Our view

Our view

Saturday, December 31, 2016

New Years Eve

This is the last day of 2016 and I would like to take a moment and reflect on 2016.  It was another full year of activities.  We had some medical issues, okay I did, we had a very bountiful garden and due to our wonderful success in growing cucumbers Lisa and I were donned with the title of Pickle Queens.  We had some sad times losing a great neighbor, Reg, and a scare with our Rory but also had many more good times with golfing and bowling and spending time with lots of family and friends.  We expanded the population at the farm by three welcoming Travis and his two dogs and expanding some of the living areas at the farm.  We learned what TMT (Tennessee mountain time) was and it allowed us frustration and some fun.  It was a good and productive year and we are ready for another one ready to welcome 2017 here at the farm.  Happy New Years Eve!

Friday, December 30, 2016

Shelving Is Up

The cold storage room has shelves!  George built the shelves on one wall of the room for plenty of storage.  On the other wall he relocated the freezer that was in the utility room and left room for a second freezer to be purchased later.  The lower shelves will be covered for storage of potatoes, etc during our summer picking months.  The upper shelves will be used to store all the canning items and of course the canned goods made at the farm.  It looks good and the extra storage will make pickling much easier. Good job George!

Thursday, December 29, 2016

A Whole Lot Of Nothing

Not much going on at the farm.  Lisa bowled for me and the team won all of their points.  The new puppy got her check up and is doing well and George had a major migraine and was unable to work on the cold storage room.  All in all, as Lisa put it best, "a whole lot of nothing".  There is nothing wrong with having an quiet do nothing day.  Check back tomorrow and see it things change.
One sad note, one of my favorite actresses has past away. Rest in peace Debbie Reynolds.  I had the pleasure of meeting her once and she was a very classy and friendly lady; Pure Hollywood royalty.




Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Something New At The Farm

There is a new addition to the farm family.  Welcome Gaia a 10 week old female boxer mix that has just been adopted by Travis.  He already has a dog named Nix and yesterday was her birthday so for her birthday Travis decided she needed a playmate.  Gaia is a mythological name, along with Nix and they both just happen to be sisters, in mythology and in real dog life.  Welcome Gaia!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Progress Has Been Made

There was a lot of work going on at the farm.  George has been working overtime on the cold storage room even working Christmas day getting  the floor done, the insulation completed and the new doorway has been relocated.  Yesterday was just as busy for him as he now has a new doorway to the cold storage room and the old doorway has been permanently closed in.  It looks great and I am sure Lisa is looking forward to having some more storage room especially for all the canning items.  Speaking of Lisa, while George was busy outside working on the cold storage room Lisa was busy in the kitchen preparing treats for her upcoming Christmas party with friends.  Yes, it has been a couple of busy days at the farm!

Monday, December 26, 2016

A Room Addition

Now that Christmas is over projects at the farm have begun again. We had a great Christmas in Florida and a little bird told me it was a nice one at the farm too!  Anyway, just before Christmas George began a new project.  There is a room at the corner of their house that was used to house the Air Conditioning unit.  Since George and Lisa have a brand new system that room is no longer used for anything so George and Lisa decided to turn the room into a cold storage room.  After growing so many cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes last summer it was determined a cold storage room is needed.  So George began the project, has gotten the material for the floor joists and has began to lay them down. So a new project has begun and I will follow up with the progress as it proceeds.  I hope you all had a nice Christmas; we sure did!

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.  We hope this will be a special day for all and that you will be able to celebrate it with family and friends.  Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas Eve

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve. Tim and I have not celebrated a Christmas Eve at the farm and may not while we have an opportunity to spend it with our girls.  Today will be a rainy but not cold day but we need the rain.  Since Tim and I have been married our Christmas eves have varied depending on where we are.  Through the years, especially the last few our Christmas eve has been different and so we are always open.  Do you have traditions on Christmas eve?  If so, share them with me by making a comment below.  I will then share them in later blog.  It might be fun to see the different things that happen on Christmas eve.  To all the retail workers, thank you for your hard work and sacrifices you make during this time to ensure for a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hannauka.  Also a huge Thank you to all who serve during this time; the military, police, fire, and medical staffs.  You are all appreciated.  Merry Christmas Eve!

