ALL ABOARD!!

Well, it's taken me a couple of weeks to find the time to get this posted but as promised,
 here are a few highlights from our train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad.



You don't have to be a train enthusiast or a history buff to enjoy visiting here,
but you may very well be one or both when you leave!
We have been talking about visiting this place since we lived in Kentucky
and our boys were still just little guys...about 30 years if I was to guess.
It was about a five hour drive from our home in NC and it was a very nice drive...
...for most of the way at least.

This is pretty much what the journey looked like for about an hour before we reached Cass.

And just let me warn you, there are a lot of photos so if this doesn't interest you,
please feel free to click out at any point! How will I ever know?? 😉
~
The tiny little town of Cass, West Virginia has a population of 52 at last count in 2010.
You can click on the link to find out all about it if you like...it's really quite an interesting place.
I really wish we would have had more time to explore the tiny town, itself.
The town basically consists of the train station, a few old buildings, the old company store,
and 52 company homes where the loggers/railroad workers and their families lived.

source

In the early 60s the logging ceased and the railroad shut down, leaving much of the town deserted.
Today, many of these homes have been completely restored to their original condition
and are rented out to guests who visit the railroad.

Above is the old lumber mill that has been converted to various shops and such.
I failed to get a shot of the company store which is now a gift shop and restaurant
so I am borrowing one from Google.

source

We arrived at the station about an hour before the train was to get there at around noon
and we enjoyed a picnic lunch I had packed on a nearby picnic table while we waited on Shay #2.
Shay, you say? You can find out all you ever wanted to know about them here.







To say the least, these Shay locomotives are pretty amazing pieces of engineering,
no pun intended...well, kinda. 😀



The time had come and the train was ready to leave the station...
...ALL ABOARD!!

Jim is all smiles as we get ready to pull out of the station...
...actually, I should say push out...the locomotive actually pushes the cars up the mountain.

Josh, our engineer (above) is a 4th generation railroad worker at Cass.
His great-grandfather actually worked as cook for the loggers back in the 1920s.
I can't even imagine the back-breaking work these men endured,
spending as much as six months away from their families up on the mountain...
cutting down huge trees, sending them down the mountain, day in and day out for over 40 years.
Josh narrated our journey both up and back down and knows this railroad like the back of his hand.

Click on the short video as we get started...I love to hear that whistle!

Slowly but surely, we started our slow trek up the mountain.



I stood up much of the time to be able to get photos from both sides.
 Our seats were at the end of the car and above is a shot of what was right below my feet.




I prayed hard that the predicted rain would be delayed and my prayers were answered!
God is so good...the views were breathtaking.

Finally, we made it to the top of Bald Knob, elevation 4,843 feet above sea level

and the third highest point in West Virginia and the Allegheny Mountains.

The observation deck does look a bit rickety but I assure you, it was quite sound.
The rustic design seems to add the charm.

The view from the top nearly took my breath away.

At the very end of the tracks sits a caboose that may be rented out for weekend camp outs.

If you are the adventurous type, you too can be left on top of Bald Knob to your own devices!

The little red caboose can sleep up to 6 adults, comes equipped with a coal stove, coal, 

kindling wood, water (not running) for drinking and another container for dishes, etc., 

microwave, small fridge, minimal electricity for lighting and keeping your phone charged.

But there's a catch...there isn't any cell phone service.

Oh, and we mustn't forget to mention the outhouse...that is of major importance.

Once the train drops you off in the afternoon, that's it...bye-bye, choo-choo!

You. Are. On. Your. Own.

This sounds really fun to me for some odd reason.

source

So after spending about 30 minutes up top, it was time to make our descent down the mountain.



About half way down we stopped at Whittaker Station, what remains of the original logging camp,

where the old fire tower still stands.

Our crew took a few minutes to chill under a shade tree while others visited the facilities.

Soon it was time to give everything a quick once-over.




 This little guy should be considered our hero.
He alone, shoveled an unbelievable amount of 4-5 tons of coal to get us up the mountain!
Can you just imagine that?

Our break was over and woo-woo-woooooo...it was time to make our last leg of the journey.
It was a fabulous experience and we would love to return one day.
And maybe next time, we might even be crazy enough to stay in that caboose...
...or not.😊

Hodgepodge in the Summertime

Yes, I do believe that summer has arrived!
It has been in the mid to upper 90s here the past few days and all I can say is...

So here's a little blast from the past to bring back a summer memory or two.

And my little garden must love it because it's going crazy.

I have my own personal little jungle growing on my deck!

They're all clumped together in the corner of my deck that gets the most sun.
So far they seem to be getting along pretty well and playing nice with each other.
I have heard that certain plants shouldn't be planted near others but I really don't know which ones...
...remember, this is still in it's experimental stage. 😉

Just look at my precious babies!
I have one eggplant but there are others in the process,



my tomatoes are still mostly green and you can bet I'll be pulling a few of those off the vine
for a mess of fried green tomatoes before they ripen!

