Note: If you are visiting RiverCliff Cottage to view pictures taken from the Mendota Heritage Festival today, please visit the Mendota Community Events Facebook Page.
The Highlands Beekeepers had a booth at the Washington County Fair, and I volunteered to work from 3 to 6 this past Friday. This worked out great because I got free admission and a place to park! Yay! It was fun talking to people about the bees, but wow, it was so hot. I was sweating like a pig. Notice how my colors match the honeybee’s colors? If I’d lost a little weight, I would have dressed like a bee. Maybe next year.
Speaking of pigs…we met Piggy Sue. Piggy Sue is a therapy pig. She’s very clean and friendly. She wasn’t sweating nearly as much as me so I take that “sweating like a pig” remark back. She actually was very, very clean.
Here’s another…
Yes, that picture above was my friend Sue kissing Piggy Sue. On the way home, she asked me if I wanted a sip of her lemonade. Nope!
I loved the country decor of our fair.
Mendota and Benhams were well represented. Mary McCroskey and Terri McCroskey cleaned up. Girls — I am going to take you on next year!! Here’s Mary’s chair which got Best of Show. She also had a fern which was loitering around with a Blue Ribbon!
And Terri’s green beans…
It’s all about agriculture at the fair…here is the Virginia Extension Office display.
Some more canned goods…
This was one of the more strange things. The man from Bathfitters kept getting in his bathtub and driving around. That tub could move!
Cute, country stuff…
$5.00 got you a ride on the bull. This young lady had just finished clogging and she took on the bull with such grace. Ahh…to be that young. She has the world by the tail.
I have another dishtowel to give away! Eight readers commented on my blog on the dishtowel post, and I put their names in a bowl. I drew Patsy Carrier’s name and she now has the dishtowel. Yay Patsy!!
This one is a little brighter. It came from target. I like it because it has a jar on it. Jars work so hard, are able to do so many things, and they look good doing it! They are like women!
So…if you comment on this blog post, I’ll enter your name and someone will win this cute little dishtowel. So easy, and it’s so fun to get things in the mail (assuming you don’t live in Mendota…poor Patsy…she got her dishtowel tossed to her while she was at work in the post office!) We’ll have the drawing on Wednesday, September 17.
There’s more in this post. I finished another wreath. Last night I watched a video on how to tie a wired-ribbon bow. I made my bow…I don’t think I could do as well without a wired ribbon, but it was pretty easy with the wire.
I added the B that I’d spray painted black and then dabbed orange dots using an eraser and paint.
Looks more at home glued to the wreath….
And here it is….
I really like this wreath. It’s simple but speaks of fall. This one will go on the door leading into our den.
I have one more door that I might make a wreath for. It’s addictive!
Note: Aimee won the dishtowel. I’ve sent her an email asking for her address so I could mail the towel. Thank you to all ten who commented and had their names entered! This is so fun!!
Fifteen years ago when we decided to buy this property in Mendota, it was partly because of things like cake walks. If you live in the ‘burbs, how many cake walks do you attend in a year?
So we’re having our Mendota Heritage Festival on Saturday, September 13, and I’ve been asked to provide a cake. I am willing to do many things, but I don’t bake cakes that must be counted on for a decent appearance. It just doesn’t happen.
I made a diaper cake. I haven’t asked if this is permissable. I’m just going to show up with my cake. Here it is…
Mike said “is it finished?” which has trampled my confidence. However, this is as good as it gets.
While I had out crafty stuff which is incredibly messy, I decided to rework my “B” which appeared on a summer wreath last year…
It looks really rough in this picture…
I spray painted my “B” black and then I poured some orange paint I got for 49 cents on a paper plate. My tool of choice was an old pencil with a eraser.
I then just “dotted” with the eraser tip and made a B that will look good on a fall wreath.
And here is where the wreath should appear, but it does not. Because I haven’t made it yet. I’m still basking in the glory of the B. This was so easy.
Thought some of you from Mendota or with ties to Mendota might enjoy The Villager. It’s a peek into life in our rural life. Margie Dean puts this together for our community. If you like seeing this on this blog, please leave a comment so that I’ll know. I could do it for our future issues, too.
