Home, Stuff and Food...

After looking at my photos, I either had to label this post as "Miscellaneous" or, as I ended up doing, "Home, Stuff and Food".  I also considered "Angry, What to Do, Scary and Experimental".  In any case this post is an mix...a mongrel...with a variety of different issues and challenges. 

Home ownership is an investment, a significant cash drain and a source of frustration.  Our home was built in 1999.  Our neighborhood is built on rock...mostly limestone.  Issues arise with older homes.  Example: When one of our HVAC units needed attention, the good news is that despite its age, the problem was resolved for a relatively modest sum of money.  However, the owner of the HVAC company told me that a replacement unit for this particular Air Conditioning/Heat Pump, would cost $7,900.00!  Nuts!  

Anyway, back to the photo shown above.  We have a home inspector/builder who is doing some work for us.  Unrelated to his work he spotted some beginning separation of some foundational cinder blocks at one corner of the house and suggested that we should have someone come out and fix it to keep it from getting worse.  We checked around and contracted with AFS (American Foundation Service) to fix the problem.  It was not inexpensive!  In any case, despite specific warnings from my better half, the AFS crew not only made a mess, but they also severed our sprinkler system's main line.  We had a 2-story fountain until they figured out how to turn the system off.  Now we have mud everywhere with the broken line directly under that rock.  Laurie is all over AFS to have the repairs made, with a meeting with them scheduled today as I compose this post.  Aggravation!

On to more "fun", this time related to our upcoming garage sale.  

We keep finding things that we forgot we had and that we've been carrying around for many years now.  One recent 'find' was this Mrs. Stevens Candies Antique Christmas themed round tin box that is just packed with embroidery thread or floss, as it's sometimes referred to.  Pricing it for the sale is going to be a guesstimate at best. 

When I first moved to East Tennessee, I did a bit of fishing.  Before that, Laurie and used to take fishing vacations to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and up into northwestern Ontario in Canada.  It was a cabin in Michigan with a fishing boat...cook your own meals, etc.  In Canada, it was an all-inclusive deal...cabin, meals, guide with a boat and, in one case even a float plane fly-in to an isolated lake. (The pilot was no more than 19 years old)

So now our fishing days are over... How to price this this tackle box full of all kinds of gear and a plethora of lures for our garage sale?  

The same question applies to this tackle box and an even greater assortment of lures!  Then we also have a couple small tackle boxes, a small suitcase with more gear in it including a couple of reels...and let's not forget the 8 fishing rods with reels all ready to go fishing!

Next we have a family related note to report on... Unless you live under a rock by now you have heard about the tornado that came through St. Louis Missouri.  Major damage at the iconic Forest Park and the St. Louis Zoo.  The core group of Laurie's family lives in the St. Louis metro area.  Her sister Bonnie and Bonnie's husband Bill rode out the storm in a parking garage near their home.  This was to avoid hail damage to their new Subaru.  They live about 3 blocks from the area where the heaviest tornado damage was evident.  Even so, they were without power for almost 72 hours.  They transferred perishable foods to coolers or to the refrigerators/freezers belonging to their kids.  Laurie's other sister, Karole and her husband Bob were in Kansas City when the storm hit St. Louis.  When they returned home, the power was still out and they had to throw away all of their perishables.  Scary...but lucky compared to some.  No major issues...just threats of major storm damage here in East Tennessee. 

Now onto some food items...

We continue to try out/test the 'fast food', prepared food items from Costco.  We're looking for winners that we can rely on.

Caribbean Food Delights Jamaican Style beef patties/turnovers in a flaky cornmeal crust were not spicy...not by anyone's definition.  The 'ground beef' had a mushy texture with close to zero flavor.  No amount of the 4 different sauces we tried could save this product.  This is not a 'food' product that we would ever purchase or eat again.  I rarely throw food away, but I made an exception with this item!  Bye Bye!

The next item on the prepared food menu was this 'new item' that we bought at Food Lion.  This Shrimp Penne Pasta comes in individual servings.  Laurie liked it quite a bit and I thought that it was a decent meal.  There were enough shrimp in each of our dinners, one could pick up the bacon flavor and the pieces of jalapeno gave it a modest little pop of heat...just enough that you knew it was there.  To me it was a bit like an upscale mac 'n cheese with shrimp.  It had enough going for it that we will purchase it again... There was plenty of food for almost any level of appetite.

