BD and I went to the North Georgia State Fail on Thursday July 16th. We haven't been there for 3 years, and when there last BD bought a purse she has always liked. We've talked several times about going back, but it was until this past week th..at the opportunity presented itself. We found the booth of the people that did the purses, and she bought 4 and got one free! Successful trip!

The fair takes place at the North Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds. We are renting a cabin in the Aska Wilderness Area in October, and while up there the "North Georgia Fall Festival" will be in full swing. We'll have another opportunity to visit the fairgrounds, which sit on Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia. For those of you who listen to Blue Grass music and Southern Gospel, Marty Stuart will be performing while we're up there as will The Isaacs, a very popular Blue Grass/Southern Gospel singing/playing group.

The pictures include one of a guy playing a standup keyboard on the porch of the old Hiawassee Post Office. Though he had alligator slippers on, a quick look at them reminded me of something else for some reason. For those of you who grew up in the early to mid 60's, especically those of you who lived in the Chicago area during that time, radio station WLS had a rock 'n roll disc jockey named Dick Biondi. He was later fired for one of his on-air "skits" that got a little questionable, but while there I listened to him regularly through a little 6-transistor radio I put under my pillow at night...his show didn't start until 9PM. Anyway, one of his regular and on-going "stories" was of Chicken Man, a somewhat goofy and "dense" character who had trouble fighting crime in the City...don't know what it was that reminded me of the story line and Biondi, but it did and I had to get a picture for you...

You would have enjoyed the kids trying to "milk" the cow...it was hilarious!

 
 
 

Okay, I'm weak. I have accepted my fate as a "taste" eater, meaning if it tastes good I'll probably eat it, and a lot of it, in spite of the fact it may not be the healthiest dish. On the other hand, fate, in this case, treats me well in the taste department. I love grits, good grits made from scratch with half & half instead of all milk, and I love cheese and sausage. So I get a bag of white speckled grits from a mill near Helen, Georgia, and make this casserole with cheese and sausage...also a stick of butter and 3 eggs and a little bit of sour cream for flavor. It is delicious, and in some ways even better the next morning when I scoop out a little bit and fry it in butter in a skillet...it makes your day. Of course, making that day is payback for the 10 the fat and cholesterol rob you of...I took these as it came out of the oven. You can see it's still bubbling in the last pic...

 
 
 

 

We've talked for a while about doing a couple things to the land around the house. The house is built on a rock, with quite a steep driveway and steep hill on the South side of the home. So we decided to ask one of the guys that runs a landscaping and other kind of work crew to build steps for us. We also decided that since the upper most part of the lawn in the back of the house was not growing due to shade and the woods taking up most of the water we should do something about that too. So we had Pepe do the steps, "cutoff" the upper part of the backyard with steps and framing, and we also decided to re-do the bird feeders stands. We will be putting 4" cedar posts on teh brick pads on which to hang our feeders. Pepe did a great job...it is a work of art on the steps as he subtly curved them up the hill. We planted some Cleyeria along the lower part of the steps and several azaleas and a couple Camilias up by the steps in the back yard. Makes it easy as well to position the bench to get the best view!

Hoss and "The Beastess"

Last Tuesday, I picked up Hoss from his Grandma's house (She almost didn't let him come to the truck...she didn't recognize me with my hair so long and in a pony tail...) took him for a ride on "The Beastess." We haven't had the chance to ride since last November...so we made the best of it. We rode through Red Top Mountain State Park, down through Acworth, to "Five Guys Burgers & Fries" then back up old U.S. Hwy 41 (two lane and twisting), then onto the Dairy Queen for a malt. He loved the ride...he's gotten so big! Last November we took it easy as he just sat on the pillion and held onto the seat rail, but now he's grown much taller and his feet rest on the passenger footboards! He really loves to ride...