Summer Activities

It has been ever so slightly slower without OLLI classes and the responsibilities of the Newcomers board.   Bob and I have gone out several times for dinner with other couples and also have gone off on our own with the girls or guys.   The students from my advanced Tarot class continue to meet on our own every couple weeks.  We socialize and talk about lots of things in addition to Tarot cards.  

Last week we went on an overnight trip up to Bryson City, NC and the Cherokee Indian Reservation.   Since we moved here I have wanted to see the outdoor drama “Unto these Hills” which is the story of the Cherokee nation from the late 1700′s through the Trail of Tears  and the “Indian Removel Act” in the 183o’s. Andrew Jackson forced 15,000 Cherokee to march to Oklahoma, in the winter.   4,000 of them died.  

The performance wasn’t quite what we expected but was still interesting.  Cherokee is two hours from our house.  We stayed again at Freymount Inn.  Here is our cabin.  We were on the top floor above a heavily wooded dropoff.  

On the way home we stopped at the Harrah’s Casino.  We aren’t gamblers but thought since we were so close we should take a look so we can tell visitors what it is like.   IT IS HUGE!  With the new addition they are adding it will be 300,000 sq. feet.   They have 3,700 slot machines and some take 1 or 2 cents.  There is a hotel attached and a big parking ramp and a Paula Dean store and restaurant and many, many more shops and restaurants coming.   The casino room is about 5 stories high, all open.  The decore of all the areas is modern.   Unfortunatily it is a smoking casino and the smell was horrible.   If I had been there a few more minutes I would have been sick.  We left without spending a single cent. 

We went to see the last Harry Potter film.  As good as the books and movies were after a decade I am ready for the series to come to and end.   We saw it in 3D, which I am not a great fan of,but was glad we choose 3D for this particular film. 

Smoky has gotten to be a very big cat.   He is the size of a medium sized dog.   I don’t think he is so fat anymore, just big but still has his “jelly belly”.  His tummy is so soft, like a little well stuffed pillow.  Unfortunately he doesn’t realize how big he is and it’s so funny to see him in his various poses.  He takes up a huge section when he sleeps on our desk and doesn’t seem to mind laying on all kinds of electronic equipment.   You would think he would be uncomfortable.  The tick and flea medicine seems to be working, thank goodness.

Sabrina still continues to hunt lizards.  She came home again yesterday and was so excited at the patio door with a lizard hanging out of her mouth.  She is so proud.  What can I say?   Poor Bob goes to get his gloves and does lizard disposal.  They are little lizards, maybe 5″.  Sabrina is the leader and Smoky is the follower.   They are so funny to watch together.  What great additions they are to our home.

My next post will be about our woodworking.   We have both been busy and having a ton of fun.

Alert for people with nut allergies

Bob has been doing lots of research on different finishes, including those that are safe to put on wooden things that will be in contact with food like salad bowls, utensils, wooden cutting boards.  Tung oil is made from the oil of the seeds of the tung tree.  People who are allergic to nuts may have an allergic reaction to foods that come in contact with a surface that has been finished with tung oil.  We were both quite surprised to read this and I wanted to share it with you.

Many people have nut allergies and I would never have thought that it could come from the bowl itself.   Even the odor of tung oil may set off a reaction.

 

Impact of the Civil War

Tuesday night I went to the first part of a four part series sponsored by OLLI and the Riley Institute at Furman.   There were probably about 300 people there.  This series will discuss the journey from the Civil War, segregation and the Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement and how we move forward. 

The list of speakers is impressive, scholars on the south from many places.

600,000 people died in the war or 2% of the population of the country.   That would be the equilivant of 6 million people today.  Most of the series talked about the fork in the road that happened after the war – the path of Reconciliation or Reconstruction.   Reconciliation basically said lets get the south back into the fold and be a unified Union once again.  The path to Reconstruction would have focused more on making and enforcing the fundamental changes that needed to happen in the south with regard to race, slavery, farming, education, etc.   What a different set of circumstances we might have today if they took the path of Reconstruction.

The speakers were really top notch.   What a great opportunity to be able to attend something of this high calibure.

