Category Archives: Rural Life in Mendota

Daily adventures in a rural farming community.

Day Five of Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful that Adventure Mendota placed in the My Southwest Virginia Opportunity Cup. I’m so happy with the whole way the evening went except that I wanted everyone to win. Everyone.

I heard some awesome people speak of small businesses and of Southwest Virginia, and I realized we are kindred spirits. It’s not just about small business; it’s about Southwest Virginia. We love it.

One speaker, and oh my… I do not know his name, spoke of the rise and now the fall of coal which has been Southwest Virginia’s economic engine. He recalled when there was no need for entrepreneurs. The “company” took care of everything from painting the house to fixing the roof. Today, I realized how different things must seem to this gentleman as Alpha announced they did not feel that they could pay their retired employees benefits. Everything has changed so much. The folks at Alpha are good people; I know they do not want to do this.

But there is hope. There are seeds of vitality. We must reinvent ourselves, and endeavors such as the My Southwest Virginia Cup Challenge reward efforts. Southwest Virginia must have the most pristine and beautiful natural resources. Our food must be better than food anywhere else. We must be nicer. We must be better! And you know what…I think we are!

I was so sure that we did not place that I didn’t want to go to the event. Mike made me go. If you do not believe that I was surprised that Adventure Mendota placed, look at the crazy look on my face! Yes, I’m holding a big gold cup in my left hand and a big ol’ check for $10,000.00 in this picture, and I have an insane expression on my face. However, do notice the grip on that check. It wasn’t going anywhere.

Here’s a picture of a few of the contestants. This is the second entrepreneur’s challenge I’ve been in. The first one was early in the spring, and Adventure Mendota came in second in that one as well. We didn’t win money but we were happy with the Chamber of Commerce Membership we received. The winner was a hot dog place called the Political Dog. We were beat by a wiener the first time.

In the picture above, to my right stands the first place winners. They are the Wolfes of Wolfe’s Barbecue. Do you know what this means? This year, I got beat by pork! What is this conspiracy???

As day 5 winds down, I am thankful that Mike and I took Adventure Mendota to the “Cup” and came in second.

I took a picture of both the check and the cup together on the kitchen counter. Then, the three of us (the check, the cup and me) went to bed.

Another funny thing happened in an interview following the presentation. Hannah, an intern from UVA Wise, was assigned to interview the contestants. She keep looking at me and finally said…”do I know you or your husband?” I told her I didn’t think so, but she added, “do you like Pal’s tea a whole lot and does your husband drive a gray truck with a black dog in it? Turns out, she occasionally works at Pals in Gate City. Note to self…cut back on the tea or wear a disguise.

Or…better yet. I’ll start drinking my tea in my new, gold cup.

As day five winds down, I feel very happy. I’m grateful for that.

Day Four Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for my husband Michael and our shared compassion for Muffin, the feral kitty that arrived at our house last winter. Muffin was a feral kitty that lived several miles from here and my young cousin had been watching over him for a number of years. Somehow he got lost in the snow and ended up here. At first, we had no idea where he came from and even when we learned he came from my cousin’s place, he’s not the type of cat you can easily transport in a car, so we decided to care for him as long as he stayed here. So far, he’s still here. He’s actually gotten quite friendly.

Last winter, we quickly made him a make shift box home..actually a box inside a box with bubble wrap and a heating pad. It was not great, but it provided him with heat and the necessary shelter to survive the -8 degree temps we experienced.

This winter, we wanted to make sure he had something more sturdy…so here’s what we did:

We bought two Rubber Maid storage boxes. One was larger than the other.

We inserted pink insulation inside the large box surrounding the smaller box.

Mike cut openings out in each of the boxes so he could easily get inside.

There was a gap between the small box and the large box at the entry point. We had to build Muffin a foyer.

We inserted this foyer in the entrance. Muffin’s house is really quite well appointed.

His heating system is powered by a “pet pad” which is designed for outdoor cats.

This required drilling some small holds for the cord to exit the house and be plugged into the wall. The great thing about this house is that I can open the top and look in and make sure that the bed is clean and dry.

I thought he’d be a little scared of the new house, but that was not the case. He went right in. And stayed the night.

I am so grateful to Mike for fixing Muffin a solid house that is well insulated and dry. His pet heating pad has a much lower temp than a heating pad that we’d use ourselves, but I know that with his fur, the insulation, and the heat that the heating pad does emit, Muffin will be snug and warm during the cold winter months ahead.

And that is what I am so grateful for as day four turns into night.

Day Three Thanksgiving

Possibilities. Today I am thankful for possibilities.

Last year when I “pitched” my small business called Adventure Mendota in the Washington County Business Plan Challenge, I blogged about it and talked about it on social media. I then had to come back and admit that I was beat. By a wiener no less! (The Political Dog which is a very cool hot dog eatery won fair and square.)

