The Mountain Thymes

This morning's dusting..........about an inch. We put up the Christmas tree and Santa left us a sweet, quiet, obedient, well-behaved sleeping kitty. Cliff was doing some driving training on Clay Durrett Rd. last week. Engine 1751 5-speed manual transmission. He told me to put that information in........ I decided I didn't really like the curtains I made in the summer, so bought some winter white and made these for the two double dining room windows. The others were too dark and even when these are drawn, the room feels lighter. The material is 40% wool and 60% cotton. They are so warm and the sheers act like a lining. I found the sheers tucked under some stuff in the closet. Just some pictures I found still in the camera.

Temperature was 36 degrees but wind chill was 32. It was bitter. I layered lots of clothes and wore a down-filled jacket. Sky to the east looked like a blizzard was coming. Most people were still sitting in their cars waiting until last minute before staking claim on where they wanted to watch the parade. This poor lady was my victim. I usually find someone who looks like they need me to talk to them and then ramble on until the event is over. Check out this cop. There's a wind chill of 32, everyone is bundled and layered. I went to Wally-World and bought long undies and this Murphy cop is standing out in the brutal wind with no jacket. He must have felt a chill because he went back to his cruiser and put on his gloves. Sky to the west was a gorgeous blue and luckily the sun was on us. Finally the parade began and the floats rounded the bend. Station 11....Murphy's truck. Hayden, there were lots of huge trucks pulling floats. I thought I took more pictures than this but I...

It's 7:17 AM. The forest is still asleep except for the sound of the snowflakes gently touching the crispy brown oak leafs that remain on some of the trees.

I just made fudge! I've been cra-a-ving chocolate and sugar. That's a recipe for fudge! Must be the cold air here (44 for the high) and the snow in the forecast for Saturday. As I flipped through some of my old recipe cards, I found the original six-minute fudge recipe that I first made back on October 13, 1959! All the healthy articles tell dieters that to satisfy that sugar craving, you should eat almonds (does Almond Joy count), chew sugar-free gum (e-ew), eat rice cakes or styrofoam peanuts, or eat a piece of fruit......chocolate covered cherries? I just satisfied my craving......... I made fudge! Before I devour it all, I'll package most of it and mail it to Lauria.....she's also craving fudge.

Sofia, Pau Pau needs your help in the kitchen! I can't work my can opener!

I took an EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator Course ) the weekend of 20,21 and 22 of November. It was a tough 3 days. All day Saturday was driving thru and backing up thru the course which was setup to NFPA standards. I had to finish the course in 3 different emergency vehicles. I drove 2 fire engine pumper/tankers and a heavy rescue truck which was a 5 speed transmission. The chief officially made me legal to drive the departments trucks on this past Monday night. I had driving training hours with him also, so after demonstrating my pump operation skills he is satisfied and confident that I can do the job. It is an awsome responsibility and not to be taken lightly. I was on the Deltona Fire Department some years ago for several years and I guess it gets in your blood. I have to re-certify all my skills because NC has different standards and it has been a long time since Deltona . I do CPR for the Medical responder in December and then in in February onto medical courses which w...

The alarm went off at 6 AM! What's up with that?! We're retired.....no alarms! Cliff has joined the Bellview Volunteer Fire Dept. and had to meet with the Chief and other new volunteers to practice and pass his EVOC driving. (I think it's EVOC) Driving a fire truck on these steep mountain roads is quite different than the flat FL roads. We've driven some of the roads that are in our fire district and for many, there is no way out. The trucks have to turn around or back out. It's 38 degrees right now and he's still not happy with the cold. He'd like to be able to go south until April. I was ready for the change, tired of the constant heat/humidity, not being able to work comfortably outside in my gardens, and A/C running for 7 months in FL. Our fall days have been delightful, mostly sunny mid 60's to mid 70's. The sunrise this morning is layered with brilliant pink and orange tiers against a baby blue sky. A few mornings ago, I was graced ...