Friday, December 23, 2016

All Is Good

Before leaving to come down to Florida Tim and I had our 6 month check ups with our Dr.  Since we both take some meds we have to be seen every six months.  We are both great!  That is always good to hear.  So with our health in check we are good to go on our Winter journey.  Phase one is complete and we made to Florida safely.  We did run into holiday traffic once we hit I-95 so we were a little later than expected but we made it.  Let the Christmas celebration begin!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Rime Ice

We woke up, on the first day of winter, to everything being covered with Rime ice.  Rime ice is white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects.  It is often seen on trees and is caused by low hanging clouds that cause freezing fog and the temperatures are usually between 17 to 28 degrees.  The conditions overnight were perfect for freezing fog and we woke up to rime ice on the trees, bushes, etc.  It was very beautiful and cold.  It was 22 degrees outside when I took the pictures posted to the right.  It was a very cool sight.
I said I would be making an announcement about our Winter trip today so to find out what is going on please go to my other blog, Travels with Ruth, travelswithruth-ruth@blogspot.com, and check it out!  Today we are headed to Florida to spend Christmas and New Years with our kids.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

Do you remember the children's story of Little Toot?  The tugboat that had to pull a boat much bigger than it and Little Toot kept saying, "I think I can, I think I can, etc"?  Well Tim and George had that same thought pattern yesterday.  George wanted to move the backhoe and the dump truck ( both are not operational right now) to another area of the farm and away from his house.  The plan was to use George's pick up truck to tow them to their new parking area until they are both repaired.  Well let's just say they did try, several times, ( I think I can, I think I can, )but the hills around here made it difficult and ended up being the reason they could not complete the original plan.  It was a good plan and it would of worked it there were more horsepower involved.  The Chevy truck just could not tow the heavy equipment up the hills.  So the backhoe was reparked using the hill and a little ingenuity.  Good effort guys!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Christmas Shopping Is Done!

For the first time in a long time I am done with my Christmas shopping early and have everything wrapped and ready to go to Middleburg for Christmas.  It seems so strange to have things done and early.  It was a tradition for years for me to be wrapping Christmas Eve when everyone else was in bed.  I do have a few stocking stuffers to get but other than that I am done and it feels good!  With our days wi ding down until Christmas Tim and I are doing final preparations for Christmas and our winter trip which I will announce in tomorrow's blog.  For now I am having a mini celebration about being done with Christmas shopping...woohoo!

Monday, December 19, 2016

Weird Weather - Part Two

Yes, it was weird weather yesterday and when I woke up this morning we even received a dusting of snow.  Since we had rain most of the day and the temperatures continued to drop waking up to a dusting of snow could mean no one will be in a hurry to go down our hill because it may end up being a bit icy.  We will have to wait for daylight for that answer. For now, let's just say that it was a nasty day and one where Tim and I stayed in watching movies and football.  George, Lisa and Travis did venture out to see the new Star Wars movie and we were invited we just decided to stay home.  By the way, I heard the movie was great.  As far as our weird weather part two?  We started the day at 67 degrees and rain. At the end of the day it was 30 degrees and snow. All 37 degrees difference in one day and not traveling anywhere.   Weird!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

It Is Going To Be A Weather Day

It is going to be a weird weather day.  After waking up to being 67 degrees with each hour going forward the temperatures are going to drop.  There is a major cold front coming in bringing very windy weather followed by rain and then eventually snow.  I have not seen this happen here yet so it should make for an interesting day.  The wind just went from calm to gusts of 20+ mph and will continue to grow until the front has past and then snow or at least freezing rain.  Yesterday we barely got up to 50 but overnight we went all the way up to almost 70 but later on we will be in the 30's.   II think Mother Nature is playing with us a bit especially since George, Lisa and Travis just got back from Florida where it was in the 80's to us leaving for Florida in a few days where it will be in the 80's.  This type of weather is tough on the wardrobe. Check back and see what happens.  There will be pictures!

Saturday, December 17, 2016

A Festive Fence

Since we have had our "MASH" signs up with our addresses the fence around it has become a great place to decorate for the seasons.  It is a group effort sharing items to put on the fence.  It started last year for Christmas and has continued.  This years fence is courtesy of Lisa and Cheryl.  They did a great job with the decorations and the fence looks so festive.  Thanks Lisa and Cheryl.  Now when anyone does come to visit they can't help but feel the Christmas spirit around here.  It's just another way of saying Merry Christmas from the farm.