This year (never one to be deterred) I went back and “pitched” to another group — the My Southwest Virginia Opportunity Cup. Here I am at our practice pitch. Each week during the process, we gather and hear speakers, focus on relevant topics, share, practice, and eat! I look like I’ve been eating too much. Probably not practicing enough but definitely finding the pizza or Jersey Mike subs that are normally served.

Mike did a stellar business plan but my pitch was not as well done as it should have been. I had worked all day. I was tired, and I didn’t have a podium as I did in the picture above. I missed that podium!! I had no place for my notes, so I laid them aside and just referred to the Power Point–which meant that I kept turning my head away from the judges and back at the screen. And I might have had a Mountain Dew which really makes me hyper. And…there is the wild, crazy, friendly dog issue. Mike compares me to our dog, River. He said my presentation had all of the style and presence that River demonstrated Sunday when we purchased a bunch of Halloween toys at Pet Smart for 27 cents each. Oh my…Heaven help me.

We will soon know the outcome of our efforts and I’m over being anxious about it. I am just grateful I got to compete. I’m thankful for that as I finish up this day.

Day Two of Thanksgiving

Okay…this is just day two, and I’m not sure what my number one thankful item for today is. One thing is for sure–I was driving home thinking that I’m absolutely not thankful for daylight savings time ending. I love leaving work at 4 pm and it’s pitch dark said no one ever.

While driving I began thinking about Mike going to Lowe’s twice today and my brother-in-law going to Lowe’s three times today because of the 30% off moving sale–man…I’ll bet they would both say they were thankful for Lowe’s! I don’t blame them. It has and always will be My True Love. But thinking about Gerald made me think of my sister, Nancy. I’m grateful for both of my sisters, but Nancy came to mind tonight because her birthday came and went and I didn’t even say anything. Happy belated birthday to my sister! I love you!!

Nancy and I went to Florida with Mother a long time ago, and we had such a nice time. We went to Busch Gardens and got dressed up for one of those old time photo booths. This is one of the pictures that was taken of that trip. We were saloon girls! There is another picture of mother with all of us, and she was Ma Barker. I’m grateful for that day as well as my sister. She is wise and kind. And she’s fun. I do not get to spend as much time with her. I want to change that.

So…driving along–in the dark I might add– I thought about a conversation someone at work had with me regarding travel. Travel is getting more dangerous, but that is not really why I don’t like to travel. I like my home. I always have. However, there was a time I traveled quite a bit. Mike liked to go away every quarter after the “quarter closed.” If you’ve been married to someone in sales, you understand how relieved everyone is for a quarter to be over–especially if it went well. Bad quarters? Well, we don’t talk about those! Whatever. It’s not part of our world today. My favorite place to travel at that time was the Cayman Islands. We went frequently. In this picture, however, we made our one and only trip to the Bahamas. We lived in New Jersey and the couple with us were our close friends from Raleigh. This picture fell out of the photo album tonight, and I so enjoyed looking at it. That night I gambled–about the only time I’ve ever gambled–on the roulette table, and I won $500.

Today I am thankful not for just I have today, but for what I’ve had yesterday. I’ve had some amazing vacations and even more amazing friendships…Some remain. Some do not. For all of them, they brought me–and sometimes Mike–as in the case of Garry and Sue Gardner pictured with us–such joy for the time that they existed.

And now…sorry for the giant picture, but let me also be very honest. One thing I’m EXTREMELY grateful for are my pots that look like glazed pottery but are really a composite and weigh only about one pound each. They will look great on my front porch next summer, and I’m so happy I found them at lunch today and got them 35% off at…you guessed it…LOWE’S. Oh how I love my True Love Lowe’s.

Thank you for reading RiverCliff Cottage.

Day One of Thanksgiving

I’m celebrating Thanksgiving all month. I am not going to share the big things I’m thankful for. You know what they are; it’d be like a disclaimer. I’m going to share the little things that have made my step lighter…smile brighter!

Lowe’s is moving from Exit 7 to Exit 5. Everything in the store is 20% off. I’m thankful for that today. I picked this little thing up for about $7. It was discarded…off to the side. They had used it for their display which was gone. It’s not going to stay where it is…I just stuck it up there. I may not even hang it up at all this year. I may. Who knows?

But this is what I’m thankful for today. Lame, I know.

Lowes Give Thanks

Honey…

We took honey from the bees last week. This was very late to be taking honey. For many reasons, we did not take it in late July/early August as most beekeepers do. It was me. My fault. I was too tired….too busy. I thought a lot about the bees as I whirred about doing everything else, but I knew they had plenty to forage for and that while the amount of honey might suffer because I wasn’t supplementing their diet with sugar water, they would most likely be fine. They were. Whew! There wasn’t much honey to take, though, as those bees had been multiplying and swarming. (Keep in mind…we only take excess honey. We make sure we leave plenty for them, and they are now being fed again.) Gerald, my brother in law and honey partner, has been a far better beekeeper than me and he got two supers from his hives whereas I only had one. These supers were dripping with honey.

