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Grasping Miracles: A Brush with Death and Divine Intervention

12 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

It happened a week ago Wednesday and I am still trying to grasp it. Rationally we all know that our lives can change in an instant, whether due to a phone call with bad news, a diagnosis or an accident. But to see it happening is another thing altogether.

Our daughter visited with us Labor Day through Wednesday. We basically chilled, drank coffee and watched movies. We did throw in a couple of trips to town with lunch out. She had spent the preceding Friday, Saturday and Sunday on a high school friends weekend to celebrate their turning 50. We, meaning me, were thrilled to care for her dog, Ollie. He missed her terribly and it made me sad. I confess to giving him some extra treats to cheer him up.

Sad Ollie

Wednesday our daughter wanted to get an early start on her drive home and we almost had her car loaded when disaster struck.

My husband had placed an ice chest on a stair-climbing cart and began to move down the first step. He was having a little trouble getting the cart to roll. I saw him pull up on the cart and then the cart was tumbling down the stairs with my husband following.

Before I could grasp what happened, my husband was lying flat on his back in the yard. He fell forward, so he must have flipped at some point to land on his back.

Our daughter and I ran to him not sure what we would find. He didn’t hit his head or any place on his body during the fall. His only complaint was that his shoulder hurt.

Now let me tell you the miraculous part. There is no way his body could have traveled this far without bouncing on the stairs. I had to use the panoramic setting to take this picture. The flower pot on the porch marks where the fall began and the flower pot in the yard is where he landed.

Surely he was carried by an angelic being.

He was able to walk on his own into the house and we talked for a few minutes. Gradually he began to find it a bit difficult to take a deep breathe followed by severe pain. Our daughter volunteered to drive us to the ER. I was so glad she was with me.

It took a hefty dose of pain medicine to reduce his discomfort. After head to pelvis CT scans, the doctor gave us the great news that nothing was broken. However his lower lung was severely bruised.

The doctor confided that he had been expecting multiple broken ribs and an air transport to a larger hospital.

Although he has been diligent using the incentive spirometer and deep breathing, he felt congested today. A cautionary trip to a clinic showed no fluid/pneumonia and in fact revealed that the bruising was receding.

Every time I look out the front door I am amazed and thankful that this incident didn’t result in a life changing event. I give God the glory.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Mastering Homemade Yogurt: From Thin to Creamy Greek Style

30 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Have you ever made yogurt? Until recently I had no desire to make yogurt. In fact, I thought people who made their own were a bit obsessive. I was sure it would be a difficult and time consuming process.

Then, a couple of years ago I began reading about people making yogurt in an electric pressure cooker. It sounded simple, except that the pot I had didn’t have a yogurt setting and the setting instructions for my machine twisted my brain.

The idea of making yogurt still tickled the back of my mind. When a friend gave me her Insta Pot, I decided to give it a try. My first attempt wasn’t good and I ended up discarding the yogurt.

Several months passed and every time the Aldi grocery store was out of the Greek yogurt I preferred, I would think about making my own.

I read up again on making yogurt. I found the website Frieda Loves Bread, and it had excellent instructions on making yogurt using Fairlife milk. I also found a recipe for making yogurt on a Keto website I follow. Between the two sites, I decided to give it another try.

The way I understand yogurt, there are two ways to make it, one way makes a thin yogurt and the other makes a creamy Greek style one. Since the Greek style required an extra step, i decided to make the thinner one.

It was very simple with only two ingredients, Fairlife milk and Fage yogurt.

I had accidentally bought a 52 ounce bottle of 2% milk and decided to use it in the experiment. I poured the entire bottle into the Insta Pot, then measured out one tablespoon of the Fage Yogurt which would introduce the needed active bacteria, added it to the pot and whisked it together.

I put the lid on the Insta Pot, turned valve to sealing and then pressed the button labeled yogurt. The machine immediately displayed yogurt and 8 hours. That was it.

Eight hours later, I tentatively removed the lid and peered in. The yogurt was supposed to appear “set.” and it did! The instructions said to put it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I left it overnight. When I tasted it the next morning it was very good!

Fairflife milk sells for around $5.00 for the 52 ounce bottle. A few weeks later I found it on sale for $2.98 a bottle! We were planning to leave shortly for a month in Florida but Fairlife has a long expiration date and would keep until we returned. I bought four of them.

Once we returned home, I decided I wanted to try making the thicker Greek yogurt.

I was feeling intimidated about straining the yogurt so I went to the ever helpful You Tube.

