Category Archives: Rural Life in Mendota

Daily adventures in a rural farming community.

My First Azure Standard Experience

How Do You Do Things?

I watch people work, and I realize how differently we all approach tasks. Most of the time, we all have the same outcome — task completed! However, we each do things differently. I do better when I’m doing multiple things.

For instance, I came home from church on Sunday and milk was spilled in the refrigerator. At first I was slightly annoyed, and then I realized I needed to clean the fridge anyway, so why be hateful about it?

The cleaning began. First I took everything out. I was also unloading a few groceries.

There were “science projects” inside the fridge — moldy food. Yuck.

As I pulled out the potatoes, I thought “why not make some potato salad?”

Which required some chopping..

So while I had the celery out…I thought I’d rinse it in vinegar and seal it so that it’ll keep longer. (If you have not got a Mason jar sealer yet, you need one. Trust me.)

Do you see a pattern here? I’m not even thinking about wiping down the refrigerator at this point. Also, notice the groceries never got put away.

And then…the potato salad. I made it.

It was yummy! So…I sat down and ate some. Still no movement on actually cleaning the refrigerator.

But….then…I got moving.

Cold cut drawer. Check.

Removed shelves, wiped, disposed, cleaned and then put things back in. Check.

All clean. Everything put away nicely. I see two prepared dinners in there. There is a frozen casserole on the right with the red lid that is thawing for tonight, and beef kabobs on the left for dinner on Monday. (We have frozen casseroles on Sunday night because I hate cooking on Sunday. I actually hate cooking every day, but on Sunday, it’s particularly offensive. )

And…tidied the kitchen. Everything came together at the end.

Barn Swallows Made Me Think

For the past two weeks, I’ve had a mother bird with babies on the back porch. This is the third year a bird has built a nest in this spot. Is it the same bird? Maybe, I don’t know.

I didn’t know they were barn swallows until I posted this picture last week. Someone who knows more than me told me what they were.

In that picture in that tiny nest, there are four baby birds that are absolutely huge. They are almost as large as their mother who loyally comes to feed them. I keep judging her….”your children will never fledge and be productive if you keep doing all the work for them!” She doesn’t listen.

Then…on Thursday, I went out and watered my hanging plants on the porch. While the birds were used to my doing so daily, apparently I startled one enough to shift a tiny bit and it tumbled out of the nest, caught itself by fluttering its wings, and it flew. It flew away. In the next 60 seconds, the other three did the same. They finally fledged.

I didn’t want to destroy the nest until I was sure they were through using it. So, I left it up until the following morning. Then, bright and early at 7:30 am, I cleaned the porch. The birds had made a very nasty mess. You can imagine.

It was so nice to have it clean. I went in the house and sat down for breakfast, and thought about my former houseguests, the barn swallows. I learned that they are very beneficial. They eat insects. I started feeling very bad for all the things I’d been thinking about them. Like…why didn’t I left the snake that almost got them…just get them? I had that thought many times.

Even though I was disliking the baby birds when I saw the snake getting ready to climb the post, I just could not watch this happen. This snake was getting very comfortable with us. When we were out in the garden, we’d watch it climb the fence looking for birds in bushes. But..on the back porch…this was too close to home! So, on that day when the snake lurked around the baby birds, I went in and read what would be a deterrent for a snake, and I came out and threw vinegar on the snake. I have not seen it since. I hate this as this is a beneficial snake.

But the porch is now clean. I want to show you something I’m very proud of. See this little table below? My grandfather that I never met made this table. Peter Livingston Barker.

It has the outline of a biscuit cutter so it was made for someone’s kitchen. Probably my grandmother’s kitchen. Martha Kaylor Barker. I never met him, nor did I meet her. You can read a little about him here.

So…the table is probably about 100 years old.

My sister had this table, and she gave it to me. I am so grateful. I am going to move it in the house, but for at least a few weeks, I’m going to enjoy it out here. I put a burlap sack on it for protection. When it moves inside, I’ll work on it a little bit, but I like the character that time and circumstances have given this table.

