Miscellaneous Home and Family

With late spring and summer upon us, we are expecting a couple of visits from various family members.  With that garage sale is behind us, we're looking forward to the visits as well as the relatively stress free change in our normal routines.  Not that there isn't always a bit of stress...it's called life...and life isn't all that simple to navigate.

Miscellaneous is the best description for this post.  A little of this and a little of that...

Let me introduce you to "Stumpy".  Why did we give this squirrel such a nickname?  Well, Stumpy is missing his tail but he's a survivor.  Squirrels use the tails for balance and as a blanket on cold nights.  Despite his handicap/physical challenges, Stumpy is now at least 5 years old.  Typically, adult gray squirrels life to about 6 years old but exceptions have been noted... They can live as long as 12 years.  One of the reasons we like Stumpy is that he generally leaves the bird feeders alone.

The two photos above are the last you will see related to our stressful but relatively successful garage sale.  With the exception of the table, all of these items and related cartons are now being sorted out and being priced by the volunteers at our local thrift store, The Good Neighbor's Shoppe.  

Items included that Ethan Allen leather ottoman, golf equipment, wall decor, assorted china, crystal stemware, LP records, a pair of sconces, purses, both men's and women's collared shirts plus a selection of Hummel figurines. 

We are the second owners of our home.  This room with exterior siding originally was a breezeway, but at some point the home owners started with a breezeway between the house and the oversize garage.  Shortly after that, they enclosed the breezeway, adding HVAC to make it more usable.  Now that we sold the buffet, baker's table/hutch and an old dining table, our plan is to remodel the space.  Up to now it's been referred to as the 'plant room'.  We are replacing the ceiling, siding, that 'lovely' red carpet and then adding bookcases, blinds, new lighting, etc.  Of course Laurie will have to find a new home for her plants until after construction is completed.  

Work starts in mid-July.  Wish us luck.  Hopefully no ugly surprises will pop up!

As I've previously reported, we've been trying different pre-prepared food items.  The goal is to always have something we like at our fingertips for quick and easy meals.  We noted this box of "Boomerang Shrimp" at our local Food Lion and we decided to give it a try.

This was our Boomerang Shrimp appetizer, 'crispy shrimp with a creamy, spicy garlic tossin' sauce.  We thought that it was pretty decent, not too spicy, but we couldn't taste any garlic.  We would buy it again for a snack or appetizer...about a 7.5 on a scale of 10.

Margaritaville Foods product line include seafood (mostly shrimp with some calamari), salsa, tortilla chips, BBQ sauce, wing sauce, salad dressing, dipping sauces, and more.  The company's website can be found at https://www.margaritavillefoods.com/.

After a recent medical appointment, our 'favorite', or at least most frequent type of 'social' event, Laurie and I decided to eat at a restaurant that is located almost right across the US Hwy 321 in Lenoir City Tennessee. (Close to the I-75 interchange)

I went over the top and ordered a 12 oz. ribeye steak with thick fried potato chips and both lemon caper sauce and ketchup on the side.  Water with lemon was my beverage of choice.  The steak was decent but a bit overcooked.  I'd ordered medium rare and the steak was medium.

Laurie ordered one of our perennial favorites.  She started with a glass of wine ($6.00 before 5 PM), and a side-Caesar salad.  For her entree, she went for Aubrey's panko crusted Alaskan pollack with those fantastic thick cut potato 'chips' and more lemon-caper sauce.  She was very happy!  One side benefit of our meals were those leftover thick fried potato chips.  I sense a breakfast side item at home...

I will admit that the prices for eating out (or at home for that matter) are a bit out of control.  Our entrees plus a glass of wine and a side Caesar salad ($3.00) came to $68.95 with taxes and tip.  Result: we have cut back on the number of times we go out to eat in 'better' restaurants.  

As usual, we enjoyed dining at Aubrey's.  Aubrey's food is quite consistently good and so is the service. The website for Aubrey's in Lenoir City Tennessee can be found at https://aubreysrestaurants.com/lenoircity/.

Believe it or not, Aubrey's was not the last place we stopped to eat.  For the first time this year we decided to stop at the Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Loudon Tennessee.  It was a warm day but not crowded when we arrived at about 5:30 PM.  When we left at about 6 PM, families with lots of kids were headed in for their summertime treats.

My dessert is the one on the left.  I had a 2-scoop cup.  One generous scoop was the house-made caramel crunch and the other scoop was Tic Toc's blackberry cobbler ice cream.  Laurie got fancy and went for the Yukon Gold Rush Sundae.  It consisted of coffee bean ice cream covered with hot caramel and whipped cream, then topped with a cherry.  Too much food for the day...but it was all good.  

You can view a lot of photos and pick up on ice cream lover's feedback regarding Tic Toc by going to https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g55167-d834598-Reviews-Tic_Toc_Ice_Cream_Parlor-Loudon_Tennessee.html.

One last photo for this post...

This photo shows our youngest grandson (21) in his Silicone Valley apartment in northern California.  He had the distinction of being selected as a summer intern by Google.  The reports so far are that he's doing well, the work is certainly challenging and he's made a number of computer friends.  I did note that he brought a University of Nebraska pennant with him...lying on the chest of drawers.  Keep up the good work Emmett!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Almost Gone! A Local Landmark...Hall's TN Hwy 322

Our entire neighborhood and, for that matter our entire quasi-retirement community, has changed dramatically in the almost 16 years since we moved to East Tennessee from Mt. Prospect Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  I say quasi-retirement because although most residents are either retired or are still working but nearing retirement, there are a growing number of family's that have taken advantage of our open (no gate or age limit) community as it has expanded.  

In any case my point is that change is inevitable.  We can either roll with the changes or we can give ourselves ulcers fretting over what used to be... This is a post about what is close to becoming a special place 'that used to be'.

The building is fairly non-descript.  The sign reading "Hall's" is actually written in cursive, something that is now longer included in curriculum of many schools. (Our youngest grandson uses an app to translate the notes we send him in cursive) Yep, those are gas pumps and we know folks who won't eat at any place that pumps gas....and Hall's does serve food.  In this case the pumps are no longer functional.

Thanks to "The Connection", our village newspaper, I have this photo of the Hall family.  From the left we have Will and Kari Hall Phillips, Erin Hall, Kelly Hall, Helen Hall, Charlie Hall, Chris Hall, Jennifer Hall, Ryan Hall and CJ Hall.

Charlie and his bride, Helen, bought this building back in the mid-1960s and in 1965, it first opened as a local grocery.  Hence it's alternative local name, "Charlie Hall's Grocery and Restaurant".  

Customers order at the counter and when your food is ready, the friendly staff or family member brings it to you.

There is a lot of seating at Hall's.  The restaurant is a landmark, a meeting place, a family place for the community.  It's frequented by truck drivers, construction workers, farmers, and retirees from nearby retirement communities.

When larger grocery stores opened in the area, Charlie decided to focus on the restaurant business...a smart decision that allowed he and Helen to raise their family and put two sons through college.

Laurie and I stopped by for a late breakfast, falling directly between the early morning breakfast crowd and the lunch rush.  Note some of the grocery style racks along the walls and at the back left of the last photo above.

Hall's isn't open on Sundays or holidays.  But every Sunday and holiday, the Hall clan traditionally gathers here for a family dinner. 

When's the last time you saw a sign like the one shown above?  A breakfast platter for $5.49!  

We skipped the breakfast platter special, going our own way instead.  Laurie ordered the biscuit and sausage gravy with bacon and an over medium egg.  That gravy had a little bit of a bite to it and, as per Laurie, the bacon was perfect.  

I ordered 2 slices of toast with 2 over medium eggs, a large sausage patty and hash browns.  It was all good... Want to guess how much our breakfasts cost?  With tax but before our tip, the ticket came to $14.00.

We do love the old time ambiance and more importantly, the feeling of family and community at Hall's.  Charlie is 82 or 83 now and he's lost his fight with the Tennessee Department of Transportation.  It was strike and deal with TDOT or have the right of eminent domain used to take the property.  Charlie has sold the property and the end of a community landmark and anchor is near.

As with most government projects, this highway 'improvement' project has taken a long time to come to fruition.  First funded in 2014, it's been in the works for about 11 years now.  For videos about Hall's Restaurant and it's approaching demise, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr4tQJDNtp8, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPJ1YlWY0Mw.  You'll meet Charlie, Helen and a number of loyal customers.

Halls is slated to close on July 24 of this year.  Laurie and I plan to enjoy a couple of Hall's famous burgers before then.  Hall's is located at 4500 Sweetwater Vonore Road near Madisonville Tennessee.  They are open from 5 AM until 3 PM Monday through Friday and from 6 AM until 3 PM on Saturday.  Phone: 423-442-3083.

I thought that I'd end this posting with a silly photo of a silly dog who desperately wants a belly rub from Laurie!  Fiona lives next door to us with her buddy Shrek.  The only thing that Fiona likes better than a belly rub is a treat...

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

No Post Week! (Almost...)

We're so tied up this week with the pending neighborhood garage sale that this will be the closest thing to a blog posting I'll even attempt.  Seventeen houses in the immediate area are all having garage sales on Friday and Saturday from 8 AM until 2 PM.   

We are still digging for other items to sell and we seem to be constantly reorganizing our garage sale offerings... We did sell one set of ladies golf clubs already.

Laurie caught 'some old guy' in this photo of one side of our garage.  We have signs on all the upper shelves stating that nothing on those shelves is for sale.  We've also covered our yard tools...rakes, shovels, etc. as they aren't for sale either.  I did sell a sledge hammer and an axe to one of folks from the crew that washes our windows a couple times a year.

This is a view of the other side of the garage.  Note the hanging items on the wall plus all the fishing rods and reels along the wall.  More golf clubs too.  That couch/love seat at the left by the garage door was sold today and it's gone.

I am selling a bunch of 'collectables' including some Olympic Games vendor's pins... This is a Vons Grocery Store pin from 1984.  I have lots of them from Atlanta and even a couple from Barcelona.  In addition, since I spent my career in retail security and loss prevention I have over 100 security badges bagged for sale.  Who knows?  I might sell a few of them.  Also on sale are 3 Montgomery Ward collectable trucks in their original boxes...

We did manage to sell a set of Mikasa China on-line and we just pulled a scattering of these Czechoslovakian plates and serving pieces out of storage, even matching boiled egg cups.  My mother inherited them from my great aunt Elsie ca. 1951 or so.  Someone might buy them... If not we'll find a home for them in a thrift store.

This rain-style shower head came with the house when we bought it.  It's been in the garage ever since... It will sell or it will become recycled metal!  We are running out of things to put out for the sale.

We have sold a number of furniture items in addition to that love seat previously mentioned.  This antique table came from my mother's house where it served her well for years.  We also sold a buffet, a baker's table with an attached hutch and 2 rocking chairs.  Basically the big stuff is gone and the sale doesn't start until this coming Thursday.

The weather forecast for the sale is that there is a 40% rain on the first day and 60% chance of rain on Saturday.  Whatever will be, will be!

All I know for sure is that this will be our first and last garage sale!  We are looking forward to 'just chillin' with a beverage on our screened porch after the madness we're expecting to take over the neighborhood.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  I'll be back with a new post on 6/10.

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie

More Ready-to-Eat Entrees + Beauty

We are continuing to explore easy to prepare meal items.  In this edition, there were no losers among our selections, although we do have favorites.  Goal = meals with little, zero or minimal preparation... Snacks count too!

We bought this pack of 18 Stonefire Mini Naan Originals at Costco... As described by Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads, these mini naans are "delicious, fluffy, versatile and downright unforgettable, it's made to upgrade every meal, from breakfast wraps to midnight snacks".  Laurie and I concur and we've already used them with breakfast eggs, garlic dip, Bar-B-Que and more

Instant pulled pork!  The downside is that there isn't any 'bark' from smoking the meat.  The upside is that you have 2.5 lbs. of pulled pork to do with as you'd like.

Del Real's carnitas/pulled pork is not strongly seasoned so the good news is that you have multiple options with the 'right' addition of seasoning or sauces.

For this meal, Laurie paired some of Del Rio's pulled pork with one of Stonefire's mini-naans, adding a simple salad as her side.  She used BBQ sauce with her pork and she liked it a lot! 

We've enjoyed a couple other meals using Del Real's carnitas/pulled pork.  No surprise that I toasted a bun, covered it with shredded cheddar cheese, nuked it in the microwave and then slapped a couple of over medium fried eggs on top!  Great breakfast!  This product was purchased at Costco.

I don't know if its any healthier or worse than the salty snacks that we usually go for, but lately we have kept some sliced stick salami and pepperoni in the fridge...along with sliced sticks of cheese.  Cabot Creamery's 3 year naturally aged cheddar is one of our 'go to' cheese options. It has a distinctive flavor and it holds up well when sliced in 'sticks' or strips.  Yet another Costco purchase.

We have never found a garlic dip that was worthy of the name...until now!  Most anything labeled as containing garlic here in East Tennessee barely qualifies as 'garlicy' in our estimation.  A bit of Toom Garlic Dip and we knew that we had a cure for those pesky vampires.  I'll bet you can guess where we bought it!

Yes, this bag of Daphne's Beef and Lamb Gyro Slices was indeed purchased at Costco.  It contains 2 packages of meat.  I chose to heat up the meat in my frying pan with a little butter and pepper.  We both like a little char on our gyros.

It is hard to find gyros, (lamb and beef combined), anywhere here in East Tennessee.  We were very happy with the way that Daphne's gyros turned out.  Laurie plated her gyros on another one of those mini naans with mixed greens and cherry tomatoes.  The tzatziki sauce was very nice but lacked the garlic hit that we were used to back in Chicago.  We'll add garlic to the sauce/dip the next time.  The brand was Hannah's Tzatziki - Greek Style Yogurt Dip.

I thought that I'd end this post with a non-food photo.  That very pretty and delicate looking flower above is from a Spotted Wintergreen...a native wildflower that some bird...or more likely the wind, probably planted for us.  This small perennial evergreen herb is native to eastern North America and Central America.  Lucky for us, this plant is very tolerant of acidic soil and shade...both of which describe much of our backyard everyday.  The Creek Indians called it "pipsisikweu", which translates to "breaks into small pieces".  This was because it allegedly had the ability to breakdown gallstones.  Another use by Native Americans was to use it's leaf tea to treat rheumatism and stomach problems.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Memorial Day - 2025

 In Memoriam

Ronald Allen Myers

Born on April 2, 1911

Killed in Action on May 6, 1945, 80 years ago this month.

World War II in Europe officially ended on May 8th, 1945. 

Staff Sergeant Ronald Myers in a column crossing Germany just a little over 3 weeks before he was KIA in what was then Czechoslovakia.

This local memorial for my Dad is located in the Pilsen area of what is now the Czech Republic, near the town of Tesov, where he was killed.

Ronald Allen Myers' final resting place is in the Lorraine American Military Cemetery near Saint-Avold France. (Rest in Peace Dad)

God Bless America and as well the millions of men and women who have fought and died for our freedom!

This flag was used on D-Day at Utah Beach as American forces fought their way ashore.  It is part of the Smithsonian collection.  It stands as a testament to the lives that have been sacrificed for our freedom...

Home, Stuff and Food...

After looking at my photos, I either had to label this post as "Miscellaneous" or, as I ended up doing, "Home, Stuff and Food".  I also considered "Angry, What to Do, Scary and Experimental".  In any case this post is an mix...a mongrel...with a variety of different issues and challenges. 

Home ownership is an investment, a significant cash drain and a source of frustration.  Our home was built in 1999.  Our neighborhood is built on rock...mostly limestone.  Issues arise with older homes.  Example: When one of our HVAC units needed attention, the good news is that despite its age, the problem was resolved for a relatively modest sum of money.  However, the owner of the HVAC company told me that a replacement unit for this particular Air Conditioning/Heat Pump, would cost $7,900.00!  Nuts!  

Anyway, back to the photo shown above.  We have a home inspector/builder who is doing some work for us.  Unrelated to his work he spotted some beginning separation of some foundational cinder blocks at one corner of the house and suggested that we should have someone come out and fix it to keep it from getting worse.  We checked around and contracted with AFS (American Foundation Service) to fix the problem.  It was not inexpensive!  In any case, despite specific warnings from my better half, the AFS crew not only made a mess, but they also severed our sprinkler system's main line.  We had a 2-story fountain until they figured out how to turn the system off.  Now we have mud everywhere with the broken line directly under that rock.  Laurie is all over AFS to have the repairs made, with a meeting with them scheduled today as I compose this post.  Aggravation!

On to more "fun", this time related to our upcoming garage sale.  

We keep finding things that we forgot we had and that we've been carrying around for many years now.  One recent 'find' was this Mrs. Stevens Candies Antique Christmas themed round tin box that is just packed with embroidery thread or floss, as it's sometimes referred to.  Pricing it for the sale is going to be a guesstimate at best. 

When I first moved to East Tennessee, I did a bit of fishing.  Before that, Laurie and used to take fishing vacations to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and up into northwestern Ontario in Canada.  It was a cabin in Michigan with a fishing boat...cook your own meals, etc.  In Canada, it was an all-inclusive deal...cabin, meals, guide with a boat and, in one case even a float plane fly-in to an isolated lake. (The pilot was no more than 19 years old)

So now our fishing days are over... How to price this this tackle box full of all kinds of gear and a plethora of lures for our garage sale?  

The same question applies to this tackle box and an even greater assortment of lures!  Then we also have a couple small tackle boxes, a small suitcase with more gear in it including a couple of reels...and let's not forget the 8 fishing rods with reels all ready to go fishing!

Next we have a family related note to report on... Unless you live under a rock by now you have heard about the tornado that came through St. Louis Missouri.  Major damage at the iconic Forest Park and the St. Louis Zoo.  The core group of Laurie's family lives in the St. Louis metro area.  Her sister Bonnie and Bonnie's husband Bill rode out the storm in a parking garage near their home.  This was to avoid hail damage to their new Subaru.  They live about 3 blocks from the area where the heaviest tornado damage was evident.  Even so, they were without power for almost 72 hours.  They transferred perishable foods to coolers or to the refrigerators/freezers belonging to their kids.  Laurie's other sister, Karole and her husband Bob were in Kansas City when the storm hit St. Louis.  When they returned home, the power was still out and they had to throw away all of their perishables.  Scary...but lucky compared to some.  No major issues...just threats of major storm damage here in East Tennessee. 

Now onto some food items...

We continue to try out/test the 'fast food', prepared food items from Costco.  We're looking for winners that we can rely on.

Caribbean Food Delights Jamaican Style beef patties/turnovers in a flaky cornmeal crust were not spicy...not by anyone's definition.  The 'ground beef' had a mushy texture with close to zero flavor.  No amount of the 4 different sauces we tried could save this product.  This is not a 'food' product that we would ever purchase or eat again.  I rarely throw food away, but I made an exception with this item!  Bye Bye!

The next item on the prepared food menu was this 'new item' that we bought at Food Lion.  This Shrimp Penne Pasta comes in individual servings.  Laurie liked it quite a bit and I thought that it was a decent meal.  There were enough shrimp in each of our dinners, one could pick up the bacon flavor and the pieces of jalapeno gave it a modest little pop of heat...just enough that you knew it was there.  To me it was a bit like an upscale mac 'n cheese with shrimp.  It had enough going for it that we will purchase it again... There was plenty of food for almost any level of appetite.

I didn't take a photo of the pack of thin sliced salmon that we'd purchased from Costco so I can't tell you the brand name.  Actually it was a twin-pack of salmon...almost too much salmon for two people to consume in a relatively short period of time.  On more than one occasion we had salmon in a swirl and salmon on crackers or thin sliced bread with and without crackers and capers.  Then I finished off the second packet of the salmon with the above breakfast entree.  My very enjoyable and satisfying breakfast consisted of a thin slice of rye toast, smeared with cream cheese, topped with 2 or 3 thin slices of salmon and topped with an over easy egg.  This is one time that I didn't use Tabasco with my fried egg. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave