The Mountain Thymes

Found these boots at a great sale on DSW and have been waiting to wear them. This morning is 22 degrees, sunny, and should be low 50's by afternoon. When we head out for breakfast at our diner, it'll still be cold so I can bundle up like an Eskimo. Air is fresh and crisp. Went outside earlier to feed my birds. Yesterday had the most gorgeous bluebirds at the birdbath and ground feeding. Bluebirds are not uncommon in NC, but I've never had them at our feeders. So this was a bonus for me to see while I washed the breakfast dishes. We'll get the "CT" out of the crawl space today, bring in the ladder from the shed and take the decorations down from the attic so I can begin the Christmas decorating. Found 24-hour Christmas music on XM 04 last week. Let the festivities begin! Last night, six of us went to Blue Ridge, GA to the Tin Loon for our last evening out with Deb and Larry before they move next week. Rich and Jaquie, Jackie (?) were up from Florida ...

Dear Hayden, Sofia, Grant, and Olivia, When I opened my mailbox today, I found a large white envelope addressed to Pau Pau and Papa! What a nice surprise. It was the best mail we got today. Inside the big envelope were beautiful pictures and drawings from YOU! I made your fish artwork into a mobile and it's hanging from the kitchen ceiling along with the cobwebs. Then I taped some of the other art that you learned at school on the refrigerator door. Papa is going to have to go to work to buy us a bigger refrigerator. We need more room for all of your pictures. Thank you for sharing your creative work with us. We love you. Love, Pau Pau and Papa :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS May you all enjoy your day as you gather together to laugh, eat too much, and tell stories. Chip, remember the year you made green gravy? I miss being with family during these holidays. I am with each of you in heart and spirit. Retta, when you pour your glass of wine, I'm with you. Have a wonderful day...................

Appropriately put the wild turkey back on my blog page for Thanksgiving. Wild turkeys around here are hiding. All I've seen lately are the possums that make their nightly rounds in our back woods and climb the trees so they are eye level with Maxine. She stretches her neck through the porch rungs to watch them root. Last night I noticed she was staring up at the trees, knew she wasn't looking at constellations. She was giving the evil eye to the big possum in the oak tree. Heavy clouds today but still not cold. Thank goodness. We'll be about 50 by the weekend.

Weather is crazy.................. We've been high 20's to low 30's most mornings when we get up so I've been bringing the last few potted plants I want to save in at night then placing them back out in the sun each morning. Days have been high 60's to mid 70's and sunny. This morning when we got up at 5:30, the temp was 50. Max woke us up with her barfing noise and the sound of construction in the litter box. I took my coffee out on the porch with her and listened to the quiet. Many mornings the cry of coyotes can be heard from the caves in our mountain. This morning was absolute quiet, not even a breeze rustling the remaining dead oak leaves. Dark clouds sailed quickly overhead setting us up for the cold front that will bring rain and cooler temperatures later today. Fall has been kind to us. We have seasoned firewood stacked by the French doors on the back porch and I've been collecting some good novels for the raw afternoons. The impending win...

Yesterday Matthew turned 21!! How did that happen?? Cliff and I woke at 4:30 and began our 5 1/2 hour trek to KY to celebrate Matthew's and my birthday and to meet Matthew's fiance, Taelor. She is a delightfully savvy young person with an upbeat attitude toward life and easy to be with. After eating at a Chinese Buffet, we had birthday cake that Taelor made and decorated with a beach scene. Forgot to take a picture of it. HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, Matthew!

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~ The Dalai Lama Sixty-four years ago today, I was welcomed onto this earth by my father, my mother, and my 4-year old brother. Two years later, we welcomed my sister into the family. We grew up in a neighborhood where people watched out for each other and we were free to play hide-and-go-seek and run through the fields without worry or concern. Our elementary school had four classrooms and was within walking distance from our home. Just before I turned down Linden Street to school, I walked by a small store. Once a week my mother put a quarter in our school savings envelope that was given to the teachers then placed into our little savings account with the Hudson Savings Bank. Some weeks that quarter never made it to my account. That quarter slid out of the corner of the sealed envelope and bought me some penny candies from the store. It was worth getting into hot w...

Just made a great potato cheese soup. This recipe comes from Sacramental Magic in a Small Town Cafe Recipes and Stories from Brother Juniper's Cafe by Br. Peter Reinhart POTATO CHEESE SOUP Serves 8 Served........ with a loaf of fresh baked bread, this is a meal in itself. 1 quart chicken stock or canned broth (I used organic) 2 1/2 lbs. potaotoes, unpeeled and coarsely chopped 2 bunches scallions, diced 1 quart half-and-half, milk, or low-fat milk ( I used lowfat with a little half-and-half) 4 TBS tamari (soy sauce) (I used low sodium) 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper 3/4 lb. Swiss or Cheddar cheese, grated (I combined lowest fat sharp cheddar and Amish Swiss) 1 cup dry white wine or beer (I used white wine....a little for me and some for the soup) Paprika and fresh parsley sprigs for garnish In a large soup pot bring stock to a boil. Add potatoes and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add scallions and remove pot from the heat. Add the half-and-half or the milk to the pot. Puree the ...

I always seek out the important booths first. We bought chocolate walnut and maple nut fudge and she gave a nice chunk of pumpkin fudge. The vendor to the right sold homemade Brunswick stew, which I had for lunch, and Cliff had the pulled pork plate. walking toward the chunkin' field.....beer garden set up under the tent to the right before the crowd gathered.......... teams were practicing #2 was cranked down by hand almost at a 45 degree angle when it was time to throw. the pumpkin lady and #2 being hand-cranked official Hayesville punkin' chunkin' sign mid 40's, cool dry breeze, not bad in the sun The activities began Friday and the weather was miserable. The day was raw, rainy, drizzly, with passing sleet showers. Cliff called his mother to share our day with her. crowd gathering for the 1 o'clock punkin' chunkin' contest Field was marked from 200' to 1000' and the 7 teams had four tries to throw their pumpkin the farthest for the prize $$$$....

Only days ago we were enjoying sunshine and temperatures in the low 70's during the days. Nights temps drop anywhere from 28-40 so I bring my porch plants in at night and hang them back out in the sunshine during the day. The high temp today reached 40 degrees on the porch. Just a few minutes ago I heard noises out on the porch. My plants were shivering and crying to be brought into the house as they were being pelted by a cold sleet. Today is the first day of Punkin' Chunkin' in Hayesville and probably not a lot of fun. We're attending tomorrow. This front should have passed through by then so we'll layer our clothes, bring the camera, and sample some good food.

I've been busy up here on "witch mountain" (as one of my beloved followers has so appropriately dubbed this sub-division) with sewing projects. I'm really pleased with the bathroom curtain order because I had to come up with a design using these chosen fabrics. Also made 6 reversible place mats and matching hot plate holder. Took my sewing sign down because the rain got under my little pictures and caused the color in the photos to run. Word-of-mouth is working so much better. We went to the gym this morning then used a $3.99 coupon for all-you-can-eat salad and pizza at Downtown Pizza. I like this place because it has a great salad bar and very different kinds of pizza. Cliff likes to eat here because you don't have to leave a tip. Sounds like Dad (Grampy), doesn't it? Rainy, drizzly today with a cold front coming in. Will be very cold later this week. Hayesville is having their Punkin' Chunkin' Friday and Saturday. The other night the Scie...