Saturday, July 24, 2010

100 Degrees

As I'm writing this, it's 100 degrees on my deck. Not that I'd know that from being OUT there, mind you. That's the reading on my indoor/outdoor thermometer that I can monitor from the comfort of the desk in my bedroom. I've not been outdoors all day today. During the morning I was too busy with household drudgery (and, yes, little knitting. *LOL*), and by the time I'd done my chores, it was just too hot outside to inflict it on myself.

I was out most of yesterday, though. I got my grocery shopping done and filled the car with gas and was back home before the heat got bad. (More about filling the car with gas later.) Mom and Dad and I had a little day trip planned, so I was down at their house by 9:00. During a recent visit to Mann Farms over in Scott County, Virginia, Mom had bought some delicious corn relish. It had been made by a company called the Relish Barn in Rose Hill, Virginia. Mom had said that she'd like to visit the Relish Barn one day, and I'd told them that if they decided to go on a day I happened to be off work, I'd like to ride along with them.

So yesterday we headed for Rose Hill. Though it was a hot, steamy day, we were comfortable in the air conditioned vehicle, so it was a nice trip. From their house to Rose Hill is about an hour and a half, so I got it some good sock-knitting time during the ride. When we arrived in Rose Hill, we made a pass through the small town but saw no signs indicating the location of the Relish Barn. We'd brought along their telephone number from the label on the jar of corn relish, but we didn't have cellular service in that location.

Daddy stopped at a convenience store, and I went in to ask directions. Unfortunately, they weren't very good directions, so I asked Daddy to stop again at a market, where a very helpful gentleman gave me excellent directions that took us directly to the Relish Barn.

We were sad to learn, though, that the Relish Barn didn't appear to have any retail sales location onsite at all. It was just a small processing plant....the delicious aroma coming from the plant led us to believe that they were making chowchow that day. We were disappointed that we weren't able to buy any of their wares. I guess we'll just have to find another place to buy them close by or wait until the next time the folks are in the vicinity of Mann Farms.

We drove on to Cumberland Gap; it was getting to be lunch time, so we went to a wonderful place on Colwyn Street called Webb's Country Kitchen. We happened to arrive just before noon, so we just beat the lunch rush! Daddy had an open-faced roast beef sandwich, and Mom and I each had a reuben. The food was just delicious, and very reasonably priced. Judging from the crowd that came in just after we received our meals, it must be a pretty popular place! If you happen to be in that area around mealtime, I highly recommend it!

A funny thing happened on the way out of the restaurant. They have lots of old photos hanging on the walls, and one of the photographs looked so much like one of my elementary school pictures that it was startling! The owner was running the cash register at checkout, and I asked if she knew who the little girl was in the photo....it was the owner! The funny thing is that except for the fact that she had brown eyes I think I could have passed that photo off as myself to anyone who'd known me at that age.

We toured around Cumberland Gap for a good while, visiting a couple of antique shops and the historic iron furnace. It's a really neat place to spend a day if you're ever looking for a day trip destination.

The day was awfully hot and sticky, so it was a relief to ride back home in air conditioned comfort. Though it was a fun day, I was pretty tired when I got home, so other than the required housework, today's been a quiet day. Other than chores, the only thing I've done today is do some knitting (trying to finish up a pair of baby socks I started this week) and I cooked myself a pot of cranberry beans. I hadn't cooked any in awhile, and I've been craving them. Of all the dried beans available in our area, I think cranberry beans are my favorite.

Ah, I see by the indoor/outdoor themometer that it's now cooled off to 99 degrees. **SHEESH** No knitting on the balcony tonight, THAT's for sure!

Find a cool place, friends, and enjoy the rest of the weekend. :-)

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