Friday morning and the cold is coming with snow this weekend

Well Thursday turned out to be rather nice day after a cool start. I had ice all over the windshield on the truck but it quickly melted as the sun made it's debut. The skies were a beautiful deep blue and the sunshine was abundant for most of the day with an occasional cloud. I was able to work outside until our friends Sam and Marcia arrived in the late afternoon then we took a nice leisurely hike to the top of the mountain.

The morning started with us once again all snuggly in the flannel sheets and it was going on 8'ish before we made our selves roll out. After a few quiet minutes, a bowl of boring oatmeal and the posting of this ramble I wanted to get outside as the sun was shining through the now mostly leafless trees. I fired up the leaf blower and had another huge pile of leaves heading out of the yards. Neighbor Gerald came around 10'ish with his tractor and pulled down a stubborn limb that had been broken during my last tree falling project but was still precariously hanging down. We got that down with a chain and a rope then loaded up his bucket on the front of the tractor several times with sawed wood to ferry it to the top of the hill and into his trailer. We hauled 3 full trailer loads of oak and maple fire wood to compliment his stack for the winter.

After a lunch of chicken salad on a tortilla I headed back out to clean up the area of the fallen trees. Once again I employed the leaf blower herding the leaves down off the yards and into the dry gully in the backwoods yard. That kept me busy until it was time to clean up for our supper guests. They had a bit of difficulty locating our place as they had followed Patrick and Kathryn the first and only time here several weeks ago. They unfortunately used map quest which had them all discombobulated. After they arrived we headed out to the top of the mountain on a hike.

We met a couple from West Palm Beach as we strolled up the steep incline who were looking at some of the property on top of the mountain and offered to show them Ann and Sandy Cline's place tomorrow. Sandy entrusted me with the key to help them with showing his cabin as they are an hour plus away. This couple seemed to be about our age and already own some land in the county but were looking for a view. Who knows they may become our newest neighbors. They were impressed with this property for sale at this reasonable price.

We had a nice leisurely stroll across the top and the buildings from downtown Winston were visible as the bright sunshine was reflected off of them. We came back down the back side of the mountain and the temp's were dropping quickly with the evening shadows. I dug Sam some white pine and popular tree seedlings that were growing down below my compost area. Some were as high as 3 feet or more and he wanted to plant them alongside his beautiful log cabin in Elk Creek, Va. We headed in to the delicious smells coming from within and dined on steak cooking in a gravy since early morning

along with smashed taters, cooked carrots and Marcia brought a very tasty salad. We later enjoyed a peach cobbler as we taught them to play Euchre. Well the gals beat us despite Marcia's faking her "not knowing what she was doing" remarks throughout the game. It was a fun time had by all and they left for their long ride home somewhere going on 9"ish.

We cleaned up the dishes then I settled in to the college game between FSU and Louisville and the Panthers vs the Saints. FSU prevailed in the final quarter and the Cat's were losing to the Saint's as I headed for the shower.  It wasn't long afterwards the sandman calleth.

This is a FYI for those who are interested in helping a worthy young lady who wants to go to Peru next year to work in the medical field with some of the indigenous people of that country. Kallie Dalton is a beautiful, bright and down home gal with great spiritual and moral values and is raising funds for her trip there. If anyone is interested in helping to support her and her travel to and from Peru PLEASE feel free to do so. Check out her Facebook page and see where you can make a donation for her efforts. You can check her out at Katherine Dalton and her campaign at GoFundMe, LATER   

Thursday Morning and it just above freezing here at the cabin

Well all of that beautiful weather has slipped out of the area and winter has set in at least for now. There is a forecast for 1-3 inches of the cold white stuff this week-end with 3-6 inches in elevations higher than we are, yikes! Yesterday, Wednesday saw us with a few sprinkles of rain and rough looking clouds as the front was clearly visible heading south from the frozen north over the mountains.

