Smoky Or Smokey, There's a Difference Y'all

• Hello from the foothills of the Great SMOKY Mountains!  -  Where there is no "e" 
• in Smoky.  I know, it's a bit surprising, isn't it?  A number of very sweet, well 
• meaning folk have messaged me over the years to say that Smoky should have 
• an "e", but it actually doesn't as seen in the photo below in this photo taken at one        
• of the Park's entrances. 
•  
• There is a place for the "e" in Smokey, though,   We've all seen the ads and 
• commercials that have imprinted that rogue "e" indelibly in our minds.  
• Smokey Bear has an "e" in his name so we'll just blame the spelling confusion 
• on him.  Somehow, it just naturally transfers when we refer to the Great Smoky 
• Mountain National Park, but truly, there's no "e" in the Smoky Mountains.

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Fall in the Foothills

We had a frosty morning on Monday that left most of the morning glories limp. I had taken this photo last month on a
balmy 80°F day.

The Grands and I made our annual pilgrimage to Kyle Carver Orchards in Cosby, Tenn.

  We had lunch in the restaurant then, as usual, we bought more apples than we should have.  ;)

This handy apple peeler-corer-slicer made quick work of the preparations for apple butter and fried apples.  It has a lever that draws the rubber pad on the bottom up so it will suction to a countertop or other solid surface and remain stationary during use.

Love my kitchen tools.

Before we traveled to Virginia for the wedding that I'd made the mints for, I made turtles to add some culinary interest to the 4-hour trip.

The recipe is here if you're interested in making them for the holidays or just because they are sooo delicious.

The recipe makes a lot of them so you can half it if you like.

These rose petals are from our Peach Drift Roses, and they smell divine.  I plan to use them in the next batch of soap I make.

Dyed sheep graze in pastures in Bathgate, Scotland for tourists to photograph and buzz about.
Hope you are having a lovely fall.

Slipping Into Fall Sideways

Hello from the hills!

We're still having temperatures in the 80s (Fahrenheit) most days, but the mornings are now crisp and delightfully cool.   This photo was in my camera and seemed fall-ish so here it is.

 It was a messy business as that's the way I roll, but I tried making marshmallows for the first time last week.  Think hot cocoa!

Being the infamous procrastinator that I am I waited until the last day possible to make them for a bridal shower.  They are fairly easy to make, though, so I was able to whip up three different kinds in one afternoon...plain, chocolate and coffee flavored.   Coffee flavored ones are the best in my caffeinated opinion.

The best how-to video I found on Youtube is this one, click here.

There was a coffee bar along with the food stations for shower attendees to enjoy.  The marshmallows were a hit as they are soooo much better than the ones in stores.  (Also, there is no high fructose corn syrup so they are not so harmful, just sweet tastiness.)  I didn't get a closeup of them, but they are on the tiered tray in the photo below.

 

 As always, we had lots of bird residents in spring and summer.

This Carolina Wren made use of my watering can for her nest.

Just right of center in the photo below is a hungry nestling, mouth open wide and waiting for a delicious morsel.

 For those who enjoyed the sheep pic in my last post here's another for you.
Have a lovely week!

Fall in the Foothills, er not quite fall

Hello from the hills!

 Above is a purplish Rose of Sharon tree that came up as a volunteer in a good spot in the back yard so I left it where grew.  Below is the pink Double Rose of Sharon that I started from a cutting a few years ago.

I had to go to the big city a few weeks ago and stopped by to see one of my favorite sites there. The Westmoreland Water Wheel in Knoxville, Tenn. was built in 1923 to supply electricity to the few residents in the immediate area at the time.  It was built in the Tudor Revival Style.

This lovely structure is in the National Register of Historic Places and is still in working order but hasn't supplied electricity to the locals since city services were installed.

Sorry this clip is a bit shaky, but I love watching it to see the wheel going around.

 There's going to be a wedding next month in our extended family, and I was asked to make mints for the reception.  This mint dough tastes just like those marshmallow circus peanuts we ate as children (and adults.)

 The peachy colored roses turned out pretty well.  I made about 200 of them.

And lots of doves...  I just need to get the leaves made as well, Youngest will be making the leaves.  Yay!

 I picked our first mess of turnip greens this morning.  They were superb - bacon drippin's make most anything delectable, I say.

Yeah, not really, but I can appreciate this anyway.  Humor is good. 

In the 24 years we've lived here I'd never seen a Sweet Autumn Clematis on our property until this year.  It must be a good year for them though as we've seen them pop up allover near our house.  It's fragrance is lovely.

I was in need of a new doormat and couldn't resist when I saw this one at the store. Um, yes, I took the tag off when I got it home.  I hope you are having a lovely fall in your neck of the woods.  

Joining Marcie's Sunday Stroll here.

The Eclipse and Other Dabblings

Hello from the foothills!  

Well, we survived the total solar eclipse and lived to tell the story.  I don't have any eclipse day pics to share (so I inserted this tasty Cherry Galette instead ;), but we did see (or rather not see) the sun disappear for a bit yesterday.  I didn't bother about getting the approved eclipse glasses so on eclipse day Goodman rounded up a couple of welding helmets and some of those old folks glasses they send you home wearing from cataract surgery, and we were set.  Sure, we probably looked like a couple of bobble-head corn nuts standing on the back deck gazing afar in those clunky helmets, but we witnessed the extraordinary event in our own style. ;)  

I've been busy making a few herbal preparations for our home apothecary and to give as gifts.

The recipe for this Polysporin-like ointment is over at Joybilee Farm.

 It's a wonderful anti-microbial salve to have on hand for cuts, bites and scrapes.

Last week we took the grands to Tic-Toc Ice Cream Parlor in Loudon, Tenn. for a mini birthday celebration for the eldest.  The old-fashioned parlor was featured in Southern Living Magazine several years ago.

They serve wonderful homemade ice creams. Their famous Cardiac Arrest has 5 scoops of ice cream and as many toppings plus whipped cream, cherries and nuts.   We all considered the Cardiac Arrest but opted for hot fudge sundaes instead.   After ice cream we browsed a couple of antique thrift stores.  These girls know where to find the good stuff.

A peek at one of the butternut squashes growing on the Hugelkultur mound I made.  (Click if you're really sure you want to know, lol.)

The soil is really rich on that mound and should be productive for several years.

We love Chicken Parmesan but had never made it from scratch until I tried this recipe, and I have to say it was DELICIOUS.

I'll leave you with a pic of this Imperial Moth hanging upside-down on the dog lot fence.  Yeah, it's a mecca of excitement around here...

Hope your summer is the best. :)

June in the Foothills

Hello from the hills of Tennessee!

I've been doing my usual watching-things-grow routine and collecting the harvest.
There are no ripe tomatoes yet, but we have lots of green for fried green tomatoes. These are the Heirloom Beefsteak variety.

Bee-balm.

When we bought our place there were five holly trees posing as bushes in front of the house.  They required a lot of trimming to keep them in check and had outgrown their space so Goodman cut them down then dug out the stumps.

We replaced the holly trees with Peach Drift Roses.   If you're not familiar with them, Drift Roses are used to fill in lateral garden spaces.  There are different colors, but this one is the only variety that has a rose scent.  And what would a rose be without the fragrance?   (Someone else's, not mine ;)

Lavender from some new plants that have deeper color but less scent than a variety I've had for years. I planted the lavender behind the roses.  I have to say it's a relief not having to trim those holly bushes this year. 

I made a few more project bags for needlework projects.  They're great to have on hand for gifts, too.

Goodman loves a good salad and likes to see all the ingredients at a glance.

I hope you have a wonderful Independence Day Celebration.   General Washington and his men crossing the Delaware River in December 1776 - Liberty Blue platter.