Monday, December 14, 2009

Lots of stuff!

Lots of miscellaneous stuff this week...First of all, the screened porch. You can see we still need to stain the door, but it looks great! And you can hardly tell from the inside that it's screened!

We also painted the bathrooms this weekend - here's the hall bath
And here's our bathroom - looks a lot less "cavernous" with some color on the wall!
And, if you've been up, you'll remember the "Pizza Hut House" up on the mountain across the pasture. We called it that because it had a bright red roof. But lo and behold, they have redone it, so we don't know what to call it anymore!

We had some visitors on Saturday morning...
Oh, no! She heard me

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Painting and Farewell? to Beatrice

Last weekend, we decided to paint the kitchen - needless to say clearing off the counters was a real pain... Tom cuts some corners...

and stretches to get the far corners...
When it was all done - it was beautiful, but I forgot to take a picture! Next time, I'll show you the finished product. Along with our new beautiful screened porch, which I also forgot to immortalize digitally.
Now on to Beatrice. Most of you know that we have a cow, Beatrice. The man that grazes his cattle on our land keeps her over the winter, breeds her, and sells her calf for us every fall. Well, we came up and found that he had taken all of the cows off for the winter except for Beatrice. He stopped by that weekend and said he was getting out of the cattle business - couldn't find any good help and it was just getting to be too much for him....What did we want to do with Beatrice? After some discussion, he said he might want to keep a few cows and maybe use our pasture again. He'd let us know the next week. If he didn't want to use the pasture, he'd take Beatrice to market for us.
So we came to the Roost thinking that this might be Beatrice's last weekend. We brought a bag of apples so we could feed her one more time...
Of course, the pig was right there as soon as she heard the plastic...

Now where did he hide them?

There they are!

I need another one...NOW!

Oh no....they're all gone!
Well, the good news is that John has decided to use our pasture again, so Beatrice will be back next year!
And...totally unrelated, there are some gorgeous red berries this year!

Monday, November 16, 2009

FIRE!!! and spring????

We had big excitement last weekend - a small forest fire up on Catherine's knob! We watched the fire for a while, thinking that someone was just burning leaves. I had just said that it was starting to look a little scary, when the sirens started. The Laurel Springs fire department and another one, probably Piney Creek or Sparta, were up on the hill most of the day getting the fire put out. We were really lucky that the wind was blowing very lightly, or it would have gotten out of hand quickly.
On another note, the weather's been so warm, that my plants think it's spring. Imagine - a geranium blooming in November in the mountains...
and my irises are already sprouting up!



Sunday, October 25, 2009

It was COLD!!!

The first annual "Cut Loose at the Roost" was a huge success - thanks to every one for braving the weather to come! It was about 40 degrees with a 20 mph steady wind, but Jackie was prepared....
The circle around the porch heater was popular spot - notice there's nobody out on the deck!

There was much more activity inside around the food table!
My hospitality assistants did a fantastic job!

The grillmaster had the grill "full" of chicken breasts....

A few brave souls atually ate outside on the porch...
Jackie and Kat grabbed the "warm corner"

After the crowd left, Glenda decided to try a little yoga...
That apparently didn't work, so she tried this....(don't ask)

Jackie and Kat brought a nice housewarming present - some gorgeous sounding wind chimes with a "guard rooster"!
And, as promised, here are the recipes passed on by the attendees:
  • Deviled Eggs (from Donna)

    6 hard-cooked eggs
    ¼ cup mayonnaise
    1 teaspoon white vinegar
    1 teaspoon prepared mustard (I use Grey Poupon Dijon mustard)
    1/8 teaspoon salt
    Paprika

    Boil the eggs until they are hard-cooked.
    Halve hard-cooked eggs length-wise, remove yolks and mash with a fork.
    Stir in mayonnaise, white vinegar, mustard and salt.
    Stuff egg whites with yolk mixture (I use my cake decorator with the widest fancy end I have for this)
    Garnish with parika.
    Makes 12 servings

    If I am doing more than 6 eggs, I use my food processor to “mash” the egg yolks and mix the other stuff in. It makes the filling smoother, but mostly it is just easier on the arms and I am all about easy!!!
  • Ribbon Cheese Slices (Provided by Janie Marshall, brought by Donna)
    (Slightly altered from Taste of Home Appetizer book)

    8 oz cream cheese slightly softened
    1/3 cup chopped pecans
    1/3 cup dried cranberries diced
    10 (3 in. x 3 in.) slices deli-type sharp cheddar cheese slices

    Combine cream cheese, pecans and cranberries.
    On aluminum foil, place 2 slices of cheddar cheese side by side.
    Spread 3 rounded tablespoons cream cheese mixture over cheese slices.
    Repeat layers ending with cheddar cheese slices.
    Fold foil tightly around layered cheese.
    Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
    Remove from foil.
    Cut lengthwise three ways.
    Slice across making 1/4 inch slices.
    Serve with crackers.

  • Marbled Chocolate Treats (from Ginger)

    8 1/2 graham crackers cut in half (17 squares)
    6 squares semi sweet chocolate
    1/2 cup peanut butter
    3 squares white chocolate

    Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil leaving enough hanging off to use as handles
    Arrange graham crackers in bottom of panmicrowave semi sweet chocolate and peanut butter for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is completely melted when stirred. I stirred every 30 seconds until melted.
    Pour over graham crackers; spread evenly repeat melting time for white chocolate and then pour over dark chocolate/peanut butter mixture; then take knive and swirl chocolates together.
    Refrigerate for at least an hour or until firm. Remove dessert from pan and peel off aluminum foil and cut dessert into bars.
    Store in covered container in refrigerator.

  • Honey Bee’s Rice (from Leza)

    1 chopped onion
    ½ stick butter
    2-oz. bag of slivered or sliced almonds
    3 ounces raisins
    1 cup white rice (uncooked)
    2 cans beef consommé

    Saute the top 5 ingredients. Place in casserole dish. Pour consommé over the ingredients and bake (covered) at 375 degrees for 50 min. – 1 hour.

  • Brownies (from Glenda)

    1 walnut brownie mix
    3 Symphony Bars (with toffee and almonds)

    Prepare brownie mix according to instructions on the box.
    Pour 1/2 of the mix into a 9x12 pan, then place the 3 Symphony bars over the brownie mix. Pour remaining mix on top and bake according to mix.

  • Oriental Cabbage Salad (from Paula)

    1 pkg cole slaw mix
    1 package slivered almonds
    2 tablespoons sesame seeds
    1/3 cup sugar
    1/4 cup vinegar (apple cider or red wine)
    3/4 cup oil (olive, canola or vegetable)
    2 tablespoons soy sauce
    1 teaspoon pepper
    1 pkg ramen noodles (do not use the seasoning packet)

    Brown almonds and sesame seeds in a small amount of butter and combine with cole slaw mix in a bowl.
    Combine sugar, vinegar, oil, soy sauce and pepper in a shaker (or some kind of container) – shake it up and pour over cole slaw mixture
    Break up ramen noodles and add them to the mixture just before serving (so they are crunchy, when you eat it!)

  • Betty’s Famous Mexican Wontons (not brought this year, but usually a staple!)

    Wonton Wrappers (approx 50/pkg)
    1 lb sausage, cooked & drained
    2 cups monterrey jack cheese, grated
    2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
    ½ cup green pepper chopped (I use green chili peppers)
    1 cup ranch dressing
    1 cup black olives, sliced

    Mix all ingredients except for wonton wrappers

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray muffin tins with non-stick spray.
    Mold wontons in tin. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and put a heaping tablespoon of mixture in each wonton. Bake 5 more minutes.

