Friday

Well today was another fun day that started around 7 :30 AM. The temps were in the middle 60's and reached a high of 80 plus, but the humidity was very high which made it feel like a day in June. Its hard to believe this was the last day of August and already we see lots of evidence that Fall is here except for today. The leaves are falling before even turning but we do see the Maples on the back trail starting to show some color. After our quiet time I did fruit for breakfast with a home grown pear that Jetta gave me and a red delicious apple.

My little fishin' buddy Caleb Dalton called and wanted to come over to do some shooting. His mom dropped him off around 9:30 and we took off to the top of the mountain to check on the corn patch. Joe and I fixed a new gate yesterday hoping that would keep the coons out but that was to no avail. They once again destroyed the corn patch bending over several stalks and eating several ears. They have destroyed about half of the patch so I'm really ticked. Andy Dalton, Caleb's dad informed me he had a wildlife trap that I could borrow to trap the buggers so I picked it up when I took Caleb home.

Caleb and I dug some worms then we took off for Ms Helen's pond around 10 AM. It really was too warm to fish and we only caught 2 perch which I kept to use for bait in the coon trap. We also picked a peck of red apples from her tree so Nancy could make an apple pie this weekend.We came back and got out the rifle and pistol to shoot. He brought his dad's M-1 which is a WWII and Korea rifle. Wow is that an ever sweet shooting rifle and the action on that piece was beautiful. We ran about 20 rounds through it then ran another 50 or so rounds of 22 rifle shots. I let Caleb run a clip of 40 caliber/10 MM through my service pistol. He did a good job at about 18 feet distance.

 After taking Caleb home I came back and had a bite of lunch then I piddled around as it was too dang hot to work outside. I sat on the back porch and read until it was time to get ready for supper. I shucked some corn from the corn patch and Nancy fried up some okra I picked from Kay's(Caleb's grandmother) garden as well as 1/2 dozen 'maters. Yeow did that okra ever taste dewisheous. We had a garden salad to go along with the corn and okra. After the cleanup we took off on a hike to the top of the mountain and stopped to pick up a couple dozen of fresh brown eggs Jetta picked up for us. I made arrangements to come back up with the golf cart to pick Joe up and we set the trap. I used one of the small fish as well as a couple marshmellows. These are supposed to be great bait for luring raccoon into a trap. I will let you know if these baits worked in the morning, LATER

Thursday

Well the morning started out around 7AM with the temps in the middle 60's. There was another heavy dew dripping from the tin roof breaking the silence in the cabin. There was such stillness outside as the dawn broke over the tree tops. After our quiet times I joined Nancy with a bowl of boring oatmeal with a fresh peach and a little cinnamon for breakfast.Afterwards I headed outside to check on the new seedlings as well as the gardens for deer damage. Nancy got ready and then around 10:30 we headed out on our hike to the top of the mountain.

We stopped and visited with Norm on top and then I walked down to check the corn patch which is located down behind his place. Well did I ever receive a surprise as several corn stalks were smashed down and then I noticed all the damage. Raccoons had somehow slipped through the makeshift gate and destroyed 18 ears of corn plus the stalks. We headed on up to let Joe know of the damage and we decided after lunch to head down and try to repair the gate before the 'coons destroyed all the corn.

I loaded up some chicken wire and cutters then headed by to pick up Joe and we headed to the corn patch. We rebuilt the gate and moved some large poles in hopes that will deter the coons from getting in through the fence. Wow was it ever hot and humid. I did manage to pull 10 ears of corn that looked like we might get some eatin' from them. At least we could get something before the coons come back tonight and try the gate and fence. We were certainly disappointed to see such damage by those critters. I may have to get a trap if they continue to get in the corn patch.

After the fence fixing I head home after loading up the golf cart with a load of rocks to fill in a couple areas in the lower yard. I cleaned up then sat in the cool basement as it was that hot outside. After cooling off I sat and read for an hour before we got ready to head out to Sparta. We made a stop at the library before heading on up to the tennis courts where we watched and cheered for our sweet friend Kallie. She lost her singles match but did recover and won her doubles match with another girl, Lydia. After the match it was going on 7PM so we headed to a local pizza place and had a mushroom pizza, Yumm very good.

We made a Food Lion stop before heading back to the cabin. Evening darkness was fast approaching and a beautiful full moon was rising just over the mountain top, yikes was it ever clear, LATER

Wednesday

Well today was a fun day that started around 6:30 in the morning with temps in the low 60's. After my quiet time I heated up a left over buckwheat cake with a couple fried eggs on top. Our old friend DJ from Florida who moved to Clemmons permanently around 6 years old was en route to our place. He was interested in doing some shooting and before we did that I mentioned about the beauty of Stone Mountain Park which is just a few miles down off the mountain. He had never visited there so we headed out down the mountain on the Oklahoma Road which looked like a serpent with its switchback turns around 9AM.

I decided that maybe just the hike back to the falls would be enough for the first time for him plus I was reminded about the steep climb up the rock face and the injury I sustained to my knee earlier this summer. The trail back to the falls was about a 4 1/2 mile loop with some good inclines along the way. Since I was last there the park has received some upgrades with small bridges over several creeks and even the trail itself has been upgraded to make the hiking much easier with smoother paths. We both worked up a good sweat which took us over an hour each way to and from the falls. We decided to do the rock face on a later date preferably when cooler temps prevailed, maybe when the Botbyls arrive in October.

We got back from the park around noon and had a nice lunch of fresh salad, deer salami, cheese and sliced tomato. After lunch we headed out to do some shooting. DJ brought his new Marlin 22 long rifle semi-automatic that holds 16 rounds. Before we shot the 22's I learned he had never shot a shotgun. Well I fixed up a couple targets and got 4 different loads for the 12 gauge; a slug, buckshot, bird shot and a skeet shot. Needless to say he had red marks all over his right shoulder were the shotgun left its mark. He was rather impressed with its kicking power as well. I loaded up my 40 cal Beretta service pistol that I was awarded when I retired and had him run a clip through it as well. He seemed impressive with the power from that gun as well.

We set up  a couple aluminum cans in the back woods about 50 yards away then retreated to the back porch where we proceeded to fire the 22's. My old 22 is a single shot that only shoots shorts; his new Martin shoots long rifle shells and he must have run 75 rounds through it while I ran about 20 rounds. We did manage to shoot the cans up from that distance, but had more misses than hits. We had a grand time and that was the first I had used my guns in over a year. Afterwards we headed down to the basement to clean and oil the guns.

DJ left shortly there after so we took another hike up to the top of the mountain. We ran into Joe and Jetta on top and visit with them for awhile before heading home to set on the porch and read until it was time to start supper. We cooked up some hamburger meat spiced up with some taco seasoning and then I made a guacamole sauce to add to the burritos laced with raw onions, 'maters, cilantro, green pepper(hot peppers for me), sour cream and cheddar cheese. My oh my is that ever a tasty meal loaded with lots of fresh raw veggies.

After the cleanup I got involved in the Fox News and the now tropical storm Issac and what's happening with this slow moving storm in the Gulf Coast area. Our thoughts and prayers are with those folks who failed to leave the low lying areas that were flooded with all the storm surge and rainfall from this slow moving storm. I got interested in the RNC in Tampa last night and I was deeply moved by Ann Romney's speech. She is definitely a great women and patriot who has experienced more than most of us ever will. I feel she is the solid foundation for this man who wants to be our next president and I'm totally impressed with her. LATER

Tuesday

Well I was up at the crack of dawn for a change and wow did I ever enjoy being up that early. It was so quiet with Nancy still in bed and I was able to do my few quiet moments with no distractions except for the drip of the dew as it fell from the bump out onto the lower tin roof. It was in the high 50's to start the day and eventually reached 80 on our back porch in the early afternoon. I headed out to check on the gardens after a couple leftover buckwheat cakes for breakfast. I wound up dragging out the hose as its been days since it rained and the gardens needed a drink. Wouldn't you know it every time I drag out the hose it rains and that just what happened this evening around 6:30. We had a good downfall and thought it was hailing as the rain was that heavy.

