The Hodgepodge Splurge
Exploring East Tennessee: Tsali Notch Vineyard
The Tasting Room |
Why Tsali?
Back to the Vineyard!
There's more to the Vineyard than just Vines
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View from the side window during the rain |
Clouds hanging over the vineyards after the rain |
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View from the front during the rain |
Ageless Wednesday Hodgepodge
2. Last time you 'burned the candle at both ends'?
3. Are you someone with the 'gift of gab'? Elaborate (which shouldn't be a problem if you answered yes teehee).
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Splitcoast Speechies: New Orleans, 2017 (minus our Ohio girl!) States represented: Texas, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, California, New Hampshire, Louisiana |
Exploring East Tennessee: Grain Bin Commodities
Wow. It's been a "hot minute" since I've written one of these posts...2 years (almost to the day) to be exact. I hope to be writing more of these in the near future.
Entrance to Grain Bin Commodities |
The Bakery |
The Event Barn |
The Patio |
How relaxing would it be to sit here and look out at the East TN Countryside? |
The view! |
Outdoor fireplace |
Details! |
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Coffee Cake Donut and Cream Cheese Roll |
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Scone, country ham & cheese muffins, sausage balls |
View of the field across the street. The camping spots are below the camper in the picture. |
Queen Mother of All Hodgepodges
1. Did you watch the coronation of King Charles III? Share some of your thoughts about that, or about the royal family in general.
I had no interest in the coronation. I find the royal family intriguing but I think it's lost some of its luster without Queen Elizabeth.
2. What are you the uncrowned queen of?
Nothing comes to mind but I'm sure if I asked CH or my boys, they'd have a few things to say.
3. In a box of chocolates which one do you usually go for?
All of them. I'm talking double-fisted, shove in my mouth, regardless of which one it is!
4. Something learned at your mother's knee?
My faith.
5. 'Like mother, like daughter'...in what way is this saying true for you?
I looked in the mirror the other day and was really taken aback by how much I looked like her at that moment. I definitely have a love of music in church as she did. At a meeting of the women's group the other night the president mentioned my mom as an officer but said she didn't remember which office she held. I said under my breath "Secretary" and everybody laughed because that's the position I held for a term and have had to take over this term.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I keep harping on this, but retirement will be here very soon. I'm thinking about how I'm going to react on that last day...to walk out for that last time. It's actually pretty scary, not knowing what my future is going to look like. Guess that's where my faith comes in. I don't know what's in store, but I know God has a plan and I have to be able to just go with the flow and allow Him to work!
Time for an Update
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Photo by Markus Winkler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-white-paper-in-a-vintage-typewriter-4052195/ |
There's been a whole lot of nuttin' going on around our household. I had surgery 2 weeks before Christmas and was limited to only walking around the house for a couple of weeks. Then I was able to walk for 20 minutes but no lifting or bending over. I swear I dropped 50 things a day and had to call CH or MS to pick them up. There was no cooking, which meant no Christmas baking or candy-making. One of my sisters was sweet enough to send a care package with baked goodies for us.
We weren't able to go anywhere during my break. I have to say, it was really weird
Having those 2 extra weeks off before Christmas Break made it extremely difficult to go back to work, especially knowing that soon I'll be retired and will get into a brand new routine. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do have some options.
CH worked on some improvements to the van to get her ready for some adventures. He had the padding done so that we can sleep in the van if we need/want to. I was looking forward to the improvements he's making. But then something incredible happened...
During Spring Break we camped at FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, GA. We knew there was a chance it wasn't going to be warm; the weather the 2 weeks leading up to the break were incredibly nice and warm. We (and by "we" I mean "CH") loaded up the Delica with our tent, gazebo, cots, sleeping bags, and everything else we needed. We figured if it was too cold we could always sleep in the van. Once at the campsite, we unloaded everything and set up camp. Luckily, there was electricity at the campground so we plugged in a space heater. It worked well until 7:00 a.m. the 1st morning. I was walking back to the tent from the bathroom and saw a flash of light from inside the tent. Fortunately, it was only a fuse in the heater, and nothing caught on fire. We were able to find another small heater in town that worked well for us for the next 2 nights. We actually stayed pretty warm with the heater going. CH thought ahead and put a quilted blanket over the top of the tent to keep the warm air in, and he bought some padding for the floor so we weren't walking directly on the cold ground.
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Having the blanket on top of the tent helped keep the warm air inside |
Here's the incredible thing that happened: I think that trip convinced CH that if we are going to continue to camp like we want to, and if we are going to travel and camp, we need to make a change. We began our search for a campervan. To make a long story short, we narrowed it down to 2 vans: 1 was a 4-wheel drive and the other was a front-wheel drive. The front wheel had a TON of storage and a lift kit could be added to it so it would have the ground clearance CH wants. But...we wouldn't be able to camp right on the beach or off the beaten path. We would be limited to where we could camp. So we decided to go with the 4-wheel drive.
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How stylish do I look with leggings, socks, and crocs! |
To find out more about our journey to find our van, read The Journey to Find Maeve Anne on our camping blog, Flyin' the Coop. The path to find her wasn't filled with roses. We can't wait for our adventures to begin.
That's our big news. Well, aside from my retirement in just a few short weeks. I've looked through my materials, made a spreadsheet of what I want to sell and give away, and have started boxing some things up. It's unreal to think that it's almost here. But I'm ready. Without a doubt, I'm ready.
Hopefully I can revive this blog, but if not, catch me over at Flyin' the Coop.
Jumping Back Into the Hodgepodge
1. Tell us anything you want about your January.
January is over??? It went by like a flash, for sure. I didn't work a full week in Jan. between an "inclement weather expected" day, appointments, and another round of COVID.
2. Lake Superior State University posts a list each year of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. The 2023 list includes GOAT, inflection point, quiet quitting, gaslighting, moving forward, amazing, Does that make sense?, irregardless, absolutely, and it is what it is.
Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add?
I use 'amazing', 'absolutely', and 'Does that make sense' on a regular basis, but I don't hear them overused. I've never heard of a few of those words/phrases but I think GOAT and gaslighting should definitely go away.
3. February 2nd is Groundhog Day. What's something that feels repeated in your life right now?
CH's appointments every other week, asking how his numbers are, and seeing him have a few days of feeling bad.
4. What's a food you love that's named after a place?
Right now it's Dubliner Cheese. It's super good on toasted french bread.
5. What's the best season of the year to visit your city or your part of the country? Tell us why.
I'd say fall, especially when the colors are at their peak.
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Picture in the park next to our house this fall. |
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Retirement is beginning to be a reality. I received my retirement forms to fill out for the school system a few weeks ago. They, along with the State forms have to be turned in by Spring Break, which is mid-March. I've started looking through my school materials and throwing away some things, plus marking some things as giveaways to other people. It's getting real!