We started the day with a 7:30 roll out to moderate temps. I piddled around outside in the back woods yard after a lite breakfast of a couple hard boiled eggs and my cup of hot green tea with a little cinnamon and honey and a few quiet moments. I'm still in disbelief over the passing of a dear sweet classmate who we just hugged and chatted with this September at our 50th class reunion. She was fine the night before celebrating with family and friends while on vacation to warm Florida and was gone the next day. She was the 33rd classmate that we know of that has died since we graduated in 1964; of course there are about 20 or so members we have had no contact with ever since graduation.

I headed down to neighbor Gerald's as our mountain handy man Dean Todd came by to clean Gerald's chimney. We fashioned a rope crossing the roof which helped Dean to get to the top of the chimney while using a large brush to break loose the soot buildup and then scoop the debris from the clean out access down below. That was a tense moment for Dean as he was at least 25-30 feet above the ground on a slick tin roof. The soot buildup was at least a couple feet up and into the chimney which amazed me as we used wood for heat most all of my life on the farm and we never had the chimney cleaned out or had it stopped up to my knowledge.

Nancy had a 1:30 doctor's appointment in Independence, Va. with our infamous Doctor K. We thoroughly trust his care for us and while we have grown to laugh at some of his bedside abruptness he is very knowledgeable when it comes to health care. Nancy got her flu shot as well. We then headed to Galax for some shopping with stops in Old Galax for some goodies for our friend Kathryn then off to gas up at 2.79 a gallon before stopping at Wal-Mart and then to Lowes. It was going on 5'ish before we got back to the cabin and the chill in the air was quite evident. Nancy put a couple spuds in the oven to bake along with some cod filets added later to compliment a small salad. I slathered my tater with jalapeno pepper from the garden, sour cream and butter, yikes was that ever tasty.

Well after the cleanup we settled into the Fox News and once more we are reminded of the lack of leadership in D.C. as now the military will be quarantined after returning from Africa but not civilians, unbelievable how incompetent this administration shows it's self to be, oh well. I settled into the final and deciding game of the Series and the Giants won in a close game 3-2 and only by a great play made by a rookie second baseman that seemed to be the difference in the outcome of the game. After being away from the big show for 29 years the Royals showed up finally and were awesome in their effort, LATER   

Wednesday Morning at the cabin

Well I must say Tuesday was a very fine day with unbelievable bright sunshine, blue skies and ideal working conditions, although it did get up into the middle 60's by late afternoon. I got in a full day of outside work and my muscles feel it this morning. The forecast is changing rapidly this week end to snow showers and below freezing temps, yikes!

We started the day with a sleep in because of these cozy flannel sheets until nearly 7:30 once again. Wow are they ever comfortable and so conducive to sleeping do much so you just don't want to roll out. Luckily it's been rather warm the past few days so we have had the heat off in the cabin and the morning have bee almost Spring like except for the bare trees surrounding the cabin. The trees are showing their nakedness with bare limbs as most of the Maples, Gums and Poplars are stark in the loss of their leaves. What a drab contrast to summer when their leaves are green and the past couple of weeks have shown off their brilliance with such color. It is difficult to imagine seeing them so dull for the next several months; however a few of the Oaks still have some leaves but they are mostly a dull brown. The ground is knee deep in places with leaves.

I fired up the chain saw an took down another Oak which had a crooked trunk that bordered our flower garden in the backwoods yard. That took me most of the day to work it up to manageable sizes for the log splitter. I used the old sledge hammer and wedges to bust the chunks into smaller sizes to where I could handle them individually. This will probably keep neighbor Gerald in enough wood for the winter. He brought his tractor up and pulled out the stump for me as well as loaded up several front loader buckets of downed wood that I had cut up last week. With all of the trees taken down this past couple of days the backwoods yard should have plenty of light for next years grass to grow.

We did salmon cakes, Swiss chard from the garden and rice pilaf for supper and afterwards we settled into the Fox News channel. I got a disturbing phone call from an old classmate that one of our classmates had suddenly passed away while in Florida on vacation. Shirley Barnhart was one of the 50th reunion organizers and seemed in good health when we saw her just a month or so ago. I don't have any particulars on her passing but we have grown close via FaceBook the past several years. We are so saddened by her passing but now she is celebrating with CHRIST as she was a believer and a follower, LATER  Here are few pics from yesterday's; stump pulling, tree cutting, wood hauling and wood splitting project.

