A ‘Humdinger’ of a Morning!

I do miss a lot just because I’m not a real morning person… I’ve noted that now that I’m retired and I don’t have to get up in the morning to rush off to work…I just take a lot longer to start my engines and reach full functionality. 

So…the other morning while I was struggling to get my act together, I missed yet another drama right here at our home in East Tennessee!

So…onto the story… As usual, Laurie was up and functioning before I could clear my eyes and see.  When she opened the drapes overlooking the deck, she spotted this little female Hummingbird…laying lifeless near the windows.  It’s speculated, that while fighting over ownership of the hummingbird feeder, one of her competitors drove her into the glass.  Of course, Laurie’s fear was that she’d broken her neck and wouldn’t survive.

So, she picked up this nearly weightless creature and she started talking to it and stroking it’s feathers and tail to stimulate the bird and to see if it could or would be able to recover from it’s crash landing… In the photo above, the bird had responded a little bit and Laurie took down our feeder from its hook, put it on our deck rail and she perched the Hummingbird on the feeder but it’s eyes remained closed.

Because I was not yet in action, Laurie had to run back into the house to grab her camera in order to take these pictures… Shortly after this photo was taken, the Hummingbird opened it’s eyes and began moving a bit more.  Laurie kept talking to it and touching it’s tail feathers to help bring it around. 

Finally, good news!  Another Hummingbird came looking for the feeder and, hearing the fluttering of it’s wings, this little lady snapped out of it and after a couple of ‘practice’ flutters of her own, she was off like a shot of light!  Five minutes later, she was fighting with the other hummingbirds for ‘feeder’ dominance!  It was an amazing experience to say the least!  Very happy that she was able to save this beautiful bird.

Sorry I missed all this action…!  Fact is, Laurie is also my ‘critter’ person.  She can spot wild animals like no one else.  Last night, we sat down on our front porch for a few minutes and she pulled a “Babe Ruth” on me.  She said that this is just about the time that our neighborhood fox likes to walk down the street in front of our house.  About 2 minutes later, there he or she was…casual as can be...loping up our side garden bed and on to the street in front of our house.  At least I was awake and functioning for that one!

Click on the photos to enlarge them…

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie

Brunch Construction!

In my continuing efforts to ensure that leftovers don’t go to waste, I’m always trying to come up with something that uses whatever we have in the refrigerator.  While I’m not as talented in this effort as I might be because of my various food dislikes, I can get the job done most of the time…

What we have above for my little brunch are the following: Two fried eggs ‘over easy’; Half of a leftover hamburger patty, (sliced from side to side); a few slices of fried salami; a helping of leftover cheesy potatoes fried in butter, and: a couple of hunks of buttered toast from an old loaf of bread that I’d stored in the refrigerator.  This was a pretty darn good brunch if I do say so myself! (Of course, I added Tabasco as usual)   

Have a great day!  Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Click on the photo to enlarge…

Irish Times Pub and Restaurant…A Quick Look

Laurie and I were out running errands the other day and we decided to stop someplace for a quick and light lunch…

This is The Irish Times Pub and Restaurant in the Turkey Creek shopping area of Knoxville Tennessee.  We’d been here once before and we remembered that it was a good experience…but I wasn’t doing a blog then so I never documented our meal.

This is very much an Irish Pub atmosphere…with lots of color, posters and Irish related decor.  The owners of this family run restaurant are Irish and English, while the General Manager is Irish.  From the looks of the place and, given it's hours of operation, the action here is after work and at night.  One hint supporting this speculation is that Irish Times is open until 2 AM weekdays and until 3 AM on Friday and Saturday nights!