I headed up to check on the corn patch at the top of the mountain and found where the corn maybe ready in a couple days especially after this nice rain this evening. I loaded up a load of rocks on the golf cart that Roddy had kicked up on the back road with his tractor last week-end and then deposited them on my bank in the back yard. I went back for a second load as well. Afterwards we got ready to take our daily hike so off we went to the top. Once again I made it up the back trail without a stop and then we made it all the way to the top without stopping. We saw no other folks on our hike then headed on back to the cabin for a bite of lunch.

I did some chores as we were having our "mountain mom" and Joe over for supper. I vacuumed and them chopped fresh cabbage so Nancy could make a Cole Slaw. She had a pot of pintos cooking as well. I fried up the last of the bass and wow was that ever tasty with the slaw and beans. Nancy fixed hot fudge cake with vanilla ice cream and whip cream for dessert, Yikes I actually broke down and had a bowl full. Tomorrow morning I'm heading out with our friend DJ to Stone Mountain for a hike and later for a shoot as he is driving up from Clemmons for the day. Hopefully the rain will hold off as we had a wonderful shower this evening which really cooled down the temps, LATER

Monday

Well today was absolutely a wonderful day with perfect weather. The morning started out with temps in the high 50's, bright sunshine and blue skies and reached the low 80's in the afternoon. We had buckwheat cakes with a couple eggs on top after our quiet times for breakfast and wow were they ever good. After the cleanup at headed out to check on the gardens and found that I needed to harvest my couple small heads of cabbage as the slugs were moving in. Last year I had 12 nice heads of cabbage and this year none except for the couple raggedy heads.

We took off on a hike to the top of the mountain and made it all the way to the back road in one pull. We strolled along the top of the mountain to the Browning's and they were gone and then we headed up to the top. We saw John and Shirley who were doing some touch up painting on their cabin. We stopped and visited with them and learned they were up for only the day.We had a nice visit and really miss their company and friendship.We headed home to get really for our trip to Galax.Nancy had a doctor visit and I needed a haircut plus we needed to get a few groceries from Wal-Mart. We had to go back through Sparta as our pharmacy is located there at Kerr Drugs. Well it was nearly 6 PM before we finally go back to the cabin and we had skipped lunch due to the large breakfast. I grilled a couple kielbasa and along with a  salad for supper and we called it a meal, LATER

Sunday

Well the morning started around 7 AM with temps in the middle 50's. The bright sunshine and blue skies made for an ideal morning. The heavy dew was dripping from the tin roof and the stillness was awesome as we did our quiet times. Afterwards we had a breakfast of boring oatmeal with a little cinnamon and honey. We got ready to head out to Cornerstone Fellowship for worship. Today was a little different as we had a group who call themselves Miracle Made give a concert in music that was as worshipful as any spoken message. They are a family oriented group with their members giving a strong message of the love of Christ as well as did their wives, plus their music was awesome. The whole service was their message and their music.

After worship we headed over to the Pines Restaurant with Mechelle, Kallie and Katelyn for lunch. I had a good meal of chicken stir-fry but Nancy had a bad experience with fresh rainbow trout as it was sour. A local trout farm, one that we have fished many times and delivers fresh fish to the local eateries apparently delivered some sour ones that were nearly spoiled. The restaurant quickly discovered the problem and made it right with another fish which was dewisheous(Ansley). We stopped by the the local Mexican vegetable stand for some fresh peaches, apples and roasted peanuts as well as a couple avocados.

We got home and decided to get in at least one hike to the top of the mountain around 3:30. We saw no one so we headed on back after a great hike. The temps were in the 70's and just perfect for outdoor activities. After getting back we fired up the golf cart and headed over to visit with our "mountain mom" for awhile. On the way we dropped some cherry tomatoes off at Russ and Linda house and visited with them for a short while. They are thinking of maybe leaving here and heading back to Ohio as the for cast is for 6-8 inches of rain around Wednesday from Hurricane Issac.

We had a nice visit with Helen and shared some leftover brownies from last night with her. I'm off all sweets for awhile but I did have some roasted peanuts when we got home for supper. I spent a hour or so watching NFL pre-season on the tube as darkness fell. What a beautiful day with fantastic temps and weather conditions, LATER 

Saturday

Well the morning started with a 7 AM wake up and wow what a morning and day it turned out to be. Bright sunshine, blue skies and a gentle breeze kept the high 70's in check. These are the days you dream about when you live in Florida. Well after our quiet time and a lite breakfast of oatmeal and Cheerios we got ready to head out to the Allegheny fair grounds in Sparta for the annual 4-H open horse show which featured horsemanship classes. I was once more honored to be able to MC the event for the 4-H Club. There was a fine group of riders and some beautiful well cared for steeds. The ages started around 5 years of age all the way to adults. Nancy and I had a grand time and we were entertained up to nearly 3 PM.

We headed home to get ready for the Dalton Gang plus Katelyn, a real sweet girl friend of Kallie's.  We snacked on tater skins, dip and chips plus Nancy made brownies with vanilla ice cream on top and smothered with chocolate syrup. Wow everything looked great but I did pass on the sweet stuff. We taught Katelyn how to play Sequence and she did a fine job so much so the gals nearly won. We the guys had to play with Mechelle defecting over to the guys from the gals which is probably why we squeaked out a win as we were short one guy, anyhow a win is a win and its been many a moon since we(guys) were last in victory lane. Thanks Mechelle!!!

Well it was a little after 8 when they left as Katelyn had a homework project tomorrow on line as she is home schooled. We had a fun day and sure met some really nice folks. We didn't get any hikes in today but will try to get at least one or more in tomorrow, LATER...enclosed are a few pics from the horse show.

Friday

Well it sure turned out to be a beautiful day that started with a 7:30 wake up. The temps were right at 60* with bright sunshine and blue skies overhead. After our quiet times we decided to have a "mountain breakfast' of home grown eggs, sausage patties, grits and a slice of toast; I of course added a fresh jalapeno and a ripe tomato to mine. That held me until 5:30 when we decided to have supper. After our breakfast I headed out to check on the gardens then we got ready around 11o'clock for our hike to the top of the mountain.

We now can just about walk to the back road all in one pull without stopping so finally its a sign we are once again getting back into shape and when we do pause to catch our breath its quick; another sign we are recovering quickly and getting back into shape. We never saw anyone at the Browning's or next door at Roddy's despite an outside fire in their fire pit. We headed on up and across the face of the mountain and did run into Mike further up the road weed whacking around the communal well. We visited with him and then we saw his wife Nancy out doing some yard work at their cabin, so we visited with her as well. They seldom spend the night up here anymore in their beautiful cabin, which by the way is for sale and it has awesome views. We headed on back down and got back around 12:30, neither of us was hungry so I started weed whacking the yards and afterwards I fired up the riding mower. That kept me busy up to 4 PM.

We sat on the porch and read until it was time to start supper. Nancy snapped and strung a nice mess of 1/2 runner beans and I pulled 4 ears of corn from the small patch in the upper garden. I microwaved the ears and then cut the corn off the cob so Nancy could put 2 of the ears in the blender and pulverize it as she has trouble digesting corn. The corn was dewisheous and while not huge in size was just perfect with butter and salt. I planted Peaches and Cream variety which is a blend of yellow and white kernels.That's the first corn I've ever raised on this property.

While waiting for supper I sat on the back porch and read and for some reason I looked up into the backwoods and noticed what appeared to be the twin fawns we saw last week out by the mailboxes. They were just standing there in the woods watching me and stayed long enough for Nancy to observe them as well. They still have their spots as well. We got a heavy rain shower about suppertime and it really poured for about a 1/2 hour and dropped the temps down into the low 60's in just minutes, yikes we had to close the windows and Nancy donned her sweat clothes. Well that's about it for the day as we have been watching the track of the tropical storm which is headed for Florida. It looks now as it if will veer off westward and maybe miss land fall in our area as its projected to be a Cat 1 hurricane by the first of the week. We here in N.C. may get some heavy rain towards the end of next week, LATER

Thursday

The morning started out with a sleep in until nearly 7:30. It was nearly 60 when I finally wondered out to check the thermometer on the back porch. After our quiet times Nancy had her oatmeal and I microwaved a couple frozen sausage biscuits for breakfast. I headed out to check on the gardens and decided to saw up some old pine logs I had laying around. I learned that blueberry bushes love old pine sawdust, bark and needles. I took a couple hours and sawed these old logs into very small chips and pieces and then collected all the sawdust and shaving to spread around the bushes.

