Janice Boling

2010-10-17T12:46:00.002-04:00

Jules, What link is down? If you want to email me, my address is posted at http://www.janiceboling.com I don't do much blogging these days, I'm too busy building websites with dreamweaver.

Shoney's

2009-03-04T20:19:00.002-05:00

Going to Shoney's for strawberry pie or hot fudge cake was a real Friday night treat.

2008 - year of abundant fruit

2008-09-28T21:10:00.003-04:00

2008 has been a great year for gardening in North Georgia. Maybe it's because nothing did very well last year, especially the fruit trees. Last year they all got frost bit during the flowering stage and all we had was blackberries. No apples, peaches, plums, blueberries, cherries, etc.

Oh boy it was a bumper crop this year! We canned cherry jam, blackberry jelly, applesauce, grape jelly, apple pie mix, and quarts and quarts of tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato sauce. That is just the beginnning...we put up green beans, corn, soup, homemade catsup, peaches, apple butter, squash, okra, grape juice, pear preserves, and still have to do pumpkins!

Then there's the wine. We are making grape wine, blackberry wine, and apple wine. Can't wait to try it out around Thanksgiving time. We will surely have a feast to thank God for this year.

Danger

2008-03-27T11:24:00.001-04:00

In response to the person who left a comment about the dangers of posting on the internet - I am not afraid. I refuse to live a life of fear expecially at the age of 52. Child molesters surely won't be after me and I dont' have anything to hide!

If murderers, rapists, and thiefs come after me, they better be prepared to fend off six hound dogs, mud holes, and barbed wire. Our farm is a real farm. Our neighbors watch out for us. We have guns and we lock our doors. We don't store up riches here on earth. We have no cash hidden under the bed or jewels laid up in boxes. If the economy gets much worse, people may come here hunting something to eat, and we will share.

Fear is the opposite of faith. Have you ever thought about that? If God decides my job is done on this earth, hopefully I'll go to meet Jesus while sleeping peacefully. Of course, if I have to go another way, I just hope it doesn't involve too much suffering.When you know Jesus is real, fear disappears. No, I am not a bit afraid of posting personal things on the internet. Jan.

Seasons Inn website

2008-01-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

I am working on the Seasons Inn Motel website tonight. I still have a quite a bit to do.

Al Garnto's new site

2008-01-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

I have been working with Al Garnto the past few weeks getting his new site online. He is a local artist with a studio here in Blairsville. See Al Garnto.com for more information and examples of his work.

Presenting "Blairsville's Best"

2007-12-22T22:34:00.000-05:00

With my new web site just now getting up and going, I haven't much time to blog about myself. Find out about the Blairsville Internet Project and see what I am up to now at http://www.blairsvillebest.com/ .

Irene Boling turned 17 in 1940

2007-07-17T00:24:00.000-04:00

My cousin Jerrie Lynn Johnson sent me this photo of my mom, Irene Winnie Watkins (maiden name) after my Aunt Florence Pirkle (her sister) died a couple of years ago.

Irene is on the right wearing pants and a short plaid jacket. They are probably at another Aunt's house - Gladdis Watkins Bishop's home in Canton, Georgia. I think the bunch of sisters and two brothers were born in Cherry Log, Georgia but later moved to Canton (Cherokee County) where mom attended school and grew up. The lady beside Irene looks like my Dad's brother's wife to me, but I really have no idea. If so her name was Donna Vee Boling after she married Uncle Bob. The back of the photo says, "R Kraft Print Nov 1940. My mom turned 17 on Nov. 4th that same month. Maybe it's her birthday photo. That's my guess.

Payne Mountain Farms

2007-07-08T01:48:00.000-04:00

I designed a logo for the farm today and started a website, too. We are going to sell organic herbs, seeds, maybe some cornmeal and other produce.

Tony has been selling a few dozen eggs a week to neighbors and providing them to family members so the rooster symbol had to be in the logo.

All the talk about the planet and globel warming...we have been green for most of our lives.

Speaking of live earth...we watched the concerts all day on the live MSN internet broadcast. The technology is amazing. We sat in our living room and watched 7 different venues at a time! The concerts were non-stop. Our favorite - Roger Waters really caught our attention even if he did play his old stuff from the Pink Floyd days. So did Madonna and Melissa Ethridge. Maybe the world's heavy "consumers" will get the message.

Questions

2007-06-17T22:23:00.000-04:00

Are you the type person that eats supper and lies around waiting for bedtime or the type person that eats supper as a means of refueling for some activity? What time do you eat your last meal of the day? I am interested because of mine and Tony's habits. We are like night and day although out of respect we do try to conform to the other's preferences.

