The new doughnut shop in town

  First to say, it's almost impossible to find, unless you already have been to some of the other businesses in this strip mall.

No signage except a little sidewalk board with specials listed.

They might luck out by having taken over the same space as a former donut shop. But I honestly had originally headed for the Biscuit Company next door which for some unknown reason was closed on a Tues. at 10:30 am.

Simple menu (also a bit "New Age"-y.) But each of the items was displayed on the counter!

I stood there as my donut was cooked, then it was glazed with chocolate sweet stuff.

There's space for people to sit and enjoy their sweets and maybe a coffee.

This is one of the new owners. The box holds my chocolate covered still warm donut.

When I bit into it I found it a bit yeasty in taste, which increased the more it cooled off. I admit I would have preferred a bit more chocolate flavor. To me it tasted just like any sugar glaze. 

Will I go back?  I have outgrown most of my sweet tooth...except when it comes to dark chocolate. So that's a maybe.

Snow on the mountains and...

 

Ingles parking lot has been cleared 

These are south facing slopes, so they must be pretty cold. It wasn't above freezing on Sat at noon when I shopped for groceries.

Earlier in the day I tried to capture the north side of these mountains outside my window. 

I love these maple trees most of the time, but they do hide the mountains on the other side of the valley pretty well.

Day after Izzy

NOTE: This was also posted on my other blog, When I was 69.

  Only those who were affected by the recent snow through TN, NC, VA and probably a few more states going north, will have heard it called IZZY. Or perhaps it got it's name back in AK or AL...where it rained and blew. Or maybe some of it became the tornadoes in mid-so-FL. 

So here on Tues we watched many dripping places, while white stayed there in sunshine. I also watched our maintenance man and his snowblower. That was the proper way to get walks cleared down to the icy level created by the original sidewalk salt which was spread on Fri. When snow started it kept sidewalks nice and wet.

Now they probably have some ice, but that good old sun was due to warm things to 43 in the afternoon. And then plummet back down to 25 F at night. Probably see many black ice surfaces out there.

My friends warn me not to go out, but I'm wishing to see the pretty places before they're all gone. I may have missed my chance though. 

8 am, Tues. Jan 18, 2022.

10 am Tues Jan 18, 2022. Front porch.

10:30 am the other side (south) of my apartment.

12:30 pm, showing what snowblower has been able to do.

I finally got into snow boots (they still fit!) and wound my muffler around my face and neck, and all the other cold weather gear. Put my mailbox key in one pocket, and the phone in the other. The carried my broom with me, across the treacherous driveway...remembering to try to step on snow so there'd be some traction...rather than ice. Yes, it's out there and not giving any surface.

That part of driveway was a combination of snow, water and slush...it was hard to find good places to walk, but I was slow and used my broom as my walking stick.

Where the sun had a chance to hit the snow, it had dried the pavement off. That's my car on far left, which is surrounded by virgin snow. It doesn't have much left on the outside, so I decided not to try to get inside it.

People have gone through this snow as far as the garbage cans...but my car is over by those steps. Nobody went this way yet, though I did see a man shoveling those steps. Then he went back the other way, rather than coming down to this stretch.

I swept a bit of ice and snow off the platform where the office/laundry room and mail boxes ae located. Here in the foreground is another snow shovel and the gas can for the snow blower. I just wanted you to see how much snow is un-cleared on that porch area.

I'm glad I ventured out this far, and no further. I broomed off more snow on my porch and steps. But they will probably have ice on them tonight. My apartment is the second one on the left in this shot. It's had as much sun as it's going to get on that side for today.

Nope, not driving out there today. We'll see how the roads look tomorrow...

Most important, dry out the boots that just had to go through ice water!

And chop veggies for my beef-less stew tonight! I cut the chunks of fake beef in half, then cooked them with all the spicy veggies first...and seasoning. Hoping the fake beef would be more palatable. Actually I think the whole stew would have been delicious without it! Not going to put any in from now on. It still has no flavor and is a strange texture...kind of like chunks of cardboard. But my extra effort with seasoning gave me a delicious broth. And I blenderized a cup or so of the veggies for a thickener. So it doesn't have any corn starch or flour to thicken it. I came out with a good stew for tonight's dinner, and 2 and a half quarts left over. Nice to have choices when it's time to eat again!

Storm Izzy

NOTE: This was also posted on my other blog, When I was 69.

 Today there is snow everywhere. Not much chance of going out to take photos yet, but maybe this afternoon...I hope.

Here's a catch up from yesterday, and this morning.

Dawn, the sidewalk edge is still visible...and the light is still on.

Someone shoveled where the two steps are on that sidewalk, and the lady in the apartment on the end shoveled all the way to her car.

Still snowing off and on, and windy on Monday, but there was a brief moment the sun cast a shadow on this scene.

On the other side of my house, light snow continued.

I worried when I noticed the next apartment to mine had the inside door open behind her storm door. Her daughters frequently come to take care of her.  A while later I could see the footprints of a person leading up to her apartment. The fuzzy quality of this shot if due to condensation on my storm door.

Tuesday morning...not much has changed.

Sunrise hitting Big Windy, the name I call the biggest peak nearby.

More Blue Ridge and Altamont Apple Orchard

A duplicate of post (that was planned for When I was 69 today...but will come again tomorrow), 

Though the majority of the trees are still green, we loved spotting the beautiful colors of fall shining in spots.

Our ears had popped a long time ago...since Black Mountain's elevation is around 2400 feet. The Parkway winds its way through the mountains, going up and down and around a lot!

That break in the vegetation didn't look wide enough to be a fire break...so maybe it's just a fire road.  Or something else?

After juggling around in another crowded parking lot...we went inside at the Altamont Apple Store.

We stood in line so I could buy a piece of home made apple pie.  It's so much better than any I can buy or make!!

It's fun to sit out on the balcony and look over the orchard.

There was a cute diorama, as well as explanations of which kinds of apples were grown where at the orchard. 

Today's quote:

​Creativity -- like human life itself -- begins in darkness. We need to acknowledge this. All too often, we think only in terms of light: "And then the lightbulb went on and I got it!" It is true that insights may come to us as flashes. It is true that some of these flashes may be blinding. It is, however, also true that such bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary. -Julia Cameron, artist, author, teacher, filmmaker, composer, and journalist (b. 4 Mar 1948) 

Ranger Station at Craggy Gardens on BRP

  Not only does this stop show views both to the southeast and northwest, but they've a little shop inside, as well as a special display outside their door today. (This post is a duplicate of one being shown on my other blog, When I was 69)

That's one of the interstates winding through the mountains...looking NW from the ranger station, I was told it's I-26 going n. to Johnson City, TN.

Yep, we had to park illegally. There were a few zillion cars there (but everyone was very nice to each other.)

We were interested in this display with the Ranger talking about the Bobcat. Poor thing is stuffed, and a pelt next to it was available to touch with the back of one's hand. 

The views out the windows of the ranger station are superb!

In the colder days, before the parkway closes due to ice on the roads in the tunnels, this is a nice warm place to come!

And I picked out this comfortable blue hiking stick. As well as a new bumper sticker with a rainbow bear on it.

Today's quote:

​“At the point where you get your writerly vocation you diminish your receptivity to experience. Being able to write becomes a kind of shield, a way of hiding, a way of too instantly transforming pain into honey.” John Updike ​(18 Mar 1932-2009)

Bush Farmhouse Restaurant

 (repost from When I was 69)

Lunch with(out) the animals

 Actually most of them were out in the garden, and only one donkey came into my dining area, and was easily steered out to the garden by one of the staff, and that was before we ate.

I got there early, at The Bush Farmhouse, which has gone through several changes over the years When I moved here in 2007, it was a little farmers market which was owned by folks who soon became friends of mine. It was a bit pricy but local produce was available all year round.

Later owners put a lot of effort into raising various veggies right on the property...and those beds are still active.

Well, the chickens thought this dirt had just the right bugs or worms for them to scratch up.

There's patio seating where the little donkeys were walking, before any customers came in. They are miniature donkeys.

This was our table, where lone little me sat for a half hour waiting for my friends. In the meantime about 6 other tables were set up, most on the patio. This area is kind of halfway inside and halfway outside.

It's also where the bar is situated.

I really enjoyed reading the menu, then asking for definitions of some of the words...this is South African cuisine.

OK, I've already shown you a lot, so let's do other photos tomorrow!

Today's quote:

​The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas-covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal, is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)