Animal Chaplain and Animal Communicator

One of my classmates from my advanced Tarot class has some very special skills. Her name is Jann Howell and she is an animal chaplain and animal communicator.   Her website is scanimalcommunicator.com.  If you  live near Greenville and would like a special ceremony to welcome a new pet to your home or to help you say goodbye to a dear loved pet please contact her. 

Smoky and Sabrina say hi. 

Linebacker Sabrina

I was out watering my deck plants a couple days ago and heard this commotion on the lawn.  Sabrina was after something.   I thought at first it was a chipmunk but I looked closer and it was a squirrel, about half the size of her.

As I watched her the only way to describe it was like a football linebacker tackeling something.   She raced after it and then pounced on it so hard, there was a scrimmage and the squirrel escaped up a tree.   Thankfully Sabrina didn’t follow up the tree.   Hope the squirrel is ok.

She had been content lately just chasing bugs so this was kind of a surprise.

Swiss Chard

For dinner tonight I made my first attempt of preparing Swiss Chard, which I got from the Furman Farm yesterday.  When cooking it looks like the perfect Christmas food.   Really pretty red and green.   It tastes like a blend of beets and spinach, that’s my best description.  It was a flavor unlike anything I have tried so my brain and taste buds didn’t quite know what to think of it.  I decided that this, like collard greens, is something I need to try at least two more times before I say I don’t like it. 

How fun is it at age 60 to try a new food!

Grilled fresh peaches over ice cream for dessert!   I know I love that.

Mint Julep follow up

I made mint juleps for Bob and I and another couple.  I have only had one in my life and the others never have had one.  It is an interesting combination of flavors with the sweet and the mint and the bourbon.  Two of us liked it enough to have again and the other two weren’t so sure.

Mint Julep

There is a mint julep in my future.   Got my mint from the Furman Farm and have some TN Jack Daniels in my liquor cabinet.  Stay tuned tomorrow to hear how it went.   Bob turned a muddler last weekend so we have everything!

4 fresh mint sprigs
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.

Summer fruits and vegetables

Just picked up my first batch of fresh produce from the Furman Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  Now I have to figure out what to do with swiss chard and pole beans.  Also got cucumbers, potatoes, green pepper, tomatoes, beets and two kinds of mint.

With all the produce coming into season,  this week I made chilled cucumber soup, chilled peach soup and peach crisp.  Now the freestone peaches are coming in and I hear the peach season lasts until labor day.  So fun and oh so very good.

Explaining the South

A REFRESHER COURSE ON THE SOUTH FOR MY YANKEES FRIENDS.
LOVE AND MISS YOU.  Thanks Brenda H. for passing this along to me.

Southern FOLKS know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity
Southern FOLKS know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The creek
Southern WOMEN know everybody’s first name:
Honey
Darlin’
Shugah

Southern WOMEN know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southern FOLKS know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

Southern FOLKS know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl’stn
S’vanah
Foat Wuth
N’awlins
Addlanna

Southern WOMEN know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food

Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don’t “HAVE” them,  you “PITCH” them.
 
Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up “a mess.”

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of “yonder.”

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long “directly” is, as in:
“Going to town, be back directly.”
(“Dreckly” in my family)

Even Southern babies know that “Gimme some sugar” is not a request for the white, granular, sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.

All Southerners know exactly when “by and by” is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who’s got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad.
If the neighbor’s trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin’!

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between “right near” and
“a right fer piece.” They also know that “just down the road” can be 1 mile or 20.

Only a Southerner both knows and understands the difference between a redneck, a good ol’ boy, and po’ white trash.

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

A Southerner knows that “fixin” can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, …. and when we’re “in line”, we talk to everybody!

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they’re related, even if only by marriage.

In the South, y’all is singular, all y’all is plural.

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

When you hear someone say, “Well, I caught myself lookin’,” you know you are in the presence of a genuine
Southerner!

Only true Southerners say “sweet tea” and “sweet milk.” Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it — we do not like our tea unsweetened. “Sweet milk” means you don’t want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don’t scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway.
You just say,”Bless her heart”… and go your own way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning, bless your heart!

And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff……bless your hearts, I hear they’re fixin’ to have classes on Southernness as a second language!