Catching Up !

So much going on this summer !  We were blessed to hear from a dear friend, Sarah, who we have known since she was a baby.  She has been living and working in Florida for a few years and has decided she belongs back in her beloved Vermont.  She made a trip 'home' over a week ago to visit friends and check out the housing and job opportunities here.  She stopped to see us and when we heard of her new venture we thought she should stop and stay a spell with us while she does her investigating of the job and housing markets.  It has been a delightful week, going on two, with lots of catching up to do.  We have been off to visit mutual friends, had picnics and a work day with much visiting and dinner together.

Our God is so good and faithful in His watch-care over us!  He has opened a few doors, and closed a few for Sarah as she continues her search.  She was blessed with an offer for a one-day-a week job which she immediately accepted. I have no doubt that things will work out well as she trusts Him to allow her to find just the right thing for her.

On Monday I was privileged to help out at the Family Center, along with 5 other folks from church, as we prepared 180 bag lunches for children who may not be getting much lunch now that school is out.  We set up an assembly line as we made the sandwiches, bagged up the cherry tomatoes and added an apple to each lunch bag.  It was a fun time and we enjoyed the camaraderie while doing something useful.

I am looking forward to a visit from my sweet friend Debbie on Friday after attending our class breakfast in the morning.  I have to hustle to get my housework done as I seem to find so many other fun things to do this summer.  I have managed to sneak  in the reading of two good books though!  It has been so beastly hot that I have to just settle down in the afternoon in front of the fan and take a rest and catch up on my reading.  It would be so good to go swimming but such an effort to get to the swimming hole and back up to the car that we would be hotter then than when we started out from home!  We did get in a morning of kayaking, early, before it got too hot.  The water was low but it wa a fun paddle and such a pretty day!  Then lunch and of course ice cream !

I have been neglectful of writing here in my blog but hope all will understand and not give up looking to see if I have added any more ramblings.  We were fortunate last night to escape the severe thunderstorm predicted for our area.  We got a little rumble now and then and maybe a little 'heat' lightening but nothing to be concerned about.  Thankful for this !

The saga of the red squirrels vs. husband continues as he has come up with yet another possible solution to our over abundance of these little rodents.  He now catches them in his and the neighbor's have-a-heart traps and busses them off to visit their country cousins away off on a back road near the woods and a cornfield.  So far I think they have stayed there!  BUT don't know just how smart they are at returning to their old home area.  Just hoping they are welcomed by the country cousins and won't even miss the Village!

Cousin Janice sent us a picture of a very early motorhome.  This was made by Ford in the late '30's and was called a "House Car".

The interior was nice too !

Couple pictures of the Gypsy Wagon after completion.

Here is the peaceful scene on the water as we kayaked in the morning

Finally, I have a new quote that could be adopted as one's motto.

 "Don't tell God how big your storm is...

Tell the storm how big your GOD is !!!

Real Summer Days

This is real summer !  Nice cool mornings and if we get up nice and early, we can get the outdoor work all done before it gets too hot.  I finally got my garden weeded and tended to a couple of the smaller flower beds.

Dennis THINKS he has won the battle with the red squirrel ! Oh yeah, there are two of them.  They are enemies and love to fight and chatter insults at each other.  We watched the other day as they had a knock down drag out time atop the feeder, the winner shoving the other off and going to stand on top of his world with his back feet jumping up and down. Guess he doesn't know about beating on his chest like an ape would do. Dennis sort of won his battle by taking the feeder away !   It was about time anyway.  BUT they still sit in the cherry tree, come way out on a limb and think about walking the tight rope to where the feeder used to be.  They are truly baffled.  We notice that they now climb up the garden hose that is reeled up on the side of the house then proceed to get onto a shutter and on up to the rain gutters.  On the way they seem to peek in the window to see where that man is that has taken the feeder away!

Speaking of wild life, our neighbors, the ones who bring us the quail eggs, are raising an orphan quail.  He is a tiny little fellow and they hope he will make it.  She showed him to us the other day.  Such a tiny little feather ball !  All this stuff about quails all at once. First, our introduction to the gift of quail eggs.  Before we saw the little one, some  friends from up north lent us a book to read..."That Quail, Robert" by Margaret S. Stanger.  A delightful story, so far about a family who found an abandoned baby and took him home to raise.  It seems that when a mother quail leaves her nest with the young ones she never returns to the nest where her chicks hatched.  They saw her leave with twelve little feather balls following her across a driveway into the woods.  So the family decided to check out the nest later.  That is when they discovered there was a baby left behind in the nest !  As mamma never came back, they adopted this little one and the book goes on about his life growing up with humans.

This little fellow was kind enough to allow me to take his photograph.

