Hick'ry Nuts Everywhere!

A very nice weekend at Meredith Hill East started with a Smoky Mountain morning.

Jacey's starting to get a move on...

and she modeled her Halloween outfit (or one of them).

They're all growing fast.

It was a beautiful day for picking up Hick'ry nuts:

Abbott favored us with a new song:

It was a successful nut hunt. Here are a couple of them:

July 4, Part II

I don't know all the details of acquisition, but Ryan was the recipient of a large pig at the Frothy Monkey just before the holiday weekend, and asked if I'd like to participate in a bacon-smoking ceremony. After answering with some referral to where a bear relieves himself, I stocked up on lump hardwood charcoal and began soaking a couple of fallen hickory limbs from the back hillside.

Ryan had pre-cured the slab with his own secret recipe (which, in the interest of intellectual property rights, I will not divulge), then we added more kosher salt, black pepper, raw sugar and crushed homegrown red peppers. It rested overnight. Thanks to George the cat, I did not.

We started the fire about 8:00am, loaded the slab at 8:30 and about an hour in took our first peek:

six hours later, we had a beautifully smoked pork belly, which, after some sampling accompanied by ooohs and aaaahs, cooled in the refrigerator to become...

Monday morning bacon with multi-grain waffles.

This is the best bacon ever to pass my lips, but because this is not something we should eat every day, the last slices are now in the freezer, safely awaiting the next occasion. Oh, and there are a few small chunks saved for limited use in seasoning vegetables, soups, pastas, salads, and anything else where you might say "you know what would be perfect in this?"

Thanks, Ryan, for sharing.

July 4, Part I

Happy Independence Day!

What a great weekend we had! After an initial delay because of Abbott's fever, everyone arrived Saturday and stayed until Monday. There was much fun on the new swing set,

(Thanks, MomaJo!)

on the patio

and on the new Slip n' Slide and pool

(Thanks, Jami!).

There was much healthy grillin' and many healthy meals including Healthy Chocolate and Healthy Energy drinks...

(we count the pound cake and low-fat ice cream because as healthy because we added fresh strawberries).

And we discovered the joy of home-smoked bacon (see Part II).

2010 Garden

After less-than-satisfying results the past couple of years, we've downsized the garden, going with a small raised bed to produce just the essentials.
Step 1: Stack the frame Step 2: Screw it together

Step 3: Add some dirt

Step 4: Install plants.

Step 5: Water, weed and wait.

Long Time No Blog

Forgive the delay. All my fault. No excuses except laziness.

Here's our beautiful new granddaughter, in case you haven't seen Jacey Rose:

The master bath remodel is finished! Before:

and after:

new tile, toilet, cabinet & vanities, and no more wire shelves!

Jingle Bell Jack

I've been delinquent in my blogging, but here's one from the holidays. I promise there will be more!

First Fire of the Season

After a hectic week of visiting and travel, we returned home today to weather cool enough for the first fire. I had one large log, which was just enough to split for a good long fire. Nice.

Labor Day Fireworks

Jami covered most of the weekend in pictures, so here's a video of the highlights from Knoxville's Boomsday. Enjoy!

Sunday in the Smokies

We enjoyed a nice picnic and a short hike in the mountains...

Garden Update/Jami's Request

It's Broccoli!

And Tomatoes!

And, per Jami's request, more photos from the weekend in Athens (see her blog for details).

Joy, Rapture!

The first blooms on the tomato plants. We can almost taste 'em already!

The expanded garden, l-r: tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, zucchini, jalapenos and room for okra.

Abbott on the Move

We had a great Mother's Day weekend with almost all the kids visiting; only Ryan was missing (and was missed). We were thankful for Jami and Jack's safety after the hit and run (see Jami's blog), and enjoyed a little rain, a little sun and a lot of fun. Of course Jack's going as fast as can be, but we'll devote this video to Abbott, who has been getting his feet under him for a few weeks now. He started out the weekend with some tentative steps, but by Sunday, was cruising pretty good trying to keep up with Jack. Here's some progress...

Nashville Weekend

A nice visit with Kelly, Abbott and briefly, Ryan. We went to Centennial Park for Earth Day festivities Saturday, then stayed inside and visited during the rainy Sunday. K & R prepared a delicious lunch of roast beef, spinach and sun-dried tomato risotto and roasted zucchini and Abbott entertained:

If there's music, this boy's dancin'!

A little horesback riding makes for a good laugh...

We discovered Brenda's sideline business:

And he's just cute, that's all there is to it...

more, please...

Dogwood Winter

Ketchup!

We've been spending way too much time on Facebook, and not nearly enough time blogging, so we have some ketchuping to do. So how about a few videos?

First, here's Abbott sadly/happily enjoying what few toys he has. This was before his birthday, where Christmas arrived again, except Santa's entire bag was just for him.

He's almost ready to take off and run, and when he does, look out, Kel & Ryan!

And here's Jack helping me plant grass. This is one of his favorite things to do; it keeps him busy all day.

Peek-A-Boo!

Jack entertains Abbott...

Merry Christmas!

Jack Gets Down

Jack learns the fine art of Steve Martin impressions...

Giving Thanks

It was a great day to celebrate! These are some of the things we're thankful for...

Sweet faces,

Cooperation,

Boys that love their Momo Jo,

and being together.

Leaves

Does Jack like playing in the leaves...

...or does he like watching himself playing in the leaves more?