Living in North Carolina Mountains Getaway blog
today is the 64th anniversery of DDay. On June 6, 1944, the allied troops stormed Normandy beaches in France to free the European continent from Nazi occupation during World War II. It was a bloody day. The American forces stormed Omaha beach with heavy losses. There were 4 other beaches in Normandy stormed that day too. But Omaha beach had the heaviest losses. Life expectancy was very short. One out of 3 soldiers died. It is a day we should all remember.
I never buy anything unless its on sale or I have a coupon for the item. Before I use that coupon, I check the price of the item after the coupon against other brands. Sometimes the price of the item with the coupon is higher. Anyways, I always check the weekly specials in Asheville area grocery stores online before I go shopping. I compare the sale items to the coupons I have on hand and try to match the sales with the coupons. Its not always possible. This week (April 26) Harris Teeter had the best sales. Cubed steak, london broil roasts, pork tenderloin and boneless chicken breasts were buy 1 get 1 free, An extraordinary deal. So, I stocked my freezer. I have enough meat for 5 weeks of meals. Raisin Bran cereal was buy one get one free. I had a coupon for 3.00 off if I bought 3. That made the cost of the cereal 55 cents a box. If I dont eat all three boxes, I still saved. This week, I saved over $100.00 on my total grocery bill. Since I wont have to go back to the grocery store for a month except for maybe bread and milk, I saved on my total monthly grocery bill.
Hillary Clinton came to Asheville NC last night. She spoke at the Thomas Wolf Auditorium inside the Civic Center in downtown. The auditorium only holds about 2200 people so people had to stay outside. Hillary came outside to shake hands with the people there. Her speech was broadcasted outside so the people there could hear what Hillary had to say. some people started waiting outside the civic center early yesterday morning to be sure to get in. There was no charge. It was first come first served.
Bryson City NC is a short distance from Asheville. Its not far from Fontana Lake and near Cherokee too. This is a good place for hiking and biking. You can go rafting too. Take a scenic train ride through the NC Great Smoky Mountains. You can even take a dinner train ride where you will be served a gourmet meal. The best time to visit is in the Fall when the leaves are changing. The scenery is beautiful.
today is a start of a new year. When I first came to the Asheville Area over 30 years ago, I met a lot of mountain folk, people who was raised here and who’s ancesters settled here a very long time ago. Anyway, these people celebrated the New Year with a traditional meal of Hog Jowls and black eyed peas because it insured good luck for the coming year. (Black Eyed Peas and Rice is called Hopin John.) Most of them took their Christmas tree down on New Year’s day to insure luck too. For more information, see NC mountain traditions.