Home Happenings...plus Nature

In the last post, it was all about family visiting our home.  This post is all about the nature around our home, a short woodland path and of course, food!

Our Virginia Sweetspire has finally shown it's beauty after a couple years with little going on.  This southeastern native grows in moist, wet areas and in upland locations.  It is known for those clusters of white drooping fragrant flowers in the spring.  In the fall, the leaves are supposed to turn orange, red and yellow.  This bush can be invasive but we have it contained in a small area.

We are readying for a big neighborhood garage sale.  While going through our piles and accumulations of 'stuff', Laurie came across a bird bath that we'd 'retired' from service.  Since our loropetalum bushes have been cut down to a reasonable size, the bird bath can now join our concrete rabbits by the front porch.  The birds will be very happy... 

We recently purchased 2 bushes like the one shown above.  Laurie has them in planters on either side of our front porch entry.  Mexican heather, aka false heather, is a small evergreen shrub that is native to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.  In climates like ours here in East Tennessee, it will have to come indoors in the winter as it does not tolerate freezing temperatures.  It should bloom for most if not all of the summer...

I noticed that our purple iris 'crop' is doing well this year...and spreading too!

Somehow this small azalea bush has survived it's less than ideal location next to our back deck.  Too much shade and less than ideal soil and it's still rewarding us with it's bright and colorful blooms. 

This photo is one of my favorite views from our home.  It was taken from the front porch looking back along side the house...and into what looks like a dense lovely woods.  It currently serves as a refuge for our neighborhood fox den and as an occasional place for deer to bed down.  The wooded lot (one of the few remaining) next to us feeds into a wooded common plot between houses.  The photo was taken  in the direction of that wooded bit of land.  

Laurie's latest project is a joint effort with Terry, our new neighbor who bought the new home behind us.  The project involves the construction of a woodland path through the common ground behind our house...a bit of a hill involved...so that we and Terry can easily walk back and forth between our homes rather than driving several blocks to visit... You can see the beginnings of the path just behind the big tree in the upper portion of the photo.

The ladies recruited a local 17 year old high school junior to build the path.  Alejandro worked hard on the project, even picking up bags of mulch and wood chips for the pathway itself.

This photo shows the placement of the stepping stones leading up the hill from Terry's home to ours.  Wood chips and mulch were added later.  For safeties sake, both ladies have walking sticks leaning against trees at either end of the path.  The next step will involve the creation of a woodland garden using plants that are native to East Tennessee. 

Now for an evaluation of two 'prepared' food items from grocery stores... 

During a recent food exploratory adventure at Costco, we noted these Jamaican Style Spicy Beef Patties.  We like spicy and we like to have 'easy meals' in the refrigerator or freezer.

Well...These spicy beef patties (sort of like empanadas) were not spicy and, as a matter of fact the beef filling was a bit mushy and flavorless.  Disappointing for sure!

Since I hate wasting food, I decided to try to improve on those 'spicy' Jamaican Beef Patties.  Consequently, I cut one into strips, fried them in a bit butte, slathered them with sharp cheddar cheese and then topped that creation with an egg.  I added Tabasco after tasting one of the strips.  Sadly, this updated creation did not help this product!  

I am determined to try again.  There has to be a way to make these beef patties more tolerable!  My next attempt will involve spicy taco sauce.

Onto another prepared 'convenient' food item.  We purchased this bag of Rosina Grande Italiano Meatballs at our local Food Lion store.  They are made with beef, pork, Romano and Ricotta cheese...with some Italian seasonings.

Note: This was a high risk purchase as Laurie generally doesn't like meatballs... She really can't explain why as she likes hamburgers as well as pork.

Winner, winner, Italian style dinner!  The top photo shows Laurie's dinner before adding parmesan cheese and the second photo shows my dinner after adding the cheese.  The meatballs have a nice flavor and they are firm, not mushy.  They paired well with the pasta.  Even better, sliced in half and placed on a nice bun, I was able to use the remaining meatballs for a couple of good sandwiches!  We will buy these again!

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Family Visit...The Last Chapter

...Yes, our family visit has come to an end.  My cousin Nathan and his better half, Janice, have returned to the comparatively frigid north, up in the Great Lake State of Michigan.  But before they departed there was a bit more exploring to do and a lot more food to consume!

For dinner we took Nathan and Janice to our favorite Mexican Restaurant in nearby Madisonville Tennessee.  Sol Azteca is in a non-descript building located at the bend of US Hwy 411 and an overpass so the restaurant doesn't exactly stand out to the passerby.  