Tony would love to refuel at exactly 5:00 p.m. every day. He would eat his meal, rest for an hour and head out to do more never-ending farm chores. Tuned to a precise schedule, he would shower at 9:00 and hit the sack at 10:00. As for me, I would be content to eat at nine or even ten and stay up until two.

In fact we try to eat by 6:00 p.m. It's usually 6:30 and never later than 7:00. We get to bed around 11:00 although if I can't sleep I get back up and compute.

Concerning Southern dialect - We call the evening meal supper. The midday meal is lunch. Dinner can be either one. A church dinner is a late lunch after preaching. A pot luck dinner is at suppertime. Breakfast is always breakfast.

Speaking of mealtimes and food. Real banana pudding is a vanilla custard layered between sliced bananas and vanilla wafers. It is not jello. Homemade custard is easy to make if you have a double boiler. Without one, it's almost impossible. What is custard that makes it so good? It's pure sugar, eggs, whole milk, a little flour, a dash of salt, and your choice of flavoring (almond extract is good in banana pudding if you don't have real vanilla).

Been on Vacation

2007-06-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. Will be back writing very soon.

Hay harvest

2007-05-18T23:06:00.001-04:00

Tony is picking up square bales for winter use. Nowadays if you have a tiller and a garden tractor with maybe a fenced in area and a barn, your place is called a farm. Farming is a lot of work and a real full time job. We do not consider it a hobby.

Hay harvest

2007-05-18T23:04:00.000-04:00

These round bales are waiting to be picked up and stored in the barn.

Hay harvest

2007-05-18T23:03:00.001-04:00

The old Ford tractor is coming round the mountain!

Hay harvest

2007-05-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

Here Tony is about done mowing for now. The first cutting turned out to be cow candy. That means they will love it when they get a bale this winter. You know the cows love their hay when not a straw is left and they moo for more.

Hay harvest

2007-05-18T22:59:00.001-04:00

Here the hay is on the ground. There's lots of blue grass mixed in with a lot of clover, too.

Hay harvest on the farm

2007-05-18T22:56:00.003-04:00

Tony has been mowing hay all weeek. It is a busy time on the farm.

Tree-lined street in Downtown Blairsville

2007-05-14T01:05:00.000-04:00

Blairsville has lots of tree-lined streets. I hope they never get cut down and when they die, hopefully towns people will have the sense to replace them. This is Gainesville Highway heading south out of town. It's also called Cleveland Street or Highway 19/129 or Byron Herbert Reece Memorial Highway. All are correct. When you leave town on this street, you pass Nottely River Campground, Vogel State Park, and Turner's Corner. There's Blood Mountain to cross, the Appalachian Trail, and then you come to Cleveland, Georgia. A right at Turner's Corner takes you to Dahlonega, and there's various routes that lead to Helen, Clarkesville, Suches, Hiawassee, Dawsonville, etc.

Blairsville Restaurant

2007-05-12T22:39:00.000-04:00

Here's a photo of Blairsville Restaurant. If you ever are in town on a Thursday, try their chicken and dumplins. As I mentioned before, their salad dressings are excellent. My favorite meal is on the Friday buffet- fish, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, roll, and lots of ice tea. They also have a good menu with all the regular southern staples. Hamburgers, chicken, pork chops, veggies, child plates, etc.

Blairsville, Georgia 30512

2007-05-12T22:14:00.000-04:00

My home town, Blairsville, Georgia is situated in a valley with a backdrop of mountains. The town sprawls along a four-lane - Highway 515. The historical district is located around the town square with the old courthouse as focal point. Blairsville doesn't have a Wal-mart. The largest stores are Home Depot, Ingles, Bi-Lo, Rite Aid, and CVS pharmacy. Other notable stores are King's 5 and 10 cent store, Early Bird Antiques, Foodland, Radio Shack, Video Unlimited, Evelyn's Fabric Center and Quilt Shop, the Stress Free Store, and the Book Nook.

Not much choice around here for shoppers, there's not one place in town that sales plus size women's clothing. Thank God for online shopping! Blairsville has lots of restaurants. Here's the ones I can think of right off hand - Blairsville Restaurant, the Hole in the Wall, Nancy's Pizza, Papa's Pizza (the best Pizza due to thin, crispy crust), Downtown Pizza, Domino's Pizza, Grinds and Glazes, Huddle House, Waffle House, McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Blimpie, Subway, Monte Alban, Aviator Cafe (for fruit smoothies), JJ's Cafe, Mike's Seafood, Cobb's Mill, Muffy's, Rib Country, and a couple of oriental places. My favorite has to be Blairsville Restaurant just because it's the local hangout and the salad dressing can't be beat. Blairsville is a dry county which means no alcohol. We don't have beer, wine, or mixed drinks so not many large franchises come here (Blairsville).

OH YES. I forgot the Sawmill for country pork chops and mashed potatoes. Haven't tried breakfast there yet but hear it's scrumptous.

2007-05-11T00:38:00.000-04:00

Found this on Google images. What a beautiful dog. Once you own a schnauzer, you are hooked and no other dog will do. Schnauzers are not too good with children but are great for house pets. They don't shed. Their hair folicles are different than other dogs and sometimes flea medication drops don't work well. Schnauzers are loyal, energetic, and demand your attention. They are smart, quick to learn, and very agile. My schnauzer, Ed, was named after Ed Roland of Collective Soul. He is a party breed which means he is white with black spots. He is my second schnauzer. I treat him like my child, he gets presents, toys, and even an Easter basket. He is willful and spoiled but such a blessing. When I come home, driving up the driveway, he comes running to meet me. He always fusses me out for being away. Tony loves him, too. Ed helps on the farm and is a lot of company. He also sits with me at the computer and watches as I type. He eats Purina Sensitive Stomach Dog food which is expensive but doesn't irritate his pancreas like other brands. Ed will be 7 years old on October 31, 2007.

Brasstown Bald Mountain

2007-05-10T23:54:00.000-04:00

This image of Brasstown Bald was taken around 1980. I remember the day was sunny down below but up here it was frosty cold. Brasstown Bald is a favorite tourist spot in Union County, being the highest point in Georiga. Recently it has been in the news because of a bicycle race, the Tour de Georgia. A guy was fatally injured when coming off the moutain when he rammed his bike into a rock enbankment. Brasstown Bald is a nature lovers paradise with wildlilfe around every bend. Trails branch off around the mountain and views are fantastic. Once a group of us walked quite a distance and were followed by a panther. It screamed like a woman but we never did see it. It made the hairs literally stand up on my arms and I'll never forget the sound. If I remember correctly, Debbie Harkins McCollum Fortenberry, her daughter, Amy McCollum, Shannon Dockery Bakos, and maybe one or two more were on the outing. I wonder if they remember it as well as I do?

My Mom and Dad

2007-05-10T23:39:00.000-04:00

My mom and dad are both gone now and at times I miss them terribly. Not when things are bad, but when times are good. That's when I want to share my joy with them. I had a perfect childhood. As an only child, I had all the advantages of a middle class life. We went on vacations to Florida every summer, we had good food, we had lots of love in the house. I was never abused or molested, I was not neglected, I was not ignored. The most trying times were good times. I thought having to wear a homemade dress to school was awlful. Now I'd give anything to have one of mom's dresses. Sometimes Dad made shit-on-a-shingle (creamed spam on toast). They didn't make me eat it, though. I got a grilled cheese sandwich or maybe french toast instead. Spoiled but not rotten. I recently tried to look up my ancesters on the internet but didn't find much. My mom's parents were John William Watkins and Alice Luealer Whitener. My Dad's were Charlie Boling and Georgia Clayton. I hope to find out more when I have time.

Hometown 30512

2007-05-09T22:46:00.000-04:00

Blairsville, Georgia 30512 is a good hometown except no one ever planned the streets for so much traffic. Our old historic courthouse is the center of town and has been restored by the Historical Society to its former glory. Every hour the clock tower bells ring. Nestled in the mountains, Blairsville has lots to offer. Clean water, friendly people, lots of trees...although they are disappearing by the truck load. Everyday I see loads of logs being hauled out of town to pulp mills, saw mills, etc. Our natural resources are being used up. Farms disappear and ugly clear cutting removes all plant life. Subdivisions sprawl right next to creek banks and the evironment protection agency does nothing. We have laws that say you can't build on top of the ridges, but I guess if you oil the wheels of justice with a big enough "tip" you can build anywhere you want. Money talks as always. I want to stop all progress, close the gates, keep things green. When I first came here myself in 1978 the landscape was full of mountain laurel, dirt roads, wild forests, crystal clear lakes and streams. You could drive for miles and not see another soul. There were no traffic lights or franchises. We had to go to the hospital emergency waiting-room to get cokes, candy and cigerettes if it was after 7:30 p.m. The Tastee Freeze and the Dairy Cone were our hang outs. Blairsville in the 70's couldn't be beat.

