Mountain Musings

Friday Favorites

Here we are at the end of the week...and we have many things to be thankful for. I'll start with a beautiful sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains. I never tire of this scene, and a camera just doesn't quite capture the real beauty:Another very obvious reason to be thankful this week is...."We Have Water!"  The water guys showed up and started working on Tuesday, so we were only without water for 2 1/2 days--long enough for sure! 

Hannah made hot chocolate, and Tom brought it out to the guys to help them in their task on a very cold day:They changed out the old water pump and gave us a new and higher horsepower one. So...over $2,000 later, ugh, we're back in business, but I'm so thankful for hot showers again! Thank you for praying!We enjoyed celebrating Hannah's birthday earlier in the week, and here's the family singing Happy Birthday to "Sweets" as she is affectionately called: And a picture of the Chai Spice Cheesecake I mentioned in the last post. It turned out looking just like Sarah had made it--ha ha--well, not quite! :)Another praise this week...Granny went to her very last Physical Therapy session. She has improved so much in the last two months since she started going. She and her doctor became fast friends, and she gifted him with one of her baskets as a thank you!And now we're about all done with medical appointments for awhile. We have one more hospital visit for an IV antibiotic infusion this weekend--five days in a row of IV for Granny.

We get this done at the Cancer Center where folks are getting chemotherapy--our first time to be in this section of the hospital. Here's Granny waiting for one of those appointments. How very thankful we are that she's so much better and that we weren't there for the same reason as other patients: Hannah has been busy making soap this week. Here she is in the kitchen making Lavender Oat Castile:

And after it's made and cured for a couple of days, it's ready for cutting into bars. Don't those bars look lovely?:Two big mail days for me this week. I received five quilt blocks from a giveaway at Quiltmaker Magazine over at Quilty Pleasures blog. They are delightful blocks, and I will have to decide how best to use them. I'm thankful for the quilters across the US who made these blocks to donate for the giveaway: And a big batch of selvages from a fellow-quilter in Pennsylvania who found out I wanted some selvages to participate in Melissa's tutorial on sewing selvages over at Happy Quilting. Thank you, Kathie! Before I close up, I'd like to ask that you pray for sweet baby Andrew. He's doing very well, and at 9 months old he's becoming a happy, smiley baby!

What a praise to the Lord for getting him this far! He's having surgery on his airway Tuesday afternoon, so please pray that the doctors would help Andrew get to his next level of development. Thank you all!

Do you have any specific praises or requests to share?

~Deb

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Inside Looking Out...on a Snowy January Weekend

Hello, Everyone! Welcome back to another year of Mountain Musings!

I promised to see you in January...and here I am, only a tad bit late climbing back into the saddle! Ha!

We hope you all had a lovely holiday and are ready to experience all the new things the Lord has for us in 2017! Happy New Year!

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.~ Isaiah 43:19

The snow that greeted us and many others in the South, kept us inside all weekend with extremely cold temperatures; church services being cancelled; internet service--slow and spotty; and ack! no water in the house on Sunday morning!

Yes, we're practicing being content in whatsoever state we're in...while boiling water from grocery store jugs for hot face washes and trying to make do until the well-drilling guy shows up with a new pump...if, indeed, that's what's wrong!

We're all praying for wonderful fresh water, which is so often taken for granted, to be pumping sooner rather than later. Praising the Lord for electricity, however, to make hot water until then!

I'm planning out how to complete Hannah's birthday meal today...I'll just have to pretend I'm living in Little House on the Prairie days and boil a sink full of water to get everything clean after cooking in the kitchen. I don't think Laura was accustomed to a dishwasher!

Yes, it's Hannah's birthday today! Happy birthday, sweet Hannah! Here's a picture of her eating out recently on a quickie lunch date with Dad:Hannah put in her usual out-of-the-ordinary request for her birthday meal, and I purchased all the ingredients before the snow came....now, just to get started. I'm not a whiz at cheesecakes like Sarah, but we'll see how this new recipe turns out...Chai Spice Cheesecake, which she found over on the blog Lady Behind the Curtain.

