Winters to remember

 

Flat Creek, 2017 photo by Trung Lively

Flat Creek, Feb 4, 2014 photo by B. Rogers

Greenville SC - Main Street taken Jan 26, 1966 by Lewis Burress who worked at News Piedmont (large building under the sign perhaps)

Dec 9, 2018 around 8 am, photo by Black Mountain News.

Mt. Mitchell, January 2018, photographer unknown

Looking Glass Falls Jan. 2018. unknown photographer

Looking Glass Falls, January 2018, unknown photographer

Dec. 23, 2018 at Lake Tomahawk

And though snow fell once (maybe twice with rain) already this year, there was no accumulation here. We shall see what comes along in the next year...

Linking to Sepia Saturday, which is going on a break till next year. Oh my! I wish all the readers, and contributors to this nice and interesting meme a happy holiday, and a safe one!

On the exam room walls

 

A pair of prints are framed together - and I recognized this as Trout Lilly, one of springtime in the mountains wild-flowers. They are about full size in the painting!

The other one is slightly reduced size Triliums - the red colored flowers. I don't know what the yellow ones in this print are...do you?

There was a very ugly scenery painting also, as well as signs to get mammograms, what to do if you have diabetes, and about 4 more uninteresting signs. I did copy the one about poisonous plants in the area. Not that you're likely to run into them for a few more months however!

Another flower and old traffic photo

 These photos have nothing to do with each other...but it you figure out a theme, let me know!

One of the three Kalanchoes that have started to bloom. They'll continue putting these little blossoms out for the next several months probably.

I think this is Houston in 1925.  I picked it up from Facebook. 

The last time I drove through downtown Houston (don't ask but it's definitely been decades ago) I was thrilled that if you drove exactly the speed limit, you could go through green lights for about a mile or so.

Country Ranch Green Beans & Potatoes

Beauty is all around us

A promise of things to come...

And the wrapping continues...but Mon. morning I took all the little pieces to UPS, where they will finish putting heavy duty wraps on the pieces of pottery that my friend Cathy Babula made. I should have taken some photos of it before I started with all the bubble wrap and tape. Then I put prettty Chrismas wrapping paper on them...and will leave the final wrap for the UPS guys.

Shades of red...a whole tomato cut into bite size chunks, sprinkled with sea salt...on a poppy designed plate.

A friend made a wonderful minestrone which I loved eating. She sent me the recipe. Then we talked on the phone and she told me another thing that she kind of added. It was so good, and I want to make some too!
 

Tues was a run around day. I started out early to get some groceries, and to avoid as many people as possible. Before I got in my car, the maintenance man said I should have my right front tire looked at, as it was low again. I would have postponed it, but he said if you go fast and it heats up, it could explode.

So I spent the next hour having the tire looked at by the Black Mountain Tire guys...on the side sort of. He couldn't find a leak, so he took the whole thing off and went somewhere and ground off the rust, which he thought made it leak. And then when I asked him what I owed him he said what he'd done...but he wasn't going to write up a ticket. So I gave him $10. I hope that was enough.

It was most of the cash in my wallet, and I felt funny pulling out 3 more dollars.

Anyway, off I went to see if my favorite frozen dinners had been restocked since last week, when they were almost all gone. Nope...so I bought 2 of the vegetarian meals by Amy. They are pricey, but when I'm sick I don't want to dirty pans, then have to wash them. To be honest, they are already dirty, watiting till I feel well enough to stand in the kitchen for 20 minutes.

It wasn't a crowded store, but several young children (who don't require masks) were skipping around everywhere. I kept avoiding them. I wondered if school is out for the holidays already.

Brought the groceries home, and then loaded up one bag of non-perishibles, and dropped it off at church to be donated to the local mission which has free groceries for those in need. It feels good to have enough to share.

I then waited till time to get to my doctor appointment, by eating some lunch and reading a book from the library. Got to the doctor's office early, sat far apart from others, all of us wearing masks. But some kind of mix up meant a guy who had just been worked into the schedule got in ahead of me, so after about an hour, I finally was shown to the first room, and then a few minutes later to another one. My doctor said having a recurrent fever and cough might well be COVID. He asked if I wanted to take part in a research study using a 15 minute test. He also would send a test for flu and another one for COVID to a lab. The 15 minutes went by fast, because the nurse ended up having to repeat one of the tests 3 times. Why? She said she dropped it on the floor twice. She apologized and said she was having a bad day.

I apparently wasn't. My test was negative, for the 4th test since May.  So my doctor put me on antibiotics, and some steroids for a short time. He's figuring it's bronchitis. I know there wasn't much else he could do...so will hope this knocks this bug right out.

Thanks for reading through today's adventures. I came home and had soup for dinner.