There were a lot of videos on how to strain whey from yogurt, unfortunately each video presenter had a different straining method. One video was done by someone who lives in her RV. She strained the yogurt using cheese cloth over a strainer, then tied the ends together and hung it from a cabinet over the sink and let it drain.

I decided to just go for it. After the Insta Pot did its part, I placed a large wire strainer over a bowl and lined it with cheesecloth. Then I carefully began to scoop the yogurt into the strainer. It almost overflowed. I gave a sigh of relief when the strainer and bowl were safely in the refrigerator.

The recommended least amount of time to chill and drain in the refrigerator was four hours but I would be sound asleep by then, so I left it overnight.

I had some misgivings before putting the yogurt in the refrigerator. I had expected the liquid whey to immediately begin draining but I saw less than one half cup. In the morning I was delighted to see almost a quart of whey in the bowl. As I scooped the finished yogurt into a bowl, it was so thick I could barely stir it. One of the videos suggested adding back some whey until the yogurt was the desired thickness. I stirred some whey in and it worked.

The yogurt was creamy, smooth and delicious.

    I will definitely make yogurt again. How about you, do you make yogurt?

    Here is the link for Friedalovesbread

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I leaned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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    Observations on Voting and Housing

    22 Aug

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    Update on voting

    The voting results are in and most of the ones I voted for won. There were a few disappointments but time will tell how they all perform. Proof not promises has long been my standard. The yard with the most signs which included some I definitely did not vote for, now has a sign for my preferred candidate for president. Interesting.

    I remain puzzled at the dearth of signs for local candidates. Have we become intimidated or simply lazy? It will be interesting to note the amount of signs displayed for the November 5th elections. Will the trend continue?

    Destroying forests.

    On another topic, housing. I would never wish to live in an apartment, much less ones like I see on the television.

    Photo credit: WordPress AI

    Just looking at the above picture I feel a claustrophobic affect on my breathing. Yet as I was walking our grand dog this morning my heart ached as I observed the progress being made on a new town home subdivision. So many trees simply demolished. The machines appearing to me as giant monsters.

    Speaking about the grand dog, he was weird this morning. We are in Florida and it is hot. Usually he is quite happy to come inside after taking care of his business, but this morning, he was not at all interested. He sat on the hot concrete of the driveway staring at the street. No idea what that was about. Was he sensing an earthquake and wanted to be outside? That would be a first. Inside, he continues to stare outside.

    Grand dog Ollie

    It’s almost time for us to return to the North Carolina mountains. I look forward to the cooler weather, but will miss our friends and the sweet familiarity of our home town.

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    Election Season

    15 Aug

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    It’s election season in Florida.

    The mailbox is stuffed with colorful and large campaign cards, all promising their person to be the best candidate for the job. Or declaring to us why someone is the worst candidate for the job.

    Photo credit: Me

    Since the presidential candidates have been decided, we are now in the throes of the battle of the locals, mayors, commissioners, judges, school board and other assorted elected positions.

    I confess I have no idea for whom I will vote on August 20th.

    I miss the time when meeting candidates was simple. Towns would hold gatherings in a mall or other neutral space and candidates would explain why one should vote for them. People were nice. No yelling or slinging slurs.

    My modern method of choosing a candidate begins in my car. Yes, my car. As we drive through neighborhoods, I take note of yard signs, in particular, the yards with multiple signs. If the yard has a sign for a candidate that I know I wouldn’t vote for, I probably won’t vote for any of the candidates whose signs are there. Weird, I know, but it’s a starting point.

    Photo Credit: Blogspot.com free to share and use.

    Unfortunately, this year there aren’t many yard signs. I’ve only been able to eliminate 3 candidates. I guess I’m going to have to read all those mailings and pray for Divine wisdom.

    Do you have any unique methods to determine your vote?

    Be sure to vote in your local elections!

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , ,

    No Place Like Home

    8 Aug

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    I know it doesn’t make sense, but we decided to leave the North Carolina mountains and return to our home state, Florida in August. What were we thinking? It is crazy hot plus the second night here we were under a tornado warning. But life happens and so, here we are in Florida in August. There are nice bonuses to being here, time with our daughter, grand-dog and good friends.

    It’s nice to look at our hometown with fresh eyes. The credit union has a new paint job in bright orange, a house in the neighborhood that has always been immaculately maintained, is up for sale. I wonder what prompted the move, hoping it was not due to health issues.

    Wednesday my daughter and I ran a couple of errands. Our first stop was Hobby Lobby.

    Photo Credit: Trussville Tribune

    As I entered the store a feeling of contentment settled over me. This is my store. No searching for the 75% off Spring section and I know where the bathroom is!

