Mountain City News and Fun

Well, here's all the news thats news and then some.

A farmer driving his combine down Main Street caused a traffic jam in downtown Mountain City.

You don't need a turn signal in Mountain City -- everyone knows where you're going anyway.

You can't get lost in Mountain City - Main Street dead ends in both directions.

Everyone reads the local paper here to make sure the publisher got the facts right.

Sign on Main Street Restaurant: Our restaurant is presently not open because it is closed.

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Jim-Bob was over on Highway 91 and he had a flat tire. He pulled off to the side of the road. He got out and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back into his car to wait for some help.

A guy from Florida passed by and saw him and was curious as to what he was doing. He turned around and went back and asked what the problem was.

Jim Bob said "I have a flat tire."

"But what's with the flowers?" asked the Floridian.

Jim Bob says, " When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it neither."
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A Tennessee State Trooper pulled over a pick up truck.
The trooper says "Got any ID?"
The driver says, "'Bout what?"
___________________________________________________________________________ I started my day off right - At Hardee's. Here's Willis in the Drive Thru waiting for his breakfast.

and Juanita and Peggy who have already had theirs.

My twin sisters Mae and Faye

and my brother in law Ralph with his favorite sister in law.

We watched a rainstorm coming up the valley

All that rain keeps everything green.

I got a lesson on how to dig ginseng from Jay.






Found a tobacco field that was being cut.

The green in the background is tobaco waiting to be cut.

That's it for today.

"More Busy"

Well, I am still trying to catch up. Here are more photos of my visit to Mountain City.

In my last post I forgot my North Carolina friends, Lenaivell, Fran, sister June and myself went to Walmart. I am putting a visit to a Walmart in all 50 states on my "bucket list".
And my friend Jacky and I spent an afternoon together which included a tour of Tri State Growers which is the "local hot spot" for anything you need to use on the farm!!

A visit with my cousin Laura is always enjoyable. I treasure any time I get to spend with her. We love to talk about the good old days.

And I did get to "Go Home Again". This is the house I was born in. My Granny Holloway was the midwife and my dad named me after a sack of flour. I found out my "Granny" still lives there. If the house gets messy - she will let you know about it.

I love spending time with my brother, Doran. Loved the tractor ride, Thanks, Bro!!!

And then I went to the grocery store. My only problem was what kind of greens to fix for dinner. Do I get turnip greens, creasy greens, leaf spinach, kale greens, beet greens, mustard greens or mixed greens? Too many choices - So little time!!



A trip to the outhouse was definitely a must on my list of things to see and do

Spent some quality time with my best friend Jean and her mom, Sue. Her mother tells great stories and grows the prettiest flowers. She is really special.

Met some more childhood friends. Mary and I have been friends since grade school and still keep in touch.

and I met some new friends. A faithful reader, Keisha, knows me only as "Elevenfootrv" and Carter stole my heart with that great big wink. He is named after his great grandfather Carter Issacs, another friend of mine. You might say I have known the family for generations!!

and I attended a great football game --my first in 46 years. I watched my alma mater JCHS trounce Unicoi with a score of 26 to 13. Go Horns!!!

and that wraps up this edition of Travels in Johnson County - Stay tuned for more!!

That's it for today.

Whew!! I'm Busy!!

Well, I thought I would take a vacation for some rest but as the old saying goes "There's no rest for the wicked". I have been busier than a "bee on a bonnet" ever since I arrived on the outskirts of Mountain City. I am posting a few photos of some of the things I have done and places I have been. A note to my Canadian friends - there's lots of photos -hope I don't mess too much with your bandwidth.

First I had to have a good country dinner - Pot roast, potatoes, carrots and my very favorite half runner green beans.

My Oldest Brother Doran and my Youngest sister June spending "quality time" together.

We did some reminising about old times, for you "city folk" these are cornshuckers that belonged to my grandfather.

I went to the Appalachian Fair with June, Coleman and my best friend Jean.

At Shirley's we found some great bluegrass music.

I spent some time with my North Carolina friends

Here's Fran at the "Dump".

and then we went to the car wash

and here we are at lunch, Lenaivell, Fran, Jenny and June

My sister Mae and her husband Ralph were having lunch also
and then we went to a cemetery
and off to to Appalachian State University where one of Lenaivells quilts was displayed
and then we went to her house where she showed us her many many awards and ribbons and gifted my sister and I with signed and numbered prints of her mother quilting.
OOps, this photo got sideways -

We had a tremendous time in North Carolina ------More photos to follow.

That's it for today.

Catchin' Up

Well, I am way behind in my posts so it may take me one or two to catch up. I am not as faithful as my friend Dee who writes every day, or my friend Al from The Bayfield Bunch who has such great stories, or Speedy who writes and saves his posts for a week or so and posts them all at once. I tend to let the days slip by and then I think well, I will post tomorrow and tomorrow I put it off again. At least I am writing and I WILL get back in the habit again soon.