It was nearly 11:30 by the time I finished that project so we took off on our first hike of the day to the top of the mountain. We had a great start and never saw anyone until we reached Joe, Jetta and Zeke's. We visited with them for awhile and she shared some Elephant Garlic kernels from her crop this year and I will sow them in October into my garlic bed. She also offered up some of her 1/2 runners for our supper so I headed back up to their place in the afternoon and picked enough for a good mess or two. Many thanks to the Browning's for their generosity.

We came back and I finished the leftover salad and a couple slices of deer salami with onion on a cracker and mustard; Nancy had sardines, onion and mustard on a saltine. After lunch I piddled around in the garden and then we took off on the golf cart to the mailbox. We came back and chilled for a couple hours reading while she had spareribs in a roaster with sauerkraut, yikes did that ever smell good. Nancy made smashed taters to top off the meal. I did the clean up as she cooked and afterwards we took off for another hike. We headed down to the Heglars as they are back up for a couple days. We visited with them for awhile then headed back up the road and the 13% driveway, yikes is that one steep hill. It was nearly 8 PM and the evening shadows were evident, LATER

Wednesday

Well today was one of those weird days that had the weather changing just about every hour and eventually ran us into the cabin around 3 PM and we never ventured back out. That is so unreal here in the mountains. We rolled out to start the day around 7:30 and after our quiet times I joined Nancy with a bowl of boring oatmeal with a little cinnamon and a few blueberries. After eating I headed out to check on the gardens, new seedlings and new cutting I made.

The Swiss chard is up as well as the 2 kinds of lettuce I sowed a couple days ago. The basil seedlings are putting on a second leaf as well as the 4 tomato cuttings I made from the existing Celebrity tomato plants and a Big Boy plant that came up volunteer. I only once before tried that method of starting tomato plants from a cutting but so far they look healthy. I also started a couple blueberry cuttings accidentally as I noticed a broken limb on one of the bushes and I stuck it in the ground; needless to say after 4-5 days the broken limb looked great so I googled starting blueberry bushes from cuttings and sure enough its done all the time. A little Root Tone is helpful which is a powdered hormone you dip the cutting in before sticking in the ground. The potted volunteer cone flowers are sending out a new leaf so these will be ready for transplanting in another week or so.

After piddling around in the garden I headed up on the back porch roof to paint the outside of the window. It really needed a re-paint as the old paint was starting to peel. That took me an hour or so and by 11AM I was ready to head to the top of the mountain for our one and only hike of the day. The top of the mountain was like a ghost town as we saw no one and the mountains in the distance were shrouded with fog which was very much like the Smokies. It had warmed up close to 70 by the time we got back to the cabin. We had a lite lunch as I cleaned up the leftover bean soup that I smothered with sweet onions and a fresh jalapeno pepper; Nancy settled for a garden salad.  After lunch I picked a bag of yellow cherry tomatoes and green peppers for our neighbors who are down from Ohio. We stopped and visited with them after our trip to the mailbox on the golf cart.

We decided after the visit to just take it easy as there were lite rain showers off and on so we sat on the porch and deck in the sun. The sun felt great as the temps were just into the 70's when suddenly the rain rolled in and the temps dropped into the low 60's. We headed inside while the rain fell and the breeze really cooled things down, so we closed all the windows and sat inside reading until 5:30. We finished the leftover pot roast and all the fixin's as well as fresh broccoli for supper. I added a fresh salad as well. I did the clean up while Nancy was on-line and it was still lightly raining so we decided to watch the news on FOX and stayed in the cabin, yikes was it ever chilly out with the dampness and a slight breeze.

Our "mountain mom" called on her car phone and informed us she had been without the Internet and her local phone all day as someone in the area cut the cable; finally around dark she had her service restored. That is such a hopeless and frustrated feeling as we experienced that last year in Florida when we lost our land line for a week. Well that's about it for the day as we wait to see which way this hurricane Issac is going to go. Right now the fore cast has it heading toward the Tampa Bay area and of course that is where our kids and grand kids reside as well as our winter home. Hopefully it will blow itself out before land fall and cause no damage. Too bad we couldn't steer all that rainfall into the drought areas of the country where much needed rain would be welcomed, LATER

Tuesday

Well once again it was a late morning start with a 7:30 wake up. It was 48 degrees at our "mountain moms" place but when I checked the back porch at 7:30 it was 55, yikes Fall is quickly approaching. After our quiet times we each made ourselves our delicious egg sandwiches, Yeow are they ever good. I headed out to check on the gardens before assembling all the equipment I was going to need to paint the top fascia board around the bump out on top of the cabin and the bump out itself. I been putting this off mainly because Nancy was a nervous wreck about me being so high up on a slanted roof.

Needless to say I survived the ordeal as I'm writing this post but Nancy made me a nervous wreck with her insistent complaining about me wearing a rope to catch me in case I should slip and start to fall, anyhow I finally gave in to wearing a safety rope while on the very top which is a little scary as its 3 levels up from the ground and the tin roof is slick as well. I gave the fascia 2 coats and finally finished with the bump out around 2:30. All I have left to paint up there is the window frame and I can do that without any real danger of slipping off the roof.

Nancy made arrangements to watch our friend Kallie Dalton play a high school tennis match around 4 PM so we decided to eat our big meal of the day when I finished painting. It was close to 2:30 when we sat down to a delicious meal of pot roast with taters and carrots, yikes I could smell it at times while on the roof. We had a nice fresh garden salad to go with it as well. Today was the day the USAF fighter pilots were practicing their air tactics as they flew low level over the mountains. Two of them flew right over me on the roof. After earing and the cleanup we got ready and headed out for Sparta a little before 4 and stopped by the library for a couple reads on the way to the high school.

Kallie was down 1-4 to a gal from Wikes County but suddenly she got into the match and won 7 of the next 8 games to win the match. There was the threat of rain initially so the singles matches were a pro set of 8 games and a must win by at least 2 games. It did rain a few minutes after her match completion so the rest of the matches were cancelled. Kallie had greatly improved since last year and it was fun to watch her come back after a grueling match on Monday which she also won.

We met up with her folks(Mechelle and Andy) and some other friends(Karin and Katelyn) and then we all headed to the River Rock Grille for a lite supper. I ate some nachos and Nancy had a turkey sandwich. We visited for an hour or so then we headed home in time enough to get in our daily hike to the top of the mountain. It was starting to cool off but felt great as we were really high stepping it up the mountain. We finally saw Joe Browning for the first in a week or so as he has been doctoring with pneumonia. It was good to see him out on the porch with a smile on his face. We got back to the cabin around 8PM just as the sun was starting to set behind Bull Head Mountain, LATER

Monday

The morning started with a wake up around 7:30 and then our quiet times and afterwards a lite breakfast. Nancy with her usual boring bowl of oatmeal and I had a bowl of Cheerios with blueberries. After breakfast I headed out to check on the gardens and flowers beds as well as the new seedlings. I noticed I have several Swiss chard seedlings popping through as well as 2 kinds of lettuce. These are cool weather plants and with the cool nights they should do well especially if we get warm afternoons. I transplanted 5 Basil seedlings that I started from seed. This herb doesn't like cool weather so I will keep them in pots and move them into the basement at nights when it gets a little cooler.

I noticed the spaghetti squash was turning a nice lite yellow so I thought today would be a good day to harvest it. I have another one almost as large as this one and at least 4 more in various sizes. I like the taste of this squash and you can add most anything to enhance its flavor. Tonight I cut it in half and placed it cut side down on a cookie sheet and baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes after scraping the seeds out of the middle. After it baked I took a fork and dug the meat out which looked just like cooked spaghetti. We buttered it and added to taste on our plates various spices and even Parmesan cheese. We tried ginger, nutmeg and just plain butter and it was all good. I had half of it left over and we can add spaghetti sauce or whatever to it at a later date. This squash will become a favorite and its not mushy; although fried yellow squash is a great favorite.

We decided to take off on our first hike of the day around 11 to the top of the mountain. We saw nary a soul so we headed on back down for a bite of lunch. We had one of our favorites; sardines, onions and mustard on a saltine, yikes is that ever good for you and dewisheous. After lunch I sharpened the chain saw then headed out to the backwoods yard where I took down a large oak that was starting to die. It had a large limb that was bare of leaves and partially rotten. That took me a couple hours by the time I sawed it up in stove wood length, piled the brush, stacked and then raked the area. Nancy came out at the end and helped with piling the brush but mainly she sat in the golf cart talking with Amy.

Today was our oldest grand daughter Ava's, first day of kindergarten. She went a 1/2 day today but starts with a full day from now on. Sam will be lost without Ava to play with. After the tree work we rode out to the mailbox on the golf cart as it was going on 5 PM. Nancy put a couple chicken breasts on to boil and then made Jasmine rice in the chicken broth, yikes along with spaghetti squash we had a bland supper which was just what Nancy's tummy needed. Yesterday she suffered from a tummy ache after eating spicy the past couple days.

After supper and the cleanup we decided to take another hike so down the road we went to the creek and then walked up the back trail along the creek which was our first time doing that this year. We tromped through the woods and came out across from our friend Daisy's property. We then walked on the road up past the old Todd Place to the road behind our property and then down the trail through our woods. Yikes was that ever a good hike and just what we needed to help work on this tummy fat. We milled around in the yard gathering beetles and listening to them crunch under my boot.

Well that was about it for the day as we are now watching the Little League World Series playoffs. Enclosed are a couple pictures of the spaghetti squash, LATER

Sunday

Well the morning started with a 7:45 wake up, wow was it ever great sleeping and we nearly over slept with the soft gentle rain on the tin roof; anyhow we finally rolled out and after our quiet times we each did our own thing for breakfast. Nancy did the boring bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and I made the great morning breakfast sandwich of; pumpernickel bread toasted and slathered with mayo and a couple fried eggs with the yoke broken, sliced tomato and a couple sliced dill pickles. The only thing I left off was a slice of sweet vidalia onion(I wanted to spare all my church friends).

We headed out to Cornerstone for worship and to visit with all of our mountain friends as well. The praise music was awesome and Pastor B had another great message. Afterwards we headed home as it looked as if it was going to rain again at any moment. We came home and I had a bowl of leftover bean soup and Nancy did tuna fish on pumpernickel. I settled into the Little League World Series and basically didn't leave the couch the rest of the afternoon as the fog came in as well as the rain around supper time. I did venture out to check on the temps and I don't believe it got over 65 all day and we never saw the sun at all. We needed the rain as its been nearly a week since the last measurable rain fell.

We did a lite supper of baked potato, Cole slaw, sliced cucumber and tomato, yikes was that ever tasty. Well we sure missed our hike for the day but with the rain and fog and the cool temps we decided to stay in where it was warm. I closed all the windows and Nancy was still wearing sweat shirt and pants with big fuzzy socks and of course I was barefooted with shorts on but it was 60 degrees at 7 PM and probably going down much colder for the night. The cabin was warm and cozy, LATER

Saturday

Well today was a lazy kind of day with sleeping in until 7:30 then after my quiet time I microwaved a couple sausage biscuits to start the day. I piddled around the cabin doing little odds and ends before we finally took off for our morning hike. It was uneventful but strenuous enough to get the respiration's up and did that ever feel good. We saw Norm and visited with him for a few then saw Joe Jr. at the Browning as he came down from Ohio too pick up 2 of his sons which had spent the week with Joe and Jetta. It was too bad Joe was under the weather for most of the boys visit.

After the hike I did a little garden work and I now have 6 spaghetti squash on the vine with 2 of them about the size of a small watermelon. I'm just waiting for them to ripen a little more then we are going to try a new recipe with Feta cheese, black olives and the squash. Sounds yummy!!! Anyhow we decided to take the afternoon and watch the Little League World Series. We took off on the golf cart to say good-bye to Grant and Shirley as they leave today and stopped by the mailbox on the way. We visited with them then stopped at Russ and Linda for awhile as well before heading on back. Nancy had a pot of 15 bean soup on the stove and did that ever taste good as the temp's were in the high 60's most of the day and along with a salad mostly from the garden we had a grand supper.

After the clean-up we took off on another hike this time down the drive and up by the old Todd place and as we headed up we met Audine and Carter on their golf cart heading down. We visited with them for awhile before they headed on back across the mountain and we continued on up and crossed the mountain by the Browning and then walked along the top of the ridge before heading back down just as the sun began to fade behind the mountains. Its definitely getting dark much earlier as its now 8:30 and we can barely see out into the backwoods yard whereas a couple weeks ago its was nearly 9:30 when that occurred, oh well there was a touch of Fall in the air today despite the bright sunshine at times. LATER

Friday

Well I started the day around 7:30 with a cup of hot green tea as there was just a touch of Fall in the air and it pretty much stayed that way most of the day. After my quiet time I made one of my favorite breakfasts; pumpernickel bread toasted, slathered with mayo, dill pickle chips, a slice of raw sweet onion and a fried egg with the yoke broken and a slice of home grown tomato, yeow is that ever dewisheous(Annsley). I had 2 of them as the bread was rather small, umm!!!

 After eating I headed down to start the washer for Nancy then headed up onto the bump out(roof) to spray some bleach to kill the the mildew then I climbed up on the very top of the bump out to putty a couple of the more severe cracks in the fascia board. Nancy had a fit when she observed the different shades on the board at the very top of the roof but that was the easiest part of the bump out as I prepped it for painting next week. That took me an hour or so and with the sun shinning it got a little warm up there.

We got ready and took off on our hike of the day to the top of the mountain. The walk went pretty quickly as we saw no one on top of the mountain so we headed down to have a lite lunch. I finished the last of the watermelon and decided to stop with that as it was close to one o'clock when we got back from the hike. I knew we were having a scrumptious supper with Helen and Joe attending. Nancy had a pot of pintos cooking  and I worked up a head of cabbage with a green pepper and carrot in the mixture. These were going to accompany a mess of fresh frozen bass my buddy Caleb  and I caught last week. Yikes were they ever good when fried to a golden brown. Supper was excellent and we licked the platter clean. Nancy had leftover ginger snaps for dessert. I passed on the cookies but did get into the dark chocolate covered almonds we purchased a couple weeks ago at the Mast General Store a couple hours later. I destroyed nearly a small bag of them as I was bad.

Anyhow after Helen and Joe left around 7 P we walked around the yard and marveled at how great the yard and flower gardens looked. We noticed in the sky the white contrails of 2 jets that formed a perfect + overhead of the cabin. It seems there is constant contrails as New York to Atlanta route passes directly overhead but we had never seen an east to west contrail before as it passed overhead an intersected the north to south contrail. We hung around outside until nearly dark and the touch of Fall was very evident as the evening and darkness progressed.

Well its been a great day here in the mountains with perfect weather condition as the high may have reached 75 today and the lows were in the 50's with a slight breeze. I spoke with Paw Paw and he seemed to be in good spirits and Nancy spoke with her mom, GG and Amy as well, Later.

Thursday

Well the morning started much the usual with a 7 AM wake up then our quiet moments to reflect, read a little scripture and give thanks as well as lift up those we know who need some special considerations. Afterwards we pretty much made our own breakfasts; I finished up the last 2 leftover buckwheat cakes and Nancy had oatmeal. I then headed out to check on the gardens then loaded the garbage, gas cans and a cooler as we were heading to Galax.

We went to Galax by way of the Blue Ridge Parkway which made for an awesome drive. We headed to old Galax to visit the bank then filled up the truck and a couple gas cans at $3.42  per gallon. We then headed to Wal-Mart and I loaded up on pelletized lime while Nancy had pictures developed then we both shopped. On the way out of town we stopped by GNC for some probiotics for Nancy.

We came back a different way and stopped by the Country Cupboard for lunch. We had a nice lunch which held us the rest of the day. Roast beef, baked potato, Cole slaw and cornbread. A very good meal for less than $6 bucks each. After getting home Grant let us know he needed help setting a very large post which was about all 3 of us could handle. After that job I headed on back to the cabin then we took off on foot to the top of the mountain. We learned Joe is feeling better, so much so he mowed his yard. We are glad too hear of that, but he was taking a nap when we arrived.

Nancy made salsa and ginger snap cookies for our get together at Grant and Shirley's tonight at 7 PM. There was George and Gail, Russ and Linda, Ray and Audine, Eddie and Kimberly and of course Grant and Shirley and us. We had a full house hold. There was cheese and sausage dip and a couple other dips plus a great cold apple salad along with Nancy's fixin's. There was a game of Sequence with 6 players but several of us just sat around and talked including me. I think the gals won again and of course accused the guys of cheating as they always do especially when the gals always win. You would think losers would do a better job of cheating if that were true, oh well.