The main dish she picked is Thai Green Curry Chicken, found over on All Recipes. This recipe called for green curry paste and fish sauce...not typical ingredients found in my southern kitchen. But we heard that Sarah made this dish at her house, so we're going on her recommendation.

Okay...you know where I'll be. I'd better get started. After I finish I can relax and watch the birdies. This was the scene early Saturday morning when we awoke:Wish me success in getting this birthday meal on the table, wish Hannah a happy 33rd birthday, and wish (pray) for water...please!

~Deb

Arkansas ~ There and Back Again! ~ Part 5, Final Highlights

I hope you've enjoyed reading about our fun Arkansas escapades! If you missed any parts of this series, you can find links at the end of this post.

Part of planning for the trip also involved finding some neat places to stop on the way there and on the way back.

So, I put together a trip notebook that included detailed stops for each day, maps and directions as a back-up to the GPS, info on fees and hours of operation for some of our activities, and restaurant possibilities. We referred back to this book many times, and it was great to have the information handy: One of our favorite stops on the way to Little Rock was in Knoxville, TN, at Buttermilk Sky Pie Company--recommended by a friend of my sister's who had recently stopped there on her travels. Oooh, the pies inside this little shop! Check out this goodness:The photo below shows various pies behind the display case...it gives you an idea of how hard it was to make a decision on which little pie to pick: We were the first customers in the shop at 9 a.m. and enjoyed talking with the owner and taking lots of photos: My sister picked Coconut Creme, and I picked their best-seller, I-40, which consisted of pecans, chocolate chips, a sprinkle of toasted coconut, and a smooth pecan pie filling combined in a sweet shortbread crust. You can read how the pie got its name here:After visiting this little shop, we were back in the car and on the road. I previously mentioned I'd tell you about the Bed & Breakfast where we stayed while in Little Rock.

P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain website recommended Rosemont B&B. So I checked out that particular B&B first, liked what I saw, and that's where we ended up for 4 nights. Here's my sister in front of Rosemont: And here's the back of the Bed and Breakfast...nice area for sitting, but we never did. Who goes on vacation to relax when there are so many places to see?  
And here are the steep, quite narrow, curving steps that we climbed many times. We were in the St. Clair, and you can see pictures of our room here. I took the daybed in the sun room and loved it!:The breakfasts which the Innkeeper prepared for us each morning were wonderful! Lots of fresh fruits, stuffed French toast, omelets with asparagus, and delicious coffee cake. Thank you, Susan! I haven't mentioned our trolley ride, but here we are riding along. The conductor took our photo as we rode from North Little Rock across the Arkansas River to the River Market. Little Rock has a 2.5-mile River Rail Electric Streetcar line, so we rode to get a feel for the area from one end to the other: Well, it's time to wrap up this last post of our fun trip, and I haven't even written about our antique jaunts!

Vintage Market Days just happened to be taking place the weekend we were there, so we were flexible and added that to our plan notebook. Market Days was held at the Little Rock Fairgrounds--lots of vintage vendors were inside that old Cattle Barn. That was fun, and some treasures made their way home with us! Here's a fun item I bought from one of the vendors because I thought it summed up my motto quite well and was a good souvenir of our trip: As we made our way back to South Carolina going the southern route through Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, we stopped along the way to take a Mayfield Dairy Tour and browsed several antique shops:And last but not least....whenever I travel I always try to set up get-togethers with bloggers I might know in the areas I'm traveling. And this trip was no different!

I've read Tammy S.'s Love to Crochet and Knit blog for years, and she and her family had just moved a few days before to South Carolina. She actually contacted me about getting together, knowing that I'd be finishing up our trip at my sister's home in SC and knowing that her family would be moved there.

Yes, I'd love to get together! So here we are spending some time chatting and meeting in person for the first time! This was extra fun! Thanks so much, Tammy.

This whole trip was certainly a great adventure!Here are the links to previous posts in this series:

Two Sisters ~ Off to Arkansas!

Arkansas ~ There and Back Again! ~ Part 1, Gardens

Arkansas ~ There and Back Again! ~ Part 2, House

Arkansas ~ There and Back Again! ~ Part 3, Luncheon

Arkansas ~ There and Back Again! ~ Part 4, Presidential Library

 

 ~Deb

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Arkansas ~ There and Back Again! ~ Part 3, Luncheon

After the Garden Tour and the House Tour and additional free time to wander taking pictures, we were told to meet at the Barn whenever we heard the farmhouse dinner bell ring to summon us for lunch.

We could hardly wait to sample recipes made from P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes From The Garden Cookbook. Our meal was made by his chef and served by lots of smiling hostesses.

We were greeted at the Barn door as we all entered. Antique lanterns were prominently displayed on a long wooden table just outside the Barn door.  Here's our delicious menu. We had already been told that the Buttermilk Pecan Pie recipe was worth the price of the cookbook:Here are our servers delivering the food as we all find our seats: Here's our plate of delicious Chicken Salad over a bed of greens. It all looked delicious: There was one empty spot at our table, and we were hoping Mr. Smith would make his way to it...("over here P. Allen, over here!") but alas, he was already slotted to sit with special visitors at their reserved table. Oh, well, next time: After the meal, he answered questions from our group for quite a while. He was quite interesting and very entertaining as he told us about buying the property and lots of other facts about Moss Mountain. We could tell that he loved entertaining his guests: The large vegetable paintings that decorated the barn walls were done by Mr. Smith and smaller versions were sold in his gift shop, although with a price tag: After lunch was over, Mr. Smith signed his cookbooks for anyone wishing to purchase one from the gift shop: Of course, both my sister and I bought one since it's a very useful souvenir of our visit, don't you think? There's a pie recipe on page 240 and a cookie recipe on page 180 we have to try out!: And here's my sister Bet after he signed her book: As we prepared to leave after everything was over, I was so thankful to have had the opportunity to visit P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain farm. I had talked about making this trip so many times, and even in the rain it was beautiful!

These two sisters had a very delightful Sister Trip! After driving that far from home, we planned other excursions while in Arkansas. What else did we do, you ask?

Well...I guess that's Part 4....and Part 5. Stay tuned.

~ 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

A Look Back at 2015 ~ Part 1

Most bloggers write their previous year's highlights post in early January. Well...Hello, February! How did you get here?!

We're finally getting around to "looking back" at a few of the memories of 2015...some photos may not have made the blog the first time around and others you might remember. And some events/happenings we didn't take time to put on the blog. Take a look:

Winter, 2015....A big portion of the winter was spent over at Jonathan's house helping with various building chores. My main job was writing verses on the studs all over the house. We blogged about it here and here:Last February, Tom's sister came to visit...fun times! We're anticipating another visit from Aunt Toots at the end of this month and hope that she isn't greeted with lots of the white stuff again: Also in February friends from over the mountain came to visit...we had lots of fun talking and playing games: Here I am with my friend: On the week leading up to Valentine's Day each year, Sarah makes meals for our family..lots of delicious and varied meals all week long! We all just love Sarah's Cooking Week!

I wonder if she's told her new husband, Eric, that she has to leave Georgia and come home to Virginia to cook for us all next week? Somehow I doubt it since it's his birthday week. We'll miss her Cooking Week for sure this year!

Last March Hannah introduced a new product, Beard Oil, on her website and blog. Jonathan was her tester, and here they are together after Hannah gave him a sniff to check out the fragrance: Also in March, Hannah and Sarah met with their friends Anna and Abigail for a delightful picnic lunch and some girl talk. These are the girls who were such wonderful helpers for Sarah's wedding in November....but who knew back in March that she'd be getting married last year? In March we also hosted our friends from PA, Nelson and Sarah and their family, who were overnight guests: Spring, 2015...In April we made a trek to Atlanta for the Civil War History Tour with historian, Bill Potter. Lots of families were on the tour, including our Atlanta friends here: Little did we know that Eric and Sarah's first real conversation in this graveyard on the tour would lead to friendship, courtship, and marriage:

Market Saturdays beginning in April were a huge part of 2015 for both Hannah and Sarah. Here's Tom with Granny and Hannah at the Memorial Day market:  In June we made a trek to Michigan to honor Micah as he graduated from his Residency program:On our route back to Virginia, we met up in Ohio with Eric and his family who were also traveling back home to Georgia from a weekend away. It was a great family lunch date and their first face-to-face meeting after their long-distance courtship started:Here we are getting better acquainted with the family: Well, that's just the first half of the year! More wonderful memories to come in the second half. What highlights will be next?