As I mentioned, we were looking for something relatively light to nosh on… Laurie ordered these Irish Sausage Rolls, ”savory Irish sausages wrapped in pastry, baked to perfection and served with spicy mustard”. ($8.20) This item from the Appetizer Menu was a winner!  It was very different, very tasty and the stone ground mustard that accompanied these sausage rolls was top notch… 

Other interesting Appetizers include Scotch Eggs ($9.50), Irish Curry Fries ($5.50), and Lobster Bisque ($5.50).  Dinner entrees include Irish Stew ($11.20), Cottage Pie ($11.20), Steak and Mushroom Pie ($12.20), Bangers and Mash ($13.20), Corned Beef and Cabbage ($14.50) and a Traditional Irish Breakfast ($12.50).  There is also a very large menu beyond these items that includes more standard fare…

I stepped a little off the grid myself, ordering the Irish Breakfast Sandwich.  This creation consists of Irish bacon, Irish sausage, Irish black pudding (blood sausage) and an egg fried ‘over easy’.  

While the flavors were all there, the sandwich seemed dry… Part of the issue was that the egg was a tad overcooked…little or no runny yoke soaking into the bun.  A toasted buttered bun would have helped as well… As for the coleslaw, it was much too bland for my taste.

This visit was hardly a test of the cuisine at The Irish Times.  We definitely want to come back for dinner so that we can fully appreciate and evaluate this restaurant’s food and experience it’s ambiance. 

Happy Hour is from 11 AM to 7 PM daily.  The Irish Times has Guinness Stout,  Harp Lager, Smithwick’s Ale and Magner’s Cider on tap.  They also stock 8 different brands of Irish Whiskey.  They have live entertainment every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

The Irish Times Pub and Restaurant is located at 11348 Parkside Drive in Knoxville (Turkey Creek) Tennessee. (Note to Travelers: Turkey Creek is right off of I-40 in Knoxville) Phone: 865-675-8800.  Website: www.irishtimesknoxville.com.

Note: Click on any photo to enlarge...

Dogs, Cats and Critters, Oh My!

Since we’ve learned that Laurie is allergic to cats…and since we like to explore East Tennessee and spend a lot of time on the back roads around the USA and Canada…we’ve been relegated to making do as regards to pets…

This is about it for us these days… It’s all about the wild critters that live around our house.  This Blue Tailed Skink and a few of his friends are friendly bug eating pets…but they don’t take well to holding and petting!  Neither does our local flock of turkeys, the neighborhood deer, the fox family, the humming birds, woodpeckers…nor thankfully, the vultures, opossum or the skunks.

Fortunately, many of our friends have cuddly pets…that love attention and ask to be petted and sometimes, even held!  We do our best to oblige!

This collection of dogs belongs to Larry, Bev and Pat.  From the left, we have Coco, Willie and Cody.  Coco in particular loves being petted and held.  Coco is a Yorkshire / Chihuahua mix. She is a feisty little dog and she loves people!  

Willie likes a little petting and attention every now and then… Pat belongs to him.  He loves his momma very much and is never far from her.  Cody, at his age, likes to be petted, but mostly he looks for food handouts!  He is a mix breed and is now up there in age.  He can’t hear or see very well and his joints are a bit stiff but he still manages to get around, though a bit slower.  He loves to ride on the pontoon boat!  Likes feeling the wind in his ears!

In support of my previous comments about Coco, here she is on her Momma’s, (Bev’s), lap getting the attention that she deserves.  Coco is a very happy and fun loving dog.  She loves being around people and she also likes being the center of attention! 

This is Sweetie, aka: ‘Sweetie Pie’ or just plain ‘Pie’…Queen of Bev and Larry’s household!  In this photo, she has her 'summer coat cut' or refered to as the 'lion cut'.  She is an American Eskimo Dog and Daddy’s little girl! Wherever Larry goes, she goes!  Sweetie does like being petted and fussed over by others.  She loves attention…especially from Larry or Bev!  Coco also loves attention and it can become a problem if both Coco and Sweetie are vying for attention from Larry, Bev or a friendly pet loving guest!   Sweetie will always win out though, since she is the Alpha dog!  In her full blazing white coat, Sweetie is something to behold! With her black face features, Sweetie always seems to be smiling and you smile back!

This is Ali Cat. ( She was found in an alley.)  Ali is a some-what hairless Devon Rex. She wants to be the center of everyone’s attention and she loves to be petted…loves warm hands and she is also very warm to the touch!  She and her brother, Junior, have permitted Karen and Charlie to live with them.  Yes…she does resemble an alien somewhat but we don’t say that out loud.  Ali is a very sweet cat and she loves to jump, run and play with her toys.  She is totally entertaining and a joy to be around!  You get tired just watching her!  She’s also very vocal!

Here we have Junior… Junior is a very handsome Shorthair Domestic Tabby.  He’s a relaxed boy who picks and chooses who can pet him and when he would like some attention.   He is very photogenic and loves the camera.  He has a beautiful coat and he knows it.  (Hello!!  Compared to his sister who has no hair!)   He loves to patrol the house and both cats are very curious cats.  They both know who rules the roost!  They both love watching birds come to the feeders and they both like to eat!  Their parents have spoiled them…in a good way!

This is Roxie… Edera and Dennis belong to her.  Roxie is a rescue dog. She’s a mix breed for sure!  She loves attention and loves to be petted… She’ll just take as much of it as you can give her!  She also likes to play fetch and then ‘fights’ to keep her toy once she brings it back to you.  She is very photogenic and she knows it!   Roxie is also a very smart young lady.  She knows all her parents commands and does them well...They give her treats afterwards!  Hello!!!

When her parents have to go on vacation, Roxie loves to go to her doggy B and B!   She gets so excited and they love her there!  Nice to know there are places out there that cater to our furry children.  Gives us all piece of mind.

Here’s Winston with his parents, Joel and Holley.  Winston is a West Highland White Terrier and is the latest addition to our circle of pets and parents…he’s only 10 months old!  He loves all kinds of attention and he’s very comfortable in the pool as long as he has that floating ‘Noodle’ for his front paws.  This photo was taken the very first time Winston went into the water for a swim!  His parents were very proud indeed!

Our friends Lorraine and Harold also have a beautiful cat named Paddy, aka; Sir Patrick Culvert….in honor of where he was found…in a culvert.  He’s a Maine Coon mix… and although he has a standoffish reputation, he has strayed onto our laps for attention a number of times.  He’s the ‘big boy’ that ‘educated’ Laurie in regards to her recent allergy to cats!  He is truly a very sweet boy and he does love his daddy!    Paddy is a very important member of the family and everyone knows it!  He makes sure of that!

But then… it’s back to reality!  But you must admit, this is a very handsome Bullfrog!  He too loves the camera!  We named him Er..as in the Budwiser Frogs, ‘Bud’, ‘Wise’ and ‘Er’.  He lived in our front yard water feature for awhile and now we have a few smaller frogs and lots of tadpoles to keep his legacy alive!  They all sing us to sleep every night…

Most of this blog must be credited to my better half, Laurie.  She took the photos, researched and remembered the facts about the pets and she came up with half of the wording... Thanks Sweetheart!

Just click on any photo to enlarge...

It Was ‘tic-toc’ Time!

Laurie and I just don’t keep ice cream in the house unless we have guests staying with us.  Our problem is, that if we keep some ice cream in the freezer, it keeps screaming at us until we eat it!  So, once in awhile, we make an ice cream pilgrimage to our temple of ice cream goodness over in Loudon Tennessee.

Yes…I have written about the ‘tic-toc’ Ice Cream Parlor before…but I promise that I’ll at least wait until next year to bring it up again.

So, on this particular day, Laurie and I decided to skip dinner and to go for a big ice cream treat instead!  After all, cows eat greens, (vegetable), produce the milk for the ice cream, (dairy and protein) and there is fruit in some ice cream… It’s almost a balanced diet!

Laurie truly worked on her balanced diet…lots of fruit on this luscious banana split!  She even had some nuts to provide fiber… The ice cream she chose for her ‘entrée’ included George Washington Cherry, Strawberry and Vanilla.  Just for health purposes…’tic-toc’ added a little more dairy to the top!

My dinner wasn’t as well balanced nutritionally as was Laurie’s… Still, I did add wheat to my entrée by including cookies and cream ice cream with my 3 scoop bowl of goodness!  My other 2 choices were strawberry and raspberry chocolate truffle…and of course, I wanted to follow Laurie’s lead with a bit of extra whipped cream to ensure that I had my full quota of dairy products for the day!

Note: The ice cream per se is great…but our favorites are still the generous malts and shakes!

The ice cream at the ‘tic-toc’ Ice Cream Parlor is arguably the very best in East Tennessee.  It’s all homemade and it’s a family affair…with mom and dad running the parlor and their son making all of the ice cream.  Some argue that ‘tic-toc’ is pricy.  While we will concur that they certainly don’t give their product away, in our opinion, this ice cream parlor’s quality wins out!  It’s worth the price!

The ‘tic-toc’ Ice Cream Parlor is located at 504 Grove Street in Loudon Tennessee.  It’s right at the corner of Grove and US Highway 11, diagonally across the street from the old courthouse.  Phone: 865-408-9867.

Sweetwater Tennessee – A Closer Look

Laurie and I love to explore…small towns and back roads ‘r’ us!  From time to time I’ll pass on a few facts and observations about the towns that we visit in East Tennessee and around the country.  To date, I’ve reported on Loudon, Tennessee, (http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2011/06/exploring-loudon-tennessee.html), and explored McCormick, South Carolina (http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2011/06/mccormick-sc-that-name-seems-familiar.html)

Sweetwater Tennessee is an attractive small town located about 50 minutes south of Knoxville.  Take I-75 South to Exit 60, which is TN Highway 68.  Just take Hwy. 68 east for a mile or so and you’ll come across this welcome sign.

Although Sweetwater was incorporated in 1875, the town actually developed in the early 1850’s.  The lands that are now part of Sweetwater were noted in a ‘grant of reservation’ to Isaac Vann in “Sweet Water”, dated on 7/10/1817.  The grant was from the Cherokee Agency of the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.  From what I could find out on the Internet, Isaac had married a Cherokee woman but I’ll need to do more research on this…

This is a former Carriage House for a larger home in Sweetwater.  It was donated to the town in 1908 and it served as the town’s library until a new one was built in 1981. 

With a population of just under 6,000 residents, Sweetwater is the largest city in Monroe County Tennessee.  Development of the town was spurred on by the coming of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad.  By 1852, lots were being sold by I. T. Lenoir for the town of Sweetwater and development centered along the creek itself.  Of interest is the fact the I.T. Lenoir was the son of the founder of Lenoir City, the county seat for Loudon County Tennessee. 

This is a view of some of the older structures in downtown Sweetwater, dating from 1906.  One of these buildings, (I haven’t found out which one yet), houses a still working hand cranked elevator which allegedly still works!

The Sweetwater Valley Antique Store is a better than average ‘booth rental’ co-op place to explore for antiques and collectables.  Bobby Todd, the next building down, is a wife grabbing, attention getting, classy gift and antique shop.  We are always taking out of town visitors to Bobby Todd’s!  For more information, go to http://www.bobbytoddantiques.com/.

This is the old Mascot Hosiery Mill.  It was chartered in 1896.  Patton Brothers operated the mill until 1967 when it was purchased by Crescent Mill.  It’s closed down but the fact that someone has invested in new windows, seems to indicate that there are plans to ‘repurpose’ the building...or perhaps it's just serving as a warehouse.  At the moment, the only remnant of the hosiery milling days in Sweetwater is the Sock Outlet Shop located right on US Highway 11 on the south side of the old plant. 

Sorry for all the wires in this picture, but my wife and photographer has to work with what she’s given.  This is a Tennessee Heritage Tree that’s located in Sweetwater.  It is reputed to be the largest Magnolia Tree in the state.

I find this photo to be much more compelling than the overall shot.  It shows the ‘age’ of the tree and documents some of its travails along the road to survival.

Two very significant tourist attractions are located in close proximity to Sweetwater.  One is the "Great Craigshead Cave", now know as "The Lost Sea".  For more information, check it out at http://www.thelostsea.com/.  The other place of interest is the Sweetwater Flea Market, which claims to be the world's longest indoor flea market with roughly 500+ booths.  For more information, go to http://www.sweetwaterfleamarket.net/.

This whole block consists of the Scripp’s Building.  It was built in 1914 and it’s still referred to as the ‘new block’.   The restaurant on the Corner is Hunter’s Bakery and Café.  It’s a pleasant place to dine.  For more information, go to http://huntersbakeryandcafe.com/.

During the Civil War, Sweetwater was a very important transportation center.  Military control swung back and forth between the North and the South.  Confederate General James Longstreet used the town and the railroad as a staging area for his campaign against Knoxville.   Much of the town was destroyed during the war.  However, by the mid-1880’s, the town had recovered and it was the largest shipping point between Knoxville and Chattanooga. 

This is all that remains of the historic 1893 Mid-Lab building, a 60,000 sq. ft. warehouse that’s just across the tracks from the “new block”.  Right after the big Sweetwater Fourth of July fireworks display in 2010, residents observed that this building was ablaze!  The city is denying responsibility but the owner of the building has sued both the city and the fireworks display company for $20 million.  Sweetwater was lucky that the wind wasn’t swirling around much or the fire would have been much worse.  As it was, the “new block” did suffer a bit of roof damage.

There is more for us to research and explore in Sweetwater.  We need to locate the Crabtree House, an early stagecoach stop and the Bigg’s house, which was built in the 1820’s.  There is a historical museum in town that should be able to fill in the details and resolve or correct what I’ve missed so far. 

Being a bit of a train and railroad depot buff, I was interested to note that on 6/15/2011, a Tennessee Senate resolution was passed which supported Sweetwater’s grant application for a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant to build a replica Civil War railway station in the downtown area as a Civil War Discovery Trail Site.  It would be a great center piece for the downtown area if it's actually built!

For more information regarding Sweetwater Tennessee, go to http://www.visitsweetwater.com/ or http://www.sweetwatertn.net/.   

Tanasi Café & Club House

Laurie and I have eaten at the Tanasi Café on several occasions, but this was the first time that we’d approached it from Tellico Lake.  On this summer day, our friends Karen and Charlie, had invited us to bring Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill out for a boat ride.

In this photo, we’re approaching the Tanasi golf clubhouse and pro-shop, with the Tanasi Café and the adjoining marina.

It was lunchtime so, after a couple of baskets of chips and salsa, ($2.00 per basket), we were all about sandwiches and salads.  This is the Alpine Burger…with sautéed mushrooms and Swiss cheese ($6.95)  It was the first time Laurie ordered this burger and it was really good! 

I ordered the All American Burger with cheese and a side of Cole Slaw ($6.80) The toasted bun is a nice touch, the burger was moist…not overcooked and the slaw was creamy and refreshing.

Karen and Charlie shared a sandwich and the Chicken Club Salad, ($8.00), with 2 different salad dressings.  They had ordered a half-salad but, the waitress delivered the full sized version in error. (Note: The half salad costs $6.00) Although the order wasn’t quite right, this was a tasty salad with fresh ingredients and, as one can see, it came with a fair amount of chicken.

Two members of our group ordered the Patty Melt ($6.95) This is one of Laurie’s preferred sandwiches and the Patty Melt served at Tanasi Café is one of her favorites.  Her sister Bonnie ordered this one.  She said it was very good!

The other sandwich ordered by our little group of boaters, was the Grilled Reuben ($6.25)  This construction of corn beef grilled with sour kraut, topped with Swiss cheese on grilled rye bread accompanied by a side of Cole Slaw, was also well received.

All in all, Tanasi Café is a nice restaurant with great views of Tellico Lake.  The restaurant serves solid, better than average, reliable food at a reasonable price.  Tanasi Café is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.  Dinner items on the menu include Surf and Turf, Grilled Salmon, Stuffed Flounder, Blackened Grouper and Shrimp, Pan Seared Tilapia and a Half Rack of Ribs.  In addition, there are 3 chicken options, 2 other beef options and 4 pasta selection.  The most expensive item on the menu is the Surf and Turf at $16.95.

Tanasi Café is located right off of County Road 444 at 450 Clubhouse Point in Loudon Tennessee.  (There is no website available) Phone: 865-458-9392.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Have a great day!