Mark and Jen arrived in Murphy ten minutes before our two o'clock Chop House Thanksgiving reservations. They left Missouri Wednesday afternoon after work, caught some zzzz's in Marion, IL, and forgot about the hour time change here. For the past five years we did the Brothers Thanksgiving buffet because, even though the vegetables are out of a can, the price was right at $21.99 a person. Senior discount another 10%. Everything else was real food, oven roasted turkey, a good variety of buffet choices, and restaurant baked desserts. This year the priced jumped up to $29.99. Chop House Thanksgiving dinner seemed more reasonable at $25.99. It's not a buffet but portions are so ample, your leftovers make another meal at home. AND it's all delicious real food. Since Mark and Jen have become engaged, they are more settled and content, kind of like "old married" people. Next year when they come for Thanksgiving, we've decided to let th...
Posts
Happy Thanksgiving
I find the names for full moons fascinating. The November full moon occurred at 5:44 pm (EST) on the 25th. Native Americans named the November moon Beaver Moon believing it to be the best time to set beaver traps. Beavers are busy this time of year preparing for winter and their fur was at its most perfect stage. Soon the beavers would be sleeping and the swamps frozen over. Their names for a moon were for the whole cycle of that moon. Their month was about 28.5 days and so they named thirteen moons. The Mourning Moon is a Celtic name and November is the Celtic New Year. They mourn the descent into darkness as the seasons change. Weather related names include Fog Moon or Snow moon according to where you reside. Sometimes it's referred to as Frosty Moon because it's the time when we wake up to morning frost. Today we woke to 39 degrees in town and about 33 here. We'll see 63 this afternoon and a very pleasant 69 tomorrow. We'...
On the way home from my dermatologist appointment in Blairsville yesterday afternoon, we stopped at Cabin Coffee Company. Blairsville's busy rotary area has many diverse stores and restaurants. On Friday nights during the summer, there are outdoor concerts and classic cars shows. I think this coffee house has been open for about a year or so. We've just never stopped to see what's going on inside. "Just Be Happy and Have Fun" is the motto and it has a relaxed happy atmosphere. There are hot drinks, an espresso bar, cold espresso drinks, a breakfast and lunch menu with signature and specialty sandwiches, soups and salads. Cliff ordered a fruit smoothie and I went for a Mocha Frappe with two shots of espresso, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with dark chocolate. Between the nearly full moon lighting up the entire woods last night and the two shots of espresso, sleep didn't happen easily. But the drink was worth...
Birthdays are meant to be celebrated with family and friends and celebrated for as many days as one can squeeze out of them. Thursday we spent the day in Kentucky with Matthew, Taelor, Alexandra, (1 yr) and Christopher (will turn 3 in Jan) celebrating Mathew's 26!!! birthday and my birthday. We took the children to a nearby park so they could climb on the fort and slide down slides. Christopher talking to the ducks. Taelor brought 2 bags of frozen peas to feed the ducks. Alexandra with the ducks. Papa with Matthew and Alexandra Alex is wearing her cupcake hat. Christopher wearing Alex's cupcake hat. They both love hats. Feeding the ducks peas. In the background is the play area. It's a huge wooden fort with four slides, towers and many climbing levels. I worked up quiet a sweat climbing, bending to fit through the openings, and sliding with Christopher. Temperature was 59-60 with full sun and brisk breez...
According to The Old Farmer's Almanac , on this day back in 1946, the low was 25 degrees with a high of 48. A U.S. postage stamp was $0.03, one year tuition at Harvard ran a student $420, a loaf of bread cost $0.10, a gallon of gas was $0.21, and a gallon of milk was $0.67. But Federal minimum hourly wage was only $0.40. We bought our eggs fresh from the farm for $0.50 a dozen and the milk man from Suzuki's farm placed our milk bottles, with whole cream on top, in insulated containers at our back door. Joe-the-Baker stopped by for friendly conversation and to see what breads the neighbors needed. A lazy summer afternoon was spent laying on the grass, gazing at the sky to watch the ever changing shape of white clouds. When the hollyhocks were in full bloom, my sister and I swirled the water in shallow pans to dance our hollyhock dolls. Me in the spring of 1947, sitting in a wash basin at Grandma Still's house. We were living with my grandmoth...
As I've said before, I love mornings. I love seeing the first hint of light in the eastern sky. I love greeting the morning even when it's crisp. Cardinals are the first to visit the feeders at this early hour. They sit regally and with the first hint of morning light, their bright red feathers reveal who they are. As the sky lightens I scan the front garden and road hoping to catch a glimpse of deer grazing or other animals passing. Tuesday morning the front garden seemed unusually quiet, no birds coming to the feeder or to the suet when I realized there was no feeder or suet. Upon inspection I found the suet basket bent and ripped wide open laying empty on the ground, the wire that held the squirrel-proof feeder broken and hanging and the feeder nowhere insight. The feeders in the woods that I can see from my sewing room had been attacked also. I found one feeder down in the woods but the other had been carried off. The doubl...
Same ol' stuff, different day. Not complaining. I don't need drama. Our weather has been so mild..... rainy, misty, drizzly too many days in a row but no A/C or heat needed. Sun made an appearance between passing clouds pushing the temperature to 79 this afternoon. I'm thrilled to still be sitting out on the porch most afternoons. Ten-day forecast shows mostly mild temperatures and (ugh!) more rainy days. The window box geraniums are still showing off eight large red flowers. We've been getting our CSA (community supported agriculture) bag full of fresh farm produce every Tuesday. As soon as I get home and lay the variety of foods out on the counter, I bring up images on the computer to identify some of the vegetables my farmer has included for the week. Frances is about 5' 4", thin with signs of arthritis in her feet and hands. She's probably about ten years younger than I am and runs Candy Mountain Farms. Besid...