Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tuesday

Well it was just a beautiful morning with temps in the low 60's to start the day so after our quiet times we had a lite breakfast. After eating  I loaded up the golf cart with some fertilizer and headed to the top of the mountain to the corn patch. There was some fog on top and the skies looked as if it was going to rain so the working conditions were excellent. I saw where several stalks of corn had been torn down and broken in half. I saw no animal tracks so it must have been crows or some small animal but the corn patch is fenced and I have no idea what would tear the stalks in half.

After the corn patch was fertilized, a few weeds hoed and pulled I headed back to the cabin to pick up Nancy on the golf cart. She is still suffering from that huge blister on her heel which is starting to heal but she is still unable to walk with a tennis shoe or boot on her foot. We parked at the Browning's driveway then walked to the other end and then back to pick up the golf cart before heading back down off the mountain. We decided to eat a fresh salad for lunch so I picked some lettuce, endive, basil and Nasturtium leaves along with fresh cucumbers and home grown tomato's, yeow was that ever dewisheous with a little Greek dressing.

After lunch I put a pot of green peanuts on the outside fire. I had a fire under them for about 3 hours and wow were they ever good when we decided to dig into them around 4:30. We ate so many we cut our supper plans in half and settled for Brussels sprouts with Dijon mustard and left over smoked deer from Sunday's supper at the Dalton's. Wow that was as good leftover as the day it was prepared.

I did another fixer up on the last of the fire circle benches which was suffering some wood rot; this time I used some pressure treated remnants which hopefully will last longer. I also replaced a section of the lower gardens fence which broke apart. Nancy was wondering around the yard with her camera taking shots of her flowers and the insects that feed off them, she has really perfected her picture taking. Well after supper she wanted to try a walk down the drive with her tennis shoes on and after about a 1/3 of the way down she could feel the rub on her blister so I brought her back up the hill in the golf cart where she donned some sandals and then walked around the yard. The temp was down to 71 and she felt invigorated. I was feeling all the up and down trips in the yards and gardens in my knees so I passed on the walk with her.









We just spoke with Amy as they are on their way to Tyler's home town from Kansas City which is about a 5 hour drive. Ava is riding with Rylian and her folks which is Tyler's sister Holly in their car as those 2 really gel together. Rylain is about 6 months or so younger than Ava. Sam has already remembered great grand-dad Sonny and his tractor so I'm sure he will get lots of rides at the farm with him later this week. Well that's about it for today as it starting to get dark and the night bugs are singing their songs, especially the cicada's. Its time to tune into the Olympics, LATER

Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday

Well today was a rather boring day as it was mainly a work day after a 7 am wake up. It was 59 this morning with a nice gentle breeze and some high clouds. It stayed pretty much that way most of the day. The hottest temp was right at 80 around 4 PM. After our quiet times Nancy made buckwheat cakes with blue berries and a banana in batter along with a couple cackle berries on top of the cakes. After eating I headed out to check on the gardens and to do a little weeding and hand watering. Nancy hung a load of laundry outside and the conditions were perfect for outside drying on the clotherline.

I then decided to give the outhouse tin roof a second coat of aluminum paint which hopefully will protect that building for many years to come. After that paint job I did a few little jobs before we decided to get in our daily hike. Nancy's heel is still too tender to wear boots so I took the golf cart up to the Browning's driveway then we decided to walk on the more level areas along the top of the mountain. We stopped off and visited with Norm and I checked on the corn patch. Norm looked really good and said he was feeling better. A few of the corn stalks are getting ready to tassel but still need a little more height. After our visit we continued on the hike and ended back at the Browning's where I tied up a tomato that had blown over. I picked 4-5 of their cukes as they are really producing as are my own cucumber plants.

We headed back down the mountain to the cabin and decided since it was going on 1 PM we would have a salad for lunch. Nancy tuned into the equestrian events while she ate and after eating I headed out to refurbish one of the fire circle benches. Well that job became more involved than I first thought as several pieces of the bench needed replacing and painted. After that job we headed out to the mail box to get the mail then made a quick trip back as we needed to once again to rehang the flag. The wind does a number on the flag as it causes the bracket screws to loosen from the board I have it anchored to.

After that job I fixed the garden gate and then decided to take a break and tune in to the Olympics until supper time. Nancy snapped a nice mess of 1/2 runners as well as scrubbed some new potato. Wow is that ever a nice meal along with some fresh cucumbers and sliced ripe tomato's. We ate healthy today and hopefully lost a couple ounces as well. After supper and the clean up I headed out to carry water to the middle and lower gardens from my rain barrel as well as pulled a few weeds. I have a ton of Zinnias in the lower garden that I grew from seed and they are starting to head up as well as a few are flowering. They are one of my favorite flowers and very hardy as well.