These hot afternoons are a great time to stay inside and do something we either push to the bottom of our 'want to do list' or the NEED to do list.  So on these hot ones, I decided to do something from each of my lists.  I cleaned out my closet...from the Need to do list.  I got 2 boxes of things I haven't worn for more than a year and shuffled about some other things.  Then I decided to get out my paints and do something from the Want to do list.   Paint a small watercolor, being inspired by our trip to the Northeast Kingdom last week.  It was a fun, relaxing afternoon and I pretty much liked my painting.  Sometimes I am not too happy with what I end up with !

Summer in The Northeast Kingdom

Well, hubby is asking if I'd like to take a ride and have an ice cream.  I don't have to be asked a second time !  So hoping you are enjoying this summer weather.  Find a nice swimming hole or maybe take a paddle in a kayak on a quiet pond far from the noise and busy to-do of crowded places.  I hope I can do exactly this later this week !    Keep cool !

Gypsies on the move

Well, we are back home, down in our green valley again.  We had a wonderful first, good-sized trip in the Gypsy Wagon and sure enjoyed ourselves.  On the way north we stopped at the P&H Truck Stop in Wells River for lunch and some of that famous Mile High Lemon Pie. Actually bought a whole one to share with our hosts that night.  It was real good but somehow when imagining how it will taste and longing for some and then finally getting to eat some, it just isn't quite as savory as you dreamed it would be. Could be because I have been trying to eliminate sweets somewhat and finally eating pie, it seemed pretty sweet to me !  Was good anyway!

We had a wonderful time with our grandson and wife and the two little ones.  Met our little gr. granddaughter, Alexandra for the first time and got to hold and rock her for her whole nap time between feedings.  Lauren is a sweet little 'big sister' and didn't mind sharing the new baby with us.  It was nice having dinner with them and we had a nice sleep in the Gypsy Wagon.

We left in the morning to go further north to visit cousin Mick and Donna Mae.  We hadn't been to the new house he has built there and after going up and up and up some more we were atop of Barton Mt. at their place.  Only place up there !  The view is breathtaking from the house, the yard and the deck.  It wasn't a blue sky day but it didn't rain and it wasn't beastly hot...just nice.  I got some pictures of the view and other views in the area.  They took us for a ride to show us what it is like in this corner of the world.  We went up on Hinton Hill where one can see off for almost 360 degrees and who knows how many miles away.  Into Canada in one direction too.  SO many mountains and peaks, hills and valleys from up here on this back road.

It always amazes me how different it seems way up in the Northeast Kingdom compared to down here in our section of Vermont.  It is more open up there and it is UP there too !  The majority of the trees it seems are evergreen, spruce, balsam, pine etc. Especially after we go over Sheffield Heights where we are at an elevation of 1856 feet.

I had my first ride on a four wheeler too!  Donna Mae's young friend, Shawn who is about 10 yrs. old and visiting them for a week, gave me the ride.  He was a good driver and very steady and careful with his old cargo.  We took a walk in the woods on the property, looked over the apple trees Mick has rescued from overgrowth in among the evergreens there.  He has cleared some patches to make nice open areas here and there too.  One wonders who planted these old apple trees and just how many years ago!  After we checked out the woods, the chickens they are raising and the big garden we were treated to a wonderful dinner of cod and scollops !  That Donna Mae is famous for her cooking !

Mick and I got to scratching around in a big tin box of old photographs.  This was such fun.  He would try to fool me as I tried to guess who some of these relatives were.  I did pretty well with that !  Then we told old stories and funny happenings of when we were kids. All this as we watched a gorgeous sunset that sent lovely colors across the valleys and right into the big windows facing this glorious view. And now it was getting late.  Down here in our valley we lose the actual sunshine much earlier as we are nestled in between our mountains.

We had to quit the pictures to make time to get in our game of Double King Pead, the old Vermonter's favorite card game.  Our families grew up with this game as a very necessary part of just being around the big table in Grammie Phillips' kitchen any evening, any season.

After a very quiet and peaceful night with some rain toward dawn, breakfast and some more visiting, we set out for the ride home. Stopped on the way, just a few miles from Mick's to shop at a great place called the Evansville Trading Post.  What a conglomeration of goods they have there !  Food of all kinds, clothing, tools, gifts, dishes, household items galore and you name it, they have it !  I bought a nice pair of moccasins on sale at half price.  By this time it had warmed up, really warmed up !  We took some back roads for awhile then finally got on the interstate and came down from the top of the world and back to the good old Black River valley.  We got ourselves all unloaded and things put away in time to make supper of a nice pasta salad and grill some beefalo burgers our grandson had given us.  They were super delicious!!

We were kind of worn out from our travels and really glad to crawl into the big soft bed just before 10 PM.  A great little excursion.  We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family and to be able to travel so easily these days.  A hundred miles in the 'old times' meant not seeing loved ones who were that far away for long periods of time.  I'm counting my blessings !