Janice posed for Nathan standing beside this imaginative "Day of the Dead" figure.  At my stage and age I don't celebrate this particular holiday...  I would prefer "Day of the Living" or "Rejuvenation Day".

Sol Azteca is a large restaurant and we weren't the only customers having a late dinner.  Nevertheless, this photo gives you an idea of the decor in the dining room/area.  

Sol Azteca makes the best Chorizo and Cheese Dip that we've found anywhere in the area! ($10.99) I borrowed this photo from a previous post because by the time we remembered to take a photo all we had to show of this appetizer was a bowl scraped clean of any contents. 

Here are two of our entrees... Laurie only ordered a simple quesadilla.  Note how 'small' the portions were!  I have no idea what the name is of the first entree shown above.  

But the second one was mine.  It was the Burrito San Jose...a big burrito filled with pork and steak and then topped with chorizo sausage, then sided with Mexican rice and cheese covered refried beans... ($13.25) It was a 'meat lover's burrito' for sure!  I managed to consume the burrito and all that meat...but failed when it came to the 80% of beans and all of the rice.  Excellent!

And of course, we had to have a photo of Nathan and Janice at Sol Azteca.  Other than Laurie's sister Bonnie and her husband Bill, we don't get too many visitors and we really enjoyed Janice and Nathan's time with us.

Sol Azteca Mexican Grill is located at 4263 US Hwy 411 in Madisonville Tennessee.  They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.  Phone: 423-545-8080.  Website: https://solaztecamexgrill.com/.    

So...what else did we do and where did we go?  

One stop was in Lenoir City Tennessee where we spent quite a big of time looking for deals at the Good Neighbor's Shoppe.  This upscale and well run store offers nice recycled clothes for both adults and children, books, jewelry, furniture, home decor items and more...at great prices.  Check out this charitable retail operation at https://www.gnshoppe.org/.

Next it was The Shoppes on the Square in downtown Loudon Tennessee.  This store features individual booths that offer clothing, collectables, furniture, antiques, art, books, decor and much more.  Website: http://www.theshoppesonthesquare.com/. 

Our final stop for the day was at the Sweetwater Valley Farm complex near Philadelphia Tennessee.  Hence the photo shown above!  This large dairy farm offers tours of the farm's operations including milking and cheese making.  This tourist attraction also features a restaurant that served a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches and dairy products; a gift shop and; a cheese shop with samples and a number of other gifts.  We loaded up on a variety of cheeses... Website: https://sweetwatervalley.com/.

If you haven't been exposed to enough food already, you might appreciate this photo of Nathan's that caught yours truly in the process of grilling some nice big pork 'steaks' slathered with Famous Dave's Rich and Saucy BBQ Sauce.   

Yes, this is a sight that Laurie and I rarely see... Sunrise over Tellico Lake.  We normally go to bed late and get up late...8:30AM or 9AM.  But, Nathan and Janice had a long drive ahead of them...all the way home from Loudon County Tennessee to Genesee County Michigan.  They had to get an early start and Laurie took the opportunity to take the photo.

But, we were responsible for making their trip home a tad longer!  We'd touted the Buc-ee's travel center in Richmond Kentucky...and apparently Janice and Nathan had carefully listened to our favorable comments.  They'd never been to a Buc-ee's.  Later we learned that this stop added 1 1/2 hours to the trips duration. 

Buc-ee's stores are not your traditional gas station/quick stop along the highway.  The stores are huge and the variety of items is stunning.  Just the food selections offered will blow your mind.  No trucks, clean bathrooms and low gas prices.  You can learn more about Buc-ee's at https://buc-ees.com/.     

...Nathan and his bride finally made it across the Ohio/Michigan state line.  The lighting was already dimming.  Note the almost bare trees while here in East Tennessee, we were pretty much 'greened out'.  Laurie and I do like Michigan, especially in the summer.  I was born there, I regard Jackson Michigan as my 'home town', and I lived in the state for the first 25 or 26 years of my life.  I graduated from Michigan State University and we have enjoyed a number of vacations in this, the Great Lakes State.   

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

More about the Family Visit...This Time its Lakeside

...continuing with a recent visit by my cousin Nathan and his better half, Janice.  We'd been out driving around, exploring and doing a bit of shopping.  Then Janice requested an opportunity to be down by Tellico Lake's shoreline just to enjoy the views and the relaxing impact of being next to a large body of water.

Always trying to please any visitors, I opted to visit a local bar and restaurant on the shoreline of one arm or bay of Tellico Lake.  Might as well enjoy some refreshments and an appetizer or two while enjoying the lakeside ambiance... This is The Mudpuppy Restaurant in Vonore Tennessee.  The restaurant literally floats on the lake.

