Monday

We awakened to a light drizzle this AM but just barely enough rain to settle the dust. After our quiet times we got ready to head over to Virginia to pick raspberries. Ms. Helen came about 9:30 and we headed out. The drive over is very pretty and the place we picked at is just beautiful. The landscape is gorgeous and their gardens are just laid out perfectly. We picked 7 quarts and it seems this may be the end of the black berries for this season. The red berries are still in but they just don't have the taste the black ones do. After leaving the berry farm we headed to Galax and WalMart.

We ate lunch at Subway which is located inside WalMart. After lunch we picked up jelly making stuff, a few groceries and some lime. We stopped for gas before heading back to the cabin. It was close to 2 PM before we got home but we decided to go ahead and make the jelly, actually we made 2 batches which turned out to be 20 jars. We have become so good at this messy job that we were finished in about 2 hours including the cleanup.

I pulled a couple green onions and picked a little fresh basil as Nancy started to get dinner ready. Salmon cakes with baked potato, creamed fresh off the cob corn and salad. YUMMM!!! What good eatin'. Neighbor Ray Todd came by for a visit just as we were finishing so he sat a spell. After he left I washed the dishes and Nancy dried then we got ready for our hike of the day. We took a jar of jelly for Ann and Sandy and headed up the mountain. There was a great breeze which actually chilled Nancy so we didn't sit too long especially after heating up on the walk up. We cut the hike short as she was chilled and the sun was starting to go down behind the mountains although it stayed light out until after 9 PM. I hand watered the veggie gardens.

Well not much else to report, LATER

Sunday

It was warmer than normal this AM,nearly 70 degrees. It looked as if it might rain at times but so far none. The birds were happy and their songs were loud and clear on such a quiet morning. We slept in until nearly 8 and then started to get ready to leave at 9:30 for worship at Cornerstone.

Had a great service and saw lots of new faces as well and missed seeing many who weren't there for whatever. We have been made to feel a part of their family even though we are only here about 5 months of the year. After worship we stopped by the produce stand and loaded up on fresh fruits and veggie's. We came home and heated up the boiled dinner from Thursday and it tasted as good as the night we fixed it. We both just took it easy; I watched a little tennis and Nancy was on the Internet. Around 3ish Ann and Sandy Kline came by on their golf cart and brought of several ears of corn just picked from their garden as well as a couple peppers, cukes and 2 home grown tomato's. Ahh there is nothing like the taste of home grown 'maters. We fixed 5 ears of corn, a plate of sliced cukes with onions and 'maters for dinner. WOW was that ever good eatin' and good for us. The Klines live about an hour away down off the mountain. Thanks Guys!!!

Well we got a good hike in just before dinner and I did a little hand watering of the gardens and yard until nearly 9 PM. Tomorrow we are going to pick raspberries again and make 2 more batches of jam. LATER

Saturdy

We did something last we hadn't done in quite awhile and that was watch a movie, The Bourne Identity. Good flick!!! That's probably the main reason I didn't blog last night of course it was after 11 PM before the show was over and I had to shower, yet. The started out with the usual; sleeping in, quiet times, and eating breakfast going on 10 AM with eggs, grits and bacon. I have to start cutting down as Nancy reminded me last night I could play Santa Claus this Christmas. Her cooking is made for eating and man can I do that, no more second helping's.

After breakfast and checking all the gardens and hanging a load of laundry we took off on a long hike to the top. On the way we met 2 other unknown hikers(which is very uncommon)both females who are staying at the Cahoon's. They were wanting to know if they were lost so we sent them up the Rich Hill Road, past snake rock and then past Fred and Brenda's place. We never saw them again as they must have found their way. We were going past their destination but in the opposite direction. We ran into John and Shirley Cottle on the back road and walked with them to their house. We stayed for nearly an hour catching up on them and us, grand kids they have 2 girls as well and just life and health issues. They travel to California and Norfolk, Va quite a bit as their children and grand girls live there. It sure was great to seem and like Nancy and I we are in love with our kids and grand girls.