  • Chicken Braid (from Marian)

    2 8oz. crescent rolls (generic brand works better)
    1/2 - 1 cup cooked, chopped chicken (approx. 3 boneless breasts)
    1 c. chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen, if frozen drain well)
    1/2 c. chopped red pepper
    4 oz. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
    1 cup mayonnaise
    2 tsp. Dill mix
    ¼ tsp. salt
    1/2 can water chestnuts (chopped)
    1 garlic clove
    *****************
    to prepare braid for baking use 1 egg white & some slivered almonds

    Preheat oven to 350.
    Separate crescent rolls into triangles and lay them out to form a rectangle on a baking stone or greased cookie sheet. Use rolling pin to seal triangle seams. With a paring knife, cut strips approximately 1 - 2 inches apart across rectangle leaving 3 – 4 inches uncut in center. Mix remaining ingredients in order until creamy. Spoon and mound mixture lengthwise down center of crescent roll rectangle. Starting at top of rectangle, pull strips of dough from each side toward center over chicken mixture, twist and join them. Continue until all strips have been done. Brush top and sides of braid with egg white and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Bake at 350, 25-30 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Quick trip

We took a quick trip up on Friday to get the yard mowed before the rains started. And, guess what? We have the first signs of fall!



And sometime during the past week, we've had a mystery visitor on our deck...probably a possum or raccoon!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

First hint of fall...

This past weekend was fabulous! We had our first hint of fall weather on Saturday evening after a beautiful sunny and clear day. Saturday evening we had a visit from our local group of turkeys. There are 3 broods, with 22 that we counted. They are getting so big that you can't tell the little ones from the big ones anymore! We're surprised that that many have survived the summer....
We watched the storms roll by on Friday night... I took another "nature hike" on Saturday, and found this Hickory Tussock Caterpillar munching on my blackberries - I decided it was alright to share with him!


The pine cones on our trees are oozing lots of sap, but they haven't started to open yet...
I also did a little cooking over the weekend - I made Jalapeno poppers. I was drying them here, but I think they look like little green army men (anyone remember those?)

I also dried our latest crop of romas...

As far as the house goes, I got a new shower curtain for the hall bathroom...

This is a chair that my friend Rilla gave us a while back - it's in our bedroom...

We moved the old glider out of the barn and onto the side porch...

And last, but certainly not least, we painted the den and dining room. It's kind of a medium sage green...

Monday, August 24, 2009

Lucy's birthday

Sunday was Lucy's birthday, so we all went up to spend the weekend at the Roost (her choice!). We did a lot of porch sitting, since the weather was cool and windy.

Tom and his loyal minion....Last weekend, we picked up my new china cabinet for the kitchen - what do you think?
I love it!

And I forgot to take a picture last time of our housewarming gift from John and Patty - it's a large trivet that we plan to hang on the porch near the table.

Sunday morning was cool and foggy and I went out for an early walk to see a beautiful sunrise. I saw 5 deer (2 adults and 3 babies), and a beautiful red fox.

I found a few new wildflowers - Viper's Blugloss.....
and Boneset.
There are lots of others blooming, but that's all I took pictures of!

Monday, August 10, 2009

"Citiots" come to the Country

This weekend my cousins, Patty and John, came up from Raleigh to visit the Roost. We had a great time - the boys went to the dump and the hardware store, and the girls went cruising on the Parkway and antiquing!Here are some of our purchases: A small vase and S&P shakers A great looking plate....
And the best purchase of all - the piece of furniture for my kitchen corner! We'll pick it up next weekend and I'll post a picture in the house later. My cousin John is a master electrician, so he crawled up in the attic and said we could move the thermostat (which is now right in the middle of that wall). He's coming back in the fall to move it for us.

Wildlife was abundant this weekend - There is a mother deer with a set of twins (no picture, sorry!) and the turkeys came out every evening to feed for several hours - there are 3 adults and about a dozen younguns...
Saturday evening was filled with drinking and talking...
And, Rilla, I finally hung the great pictures that you brought up! They look perfect in the Twin Room!