I decided to opt for a new theme for this website. If you blog, you’ll generally purchase or find a free template to use. This is a free WordPress theme/template called Twenty Twelve. I actually had someone else create my old site. I didn’t want to do that because I want to make some changes to this on my on. It means I”ll have to learn how to do a few things. I can do it. Tonight I created the header graphic and inserted it. It wasn’t hard and I can change it easily.
Next up, I want to change the position of the header. I want it to be at the top of the page instead of below the page titles. This will require learning how to change the Style Sheet (CSS). I’ll work on that later this week.
I want the site to be cheerful yet simple, and I love polka dots. My mother called polka dots “poky dots” and I was mortified whenever I heard this come out of her mouth. Now, I get a good laugh and a fond remembrance of my wonderful mother. So…I went with a polka dot background, and I’m inserting them here.
I started this blog in 2012. I was leaving my job and I thought I was reinventing myself. Maybe I thought I’d be a world famous blogger. I am not sure. Whatever my intent, I did enjoy it, and I met a lot of people. Then I took a turn, and I became a small business owner. Never did I realize that by taking that step, I’d discover a confidence that lived inside of me. In 2015, when I made that step, I stopped writing in this blog — with the exception of a few entries here and there. Truthfully, I didn’t like the way it looked. I didn’t like what I thought it would be. While I had the desire to write things down, I didn’t like doing in on the fluffy site that I’d loved just a few years before. It no longer felt like me. I’d changed.
We closed our 4th season with our small business this year, and I’m not going to waste the 8 months or so we have before we reopen. I want to accomplish some things. I decided to start with my blog. I wanted a new look…so tonight…I wiped out the old and I started with a basic theme which, maybe I’ll customize a bit. It’s not pretty but that will force me to learn new things to attempt to make it look better. I’d like to change the name, too, but I am not going to do so as I’ve got that website domain prepaid.
I’m going to enjoy redoing this website, and I”m going to enjoy writing in it.
I realized that there are almost no sites where people talk about aging in the sense that we all age. We just do it. There’s mommy bloggers, health bloggers, book bloggers, home dec/DIY bloggers, fashion bloggers, etc, but I seldom see anyone who is my age. I don’t want to talk about aging either, but I want to be a person that didn’t stop at a certain age. It’s not a dirty word. When a person stops growing and changing, they stop. My hope it that when you call me on the phone, I don’t focus on our birthdays or my health and your health, but instead, we talk about the books we’ve read, the movies we’ve seen, the places we plan to visit, what we learned this week or the room that we plan to paint.
It is Memorial Day and since the river was not suitable for kayaking, Mike and I had “Garden Day!” It started at 7:00 am. Like all “Garden Days” we have, it began with a trip to Home Depot or Lowe’s. We go more to Home Depot than we do Lowe’s since Lowe’s moved from Exit 7. We had to get some mulch for the back yard.
My back yard has been a source of great enjoyment or great neglect depending on what I’m doing during the summer. This summer I believe, even though we’ll be kayaking ALOT, it will be a source of great enjoyment! Here’s what I’ve been doing.
I cleaned my fence a few weeks ago. It was filthy with mildew. I did a blog post about how I do that a few years ago; and surprisingly, a lot of people–oh okay one or two– have sent me emails thanking me. I am serious. Really!!! Apparently, there are people who do not live in an area where they must fight mildew each spring and are not as experienced as we Mendotians!! Here’s the post called “Cleaning Your Vinyl Fence.”
Since I’ve never mastered weedeating, Mike came behind me yesterday and weedeated the border garden area. It left me with sort of a blank slate. I’m intermingling green beans, green peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers in this back yard. The cukes are going in a pot on the stairs. And flowers everywhere.
One of the problems with our back yard is that it is fenced in for the pets so it has to meet their needs first. It keeps skunks out, and it provides us an easy way to let River out to use the “facilities.” The funny thing is that he will not poop in this yard. He refuses. Dr. D’Amato’s place which is just up the road? Now, there’s a good place to poop!!
While I want it to meet their needs, I also want it to look nice. Here’s one of the problem areas. River has dug himself a bit swath to lie in during the evening when he goes outside to sleep. He loves to sleep for a few hours out in the back yard.
So..for me to have anything back there that looks decent, it’s going to have to have a trellis protecting it or be in a pot. I’ve got green beans planted out there … an heirloom pole bean that will grow up the bamboo trellis I made. I don’t put mulch around seedlings. Behind the green beans, I planted cosmos and a few zinnias. I think the small bamboo trellis’ will be enough to deter River from messing around over there.
