Tag Archives: mendota

Coming Home To Virginia

Hay Cutting Time May 2012

Last week I made an overnight trip to Alpharetta, Georgia for work. I got home just in time to see Mr. Faust mowing hay in the backyard. Smelled so good. If I could package this smell, I’d be a rich woman!

Even after one night, I get excited returning home to Mendota. Clinch Mountain…happy feet…security. All one and the same to me.

I am a mountain person. I don’t feel safe if Clinch Mountain is not at my back. In Adriana Trigiana’s book Big Stone Gap, Ave Maria describes herself as a “mountain girl with a flat butt.” That’s me.

I am not, however, dissing an overnight trip. I even brought a pal back home with me.

My pal PB!

She’s got good taste! Stuff for the master bedroom. I’ll show you the pictures when the goodies come out of the bag. Currently, I’ve got PB and her contents hidden in the closet. Beginning next week, I’m starting the process of cleaning and painting and freshening up the inside of my house. It’s dirty filthy nasty!

Visitors!

There's gold in them thar hills

Here’s the garden that sits beside the raised beds. These are my potatoes–not just any potatoes. These are Yukon Gold potatoes. My favorite. Just past the potatoes but before the raised beds, there are some zinnia babies that will show up soon. There are also a few bell peppers in the picture. We’ve had trouble growing corn. The crows eat it. This year they are not bothering the corn. Maybe it’s all the cicadas keeping them interested and full.

Yikes! Could the crows be eating our honey bees instead? I hope not!! Whatever the reason, they have left the corn alone for the first time in 7 years.

Anyway, while I was gone last week, my husband received some visitors.

I’d like to introduce you to the Corn Family…there are a lot of them!

Mr. and Mrs. Corn

Only 10 More Days

Only ten more days and I am unemployed. It’s a little scary, but it is so necessary. Check me out. I’ve got so pudgy I could be a chipmunk. Ok…maybe a chipmunk is a little small. How about a hog? I’ve got to lose weight before fall as that’s hog killing time in southwest Virginia. I will keep you abreast of my progress. It all starts on May 31. My new healthy life.

Back to the hogs. I can never recall my family setting down to a Thanksgiving dinner when we grew up in Mendota. I remember other families having Thanksgiving but not us. I asked one of my sisters, and she explained that Thanksgiving was hog killing time. Oh. Yuck. I wonder…why was it Thanksgiving?

What do you think Dale Jett is thinking in the picture below? He’s digging around hunting raffle tickets, but I’ll bet he’s really thinking…”she’d better be careful at Thanksgiving.” Or…”hummm….I smell bacon.”

That’s okay…go ahead and make fun and think pig thoughts. I’m gonna be skinny by summer’s end!!

Oink Oink Squeal

Raised Bed Garden

This is my raised bed garden. There are actually six 4 x 8 raised beds. The one in this picture has salad greens. We need to eat from them every day to keep them from bolting.

Salad anyone?

My Nephew’s Present

This is a double wedding ring quilt. For once, I had the perfect gift.

My nephew Will got married last week. I am not even sure if I was invited to the wedding, but I’d already made plans so it didn’t really matter. What was great is that for once, I had the perfect gift. I gave my nephew and his new wife something I think they will come to treasure. I gave them a quilt.

I didn’t make the quilt. Mrs. Ruby Smith made the quilt. She was in her late 80’s when she made the quilt…she’s in her 90’s now. It is the double wedding ring pattern. I believe it has a bit of my mother’s clothing in it. Mother died 8 years ago.

Will and Jaimee, I hope you treasure this quilt. I treasured it and for some reason, it wanted to come to your place. You almost got towels and a cookbook.