The way we lived in Tennessee

When we lived in East Tennessee, I did not yet have a blog, but I have often thought the time there would have been worth blogging about, so I decided to go ahead and start!

Life was not always easy at first; we moved from Winnipeg Canada right after my sister-in-law passed away in a car accident, so those first weeks after leaving all family over thousand miles and another country behind, in a strange place with no place to call home at first, proved to be challenging. However, we made it through those times with more pleasant than unhappy memories. Many are the moments I find myself wishing I was back there, but then I come back to reality and am thankful we are where we are at the moment. 

 

We had bought an old property with an old house that my husband wanted to renovate part time while he went to school. We were offered this camper by some church friends, which was to be our temporary home the first few months. It was quite the experience, making this our home with two small children. It was one long summer camp, that's for sure!

Most of my daily life happened outside. The laundry had to be taken to the laundromat or a friend's house. Sometimes I would take it home to dry on the lines. Then I would fold it on the small picnic table. 

 There was a little stove attached to the outside of the trailer which I mostly used. If it was too rainy, I could move it indoors. And rain it sometimes did. Those were the special times which we remember so well. Too well! Then I would loose all joy of cooking, and sometimes we would get to eat out if it rained. There was a tarp covering the outdoor kitchen, but it was not always enough to keep out the rain. It was also hard to keep all rain out the windows when it got stormy. Those were the nights we just had to ride it out and hope the next day would be sunny again.

Sometimes when it rained, we would hop in our car and go for a drive. At times we picked up McDonald's breakfast and had a picnic in the car. Here in Belize when it rains in the morning, I sometimes suggest that we go for a drive and take coffee or pick up breakfast so I can relive those good old times again. No McDonald's in this country, but I can make my own biscuits and gravy, or we can buy burritos. We never got tired of seeing how green everything was and the beautiful mountains and rivers never failed to entertain us. I especially loved the mist on the mountains after a rain.

 The children had no lack. They were happy and healthy, always finding something entertaining.

The backyard. We lived right on the edge of the forest, and the setting was perfect. We have had many a bbq on this barbecue pit. Once I even turned it into a baking oven, because I wanted to bake something so badly but didn't have an oven! I baked some biscuits that didn't exactly turn out very fluffy but were edible.

 

 We found out, to our big delight, that we had wild blackberries growing in our backyard at the woods edge. I remember going over to our friendly old neighbor asking if they were blackberries! We sure enjoyed the jam.

 Once some friends came over to help Daniel with the house, and I served them watermelon. It never tasted better.

Bathtime is always fun, no matter where it happens!

This bird visited us regularly; it was wonderful to be so one with nature out here in the 'wild' parts of Knoxville.

Yes, even the raccoon didn't fail to make his rounds at night, snooping through our things trying to find food.

I would put Joseph in this basket to play, and then Jessica would climb in the other one. Perhaps needing attention?

We could always go to the mountains when we felt like it. Thankfully gas prices were good back then and there! (Here going for a drive for fun is out of our financial reach, unless it is within a few miles of us.)

As you can see, we had a great life.Challenging, but I would not exchange what I experienced for anything in the world.

To be continued...- how we lived in our old house before renovation was complete. It was every bit as interesting.

It's hot in Belize

Right around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That is when my sweet iced black tea tastes real good...

I am on the lookout for these quart jars with handles, so if you come across any, let me know! This one I purchased in Tennessee, where people drink lots of sweet tea, and a jar like this comes in handy. Like it does in Belize. (Photo is taken in the Smoky Mountains)

Singing the praises of buttermilk...

When Daniel went to the US last week, I ordered buttermilk powder. Yes, you heard me right. Why?

When I first came back to Belize, I went hunting for buttermilk. In store after store I was met with blank looks when I asked for buttermilk. I eventually stopped looking. Sorry to say, Belizeans just don't know what they're missing, and how good food made with buttermilk tastes. I mean the cultured kind, not the kind that's left over from making butter. Anyway, I had to wait all this time for someone to go to the US so I could order some buttermilk powder, and now I finally got it!

Now that I have the powder, I believe I can get a starter, and keep making it myself. (Perhaps there is a business opportunity here for me as well...I am dreaming about it; if I can convince people that food tastes better made with buttermilk) 

I am convinced I don't have time to make every one of these recipes just to take photos of to show you, but here are some great recipes for buttermilk foods.

Ever heard of scrumptious buttermilk pancakes? If you have been to Cracker Barrel, you probably have...

How about a decadent chocolate cake? 

Or, some buttermilk pie from Sugar Pie Farmhouse...

How about fluffy buttermilk biscuits! A real southern treat for breakfast, and when I miss Tennessee, I sometimes make biscuits and sausage gravy, a must try if you haven't yet...

Hushpuppies. I guess most people have no idea what that is, but they do taste great! Not a regular treat, but now and then I make some.

Fried Okra. Ahhh, now that is a treat, and they go fast at our house. It might not sound appealing, but you simply have to try them to believe they taste good. They absolutely do.

Buttermilk Cornbread. The best cornbread there is.

There you have some new recipes to try! One thing I learned while living in TN is that a good cook is not without buttermilk. During this time when I have not had it on hand, I have used yogurt and kefir as substitutes, and they work all right, but it's not QUITE the same.  

I am so glad to have my buttermilk back.

Back in time to -- the Civil War Days

My hubby loves American history. He could tell a person a thing or two when it comes to the Civil War. When I found out that there was a battle re-enactment in Lamoni Iowa on Labor Day weekend, I told him about it and sure enough, he wanted to go see it. We went and were impressed. For a re-enactment it was very good.

I assume most of you know what the Civil War was about. If you don't, well, I won't bother to explain it right now.

The blue, versus the gray-

-and the red, hehe.

Let's get em, boys!

Bloody murder. Except in this case there wasn't any real blood. Or real murder, for that matter.

Dem Yankees. Always so uniformed.

Mmmmmm... As for me, I'm glad the North won, and that's all I have to say about it.

Camps. Very authentic.

A cute old-fashioned family. Some of the soldiers hadn't showered for 4 days! Whew. I guess they really took this re-enactment thing to heart.

Aw, lookie here. My little wanna-be-soldier gets to hold the General's pistol. It couldn't get better for a 4 year old than that, can it now? He didn't even know whether to smile or to look mean...

This is Rain Woman, from the Blackfoot tribe. Jessica has waited so long to see a real Indian, and finally had the chance! She felt mighty special to be so close to one.
Ah, the lovely ladies from the civil war era. Too bad my little girl has her eyes closed in this one.

Don't feel too bad for the one-armed soldier. Later on I saw that his arm had grown back. If only it had worked that way in real war.

To hear these canons fire sounded real good! Movies can't make it feel that real. In fact, we both decided this was much better than a movie. We got to see the big picture of what happened all around the fight at the same time, instead of focusing only on a small area.

Maybe some day we can join in on the fun as re-enactors! Yeah, I think we would enjoy that!