Porch Talk

This last couple weeks have been fairly busy after a month and a half of very quiet life. We’ve started a weekly, Wednesday morning, women’s coffee connection and study at church and a Wednesday evening small group. I’m enjoying them both immensely. We’ve been here in Tennessee for a year and two months now and forming relationships has been slow. These groups have really helped with that! There’s a couple sweet gals I do things with now. I went to the ballet with Jamie and her family. It was a version of Sleeping Beauty. I’ve never been to the ballet before. It was a little confusing at first, but by the second half I had caught on and really enjoyed it. Several of the kids from church were in it. I never would have thought of Greeneville having its own Ballet Company. They put on a show once a year and have several professionals come and participate. Their sets were out of this world! Such talented people. I think this will be a yearly outing for me! Friday night we had a bowling and pizza night with the church. I even talked Bossman into coming (he doesn’t go to church with me) and he had a ball, no pun intended 🙂 We use to bowl a lot. Everyone was so glad to finally meet him, I think they thought he was a figment of my imagination! Maybe now that he knows some of them he might start going to church with me, one can live in hope.

Bossman is the one with the long beard!

Bossman and I went out to dinner for my birthday and to a bluegrass show at The Capitol Theater. We saw TruGrass and Sideline. They were really good, especially Sideline. They were the more professional of the two. The last song they did highlighted each instrument and they are amazing musicians. I’ve tried to find that song on youtube for you, but couldn’t. You can listen to a couple good songs by them HERE and watch 17 year old Nathan on the fiddle HERE. These videos are with another mandolin player though. They have a new young man that is amazing!

I’m still working puzzles. Almost done with my fourth one since beginning of January.

Finished!

Dampy’s Donuts almost done! I LOVE this one.  Picked up Rally at Dandelion Mill at Walmart the other day.                                   This is my view as I work the puzzles..

I read my first Barbara Pym book last week, Quartet in Autumn. It wasn’t anything spectacular but it kept my interest and I enjoyed it. I have 2 more on the shelf by her, I’m looking forward to reading them. It was about four elderly single people who work in the same office. Their work is their chief point of contact with each other and with society in general. None of them really have much of a life outside of work. When the two women retire it disrupts the status quo and threatens the lives of all four. Ms. Pym does characterization very well.  I’m reading a sweet 1928 copy of S.S. Van Dine’s The Greene Murder Case now. It’s good! I love holding such an old book in my hands and wondering about all the people who have held it in theirs and enjoyed or hated it in last 89 years! Do you love holding and reading old books too?

I got new bedspreads. One for our room and one for the spare-room. I’ve always wanted chenille spreads. They’re so old fashion and lovely. But they are always so expensive. I happened on a wonderful sale for both of these. The one for the spare-room (we call it Isa’s room as its my granddaughters when she comes) is spruce green and from Plow and Hearth. It’s very light weight. Mine is chocolate brown, yum! and so heavy! It lays long and flowing on the floor. I LOVE it! I got it at The Country Door

I also picked up a ‘fake fire’ for the fireplace from Plow and Hearth for the living room fireplace. It also puts out heat if you want, infrared it’s called. I’m not super thrilled with the looks of the logs, but it wasn’t a lot of money and it adds ‘ambiance’ to the room!

We had Roast Beef for supper recently and had lots of leftovers. I found a good recipe for Roast Beef Hash on Pinterest and made that. It was really good and I’ll make it often I’m sure. Really easy. What do you do with your roast beef leftovers? Have you cooked anything exceptional or new lately?

It’s been so warm here. Broke the record high from 1938 today. 72* for the middle of February! The daffodils are beautiful and lots of bird activity. A while back I shared a picture of a roufus-sided towhee that stopped by for his first visit. Well he came back and brought the misses with him! She hung around a couple of days. The brown topped is the misses and the black top is Mr.

Discovered this amazing folk singer, Sarah Jarosz a few days ago! Listen to her new song House of Mercy and then check out the trio of Sarah, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins singing Crossing Muddy Waters. I really like the three gals together. A real dynamo!  They are guest on Prairie Home Companion frequently, together and separate. Have you ever watched or listened to Prairie Home Companion? You can listen or watch live on their website each Saturday. The program is on your local NPR radio station each week too at 6pm EST. Since we moved to Tennessee our musical tastes have broadened for sure. We listen to a lot of bluegrass and folk music now. There’s always lives shows and festivals somewhere too.

Well, I better go in and get dinner on the table, stop back now!

Peggy Ann