Cheerful color

 

A dear friend shared some of her Minestrone soup she'd made, and also left a sweet seasonal little Poinsettia for me.

I enjoy looking up to the far ridge, and watching the I-40 cars zoom by. The highway didn't show in this photo. But at night I see their blinking lights through the trees.

Wrapping day was last Sunday. What fun to think of my loved ones opening these presents!

Second bloom opened on  Sunday!

Being industrious

 First, this in no way should reflect upon myself. I have been sick. And I guess if I had sisters or a mother or aunt around I'd have already finished my holiday preparations. But I don't, and I haven't...but there's one box going out of town, so that's the top of my list "To Do." Going to mail it today!!

Not sure what the woman in the middle is doing. My guess is carding the wool, it looks like a big square flat thing, which reminds me of one with lots of nails sticking out to pull the wool across. Or was it flax?

Far right is a spinning wheel, creating thread for weaving or knitting or mending. The woman with the hat is showing several white socks (at least to my eyes) and one colored one. She's either mending or knitting them.

I asked Santa to give me some new socks for Christmas. If nobody feels that urge, I'll have to go shopping myself in the new year.

I had an enjoyable hour (or so) listening to a story-teller on a CD a friend loaned me...Sheila Kay Adams, "Whatever Happened to John Parrish's Boy?" She has great stories in between the traditional ones, about her life and her grandmother's in the mountains around here in Western North Carolina. I would have liked it because she's a good story-teller, but I also like hearing about Warren Wilson College here in Black Mountain, and the hospital in Asheville where her grandmother was taken.

Finishing a new book

 

I enjoyed this, as usual with one of my favorite authors. There was the usual action of murder mysteries...and I enjoyed that this one was set in Paris. Obviously Louise Penny had been there and knew a lot about the places to enjoy and eat wonderful Parisian food! And I liked the ending, which was more than just a feel-good resolution to the crimes.

Since I've been sick with whatever, a couple of days ago I slept most of the day. Occasionally I'd wake up and take care of bodily necessities. I was surprised I could still eat regular meals. But my temperature continued to be in the "above normal" range. And I had to cancel all my plans (which were really minimal.) It was strange to wake up every couple of hours and see how the sun had passed across the sky. I missed that it had been a really nice day outside.

How did I catch whatever this bug is? Good question...it is possible wearing the same paper masks has allowed any tiny little germs to transfer from the outside of one, to the inside of the next, as they are stacked. Oh my. Reusing paper masks that are hung on a doorknob seemed like a good idea. Now I'm going to buy a brand new box of them!

I picked up my prescriptions at the drive through Saturday. And they were great at having put aside my box of masks. At least I had a 25% coupon off the price. The sales clerk apologized that they cost so much. But continuing to have the fever which is connected to my cough, and lots of drippy nose symptoms has washed me out for the 3rd time in as many months. I was glad when I walked in from the car that I wasn't as exhausted as I had been walking back from the mail box yesterday. Seriously, I measure my strength that way!

Buds are coming along...

 

The variegated one will open first. I moved them out of our cold windows...and this one is happy on the table top, where it still gets sun part of the day.

The purple one is in the bedroom window, which gets very warm during the daytime. At least if the sun is shining like today.

It surprisingly has two blooming stalks. I hope it is able to produce flowers on two stalks. I need to find a stick to help their weight once they open. 

And the first one opened last night...so I added it to this post around noon Saturday.

And what I do is leave plants outside all summer, repot them with orchid soil, and give them some liquid fertilizer about two to three times a year. I try to avoid over watering. Bring them inside when nights go below 40 degrees. Sit them in sunny or partly sunny windows, again moving to warmer places with good light if the window sills get cold (when it's 30 or lower outside.) And as you can tell, this bloom is much smaller than the ones when we bought it last year. I also didn't remember it was striped pink and white. So either the other one is cream colored, or I got them mixed up when repotting them somehow. They are the dear "leave it alone" kinds of plants.

Rainy days

A repost from 2019...springtime... 

Way back when our ancestors depended upon crops they raised, rain was part of the cycle of plowing and planting in the springtime.  It occurred to me when seeing a neighbor who lives up a steep slope scattering seeds on the slope yesterday...probably grass seed.  Not using anything but his hands and a bag under his arm. At any rate, everyone around here knew it was going to rain all weekend.

Well, my slightly gardening mind thought, "put seeds out before rain" is a good idea. Then I thought, they will all wash down that slope and not grow.  We'll see what happens.

This is a nice steady gentle rain this morning (Saturday.)  I finished my first cuppa coffee, put on raincoat and Nothinz (same as Crocs) plastic shoes and pushed up the umbrella and got in the car. Went past the closest coffee place, then to my favorite one.  I was headed for breads...something freshly baked at the Tailgate Market. 

In 8 minutes I was parked in the almost empty parking lot.  Then I saw the difference a little rain makes for the market...about 1/4 the number of tents were up...all huddled together.  And not many folks buying either.  The Mudbuddies were there! They were talking and keeping things slightly dry.  I walked by the egg people, and she was drying each egg in the carton.  I found a cinnamon roll, and paid the $3 price.  If I'd gone to a grocery and got packaged ones, I'd probably get 6 for that price.  But not whole wheat nor with local pecans.

I also bought some fresh-from-New-Bedford scalllops...they are shipped in a gallon can overnight.  They were on the ocean floor just days ago.  Yum. Tonight we have something with a white sauce and pasta...probably some cheese and sour cream in that sauce.  And butter.  I'll roast some garlic and asparagus and have some brown rice. Yes, today I am enjoying tastes.

So I am home here at computer, wiped the sticky sugar off my fingers, and have made fresh coffee.  I opened a door to the tapitap sound of rain hitting leaves and ground, and buildings.  Once I'm outside I hate the closeness of being inside without fresh air.  When I get up in the morning and its cool like this morning, I usually close my windows.  None of my neighbors are out so cars around here are all parked.

While I enjoy my present situation, I think of how flooding is probably happening from these very rains in other areas.  That is the harmful aspect of rain.  And yet many farmers chose (once upon a time I guess) to plant on river-bottom land.  These spring floods would leave the soil extra rich for crops.  And they were expected yearly. 

When the Corps of Engineers built levies and dams all over, the floods were supposed to stop.  So the land didn't get replenished with natural nutrients, and when a flood did occur, it damaged homes and buildings built where the floods didn't go before these man-made structures existed.  I kid you not...some environmental scientists have said so. And look at all those photos on the news.  I lived in Houston TX for part of my life, and still have relatives there.  Drainage is a big problem on flat land with lots of concrete.

I am pretty neutral in feelings towards rain.  I am able to co-exist with it. Fortunately my home is safe, and as I just described, I can move about in it.  I wonder if my ancestors, in early American colonies and even before, in western Europe, knew which land was good to grow upon, which would be too marshy, and which made good pasture for animals.  Of course they did!  But I haven't a clue.

Sharing with Sepia Saturday for this week. Wonder what other rainy old photos might be on display on other blogs....

Another old photo - for an American patriot

 Unveiling by DAR of the Spencer Clack memorial in Sevierville, TN, 1937.

The Sevier County Court House in 2018

And the memorial stone still stands by its side...

I was able to just walk up to it to get this closeup of the plaque.

He was my great times 5 grandfather...his daughter, Catharine Clack married Rev. Elijah  Rogers, who had a son Micajah Rogers, who had a son, George Washington Rogers, who had a son William Sandford Rogers, who had a son George E. Rogers, who had a son George E. Rogers Jr. who was my father.

Achooo!

 Staying close to home. Cold symptoms but no fever. (And yes, I got the flu vaccine.)

Let me focus on something beyond my sore nose -

I'll look at some old photos and post whatever comes up first.

A horse drawn threshing machine (I think.) It's cutting the grain, whatever it may be.

And look how many horses it's taking. I count 10. 

This reminds me I want to bake some bread. I see grain, and think I've got some whole wheat and almond flour in the freezer, and several packages of yeast. And frozen bananas, which could turn into banana bread.

I just have to figure out how to keep my nose from dripping into the batter!

OK, I've got a bit mug of tea waiting for me. See ya later friends. I also have a lot of presents to wrap so they can be mailed in 2 days. Of course they take precedence over bread!

But I also have a dilemma... how can I tell my 3 adult grandchildren that it's about time they started giving me a Christmas gift? The one who's 35 hasn't ever, unless I am in my son's house, then I got a tin of cookies he made, and gave to all his friends and family. 

Perhaps I should give them a list of things I'd like...since they don't seem to have the generosity gene.

This isolation thing...

There is much beauty in the world.

And sadness.

Even though it's a beautiful day outside, I'm sunk into the pity pot sadness place today. I guess I wanted to hide it from everyone. But its so hard to figure it out. 

Pandemic. Pfitt!

Heart attack. Oh bother!

Lung disease. Just too much!

and 

Isolation.

There's the problem

I ruminate too much.

That's like chewing my cud, were I a cow or goat or sheep.  But in people, it seems to be mainly mental. And then it gives physical aspects. Bim bam, one way or another. Which came first, chicken, egg?

So I'm having depression. Would you care for gravy on that? Or how about a cherry on top?

It's just suddenly here. Maybe it was there a few weeks ago, and yet, my physical symptoms a week ago were of COVID, but my test was negative. So whatever disease is inside me, a few cold symptoms after the wave of fever. This is the third one of this year...wake up with fever, go get tested.

The one that lasted longest, the second of this year, I went to my M.D. and got antibiotics, and that knocked out a lot of things physically, which was nice. 

This time I'm mainly having nightmares. Oh dear, they are so real, and so uncomfortable. Last night, morning, just before waking, I had to cook some food and there was fish, and all of it was supposedly already cooked, but one of them flip flopped, still alive.. but not finding a pan in a strange kitchen, nor figuring out how to turn on the ancient gas stove.

The fish is definitely because 2 days ago I ate fish again...which has not been on my diet for about 5 months. So it wasn't worth it, if absorbing those sweet fish-molecules has done this to me! I do take an Omega-3 capsule, (sometimes) which is derived from herring and sardines.  That's how I justified eating salmon...it was just further up the food chain. But the white fish of 2 days ago, was a bit lower in fish eat fish. I don't know why it's staying with me, but I'm pretty well tired of it.

I am pretty tired of spending hours a day focused on food...whether fixing, buying the things to fix, cleaning up (which I hate) and oh yes, eating it in 15 minutes or less for each meal.

I'm in the mood to go through a drive-through and maybe eat an Impossible Whopper (totally vegetarian and really delicious). I've been doing that almost weekly lately. Actually the last one I took everything off and just ate the patty. I'm not a big fan of white bread, even a bun with fancy sesame seeds all over it. They get stuck in my teeth. Incidentally, I've googled impossible burgers- the vegetarian patties, and they're not for sale yet in the grocery stores in my area!

I just took some time to watch a very good and timely UU service on "get out of your heads" and it included lots of ideas, meditation, and even dancing. I loved it!

Telling a friend I was depressed, she wanted to cheer me up by telling me she was wrapping my present. Oh my, I haven't figured out what to give her yet. How can I be grateful without that reciprocal thing hanging over my head?

Then she told me one of her daughter's whole family of 4 has COVID.

Definitely not cheering.

Why do people think depression needs cheer?

I have no idea.

So I'm going to plod along and do some things that I know make me feel better.

Shower, dress, go walk in sunshine. And that's what I needed another friend to remind me of. If it takes 2, I guess it's good I've got at least 2 friends!

Interestingly enough, I thought of a good "get well" gesture for my friend's family...get them a gift certificate for a local restaurant that I already know they love.

And I ended up feeling in a better mood by just getting out. Avoiding being within 6 feet of people...especially that one woman without a mask in the grocery store. 

Next day's notes. The other thing about that depressed day was having bad coughing most of the day. I tried to watch a movie on Netflix, but my concentration is about 10 minutes at a sitting. No fever though, so I just coughed my way through. This bronchiectasis thing, where coughing is good for me, is sure a tiresome version of COPD. It does wear me down.

I finally went for Chinese Take Out...the vegetarian tofu with veggies was good, but I mainly wanted that hot and sour soup. Oh my, it did clean out my sinuses! I saved some for the next day. And gave half of the tofu/broccoli to my friend when she came to pick up some recipe books I'd borrowed...she liked it.

Next day...I've bought a box of Xmas cards. and watched the end of that movie. It's pretty good for Netfix...a fictionalized bio of Madam C. J. Walker, "Self Made."

But today (Monday) I'm feeling better until I try to do something, like carry in the groceries while it's freezing outside, and so I'm wearing a coat and hat and mask, and I get out of breath, not to mention sweat so much I have to change clothes. The cough is manageable...at least for half the day mark. I have to consider that there is some sickness going on in this old bod...though I'd like to figure it's not there. For me not to be able to carry those 4 bags of groceries in, and to sweat so hard...ok, I will be gentle with this old lady and let her have a treat.

I'm staying away from milk products as long as there are cold-like symptoms. I've learned how they help produce mucous, and I sure don't need that. But I've got a treat for myself, some Reeds' Jamaican Ginger Ale.

See ya later friends.

Sorry I haven't been taking photos. Mmm, I'll look on the camera, but I don't remember any.

Oh, here's a present a friend gave me last week, which was sweet. It's real!

I'm so blessed that she thinks of me when so much is going on with her family. Yes, gratitude is a good bane for depression

Christmas Lights 2020

 

Saturday night in Black Mountain...the shoppers have gone home by 6 pm, though some may be in the restaurants or taverns.

The Park at Town Square

My friend, Teresa's home

Friends Diane and Richard were outside looking at the lights (they never said whether this was their home or not.) But just driving up and stopping to take pictures kind of spooked them a bit, until I rolled the window down.

I love the next one with the full moon, even if everything is a bit blurry.

This was my header for a while, which shows Saturn and Jupiter close in this clear sky.