Grandchildren!

In order to have grandchildren, you have to be a parent! And sometimes you wonder if bringing up those kids so they can have your grandchildren is worth the aggravation. But then life settles down and you love your kids...even the teenagers!

Then they get married, settle down and start thinking about becoming a family! What an exciting time for everyone! I remember my grandmother kept asking when I was going to have children. "But I'm not even married,"I said. In fact, I wasn't even dating anyone seriously at the time.

"That's ok," replied Gran, "I'll take care of it. I just want to be a great grandmother!". And luckily she lived long enough and was in good health so she got to know her great-grandchildren - even taught my 8 year old son to play Crazy 8s. Gran always loved little boys....I think in her youth she liked big boys too if stories about her were true.

And now I'm a grandmother. Known as "Granny" which I chose because I'm definitely NOT a Granny type! Thought it was fun. And to my daughter, her friends, my son-in-law, my granddaughter and her friends, I'm Granny!

Although I live about 10 hours away from my granddaughter, Miss Sway, I try to get up north from the mountains of Tennessee as often as possible. Definitely try to make her big gymnastics meets since she is so involved in that sport. And we talk on the phone. I hear about her life in New Jersey, about her dogs, her friends and her schoolwork. Sometimes I wish I lived closer so I could be more involved, but my mountain home suits me just fine!

But I can wait a few years to be a great-grandmother! Since I started late on having children as did my daughter, I may not have an opportunity to be a great-grand. But that's ok too. I'm just glad I grew up back in the 40's and 50's - the worries parents have these days. No freedom to roam for the kids - can't even play stick ball on the streets anymore!

Summer's Heat

Over 30 days of temperatures over 90 this year. Normally, if we have 3 during the entire summer it is a lot! Global warming? Who knows? But it is just the reverse of winter when we had more snow, more below freezing temperatures than normal. According to a report I just read in the Wall Street Journal, yes global warming is here throughout the world!

But what is "normal"? Just the averages of the days over a period of a hundred years or more? Doesn't really matter to me....I just know it's hot! And my electric bill says the same thing - it's more than double what it normally is in the summer. Part of that is because I have the dehumidifiers running in two houses and those use a lot of energy. Like coffee pots...when I was looking into buying a generator, I checked the ratings on various items I would want to keep running if the power went out....coffee pots! WOW! They draw a lot of power!

When I was younger and outside playing, riding my horse, the heat didn't bother me. But now that I'm inside in the A/C most of the day when I do go out....it seems even hotter. So I try to be like B. Franklin who said, "early to rise....". That way I get the weeding, etc. done before the sun has had a chance to bake the world.

But here in the mountains, once the sun goes down behind the mountains, it does cool off nicely and it's great to sit outside listening to the katydids, whippoorwills who start at 9:00 p.m., and the breeze in the trees. I do love living in Butler "the town that wouldn't drown", in the Cherokee National Forest of NE Tennessee.

Luckily I also have wonderful Watauga Lake at the end of the lawn. Had a picnic there yesterday afternoon with good friends and kids. Jumping off the dock, swimming across the cove to another dock to check out their ladder (I need to get one for mine), floating - I'm very good at that now that I have more fat - fat does float, laughing, playing water games and then enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad (2 kinds), chips and dips - it was a perfect summer's day.

Too bad the rain (which we need) came in before we got to the s'mores - ah well, there is always another hot day before school starts here in the mountains of NE Tennessee.

Better get back to ironing and laundry! House keeping is certainly a never ending job!

Watauga Lake Clean Up

June 26th, 2010 9:00 A.M. Sugar Grove Baptist Church, Butler, TN It's not the oil spill, but we want to keep our local waters clean as well.

Join your friends, neighbors and anyone interested in keeping Watauga Lake in NE Tennessee the "third cleanest lake in the US" (well, that's we have all heard, but who knows for sure!)

Anyway, unfortunately people are not careful with plastic bottles, tangled fishing lines, plastic bags and the detritus of our civilization, and so a group of concerned citizens and friends of Watauga Lake are spending the day walking the shoreline picking up trash, cruising on the water picking up floating trash and generally having a wonderful day in the mountains while doing good work.

No charge to join - but you'll get breakfast and snacks and you MIGHT even win a prize of $200.00! There are other prizes to be given including a night at the Iron Mountain Inn B&B in Butler, TN. AT the end of the day, more food, lots of music and a heartfelt thanks from the Lake denizens for a job well done!

If you don't live in the area, check out www.ironmountaininn.com under the specials for a very special weekend rate! WE'd love to have as many friends of our waters from streams to lakes to the oceans which surround us all join in the fun.

A remarkable woman, Mary Salter, is putting this event together with the help of some friends. When you see her, be sure to give Mary a hearty THANK YOU for organizing this event. WE hope it will be at least annually, if not more often. But most of all, we hope that people will begin to take pride in our beautiful lake surrounded by the magnificent Cherokee National Forest and keep the trash in the boat until time to take it home and dispose of it correctly.

Sierra Club Members be sure to come for a fun day.
Watauga Watershed Alliance members will be there (those not manning the Farmer's Market)
Candidates for elected offices may appear
But most of all....we hope there will be lots of people who want to help protect our land and water.

Check out the website www.ironmountaininn.com for more information = and give a call if you need directions.

See you Saturday!

Pets Who Travel

Lots of us travel with our pets - usually dogs, but on occasion cats. Think most people leave parrots and gerbils at home, however, I might be wrong!

