Mountain Musings

A New England Thanksgiving

We traveled up to Connecticut to visit Dad's side of the family for Thanksgiving. It was good to stop in and see Grampa's new apartment and listen to him reminiscing with stories of Italy, WW2, and family history.

~My Grandparents~

Everyone gathered midday as we enjoyed snacking, chatting, and preparing for the bountiful meal.

Time for pie and games!

Happy Thanksgiving From Our Family to Yours

We've been busy preparing for my sister to arrive from South Carolina for the holidays. She teaches her last class this morning and will begin the six-hour drive around noon headed our way! We always get excited when she visits!

This Thanksgiving will be a bit different, however. She will spend the holidays here with Granny--and we'll spend Thanksgiving with Tom's family in Connecticut!

How mixed up is that?! No wonder ol' Tom Turkey looks confused!

But Granny will be well taken care of...and Pepper will have someone new to bark at! 

From our family to yours:

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a blessed time with family and friends.

~ Deb

South Boston ~ My Hometown

This past weekend I traveled with Granny and Hannah back to my hometown--South Boston, Virginia--for the Holiday Living Show. I always enjoy seeing the town where I was born and lived for 28 years, so I thought I'd post a few pictures before telling you more about the craft show.

Here's a very empty Main Street looking south down Route 501 on Sunday morning just before we headed home:The building with the green awning to the left was originally Faulkner & Lawson Drug Store where we used to stop by the soda fountain and lunch counter for grilled cheese sandwiches and hotdogs. I still remember their pineapple sundaes--a favorite treat of mine as a little kid growing up.

Turning around and looking the opposite direction towards Route 501 north, you'll see behind the trees, Lantor's, a 100-year old ladies' clothing store, where I purchased many outfits back in the 70's:And below is the original Carrington Library--a cozy little house stuffed with thousands of books and where I spent many enjoyable hours back in the 60's:And last is my elementary school where I attended 6th grade (Mrs. Pulliam) and 7th grade (Mrs. Wesson)--and where I remember first hearing about the JFK assassination:Okay...that was a trip down Memory Lane. Are any blog readers out there from South Boston who have any memories to share in the comments?

Well, Granny, Hannah, and I arrived at the local high school (newly built since I was there) on Friday afternoon and unloaded all the baskets, soap, and photography cards and started setting up the displays: Here's Granny and her booth all ready for customers. Her two-pie basket sold first thing, and the potato masher baskets were popular, too:Many friends came by...just about everybody in South Boston knows everybody! Here I am with my friend Carolyn: And here I am below with Carolyn's sister, Doris...also a good friend of mine:  Below Granny visits with old time friends, Doris and her daughter, Susan. Susan guessed that over the years she's bought at least 100 baskets from Granny...if not more!We had good sales but not quite as good as Dayton Days last month. We were home again by Sunday afternoon, and Hannah re-organized her soap boxes so she'll be ready for the very last Farmers' Market of the season this coming Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday at the local Farmers' Market...Sarah had another new helper to take Hannah's place this past weekend. Jonathan was a great salesman and sold 33 bars of soap on a dark and chilly market morning: Well, I think that catches you up on our latest adventures! I hope you enjoyed seeing my hometown!

~Deb

Chicken Tortilla Soup

While Mom, Hannah, and Granny are off manning a basket and soap booth at the Holiday Living Show this weekend, I have been the lone female in charge of the kitchen. Tonight's supper was the first meal I actually made new, and this recipe was a first time experiment. Actually, I'm just going to type up what I really did, because I tweaked the recipe a lot and added my own things to it. :) Once we were home from market and lunch, I threw this in the crockpot to simmer for a few hours.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breasts, chopped in small chunks

Taco seasoning, to taste (2 T. perhaps?)

1 15-oz can black beans, undrained

1 15-oz can corn

2 15-oz can stewed tomatoes or Rotel tomatoes

1 cup salsa

7-oz can chopped green chilies

14.5-oz can tomato sauce

Tortilla chips

Shredded cheese

Rub taco seasoning into raw chicken chunks. Heat a little olive oil in frying pan, and saute chicken until almost done. Combine chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, green chilies, and tomato sauce in large crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 8. To serve, dip into bowls and top with chips and cheese.

I think we all liked it! Now we just have to wait to see what the absent members of the family think of the leftovers. :)

~Sarah

All Things Political

Sarah and I are gearing up to help at our local election precinct tomorrow. I've been volunteering at the polls for eight or nine years now (I'm one of those little old ladies behind the poll books taking your name), and Sarah has been working with me for the last five years.

We've attended our training meetings this past month and should know all the ins and outs and what to do come election day!

Sarah just picked up all the voting equipment at our Government Center this morning. We should arrive at our precinct to begin work at 5 a.m. It will be a busy and exciting day...and if all goes well, we'll return back home by 9:00 tomorrow night after all the paperwork is done and all the machines are returned. Whew!

And in more political news...

Last week we attended a political rally and luncheon at Jonathan's workplace. Employees and their family members were encouraged to attend. Here's Virginia Senate candidate George Allen speaking after being introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte, who is running for re-election:These poor quality photos are all phone pictures...sorry...I didn't even think to bring a camera! Here's Granny shaking George's hand after his speech: McAlister's Deli provided all the box lunches, and here's part of our group having lunch together inside the hangar at Dynamic Aviation:To be honest, for me this outing was all about getting to see Jonathan inside his place of employment and having a free lunch with him and some of his co-workers. All in all it was a fun day, and Granny especially enjoyed our little political excursion!

~Deb

White Unto Harvest Photos

"Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest."  John 4:35

Dad, Jonathan, and I have returned from attending the White Unto Harvest conference in Asheville, NC this past weekend.

The Ridgecrest conference center was bright with fall colors and bustling with families from around the country and world who came to gain a deeper understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ and to become equipped to share it with others.

The opening keynote session was an excellent exposition of Scripture by Scott Brown, where he explained the Great Commission as found in Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As we headed back to our room the first night, we ran into some familiar faces from VA and chatted a bit:

One of the 35+ workshop choices during the weekend was given by Mr. Paul Robie from Utah. He spoke on ways to converse with Mormons, especially by sharing the difference between their view of Christ and the truth of God's Word.

Another session we attended was a 3-man talk on open-air evangelism, where they focused on the reasons and attitude of someone proclaiming the gospel.

Evangelism and the Power of the Family Table by father and son team, Jim and Taylor Tsantles, was another effective presentation we heard, with a look at 1 Kings 10 where the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon, is amazed, and blesses God for what He had done for Solomon.

Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.
If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? ~Proverbs 24:11-12

Anna L., an acquaintance from blogland who was attending, joined us:

We found time one busy afternoon to call home and see how the other half of the family was doing! Thankfully, Dad's vacation did not have to be canceled because of the looming storm preparations.

Balcony seating gave us quite the perspective on the speakers and crowd....

Before each message, the crowd joined in singing hymns such as The Church's One Foundation, and Jesus Saves.

The hospitable Hayden family invited us for a spaghetti lunch in their lodgings on the final day of the conference. It was good catching up with them before hurrying back to the next session by Paul Washer.

There was a closing panel discussion on several Biblical considerations for missions. It included Jesse Saint, the grandson of Nate Saint, who was one of the 5 famous missionaries killed in Ecuador.

Valuable times were spent fellowshipping around meals in the cafeteria. We met some new folks and talked with friends we had previously known.

The night the conference was over, there were rumors of an impromptu hymn singing in one of the upper rooms, so we joined in for awhile. Many people gathered around a piano, some with other instruments, and we sang until we were hoarse!

We were glad to be able to attend this important weekend and hope to apply what we gathered.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." ~Revelation 5:9

~Hannah