Sep/Oct/Nov 2014 THE VILLAGER
MENDOTA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION NEWS
Thoughts from MCA President (Bill) Porter – Wake Up Mendota! There are wonderful things taking place in your community! The MCA Board is actively serving you. We are working to maintain the community center in good shape. We work hard to keep the pantry stocked and serve the needs of the people weekly. We explore fundraisers to help supplement the county grant. We are working to promote Mendota so businesses will want to open in Mendota. We plan and work tirelessly. We speak positive about beautiful Mendota and the surrounding area. If you want to expand your boundaries and give a helping hand, show up at the next MCA meeting. We need your help and support! We had a great energetic group at our September2 meeting and we believe God has good things in store for Mendota and YOU! Be a positive influence for Mendota!
Welcome HMG! Mendota Health Center opened September 3. Holston Medical Group announces the expansion of primary care services with the opening of HMG Primary Care at Mendota. “We’re very pleased to partner with the Mendota community to provide primary care services to this area,” says HMG President & CEO Scott R. Fowler, MD,JD. “Dr Andrew Bockmyre, a local physician and long-time HMG physician now provides the community with the peace of mind of excellent care, close to home, decreasing travel time and expense to the members of the community.”
Board-certified family physician Andrew Brockmyre, MD, began caring for patients at the Mendota location on September 3. Office hours are Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8am to 5 pm.
“I am excited to be practicing in my home town and look forward to providing quality care to my neighbors and friends,” said Dr. Brockmyre.
Brockmyre received his doctorate of medicine from Michigan State University School of Medicine and has been practicing at Holston Medical Group since 1997 where he has continued to provide compassionate, attentive care to patients in all stages of life.
Mendota, go to the Clinic and welcome Dr. Brockmyre and staff!
The Mendota Community Association meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. Residents of Mendota are encouraged to be a part of this active leadership group. Everyone is invited to attend the meetings and if you have ideas or concerns, please contact Bill Porter at 276-386-7063 or 423-914-5156 or Cobenna Barker at 276-466-4551. Our goal is to keep the building maintained in good shape, inside and out, for many years and that everyone will continue to enjoy many community events sponsored by the MCA and other groups.
Community Center rental is available by calling Wanda Riner at 276-645-2362.
Activities Coming Soon – (Place on Your Calendar)
Mendota Heritage Festival, Sat, September 13
Mendota Pumpkin Patch Event, Tues, Oct 28
Veterans Day Appreciation Dinner, Tues, Nov 11
Christmas Dinner/Tree Lighting/Concert, Friday, Dec 5
Mendota 5K River Run – Saturday, March 21, 2015
Neighborhood Watch
Residents of Mendota area are encouraged to attend the meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Community Center. A representative from the Washington County’s Sheriff’s Office leads the meetings. The meetings are very informative and interesting. The September 4 meeting welcomed Sergeant Jamie Davis, District Supervisor of Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Sergeant Davis talked about and distributed literature and pamphlets on Wildlife Crime Watch, Hunting & Trapping, Rabies Vaccination Program and Living with Black Bears in Virginia. Check out the community center bulletin board for information on Wildlife in Virginia and pick up the September copy of the Neighborhood Watch Newsletter for telephone numbers and websites to report suspicious wildlife related activities.
The October Neighborhood Watch will welcome Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman on Thursday,
October 2 beginning at 7:00 pm. Come and visit with Sheriff Newman. He wants to meet you and listen to your concerns and thoughts on how to enhance the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in the Mendota area. Place October 2 on your calendar today so you will not forget this important meeting. Please come and bring a neighbor.
Mendota Heritage Festival, Sat, September 13
Come and enjoy the wonderful activities that are planned for you and your family. The children will enjoy a petting zoo, bubbles in the field, button making in the Library, and archery – all free. Also, guessing jars filled with goodies could be yours if you can guess the number of items in the jars. Adults will enjoy the music, vendors, horseshoe, archery, quilt show, and a cake walk. Everyone will enjoy the K-9 Demonstrations by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Library book sale, and photo contest. Come and welcome HMG’s Dr. Brockmyre and staff to the Mendota Health Clinic. Good food too!
Mendota Food Pantry
The MCA is delighted to serve Mendota and surrounding area with a food pantry that is open weekly on Thursdays from 4-7 pm. Now, we are serving from 35-49 families weekly. The food pantry accepts monetary donations along with non-perishable food items. We have been blessed with continued donations from Churches plus donations of food from several individuals that contribute weekly. We extend a very heart-felt “Thanks” to everyone. Your support is valuable to the success of the pantry. If you haven’t been contributing to the food pantry, think how you might help.
Also, we need a chest type freezer for our pantry, if you happen to have one to donate.