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was a July like day in October. I worked outside all day long and in short sleeves as well. It got down right hot walking up and down these yards and the mountain as well. I understand from the forecast for this weekend the snow flurries will become a part of the scenery with the low's down into the 20's, yikes what a drastic change from the past couple days, oh well.

We started the day with a big sleep in until 8:30. That is the latest so far this year as we were plum worn out from the big day and night at church as we helped with the concert. Most of those 12 plus hours were on our feet except for a few minutes during the concert when we found an empty seat. The flannel sheets on the bed also helped with sleeping in until nearly half of the morning was gone. Never would that have happened in my early years as there were cows to be milked at sunup as well as the hogs, chickens and mules to be fed and watered before heading out to catch the school bus after walking nearly a country mile. That seems like so long ago but very vivid in my memory.

After a lite breakfast of fruit I headed out with the leaf blower and rounded up thousands of fallen leaves and herded them down to the bank in the lower backwoods yard as well as pushed a few into the fence around my upper garden where I later raked them in to decay. If leaves can fertilize huge forests why not put some to use in my gardens to break down and add compost and humus to the soil. Most plants like acid PH soil for growing and oak leaves is a great source that is readily available in the Fall. Plus I wanted to give the new grass a good coat of lime to help with controlling the moss that thrives in the shaded back woods yard. That kept me busy until after lunch when we decided to take our daily hike to the top of the mountain. We saw Jetta and Zeke and he followed us for a short distance before turning back.

After a lite lunch of a hard boiled egg sandwich I headed back out with the lime spreader and gave all of the yards a good coat of pelletized lime to help when the new grass grows this next Spring and  thwart the green moss that loves the yards. I found by keeping lime on the soil the moss hasn't been nearly as prolific despite all of the rain in late summer. The thinning of the several trees, 8 all together this summer has helped immensely as the moss thrives on acid shaded soil. Hopefully in a another year or so I will have a good stand of grass out back.

I piddled around outside until nearly suppertime then grilled a couple hamburgers and dogs for supper along with a fresh guacamole and a few tater tots. I spiced mine up with garden grown jalapeno peppers and slathered it on my burger, yeow was that ever an eye watering gourmet delight. After the cleanup we settled into the Fox News channel to see what our incompetent leader(s) has now done or hasn't done in keeping us safe from ISIS, Ebola, criminal illegal immigrants while safeguarding the rights of his Muslim friends and creating race baiting in our land. What a bunch of losers who definitely brought change to our land and I hope those who voted for this man now see what bad changes he continues to reap onto our once great country. No longer are we held in esteem by freedom loving people, nor are we feared by our enemies. I certainly hope those on the right or conservatives will see the harm this administration has placed upon America with this man's leadership or lack thereof, LATER   

Monday Morning after the Big Concert last night at Cornerstone.

Well Sunday was one of those unforgettable days that started with a 7'ish roll out. We did a lite breakfast actually I just ate watermelon as I knew I was in for some down home cooking by the women and men of the church as Nancy and I were assigned to the kitchen duties for the artists and our staff for the whole day. We headed out for Cornerstone around 9:30 and got back to the cabin around 11'ish after a full day. We had an abbreviated service with Priority Blue our home grown Blue Grass Gospel Quartet ministering to our thoughts, hearts and our unable to sit or stand still. These guys are fantastic and are big time show quality.

The Every Act Of Love Tour showed up in a huge bus with a huge trailer around noon. There were four separate bands featuring Jason Gray, Carrollton, Unspoken and Lindsay McCaul. There was a total of 14 members in the tour group and we got to know many up close. This is the fourth concert we have had the privilege to help with and of the four concerts I must say these folks were very up close, personable and interacted with us throughout the day and evening. Their accolades of our church family was sincere and from the heart and never had any big time group showed such sincerity it what their mission or ministry was all about.

