Ponderings from Theodore-the Middle Years

Happy Halloween

Theodore wrote this poem about Lucky when he was twelve. Although he did not write it for Halloween, it seems appropriate to the theme of Halloween and Black Cats.

Hunter

Sleek, muscular, cunning like a shadow

Creeps from room to room,
Ever in search of his prey

Swift, lithe, dangerous like a bullet

Always alert, ever in search,

Ever in search of his prey

Keen, quiet, deadly like a knife

Always alert, ever in search,

Ever in search of his prey.

His prey! His prey!

Woebetide the day

When the shadow's claws

Meet the prey.

Always alert, every in search,

Ever in search of his prey.

Getaway--Part 5

Getting Home

I guess we knew that our idyllic getaway would have to end sometime--and it did. On our trip home. The plan was the same one as getting there--spend two days leisurely driving back. Well, we did spend two days, but I wouldn't exactly call it relaxed or leisurely. The first clue that our vacation was over should have been the morning we left when we saw clouds rolling in across the mountains. However, since we hadn't been listening to the news, we didn't know rain was coming. But it came and followed us for the whole day. Heavy rain, light rain, fog, big trucks, road spray, more heavy rain, mist, fog, stupid drivers. We saw it all.

We were happy to reach our hotel for the night. When we checked in, the staff was talking about a forecast for snow. But we weren't too worried since we were in the mountains, and we would be leaving them in the morning. However, what we didn't know was that the storm was covering half of the country and may be the biggest October snow storm since the Civil War. We started driving the next morning in a cold rain and it only got worse. Rain, sleet, snow, fog, trucks, road spray, more trucks, snow, white-out, sleet, stupid drivers. We saw it all.

But we made it home safe and sound. Had a wonderful time, wish you had been there.

The new clouds nestled in the mountains should have told us something.

 

And, when it was raining and 38, we should have known that something was up.

The snow was what was up.

But we made it home. Now we just have to unpack.

Getaway, Part 4

Water Falls and Winding Roads

Today, we took a hike in the Deep Creek area of Smoky Mountain National Park where we saw several waterfalls. Later in the afternoon, we drove the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway where it begins.

The road leading the the trails for the falls.

The Tom Branch Falls. The water flow on all of the falls was light.

Juney Whank Falls

Indian Creek Falls

Blue Ridge Parkway

View from Water Rock. We were out of the hardwood forests at this point and the clouds were rolling in.

Getaway, Part 3

This vacation couldn't have been better timed as far as outdoor activities were concerned. The weather was beautiful and most of the leaves were at their peak. Two things that we had no control over, but they cooperated all the same. These conditions had us spending much of our time saying, "Wow, look at that!"

Here is one of the awe inspiring places we visited. 

Clingman's Dome
On our first day, we went to Clingman's Dome which is the highest point in the Smoky Mountains at 6,643'. The drive there had us constantly climbing in elevation so that by the time we arrived, we had changed from the hardwood forests that were providing the showy leaf colors to the evergreen spruce-fir forests of higher elevations. However, the mountain top was not so green because a non-native insect, woolly adelgid, has been destroying the trees for several years now. We found it beautiful all the same.

One of the most entertaining things we saw was a young black bear in a mountain ash tree eating berries. The bear seemed a little too big for the tree as it swayed whenever the bear shifted its weight; but the bear was very agile all the same. Apparently, the bears don't like ash berries that well, but it was a bad summer for the better tasting things such as blueberries and acorns. So, I guess it takes what it can get.

The observation tower for Clingman's Dome has a very long spiral ramp.

The view from the top showed the spruce-fir forest with the insect affected trees.

The bear in the ash tree trying to fatten up for winter.

View coming down from the top into the hardwood forests. Notice the difference from the view from the very top.

At the very bottom, we spent a little time by the Oconaluftee River.

Note: We really enjoyed the people we talked to at Clingman's Dome. There was a very steep half-mile walk to the top, that had everyone huffing and puffing from the fittest to the couch potatoes. That walk along with the bear antics gave us a common bond for the morning that broke all stranger reserve,

Getaway, Part 2

Getting There

Our plan for this getaway was to make it low key. The first thing we did to accomplish this was to spend two days on our drive through several states to reach our destination. This relaxed pace allowed us to take detours on a whim which we did.

Tamarack

Our first unscheduled stop was at Tamarack in Beckley, WV. Tamarack features crafts from West Virginia artisans along with demonstrations of craftsmen at work. The wares are of  the highest quality  and I am surprised that we managed to get away with only a small purchase before we were on the road again.

Overlooking Saltville, VA

Next, we stopped in Saltville, VA. This was a nostalgia stop for Ward who did fieldwork in this area when he was in college. However, nothing looked familiar to him. Either it has changed a lot over the years, or his memories have become cluttered with other things like Wally and Theodore and  his  job. Oh well, it was still a pretty area.

The Biltmore Mansion

Our biggest detour was to the Biltmore in Ashville, NC. Before our trip, when I told people that we were going to western North Carolina, the first thing they said was, "Are you going to the Biltmore?" I vaguely knew that the Biltmore was a large estate in North Carolina built by a rich person. However, since everyone else knew about it, I thought we should check it out. Yes, it is a large estate--250 rooms on 8000 acres. When George Vanderbilt built it in the late 1800's, he was a young bachelor looking for something to do with the family money his grandfather had earned in shipping and railroads. Well, he did and did it quite well. The house and grounds were impressive. I'm glad we went if for no other reason than I can say yes when I'm asked if we visited the Biltmore on our trip.


 We took a few other side roads before we reached our destination. Thank goodness we made it to the cabin just before dark. There were several very windy, unmarked, single-lane roads we had to travel to reach it. One more detour on the way, and who know where we might have ended up.

Getaway, Part 1

Moosehead Lodge

Ward and I are on vacation in the Smokies to celebrate our anniversary. We are staying in a beautiful, secluded cabin with a great view of the mountains. The cabin has all of the amenities one could want and is decorated with a rustic theme--or should we say with a moose theme to go with its name of Moosehead Lodge. At first we noticed a few moose pieces here and there, but then we started to see them everywhere. Below you will see the moose items we found on our scavenger hunt. I think the only things missing are signed pictures of Mr. Moose from Captain Kangaroo and Bullwinkle. (Although Ward thinks Bullwinkle posed for a couple of items.)

                                             Our cabin and the view from its porch.                                                          

Moose on the Loose at Moosehead Lodge

A Second Look--October 26, 2011

The leaves are really starting to fall. I guess we need to find the rake.

The Present is the Present

I am lucky that I get to spend some Sunday mornings with my friend, Sarah, a special needs teenager. I buddy with her during Sunday School as we visit different programs that she enjoys. Two things you need to know about Sarah (other than how sweet she is) is that she loves nature and can be quite determined.

She was exhibiting these two traits one day last fall as we were walking from one building to another on the church campus to go to a singing activity. I was trying to hurry her along only half listening as she showed me a bug or a leaf that she found interesting along our path. When we were almost to our destination, she said she was not going any further and sat down under a maple tree. After a brief moment of frustration, I stopped and remembered that there was no agenda for the morning except for Sarah and me to enjoy ourselves. It was okay if we skipped singing this time.

Sarah then told me to come and that we were going to play a game to see if the falling leaves would touch us as they fell from the tree. We sat still and felt the warm air of the morning and watched the leaves float around us in a gentle breeze. Up until this point, I hadn't even noticed what a beautiful morning it was.

You have probably heard the saying, “The present is the present.” Never has this been more evident than it was that morning with Sarah.

Sarah and her favorite church maple tree.

(In case anyone is wondering who won the game—she did. Sarah had a total of three leaves fall on her and I had two.)

Food Waste Friday--October 21, 2011

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money.

Here it goes for this week. 

 

We had another week of no current waste, so I tackled two more shelves in my pantry. Pantry clean up is very hard for me because it's full of things with long shelf lives--forever in my mind. However, I used the same rule as last week and got rid of anything that was at least a year past its expiration date. Here's what I'm saying good-bye to this week from youngest to oldest.
 

Bisquick- expired 1 year ago

Pancake mix- expired 1 ½ years ago. It seems that we prefer French toast to pancakes.

Tapioca-expired 2 years ago. I'm not even sure what tapioca is and why I have it. Some recipe must have called for it.

Karo syrup-- really old. I don't remember buying this and it is so old that they weren't putting dates on things at that time. This one was really hard to get rid of because I wondered, “Does syrup really ever go bad?” But I figure that if I haven't used it by now, it's time for it to go. It's just another thing for other food to hide behind and maybe get wasted. 

By-the-way: In the US, the only food that is required by law to have an expiration date on it is infant formula. For a good explanation about food dates, visit the USDA site.

 

Second Look--October 19, 2011

This week during a Second Look, I focused on the few flowers that are still blooming. Most of these kinds you've seen before; however, you are going to see a few of the late bloomers among them. Also, even though big pots of mums have been in the stores for weeks, this is the first week of them blooming in my yard.  I also found the pleasant surprise of a few violets peaking through the grass and leaves. They bloom primarily in the spring.

Here's what I saw.

Balloon flowers, Platycodon

Zinnia

Mum

Fleabane

Violet

The ever faithful marigold.

Sedum, Autumn Joy

Blanket Flower, Gaillardia

Mushroom

Ponderings from Theodore--The Early Years

Theodore has always been a thinker--meaning long after I have moved on from a subject, he is still pondering it. Occasionally, we are going to visit some of his questions and observations from his earlier years. Some are serious and others are humorous.

 

Policies 

Theodore approached me one evening, when he was eight, 

with the following idea.

“I think we should have a family goal for each month. For this month, I think it would be good for us to have no more electronic entertainment such as TV, computer, and video games.” 

He then went to the next room, turned on the TV, and started watching cartoons. I came into the room and asked what happened to his new plan. He looked at me and said, “Well, you know, it's not policy until it's in writing.

Food Waste Friday--October 14, 2011

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money.   

Here it goes for this week. 

 Forgotten Good Intentions

We did pretty well with our every day waste, so I decided that it's time to start cleaning out the cupboards. I got rid of anything that is at least a year past its expiration date. From my first two shelves, I found several unrealized recipes. The instant tea was going to go into a tea mix for gifts, the crushed pineapple was going to make a relish for the holidays, and the evaporated milk was going to be used for making holiday fudge. Somehow, the bread crumbs just got missed. So as you can surmise, last Christmas, and maybe the one before judging by the dates on the cans, was not quite as tasty as I had planned.

But, this is a new year and hope springs eternal for very tasty holidays.

Second Look--October 12, 2011

This week during a Second Look, I continue to see changes. See what I found.

The farm behind me has added some new cattle

There seems to be a different looking mushroom every week.

Oak tree leaves that are starting to turn red instead of straight to brown.

Wild cherry tree that is starting to change.

Sweet gum tree that is in its peak of color.

Notice how this maple tree started losing its leaves from the top.

Like the leaves, the squirrel is getting redder this fall.