Goodnight Jim Bob

I'm looking my age

 I've suddenly friggin turned into a cross between Grandma Walton and Mary Berry. Admittedly I think the start of it all could have been the blue gingham style shirt I stole from Chris' " never again" part of the wardrobe, but the success of the baked pies last night, I think, have gotten  me all " let's prepare for the snows of winter"
Before Chris put down his empty boiled egg shell ( breakfast in bed I have you know) I had collected a load of over ripe tomatoes from Bosoms and from animal helper Pat's greenhouse and was busy making pasta sauce for freezing.

Since then I have baked more apple pies for the freezer, stewed more apple which I have boxed up for the freezer also and made a stew which again has been ferreted away
All I need to do now, is to look slightly exasperated , dust the flour from my forearms at the porch door and shout at the young 'uns who are having all sorts of Blue Mountain adventures in 1930s  Virginia.
It' has been a little all too much for Chris
He's gone back to work in the 21th century University!
At least I haven't found a pair of dungarees to wear!
So he can thank goodness for small mercies.

Chris is in his usual " I love  Canada" mood.... So because of this Winnie has been wearing her Canadian Flag Bandana all day!
I'm off to cook some grits..........and there's a load of firewood to chop before I amble down to the creek to fish for supper
Yeah ha

And to end with.............. Who thinks she knew EXACTLY what she was doing?




76 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:19 pm

    Watch out...next thing you know Chris will have you all loaded up and zipped away to the wilds of Canada. Not that we have much in the way of 'wilds' left anymore.

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    Replies
    1. That's exactly what's happening with my BFF since we were 18. Her daughters are in NZ and her husband went there for a holiday last year. He's practically a Kiwi already. They'll be gone just after Xmas. I'm trying not to think about it too much.

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  2. The 'I love Canada' mood will wear out after a -35C winter.
    Jane x

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  3. How did Chris like Calgary?

    And yes, she knew what she was doing. That translation is not one lost by Brits to Americans.

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  4. He didn't see much of it.... But he's travelled to canada a great deal and loves it.....
    I have told him I will accompany him to Ottowa next year
    So I shall make my own mind up!

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  5. Yoh John we don't eat grits in Canader, grits are Amurican!

    Never makes this error again or you'll be stopped at the border and frisked!!

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    Replies
    1. Lol no error made.... I was still in West Virginia mode with the Walton family!

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    2. And remember, grits are just American polenta.... :-)

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    3. Ah I see....I had no idea what it actually was

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    4. Grits are DELICIOUS. Especially with loads of butter and shredded cheddar cheese. Add a couple of over easy eggs with runny yolks, crispy buttered toast, fresh homegrown tomato slices, and sausage, and you have a breakfast fit for a king!

      Shrimp and grits is a delicious meal, too. :)

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    5. The "Walton" family lived in Virginia, not West Virginia. Their real name is Hamner. Their small town is out in the middle of nowhere.

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  6. And I presume 'The Gop' is Welsh for 'Walton's Mountain'.

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    1. And the spar garage is Ike Godsey's store

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  7. I am impressed the interviewer was able to ask all innocently like she did not know what "beat off" meant.

    I enjoyed The Waltons when I was a kid and am happy to hear you are putting by in case of a harsh winter. We are supposed to have one again in the Northeast according to the Farmers Almanac. Rotten bastards.

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    Replies
    1. I thought it was an innocent mistake at first...then cynical mr Chris piped up it was away of increasing ratings

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    2. Anonymous3:17 pm

      Um.....I still don't know what it means...anyone??????

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    3. Okay, Delores, I'm going to take your word for this and trust that you really don't know. beat off = masturbate
      So if someone had to "beat off" the other men, he would be providing them with a hand job.

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  8. Those tomatoes don't look overripe at all. They look suspiciously perfect.

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  9. Gorgeous tomatoes, almost a sin not to slice them for a sandwich or eat them like apples. I have yet to get a homegrown tomato this year!
    Grits are good, never thought this yank would say that, but, since I have transplanted, my tastes have changed. I like fried okra too.
    Would kill for a fresh apple pie, I mean really... I haven't had breakfast yet.
    That sounded deliberate... how could he not laugh?

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    Replies
    1. I've only had grits once... And that was in a traditional aluminum covered diner just outside pittsburgh
      They were bloody awful

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    2. John, sorry for your bad experience with grits. Most Yanks don't know how to prepare and serve grits. I'd bet my bacon cheddar grits would have you swooning - yes siree, betcha!

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    3. Victoria
      Can you send me some
      Sounds bloody lovely

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    4. John, your comment about where you had them - tells it all!

      Victoria, bacon cheddar grits sound wonderful!

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    6. I have never eaten grits. The sight disgusts me. I am a Yankee in the South.

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  10. It makes you feel good to squirrel away food for the winter doesn't it? I always feel so satisfied and all "bring it on Mother Nature" when my freezer and pantry are full. Of course, that kind of bravado caves when faced with -30 degree winter temps, but we are satisfied in fall.

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  11. 'Walton's Mountain'......now that brings back memories.

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    Replies
    1. The mountain on the TV show is in California.

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  12. Winnie looks so sweet in her new bandana.
    I dearly love The Walton's...my favorite show of all time. I have 32 episodes recorded on my DVR at the moment. Simpler times.

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    Replies
    1. Goodnight John Boy.

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    2. Goodnight Maryellen

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    3. My favorite show growing up. Goodnight, Junebug.

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  13. Yes, I think we all would like a report of Chris braving a North American winter, and we don't mean Las Vegas or San Francisco.

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  14. I hope Chris treated you to a bottle of maple syrup to add to your baked dishes. I have never heard of the term 'beat off' is it the same as w**k off? (How very rude of me!!!)

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  15. Yeh Winnie in her Canadian colours! And thanks to Chris who enjoys my country she looks wonderful although apparently not very excited about it.
    With all that baking and freezing you'll be ready for real Winter a Canadian one at that.
    Susan

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    Replies
    1. She had been on the beach......and was tuckered out

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  16. And poor Winnie looks like she's enjoying every Canadian moment. Do you suppose she had to beat anyone off?

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    Replies
    1. She's far too well bred for that
      Well in fact she isn't .... But she would have sorted herself out first

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  17. Have you or Chris been to Nova Scotia? I think it would remind you of home. Winnie looks elegant. If such a thing is possible for a bulldog. Well, she does!

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    Replies
    1. Yes it reminds me of Ireland or far west wales!

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  18. Oh Gosh .... you've gone seriously domesticated :-)

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  19. The video is hilarious. Winnie looks stylin'. Grandma Walton is dead. You do not look like her. Besides, I don't think she ever accomplished as much as you do.

    Love,
    Janie

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  20. I adore Winnie in her Canada bandana - adore Canada too by the way - if we had been younger when we first discovered it we would have upped sticks and moved there I suspect. As it is we have visited every corner of it.
    Does Chris hire you out as a filler of freezers? I have visitors coming to stay at the end of this month and need to do a good day's baking but keep putting it off.

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    Replies
    1. I bet you've never been ill prepared in your life pat

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  21. Clearly you're nesting. Are you pregnant?

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  22. Winnie looks good in a bandana.

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    Replies
    1. Better than I do......on reflection better than most cowboys do

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  23. Thank God for Dan Stevens.

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  24. I met John Boy here in Bath once. Honest. He was an irritating cunt.

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    1. I was in a tea-shoppe full of old women, and John Boy was in there with some sort of girlfriend. He had just bought a small book of poetry and read one poem out loud to the girl.

      The whole place came to a silent standstill as he read, women creamed their pants, and I almost puked.

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    2. You should have slugged him

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    3. I would have been wrestled to the ground by elderly women if I had.

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    4. Nothing new tin your everyday life then

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    5. ...if I only had a heart...

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  25. That's not a bad cross to be.

    The Walton's had it easy.

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  26. I assumed the instinct to gather nuts for winter was passed down from my ancestors via my genes, but perhaps it's just a throw back from watching The Waltons.

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    Replies
    1. There's a nut joke in there somewhere

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  27. I call it nesting behavior, for me it kicks in every 3 or 4 years. I learned it from my grandmother on the farm.

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    Replies
    1. I learnt it from watching THE YEARLING when I was 10

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  28. Re your response to Ron Troke's comment, the Waltons were in Virginia, not West Virginia, although West Virginia was a part of Virginia until 1863 when it became a separate state. Earl Hamner (author of The Waltons) was raised in Schuyler, Virginia.

    Also, never eat grits in Pittsburgh. Here in the deep South we also have a wonderful dish called shrimp and grits....

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    Replies
    1. I posted photos of shrimp and grits on my blog back in the spring. I had it at a local restaurant that makes wonderful fresh seafood dishes. Shrimp and grits is a favorite of mine!

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  29. Everybody needs a Grandma Walton in their home. Chris is a very fortunate man. He will thank you when he eats your pies.

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  30. You should come to Calgary in July for the Calgary Stampede "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", then you will see more cowboys than you could ever imagine. The rest of the year, not so much! Sadly, it's all true about the -35 degree winters, but we do get Chinooks.

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  31. I'll see your gingham shirt and raise you a pair of denim dungarees. Or rather the three pairs of dungarees I bought in the Next online sale.

    Perfect gardening wear. No need for a belt, no need to hitch up and no worrying gaps when bending over. Who cares if I look like a 5ft tall toddler?

    (Howard also bought me a sweet dungarees clad teddy bear when we went to Ikea last - like having a small fuzzy twin)

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  32. Stewed apples are excellent over breakfast cereal or ice-cream. How are your plums this weather?Great for stewing too :-)

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  33. sort of reminds me of the old TV show Green Acres...

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