    Our next stop was Aldi grocery store. We have an Aldi in our North Carolina town and as I walked into the Florida store, I felt a little disoriented.

    Photo Credit:Flickr

    Aldi doesn’t utilize the same floor plan in every store. I didn’t have a problem navigating to the cheese and lunch meat section, but it took a couple of tries for me to locate “The Aisle of Shame.’ (If you know, you know.) I did score a couple of finds, two items that sold out at my North Carolina store.

    Aldi encourages shoppers to return their shopping carts to the store using the quarter method. Unlock a cart with a quarter, return the cart and get the quarter back. As we exited the store, I headed to the North Carolina side of the store. My daughter gently corrected me. Even with this confusion, I was happy to be shopping in my home store.

    Two errands was enough in 94 degree heat. I needed a little rest with a good book.

    Photo Credit:Jo Justino Pixabay

    I love our mountain time, but there is no place like home.

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , ,

    I’m Experimenting

    1 Aug

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    I am frustrated that weeks go by without writing a blog post. It’s not that I don’t have ideas, they fly through my mind. But then they fly right out when I am ready to open up the computer and write.

    Hence, the experiment. I am going to approach writing my blog as daily journaling. The entries may not have any connections to each other. So here I go.

    Sunday

    A good day overall. We had a singing group at church, Debra Perry and Jaidyn’s Call. They were excellent. The only downside was I couldn’t seem to turn my hearing aids low enough to totally enjoy their songs. I downloaded two of their songs that especially touched me, “God Sees Your Storm.” and “At the End of Every Prayer.”

    If you enjoy Gospel music, you should check them out. Debra Perry and Jaidyns Call

    Monday

    Summer’s heat seems to be abating, granted slowly. I have ventured out onto the porch this morning for my quiet time. I’ve missed porch time.

    I am reading a short book written by Charles Spurgeon about eccentric preachers. Edward Brooke lived from 1779 to 1871. “A large man, he spent the final 10 years of his life in a confused state.” I am moved and encouraged by the final note in his diary

    Monday evening: Thankful for the morning’s quiet time. The rest of the day contained annoyances. Although, the homemade keto peach ice cream was a nice after dinner treat.

    I ended the evening thinking about crayon envy. You would think that being a septuagenarian I would have gotten over it. And it is a weird thing to be thinking about as I never excelled at coloring. But there was this classmate and she had a brand new 64 count box of Crayola crayons every year. I had a 16 count. For the most part, I didn’t care since coloring wasn’t my thing. But I did envy that her 64 count box had a burnt sienna crayon. Even now I have no idea why I wanted that color so badly. . She was a nice child and would happily lend it to me. I still remember her name, Gail.

    Tuesday

    Today wasn’t a blog worthy day. The only thing worth mentioning is that technology and Facebook are stressing me out.

    I create scripture graphics for church and use the Canva program.

    It usually is a champ but yesterday Canva and Facebook decided to bicker. No matter how many changes I made in Canva, Facebook would reject the format. Sunday night Facebook was happy with the format, but I guess it didn’t like Monday…or Tuesday.

    Canva support is puzzled but they are working with me to resolve the issue.

    Thursday

    Well, the experiment has been interesting to me. This week I have seen that most of the thoughts swirling through my mind either aren’t developed enough to share or aren’t appropriate for the blog. A lot of introspection going on.

    Part of my experiment is adjusting to writing on an iPad. I want to be able to do this but find the different commands challenging.

    I think I will experiment for a few more weeks and see how it goes.

    SURPRISE! This morning Facebook allowed me to post this graphic. Feeling hopeful.

    Do any of my fellow bloggers use Canva and have you had any issues?

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    What Do You Think About?

    4 Jul

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    What do you think of when you think about celebrating the 4th of July?

    Stars and stripes, red, white and blue?

    Watermelon and fireworks?

    I think about my mother’s birthday. I used to tease her that she was so special the whole country celebrated.

    She loved her dog, Max

    We live outside of town and the last few years our near neighbor has put on a fabulous fireworks display. They invite their family and friends to cookout and enjoy the show. We would go over and sit with them to watch the fireworks, but the last few years we just sit on our front steps and enjoy the show.

    One year we decided to take our grandchildren to view the fireworks in town. It was too crowded at the fairgrounds where they were being set off, but we were able to watch from the McDonald’s parking lot. It was fun.

    To answer my original question, what do I think about when celebrating the 4th of July, I think about family times, laughter and loving.

