Mountain Musings

Vintage Quilts, Snow Walk, & Our Week With Toots

As I mentioned in my last Sunday's post, we had a guest this past week visiting us...Tom's sister, Toots, from Connecticut. No...really, her name is Sue, but from forever ago, she's Toots to everyone. One of the places we took her around town was my all-time favorite shop, Appalachian Piecework. You've seen this shop before here on the blog...I take everyone there it seems! Come to visit me, and I'll take you, too!And here's more of the front entrance: Here's the beautiful vintage quilt that greeted us inside the door, just lovely: Here are Hannah and Sarah talking with Laurie, the owner and amazing crafter of so many of the pieces in her shop (I didn't take my camera with me...big mistake, so these not-so-good photos were all taken on my phone): Laurie is working on sanding a bracelet made from hickory to make it smooth. She also had some unique hickory baskets on display: There were so many new things to see, including some unique swinging/moveable wall quilt racks (didn't snap a picture of these) that I now want Tom to make for me. Here's a vintage fan quilt that Hannah is standing beside:  The Shenandoah Heritage Market was another of our outings, and I was hoping we'd see a horse and buggy. We were rewarded with this scene: Of course, while she was here, Toots wanted to see the progress on Jonathan's house...but we were iffy on whether we could get down the driveway with all the snow we had last weekend still hanging around.

Uh-oh, looks like we're going to have to park on the country road and trek up to the faraway house...we definitely found out that Jonathan's driveway is longer than it seems when you're walking in deep snow! Here I am below trudging along, seemingly on top of crusty snow, but my boots kept breaking through down into deep drifts. Sarah is holding onto me, thankfully! The arrow is pointing to our destination far ahead: We made it! Sue enjoyed looking around and taking pictures. Here are Tom and Sue inside Jonathan's house: And a view from the porch looking back towards the way we walked in: Okay, time to head back to the car...we walked single file so we could step into each others' footprints, and then we rounded the bend below... ...to see our destination far in the distance. This was our workout for the day for sure!Still smiling after the journey: We sure enjoyed our week of food, fun games, treks in the snow, and catching up with each others' lives. Come again, Toots!

As a side note, if you missed our October post about Tom's brother, Steve, coming to visit, you can read that here.  Now, we just need to get Tom's other sister, Ellen and her family, here to visit this year!

~Deb

Sunday Hymn

A Mighty Fortress is our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Here's the view this afternoon from our front porch after we received 15 inches of snow yesterday. The temperatures are up to the mid-40s today...so some has melted already...a good thing for the guys who need to traverse our steep hills to get to work tomorrow!

The gang spent quite a bit of time snow-blowing and shoveling towards the end of the day yesterday even though snow was still falling heavily. It made today's shovel-up-the-rest-of-the-snow easier.

Our church services were cancelled again this Sunday, and the above hymn was one of our selections picked for our family time of singing and listening to a sermon together this morning.

Do you like customized ring-tones on your phone? I'm a fan of them...and have selected certain songs to play when a certain person is calling. Every time I hear the above song, A Mighty Fortress is our God, I know my friend Jan is calling because that's what's programmed into my phone for her ring.

So this morning when we were singing this song, I felt like my phone was ringing off the hook! Ha!

And in case you're interested, Tom's ring tone is Be Thou My Vision (I love when I hear that song if he calls on the way home from work!); Jonathan's is There is a Fountain; Hannah's is Amazing Grace (The Water is Wide tune instead of the normal one); Sarah's is Oh, Shenandoah, because she loves this area of Virginia so much; Granny rings in as At Calvary--because it reminds me of her church back home; my sister's ring is The Cleansing Wave; and anyone else who calls without a customized ring plays as Come Thou Fount.

Well, enjoy your week, even if you're digging out like we are! We should have an enjoyable week as Tom's sister is arriving tomorrow from Connecticut for a few day's visit...and she thought she was getting away from all their snow! Haha!

~Deb

Week of Meals

This past week was my turn, once again, to take an entire week to plan and cook all the supper meals. It worked out well, since Mom was still gone Monday and didn't get back from SC until late Tuesday afternoon.

My first meal was simple - Sausage and Corn Chowder with some of Hannah's toasted bread. Yum! For dessert I made Chocolate Fudge Cookies.

For Mom's welcome home meal, we had something that's been on my Pinterest board for awhile: Parmesan Honey Pork Loin Roast. I think everyone really liked this one! We also had salad and onion roasted potatoes with it.

Wednesday night was one of my more involved meals, Fried Rice with marinated steak on top. For the rice, I followed part of this recipe. Then for the steak marinade, I used this one. The main side dish was a definite keeper, Honey Lime Rainbow Fruit Salad. It took a lot of time to dice all the fruit, but it was worth it. Sooo good! We actually made this a second time already, for guests on Sunday. Dessert was Coconut Cream Poke Cake (Pinterest!) - just a 9x13 yellow cake, poked and cream of coconut poured on top, iced with whipped topping and coconut.

Thursday was leftover day! Yay for leftovers! :) That gave Hannah a free kitchen to make her weekly batch of bread and also a batch of soap.

Friday was our Mexican night. The girls really liked this meal, it wasn't the guys' favorite, though. Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas, another Pinterest pick, were the main dish, with both poblano and jalapeno peppers in the filling. They weren't that spicy, I could have left some more of the seeds in to up the heat, I think. Sides were Mexican style black beans and creamy white cheddar baked corn. For dessert, we had Mexican "Fried" Ice Cream Dessert. I didn't put quite as much sugar in the topping as they call for...they say 3/4 cup, but I put more like 1/2 cup, and it was plenty sweet. We also had this dessert on Sunday when our company came over. Yum!

Saturday - Valentine's Day and Italian night! This was Dad's favorite meal of the week. Two more of my Pinterest recipes finally got to be made: Chicken Parmesan Meatballs and Stuffed Italian Bread. :) A salad (with heart shaped cucumbers and tomatoes) and strawberry limeade rounded out the meal. 

For the final dessert, I made individual Raspberry Red Velvet Brownie trifles. I didn't follow an exact recipe for these, it was just a mix of several ideas. This is the recipe I used for the brownies. The trifles were layered with brownie chunks, chocolate syrup, red raspberries, and whipped cream.

All in all, it was a fun week! I enjoyed getting to plan out everything and try some new recipes. Several dishes were definitely make-agains. Let me know if you try any and how they turn out!

~Sarah

Sunday Hymn

And it shall come to pass...that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains.  ~ Isaiah 2:2

Behold! The Mountain of the Lord

Behold! the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise
On mountain tops above the hills,
And draw the wondering eyes.

To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues, shall flow;
Up to the hill of God, they’ll say,
And to His house we’ll go.

The beam that shines from Zion hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem’s towers
Shall all the world command.

Among the nations He shall judge;
His judgments truth shall guide;
His scepter shall protect the just,
And quell the sinner’s pride.

No strife shall vex Messiah’s reign
Or mar the peaceful years;
To plowshares soon they beat their swords
To pruning hooks their spears.

No longer hosts encountering hosts,
Their millions slain deplore;
They hang the trumpets in the hall
And study war no more.

Come then, O house of Jacob, come
To worship at His shrine;
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.

This is one of the hymns we picked to sing here at home this morning. Many churches in our area, including ours, were closed for Sunday services due to the extremely low temperatures, high winds, and forbidding traveling conditions for our friends who would be driving from over the mountain.

Whenever a Sunday like this happens, we still get together as a family to sing, pray, and listen to a recorded sermon. This morning Tom downloaded a message given by Phil Johnson from Grace Community Church in California speaking on Effectual, Fervent Prayer.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

~ James 5:16

Jonathan first read James 5:7-20 for us before the message began. Then Mr. Johnson spoke on Elijah from I Kings 18. Elijah prayed Privately, Passionately, and Persistently. If you'd like to listen to his sermon or just read what we heard today, you can go to this link.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday...if the power doesn't go out here and Tom's not called in to work the outages, we're expecting guests for supper tonight. Should be some good fellowship, even though we didn't meet with our regular church group today.

~Deb

White Chocolate Fudge....or Soap?

Can you tell the difference? Should I write a sign declaring "Do not eat: soap curing" or invite people to help themselves when passing by the kitchen counter?

~Hannah

Blogging from Greer, SC

 

 

It's supposed to be a rainy day here in South Carolina. I had planned to drive back to Virginia this morning from my sister's house...but then decided I'd rather drive six hours in the sun tomorrow rather than in the rain today.

I've been here since last Wednesday when I packed up and decided I needed to check on Granny. The couple of phone calls from her early last week made me think she needed perking up and checking on!

So the road to Brushy Creek to see Granny has been my route each day. Conveniently located ten minutes from my sister's house, the grounds of the rehab facility are very nicely landscaped, and I enjoyed seeing all the workers adding mulch to the trees and shrubs around the place...made me long for spring and working in my yard! It was almost 70 degrees here in SC yesterday!Brushy Creek is composed of 12 identical "cottages" with 12 residents in each cottage, and Granny has been here in the Magnolia Cottage for almost two weeks after being released from the hospital with compression fractures in her back: Here's Granny, smiling even through the back pain she's enduring each day: You can see her ever-present back brace a little better in the photo below. It is a huge contraption she says that is a real pain to put on and take off....but it does help to cinch her back tightly and is doing a good job of bracing her for some relief: The physical therapist and occupational therapist come in each morning and afternoon for walking, exercising, and increasing her strength. She's improving a little more each day.

Here's Granny in the exercise room doing upper body strengthening with the occupational therapist:She will be here at this facility at least another week if not longer, and then her case will be discussed and determined what happens next.

Thanks, as always, for your prayers for her that she will continue to recuperate and to be extra cautious and not fall again!

Of course, my sister and I can't stay with Granny every minute, so when she's resting and if my sister doesn't have a class to teach...off we go on an antiquing adventure. This was a new place for me:This was my only purchase...an antique butter knife for $1.50: I always enjoy being here at my sister's house. She's close to everything, and Hobby Lobby is two minutes away at the end of her street!  Amazing!

Here's a picture taken from her foyer looking into a portion of the living room...taken mainly so Hannah can see where the scripture plaque was placed that she painted for Aunt Bet for Christmas. I love the green plaque and brown walls!Also when I'm visiting, if my sister is at school, I'm on dog duty with little Barney...who delights in hiding under tables and under beds so I can't take him out: On the kitchen front...I have two new recipes to try when I get back home! My sister made Cheeseburger Soup for us (I don't normally change recipes, but I think I'd add some cayenne pepper and substitute Pepper Jack cheese for some spiciness) and also Baked Asian Style Honey Chicken while I've been here. Yummy!

Well, that's a bit of an update. I'm headed over to Brushy Creek in just a few minutes, so I'd better get a move on!

Be back later!

~Deb

Empty Nest...So This is What It's Like

All three kids were away this past weekend, and Tom and I were left with an extremely quiet and empty house! I'm not sure I'm fond of these empty nests that I've heard so much about!

Thankfully, it was only for three days, so we decided to make the best of it and plan some adventures of our own!

To start the weekend off, on Friday I traveled to Richmond to meet my friend, Chris, for lunch and some shopping. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of us together because I didn't take any! Sad.

The time together was a real blessing because it helped take my mind off the kids' long 11-hour drive, although I was still praying for their safety throughout the day.

On Saturday Tom and I packed our suitcases and headed off to Greensboro, NC, for a weekend get-away of our own.

Here's one of the places we ended up doing some fun antiquing:

I wasn't on the lookout for anything special, but this red and gold quilt caught my eye immediately:The asking price was higher than I was willing to pay, so I inquired if the vendor could be contacted to see if she would be open to a lower price.

It always pays to ask! Not only was the vendor willing, but she lowered the price by $30! I'm happy to say that the quilt now resides at the Mountain Musings homestead and is waiting to be cleaned and displayed.

Here's an antique tablecloth that I really would have liked to purchase, especially for decorating for our Valentine's weekend guests. Again, the price was higher than I wanted to pay, so this beauty stayed at the store:And because Granny is a basket-maker, I'm always checking out the antique baskets in shops like this. Here's an egg basket we saw priced at $95! It was very well-made, sturdy, and...expensive!

I'm sure Granny's baskets will one day be treasured antiques like this one.Speaking of Granny....most of you blog readers may not know that almost two weeks ago she fell at my sister's house and has compression fractures in her back...again! She was in the hospital in South Carolina for a week and is now in rehab trying to get stronger after this latest setback.

I'm sure she's missing making her baskets! And I'm sure she'd appreciate your prayers for a quick recovery!

On Sunday, Tom and I visited a local church in the Greensboro area and enjoyed meeting and getting to know some new folks. We always enjoy finding other like-minded fellowships and making new contacts.

Soon we were on our way back to Virginia to...a quiet and empty house, but very thankful that we were able to spend some time alone together!

Hannah, Jonathan, and Sarah are now back home this week after traveling through much of that winter storm up north. I think after that hazardous journey they've had their quota of snow for awhile, even Sarah!

And now we're getting back to normal again with lots of activity all around! Just the way I like it! :)

~Deb