Mountain Musings

Two Sisters ~ Off to Arkansas!

For the past two months in my spare time I've been planning a special trip for my sister and me to take. Next week we're off to Little Rock, Arkansas, to visit P. Allen Smith at his Moss Mountain Farm (link is to a two minute video of the farm to give you an idea of the beautiful gardens we'll be seeing).

Growing up as sisters, we always loved going on family vacations, which were always to the Great Smoky Mountains...every year without fail. We loved going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee!

Here's a picture of my dad with the two of us as cute little girlies in 1959...taken at a scenic overlook with the beautiful Smoky Mountains in the background:Fast forward to 2016...that little sister of mine turned the big 6-0 in March! My gift to her was a ticket to Moss Mountain in Arkansas! Here she is opening my gift:Once it dawned on her what my gift was, she had this reaction. Do you think she looks a little surprised?From her home in South Carolina, we'll be traveling the northern route through Tennessee headed to Arkansas and traveling the southern route through Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia on the return trip back to South Carolina.

I've been researching antique shops, the Saturday farmers' market in Little Rock at the River Market District, a presidential library, restaurants, and the unique Bed & Breakfast where we'll be staying.

Hannah is in charge here at the homestead for the twelve days I'll be away. I'm sure she'll come up with some wonderful meals, and she and Granny will become a twosome! :)

See you back here on the blog sometime mid-June with some vacation posts and hopefully some good pictures from our Sister Trip!

Anyone have any suggestions of a Must-See you think we need to add to our stops?

~Deb

Hilltop Vantage Point

So, you know the header at the top of our blog with the mountain view behind the words Mountain Musings? Many of you may know that this idyllic scene is the view we can see out our front door, facing west towards the Allegheny mountains. (It's much better in person! In fact, if you come visit us at our hilltop home when it's cloudy, you'll probably hear us apologize and invite you back again when the mountains are clearer and at their most spectacular.)

Several years ago we met the folks who own the farm with the white barn that you can spot towards the right of the photo. Last week, I received a call from this neighbor asking if I'd be willing to take some photos of their daughter's wedding, with the barns and a wedding tent set up, remembering that in the past I'd captured a photo of their land with the mountains rising behind it....you'd almost not know the mountains were there if standing on their property.

I agreed to get the photos, but by the time Saturday afternoon arrived, we had some pretty heavy winds and rainstorms passing through. Thankfully, by the time the wedding was to start, the sun had come out. I took my position at an upper bedroom window and zoomed in as far as I could, testing out a variety of angles. That's Mom's antique lamp, quilt, and reading chair in the corner.

My telephoto lens acted somewhat as a pair of binoculars. Those colorful specks headed towards the gathered crowd are some of the bridesmaids.

Then the bride (the small white speck near the tent) made her way across the field from the barn.

I could hear celebratory sounds faintly wafting in the breeze as I shot out the window. Little did the attendees know there was a camera pointed in their direction from a house across the way.

As the sun began to set, the guests milled around as the horses in the adjacent field looked on. Later, there was a bonfire.

With my assignment complete, I closed the window from the chilly evening air. It was kind of fun to watch a wedding from afar!

~Hannah

We Went to Spring Creek Today.

Our annual trek out in the country to visit my favorite greenhouse was on the docket for today, so we headed out to Spring Creek to Evergrowin' Greenhouses.

I've written about our treks before...here's an old photo I found from nine years ago on the blog. We traveled down a two-lane country road, a wide one-lane road, across two one-lane bridges, graveled dirt road, back to a paved two-lane road, before turning into the EverGrowin' parking area! But...believe me, folks do find the place.

We've had a very rainy spring here in the Shenandoah Valley, so I'd put off purchasing my annuals. Hannah was also interested in finding some vegetable plants today.

The last frost date for this area is around May 10 - 15, although this weekend's low temperature is down to 36 degrees. As a result, all the plants we purchased today are safely stored inside our garage. Planting day will be coming soon!

We found almost everything we needed at Evergrowin' but still needed to find some cucumber plants and basil. Here's Hannah at a roadside market stand in Montezuma with some basil plants: This was the first time we'd stopped at this little roadside market, but I loved the signage: So here in Virginia we brought home begonias, geraniums, verbena, and veggie plants. And the guys here got lots of house projects accomplished, too.

What happened in your world today?

~Deb

Thai Flavor

A first for me: tasting a Vietnamese dish called Pho noodle soup. It is a flavorful beef broth with Pho, a type of Asian rice noodle, cooked with onions, garlic, beef, and spices, to which one adds garnishes of Thai basil, sliced jalapeno peppers, crunchy bean shoots, and a squeeze of fresh lime. It was an interesting blend of flavors, and a cozy lunch on a rainy spring day.

Jonathan and I met for lunch on a weekday to try this new ethnic food, which he has enjoyed with coworkers. We hope to try some other interesting restaurants near his workplace on occasion.

Thanks, Jonathan, for inviting me to join you! I enjoyed the adventure. :) Anyone have a favorite Thai dish to suggest, or another favorite international food?

~Hannah

Sunrise Senior Living Concert

A couple of weekends ago we had the wonderful opportunity to attend a concert at a senior living facility when we visited our daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Eric, and his family in Georgia. Eric's four siblings have been giving concerts for a number of years and are scheduled monthly to present an hour of music for the residents at Sunrise.

While Eric was with Sarah at the hospital, we took a break from the medical scene and were delighted to have the chance to attend! As you can see, this was an upscale assisted living facility: Quite a large number of residents were gathered to hear the music. We all mingled a bit and talked to various folks as the musicians readied themselves for their themed presentation on Songwriting Duos: Abby started the musical afternoon with a piano piece titled It Might as Well be Spring by Rodgers & Hammerstein: Abby's brother, Alex, played several classical pieces on piano...a top-notch performance: Hannah joined Abby and Emma to sing a hymn written by Fanny Crosby and William Doane, Rescue the Perishing, for the group: Emma was featured playing a violin concerto that she's been practicing for an end-of-school-year recital. It was wonderful!: And what's a concert without an accordion added to the mix? Alex on accordion, Aaron on penny whistle, Abby on piano, and Emma on violin playing My Favorite Things, also by Rodgers & Hammerstein: As the concert came to a close, all the residents and guests joined in on God Bless America.

I thoroughly enjoyed being able to attend such an excellent and well-planned concert, and it certainly was apparent that the musicians played for an appreciative audience!

Thank you, everyone, for an enjoyable afternoon in Georgia!

~Deb