Here are some pictures.

Lauren and Alexandra with Mommy and Daddy

"GG" and Alexandra

Part of the view from Barton Mt.

Mick and me skating in a meadow 1955

Mick and me... a few years later !!!

Quail eggs and good music

Getting excited here !  Tomorrow we go to meet our new great granddaughter, Alexandra !  And see her big sister, Lauren who is 1 1/2 years old.  Have my suitcase packed and a bag of presents for the babies.  Hoping for a nice sunny day and it looks like it will be a cool morning and maybe a not too hot day.  Perfect 'end of June' weather.  

I am looking forward for a nice ride and a stop for lunch before we get there at a diner type place just off the highway where they serve what is their famous "Mile High Lemon Pie".  I've been hankering for a piece of that for awhile!

Speaking of food, our nice neighbors brought us a dozen quail eggs the other day.  I had never had a quail egg so was curious as to how they would taste.  They are really delicious !  Like fresh eggs from your own hens...much more tasty than the store bought ones from caged up tight birds.  The eggs are really small, a lightish color with brown spots and when I cracked the first one open, to my surprise...a
double yoke!  And so it is with each one I have opened so far.  My friend and neighbor, Alison was down with some of her homemade muffins this morning and we had them with some homemade strawberry jam and a couple quail eggs, sunny side up.   I broke two eggs into this little dessert dish.

I've been listening to a CD I got the other day at a fundraising event to benefit the Susan Koman race for the cure for cancer.  It was an afternoon of music by local talented musicians.  We brought our lawn chairs and sat for awhile listening to their singing.  One fellow, Brenden Thomas was really good.  Played his guitar and sang good soulful songs that he has written himself.  I really liked the one he called "Fiona Grace" after his little cousin.  He wrote it when she was about three he said and as she was there, and now about 6 yrs old, he asked her to come sing it with him.  Such a great little voice !  And she was so pleased to be up there singing with him.  Sorry this one wasn't on the CD but the ones that are are good too.

Guess it is time to be off to bed.  Weary after a busy day.  And Miss Lizzie is roaming around first to talk to me and then in the other room to get after Den.  She is telling us it is time to turn out the lights and tuck in the cat!    Night all.

Just a bit of this and that...

Seems the heat wave has passed.  That's just fine with me.  We have had some much needed rain and my garden is showing its thankfulness.  The rather hard rain on Sat. afternoon was a bit too heavy and too much too soon for my hydrangeas and they just laid down in the back yard.  We were away at the time, about an hour away and there was no rain there at all.

It was a great 50th anniversary party on Sat. for cousin Natalie and hubby Jerry.  We all had a great time and enjoyed a nice buffet lunch and really good tasting cake... should say cakes as Natalie's niece Abby made a birthday cake as well as the anniversary cake because Sunday was Natalie's birthday !   Niece Amy made great punch and everyone raved about the meatballs made by Natalie's sister, Janice.  The rest of the party was catered and everything very tasty.  Chris, the couple's son, provided us with background music from the 50's.  Some were brave enough to get out and dance a bit too! I met some very nice ladies from Natalie's hometown who helped with the decorations and helped serve and keep the party running smoothly.

Today I made a couple batches of strawberry rhubarb jam.  The berries are very sweet this year it seems and our rhubarb plentiful.  I also took time to sit on the porch and finish the book I was reading. "The Help".  They tell me it is a movie now too.  It was really a good story. If you aren't familiar with it, it is about the black ladies who worked for the wealthy southern women in the 1960's.  I recently got a Kindle and found that one can borrow books from your local library wirelessly.  I had a short waiting time for it to become available but only a couple days.  Then I have two weeks to read it and it is taken off my Kindle. Isn't this modern technology something!

Hope you all have a happy week.   A quote for you...
"What we see of God's provision teaches us to trust Him for what we cannot see of His purposes."

A Whirlwind Weekend

We're back home again...busy weekend behind us and I've declared the day, or at least half the day "Be Still and Smell the Posies Day".  Even though it was a busy weekend, it was a fun time. We saw a number of old friends at the Alumni Parade and at Den's class dinner Sat. night. People we don't get to see very often and cherish the time with.

On Sunday morning we traveled north to the Vermont History Expo 2012,  History's Country Fair held on the fairgrounds in Tunbridge where  150 + Historical Societies around the state participate in this event every two years.  This year's theme was the Civil War. We were scheduled to 'sit' with the Weathersfield Historical Society's display in the afternoon from 1-5 pm so we arrived early in order to take in the sights before our time to man the booth.

After looking at the many interesting displays and seeing the reenactors in their encampments and many folks in period clothing, which got them in at half price, and good visits with participants we took our lunch break feasting on Wood Fired Pizza.  The aroma was just too good, wafting on a hearty breeze that cooled our otherwise really warm day.  Actually a picture perfect, mid June day.  (The pizza was as tasty as it's aroma promised.)  We skipped the homemade fudge!

At noon The White River Players of Rochester, VT presented highlights from "Ransom" an original play and music inspired by the Civil War letters of Lieut. Ransom W. Towle of West Rochester, VT which he sent home to his family from Virginia where he fought with the Union army and boys from the 4th  Vermont Regiment. The play writer,  Dick Robson was there as one of the actors. His wife Dorothy wrote original music, arranged traditional music of the Civil War and was the pianist. Every actor, and there were many, did an excellent job portraying the part of their 1860's character.  If you ever get the chance to go to the play, "Ransom" and see the whole play, DO !  The 50 min. version on Sun. was very well done and very moving.  In April 2013, the Lost Nation Theater production will be opening in Montpelier VT .

After a long day we stopped by the booth where the Vermont Cracker folks were offering free dishes of a traditional Civil War era supper.... Cheddar Ale on broken up VT Crackers...or the other choice was Civil War Stew, a concoction of crisped up salt pork and forage findings like greens, chives or whatever a soldier could find to add to his stew.  I chose the Cheddar ale which was much like the sauce one would make for macaroni and cheese only with non alcoholic ale added.  This sauce of a medium thickness poured over the crackers was absolutely delicious !  I took it along to have  with a sandwich we made foraging in our little fridge in the Gypsy Wagon.  Then we headed over the hill to Vershire where we parked the Gypsy for the night and had a good visit with friends on the Hill for the rest of the evening.  It doesn't get really dark until about 9:15-9:30 there high on the open-to-the-sky hilltop.   We don't have electricity away up there where we settle, so after getting ready for bed, reading wasn't on top of the list as to see to read we would need to light up the gas lantern...too tired for that so we hit the hay early and watch the darkness descend and listen to the night sounds, including the "who, who, who, to who" of an owl in the trees nearby.  All cozy in our big bed we are soon off to sleep.

We wake early to the songs of many early birds.  It's Monday and after our breakfast we pack up and decide to head home.  Our friends get off to work and we leave for home.  It was surely a  nice first trip for our Gypsy Wagon... now we need to think about all our chores around here.  But not until tomorrow.  I remember it's "Be Still And Smell the Posies Day"for me anyway, Den is mowing the lawns.   So I will just write my blog, sew a label on the new great granddaughter's quilt..Oh yes!  she now has a name...Alexandra Paige... a very beautiful name for a very beautiful baby girl!  And I picked some rhubarb to make us a rhubarb crisp...that doesn't count as work. Until next time... Be well and enjoy each day for the gift it is.

Some highlight scenes from the play, "Ransom"

Civil War Soldiers of the 4th Vermont Regiment

A family life back home scene, early in the war

Blessings To Share With You

I am keeping way too busy these days.  BUT today I must take time to sit and tell all of you of how we are so blessed today.

This morning our grandson and his wife were blessed with a new, beautiful baby girl !  She hasn't been named yet but they will choose a name for her soon, probably after getting to know her today.  She has a sweet little sister waiting for her at home.

It was a great day all around.  I finished up with my root canal therapy and am all thawed out and not hurting.  The sunshine has helped the garden and things are all up now.  I sat on the front porch this afternoon and watched a couple of woodpeckers on the crab apple tree.  They were being so nice to one another !  One would find a fat juicy bug and feed it to the other who would return the favor when he found one to share.  They were so busy and keeping up a chatter all the while. Our little 'Jenny Wren' has a nest in our birdhouse in the front yard and a pair has a nest in the backyard too.  They are pretty loud singers and a joy to listen to.   I will stop now and finish up this post a bit later.  Need to feed my hubby some supper.

Supper's over and dishes done.  More busy days coming up.  Missed my class breakfast this morning but hope to see some of my old classmates at alumni weekend tomorrow.  At night we will see old friends at Den's class dinner.  On Sunday we will travel to Tunbridge to sit with the Weathersfield Historical Society display at Vermont Expo for the afternoon.  This is always a fun time.  We take turns manning the booth and going around looking at other displays.  Hope to get some nice pictures while we are there too.  It will be our first trip out with our Gypsy Wagon which is getting more completed every day. We will stay Sunday night with our friends 'on the Hill' in Vershire Lord willing.

So hope you have a good weekend. Will leave you with a quote and some pictures.  Blessings to you all.

             "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it !
                                                                                                                William Arthur Ward

Early morning ritual... picking a few blades of grass for her highness, our Lizzie love, 

who has her subjects very well trained !  Makes no difference what the weather !

Quilt I just finished for new great grand baby girl.

The sweet and beautiful brand new baby girl !

Posies from the back yard.