I’ve even got the Foxglove protected by topiary things. River would love to roll on these. Not happenin’ little buddy!
Got these labels to put in the ground. This reminds me what is a weed and what is flower, and it also lets me know if someone decides to dig around and move stuff. River isn’t my only digger. I have cats. Z is for Zinnia. PB is for Pole Bean. C is for Cosmos.
See how well they work?
Lots of hanging baskets this year. This is a bleeding heart. $10.99 at Cecil’s Market! I think I’m going to have to figure out a way to repot this thing.
I went back in the barn and found a bunch of baskets that I bought TEN YEARS ago. The one in the picture below that is in the center is one of them. I planted Black Eyed Susie seedlings in them. They’ll be pretty this summer. 4
Here’s the seedlings…soon they will climb all over that basket with happy yellow flowers with brown eyes.
I’ve got a lot of New Guinea Impatiens. I’ve been finding the best selection at Walmart. These are planted right outside my steps and apparently snails don’t bother them. It’s a good thing because there are a zillion snails out on the patio at night. I used to stomp them, but a physician friend gave me a new perspective and I allowed them to live; but then this year, because they ate my basil, I went back to stomping them.
And here are the succulents I’ve repotted. I am selling these at Adventure Mendota for $2.50 per pot. I think Mike thinks no one will buy them. Bet he’s wrong. I’ve got about 20. So when I’m $50 richer, he’ll be sorry!
And I love these little pot stands I found at Walmart for under $4 each. They will keep the pesky snails away from my pots. Those green plants you see below are Mandevilla that I over wintered. They look healthy but where the heck are the blooms? They’d better get busy are they will find themselves in the compost pile. Did ya hear that ya lazy girls!?!
Hope you and your family are having a great Memorial Day!!
I’m part of a five-person team rolling out KIVA – crowd sourced lending with zero interest — in Southwest Virginia. I woke up this morning and I am 52 percent toward my goal of raising $9,000. For any of you that have contributed (not donated–KIVA is a loan so you will be repaid), thank you.
It has been a real adventure. Look at my hair at the podium. It was so hot. I was sweating. This was at the 2018 Southwest Virginia Economic Forum at UVA Wise.
Helping any of the five KIVA participants in Southwest Virginia is helping Southwest Virginia as we reinvent our economy. If this works, and I believe it will — although I’d recommend a smaller loan than $9,000.00 — we’ll have a tool that will enable a small loan for someone who might not otherwise be able to get that loan. Perhaps they are needing a commercial mixer for their cupcake business ran from their home; maybe they need a new piece of equipment for a home cleaning business, etc. Lenders to KIVA are people who are interested in finding a way to make the world a better place.
Everyone should be able to earn a decent living. KIVA is just another tool in our toolbox.
National Tourism Week was last week and this week, Mike and I had commitments everywhere. (We own a small kayak company www.adventuremendota.com if you are reading this and do not know us.) This afternoon, however, I took some time and washed the mildew off our vinyl fence and then started washing the house. We live on the river and mildew is always present in the spring and summer. However, since we have vinyl siding, it’s a pretty simple process of just spraying it off with a bleach/water solution. I also cleaned the porch and decided to take a few pictures. These pictures are so small when I entered them in the blog. Ouch! Sorry!
Just a swingin’. See that puddle under the swing? That porch is clean!!! I love the bridal veil hanging basket. Those were just $10.99 at Cecil’s Market in Bristol, VA. I went crazy and bought five.
And here’s one of those $14 chairs from Lowe’s. Honestly, sometimes plastic is just better. We can scrub this and stack this and so on. Want to know about those cute pillows? They were $13.99 at Tractor Supply. I am trying not to buy junk, but I had to have these. The girl in line in front of me said “you could make them!” I told her “no, I cannot, and I sure cannot for $13.99.” Obviously she mistook me for someone who can sew well.
And here’s some of my pretty hanging plants…that sad little center basket has seedlings that I stuck in old, old hanging baskets that were in a corner of the barn. They have been in there for YEARS! I reached down and picked them up with some trepidation because I was worried a snake would be curled. I think once the seedlings take off, however, they’ll actually look pretty. At least I’m trying.
I sure like my plants. Look at that clean, yellow vinyl.
I was in Michael’s and saw fake succulents that look so real. Sorry, I’m not buying. The real ones are so easy and they breed and grow like crazy. Real is definitely better in this case. Besides they are FREE!
And basil? I love basil. This basil came from Walmart (Yes, I am a Walmart Woman.) However, there are tiny little seedlings in the pot that will join their Walmart counterpart.
I hope I can start posting here more. I actually need to revamp this as just a blog roll on the RiverCliff Cottage AirB&B I’m going to do. However, that has been slowed down as a SKUNK died near the HVAC and we didn’t know it for a few days. This has left RiverCliff Cottage with a unique smell that not everyone will appreciate. I’ll be going over and airing that out this weekend.
I love snow. I hate winter. We have no snow, so I am hating winter.
I have spent more time than I should on Pinterest and decided I need a new kitchen. It’s not going to happen — at least not for a year or two. I have had a white kitchen and the cabinets turned yellow, but that was 20 years ago. I assume things are much better now. At any rate, I want a lighter kitchen. At the same time, I’m grateful for the kitchen I’ve had for the past 19 years.
But…at this time of year, I am always a little down. I’m very busy so that helps but still….yucky. I normally turn to organizing, but I don’t even want to do that. What does cheer me up are green plants. I so miss Evergreen Garden Center’s Bristol location. I used to walk through the greenhouse during the winter and enjoy the way it felt, smelled and looked.
I started moving plants into the kitchen. The first thing I did is have Mike put these two small shelves up. I got them at Lowe’s, and while they can’t hold more than about 10 pounds, I like that they are “floating” and you can’t see the hardware.
I did not mean to leave River’s picture there, but there it is. I took the old sifter that reminds me of the grandmother I am named after and put a plant in it. I put an old mixer that also reminds me of her beside it.
Now, when I walk by it, I think of her. She always smelled so good because she had a “bubby” bush and she kept the dried bubby flowers in her apron pocket.
Put some plants on the cabinet. I’ve been rotating them with others in the house so they don’t start to look “poorly” as it’s not the best location for them.
Made a little vignette in the corner and put a plant there as well.
The Sweetest Girl Ever DeeDee got me those little piggy salt and pepper shakers from Magolia Market. I love them. I think of her every time I go get dog food from that jar. The little house plant makes me happy as well. Here’s a close up.
Oink.
Here’s something else I finally put on the wall. Neth made me this clock during his freshman year at college. Two years ago!!
I love it.
These are the worst pictures ever.
I even put plants in my pot rack. Pot racks are out of vogue for the moment, but I still have mine. My kitchen isn’t bright like I want it but it is warm and friendly.
I’m feeling better just looking at those houseplants!!! Does winter make you BLUE, too?
Our weather has been crazy lately. Less than a week ago, we were right in the middle of multiple days of below freezing weather. The river, which is low due to lack of rain, transitioned to a white popsicle. She’s a “purty” thang!!
So that picture was on January 5, and this is the scene today in my backyard. Today is January 9. What you see on the clothesline is my mattress pad. It was sunny and 60 so I hung it out to dry — and dry it did!!! Weather in Southwest Virginia is always interesting!
It as so nice outside that I put my houseplants outside for some sunshine and a good watering. These are a few of them.
I think they enjoyed it. The taller of these plants is a Fiddle Leaf Fig. Do you know how hard it is to find a Fiddle Leaf Fig in the Tri-Cities? Once in a while Evergreen gets them, but I’ve never been able to get there in time to get one. I called a couple of florists and they thought they could get one for me, but they never called back. So…Amazon to the rescue. I never dreamed that I could get a healthy house plant and get it from Amazon, but folks….it worked. I took pictures of it the day it arrived but I can’t find them. It was mid-August. The plant has grown at least 12 inches since that time. So, the lesson here is that even though it’s always best to shop local, sometimes you can’t. When you can’t, Amazon does a fine job — even with houseplants.
We have had several days of below freezing temperatures…morning are 10 or 11 degrees with a colder wind chill. Ouch. My sweet boy, River, does not understand why we are not walking him twice per day. River typically is walked three miles each day. Mike has taken him a few of these mornings, but I have not. I hate the cold. We’ve been taking him to the dog park at Sugar Hollow. He likes this, but he does not see it as a replacement. He sees this as a possible addition to his daily regimine of all things being for River, but no..we have not been given a pass on the no walking thing that has been occurring. The result is that he is getting lots of toys, attention, and yes, food. Poor River. Next Friday is a milestone. River has been with us two years and has never been groomed. That all changes when this little dog shetland pony goes for his appointment next week.