We fed them a delicious lunch of salads, smoked pulled pork and chicken wings as well as baked beans and Cole slaw and desserts and for supper we had roast beef from a home grown beef, chicken and dumplings, home grown smashed taters, green beans and corn as well as baked apples and 4 amazing desserts all home made. Wow was there some fine eatin' and these folks were so appreciative and commented our food was the best they have had in over two weeks since they have been on tour. They were just taken back by our hospitality and the beautiful mountain setting.  Several of our church members opened up their rental cabins for their use of the day. We had about 500 or so paid attendance which had left a few unused seats. The weather was just awesome with temps in the 60's and clear skies.

Our church helped with unloading and setting up their equipment as well as manning their booth's where t-shirts and CD's are sold. They were just awesome to work with and their sincerity was real. I got to talk with Lindsey McCaul and learned her father and I were stationed at Shepard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas where she was born. That area of Texas is desolate, arid and not the most beautiful place. She has quite an interesting history as she has helped translate the Bible in three different languages as well as do missionary work in Africa and India. Several of the band members shared their personal history's and life experiences.

We headed out after the concert and a long day on our feet and soon hit the showers. I tuned into the ball game and the Giants were whupping up on the Royals big time, LATER  Here are a few pics Nancy took from the crows nest at the concert, our kitchen crew and some random looks.

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday turned out to be a very busy outside work day for me. The temperature was chilly to start with somewhere in the low 40's and it nearly reached 70 by late afternoon. The sunshine was brilliant and the blue skies made for a dazzling contrast.

We started the day with a hearty mountain breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast after our quiet times and the posting of this ramble. We seldom eat bacon anymore due to the fat content but I bought a large package of it from a meat supplier in Woodstock, Va. and I can barely get any grease in the pan as its so lean and tasty. Afterwards, I headed out to start on digging out another Oak stump. That kept me busy for a couple hours when Nancy decided we should get our hike out of the way. We saw lots of activity at Norm's place and when he was alive we never saw any of the family there, but now that he's gone all 4 of his children were there and parceling out his belongings.

We headed on across the mountain and visited briefly with Jetta and Zeke before heading back down the mountain. I still wasn't hungry after the large breakfast so I continued on the stump and got it ready for neighbor Gerald to give it a pull with his tractor next week. I decided since there are so many dried leaves everywhere to not burn this one out. I headed down to my newly constructed badminton court and worked on that was an hour or two. I had a large log that was partially submerged in the dirt so I dug it out. It had been in some of the dirt and debris when the land was cleared for the cabin in '93. I will need a couple loads of small rocks to finish this project which will help with keeping the dirt from washing away when we get these cloudbursts next summer. Grass is already starting to show some color on the court which will help hold the dirt as well.

I headed in around 4'ish to rest and watch a little college football. UNC played a great game against UVA and won by a point. I know that makes freshman, Kallie Dalton a happy little coed. We decided to finally eat the spaghetti squash given to us a month or more ago by Karin who grew it in her garden. It was delicious with butter and nutmeg along with a salad and some baked cod fish. Afterward the cleanup I settled into another football game until the World Series came on. The Royals jumped out to a 4-1 lead but quickly went down to a 11-4 loss. This ties the series at 2 games a piece.

It wasn't long after a hot shower I jumped into a Julie Garwood book who is very similar in style and story lines to Sandra Brown. The sandman calleth quickly and when I turned the tube off the Royals were still ahead by one run. Nancy changed out our bed sheets to the flannel ones and my oh my what a difference when getting into a cold bed, yikes we did not want to get up this morning, LATER    

Saturday Morning in the Mountains

Well all I can say is WOW for Friday's beautiful day for being outdoors. It started off rather chilly in the high 30's but by late afternoon we reached the upper 60's and nothing but bright blue skies and tons of sunshine, yikes it was awesome and I spent the majority of the day outside. We took off for Sparta around 3:30 to run some errands, visit an old friend and then supper at the Dalton Farm with several friends from Cornerstone and our sweet young college friend, Kallie Dalton was home from UNC with her beau, Juan.

The morning started with a 7:30 roll out. The propane wall unit is keeping the cabin toasty as I finally lit it. It's so much easier to just turn on the electric heater but with the cost of electricity I'm not sure it the best choice of heat; anyhow the wall unit quickly warmed the cabin to 70 degrees which Nancy finds comfortable. Anything less than 70 and she's freezing. I made myself a breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, hot peppers and tomato's before heading out. I put in a load of laundry on my way down to the basement and donned some work clothes. I had a couple trees I've been wanting to cut down to let more sunlight into the yards so decided since the herb garden is about finished due to the cold weather this would be a good day for that project.

