The Mountain Thymes

Only twenty-six more days until Total Solar Eclipse 2017.  We are Ground Zero! It's better than waiting for Christmas.  I don't have to send out cards or spend money on gifts.  The only purchase we made was CE and ISO certified safe solar shades filter for solar eclipse viewing.                                                 " solar ready" Tommy Pickle has his own personal pair because five pair came in the package.  I figure we can sell the extra three pair to tourists who've misplaced theirs or didn't arrive here prepared.  Certified solar eclipse glasses purchased last minute have a high price tag!  All hotels, rental cabins, and RV parks have been booked since last year.  People are preparing their fields and ac...

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes.  I had one thousand and sixty." ~ Imelda Marcos My neighbors probably think I'm having an affair with my Fed Ex driver.  It gives them a reason to press their noses against their windows or gawk as they crawl by our house at a snail's pace.  The Fed Ex or UPS truck is backed to the front porch steps at least three times each week with my online purchases.  I have the sweetest most pleasant Fed Ex delivery person ever.  No matter what the weather, there's always a short exchange of pleasantries before wishing each other a wonderful rest of the day.  After eight and a half years of being here, I still marvel at the rural country living attitudes compared to what we had in the quick city pace in Florida.  Today my Fed Ex truck delivered another pair of DSW athletic shoes for me.  Our nearest DSW is 74 miles away in Chattanooga.  My $15 off certificate was nearing its expiration date but it's too...

The Carolina wren feeding frenzy starts around 6:30 am and continues all day. Nested deep into the geraniums are three infant wrens.  From the kitchen window I can watch the parents cautiously arrive with insects in beaks, sit on the edge of the window box scanning their surroundings before hopping into the dark nest to feed their babies.  The babies are still quite frail looking and sleep between feedings.  When they wake their heads strut out with beaks open waiting for more food.  It's an all day job hopping along the porch rails and floor, grabbing moths and grubs and feeding three hungry babies.  They must be exhausted by dark. I love the taste of traditional creamy Italian ricotta cheese.  Mostly I use it in lasagna and stuffed shell dishes.  Sometimes I enjoy it right out of the container.  The other day I found a recipe for a Chocolate Ricotta Mousse. Ingredients: 2 cups of ricotta      I use part skim. 6 tablespoons...

I subscribe to Oldways Mediterranean Food Alliance , a free online site founded to help companies build their brands and business around the popular, healthy, affordable Mediterranean lifestyle.  The stories, articles, and recipes bring me back to my childhood when Nona lived behind us.  She worked her vegetable garden early in the morning in an old pair of men's boots. Her house smelled of Italy.  On her small kitchen stove spaghetti sauce with mouth-watering meatballs  simmered, fresh-made pasta was laid out to dry on the wooden board, and a dish of fried cauliflower set on the counter for nibbling.  She layered three aprons over her dress.  An aprons to keep her dress clean and aprons to keep the aprons clean.   Oldways recipes bring me back to her kitchen.  I have a three-bean salad recipe that I've been making for years, never varying from the ingredients nor the bottled Italian dressing.  A few weeks ago, Oldways featured "Five...

Saturday June 27, 1987 light rain 65 degrees  That letter that I wrote about June--The poem was a quote from James Russell Lowell.  I love that poem and it epitomizes June for me.  I expect June to conform to that verse.  I have another that I love about May.  It goes--"In May when sea winds pierce our solitudes, I found the fresh rhodora growing in the brook.  Its leafless petals fallen in the pool--"  That may not be exact, it floats through my mind and I can't get it.  I can't remember the poet."  Have a good week.  Love to all. love, Mom & Dad   It's too bad my mother couldn't have searched Google back in '87 and read all of "The Rhodora", an 1834 Ralph Waldo Emerson poem.  Her June was a rainy one in '87.  "The garden was growing beautifully, and so were the weeds!."  Our spring started out hot and dry but by the end of May the rain barrel overflowed and the plants had more than enough to drink....

Saturday at the farmers market I bought two large bunches of fresh deep red beets.  I tried new a pickled beet recipe with a few, made a soup to freeze with four more, stored the rest, and washed the leaves and stems for salads, quiches, and other recipes.  Yesterday I searched online for a recipe to use red lentils and lots of beet greens while they were still fresh and crisp.  There are many spices and herbs that help keep my inflammation under control so I've been dabbling with the Indian cuisine as those recipes use coriander, cumin, tumeric, ginger, garlic, etc.  The Mung Dal (Moong Dal) with Beet Greens  recipe sounded easy, delicious and would use up beet greens from three beets.  Actually, I substituted red lentils for the split-yellow mung beans.  When I find a recipe that intrigues me but calls for unusual ingredients, I order anything not found in our Ingles, on Jet.com or Amazon Prime.  In the July issue of Consumer Reports, articles ...

A few weeks ago we made reservations in Wilmington, NC with plans to see the sights, walk the beach, and eat lots of seafood.  Some days before our trip a tropical system formed in the gulf of Mexico and strengthened while we were in Wilmington.  The reason for Wilmington was Cliff's desire to see the Battleship NC, one of the most highly decorated ships of World War II.  We roamed the ship for about an hour-and-a-half stepping back in time trying to imagine what the men experienced.  The 20 bakers worked 24 hours on and 24 hours off.  The Bake Shop was a popular place because everyone liked sweets. In the sick bay there were 4 doctors, 3 dentists, and 1 pharmacist. Surgical area.  What a horrid thought! The tour gave me a better understanding of what life was like aboard the ship. There was light rain the morning we toured which made it comfortable because by early afternoon  humidity was heavy.  After lunch we toured Airli...