Alive 55 Senior Group
The Alive 55 Group continues to enjoy their monthly activities. The July meeting was a health program by Dr. Donna Fraysier that everyone participated in and thoroughly enjoyed. The August meeting was a fun meeting with a scavenger hunt for unusual items of empty spool of thread, a used crayon, rubber band, finishing nails, and a match stem. After finding these items, everyone enjoyed using them and learned to make “creepers”. Then, we had a creeper race that was won by Jo Mutter. We played bingo and had ice cream sundaes and banana splits. Barbara Hays brought watermelon – delicious. The September 16 meeting will be a cook-out at Nottingham UMC Picnic Shelter at 3 pm. But first, some seniors are going to the Creations Kingdom Zoo located about 15 minutes from Nottingham, leaving about 1 pm from Nottingham and arriving back at 3 pm for the meeting.
Our October 21 meeting will be a fun time and preparing for our Silent Auction scheduled in November and “The Gift Tree” for Mendota’s children and elderly that might need a little extra love and care for Christmas. Also, we will work on shoeboxes for children in foreign countries through Samaritan’s Purse. Our November meeting will be featuring Mendota’s talented Oscar Harris. In December, we will celebrate Christmas with a program, games and Christmas goodies.
Come and see what’s happening at Alive 55. You’ll be glad you did!
Snow Removal from Mendota Health Clinic – HMG.
If you have equipment to remove snow from the clinic parking lot and would be available to scrape the parking lot on days the clinic is open, please contact Bill Porter at 423/914-5156.
Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday November 2, 12:00 am – Remember to set those clocks back one hour.
MENDOTA
Heritage Festival
Sat – Sept 13, 2014, 11am-3:30pm
MUSIC – Beginning 11:00 am
Jeff Millsap 11:00 am
Blood Bought – D.C. & Mary Hess- Noon
Savior’s Call – 1:00 pm
Candice Bennett – 2:00 pm
Liz, Gregor, Micah – 2:30 pm
Karen Vermillion – 3:00 pm
God’s Grace – 3:30 pm – Patty Odum
Free to Enjoy all Afternoon
PETTING ZOO
Enjoy all Afternoon – Free
K-9 DEMONSTRATIONS 1:00pm
Washington County Sheriff’s Office – Free
QUILT SHOW – Free Admission
Bring Your Quilt and Win the Blue Ribbon
HORSESHOE CONTEST
Free of Charge
ARCHERY – FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS
BEGINNERS AND EXPERIENCED
FOOD
Hot Dogs, Nachos/Cheese, Chips, Brownies, Cookies, Sodas, Water, Baked Goods and ice cream cones
CAKE WALK – Noon & 2pm
15 Cake Walks Tickets – 2 walks for $1.00
MENDOTA BRANCH OF THE WASHINGTON COUNTY LIBRARY BOOK SALE Special Button Making for Children
Photo Contest – Children & Adults – Call Ray @645-2374 for Details
MENDOTA HEALTH CLINIC – HMG
WELCOME Dr. Brockmyre and Staff
GOODSON KINDERHOOK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.
BUBBLE FUN FOR CHILDREN IN THE BALL FIELD – 3:00 PM
CAKE AUCTION – 11:45am
We Welcome Mendota Community residents and friends to share in a day of family entertainment.
Mendota Community Center
2562 Mendota Road
Mendota, Virginia 24270
276-645-2362
THE VILLAGER
MENDOTA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
We invite everyone to worship with us Sundays, 6 pm and Wednesdays, 10:30 am. Thanks Be to God! We are planning our Advent and Christmas studies and look forward to supplying shoe boxes for children with Samaritan’s Purse in November.
MENDOTA MINISTERIAL GROUP
The Mendota Ministerial Group – Pastor’s meetings are to encourage and pray together, for each other, the Mendota Community and, as the Spirit leads, for ministries for the Mendota area. We invite all area ministers to join us. We meet the second Thursday, at 6:30 pm; but if that is not a good time/date for you, let us know and we will try to find a date that will work for most.
The Mendota Gathering Bowl, a ministry of the Mendota Ministerial Group, will continue weekly on Thursdays in January 2015. Summer Picnics, compliments of Saint Peter Presbyterian Church, have served almost 100 individuals monthly at the community center. Thanks Wayne and Barbara Hays and the Mendota Parish. We appreciate you!
I had big plans for a geo mesh wreath that went no where fast, so I started thinking on how I could just “fix up” my grapevine wreaths and reuse them. Enter blocks, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, letters and hot glue. This one is going on the guest house door.
Here’s another one…I was in a hurry making these wreaths. I have company coming and I have not even got groceries or cleaned the house. I hope she drives slow. Here ya go! Enter two fake punkins, ribbon, hot glue gun and old wood punkin thing from last year. Ta da!
Check out the progression of this wreath. Like me, it has to work to live here. If you are living in a small space, you should consider a grapevine wreath because it is durable and you can change it up for each season. Best of all, you don’t have to store it. It stays on the door.
It was an Independence Day wreath…
And it was a wreath to welcome a bride staying in the guesthouse…
She was on the back door bouncing around for a while. (That drove me crazy.)
Part of a trio (middle) for a snowman look I had going on for a while…
This was a dark day (below) because birds kept flying in her and pooping. They confused her with a tree! I actually had to wash the wreath following this tenure.
Fall is my favorite time of year. This morning when Mike and I made our trip to the Rally Mart (two eggs over medium, buttered toast), he noted that it was 63 degrees. Nice.
I’ve got a friend coming to stay for a week so I’ve been doing some cleaning and decorating for fall. Last week, I had the mantle looking like this…
But today I went in this direction…which is best?
I’ve got other fall things going on in this room…yeah yeah yeah…those leaves are fake and I know I’ve whined about how much I hate fake plants. Disclaimer: Except when it’s leaves for fall.
I tried to draw some leaves this morning…not so good. This is just sad. They are still there. Sad, bad, but allowed to stay!
Here’s what happens if you fail to pick your summer squash…the squash becomes accessories. I swapped out the scrapbook paper in this picture frame. It’s polka dots for this fall!
Has there ever been a more beautiful fall quilt than the Glade Spring Tornado Quilt?
This room is a sweet room. That couch is my bed most nights. We have three bedrooms, a sofa bed, and a blow up mattress. Next door, we have a sofa bed and another bedroom in the guest house. However, I like to sleep on this couch with my feet propped up on the side. It also makes making the bed easier. This drives Mike crazy, but I cannot help it. If he gets too aggravated, I will wait until he’s asleep and then sneak off to the couch. I can just wad everything up and throw it in the closet and ta da…my bed is made up!
I love that orange pillow cover. $3.99 at Hobby Lobby and it’s even cheaper with a 40% coupon. Just sayin’.
I’m working on a few wreaths, too. It is not going well. I used to say I didn’t like those fluffy mesh wreaths…that was until I decided I wanted one. It’s kind of like the fall leaves…I only like them if I want to like them. It’s terrible! However, I was at Ben Franklin’s in Kingsport Tennessee and I saw this autumn plaid geo mesh and I bought a roll to make a wreath. I found that I didn’t have enough, so I drove back to Kingsport and bought a second roll. I have watched numerous You Tube Videos and step-by-step instructions and I can’t make this work and I hate it. It’s going to the trash. It’s frayed from my handling it so much.
I’ll keep you posted on how my non-geo mesh wreaths are going. Anything is an improvement over that thing pictured above.
I love fall. While I was at the Family Bakery in Gate City, Virginia LAST YEAR, I saw these fall dishtowels. I bought an extra one thinking I’d give it to someone who reads my blog. I never got around to it.
Here’s the Family Bakery…
And here’s the dishtowel I purchased…
If you would like for this dishtowel to be mailed to you, please comment on this blog post (not on Facebook but this post), and on Sunday, September 7, I’ll place the names of all who commented in a basket and draw the winner. Completely random. Please don’t be shy! It’s just a dishtowel but wouldn’t it be fun to find it in your mailbox?
Oh…and please share and ask your friends to comment! Pretend it’s something really big! Not just a dishtowel.
I love getting mail.
Good luck!
Update on 9/8/2014 – Patsy Carrier won the dishtowel. This is convenient as I won’t have to pay postage! I’ll be having another dishtowel give away in just a few days! Thank you to everyone who commented.
Today was the Cumberplunge in downtown Bristol. I am so chapped. I would have got a Mendota group together to take the plunge, but I thought it would be too crowded. I was wrong! It would have been perfect.
Here’s the actual Cumberplunge slide…
What was fun…and what I would have wanted to do…is to dress up and take the plunge. Here’s some really cute photographs of a few that did exactly that..
A very hot gorilla…
I love these two…who are they supposed to be? I don’t know, but they looked great!
Grrr..a tiger! A tiger in a tutu!
Kiss…I hope their makeup stayed intact!
This was sponsored by Quaker State. Do you know what would have been fun? It would have been fun to make this a Virginia/Tennessee competition to see which side of the street came up with the best outfits.
Quaker State occupies the space where JC Penney was a long time ago. Mother used to buy my underwear there. Yikes!
Here’s the inside of the restaurant. Very nice people. Brad Smith is the manager, and he came over and welcomed us on our first visit. We will be back. I asked him how they were doing, and the answer is “excellent”. I’m so happy Bristol is supporting this downtown business.
It was fun to see Catherine Brillhart, Bristol, Virginia’s first female mayor, working the event. She is a wonderful person.
It was also great to see two Mendota faces…Scotty Sproles (Fireman) and Travis Cunningham (Fireman)..
Here’s Scotty…
Here’s Travis…
When Mike saw the Public Works logo on the truck, I was afraid he would start asking about the compost for next year. Seriously. We do love our Bristol compost.
Bristol is such a good place to raise a family, and now, it’s also becoming kinda, sorta cool! Here’s our beautiful library…
And downtown has blossomed. I can’t wait for Rhythm & Roots. I’m in the Beverage Tent on Friday night. Ever since I saw the movie “Cocktail”, I’ve wanted to tend bar, and this is the closest opportunity I’ve ever had! I’m excited!
Katie, Lisa and I (my cradle to the grave friends) saw Romeo and Juliet at the Paramount, and this grand lady is grand again. She’s all fancy in her new lights that are the results of fundraising in Bristol. We went to Mountain Stage at the Paramount two weeks ago. Very clean. Nicely restored. Comfortable seats. Small enough to be intimate with the performance. I loved it. I’ve attended shows on Broadway. I prefer the Barter and the Paramount.
I love this sign. Get it? I LOVE it!
I took a picture of Shoozies because I wanted Mike to see it. I’ve asked for a gift certificate from Shoozies for Christmas. They have layaway!
They also have spectacular sales. These $50 flats were mine today for $12. I’ve lost another pound so this was a little reward.
We were getting tired, and we’d left Luckie at home, so we headed back home. We’re going again. We didn’t even get to the Birthplace of Country Music!
Hope you enjoyed touring around downtown Bristol with me. Let everyone know that we want the Cumberplunge to return next year. This was a learning year. I want to dress up and slide!!
You need to add something to this picture. Like imagination. Imagine that the candle stick is painted. Imagine that the candle is a creamy white. Imagine that the flower and the leaf are something that someone thought about for more than a second…if you do all these things, you’ll love this candlestick!
Our neighbor, Cookie Faust, asked Mike to help her make some candlesticks out of stairway ballisters. I call these spindles but they are called ballisters by people who know about such things. The candlesticks are going to be used in Cookie’s friend’s wedding. She had 12, and this is what one looks like:
Mike took these and cut them down into three sizes…8, 10 and 12 inches (I think). Cookie had been to Ben Franklin and bought square bases for the spindles to sit on as well as round tops for the candles to sit on.
Mike’s job was to cut the spindles down and make sure the square bottoms and round tops adhered, and with something as important as a wedding, hot glue was out of the question. Instead, he used things in his shop to make sure the candles are sturdy. Like this drill press…
The things below look like little monsters to me, but Mike said they are forstner bits, and they attach to the drill press and carve out perfect round holes. Mike used the 1/2 inch monster.
And it made a great hole.
Fits like a puzzle plus he’s added a screw into the bottom which will make sure it’s good and sturdy. Did the same with the round thing at the top. While we didn’t paint these (I wonder what color they will end up being painted?), I did decorate them a bit so you and I could envision what they’ll look like for the wedding. Cookie provided this little candle so that we could all get an idea of the final candle.
A little tulle ribbon…a maple leaf from outside the shop and a zinnia from the road. I had to use what I had. I think it looks good. I can’t wait to see how the bride paints and decorates these. They are awesome!
After you bought more than 2000 tickets on a quilt that will contribute to keeping our Mendota Cemetery groomed and maintained for another year…one ticket was drawn from the bucket.
Diane Salyer of Mendota won the quilt. Diane had just left at the time of the drawing. We took this picture of her parents in front of the quilt before they folded it up and took it to its new home. I spoke with Diane later in the day. She said “I am still smiling!”
Congratulations to Diane! Patsy sold her the winning ticket!
And how about something like this for the 2015 Cemetery Quilt? Like this? Me too!