This frame was from Gerald’s hive but I had honey as dark as this also. Those girls have been in the blackberries again.

Actually, that may not be blackberries at all. After we took the honey, I started reading about honey from Virginia that is very dark. It is usually either wildflower honey (which says exactly what it means) or Raw Bamboo Honey from the Japanese Knotwood plant which is an invasive weed in Virginia! Ours is possibly a combniation. No one knows but the honeybees and they are not talking! Here’s what the Japanese Knotwood plant looks like, and I believe I’ve seen it, although we have so many weeds in the country that…well who knows!

Our honey is most likely a combination of wild flowers and this weed!

However, another frame looked like this which definitely is clover honey. This came from my hive. When I lived in the ‘burbs, we had treated lawns with real grass. Now I have a sort of snobbery for that. It’s so silly. (I’m sorry ‘burb friends, but it’s true.) Our yards in the country are a mix of clover and probably…well..more weeds. Our weedy lawns are green like grass and that works fine for me and for my bees.

After we put the frames in the extractor and sling them around for a few minutes, that wonderful honey looks like this. It’s going into the first strainer in this picture.

Gerald has an electric “hot” knife made just for uncapping the honey. He runs it across the frame and uncaps it. We capture the wax and the honey in a plastic bin which we will drain to get additional honey. I think the caps look like snake skin (below). Whil we are working, I grab this “snakeskin” and chew on it. It’s just beeswax and honey. It’s fun to chew on it while we’re working.

I’m busy selling the honey this week. It’s easy to sell because it’s raw, so local and sooooo good. However, I’m thinking about next year’s bees. I’m going to set up a new hive and paint the hive. Something like this. I found this on Pinterest but I do not know who to credit. At any rate, bees, with their keen eye for color, should enjoy having a pretty colorful house.

The thing about the internet is that it shows you what others are doing, it also is a little demoralizing. When I thought about painting the beehives, I thought “wow…bet no one has done that.” Stern reminder….DRAT…everyone has done everything!!

Well, honey, that’s enough for tonight.

Honey

Decorating a Witches Hat and Stuff I Am Selling

Fall is here! For those of you who don’t know, while I work in HR and on weekends during the summer at Adventure Mendota, I also like to help out at About Face every now and then. The owner and I have been friends for a long time. I am so proud of her and the business that she has grown. I love my best girlfriends and she is one of a special few. About Face is a med spa…a very good one…and via emails, Sue (the owner) and I have been having so much fun planning a Bootox Party near Halloween. If you’re local and want to come, it’s October 26. You can message me for all the details. It is really going to be fun.

One thing we’re doing at the Bootox Party is having a contest for the best costume and the best decorated witches hat. I decided to decorate one to use as a display at the Bristol store.

It all started with a regular ol’ witches hat.

But to make it “right” for our Bootox party, I tricked it out with a red boa, ribbon and plastic spiders. I am loving this hat!!

Oh..you think you can do better, huh? Well, give it a try and come out to About Face on October 26. You might win a free Botox treatment.

So…while making the hat, Mike is up in the office working on our business plan for the My Southwest Opportunity Cup Challenge I am participating in attempting to win grant money. I’ve promised him I’ll vacuum if he’ll do this. If he finds out I’m down here making a witches hat, I’m toast.

But…I have started cleaning out and continuing what is going to be months of decrapifying before we redo our hardwood. Someone jokingly asked if I was committing suicide since I’m getting rid of so much stuff. NOT! Just lightening my step. Here’s a few things that I pulled out of one of the many stuffed hidey holes in this house and I’m going to sell.

If you are into setting a great Thanksgiving spread, you might find a place for this artichoke bowl or the eggplant bowl in the next picture. They were made in Italy and are Vietri china.

So cute, but I’m getting rid of things! I’m selling each one of these for $10 of if you buy both, they are $18 for the pair.

These lids come off…I suppose they were meant to be soup bowls. I had four. I sold two on Ebay a few years ago and for some reason, I kept two. Separation anxiety.

Here’s a couple of dishes that you set out with nuts in them or something. I’m tired of them. I never use them anymore. They are not as fine of china as the little bowls above. These little radish-like dishes are $3.00 for the set.

Do you like salt and pepper shakers? This set is $3.

Finally, this is a sculpture of a little girl. When I was a real collector of stuff, I thought I’d have children of my own and wanted a little girl. Well, that never happened. I wound up with a bunch of dogs! At any rate, this would be perfect for a little girl’s room, etc. It’s $10.

