Well after a long night yesterday the Smith family left early this morning. We really enjoyed their visit and wish them well. Bob and Jill slept in until after 9 as we played and fed the kids breakfast. I fried up bacon on the grille and then we had dippy eggs along with some toast with black raspberry jam. We never did get around to taking a hike for the day so starting Friday its 2 a day to catch up with all of the exercise we've missed since Sunday and because of all the great meals we over indulged.
Bob and Jill after a light lunch took off down the mountain to a winery and we took the kids out on a golf cart ride to the top of the mountain. While Gabe took a nap I picked wine berries and Annsley and grandma played games and watched movies. Today was the first day in over a week that we didn't get those severe thunderstorms in the early evening. It sure looked like we were in for a deluge but it fizzled out and the sun came out and the evening turned nice; just in time for the departure of Bob and Jill with the grand babies back to Florida. They will drive all night and hopefully get back to Riverview in the early morning hours.
We ate spaghetti and meatballs along with a fresh salad for supper as Nancy had frozen a dozen or more of meatballs and we had tons of sauce left from Sunday's supper. The meals this past week have been just great and the spare tire is starting to show again.
Well I got word from both sisters, Josie and Dee about Paw Paw's condition relating to his heart. Seems he is scheduled for a triple by-pass on Tuesday morning at the VA Hospital in downtown D.C. so we will head to the Winchester area on Sunday morning and stay a few days with sister Dee and husband Mike in Woodstock. Well better get out of here as its early(before midnight) to bed for a change, oh by the way the Ray's are beating the Yankees 5-1 in the ninth inning. LATER
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thursday
Well its a little before 7 AM and the Smith Family(Brad, Elisha, Addie and Nathan)just left for their next adventure with her relatives and his get ready for 90 days of schooling at the FBI academy in Quantico, Va. The Smith's were college room mates with Bob and Jill at Palm Beach Atlantic and haven't been in touch in years. We had a fun time with lots of games, good eatin' and an encounter with a nest of Yellow Jacket Bees of which Addie and I got stung several times. That encounter left us both hurting and we got revenge after dark with a Molotov cocktail down their hole in the ground. Revenge was sweet but we suffered long and hard for several hours.
We did manage to take the kids fishing at our "mountain moms" pond for some pics and their first experience of catching fish. The worms we were looking for (when we stumbled into the bees nest) proved just to be the bait needed as we caught several large blue gill and a few small bass. We "kissed" them all and but them back into the pond for another time but had lots of squeals of laughter and a few frightened moments with flip-flopping fish.
We did golf cart rides and kept the kids entertained with water coloring, wagon rides on the porch and deck during the rain that fell in the early evening's everyday. The meals were out of sight with Bobby adding his special touches.
I received a serious call from my oldest sister, Josie(Sharon) about our dad(my uncle) also know as Paw Paw that he had suffered several minor or small heart attacks over the 4th and drove himself to the Veterans Hospital in W.Va on Tuesday morning. He has since been transferred to downtown Washington, D.C. where a catherization detected some 3 blocked arteries and a triple by-pass maybe in store for next week. So keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he is 83 years young.
Annsley is now reading sentences much to the amazement of us all as she is not yet 4 years old and can pronounce words that leave us wondering just how smart she really is. Gabe is just a sweet smiling boy. He is such a happy boy and loves playing with a ball that he will do it while crawling around on his hands and kneesfor hours. He also is a super eater and especially veggies. Bob and Jill will leave after supper this evening and let the kids sleep on the way home while they drive all night. We did the same thing when he and Amy were little as it was so much easier on the kids but took a day to recover, at least Jill drives whereas Nancy could never stay awake to drive; but that was a long time ago.
This cabin has been jumping with late night games of Sequence of which the gals won again last night and Balderdash of which they won that as well. We finally called it a night sometime after midnight but those youngsters were going strong catching up on old times.
Well I will post some pictures and of course some on Face book, LATER
We did manage to take the kids fishing at our "mountain moms" pond for some pics and their first experience of catching fish. The worms we were looking for (when we stumbled into the bees nest) proved just to be the bait needed as we caught several large blue gill and a few small bass. We "kissed" them all and but them back into the pond for another time but had lots of squeals of laughter and a few frightened moments with flip-flopping fish.