We stayed outside until the games once again started in London and in the distant we heard a little thunder. We could use a nice shower as its been several days since our last measurable rain. I see on the news where the mid west is once again Hot and Dry as well. Amy and her family is in Kansas with Tyler's folks where the temp's are very high. We spoke with Bobby, GG and Betsy today as they all checked in with us. All is well there except with Bobby's computer that went on the blink, so he had to send it off to the manufacturer for repairs.Well that's about it for today as we are going to chill in front of the tube and watch these games, LATER   

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday

Well what a difference a night makes as the humidity just took a fast horse out of the area. It was in the high 50's this morning and rather cool when we awakened around 7 AM to start the day. The blue skies were evident as well as the bright sunshine as we did our quiet times. Nancy was on the side deck with a sweat shirt and heard all kinds of animals; crows, turkeys, an owl and a red tail hawk plus the mooing of cows off in the distance, yikes you would think we lived next door to a zoo. On our hike after lunch we scared up a new baby fawn(deer)as it ran across the trail in front of us then doubled back and stopped in the road to stare at us. For a moment we thought it was going to walk towards us as it watched us for several seconds then it galloped off into the woods.

We headed for church after a breakfast of oatmeal for Nancy and Cheerios for me with a banana and blueberries. Our pastor was on vacation so we had a presentation by Dave Ramsey titled Financial Peace University. Several folks gave some testimony how it changed the way they managed their money using Biblical principals from last years class. It was a good day and afterwards we headed back to the cabin to finish the leftovers from last nights get together for lunch; layered taco dip, salsas and chips. We gave it an hour then took off to the top of the mountain and checked on our friend's Joe and Jetta's place as they are away for a few days. We left the golf cart at their house then took off on foot walking to the far end of the mountain and back up the road in the woods. We skipped the steep trail up from our cabin as Nancy's blister is starting to heal and I didn't want to push the knee to quickly.

We road the golf cart home and she put together a potato casserole for a supper later in the evening at the Dalton Farm. We watched the Olympics until it was time to head out for supper. Andy had marinated a deer ham and then smoked it with oak wood and wow was that ever tender and superbly cooked to perfection. There was corn on the cob from their garden also roasted with the shuck on as well as Nancy's casserole, salad, bread and Key lime pie. I passed on the last couple items but had seconds on the corn and deer meat. They also invited another couple(Shelley and Robb) who attends Cornerstone and are from Miami, Fl. and have moved here permanently and they just love the area. She is going to teach this next year down off the mountain at a middle school.

After supper and the dishes cleared away we taught them Sequence and they loved it. The girls once again won all 3 games in a row so we decided that was enough for the first time. We headed outside to pitch a little corn hole and had a good match with Andy and Caleb beating Gerald and myself after we won the first game and was ahead in the second game only to lose that game and the next one as well. We headed out just before dark for the cabin. The night air is just perfect with just enough coolness to make for good sleeping tonight with out any fans on.

Well it was a busy week-end and we had a great time with our mountains friends, plus some great eating as well, Later

Saturday

Well the morning was great with low temps and humidity. We could see the blue skies through the tall trees that surround our cabin. Off in the distance a lonely crow was calling as we did our quiet time's then had a breakfast of grits, eggs, toast and I added a homegrown ripe tomato with mine. We have all of a sudden been given a dozen or more of tomato's from different folks who live down off the mountain. I could eat a home grown 'mater with every meal.

After the cleanup I ventured out to check on the gardens and noticed I had radishes up after just sowing them 2 days ago as well I see silk on a couple stalks of my corn. The corn isn't really very tall but its starting to show signs of earring up. I'm also starting to see lots of green cherry 'maters and a few green Celebrity ones as well. The cukes are producing finally and I'm getting at least one a day.












We got ready and headed out to Sparta for the Allegheny fairgrounds where the 4-H Club was sponsoring and open horse show with speed events. Mechelle Dalton one of the leaders and directors asked me to MC the event as I had the privilege to do so a couple years ago. We had pole bending, barrel racing, Texas barrel racing and a total of 8 events with 4 of them for points. There were some fun races such as the wheelbarrow race, potato race and the panty race as well the stick horse race and apple bobbing race. We awarded Grand and Reserve Champions ribbons to the two best in class for the Cloverbuds(young kids), Junior and Senior classes. We saw some great young talent with beautiful steeds and a couple very old horses with very young riders; like 3-4 years girls riding. This was a great family event and lasted from 10 Am until after 3 PM. The weather was perfect but by afternoon it had started to warm up considerably.