We got back around 1 PM and had a lite lunch of tomato sandwiches before I headed out to do some yard work. Originally I was going to mow but its still a little dry and the rain was nice but just not enough. I postponed the mowing to next week as we aren't entertaining this weekend. I did weed eat around everything so the yard looked trimmed and neat. I headed down below the garden where I took a 10 pound sledge hammer and knocked out a bunch of stumps; raked limbs, rocks and other debris down into the gully to be burned on a wet day. My shirt was soaked in no time and swinging that sledge gave me a new appreciation for those old timers laying train tracks by hand.

Well we had taken out some rib-eyes for dinner so I fired up the grill and Nancy put a fresh salad together using fresh grown kale and herbs from my garden as well as some rice and peas. What a feast as we sat out on the deck in the shade and watched the hummers vying for their chance at the feeder.After dinner Nancy made some fresh chocolate chip cookies to take over to Ms. Helen's. We st on her front porch that overlooks bullhead mountain and the surrounding pastures. It was a beautiful evening with a nice breeze and it was all I good do to stay awake. We talked and shared for nearly an hour before headed back to the cabin. It was after 8 PM before got home. Nancy flipped(channel surfing) until after 9 when she decided there was nothing on some we put the movie on. Talk at ya LATER.

Friday

Well woke this morning and there was fog and cool temp's all around. After our quiet times we had a lite breakfast of fruit and a homemade biscuit with black raspberry jam. I headed out to check on the gardens when I heard our neighbor's stirrin' so I headed on down to catch them before they left for Raleigh. We wanted to sing Happy Birthday to Jodi and give her a card before they left as next week she's flying up to New York for a weeks visit with a sister.

After telling them good-bye we took a long hike to the top of the mountain and the day was once again perfect for hiking. Cool temp's with little or no sunshine. We got back around 11:30 so I started to weed eat the yard(edge) so tomorrow all I have to do is ride the mower. Man its so nice ride up and down these hills. After lunch I did a little gardening and just piddled around burning the trash. I didn't want to start any projects as we had to be at church round 4:30 to help set up for a memorial service and a dinner.

Wow was the service special as we had met the 91 year old veteran several times in the past couple years but the home cooked dishes was out of sight gooood. There were over a hundred folks in the service and about 2/3 of them stayed for the meal. It's such a pleasure to serve with these folks at Cornerstone and we have truly grown to love them and in their service to the community. Its just great fun to build relationships in the name of JESUS.

Well we just got home so its time to unwind and kick back. LATER

Thursday

This morning was just a bit different as the skies were overcast and stayed that way most of the day. We did see a little sun in the early afternoon but not for long as the temp's didn't get much warmer than the low 70's. WOW what a gorgeous day and it did feel like a fall afternoon at times. Right around supper time a light gentle rain began to fall and has increased to steady rain at times to what is referred as a soaking rain. It's still raining as I write this post as well as the temp's have dropped dramatically.

After our quiet times, a light breakfast and a load of laundry hung outside on the line we headed out for a long hike. The morning was super for hiking and Nancy and I made it all the way to the top of the mountain from our cabin without taking any rest stops. Wow that was a first for Nancy. After our hike we came back and had a lunch of leftover chicken pot pie. Yeow that was as good as when we first ate it last night for supper.

Nancy took several flower pictures and a scarecrow picture for Ava. This scarecrow is very special as we learned last week a small wren had built her nest with 5 eggs inside the shirt just below the head. Well today I checked it and there were 5 little hairless chicks(baby birds) inside the nest. We feel like new parents.

We decided it was time to make jelly from the raspberries we picked yesterday in Galax. We are a team when it comes to this fun but messy adventure. First I rinse all the berry's and put them in a blender to make it easy to extract the juice. I next pour the blended berry's into a strainer that separates the seeds from the blended pulp and juice. While I'm doing this messy procedure Nancy is boiling water to soak the lids, rings and jars. She also is measuring out the sugar and getting ready to mix the extracted juice with Sur-Gel and sugar into a pot and bring it to a boil. Next we must fill the jars with this boiling mixture then tighten a lid with a ring to the jar then place it in another pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. We did 2 batches which made 19 normal size jars and 3 smaller ones. The second batch was mostly a red raspberry mixture but added a little of the black juice to make a full batch. We had the 3 small jars to not seal so Nancy make homemade biscuits with our dinner and we topped them with this just made jelly. Ummmm is all I can say.

Speaking of dinner Nancy made one of our favorite "comfort food" meals. She took some smoked ham and boiled it with new potato's, carrots and fresh green beans and of course the biscuits with the just made jelly made for not only a beautiful dinner but a very tasty one as well. We were going to share this dinner with our next door neighbors as tomorrow is Jodie's birthday; but they must have been out celebrating. What a perfect meal for a cool rainy evening. Oh well another time. LATER

Wednesday

Well the day started out with the usual; dew dripping, hummers humming, sunlight in the tree tops and 4 buckwheat pancakes(sounds like a song I've heard before) after our quiet times. The temps once again in the 50's. We had the big breakfast minus the eggs before heading out to pick red and black raspberries. This farm we picked at was Clara Crouse' sister place near Galax. What a beautiful place and the berry patch was in rows neatly manicured. We picked 7 quarts in about 45 minutes; enough to make to 2 batches of jelly so that's what we will be doing tomorrow.

After the berry farm we headed to Wal-Mart as I had ordered 4 new tires for the truck plus we had to pick up jelly making stuff like sure-gel, sugar and lids. I think its cheaper to buy store bought jelly than it's to make it now a days. Oh well its the fun that goes in picking the berries that makes it worth while. We had lunch in Wal-Mart as there is a Subway inside the store in Galax. We headed out of town around 2:30.

We got back and Jodi came up for a visit and to check her e-mail so I got a little garden work in before it was time to start dinner. Nancy made a fabulous chicken pot pie and we finish off the salad from last night. After dinner and the clean up we did some watering by hand as the garden's have begun to dry out once again. Around 7: 30 we headed down to Jodi and Gerald's cabin for games. Tonight was the night for the boys to win as Gerald and myself won the first 2 games of spades before I won(first time this year) the game of domino's. Wow the boys only have to win the next several times to catch up. We headed(walked) back up the drive for home around 10:45. Later

Tuesday

Wow it was after 8 when we finally got out of bed this morning. It felt good to sleep in and the temps were in the 50's once again. By the time we finished our quiet time it was going on 10 AM so I threw a load of laundry in the washer checked all the the gardens and woofed down a left over buckwheat pancake with a ripe banana on top with some honey I was set for the morning. I know that sounds bad but try it. Its really good.

Amy called and said it was close to 9:30 when they finally got home. Ava fell asleep in her car seat and slept until 6 this morning. She did good for being on such a long trip. Won't be long until we will get to love up on both Annsley and Ava as we will head to Florida on the 25 th. After a good long hike to the top of the mountain we came back and got another load of laundry out on the line. It was such a nice day for drying clothes. I did a few garden chores and then got ready to take out a tree I had cut off last year. I decided to dig down around the roots and saw it off below the ground level. Meanwhile Nancy, had lunch ready and I finish off the spaghetti from over the weekend.

After the tree was taken out I headed down to help our neighbor, Jodi with some weed wacking. I worked there for an hour or more then headed back to do some basement chores as it was starting to warm up and I had a good sweat. The basement stays about 60 degrees or cooler and feels down right refreshing on a hot day or when you just need to cool down.

It was getting to be close to dinner time so I took a break and picked some fresh herbs for a salad Nancy as preparing for dinner. The salad was topped with the last 2 left over grilled chicken breasts. The Greek dressing topped off a delicious salad along with garlic bread. Nancy carved up a small seedless watermelon for dessert. Yikes did we eat good in the hood tonight and healthy, too.

After dinner I did a little raking in the back yard under the trees and worked up a good sweat before we took off on a hike down to the creek so Nancy could swing. The evening was just beautiful with no humidity and temps in the low 70's. Well will close for now as its a big shopping day to Galax, Va in the morning. LATER