I took a total of 3 trees down; 2 oaks and a maple and sawed them up into stove wood length for neighbor Gerald's winter wood. I need for him to bring his tractor up and then we can ferry it down to his place and get it ready for his wood splitter. We had our favorite for lunch; sardines, onions, mustard and crackers. Yikes this is such a great lunch and we both love them which is rather uncommon. Most folks gag at the mention of that combination but not us. They are a great source of Omega 3 and protein with no fat.

Nancy wanted to take more photos of us so we cleaned up and headed out with the tripod. After a multitude of shots I was saved by a golf cart visit by Ray Todd and his 2 dogs. He stayed and visited for nearly an hour. He seemed well despite all of his health issues and we were entertained by his dogs as they were in constant competition for his attention. It was going on 3 so we decided to get ready to head out for Sparta. Nancy had made a delicious smelling apple pie from apples grown out here on our mountain at neighbor Carl Hudson's place. Wow did they ever make a great tasting pie.

We headed out to our dear friend and the man who wired and plumbed our cabin Walt Hampton's house. I wanted to return a book she had let me borrow plus I wanted to say good-bye for the winter. Walt's health is not good as he is having a difficult time walking and has really started retaining fluids for some reason. We are very concerned for him and Theia his wife. It was a good short visit and we made promises to get together more often next year. We headed to the library and then to Walgreens for copying some pictures and then to Dollar General before heading out to the Dalton Farm.

Mechelle had a pot of chili beans on the stove as well along with a pan of delicious corn bread, pumpkin pie and baked taters in the oven, Stacy brought salsa and chips and of course we had apple pie and some fixin's as well. What a delicious meal and we gathered around the table and talked until nearly 9 PM. It was still rather nice outside as we headed back to the cabin. The night critters were out as we saw lots of deer and possums. I tuned into the Royals whupping the Giants in a close game but the boys in blue held on to win. After a hot shower it was the sandman calling, LATER

Friday Morning and finally it's calm in the woods

Well Thursday despite the chilly temps made even colder by the wind gusts that was somewhere around 20-30 mph at times it turned out to be a rather nice day. The sun was evident throughout and the Carolina blue skies were so beautiful. I finally stripped down to just a short sleeve shirt by the afternoon as the warm sunshine made for great working conditions.

After a lite breakfast of oatmeal with honey and cinnamon and a few quiet minutes I loaded up the truck with empty sacks and a shovel and headed over to the Dalton Farm for some manure for my garden which hopefully will add to next years crops. That kept me busy for a couple hours or until lunch time when Nancy had a hot butternut squash soup(out of a box) ready to eat when I got back. After this sumptuous lunch I headed out to unload the truck and spread the dropping throughout the gardens.

We decided to take off on our daily hike to the top and the views once more were awesome. The fallen leaves are quickly stacking up to almost shin level in the back trails and roadway. Many trees are completely bare which really enhance that wintry look especially after the 38 degree start for the morning. We saw no one today not even Zeke as we passed by the Browning's. I decided to head out our lane as George Redman kicked up some rather large rocks while scraping the road a couple days ago with his tractor. I decided to bring these rocks and few others back to my new badminton court to reinforce the lower side from washing out when we get those heavy rains next year. I hauled two more loads of rocks gathered from along the road and woods then dug out an old stump that had been partially in the ground from down below the garden when I first had the property cleared back in '93 before building.

Nancy had a nice deer tenderloin in marinate our hunters and friends the Dalton's blessed us with earlier from their freezer and wow was that ever tasty along with sautéed yellow squash and green peppers and some canned lima beans, Delicious is all I can say!!! After the cleanup we settled into the Fox News channel and then some Broncos vs Chargers on the tube. After a hot shower it wasn't long until the sandman calleth around 11'ish, LATER

Just a few Fall pictures of the leaf colors, leaves on the ground and the deep blue skies and the display of many pumpkins. 

Thursday Morning with strong winds and temps in the 30's

Well Wednesday turned out to be a cold and blustery day here in the mountains. We saw periods of sunshine as the clouds moved in after a chilly start. Since the weather wasn't fit to do any real work outside we decided to head to Galax, Va. and do some shopping. I wanted to find a plumbing supply outlet for Delta Faucets as my sink sprayer is not working properly. We then headed out to fill up the truck at $2.84 a gallon then made a stop at Wal-Mart for some groceries after a quick stop at Tractor Supply for enzyme for ethanol gas which helps to keep the ethanol from ruining the engines when setting up for any length of time.

We were back at the cabin around 1:30 and finished up a leftover bowl of salad for lunch. We ate the last of the leftovers for supper which included the smoked ribs and squash casserole. Yea we are back to fixin' new dishes for a few days. We prepare way too much food when having guests; thus we are eating leftovers for days afterwards. We got in a hike around 3:30 and visited with Joe and Jetta on top. Joe had a fire going in his wood stove and the smoke smelled so good plus the house was really warm. We brought the golf cart back to the top as Nancy wanted to take some pictures of the leaf color with the sun shinning through the clouds. The air was clear and we could see the building in downtown Winston from the top as well.

We visited with them until nearly 6 PM before heading back down. The air was quite cold and I had to stop and put the windshield up on the golf cart to deflect some of the cold wind. We had the portable heater on and the cabin was a toasty 70 degrees as we heated up our supper. After the cleanup I tuned into the Fox news and then watched the Royals go up 7-2 on the Giants before calling it a night around 10:30 after a hot shower that

quickly brought on the sandman, LATER Nancy took these pictures around 5'ish and while they don't show the beautiful leaf colors we had prior to the wind and rain storm last week they are still awesome to see. Notice the trail and back wood road is covered with fallen leaves from all of the strong winds. 

Wednesday Morning and it's quiet with the in-laws gone.

Tuesday started out with a 6'ish wake up as Nancy's folks wanted to leave by 7; however they forgot to realize Betsy was traveling with them so it was 8 when they finally pulled out for Florida and around 9 when they finally gone home. It was quiet around here as we went to work stripping beds, loads of laundry and cleaning house. I worked outside in the lower garden and we managed to get in 2 hikes for the day.

We did eat leftovers for the day which was awesome as we had some fabulous meals. The pork roast with sauerkraut, dogs and kielbasa was one of the favorite meals along with the vegetable soup. Today we will finish up the smoked ribs, salad and squash casserole. I worked on the kitchen spigot as the sprayer is making all kinds of noise and dripping. I took it apart and found nothing evident but from what I learned on DIY the diverter is probably worn out. This moves the water from the spout to the sprayer when activated so I will pick up one in Galax this week or maybe even today as its rather chilly and windy here on the mountain and not conducive for working outside.

Since neither I or Gerald couldn't get the rotor tiller to run properly I took the shovel and turned over the lower garden. I now have only about half of what was originally garden as I just didn't get enough sunlight to grow anything in that section so I turned that into a badminton court. Now we have a flat spot to play as well as shade in the hot summertime. One advantage to turning the ground over with a shovel is of course exercise and the other is getting the rocks out. Each year I remove a few more rocks and soon I will have a rock free garden much like my Florida gardens. That kept me busy for several hours. I did feel the muscles in this body as the day wore on and with pulling so much on the starter for the tiller I have a sore muscle in my shoulder blade area. It took me some time to figure out why that muscle was so sore; but Nancy gave me a massage with Aspercream which helped after a hot shower.

Well it was 65 in the cabin this AM and in the 30's outside with the wind howling throughout the night. I stayed up and watched the Giants beating the Royals royally before tuning in around 10'ish, LATER  

Early Tuesday Morning at the Cabin as the in-laws leave

Well Monday was almost another picture perfect day as there was an abundant of sunshine and warmer than yesterday's temps. The wind had the leaves flying through the air and now there is quite an accumulation of leaves on the ground. I had the smoker going with 2 racks of spare ribs using apple wood. Nancy took the in-laws into Sparta after lunch for some shopping.

We started the day with a hearty mountain breakfast of buckwheat cakes with a banana in the batter and fried cackleberries. After the cleanup we headed out to the top of the mountain on a hike. It was another clear day with visibility all the way to Winston-Salem. The woods and trails were really filling up with the fallen leaves.

After everyone left for the afternoon I headed down to see Gerald and we tried to get the rotor tiller to run but to no avail. I then decided to read until everyone came back from town. The ribs were perfect after smoking then for about 7 hours as was the squash casserole and corn muffins with jalapeno in the batter and a fresh garden salad. We then got into a hotly contested game of 5 Crowns with Betsy winning almost every hand. It wasn't long until it was bedtime after a hot shower, LATER  

Monday Morning at the Cabin

Well Sunday started out with chilly temps and the wind made it feel even colder. We were up late the night before at the game table so we all slept in except GG who is an early riser. She of course cat naps through out the day but is up before daylight on a regular schedule. We ate lite for breakfast as we headed out for church around 9:30 and the planned on meeting at buffet for lunch in Sparta.

The leaves are falling and quickly loosing their luster. We saw a few brilliant reds on the way to church but for the most part the peak came and went quickly. The heavy storms of last week did a number on them and now they are just piling up everywhere as it was raining leaves. We had a good service at Cornerstone with a nice crowd and we introduced GG to all of our friends. Betsy and Eric went to the one and only Catholic Church in the area and they too had a nice crowd of folks. We met up with them and the Dalton Gang at the pizzeria for lunch. The food was delicious and plentiful and we waddled out of the place. That held me for the rest of the day and evening except for a handful of grapes around 9. The others ate around 6 some leftover vegetable soup and then Nancy made a batch of chocolate chip cookies which were quickly devoured.

We watched a little football then Nancy, Eric and myself took off to the top of the mountain on a hike. The air was crisp and so clear that Winston-Salem was easily seen from the top of the mountain. The leaves are starting to pile up in the roadway and soon they will be knee high. We came back and Nancy wanted to get pumpkin pictures with the rest of the family. We took several pictures with our faces between the pumpkins on the wood pile and then it started to cool down. We got into several games of Sequence and Eric and I wiped the floor with them. We then got into a late game of dominos and Betsy ended up as the winner on the final hand. It was nearly 2 AM before Nancy finally came to bed. Betsy slept through the afternoon and then wanted to talk until the wee hours of the morning.

Well I'm smoking ribs today which will keep me home as they take off for parts unknown as they leave tomorrow for Florida, LATER

A Chilly Morning at the Cabin

Well Saturday turned out to be rather nice despite the wind and falling temps by evening. We saw lots of sunshine but the wind was rather strong at times as the leaves and pine needles were evident in the air. The leaves are piling up in the woods and back roads as well.

We started the day with a 7'ish roll out after a late night at the game table. We taught everyone how to play Euchre and while only even number of persons can play at a time we managed a couple matches while Eric was gone and then while Betsy was doing her thing upstairs in the afternoon we taught Eric to play and got in a couple matches. We took a nice long hike to the top of the mountain in the afternoon after a heartily breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. I came back and then took GG on a nice afternoon golf cart ride after a lunch of deli meat sandwiches.

The wind kept us with jackets on while outside and by late evening a warm jacket was needed. We got in a little college football while getting ready to head out to Chilly Waters Farm for our Becca's Backwood Bean gourmet dinner. There were about 25-30 diners and the food was very tasty and the vino flowed abundantly which varied with each course served. We dined until nearly 8 PM which started at 6 PM. We met a new couple that sat with us at our table. Bill and Carol Perdue were very friendly and they live at High Meadows Country Club. We had an enjoyable evening all around and waddled out of the eatery. The temps had dropped precipitously by the time we arrived back at the cabin.

We tuned into the FSU versus Notre Dame game and that was a close call for the Seminoles as they prevailed against a very good quarterback from the Fighting Irish. It was after midnight before we finally decided to call it a night. We will head out to Cornerstone on Sunday while Eric will head to the only local Catholic Church in Sparta, LATER