Mountain Musings

101 Blocks

Sew, nap, iron pieces, nap, cut pieces, nap, repeat...

That's been my week so far, and I'm ready to sign my Siggy Swap blocks this morning and mail them out this afternoon. Yay! I actually made the July 1 deadline!

I used an Oh, Cherry Oh! Moda honeybun and Kona White to make my strips and then cut them into 4.5" blocks.

Sitting in a recliner and adjusting the ironing board down to my level worked just great so I wouldn't have to stand for long periods of time for the cutting and ironing.

Here are all the 101 blocks ready to sign with my new fabric pen. Sewing this week has been fun and great therapy.

~Deb

Lavender Fields Herb Farm

Last month our local Recreation Department offered a bus trip to Lavender Fields Herb Farm. The destination was a couple of hours away from us here in the Valley, but as soon as I saw the listing for the trip, I knew I wanted to go! Hannah, being the herb gardener in our family, traveled with me.

Here's Hannah in front of the well-manicured entrance to the farm. Lots of perennials were in bloom, and we loved the aroma of the lavender plants.

We arrived just in time for lunch in their Tea Room. Several long tables were set up, beautifully decorated with flowers and a delicious lunch arranged for us which included lavender ice cream for dessert.

After lunch we trekked a distance to the greenhouses on the farm where our tour guide told us about the flowers/herbs they grow and sell.

Actually, Lavender Fields is not quite true to its name. There are no fields of lavender, but there are lavender plants growing here and there and some for sale at the gift shop.

For some reason no lavender plants came home with us, and now I'm regretting that decision.

Here is part of our group making our way through the raised bed garden area.

After our tour we made our way back to the Tea Room where refreshing lavender lemonade and red rooibos tea awaited us. The owner of the farm gave a lecture on Companion Planting which was very informative.

We felt as if lunch had just been served, but mid-afternoon snacks were waiting for us in the Tea Room. The menu above lists what we were served. Amazingly delicious!

And don't forget the Pineapple Sage Strawberry Shortcake below!

Then we went back outside to look around and shop before we boarded the bus for home...here's Hannah looking at the various lavender plants behind the gift shop.

My last picture will be of a rusty old planter full of blooming globe amaranth. If this planter had been for sale instead of attached to the gift shop window, I think it would have come home with me for my shed window.

What a delightful time Hannah and I had together on our day's adventure.

~Deb

Another Home Schooling Interview

Since Jonathan and Sarah graduated together from home school six years ago in 2004, the juggle of daily lessons, keeping records, math problems, and scheduling exciting field trips seem in the distant past and no longer a part of our lives. However, we enjoyed those years tremendously and are thankful our family had a very positive experience.

Sherrin, over at The Drew Patch, interviewed Hannah in April and asked about her homeschooling experiences from a daughter's perspective. You can find the interview here if you didn't get a chance to read it.

Sherrin also asked to interview me this month, and she's posted that interview here.

If any of my homeschooling friends can add any positive and constructive tips and resource helps for Sherrin as she anticipates homeschooling her children, please leave a comment about your experiences.

~Deb

An Update on Deb

Thank you to everyone who has asked how I'm faring, sent emails, cards, and gifts in the mail, and has wondered what's up since I've been home from the hospital.

I'm getting around slowly but am feeling well...so much better even than last week! My days are spent napping in the morning and napping in the afternoon. The unusual tiredness I'm feeling will go away as the weeks pass, the doctor assures me.

The girls are still great nurses; I wouldn't be as far along as I am without them! I'm still on medication for an infection, but soon that will clear up, too.

It's nice being chauffeured to the doctor's office, served every meal without lifting a hand, and tucked ever so gently in bed (I'm spoiled, methinks!).

I am so far behind on my quilt-alongs and blogging! There are some posts waiting to be written and pictures uploaded for some activities we squeezed in before the surgery that never were posted! Hopefully, I'll get to those soon.

I have 101 Siggy Swap blocks to sew that need to be mailed by July 1, and I haven't even started! So, as soon as I feel a bit better, I must get busy...a little sewing each day until they're done!

Thank you again for your prayers for my continued recovery. The Lord has been faithful to answer them, and I am so thankful!

~Deb

Faithful Father and the Fun Flay Fired Flatbreads

We enjoyed our day with Dad celebrating Father's Day and thanking the Lord for his godly example.