Mudpuppy is not just a restaurant!  It is part of what was formerly knowns as Sequoyah Landing...which also includes a 200 slip commercial recreational marina on Tellico Lake and it features upscale rental cabins, pontoon rentals and fuel sales...in addition to the Mudpuppy Restaurant.  Sequoyah Landing Resort has been renamed as the "Cherokee Outdoor Resort" and, in collaboration with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, a major expansion is planned. 

Note: The marina is located right at the one of the head of navigation for commercial barges and larger yachts on Tellico Lake.  Several major boat and watercraft manufacturers are located close by this location.

I borrowed this drone photo of the cabins available for rental by folks on vacation who want a lakeside location...that's located close to boat slips, boat rentals and a restaurant.  It doesn't show in this photo but guests can see the Smoky Mountains from the cabin's lakeside porches.

OK...back to The Mudpuppy Restaurant.  This is a view of the bar.  Lots of TV screens and apparently a popular place to down a brew (or something stronger) while relaxing or watching a sporting event.  

This view is looking from the water's edge back through the indoor/semi-outdoor dining area at the Mudpuppy Restaurant.  Given that this large crowd was here mid-afternoon on a weekday in late April before the boating season really begins, speaks to the popularity of the restaurant. 

Nathan doesn't exactly pose his photographic subjects.  I don't know who that grumpy looking old man is but at least Laurie was happy!  Underneath that grumpy look, I was smiling...it was just internally... 

The good news is that neither Janice or Nathan were smiling when this photo was taken...so I feel vindicated given my photo.  Janice wanted a lakeside experience and you can't get much more 'lakeside' than in this photo.

 Others stopped by looking for a snack or appetizer at the Mudpuppy.  This female duck (or hen) didn't seem at all bothered by those big carp cruising around underneath her.  I can tell you that carp like these have broken many of my fishing lines over the years...making off with hook, line and minnow.

Time for some food and beverages!  Keep in mind that this was just a 'mid-afternoon snack'.  We started out with this giant Bavarian Pretzel accompanied by beer cheese and a mustard dip. ($15.50) Adult beverages were served as well... The pretzel was very nice indeed...even if it seemed a bit pricy.

If deep fried pickle chips are on the menu and my better half is present, you can count on an order of pickle chips!  In any case, these were our Mudpuppy's Crispy Fried Pickles with ranch dressing for dipping. ($9.50) They were better than average.

What the heck!  Let's order just one more appetizer/snack item... For one member of our group, this is the favored treat.  These were our Loaded Cheese Fries. ($12.00) This heap of seasoned French fries was smothered by the Mudpuppy Queso, crispy bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and scallions...and then topped with sour cream.  I will admit that I really enjoyed this heart stopping appetizer!

This was our first visit to the Mudpuppy Restaurant and there is an extensive menu to explore during future visits.  To view the menu, just go to https://www.mudpuppyrestaurant.com/menu.  To learn more about the Cherokee Outdoor Resort in Vonore Tennessee, go to https://cherokeeoutdoorresort.com/.

I thought that I'd end this post with a water view up stream on Tellico Lake as seen from The Mudpuppy Restaurant.  Being lakeside is so calming... That lone boat speeding up the lake will soon be joined by many others as the boating season is almost upon us.

Tellico Lake is part of the Tennessee Valley System of dams, power plants, reservoirs and locks.  This portion of the lake is fed directly by the Little Tellico River as it flows from the Smoky Mountains.  From the lake adventurous boaters could conceivably cruise to the Gulf of Mexico, the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Minnesota, the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and even to Lake Champlain and beyond.  Tellico Lake itself is 33 miles long and has 357 miles of shoreline. 

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Family Visit continued...

...and the family visit continues.  Cousin Nathan, my mother's oldest brother's son, and his wife Janice recently spent a couple of days with us.  FYI, Nathan 'caught' Janice while he was serving in US military in the United Kingdom...or did Janice 'catch' Nathan?  Those Scottish women are pretty determined and very focused!  I should know given Laurie's Scottish heritage...

In my last post, we'd done a little shopping at Everhart Lumber, a furniture and decor store in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Out next stop with any first time visitors in Tellico Plains was at the Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center.  This photo...with a handsome fully restored 1934 Plymouth as our backdrop...was taken in Building 2 at the Museum.  From the left, Nathan, my better half Laurie and yours truly.  Janice took the photo.

Among other items, Building 2 features over 400 antique telephones, 16 old-time manual telephone switchboards, a complete local moonshine still, commemorative Harley motorcycles, antique tools, and a plethora of early Appalachian homesteading artifacts.  It also offers a shopping opportunity, "The Museum Marketplace".

Laurie took this group 'selfie' in Building 2 of the museum.  From the left, Janice, Laurie and myself.  Nathan is in the back.  Our backdrop is just a portion of the more than 800 unique telephone insulators on exhibit.

Thousands of collectors covet old or antique glass insulators.  There actually is an annual National Insulator Show.  This year it will be held in June in Marlborough Massachusetts.  

I didn't take any photos in Building 1 of the Museum.  The varied displays in Building 1 includes a wide variety of items, including 350 historic firearms, antique coins and currency, office machines, and Native American artifacts.  This building also features a shopping opportunity..."Timeless Treasures".  

The Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center is located at 229 Cherohala Skyway (aka TN Hwy 165) in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Admission is FREE!  The museum is open 7 days per week from March through December.  Phone: 423-253-8000.  Website: https://www.charleshallmuseum.com/.

Our next stop was at the Old Order Mennonite Community Farm Market near Tellico Plains.  The market is owned by the local Mennonite community and it's one of three such markets located within a reasonable driving distance from our home.  A wide variety of produce and other items are grown, raised or built by members of the community.  In addition to the produce (amazing!), they also sell jams, jellies, pickled just about everything, honey, molasses, baked goods, wooden tools, soap, and much more.

Laurie just had to stop at the greenhouse shown above.  This time of the year she always 'needs' more plants...especially herbs.  Tomato plants of various types are a big seller at the market.

Entrepreneurial...a good way to describe the members of this community!  Furniture is available in addition to all the other items for sale.  Oh yes, do you like to eat rabbits...or just have them around?  They are also for sale...as are rabbit hutches. 

Laurie snapped this photo of a Old Order Mennonite carriage moving along one of the roads near the store.  

Keep in mind that the store only accepts cash.  Don't expect air conditioning or fans...there is no electricity.  Hand cranked adding machines are used at checkout.  It is important that shoppers/visitors need to respect the modest dress code that is posted on site.  Also no photos of community members...

This is truly an old-time bucolic scene.  It's the peaceful looking valley just below the store where the people live and work.  The Old Order Mennonite Market near Tellico Plains Tennessee is located at 1472 Fairview Road.

We loaded up at the market.  Heirloom tomatoes, pickled beets, fresh bread, jalapeno cheese rolls and Laurie's favorite granola mix...2 big bags of it!  To see photos of the market, go to the following post on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amishmennonitetn/posts/the-tellico-community-farm-market-in-tellico-plains-tennessee-is-such-a-pretty-p/479923548199930.  If you go to https://www.visitmonroetn.com/farmers-markets, you can view a calendar that projects what produce you can expect to find at the market on a month to month and week to week basis.

When we got home, the exhausted shoppers took a break on our screened porch overlooking the patch of wooded common ground behind our home.  Photo by Nathan as were most of the others in this posting.

Nathan had very fond memories of my mother, his Aunt Beth.  We gifted he and Janice with a couple of my mother's woven wall hangings or couch blankets as well as this ceramic/pottery bust of Grandma Estelle Sibbald Weed.  My mother did an excellent job of capturing my grandmother's features.

This final photo was taken by guess who?  Nathan at least warned me that he was taking a photo so although I'm giving him that 'walleye look', at least I'm not frowning.  Here I am in our bonus room at action central.  Computer, printer, TV, Radio/CD player and lots of family artifacts...what more could a fellow want?!

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Family Visit from Michigan

In 2022 Laurie and I went on a road trip that was primarily centered on Michigan, my home state.  I was born in Carson City Michigan and lived in and near Jackson until I relocated for my career when I was about 25 years old.  I am now the oldest living member of both my paternal and maternal family lines.  

During the aforementioned road trip in 2022, we stopped and visited my cousin Nathan and his better half, Janice.  Well, ever since then I've hassled them just a bit.  It was past time for them to come down to East Tennessee and pay us a visit!  Despite a close family life and having two of their children, as well as young grandchildren living near them, us oldsters finally prevailed!  

But, before I start posting photos regarding Nathan and Janice's visit, here's a little family historical background.

This is Nathan's father and my uncle Nathan. (There have been 4 Nathans in the family to date) However, that beautiful little boy being held by Nathan's father is yours truly.  That dates the photo somewhere between late 1944 and mid-1945.  The photo was taken in front of my grandfather and grandmother's home on Prospect Street in Jackson Michigan.

This photo is from the wedding of my cousin Nathan's father Nathan and his bride Ruth.  The person at the left is unknown but the second from the left is a photo of a very young (pre-US Navy) Uncle John.  Then Uncle Nathan, Aunt Ruth, Ruth's sister Billie and my mother Elizabeth's second husband, Hugh Thomson. (My father Ronald was KIA in Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945)

Another wedding photo.  Aunt Ruth and Uncle Nathan were cutting the cake...with my mother, Elizabeth watching the action. (Wearing the hat at the left)

One more family photo tied to Uncle Nathan and Aunt Ruth's wedding.  From the left, Ruth's parents, William and Ruth (yes...a second Ruth too), then Uncle Nathan and his bride, then Nathan's parents (my grandparents), Estelle and Nathan (Sr.) 

I've accumulated a lot of family history with a number of old photos.  Thanks to my cousin Nathan for sending his parents wedding photos.

Speaking of my cousin Nathan...that's him above...headed straight for my mother's camera.  Whatever happened to that cute little tyke?  That's his mother Ruth at the left and his sister Susan is playing at the right of the photo.  This was at their home in the Detroit area.

This photo was taken during our visit to Nathan and Janice's home back in 2022.  As you can see, he's all grown up and chilling with a cup of coffee.

This photo is of Nathan and Janice (center) with most of their clan. (so far).  From the left is their daughter Elizabeth with her husband Justin and their children Ian and Craig.  At the right are daughter Nadine with her husband James and their children Charlie and Sherman.  Nadine and James are expecting a third child...a girl to be named Elliot.  

The photo was taken at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport at Oscoda Michigan.  This airport used to be owned and operated by the United States Air Force and today it's owned by the local community and it hosts a small museum and aircraft maintenance operations.  

The one person missing from the preceding family portrait was Janice and Nathan's son 'wee' Nathan as he is referred to.  He's the fourth of the 'Nathans'... This photo was taken during our Michigan road trip in 2022.

...and now, ready or not, I'll take you through a part of Nathan and Janice's visit to our home here in East Tennessee.

We did some cooking and a lot of eating during their visit.  Nathan took the photo and he likes his photos to be unposed or impromptu.  He captured Laurie serving apple crumble for dessert and Janice struggling to open a container of gelato.  At least they were both smiling!  

Nathan also snapped this photo... I'm not known for my big smiles but this is the extreme opposite look.  I was studying one of the items in the gift basked that Janice put together for us...and Laurie was in motion doing... It was a great gift basket with a Scottish theme...appropriate because Janice is from Scotland and Laurie and her sisters are headed to Scotland later this year to visit relatives.  Janice is headed for Scotland again even before Laurie's trip.

Note: If you have a chance to visit Scotland, don't pass it up!  It is one of our all time favorite places and we've been there twice.  

So, when we have visitors, we do have a number of automatic and preferred destinations listed that are entertaining and speak to the area.  Tellico Plains Tennessee with the Tellico Grains Bakery and Bald River Falls were destinations when Janice and Nathan visited us a few years earlier.  But we hadn't taken them to the Everhart Lumber Company or the local museum in Tellico Plains.

Our first stop was at Everhart Lumber...  The particular piece in the photo above is part of the company's collection of wooden folk art creations that they've accumulated from families living or who lived in this mountainous area.

Although Everhart Lumber specializes in 'natural wood furniture', slabs of wood for woodworkers and specialty building products such as wood mantles, they have expanded a bit, adding a very nice collection of gift items for the discerning shopper.  Janice did make a purchase...

Laurie took this photo of Nathan as he perused some pottery, examined that nifty stag wine holder and admiring the shelving itself.  

Nathan turned the table on Laurie and took this photo of her as she scanned the shopping opportunities.  I'm not a shopper but I do like this shop.  It's even improved recently with the expansion of the non-wood but classy gift items.  

Everhart's is a wood specialty and furniture store.  They offer ready-made and custom-made furniture made from a variety of unique woods.  Reclaimed wood is made into furniture, charcuterie trays, frames and more.  Fireplace mantles are available for builders, homeowners and  interior designers and beautiful slabs of wood are on display for purchase by craftsmen who want to do their own thing. 

The Everhart Lumber Company is located at 911 Veterans Memorial Drive in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Phone: 423-253-2323.  Website: http://www.everhart-lumber.com/.  There are lots of photos of the lumber related products/furniture that is possible on the website. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them... More about this visit, including food of course, will follow.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave