snowdrift,humbug, pies

Father-in-law finally got the tractor up our road, he had to back up, and then plowed. That helped us to get out this morning. Been so cold, the snow is just crunchy. In this photo, a snowdrift outside the office.
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Employees at work this morning were telling me that they wouldn't like being set back so far from the main road like Mike and I are, that they would be scared and stir crazy. Yes, if we had a health crisis, would be bad, an ambulance couldn't get in, but we love it up there. At home, I don't go stir crazy, I'm content puttering around.
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With each Christmas season, I yearn to just enjoy the time and not being involved in the commercialization side of it. The hustle and bustle, spending money on junk, I no longer want to partake. A coworker was just saying that he was in the WalMart line at 5:00AM on Black Friday so he could buy a flat-screen TV. I'm sitting there thinking, "I am so far removed from his world."

On my office computer - Does anybody know why I can type on the COMPOSE side of blogger but not EDIT HTML? Also, will not type on FaceBook and some of your blogs, it's weird. Need help to figure this out. At first, I thought it was a keyboard or mouse problem but switched some and that's not it.

Last night I made the ButterMilk Pie from HoeHenInn. Was good, reminded me of Chess Pie. Nobody knows how chess pie got its name but knowing how people around here talk, it was originally called Chest Pie because it didn't need to be refrigerated (contains lots of sugar), could be stored in the Chest cabinet. Looking over recipes, the ButterMilk, Chess, and Vinegar pies all seem related. Chess Pie was/is common in the south.

Monday the 13th

northwestern North Carolina Appalachians

looking up from our house

At 3pm, 10 degrees, strong winds, and snow, Don't know when I'll get out of here (don't care). Boone was shut down today. I like feeling like a retired person. Sitting here in my fuzzy slippers, drinking hot chocolate and watching a Katherine Hepburn movie. The only humans Mike and I have seen for 2 days is each other. I quite enjoy being a hermit.

Bake the sausage links first, then add the mixture, back in the oven for a few minutes, awesome flavor. See recipe from previous post at NoblePig.

watered the plants in the sunroom

Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats

We're gonna need more hay.

The goats have their baking soda and minerals.

another storm brewing, propane

Happy Holidays from BooneDocksWilcox
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Today, we had the calm before the next storm. We went to town and ran errands, the chained propane truck topped us off [geez $600], got the water hose thawed out, cleaned the heated water buckets, and now the critters all have fresh water.

I made a cheaper version of these sausage appetizers from Noble Pig. The maple syrup/mustard/sage topping is great after baking into the sausages. Thumbs up. Give that recipe a try.

This is what we're in for weatherwise the next few days - frigid/windy/dangerously cold conditions, full-fledged blizzard conditions 50+ mph, 8" to a foot of snow expected. No heat in the barn. I'm wearing my big, fuzzy slippers.

bitter cold, snow, and harsh winds

Thursday Dec 9th, it was 8 degrees this morning but the wind wasn't blowing thank goodness. It's been a tough few days, at least the weather will be milder now until Sunday then we have to brace for bitter cold, snow, and harsh winds again. Wouldn't be so bad, but we have to take care of us and livestock, and still go to work each day. Up here in the northwest Appalachians, Boone doesn't shut down - folks still need public service, medical care, make purchases, etc. The university doesn't close although the county schools do, those kids haven't been to school all week.
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The goats and poultry have been going stir crazy in the barn. Yesterday, SweetPea and Pixie stuck their noses out for a couple of minutes.


Our driveway has been plowed a few times by the tractor.

Haven't been to the gym in a week. I went to the doctor yesterday, and she prescribed some antibiotics [z-pack], she said I've got bronchitis. Yes, I'm in the doldrums, we had 84" of snow last winter, and the thoughts of enduring it all over again is overwhelming. Don't worry, I'll slap myself around and snap out of it. :-)

snow, turkeys & goats, video

Bourbon Red Turkeys & Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats in nothwestern North Carolina Appalachians

Our turkeys are just pets, although we enjoy eating their eggs. I fiercely love those boys.


No, she's not pregnant but when its cold, the goats bunch-up their bodies.

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a plump Peach

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no goats crossing today

playing in the snow

Our Appalachian State Football team, in a playoff game, is hosting Western Illinois in Boone today. Mike and I are not at the game but cranked back in our recliners at home but wanted you to see what it's doing outside. I was taking photo's of the TV. Our team is in the black uniforms.

The local weatherman says tomorrow it will be brutally cold with 45mph wind gusts.

Plenty of fans at the game. As I write this AppState=21, WI=7, in the 1st half. Yeah, go Moutaineers!

The goats haven't even stuck their noses out of the barn today. They don't mind cold but hate to get wet.

playground and snackbar

Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats

Ginger Parker of Gotta B Kid N took this photo and titled it - "Mom's a playground and a snackbar all rolled into one!"

On her webpage, Ginger writes -
Beyond just enjoying my goats as goats, I like the challenge of trying to breed an animal that will excel in the show ring. My breeding program is concentrated on that goal, and while I have made some progress, I still have a long way to go. Achieving that goal requires a lot of selective culling of goats, so I sell those that I feel are not going to be show prospects as pets without papers.

Looking at the the photo below of Sabrina, owned by Ginger, Ginger is way ahead of me, but I have the same goal. That is a beautiful doe in every way, and I've always been a big fan of her Daddy, Rosasharn CH Uproar *S, who lives in North Carolina. Ginger and Sabrina live in Florida.

a rear udder to die for! Sabrina, if you ever want to move to the Appalachians of North Carolina, let me know, I'll be waiting with open arms.