...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...the first of my denim Christmas socks is complete...

...a comfy...perfect fit...

...the princess sole isn't very photogenic...but it sure is comfortable...

...Vegan Bubble and Squeak...

...Scout was watching a video where they mentioned 'Bubble and Squeak'...

...and asked if we could make that for supper...

...so we chopped up some leftover tofurkey...

...and cooked some onion...

...and got out some leftover cabbage and Grandma's Mashed...

...then stirred that all together...it doesn't look all that appetizing right now...

...formed into patties...

...and pan-fried in a little Earth Balance and oil...

...flipped 'em when they were nicely browned and crispy...

...and served with a simple salad...with vegan ranch dressing...

...I loved this meal...quick...simple...frugal...delicious...and vegan...what more could you ask for...

~Have a lovely day!

...North Carolina Gold...

...while we were visiting family in North Carolina for the holidays...a friend told us that the very first gold found in America was found in NC and the first gold rush was in North Carolina...

...although we were both born and raised in North Carolina...this was surprising news to us...but we did a little research and found that it is definitely true...and the gold mine was not far away...link to the Reed Gold Mine site...

...we learned from this timeline that the heyday of gold mining in North Carolina was from the turn of the 19th century to just before the Civil War...

...there is a well laid out museum in the visitor center...we spent some time in there before we headed to the mine...

So how much gold was found in North Carolina. Other than what was actually taken to a Mint, no one knows. Miners often kept their yield secret, and even in a working incorporated mine, gold was often stolen by workers. Perhaps one half to two thirds of all North Carolina gold went to places other than mints. These are the values reported to the mints since 1803:

Philadelphia mint (until 1860) $ 9.1 million
Charlotte mint (1837-1860) $ 4.7 million
Betchtler mint (until 1840) $ 3.7 million
Total $ 17.5 million

...we learned lots of mining terms...

...and we didn't know that there was a mint in North Carolina...The Government authorized the Charlotte Mint in 1837. It served as headquarters for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the war it continued to operate as a federal assay office for 50 years.

...It coined $1, $2.50 and $5 gold pieces...

...a plaster cast taken of the last large nugget found in North Carolina...

...it weighed 23 lbs...

...and we learned about John Reed who found the first nugget and started the gold rush when he sold it for a week's wages $3.50...what he thought was a good price...It's actual value at the time was about $3600, so the jeweler really took advantage...not nice...

...the gold mine was already in decline by the start of the Civil War...and they used the mines mainly to supply the sulphur and lead that they needed for ammunitions...

...we saw the site of the first gold nugget found in this creek...

...then we headed into the mine...

...an adit is a horizontal shaft...this one has been widened for visitors...

...this is more like the areas that the miners actually worked...

...a 50 ft. shaft...looking up...

...the outside of the shaft...with a kibble...a type of bucket used for hauling up ore...

...the ruins of the boiler works...

...Scout investigating the chimney...

...the Stamp Mill...

...they used different types of stamps and rollers to crush the ore...

...and then concentrating tables to separate the gold...

...and Scout tried his hand at panning...

...and actually found a flake of gold...

...it was a lot of fun...

~Have a lovely day!

...Master Bath Update...

...the last time you saw the Master Bath...it looked like this...well...it still basically looks like that...only a whole lot of work has gone on in there...it's just sort of hard to see it...

...I made a sort of screen for the room...fancy I know...

...because I had to deal with this leftover floor glue...

...so I got out the belt sander...

...and suited up...you definitely don't want to be breathing that dust...

...and just sanded all that stiff leftover glue off...leaving a nice smooth floor...

...meanwhile...the Man redid some wiring...

...and prepped the new wall heater...

...while I packed in some new insulation...

...and cut a new piece of plywood to level the part of the floor where the tub used to be...

...and the Man installed the new heater...

...and re-wired and rearranged the wall outlets and switches...

...the original configuration was one switch and one outlet beside the door...and now we have two switches...one for the overhead light and one for the over the sink light...and four outlets...beside the sink...a much better configuration...

...the Man scribbles his measurements inside the wall...so funny...

...see...a whole lot of invisible work...

~Have a lovely day!

...a Sky Scarf for the New Year...

...we just stayed in and celebrated the New Year quietly...we did watch the ball drop at midnight...

...another of my super thoughtful gifts this Christmas was this Sky Scarf kit...which of course they had to make up with vegan yarn...a lot of trouble I'm sure...

...the pattern is free...and it's really simple...you just choose two colours of yarn to represent the sky for each day...and then knit 2 rows in garter stitch...i.e., one ridge...so you'll have one ridge of colour for each day of the year...

...the day's not over yet...but it will probably be a bright blue/light blue sort of day...no clouds...it should be fun and easy to knit...and funny that I just posted about monogamous knitting yesterday and am starting a new project today...this one will last all year too...HA!

...Happy 2015...and have a lovely day!