We had guests this weekend…family. I was happy the little table was at the door to greet them.

While admittedly, I did clean the house…at one time I would have worried myself sick on what to cook, etc. I am not a great cook. It’s so nice to be a little older and not fret over useless stuff. No one cares! I sat the table with what I had. We ate what we would have eaten that night anyway…just added a little more to it. And the time we spent was precious.

Thank you for reading RiverCliff Cottage. It’s my blog about my life in Mendota, Virginia and nothing. Mostly nothing!

Our Vegetable Garden 2024

One of the reasons people choose to live in a rural area is to grow their own food. We have had many years with gardens since we built this place in 1999, but we’ve also had years where we didn’t have a garden. The years I worked a lot and the years we operated Adventure Mendota — we were just too busy.

Even on those busy years, however, we could still grow a few things around the house. I grow Romaine lettuce in flower pots. We cut it off and eat it and it grows back and we do it all again — this works for quite a while!

Now is a perfect time to return to having a garden. I am working far less, and Mendota, Virginia has a wonderful climate for growing things. Grocery prices are high, and there is a sense of uneasiness in many parts of the world. Having a garden gives us an opportunity to push back on those high prices; and, for me, a sense of food security. My garden, if all goes well, will yield a freezer filled with corn and sweet peppers, many jars of spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, tomato juice, salsa, relish, pickles and so forth. I’m still hunting for that wonderful vegetable soup recipe that doesn’t taste “canny.”

One thing we’ve always been challenged with is how to keep tomatoes from becoming a total train wreck in our garden. I see perfectly tied tomato plants all the way to Hiltons, and then there has been ours–a tangled mess. We are trying to do better this year. I watched a You Tube video called the “Florida Weave Method” of stringing tomatoes. It involves nylon string. It’s what you see above — while it’s not as exact as the You Tube video, it seems to be working. They’ll grow taller, and I’ll add more string. I also have to do some pruning of the lower branches of the tomato plant. I’m watching a You Tube video tonight on how to do that. Fact: A garden is a place one can always learn.

It has been really rainy and we’ve had a lot of weeds. I tried to hoe and keep up, but it was very difficult. Mike came to the rescue with a little mini cultivator which left things looking nice.

We were so happy that the corn germinated. Some years we’ve had problems with this, and then other years, the corn germinated and the crows grabbed the tiny seedlings to eat what remained of the seed. In the picture below, we have two rows planted two weeks ago–that’s the corn you can see– and two rows planted just four days ago–you have to look closer to see those. Beside those rows, there is a row of tiny seedlings of zinnia flowers that are coming up. They’re not visible in this picture.

My friend says that if you don’t have half-runner green beans, you don’t have green beans. We planted Mountaineer half runners as well as Rattlesnake pole beans. The Rattlesnakes get their name from the way they curve and climb. Mike placed sections of wire fencing called “hog fence panels” which are 4′ x 8′ from Rural King to give them a place to climb. With hog fence panels, the squares are smaller at the bottom than at the top. We accidentally put some of them upside down, but no matter, we have no hogs.

I’ll be picking Japanese beetles off those beans soon. I hate those little creatures.

We also have cucumbers coming up. They were planted very late but they have made their appearance and will grow fast.

I planted green peppers close to the house because we use so many. I’m now second guessing this decision. I’ve got them in a Tartar metal thing and in whiskey barrels. I had thought about planting crookneck squash in the whiskey barrels but the seeds didn’t seem to germinate. So…I planted these peppers and all of a sudden, squash popped up. I’m not sure how this will work out. I placed an old tomato cage for the squash to grow up vs. out. We’ll have to see how this works out.

And I have them in this Tartar thing I got at Lowes. These Tartar raised beds were not cheap, and I’m disappointed with myself for getting them. My green peppers have something eating at them and I’ve never had this before. Also, they are not as robust looking at what I’m used to. I’m blaming the galvanized raised beds. This could potentially be a big mistake as we eat a lot of these peppers. I freeze enough to have peppers each week of the year. The lower shelf of my upright freezer is typically full of packs of frozen green peppers as we approach fall.