I took this picture of the North Fork in front of our house on Tuesday on my way to work at about 8:00 am. The river had started to gather ice but there were darker spots where the water had no ice on top.
Here’s another picture of the same place in the river taken this morning. We haven’t had any snow to speak of so this is all ice that is coating the water. It’s not thick enough to walk on but it’s thick enough to be “interesting.”
Without snow, I am not liking winter. Snow is magic. This weather is just cold. And there is no snow on the horizon, yet I look at pictures of my niece Lacy and she’s in Charleston throwing snowballs!!
For those of you interested in the Mendota Trail, there is a newly established website for the Mendota Trail. You may visit it here. The picture below is of the ribbon cutting of the first mile.
The Mendota Festival for 2017 was held this past weekend. We started on Friday night with our beloved local musician, Oscar Harris, followed by the Poor Valley Girls. About 100 people showed up for the performance. They got a great show. There is so much “heart” in these small festivals, and that heart extended to getting the stage ready for the performance. Oscar’s wife, Katie, took an old stage in an old building and transformed it into a front porch set up for just a little pickin’ on a Friday night.
Every front porch has to have some flowers to pretty it up and ours was no exception.
On Saturday, we had a breakfast prepared by Liz Kiser and her gang of helpers. I manned a General Store that had all sorts of beautiful creations. Most were made by Katie Harris and Dottie Dye. Here’s a few of them…
I loved this tiger tailed tutu. The tutus are for ages 2-5. I don’t have a 2-5 year old to buy this for, but I’d like to! I can imagine a little cat face painted on with this cute little tutu.
She had every color. The green one was awfully sweet. Most have hair accessories to go with them. Sometimes a wand as well.
Another…if you want one of these. I can hook you up but you’d need to pay shipping.
How about a lady bug?
Or Christmas outfit.
Feeling blue?
I bought this for the About Face Bootox event in October.
Here’s another one.
There was a Mendota history room that was set up…very cool. I’ll take you through it. Here’s a nod to education. At one time, Mendota was a center for education. There’s a thread here…”at one time.” I want that to change but that’s another subject for another time.
Our rural, farming roots…tobacco basket, milk churn, patchwork quilts…a sign for the Mendota General Store. History.
Arts…creativity…shopkeepers. On the second shelf is pottery made in Mendota. It is believed to be Mort’s Pottery. You can Google Mort’s Pottery and get the history. There were several potters in the area because of our clay.
Here’s a closer picture of one of the pieces… and right below it you’ll see a pair of stockings priced at 50 cents from Faye’s Gift Shoppe. She was my cousin, but I was instructed to call her “Auntie Faye” because of her age. I loved to shop in her store.
Faces of Mendota…
Closer….
A nod to the North Fork. Hmmm…where are the kayaks?
The Masonic Lodge which is no longer in existence…this whole thing is beautiful, wonderful and sad at the same time. In the picture below, you’ll see an old jar and some items in plastic. That is a jar that was placed in a corner of the old Masonic Lodge building back in 1917. It was discovered last year.
Churches of Mendota…
And there was a corner devoted to music…Oscar Harris, Bill Clifton, Dale Jett, the Carter Family…all threads of our heritage. It’s behind the beautiful fan quilt.
And this quilt tho… I want this fan quilt.
Here’s some history about the fan quilt.
And others…
And others…
A more recent one…
Dottie Dye and Katie Harris put this room together. Pretty awesome. I cannot thank them enough. They have such an eye for beauty and respect for history. We are fortunate that they invested their time, talent and energy into getting this together.
Concurrent with the festival, the Washington County Public Library hosted a book sale in what I recall being the 5th or 6th grade room at Hamilton. I still hold a grudge over this neighborhood school being closed. We bus our little ones a long way in Washington County…or we send them to Scott County which is much more convenient. Or we home school.
Here’s the ladies who manned the booksale. Thank you!
This festival comes at an interesting time for Mendota. We are at a crossroads on many things. Funds that were raised by the festival will go toward paying for a Preliminary Architectural Report which will tell the story of what is required to make the community center and library a safe, warm, attractive place for our community. Or not. Perhaps it’s better to start over.
We do not yet know, but we are not afraid to dream.
