Weekend Update

Hello friends, I hope you had a wonderful and full weekend. I meant to get this posted yesterday but I had to go to Knoxville for an appointment with the doctor for my annual physical. I am happy to report all is well and I don’t have to return for a year. My sister went with me and we did a little shopping afterwards. So it was late when I got home and I didn’t get to post. So here we go back to Saturday and the weekend.

On Saturday I decided I needed to get out of the house. I had a long weekend off because of my mother in law’s funeral. I posted about that a couple of days ago and if you missed it you can read about it here.

I had planned to go out and buy groceries, and for several weeks I had been wanting to get to the Mennonite Farm Market that is near our house. I thought this would be a good time to go. My nephew, Chris, had recently mentioned that he and his wife wanted to go as well. I called him to see if they would like to go with me. His wife had to work but I met him in town and we drove out to the Mennonite farm.

The Market is always packed on Saturdays. We got there a little after 10:00 AM and barely found a parking spot. The building is small and open. The minute you walk in you are greeted with so many fresh vegetable smells. It is hustling and bustling as the Mennonite farmers go back and forth refilling the vegetable bins. They are constantly refilling the baked goods as well. They only take cash and the cash registers are the old fashioned ones with the big buttons and the hand crank that totals everything. Only the men work in the market. You never see women working with the customers. They also have a couple of signs at the entrance letting you know that only appropriate clothing is to be worn inside.

The farm market has the most beautiful and yummy vegetables. They also sell baked goods. I bought cinnamon rolls and cookies. I also bought cucumbers, squash, potatoes, corn on the cob, a watermelon, cantaloupe, and some okra. I cooked some of that on Sunday and we had a feast.

Just look at these lovely peppers. They are so colorful.

Collard Greens. These are not my favorite but my husband loves them. I am sorry to say I have never cooked them for him. I think they smell terrible when they are cooking. My mama used to cook them when I lived at home and it made the entire house so stinky. That is just my opinion you may love them and their smell.

Chris bought some garlic. He loves to cook and he is great at knowing just how to season things.

I got several ears of corn. I think I may go back and get more to put in the freezer. Corn on the cob would taste wonderful in the middle of winter.

I love the canned chow chow, and the sweet pepper jam, and the apple butter. There are so many different things to choose from. I will have to stock up before they close for the winter.

After the trip to the market we drove on into Tellico Plains. The drive itself is something you just have to see to believe. The rolling countryside, farm animals and barns are just beautiful. This scenery always reminds me of why I love living in Tennessee. Chris and I got hungry so we decided to grab some lunch at a fairly new restaurant I had heard a lot about, Peach Street Grill. It just opened last year. It has such a great atmosphere. The food is very unique and there is a full bar and lounge as well. It was still early in the day and we had no trouble getting a table. Our waitress was just lovely and we shared some stories and she shared some stories with us. Chris is just like me, he never meets a stranger and talks easily to everyone.

We ordered the trout dip for an appetizer. I have had trout dip before and it was served hot. This dip was chilled. It was served with veggie slices and toast and it was so good.

I decided to get the trout cakes and truffle fries. The truffle fries were so good I could have made an entire meal on just those.

Chris got the shrimp tacos. Don’t they look yummy.

We also stopped in at a little antique store near the Grill. I found this cat ornament, well actually Chris spotted it first and we thought it looked like Gus so I had to buy it. I have temporarily hung it on my bird tree that I have in the kitchen.

I also found this little riser. I just love the color. I think I will put one of my orchids on it.

And I saw this little planter. These were so popular back in the day. Their back ends are open so you can plant something in them. I guess. Most of them have the weirdest faces, most of them are animals. I recently bought a dog and I just had to have this siamese? cat? I’m drawn to them. I don’t know why. I am sure I will look for more of them. Just what I need something else to collect.