We did golf cart rides and kept the kids entertained with water coloring, wagon rides on the porch and deck during the rain that fell in the early evening's everyday. The meals were out of sight with Bobby adding his special touches.
I received a serious call from my oldest sister, Josie(Sharon) about our dad(my uncle) also know as Paw Paw that he had suffered several minor or small heart attacks over the 4th and drove himself to the Veterans Hospital in W.Va on Tuesday morning. He has since been transferred to downtown Washington, D.C. where a catherization detected some 3 blocked arteries and a triple by-pass maybe in store for next week. So keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he is 83 years young.
Annsley is now reading sentences much to the amazement of us all as she is not yet 4 years old and can pronounce words that leave us wondering just how smart she really is. Gabe is just a sweet smiling boy. He is such a happy boy and loves playing with a ball that he will do it while crawling around on his hands and kneesfor hours. He also is a super eater and especially veggies. Bob and Jill will leave after supper this evening and let the kids sleep on the way home while they drive all night. We did the same thing when he and Amy were little as it was so much easier on the kids but took a day to recover, at least Jill drives whereas Nancy could never stay awake to drive; but that was a long time ago.
This cabin has been jumping with late night games of Sequence of which the gals won again last night and Balderdash of which they won that as well. We finally called it a night sometime after midnight but those youngsters were going strong catching up on old times.
Well I will post some pictures and of course some on Face book, LATER
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday(4th of July)
Well what a busy fun filled day which started out with us sleeping in until 7 AM; of course it was after midnight before we finally decided to call it a night after the gals won 3-2 in Sequence. After our quite time we fixed a huge breakfast of Bobby's special scrambled eggs, sausage and toast. We finally finished eating around 9:30 then we got ready to head out for our first group hike. Well that was a trip with the little ones being carried from time to time. It was rather warm with bright sunshine and more humidity than usual but we finally got back to the cabin with all in tow and ready for some cool basement. After cooling off we guys took the little ones except for Gabe and headed to the creek. The water soon cooled us off and we had fun looking for treasures under the rocks.
After the creeking we just took it easy with some snacking and lunch making. I skipped the lunch scene as the breakfast was hearty and filling. We were getting ready for the big crowd for supper between 4 and 5. I built a fire as we wanted to cook some baked beans and get that genuine smoke flavor from the wood. We were hoping for some rain as it was really hot and humid. Well little did we anticipate a cloud burst which is just what we experienced around 3 PM. We had over an inch of rain in about an hour with lots of thunder and lightning. The temperature finally dropped down into the low 60's and all of those Floridians headed for warm clothing with hooded sweat shirts and even coats.
The cook out was a sucess even with the heavy rain and everyone made it safely here even if they had to wait in the car until it let up to get in between the lightning strikes. I grilled burgers and dogs, Bobby made a special cold slaw and baked beans, Jodi made jalapeno popper some mild and others very hot, Dee made pasta salad, brought tea, watermelon and some chips, Kelly made a cheesecake, Ms Helen made deviled eggs and Joe brought beautiful home grown onions and a watermelon. What a feed. Afterwards the rain letup enough for us to play some corn hole and badminton. We had a funtime and then several had to leave and we got around to doing smoores. Finally it was time to do fireworks that Gerald and Brad brought to the party and we had some really good ones. Big booms and beautiful explosions.
It was a great day and Gabe entertained us all day with his smiles and sweetness. It was so great to see Dee, Kelly and Mike and they drove over and hour just to spend the day with us. LATER
After the creeking we just took it easy with some snacking and lunch making. I skipped the lunch scene as the breakfast was hearty and filling. We were getting ready for the big crowd for supper between 4 and 5. I built a fire as we wanted to cook some baked beans and get that genuine smoke flavor from the wood. We were hoping for some rain as it was really hot and humid. Well little did we anticipate a cloud burst which is just what we experienced around 3 PM. We had over an inch of rain in about an hour with lots of thunder and lightning. The temperature finally dropped down into the low 60's and all of those Floridians headed for warm clothing with hooded sweat shirts and even coats.
The cook out was a sucess even with the heavy rain and everyone made it safely here even if they had to wait in the car until it let up to get in between the lightning strikes. I grilled burgers and dogs, Bobby made a special cold slaw and baked beans, Jodi made jalapeno popper some mild and others very hot, Dee made pasta salad, brought tea, watermelon and some chips, Kelly made a cheesecake, Ms Helen made deviled eggs and Joe brought beautiful home grown onions and a watermelon. What a feed. Afterwards the rain letup enough for us to play some corn hole and badminton. We had a funtime and then several had to leave and we got around to doing smoores. Finally it was time to do fireworks that Gerald and Brad brought to the party and we had some really good ones. Big booms and beautiful explosions.
It was a great day and Gabe entertained us all day with his smiles and sweetness. It was so great to see Dee, Kelly and Mike and they drove over and hour just to spend the day with us. LATER
Sunday
Well we had a great morning as we headed out to worship at Cornerstone. Today was going to be an exciting and adventeous day. Our son, Bobby, Jill and 2 grand kids Annsley and Gabriel plus their college friends Brad, Elisa and their 2 little ones Addison and Nate were coming from Florida for a couple days. So if this post is short and somewhat erractic or inconsistent you will understand.
We had a huge supper with spaghetti and meatballs and a great fresh salad. After eating and the clean up the kids played with fire fly's and a few sparklers. The kids were bathed and finally pu to bed so we taught all of them the game Sequence. Well needless to say we(guys) were subdued by the gals in a close match that lasted way past my bedtime, after midnight 3-2. Well the gang has awakened and its time to start feeding this gang again.
We had a huge supper with spaghetti and meatballs and a great fresh salad. After eating and the clean up the kids played with fire fly's and a few sparklers. The kids were bathed and finally pu to bed so we taught all of them the game Sequence. Well needless to say we(guys) were subdued by the gals in a close match that lasted way past my bedtime, after midnight 3-2. Well the gang has awakened and its time to start feeding this gang again.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday
Well once again I'm awake at 5 AM but layed there until 7 when I finally could no longer think of things that needed to be thought through before doing. Nancy was snoozing so I quietly got up and closed the wimdows as it once again had cooled down into the 50's duing the night. After my cup of hot green tea I did my quiet time and then headed out to the gardens for a deer check. Once again the deer "scare" fence worked. I had lots of small piddly jobs lined up to do outside then headed in to help Nancy with some cleanup after all her cooking and wash dishes.
She made a ton of meatballs, spaghetti sauce, cooked off a ham and I sliced it for lunch meat and then made a coconut pie for dessert tomorrow night. I feel like we are caters with all the food we made and bought for our guests. After helping her I sprayed the driveway with weed and grass killer then transplanted some flowers moving them up to bigger pots. We then headed out for our hike of the day. We ran into several from up on top as there were a ton of folks visiting. Even though it reached the low 80's it was 10-15 hotter from where most of these visitors came. All complained of the heat off the mountain.
We decided to eat some of the sliced ham for lunch and then for supper we saved out enough meatballs for a sub. After supper we got ready to head north to the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Parkway just north of Galax. There was a free concert tonight with 2 good bands and lots of "buck dancing" which is soft shoeing or clogging. We got there at 7 and stayed until 9 and made it back to the cabin just as it got real dark out. We only saw 1 deer in the roadway. Well tomorrow is worship Sunday and then our guests are scheduled to arrive before supper. LATER
She made a ton of meatballs, spaghetti sauce, cooked off a ham and I sliced it for lunch meat and then made a coconut pie for dessert tomorrow night. I feel like we are caters with all the food we made and bought for our guests. After helping her I sprayed the driveway with weed and grass killer then transplanted some flowers moving them up to bigger pots. We then headed out for our hike of the day. We ran into several from up on top as there were a ton of folks visiting. Even though it reached the low 80's it was 10-15 hotter from where most of these visitors came. All complained of the heat off the mountain.
We decided to eat some of the sliced ham for lunch and then for supper we saved out enough meatballs for a sub. After supper we got ready to head north to the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Parkway just north of Galax. There was a free concert tonight with 2 good bands and lots of "buck dancing" which is soft shoeing or clogging. We got there at 7 and stayed until 9 and made it back to the cabin just as it got real dark out. We only saw 1 deer in the roadway. Well tomorrow is worship Sunday and then our guests are scheduled to arrive before supper. LATER
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friday
Well it was another work day for me except for a another trip to Sparta. The morning started early as I was awake at 5:30 but laid there until 6 when I finally rolled out of the sack. After my quiet time I fixed a couple poached eggs and mixed them up in a bowl of grits with melted butter. Yumm, what a way to start the day after my handful of supplements and some honey and vinegar. It was cool again this morning with a reading of 56 when I checked around 6:30.
After breakfast I headed out to check on the gardens and to water a few flowers and veggies I still have in pots. I then filled the weed whacker with petrol and commenced to weed eating and edging the total property. Neighbor Gerald came by so I took a break and we moved a large queen size bed from his basement to mine so Bobby and Jill can sleep there next week. That has been the main reason I did so much work down there the past couple of days. I must say it a big difference from when I used the basement for my special projects and for storage. I still have my workbench there but many of my tools are gone to the shed and underneath the front porch storage area. So much for my "man cave".
After getting the bed moved and situated I headed back to my weed whacking until lunch time when another fresh delicious salad was the main course, actually that was the only course. I then dug out the safety fence we put up around the porches and deck to keep youngsters from accidentally falling through the porch stanchions. It seems there must be 6-8 inches of space between each upright support which would prohibit a normal sized person but with small children they easily could get between them and fall. That must be at least 12-15 feet to the ground, so we have made it very difficult for that type of accident to happen. This cabin is not a kid friendly place with the stairs, porches and deck so high off the ground and hard wood flooring.
We headed to Sparta after the safety fence was installed for another drug store run, grocery run and then a vegetable stand run. Hopefully this will be the last run for food for awhile. I did pickup some onion sets at the veggie stand and planted 2 more rows of them in the lower gardens empty space that I rotor-tilled last evening. After a supper of mushroom pizza I headed out to mow for about 2 hours and finally finished up just before dark. I did get my hike in today but Nancy did while I mowed. I did get a lot of up and down workout while weed whacking this morning. Well we stayed out side and watered the gardens until after 9 PM, LATER
After breakfast I headed out to check on the gardens and to water a few flowers and veggies I still have in pots. I then filled the weed whacker with petrol and commenced to weed eating and edging the total property. Neighbor Gerald came by so I took a break and we moved a large queen size bed from his basement to mine so Bobby and Jill can sleep there next week. That has been the main reason I did so much work down there the past couple of days. I must say it a big difference from when I used the basement for my special projects and for storage. I still have my workbench there but many of my tools are gone to the shed and underneath the front porch storage area. So much for my "man cave".
After getting the bed moved and situated I headed back to my weed whacking until lunch time when another fresh delicious salad was the main course, actually that was the only course. I then dug out the safety fence we put up around the porches and deck to keep youngsters from accidentally falling through the porch stanchions. It seems there must be 6-8 inches of space between each upright support which would prohibit a normal sized person but with small children they easily could get between them and fall. That must be at least 12-15 feet to the ground, so we have made it very difficult for that type of accident to happen. This cabin is not a kid friendly place with the stairs, porches and deck so high off the ground and hard wood flooring.
We headed to Sparta after the safety fence was installed for another drug store run, grocery run and then a vegetable stand run. Hopefully this will be the last run for food for awhile. I did pickup some onion sets at the veggie stand and planted 2 more rows of them in the lower gardens empty space that I rotor-tilled last evening. After a supper of mushroom pizza I headed out to mow for about 2 hours and finally finished up just before dark. I did get my hike in today but Nancy did while I mowed. I did get a lot of up and down workout while weed whacking this morning. Well we stayed out side and watered the gardens until after 9 PM, LATER
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