Friday, December 16, 2016

A View Of Snow

We had a view of snow yesterday.  Our Eastern view looks at the mountains in North Carolina and yesterday we noticed they had a dusting of snow on them.  It was a nice view and we were glad it was just that, a nice view.  It is cold enough to snow right now but there is not any moisture to do so.  We have had some very cold days and nights but we are suppose to get up to 60 by the week end. Anyway, the snow that fell in the mountains never made it below 3000ft.  By the afternoon the snow was gone on the NC mountains.  It was a sunny day and I guess it was enough to melt what snow had fallen.  It was nice to see but I am okay if that is all we see around here for now.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Pin Busters In First Place

That's right after the second 8 weeks of bowling the Pin Busters are in first place and have qualified for the roll off at the end of the season.  With this win we will be one of four teams to compete at the end of the season.  Needless to say we are all thrilled.  When I got back to the team after my break I did give them all an early Chrstmas present, a keychain made by my daughter Jenny,   Saltedbyjen.com; see the ad listed below for details.  It has the team name on it and a bowling charm.  I think they liked it and  I love mine. Thanks Jen!  Way to go Pin Busters!

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Christmas Shopping

The Christmas shopping is almost complete!  It feels so good to say that because a week ago I had not even really started, except for Rory.  A week later and I only have two more people to buy for and hopefully  that will be completed today!  Tim and I went Christmas shopping after my Dr appt in Morristown then headed over to Greeneville to hit some more stores.  The stores were busier but they did have cashiers so the lines to check out were not bad at all.  The one place they were the worse we did not buy anything.  It does feel good to almost be done but I am racking my brain trying to figure out what to get the last two.  Hmmm, maybe that is what gift cards are for?  Thanks Tim for shopping with me!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Making Tags

I know that you can buy 100 gift tags, usually the small stick on ones for $1.00 and everyone is happy with that but I decided a few years ago that I would start making my own tags because I could.  I know no one really looks at the tag except to see two things; to: and from:.  Other than that the tag is just there and is forgotten except for the few that save the tag to remember who the gift was from.  I still make my own tags knowing they are all going in the garbage but I don't care.  They do add to a package that is sitting under the tree and I have fun making them.  So this year, I will not get offended if my tag just gets tossed, I am use to it, but I will enjoy the fact that I did make them and, in my personal opinion, they turned out great.  It is 12 days until Christmas!

Monday, December 12, 2016

Look What's Back...

The rental backhoe is back and George has been on it since it has returned.  The RV pad that was built earlier needed a little reinforcement so George started adding to it by continuing to dig out the turn around spot by the house.  It is a win win situation where down by the house vehicles, no matter what their size, can turn around and the RV pad gets more dirt making it even bigger and stronger. The whole dirt thing is all done by a couple of guys and a big machine; amazing!  Way to go George and Tim!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Tomato Basil Soup

Last night we enjoyed the fruits of our labor from last summer.  A hot steaming bowl of Tomato Basil soup that we made from the tomatoes in the garden.  Lisa and I decided to freeze the soup in canning jars instead of processing the soup.  It was delicious and it tasted as fresh as the day we made it.  We know this because we did sample the soup when we first made it.  We teamed the soup up with some grilled cheese sandwiches and it was a delicious dinner that was perfect on a cold night in the mountains.  I think it was already 25 degrees outside.  It was good to sit down and have dinner again on the week end like we have done all summer long and I know I am the one that was not here for quite a while but it was good to be together again and the soup was good!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

I Hate Ladybugs Right Now

I know lady bugs are cute and harmless unless they are Asian Lady Bugs.  Asian Lady bugs are orange with black spots and are great during the Spring and Summer months where they are outside eating aphids.  They were introduced in our country in 1916 and now are all over the world.  In the Fall and Winter months these lady bugs look for warm places to live and they especially like light southern exposure areas...like my Crafty Cottage.  I was gone when they first infested my Crafty Cottage and now I am fighting the battle with hundreds of lady bugs everyday.  Did you know lady bugs bite and they also dive bomb you?  I battle them everyday.  My day begins with sweeping up several hundred off my floor, work bench, desk, etc.  While I work they dive bomb me, they crawl all over the place and they smell.  I heard burning a lemon scented candle and sweeping them up help control them.  So it that is the case I think I will also start wearing lemon scented lotion and body spray.  I hate lady bugs right now!

Friday, December 9, 2016

Protection For The RV

On our RV we have slide covers to help protect our slides from the elements.  Well, with how we sit on the mountain for our great view we also fight a wind element that can play havoc on the slide protector.  Tim designed a way to protect the slide and make it last.  He purchased tin, like the kind they use for tin roofs and figured out how to secure it to the main slide.  It looks nice and will protect that slide for years.  Way to go Tim!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

The Outdoor Christmas Lights

We are not decorating the RV this year for Christmas because we are only here for a couple of weeks and then we are gone for a couple of months so decorating just does not make sense.  That is not to say I do not have Christmas decorations up because I do I just an not doing our trees and everything else this year.  We did, however, put up our outdoor Christmas lights.  We chose to try something different and purchases one of those spot lights that move and makes patterns on your house.  I got a very inexpensive on due to the fact we were not sure how well it would turn out but it was great and next year we will get a better one to really look like Christmas lights.  Until then we are happy with our current display and it took Tim about 5 minutes top to set up. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

I'm Back AtThe Farm

I'm back at the farm and here are some updates at the farm.  First of all it is cold.  Now some may say cool but I say cold especially since I have been in Southern California and Floida for well over a month.  It was 51 degrees when we got home last night and so was the inside of the RV but once we got the heat on it warmed up pretty quick.  Second, there is sickness here on the farm.  I guess it started with George getting sick over Thanksgiving who in turn gave it to Lisa.  Needles to say, we are glad to see them but we will be keeping our distance just to make sure those sick germs are gone. Third, I have a new neighbor, which I have reported on, but seeing it is different; Welcome Travis!  It is good to be home and I have a lot to do which I will get to after I go bowling today!  I am back at the farm!

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

What A Great Day

I had a wonderful Birthday and I want to thank my family for making it such a nice one.  Being greeted with "Happy Birthday Gammie" started the day off right and it just got better from there.  I also appreciated all the cards and social media greetings I received from family and friends.  It really humbles you when you see so wishes and greetings and so with that and simply say Thank You!  I actually had two birthday celebrations. One with Carrie and Daniel (they had plans on Monday) on Sunday night and one with Jenny, Nate and Rory last night.  I received some great things from my family and I love them all; thank you.  Today we head back to the farm and it looks like some cold weather.  I think I will leave my summer clothing here in Florida since I will be returning in a couple of weeks.  Thanks Jenny and Nate, Rory, Carrie and Daniel.  I will miss you but will see you soon!

Monday, December 5, 2016

Short & Quick

Today is my Birthday and in honor of it I am just going to give a brief update of the show and when we did it. First Salted By Jen did great and I am one happy and proud mom!  Way to go Jen!

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Wow, Wow, Wow!

The show went great yesterday and Salted By Jen did very well.  It was busy!!!  We were non stop for  the first 5 hours and we couldn't even stop to take a breath!  Once again I want to thank my friends for coming by and saying Hi!  Your support for Jen is appreciated.  If you are interested in her merchandise please check out saltedbyjen.com!  Time to begin the final day of the show!

Saturday, December 3, 2016

A Busy Day Away From The Farm

It was a busy day for me but not at the farm.  I am down in the Jacksonville area helping my daughter Jenny with her first big show.  The Vintage Market Days are going on and it is a huge show.  Yesterday was good and we are hoping today will be even better.  Check back tomorrow for a progress report!

Friday, December 2, 2016

Update On The Wildfires

I am not sure what has been happening on the farm lately so instead of talking about the farm I figure I would give an update on wild fires in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area.  There are now 11 people dead from the fires and still several missing.  The various departments from our government are out searching every house to find survivors. Starting tomorrow for a specific time the residents, renters and business owners  will be allowed to return to their property and check it out.  I am sure there will be more bodies found, so sad, and more property damage but the people of Tennessee are hardy folks that will clean up and rebuild and not expect a ton of handouts to do so.  Thank you to all the firefighters and police and volunteers that are helping with all that has gone on over the past few days.  Pray for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Finding Chinese Food In Eastern Tennessee

Coming from an area where Chinese food was abundant we have now been with out it for two years in Parrottsville.  Even in Newport and Greeneville it is had to find.  This is new to us because there seems to be Chinese food places everywhere in the Jacksonville area and all over during our travels.  It is not quite fair to say we do not have any Chinese food places in Newport or Greeneville because there is a place in each town.  Both are buffets and in fairness we did hear that the Greeneville place was actually good.  The Newport Chinese Buffet may be good but since we never see any cars in the parking lot we are a little afraid to try it.  Lisa and Travis decided to be adventurous and they tried the China Buffet in Greeneville.  They said it was very good and reasonably priced for a Chinese buffet. The best part is neither on got sick so we know we can now go for Chinese food in Greeneville!