And remember those male and female zucchini blossoms from a couple of posts ago?
Well, here's a look at the difference...the male blooms have skinny stems...



and the female blooms have fat ones that actually are what grows into the fruit, itself.



Yes, zucchini are actually a fruit, as I found out on our trusty Google.
Can you tell that I am excited about my little garden??
~
But right now, it's time to get to those Hodgepodge questions...

...where Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.

1. Summer is upon us this week in the Northern hemisphere. Tell us three things on your summer bucket list.

When I think of a bucket list, I relate it to something I want to do before I die. To tell you the truth, there are many things I want (need) to accomplish this summer but I wouldn't necessarily classify them as bucket list items. As usual, one of my goals is to stay cool! It has been miserable here the past few days and summer hasn't even officially arrived yet...Lord help us by the time August gets here! As far as plans go, the only travel that has been nailed down is a trip to Ohio to visit the family and attend my brother's surprise retirement party. He has been Minister of Music at his church for 30 years and is finally turning over the reins to his assistant. We do plan to make another trip to TN next month as well and I would love to get to the beach. I also have tons to do to the house, some jobs no doubt will be put off until the fall when it gets cooler.

2. Something fun you used to do as a kid in the summertime?

Oh my, where to begin...so many fun memories. It could be something as simple as throwing an old blanket over the picnic table and benches to make a clubhouse and eating a picnic lunch in it. I also remember staying outside and playing with our neighborhood friends all day long until dark nearly everyday...games in the vacant lot next to the house that included Red Rover, kickball or softball, croquet, Red Light-Green Light, freeze tag or hide and seek. There were games of hopscotch and roller skating on the sidewalk, riding bikes on our dead-end street...only, and jump rope games (including some of the adults) right in the middle of that dead-end street. The summers that we could afford family passes to the swimming beach at Crystal Lake was always a special treat but only when the older siblings were able to drive us as well as stay with us. Dad was always working and Mom never drove a car. It was a wonderful time in my life and it saddens me a bit thinking that so many kids growing up in today's world, with all of their technical gadgets, social media and the like are missing out on so much fun...and what's it's truly like to be a kid.

3. Rooftop or backyard? Why?

Rooftop seems to be referring to the city life and that is just not for me. I've never lived in the city nor do I think I would be happy doing so. Give me a backyard any day and it's even better if there's a big ol' porch, shade trees with a hammock and a great fire pit. Oh, and throw in a mountain view as well and call me a happy camper!

4. Do you read food labels? Place importance on them? Make an effort to find out/care about where your food comes from?

Yes, yes and maybe. For years now, I have found myself reading the nutrition info on nearly everything I buy. It has surprised me how much sugar and/or sodium some products contain. I should surely be dead by now when I think about all of the years this information wasn't known to us consumers. Now, this is not to say that everything I put in my mouth is always super healthy...but I am very glad that the info is readily available. I have to admit that I am not as concerned about where it all actually comes from....maybe I should be.

5. A song you'll have on repeat this summer?

I can't think of one certain song I will actually have on repeat, simply because I would rather listen to the wind rustling in the trees and the birds singing. If this kind of heat stays with us all summer, there won't be much listening to those sounds either because I will be inside listening to the sound of the ceiling fans twirling and the A/C kicking on and off.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Wedding bells were ringing over the weekend at an impromptu ceremony in Gatlinburg, TN.

Aaron and his Michelle have most definitely endured a lot during their 14 years together. She has been there right by his side during some very trying times. We love her very much and are so happy that she is finally officially our daughter-in-law!

Many of you have prayed for him and some of you still do...I appreciate it more than you know.

Please don't stop now! 😌

Ain't No Hodgepodge High Enough

So we made it to the mountains of West Virginia and back in one piece.
It was a very lovely drive for the most part and if you are in to hairpin turns,
you would have most definitely been in your element!

Before we even made it into that part of the trip, we came upon this gorgeous waterfall,
right before we crossed over the Virginia/West Virginia line.

Falling Springs Falls, Falling Springs, Virginia

There was an overlook right off the road and as you can see, the view was breathtaking.
~
Some of you may have seen a few postings on Facebook or Instagram of our train ride.
While I'm getting that post together, here's a little preview.
Below is just one of the beautiful views taken from the train as we approached the summit.

And here is a panoramic shot of the observation platform overlooking the breathtaking vista.
The train tracks end here at the very top of Bald Knob.



John Denver wasn't kidding when he sang about it being almost heaven.
~
It was a fun trip, one we would certainly like to make again...preferably during the fall season.
Reservations would need to made well in advance so it won't be happening this year.
Anyway, it was a great little getaway!
~
So we're here for the Hodgepodge and let's get on with it...