I dropped Chris back at his car and went to buy my groceries. It was such a fun day. It was so good to get out and spend time with Chris and get my mind off of a lot of sad things. I am a true believer in being with people and spending time doing things you enjoy as much as you possibly can. Life is short, it is meant to be lived while we are here.

Sunday was a lazy day. I did laundry, read a great book and cooked a lot of the vegetables I bought at the market. What fun things have you done lately?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

A Long And Short Goodbye

For several months my little mother in law, Winona, has been slipping away from us. She broke her hip in February for the second time, yep same hip. While she was still in the hospital she developed Covid and wound up being in the hospital for two weeks. This would be a lot for anyone but for a ninety year old it was too much.

She never fully recovered. She was released to a full care nursing facility. She had some minimal therapy but she just didn’t want to do it. It was like she had given up. Those were the words we kept hearing over and over.

We knew the time was getting close. And as always, you expect it, but it still hits you like a ton of bricks when it happens. Monday night we got the call that she had slipped away. My husband had been with her earlier that evening and I’m glad he got to be there with her near the end.

If you could have known her you would know that she loved spending time cooking for her family and having us gather at her house. There was only a few of us, but she loved it. I had some of my best meals at her house.

She retired as a state healthcare worker after more than thirty years of service. She played the piano and organ like you wouldn’t believe. She played at church and for a local organization that she belonged to. She often traveled to different cities to play the piano. She told me that she was so happy her mother made her take piano lessons. She started playing as a child and played well into her eighties. She often told me that playing the piano was becoming a lost art.

When she was only nineteen years old she rode a Greyhound bus two hours each way to go into Knoxville to take business classes. She told me she did her homework on the bus and that the bus driver always flirted with her. She was a beauty.

She loved to entertain and she still has just about every serving dish you can imagine. She also loved jewelry and she has given me lots of vintage jewelry through the years.

When my husband and I were first married we lived next door to her. I would walk our dogs to her house every day and we would talk and talk.

In 2018 she fell and broke her hip for the first time. She was eighty four and still constantly on the go. She developed an infection while she was in the hospital and had to have three surgeries within two weeks. After being released she went to an assisted living village for rehab. She then moved to an assisted living facility closer to home. The goal was for her to be there for additional therapy until she could return to her home, where she lived alone. It never happened. She wouldn’t do her therapy. And because of that lack of therapy, she was never able to walk again. She was in a wheelchair. She occasionally used a walker but was very unsteady with it.

She adapted to every situation amazingly well. In the beginning I would take her to her house to stay during the day or for several hours and then she would return to the village. As time went by she cared less and less about doing that. She grew to feel more comfortable at the assisted living village. It became her home. We went for long drives and out to eat at drive-in restaurants, so she wouldn’t have to get out of the car. She then became less and less interested in doing that.

On her 88th Birthday at our house

As time went by dementia took over. She often didn’t recognize me when I would first walk into her room. She thought I was one of the workers. She loved white chocolate and I combed the stores looking for her favorites. I recorded videos of our babies and let her watch them over and over. She loved seeing them.

Enjoying some ice cream at the Village

She was feisty and never cared to tell you exactly what she was thinking. She would draw herself up to her full 4 feet and 11 inches and tell you like it was. It was just the way she was.

Christmas 2023

So for several years and then especially the last couple of months she has been slipping away. On Monday night she went to heaven to be with her loved ones who had gone before her. I feel like she is finally at peace and happy again.

I feel lost, almost not knowing what to do with myself. I should be going to see her, talking with her nurses, or taking her some supplies, or going through the mounds of paper work we have been dealing with concerning her long term care. It feels weird and I have lots of memories swirling through my head.

Valentines’ Day lunch and just a few days before she broke her hip for the second time.

We had her funeral Friday morning. The thing I heard over and over was how welcoming she made people feel whenever they visited her, and how much she loved to laugh. I think that is a wonderful way to make people feel.

