Mountain Musings

Yarrow: Showing Its Colors

Want some bright yellow yarrow? Get some here. 

Hope your weekend is bright and delightful.

~Deb

Easter Egg Radish

One of the first garden harvests!

~Hannah

Shenandoah Valley Art Show

Recently I participated in a weekend art show at a local garden center. Their gift shop has started carrying some of my photography cards, and when I talked to the owner, she invited me to come set up a table for free. I had less than two weeks to prepare, but since it seemed like a good opportunity for a little bit of exposure, I decided to go for it!

I was to be one of 4 local artists displaying their work at the greenhouse. The week before the event I was scurrying to get together the several new cards that were already planned to come out this spring. Two days before the show, Mom and I discovered a going-out-of-business sale and snapped up for $8 the only greeting card rack left.  This rack was very useful for showcasing my cards.

I was very glad to have the excellent help and company of Sarah on Friday and Mom on Saturday. The weather complicated things, not to mention affected the turnout. As you can see, we had to quickly cover the table and rack when the intermittent rain began. We ended up staying for just the morning hours both days. A grand total of 5 people entered my giveaway, but the Lord allowed me to make one sale just as I was taking everything down. Even if somewhat disappointing, the show was an interesting experience.

~Hannah

On Location

Last week friends from church asked Mom, Sarah, and me if we would help them accomplish an interesting task: their objective was to get a photograph of a table which had been crafted by the family business. The photo would be used as an example to help sell other tables like it.

The brainstorm was to decorate the table with rustic/country objects to enhance its beautiful rustic qualities. Jenny baked a round bread loaf (which we enjoyed for lunch together afterwards), and we brought all kinds of primitive items from our house such as candles, placemats, and wooden bowls to create centerpiece ideas. The lighting coming in the side door was perfect, and the background elements complemented the chestnut table well--notice the poster frames Jason made from salvaged wood on the wall. I think Mom said the setting looked like something from the pages of Country Living. :)

Above is one of the results from the photo session. Looks like an inviting room, doesn't it? I loved trying to capture these images.

~Hannah

Michigan Memories...

  ...and Ohio and Pennsylvania. Just a few sample shots from all our cameras that sum up our recent family trip.

Left to Right, starting at top row:

Jonathan and Sarah at Lake Erie's Luna Pier; Baby Ethan's crib all ready and waiting; corn shocks in PA fields; Granny and Jonathan at Micah's racquetball court; Amish quilts and furniture;

Dad returning the racquetball (most of us tried our hand!); a Mailpouch tobacco barn; Dad and Aunt Bunny on the streets of Volant, PA; the beautiful lake scenery at Micah and Elizabeth's local park; Mom at a Volant shop;

A corn crib? at an Amish farm; Hannah, Jonathan, and Sarah at Lake Erie; horse and plow in Amish country; Dad and Granny at Micah and Elizabeth's apartment;

Dad and Aunt Bunny strolling across the park bridge during our 1 1/2 mile walk; Micah demonstrating the sport of racquetball to us; Sarah and Jonathan getting their hands wet in Lake Erie; Micah pointing out amazing details on Ethan's ultrasound DVD;

Micah putting together the new stroller we brought; Hannah taking photos at the park; horse and buggy crossing; Granny playing a hilarious game of Catch-Phrase; Canadian geese at the park.

~Hannah

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today: Monday, July 14

Outside my Window...it is a beautiful, sunny, 78-degree day. The mountains are as blue as can be this morning, and I can see for miles.

I am thinking...that I will work outside this afternoon pulling weeds and doing some around-the-yard chores.

I am thankful for...the wonderfully refreshing rain last night that we needed so badly.

From the kitchen...raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries on the counter waiting to be eaten or frozen for later...a big bowl of green beans just picked, yellow squash simmering in a frying pan for lunch.

I am creating...a scrapbook of memories from our past Keepers at Home skills days as a sample for a scrapbooking class we're teaching later this month.

I am going...to Lowe's to buy more potting soil. I have a tub to fill with flowers!

I am wearing...an old navy skirt, a dirt stained white top, and my straw hat...my gardening clothes.

I am reading...instructions for another McKenna Ryan wall-hanging that I will soon be starting.

I am hoping...one of the girls will let me use their sewing machine for my quilt block which I still need to figure out from Saturday's first sampler class.

I am hearing...the sound of the air-conditioner running...and a welcoming sound it is after the repairman came this morning to fix the struggling-to-keep-up downstairs unit.

Around the house...plenty of laundry washing, a quilt being worked on in Sarah's room, and the house being cleaned from the weekend's church fellowship. 

One of my favorite things...is a normal-run-of-the-mill day, just like this one, working around the house.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...planning the food for my mom's 80th birthday celebration later this month, cleaning the guest room for my sister's visit, and all the usual daily chores.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... 

To see more Daybooks, visit The Simple Woman, a new-to-me blog I recently discovered.

~Deb

Thursday Thirteen

  

Thirteen Things We've Been Doing on Our Blog Break!

Well, we've had a very enjoyable week away from the computer and thought it would be a good time to catch everyone up on what's been going on around Mountain Musings lately.