    I also think about why the 4th of July is a special date, a day to celebrate our nation’s birthday. What courage and passion it must have taken to choose to separate from a powerful country.

    However you celebrate today, make memories! Even burnt burgers or the dog grabbing the hotdogs will be a fun memory-one day.

    Does anyone recognize this picture’s location?

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , , ,

    Exploring Close to Home

    20 Jun

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    We enjoyed a beautiful spring here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The weather was a perfect mix of coolish evenings with daytime highs in the 60s and 70s. On my husbands good days we lazed on our porch, drinking coffee, watching the birds at the feeders and talking about nothing.

    Our daughter who lives in Florida drove up last Wednesday to spend a week with us. She brought our grand dog Ollie with her.

    The days flew by and before we knew it Monday was here, she planned to leave on Tuesday and we hadn’t gone on a single nature drive or had a picnic. That simply would not do.

    In May we purchased a Georgia State Park pass so that we could explore closer to home than the GSMP. We decided on an impromptu drive to the Tallulah Gorge State Park complete with a picnic.

    I have a very nice picnic cloth but is is rather large and bulky. I wanted quick and compact. I keep several Dollar store plastic table clothes in my picnic supply bag. I snagged one.

    Instead of packing a large picnic bag, I chose the small, plastic bag I use to carry snacks and tucked the cloth into it.

    Lastly, I put together individual plastic containers filled with meats and cheese and put them into a small cooler. We always have our water bottles with us. And we were out the door!!

    At the park, we were surprised how many people were at the visitor center. The cool spring weather had deserted us and the day was a warm 82 degrees. This park has multiple waterfalls that can be reached by a 2 mile loop hike. Sounds easy, right? Except those two miles include around 2,000 stairs.

    My husband and I ventured to the first waterfall before the stairs began. At the stairs, signs were posted warning that people who are not in good physical condition should not proceed. We didn’t go any further but our daughter did.

    After our picnic we decided to drive further south to revisit Toccoa Falls, located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College. I think the last time we were there was in the 1980s. It was a very short walk from the Welcome center.

    There is something about spending time in nature, that seems to reset one’s soul. Maybe it has to do with how immense nature and mountains are or the mark of our Father God imprinted on it.

    Our daughter decided to stay an extra day. It was a girl’s day, we watched Hallmark movies, ate ice cream and I am not sure if we had supper.

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2023 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    A Fun Day and a Scary Day

    16 May

    On the Porch

    Onisha Eiils

    Last Friday was a fun day and a scary day.

    We have precious friends from way back in time who live in a different city. Since we live in a small rural area, we have to drive to find good healthcare. Meeting up with friends on doctor visit days would inject some fun into the chore, So, we chose doctors in their city.

    Recently we got the wild idea to get together without seeing a doctor. We met at their home, enjoyed a leisurely coffee with a pre-lunch treat of decadent cupcakes from Publix grocery, then went out to lunch.

    After lunch we went plant shopping at what I call the “flower man”. It isn’t a nursery exactly. It is in the backyard of a man’s home. It’s a big yard and he has several greenhouses. The plants I buy from him seem to survive and thrive better than the commercial ones. Plus, I simply enjoy walking around with a friend and enjoying all of the color. (i’m big into geraniums and coleus this year.)

    Photo Credit:Soileau Greenhouse Anderson, SC

    When we went out to lunch we drove one car. We both needed to go to Sam’s Club Warehouse after lunch but would drive our own cars because we had a cooler for the cold items.

    My husband had been quiet after lunch but he tires easily so I put it down to an energy slump. But on the drive to Sam’s he began experiencing shortness of breath and complained of pain in his lung area. Our fun day became a scary day.

    He used his inhaler while I was suggesting we detour to the emergency room. We were both concerned about a pneumothorax. My husband has a strong dislike of emergency rooms and when he didn’t rule out a visit I began mentally planning the fastest route to the hospital.

    I think his distaste of an ER visit must have opened up his lungs. The pain subsided and he wanted to continue with our plans. I suggested that he wait for me in the snack cafe while I shopped but he wanted to walk with me. He did ok but looked tired so I suggested we go to the cafe and get a drink and some ice cream before driving home. I texted our friends who were checking out and they joined us. And surprise, surprise, his very berry ice cream sundae settled his breathing!

    Photo Credit: Sams Club

    Saturday he was a little slow moving. I kept busy around the house while he did his morning breathing treatment. The chilly morning warmed nicely with a gentle cool breeze. I suggested coffee on the porch. We sat sipping our coffee, talking and observing the birds coming to the feeders. When I finished my coffee I began to think of the house chores I needed to complete. I looked over at my husband and decided “forget the chores, savor the time.”

