Well today was a fun day with no really work or chores other than our morning hike to the top around 10 AM after our morning quiet time and a mountain breakfast of buckwheat cakes, ham and eggs. After getting back to the cabin we chilled until it was time for a sandwich before heading out off the mountain around 12:30.
While leaving the cabin the temp's suddenly dropped down to 74 as we noticed dark clouds rolling in from the west. We learned the area had severe weather with hail, high winds and rain to the amount of 3 inches while we were gone. We met that storm in Clemmons around 5 PM and saw the rain all the way back to the cabin and at times it was heavy with heavy wind gusts.
We first headed to Wal-Mart and then headed to Sam's Club where we stocked up on goodies for when Bobby and family come for a week on the 4th of July. After leaving Winston, we headed to Clemmons for the graduation party of Corrine Carlson(wow that is hard to believe). The temperature was 94 but luckily it clouded over and we got a nice rain which quickly cooled things off. We had a great visit meeting several of Jenny's family and renewed a friendship with her dad, Gary. The food was good and plentiful. We headed out a little after 6 as we wanted to be back on the mountain before dark especially since it was raining. It was good to be back after a great day meeting new folks and renewing our friendship with the Carlson Family. LATER
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday
Well it was another cool morning with 60's and it eventually reached 84 before we had a torrential rain with almost 2 inches in an hour or so along with the lightning and thunder which caused us to unplug everything. I guess from now on when we want rain I just need to make a date to play pickle ball which is what I did. This was the first time I've made any attempt to get a match, but we really needed the rain.
The morning was pretty much routine except I ate 2 fresh farm eggs with grits for breakfast after my quiet time and before heading out to check on the gardens. Everything looked good except for the fact it has been awfully dry the last 2 weeks. Anyhow by now I was ready to do a second coat of paint on the basement floor while Nancy spread dried paint chips in the wet paint. I used a roller for the second coat which saved my knees and back and it took about an hour compared to the 4 hours for the first coat with a brush. I wanted to be sure to work the paint in as this floor has been "green" since the day it was poured in '95. It was awfully dirty and this new epoxy grey paint made the basement so much nicer and the paint chips really classed it up.
After the second coat we headed to the top for our hike of the day. We took the reverse course which means all the hard climbing is during the first part of the hike and eventually evens out to where we only have a couple low grade climbs at the end. We stopped and visited Joe and Jetta as they were out working in their yards. We came back and had a lite lunch.
I piddled around and took it easy with just a few little odd jobs as I was saving myself because of the heat and the thought of a pickle ball match at 6 PM. Nancy was making a pot of spaghetti not only for supper but for a pasta dish to take to Cornerstone on Sunday for a luncheon fundraiser. Wow was that ever a great smell as she used my fresh basil and oregano in the sauce. I could smell that delicious aroma drifting down below the deck where I was working. It seems like all of a sudden it clouded up and the skies opened up with severe thunder and lightning. After it subsided we decided to go ahead with a plate of spaghetti as I felt sure there would be no pickle ball and it was a rain out.
After eating we just sat at the table and read as the rain poured and the lightning flashed until nearly 7 PM. I was just about finished this blog when the Skype icon came on and our niece Arianne who lives and teaches in Miami was on, so we chatted and saw her for nearly a 1/2 hour. She looked stressed as today was her last day of school. She teaches music at a Catholic School with a predominance of Cuban students. Well will close for now, LATER Here are a few pics from the basement floor.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Thursday
Well the day started about 6:30 with the usual quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, peach and a banana. After eating I headed out to check on the gardens before heading to the basement. The floor had finally dried due to the dehumidifier and a large fan running all night. I got down on my hands and knees and started with a 3 inch brush. I managed to finish all except where I had the appliances sitting before lunch and then moved them back to their original places and painted those areas by 2 PM. Man was I ever glad to see the end of that job. Tomorrow I will give the main areas a second coat but with a roller while Nancy spreads paint chips on the wet paint to give it that finished look.
It finally clouded up and thunder was everywhere in the area but no rain except for a sprinkle or two. The temps stayed pretty nice because of the cloud cover and Nancy even put a long sleeve shirt on. We just chilled around the computer and a book and played 3 games of checkers. I whupped her the first 2 games then took pity and let her win the third game. Well you would have thought she won the lottery the way she carried on, even put her win on Facebook.
