Where have I been?

 

Time flies when you’re having fun.  It also flies when you’re in the middle of chaos.  Over the last few weeks I’ve been dealing with some major house and car repairs.  If you heard recently that the economy is on the upswing, it’s because of me.  I’ve definitely done my part to stimulate it!  Now, it’s someone else’s turn.  Please.

One of my repairs ended up being my refrigerator.  It was so a lemon and it was actually the second one I’ve had since the first one had been totally replaced under the warranty.  That is a whole long story of negativity.  And, I am trying to think positively.  I will say that that experience left me determined to buy locally, not from that widely advertised chain store and definitely not that brand.

However, in shopping locally for a new refrigerator, I found there were only two choices.  Really, just two.  Oh, there were different colors, but only two brands and pretty small sizes.  I knew I was going to have to buy in a larger town, but that meant borrowing a friend’s truck or paying a huge delivery fee.  A friend suggested I try Lowe’s.  Being a savvy online shopper, I tried online first.  There, in BOLD print, Lowe’s offered free local delivery and free removal of the old appliance.  In slightly smaller print, Lowe’s stated that local delivery was within 75 miles of the store! 

I didn’t believe it.  But, I did look online for the specs I wanted in my new refrigerator and found one for the right price.  It was even on sale.  This had to be too good to be true.  So, I called the local store – actually I had several to choose from in the 75 mile area.  The sales rep was very helpful and confirmed the local delivery area.  She also answered my questions about the refrigerator since they had a floor model.  The only draw back…Lowe’s only delivered in my area once a week and I had just missed that delivery day.  I knew I could not go a whole week without a refrigerator as I had already been fooling around with this problem for several days.  (Why do things break on a weekend anyway?)  BUT, the sales rep said I could order it online and they would deliver it the next day.  WHAT?  Could this be true? 

Desperate for ice, I put Lowe’s to the test.  They called the very next day for directions!  The delivery guys set up the new one, made sure it was working properly and hauled away my old refrigerator.  And, the refrigerator I bought without seeing?  Perfect.  I’m happy with the larger size, the price, and everything.  All in all Lowe’s gave me terrific service. 

I do feel a little bad about not buying locally.  If this refrigerator had been available, I would have paid a little more for it.  I would have done that and been happy because I want to support the local economy.  I don’t want to support so much that I would buy an appliance that I knew would not make me happy.  And, refrigerators can make us happy.  Can’t they?

Spring is here

 

Buttercups always mean Spring!  What a beautiful way to say good-bye to Winter.  And, I didn’t even have to trudge through snow to pick them this year. 

We’re having thunderstorms today.  The sky looks pretty black.  But there is something beautiful about a Spring storm.  The dark clouds are a perfect back drop for all the bright Spring colors.  I love a good thunderstorm, but hate the thoughts of another tornado warning. 

Back in the hollow, we were always respectful of the damage a tornado could do to your home.  I can remember driving through central Illinois and seeing whole subdivisions flattened.  In a time when the early warning system was still new, we always prepared to head to our cellar if the storm got too bad.  I always had my crayon box packed and ready.  It was really an old cigar box filled with broken crayons and little treasures, but I carried it with me everywhere.  I guess I felt if the house blew away, I could start over with my box of crayons.  Thankfully that never happened.

Years later a friend gave me a birthday card with a box of crayons on the front.  Inside, the words invited me to open a new box of crayons for a whole new year and to color only happy days.  On this dark Spring day, that’s my wish for all of us.  Let’s color some happy days!

Oven Toast to Spring?

Well, March has definitely come in like a lamb.  That will make for some interesting weather at the end of the month.  A strange thing happened to me last week.  Around 4:00 pm, I started feeling a little ‘funny’.  After a few minutes, I recognized the feeling.  I was warm!  For the first time in a couple of months, I actually felt warm and had to put on a t-shirt instead of my standard sweatshirt!  Later on I found out it was the warmest day we’ve had since November!  Of course, about a half-hour later, the sun went down and I was cold again.  This must be what it feels like to live in the desert.  You’ve just got to love Tennessee weather. 

As I’m writing this, fresh cinnamon toast is baking in the oven.  When was the last time you made toast in the oven?  A friend has been experimenting with making sour dough bread – the truly home made kind made without benefit of a bread maker.  I have to tell you it is delicious.  I keep telling my friend that it needs a little improvement so that she will keep supplying me with samples!  :-)  But, there is nothing better than sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on butter covered slices of homemade sour dough bread.  It’s one of those tastes that take you back to a simpler time.  A time when things moved a little slower and we had more time to think. 

These days we are constantly bombarded with mind clutter.  From the time we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep at night, we are in constant contact with each other and the world at large.  I sometimes know more about what’s happening across the world than across the road.  Growing up in a time that included ‘party lines’ makes me appreciate how connected we were to our neighbors and how large the world used to be.  The world seems so much closer now, but in some ways we are farther apart then ever.  It makes me want to reach out to everyone I love and offer them a slice of cinnamon toast with a cup of coffee!

Oven Cinnamon Toast

Thickly sliced sour dough bread baked by you best friend (or store bought if your friends are ‘cooking’ challenged)

Cinnamon and sugar mixed together to taste (brown sugar works well too)

Buttery Spread (you can use real butter, but let it soften first so you can spread it – I like Smart Balance)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread butter onto toast.  Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar mixture.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or so depending on how brown you prefer toast.

Blue Sky and Pork Salad

 

In case you don’t recognize it, this is a picture of a blue sky as seen through my favorite subject - trees.  We haven’t seen too much of blue sky lately.  In fact, a couple of hours after I snapped this one, the entire sky was overcast.  We had rain by nightfall.  And, we had snow flurries today.  I know Spring is on the way.  My buttercups (daffodils) are about four inches high near the edge of the woods.  They’re usually protected from Winter and sometimes bloom by the end of February.  I think they’ll be a little late this year.  That’s a little scary to me though.  Mom always said that it will snow on the buttercups when they bloom.  I don’t remember her being wrong about that.  But, I don’t look forward to snapping a picture of yellow blooms covered in snow.

I’m still going through my vintage cookbooks for new recipes.  I ran across a recipe for Pork Salad.  Years ago a co-worker brought something like this to a potluck.  So, you know it was a good dish!  I never did manage to get the secret recipe, but this one looks pretty close.  I believe it would be wonderful with country ham.

PORK SALAD

2 cups pork cut in 1/2 inch cubes

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Add 1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup French dressing

Chill 1/2 hour or longer.  Drain and serve in nest of lettuce.

A Valentine Poem

I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite poems for Valentine's Day. Hope you have a wonderful day!
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IF YOU BUT KNEW
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If you but knew
How all my days seemed filled with dreams of you,
How sometimes in the silent night
Your eyes thrill through me with their tender light,
How oft I hear your voice when others speak,
How you 'mid other forms I seek -
Oh, love more real than though such dreams were true
If you but knew.
.
Could you but guess
How you alone make all my happiness,
How I am more than willing for your sake
To stand alone, give all and nothing take,
Nor chafe to think you bound while I am free,
Quite free, till death, to love you silently,
could you but guess.
.
Could you but learn
How when you doubt my truth I sadly yearn
To tell you all, to stand for one brief space
Unfettered, soul to soul, as face to face,
To crown you king, my king, till life shall end,
My lover and likewise my truest friend,
Would you love me, dearest, as fondly in return,
Could you but learn?

A Dusting in the Hollow

The last weather forecast I heard called for a slight dusting after rain turned to snow.  Well, I never saw any rain and woke up to this lovely snowfall Tuesday morning.  I am thankful that we are still able to measure our snow by inches rather than feet.  However, I am so ready for Spring!  Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Anyone have a shovel?

There’s a road here somewhere….

Aren’t the trees beautiful?

And just one more…

Snow in the Hollow

 

Well, we didn’t get as much snow as expected, but it was still a decent amount.  And, it was enough for a ‘snow day’.  Remember them as a child?  Remember being so excited that school was closed.  I can remember being huddled in front of the television at night waiting for the Snow Bird report on WSM.  Fingers and toes crossed that our county would be filled with snow and closed the next day.  As adults, we don’t get too many snow days.  Saturday was one for me.  I spent most of the day curled up with a new book.

I tend to look back on growing up in the hollow through rose-colored glasses.  I know times were hard, but I prefer writing about the happier times.  When I heard about the new novel, Everything Will Be All Right, I knew it was something that I would want to read.  It’s a true story of Douglas Wallace and how he overcame poverty mingled with abuse.  Wallace tells his often painful true story with a strong love of family and Tennessee.  It’s a quick read, but still caused me to shed tears along with laughter as it sometimes came too close to home. 

Everything Will Be All Right is more than a book.  It’s a glimpse into a generation not too far removed from today.  It will give you hope, and we can all use a little more hope in today’s world.