    The afternoon slipped sweetly away. Last Saturday was a very good day.

    This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice an be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

    I asked A.I. to create a picture of Jesus walking next to water holding a child’s hand. I had no idea it would do such an amazing job.

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2023 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

    I Love Spring

    2 May

    On the Porch

    Onisha Ellis

    We enjoyed our winter in Florida. There were many “if only days,” as in if only Florida was always like this I would never want to leave. Mild days and brisk nights, and lots of sunshine. Those winters don’t come too often. But as spring approached, we felt a case of Spring fever coming on.

    We planned to head for the North Carolina mountains the first of April, then our daughter had the opportunity of a mini-vacation with a college friend. We extended our time to pet sit our granddog, Ollie.

    We had a few blips in our travel plans, but the day came when everything fell into place and we were on our way.

    We had checked the weather forecasts for our route and it appeared we would be able to scoot between the rain showers of an approaching cold front. And if we hadn’t been held up by a traffic issue, we would have succeeded. Instead we ended up at the Buc-ees in St Augustine with screeching tornado warnings on our phones. I suggested we go into the store and wait out the warnings before getting gas, but oh no.. my man decided we should pump the gas first.

    Photo Credit: Wil C. Fry Flickr

    Once we were north of Jacksonville, Florida the rains cleared and we were treated to this beautiful and unusual looking rainbow.

    I’m sure spring is beautiful everywhere but to this Florida raised woman, spring in the mountains is glorious. The color of the budding trees is so fresh and clean and when the sun shines just right the leaves seem to glow.

    We spent the next two weeks settling back into our mountain house. I still had Christmas decoration to put away! Then we had some pesky doctor appointments to keep.

    My tablet curates photos each day and one morning it curated pictures taken in the Great Smoky Mountain National park during the spring two years ago. We decided to make haste and drive up to the park asap.

    The weather at our house was chilly with clear skies. Since the temperature in the national park can be 10-15 degrees cooler we tossed a couple of jackets in the truck. A light one and a heavier one, because you never know.

    When we entered the park via route 441, the skies were clear and the trees as beautiful and we hoped.

    We hadn’t gone very far before this happened.

    A few years ago elk were reintroduced into the park. We always look forward to seeing them but didn’t expect to see them early in the day. To our surprise quite a few were lounging in the woods near the road. We were glad they were lounging and not crossing the road. In the fog, that could have been an unpleasant experience.

    US route 441 connects Cherokee, North Carolina with Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I think the drive is about 35 miles. At the line between the two states is Newfound Gap, a beautiful overlook. We always stop even though we have been there numerous times, it is still beautiful to us. Plus, it has restrooms. It was damp and cold so I didn’t snap a picture of the overlook. I did take a couple of pictures of the woods next to the restrooms. The world famous Appalachian trail passes through here. I am thinking the hikers appreciate the restrooms!.

    One of the oddities of the park is that the weather can be completely different on each side. Once we crossed into Tennessee, the fog rolled off. The car in front of us was driving rather slow. As I looked closer, I saw a sign atop the vehicle proclaiming it to be a student driver car.I can not imagine learning to drive on a winding and steep mountain road.

    There wan’t much traffic and we had nothing but time so I suggested my husband drop back so as to not make the student nervous. We followed the student the rest of the way into Pigeon Forge where the driver became more confident on a flat road and we parted ways.

    We stopped in Pigeon Forge for lunch, then did some shopping. My husband browsed in Bud’s sporting goods store, then we drove into Sevierville to get gas at the newest and largest (so far) Buc-ees.

    After that, my sweet husband was tiring and we retraced our drive back towards GSMNP. ( side note-my phone glitched and wouldn’t work. No access to the map app!)Before leaving Pigeon Forge we stopped at my husband’s oh so favorite place, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. He felt sure that sugar and caffeine would energize him. (I finally figured out the phone problem.)

    The glazed ones were Hot and Ready.

    Of course, the coffee necessitated a stop once again at Newfound Gap. While waiting on husband, I took a few pictures.

    Late afternoon.

    Nothing special about the picture below. I liked the contrast of the yellow flowers with the still brown trees.

    Tired but happy.

    As we drew near to the southern exit of the park, we were on the lookout for elk. Late afternoons they can be seen grazing in a field or even next to the road. We had just said that we didn’t think we would see them today when around a curve, we saw this one, munching away.

    It was a good day.

    I'm a winner

    After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

    In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

    My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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