I know I used to travel with my two large dogs - they often slept in my car or truck when I visited friends. But now I only have cats and they prefer to stay at home while I gallivant about!
This is Mouse - originally called Mozart, but that seemed much too formal. Mouse is the smallest of my 3 cats, but she is the dominant one. Poor Noisy is the one who is always picked on! Noisy just showed up on the doorstep one day and has been a member of the house ever since.
Squeak was found in the local dump! Someone had tossed two kittens into the dump and when I went to unload my garbage, I was able to rescue Squeak. At first I called her White Fang from the way she dug her teeth and claws into my hand while I was trying to rescue her. But now...she is the sweetest of my cats - she loves to snuggle under the covers in the morning.

But I know how many people travel with their pets and that's why I have two vacation rental properties here in the mountains of NE Tennessee that allow pets! In the forest or on the water, both the Creekside Chalet and Watauga Lake House welcome pets and their families.

The Chalet is especially good since it has a wide gated wrap around deck so while mom and dad are lolling in the hot tub, their 4 footed family members can be chasing each other round and round! This is after a good hike along the mountain trails right outside the front door! And there is the creek for cooling off in on hot summer days.

There is a neighborhood grey cat who comes calling about twice a week. Usually waking us all up in the morning with his caterwalling! He lives about 2 miles away, but makes his rounds all year long. One of the neighbors feeds him, but he mostly survives on his hunting ability. He is somewhat ragged looking from walking such long distances through the rhododendrons and other brush, but he's not interested in being a house cat! Just wants to lure my cats out for a life of debauchery!

Oh, there is he is! Squawking away outside my fenced in deck. He can't get in, my cats can't get out - they just look at each other through the chicken wire! Time to go chase him away.

Watauga Lake Clean Up

Come join the fun June 26th! What?

Food-Fun & Cash for Trash

Watauga Lake Clean Up. June 26, 2010 Registration begins at 9:00 At Sugar Grove Baptist Church on Sugar Grove Road (Coffee and breakfast snack provided at registration.) There will be both water and shore clean up. Those without boats will be assigned to one (if they choose water clean up) Bags and Gloves will be provided. Any folks with other cleaning tools please bring. (fishing nets on poles and grabbers) Celebration party to follow clean up. Food and entertainment provided.
Cash prizes given away. With a $200.00 grand prize. Other items to be given away also. Recognition of sponsors. For more information contact, Mary Salter 423-768-0363 e mail chataylo@gmail.com

Come, share the magic of the mountains and stay this weekend at Iron Mountain Inn B&B in Butler, TN. Mention you are going to be cleaning up Watauga Lake and take 15% from your final bill.

Easter at the Iron Mountain Inn

Easter will be here in a couple of weeks and I'm planning to host Easter dinner for here at the Iron Mountain Inn. How about joining us for a wonderful spring weekend getaway.

IRON MOUNTAIN INN EASTER WEEKEND

Three days/two nights choice of available rooms
Full breakfast each morning
Easter dinner and Easter egg hunt
Bottomless chocolate chip cookie jar
All for only: $469.00 including tax

Visit our website: www.ironmountaininn.com and choose your room
Book online or
Call 423-768-2446 to reserve your special holiday getaway

We'll have local guests as well as those "from away". Do join us!

Spring

To Maggie spring came around much too soon. She liked winter! Not that she skied, but she liked sitting inside by the fire with a good book maybe even reread a classic. She liked listening to Sirius XM programs. She liked the sound of silence when the snow covered the ground. She liked making meals when she was hungry, not because it was “time”. The snowfall kept her from running about. The snow kept visitors away. Early darkness meant an early supper and early bedtime. Yes, Maggie loved winter.

Spring meant sneezing and coughing even with shots and pills. Maggie went through many boxes of tissues in spring. Each plant which burst with color or leaves was one more cross to be born in spring. Maggie’s eyes were always red.

The trick to surviving spring, Maggie thought, was to get out of town. Go north where spring came later. Alaska appealed to her because she thought with all that ice and snow surely Eskimos couldn’t plant flowers. And she’d heard they didn’t have trees in Alaska. But getting to Alaska would be a problem. Maggie didn’t fly and it was too far to drive. Plus she didn’t speak Eskimo.

But spring was now outside her windows. She couldn’t push a button and have it disappear. She’d been feeding the birds all winter. How she loved those cardinals in their bright red suits! But they weren’t around as often since there were other sources of food for them now.

The trees were beginning to have color and soon she knew, there would be leaves covering her winter view. She loved her winter view! Looking far across the valley, through the trunks of the trees to the mountains beyond – yes, Maggie thought, I have great views in winter.

Then it began to rain. Not nice white fluffy snow, but damp wet dreary rain. It pelted down onto the metal roof. Not soft like snow. It didn’t have lovely flakes to fly about as the wind blew. It was just wet and drippy. Maggie endured spring.
She melted in summer even though she kept her air conditioning at 50 degrees and put on a coat! Made her feel like winter…till she looked out the window. Maggie sneezed again and again from the pollen. Summer cost Maggie a lot of money in electric bills and allergy emdicines.

Maggie tolerated fall because it meant winter was on its way. And it was the time to split wood for the fireplace. Fall meant her beautiful views would soon be back.

Lovely winter. White winter. Snowy winter. Quiet winter. Maggie was happy once again. She was back in her natural element.


Now I have to figure where to go with this start!