Perhaps Spring…Estate Sales...and Then!

We both love spring and the annual ‘rebirth’ of the trees and flowers.  Also, since we lived in the St. Louis Missouri area and in Northern Illinois, Greater Chicagoland, most of our lives, we really don’t like winter with its cold temperatures, snow and ice.  So every year we look for an end to the short and generally mild winters that we experience here in East Tennessee.

The first rays of hope for warmer weather were observed in little plants…mosses and other related tiny plants that I noted in Laurie’s herb planters on the deck as well as the blooming little bunches of moss in our yard.  They are like a mini-eco system!  I didn't know that some mosses actually have blooms...

Promising warmer weather really got the annual estate sale business cranked up as well.  Although we live in an open community…no gates, no age restrictions…most residents are retirees.  Consequently, there is a steady turnover of homes and downsizing as folks move to smaller quarters, assisted living or they pass on… Lots of traffic and a few parking challenges for sure!

A couple of weeks ago, Laurie and I went to two estate sales on the same day.  One was just a bunch of stuff and the other was pretty decent…but we didn’t see anything that we ‘needed’.  The weather was beautiful so it was a good time to be out and about.

In our yard, flowers were beginning to pop!  In addition to the grape hyacinths, quince and forsythia, our daffodils, jonquils, and Lenten roses were all blooming.  Even our redbud trees were beginning to flower!  Hooray!  The temperature hit 67 F on Friday…

…AND THEN!

Canada sent some really cold weather south and on Saturday morning we woke up to a temperature of 27 F…and, at least for East Tennessee, a lot of snow!  We had about 5 inches of snow on back deck with the wet and heavy stuff clinging to tree branches, bushes and just about anything else.  The only exceptions were our driveway, large boulders and the street in front of our home.  Due to a run of warm weather, they had built up and retained enough heat to melt the snow!  While the effect was beautiful, we still don’t like all the white stuff…

Knoxville recorded 7.5 inches of snow at the airport and other reports from locations around the Tennessee valley reported snow accumulation of up to 9 inches.  Worse yet, the temperature plummeted down to 18 F here last night.  The good news is that we should be back in the mid 40 F’s today and starting tomorrow, we’re back in the mid-60 F range or higher.  Hopefully, all of our spring blooms survived the sudden snowy and brief cold snap…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Not Much Happening…(2)

…continuing with the theme that I’d established with my last post to the blog site.  Just not too much going on around here, although as you’ll learn, with the first harbingers of spring, we have started getting out a bit more…mostly to dine in local restaurants.

Winter hasn’t quite given up the ghost though… The forecast for this weekend calls for at least one night with the temperature dropping down to about 18F…and there could be a little snow too.  The latter won’t stick as it’s been to warm here and the ground isn’t frozen.  We’ve had 3 record high temperatures in the past week…

On one recent day, Laurie and I went for a walk in the neighborhood.  At the top of one nearby street, I took these photos.  The first shows Tellico Lake on a late winter day and the second shows the latest obstruction blocking sweeping views from this hill.  Whoever built or bought this home will have amazing views from their new home!

Just 2 lots over around the same cul-de-sac, another home is taking shape.  The adjacent lot has also been cleared for construction.  Currently, roughly 323 new homes are under construction in our village.  It isn’t a gated community so anyone can move in…if they can find a home to move into! 

The end is nigh!!  I took these photos of a surveying crew working right across the street from our house.  In one, the man in the red shirt can be seen back in the woods.  It won’t be long before the woods disappears and construction begins.  Sad…but we knew it would happen sooner or later.

Laurie snapped this photo of a couple of crows in the trees in our backyard.  They were trying to figure out how to get at our feeders.  It was comical when a crow tried to land on the feeder.  It was like a bomb hit it…with the feeder violently wobbling and swaying…

Recently Laurie was watching Andrew Zimmern’s show “Delicious Destinations” on the Travel Channel.  He was featuring foods found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  One of his stops featured the Trenary Home Bakery in the little town of Trenary Michigan.  This bakery has been in business since 1928.  The bakery was founded by Jorma Syrannen, who created its twice-baked Finnish coffee bread, now known as Trenary Toast.

We decided to place an order for some of the Bakery’s reasonably priced products.  The order included both Cinnamon and Cinnamon Raisin Trenary Toast, Raisin Swirl Bread and a large loaf of Old Country Rye. There are 6 different versions of the Trenary Toast. (The version pictured above is the Cinnamon Raisin) Shipping added a fair amount of cost, but it was reasonable.

