Mountain Musings

Hope for the Family Conference ~ NCFIC

We've just returned from our annual trek to the NCFIC Hope for the Family Conference held in Asheville, NC, this past weekend.

As soon as we arrived on campus, we spotted another Virginia family we usually see at these conferences, and here's Hannah talking with them. We've missed their attendance for the past two years, so it was good to reconnect! The speakers, workshops, singing, and fellowship times were all very encouraging again this year.

We especially missed a favorite speaker, Paul Washer, who was at home recuperating from knee surgery. Pray for his recovery. This year's most poignant message was by Jeff Pollard.

Below Scott Brown is welcoming everyone attending the opening services: Here are Tom and Hannah in front of the Ridgecrest registration building as we headed to the Friday morning services: Walking across the bridge-way from our hotel room to Spillman Auditorium: It was a beautiful morning with the leaves changing colors on the mountain:  A better view of the bridge-way we traversed many times over the course of the weekend: There were many occasions for connecting with other families...between services, at meal times, and on Saturday evening at the end of the conference. Here are some menfolk conversing between sessions: A blog reader for many, many years, Kathie and her family from Maryland, attended the conference for the very first time this year.

We had never met in person, so it was wonderful to spend some time together and enjoy a meal on the last evening: Here I am below with Kathie...it certainly felt like I had known her forever, and the conference was especially fun for me this year because of having met her. She even brought me a huge stack of quilting books!

More new friends from Georgia... And from Indiana...
The evening fellowship times usually last way into the wee hours of the morning with lots of chatting and getting acquainted--at least for the young adults! We oldsters turned in before midnight.

Here's Hannah with some girls she met this year from Michigan and South Carolina: Here I am with a friend of a friend from Alabama...

This couple traveled all the way from Missouri and were first time attendees. We talked with them quite a while and found out we had mutual friends (the Servens!)...small world!: Sunday morning we loaded up, checked out, and said good-bye to another year of conference memories.

Next year's conference, The Theology of the Family, will be held October 29 - 31, 2020. Why not make plans now to attend!

~Deb

Spring Creek Barn Sale ~ 2019

This past weekend Hannah and I traveled to Spring Creek Mill for their annual Barn Sale. I absolutely loved this wonderful fall day of browsing 40+ craft and food vendors in a unique country location.

We parked in a pasture. Can't get more country than that!

Then we made our way toward a sea of white tents:

The barn sale was not only wonderfully decorated this year with lots of beautiful fall decorations, but there were two new foot bridges built crossing the stream...much needed and very scenic: Attention was paid to all the little details...Kudos to the organizers!

Several vignettes were constructed for picture taking...so I snapped one of Hannah as we arrived:

Then a nice man volunteered to take one of both of us:

The crafters increase in number each year, and we enjoyed visiting every one of them to see their wares.

I texted pictures back home to Tom and Granny of the Spring Creek barn and garden...and he texted back, "this is right up your alley!"  True!

There was music:

There were apple fritters. And the aroma of apple fritters frying and hot coffee to purchase filled the air:

And...hot apple cider made from pressed apples right there in front of you. Hannah said the cider was piping hot and delicious:

There was a flower vendor and a station for making your own bouquets. Very pretty!

Hannah enjoyed visiting this booth:

And there were antiques at the Embellish Design Sisters' booth:

And then it was lunchtime and time for some Fat & Sassy Barbecue:

This display was very encouraging...a time to slow down and write out some things to be thankful for...and then attach them to old bedsprings. Someone was very creative!

There were vendors inside the barn as well as out on the lawn:

And a different vignette for a photo shoot:

I knew I was in search of a certain booth, Hopeful Things, to find a new cookbook called Hope's Table, Everyday Recipes from a Mennonite Kitchen.

We snagged the last copy which was the display copy, and Hope was there to sign it for us. I recently started following her Instagram page and also found a recipe on her site that I'll be trying soon, Sausage Potato Quiche.

I was very excited about this purchase...it's a gift for Hannah that I'll wrap up, and hopefully she'll forget we bought it until she opens it in a couple of months.

This booth's backdrop (Handcrafted in Eden) was very unique...a cloth with the following verse in calligraphy printed on it...

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." I Cor. 13:1-8a

And, of course there were friends! We were so glad we ran into long-time friends, DiAna and Alena, before we left. What fun! What a wonderful Saturday morning excursion! Wish you could have been with us! Hope you enjoyed following along!