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.~ Psalm 103:2

Stay tuned for Part 2.

~Deb

Birthday Meal for Hannah!

First of all....Happy 32nd Birthday to Hannah, on Saturday, the 9th!!

I've been busy getting all the ingredients together and scoping out the recipes she's picked out for her birthday meal.

I have to say that everyone else in the family usually picks a fairly normal meal for their birthday choice; however, Miss Hannah usually picks exotic, involved recipes...after all, this is her chance to enjoy whatever she would like!

Here's what I'll be making for her birthday...all are recipes she found on Pinterest.

Let's start with the most delicious sounding first....dessert, which is Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pie, found on The Complete Savorist blog. I think I can do this one fairly easily. Are you a dark chocolate lover?

Next is her side dish...Quinoa Fried "Rice" found on Gimme Some Oven blog. We already have a big bag of quinoa, so hopefully that will prepare quickly. Are you a quinoa lover?

And lastly, I have a choice for the main dish. She picked two similar beef dishes...either Slow Cooker Cashew Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry (seems easier as the crockpot does almost everything for me). This one was found on The Recipe Critic blog.

Or her second choice of Bulgogi Korean BBQ found on A Spicy Perspective blog. I looked up the word Bulgogi, which was new to me, and it literally means fire meat in Korean. I'll see which recipe strikes a chord tomorrow. Which one would you pick?

Where is Sarah when I need her help in the kitchen?!

Anyway, I hope everything will turn out delicious. I'll just start early enough in the morning to get it all accomplished. Of course, Hannah volunteered to help with the meal. But no one should have to cook or do any sort of manual labor on their birthday! ...just my humble opinion.

Happy Birthday, Hannah! Enjoy it to the fullest!

~Deb

Labor Day Weekend Baking

Anybody want a pie for their Labor Day picnic? I'll have plenty at market tomorrow, if you're in the area. ;) It's been a busy Friday of baking and preparing for company tomorrow. What does your weekend hold?

~Sarah

Garden Bounty

Our garden has been producing well. While most crops are petering out now that we are nearing the end of August, the tomatoes are still going strong. So far this summer, in addition to the ones we've eaten, I've processed 160 lbs of tomatoes, mostly by canning but some put up in the freezer. There are still more to be picked....Granny says they are coming out of my ears, though we have not yet harvested as much as we did last season! She has loved being here this summer to enjoy our fresh tomatoes, especially her favorite "pink ones" (Brandywine heirloom).

One way I have used the mounds of smaller paste, cherry, and pear tomatoes is by roasting several pounds at once along with garlic and onions, to make a flavorful sauce. One day for lunch I made pizza with a zucchini crust, topped with sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

The tally of jars stored away for the winter thus far is:

• 7 pints spicy tomato salsa
• 20 pints tomato sauce
• 27 quarts tomato sauce
• 3.5 quarts dill cucumber relish
• 6 pints zucchini relish
• 7 pints cinnamon cucumber pickle
• 5 quarts dill refrigerator pickle

What has been coming from your garden? Do you have a favorite recipe for preserving certain vegetables or fruits?

~Hannah

Happy National Cheesecake Day!

It's your resident holiday celebrator here to let you know that today is National Cheesecake Day! You'd better make a cheesecake real quick so you can properly acknowledge the day. :)

We're taking down a few pieces of my leftover-from-market coconut cheesecake from the freezer to enjoy for lunch today. After all, Aunt Bet is here, and she deserves a special dessert!

The last few weeks at market, I've been selling out of cheesecake, which is always nice. Peanut butter cup and key lime were popular flavors. What's your favorite cheesecake?

~Sarah