When all the trees are gone, and all the beauty is a thing of the past, then growth will slow down because everyone will move off to Kentucky. I will miss the wild herbs, the lady slippers, the hemlocks. I will miss swimming at Sea Creek Falls where the water is so cold that it takes your breath. I will miss riding through Cooper's Creek Wildlife Refuge (where I once saw it rain frogs). You can't stop progress, but I wish the leaders would quit waving the welcome flag.

A cow named Karo

2007-05-09T16:16:00.000-04:00

Karo's momma didn't want much to do with her so we raised her on a bottle. That's Karo in the photo, the black cow. The only way we could get her to take the bottle was to smear the nipple with karo syrup. That's how she got her name. Now Karo is all grown up and has her own calves. She is a very attentive mother and is a fine cow. Tony sent off a load of calves yesterday and today we went shopping for wormer, twine for the hay baler, tomato plants, and groceries. Prices have gone up so much, but not what we receive for our calves. Everyone gets a raise but the farmers. Soon this nation want have any small family farms. The young people sure don't plan on working for nothing. They would rather sell out to a subdivision and you can't really blame them. I don't know what people will eat. I guess contaminated wheat from China.

Digital Art

2007-04-26T01:45:00.000-04:00

I wonder who did this digital masterpiece? The colors are bold and inspiring. Aqua blue and lavender are colors I use in my own work. Black works so good with these vivid hues. Perhaps all of the old mediums will go completely out of style. Oils, watercolors, pen and ink drawings - are they destined to be stuck away in stuffy museums or carted away to our attics and storage buildings along beside the 35mm film cameras? Time will tell.

Art on the Internet

2007-04-26T01:30:00.000-04:00

Surfing on the internet provides great visual stimulation. Consider this uploaded image. I wonder who painted this still life. My tastes lean towards modern art. I enjoy Picasso and Salvador Dali. Digital art is facinating, too. It's been a long time since I got out my paints and put some time into a canvas. My acrylics are probably all dried up, but I do have some pastels somewhere.

Google Adwords

2007-04-26T01:04:00.000-04:00

I decided to use my Netfirms free coupon for $35 worth of Google adwords. Had to create an account and give billing information plus a $5 activation fee. Good news is that later on, when I typed in my chosen keywords, my "ad" did appear on the right side of the search results page. I am trying out this adword "campaign" on my not-for-profit site www.unionandtowns.com. My keywords include Blairsville, Hiawassee, Union County, and Towns County.

Dreamstime, Netfirms, and Paypal

2007-04-22T01:56:00.000-04:00

I have found a way to make money with the click of a button. Here's how it works. If you are a web designer or anyone else that uses stock photos, you click on the blue link that follows: Stock Photos for less than $1.00 each...at Dreamstime! If you decide to buy something or become a contributing photographer, I get a reward because you came to their site from my link. It's easy as 1, 2, 3. Now if I can just generate lots of traffic to my websites and get the users to utilize Dreamstime, Paypal, or Netfirms I can retire. (Don't worry, I'm not moving to the rocking chair just yet.) There are ways to make money on the internet if you look hard enough and choose wisely. We'll see what happens as time goes by.

Clay County Health Department Web Site

2007-04-05T21:46:00.000-04:00

I met with Tonya at Clay County Health Department over in Hayesville, N.C. today. I helped her set up in Dreamweaver so that she can update her new web site. She was easy to work with and made doing web design fun. Some clients are so demanding, picky, and bossy you want to hide.

Hayesville is growing really fast, just like Blairsville. The farms are all being cut up into subdivisions. Tony heard on the news that Atlanta grew in population by 1,000,000 in the last ten years. A lot of them are working their way north to the mountain area. I think Marietta will be here soon. It will spread right up Highway 515.

North Georgia has clean water, clean air, low crime, national forests, and abundant wildlife. No wonder people are moving here. Plus we have all the politicians waving welcome signs, "Come to the mountains. Get your mountain view lot before they're gone!"

Oh, yeah. It rained 3 inches night before last. We had a booming thunder and lighting storm so hopefully the drought is over. Now the cold is back. We are expecting a hard freeze and are praying for the baby plums and grapes to make it. All we can do is cover everything with sheets. Maybe it will kill off some ticks, fleas, and other pests.

Ed is my dog

2007-03-31T00:02:00.000-04:00

Ed is a miniature schnauzer. He has papers that say so. Most miniature schnauzers are either silver or black. Since Ed is spotted, he is call a "party breed." I named him after Ed Roland, the lead singer in Collective Soul.

Ed will be seven on Halloween, October 31, 2007. He is a dog with personality and we spoil him rotten. My spirits lift when I come home and Ed comes bopping up the driveway to meet me. Dogs surely are man's best friend.

We have other dogs. Digger, Blackberry, Socks, Bo, and Mama Dog. They are hounds that look to Ed as the alpha male. Ed bosses them all. I guess he has a short dog complex. Sometimes he acts like a pitbull.

Working on web sites

2007-03-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

I met with Janet Hartman this morning. She is the Project Manager for the Downtown Development Authority of Blairsville. I do their web site and we met to discuss updates. Also Norman Cooper has created a logo and I will add that to the site.

Here is the URL:
http://www.downtownblairsville.com

Tony is still building fences. Ticks are out in full force already. Chickens are laying about a dozen eggs a day. English peas are up about three inches tall. Grass needs mowed. Herbs and flowers need tending. My to-do list goes on and on.

Dry March Weather

2007-03-26T22:59:00.000-04:00

It's a really hot and dry March. If we don't get lots of rain our grass will be crunchy. Tony's Aunt Louise Payne gave him a quilt today. It is made with his grannies old dresses and has blue square blocks. I think it is beautiful.

I covered a ground breaking ceremony at the local Catholic Parish for the paper. The Towns County Herald's editor, Carl was there. Since my publisher owns both papers, maybe Carl will write the piece. He is Catholic and knows the lingo.

Quiet Sunday except for squalking chickens

2007-03-25T14:14:00.000-04:00

Sunday's are quiet around the farm. Tony takes a rest from his hard labor and only does essential chores like feeding the cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and pig. I did laundry, wrote up a couple of ribbon-cutting stories, optimized photos for the articles, read about a web-developer tool called Joomla, filled up the wild-bird feeders, and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine. It's like June in March here in North Georgia.

A low flying plane upset the chickens and they went to squalking like mad right before lunch. They thought it was a giant hawk. The roosters went to crowing and then the dogs went to barking. I hollered, "Praise the Lord!" three or four times and soon everything shut up.

Tony is napping and I am fixing to make a pot of coffee before fixing some supper. Tonight's menu includes tacos with sliced tomatoes from the fruit stand that actually have some taste.

Blairsville Today

2007-03-23T15:48:00.000-04:00

I spent most of the day in Blairsville. I covered two grand openings for the paper - "Huff Creations - Custom Cabinets" and "Blairsville Flooring." Both had good turn outs with people from the community attending. Then I went by the office to help answer the phone during lunch hour but ended up meeting with Larry Garrett about a story Kenneth asked me to do. It's about Union County's new driver's license office. Now people don't have to drive to the Fannin County office. It will save time and gas. Next was a stop at Union General Hospital for a mammogram. They have a new digital machine that is extremely accurate. I should have done a story on it but my mind was not on reporting. The hospital was a fairly quick stop and I headed to the Driver's license office to get some photos. Genevea Mathis let me take her photo while she renewed her license. On the way home I stopped at Foodland and bought some fresh lean meat, orange juice, bananas, black seedless grapes, bread, etc. for the weekend. I also rented four movies from Video Unlimited. The Nativity Story (new release) and The Holiday (new release) look promising. Took a chance on Wanda Sykes:Tongue unTied and Jessica Simpson's Dukes of Hazzard (Tony will enjoy the cut-off jeans. He likes them better than any fancy outfit).

Home Sweet Home. Tony's off building fences and I have some down time to turn on the computer, check email, blog. Blogging is fun and I recommend it to everyone.

Driver's Licences and Hinges

2007-03-22T19:27:00.000-04:00

Kenneth called today and asked me to do a story about Union County's Driver's Licence Office. They are giving driver's tests for autos and motorcycles. I picked up some material to look over for the story.

Tony's went to Charles Truelove's house today to salvage stuff off of an old tobacco barn. He got hinges, bolts, Redtop fence wire, and some pullies. He came home with buckets full for free that would have cost $400 at Home Depot. Plus everything was made in the USA with good metal that will last. The old barn will be bull-dozed down on Saturday.

Hay Day

2007-03-22T00:55:00.000-04:00

Tony loaded 150 square bales of hay from the barn and took it to the feed store. They bought it because hay is in great demand right now. We are in the process of building fences. We have to fence in the new baby trees so the cows won't eat them. It is a major undertaking. Why new trees? To block the view of the new sub division coming in behind our farm.