Dad had seen this grilled pizza demonstrated on a Bobby Flay video and liked the idea, so we surprised him with this meal Sunday evening. It turned out delicious!

~Hannah

View From My Hospital Bed: Monday - Saturday

Things I am Thankful for After Surgery:

• Doctors and nurses who are skilled professionals--able to cut and repair even after a clipped artery caused unexpected complications.
• Generous blood donors who voluntarily give of their life blood to help someone (me) who needed it.
• Friends and family who pray consistently for healing and who send cards, flowers, emails, phone calls, and gifts. Thank you for being faithful to pray all week long!
• Daughters who take turns spending the night and helping me recuperate, plus keeping things going at home.
• A son who calls to check on me, and a son who comes to visit after work.
• A husband who loves me and made me his priority instead of his job this week.
• Hearing the great news today that I can tentatively go home tomorrow. Praise the Lord!
• Typepad which allowed me to pre-post some entries last week before surgery. Thank you all for the comments that I have not been able to respond to.
• Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who is the Great Physician who heals and brings me back to health.

"I am the Lord who heals you" ~Exodus 15:26

~Deb

(As dictated to Sarah by phone)

Gifts from Australia!

Look what came winging its way across many thousands of miles from Australia! My blog friend, Rose, sent this to me...just because she wanted to do something special.

Now how about that?! She and Hannah had been sneakily emailing so she'd know where to mail the package. I was so surprised!

There are two magazines: an Australian Quilts magazine and Rose's favorite Aussie cooking magazine, delicious. Also some lemon myrtle soap, two balls of yarn by Aussie knitwear designer Jo Sharp, and four Moleskin notebooks to share with Hannah and Sarah. The 3-D seashell card included was handmade by Rose.

And this package arrived at the most perfect time. Isn't that just like God to cheer me with gifts from a friend just when it was most needed? Thank you so very much, Rose!

~Deb

Bloomin' Tuesday

I am so happy to be able to join MsGreen Thumb Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday this week. Welcome to those who are clicking over from Jean's blog!

There's a lot blooming in my Virginia flower garden. Let's start off with the flowers around the tool shed: spiderwort, heliopsis, yarrow, and petunias in the window boxes.

Here's a picture below of the spiderwort and heliopsis up close. Heliopsis is known as false sunflower, and it has been a great perennial by the shed.

Here's a picture below of one corner of the new picket fence and the flowers growing there. The cat mint always does well and attracts dozens of butterflies. To the left of the cat mint is a morning glory vine that will eventually twine its way up to the birdhouse. Also to the left is a bunch of black-eyed susan that will bloom soon, and I'll show you those again when they do.

And look what's coming up in the middle of the susans...a volunteer sunflower. We'll see if it actually survives, as sunflowers not growing inside the garden gate often get their tops bitten off by the deer.

Here's a sunflower near the front sidewalk growing by the ivy....no, wait, that's not a sunflower. That's a birdhouse...sorry. :)

The spikes of the pink speedwell look so dainty and pretty.

The yarrow by the tool shed was dwarf yarrow while this by the garden fence is a very tall and sturdy plant.

The purple coneflowers are just beginning to blossom out and are everywhere around the garden. They will really be beautiful when they're in full bloom soon.

And the last picture for this week's Bloomin' Tuesday is the tiger lily and Russian Sage down by the bigger garden. Russian Sage is another plant that will attract lots of butterflies this summer.

Have you enjoyed the tour? I enjoyed walking around the garden early Sunday morning taking these pictures to post for today. Want to see more? Head over to MsGreen Thumb Jean's to see flowers blooming all over the country!

~Deb

Three Blue Jars

For our Sunday meal yesterday, we decorated with three blue jars lining the center of the nook table, which was covered with a garden-themed cloth.

Hannah filled the jars with yarrow, gooseneck, feverfew, false indigo, echinacea, and spiderwort. The flowers are beginning to really blossom with all the rain we've had, and I love bringing them inside to enjoy.

I even like looking at the water level in these old blue jars.

~Deb

This One's For Granny

The rows of beans we planted together are coming up nicely.

The tomatos are tall enough to tie up to their stakes, and the squash sprouted up quickly and is growing bigger everyday.

The bees and butterflies love flitting around our large lavender plant, now in full bloom, which welcomes visitors at the edge of our front sidewalk.

Wish you were here! 

~Hannah