After the 4-H event we stopped off for a few groceries then headed for home were we got ready for the old gang for Sequence and snacks. Nancy made a layered taco dip and I vacuumed the house  and then we rested for about a 1/2 hour before The Todd's and Klutz's arrived at 6:30. Right away Kimberly was disappointed we hadn't made salsa so we made a bowl of that as we had all the ingredients so along with her Jalapeno poppers, layered dip, salsa and chips we had a feed. Audine made a chocolate cake  for dessert which Eddie and I passed on, of course they each brought their Cheer wine and Dr. Pepper which to us is sickening sweet. Nancy had pitcher of sweet tea but these mountain folk love their pop(sodas).

The games began good for the guys as we won the first, middle and last game of about 9 that we played, so the gals were on fire the games in between and they let us know it; once again accusing us of cheating while we were losing, oh well it was a raucous time which lasted to nearly 10 PM. It wasn't long until I hit the shower after the cleanup and tuned in to the Olympics for a few moments. I was talked out from the horse show and putting up with Kimberly sitting next to me during Sequence; now that woman will plumb wear out your brain and ears. LATER

Friday, July 27, 2012

Friday

Well it was close to 7 Am before we rolled out to start the day and it was nearly 70 degrees. There was lots of sunshine and blue skies we could see as we looked up through the tall trees that surround the cabin which keeps our temps down until the afternoon when the shade is gone and the sun strikes the deck and front porch. After our quiet times we both had cereal with fruit to start the day. Afterwards I headed down to work in the garden as it was cool and pleasant enough to hoe and weed the lower garden. Seems we will have a few cucumbers as well as a cabbage or two as they are starting to head up despite the holiday the green worms had while I was laid up with the bum knee.  That's about it from the lower garden except for a little endive which is still barely producing. I filled up the sprayer with miracle grow and gave the lower garden a good drink and feeding.

I drug out the ladder and painted the roof on the red building that was once an outhouse. I noticed I was starting to get some bad rust spots on the roof so I bought a quart of aluminum Rustolium and painted it. I think since I have over 1/2 a can left I will give it a second coat next week. After the paint job I took off to the top of the mountain to check on Joe and Jetta place and Nancy was going to hike. Yesterday she acquired a large blister on her heel from the new boots she bought and was trying to break in; and it was too painful even with a band aid and thick socks so she road with me  in the golf cart and then walked on the flat area with her sandals on while I picked beans. I got a really nice mess so I gave 1/2 of them to our "mountain mom" and she will share with her brother.

We got back around 12:30 and finished up the leftovers from last nights supper of pintos and Jasmine rice along with some fresh onions and a tomato. Wow did that ever class up those leftovers. After lunch I piddled around down below separating my garlic kernels from the stalk and I filled a large empty Smart Balance container with fresh home grown garlic. That should last a couple months as we use a lot of garlic in our cooking and salad dressings.

We decided to ride the golf cart over to Helen's and when we saw that Shirley was still at her place we stopped for a visit. They were getting ready to head back down the mountain to Cleveland, N.C. which is about a little over an hour away. She was up for a couple days with her mom, Ruby and grand daughter Josie. She was carting back three small watermelon's and about a dozen tomato's of which she was going to feed them to her pigs so instead she offered them to us; of course we obliged her and then we shared that bounty with Helen who will share with her brother Joe. That was a productive short visit. After Shirley's we headed on over to Helen's and visited with her for nearly an hour. I could barely keep my eyes open after setting down in her comfortable rocker, the a/c was blowing up the hall straight towards me which made for nap like conditions.

We got home and decided to just eat a fresh salad and to share a cob of fresh corn Helen gave us. I microwaved it for 4 minutes in the shuck and it is was just dewisheous. Wow does that ever cut down on the cooking time and the mess as the corn comes out of the shuck with no silk hairs on it. Just butter, salt and a little pepper and munch away. I picked some endive, beet greens and kale to go along with the homegrown cukes, onions and tomato's for our salad and wow is all I can say with some Greek dressing on top and then we finished the rest of the multi-grain french bread.

