost Wordless Wednesday.....

Woke up to the sound of semis' lining up at the bottom of the hill....
Trees are off to market...!!

Enjoy

The Hills Are Alive.....

...with the sound of chainsaws.....

and tractors and trucks....

Even in the rain....
The harvest goes on.....!!

Enjoy

Bread...??!!

Ok.....i've stated many times on this blog....."I DON'T BAKE..!!"

However....i came across this recipe, over at www.THE7MSNRANCH.COM blog, that only had.....count'um ....4 ingredients....and NO kneading....!

Now, i have this little gluten problem and bread is not a staple at our dinner table...
but, had to try it....

You can bake it on that Pampered Chef stone, you bought 10 years ago and never used...!!

It made two loaves of "artisan" bread......small flat..very chewy, with a tangy flavor...

Hummmmmm.....it came out of the oven yesterday at approx. 10:30 AM...
And this is all that's left....

We discovered it's very good with.....butter & wild grape jelly......cream cheese.....plain.....seasoned olive oil.....swiss cheese....cheese dip....nacho dip.....

In a word......yummmmmmy....!!

But...now i've got this little gluten problem to get out of my system.....

Was it worth it.....??!!......time will tell.....

Enjoy

It's Here......

It came in the mail yesterday....!!

Several weeks ago i was ranting about the cost of prescription drugs and raving about a company i'd found in Canada where i could get the same drug in generic form....
A three month supply would cost me less than half of what i was paying for a month supply in the US....

Well....it's here and first let me say......"I'm pleased..!!"

When i opened the box.....i was a little unsure....
The method of dispensing the meds is different and i'm not real good with a change of my routine....
Then i read all the literature included.....it's got the same mix of asthma drugs and after a little thought...i realized this method of dispensing is a much more efficient....

Now...here was my biggest mind boggle......

I ordered it from Canada...
It was made in India....
It was shipped from Barbados...
And if i return it....it goes to the United Kingdom....

What happen to ...."Buy American?"

While i was mumbling about this last night.....Cityboy said...."Where did the expensive stuff come from?"

Hummmmm.....i don't know.....
So i got the box of the expensive stuff and this is what was written on the label....

"Made in Singapore"

and there's no return policy....!!

Thank you, Canada, India, Barbados and UK.....you saved me a bunch of $$$$

Enjoy

Cup'A.....

Well......a couple of bloggers ask for this.....
So here's the recipe for Granny's....

Cup-a Cobbler

Fruit - whatever you got on hand
1 stick of butter - melted
1 cup of flour - self raising
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
dollop of vanilla
shake of cinnamon

and i use a 13x9 deep dish glass baking dish..

Use a little butter and grease the bottom of the dish...
layer your fruit on the bottom......
I've use apples, pears, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and a combo of peaches and pears....
Canned...frozen.....fresh....doesn't matter....
For this pear/peach combo...i sprinkled a hand full of brown sugar over the fruit...
this is optional....only did it this time, cause i thought the apples had very little flavor...

Mix all the "cup'a".... the vanilla and cinnamon....
Pour over fruit.....
Bake @ 375 for 45 - 60 minutes.....

This makes a cakey cobbler and it's great served warm with French Vanilla ice cream....

Quick.....simple....and nothing you have to rush out to the store and buy...!!!

Enjoy

Thankful Thursday......

Thank you to all who serve...

Happy Birthday Jonny...!!
Thanks for being our grandson....
Luv ya!

Enjoy

They're Back.....

....the bargain boxes.....that is...!!

For those of you new to my blog.....CityBoy works for a local food store .....everyday the produce section pick what they call unsellable product (fruits and veggies with a bruise or blemish) of the shelves.....packs it in a bargain box and sell them at a very reasonable price.....

One appeared at our house Monday night.....hummmmmm....

Inside was enough tomatoes for 4 quarts.....
3 very ripe pears
2 Golden apples
7 McIntosh apples
16 ears of corn
4 bell peppers
and a partridge in a pear tree......lol

Ahhhhhh....look at "Mama's Helpers".....holding down the mattress pad while i'm putting clean sheets on the bed....

3 over ripe pears and the goldens went into a Cup'a Cobbler....

Ymmmmm....Good!!

Corn is in the freezer...
McIntosh's are sliced, wraped in bacon and in the dehydrator to become doggie snacks....
And i'm still deciding what to do with the partridge......

Enjoy

The Harvest Starts........

(these pictures are from last year)

The cutting of the trees has begun......
The loading of the tree trailers...
The hauling them out of the fields...

Running them down the road to the loading docks....
The packing of the "big rigs"....
And off to markets....

Soon to be on a tree lot near you....!!

Dodging these "tree trailers" is lots of fun..(?)

What am i crazy....they own the road..
You don't get in they're way!!

Good day to stay in and quilt....

Enjoy

Officially Unemployed......

It's Monday....my first "real" day of unemployment...!!
And this was what i woke-up too.....

Mia in my face......with that.."your home...your home...come on get up....come on..!!" look....

And this is what it looked like outside....!!
Gotta teach these dogs about sleeping late....

Enjoy

Lazy Sunday Afternoon.......

...sleeping in the sun and....

snuggled in our blanket.....

It's a dogs life....!!

Enjoy

Another One Bites the Dust........

....Yes, Bloggerville....another camping season is over for me....!!

Due to some minor budget problems ....... i agreed to leave 3 weeks early....

I'm happy......i don't mind.....i'm ready for my winter break.....

It has been an exhausting season of firsts....

First full year of the reservation system.......first full year of working at "one" park, instead of dividing my time between two......first full year of dealing with "first-time" campers.....first year for the New River Celebration or the "Snot Otter" day as we like to call it....

It's been an edcational....crazy....fun.....season....

The park will remain open and functional for the remaining winter months without me....

I'll miss the girls, all the rangers, the maintenance guys and the daily rat-race of working....

But....then.....i've got a to-do list as long as my arm waiting for me at home...

Maybe i can slowly work thru that list...... or not.....

After all March is only 3 1/2 months away....!!

I'll Be Back...New River....I'll Be Back....!!

Enjoy

Thankful Thursday......

Misskitty here.....

Unless Boomer is on a rant, she almost never post about religion or politics....

However......on this Thankful Thursday....

Whether last Tuesday's election went your way or not....

Let's be thankful that we live in a country that gives us the freedom and the right to cast our votes and express our opinions...

Enjoy

ps.....Capt. Jack....it's OK to talk to a cat...especially a wise one....!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday.....

Introducing the newest find at the park...

Ranger Paul found this little tree within 100 feet of the front gate...

And then the maintenance guys trimmed around it's base so we can keep a close watch on it....

Just looking at it each day ..makes me wonder...."How?"

Enjoy

Snow...!!??

Yep...it's a come'n...!!

The local weather gurus are predicting snow flurries, starting Thursday night and lasting thru Saturday.....

Of course they're saying it will be at the higher elevations and mostly on the west side of the Blue Ridge....

But...what if you live sort'a on the East side and are at a mid-elevation.....like us...??!!

The Florida weather gurus would call us in the "Cone of Probability.."

Should we run out ...shop.....and prepare for a major "snow-in"....?

Nawwwww......i'm counting on it melting before it hits the ground.....

One of my many dreams in life....

Enjoy

It's Monday.......!!!!

These are so colorful and cute, I could not resist a picture or two.....

They were in the planters along the street between the movie theater and the cheese factory...

And yes.....that is their real color....!

The malechild body blocked the sun so the glare would not fade them out....

Would you call them purple or periwinkle blue....??

Anyway ......we went to see "RED"....love that Bruce Willis.....

Enjoy