All my facebook friends and my chatter friends know I am in Mountain City but for those of you who don't I am in my beloved hometown of Mountain City. I flew to Nashville on the 27th and waited for the Greyhound took the Greyhound to Johnson City and was picked up by my sister's "gentleman friend". No one else knew I was in town, not even my best friend. I was able to really surprise her and also my brother. He was very surprised to see me. And happy to, I think.

Since I have been here I have been very busy, visiting friends, my family and soaking up all these beautiful mountains. Oh, I almost forgot the eating part. It has been nonstop eating since I got here. Hardee's makes my breakfast every day and then there's lunch and dinner. And of course dessert!! Southern pople are known for their desserts and I gotta tell you the lemon merringue pie is just "delish".

Here's a few photos of my trip.


First I flew 300 miles west to Seattle



Over Lakes and rivers.

Across snow covered mountain peaks.

with Mount Rainier in the distance.


Leaving Seattle I went 300 miles east---then into Nashville.

A bridge into Seattle from the air.
and a closer view of Mount Rainier.
My office at Greyhound.
At Hardee's with family and friends.

Happy to be home for a few days.

That's it for today.

Oh Boy! Oh Boy!! Oh Boy!!!

Well, Today I was eagerly awaiting an anticipated phone call from my friends. Jim and Ellie and Dortha and Mark. I met these good friends at the RV Dreams Rally in Branson, MO last summer. This year they are traveling together and sightseeing through the Pacific Northwest. They decided to make Coeur d'Alene, ID their home for four days. I was so excited to see them.

Jim and Ellie at the RV Dreams Rally last year.

Dortha and Mark at RV Dreams Rally


Dortha called and we drove over. It didn't take me long to find them. I spotted their Phaetons from the main road!! After long awaited hugs we visited in Ellie and Jim's home and were entertained by their fur children, Jasmine and Bo Jangles. Then we visited Mark and Dortha's 2009 Phaeton. I had followed their journal as they were building this from the ground up. It was awesome to see it in person. They both have beautiful homes and are having a great time traveling together.

I brought my camera along but forgot my "film". Left my SD card in my computer back in Spokane so these are borrowed photos. Check out the size of those raindrops in the photos. It poured in Coeur d' Alene but Spokane was "dry as a bone".

Ellie and Bo Jangles.

Jasmine and Ellie pose for the camera!

Mark and Jazz having a little "one on one" time.

Next it was off to Azteca for dinner. Service was a little slow but the food was excellent and the only one that brought home a box was "yours truly". No photos of food - camera left in the car.

More hugs and it was back to Spokane with plans for a lake trip tomorrow which of course includes dinner and a trip to the CASINO.

Hopefully all those raindrops will be gone and MY Lake will look like this.

That's it For Today!!

Two Week Post

Well, I just checked and it has been almost two weeks since I last posted. Wow, time does fly when you're having fun. I must have had so much fun I can't remember what I did. At any rate I will get everyone u to date on what has been happening around here. I can sum it up in two words. Almost Nothing.

The weather has been unseasonably warm for the past few weeks. Temperatures were in the 90's, high 90's and even one day at 101 degrees. That was the day I got out all my photos of the snow last winter. Those memories cooled me down right away. Well, the memories and my air conditioning. It is great to have central air!!

I also went on an overnight trip to the casino with my friend Dodie for "A Girl's Night Out". Won a little - Lost a little and had a lot of fun!!


The highlight of the past two weeks was getting to meet my cyber friends Boris and Natasha (Mary and Paul). They bought a motorhome which they named "Bullwinkle" and they tow their jeep called Rocky. They sold their house in the San Francisco area of California and struck out across this great nation to become fulltime RVer's. They meandered up the coast of Oregon and Washington meeting mutual friends before coming to Spokane. We had a lot in common before we even met so as in meeting most RVer's it was non stop conversation for a couple hours over lunch. We met for lunch at Azteca - A great Mexican restaurant. As you can see from the photos Boris didn't like his food at all!!




We had a wonderful visit and I look forward to keeping up with their journal and meeting them again "down the road". They gifted me with a great book on RV Parks. Thanks again guys!!


That brings us up to date on all the happenings around here. I will not promise anything but I will try to post more often.

That's it for Today.

Beating The Heat!!

Well, it has been awhile since I posted. I have lots of excuses but none of them sound good enough to post here. I will just use the excuse "I have been trying to beat the heat".

For the past week or so the temperatures all over the Pacific Northwest have been inunseasonably hot. Temperatures in the Portland area and in Seattle soared into the three digit numbers . A lot of weather records have been broken. The temperature in Spokane yesterday was 101 which tied the record.

A few days ago a mudslide on Highway SR 20, the Cascades Highway, dumped about 300 yards of mud and debris about 10 foot deep and closed that highway in both directions. It took highway crews all night and all day to remove it.

Now, before you tell me that way last winter I promised not to complain about the heat so no matter what I am not going to complain about it. I would rather try to beat it by staying out of it. After all, this photo reminds me of how very cold it was last winter.

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That's it for today from the very Hot Pacific Northwest.