~Deb

Dayton Days 2019

We had a beautiful fall-y day for the 40th annual Dayton Days craft show! So many people came out to this event and filled the streets of small-town Dayton:

Dad, Jonathan, and I (Hannah) drove our loaded-to-the-brim vehicles full of products, tents, and tables to begin set-up of our booth before sunrise:

This was Dad's debut appearance of his Pleasant View Woodworks furniture business, so we had vinyl banners printed and hung for the occasion, along with my various signs proclaiming SOAP was for sale, to catch a distant buyer's eye:

Here are Dad and I together, ready to start the long but enjoyable day of (hopefully) selling our handmade wares and gaining exposure with potential local customers:

Our completed 10' x 30' booth spread:

You can see quilt racks, cutting boards, and a poster advertising his other products available for ordering in this shot:

The beautiful arched wall mirror and Shaker-style end table had many admirers:

There were several styles of cutting boards on display, too:

My Pleasant View Soaps portion of our shared space was fun to arrange, and it all brought back memories of being a vendor at the farmers' market back in 2012-2015:

The many varied scents of soap wafted out to the passers-by and beckoned them to enter our stall!

Mom joined us part-way through the morning, and we all enjoyed chatting with folks who stopped by to visit:

Dad especially enjoyed explaining his wood-working processes to interested browsers:

And here is Granny's side of the equation! Her baskets made it to Dayton Days again after a few years' hiatus (read about past years here).

Mom brought Granny to the show during the morning so she could get in on the action. She has always been a saleswoman with her baskets and loves interacting with the customers:

No sooner had Granny arrived than we had surprise visitors. The pastor and his wife from Granny's hometown church found our booth since they were traveling in the area and had heard we would be at the show:

Granny had such a good time at her booth, she hated to leave when it was time! Mom wheeled her around the rest of the show before finding their parking spot.

Here is a bright garden scene they came upon as they strolled the residential streets of Dayton:

And another vendor was selling fresh-baked pumpkin rolls:

The field across from our booth was quite the popular location! The reason being it was a field full of sunflowers, and everyone was invited by the owner to pick for free....loads of people of all ages took him up on the offer, and sunflowers were the theme of the day! Almost everyone passing by throughout the day carried armfuls of the golden flowers.

Here is Granny, posing in the field with Mom's bouquet:

It was a full day of activity! We were thankful for the opportunity to participate again this year and share our talents with the public.

~Hannah

He Shed, She Shed

This "gotta have a yellow door" idea all started on our anniversary trip back in August.

I was scrolling Instagram in our hotel room and ran across a post by @darlingdownsouth showing an absolutely beautiful yellow door...on quite the deluxe shed! That door was a repost from @julepfarms who pictured the door on their property, if you'd like to check them out; along with @brightyellowdoor who has a beautiful front door painted yellow.

I'm so impressionable! Wheels started turning in the ol' brain, and I showed it to Tom and wondered if I could paint my garden shed door....hmm...yellow!? Amazingly, he said sure!

So here I am picking out paint at Lowes. I decided on a shade from Sherwin Williams Infinity called "Afternoon":

Here's a before photo of my garden shed/Granny's basket shed. The flowers were pretty all around the shed, but it's the end of the season for all the coneflowers and butterfly bush. I will miss them:

Let's get started!

First, Tom took the shed doors off the hinges for me...much easier painting them flat than standing to paint on a very slanted ramp:

I loved the whole process, and here I am about done with the second door. I allowed the paint to dry the rest of the morning and started the second coat in the afternoon:

The shed doors were completely dry and back on their hinges before night...but...those shutters need painting now! One thing leads to another, right? I thought I could reach those shutters myself...but they were just too tall without a ladder. Since I don't climb ladders...Hannah became my shutter painter: Here's an after photo of the finished She-Shed and shutters. And actually the setting sun is causing a glowing yellow-er look, but you get the idea.

Now, we need to pressure wash the shed and stain the ramp. Fall projects.

Well, since that went so well, why not also paint the He-Shed...Tom's lawn mower and tool shed.

Here's a partial before picture of that shed from earlier this spring...this one has window boxes to paint also!

Okay, doors are off the hinges, and one paint coat down and another to go!

These shutters are closer to the ground, and I could reach these. But...here's where the whole process was not fun at all! Those burgundy shutters would not accept that red paint! Three coats were needed! Here's the after photo of the He-Shed. I just planted black-eyed Susans in front to bloom next spring for another show of yellow color. I'll have to repost in the spring when the flowers are blooming: I love the brighter fresh colors...although the yellow door wasn't quite what I envisioned.

Paint colors often just don't turn out the way you expect from the color cards in the store as you can see from the Lowe's paint link. This paint looks more buttery-lemony yellow than the card sample. Oh well. I still love our new sheds...although Tom thinks his shed looks like a child's playhouse now. LOL!

Paint brush in hand....may as well spruce up some birdhouses:

Let's paint one a fresh red color:

And another one a buttery yellow:

Done!

The next big fall project is painting the old picket fence...like we did the larger garden fence this past spring. It really needs it!

We have more 90-degree days in this week's forecast...but by this weekend, there's a real taste of fall in the air. Looks like a good time to get outside--for the Dayton Days Craft Show! Come see us!

Thanks for reading my He-Shed, She-Shed yellow door post! What fall projects do you have in store?

~Deb