1. My mom and her friend, Evelyn, visited for lunch one day last week for my birthday. We took them on a tour of the gardens--you can see the tall sunflowers behind them. My mom will be 80 in a couple of weeks, and her friend is 85! They drove three hours to get here and drove back home the same day after their short visit.

2. The girls prepared a delicious lunch for the special occasion. Our menu: Ham Broccoli Ring, Tomato & Cucumber Salad, Sugar Snap Peas, Ring of Cantaloupe topped with raspberries and blackberries from the garden (along with watermelon balls), and Key Lime Pie for dessert. Yummy! 

3. And don't forget the Peter Paul Mounds Cake!** After our company left, Sarah got busy in the kitchen baking a birthday cake. I have requested this particular chocolate cake every year since I was a little girl! It's unfortunate the guys don't like coconut, but it's only once a year.

4. Tom scheduled a vacation day and took me downtown to The Pampered Palate for lunch. We always enjoy the time we spend together. I took my camera and forgot to take a picture!

5. One of our errands while out (a surprise!) was looking at picnic tables over in Stuarts Draft! I have wanted an outdoor table for awhile now, and it was just delivered this week--a big one that seats 10 and 2 extra on the ends if needed. We haven't initiated it yet--who wants to come over and help us try it out?

6. The 4th of July holiday was a very nice celebration at the home of one of our church families. After target practice with really LOUD guns, there were lots of afternoon games: balloon toss, 3-legged race, wheelbarrow and gunny sack races, tug of war, and hula hoops!  Here's Jonathan on our family's team trying to get the hoop over to Sarah.

Thankfully, I was the official photographer for the day and, instead of jumping in a sack, participated by taking pictures of everyone having fun! Quite hilarious! We all had an enjoyable time and some sore muscles and bruises the next day!

7. Our contribution to the July 4th cookout was Sarah's Turtle Trifle**--an outta-this-world delicious chocolate dessert! Doesn't it look yummy in this punch bowl?

8. Even though we were taking a blog break, garden chores didn't take a vacation--the raspberries keep on a'coming, and the green beans need picking! Hannah also harvested the rest of the lettuce and keeps the Mountain Musings' kitchen well supplied with her garden produce. 

9. Also, we've been out measuring the garden in order to answer a question a commenter recently asked about the size of our garden. Well, we actually have two gardens because we quickly outgrew the original one. The "old" garden has four raised beds (made with 2" x 6" boards) that are 26' by 4', 15' by 3', and 15' by 5' long. There's a middle mounded row between the two longer raised beds that is 26' by 2'.

The "new" garden is for spreading vegetables like watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, acorn and butternut squash, and gourds (our first try at gourds).  Also corn, raspberries, blackberries, and the strawberry bed are in this garden. All the flowers you see down in the new garden are volunteers: sunflowers, cosmos, cockscomb, and scabiosa are from last year's seeds being dropped.

The new garden measures approximately: 62' x 50'. I'm gradually working on making a flower bed around the perimeter just like the old garden. I have two sides done so far, and I need brick or stone to go around the mulch for borders. I'm on the lookout for free bricks!

10. Yesterday Hannah made some Zucchini Squares for lunch with her first zucchini of the season. We are hoping a few more will be ready before Sunday as we're preparing Vegetable Lasagna for our fellowship meal.

11. And on the days that we didn't go outside to work in the garden...Hannah is crocheting a baby blanket; Sarah is sewing on her red double wedding ring quilt; and I'm still knitting a kitchen towel. (Update pictures will be posted after we're farther along.)

12. During part of our blog break, we've been busy working on all the necessary preparations for our next two Keepers at Home skill days. Hannah is teaching calligraphy, and she and I are teaching scrapbooking at the end of the month.

13. Finally, we relaxed and enjoyed the sunset (picture taken by Hannah from our front porch).

Everyone have a wonderful weekend ~ see you on the blog on Monday!

** recipes on continuation page

~Deb

November Color

The bright reds, yellows, and oranges are finally showing up here in Virginia in spite of a dry summer. Because of careful coverage with old sheets, shower liners, dog blankets, etc, during cold, frosty nights, I am still picking our fall raspberries. They have been a treat to enjoy since the rest of the plants have been pulled or put to bed for the winter. It has been a busy gardening season, so now it's time to settle down for some indoor projects!

~Hannah

Wordless Wednesday

~Sarah

Encyclopedia of Me ~ F is for...

Flowers!

Earlier this month I mentioned that I would post again about the garden once more of our flowers bloomed. The cockscomb, zinnia, cosmos, and scabiosa have been in full bloom now for a couple of weeks, joining the sunflowers around the edges of the "new" garden.

I have enjoyed both photographing them and cutting stems to bring inside as room-brightening decorations. After we work on getting our soil soft enough, we hope to add some type of climbing plant to vine its way up the fence at the gated entryway.

Even without needed water, the flowers haven't seemed to suffer too much, though we can't say the same about our yard. I'm reminded of the verse that proclaims, "The grass withers, and

the flower falls off, but the Word of the LORD abides forever."

Can you see why this plant is known as a pincushion flower?

Fauna, too! The bees, butterflies, and birds have greatly enjoyed spending time sampling the blossoms' offerings, pausing just long enough for me to

capture them before they flit on to the next flower!

~Hannah