Mountain Musings

Summer's End

October's frost means bringing in the last of the tender harvest from the garden. We are still enjoying summer's tomatoes that Granny brought with her from SC, the green ones ripening daily. I picked a whole grocery bag or two brimming with crisp green bell peppers, so yesterday for lunch I made Elise's recipe for Stuffed Peppers. They turned out delicious.

I didn't do nearly as much canning/freezing this season as I had anticipated, but here's the tally of produce that we did put up:

• 8 quarts of green beans, frenched and frozen (these won't last long!)
• 6 quarts black-eyed peas, frozen
• 13 pints pizza sauce, canned
• 3 pints tomato sauce, frozen
• 2 pints dill cucumber pickles, canned
• 14 pints cinnamon cucumber pickles, canned (Granny loves these)
• 6 1/2 quarts sweet cucumber pickle, jarred
• 7 pints zucchini relish, canned
• 25 quarts strawberries, picked locally and frozen
• 3 gallons blueberries, picked locally and frozen
• 1 gallon cantaloupe, chunked and frozen

It will be nice to have these fruits and vegetables preserved over the next months.

...He did not leave Himself without a witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. ~Acts 14:17

~Hannah

Old Friends

When Tom and I were first married and living in Hampton/Newport News, summer of 1980, we met another couple through the Navigator ministries at Langley Air Force Base on the Virginia Peninsula.

Tom and Ann have been serving the Lord for many years now, and we recently arranged to get together with them when we were on our fall get-away. Whenever we plan outings, day trips, or vacations, I like to brainstorm and figure out who lives along the route wherever we'll be traveling...and try to set up a time to visit.

The Lord providentially worked out the logistics of us getting together because the only time we could meet with them happened to be a day when they had a lot of irons in the fire. They didn't say how much they had to rearrange in order to carve out an hour in their schedule, but I think it was quite a bit of juggling!

Another reason it was providential...we've only had the misfortune of being locked out of the van once in our lives, but on this particular busy morning of packing up in the hotel parking lot in order to go meet Tom and Ann, it happened again! The only set of keys fell out of a coat pocket and were inside the locked van. Oh, no!

The Lord arranged for just the right hotel staff member to overhear our predicament, and she called a locksmith who had us on our way within the hour--at no charge even! Wonderful!

Here we are in Panera Bread having to say good-bye and head out to our next stop. The hour passed way to fast!

We will always remember Tom and Ann as the couple who kept our 20-month old in the middle of the night when we were in the hospital birthing Hannah. I guess you can say we go back a long way! Thanks Tom and Ann for your treasured friendship!

New Friends and Old Friends

Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold.

Friendships that have stood the test-- Time and change--are surely best;

Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray, Friendship never knows decay.

Cherish friendship in your breast-- New is good, but old is best;

Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold.

by Joseph Parry (1841 - 1903)

~ Deb

Barn Quilts and UFOs

Today is UFO Progress Report Day over at Blackberry Creek...unfortunately, I don't have a picture to post of an update for you this week although progress is on the horizon...I can almost see it. :)

We've been away for a few days on a fall get-away which always puts sewing on the back burner...and also why you may not have gotten a response from me to an email or a comment on the blog...that's coming, too.

But one positive quilting highlight! My barn quilt just arrived that I ordered over two months ago!

The kids went in together to buy it for my birthday back in July, and it took me awhile to figure out the colors and pattern I wanted (so many good ones from which to choose!). Then it took quite a long time for the barn quilt folks to paint it and get it to me. Here it is just out of the box:

 
The pattern I selected is called Summer Star Flower (see chart), and I went with the colors they had already selected even though I could have chosen my own. I like these bright colors paired with the white background.

My second choice was Weathervane Pinwheel since I like pinwheels so much. But I'm very happy with this one.

Next step: the barn quilt came in two pieces (you can see the joint there in the photo), so Tom has to securely join the pieces together and then mount the quilt on two 4x4 posts before we put it in place...down by the garden shed.

Completed barn quilt photo coming...whenever Tom gets to it on the honey-do list!

Note to self: Must fix his favorite meal soon! :)

~Deb

Reminiscence ~ One Year Ago

Reminiscence (noun)

a : recall to mind of a long-forgotten experience or fact  

b : the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences

Exactly one year ago Granny, Hannah, and I traveled to the Florida coast for the first time ever, compliments of my blogging friend Vicki! It definitely was a week full of memories and special times. (If you missed those posts, they're all linked here.)

I've been going through a lot of my old photos and thinking about doing some scrapbooking. Today's convenient digital cameras mean that photos, more often than not, stay on the computer and aren't ever seen again!

This summer I made a scrapbook for a friend, and interest in my long-ago forgotten hobby (before quilting took over my life!) was revived.

Whether I'll actually get out all the papers, stickers, and photo splits to make a scrapbook for myself remains to be seen. I think Tom would like to see a scrapbook of our 25th anniversary finished...hmm...that was six years ago!

But the reminiscing has been quite enjoyable. Do you like to think about the good ol' days?

~Deb

Birdhouse Gourds

New in our garden this year: gourds. Here's a link that tells how to make a gourd birdhouse that will last for years. Have you ever made one?

What's happening in your neck of the woods on this windy fall weekend? I hope it's all good!

~Deb

UFO Progress Report ~ Orange Pile Quilt

Help! I'm a Little Green Quilter who has been lost in space lately! My Bernina wonders where in the world I am, and I'm sure Susan does, too, over at Blackberry Creek--UFO headquarters!

So...this week I think I'm ready to tackle the next UFO project.

What will it be? How about Pat Sloan's Orange Pile Quilt Challenge...lots of folks have one of these on their unfinished list! Here's a photo of mine from back in March, 2009, when I first started.

As you can see, most of the quilt top is already done.

This week I'm working on sandwiching it together, and getting it ready for quilting and then binding.

Hopefully, it won't be long before I can post a completed photo and cross this one off my list, too.

Check out the other Little Green Quilters' progress over at Blackberry Creek.

~Deb

Oooh, Vera!

Isn't she gorgeous?

My generous blogging friend, Vicki, over at 2 Bags Full, is giving away yet another Vera bag! This one is in fall's newest and most popular colors - Suzani.

I love it because it's so colorful! I've not won any of the bags Vicki's given away on her blog in the past, but this one just might have my name on it! Head on over and sign up for it here.

Also because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, Vicki is advertising Pinky on her blog.

Susan from the blog Days at Buttermilk Cottage is on a personal mission to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness.  She designed this adorable little lamb and is selling the knitted version, the PDF pattern, and also the kit containing the pattern and yarns to make your own Pinky.

More information here. 

And last, but not least, Vicki is giving away a Twirly Birds Pink Vera bag in the Breast Cancer Awareness pattern if you join her Facebook page. I'm not a facebooker so I can't win this one, but if you are, head over to Vicki's blog and find out what you do.

Winners will be picked on November 4th.

~Deb

Featured Store - Puff's

Puff's Barbecue, a family-owned restaurant and store in Millboro, Virginia, is the next stop on our tour of stores where you can find Pleasant View Soaps retailed around Virginia. Read part 1 and part 2 of the series over on my blog.

Puff's serves maple pit-cooked bbq, ice cream, and more.

Their store next door to the restaurant displays a variety of locally-produced goods, from furniture and photography, to fresh produce, maple syrup, and an array of barbecue sauces.

Because the owner, Mr. Puffenbarger himself, also operates Southernmost Maple camp in Bath County, I developed 2 special seasonal soaps that incorporate their maple syrup into the recipe at his suggestion: Pumpkin Maple Spice, and Maple Apple Streusel soap "cupcakes."

If you're driving through the area, be sure to stop at Puff's, your friendly neighborhood source for maple products, natural meats, and more.

Scripture Silo

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” ~ Mark 10:27

We spent one afternoon this past week riding out in the country. It was a beautiful fall day, and we were delighted to see this silo in Churchville on the way out to Millboro.

On our way back home, we stopped in here at Cestari's country store and bought two pecks of apples which had just been delivered from orchards in Charlottesville. We could hardly wait to get home and fry up a pan of Granny Smiths and Galas for a side dish for that evening's meal. Oh-so-yummy!

And...how could we not document this particular day--Granny had spent the entire morning in the emergency room of the local hospital with chest pains--and give thanks to the Lord that nothing is impossible with Him. She's fine now and adjusting to some new heart medication. We are so thankful!

What a very appropriate scripture silo to remind us we're not alone in life's unexpected happenings!

~Deb

Bloomin' Tuesday ~ Completed Knockout Rose Bed

I'm joining in for this week's MsGreen Thumb Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday, although there aren't many blooms left in our October flower gardens. I wanted to follow through and post a photo of the completed Knockout Rose bed that I wrote about earlier this summer here and here.

While my mom was in South Carolina with my sister recently for a couple of months, we worked hard to get the Green Velvet Boxwoods and Walker's Low Catmint in place before she returned.

The design is slightly different from the P.Allen Smith proposed garden plan, but that's because the nursery had six five-gallon boxwoods in stock instead of nine three-gallon ones needed. So we went with two on the left, two in the middle and two on the right instead of three in each of those spots.

The roses actually have looked better in previous weeks than in today's photo...I'm not sure if I over-fertilized or if pests are eating them. The bush closest to her left is completely void of blooms and most of its leaves and looks to be dying, as do two others. I thought Knockout Roses were supposed to be free of any diseases!

I'll definitely have to check into this in order to protect my (free) investment. Any gardeners out there have any experiences with Knockouts and/or rose problems? What should I do?

The new grass that Tom planted has mostly come up, and all that needs doing is another round of stones to make a higher edging.

I think Granny is pleased with her "Welcome Home" Knockout Rose bed.

To see other participants' gardens all over the country, check in over at MsGreen Thumb Jean's place.

~Deb