I didn't take a photo of the pack of thin sliced salmon that we'd purchased from Costco so I can't tell you the brand name.  Actually it was a twin-pack of salmon...almost too much salmon for two people to consume in a relatively short period of time.  On more than one occasion we had salmon in a swirl and salmon on crackers or thin sliced bread with and without crackers and capers.  Then I finished off the second packet of the salmon with the above breakfast entree.  My very enjoyable and satisfying breakfast consisted of a thin slice of rye toast, smeared with cream cheese, topped with 2 or 3 thin slices of salmon and topped with an over easy egg.  This is one time that I didn't use Tabasco with my fried egg. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Staying Home...

Time for a change of pace!  Leaving our October 2024 road trip just for a bit, this time its all about things, food and happenings around our home in East Tennessee...truly bits and pieces.

Let me introduce you to "Gopher", our tailless squirrel and frequent visitor.  He/or she has been around for about 4 years at this point... With a typical life span of around 6 years but with exceptions up to 12 years, Gopher may be around for a while.  Without a tail, we're a bit surprised that he/she has survived this long.  Grey squirrel's tail assist in balance when moving through the trees and they also provide warmth in cold weather.  In cold weather squirrels just wrap their tails around them like a blanket while in their nests.  Will Gopher survive a protracted Artic blast?

FYI...In Europe and in Western Canada the Eastern Grey Squirrel is considered to be an Invasive Alien Species as it is displacing native species of squirrels. 

Around New Years Day, our neighbor Jane baked this lovely and delicious Rum Cake for us...and for other neighbors as well.  I'm usually not a 'cake guy' and some flavor enhanced cakes are too over the top intense for me.  However, we devoured all of this cake.  It kept well in the refrigerator and we found that whipped cream went well with it.  Not healthy but very tasty!

We do have a tendency to buy items that catch our eye, especially antique or collectible goodies.  Frequently they just sit around and look nice...but in this case Laurie's new/old cast iron corn bread fry pan was put to good...and satisfying use.

Laurie decided to make a chicken recipe she saw on-line that grabbed her attention.  It involved chicken thighs, garlic cloves, soy sauce, butter and brown sugar...served over rice.  I didn't think that I'd like it but the caramelized sauce with the chicken and rice resulted in a fine meal...and I had leftovers too!

Time for breakfast!

My breakfast creations are not as adventuresome or imaginative as Big Dude's at https://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/.  However, neither of us like to waste leftovers.  In this case I fried up some left over beef pot roast and cheesy potatoes, siding them with over-easy eggs and a slice of toast.  Excellent!

Another recent breakfast 'winner' was my combination of leftover breaded and seasoned Tilapia filets topped with over-easy eggs... While I indulge in my 'healthy' breakfasts, my better half 'enjoys' yogurt with granola.  Ugh!

One more breakfast just to avoid leftover waste... This time it was Guinness flavored Mac 'n Cheese with fried segments of leftover Klement's (Wisconsin) hotdogs.  This was a truly satisfying breakfast although it almost demanded a nap long after consuming it. 

Now for a bit of Mother Nature...

Laurie's Christmas cactus in her plant room, both pink and red, are doing their thing and looking good.  But, if you look out the window, you might note that something weatherwise was going on...

Shortly after taking the photo in the plant room, Laurie took this picture of our front yard looking across to neighbors Roger and Jane's home.  What is that white stuff coming down from the heavens?!

After the snow 'storm' passed, I took this photo of our front yard looking across at Roger and Jane's home.  We were snowed in!  Those who live a bit north would consider this a minor snowfall or inconvenience.  In East Tennessee it is a big deal.  At our stage and age, I can't shovel snow and Laurie shouldn't.  I know that the usual sequence is that it melts the following day or, at most, a couple days later.  

However, kudos to the strapping 18 year old entrepreneur who showed up at Jane and Roger's house and cleared their driveway and sidewalk.  His next job was clearing our driveway and sidewalk.  He'd cleared 6 driveways the previous night and after these 2 jobs, he had 10 more booked.  Some of the driveways were much longer than ours... I'm estimating that his prompt recognition of opportunity had to bring in over $1,000!  Not too bad...

Of course, our local birds are a bit like the residents...just not used to truly cold and snowy weather.  Mr. Robin looks confused...but I'm sure he was waiting for food bits to drop from our feeders.  As for the bluebirds, they were patiently waiting for Laurie to replace the ice in their birdbath with some hot water from the house...

This view from Laurie's 'plant room' shows our 2.5 inches of snow on the grill and railings and looking at the trees and bushes that sill remain after the building spree we've experienced in the last 2 - 3 years.

Early weather forecasts for our area claimed that we would have a warmer than normal winter.  Through January 16th, every day this month has recorded lower than normal high temperatures and lower than normal low temperatures...and we have an "Artic Blast" headed our way.

Now for a bit of retail humor...  

Laurie found this storefront photo on the Internet.  Love the name!  It actually is a store located in Berkeley California... This is our favorite kind of store...and that sign rivals the one we saw in front of an antique store in Georgia a few years back.  That one read "We Sell Dead People's Stuff".

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

The Big Snow…and Freeze!

Wow!  This week the Knoxville area was subjected to the worst snow storm and accumulation in the last 31 years.  Then it has been ‘backed up’ by a deep freeze, with temperatures overnight dropping to 3F!  That’s way too close to the record low for Loudon Tennessee...which still stands at -5F.

These photos were taken while it was still snowing.  The first is a view up the street and the second is of the still unsold home across the street.  That third photo is the view from Laurie’s ‘plant room’ between our attached garage and the house.  That magnolia tree is usually the favorite hang-out and shelter for our local cardinals.  It didn’t look to ‘sheltering’ when the photo was taken.

This photo shows part of our deck as well as the homes behind us and Tellico Lake in the distance.  The snow was coming down…and building up!

This picture was taken from our screened porch.  Both our table and the grill were heavily laden with snow.  At this point Laurie measured 8 inches of snow on the deck.  Note the clear area under the table…

‘Nextdoor’, our local gossip and complaint heavy Internet connection, did show that it has some value yesterday.  Almost everyone in East Tennessee uses heat pumps for heat and air conditioning.  With this much snow being a rarity, on neighbor posted a message telling the residents that they should clear the accumulated snow from the tops of the heat pumps so they could work efficiently.  Great tip!  Unfortunately for Laurie, the task was hers to undertake… Thanks honey!

There was one other clear area on the deck…under the grill!  This wren found it and repeatedly used it for shelter and as a good place to eat the seeds recovered from our feeder.

We had lots of hungry visitors at our ‘bird stations’.  That cardinal was so puffed up it looked like he was wearing a coat.  Not a great photo of the Flicker on the suet cake…but he was very appreciative of the high energy meal.  As for that robin…and a lot of them were hanging around before the storm…he looks confused.  Where’s the water he expected in this birdbath?!

We still have a wooded lot along one side of our home and it stretches back into a wooded common area.  In the late spring, summer and early fall, the deer like to bed down back here.  There’s not much shelter at this time of the year…but the snow revealed that a deer did bound through our back yard sometime after the storm.

Today…1/17/24…it is sunny and blue skies rule!  This photo shows the front edge of the wooded lot next to our house.

This post storm view of the snow is similar to the first photo in this post…looking up the street toward Steve and Sue’s home.  The difference is the blue skies and sunshine!

For those of you who live in ‘north country’, a snow storm like this one causes massive cancellations and closures here in East Tennessee.  All of our village offices, restaurants and recreation centers closed.  Local medical offices and of course, schools are closed.  Someone called the local Food Lion Grocery Store yesterday and the manager answered.  The store was open but he was the only employee on the premises!  He did say that another member of the staff was trying to come in to work…

…and of course I had to include a photo looking from our deck toward the lake.  Another positive resulting from the snow is the temporary covering of white over the ugly and muddy lot behind us where a new house is being built.

It’s too cold to melt much of the snow at the moment but we should be able to see some improvements over the next 2 days…and then we’re back in the deep freeze over the weekend.  Our Japanese maple tree with its icicles provides proof of some snow melting in the eves as the sun does its job.

What else will winter bring our way?

