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Cooking With The Stylish Gardner~

cook
cook
Today I felt the need to cook food with seasonal energy.

Grass-fed and finished- beef, seared till golden brown then cooked for 1.5 hours in a 375* oven in a black iron cooker/seasoned with onion, bell pepper, and red wine…the gravy is a mix of those ingredients…no thickening agent such as flour or arrowroot.
Fresh green butter-beans and roasted sweet potato.

High in nutrition and fats are all good.
Wish you were here!😋❤️

Dickens-Christmas

Dickens
Dickens

Christmas As Seen Through The Eyes Of Dickens~

The Christmas Story…according to the Christmas Bible story, Christ came down to earth from heaven to be born at Christmas, because of his love for all humanity.
Christmas Through the Eyes of Dickens~(1812-1870)
( a cry for social justice )
Christmas in Scrooge’s day…in 1843 Christmas was much less commercial. Many people went to church, and many followed the ancient tradition of making merry. however, nothing was allowed for or geared to the working class or poor classes of people
We all know the heart-tugging story of “A Christmas Carol” by- Charles Dickens…what many may not know are some of the historical facts that inspired this classic.
The English Christmas was at a low ebb when Dickens was a youngster.
The growth of the city exploded in the 1800s and became known as “the Fever-Patch.” It was the first big industrial city in the world, and it was dirty, extremely polluted, and unhealthy. the disease spread quickly…there were four cholera epidemics in Dickens’s lifetime. plus regular outbreaks of typhoid, scarlet fever,, and other ills. Two hundred open sewers ran into the Thames River…and more than half of the London population took their water from it for cooking, laundry, bathing, and drinking.
Much of today’s London was built in the 19th Century,
it was full of dark alleys and lanes, the streets were crowded, noisy, and very dirty.
Almost anything was bought and sold, the atmosphere was more akin to a modern third-world city than modern London. Many of the vendors were children-there were no child labor laws such as we have today. Many worked as young as 5-sweeping the streets.
The growth of the city exploded in the 1800’s and became know as “the Fever-Patch.” It was the first big industrial city in the world, and it was dirty, extremely polluted and unhealthy. disease spread quickly…there were four cholera epidemics in Dickens’s lifetime. plus regular outbreaks of typhoid, scarlet fever,, and other ills. Two hundred open sewers ran into the Thames River…and more than half of the London population took their water from it for cooking, laundry, bathing, and drinking.
“A Christmas Carol” was written in 1843, as was the first printed Christmas cards. However, in 1843 many very old traditions were still being celebrated. Some dated from ancient pagan midwinter festivals-which was celebrated long before the first Christmas. The latter part of the 1840s began to see signs of new customs and ways that brought London out of the disgusting conditions it had become famous for.
After the success of ” A Christmas Carol,” Dickens wrote a Christmas story each year for the next several years, including The Chimes,(1844) and The cricket On The Hearth (1845)-none were as popular as A Christmas Carol. It added a new word to the English language (“a Scrooge” is a miser…very few stories have done that.
Today’s Christmas is commercial in a way Dickens could not have dreamed of…but in part and thanks to him, we still feel that Christmas should be a time for family warmth, wholesome fun, kindness to others and especially children…his vision lives on~ RIP Charles Dickens.
Merry Christmas~Tis the Season~to read a great classic!
The Sage Hill Farms Family~

Cooking With The Stylish Gardner~

cooking

cooking

Cooking is a therapy for me…and Lord knows therapy is embraced right now…

Baked pasta with my version of red sauce… Gloria D’ElisoMount, you would be proud!
Fruit Cobbler (peaches/blueberries)

Comfort food of the finest…I did not over-indulge, I did however enjoy!!

To family…..Wish you were here.

MAGA–Trump–as American as Apple and Blueberry Cobbler!

cobbler

A Red Wave–Laundry-

red
red
Christmas, New Year’s…come and gone, the anticipation, festive plays and replays, excess on many levels, ribbons, bows, pretty paper, treats to die for and because of!! Well, hopefully not…
The house and grounds look and feel so ……bare…I’m actually a fan of bare, except at Christmas time.
So, after it all is lovingly packed away for another year, what am I left with?
Laundry!!!! Things to reflect on…that could last forever! Gingersnaps and one gift I forgot to deliver…ouch!

Now, back to the laundry……so much red.

Flag

Old Glory is forever…Red White and Blue~

Donald J. Trump–forever–Our President!

A Sense Of History-2021-Ahead

New Year

New Year

January 1, 2021
🎆

Happy birthday Kathy Stevens/our first niece, long career in nursing,

mother of one, grandmother of 2… Love you Kathy.

Rose Bowl game at 3…Alabama v Notre Dame,

2nd Quarter…21-7 Alabama! (played in Texas!)

Friends coming for coffee and pie-Apple, just like mother made!

Manifesting a Happy, Healthy, and Great New Year!
Make it count!!
Paying close attention to the little things I may have taken for granted over the years. Something special about this year?

The Pleasures Of Parking

Park
Park

Yesterday was brutally cold, I needed and wanted outside time…dressed warmly and headed for the park.

We have a beautiful, well-designed park, a well laid out walking path, great rest stops/benches/a covered pavilion with tables and benches/beautiful fish pond with a one-of-a-kind cross-over bridge.
Perhaps because it was too cold for many…not one other person was in sight. Two people sitting in a car, which always peaks my radar🤨
I love the winter, however, if spring is an invitation to draw folks outside…I’m manifesting spring!!
PS: I stayed on the opposite side of the car with lurkers…not being rude but why go to a park and sit in the car?

Road Bloggin’-2021-

bloggin'
bloggin'

I had a real “Light Bulb” moment today and I want to share it with you.

Anyone who loves their freedom and knows how close we are to losing it is stressed, some more than others and that is for a plethora of reasons. It’s all real and all normal.
I’m not suggesting do this or that to get rid of the stress-I am suggesting do something really physical every day, exert yourself to the point of …I can’t do anymore!
The stress will still be a truth, but for certain, the body and mind will be lighter and calmer, you’ll be tired at the end of the day and sleep will be better.
No excuses…just do it!!
Consider, if…we must face 4 years of a non-president we will need to be healthy and determined to stand strong and be demanding.
Yesterday, I had appointments in the city.
I came home and washed my Jeep, it was cold and it’s a big vehicle. I was exhausted when I finally came inside. I slept for 8.5 hours.

Today I put on my Muck boots and dug a large hole in the back field, tomorrow I will find a tree for the hole!!
It is time to plant perennials, trees, shrubs, etc.😂

Staying Healthy In An UnHealthy World

read

read
Eat well, drink a lot of water, move, move, move…connect with nature, have verbal exchange every day about the blessings in our life…..and read good books, stay informed of life around us.

Doesn’t mean we block out the negative, in fact, it is just for the opposite effect…fuels the mind and body to face the demands of whatever is thrown our way.

Stay strong, claim your faith constantly, speak kindly…and carry a big stick!!
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/self-proclaimed-revolutionary-eggs-on-capitol-intruders-as-he-records-them-publishes-video_3649617.html?utm_source=pushengage

Road Bloggin’-December-2020-

My latest road touring took me no further than a few miles from Sage Hill.

As I drove, one constant kept coming into view–barns–I love old buildings!
Even if they are dilapidated and falling away, they have character, a story, some say a soul—and who am I to dispute.

If you aren’t familiar with middle Tennessee it’s hard to get a clear mental picture of the land layout. A lot of wide expanses of farmland, valleys, coves, ridges, mountains on some scale This allows much to be hidden until you round a curve, top a ridge or find yourself at the base of a  mountain.

These facts along with the many rivers, streams, and creeks can make a Sunday drive Blogworthy!

Before I headed out of town I stopped by the park, which has a charming history…for another Blog perhaps. I love the Lancaster cabin and met a charming lady who snapped this pic. She didn’t want hers made because she didn’t have her lipstick on…well, I relate to that! I don’t go to the mailbox without mine!! It’s a woman thing!!
park

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I made my way up Icy Bank on my way into town and that is always inspiring!
A rather high point just above Sage Hill.
road
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Barns, Barns, barns…and some I missed!

barns     barn    Cabin    barn

barn
My favorite!

On my way home I drove back over Icy Bank at sunset…Oh mercy….you have to see it!

And 10 minutes I’m home….time out was 3.5 hours.
Therapy of the best kind.

home
No place like home!