We baked some frozen beer battered fish and had black beans and rice for supper along with a small salad. After the clean up we headed out on our hike to the top even though it looked like rain we got nary a drop. We saw no one except for Zeke the dog who walked awhile with us. Well not much else is going on except we are thinking of doing a rain dance as I'm watering the gardens daily, LATER
It finally clouded up and thunder was everywhere in the area but no rain except for a sprinkle or two. The temps stayed pretty nice because of the cloud cover and Nancy even put a long sleeve shirt on. We just chilled around the computer and a book and played 3 games of checkers. I whupped her the first 2 games then took pity and let her win the third game. Well you would have thought she won the lottery the way she carried on, even put her win on Facebook.
We baked some frozen beer battered fish and had black beans and rice for supper along with a small salad. After the clean up we headed out on our hike to the top even though it looked like rain we got nary a drop. We saw no one except for Zeke the dog who walked awhile with us. Well not much else is going on except we are thinking of doing a rain dance as I'm watering the gardens daily, LATER
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Wednesday
Well today was one of those days where you worked busy all day but saw little accomplishment. After a 6:30 wake up I did my quiet time and then made a breakfast of poached eggs, grits and left over fried ham. Man was that ever good eatin'. I headed out to check on the gardens then headed to the basement.
I finished removing everything that made contact with the floor except for the washer, dryer, fridge and my large workbench. I borrowed neighbor Gerald's hand cart which made for moving these items so much easier.I swept, scrubbed and then rinsed the floor then added some muractic acid to the water for some extra cleaning and etching of the well worn concrete floor. I finished just before noon and set the fan as well as the dehumidifier but its still not completely dry, so I will leave both on over night and hopefully I can get at least one coat on tomorrow.
We took off on our hike for the day just before noon because by then it was 82 and eventually it reached 90 again, wow that is unusual and no rain, anyhow we were whipped when we got by from the hike. Nancy had made a nice salad for Tuesday which we passed on because of those fresh mustard greens so that's what we had for lunch. Did that ever taste good and refreshing. There wasn't much I could to do speed up the drying process so I read for awhile and Nancy crashed on the bed for a nap. The cabin was quite comfortable despite the heat as a nice breeze kept it bearable. After she awakened we took the golf cart out to the mailbox then stopped off at the creek(Grant and Shirley"s). We played along the bank then did some swinging and finally played a game of horseshoes before heading back. Along the way I picked up a load of big rocks from the road and hauled them to a washed out spot in the lower yard.
We sat on the back porch(shade side of the cabin) and read, had our glass of vino and talked about what we were going to eat for supper. I picked some cilantro, thyme and hot red peppers for my baked potato and along with fresh broccoli and salmon cakes we had some scrumptious eatin'. After the cleanup we both headed out to work in the gardens as the sun was covered with what we thought was thunderstorm clouds, but there was only some rumbling in the distance. Once again no rain so I took the hose and hand watered all the gardens. The evening gnats where terrible so I built a fire and the smoke helped somewhat but they were dive bombings into your ears and eyes and their biting was annoying. I carried a green branch which I had to keep flicking back and forth when not near the fire and the smoke. We eventually gave up and headed inside before 8 PM. Its still looks like it could rain but I think we are in for another rainless evening.
I almost forgot to mention the deer we saw on our hike and the wild turkey which came for a visit to the lower garden. Last evening Amy called to say Ava was swinging Sam and forgot to get out of the way and he knocked her into the corner of the concrete table. She suffered a deep cut as well as bruising to her forehead so Tyler took her to the E.R. for her first stitches but seems the doc decided to use an adhesive instead. That was good for Ava as she doesn't like needles, LATER
I finished removing everything that made contact with the floor except for the washer, dryer, fridge and my large workbench. I borrowed neighbor Gerald's hand cart which made for moving these items so much easier.I swept, scrubbed and then rinsed the floor then added some muractic acid to the water for some extra cleaning and etching of the well worn concrete floor. I finished just before noon and set the fan as well as the dehumidifier but its still not completely dry, so I will leave both on over night and hopefully I can get at least one coat on tomorrow.
We took off on our hike for the day just before noon because by then it was 82 and eventually it reached 90 again, wow that is unusual and no rain, anyhow we were whipped when we got by from the hike. Nancy had made a nice salad for Tuesday which we passed on because of those fresh mustard greens so that's what we had for lunch. Did that ever taste good and refreshing. There wasn't much I could to do speed up the drying process so I read for awhile and Nancy crashed on the bed for a nap. The cabin was quite comfortable despite the heat as a nice breeze kept it bearable. After she awakened we took the golf cart out to the mailbox then stopped off at the creek(Grant and Shirley"s). We played along the bank then did some swinging and finally played a game of horseshoes before heading back. Along the way I picked up a load of big rocks from the road and hauled them to a washed out spot in the lower yard.
We sat on the back porch(shade side of the cabin) and read, had our glass of vino and talked about what we were going to eat for supper. I picked some cilantro, thyme and hot red peppers for my baked potato and along with fresh broccoli and salmon cakes we had some scrumptious eatin'. After the cleanup we both headed out to work in the gardens as the sun was covered with what we thought was thunderstorm clouds, but there was only some rumbling in the distance. Once again no rain so I took the hose and hand watered all the gardens. The evening gnats where terrible so I built a fire and the smoke helped somewhat but they were dive bombings into your ears and eyes and their biting was annoying. I carried a green branch which I had to keep flicking back and forth when not near the fire and the smoke. We eventually gave up and headed inside before 8 PM. Its still looks like it could rain but I think we are in for another rainless evening.
I almost forgot to mention the deer we saw on our hike and the wild turkey which came for a visit to the lower garden. Last evening Amy called to say Ava was swinging Sam and forgot to get out of the way and he knocked her into the corner of the concrete table. She suffered a deep cut as well as bruising to her forehead so Tyler took her to the E.R. for her first stitches but seems the doc decided to use an adhesive instead. That was good for Ava as she doesn't like needles, LATER
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tuesday
Well I was awake at 5 AM and layed around until 6 when I no longer could stay in bed. It was another 60 degree morning and with such quietness it was a pleasant morning. After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and a banana I headed out to check the gardens for animal damage. Something which I believe may have been a turkey dug up a cabbage plant but did no real damage to it so a replanted it. The reason I think it was a turkey is just about dark I saw one at the edge of the lower garden and when it spotted me it took off up the hill and into the woods. Nancy did her rather good original turkey imitation so maybe that really will keep it away. We got ready and headed out to the big city of Galax, Va. around 9:30.
We made a trash stop, then a gas stop, next was a Lowes stop and finally a Walmart stop before we stopped at Subway for lunch. On the way out of town we stopped at Hortons for some produce and I headed next door to the green house to check on bargains and I found 4 wave petunias for a buck. I moved them up into larger pots and fed them a little miracle grown. Wave petunias are out of sight in price at Lowes so I once again did okay even though it will take a couple days for them to fill out as they were root bound.
We got home about 1:30 so I headed down to the basement once again to move as much stuff out so I can clean the other half of the basement tomorrow. I worked down there until after 4 PM before calling it a day. There were thunder storms all around us but just a small sprinkle was all we managed. Ms. Helen left us a nice sack of mustard greens she had picked from a neighbors garden as well as some fresh green onions. Nancy got the greens ready to boil along with a sweet potato and fried ham. Those greens were excellent and we had just enough leftover for a small bowl tomorrow.
After supper I burned trash and picked up some twigs and small branches in the back woods yard and added them to the fire. We saw a huge deer on neighbor Gerald's property as we walked the back road. It was rumbling in the distance and Nancy was afraid we would get caught out in a storm, so we cut through to the top and held our walk to about 3/4 of our usual hike.
We got a phone call that Ava had fallen unto their outside concrete table gashing her forehead so Tyler was taking her to the E.R. to see if she needed stitches, seems the doctor just close it with an adhesive. We are thankful she will be fine, LATER
We made a trash stop, then a gas stop, next was a Lowes stop and finally a Walmart stop before we stopped at Subway for lunch. On the way out of town we stopped at Hortons for some produce and I headed next door to the green house to check on bargains and I found 4 wave petunias for a buck. I moved them up into larger pots and fed them a little miracle grown. Wave petunias are out of sight in price at Lowes so I once again did okay even though it will take a couple days for them to fill out as they were root bound.
We got home about 1:30 so I headed down to the basement once again to move as much stuff out so I can clean the other half of the basement tomorrow. I worked down there until after 4 PM before calling it a day. There were thunder storms all around us but just a small sprinkle was all we managed. Ms. Helen left us a nice sack of mustard greens she had picked from a neighbors garden as well as some fresh green onions. Nancy got the greens ready to boil along with a sweet potato and fried ham. Those greens were excellent and we had just enough leftover for a small bowl tomorrow.
After supper I burned trash and picked up some twigs and small branches in the back woods yard and added them to the fire. We saw a huge deer on neighbor Gerald's property as we walked the back road. It was rumbling in the distance and Nancy was afraid we would get caught out in a storm, so we cut through to the top and held our walk to about 3/4 of our usual hike.
We got a phone call that Ava had fallen unto their outside concrete table gashing her forehead so Tyler was taking her to the E.R. to see if she needed stitches, seems the doctor just close it with an adhesive. We are thankful she will be fine, LATER
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday
Well I slept in this morning until nearly 7:30, I feel like I lost half of the day by turning over at 6 AM but the last hour was delicious, anyhow after our quiet times Nancy made a ham omelet for breakfast with homegrown eggs, Yikes was that ever tasty. I headed out to check on the gardens and then transplanted some Zinnias, black seeded Simpson lettuce and cosmos(flower). I then watered the veggie and flower gardens as we were passed by on the rain last evening.
We decided to take our hike before lunch so off we headed to the top of the mountain. It was a nice 60 degrees this morning but by late afternoon we hit a mild 80. The hike was uneventful and we only saw Fred as he and some workers were closing in his carport. We headed down and had a lite lunch of cantaloupe and an apple. I then headed to the basement to continue getting the concrete floor ready for a painting. I used some muratic acid to help clean and etch the concrete as its been raw(unfinished) since about '95. There was lots of stains and dirt buildup over the years and I want to be sure this epoxy paint sticks.
Ray Todd came by for a visit and stayed close to an hour. I think he is bored now that he no longer has his own place on this side of the mountain. We had a good visit. After he left I finished half of the floor as I will have to paint it in shifts because of all the stuff we have accumulated and now store in the basement. Bobby and his family along with another family are scheduled for a week visit over the 4th of July.
Well we had deer taco's for supper and I must say that is the best meat ever. There was not one speck of fat in the pan or on your plate. That was absolutely the best tasting meat I've ever eaten. That was the last of the ground deer but I still have a pack of tenderloin and can hardly wait until Fall deer hunting season. My good friend Andy knows how to kill, dress and process the meat to where its the best ever. If I had access to deer year round I would never eat beef again, its that good.
After supper we headed out to the mailbox on the golf cart then rode up to the top of the mountain and down the back way. It was such a beautiful evening with temps in the low 70's. After getting back we got to see Bobby,Jill, Annsley and Gabe on Skype. Gabe is downing 11 ounces at a time and is cutting 4 upper teeth. He has really grown and Annsley was a little shy at first but eventually warmed up to the web cam and was telling us all kinds of stories. Well not much else is going on as we are heading to Galax tomorrow for shopping, LATER
We decided to take our hike before lunch so off we headed to the top of the mountain. It was a nice 60 degrees this morning but by late afternoon we hit a mild 80. The hike was uneventful and we only saw Fred as he and some workers were closing in his carport. We headed down and had a lite lunch of cantaloupe and an apple. I then headed to the basement to continue getting the concrete floor ready for a painting. I used some muratic acid to help clean and etch the concrete as its been raw(unfinished) since about '95. There was lots of stains and dirt buildup over the years and I want to be sure this epoxy paint sticks.
Ray Todd came by for a visit and stayed close to an hour. I think he is bored now that he no longer has his own place on this side of the mountain. We had a good visit. After he left I finished half of the floor as I will have to paint it in shifts because of all the stuff we have accumulated and now store in the basement. Bobby and his family along with another family are scheduled for a week visit over the 4th of July.
Well we had deer taco's for supper and I must say that is the best meat ever. There was not one speck of fat in the pan or on your plate. That was absolutely the best tasting meat I've ever eaten. That was the last of the ground deer but I still have a pack of tenderloin and can hardly wait until Fall deer hunting season. My good friend Andy knows how to kill, dress and process the meat to where its the best ever. If I had access to deer year round I would never eat beef again, its that good.
After supper we headed out to the mailbox on the golf cart then rode up to the top of the mountain and down the back way. It was such a beautiful evening with temps in the low 70's. After getting back we got to see Bobby,Jill, Annsley and Gabe on Skype. Gabe is downing 11 ounces at a time and is cutting 4 upper teeth. He has really grown and Annsley was a little shy at first but eventually warmed up to the web cam and was telling us all kinds of stories. Well not much else is going on as we are heading to Galax tomorrow for shopping, LATER
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
