Mountain Musings

Homeschooling for Life

Our regular readers know that we were a homeschooling family for 17 years, teaching all four of our children from K-5 until high school graduation...the last student graduating in 2004. Everyone agrees that it was a great experience!

Sherrin Drew, over at The Drew Patch, has interviewed Hannah and asked her to share some of her experiences on her blog.

You can find the interview here.

~Deb

Hanging Out With My Friend, Bernina

This week I've been resting quite a bit after minor surgery, and after weeks of spring mulching and yard work, I have to admit that I've enjoyed taking it easy and not doing much these last few days.

Today I felt up to hanging out with an old friend: my Bernina! It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of the quilt-along blocks...that's because no sewing at all had been done, and I was quite far behind.

Hopefully, I'm almost caught up, and here are some photos to show for my day's work.

For the Jelly Roll Quilt-Along, Block 4:

This one was easy as far as sewing: no seams to match--my kind of block!

And also for the Jelly Roll Quilt-Along, Block 5:

Fabric: Charisma for both of these blocks.

I also worked on four blocks for the Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along. I've added those blocks to my Flickr if you'd like to click over to see them there.

Next week I have to sew all the pinwheels together, layer the batting, baste, quilt, and bind it. I may add to the 16 blocks to make it bigger with the remaining layer cake squares so no fabric will be leftover--still deciding.

After that, all that's left is the May Saturday Sampler block which is due next Saturday. As usual, Sarah has hers finished. 

Now you know the latest quilting news and what I've been up to--it feels good to be almost caught up.

~Deb

Bloomin' Tuesday

Welcome to my garden! I'm participating today in MsGreen Thumb Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday! Here are some flowers that are blooming this spring here in Virginia.

Solomon's Seal (below) ~ If you remember reading a post last year about us visiting Andre Viette's Nursery, you'll remember that Solomon's Seal is one of the plants that Andre pulled up and gave to all the workshop attendees. I planted just a couple of the plants, and now I have many! And they're blooming the daintiest little white blooms. I like this plant and not just because my maiden name is Solomon! Lily of the Valley (below) ~ Thanks to Sarah's friend, Sarah S. for sharing her harvest; we now have an abundance of Lily of the Valley blooming in large groupings. A lot of them need dividing badly, and maybe I'll do that at the appropriate time later in the season.

Ajuga or Bugleweed (below) ~ this plant is a steadily growing ground cover with nice purple blooms in the spring. The link warns that it can be invasive, but I've had no problems with it in our big tree bed as I would like for it to spread in this area.

Columbine ~ this purplish bloomer is a delightful shade garden plant, and you can also see some of the Lily of the Valley and Lenten Rose in the background of this photo.

Head over and visit some of the other Bloomin' Tuesday participants at MsGreen Thumb Jean's.

Hopefully, more plants will be blooming by next Tuesday.

~Deb

Grace

"But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." ~ Romans 5:20-21

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Refrain

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Refrain

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Refrain

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Refrain

Words:

Julia H. Johnston, in Hymns Tried and True, 1911

Music: Daniel B. Towner, 1910

~Deb

Giveaways are addictive...

Hi, my name is Sarah, and I'm addicted to giveaways. I need serious help.

For the past year or so, I've been entering mainly cloth diaper and baby supply giveaways on blogs around the internet. The t-shirt to the right is quite correct. :) If you remember my original cloth diaper post, I really wanted to try a Fuzzi Bunz - but they are quite expensive. Solution: enter giveaways to try to win one.

From that first Fuzzi Bunz giveaway I found until now, I don't know how many diaper related contests I've entered...but it's been a lot. After a little over a year, a few weeks ago I FINALLY won a Fuzzi Bunz and received it in the mail yesterday! I am extremely excited about that.

And while I'm on those blogs, I might as well sign up for other cute baby products, right? So how many prizes have I won? The pictures below contain all but two of my winnings...I'm still waiting on them to arrive in the mail.

