Preparing for the "Polar Coaster"

This big brown sycamore leaf looks kinda pitiful frozen in a tub of water, don't ya think? 

We've been battening down the hatches, so to speak, preparing for an early blast of winter around here.   

Autumn isn't officially over until late DECEMBER, but this week is supposed to bring snow and temperatures in the teens. 

While it seems too soon for that, there's little can we do besides prepare.  

This afternoon, I gathered up a couple more buckets of the big ol' juicy pears that keep falling off the tree. 

Later on, some of "the girls" and I raided my brother's garden.  He has the most beautiful rows of kale, mustard and turnip greens, and I so hate to see the cold claim them.  We picked a few bags full of those, then swiped a couple of the cabbages and broccoli that were growing beside the greens. 

Here at the house, we closed off the upstairs of our house with a temporary ceiling in the stairwell.  Big ol' drafty farmhouses are hard to keep warm, ya know, and nobody goes up there very often anyway, so there's really no need to keep it very warm.   

The hubby spent some time making sure the windows were snug with those little plastic window kits.   I carried down the rest of my coats and sweaters and put them away.  

The hubs also mowed up the leaves (easier than raking, and they fertilize the lawn!), then he put the lawnmowers away.  If it warms up again, we'll probably mow them one more time.  

If.

Maybe you've heard about some of the dire weather predictions made in the new 2020 Farmers' Almanac.  

The almanac is predicting a "Polar Coaster Winter" with wild temperature swings and several major snowstorms.  They're already saying many parts of the country will not only have a white Christmas but a white Thanksgiving too.  

Brrrrr.   That's why I was determined to spend every possible moment I could outdoors today.  It was an absolutely beautiful day! 

A Day in the Life of a Gas Man

The driveway to the residence above was very narrow and hard to access.  But there's more than one way to skin a cat!  Just pull the hose over the hill through the woods.

Coming back up was a bit harder. 

It took some doin', but the hubs, aka "the gas man" talked me into going to work with him today.  

With wintry weather predicted for next week, the phones have been ringing off the hook at Hardy Gas Co., and the boss asked a couple of guys to work today, a Saturday, to catch up on some orders. 

Robin agreed to put in the overtime and invited me along.  I wavered, tempted to stay in my pajamas for at least a couple more hours, but I finally decided to go. 

The frost was thick and the air chilly as we began his route after fueling up with a fast food breakfast.  

"The gas man" had sorted through the thick stack of orders that he brought home last night, so he had it all planned out where we were going to go.  

We started out with a couple of stops in the White Oak and Twin Creek areas, then progressed into Powell County, making stops on Happy Top Rd. (not the Happy Top I was familiar with),  Spout Springs, Little Hardwicks Creek, Campton Rd., and a bunch of other roads that I've forgotten the names of.  Eventually, we made our way back down Tipton Ridge into Ravenna.  

We made quite a loop, and I could definitely see the wisdom of grouping orders like he did.  Otherwise, a driver could waste a lot of time and fuel criss-crossing the countryside in search of customer's homes, some of which are located in very remote--and steep--areas.  

In all, we made 16 stops to unload propane in tanks--some of which were 500 gallon-sized, some 320, some 100.  

Just tagging along, I observed that "the gas man" has a lot more active job than you might think a "driver" would have. 

Once he gets in the customer's driveway--which is probably the most challenging part of the job, maneuvering that big ol' truck around some very tight spots--he has to pull the hose to the tank. 

Some tanks are just feet from the drive; some are several dozen yards away.   

The hose is on a reel, which makes it easier to pull in a way, but there's some resistance and the hose is kinda' heavy.  (I pulled it a few times, just to see for myself). 

After the tank is filled, he pulls the hose back, then winds it back up on the reel, being careful to do it just so, otherwise it might hang up on the next stop.  

Besides pulling the hose, "the gas man" had to climb up and down out of the truck a couple of times at each stop, once to pump the propane, and once to calculate the gallons and charges owed, then print the ticket to leave with the customer.  

The gas truck is obviously much higher than a car or even a regular pick-up, so there's some working of the gluteus maximus going on there. (No wonder he looks so dang good in them overalls!)  :) 

"The gas man" informed me that today was a relatively easy day.  I'd say so.  If it were snowing, or raining and muddy, some of the locations we visited today would be flat-out treacherous. 

At lunchtime, we fueled our own tanks at Bruen's in Stanton.  Talk about carb overload!  Roast beef Manhattan and homemade coconut pie?!  Whew. 

But all in all, it was a pleasant day driving around in the boondocks, sitting in a warm truck enjoying the sunshine with my hubby.  We saw some interesting sights, that's for sure.   

I don't think I've ever seen a mailbox put together quite like the one below. 

Here's a good read

These long dark nights are good for quiet evenings at home (just about any evening is a good one to be home, in my book), and one my favorite things to do is get caught up in a good read.

I've read a few of Jojo Moyes books, and I enjoyed them all, so when I learned that she was writing a novel set in rural Kentucky,  I was pretty excited. 

Turns out, Moyes enjoys holing up in Estill County's own Snug Hollow Bed and Breakfast on occasion, and rumor has it, that's where she wrote most of this book.

(Moyes lives in England.  How in the world did she find out about Snug Hollow?)

Anyway, she became aware of the WPA's packhorse librarian program that originated after the great depression and was inspired to write a book about it.

