The history of the Barn Quilt or Barn Paintings in Appalachia can be traced back over 220 hundred years. If we consider Hex Sign painting, Under Ground Rail Road Quilts and Barn Quilts all as part of the larger history of using large symbolistic language in folk art. So if this is true then I […]
this is my ambassador bottle with my name on the label The story of this bottle started almost 7 years ago in Lexington, Ky at the Kentucky Horse shoeing school over Fathers Day weekend. Although I am not much of a drinker I do like to have a little spirits around for cooking and celebrations. Tom on […]
One of the things I love about fall is cooking warm soups and stews. Chicken and Turkey noodle soups are one of my favorites and I usually make enough for at least one meal for 4 people and freeze some for a cold no school/no work day in the dark of winter. Turkey noodle soup […]
I know most people do not get excited to go grocery shopping, but every once in a while I just enjoy driving the back roads to shop at a little tiny grocery store in the country. I stop at this store for a lot reasons, one is they have a ten pound meat sale every month […]
WV mud bog truck As the spring rains pour down and the sticky clay mud gets thick, one thing pops into my mind, “Mud Bogs”. My son Cody and a group of his friends shared a new hobby with us old folks. It turned out tobe a lot of fun for the whole family and we will be at […]
I am a gun owner and if that is a problem then you do not need to read the rest of this. I am a sports woman who loves to head to the range with my family, loves to hunt wild game and is a supporter of my local college riffle team. I married a man […]
Deer season started today, so to honor my husband and all the wild game he provides for my family, I made this wonderful venison meal. I love to cook with wild foods and two of my favorites are Venison and Wild mushrooms. I had a few pounds of ground venison in the freezer from last […]
No matter what time of year I love to be near the water in West Virginia. I find spending even just a day at the river floating, fishing, swimming or just watching the current brings peace to my soul like nothing else. So I tried to share that restful feeling with my family this summer when […]
Summer has been busy and my work on the rehabilitation of the Golden Rule Building is really fun and taking up lots of my time. One reason is that we are trying to prepare for a public open house of the project. If you want to know more about this 1902 building and what we […]
This year is a real treat for me as I work at Adaland Mansion for the first of hopefully many years. It is the first time in my life that I get to be surrounded by some of the most beautiful holiday trees covered in the warm glow of twinkle lights every day I work. […]
Forgive me for being so lax about writing these last few weeks. I finally did what my Dr. advised me to do, I rested . I am not good at resting and even while recovering from my surgery I found things to do that kept the mind active but the body safely still. One of […]
One of my favorite Appalachian dishes is Creamed Tomatoes. Making it from a batch of garden tomatoes in late summer is a real treat. I always look forward to eating tomatoes from the garden but there is something wonderful about fresh biscuits hot from the oven topped with butter and fresh creamed tomatoes for breakfast […]
Sauce with tomato peppers onions and spices The weather in West Virginia this fall and early winter has been a soggy mess. So to keep the family warm and fed until the cold of winter freezes up the mud and turns the world to a lovely white. I have been cooking comfort food in […]
It seems everything we are doing this summer is a investment in the future. Even the little day trips we have taken are to help my son explore ideas that he may want to revisit in the future. I have been working on several projects at work that are going to pay off 5 or […]