Mountain Musings

Quilt - Completed!

Over the weekend, I finally finished my sampler quilt - yay! I really wanted to bring it completed to church on Sunday, so the days beforehand were spent sewing, sewing, and sewing some more. The last stitches were made in the car Sunday morning. Since my friends Alli and Meredith were inspired to make quilts of their own, they were interested in seeing mine. They also showed us the squares they have finished so far, which were very pretty! :)

Yesterday I washed my quilt to remove all the pink marking pencil and to get it nice and clean. Now it is all ready to be folded up and tucked into my hope chest. Of course, I first had to spread it out on Dad and Mom's bed to take a picture. :)

This project had been so much fun to work on! Now I'm working on the matching pillow shams. These ought to be interesting since I have no pattern and no idea what I'm doing. :)

Previous posts I've made about the progress of my quilt are here, here, and here.

~Sarah

Blueberry Pickin'

Yesterday evening Mom and I did something we'd never done before--went to pick blueberries at a local farm. We've plucked strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, but have never experienced the harvesting of blueberries. Some friends let us know that the patch was open for the season, so we wanted to go sometime during the two short weeks that the berries were ripe. The farm was located down a winding road, and the large patch was even more back into the woods, so we felt very out in the wilderness. Even though it was raining on and off last night, we were able to pick about a gallon before it got too dark and wet on us, and had a fun time doing it. The berry bushes were somehow different than we expected, and the rows were quite weedy (watch out for snakes!), but the blueberries we picked managed to taste quite delicious in spite of the fact. Today I froze what we had picked and will look forward to using them in muffins, etc, in the future.

~Hannah

Home Church & Home School Graduation

Today we traveled to Amelia Courthouse (just a little over two hours away, near Richmond) to attend a home church gathering with our friends. We had been looking forward to today as it was a special time to honor a graduating son from one of the families and also to renew acquaintance with home church friends.

First, we all gathered with our folding chairs under the big oak tree and sang several hymns. Prayer time was next, followed by a teaching time, and communion together.

During the time set aside for the graduation acknowledgment, special friends thanked the Lord for the character qualities observed in Philip's life and encouraged him to always put the Lord first in everything. His parents then came forward, and his dad presented the long-awaited diploma.

Here's a picture of Philip with Eli, the young man who brought today's teaching, which included exhortations from Ecclesiastes 11:9... "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth.." and Ecclesiastes 12:1..."Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth."

Delicious food, desserts, and music followed in the afternoon. Here are Tom and Jonathan playing guitar along with some of the other men.

Hannah and Sarah enjoyed conversing with some of the girls and moms and seeing a couple of new babies added to the group since we last visited. I had a fun time chatting and making the rounds snapping pictures. It was a very enjoyable Sunday! Thank you, Trent Family, for your hospitality and congratulations Philip!

~Deb

Kitchen Bingo Game

Here's another Friday Fun game - Kitchen Bingo! Head over to Peggy's place, Lives of Simplicity, and pick out 30 of the 100 kitchen terms she's listed, and email her what your picks are by midnight on June 24th. She'll draw five words on random days of the week starting on Monday, June 25th. All you have to do is cross off selected words from your list; first person to shout out B-I-N-G-O on a comment wins lots of neat gifts including a homemade clothespin bag, vintage apron, notepad, and a book titled The Simpler Life. Sounds like fun!

Hat Tip to Susan for alerting us to the Kitchen Bingo post on Peggy's blog.

~Deb

Fun Giveaway!

Mrs. U. over at Making a House a Home is celebrating her one-year blogiversary with a wonderful giveaway. Check out all the neat goodies and leave a comment for her drawing on June 30th. Congratulations, Mrs. U.!

~Deb

Welcome Summer!

I meant to do my work today,

But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,

And a butterfly flitted across the field,

And all the leaves were calling me.

~ Richard Le Gallienne (1866 - 1947)

Summer arrived this afternoon at 2:06 p.m. (Eastern Time). Could you feel the difference?  It's been a nice--not too hot day--here in the Valley with plenty of sunshine, breezes, and clear mountain views.

What do you like about summer? I like fresh vegetables from the garden, homemade ice cream, and family excursions on summer weekends. Enjoy your first day of summer wherever you are!

~Deb

Good Idea for a Family Vacation

Answers in Genesis recently opened their long-awaited Creation Museum, and it is definitely on our list of family excursions this year. From what I've heard some families say, it is well worth a visit.

After the Hayden Family left our home here in Virginia on Monday, they headed to Kentucky where the Museum is located. If you're interested in seeing some great pictures taken inside and around the Museum, check out Caleb's blog here. (He also has posted some additional pictures of their visit to the Shenandoah Valley.)

Has your family visited the Museum yet? If so, let us know what you thought of it.

~Deb

Fellow Bloggers Meet

What a joy it was to have the Hayden Family from Kansas in our home as they stopped by for an overnight visit! They were heading back home after attending the Jamestown 400th Anniversary celebration, and we were blessed to meet Lydia (Renewed Day by Day) and Caleb (C.S. Hayden's Blog) for the first time. We felt like we knew them already from reading their blogs, so it was super fun getting to fellowship in person with their whole family.

Joining us for the Sunday meal was Nathan from Texas, the young man I mentioned in a previous post who is working in the area this summer,  and a fellow intern on the farm, Jacob from Alaska. Here's a picture of the "guy table."  Sarah took orders for Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake, which was a delicious hit!

Ending a wonderful evening, Susanna and Hannah played several hymns on violin and flute, and the Hayden Family delighted us with singing scripture songs to honor the dads on Father's Day.

No, that's not a black snake Nathan is holding...however, we did discover a two-foot-long brownish patterned snake in the yard as we were talking outside at dusk (which Tom later killed)!

This morning before time for our new friends to head out, Hannah and Lydia enjoyed sitting on the Mountain Musings' front porch and looking at a scrapbook while the two dads and the two moms conversed.

What a special privilege it was to get better acquainted with the Haydens! And...they invited us to stop by Wichita any time we're out west! We're very thankful for the opportunity to meet like-minded families--thanks to blogging! :) 

~Deb

Jamestown 400 Treasure Hunt

Just a quick congratulations to the Thomas family of Massachusetts on winning Phase 3 of the Jamestown 400 Treasure Hunt! It sounds like the final phase was a tough race, and we're looking forward to hearing more details. We know a few of the families who were in the 100, so we were rooting for at least someone we were acquainted with to win. We were happy to hear of the Thomases completing the hunt, as we had just recently met some of their family at the Church Planters Conference, believe it or not! One of their daughters was the official finalist, and from what her dad mentioned to us, she (or maybe it was her sister) had enjoyed studying for the hunt and had decided to write the family's annual Fourth of July play about Elias Boudinot (those of you who participated in the hunt will know who he is). I'm sure they were very excited to make it to the end!

~Hannah

Remembering Jamestown

Many homeschool field trips to Jamestown Settlement to visit the three ships and the Indian Village created lasting memories for the kids through the years. Of all the different places we've lived in Virginia, Williamsburg is where they spent their growing up years and the place they most remember. 

Here's a very young Jonathan trying his hand at grinding maize. Whenever we see pictures of Jonathan with his blue "D" cap on, we automatically think of Doctor Doley's Dodgers, his softball team, which brings back lots of sitting and rooting on the bleacher memories.

Below is a picture of all four kids aboard the Susan Constant, taken around 1995. What a young crew!

The local Jamestown Ferry leaves several times daily to cross the river just down and over from where the three ships are docked. We often would board and enjoy the 20-minute ride across, turn around, and ferry right back feeding the seagulls as we journeyed. Big doings on a Saturday evening in rural Virginia!

Well, that's all the memories I have time for this morning. Lots to do as we have company arriving tomorrow--the Hayden Family from Kansas on their way back home from the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Celebration!!

So, we'll get to hear first-hand all about this exciting week. If you've been following Caleb's blog you know their days have been packed full of interesting excursions and speeches on God's providence through history. We're looking forward to meeting the Haydens after being introduced to them through blogging! (Sounds like another post for sure!)

Hope you have a good Saturday and a great Father's Day weekend!

~Deb