The book has been popular at the library since it was released, but I managed to get my hands on a copy.

Didn't take me long to finish it either.

I loved the spirited women who were the horseback librarians and the bond that grew between them after all kinds of calamities befell them.

In those days, women weren't at liberty to do much of anything outside of their homes.

These gals refused to be corralled, though, and their story is very entertaining and quite inspiring.  

They delivered books to poor families living deep in hollers,  braving all kinds of weather conditions, and they had to face down not only the prejudices against women that were common in that day, but the suspicions directed toward them for the books they brought. 

Makes me think some things never change, but maybe some things are a little better. 

Yes, I truly enjoyed this look at a chapter of Kentucky history that I knew next to nothing about.

I think you'd enjoy it too.

Our Yankee Doodle Dandy

What could be cuter than a half dozen classes of second graders wearing red, white and blue and singing patriotic songs?

Not much, I'm sure.

What fun to watch, some of them relishing the attention, some fidgeting and goofing off a little, and some preferring to blend into the background.  

But I'll bet most of those kids will remember the songs they performed tonight when they are my age.

Heck, I remember most of those songs from my childhood, and I still enjoy singing them...Yankee Doodle Dandy, America the Beautiful, God Bless the USA. 

I can get misty-eyed over them about any time, but when eight year olds sing them, they are even sweeter.

Watching our Clay-bug have a good time with his friends, I had a fashback.

Eight years ago.

He had just come off the ECMO machine a few days prior.  He was a little better but still a very sick baby boy, very fragile. 

Tubes and wires helped sustain him, and he would be on a ventilator for years to come.

And, he would give his family and the medical staff at UK NICU several more scares in the 8 months  that he'd spend there before he got to come home.

That all seems like a bad dream now.

I don't think any of us really like to dwell on those days, but we can't help but revisit them from time to time. As we should. 

I certainly don't want to ever forget how far our Clay-bug has come. It's almost easy to, though. And at one time in our lives, I never thought I'd ever say that.

So, yeah. What a treat to watch those little Yankee Doodle Dandies, our little Yankee Doodle Dandy. 

Thank you, Lord.

There's beauty in the simple things

What a pretty fall day we've been privileged to experience!

Because winter seems determined to arrive early this year, I've been foraging-again.

Today I helped Dad gather in greens for Mom to can. He wanted to harvest some before the temperatures plunge below 20 or so. They can withstand a lot of cold, but not that much.

Dad's knees have been bothering him,  so I offered to help.  

We spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the bright sunshine, picking mustard and turnip greens and just talking about lots of things.

I brought some home with me, and they'll be a real treat if we're stuck inside this weekend.

My family loves greens, boiled tender and seasoned with bacon grease. That's how Mom cooks them, but I sometimes just give mine a quick saute in some olive oil. Either way, they are tasty!

Isn't this turnip top pretty with that ladybug perched up there? 

What a turnip patch...plenty of mustard greens too.

The cool of the evening

There's something peaceful about the sight of a herd of cattle resting just before dark.

Tuesdays are busy, busy days at the paper.  

I typically arrive at the office an hour early to finish revisions and edits. Sometimes I type up the previous night's government meeting.

Then it's time to crank out the pages, keeping an eye on the clock.

This week, we had a B section, and the deadline for it was 11 a.m. 

These days really put some tension in my neck and shoulders. I've had a nagging headache all afternoon. 

After work, I thought it might do my noggin some good to get some fresh air.

I walked, and the hubs drove the pickup down in the pasture. We took turns picking up walnuts with the handy dandy gadget we found at the farm auction.  The roller is so much faster than picking up walnuts by hand! 

In an hour's time we gathered a sizable pile of walnuts. (Now, who wants to crack them?)

We got hungry, and it was getting dark anyway, so we headed to the house.

On the way out of the pasture,  we passed our little herd, resting peacefully near their hay. They chewed their cuds quietly while the half moon smiled down on us. 

Back at the house, we ate some leftovers, and we are now awaiting election results. 

In a short while, it'll become clear who will be celebrating and who will be feeling deflated.

Whatever the results, life goes on! 

What to do with all these peppers?

So what do you do if you have a bucketful of banana peppers? 

Our favorite way to eat them is to stuff them with cream cheese, then wrap them in bacon and bake. 

It's a simple procedure, but the results are delicious. 

There's no telling how many of these I've made over the years!

Here's how I do it. I wash and drain the peppers, slice them lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds.

I spread the pepper halves out on an oiled cookie sheet, then I spread a teaspoon or two of softened cream cheese in each half.  

I open a pack of bacon, and slice across the whole bundle, dividing it into halves or thirds. 

I separate the short slices of bacon, then lay the pieces on top of each cream cheese-stuffed pepper half. A lot of bacon is good, but it really doesn't take much to impart that rich bacon flavor.

The cookie sheet then goes into the oven, preheated to 375 degrees.

The peppers need to bake for about 25 or 30 minutes. I know they're done when I start to notice some browning on the bacon and at the edges of the pepper halves. 

The peppers smell so good as they bake! They are always a favorite at potluck dinners. 

If there are leftovers, I like to add them to ham or turkey sandwiches on sourdough bread.  So, so good! 

Note: These aren't pretty, because I quickly slapped them together. If you want them to look a little fancier, you can wrap slices of bacon around the pepper halves.