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see what’s going on in East Tennessee.

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Staying Home and a Celebration!

Continuing with my break from our September Delmarva trip.  Much more to come on that road trip!  In this post and the next, the focus is on what’s been happening around our home and the surrounding area.  Plenty of dining out and food are included…

This view is from the back yard toward our driveway and the street.  The tree is at the left center of the photo.

The first photo shows the hickory tree that was almost on the property line between our home and our neighbor's.  It was dying from the top down and the idea of having it fall on our home, filing a claim with insurance, paying the deductible, etc. wasn’t something we wanted to deal with.

Our neighbors agreed to split the cost of removal.  They picked the tree removal service as it was one that they’d used before.  It also was the least expensive for the job.  If you haven’t dealt with tree removal, I hope that you don’t, as the costs are a bit over the top.  Sharing was a good thing!

Our only problem was that this particular service wasn’t very careful or neat.  They only roped one section to lower it to avoid landscaping damage.  Chunks of tree were everywhere.  One hunk of the tree’s trunk actually broke one of our landscaping boulders and others came close to damaging an HVAC unit.  Laurie wasn’t happy with their ‘clean up’ either as she’s still picking up sticks, pieces of wood and twigs they didn’t remove.  The good news is that sometime before spring, the owner did promise to replace that broken boulder… The real positive is that the tree is no longer a threat to our home!

Laurie’s birthday is in early December and, as usual we celebrated with dinner out at the restaurant of her choice.  I never know what she’ll chose, given the fact that she picked Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers on one occasion. 

This year she picked a more traditional place for her celebratory dinner… Bonefish Grill in the Turkey Creek shopping area.  She started out with a Dirty Martini with extra olives…

Then she decided that we’d try something different for our appetizer.  The Bang Bang Shrimp offering is our ‘traditional’ Bonefish appetizer of choice.  This time we ordered the Tempura Crunch Sashimi Tuna.  This is sushi-grade tuna seared rare and sliced, then topped with sashimi sauce and tempura crumbles.  It was served with wasabi, soy sauce and a sriracha drizzle.

We were both very happy that we’d strayed from our ‘usual’, as this tuna appetizer was truly excellent!

I do believe that if Laurie had to choose her ‘last meal’, it would include lobster!  As is her norm on birthdays, she went with a pair of 5 – 6 oz. seasoned and steamed lobster tails accompanied by warm drawn butter.  Her meal came with 2 sides, one of which was green beans.

For Laurie’s second side, she chose one from the ‘premium sides’ listing on Bonefish’s menu as a Chef’s special.  This was her Creamy Parmesan Risotto topped with house-made herb oil.  This may not be a pretty picture...but I ‘helped’ her finish the risotto and we both agreed that it was a great change of pace…very tasty indeed.

We’re all creatures of habit and my usual menu choices at Bonefish Grill include Lily’s Chicken, Grilled Atlantic Salmon or the Mahi-Mahi and Shrimp.  But Bonefish had a new item listed in the “From the Land” section of their menu.

So I ordered the Chimichurri Bistro Filet.  This 8 oz. seasoned, wood grilled filet is topped with house-made Chimichurri and I chose the coleslaw and French fries as the sides.  The sliced filet was perfectly grilled for my taste…medium rare…the meat was tender and the seasoning with the chimichurri was perfect.

We were very satisfied and our appetite was sated.  But who’s going to turn down a free birthday dessert?!  Not us, that’s for sure!  We shared this soft rich warm Macadamia Nut flourless brownie came with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream.  It was very rich and we really enjoyed it!

There are 2 different Bonefish Grill restaurants in the area.  But for more information about the Bonefish Grill in the Turkey Creek Shopping Area, just go to https://locations.bonefishgrill.com/tennessee/knoxville/11395-parkside-drive.

As we left Bonefish Grill, the sun was setting and Laurie quickly took this photo of a rather spectacular sunset.  Later she posted it on “Nextdoor” and it resulted in a plethora of accolades…

It was a nice evening out and a very nice birthday dinner.  Usually Laurie’s birthday celebrations begin at the end of October and stretch until just after New Year’s Day.  With a late start this year, her ‘birthday’ won’t end until the beginning of February!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave