Kathiey's World

One place that has become a regular stop for me on my Blowing Rock Adventures is Woodlands Bar-B-Que.  Rustic atmosphere, great barbecue and, every time I have been there, live music. "Our Restaurant’s Menu features barbecue beef, pork, chicken, and ribs plus home-style Mexican food. Family-oriented with a rustic atmosphere." "Serving North Carolina Barbeque in Blowing Rock NC since 1977." Woodlands It was my first time getting their chicken BBQ.  It was great. One of my daughter's favorite desserts at Woodlands is the Blackberry Cobbler. They ran out the night we were there.  No worries because we will be back:-) If you find yourself in the Blowing Rock area I suggest you visit Woodlands Bar-B-Que.  I know you will enjoy it:-) Happy travels and eating. KathieyV (With all the shutdowns related to Corona Virus I hope that Woodlands is ok.)

During this time of isolation, due to Covid 19, I have decided it would be fun to buddy read a book with Caleb and Maggie.  For Easter, I gave them each a book and I bought the books for myself as well so we can share them over facetime. I remember reading Holes by Louis Sachar many years ago when my kids were in school and I really liked it.  I think Caleb is old enough now to enjoy reading this book so that is the one I selected for him. Holes Chapt 1 The first chapter is an overview of Camp Green Lake in Texas.  It used to be a large beautiful lake but now it is a dried-up wasteland. There are only two trees on this property and a hammock is tied between them.  The only person allowed to recline in the hammock is the warden, no one else.  There is only mention of three animals on this property.  The scorpion, the rattlesnake and the most dreaded of all creatures, the Yellow Spotted Lizard. Chapt 2 Why would anyone go to Camp Green La...

The first time I made this was back in 2010.  I modified a recipe I found in Taste of the South Magazine.  The recipe is called Hearty Shepherds Pie.  It is easy and yummy.  I made this recipe again for Josh and Erica as they are busy with baby Jane and I thought that making a meal for them would free up some time to let them hold their new baby. Hearty Shepherd's Pie Yesterday(2010) I decided to try a new recipe.  I wanted something fairly easy that would last several days.  I came across "Hearty Shepherd's Pie" from Taste of the South Magazine, which I modified. When I think of Shepherd's Pie, I think of lots of veggies topped with buttery mashed potatoes.  Yes, I could make the mashed potatoes from scratch but when you don't have much time it is fine to improvise.  So I picked up 1 pack of Bob Evan's Mashed Original Mashed Potatoes. I only used 1 pack but I think it would look more appealing if you use 2 packs, to completely cover the...

There are so many genres.  As I am getting more into reading I find I don't understand half of the genres out there and there are many. I decided to start with the Fantasy Genre.  I have just read three books in this category and I wanted to know how they fit into that genre and if they were in a sub-genre or sub-category. Here is the YouTube Version.... Literary Devices describes the fantasy genre like this: "Fantasy is a form of literary genre in which a plot cannot occur in the real world. Its plot usually involves witchcraft or magic, taking place on an undiscovered planet of an unknown world. Its overall theme and setting involve a combination of technology, architecture, and language, which sometimes resemble European medieval ages. The most interesting thing about fantasies is that their plot involves witches, sorcerers, mythical, and animal creatures talking like humans, and other things that never happen in real life." So, what is a Sub-Genre/S...

Here is a fairly new mural I found in Cary NC Here is a bit more about what I think is behind the mural. North Carolina State Bird Here is a quote from State Symbols USA "North Carolina designated the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) as the official state bird in 1943. One of America's favorite backyard birds, cardinals are distinctive in appearance and song - known for their "cheer cheer cheer," "whit-chew whit-chew" and "purty purty purty" whistles." If you want to hear the chirping of the cardinal check out the link below. North Carolina State Tree is the Dogwood Tree Here is a quote from State Symbols USA "The blossom of the dogwood tree (Cornus florida) was designated as the official state flower of North Carolina in 1941. The Dogwood is one of the most common trees in North Carolina, found in all parts of the state from the mountains to the coast." Below is a bit more about the dogwood tree. ...

Out and About There is not much you can do during this Pandemic.  Brodie and I do go on long walks every day when the weather allows.  I need to measure how far we actually go.  I am thinking it is around a 2-mile loop.  We always look for something to take photos of on our journeys. This is my favorite photo of the week *********************************************************************** Weekly Movie I selected a movie from 2017. The movie is called Molly's Game. It got 82% on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 84% which is pretty close to the same. Here is a synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes, "MOLLY'S GAME is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the...

One thing that has always be intriguing to me is making a book you are reading part of your life. How can you do that you may ask? My thinking is that if you come across and interesting place you could visit that place or someplace similar. If you read about an activity in a book that you would like to try you would take the time to try that activity. In this series called "My Bookish Adventures", I am going to do just that. I will choose one book from my five-book reading wrap-up. I will select something from that book and bring it to my life in some way. Below is my YouTube Channel version of my adventure... Let's look at my books from my wrap-up. If I choose Rebecca I guess I could go out and find a nice handsome older man and be whisked away to his gigantic estate. Well, that is not happening. So, what could I do related to this book? I could travel to Monto Carlo but we are in a coronavirus pandemic so that would not be wise or even d...