Christmas 2019
Dear Family and Friends,
Fall came to the mountains in the middle of October, when it cooled down and the leaves began turning. We started gathering firewood for the winter and lit our wood stove upstairs. We still have chickens, although the coyotes got a few more this year. Karen has a fun video of our Blue Andalusian (RIP) laying an egg in the kitchen. Sadie and I hear the coyotes during the night and get up to make noise and shine lights. The coop is pretty well fortified, and they haven’t breached that yet. Karen did shoot at one who was on top of the coop trying to dig in during mating season, January to April. We keep a shotgun and a revolver by the front door. People around here usually don’t go visiting unless they call first.
I read a good book on Appalachia called Beyond Thunder Road, about moonshiners, fast cars, and general area history from WWI to the 1960’s.I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and feel like I have come home here. Elephant’s graveyard, maybe? I continue writing my autobiography online (davidsautobio.org), and am very content with my life. Karen is content and happy here too. We know some good people and have some good new friends. Most of the people here are like the 1950’s people: courteous, helpful, and not in too much of a hurry. We try to be that way too, shedding the vestiges of a lifetime of urban living. I have done some counseling for sensitivity training, which some will say, “It’s about time!”
We are building a garage, which we started in the fall of 2018. It is framed up with siding, painted, and has a roof, but no electricity, doors, or windows (yet). It is a big improvement from working on cars, motorcycles, and other projects, outside on gravel. Tradesmen are very busy up here as there is a lot of work for them right now. It takes a while to get anything done.
With the 2020 elections just around the corner, vote for leaders who care more about the people they lead than their own agendas.
We wish you all well, good health, prosperity, and happiness.
Love
David and Karen
