Smokey Mountain Travels

Finally decided it was time to come down off of the ridge and get a new perspective on things.

So we packed up the Pilot and hit I-40 East headed for the Smokey Mountains. We had made reservations to rent a cabin, way out in the mountains, out from Pidgeon Forge. We had seen the picture of the place on the internet, but had no idea just how remote the place was. We followed the directions we had been given and the road(?) kept getting narrower and narrower and very steep with plenty of curves up the mountain side. We finally found the owner, got the key, and more driving up the mountain, almost to the top where the road ended, and there was the cabin! This place was deluxe! Everything you could want, including bears, eagles and all of the other animals that live in the mountains.
The owner had given us a short tutorial about the bears, as well shared with us a picture of a huge black bear that was seen about 50 yards from the cabin a few days ago......great! I am no fan of bears, so listened to the owners words carefully.
We settled in for the week, and only made one trip into town for provisions, yes, back down that steep narrow road!
We did take a day and went into Gatlinburg, as I wanted to see for myself the fire damage. I can't imagine what it was like to look up and see the fire all over the mountain tops. It will take years for the trees to regenerate,and the people who lost everything to re- build. The town itself was not harmed, just the area's going up the mountain right next to town. We pretty well left the junk shops alone, as everywhere was wall to wall people, so back up to the cabin we went.

One day I was sitting on the porch and got to thinking, what would happen if a disaster struck and there was no way out. We could last maybe a week with the food we had. The thought of hunting for food, was almost laughable as all I had with me was the .380. Maybe a turkey, but certainly no big game! It was a sobering thought. Hats off to the preppers!

Finally, after a week of peace and serenity, it was time to pack it up and head back towards middle Tennessee. Over all, it was a great adventure. Would I go back and spend a week with the bears, well, No!
Our Dachshund, Toby, was glad to see us after a week of boarding. He walked right into the house like he had never left! Some dog!

We had a lot of catching up to do, Lawn, Wash and Grocery. Speaking of grocery's, boy, the prices just keep going up, even China*Mart is keeping pace with Kroger and all of the rest. On a fixed income, this is becoming a challenge! If we ate high on the hog, we could cut back, but there is no more cutting to do. I guess I had better learn to love SPAM again, and the many ways you can fix it!!

That's about it from here on the ridge, where women are huge, the men skinny and their kids will break into your car!

Mundane Rambling!

I took the Honda Pilot to the dealership today for it's scheduled oil change. Not exciting news there! The dealership had been previously been owned by an "old money" family, who really looked after their customers, the new owners, are a group of people, who appear to only be concerned with the bottom line, and boy, how it shows! I kind of felt like myself and others were getting the "bums rush"
today! There is still enough of the old south, in people that they can pick up on this very quickly, and oh, how they love to talk about a bad experience! So I'll go with the times and just suck it up and go on. I think it's time to find another dealership. Honda makes a great car, this one being my third. The others had almost zero problems, and I kept them until I just got tired of driving them. I do still have a Ford Ranger that is 22 years old and runs great, has a few minor problems, but hey, 22 years is pushing the envelope!

I think I have put on a few pounds over the winter. Today since it was warm, I pulled out a short sleeve knit shirt to wear. I put my clip holster for the LCP on and when I looked down, it was pretty obvious what was under my shirt!! Glad jeans have big front pockets, so I just plopped it in there.
I stopped at the local market for a few items, and when I went to pay, looked down, and the pistol had changed positions in my pocket, and made a pretty obvious bulge in the front. Now I'm in my mid seventy's, and if someone happened to take notice of it, I would have gotten the "bless his heart" which is southern for "the old fool!"  I hope Wally*World has some bigger shirts on sale!!

The rest of the week looks like mulching the front flower beds, the grand son's soccer game, cutting the grass (lawn) and might even get excited enough to was the two vehicles. And so it goes!

Where Has The Time Gone?

It's hard to believe that it has been several years since I have posted anything. I still follow a number of other Bloggers work every day, and for the most part enjoy them all.....

So here we go!

I guess the main reason I had to let the Blog lay dormant for so long, was that the wife had a mammogram that came back with a lump showing up. Well, if any of you have been down the breast cancer trail, you will know what an anxious time is about to unfold. First the biopsy, then the surgery, then the chemo and radiation, followed by numerous follow-up trips to the oncologist. At this point, everything is clear. Now if it will stay that way for about three more years, we can call it GONE!
I have to say, she has been a trooper through out the ordeal, totally positive.

News of late...We have a new dog! We had a mini Dachshund about eight years ago, that had three vertebrae go out in her back, so we lost her. We had been wanting another one, but here in middle Tennessee it's very hard to find one. Three months ago we were able to find what we wanted through a small breeder. He is a black and tan smooth coat, AKC Dachshund. They make great dogs, but are very strong willed. You have to be more "Bull-headed" than they are, or you are in for one heck of a ride!!! He is house trained, so the rest is easy. I call him my sawed off Doberman, for he is very protective of us and will be a great watch dog for here in the house. It will be death from the ankles down for an intruder I'm sure!

So far this year we have been lucky with the storms. They seem to split apart when they get to the ridge, and then reform. We have a slab house (no basement) so if we ever do get a tornado roaring overhead we are S.O.L.,I do keep a tube of lipstick in our "Safe place" so we can kiss our ass good bye, should one dip down!

I have just about stopped watching the National news on TV. The politicians are like a bunch of kids fighting over a marble game. The local news is not much better. We have discussed cutting off the satellite feed, and going back to an antenna, but here in the hills, I don't think we would be able to see even the local channels. Still contemplating, but that hundred dollars or so a month might just start looking better all of the time.

Hopefully, I will post more often, plenty to write about!