After the clean up we headed outside as the humidity seems to have abated so she dead headed some flowers and I picked up a couple trash cans of sticks, twigs etc in the back woods yard for a fire I started to burn our trash. We still had a sack of trash in the out house that had a couple of Gabriel's diapers in it. They are the hardest things to burn but all the small sticks made for great tinder and eventually they all burned up. Well, now at 9 PM its totally dark whereas a few days ago at 9:30 I could still see images. Summer is getting shorter as the cicadas are making such racket and that's another sure sign that summer is slowly fading away towards Fall. The high temps today still felt like summer but by late evening it became quite pleasant to work outside, LATER 

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Thursday

Well it was a warm start of the day and the evening ended rather warm as well. Not nearly as hot as a couple weeks ago but still warm with high humidity. After our quiet times and breakfast we go ready to head out to Galax for; haircut for me, propane gas, gas for the the golf cart and the truck, a new pair of boots for Nancy and groceries at Wal-Mart and then some meat at Horton's on the way out of town. We sure did hit all the hot spots today and it was after 1PM before we headed to back to the cabin. It was 90 in Galax as we left and the temps dropped down to a cool 84 as we hit the Blue Ridge Parkway.

After putting away all our goodies Nancy took a hike to break in her new boots and ended up with a blister on her heel. I stayed around the cabin and did a few odd jobs as I think next week I will start back to hiking again. I sat and read on the back porch and dozed a little in the warm breeze.

We received a call around 9AM this morning that Amy and her family were in Louisiana and was projected to reach their destination in the early afternoon. We did get that call around 2 PM they had reached the motel in Arlington for the wedding this week-end of Tyler's cousin and best friend growing up, Luke Ross. They left Seminole on Wednesday evening around 7:30 PM and Tyler drove all through the night. I remember doing that when Bobby and Amy were little as we made the yearly trip to Winchester, Va from Florida. That was a 15 hour drive but oh so much easier on me as the little ones slept.

Well, we had neighbors Jodie, Gerald and Gabriel up for supper as I fried the bass we caught yesterday at our "mountain moms" pond. They fried up beautifully and Nancy made a pot of dried pinto beans, Jasmine rice and Jodi brought a container of cold slaw. The supper was dewisheous(Annsley) and we cleaned the platter of fish. It was nice outside on the deck as the sun had moved behind the big pine tree plus there was a nice gentle breeze despite it being near 80. After the clean up we moved back into the house for a rematch of Spades.

The gals won the first game convincingly but we came back and won handily the second game and the rubber game was hard fought but we(guys) were victorious once again. Jodi and Gabriel are leaving for home tomorrow so we will have a quiet evening before the storm of this week-end. We have a lot planned the next few days with my MC'ing the horse show on Saturday morning for the 4-H Club at the Allegheny fairgrounds and then our old gang is coming for snacks and Sequence on Saturday night and then Sunday night there is a get together with eating at the Dalton house and once again a Sequence match afterwards while watching the Olympics and then next week we are heading to Blowing Rock with our "mountain mom" and her brother Joe, whew, it is going to be busy the next few days.

We received a call from baby sister Dee and husband Mike about planning a get together with them visiting us over Labor Day from Woodstock, Va. We may even meet them at Claytor Lake for kayaking that week -end as well. Well that is just about it for today, LATER  

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Wednesday

Well after a huge storm during the middle of the night the morning turned out to be quite pleasant however the humidity had moved back into the area. The temps aren't too bad but the moisture is so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. We started the day out with a 7 AM roll out. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I headed out to check on the yards and gardens then I dug a cup of fishin' worms as I planned on heading over to our "mountain moms" for some fishin' in her pond.

The fish were active and after hooking up with a couple bass we decided to see if we could catch enough for a fried fish supper and sure enough we did. I invited neighbor Gerald and his son Gabriel to go with me and they each caught a bass as well. We only fished about an hour total then we headed home. First I stopped and picked up a couple rocking chairs Helen had no use for and she was going to burn; so I decided to refurbish them as I can always use rocking chairs on the back porch. I filleted the 1/2 dozen bass which made for a nice bowl of fish for tomorrow's supper.

Nancy and neighbor Jodi had taken off and gone to Sparta for some girl stuff; lunch, shopping and browsing the stores there as well as a grocery run for tonights supper which was being held at their cabin. Jodi was making potato soup and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Nancy made corn bread muffins and we had us a feed. I passed on the dessert as I had 2 bowls of soup which was very tasty. Tomorrow we will once again eat together as I will be pan frying the bass at our place.

After supper we cleared away the table and had a game of domino's which Nancy won big time and then we settled the rubber game on the game of Spaded. The gals won again but it was a highly contested game all the same. We will have to play again tomorrow night. While we were getting ready to play the game of Spades, Ray and Audine stopped by for a visit and stayed for nearly a 1/2 hour. It was good to see them out and about however Ray looks and acts like he doesn't feel that good. They were cleaning out the garage over at their old place and he was going to toss away his two mounted deer heads and mounted raccoon. Gerald took charge of them as they were at one time very expensive items and he felt sure he could get some cash for them before just throwing them away. Its too bad they have just about lost everything after the foreclosure of their cabin last year and now his health isn't good as well. They certainly made some unwise decisions which cost them dearly.

Well after the game we headed out walking up to our place with just a flashlight, the night insects were very loud as well as the stars were out in all their splendor. I kept trying to scare Nancy with "eyes in the woods" and noises following us. We did hear what sounded like the crying of a lamb or goat early this morning and deducted the coyotes had got a hold of a new baby deer and probably killed it. There are lots of coyotes here in the woods and what we heard sure sounded awful for the little critter. Nancy saw the tiny hoof print of a new baby deer as she walked yesterday. Oh well, LATER

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Tuesday

Well the morning started after sleep in until nearly 7 AM. The temps were in the high 60's and the sun was shining with bright blue skies overhead and dew dripping from the roof. Yikes was it ever peaceful and so serene. Nancy did her quiet time out on the side deck with her cup of hot coffee and I settled for a cup of hot green tea at the computer. She was a little sore after the trail ride yesterday as its been years since she has ridden a horse. I had nothing planned for the day that would require me to over work the knee so after a couple eggs and a bowl of grits I ventured outside.

I checked the gardens and pulled a few weeds as well as used some miracle grow to feed all the potted flowering plants on the porches. I worked up an area in the upper garden for some radish seeds then headed down to the lower garden to pick a cucumber and stake a volunteer tomato plant which has now reached about 3 feet in height. I have no idea the type of tomato plant but it sure looks healthy.

We decided to head out to the top with Nancy hiking and me riding in the golf cart. I wanted to check on the corn patch at Norms and do some gardening for him if needed but he wasn't there so I decided to wait for another day. I stopped and visited with Fred and Brenda for a few moments as they are back from Florida for a week or so. Nancy was already there as she hiked up through the woods by their place. After that visit we stopped and visited with Joe, Jetta and Zeke. I think Zeke really misses all the grand kids playing with him nearly everyday they were here. He is such a nice dog. We headed on back to the cabin and I decided to dig up my garlic bulbs. I would guess I harvested a couple pounds of raw garlic bulbs that I planted last Fall.

After a lite lunch of a fresh garden salad we piddled around outside when the skies became dark and the winds picked. We saw on the Internet where a large mass of severe weather was heading our way from Virginia. We unplugged everything as lightening and thunder was bouncing around the mountain as well as a rain shower. The severe weather passed us by but it rained for about an hour or so before the skies cleared off. I spent the time reading while waiting on the weather to clear. Bobby called as well as did Amy and they are getting lots of rain in Florida as well.

I started the grill for some spare ribs and Nancy sauteed squash, onions and green pepper and we put that over Jasmine Rice for supper. Yeow was that ever good with a little soy sauce.We heard our neighbors Gerald, Jodie and Gabriel arrive from the Raleigh area and they came up to the cabin after supper around 7 to play cards. Once again we played a couple hours and the games were split with a win for each team in the game of Spades. The temps have really cooled off for the evening and the night bugs are really loud, LATER

Monday, July 23, 2012

Monday

Well the morning started out at 6 AM as Nancy wanted to be on time for her trail ride with a group of cow pokes(guys and gals). After our quiet times we each made our own breakfast; she oatmeal, me an egg omelet with sauteed onions and green peppers with a bowl of grits as I was heading over to do some chainsaw work for our "mountain mom", Helen. Nancy headed out around 8:15 for the Dalton Farm and I soon followed her out the lane in the golf cart over to Helen's place.

I sawed down several Jack Oaks, black or scrub pines and dug out a couple stumps as well. I then started a couple brush piles on fire and we really had a smoke feast from all the green leaves as well as the pine limbs. It really got hot as we fed the fires and it wasn't long until my shirt was completely wet with sweat. We finally decided to call it a day around noon so I headed out on the golf cart for the cabin. It seemed a little cooler over on our mountain for some reason as most of the morning at Helen's was spent working out in the direct sunlight. I still had lots of shade at the cabin, especially on the gardens so I hoed around the corn, tomato's and peppers then fertilized them with some good chicken litter.