Over at the barn, we’ll use more hog fencing when the gourd seedlings get larger and start to climb. I use the gourds for fall decorations.

Here’s a picture from years back where I’ve enjoyed my gourds…

I keep them until Christmas and spray paint them gold. Here’s a version of that..

But for now…there is no gourds. Just a tiny seedling that I have big dreams for.

Gardens, while practical, are for dreamers. We dream about what we’ll plant in the winter. We dream about what we’ll harvest while the garden is growing. We think about eating what we’ve grown.

And it all starts with dirt.

Thank you for reading. I used to keep this blog current and had so many followers and then I stopped. You know how that it–life gets in the way. I decided to start again and just keep it my little secret until someone finds it. If you found it, please comment and let me know.

The Grape Cart Flower Cart

Back in the days when there there was no Amazon, magazines like Country Living or Better Homes and Gardens had sections where novelty furnishings or garden items could be purchased. In the late 1990’s, we had a townhome in Louden County, Virginia with a really nice screened porch. During that time, late one night, I ordered a grape cart flower cart for that porch. Here’s the flower cart today:

The funny thing about that order was this–my husband traveled and worked away most of the time so I was in the habit of staying up very late at night and then sleeping late in the morning. I saw this cute little grape cart and decided it would be a great addition to the screened porch in Northern Virginia. I was living in a town called Cary, North Carolina when I ordered it. (Mike was living in the Louden County townhome.) It was about 2 am. There was a 1.800 number number and a Pennsylvania address. I thought it was a number for a call center that took orders for the magazine. So…I called it.

The phone rang a few times and then a sleepy voice answered…“Hello.” I didn’t know what to say–I was stunned that it was not a call center, so I just said “I am ordering the grape cart.” While I don’t recall the details, I didn’t order it that night. I ordered it the next day.

I’m glad I did. I have always liked this little grape cart. It’s had the box remade several times. The box that appears in the photos above is taller than the original box and it’s made of old wood from church pews that were modified to be shorter in length than a church pew normally is. The downside of the current wooden box is that I cannot grow lettuce in it, etc., and it’s built with wood that has varnish, etc.

Here’s the box as it used to be:

This grape cart has been moved to the following locations as we moved around. It started in Louden County, Virginia. It moved to Basking Ridge, New Jersey. From there, off it went to Boca Raton, Florida, and then it came to where it is now in Mendota, Virginia.

Mendota Cemetery Homecoming

On Sunday, August 27, my sisters and I will be at the Mendota Community Center for the annual Mendota Cemetery Homecoming or just what we call “Homecoming.” Everyone is invited. You do not have to have a family member buried in the cemetery to come and enjoy a potluck dish and fellowship.

The Mendota Cemetery is beautiful and continues its more than 100 year tradition of never charging a local family in need.

However, we worry about “what’s next?” Homecoming was once well attended, but it’s dwindled in recent years as the families that are faithful to attend are now resting in this cemetery or another cemetery elsewhere. If you are reading this and live in Mendota, I hope you’ll come.

The cemetery is very well maintained. This is much in part to Gerald Booher, the president of the Mendota Cemetery Association. We typically have a fundraiser such as a quilt raffle and this raffle–and those who provide monetary gifts–ensures things stay looking nice. My favorite quilt from all of the quilts we’ve raffled was the one below. It was won by Diane Salyer, and that is her parents Wave and Don Fleenor standing in front of the quilt.

My Airbnb Tips From Southwest Virginia

I operate a one-bedroom Airbnb in Southwest Virginia in a small community called Mendota. I came into Airbnb in a backwards way. We had a small apartment located over a detached three-car garage that had been empty for years. When I operated Adventure Mendota (a small kayaking company for those who don’t know me), my husband urged me to open up the guest house for short-term rentals–as if I didn’t have enough to do all day! I was not a believer. At that time, we didn’t have a store or a gas station or even a Coke machine in Mendota. Adventure Mendota was the only “thing” and that was only from Memorial Day to Labor Day. However, to prove my point, I went over to the guesthouse which was clean but not “styled” for pictures, took a few iPhone pictures and slapped them on Airbnb. No one was more surprised when two days later, I had someone booked.

From there, I began booking the place almost every weekend outside of the times I take it offline by “blocking” it on Airbnb.

The above occurred four years ago, and now I am an experienced Airbnb operator running a one-unit Airbnb and supplementing my income nicely. On an average, I book 12-15 days per month. Fifteen is my sweet spot on the number of nights rented. Since it is located right across from my house, there are times we need privacy more than I need the income from my Airbnb. For this to work and be so close by, I have to know when to say “when.”

I have some tips for people who are thinking of doing short-term rentals on sites such as Airbnb or VRBO. Many use both platforms, but I’m happy on Airbnb and their percentage rate is lower.

Provided a large investment is not required to start your Airbnb business, just try it! You might be surprised. I was. My guests come for nearby weddings, family reunions, Devil’s Bathtub (35 miles from my place), Virginia’s Great Channels (45 minutes) and occasionally they are heading to the Carter Fold. They are starting to come for the Mendota Trail!! Other reasons are to get away to a quiet place, to work on their resume, up and coming physicians working on medical papers, authors writing books, to get away from hotels along the interstate corridor where they do not feel their cars are safe, and on and on.

Cleaning. If you have only one place and have some extra time, do your own cleaning. You’ll make more money and you will know your product is clean and ready for guests.

Clean, yet, but don’t spend a lot of money on cleaning supplies. You are in the business to make money, and this is an area you can save on. While I do use a few other things, my cleaning arsenal is made up primarily of vinegar and baking soda. Dawn dish detergent and some peppermint essential oil are also helpful.

Linens. While you don’t have to spend a large amount on sheets and towels, you do need to be mindful of the quality and invest accordingly. I’m fortunate to live near American Merchant which makes very nice towels that I can buy for $5 from time to time. Guests love these fluffy towels. I look for high-quality, high-thread count sheets at places like TJ Maxx. I also use–and wash after each guest stay–pillow protectors as well as pillow cases.

It doesn’t hurt to have a welcoming entrance. My Airbnb is above a three-car garage so I struggle with this. It has a great rear deck but the front does not have the charm I’d like to have. I try and mitigate this with a flower border at the entrance.

I iron my pillowcases. By doing so, guests know they are clean not only by their smell but by the ironing creases.

For quick turns when I have a guest leaving at 11 am and a new guest arriving at 3 pm, I have duplicates of most of the above. I’ve gotten so fast with the quick turn that on Sunday, a guest leaving at 10:45 am gives me enough time to run over and throw towels in the wash, attend church at 11 am and return to finish cleaning and have the place immaculate by 2 pm for a 3 pm guest check-in time.

Get rid of the cleaning fee and built it into your nightly rate that appears on the reservation booking. It is more honest. Prior to 2022, the cleaning fee could be excluded as income so having a moderately priced Airbnb with a large cleaning fee was common. Today, it’s all income.

For about $300, I had a thermostat installed that I can remotely control. Guests are not concerned about my electric bill– but I am. While I can schedule the temperature, they may override it; forget about it and leave for 8 hours. I would never enter the unit and re-adjust the thermostat during a guest stay, but I’m not above remotely moving it from a chilly 65 degrees up to a moderate 73 degrees while they are gone.

Soaps. Those little individual bars of soaps that are so cute become scummy sticky glue blobs in the shower. Instead, place a bottle of men’s body wash and women’s body wash in the shower. You are welcome.

Leave a flashlight by the bed. It’s scary for the power to go off and not be familiar with the surroundings.

You need internet. Guests tell you that they want to disconnect. But they really don’t. You also need it for safety, etc. We don’t have cell phone service where I live, but guests have the ability to make wi-fi calling from their cell phones. While I have not had a guest make a 911 call, I feel reassured that they can because I have internet in the unit.