...where Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.

1. What happens to the mail at your house?

I'd say that 80% of it goes into file #13...that's what my mom used to call the trash can. It's either junk or bills most of the time, which always seem to wind up on a pile on the dining room table until I get it sorted out...and we do get a lot of junk mail.

2. Something you always splurge on? Any guilt associated with the splurge?

Although I don't get them on a regular basis (Lord only knows I should), pedicures are something I have just recently started getting. Hey, I was 60 years old before I ever had my first one so no guilt trip here! I probably wouldn't have even gotten that first one if my daughter-in-love hadn't kidnapped me and held me captive in the salon chair. Like many things, we don't know what we've been missing until the day we experience it, right? It was the guilt for spending all that $$ on something as frivolous as a pedi that kept me away from getting that first one but no more. And you want to know something else....shhhh, don't tell anyone...I've never had a manicure... yet....only the homemade kind....shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

3. There are many, but what are two important questions you think every bride and groom should ask/answer before they plan their walk down the aisle?

If I was going to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, the first and most important question (in my opinion) would be about what kind of relationship your prospective spouse had with the Lord. Every other thing can be worked out if God is center-stage. We finally got there but not without much pain and suffering. It's also of the utmost importance to know where each other stand on the issue of having children...if, when and how many.

4. What's the best advice your father ever gave you?

It didn't take long at all to come up with this answer. I remember well, sitting around the supper table when I was probably 18...it seemed that an acquaintance of my dad's had seen me leaving a local bar/night club one evening and told him so. Instead of raking me over the coals, he quite casually and very lovingly mentioned that he knew what I had been up to. He then followed it by a sentence that went something like this, "Honey...those aren't the kinds of places that any young lady should be going." That was it. Did I always take his advice? Well....maybe not right away but I never could forget his sound advice and the loving tone to his otherwise gruff voice and sharp edges. I'm thankful that I got that out of my system. Just tryin' to keep it real, folks.

5. Your favorite movie where a father features heavily in the storyline?

I'm sure there are other answers I could give but the one that stands out to me, actually, there two because they are recent movies that I've seen. One would be Mack, the father in "The Shack" and more recently the father of Bart Millard, the lead singer of Mercy Me (played wonderfully by Dennis Quaid) in "I Can Only Imagine". Both men...completely transformed by the power of God's love.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Until next time, hodgepodgers...

Cultivating the Hodgepodge

Happy Hump Day!

It's been a couple of weeks since I have hodgepodged and I must say I've missed it.
Welcome back, Joyce...I hope you had a relaxing holiday weekend.
~
So what's been going on around here?
Well, let's see....my little container garden seems to be coming right along...mostly.
And I am learning some new things...

...like why, after my zucchini put out such gorgeous sunny yellow blooms,
are they now completely falling off at the stem?

So it seems that the expert gardener that I am, (ahem) did not know that this is kind of normal.
I learned that usually the first blooms to appear are those of the male persuasion...
...and we all know that boys can't have babies, right?
After they shrivel up and fall off, the female blooms come along and bear the "children".
What a novel idea!
So we'll see how many little baby golden zucchinis I wind up with.
And below is my one and only (so far) eggplant in the making.

I was stunned by the beauty of the bloom...

...and of course, only God would think to make it purple!

The tomatoes are tomato-ing right along as they should...

...but I will be surprised if I get any sweet red bell peppers off of my poor, sorry looking plant.
It is losing leaves right and left and every bloom just falls off leaving nothing behind.
Evidently, I have done something wrong...oh well...so it goes...
...you win some and lose some but it's not over until it's over so we will see!
~
Anyways, let's get on over to the Hodgepodge, shall we?

It's where Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.
~

1. Describe your 30's in one sentence. If you're not yet 30 tell us one thing you hope to accomplish once you hit that particular decade.

It was a time of transition and transformation...a time when negative circumstances brought about positive changes...the year was 1989, I was 35 and Jesus became my Savior.

2. Is it harder for you to exercise or eat healthy?

Well, since you asked, I must say the older that I get, it seems to be easier to make better choices... not that I always do but I am getting so much better at it! When you are a young minded person (that would be me) and faced with the fact that your body is beginning to fail you in some areas, it can really be an eye opener. Starting to have a few health issues may have been a blessing in disguise for me. I am proud to tell you that I am keeping up with my rebounding exercises (mini-tramp) and adding to my steps weekly. I'm up to over 3 miles a day and have a new goal every week. That may not sound like much but it's HUGE for me! I broke a spring on my old rebounder over the weekend and a new and better one is on it's way from Amazon. I'm still using it...oh-so-very-carefully until the new one arrives. Sometimes I crave pizza and chocolate and I'll eat it...but more times than not, I crave vegetables and I eat them...and that is also HUGE!

3. June 7th is National VCR Day. Huh? Anyway this reminded me of something I saw on Facebook listing household items we no longer have and the VCR was on it. I couldn't put my hands on that list, but found another list here of 21 items we all had ten years ago, but which are now obsolete-

bookshelves (WHAT!!???), drip coffee makers, alarm clocks, file cabinets, desktop computers, printers, printed phone books, answering machines, fax machines, paper shredders, a Rolodex, CD racks, CD burners, china cabinets, home phones, entertainment consoles, DVD players, calculators, takeout menus, incandescent light bulbs, and cable TV

Your thoughts? How many on the list do you still have? Still use?

Obsolete, really...just who are these folks who make up these lists, anyway? They, no doubt, are the same ones who tell us how to decorate our homes or what we should and should not wear. Of the items listed, here is what we still have AND use: bookshelves (DUH!), drip coffee maker with a twist...ours actually is a hybrid that uses filters and a pot OR K-cups. Jim likes to make a pot but when it's just me, I'm a K-cupper. Hubby still likes his alarm, we still have file cabinets, my old desktop PC is connected to my printer and even though I don't use it a lot, it still keeps plugging along...there are no phone books unless I find one stashed in a drawer (and I throw it in the trash before Jim finds it), no answering machine for many years since we haven't had a landline for many years, never had a fax or paper shredder at home but still do so at work, no Rolodex or CD racks, CD burner is built into laptop, china cabinet...are you kidding me? Where in the world would I put my teacups and dishes? Do they think we eat off paper plates all the time? (well, maybe I do most of the time), yes to the entertainment console/TV stand with shelves...our isn't hanging on the wall and there is a DVD player attached. Jim still likes his old calculator (no smart phone) and his take-out menus, and I will buy incandescent light bulbs until I can't any longer....AND finally, we have Direct TV, not cable. Whew!

4. What's something you see disappearing in the next ten years?

I'd say that it's going to be hard to get your hands on a working dumb phone, for sure. I have already warned Jim and he seems pretty resigned to that truth....but there are going to be folks who will hold onto what they like, no matter what it is for however long they can. And I highly doubt china cabinets and book shelves will be one of them.

5. How did you celebrate your birthday this past year? Is that typical?

I didn't really remember at all what I did to celebrate my birthday last year so I got on Facebook and went back to September 15, 2017. This was my post...

Debby Ray

September 15, 2017 · 

Just tryin' to obey the rules....

Is that typical? To tell you the truth, I usually don't like to make a big deal out of my birthday...well, except for that one time.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

And speaking of good thoughts, I am getting really excited!
We will be leaving at o'dark thirty on Friday morning for West Virginia.
By noon, we'll be taking that train ride to the top of the world.
Stay tuned!

Yummy Veggie Slaw

Hello...I hope y'all are having a good Saturday!

Rarely is it that I do a post on a Saturday and actually,

rarely is it that I do a recipe post....period!

But today I made this delicious slaw and I wanted to share it with you.

Now like many things I make, I kinda just made up it up and tasted it as I went along.

I mean, it's slaw dressing after all...not gourmet cooking!

It all started yesterday after I purchased this bag of shredded veggies at the grocery.

I have had the broccoli slaw many times before and it is delicious but when I looked closer,

I realized this was something a bit different...it's called Super Blend...

...and it is a super blend...just look at the ingredients!

I wrote this post on a whim and should have taken the photo of the bag when it was full.

It would have been so much more pleasing to the eye...oh well.

There were no serving suggestions on the bag but right away my mind went to coleslaw.

I toyed with the idea of just buying a jar of Marzetti's Slaw Dressing but decided to make my own.

Now I usually don't really measure and of course you can always use your own recipe,

but here is my best guess off the top of my head...

               *an almost empty jar of mayonnaise (maybe 1/3 cup)

*a couple of sloshes of apple cider vinegar (maybe 1/4 cup)

*6-8 packets of stevia sweetener (more or less, according to your taste)

*fresh ground black pepper

I put the vinegar in the nearly empty mayo bottle and shook it to get it all out. 

Like I said, I'm completely guessing at these measurements...

...but isn't life really all about guesswork anyway?

 Mix it all together and refrigerate...but of course you can eat it right away if you choose.

I always like to let it marinate in the dressing awhile.

Now here in NC, most of us eat slaw with our pork barbecue and I'm not talkin' about as a side...

...we eat the slaw on the barbecue...on the bun.

So when there is no barbecue in sight but there's a dab of left over sloppy joe meat in the fridge,

well, it was a pretty good substitute!

It was so good, y'all!

I added a few veggie sticks for some extra added crunch...

...almost like fries but probably a bit better for you...maybe...just a bit.

And that was my lunch!

It really was so much better than your regular run-of-the-mill coleslaw 

and I will definitely be making it again...

...if I can remember my recipe!

Happy weekend, peeps!