Mountain Musings

Bloomin' Tuesday ~ Lily of the Valley

I know, it's Wednesday, but I just found out about Bloomin' Tuesday last night at bedtime over at MsGreen "thumb" Jean's blog. And I couldn't traipse outside to get a picture then in the scary darkness, not me.

But this morning's sunshine beckons us outside for a day of yardwork. Here's a picture of the dainty Lily-of-the-Valley that's so beautifully blooming this spring in our garden. I love this tiny little flower!

Sarah's friend, Sarah, who lives close by, dug these up from her garden a couple of years ago after reading on the blog that I would love some. They have found a good home here.

In other news: today the mulch will be delivered! Yay! Mulch! Groan! Mulch! I definitely have a love-hate relationship with the stuff. Lots of yardwork to do today!

And since I received some favorable comments from folks liking my to-do list, here's one for the next few days.

• Thursday - pick up my 90-year-old aunt in Richmond who will be visiting us for a few days.
• Prepare for teaching a knitting class here on Friday morning. Plan lunch for the group.
• Wrap presents and plan cookout on Saturday to celebrate Micah's 26th birthday.
• Prepare for Sunday's worship and lunch; we're bringing dessert.
• Pack and load the car.
• Return my aunt back home on Sunday afternoon and drive two hours with Hannah to my mom's in South Boston.
• Monday morning - bring my mom with us and drive 5 hours to my sister's home in South Carolina.
• Enjoy the week at my sister's and all she has planned for us to do.
• Arrive back home in time to celebrate Mothers' Day.

Hopefully, I'll have pictures to show of these events.

~Deb

Sewing Projects

My Bernina has been busy lately. I've been working on several different projects and thought some of you might like to see the end results. The first thing on the agenda was to sew Barney a few bright and cheerful neckerchiefs for his owner's birthday last month. I created these using a quickly-drawn pattern I'd traced from the red one he was sporting at Christmas. :) Easy and cute!

Next, a bigger job, was making a girl's jumper for a friend from church. This was a fun item to sew, although there were a few steps where it was definitely a learning process. The fabric Anna chose was a beautiful, springy green with coral pink flowers and peachy buttons to match. It was the perfect combination. My favorite part was using my new automatic buttonholer and sewing on the buttons as one of the final steps. The hem ended up being turned up a whole 5 inches, which will be great to let down as she grows taller. Thanks, Wagners, for letting me work on this for you!

My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, was able to procure for us some rolls of leftover decorator fabric, one design having gardening implements and vegetables on a green and white-striped background. We thought this material would be just right for making a set of spring tablecloths for our dining room and breakfast nook.

I needed to stitch 2 long strips to either side of the fabric pieces to make it wide enough for our tables. This included matching up the objects in the pattern design so that it looked truly seamless. Then, Elizabeth let me borrow her serger to finish the edges of each cloth. That was the first time I'd worked with one of these machines, and it was great! I'm just glad I didn't have to thread it. :) I had enough garden fabric to make the 2 tablecloths, plus 2 tablerunners, which I am saving for my hope chest.

And lastly, here is a photo of a twill skirt I finished making earlier this year. With its rust color and sturdy weight, it will be appropriate for fall/winter wear. Next is to finally complete Mom's quilt by hand-sewing a name and date on the back.

~Hannah

Flowers, I Must Have Flowers!

The saying is true, "the longer you go without blogging, the harder it is to blog!"  Here's a quick post before I go out to work in the garden to show you what I started yesterday and what I'll finish today, Lord willing!

The four watering cans down one side of the steps will have wave petunias and maybe lantana planted in them this year. The pots down the other side nearly always bloom with begonias--such faithful, healthy plants.

Hannah found some Johnny-Jump-Ups blooming in the vegetable garden, compliments of the birds, so she dug them up (five clumps!) and planted them by the B & B birdhouse (not shown in this picture).

Geraniums are planted in the two larger pots that sit on each side of the front door. The Boston fern and wave petunias are in hanging baskets, and the chimes are finally back in place after a windy March brought them inside to rest.

Today's agenda:

• finish the flowers in the front pots
• prune some shrubs that are overgrown in the front beds
• spray round-up on some weeds around the perimeter of the new garden
• weed-eat around the two gardens and fence line
• plant a new butterfly bush, purple fountain grass, and russian sage
• freshen the hummingbird feeders
• take a walk around the yard and see what's newly emerged in the beds
• relax in my rocker and watch the sunset

I asked Hannah the other day when we were out working, "Honey, how in the world would I get all this done if you were not here to help me?"  And she said, "A little at a time."

I think I'll take her advice and try not to get too overwhelmed with what still needs doing. I'll check back in again next week.

~Deb

The Bridegroom Cometh!

Last weekend our family had the privilege of attending the wedding of Nathan and Jenni Wenneker. After having met and gotten to know Nathan a little bit last summer, we rejoiced with him in the way that God providentially brought him and Jenni together.

The wedding was held outdoors at a community college arboretum. The day was beautiful, although as you can see from the umbrella photo, it did rain a bit before the clouds cleared, and I resorted to sitting on Mom's lap during the first part of the ceremony. :)

At right, the bride walks with her father greeting guests as we took our seats. I had actually gotten to speak with Jenni a couple of years previously when our family visited their church, and then we met her and her family again at a conference, so it was interesting to hear that she and Nathan were engaged.

Some aspects of this wedding were not what you would normally expect at a traditional ceremony. They chose, for example, to reflect a biblical picture of Christ one day returning for His bride, the church, by focusing on the groom, in contrast to the typical bride-centered way of conducting things. A shofar was blown, and the friend of the bridegroom (Nathan's brother) shouted, "The bridegroom is coming!" as the groom entered from one side.

The father of the bride gave away her hand in marriage, transferring his authority and protection over to her new husband. The bride and groom reiterated to the audience the vows they had made to one another at their bethrothal commitment. One of the first things they did as a married couple was to recite together several passages of Scripture pertaining to marriage. Jenni's sister and brother also quoted 1 Corinthians 13 for us. Both fathers and their pastor gave them final exhortations.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Wenneker are pictured at right. "For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." ~Ruth 1:16b

It was a lovely spring setting for shooting photos, which I took advantage of by joining the many family and friends who were documenting the occasion with a camera afterwards. At left, all the ladies of the family pose in their matching lavender.

We spent time chatting with a few old and new acquaintances on the arboretum lawn. Jacob and his brother Colin came all the way from Alaska.

Everyone adjourned to the church where we enjoyed a wedding feast of turkey and trimmings while viewing a slide show of the bride and groom's younger years.

The wedding "cake" was actually created out of chocolate chip and M&M cookie dough and featured a red barn and miniature farm animals. The afternoon ended as we all watched the couple leave for their honeymoon. Congratulations, Wenneker and Martin families!

~Hannah

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Here's another new recipe from my Taste of Home cookbook! I made it for us last week and then again for church yesterday since everyone seemed to like it.

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Filling:

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (If you are using frozen, do not thaw.)

Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Spoon a third of the batter into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon; sprinkle half over batter. Top with half of the berries. Repeat layers. Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cake. Yield: 10-12 servings.

~Sarah

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Signs of Spring around Mountain Musings!

~Deb

The Check Actually Was in the Mail!

If you've been reading our blog long, you know how much I enjoy getting personal letters and other treasures in the mail. Well, yesterday was no exception! We had been notified that our first affiliate check from Vision Forum was on the way, and it arrived! Yay!

This means that lots of you folks out there have so kindly been clicking through us whenever you order something from the Vision Forum catalog. THANK YOU so much! Of course, we didn't do so badly ourselves when ordering those Vision Forum Christmas and birthday gifts this past year. It adds up! And now we're getting paid for it. I like.

Did you know that you can be a Vision Forum affiliate also? Just click on this link and sign yourself up to get started even if you don't have a blog. Then your friends can click through your link when they order, and you can start earning extra money, too.

And if you don't have a blog...why not sign up now for a 14-day free trial of a Typepad blog. This would be a great time for all of our friends who don't have blogs to take the leap. We'd love to read about your daily lives on your very own blog! (I could name some blog-less friends' names here...but I won't.) :)

~Deb

Engagement Announcement

No, it's not one of us! :) Courtney, a friend of mine who some of you may have gotten to know through her blog "Courtney's Contemplations," just accepted a proposal of marriage this weekend. She and Christopher have been courting for 9 months and now are looking forward to planning a wedding and spending their lives together serving the Lord.

Courtney and I met and became pen-pals over 15 years ago when our families attended a homeschool conference in South Carolina. She has been an encouragement to me as she exhibits a contentment and trust in the Lord in serving her family at home.

You can read her engagement story here and see a photo of the happy couple here. Congratulations, Courtney! We will continue to pray for you as you start this new phase of your life!

~Hannah

Artistic Works

We have enjoyed getting to know the Trent family after meeting them and several other families when visiting their home church in the Richmond area.

The dad of the family has just launched a new website to display and market his nature artwork--Artistic Works by Michael A. Trent. It was specially created by his industrious daughter, Alli, who blogs over at She Works With Her Hands in Delight. She did a professional job!

Go browse through the many beautiful bird prints Mr. Trent has produced from his watercolor and pen and ink drawings. He is also selling cards and limited edition Giclee prints of select paintings. We wish him success!

~Hannah

Cookies!

Randi is having her Recipe Box Swap again, plus Meredith is having a cookie giveaway, so I just had to get in the kitchen this afternoon to try out a new cookie recipe! I decided on one I found in the 2007 Taste of Home cookbook that looked really yummy.

Chunky Drop Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 t. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 t. baking powder
• 2 cups halved pretzel sticks
• 1 cup coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup raisins

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in the pretzels, peanuts, chocolate chunks, and raisins.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Yield: about 6 1/2 dozen

I left out the raisins and used broken mini pretzels instead of sticks. Also, we didn't have semisweet chunks, so I used half semisweet chocolate chips and half milk chocolate chunks. They were really good - the pretzels and peanuts added an interesting and different texture. I'll have to see what Jonathan and Dad think about them, though. :)

~Sarah