I've won:

• Canvas tote bag courtesy of SKN Designs, from The Mommy-Files 
• Container of Clorox wipes, also from The Mommy Files
• 1 dozen cookies courtesy of Plum Island Cookie Company, again from The Mommy Files
• Organic washcloth bouquet courtesy of Bumkins, from the Bumkins Blog
• One of the first prizes in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, which included the toddler t-shirt, a pair of hand knit wool shorties, a sippy cup, and a set of 6 soft blocks
• 3 pairs of BabyLegs courtesy of Jaminga, from Piece of Me - originally only 1 pair, but as they weren't sent for a long time, Jaminga was nice enough to include 3 instead
• 3 burp cloths courtesy of Little Luvee, from Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House
• 1 pair of baby socks and 1 pair of adult socks courtesy of Bambooya, from My Organized Chaos
• Garden Friends quilt kit from The Back Porch Quilters
• Jelly Baskets quilt pattern courtesy of The Quilt Shoppe, from In Stitches (Not yet received)
• Charlie's Soap combo kit courtesy of Charlie's Soap, from Organic Girl
• Rocky Mountain One Size diaper courtesy of Simple Wonders, from Take Time to Smell the Rose
• 2 Cozy Sleeping Bags courtesy of aden + anais, from Rockin' Mama
• 1 pair of BabyLegs courtesy of BabyLegs, from Mama Dweeb
• 1 Day Pad courtesy of Moonpads, from Moma Lovebug
• Girl's dress courtesy of Hartstrings, from Happily Domestic (Not yet received)
• Baby Egg Nest courtesy of Baby Bunch, from My Silly Monkeys
• Fix It and Forget It cookbook - not from a blog, but from our public library's reading program
• Glass baby bottle, free...just had to sign up for it online
• 1 small BumGenius diaper, free with purchase from Diaper Junction
• And lastly - a Fuzzi Bunz One-Size diaper in Apple Green! Courtesy of Baby Blessings, from Coupon Mommy of 3

Do you see why I like giveaways? I think I must take after mom. ;)

~Sarah

A Day in the Life of Granny!

Well, as most of you know, my mom (Granny) lives with us for a couple of months at a time, and she helps out around the house and yard quite a lot!

We are very thankful that with spring in full swing and three dump truck loads of mulch to spread, Granny has become a tractor-driving whiz!

This past week she became acquainted with our local quarry, too. We needed a load of rock for a new flower bed, so she rode along and waited as Hannah and I loaded the back of the van with as many football-sized rock the van would safely hold.

Here's the new flower bed that the rock will be placed around:

And after the quarry trip, we rode over to the local horse stables and shoveled some manure for the garden beds. Yes, you guessed it, Granny took a turn with a couple of shovel-fulls just to say she helped!

If you ask me, I think she's having more fun than a Granny is allowed to have!

We've already talked about her kitchen skills in another post and how delicious her pies are. Here she is frying several apple pies--they were yummy!

Granny says setting the table for supper is her job, and she helps Sarah with the dishes (when Sarah lets her...it's hard to keep Granny sitting down!)

Ironing ~ Tom's shirts have never gotten ironed so quickly and put back into the closet ready to wear again! Granny is an expert iron-er from way back and starts ironing every chance she gets!

And when Hannah needs her quilt squares ironed, Granny loves to help. Hannah will treasure the fact that Granny had a part in the picnic quilt she's working on!

Isn't she a precious cutie?

My sister and I have already looked at May's calendar to determine a date that works for both of us to switch Granny from VA to SC.  I fear that the remaining weeks will pass much too quickly!

Who's going to help shell peas this summer? Or help pick tomatoes and cukes or french the green beans? Or do a ton of other things that she loves to do around here?

i think we're officially spoiled and don't want her to leave! 

~Deb

Bloomin' Tuesday

It's time for Bloomin' Tuesday! Why not head over to MsGreenThumb Jean's blog to see what's blooming all over the country!

We've had some nights of freeze warnings here in the Shenandoah Valley, so all the tender plants were covered with Hannah's garden row covers.

Bleeding Heart ~ My only bleeding heart has been pretty this season. Thankfully, this picture was taken before our windy weekend because now all the main stalks are bent to the ground and not quite as attractive. That's a spider wort to the right; it will bloom purple later in the season.

Money Plant ~ I love seeing all the blooms on these money plants this year as this is the first season of blooming since Jean sent me seeds down from her garden in New York (thanks again, Jean!). I look forward to the little money pods showing up so I can have seeds to share, too. Sorry for the extra bright picture! You can see part of the new picket fence that will surround all the garden...soon to be completed we hope. These money plants are tucked inside one of the four corners and are kept to themselves with antique brick.

Lenten Roses ~ My roses have been blooming for a few weeks now, but this is the first chance to take pictures. I love the pale greenish color of the blooms.

Purple Irises ~ All my beds of irises have been gifted to me (thanks, Martha! thanks, Evelyn!), and they are all beautiful. I'll take another picture when all the purples and yellows are blooming.

That's it for this week. The Lilies of the Valley are also blooming and so are the Columbine and the Solomon's Seal...next week I'll include pictures of those.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out the other Bloomin' Tuesday participants here.

~Deb

Saturday Night Hymn Sing

Yesterday we braved the traffic and made our way up to Northern Virginia for a Hymn Sing that everyone had been preparing for during the past month. Our family was looking forward to this opportunity of meeting some new families and enjoying fellowship with some like-minded Christians.

We were not disappointed! The evening was wonderful!

The presentations by each family were coordinated and well rehearsed, and we enjoyed seeing all the children sing their parts:

During the brief intermission, various individuals and groups practiced for some on-the-spot musical performances which were interspersed with group hymn singing.

Here's one young men's on-the-spot group that Jonathan joined:

All in all, we had a very good evening talking and getting to know new families after the singing. After an exchange of emails and blog addresses, we headed back down the interstate towards home...arriving at 2:00 a.m. and quite ready to get some sleep!

We're thinking that we enjoyed this time so much that maybe we'll have our own Hymn Sing sometime. Want to come play and sing with us?

~Deb

A Part of My Heritage: Country Roads

From as far back as I can remember I've loved "riding out" on country roads.

When we were growing up, my sister's high school science teacher (maybe his name was Mr. Curie? I can't remember) required weekend excursions/observations to be reported on each week. Our family would get in the car on Sunday afternoons and just ride and ride looking at any and everything. That probably started my love of all things country...including country roads.

Last evening we had a specific destination in mind as we rode out: Old Quarry Road. There's a house that was built in the 1800s for sale on that road, and we wanted to check it out. There's no one living there now so we felt it was okay to pull in the driveway and look around.

The back yard was fenced in, and there were cows in the fields mooing at us for invading their peaceful privacy! I would love to have cows in my backyard!

Both Hannah and I took our cameras on our little excursion because we have to come up with a picture a day for Project 365, and every little outing is a good opportunity.

{For the folks who have asked me about my lack of a photo-a-day lately...I have pictures! I do! I just have to find time to wade through them and post them in the album. Hannah is doing a great job of keeping up-to-date. I should follow her example!}

Well, is it any surprise that I loved all the birdhouses on the property and took pictures:

Here's an old barn in back:

Granny and Sarah, hand in hand, surveying a portion of the 9 acres of property that is included with the house.

There is a lot of work that needs doing on the old house, and a lot of clean-up and landscaping work in the yard...a lot of flowers to be divided and given to some interested soul. :)

But...it was a beautiful piece of land and such beautiful views! So peaceful...not a neighbor or house close by...just the mooing cows.

Do you like country roads?

I think Old Quarry Road is my newest most favorite memory of a country road. Of course, the flowers all over the property helped make it stand out in my mind as a unique place.

Someone whom we don't really know will be looking at this house that's for sale this week, along with others in the area I'm sure. He's traveling all the way from California to do so, and we've invited him to eat with us tomorrow evening. 

~Deb

Sunday Afternoon Practice

The date for the April Hymn Sing in Northern Virginia is quickly approaching, so the Mountain Musings Musicians have been diligently practicing, both during the week and on Sunday afternoons, along with two members of a family in our church.

Instruments: one violin, two flutes, one harp, a mountain dulcimer, and a guitar.

Musical Selection: a special arrangement of There is A Fountain and The Cleansing Wave.

This Sunday's practice was the best yet! They even practiced how they would stand when they are called to play. I've enjoyed listening to all the practices, and I'm looking forward to hearing the real performance.

~Deb