If anyone local wants any of these things, please let me know. I’m going to list them on Ebay next week.

Come See Me! I Live in a Postcard called Southwest Virginia!

This is my redemption video–I’ll tell you more about that in a minute. It’s a wonderfully done piece by Two Rivers Multimedia’s Tim Ivy and MK. I want to thank the Appalachian Spring initiative for including my “baby” called Adventure Mendota. We are at about the 9th minute. I hope you like it.

I call it a “redemption video” for those of us who have had to answer the misspoken and sometimes mean question “Why do you live in a place like that?” The answer is clear. It’s because we’re smart…and we value beauty…and we’re very, very lucky!

We live in a postcard!

Behind Door Number 1

There used to be a television show called “Let’s Make a Deal” and the contestents would guess which door to pick for a great prize or a terrible prize. Here’s my door. Door Number One. The Black Door. (I do like painting some of the doors black.)

Black Door

Nice and neat looking, right? But I am married to someone who doesn’t want to throw anything away or get rid of anything. He also can pack more crap in a tight space than a sardine canning company. So here’s my Door Number One. Ouch! I did not win a prize.

Closet is Full

This tiny “coat” closet had two 5×8 rugs rolled up, an ironing board, glasses that I’d boxed and stuck in there, a Food Saver, iron, 26 baseball hats, and scarves to outfit everyone in Mendota. Seriously. Can you imagine if someone really wanted to hang their coat in there? They’d probably have a rug fall on them.

We got the quote to have all of our hardwood refinished and it is a definite go. I’m so excited. We’re going to wait until the first of the year, but I have already decided it’s not too early to start thinking about getting rid of things that I don’t want to move out and then move back in.

These coats are going to be sold on Facebook or go to the consignment store. There is another stack of coats and scarves that I did not picture that will go to Goodwill.

See ya red coat! Asking $10 for this.

Red Coat 2

And see ya…oatmeal tweedy-like coat. Asking $8 for this.

Oatmeal Coat

And men’s scarves. I kept two out for Mike and the rest of these are scarves I’ve seldom seen him wear. If a family member is reading this and they bought him these scarves, I’m sorry. It’s just that it doesn’t make sense to keep something and not use it.

Black and white scarf

I wish I could think of something crafty to do with these scarves. I went on Pinterest for inspiration, but I wasn’t inspired. Can you think of anything? I thought about cat quilts for feral cats but every one of these says “Dry Clean Only.”

I’ll try and sell them on Facebook or Ebay. Otherwise, they are off to Goodwill. I’d rather someone cold be kept warm vs. them sitting in my closet.

There’s still a rug sitting in the closet in the picture below as we’ll be putting that down in a few weeks, so I’m giving it a pass–and I haven’t labeled the two plastic bins above. One will say “scarves” and one ill say “gloves and hats”. I learned while living in Massachusetts that the reason people can stand the weather is that they know how to dress. However, I don’t live there anymore. I haven’t for 13 years! I’m keeping a few things for the short cold spells we get, and the rest is leaving.

I moved the Food Saver to another spot. I threw away 24 of the 26 hats. I’ve got a stack for Goodwill. It feels so good to decrapify the closet! I still need to “pretty” it up a bit, but it looks so much better with just a bit of tossing, giving and selling. I left the rug because I am using it beginning in about two weeks, but it will be leaving never to return again!

Closet Cleared

Boom! Done! Feeling good!

Scott County River Road

Hi everyone! Have you ever heard of someone who received the shingles vaccine still getting the shingles? Mike had his vaccine about 5 years ago, but I believe he has the shingles. He has no blisters (yet), but his side is sensitive to the touch and hurts like…you know what. I went today to get him some medication, and on my way home, I drove along the river road from Hiltons up into the Maces Spring area. I like that drive.

It’s fall and all along the river, there is this yellow flower which I’m sure is a weed, but one man’s weed is another man’s flower and I think it’s a yellow flower.

wEEDS THAT ARE YELLOW

Oh..and I saw this. Burley tobacco. “In the day” when Burley tobacco was everywhere, it was cured out in the field for a few days and then hauled to a tobacco barn. This hanging and draping came later.

Tobacco

Some visions trigger other senses, and I can look at this picture and smell tobacco — not the tobacco that is in cigarettes, etc., but tobacco as it travels through the different processes from green leaf, to yellow wilted, to “in case” to packed. It has a strong musty smell.

And here’s what I was really looking for..you can take Park Avenue any day–just give us farm girls our barns.

Barn Quilt

Especially when they are all decked out with a quilt. This one is a 6′ x 6′ quilt square.

Barn Quilt 6 x 6

I love the blues…but why not? You know what country you’re in when you go past that Scott County line? People in Scott County love their GCHS Blue Devils.

Blue Devil Price

Thanks for riding along with me.