Blue Ridge blog

The answer is blowin' in the wind

I nearly froze to death taking this photo of the peak of Rich Mountain. As I reached inside the back of my Jeep Liberty to grab my tripod, I fully intended to climb higher upon the mountain to take photos of the Amphibolites easily seen from the summit, but as I climbed over the frozen tundra, I felt the wind go in one side of my ear and scream out the other. The wind clearly yelled, " Leave stupid ." So I did.

wine time

As promised I have a handful of wine recommendations from my father. I was waiting on him to send me a photo that we took of a bottle of wine we shared in front of the Christmas tree, but guess he is occupied or just plain too tired from our visit. In any case, here are a couple of you-can't-go-wrong East Coast wines that he likes. You might note that he is part Scot so takes pride in not paying extraordinary prices for a very drinkable wine. Additionally, these are not necessarily his absolute favs, just those that he is highly familiar with and that were accessible as we were crawling through his wine cellar on Sunday.

1) Veritas Cabernet franc- a Monticello 2001 vintage that won the Virginia Governor's cup.
2) Lakewood Vineyards Long Stem White 2000- a Fingerlakes, NY vintage (very drinkable IMO)
3) Westbend 1998 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (Hey lookie here! a NC foothills wine ) AWESOME! You
can't go wrong offering this one to guests. I personally have saved a case of this notable potable.
4) Sangiovese Reserve 2000- a Barboursville Vineyard yummy. I think my dad values this particular
vineyard and has high future expectations as well. Remember the name and know that you heard it
here first if you are not already familiar.
5) Lamoreaux Landing Estate Red-a non-vintage from the NY Fingerlakes region. A fine tablewine.

Winter Games

I took this photo a couple days before Christmas at Appalachian Ski Mountain. The mountain was teaming with local children who were taking advantage of 'snow day rates'. The week after Christmas most locals fear the slopes because tourists have flocked to the slopes en masse...most having never put on a pair of skis before in their life.
This is my vacation so I've been busy this morning putting away Christmas and doing much neglected housework. Unexciting activity? NO. Necessary and fulfilling? YES. I'll try to get you a fresh photo this evening.

When in Rome...or Raleigh...

So, my parents have always encouraged the concept of artistic freedom and this photo certainly embodies that spirit. My parents keep several prisms in their house to throw rainbows about during the day. My dad was standing in the kitchen and gladly posed as I snapped this photo of colors crossing his face. Many people would be intimidated to have a camera inches (literally) from the nostrils and nose hairs, but not my dad. It is spontaneous art for him and we had fun. Besides, if he had a booger hangin I would have told him :-)

My dad is a master of wine and we have been sampling a couple of his favorites. Tomorrow I hope to post several of his recommendations that are both inexpensive and local (east coast) that are easily available with a small description. I promise that you can not go wrong with his wine recommendations.

Life in the big city

Thanks for the gumball. This sweetgum tree resides in the backyard of my parent's house in the Raleigh suburbs. This tree alone is responsible for numberous wounds caused mainly by barefoot summer evenings playing 'flashlight'. If you were a smart player, you would listen to the ouches of others as they passed underneath the boundaries of the tree and listen to little toes being impaled by the spikes of the seed pod.
We arrived in Raleigh last night. I never cease to be amazed at how many stores are necessary to please the shopping public. We ventured to the Triangle Square Mall and was basically overwhelmed by the number of people and the choices surrounding us. My teenage children love to ride the escalators. We don't have any moving stairs in Boone. I try to temper the display of their naivete so that they don't draw long stares from the big city dwellers. I laugh when they go into teenage like stores with children their age. They stare long and hard trying to see if they somehow 'fit in'. Nobody fits in at that age so of course, they do. At least they aren't wearing their overalls and never even considered it. Their dress is much more conservative and tasteful ( my opinion ) but that has more to do with dear hubby and I insisting upon a certain amount of decorum. I ain't raisin' no Daisy Maes. Everyday life is so different here. The weather is fantastic, but no one is playing outside.

A Yard-O-Beef ??

Not wanting this thoughtful gift to go to waste, my family and I are searching for ideas on how to best utilize this big hunk 'o meat.

1) My daughter uses it to hold up her synthesizer music
2) A weapon to hit bad guys with.
3) A bribe to get the cat into the garage.
4) A bribe to use over and over again on the dog because she is daft.
5) A decent paperweight
6) A substitute baseball bat.
7) An exercise weight

I would love to hear your suggestions. Any idea what the half-life of a summer sausage is?
Christmas Day has been fun. We have no agenda. It is snowing...I think I'll take a winter walk.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

I had a really hard time finding a "round yon virgin, mother and child," to follow my theme so I skipped ahead a couple of verses and made this photo of the Thomas Chapel outside of Boone fit into place. Heavenly Peace sounds wonderful, doesn't it? I'm just grateful to have the 1/2 day off and all of tomorrow to play. I will basically play 'house' in the kitchen. I love to cook, not necessarily eat, but the for me, it is all about the process. We won't be having any beef for Christmas...not because for fear of contracting some insane bovine disease, but after pricing a couple of ribeyes at our local grocer ($21 for two puny pieces) I now know that swine is just fine for my crew. I personally prefer some Swiss chard, sauteed tempeh and orange ambrosia salad (I won't forget a little Christmas cheer).
Seriously, after reading this piece on BSE on the UPI website I cannot believe the stupidity of the system to let a "downer" cow to enter the human consumption food chain. I think that if I were to go out into the hen house and saw a chicken limp on the ground, I would logically conclude that the chicken was sick and therefore would restrain myself from eating it. My husband and I have contemplated for a while purchasing a couple of head of cattle and letting our dear brother-in-law raise them for us. After I read Eric Scholsser's "Fast Food Nation," I think I may press the issue further.
Gonna go for now, but I have some Christmas goodies to pass out to a bunch of you so will return after they are wrapped.

All is Calm, all is bright

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a constant source of inspiration for me.

Silent Night, Holy Night

Clear skies and cool temperatures bring out the natural beauty of the Bethel community.

Snowplow Man

This photo shows the down and dirty backside of our recent snowfall of the past Thursday/Friday/Saturday. The dude on the tractor smoking a cigar is dear hubby dealing with a pesky mound of snow on our property. I have more photos...