A Varied Mash-Up!

All of our running around lately has been local.  Better yet, most of the recent errands and efforts haven’t involved medical appointments.  Some weeks, my medical visits dominate my ‘social calendar’.

We love telling our son just ‘how busy' our schedule is…

In my last post, we wandered around the center of Tellico Plains Tennessee.  We made another stop for some ‘necessities’ nearby after leaving town.  There are 3 High Order Mennonite Markets within reasonable driving range here in our area.  They are near Tellico Plains, Englewood and Delano and we frequent them monthly from May through October.  No electricity, mechanical adding machines, no cars or trucks…but great produce and products in quantity!

The fellow that checked us out told us that his horse is a standard-Morgan mix named “Misty”.  We also watched another horse and wagon, where the horse backed up his wagon right against the loading dock…

After the Tellico Plains Mennonite market, we had one more critical stop to make.  This is Benton’s Hams and Bacon store and curing facility on US Hwy 411.  Alan Benton’s products are shipped to restaurants all over the USA.  He didn’t lay anyone off during Covid-19 either…getting by with mostly local walk-in customers.  I 'borrowed' this photo from the Internet.

When we got home I ‘posed’ some of our food related purchases so I could take a picture.  At the back of the photo there is a bag of Laurie’s favorite granola, a big jar of sauerkraut, strawberry jam, a couple of heirloom tomatoes and 2 glorious bunches of radishes.  I love radishes!  We actually bought 2 big bags of the granola so Laurie wouldn’t run out any time soon.

At the front you can see a package of Benton’s famous bacon.  I bought 2 packs as we had an immediate use planned for one of them and I wanted an extra on hand.  We also bought 3 thick slices of bologna.  I don’t know where Alan gets his bologna but it’s hard to beat.  Not pictured…because I forgot…are 2 ribeye steaks and a jar of pickled beets for Laurie.

It wasn’t just food that we bought at the Mennonite market.  Laurie picked up some more plants for her deck garden too!  This time she added dill, chives, mint and parsley.  She needed the plants so she could put the ceramic plant markers she’d ordered to good use.

The other day, our new neighbors Sue and Steve invited us over for snacks and adult beverages in their new home.  Laurie put together this assembly of deviled eggs for the event.  Her ‘secret’ for kicking up the flavor of deviled eggs comes from the addition of capers to her mix…

We aren’t the only ones in the neighborhood with a scenic view of ongoing construction… The first photo was taken from Steve and Sue’s yard looking across the lot/construction zone right next door and then down the street to that corner lot where yet another home is being built.

The second photograph was taken from our second floor bonus room.  The foundation is in but nothing else has happened for about 10 days now.  Well, not quite nothing… The building materials have been stacking up.  It’s become a challenge for anyone delivering more materials to the site.

Well, Laurie planted all of her new herbs and plants in her deck garden and they are doing well.  They have plenty of sunshine from about 10 am until after 4 pm…and they are sheltered from the worst of the heat.  Her only challenge is the squirrels that like to dig in the pots…

We put that Benton’s bacon and those heirloom tomatoes to good use recently… There is nothing much better than a BLT made with a couple of slices of this bacon!  Well, almost nothing… I actually enjoyed the grilled cheese sandwiches that Laurie made just as much as the BLTs.  A thick slab of pre-grilled bologna ‘married to’ thick slices of Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese…with the sandwiches grilled in butter!  I should have taken a photo.         

I finally got around to buying some new clothes!  My typical retirement dress code includes slip on shoes, shorts and a t-shirt.  My favorite store for my ‘fashion’ shopping is Tractor Supply…followed by Rural King.  Carhartt shirts hold up better than the others.  I even bought a new belt and for ‘dressy occasions’, I added a collared shirt too!

The other day, Laurie and I drove up to Maryville Tennessee to visit with my friend Glen… He and I share a ‘collecting’ interest and in addition, he has a huge collection of Boy Scout badges, pins and much more.  Laurie enjoyed the visit too.  In addition to Glen, she got her ‘cat fix’, visiting with Tiger and Smokey!  Then we all went out for lunch at one of our favorite local diners, Hot Rod 50s.  Egad!  Who are those two old guys in that photo?  When I graduated from high school, I was told that looked like a young Clark Kent… Apparently exposure to kryptonite has had some negative effect!

That’s about it for now… Just click on any of the photo to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave