The last day of November...

Today has been a cold, rainy last day of November. So, we enjoyed this...

And did this...

As we flipped between channels to watch the Brothers Manning win their respective football games. Meanwhile, a thunderstorm hit. After several flashes of lightening, we looked out the window and discovered John's car covered in this...

But the snow stopped as quickly as it began and all traces have been washed away by more rain. Happy last day of November!

I missed all local Thanksgiving related races this weekend so before I settled into an afternoon of TV and sleeping, I went to the gym and ran a nice 5k on the treadmill. The run went better than other recent efforts, something that I attribute to working on replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. After the run, I completed a few sets on the jump rope then headed home for a round of pushup-situps. Not too bad for a dreary Sunday afternoon!

Thanksgiving 2008 and Alum Cave...

The last of the pots and pans are clean and the tablecloth is in the washing machine. Thanksgiving 2008 is officially over. Unfortunately for my waistline, the memories will linger on as leftovers. Does sausage stuffing count as a breakfast food?

We started our festivities at Shannondale with my mother. We briefly considered bringing in food but space is limited and it complicates things for the staff so we had our Thanksgiving lunch in the cafeteria. The traditional fare is not quite home cooked but time together is priceless!

Last night the family dined at my house on what else but turkey, stuffing, potatoes and green beans. For this second Thanksgiving go around, everything was home cooked. I anticipated serving dinner around 5:45 PM but the turkey took a little longer than expected; I had a lot of hungry people standing in the kitchen. Don't know if the slow cooking time was a result of sitting 18 hours in brine (the turkey, not me) but I will won't go back to basting. Brined turkey is excellent! We had a great Thanksgiving and hope everyone else did too!

As I posted earlier, last Saturday John and I hiked to Alum Cave in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Alum Cave is located about halfway up Mt. LeConte, the highest point in the GSMNP. We left sunny, cold conditions in Knoxville for clouds and snow in the mountains. Br-r-r-r!
This is Highway 441 going over the mountain into Cherokee, NC; Alum Cave trail head is located about halfway up the mountain. While the road was clear at the base, the higher we climbed, the worse the conditions. By the time we completed our hike and drove down the mountain, the Park Service had closed the road.

As the elevation increased, the temperature outside the car continued to drop.

Us in the parking lot for the trail head! Where did summer go?

We had several creek crossing. Since this is a very popular trail, all crossings had nice bridges including this bridge right out of the parking lot.

Me on the trail. I look like I have on pantaloons but the gators kept my legs warm and dry. I am stuffed like a turkey with layer upon layer so I was comfortable hiking in a fleece vest.

John entering the overhang. We were concerned about ice on the rock steps but had no problem. The problem was on the other side of the overhang. The trail was totally iced over. No problems going up but I had to butt scoot down in the snow beside the trail. John, of course, had no problem.

John at Inspiration Point with a 360 view of the mountains and valley.

A view along the trail.

We were concerned that this section of trail would be too hazardous but as it turned out, much of the ice was slushy. Melt from the ice on the rocks was running under the ice on the trail, rendering the ice very thin.

We stopped just short of Alum Cave. These are the steps leading to the Cave and while we thought we could make it up, the going down would be difficult.

Another view of the mountains.

Classic shot of a tree against the cloudy sky.

After our hike, we went to Gatlinburg for an early dinner and to enjoy the holiday lights. We were so looking forward to hot vegetable soup and cornbread at The Brass Lantern but to our dismay, The Brass Lantern had been sold to the McCutcheon family, of McCutcheon Candy fame (an old Gatlinburg family). The vegetable soup had become beef vegetable soup and the skillet of cornbread was now a basket of corn sticks. The soup was served at a tepid temperature and just not as good. We will think twice before making this stop again.

Holiday lights on the Gatlinburg strip.

Almost Thanksgiving...

It's almost Thanksgiving, my 2nd favorite holiday of the year and the beginning of the "big build" to my favorite holiday, Christmas. While unemployment has rendered this year a bit challenging, I have a lot to be thankful for ... John, my parents, my sisters, good friends and great health.

Tomorrow we will share Thanksgiving lunch with my mother at Shannondale. In the evening, I will have the family over for the traditional turkey, potatoes, green beans (not the casserole kind), cranberry sauce and a salad. No Thanksgiving is complete without fall flowers. Below are my holiday creations.

This bouquet is for my mother. I bought the flowers from the floral department in our local Kroger and arranged them in a vase I have around the house. The crooked willow branches were purchased sometime this summer at the local farmer's market and stored in the garage for later use.
This is a mini version of my mother's bouquet. I will use it on the dining room table. Again I have used a vase I have around the house and the crooked willow branches.
A couple of flowers from the above bouquets were too short for the arrangements so I used them to create this very clean, simple arrangement. Nice for a low coffee table.
Finally, if you are wondering how to recycle flower pods from a crepe myrtle (I am sure this is keeping you up at night), cut a few stems and put them in a nice vase. The pods are dry, need no water and will keep indefinitely.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

Winter hiking...

Yesterday we day hiked to Alum Cave in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was cold, snowy, icy, a little scary and a lot of fun. This is a teaser photo from the trail head parking lot. I will post more pics and a hike report a little later this week.

January in November...

What is up with the frozen leaves?


I forgot about my big leaf philodendron, outside in the summer sun. Meantime fall arrived, the leaves fell from the trees and January arrived. Yep, our nighttime temps have been in the teens. The philo does not usually make it back inside until almost December but this year the weather turned chilly a little early.

Hopefully I am not too late. This plant has a lot of miles and memories attached. Over a period of 30 years, it has moved with me from Knoxville to Cincinnati to St. Louis and back to Knoxville. After all that, I would hate to loose it now!

Spinning Again...

Two days into "normal" time and I feel like I should be putting on my jammies at 6:30PM. What's up with that?

Running has been a drag recently. My mileage has dropped significantly and getting in even a few miles has become a mental battle. While my last year solution would have been to stop exercising, I know the consequences of such action so instead I headed back to the gym to take up spin, again. Spinning has been a nice challenge and the time away seems to be having the desired effect. Today, after a stuffy, demanding 45 minute class, I climbed on the treadmill for a sweaty 1.5 mile run. Not much to brag about but I enjoyed it and intend to do it again tomorrow.

The end of 2008 is only weeks away, 8 to be exact. This year I have made some nice gains in fitness but my biggest goals remain just out of reach. Due to the upcoming start of a seasonal job with weekend hours, I have written off the November 15 Rutledge 1/2 Marathon, something that I attribute to my diminished motivation to run. With this in mind, I am starting to refocus on my goals and determine what 2009 races and events will get me there.

Backpack #67-GSMNP Campsite 2...

With a seasonal job coming up, John and I decided that this was the weekend to get in a final backpack before the holiday season. The weather looked good and friends, Will Skelton and Kim Robinette decided to go along too.

We left Knoxville on Saturday at 3:40 PM. This is a little late for a backpack but Will had meeting for most of the day, our hike was short and we didn't return to Eastern Standard Time until 2:00 AM. Daylight Savings Time meant the sun would not drop below the tress until until after 6:00 PM so, if we hiked fast, we could cover the 4 mile hike in daylight.

During our drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Will mentioned something about a trail short cut via the Goldmine Trail. The shortcut would slice some 2 miles off our hike and allow us time to set up camp and find firewood in the light. His map indicated the trail head was located somewhere in the Top of the World Community, a perimeter development near the Park boundary. We thought the shortcut was a great idea.

It took us a while and a couple of exploratory" walks to find the trail head. Once on the trail, we covered the .8-mile Goldmine Trail and a 1-mile section of the Cooper Road and Cane Creek trails in under an hour. We arrived at Campsite #2 with plenty of time to scavenge some downed wood for a fire, set up our tents, get water and settle in for a evening of just above freezing temperatures.

Somewhere in the Top of the World community looking for the Goldmine trail head. Fall colors are looking good!

John by campfire

Beverly by campfire

John fixed taco soup for our dinner. Yum-yum!

Sunday morning was a bit chilly but spectacular. We had a chance to look around, enjoy the clear blue sky and the last of the fall colors.

John and I had grits, bacon and coffee for breakfast. Will and Kim (above) had sweet potato pancakes and hash browns. Kim and I are spoiled campers because Will and John do all the cooking. Aside from Will's occasional liberal abuse of banana rum in his camp cooking.... pancakes, desserts, sauces and anything else he can find, he and John do a great job with KP.

A view of Cane Creek Trail.

The morning sun and shadows from the trunks of the trees made for interesting patterns with smoke from our morning campfire.

More pictures are in our Picasa gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnandbeverly74/GSMNPCampsite2#

Happy Birthday to my Dad...

Today we celebrated another year in the life of a remarkable man, my dad. If you are counting, he is 85 and still going strong. My sister hosted a luncheon for family and a few friends. We spent the afternoon talking, eating and laughing.

A most delicious cake baked by a friend of my sister Carol. The cake was my dad's favorite, chocolate on chocolate.

Leslie set a beautiful table. The fall mums in the center of the table are in a vase filled with fresh cranberries. Nice look!

Long time friend of my dad, Gid Fryer, looking at some note cards.

My dad greeting Fran Scheidt who adds fun and excitement to any room she enters.

Daddy getting ready to cut the cake. On his right is Virginia Douglas, on his left is Fran. Virginia, Fran and everyone else at the table was giving him instructions on how to cut the cake, although none of us wanted to do it ourselves. Carol is standing behind Daddy making a face as he begins to make the first cut.

From left is Nancy, Gid's daughter,in town from Pagosa, CO, then Gid and at the head of the table is Mike, Leslie's husband.

Birthday boy wielding the knife.

Father and daughters

Vrooommm...

Laura, John's sister, and her husband Richard, blew into town tonight on their Harley Davidson. Their goal was the UT-Alabama game and they made for half time, just in time to savor the Alabama win. Did I mention they are both employees of the University of Alabama??!

A blurry pic of Richard and Laura. For some reason, my little Nikon would not take a good flash. I think it had to do with the nice, bright, energy saving fluorescent bulbs in John's garage and a photographer (me) in motion.

Pig in a Harley vest, a present for Laura and Richard's daughter, Jessica!

If it is fall, it is time for fresh pesto...

My run got off to a rough start this morning. The early temperature was cold and I shied away from getting out first thing. After a couple of hours of work around the house, I had just about decided not to go. That was when I realized I was headed down the same road as last week, a road that did not include running. I quickly dressed in running gear and climbed in my car.

Still not wanting to run, I found a couple of reasons to stop along the way, specifically the dry cleaner and Fresh Market to pick up some cheese for pesto. With cheese in hand it was, of course, necessary to drive back to the house to secure it in the frig. Okay, so fresh Parmesan does not need to be chilled immediately, but...

At this point I figured my run was done for but my good self pulled through and drove to Cherokee Boulevard to put in a 3 mile effort. The run was not particularly comfortable until I realized I was picking my feet up and running faster than usual, then it became a game. I finished the effort at just over an 11 mmp, feeling strong and satisfied with the effort. I am going to credit Saturday's 3 mile bike climb with the increased leg turnover. Another good reason to keep riding!

Earlier this afternoon, I harvested my second batch of basil leaves and made another batch of fresh pesto. Usually I make pesto with pine nuts but today I used walnuts and am really pleased with the results!

5 cups of fresh basil

A cup of walnuts, plus garlic, cheese and olive oil result in several cups of pesto. We will freeze most of it to use this winter on pasta, pizza and other such delights.
This is a pesto based appetizer I made for Roger and Susie's potluck. The layers include cream cheese (low fat), sun dried tomatoes and pesto. While I think the layers of tomato were too thick, the appetizer was well received. There was nothing left to take home!

Annual trip to Carver's Apple Barn...

We look forward to this excursion every year, our annual trip to Carver's Apple Barn in Cosby, TN. We left home early Sunday afternoon, spent an hour or so picking out apples and had a leisurely drive home through Cosby and along some back roads.

Scenic view along the Foothills Parkway. This is the section from Newport to Cosby, not the section we rode Saturday, which is from Hwy 321 in Blount County to Chilhowee Lake. Visible on the mountainside above the trees is the remnants of a fire.

John and me in a "self-photo" taken at one of the scenic stops along the Foothills Parkway. As you can see from the photo below, the leaves have just begun to turn.

Pippin apples for sale. Apples change year to year, depending on a lot of factors (that is as much as I know about apple growing). In the past, Pippin apples have been reliably crisp and a combination of tart and sweet. This year the apples were a little softer and a little tarter. Our new favorite was a variety we have not seen before, "Nutter," which is sweet and crisp.

Me trying out the Pippin apple. Yep, softer and tart. John gave the Pippin a thumbs down but we purchased a bag for drying and cooking.

John in line at the checkout. Our basket is filled with several bags of apples, jam, pumpkins and fresh cider. Carver's Apple Barn was very busy! The restaurant, opened on the property several years ago, had a waiting line of about an hour.