We got back to the cabin around 10 PM and boy was it cooling off quickly, LATER

Wednesday

Well the morning started around 7:30 and after our quiet times we fixed our own breakfasts; I heated a couple leftover buckwheat cakes in the micro and Nancy had the bowl of boring oatmeal. I know its good for you but I eat it almost daily in Florida but not here in the mountains unless there is nothing else. I headed out to check on the gardens until it was time to head to Sparta as Nancy had a 11AM doctors appointment to have a place near her eyebrow that had been frozen off early this year but showed up again. We walked around town for a few moments afterwards and spoke with one of the town's council women who was most pleasant and interested in our stay in the area. She was very cordial and we really enjoy spending a few moments with M.Wyatt.

We decided to skip eating out so we headed back to the cabin as tomorrow we will eat out in Galax as we have shopping to do there. We ate some leftover salsa and some delicious deer salami on crackers. That is an awesome meat and so good for you as well. After lunch I put on a pot of raw peanuts on the outside fire pit to boil as we both love boiled peanuts. I got the pot boiling then we took off for our mountain top hike. We saw John and Shirley on top at their place. They were re-painting their window shutters and mowing the yard and only planned on being here over night. After a short visit we headed on hoping to find some good news about our neighbor Joe Browning who has been in the hospital in Elkin. There was no one at home as we passed by. We did get a call later in the evening that Joe was home and somewhat better as his diagnosis was pneumonia. He is home resting and hopefully recovering completely.

I worked on keeping the pot of peanuts boiling most of the afternoon while I loaded up the golf cart with pelletized lime and the fertilizer spreader in between stoking the fire. I limed all the yards and really worked up a sweat doing so. Nancy was on the phone with Amy and her mother most of the afternoon. I picked a hand full of green beans, finally from the upper garden. We decided to finish up the left over King Ranch chicken and corn tortillas for supper and my oh my was it still yummy especially with a fresh cut up jalapeno pepper on top. I also sliced up a fresh cuke and tomato to take the place of a salad. After supper I stoked the fire in the pit then burned a weeks worth of trash excluding bottles and cans.

We then decided to take another hike after the clean-up so we we headed down to see how Grant and Shirley were doing on their deck they were putting on the woods side of their cabin. We stopped and visited momentarily with Russ and Linda as they just got in from Ohio before heading on down the road. Grant had another post set and anchored and had completed poring the footers for 3 more posts that will support the deck. He is really is doing a great job without any help except for Shirley.

Well we definitely got our extra exercise in today with me walking behind the spreader, a hike to the top and then another walk after supper down and back up our road, yikes that hill in our drive is a 13% grade. I almost forgot to mention the weather was fantastic today with temps not much over 70 for most of the day. There was a good breeze which kept Nancy in a long sleeve shirt for most of the day. LATER

Tuesday

Well today was a busy day that started at 6:30 when my doctor gave me a call to tell me the results of my blood workup. He informed all looked good except my bad cholesterol(LDL) had risen a little since last year but not enough to warrant me to take any medication. I've been less active since my knee injury and with all kinds of company we were eating super tasting rich foods so I'm sure that caused the number to go up; but now I'm back to hiking daily and cutting down on those tasty dishes and eating more fruits, veggies and salads.

Neighbor Grant called about 8 AM and needed help as we cut down 3 more trees that surrounded his cabin. We cut them down in no time and without any danger to the cabin so I headed back to the cabin. I saw a couple walking in our lane who attend Cornerstone and found out later, she and I attended the same elementary school in Winchester when I was in the third grade and she in the first. I met her and her husband a couple years at Cornerstone and we became friends and I learned her father who was an orthopedic doctor and who gave physicals to me for the 5 years while I played football in high school. We had a great visit which lasted a couple hours and we also walked up the back trail and down around the road by the old Todd place.

After they left on foot we took off to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. We stopped at Joe and Jetta's and they were gone. We later found out Joe was in the hospital in Elkin as his high temperature continued and the doctors were unable to determine what was causing his aliments. Keep him and Jetta in your thoughts and prayers for healing but also they have their 4 grandsons visiting for a week from Ohio.

We came back from out hike and decided to have sardines for lunch with onion, mustard and crackers, Yikes is that ever good tasting and a good for you meal. After lunch I headed down below the deck and took the two wicker chairs from the living room to be re-painted. That kept me busy for a couple hours. Afterwards I dug up a couple large rocks that I noticed while mowing yesterday and found one so large I could only roll it down the yard. It took several buckets of dirt to fill in the holes after extracting the rocks. We took off on the golf cart to the mailbox and stopped to see how the work was going at Grant and Shirley's.

It was nearly 4 PM when we got home so I headed out to pick lettuce, beet greens. kale, a pepper and some nasturtium leaves and flowers for a salad for supper. Nancy added cucumbers and some store bought lettuce along with a home grown tomato, yeow, was that ever a great salad for supper. We sat outside on the front porch and ate and it was just beautiful with a soft breeze. After the clean-up we headed out on a hike down the road and visited once again with the Heglars. I gave him some hints on how to wipe out a large yellow jackets nest with gasoline that was a threat to their grand children playing in an around their creek. We had a great walk back up the road and once again up our steep hill, LATER

Monday

Well it was a busy day with it starting around 7:30. The temps were down into the low 50's but bright sunshine and blue skies were the norm for the day. I think the warmest it got was around 78 with a nice gentle breeze. After our quiet times we fried up a couple sausage patties and popped a couple frozen biscuits in the oven then fried up a couple eggs for a super breakfast. I added fresh ground horseradish to my sausage. After breakfast I headed out to the gardens to do so major work.

I thinned out the oregano plant which has doubled in size since last year despite making several cutting. I then transplanted a kale plant as well as sowed some lettuce seeds in two areas I worked up. I then headed up to the deck and porches where the potted plants needed soil for their pots. It was going on 11 so we decided to take our morning hike and we took off to the top of the mountain. I checked on the corn patch and noticed the wind blew over several stalks of corn then we saw Norman and he needed a hand loosing a nut on his wheelbarrow. After taking care of his need and a short visit we headed on along the ridge to visit with Jetta. Seems Joe is still under the weather with a high temperature and feeling lousy, so he was still in bed. We visited with Jetta as well as their neighbors the Cahoon's who were just in from Colorado and on their way down to the Carolina beaches.

After the hike we had a nice salad for lunch then afterwards I headed out to weed whack the property. That took me an hour or so then I climbed on board the riding mower to mow all of the yards including the back woods yard. That kept me busy for a couple hours or so as it was nearly 4:30 when I finished. I then filleted a couple rainbow trout my fishing buddy Caleb caught on Saturday from the Little River where his family was having a reunion. He is quite the fisherman and this is the second time this summer he has given me fresh fish. Yikes were they ever dewisheous(Annsley) and along with some oven taters and a can of mixed greens we had a delectable supper. After eating I headed up to the corn patch to hoe around the stalks which had blown over and to straighten them up. That took me about an hour by the time I got back to the cabin.

Nancy noticed our neighbors Grant and Shirley were up at their place so we rode down on the golf cart for a visit. Well he has a couple trees he wants taken down by the new porch and deck he is adding so I gave him a hand as they looked as if they could fall on his house. We got a rope about 20 feet up around the tree and we managed to get it down without it falling on the cabin. He has another large tree that is leaning as well so tomorrow I will help him take that one down as well. We headed back home just as darkness fell. I almost forgot too mention yesterday I got popped on the ankle by a nasty yellow jacket bee and that sting hurt all night and most of this day. They are one mean bee, LATER

Sunday

Well the morning started with temp's down into the low 50's but with bright sunshine and blue skies. We rolled out around 7:30 to start the day. After our quiet times and a lite breakfast we got ready to head out to Cornerstone for worship. The praise music was awesome and we had a young man give his testimony about how he had gone about as far as you can go down with drug addition. He has been in Teen Challenge for nearly a year in the state of Pennsylvania. This program is gospel based and deals with all kinds of addictions and this son of one of our members seems to be straightened out and is now leading a productive drug free lifestyle. This talk was very sobering and straight forward with what teens are faced with while choosing this course which severely limits them and their friendships and ability to live  normally while being addicted. He gives all the credit to beating this addiction to his relationship with Jesus Christ.

