..........Grassy Creek Vineyard.

I saw a piece of my childhood on an ETV show North Carolina Weekly last night. It was a story on the Grassy Creek Vineyard in Elkin, NC. In 1963, we moved to Elkin on my fourth birthday. At the time, my dad was a middle level executive with Centel Telephone Company. As a result of his work with the company, we were moved every ten years as the company reorganized. Moving to Elkin was great for me. Elkin is a great small town in the NC Piedmont region that is nestled right along the Yadkin River. Elkin had so many great things to offer a kid - small city school system, YMCA, a great public park, and it was close to Winston-Salem. We moved to a new housing development on the north side of town called Grassy Creek Drive. At the time, not many houses were in the subdivision; but it was growing. There were several kids my age on the street, and I had a great childhood there. Bordering our property and right in our backyard was the Klondike Dairy. As young boys, we would cross a big field to the dairy office and buy a one-pint chocolate milk for five cents. The then manager, Frank Miller, let us boys play on the property as we pleased. When the cows were not in the field behind our house, he would let us ride our motorcycles and go-carts there, and play "army". He also used to let us fish in a pond on the property and gave us permission to explore the old dumping ground there at the dairy. There were great discarded items that we salvaged to make things that boys would make just to have fun. I remember once that we found about thirty or forty three-legged milking stools in the dump area. We couldn't believe that someone would have thrown away all these stools in such good condition. I realize now that this represented a move from hand milking to machine milking. The Klondike Dairy delivered our milk right to our doorstep every other day. We would order a quart of milk for each delivery, and a pint of half and half once per week. Getting milk delivered right to your doorstep is a great piece of Americana. Many of my best memories are from the times that I spent playing, fishing, and exploring the area around Grassy Creek. During the summertime, I practically lived in the wooded areas around my house. My dad taught me to make sourwood whistles right there along the bank of Grassy Creek. This show brought back some great memories of a great childhood. The dairy closed many years ago and has since been bought and turned into Grassy Creek Vineyard. There are several vineyards being established in the area between Surry and Forsyth counties right now. There are cabins for rent there at the vineyard, along with tours and wine tastings. I look forward to visiting there sometime in the near future. Here's a website that you can visit to get more information: www.grassycreekvineyard.com.

..........you've got to try this!

It's still the summer grilling season, and I found a recipe that you need to try. This is so very simple and makes all the difference. What is it? How about a wasabi dipping sauce? It takes about 10 minutes to make. Here's the recipe:

Wasabi Cream Sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons wasabi powder
1 tablespoon of cold water
one-half cup of mayonnaise
one-half cup of sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:
1) Place the wasabi powder in a glass mixing bowl (use glass or another non-reactive material). Add one tablespoon of cold water and stir to form a thick paste (I used one and one-half tablespoon of the wasabi powder and it was just right. Remember, wasabi powder is nothing more than powdered horseradish and it is strong.) After the paste is formed, wait about 5 minutes.
2) Mix the rest of the ingredients, cover, and refrigerate until you're ready to use it. It will keep for about one week.

This is a great sauce for use on every kind of meat. It was originally recommended for use on fish; but, I have used it with great results on pork and beef. If you like horseradish, you'll love this sauce. I got it from a great grilling website: http://www.bbqu.net/. This website is a great resource for some wonderful grilling. It's a companion to the ETV television show, Barbecue University. If you try this, let me know what you think.

..........drill, drill, drill!

I would like to see the USA get the majority of its crude from her own soil. I really don't have a concern for ruining the environment for that purpose; and, "yes", I'm one of those horrible Democrats! You know; those left-wing socialist, higher tax, environmentalist first, and public school loving guys. If you believe that all Democrats are of that persuasion, then you are an idiot. Yes, an idiot! I get soooooooo sick of listening to the brainwashed right-wingnuts putting this blanket over anyone who is a Democrat. I often watch C-SPAN, and I don't see all the Republicans as these right-wing nut-jobs, and; therefore, don't choose to put a blanket over the entire Republican Party. Many Republican leaders are very intelligent and loyal Americans who convince me that they are acting in the best interest of all Americans. By the same token, there are Democrats in our leadership who believe and do the same. If you base all your political beliefs on Oxycontin and Viagra swilling types like Rush Limpbaugh, then you're part of the national political problem. People like Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are making millions of dollars by promoting political division between Americans. It's hard for me to believe that intelligent people buy into their baloney. Now to the title of this post. The big Republican talk now is "drill, drill, drill". We can drill our way out of this energy crisis; but, the Democrats and their environmentalists toadies are keeping us from doing it. So, was this not a problem prior to 2006? If there was such a need to drill, why were policies concerning protected areas not corrected when the Republicans had control of the Presidency, the Congress, and the Senate? The Democrats couldn't have stopped it prior to 2006 if all the Republicans were on the same page. Don't give me all that "crap" about this being a problem created by the Democrats.

..........bringin' a knife to a gunfight!

I've given you a couple of recent images of both of our presidential candidates to illustrate what I'm talking about. A post on a friend's blog got me to thinking more and more about this issue. Which images appeal more to you? The guy walking along with Joe Liberman (who is usually not far from his side), or the suit and tie picture with the Rev. Billy Graham and son Franklin Graham; or, is it the younger guy talking with the people about what changes need to be made in America. Whether the changes can be made or not, he is listening and winning the support of the "common guy"; while the other candidate will rely on the 'ole Republican "base" that George W. Bush made such a big deal about. Like it or not, the Republican Party is in a bad way with image and crowd appeal. The Republican Party's commitment to stuffy image won't work in the 21st century. Let me share an experience of my own that will be relevant. When I moved to the current high school where I teach marching band, I swore that I would never, ever use props on the field to win competitions. We would rely on the traditional "playing and marching only" approach to compete. After a couple years of losing by only a couple of points here and there, I decided to continue playing and marching as usual; but, with some props to make the show more attractive to the masses. It worked! It was enough to put us over the top. We still put most of our emphasis on playing and marching; but, we use the props to be more competitive. At some point, the GOP will have to re-invent or failure at the polls will continue to be SOP. The 2008 election is going to be very important for America. I'm convinced that the Democrats sent their best candidate into the race, even when there was another choice in Hillary Clinton that could have won the election, too. Who did the Republicans send? Well, after spinning their wheels with the likes of Fred Thompson; they chose John McCain. You mean that this is all you have to send into this historic race? That's what I mean with my post title. I predict that this election will be a larger landslide victory for the Democrats than that of LBJ in the 1960's. I support standards and many other conservative values, but I can't hitch my cart to John McCain. I don't see or hear someone that is listening to the people of the USA. I see a patriot and an experienced legislator, who has given much to this country; but, I also see "more of the same" old crap coming my way via his presidency. I know this will offend some of my readers, and that is not my intention. It's time to put away the dark blue suit, diagonal striped tie, and white shirt uniform; get a little more involved with the regular guy, and be more appealing to those that will put you in office. It's time to lose or re-invent for success!