We say goodbye for now and look back on memories and experiences we have shared with her. And never forget.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Wrightsville Beach N.C. Vacation

Hello friends, It feels strange being back here. It has only been a couple of weeks but it feels like forever. I have really missed being here with all of you. This is a special space to me. Forgive me for not getting to your blog posts I am catching up.

A lot has been going on. Last week my husband and I took a much needed vacation to our favorite beach in North Carolina, Wrightsville Beach. Wrightsville Beach is very near Wilmington NC. We try to go almost every year.

A week before the vacation we hosted my nephew Chris, and a lot of my family, for Chris’ Birthday. It was a very special one, the big 50. And of course if you have read any of my posts you know I get a little crazy when I have people at my house. I want everything to be perfect. Probably to the point my husband is about to divorce me over it. I come up with a huge to-do list that borders on impossible. All the while I know in the back of my mind that all of these things are not going to get done. Well you know what?? a lot of those things didn’t get done. I was planning the party and planning the vacation and I knew I had to let some things slide, so I did. And you know what else? we had a great time even though I felt like some things in my house could have been a little neater. I doubt anyone even noticed.

Just after the party I started planning for our vacation. Me and hubs both worked up until almost the day before the vacation. And of course planning means someone coming in to take care of the kitties and checking on the house and etc etc.

We left out last Sunday morning at 5:00 AM. It is about a nine hour drive for us and of course add in food and fuel stops it makes it about ten hours. We like to get an early start and get ahead of traffic. I love driving for a couple of hours and finally getting to see the sun start to peep out.

The weather was beautiful all week. This was the sunrise the morning we left for vacation.
North Carolina has the most beautiful
Day Lillies planted in the medians of the interstate. They are so beautiful.
Our first sunrise at the beach

Every morning while we are on vacation we walk into town. It is almost three miles round trip. It is great exercise. We go early before the heat gets too bad. I just love this little town. The walk takes us on a back street full of walkers, runners and bike riders. Both sides of the street is a gallery of beach homes. I love them all. They are so unique. I always enjoy seeing the different ways people have planned their gardens and porches and decks.

Many people walk their dogs into town. There is a watering station for thirsty babies.
I loved this little book exchange library. I did finish a book while we were there and was going to swap it for a book here. We didn’t get to walk the last morning of our trip. We had to leave a little unexpectedly. More on that in a minute.

As I said the weather was perfect all week long. Lots of surfers hit the waves early in the morning. They have until 10:00 AM and then only sectioned areas can be used by surfers.

We ate at Poe’s Tavern again this year. This restaurant has a few locations in the U.S. North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. They specialize in burgers, fish tacos, sandwiches and salads. The restaurant and menu features all things Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar’s Drunken Chili, Beef Raven, Beef Tell-Tale Heart and Beef Rue Morgue are a few of the menu selections. Posters line the walls with movie clips and quotes. It really is a fun place.

Poe’s Tavern. We had some amazing blackened sword fish tacos.

We spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying the beach and some down time. I read a couple of books and of course brought knitting with me.

The hot crab dip at the Oceanic is one of our favorites.

On Thursday morning the nursing facility, where my mother in law is staying, called and said she had taken a turn for the worse. We decided to leave the next day. When we got to her she didn’t appear to be any worse than she had been when we left. But you never know at her age. I am sure the nurses and doctors were being cautious and wanted us near if anything happened. We were glad we decided to cut the trip a little short and get back home.

Several weeks ago we called a local tree cutting service to get a quote on cutting some trees near our lake bank. While we were gone the tree cutters came and took out many of the trees near the lake. Through the years the growth had gotten out of hand. That’s one thing that happens when you live in the woods. HA!! Our view of the lake was almost gone. It was a costly investment but so worth it when we got back home and had our view of the lake again.

We were so happy to get back home to all the babies. And they were so glad to see us. Kitty Kitty has slept with me every night.

Sweet Kitty Kitty

I hope all is well with you? Do you like the beach? What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!