After the service we headed home to have a quiet lunch of leftovers from Friday nights Mexican supper, yikes was that ever good. After the clean-up we watched a little of the Olympics before we headed out for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. We saw a few folks at Roddy's place where it looked as if they were packing up to travel back home. We stopped and saw Jetta and she gave a couple pastries Joe brought back from Charleston he wanted us to try, yeow where they ever good. Joe is under the weather with a high fever he contracted while visiting a sick relative there in the hospital. We sure hope he is feeling better, soon.

After our hike we took the golf cart over to visit Helen and brought her some homemade cookies Nancy made yesterday for the picnic. We had a nice ride with temps in the high 60's and very dry conditions. It was going on 5 PM when we headed out for the return trip back to the cabin. I picked a few beet greens, kale, lettuce and Nasturtium  leaves for the salad we were planning on for supper. We have been missing out on this stable for our diet. We also added some of the pasta salad leftover from the picnic as well on our garden salad and did that ever ignite the taste buds.

After the cleanup Nancy was on the phone for over an hour with our friend and neighbor Carol from Florida. They are planning on a visit with us the second week in October. Little sister Dee from Virgina called and we are planning on their visit over Labor Day with maybe a side trip to Claytor Lake for some kayaking. Just an update, daughter Amy and family made it safely home a little after midnight from Kansas. Thanks for all who kept them in your thoughts and prayers for a safe non-eventful trip, LATER 

Saturday

Well it was a lazy day with rain showers early in the morning as we awakened and then off and on during most of the day. After our quiet moments and breakfast I headed outside to check on everything in between rain showers. The temps were in the middle 60's and just barely got out of that range during the day. We got ready and did  get a hike in to the top of the mountain and a quick visit with Jetta. She had picked us up a dozen of farm grown eggs when she picked hers up yesterday and a few home grown 'maters from her garden as well. We met her son and 4 grandsons who were down for a visit this next week from Ohio.

After the hike we came back and settled in as the rain once again drenched the area. I watched the Olympics while Nancy put together a pasta salad for the church picnic which was to happen around 4 PM. We headed out after a rain shower and the closer we got to Sparta we realized the rain was only out our way on the Parkway. There was a good crowd of church folks and the smoked chicken and pork smelled awesome as well as the many other dishes brought by the crowd. We got in several games of corn hole and I was lucky enough to have good pardners as we were the last team standing at the end.

Well we left around 6:30 and made a quick stop at the Dalton Farm to drop off a set of corn hole boards before heading home. We got a a call from Amy and the family as they are on their way home from Kansas and it looks as if it will be some time after midnight before they get to Seminole. That is a long trip from eastern Kansas with 2 little ones. Well tomorrow is church day at Cornerstone, LATER 

Friday

Well the morning started around 6 AM with an alarm clock wake up. We hate that thing as it always reminds us of our early morning wake up when we head back to Florida for the winter. Anyhow after our wake up I did my quiet time and then jumped in the shower as I had a early morning physical in Sparta which meant I had to fast.

After the physical we headed out to meet up with our friends Walt and Theia for breakfast at the Pines Restaurant in Sparta. We had an awesome breakfast and a good long visit with them then we headed home. We got back and took a good mountain hike to the top. We never saw anyone except Zeke(dog) so we headed on down the mountain. I did a few piddly jobs and then helped Nancy with her cooking as we were having the Dalton and Luffman Families for supper and the theme was Mexican. Nancy made King Ranch chicken and another new dish with corn tortillas and beef, yikes was that ever delicious as well as a bowl of salsa. Kay brought a coconut creme pie still warm from the oven.

After eating we played several games of Sequence and once again the gal's won 3 out of 5 games Twice. It wasn't pretty at all. I had to play a Harvey Hand as we only had 2 guys to the 3 gal's. We were beaten pretty badly so we decided to chill, talking and watching some baseball until nearly 10 PM. We had another rain shower and there was some lightning and thunder in the distance. Well better go as the storm is getting closer, LATER

Thursday

Well the morning started around 7 again which I like better than sleeping in until 8 unless of course your up way late. After our quiet times I cooked up a couple eggs and a bowl of grits before heading out to check on the gardens. I now have another spaghetti squash which makes 2 large ones and two that are just forming. The cucumbers are still producing at the rate of 2-3 every other day and the corn continues to silk up but with only one ear per stalk. The cherry tomatoes which are starting to ripe but are yellow in color are really pretty tasty; I thought I planted red ones. The Celebrity tomatoes are starting to get some what large but still green somewhere about the size of a golf ball to a tennis ball.

After my check and to crush a few beetles I loaded up several 5 gallon buckets and several empty fertilizer sacks and headed over to our friends farm to collect horse manure. That took me a couple hours and boy was it ever hot and humid. On the way home I stopped by our neighbors who had a tree he was taking down near his cabin and it started to get away from him and his wife so we got a rope on it and we managed to land it safely along the edge of his deck. We cut away the branches and after battling a nest of yellow jackets in his roof we were able to saw it up and get it down and away from the cabin. Wow was that ever a hot job as well, along with the stress of the bees and the fear of it damaging their house.

I headed on home and was nearly spent from all the sweating so after a 'mater sandwich and something cold to drink I headed out to unload the truck. I spread a couple bags around the blueberry bushes as they like raw manure and then I worked the ground up as well. I then loaded the golf cart twice and hauled the rest down to my compost pile, yikes was it ever hot. I finally decided to go back down to the neighbors to see if I could lend a helping hand with the tree clean up but he had most of it sawed up and on a brush pile.

Nancy came back from town with neighbor Jodi so we headed out on our daily hike and then ran into our neighbors (who had the tree problem) on their golf cart riding the mountain. We chatted awhile before heading on across the top stopping and leaving some peppers at Jetta's. After our hike we settled in to rest and get ready for supper while watching the USA girl soccer team defeat Japan for the gold medal. I grilled deer steak burgers and we finished the leftover Cole slaw as well as a can of asparagus, yikes was that ever good. After the clean up Jodi, Gerald and Gabriel came up and we had a game of Phase 10 and then a raucous game of Spades which lasted almost 2 hours and the gals won convincingly. What a turn of events as we just wanted the game over. It was close to eleven when we finally finished and then we had showers to get.

I'm off to the doctors for my yearly physical(fasting involved) first thing in the morning so that means setting the alarm which I hate as I never can sleep when I do that and I didn't as I'm posting this on Friday morning, LATER    

Wednesday

Well we started the morning a little earlier with a 7 AM wake up instead of 8:30. The birds were singing and the dew was dripping from the roof  as we did our quiet times and had our hot drinks. I decided to finish the couple left over buckwheat cakes for breakfast and they were as good as the morning she made them. After the cleanup I headed out to work in the garden as it was just a gorgeous morning. I loaded up the wedges and sledge hammer and headed out to a stump in the back woods yard that needed some attention. I try to cause splits in the stump which allows for insects and the weather to work on breaking down the stump which eventually I will dig out by hand.

I headed out to the mailbox to get a belated card in the mail to another August birthday for our nephew. After that trip we decided to get our hike in for the day. We stopped on top and visited with Jetta and Zeke as Joe had to go back to Charleston for a sick relative in the hospital. Jetta gave us some money plant seeds as they are growing everywhere in her flower gardens. After the hike I sowed or broad casted the seeds into our flower beds then we had a bite of lunch. I sliced up a cucumber and tomato along with some fresh onions and a dollop of mayo, wow was that ever tasty but lots of calories.

I headed down under the deck to work on a couple rockers that needed a second coat of paint as well as one of the fire circle benches. That kept me busy for a couple hours until it was time to head out to get the mail. Once again I received a belated birthday card with a gift card, yeow this has been a 3 day celebration and many thanks to all who made it special.

We were having Helen and Joe for supper so we vacuumed and I deboned the bass fillets. I also chopped up a small cabbage for some Cole slaw. The supper was awesome with fried bass, Cole slaw, 1/2 runner green beans and white Jasmine rice cooked in chicken broth. Joe made a pound cake with chocolate icing. Yikes was that ever good eatin'.

After Helen and Joe left around 7; Jodie, Gerald and Gabriel came up to play domino's of which Jodie won. We then played one game of Spades and the guys finally whupped the gals big time. Well it was close to 10 when we called it a night and turned on the Olympics, LATER

Tuesday

Well we slept in this morning after celebrating last night with cards and watching the Olympics until after midnight. The temp's were in the high 60's with lots of clouds and high humidity. After our quiet times Nancy made buckwheat cakes with a banana in the batter around 9:30 which lasted me until supper time. I headed out to check on the gardens after breakfast and found another small spaghetti squash on the vine. I now have 3 of them and hopefully they will make it to maturity. I had to make several out of state calls and then I got in touch with my old friend Walt so we set a tentative date to have breakfast on Friday morning at the Pines Restaurant in Sparta after my yearly physical.

Nancy and I took off around noon for our one an only hike of the day. It was quiet on top of the mountain until we got to Joe and Jetta place. After a short visit with them we headed on back. Jetta made some delicious Zucchini muffins and gave each of us one, wow were they ever tasty as that turned out to be my lunch. I headed down in the basement to finish bottling my Pinot Noir and all I need is to put the labels on the bottles and then I will be finished with that project.

I then brought the rocking chair Helen gave me down below the deck and gave it a base coat of paint while Nancy headed out to the mailbox on the golf cart. I received a couple more birthday cards in the mail today along with our tax bill for the cabin for this next year, Yikes!!! Oh well!!! Yesterday a great day with so many well wishes. Thanks to all who made it special. It was nearly 4 o'clock so I settled down to watch the Olympics until it was time to grill the bratwurst. Nancy fixed some 1/2 runner beans and then sauteed some peppers and onions to go with the brats and along with a fresh salad we had a sumptuous meal. After the clean up we headed out to wonder around in the yard and check for beetles which somehow have all disappeared; either from me crunching them or it was their time to leave.

Jodie, Gerald and Gabriel came up around 6:30 so we played 5 Crowns with Jodie as the winner then we played the rubber game of the Spades game from last night and the gals won when I made a tactical error after the guys were leading them by over 300 points. Oh well!!! LATER

Monday

Well the morning started out with a wake up around 7:30 and temps in the high 60's. The skies were overcast with the threat of rain most of the morning. After our quiet times we decided to have a sausage egg biscuit for breakfast but it was nearly 9:30 before we decided to eat. I slathered mine with fresh ground horseradish and washed it down with a V-8 loaded with hot sauce. Wow was that ever dewisheous(Annsley) and it held me until we headed to Galax around 4 PM.

After breakfast and the cleanup I headed out to transplant a few volunteer cone flowers and Russian sage plants that sprung up in the driveway. The gravel drive was wet from the rain last night so digging them up was easy. I mentioned to Nancy that with the skies threatening rain and the lack of any sunshine it might be a good morning to do some fishing and she agreed. I dug up a bucket of fishing worms and loaded the tackle in the truck, then we took off for the pond over at out "mountain moms" place. Well needless to say the fish were biting like never before and pretty soon we had 9 bass in the bucket and I had missed a couple other ones as well. Helen loves fresh fish so we will have her and Joe over later this week for a fish supper. After the cleaning of the bucket mouths I headed in for a shower as we were meeting them at 4 PM for a trip to Galax.

We ate at Applebee's and we had a super meal with spinach/artichoke dip to start the juices flowing. I settled on the shrimp over pasta with artichokes and a yummy cream sauce loaded with garlic; almost like an Alfredo. Nancy had the blacken chicken over pasta with asparagus and portabello mushrooms. Yikes both of our dishes were superb. Joe settled for a burger and fries and Helen a tasty Oriental chicken salad. Thanks to Helen for footing the bill on my birthday. We had a great waitress and not only were the dishes hot and delicious but she was very prompt and friendly. She overheard it was my birthday and brought me a special dessert as well and wanted to know if the staff could sing to me; I declined the attention but did share the dessert with Nancy.

After eating, Nancy and I headed across the parking lot to Wal-Mart and did our weekly shopping again before heading out of town for the cabin. Nancy had made a chocolate cream pie for my birthday so we shared that with Joe and Helen before they decided to head for home. It was raining lightly as they headed out. Jodi and Gerald called shortly after they left and then headed up to play Spades with us until nearly 10:30. The gals won the first game and the guys took the second as it was a hotly contested card game fill with lots of banter.

Well it was a fun day especially since it was my birthday and I received so many well wishes and kind words as well as some funny cards, gift cards and a couple checks and some very serious thoughtful greeting cards. Many thanks to all who remembered me on this special day, LATER

Sunday

Well it was an overcast morning with temp's in the middle 60's as I started the day around 7 AM. After my quiet moments and a bowl of oatmeal spiced up with cinnamon, a peach and a banana we got ready to head out for worship at Cornerstone. Pastor B had an awesome message on listening to what Jesus was saying to us in the parable of the seed and what gets in the way of our response. After the service we headed out to meet up with the Dalton Gang at the River Rock Grille for lunch. They celebrated 18 years together there last night as well. After a lite lunch we headed back to the cabin.

We decided to take a hike to the top of the mountain as we miss our walk yesterday. We stopped off and visited with Joe and Jetta before heading back down. We had to leave around 4PM to head back to the church to help with food preparation for the Phil Chalmers concert that was happening at 6:30. Phil is an author and an expert on the problems teen are facing today. He has interviewed several teen killers and has written several books about what caused them to snap and do what they did. He also gave some great instructions for our youth if ever they were approached by unfamiliar persons and how to possibly save their lives when confronted with sexual predators.

We helped with feeding 75 or more youths and their parents with a spaghetti supper with salad, bread and desserts and then with the clean-up. We got in to listen to Mr. Chalmers give his presentations and found him to be a gifted speaker. Several from the law enforcement community was there as well. After the talk we headed home to find it had been raining lightly until we got home then the skies opened and we had a down pour which was greatly needed. Its Olympic time until its lights out, LATER

Saturday

Today was a touristy day with a sleep in this morning until after 7 then a lite breakfast of oatmeal and fruit after our quiet times. I headed out to check on the garden after the breakfast clean-up. We did have a little rain last night but hardly enough to be measured. We were planning on heading out to the Piney Creek area which is about 10 miles west of Sparta for a grand opening of a feed store. The new owner of the store is the son of our "mountain mom" Helen's hair dresser and she invited Helen to come out as there would be free barbecue sandwiches, red slaw, baked beans and homemade cookies. We decided to wait for Joe as he wanted to go with us but by noon his new washing machine had not arrived from Lowes so we headed out without him.

The grand opening was held at the old Kennedy general store which has been in the family since 1907. It reminded me much of the general store where I grew up in Mountain Falls, Va. The old store held lots of antiques, an ice cream and soda machine as well as sold fresh farm eggs, milk and a few groceries and of course pickled eggs and pigs feet. Chewing tobacco, cigarettes and bread where evident as well. This was truly a country store. There was a 4 piece Bluegrass band with a banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass fiddle playing some down home music on the front porch. The grand opening was for the feed store where cow feed, horse feed and laying mash for chickens was being sold as well as dog food. We though maybe they would have some farm supplements but it was strictly animal feed plus the old general store.

We decided on the way back to take a few different roads through the hills and finally wound up at Magnums Pottery. We have been there several times and got to know the owners a couple years ago and unfortunately the wife of the owner passed away at an early age a couple years ago from lung cancer. One of their apprentices also our neighbor on top of mountain passed away about a year later from the same illness. We often wondered if the being around a kiln with all the gases was the culprit for this deadly disease. After a nice visit with the owner and his new apprentice we headed back to Sparta for a stop at Kerr Drugs to pick up Nancy's prescriptions.

We decided to visit the Blue Ridge Gallery and our old friends Joe and Melia who are both very talented. He makes all kinds of jewelry and she is quiet the artist as well but unfortunately they were doing a show in the Ashville area and her sister was running the shop. We had a nice visit with her and love the great views of the mountains from their shop. We headed on back to Helen's to drop her off then headed home.

