Well Monday found us leaving the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. We had a marvelous time visiting family and friends and saw some very interesting pieces of history for the town of Woodstock, Va. We were treated like royalty at sister Dee and her husband Mike's gorgeous home and their never ending bundle of energy dog, Bonnie. We did see two beautiful hot air balloons early in the morning as we looked out their kitchen window which is a routine occurrence as they cross the fields and sometimes land in their yard. Such beauty in the sky that looks as if they are painted against the blue mountains back drop with the green fields and red barns. If I had to choose another place to live besides the mountains it would be this beautiful valley and this lovely town.
We headed out after our abbreviated morning routines a little before 9. The skies were some what overcast and the temps were in the high 60's and the traffic really wasn't too heavy as school had started their fall session. We made a stop in Edinburg at the Wholesome Food Co. for some of the best bacon ever to bring back for family and friends. We will freeze it in pound packages and share with family as it comes in 4 pound packages. We made a potty stop around Roanoke then continued onto Galax where we fueled up and then shopped the super Wal-Mart and had a Subway sandwich for our lunch. The trip took about 3 1/2 hours to Galax which was a lot less than when we went north through the mountains up to Woodstock last Thursday. I-81 was really not congested and the big trucks posed no real problem.
We saw some old friends in Wal-Mart as we were heading out and visited for just a second before heading on back to the cabin. We spoke with our "mountain mom" and learned we had some heavy rains while we were gone. My gauge showed nearly three inches and the driveway had washed somewhat as well. I will attend to those ruts today with my rake. We were having our new mountain top friend Jaime for supper as she leaves on Wednesday and that Blue had gone back with her boyfriend to Florida this morning as well. We felt it would help with her being lonely the first evening after both of them had gone leaving her alone. She jogged down the back road and up our hill; what a physical fitness buff she is but she is in her 20's as well.
I grilled fresh bell peppers and onions along with marinated chicken breasts for jajias and Nancy made a delicious salsa using some of the jalapenos from Dee's garden as well as the bell peppers. The meal was delicious as always. We shared a little vino before hand as we waited for the grill. Jaime stayed until nearly dark when we walked her up the back trail and she jogged home. We have really felt close to her and her dog Blue. He is now at 55 pounds in just a couple weeks from a mere 15 pounds or so when we first met her and him. He will be a large animal and now he is in Florida with Brandon. her boyfriend who is in the Army. She leaves this week for a mission trip to El Salvador. When she gets back she will no longer be on our mountain as she looks for a place to park her 35 ft. pull behind RV trailer. She will be in this Galax area until October and maybe even longer if she decides to stay at this clinic.
Well the grass had really grown while we were gone the four days and the garden looked good except it was rather soggy so I loosened up the soil around all of the plants. I did have four more garlic bulbs up and poking through the ground. The green beans are a foot tall and the lettuce is almost big enough to harvest to add to our salads. I'm disappointed in the beet seeds as they didn't come up but sporadically. The Swiss chard did much better and so did the radishes. Well that was about it as we unpacked and put the cabin in order for Jaime. We are getting company again on Thursday as Patrick and Kathryn arrive for about two months at their rental cabin near Sparta.
We will once again eat "high on the hog" as Kathryn is an excellent cook as well as we get together with visits and fun nights of playing cards. The excitement never quits here in the mountains. The update on GG is somewhat encouraging. The heart doctor seems to think she will see 95 but we are somewhat skeptical with her fluid retention and still bedfast with a catheter. She is still in a Miami hospital with the hopes of being released back to the rehab facility which is close to grand daughter Erica and her family. She is getting plenty of family visits which allows us to be here at the cabin which has been a blessing for us. After being in Miami for 9 weeks or more we were ground down with stress from being in a strange bed at nights and sitting in the hospital for hours upon hours. I'm finally starting to recover from the cough with just an occasional outburst mostly in the morning. Nancy is still on the phone for hours at time each day which has taken its toll on her as well and ith putting up with some agitated family members, LATER
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