After shucking off the wet work clothes I headed down in the basement to cool down completely. Nancy still wasn't back so I finished up the leftover spaghetti sauce and green beans for lunch then decided to set on the back porch and chill. Well it seemed I read for a couple hours when I realized she wasn't back and it was close to 4PM. I was beginning to wander if maybe she got lost on the trail went I heard from her and all was well. There was a little horse drama on the trail with some of the new horses but no one was injured so all is well that ends well.

I snapped the 1/2 runner beans neighbor Jetta gave us a couple days ago and then I washed up some new potato's one of our church friends shared with us on Sunday from his 'tater patch so we had an all veggie supper. I did pick some radishes, kale, nasturtiums leaves and beet greens from the garden to go with the store bought lettuce and topped with a home grown tomato and cucumber for a supper salad, yikes was that ever good eatin' and especially for Nancy as she skipped lunch.

The temps were in the high 60's this morning and as the afternoon proceeded the cloud cover brought some minor rain showers but nothing major. The cloud cover kept the temps below 80 and made for some good reading conditions on the back porch, LATER

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Sunday

Well it turned out to be another beautiful day in the mountains with early morning temps in the 60 and I think it may have reached 80  in between the rain showers but for the most part it was a pleasant day with a nice gentle breeze. After a 7 AM wake up we did our quiet times then had a lite breakfast before getting ready to head out for worship at Cornerstone. Today was a special day as 10 folks were getting baptized in the creek after the regular service and also it was picnic day after the baptizing at the local ball field.

Nancy and I helped with the set up and the preparation of the picnic which had a good turnout. There was a co-ed softball game after the eatin' as well. I pitched for both teams as I still am taking it easy as far as running and playing on the knee. We had a grand time and it was after 3 PM before the game ended with a close score. There was rain all around the area but we received just a few drops which made for great conditions for ball playing.

We stopped and visited with Russ and Linda who are down from Ohio. They are building a cabin on our road to the cabin. They are doing most of the finish work as we did on our place. After the visit we headed home and ate a bowl of soup before heading out on the golf cart to the top of the mountain. We stopped and had a nice visit with Joe, Jetta and Zeke. Joe just got back from Charleston, W.Va after visiting a sick relative who just had a major cancer operation.

Well the evening turned out to be just beautiful as earlier in the day we had a gully washer. A 1/2 inch of rain fell in a short time once again washing gullies in the driveway but not as bad a last week. We did a walk around the cabin and saw where the corn stalks in the garden are starting to send up tassels so there is a good chance we will have corn to eat after all. We also noticed that several volunteer spoon tomato plants are actually setting fruit; so once again we will have a great conversation piece as these small tomato's are barely big enough to see and pick. Early tomorrow morning Nancy is going trail riding on horses with the Dalton gals and several others. I'm going to pass on this adventure until I'm sure the knee can stand the pressure of riding a horse, LATER 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Saturday

Well it was a busy, busy day that started around 7 AM. After our quiet time I ate a couple slices of banana nut bread before heading out to check on the gardens then get ready to head to the top of the mountain to the corn patch. I took the golf cart up and wow has the corn grown tall since I last saw it as its nearly shoulder height. I would guesstimate about 80% of the hills germinated. The ground had retained enough moisture that it made for easy hoeing as well as pulling weeds. I hoed the my and Joe's patch, pulled the weeds from around Norm's squash plants then headed over to his patch and hoed the 4 rows of corn he had planted as well. I never saw Norm but something tells me he isn't doing so well as his doors and window blinds are closed. I know he has been having trouble with severe swelling in his legs.

I worked up a good sweat with all that hoeing. I headed home and stopped by Jetta's as she had a nice bag of 1/2 runner beans she just picked for us. Wow were they ever nice and we had so many we shared with our "mountain mom". Thanks Jetta for this awesome gift as well as a fresh cucumber. I picked up Nancy as she was on her hike and drove her back down to the cabin with me. It was going on noon so we decided to go ahead and eat lunch as I wanted to edge the yards and the mow. I finished up the last of the leftover Swaii on a bun with onion, mayo, lettuce, tomato and a jalapeno pepper. Yikes did that hit the spot.

After lunch I fired up the weed whacker and edged the all the yards then cranked up the mower and mowed all but the back woods yards. After the mowing I spread 3 sacks of pellatized lime on all the yards and it was nearly 3 o'clock by the time I finished that job. I definitely needed a shower as we were meeting up with Helen and Joe for supper. We headed out to the River Rock Grill in Sparta where we had a dewisheous meal. Afterwards we made a quick stop at Lowe's then took a few side roads on the way home as we planned our next outing. I think a day trip to Blowing Rock is our next major all dayer with lunch at Storey Street Station.