My guests love seeing current magazines instead of old recycled castoffs. In fact, I now subscribe to magazines for Rivercliff Cottage and they are a business expense. Guests get them first, and then I read the castoffs.

Know your limits. For me, I have a one bedroom but I also have a sofa bed in the living room. I started out renting to four guests at a time. I was greedy and thought more guests = more money. Sure I could get a few dollars more, but I also had double the laundry, double the trash, and double the trouble. The more guests in the unit, the more likely that a friendly chat becomes a bit louder as the alcohol and music flow; and before you know it, a party has come to life! Now I limit my number of guests to two. It works so much better and the accommodations are perfect for two. Four was a bit crowded.

Have spaces that you can lock out. I used to leave my duplicate linens in a corner of the closet in a plastic bin, but occasionally a guest would still use items from the bin and during quick turnarounds, I’d be scrambling because those extra pillow cases were crumpled and dirty. Now, I have an area that its locked out from guests.

Know your value. I have a very fair rate. I do not offer extra services. My guests have a nice, affordable place to stay. It is quiet and clean. It has a private deck and lovely view. They sleep under my pretty quilts, and I line dry the bed linens and they smell so good. I typically have fresh flowers on the kitchen table.

BUT….what they have requested over and over is a fire pit and a grill. A fire pit would mean that I would have to supply wood, and I would have to ensure that guests understand burn laws or how important it is to be mindful of grass fires. They don’t realize that our fire department is a volunteer fire department. Likewise, we’ve had a grill at this unit and the siding was melted. So, for me, the no grill no fire pit stays.

Share what you are. Or are not! Every guest reaching out to me during the booking process is advised that I am 17 miles from the interstate and there is no gas or grocery store for at least 12 miles. By advising them up front, they adjust their planning and, even though many do not believe it until they arrive, they are accepting of the limitations of this rural location.

Likewise, I do not allow smoking on the property–not just the unit but the property. I don’t make exceptions. I like to keep my business plan simple and as stress free as possible. I have rules, and I have them for a reason.

#15. It’s best to undercommit and over deliver. And that’s it!

Mendota Villager June 2022

It’s been a while since we had a Villager newsletter. This has been due to many reasons — we used to print at least a few. We can no longer do that. Likewise, it can be difficult to get things together.

To make this easier, I took emails and created a free Mail Chimp account which will make distribution by email much easier than how it was done before. Likewise, there’s been a lot of cut and pasting!

Here’s the Villager for June 2022. It’s missing some things and that’s where you come in. If you want to include a birthday, a birth, or important news, comment here and I’ll collect the information for the next one or email rivercliffcottage@gmail.com with the subject VILLAGER.

Thanks! Here’s the Villager!

Kaleidoscope of Stars Quilt

This quilt top was a fun one to make. I saw it on Pinterest and I found the pattern on ETSY. It was created by Kate Henderson. Her ETSY shop is Kate Henderson Quilts, and she lives in Australia.

The fabric that I used for the quilt is a Moda fabric purchased at the Virginia Highlands Quilt Shop in Abingdon, Virginia. Kim is the owner of the shop, and she will actually be doing the long-arm quilting for this quilt. I hope to enter it in the Washington County Fair. It just looks like a county fair quilt. I am not entering it because it will win. I just want to show it off!

The fabric was called Story Time Fabric by American Jane, and I had the white background fabric from another project. The print fabric used a layer cake plus a charm pack.

I’m bordering the fabric next week and taking it to Kim. I like these big block quilts that do not require a lot of time, although I will admit to having the “stars” turned in the wrong direction several times. I’d post on Facebook, and people would tell me which stars were turned wrong. I could not see them!!! Had it not been for figuring out that others could find my mistakes more quickly than I could on my own, I’m certain this quilt would have stars pointed in the wrong direction.

In Mendota…January 11, 1912

It was measles on the minds of folks in Mendota a little more than 110 years ago today. And…we now know the name of the hotel that was in Mendota. It was the Miller Hotel.