Mountain Musings

As the Deer

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah.

He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.

(from Psalm 42, Psalm 29, Isaiah 35, and Psalm 18)

~Hannah

Blog Catch-up ~ October ~ Friends Visit

Our friends from over at Farming the Carolinas stopped by to see us this fall for an overnight visit on their way up north to see a new grandbaby. We were so glad they took time out to spend an evening with us.One of the first things we did was meet them over at Jonathan's house-in-progress, since they were interested in seeing the construction. It's always fun to give a tour to folks.

I have to admit though that our home wasn't "fit for guests" as Sarah's moving boxes were crowding the living room with very little space to sit! But, they didn't seem to mind a bit! We had a wonderful evening of music, and it was fun to see newlyweds Matthew and Kelsey together: Jonathan brought out his guitar for some fun entertainment as everyone looks on: And...is there a third guitar player in the group?  Yes! Tom joins the music makers: And more singing--that's Hannah and Mrs. Hammond in the background while Tom and Sarah sing up front: Matthew and Jonathan brought out their whistles and played some Irish folk songs together: Later in the evening while the Hammond ladies were readily available for sewing advice, Hannah picked their brains for some tips on how to adjust her mock-up bridesmaid's dress for Sarah's wedding: The time as always passed way too quickly. What a wonderful visit with our friends!  Thank you, Hammonds, for stopping by Mountain Musings!

~Deb

Girls' Day Out

This week, Hannah and I took a break from wedding preparations to meet up with some friends of ours and enjoy a day out together. It was a gorgeous autumn day as we drove around the valley!

We started out at Fabric Warehouse, a building we've driven by but never checked out before. They had some large rolls of burlap that we may be returning for in the near future - we may need some for wedding decorations.

Next, we spent a long time browsing through the various stores in the Shenandoah Heritage Market. They have many interesting shops, including another fabric store. Look at all that colorful fabric!

One place that I always love to browse is Kitchen Kupboard. They have every cooking and kitchen gadget imaginable! As we were looking around, we ran across several super-sized items and decided to pose with them.

One store in the market sells Amish-made furniture as well as nice pictures. I've been wanting to pick out something from there to decorate my future home, so I had Hannah and our friends help me by lending their opinions. Here's what I decided on, isn't it pretty?

The last stop in the market was at the antique store - we were able to find Granny two more potato mashers to add to her stash for baskets. And would you look at this wall?! Now there's some cast iron! There was just about every size and shape imaginable:

After finishing up at the market, we decided to drive over to Rocky Cedars, which is...a fabric store. Our third of the day! :) They had expanded into a larger building since the last time I was there, and there were lots of choices of dress fabrics. I ended up buying a few yards to make a skirt at some point.

By the time we left Rocky Cedars, it was time for lunch. We headed to a new place for me and Hannah, but it was an old favorite of our friends.

I've never had Thai food before - it was quite good! They served us huge portions, and we all passed around our plates and sampled the different dishes. Yum!

We sat around the table and ate and talked for almost 3 hours. It was delightful to catch up with these girls one last time before I move to Georgia.

Reluctantly, we said our goodbyes and headed home after a very enjoyable day. Thanks, girls, for the fellowship and conversation!

~Sarah

Blog Catch-Up ~ October ~ Dayton Days!

The first Saturday in October is always marked on our calendars as Dayton Days craft festival.

We load up all of Hannah's soaps, Granny's baskets, tables, chairs, baker's racks, all sorts of props, you name it...it goes with us in the van for a day of crafting at its best in downtown Dayton!Here's our ever-present handyman, Tom, who helps with the heavy tent setup and so many other things that need doing when you're a vendor: As you can see from the picture below, we're set up along a sidewalk right in front of homes on a tiny street that has been closed to traffic. Here's Hannah getting her soap displays ready for customers: We prominently displayed Granny's chalkboard sign and her photo so her regulars would know this was her booth, especially since she was not well enough to be at the show this year: Here's a view of the empty street before the crowds arrive:I'm on the right trying to answer basket questions from all these ladies and sell them one. I am definitely not a salesperson like my mom, for sure!:Hannah was busy selling soap at her end of the booth:Here's a display of Tom's soap racks:And a display of some popular fragrances of Hannah's soaps:

The customers were actually few this year. Severe weather on the first weekend for the show caused a change in dates to the second weekend in October. Many vendors couldn't change their bookings, and there were many empty spots. Lack of crowds, lack of vendors, lack of sales.

Let's call it a day and head home! Maybe next year's show will be better.

~Deb

Dayton Days ~ October 10th ~ Come See Us!

This coming Saturday the Dayton Autumn Celebration will take place here locally, delayed one week due to so much rain last weekend.

The picture below is from last year and states 1st Saturday in October...Dayton Days is always held the 1st Saturday, but we're very thankful the organizers were flexible and changed the date so we didn't have to load up all of Hannah's soaps and Granny's baskets in the rain.So, if you're local and can come, stop by our booth #323 in downtown Dayton, Virginia, on Saturday!

We're pretty sure that Granny will be staying home since her surgery is taking place tomorrow (although she really wants to be there!), but Hannah and I will be there under the big tent, selling soaps and baskets, hopefully!

See you there!

~Deb

Wedding To-Dos

The days are quickly flying by with lots of wedding activities in the works.

Additional wedding dress fittings, florist visits, bridesmaid dress sewing, song practicing, and getting a head start packing up belongings have filled our days this week.

The rains have come to our area, so today is a "let's-stay-inside-the-cozy-warmth-of-the-house" type of day. The weekend is shaping up to be more of the same from hurricane Joaquin!

Hannah is busy today sewing a practice version of a dress pattern before she makes her celery-green bridesmaid's dress for real:  Here's Sarah at the florist this week discussing types of flowers to use for the wedding and reception: Sarah has been filling boxes of her belongings that will eventually get shipped to Georgia. Busy times! Lastly, for those of you who like to keep up with Granny, please pray for her on Wednesday, October 7th, as she prepares for another ERCP surgery at the University of Virginia hospital. Please pray for her strength and endurance and for the doctor's skill in performing the surgery. Thank you so much!

~Deb