Mountain Musings

Long Distance Grandparenting

These seasonal books are all wrapped and ready to be mailed to a sweet little nine-month-old punkin in Michigan.

A granny's gotta do something when she's so far away!

~Deb

A Jumper Remake

The freshly embroidered bodice of a salvaged denim jumper...

 

...plus 2 yards of Debbie Mumm fabric found at a quilter's yard sale...

...equals a fun new jumper for a gardening friend!

~Hannah

Friday's Update on New Addition

Well, we're headed into the weekend with a lot accomplished on the addition this week. The workers traveled back to Richmond yesterday after diligently working four 10-hour days; they will return on Monday and hopefully just as much work will get done this next week.

Today, while the main workers were out of their way, the heating and plumbing guys came and put in all the pipes for the handicapped tub/shower, which is now installed. If Granny wanted a hot bath, she could come and get one tonight...however, studs and debris would surround her!

Yesterday most of the work was building the deck, including beginning the handicapped ramps; skylights and shingles were also installed.

 

We're looking forward to our church family having plenty of room for gatherings and cookouts on this deck!

~Deb

Wonky Star Block for Amanda Jean

 

Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts recently asked for volunteers to sew up a red, white, and blue Wonky Star Block for Quilts of Valor, where over 24,000 quilts have been donated to service members and veterans touched by war.

Well, she received over 140 responses to her request! I was one of them, and here's my star that will go in the mail tomorrow.

Amanda Jean will sew the blocks into quilts, receiving help from others who volunteered to sew for her since so many wanted to participate in this project.

Here's a tutorial for a Wonky Star if you'd like to try one. I think it's so interesting how everyone interprets red, white, and blue differently...and beautifully. Here are two other Wonky Stars (here and here); and I love the wonkiness of them all.

~Deb

Today's Progress!

What was accomplished today? The walls are up, and the roof is on! Time ran out, and the workers didn't quite get the black felt and shingles on before quitting time...maybe tomorrow. We are all excited with the progress!

 

We called Granny tonight and told her that her room was now under cover! She couldn't believe it!

 

This photo is taken from Sarah's back window of her bedroom, which will eventually be turned into a door that leads to Granny's room. More photos as work progresses.

~Deb

Here Comes Autumn!

Summer's loss seems little, dear, on days like these.  ~ Ernest Dowson

It's early here in the Valley on the first day of Fall. The sun is trying to shine, but I can tell clouds will be rolling in from the distant West Virginia hills bringing rain later today.

The workers arrived before the sun rose, and the sound of their trucks chased off a doe and her two little ones...it was a good thing, as the mama was standing on her hind legs reaching the autumn olives that Hannah usually gathers and makes into jelly.

The framers are diligently working; the flooring is down and the Tyvek walls are up. If all goes well,  the addition will be under roof this week! An updated picture...soon.

As I listen to the saws and pounding sounds outside, I'm sitting here shelling a mess of black-eyed peas for our lunch today...maybe one of the last pickings of the season. Come on over and join the shelling party. Rosemary peas will be served at noon!

"A whiff of woodsmoke on the wind, the first chill in the air, the woods just edged in gold...and without looking at the calendar we know we've turned the page and it is September." ~ Susan Branch's Heart of the Home Calendar 2009.

~Deb

Thursday Thirteen ~ Thoughts on a Rainy Day

1. "The best kind of rain, of course, is a cozy rain...the rain that falls on a day when you'd just as soon stay in bed a little longer, write letters or read a good book by the fire, take early tea with hot scones and jam, and look out the streaked window with complacency."  ~Susan Allen Toth, England For All Seasons

2. The Valley is getting a welcomed gentle rain this morning. It's 60 degrees, and I love the coolness. My newly transplanted shrubs love it. They're looking a bit shriveled since being moved to a new location.

3. It's quiet around here...the girls are gone for the day helping a friend with cleaning and watching the other children and holding a new little third-born that was added to their home. They will have fun lending a hand.

4. It's quiet outside...no crews making noise in the backyard today; they'll be back on Monday. Here's what the brick-layers finished this week. Now we await the framers to arrive. Soon it will start looking like a real room!

5. My mom has an offer on her house! The potential buyer will decide whether to accept her counter-offer. We are really praying that this will be over soon for her.

6. Ever tasted Pineapple Casserole? I'm thinking of making it this weekend. Here's the recipe:

2 - large cans chunk pineapple, drained
1 cup sugar
6 Tbsp flour
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 stick butter, melted
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crumbled
Mix pineapple, sugar, flour and cheese in a 7x11 dish or 9x9. Melt butter and mix with crackers. Put over top. Bake 20 - 30 min at 350. It's yummy and different!

7. I just started a Wonky Star quilt block, a first for me...will post a picture soon.

8. The fall pansies are all planted, and mums and asters are in the pots down the front steps. These are my first asters, and I love the purples!

9. I'm wondering how this little tyke is doing. I'm betting he needs some mittens on those chilly Michigan mornings!

10. My friend's son is getting married this weekend. l remember when I saw him as a newborn in the hospital. Where does the time go? We won't be able to attend the wedding, but we send Best Wishes! for Joseph and Stacey!

11. Been thinking a lot lately about hospitality and am re-reading for the umpteenth time The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch. Here's a passage that sums it up pretty well:

"Hospitality is a concrete, down-to-earth test of our fervent love for God and His people. Love can be an abstract, indistinct idea; hospitality is specific and tangible. Hospitality is love in action and is the flesh and muscle on the bones of love. Through hospitality, the reality of our love is tested."

12. With the cooler fall weather approaching, some hiking trips are on the agenda I'm sure.

13. The garden is winding down with not much produce coming in now, but we're still picking and shelling black-eyed peas...my favorite vegetable. It was a good season, and we'll enjoy Hannah's hard work all winter.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

*And why all these pictures are pixely I don't know; maybe it's because Hannah isn't here to help me!

~Deb

The Queen and Her Court

Sarah and I began our first Block-of-the-Month class this past Saturday at Patchwork Plus using the Marie Antoinette fabric collection.

We will be sewing a block each month for the next year with blocks 1 - 12 representing the court with a special center block representing the Queen. In addition to the blocks, the pattern has been designed with three “Royal Installments” (the “Queen” center block, the appliqué, and the checkerboard). Here's a link I found that shows the fabrics we'll be using.

I love these Block-of-the-Month programs. The fabric is free each month! We each just had to pay $10 to take the classes all year, and Sarah and I split the cost of the pattern. How very reasonable, and we'll end up with a queen-size quilt top at the end of all the classes.

Here's our class teacher, Linda, showing us the first block we'll be putting together. I'm looking forward to each month's class, and I've promised myself to get started now...instead of the night before the block is due!

~Deb

Work Begins...Outside!

I'm afraid the title of this post will be the story around here for the next couple of months! Work, much work, in fact. However, all of it outside and not inside!

How can work inside get done when there's so much going on outside? I could not tear myself away from the windows!

Early yesterday morning the excavator, builder, and accompanying crew arrived to start construction on the room we're adding on for my mom. Digging, pouring cement for the footers, and tearing up the backyard and plants was the order of the day. Jonathan's upstairs window was a prime viewing spot.

However, good news...the excavator said he would move the Yellow Rose of Texas with his equipment and also dig a new hole for it wherever I wanted.

In this picture taken out the nook window, they are pouring footers by the back door for a new stoop that will lead to the deck.

Watch out poor Hyacinth Bean! I didn't move the birdpole and Hyacinth Bean plant before they arrived!

There were hostas and a viburnum planted between the old stoop and the nook window...more plants I hadn't moved because I didn't know the old stoop would be torn down right away.

After the crews left around 6 o'clock last night, we all went out and tromped around looking at what had been accomplished.

Today sand, block, and brick will be arriving, and later in the week framing materials will be delivered. Workers will return again on Monday to begin the foundation and framing.

This week I'll be salvaging some plants and finding new homes for them while the workers aren't here.

Next week...I'll be glued to the windows!

~Deb

My Hometown ~ South Boston, VA

We're home again after a Labor Day Weekend trek to South Boston to visit my mom, aka "Granny."

It's always good to see her again and help with some clean-up--fix-up work around her house.

Tom and Jonathan pressure-washed her house this weekend, and Hannah and I washed all the windows inside and out. What an accomplishment! Wouldn't it be great if the cleaner exterior helped her home sell?!

I'm sure some of you know that we've been praying for my mom's house to sell after being on the market for a few months. Please keep praying that a buyer would come along soon! Thank you!

We visited her church on Sunday and enjoyed hearing their new pastor and seeing again some old familiar faces we've known through the years. 

My mom took us out to eat at Ernie's on Sunday...a well-known and delicious country buffet in the area. If you're ever near South Boston, you'll have to stop in!

Here are some family pictures from our weekend. 

We enjoyed our time away from the normal routine very much!

We hope your Labor Day Weekend was one of catching up on some relaxation!

~Deb