We definitely had some rain as well as a strong wind as our flag and its bracket was ripped from the side of the house. The screws holding the bracket were broken in half and ripped out, yikes we have never seen that before. It looked as if it was going to rain again so we cancelled our hike and stayed close to the cabin. I grilled some pork chops along with some cut up spuds and onions wrapped in tin foil and placed on the grill. Wow did that ever taste great along with a fresh garden salad. The weather cleared up and with a nice breeze we ate outside on the deck. After the cleanup it started to rain again so we cancelled our mountain hike for the day. I did manage in between rain showers to check the flowers for beetles and did collect about 25 or so; once again the crunch of their bodies on a rock was music to my ears. We decided to watch the Olympics and chill the rest of the evening. I managed to get the Oriole vs Rays game on the tube but wouldn't you know the Ray's got whupped 4-0, LATER   

Promos for August through our store!!!

I usually add this to my blog but since I'm nearly a year older it slipped my mine, plus I was "dog tired" last evening. Our team leaders have once again initiated a great bargain for the month of August. All Legacy of clean products are BOGO(buy one get one free). We personally use the laundry soap and all the cleaners in a spray bottle and because they are so concentrated they last twice as long as your typical Wal-Mart soaps. Also all of the products are designed to be safe and compatible with the environment. I know since we are on a septic and well here in the mountains its a plus as we all know everything eventually enters the aquifer. There are a couple other items as well on the bogo status called Peruse. I'm not familiar with them but they look as if they may be a best seller as well.

For those of you who are work out junkies or just athletic a new product called a sports bundle made by Nutrilite is being offered as well if you purchase at least 50 PV(these are points assigned to each item or product purchased). If you do the 50 PV's you get a Free bundle. You will have your choice of 5 different bundles depending on your status and workout. They start with the beginner bundle item#11-6811 and end with the strength athlete bundle item# 11-6817. Each bundle makes it easy to decide what nutrition is needed for maximum benefits before, during and after a workout for sports and strength building activities. Other bundles are the active bundle item#11-6815, cross training bundle item# 11-6818 and the endurance bundle item# 11-6816. All of these bundles have several items designed specifically for the athlete and their lifestyle and workout. Remember you get to choose one bundle Free if you purchase at least 50PV's of any items from the shop at www.amway.com/JNTriplett. Most of you who read this post are already preferred customers so there is extra savings there as well and if you want preferred pricing(at my cost) I will sign you up for that savings for 6 months. All I is need is your name, street address(home or business), a phone number(cell or resident) and your e-mail address. For those of you who live in the N.C. area where I'm this summer and are already preferred customers I'm placing an order by the 10th of this month and I will extend Free shipping to you as well if you order with me; for the rest of you, you must order at least $120 of items to receive free shipping. When I say free shipping you will be sent a reimbursement check towards the end of the month as well as any bogo's and Free items at no charge for shipping. Call me or e-mail me if your the least bit interested or respond to this post, LATER

Friday

Well here it is at a little after 9 PM and I can barely keep my eyes open after a very busy day that started around 7AM. There was a little fog and mist from time to time which kept the temps in the low 70's most of the morning. We never saw the sun until sometime after lunch. After our quiet moments we made egg sandwiches for breakfast and believe me, when I say they are the best. Here's how you make them; a couple eggs with the yoke broken and then fried on a couple pieces of multi-grain bread toasted slathered with mayo on both pieces, then a layer of lettuce, a couple dill pickle chips, a slice of sweet vidalia onion and then 2 slices of fresh tomato with a little of Janes Crazy salt and a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper, don't forget the egg between the onion and tomato; yikes that is a wonderful made to start the gastric juices flowing(the onion is optional) for the start of the day.

I headed out after eating and checked the garden for insects as this year has been wonderful for their proliferation. There just wasn't that many days of below freezing temps to hamper their growth. After my inspection which I found numerous Japanese beetles dining on all of my flowering plants as well as the corn; I sent a few to their death and this evening after supper I sent nearly 75 of the pesky insects to their death as well. I then drug out the weed whacker and spent the next hour or so working on that job when I got interrupted by George and Gail; neighbors just a hill over who came by for an extended visit. We sat on the front porch and visited with them for nearly an hour or more.

It was close to 11:30 when they left so we decided to get our hike in while the temps were still rather nice, so we headed up the steep back trail. Nancy had 2 pairs of socks in her tennis shoes which helped to protect that nasty blister she acquired a week ago today from her new boots. We headed up to the top and finally reached the cabin after stopping to check on the corn patch and a nice visit with Joe and Jetta. It was going on 1 PM and the hunger pangs were calling my name. Nancy heated up the last of the burrito meat and put that in a tortilla wrap with cheese, onions, 'maters, cucumber and of course I chopped a couple home grown cayenne peppers on mine. Yikes that was very tasty and filling. After the clean-up I headed out to sharpen the lower mower blades before climbing aboard for the next couple hours of mowing. These hills are a little tricky to mow but the riding mower saved me once again.

Nancy decided we should take the golf cart to the mailbox then up to the top of the mountain to pick up a skirt Jetta hemmed for our "mountain mom". Jetta is quite the seamstress as she hemmed Nancy dress she wore to Kelly's wedding earlier in July. We visited for awhile before heading back down and it was going on 5 o'clock. I dug up and transplanted some Zinnia's into separate pots from my garden as it looked like we might get some rain. While Nancy started supper around 5:30 I picked some fresh beet greens, kale and a green pepper for the salad as well as some Nasturtium leaves and flowers.

I fried up some Zwaii fish on the grille and along with Jasmine rice, black beans and the salad we had a feast. After the clean-up we both headed out to walk around the fresh mowed yard and admired the beautiful flowers as well as I harvested beetles. There is a trick to catching Japanese beetles as you need a cup of water and place it directly under the leaves the beetles are on because once they feel movement they fall straight down; that's where the cup or bowl with water in it traps them. After the plants are clean then you dispose of them by poring out the water as they usually form a ball of bodies and the crunch sound is music to my ear, LATER

Thursday

Well it was once again another beautiful morning with cool temps in the 60's and a nice breeze with bright blue skies. We did our quiet times then had oatmeal with fruit for breakfast before getting ready to set out on our trip to the Boone and Blowing Rock area. Joe and Helen(mountain mom) came by around 9 AM then we set off down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We saw a beautiful 4-6 point buck with mossy horns(they are shedding)just standing by the roadway and it continued to browse along the edge of the road as we slowed down. I wish now we had stopped and taken a picture of him. A little later we saw a large turkey with several diddles(baby chicks) just walking down the parkway as well and they continued on the road as we passed by. We approached the Glendale Springs area where there is a local trading post and noticed the parking lot was covered in fresh leaves and just below there we actually saw what we thought was snow along side the road. Well there was much discussion about the probability of what this was so I turned around and we headed back and sure enough it turned out to be a several piles of hail on the side of the road. Nancy took a picture and I made a snow ball with temp's in the low 70's by now and on this day in August. Well that led to a good discussion and we later learned a tremendous hail storm last night struck the area and caused all the leaves to be knocked onto the parking lot of the trading post.

We headed into Boone and made our first stop at the old Mast General Store that was built back in the 1800's. This place has everything from; cured meats, a post office, toys, dishes, clothes and you name it. I found a new bicycle horn for my golf cart. We perused the 2 floors of goodies and several out buildings then headed just a short distance away to the annex where they sell over 650 different kinds of candy; most of which are the old fashion type you seldom see in stores today. We purchased over 3 pounds of different varieties of candy as well as did Joe and Helen.

We headed south towards Blowing Rock which is a quaint upscale small community with lots of shops and restaurants. We liked one in particular named the Storey Street Grille which is a small upscale bistro. We ate outside on their covered deck and one of their specialties is their meat loaf dinner. Its made with a Cheer wine barbecue sauce and its out of this world along with smashed red spuds and fried okra. We all had the same except Nancy who substituted green beans for the okra. Wow was that ever a great meal and the portions were awesome as well. Definitely a splendid place to dine. Afterwards we drove around the small town and found some very beautiful homes and real estate; much of what is in the 7 figure category. It is a neat small town and fun to visit.

We headed back to Boone and stopped at the super Wal-mart for goodies we will need this next week. Boone is a busy place as well with the Appalachian State University situated in the city. We decided after our grocery shopping to head back up the Parkway to home as it takes close to 2 hours for the drive. We made several stops so Nancy could take some breath taking view photos. It was close to 4:30 when we headed into our drive. Wow where did the day go??? LATER