After getting back to Helen's, Joe headed for home and the three of us walked around her freshly mowed  yards and then I dug her couple hills of potato's. Wow did she ever get a good mess but most of them where small; just right for cream potato's. We left there as it was going on 8 o'clock and headed for home. The yards looked great as we drove up the driveway and we both commented how great the place looks after being newly mowed. I checked the hole where some yellow jacket bees have built a nest in the space between the foundation blocks and the plate. We have been getting some bees in the basement so I doused a small strip of cloth in gas then poked that into the hole the bees have entering last night before going to bed. I think that may have killed the nest but I saw some new live bees again this morning trying to get in so I filled the space with caulking. Hopefully that with do them in.

Well we have kept busy today which helps fill the void the kiddos have occupied the past couple weeks. Its so darn quiet around without them playing on the porches, decks and hearing the screen door slamming. Poor little Gabe got his fingers smacked several times by the door closing; but he loved to play with it as well as did Sam. There is something those little fellars like about going in out those screen doors. LATER   

Friday, July 20, 2012

Friday

Well we awakened around 6 AM expecting a call from son Bobby as he drove all night to Florida after leaving the cabin around 7 PM on Thursday night. We had a great time with him and the family for the past week as we roomed next door last week end in Woodstock, Va and then again at the cabin Sunday through Thursday. We did all kinds of things and many were firsts for the grand babies. He got back to Florida around 5:30 AM and decided to call us after a couple hours of sleep and we are thrilled to know he had an uneventful trip and of course the babies slept all night. I remember doing the same thing when he and Amy were little as I drove all night from Florida to northern Virginia which at that time was about 15 hours non stop, yikes those were the days!!!

After our quiet time we decided to clean the house. We still didn't have any Internet connection as it had been down since Thursday afternoon. I vacuumed the whole house then use a cleaner and conditioner from Amway on the hardwood floors and wow did they ever turn out nice. After doing the floors I worked outside in the garden until the rain chased me inside and we had a bite of leftover pulled pork for lunch. I did a few other non major jobs that I had been putting off until after company left then we got ready to head over to help our "mountain mom" get her tractor back in working order. Seems the battery cable shorted out the positive terminal burning the terminal in half so I had her pick up a new one and I redid the terminals and finally got the diesel mower running. Wow was she ever happy as she just replaced the battery a couple days ago.

We headed home after that chore and then got ready for supper which turned out to be left over chicken on a bed of salad, yikes was that good and just what we needed after 5 days of full rich meals. Bobby is quite the cook and he made some awesome meals but very rich and dewisheous. I headed outside after the clean up to pull a few weeds in the gardens as the evening turned out just right with temps in the low 70's after a strong afternoon rain which dropped about a 1/2 inch.

Tomorrow I will head up to the corn patch on top of the mountain to hoe a little and pull a few weeds and possibly edge and mow the yards before we head out with Joe and Helen for supper, LATER     

Thursday

Well as you can tell this post is nearly a day late because we lost our Internet service for nearly 24 hours straight, oh well its strange when just a few years ago we never had a computer or access to the Internet and now when you lose your connection it feels like you have a lost a friend.

Thursday was a busy day especially with the grand babies. The morning started out with our 6:30 AM wake up then our quiet time before the kiddos awakened and came down the stairs. I fired up the grill and cooked bacon and sausage to accompany our eggs, leftover 'taters and toast, Yummy was that ever good eatin' and that held me until suppertime when I fired up the grill again and made chicken fried deer steak rolled in flour and cooked in olive oil then I made a gravy from the dripping. We had Jasmine rice and cooked carrots to go with that and Nancy made a fresh blackberry cobbler for dessert.

After breakfast I took the kiddos up to the top of the mountain on the golf cart to visit with Zeke and Ms. Jetta. They had a grand time throwing the stick for Zeke as well as swinging, reading the words on the colored rocks she had on her patio table and of course picking flowers. We said our good bye's then headed back down the mountain  looking for newts and once again saw a large doe standing in the road. Bob and I decided to take the kiddos over to "mountain moms" pond so they could fish. I dug some fishing worms and we loaded up the truck and headed out. Just as we arrived Ms. Helen's riding mower went on the blink as the battery cable shorted out burning the cable in to. She was down for the day with her tractor being disabled.

We fished for just a few minutes as there was a large storm approaching but we caught a fish for each kid and then they touched it and we threw it back into the pond. We stopped and picked a few wild blackberry's that are everywhere along side her pond. Both kiddos picked and ate a large handful and Gabe wore his all over his face. After the berry picking we headed for home and Gabe took a 2 hour nap, so the rest of us chilled on the back porch reading until it was time to head out to the creek for one last time this summer. We took the kiddos in the golf cart down to the creek and they played in the water, threw rocks and then each of them enjoyed the swing that goes out over the creek. We headed home and stopped to visit with Russ, Linda and their 2 dogs who loved up on the kiddos. We needed to start home as it was time to start supper as Bobby wanted to head out for Florida around 7PM.












Well they got away right around 7 as planned after a dewisheous supper and tub time for the kiddos. Wow it sure was quite around here after they left so we decided to take a hike to the the top of the mountain. That was my first hike since injuring the knee the first week of June and it felt good to be able to put some pressure on it. I took my time coming down and I think by taking it slowly I will gradually get back to being able to do normal activities. After the hike we headed in to watch the tube as the Internet was down so after my shower I read until it was lights out, LATER

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wednesday

The morning started around 7 AM after a cool night with temps down in the high 60's. We had bright blue skies to start the morning with lots of sunshine so I put a load of laundry in after our quiet times and a breakfast of French toast and dippy eggs for the kiddos. I took the kids on a golf cart ride to play with Zeke at the top of the mountain while Bob and Jill slept in.







The kiddos had a great time with Zeke and we visited for nearly an hour with Zeke and Jetta while Bob, Jill and Nancy got in their hike to the top. After their hike we came back and did another load of laundry and I got a little garden work in while the kiddos played. We did leftovers for lunch  and then Gabe got in a nap. Bob made a marinate with all kinds of herbs for Mediterranean chicken breasts for supper and wow did that ever turn out dewisheous as well as did the spuds which were saturated with tons of herbs I would never have used. The tzatziki sauce was fabulous and just tied all of it together. A great supper and to top it off we made a freezer of homemade peach ice cream, yikes was that ever good. We had our mountain mom over to eat with us as well. We have pictures where she was holding Bobby as a baby and now she is holding Gabe and Annsley, yikes where did those years go.

After supper I built a nice camp fire and the kiddos did smores and we did a few leftover fireworks until Annsley burned her toe while doing sparklers, nothing serious but she did meltdown for a few. After everyone had their fill of the fire I did burn the garbage and by now it was close to tubby time so Bob and Jill were on bath duty.

Looks like the gals are not in for a rematch tonight so we will just chill and watch the tube, LATER

Tuesday

Well it was another beautiful day with temps in the low 80's in the afternoon but the morning was rather cool with the high 60's. We got a late start as the kiddos slept in until nearly 8. After my quiet time I headed out to fry some sausage patty's on the grill and then Bobby made an excellent sausage gravy while Nancy had great biscuits baking in the oven. Yikes was that ever a great way to start the day and it held me all day until we made supper around 5 PM.

After the breakfast clean up we got ready and headed over to Helens(mountain mom" for a visit. She really enjoyed seeing Bobby and his family and we stayed for a 1/2 hour or more before heading back to the cabin. Bob and Jill took off for a lunch date into Galax and we took the kiddos home so they could have a bite of lunch. After lunch we took the kiddos to the top of the mountain on the golf cart so they could play with Zeke and to visit with Jetta. Afterwards we headed across the top and saw our friends John and Shirley so we stopped and visited with them for awhile before heading back to the cabin. Gabe was showing signs of needing a nap so I gave him a bottle and rocked him for just a few minutes before he was out. He slept nearly 2 hours. Bob and Jill got back around 4 PM and then we got ready for supper. I did some beer batter Swaii fish, my was that ever good eatin' along with yellow rice, brocolli and a salad.

After the clean up we headed over to the Dalton far where the kiddos played with their doggies, chickens and then pet some horses and actually rode Poco the quarter horse. Bob, Nancy Gabriel and Annsley all rode him for a couple minutes and it was the first Gabe had ever been on a horse. They really had a good time and many thanks to the Dalton gang for being so hospitable. We got back to the cabin just before dark and the kiddos did the tubby time before calling it a night.











We decided to play some Sequence and Nancy and I played the kids and beat them 2 in a row then Bob and I challenged the girls and they won the next 4 out of 7 so they were the big bragging winners, oh well!!! LATER