Trenary Toast is an interesting product.  I like taking a couple of slices, buttering them lavishly and then adding a little more cinnamon sugar.  I put them in the microwave and zap them for 30 seconds.  Laurie prefers to dip hers in coffee.  My next experiment will be to add jam or peanut butter.  The raisin swirl bread is very tasty but I thought that the rye bread was a bit too bland for my taste. 

You can check out the Trenary Home Bakery and the products they offer at Trenary Home Bakery.  If you are in the area, they also operate a café.

As for the town of Trenary Michigan, it is an unincorporated village located on US Hwy 41 at about the center of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Trenary is part of Mathias Township…and the whole township has a population of just a bit over 500 residents.  I did note that Trenary is the home of the annual Trenary Outhouse Classic!  4,000 plus spectators show up in late February to watch various contestants’ race outhouses on skis along a 500 foot long course!  Learn more at Trenary Outhouse Classic.

Laurie recently photographed this large ‘family’ or cluster of Black Vultures that decided to roost in some big trees in our neighborhood.  If they try to roost in the trees by our house, my BB gun comes out. (They eat carrion and their excrement isn’t good for roofs or plants) The BB’s don’t hurt them but they do get the ‘message’.  The vultures actually remember that they aren’t welcome as overnight guests.   

Laurie took these photos.  If the vultures just stop by during the day we don’t mind at all.  They are very interesting birds and they help keep the environment clean by consuming any dead critters they come across.  They are big birds with a wingspan of almost 5 feet across.  Unlike the larger Turkey Vulture, Black Vultures lack a highly developed sense of smell and they can’t find carrion by scent alone.  They actually exploit the superior food-finding and carcass penetrating skills of Turkey Vultures.  Black Vultures following them to carcasses and due to their superior numbers, they drive the larger vultures from the food.

Just click on any of the photographs to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Not Much Happening…

There just isn’t too much going on for us right now.  We are a couple of weeks of winter away from more local exploration and day trips which will include historical sites and restaurants.  Daylight savings time will help too!  That extra hour of daylight allows for more exploration on our part…and we love it.

So here are a few random photos, all local, with critters, food and our upcoming spring season…

One day while on the way to the drug store to pick up a couple of prescriptions, we turned off the main road so we could stop by and visit with our favorite local donkeys.  They are so smart and inquisitive too… Lots of donkeys in East Tennessee serve as ‘guards’ for herds of horses and cattle.  They are fierce and will attack coyotes when their pastures are invaded. 

When the NFL’s Super Bowl Game was broadcast in early February, we ‘had to’ decide on our football snacks for the event.  Laurie decided to put together and melt a mix of cheese for dipping.  The mix started with a store bought tortilla cheese dip which she supplemented by adding half of a bag of mixed Mexican cheeses.  What to dip in this mix?  She suggested that I take some quality beer bratwursts that we'd bought at Fresh Market, cut them into bite size segments and fry them up, getting a crust on both sides of each piece.

This was my first plate of our assembled goodies… We supplemented this tasty game day treat with some corn chips for additional dipping.  The sausages, fried on both sides and dipped in the cheese, popped with flavor!  Excellent!  This is one treat that we will do again…a great appetizer for when we have company.

There are 323 single family homes currently under construction in our non-gated ‘village’!  Lots of folks moving in from New York and California with money to spend… Still, despite the construction and its noise as well as the loss of wooded protected areas, our neighborhood deer are still wandering through the area looking for food.  We just love them but there is no telling when the loss of habitat/cover will reach the point where they stop their visits to our yard.

Laurie decided to do some baking one day in mid-February.  She made these great chocolate chip cookies from scratch.  She used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and we decided that we prefer it over milk chocolate.  These cookies were very rich and moist yet chewy and they had a great shelf life too!

Ah, the promise of spring!  A warmish day with blue skies accented by the trees along one side of our home...  Note the fullness of the tops of those trees as their buds make their promised appearance.  Most of these trees are on the lot next door to our home and would be cut down if someone decided to build there.  It is a terrible lot…almost like a gully…and for now it’s owned by the POA.  Time will tell but we’re enjoying the view for now.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Dinner and Breakfast at Home + a Local Grill

It’s been a quiet winter with just a few forays out and about in our area.  No trips so far this year…an issue that we will have to resolve, even if it’s a day trip or a nearby overnighter.

In any case, not much has been going on but food is a constant, at home or in nearby restaurants.

Our home cooking hasn’t exactly been inspired lately.  A couple of years of Covid-19 related restrictions have worn us down and while creative home cooking has been embraced by many, the concept just hasn’t appealed to us.

Ready to prepare foods have taking the forefront in our home.  In this case, we’d purchased some packaged spinach and garlic noodles in the cold food section.  Parmesan cheese and a garlic Alfredo sauce finished the noodles.  Since most green vegetables are now my ‘enemy’ as they diminish the effectiveness of one of my medications, our vegetable was steamed cauliflower.  It’s hard for me to comprehend the fact that I had a dinner that didn’t include meat…but that nice slice of buttered bakery bread helped calm my mind.

Larry, aka “Big Dude” http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/, will be disappointed to learn that this plate of food was my choice for breakfast one morning.  What…no over-easy eggs!?  I just didn’t feel like frying up a couple of eggs to top this plate full of egg noodles.  I’d added bits of sliced deli style ham to the noodles and heated the whole mess with butter in a frying pan in…

To be honest, although it was filling and satisfying, a couple of fried eggs would indeed have taken it to the next level.

As further proof of our failure or unwillingness to get out and about much for the past 2 years, the last time we visited nearby “Tommy’s Grill on Grove Street” in Loudon Tennessee was back in the late fall of 2019.  At that time, we’d enjoyed a very competently prepared pair of sandwiches for lunch.  You can check out photos of our lunch and the restaurant at  http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2019/12/tommys-grill-on-grove-loudon-tn.html.

The interior of Tommy’s Grill hadn’t changed much since our last visit a couple of years ago.  The one big exception has been the addition of a plethora of classic automotive photos along one wall.  Despite my search, I didn’t find a photo of the first car I ever owned…a 1956 red and white 4-door Oldsmobile.

This is a photo of Tommy’s breakfast menu.  As you can see, they serve breakfast until 11 AM.  It isn’t a huge menu but it includes most of the basics…unless you’re looking for waffles.

Laurie has been eating more lightly as of late so she ordered 2 over-medium eggs with bacon and toast.  I ended up with 2 slices of her toast…

We’re guessing that one negative change we noted was Covid-19 related.  Check out Laurie’s ‘plate’.  Styrofoam…  Plus the ‘silverware’ was inexpensive plastic ware.  I could handle the ketchup served in little packets but no true diner style restaurant should serve their food on foam with plastic for utensils.  Hopefully, this will change as the pandemic fades slowly over the horizon…

For my breakfast, I ordered 2 over-medium eggs, a sausage patty, hash brown potatoes and a biscuit with sausage gravy.  I used Laurie’s extra toast to make a sausage sandwich.  Unfortunately, the biscuit was as hard as a rock and the ‘sausage gravy’ lacked both sausage and any spices…

Tommy’s Grill on Grove Street is located at 502 Grove Street in Loudon Tennessee and it seems quite popular with the local residents.  Phone: 865-657-6544.  They are open Monday – Saturday.  Tommy’s is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/Tommys-Grill-on-Grove-101744954699956/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

The Road Home from Kentucky

Following our October 2021 exploration of attractions around Lexington Kentucky as well as the State Capital in Frankfort and the many craft and artists shops in Berea, Laurie and I headed home.

As is our nature, when there is no hurry to get somewhere we take the roads less traveled.  Instead of taking I-75 south toward Knoxville, I followed US 25, which runs roughly parallel to the Interstate.  We drove through the town of Mt. Vernon and then along a scenic stretch along the way…the next town we would come to was London Kentucky.  However, before we got there, I had to hit the brakes and make a hard left turn!

Who could resist one more opportunity to shop…especially at a truly out of the way location in the middle of nowhere.  The Rockcastle River Trading Company and Riverside Gardens is located on a 50 acre parcel of land that is the actual homestead for the Carloftis family.  Southern Living Magazine stated that “The Rockcastle River Trading Company is definitely worth the stop.”  We agreed that it’s not just a shop but the grounds are a touch of Eden…

This historical plaque is close to the sign for the Rockcastle River Trading Company.  This ‘trace’ or ‘trail’ stretched north to the “Falls of the Ohio”…aka Louisville Kentucky.  This was a widely used route through Kentucky and it became part of the Wilderness Road.  This trail was named for a “Long Hunter” named Henry Skaggs.  On 10/21/1861, the first Civil War Battle in Kentucky occurred near here…

I did have to find out what was meant by the term ‘long hunter’.  It refers to an explorer and hunter from the 1700s who made expeditions into the American frontier for as long as 6 months at a time.

We parked off to the left side of the Trading Company…and the first thing that I noted was this old Packard automobile… I don’t recall what the owner told me regarding the model or year, but it appears to be a 1940 or 1941 Packard Special Super-Eight Special Sedan.  It is still being driven regularly… Laurie and I both love old Packard automobiles!  This automobile shelter is adjacent to an old blacksmith shop.  A potting shed, once the centerpiece of the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta Georgia…is situated at the right of the store.

The Trading Company and adjoining gardens are located along the banks of the Rockcastle River and the property is surrounded by the Daniel Boone National Forest.  Of course, being as we were visiting this site in October, it was well past the peak season for any garden in this climate.  However, it was still very calming, colorful and eye catching.  The barn-red store faces the Old Dixie Highway and has its back to the river.  Note the small and beautiful ‘allee’ of trees and color that invites visitors to enter the store…

As anyone who follows my blog site or who knows me is aware, I am not a shopper.  However I do appreciate any retail establishment that separates itself from the pack with a quality selection of products and/or has a special setting/ambiance for its customers.  The Rockcastle River Trading Company has both products and ambiance going for it!

Featured items include candles, luxury items for the home such as fine sheets and bedding, Italian pewter tableware, frames, bathroom accessories, cookware, table and floor lamps, perfumes, glass bell jars, as well as French milled soaps and lotions.  In addition, the store offers one of a kind antiques and artisan wares.

This cat helped us shop… He helped wrap our purchases by lying on the counter on the bags and tissue paper.  He was a stray who decided that this was his domain.  Advantage: No mouse issues anymore!  Our furry friend was very entertaining and he made it clear that this was his store! 

The real owner of the Rockcastle River Trading Company is Jon Carloftis, a well-known rooftop garden creator who has enhanced many penthouses and rooftops in New York City.     

Jon and his mother were the one’s responsible for creating this little Eden near Livingston Kentucky.  Jon has final say over the products offered at the Trading Post.  The photos shown above were taken from the back of the store.  Spectacular gardens…even as late as it was in the season.  We’ll have to drive up for a visit this spring, about mid-April.

We were told that this dog is also a stray who has decided that the Rockcastle River Trading Company and its gardens are his new home.  At some point in his life he has apparently been abused.  He is very curious about people but won’t come close to them or let them approach him.  Our host told us that just recently this handsome pup had come close enough to sniff his hand…and he’s the person who feeds the dog.

The Rockcastle River Trading Company is open from April through December, Tuesday – Saturday from 10 AM until 5 PM.  Our host, a family member, was most gracious… The Trading Post is located at 13855 South Wilderness Road near Livingston Kentucky.  It is just off of I-75 at Exit 49.  Phone: 606-843-0854. 

FYI, Jon Carloftis’s garden creations have been featured in Southern Living Magazine, Garden and Gun, Kentucky Monthly, Traditional Home, Country Home and other publications.  To learn more about the Rockcastle River Trading Company and Jon Carloftis, check out the following websites: Rockcastle River Trading Company | Livingston, Kentucky - Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens | What's New What's Next and Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens - Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens | What's New What's Next.

As we continued south on US Hwy. 25, we passed through London Kentucky where I took this photo of the Federal Building and United States Courthouse.  This Italian Renaissance style building was constructed in 1911 and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  When it was built, it was designed to house the U.S. Post Office, U.S. District Court facilities and other Federal offices for the district.  The post office moved to a new facility in 1961.

The U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky was established by Congressional Act in February of 1901.  The Eastern Kentucky District is comprised of 67 counties.  The court first convened in London Kentucky in November of 1901.  Based on expanding postal business and burgeoning court activity, (the latter mostly centered on illicit distilling/moonshining cases), it became readily apparent that expanded federal facilities were needed.

As we neared Knoxville’s northern environs, it was time to find somewhere to grab a quick dinner.  We settled on one of the few restaurants we saw along this part of US 25, Charley’s Pizza.  I liked the fact that they had been in business since 1976.

The dining area was large and as it was a bit early, the restaurant wasn’t very busy.  We studied the menu, placed our order with an indifferent waitress, and then read all the ads imbedded in the table top.  In addition to pizza, Charley’s offers hot and cold sandwiches, spaghetti and lasagna with garlic toast and a couple of chicken dishes along with some sides.

The pepperoni and Italian sausage pizza was OK but certainly nothing to write home about…just about average for the Knoxville area.  The sausage was bland and the pepperoni was passable.  However, having been in business for 46 years as of this year, it must have many loyal patrons.  To learn more about Charley’s Pizza, go to Charley's Pizza Parlor - Jacksboro, TN - Pizza place | Facebook.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave