ShhhhMores

The men of the household set up the campsite.   G and myself went shopping for food and supplies for half of Saturday.   I got to the campsite and sat for a few hours, grilled hamburgers and heated up my baked beans and enjoyed dinner and started a fire to make our Smores.   I  love to roast marshmallows and they are better if they are burnt!! 

After that the whole camping trip went south.    Daisy dog was miserable, the humidity was making her sick, then brother got sick with a nasty cold and we packed up and came home.  I kid not.   I couldn't believe it!!

In the few short hours I was there,  I relaxed for 5 minutes,  watched other families have a wonderful time swimming and jet sking in the water. The sun was beginning to set and it was gorgeous on the water.  The fire my youngest son built was so nice(even with the humidity).  The food was good.  The Smores were better.   That was it.

I have to say that I am so happy to have had a Smore before we left.  It made it a little better considering the rest.  I am still bummed about it. 

We have spent the entire weekend at home watching movies and being lazy. :)  

On a lighter note, my sons are so funny.  They love to watch old western movies.  They have watched Clint Eastwood movies this weekend and they both come to me and ask if I will make them beans like the cowboys were eating in the movie. lol     I said, you mean pinto beans??  They tell me yes, at this time I remind them every time that I have made them in the past they didn't eat them.  They promised me they would eat them. Thanks to Clint I had to make pinto beans for dinner tonight. lol 

Memorial Day Dinner:

Pinto Beans(just like Clint Eastwood would like)
Cornbread
Peaches and Cream Corn
Sliced tomatoes and onions(fresh from the Farmers Market)
Fried Potaotes

Dessert:
Smores of course but over a candle at my kitchen table. Surprisingly good. :-)


A few more pictures .  The other night the moon was a gorgeous orange.  I tried to capture it as beautiful and orange that it was but this is the best I could do and so perfect here in "Orange Country".

In honor of the orange moon I have to add:   GO VOLS!

AND

My orange flowers finally bloomed!!!

Happy Memorial Day!!

Memorial Weekend

We have a long weekend coming up.  Many people plan trips to get away and some call this upcoming holiday a kickoff for Summer.

We are planning on going camping this weekend.  The almost primitive kind of camping but with hot showers. ;)    We are camping in tents.  We found the perfect spot yesterday and I pray we are able to reserve it.  I will take plenty of pictures and blog about our menus etc.... I haven't been camping a lot but I did learn a lot of camping tricks from my ex-husband.  My sons love to rough it in the outdoors, I promise this will be interesting and probably comical.   I hope it isn't as funny as the movie, The Great Outdoors. lol

It seems many people in our area are going camping this weekend.  We went to a  campsite yesterday to try and reserve a spot, and I did find the perfect spot but another family pushed us out of the way and took it.  :(   I was mad at first but then decided that God would lead us to another spot.  In our area there are plenty of great places to camp, fish, boating and hiking.

I will not be blogging until we get back.  I need to run errands and prepare for this weekend and more importantly clean my house. I have been putting this off for days.  It isn't like me to put that off but I have and it can't wait any longer.  Procrastination is getting the best of me this week.

Before I end this post I do want to observe this upcoming holiday for what it is and that is to remember those Americans who have fought for this country and who died serving this country.

In his famous address at Gettysburg in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln stated, “That from these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”


May we never forget those who served our country and who fought and died to give us our freedom. 


I will be back next week .


Enjoy your weekend! 

My Prayer Buddies

I was sitting on the front porch on Sunday morning having my quiet time and I looked up and there was my red bird, every single time I sit on the porch he visits on that same telephone pole and sings his heart out.  I thought he decided to join me in my prayer time. ;)

Next, a rabbit decided to come along ........

AND

a whole bunch of Robins landed in the yard to join us.  It was such a gorgeous morning and it reminded me of this verse:

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD." Psalm 150:6

A Trip to the Mountains(Photo Heavy)

We decided to have a getaway day yesterday.   It was a gorgeous and sunny day and I would like to add....HOT!   A perfect recipe fpr a trip to the mountains.

I figured it would be crowded in Gatlinburg(we took the back way in) and it was pleasantly nice and not overcrowded at all.   My only regret is that we didn't decide to have a picnic but that is for this weekend.  What are your Memorial Day plans?  We are wanting to go camping or be on the lake but we are still trying to decide. Anyway,  the drive in the mountains was so peaceful and the Smoky Mtns. are so beautiful right now! 

We wanted to go to Cades Cove since they have repaved the 11 mile loop.  It was nice driving on the loop with a new road.  If you are reading this and have never been to Cades Cove, you may go HERE and read  about it.

This is one of my favorite places to go.  I cannot wait to go in the Fall.   Yesterday there was a bear sighting. (no picture this time),  deer, and a lot of people,  and an  ambulance, someone was apparently hurt but we never saw what happened,  people riding bikes and horses and even a couple on a carriage ride.  I think the next time I go I am going to go on a carriage ride through Cades Cove. :)

Okay, time to post some pictures:

The creek along the way.

Everything is so full and green.

This is a popular swimming hole. We used to go there when we were little. It was very crowded. You can sit along a hill around this swim hole and sunbathe and picnic.

Finally made it to Cades Cove

You can rent these horses and go horseback riding through the Cove.

Wild Daises everywhere

The lone cloud

Frontier life

Beautiful

Always plenty of deer to see

After driving down the mountain we were hungry!  We went into Pigeon Forge and ate at Tony Romas.  Mouthwatering and simply delicious!  I ate their bbq chicken sandwich and fries and drank sweet tea. So. Very. Good.

Right beside Tony Romas is a new attraction in Pigeon Forge, The Titantic.  We didn't go in (but plan to)  but of course I snapped some outside pics for you. :)

At the entrance

Check out the anchor!

The iceberg

One final look.  I can't wait to go on a tour.  You are not allowed to take pictures once inside but I will blog about it when we go.  You man go HERE if you are planning a visit to our area and read about the prices etc...

I better get off here and do some laundry and clean house and make my sauce for my lasagna tonight.  I am making my special lasagna along with a Caesar salad and garlic bread.  I am excited that tonight is Dancing with the Stars finale. I think it will be the best one in 11 seasons!!

Have a great week!

Friday at Home

This Friday started off with rain and then it cleared up and we were able to mow the lawn and it really, really needed it .    I asked God to keep the rain away until we could get the yard finished and  then I just ran errands and came home.

Sometimes it is just good to be at home and not have any plans to go anywhere and that was that kind of day for me. An unusual day but it was nice. 

I did a little laundry, straightened up the house and then relaxed on the couch and read my new Southern Living Magazine. :)

This evening was so pretty and I happen to look out the window and saw big, beautiful clouds and the sun was beginning to set and of course I had to get my camera and take a few pictures.

I love clouds

My backyard.  I sit in my swing and watch the gorgeous sunsets. I will have to take a picture of my swing , it was my Mother's Day present and it also converts into a hammock. 

Our wild rosebush in the front.  It has been full of roses for over a month now. I have clipped a few of them and brought them inside to enjoy. ;)

I told y'all that we were going to try a Topsy Turvey Plant and this is what it looks like now..it has blooms on it and we are excited that soon we will have our very own tomatoes!  I was skeptical of this new way of growing tomatoes but it really works! 

After my picture taking I decided to veg in front of the t.v. and watch Sweet Home Alabama. 

This has been a quiet Friday at home and I am loving it. :) 

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Gem at 100

I came across this story when my brother told me about her.    The lady I would like to introduce you to is, Evelyn Bryan Johnson.  I would love to sit down and talk with her and she is such an interesting person and she lives in our area.


Here is Mrs Johnson :

This is part of her story:  (Source, Wikipedia)


Evelyn Bryan Johnson (born November 4, 1909), nicknamed “Mama Bird”, was born in Corbin,  Kentucky, United States. She is the female pilot with the most number of flying hours in the world. She is a Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and a founding member of the Morristown, TN Civil Air Patrol squadron.

Johnson, who learned to fly in 1944, has currently logged in 57,635.4 flying hours, and is the oldest flight instructor in the world. She has trained more pilots, given more FAA exams than any other pilot, and is named in the Guinness Book of World Records. Johnson is an inductee of the Women in Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame, the Tennessee and Kentucky aviation halls of fame and others. She was awarded a bronze Carnegie Medal for rescuing a helicopter pilot after he crashed.

On July 21, 2007, Johnson was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, alongside astronaut Sally Ride and adventurer Steve Fossett, among others. The induction was her sixth such honor.

At age 100, Johnson continues to serve as the Manager of Morristown, Tennessee's Moore-Murrell Airport. A car crash on September 10, 2006, forced doctors to amputate her leg.

I jokingly call our airport  JFK airport.  A small airport but what an honor to have Mrs. Johnson running the airport!

Mrs. Johnson at 100 years old.  What an inspiration!

If we take the time to look around in our own home towns , you never know what kind of interesting people live near you.  My older sister is a nurse, she likes working with the elderly more than anything and her reason, "they are such a wealth of knowledge and what a history they have."    I agree.  

So, Mrs. Evelyn B. Johnson,  it was an honor to introduce you as my second post on this blog.  You are a treasure to our community and our country!

My Neck of the Woods

 ost of us love where we live and most of us would say that we live in the most beautiful

place God has ever created.   Nothing wrong with that.

In my opinion I will just say that I do think Tennessee is a beautiful state, especially in East Tennessee. 

 A few months ago I was running an errand to the post office  and I had my window down because it was a nice 50 degrees that morning and the birds were  singing away.  From our post office you can see a clear view of the Smoky Mountains.  I took the time to really notice the view that day.    The view also affords you a glimpse of rolling hills, farms and farm houses and of course cows and horses.  Simply breathtaking.

At that moment I thought of starting a blog showcasing the hills of East Tennessee, where I live.  I will take pictures in my area  and share them on here and introduce you to the life in my neck of the woods.  This blog will be dedicated to showcasing this beautiful part of the country we call home.I want to travel to neighboring towns and take pictures and I will blog about what "jewels" I find hidden in these small towns.  Of course, I will also blog about Knoxville because after all that is where my beloved VOLS play and good, bad or ugly they will make it on here from time to time.

I hope you enjoy your visits to my new blog. 


Take time to appreciate and enjoy where God has planted you. :)