Friday Morning ....last day of August

Well Thursday was another work day that saw me finally finishing up the sides of the cabin, now I have to do some touch ups on the black spacers and do the dormer which always makes Nancy so nervous as I'm up on the roof which does have a pitch. I'll use a roller with an extension instead of using a makeshift extension ladder that I lie and tie off to the front porch to climb the steep part of the roof; that even makes me nervous from years past.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to my usual routines of a cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and ginger while I post this ramble and then some quiet time with my Creator while I lift up by name several folks from healing, comfort and even a saving relationship with the Lord. All seem well as I've heard nothing to the contrary. I had a lite breakfast before heading out to once again climb the ladder for the biggest part of the day while I finished up the staining on the main part of the cabin. It got really hot after lunch as I was in the direct sunlight which reflexed off the cabin into my face.

We did see a few dark clouds roll in and it looked like rain but nothing came of it except for a few sprinkles which didn't even settle the dust so I hand watered later in the evening despite the weather radar showed some showers in the area but it skipped by us. After a supper of grilled venison burgers and half runner beans I headed out to piddled around in the gardens and yards until nearly dark. I did manage a short nap on the back porch before supper as the ladder climbing the past couple of days tired me out and along with the heat.

I listened to Rush Limbaugh while staining and he thinks there maybe something more sinister with the "deep state" than what we've been led to believe with just the dem's trying their best to impeach Trump. A theory which I never thought possible was the nullification of Trump and thus everything he has put in place which means all of of his polices, appointments and laws would become null and void. We have a real crisis on our hands by those in the elite media along with the globalist as well as those in our own party who are non supportive of Trump and McCain was one of them, who now is getting lots of kudos since his death in the biased media and on capital hill.

I once voted for him since I did not believe anything Obama had to offer but he raised some serious issues with his vote to save Obamacare and then his attempt to destroy Trump and his presidency after getting elected by promoting and hand carrying the fake dossier to the FBI which started all of this Russian witch hunt with Mueller. This dossier was the basis for the special prosecutor and was promoted by the corrupt DNC and Hillary along with the sycophants for her in the DOJ and FBI. The fake news media will never report this and while those who want to bring the president down tell lies to destroy him the fake news medias still promote the lies; unbelievable the hatred for this man who has done nothing but try to make the nation great again. They can not control him or buy him off is the reason for such disdain.

The upcoming midterms maybe the most serious of elections in our lifetime because if the dem's get  the House they will impeach Trump and destroy all of his good polices he has done for the country. I'm really at a loss there are folks who even think the radical left's agenda of socialism, open borders and repealing the tax cuts is the way to go and who continue to forget about the corruption of Hillary and the divisiveness of Obama. Where have common sense folks gone?? LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday was a total work day as I spent the biggest part of it on a ladder about 25 ft. or so above the earth staining the cabin, yikes I tried not to look down very often especially on the deck side where it was another 15 ft. or so to the ground. But I succeeded with out any mishaps and got the peak and the underside painted; today I will try to finish up with not only the staining but the repainting of the three windows as well as touch up the paint on the black spacer boards where I got some of the stain.

The day started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to my routines that always start with my vitamins and supplements washed down with a cup of hot green tea while I post this ramble then spend a few quiet moments with my Creator in thanksgiving and lifting up several by name. All of those are holding their own as I've heard nothing to the contrary. I headed out to check on the gardens and since we were forecasted for showers but did not once again receive any overnight I decided to hand water.

I have some new lettuce seedings appearing in the lower garden path and I'm now harvesting a couple of the large cherry tomatoes. These are almost large enough to slice and oh so delicious. They were volunteers in my compose pile when we arrived in June and are just now producing. The cucumber aren't looking good despite tons of blooms as the leaves are turning yellow and then brown and drying up. I've sprayed them with Epsom salt which is magnesium sulfate but to no avail. I'm missing something in the soil because a couple years ago I harvested so many of them daily. These are the long skinny burbless variety but still the vines should not be dying, oh well. The half runner beans are producing and they too have tons of small beans and tons of blooms and the Swiss chard and beets are producing beautiful greenery.

I grilled some pork ribs for supper along with a fresh garden salad and broccoli and after the cleanup we took off on a hike to the top of the mountain. It was a beautiful evening despite the higher than normal temps but the evening breeze kept us comfortable. We did turn on the a/c for sleeping and keeping the loud crickets and cicadas noise away. The Ray's were beating the Braves when I shut down the internet for the night and read before the sandman called, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was a mixture of work and play and once again the temps were on the hot side by early afternoon with a ton of humidity; nothing like Florida but still it was quite warm. We could use a shower as I'm back to hand watering the garden and while rain showers are in the forecast so far they have skipped us. After all the wet weather a couple weeks ago I didn't think I would be asking for rain.

I started the day with a before 6 ish rollout to my usual routines and then some quiet time with my Creator after posting this ramble. All those I lift up daily seem to be holding their own for right now. I headed out after a light breakfast to get ready to stain the deck side of the cabin which had me about 30 feet or so up in the air. Wow is that ever a long way day plus the height of the deck off the ground makes it really a bit scary. I took my time and got the fascia and the underside of the roof a really good coat of stain and almost all of that side of cabin. I will finish that side today as well as scrape and repaint the window frames green and the spacer boards black where I manage to get some stain on them. The ladders are so heavy to move so I decided to do one side completely and make this a 4 day job as I want to paint all of the windows that need a ladder to reach them.

That job kept me busy until I ran out of that gallon of stain plus the sun had manage to start to shine on that side of the cabin and the heat index had really started to go up. I had been on the west side all morning in the shade and that made for some great working conditions. I stopped for the day around 3'ish and decided since I was playing pickle ball at 6 to give the body especially the feet and legs a rest as I knew I would be playing for 2 plus hours non stop and thats what we did as there were just 4 of us players. We had some great rallies and I manage to win with the three others through out the evening and left with a wet sweat soaked shirt. It was going on 9'ish before I got back to the cabin and hit the showers, yeow did that ever feel great. I watched a little of the Ray's game on the internet and they were winning 2-1 but the final showed the Braves came back and won. I decided to read for a while before turning out the lights around my usual bed time.

It was a physical day while climbing and standing on a ladder plus the running around on the court so my legs were tired and so was my arm. I used a 5 inch brush for staining so that required many swipes of which I'm not use to doing. It wasn't long after reading a chapter of Greg Iles book The Devil's Punchbowl the sand man calleth, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday morning found me in Galax,Va. to have the truck serviced while I did some shopping at Walmart and then over to Lowes for some pelletized lime to spread on the yards. The moss keeping growing and supposedly lime helps with sweetening the soil which moss doesn't do well in as it likes the acid PH of the soil. Anyhow after doing my errands in town I came back for a work day until around 4'ish when we were expecting the Tracy's for supper.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to my routines that start with a hot cup of green tea laced with turmeric and ginger while I posted this ramble and the spent some quiet time with my Creator in thanksgiving and lifting up several by name. Nothing changed with those I regularly lift up for healing and comfort except for a couple of new folks from here on the mountain. Nancy's mom GG is still in Michigan but is starting to have shortness of breath from her condition and is using oxygen more often and Paw Paw is starting to look his 90 years of age but is still living alone until middle sister Pat gets back from Oregon then he will go and live with her in W.Va.

I had a quick sandwich for lunch then loaded up the spreader and covered all of the yards with a good coat of lime. Walking behind the spreader up and down these hills was as good as a hike plus the heat and humidity have come back into the picture once again for the last hurrah of summer heat. It should start cooling down like last week with the end of August approaching. I also trimmed some higher branches on the pines that border the driveway and shut the sun from reaching the blueberry bushes. That kept me busy for another hour or so and left me soaked with sweat. It was time to cool off in the basement and then I washed up as the Tracy's were coming at 4'ish for supper.

We enjoyed a little vino with our pre supper snacks of fresh homegrown cucumber slices and dip, cheese sauce with chips and guacamole, yeow. We could have skipped the salad and soup as the snacks were awesome. Nancy had a pot of Zuppa tas Cano soup which is what Olive Garden serves as one of their signature soups. We used our garden kale and it was delicious to say the least along with a fresh all garden salad and crusty bread loaded with homemade apple butter my dear friend Linda Cather blessed us with last week. What a feast to say the least. After the clean up we settled into a game of Spades to 500 with the guys vs gals and it was nip and tuck until the last hand when the guys prevailed by a score of 501 to 497, yeow was that ever a fun game and raucous as well. After the Tracy's left around 8'ish we checked out the gardens then settled in after a shower and some social media. It was horizontal lab for me at 10'ish LATER

Monday Morning

Sunday was another beautiful day with temps back up to the 60's to start the day and by late evening the humidity was back with higher temps so the a/c is back on for the first time in several days, oh well. It sure felt like Fall was here with those 40's temps in the morning and especially with the days getting shorter; but it seems the summer temps will be with us for a few more weeks which I really like here in the mountains.

I started the day with my usual 6'ish roll out despite getting to bed two hours past my bedtime on Saturday night. It seems the internal alarm can not be reset but I do love the peaceful mornings with the sound of the dew dripping onto the tin roof from the dormer. Its still dark out as I make this post which means the Fall Equinox isn't far away and now with dusk falling around 8'ish instead of 9'ish. I did my daily morning routines, spent some time with my Creator and then listened to our home church Bridgepoint in Florida until it was time to get ready to head out to Sparta where we meet every Sunday with our mountain family at Cornerstone. I heard another awesome message and then we headed out to the Pizzeria for a delicious salad bar and a couple slices of pizza with the Tracy's and Mechelle our dear sweet friend and her son Caleb and his now reunited girl Caitlyn. They sat in a booth. We saw several there we know and it felt good to be back in this small town where folks go out of their way to be friendly.

We headed home after chowing down and then settled into the digesting mode on the couch as we watched the Hawaii team beat the S.Korean team for the championship in the Little League World Series. The USA won finally after losing to the international teams a couple years in a row. Afterwards which was around 5'ish we took off on a hike to the top of the mountain where we stopped and chatted with Ben and Laura who are heading back to Jacksonville for a couple weeks for doctors appointments and then spoke with Billy and Paula for a few. She goes in for a spinal fusion this morning in Winston so keep both her and Ben in your thoughts and prayers. We headed on across and met the new owners of our old friend Norm's cabin. They are from the Chapel Hill area and are a young couple named Debbie and Joey. Their parents were visiting as well. We headed on across and never saw anyone at the Brownings place except their new airbnb person's car.

We headed down to work outside in the gardens and yards until dark. I trimmed up some pine trees of their branches which shade my blueberry bushes. I think the reason they don't do as well is because of the lack of direct sunshine. I was going to cut the trees down which borders the drive at the top of the hill but decided to trim the branches instead for now. We will see it that makes any difference for next years crop. I did pick another cup of the delicious berries for our oatmeal and there are several more waiting to ripen; but they are really late when compared to the bushes on top of the mountain at the Brownings who have long ago picked their fruit. Their bushes get so much more direct sunshine which I think is the reason. I worked up a sweat and the dryness of the a/c felt good once I called it a night.

I skipped any supper after the large lunch as the pizza hung with me. I hit the shower around 9:30 and then curled up with a book until 10'ish as Nancy was flipping channels. She is a night owl, oh well. I checked the temps this morning and its 20 degrees warmer than a couple days ago when I headed out on the porch at 6 AM, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was one of those memorable and unforgettable days as we attended the FaithFest Concert in Wilkesboro, N.C. from about 2 pm until 10:30 'ish with non stop Christian artists; more on that later. The weather was a bit nippy to start the day with temps in the high 40's and while we were down off the mountain for the concert it really was nice down there as well with the low 80's. The sunshine was brilliant throughout the day and the start of the day was just nearly perfect at the cabin.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to a flannel shirt and all of the windows closed. Yikes this is winter time in Florida, anyhow after my usual routines that start with the cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and ginger I spent some quiet time with my Creator in thanksgiving and lifting up several by name. All is well with those I brought to the attention of my Lord. I headed out to check on the gardens while a heavy dew dripped from the tin roof breaking the silence of the morning stillness. I know it so different when you live in the noise of the city but these early morning hours are just wonderful and is a major reason we love the cabin in the woods. I did notice the skunks were back digging small holes in the yards while looking for worms and grubs. They are aerating my yard which is nice but the effects are awful to say the least.

After a light breakfast I headed out to piddle around in the gardens and notice once again the foot prints of a deer which seems to love going through my circle drive flower bed. This has happened almost daily but thankfully the menu of zinnias, cosmos and marigolds doesn't appeal to his appetite; he just wonders through it. I'm pleasantly surprised so far they have left the veggie gardens alone as well. I grabbed the hoe and loosened up that bed as the soil was really packed by the almost daily rain while we were gone. I also filled the bean sprayer with some liquid fertilizer and gave them a feeding. We were having to leave a little before noon for Sparta to meet up with Tracy's for the car pool to the concert. Nancy had packed us a sandwich as the vendors at the concert last year had long lines and now you were allowed to bring coolers and back packs so we loaded up with ice water and goodies to last through out the day and at times it did get rather warm.

The concert featured some big names with the headliner being Casting Crowns who were magnificent and another artist we recognized from last year Jason Crabb who did not let us down again this year. We didn't know the rest of the artists but when they played their music we recognized their work. here are the names of the groups in the order they blessed us with their music and their testimonies: I Am They, the Ball Brothers, Jason Crabb, Iron Bell Music, Jordan Feliz, Mandisa, Micah Tyler and Casting Crowns. What a line up with some interesting videos between acts and some down right great preaching. We left there around 11'ish after packing up and getting a way from 12,000 plus folks in the bowl of the Wilkes Community College. There were twice as many folks as last year and I suppose will be even larger next year. There were new babies, old folks, wheelchairs and teenagers. There were large groups from many churches who wore their signature church shirts and there was an alter call after each act and prayer tents where set up all around for those who answered the call. Really this was like an old time tent revival.

Well it was close to midnight when we got home and the hot shower felt great as did the horizontal lab around 12:30. I was awake at my usual 6 'ish so I rolled out as we have church again this morning with our Cornerstone Family, LATER 

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was a work day until around 2 'ish then we got ready and headed out to Sparta where we enjoyed a delicious supper with the Tracy's and played some cards before getting back to the cabin just as darkness fell. The days are really starting to get shorter which is the start of Fall and eventually Winter. It was cold here this morning at 47 degrees and didn't get much above 70 for the entire day. It's supposed to warm up by the first of the week to the low 80's for a high, oh well. It's still very hot and muggy in Florida.

I started the day much the usual but did sleep in until 7'ish. I was back into my usual morning routines that start with the hot cup of tea, laced with turmeric and ginger while I posted this ramble and then spent a few quiet moments with my Creator as I lifted up several by name for comfort and healing. All of those I mention daily seem to be doing alright considering their ages and conditions as I've heard nothing to the contrary.

We had bought a couple large packs of bacon while in Virginia so Nancy was parceling it into individual packs to be frozen and left out some for breakfast so I fried it outside on the grill while she made fresh buckwheat blueberry cakes for our breakfast. Oh My what a treat. After eating I headed out to weed whack the property and then turned over in the one veggie garden the soil for the replanting of lettuces. I sowed three different ones and then I hand fed all of the plants with a liquid fertilizer. I next expanded the area for my black raspberry bushes as they are sending out runners to further their growing. The soil is so rich and they should do good for next years crop if the deer don't eat all of the new shoots and leaves. I may try to fence that area in before leaving in Nov.

We took off just before lunch for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. It was a perfect day for hiking and I never broke a sweat. The vistas were awesome as we could see Pilot Mountain clearly. There was some haze in the Winston Salem area so those building were shrouded. We stopped and chatted with Billy and Ben and then again with the Joe and Jetta before heading back down to the cabin. I wasn't hungry after two cakes, two eggs and 3 slices of bacon so I skipped any lunch and settled for a drink of delicious cold mountain water with no smell. We are so blessed here with good water as Michigan and Ohio water is the pits.

I did some piddling jobs and then we got ready to head out to Sparta to meet up with a friend who had our tickets for the Faith Fest in Wilkesboro today, Saturday. What a line up for that yearly event with 10 top names in the Christian Music field and Casting Crowns is the headliner. The concert starts at 2 and goes until 10:30 tonight and it all outside with two huge screens at the Wilkesboro Community College. Should be a great time as the weather will be warm in the afternoon and then cool down later in the evening. We are packing a cooler of drinks and sandwiches as well as our camp chairs and a jacket for the evening chill. It's about and hour away down the mountain.

Well we had a great supper that started with orderves and a little red vino before chowing down on teriyaki salmon with rice and fresh sauteed veggies, oh my delicious and afterwards  homemade strawberry short cakes. We got in a game to a thousand of spades and the team of Nancy and Patrick annihilated Kathryn and myself and then a short game of Kings in the Corner and Patrick won all 5 rounds. It was raucous to say the least. We headed home which is about a half hour or so from the cabin and the full moon was showing its color in the sky. Wow it sure lights up the night in this smog free atmosphere. I watched a little of the Ray's game on the net and they were winning over the best team in baseball at home. It wasn't long after a hot shower and a few minutes with the book Turning Angel by Greg Iles that I was ready for some horizontal lab, LATER   

Friday Morning

Well we are back on the mountain at the cabin after a whirlwind trip that we drove nearly 2000 miles in 8 days. It was a good trip visiting with family and friends and seeing some new places along the way as well as making new friends with some of our airbnb hosts. The mountains in the Shenandoah Valley are completely different from the ones we have here in the Carolinas; but we feel so close to them as opposed to the flat lands of Ohio and Michigan. I must say I've never seen so many lakes as we saw in the Michigan area. Most all of the roads in those two states are horrible with pot hole, ruts, manhole covers and just plain rough. I know it's because of the winter weather with snow and ice as well as the salt they use to keep the ice from freezing, oh well.

We spent the last three nights and days at sister Dee's beautiful house in Woodstock and as an added bonus was able to visit with her youngest daughter Kelly Lynn and her three youngun's of which we had never met the littlest one. They were so precious and caused us to miss our 5 grands. We also saw one of our long lost cousins Clint Jones and his girl friend who came to Winchester for the reunion of which we missed because we were in Michigan. I also got to see for a few minutes another old dear friend who was just a pre school age when I worked for her father at the farm market. She now helps run a Civil War Museum at the New Market battle field. We took a 5 minute walk through it and wow I have never seen so much memorabilia from the war as well as from the Indian era. Next year I want to spend a day there; its that full of nearly everything related to both eras. She also blessed us with two pints of homemade apple butter the Cather family make each year.

Well we are back at the cabin after stopping for lunch at Wendy's in Hillsville and at Walmart in Galax for groceries and to fill up with gas at 2.49; a far cry from 3.29 in Michigan. After unloading and checking the gardens which seem to have survived the 2 1/2 inches of rain showing in my rain gauge I harvested a couple of cucumbers and moved some flowering plants back onto the porches all of which looked even better than when I removed them last week. The lettuces have gone to seed but I will be able to salvage some for salads and I noticed some of the cherry 'maters are starting to turn. These are a little larger than the regular small ones but have such a great taste. The pepper plants are showing some good fruit as well as is the jalapeno.

I fired up the riding mower and spent the next close to three hours mowing all of the yards which had grown several inches. I will weed whack this morning as the grasses will have lots of dew. The flowers in the circle bed are doing quite well with all of the zinnias showing color and a few of the cosmos as well. Nancy picked a quart of blueberries which finally ripened, we will have blue berry cakes this morning with some of the vacuumed packed bacon we picked up in Edinburg, Va. on our way south. This bacon is the best ever from Wholesome Foods which is a huge distributor just south of Woodstock.

After a quick light supper we took off on a hike to the top of the mountain and visited with the Brownings. We are delighted to see that Joe is recovering after a week or so of some health issues related to his fall injuring his hand. It's still swells and shows some redness when ever he uses it and we think his issues came from the antibiotics he was using to combat the infection. He looks awesome and was back to eating once again and showed so much color. We headed on across the mountain as the evening shadows showed such darkness in the back woods. It's almost a fall evening and we noticed the day are really getting much shorter with winter just a few months away.

Well that was about it for the day as I settled into some mail and a couple more birthday cards as well as the local paper before tuning into the Ray's on the internet. They won again over Kansas City at home. It wasn't long the hot shower felt good and we love out mountain water which smell and tastes so good. The water in Ohio and Michigan were less than desirable with the smell of sulphur and iron which made it undrinkable as well as for showering, oh well. It's like the song goes"nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning" plus it 52 this morning, yikes that's winter for Florida so I got our the flannels shirts, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday found us playing tourist in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley as we lunched with sister Dee in the old town of Woodstock and then a traveled up the Valley Pike(Rt 11) to Winchester during the afternoon. We made a couple Civil War stops at Hupp's Hill and then again at Belle Grove Plantation which was the center of the Battle of Cedar Creek. We then stopped in Middletown and visited the Wayside Inn which is still operating. The ceilings are so low between the rooms you must duck your head and the stairwells are so narrow as well. It was built in the 1700's and one of the original rooms still exist and left as it was back then with hand hewed tables, etc.

We continued up the Pike to the area called Bethel Church where Paw Paw use to live after leaving the Mt. Williams home. It was run down and not nearly as manicured when when they use to live there. A couple of the other farms are also run down and left alone since the home folks have moved away. The old barn is left standing alone with weeds and grasses over grown. So sad to see these once used barns just standing and left to rot away.

We headed over to Piccadilly Street in Winchester to visit with Paw Paw for a couple hours before the rest of the girls attended this meeting to decide what's best for him. He must leave leave this 3 storied house with the bathroom on the second floor which is a hazard for him at his age. He fell once a couple years ago and it nearly took his life, so we are making the decision for him as he can be stubborn at times. The rest of the girls arrived and we ordered pizza and then helped him with making the decision for him which was easier than we anticipated. Since all four of us was there he knew he had to agree to go and live with the second sister Pat in Wardensville W.Va. She is now retired and has made it know he can live with her. He has been going there on weekends so as to get a feel for this change which he likes.

We left just as a huge thunder storm hit the area and on the way back south we had to pull over for a few minutes as the wind and rain made driving to difficult. We drove the back roads and stayed off the interstate which is always congested with huge trucks. We got back to Woodstock safely around 9:30 and it wasn't long afterwards the hot shower called my name, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well I'm back in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley at sister Dee's house after a long 9 plus hour drive through the Sandusky area of Ohio and then the hills of Pa. and W.Va. The trip was uneventful except for the rough pot holed road that we had to pay 40 plus bucks to ride on. Unbelievable you have to pay to use these roads, oh well. I'm sure it saved a few minutes versus taking another route but I'm going to check out a different route next time. We made several stops and all of the plazas where filled with vehicles and with the amount of tolls collected we could have a road that was at least two lanes and smooth.

Our visit with Nancy's mom in Pinckney was good and she has settled into being a Michigander for her last years. I was amazed she is able to walk using a walk behind chair and able to maintain a conversation after all of her health issues which I never thought she would ever be able to do. She has a nice area in her son Eric's home with her own bathroom and sitting room. She has a good appetite and despite some O2 issues which require the mask or tubes she does quite well. She will be 90 in October.

Our last two airbnb's were exceptionally nice and we got to know the last couple who come to Florida for at least 6 months of the year. We have found that all of those who rent a room on this network so far have been very cordial and we are looking forward to our next adventure in one. We have decided to stay an extra day with sister Dee as cousin Kelly is arriving with her three youngun's the day we were leaving as we have never met them so we will stay an extra day. It should be fun.

We missed the family reunion which started out to be a cousin reunion on Sunday. One of the cousins Clint and his girl friend Brenda did stay over to meet with us last night for supper at the Cracker Barrel eatery along with Dee and Mike. We all came back and visited until 9'ish. They live near us in Florida and we never seem to get together. His brother Ian lives in Tallahassee. Their mother was the oldest girl in the family with my mother being the second oldest, all of whom have passed on. As a matter of fact all of the girls in the family and all of the wives of the boys have passed which leave my uncle, Paw Paw who raised me and his two brothers Junior and Frankie. Paw Paw is 90 with his two brothers a couple years younger. There were at least 30 or more cousins at the reunion. Mark the cousin who was killed in the 80's in a car wreck is the only one of the 6 siblings who has died. I'm the oldest of the first cousins.

Well it rained over night here in the valley with fog covering the beautiful mountains on either side. We will meet sister Dee for lunch in Woodstock then head up to Winchester to visit Paw Paw this afternoon once he gets back from the senior center and then take him out to eat supper, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday was an eventful day as it was the first for both of us visiting the Cleveland area and then a drive along Lake Erie which was mostly a pleasant drive. We did see some areas that were less than others but mostly the homes and small towns were immaculate with care and some were just audacious in size. The lake itself looks as large as the Gulf of Mexico and at times reminded us of the gulf with sandy beaches in several areas. We got to our second airbnb in as many days after encountering wet weather for the last hundred miles or so and the overcast skies are still around here as I write.

This second place is really nice once again with a beautiful 4 poster bed, thick carpet overlooking a pool with a private bath in the room. It is much more luxurious than our first one in the Cleveland area. We met the neighbor who let us in the house across the street as the owner was gone and who introduced us to her large pit bull dog who is so friendly and fat and mild mannered. We also met her son who still lives at home and does construction work. She is a Uber driver as well and has special clients she regularly drives. The home is in a great neighborhood and just off one of the main interstates.

It took us nearly and hour and half to go 20 miles to the rehearsal dinner due to the rain and heavy rush hour traffic but only about 1/3 of that time to get back last evening as the roads were nearly empty. We so enjoyed seeing several for the first time in years and some whom we have never seen since they were married and one with whom now has 3 babies. There were probably 40-50 folks for the dinner at a really nice Italian eatery called Valentino's in Lake Orion, Mi. All of these two lanes roads circumvent several lakes in the area which also adds to the travel time. The food was unbelievably delicious with your choice of the an entree. We had the chicken marsala that came with fresh broccoli and smashed taters; very plentiful with two breast and generous sides. A little vino flowed before eating as we visited with our side of the family and then again with the brides family.

Today Friday the wedding is at 4:30 with a full Catholic mass and the reception follows at a local country club with a banquet and festivities afterwards until midnight; oh well.

This morning we decided to look for a local eatery for breakfast and we found one that was still packed around 10'ish called Lulu's. Oh my what a feed which was so plentiful and delicious. We both had omelets and fried taters. So tasty and I had to help Nancy finish her meal it was so large. We won't eat again until 7 tonight when the banquet starts. Well we are about to head out for a walk through the hood and then I may take a swim before getting ready for the wedding. We have to leave here around 3'ish to make the church by 4:30, LATER 

Wednesday evening in Cleveland, Ohio

Well we were up at 6 ish and ready to leave by 8 this morning after a rather sleep less night. I never really sleep well the night before a big adventure despite being somewhat busy on Tuesday and then 2 1/2 hours of pickle ball which left me with a soaked shirt. The trip today saw us stopping several times to walk, eat and then sight seeing at a small town with the worlds largest cuckoo clock called Sugarcreek at a Swiss Village and hour or so south of our destination. The trip was uneventful thankfully except the GPS on my Garmin had us going in circles once we got to the suburbs of Cleveland. Luckily Nancy was able to access the Google Map on her cell phone which took us in the right direction.

We checked into our airBNB and found the host quite accommodating in this large three story home. Our room is quite large with a private bath and just what we need for an overnighter with parking in the back of the house and gated. There is quite a mixture of folks and so far all have been very nice nice. We stopped at a local smokehouse rib place and the single bartender, waiter and server was very nice and the food was delicious with an eclectic group of folks eating and drinking in this small local eatery.

If there was one major complaint of the area its the roads are so full of potholes, rough road and just plain nasty. The old saying here is if you see a driver dodging the holes then he/she is not a drunk, oh well. Anyhow if that is the worst that happens I'll be thrilled. Tomorrow we are on to Michigan for two nights in Lake Orion, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was basically a work day but I didn't get much done in the late afternoon except read and play cards before supper and then again after eating as we had the Tracy's over at 4 for orderves and then a spaghetti and meat ball supper around 5'ish.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to much cooler dry temps and it stayed that way most of the day with highs reaching the low 70's. It was almost a perfect day except for a few drops of rain and rain clouds around the time the Tracy's arrived at 4'ish. Thankfully the few drops were the extent which wasn't enough to settle the dust if there was any. I did my usual routines with tea, prayers for many and the posting of this ramble before heading out to check on the gardens. The dad gum skunks tore my yards up overnight looking for grubs and worms that come up out of the wet ground due to all of the soaking rain. It looked like someone took a grubbing hoe and made divots all over the place. I'm amazed they could do that much damage in one night, oh well. At least they didn't come back again last night(Mon).

I grabbed an apple for my breakfast and walked the yards and noticed the morning glory vine on the lower side of the arbor has finally reached the top whereas the other side vine has extended itself totally across the top and now has several extending vines twisting in the arbor top. I'm still waiting for the blooms but so far none have appeared. The cucumbers are finally producing just when we are getting ready to leave for a week and so are the beans which are loaded with blooms and little beans. I should have plenty by the time we get back in about a week. So far none of the green cherry tomatoes have started to turn but when they do I should have plenty to give away.

I fired up the golf cart and headed down the driveway to rake out the ruts from the past couple of gully washer down pours. It wasn't too bad as the ditches on both side of the drive and the across cut outs have helped tremendously with keeping the water off of the middle of the road. It took me an hour or so to put the drive back in shape, redig some of the cut outs and side ditches before once again loosen up the compacted soil in the circle flower bed as well as all of the gardens. Once those beds were hoed I decided to once again rake moss in the back woods yards and gathered up several golf cart loads of the green stuff which just loves the weather we have been having. There are several large shade trees in that area which helps with keeping the grass shaded and moist which is necessary for the growth of moss as the area doesn't get enough direct sun light. I will need to lime and fertilize this Fall which seems to help along with freeing up the grass that was being smothered out by the moss. That kept me busy until nearly lunch time when we took a hike to the top of the mountains.

We had an uneventful hike but did see Bertie Moore who mentioned she is selling several lots down near our portion of the mountain but on the other side of the main road into our cabin. She has had it since '76 and since her husband died a few years back she knew she would never develop it and wanted to let us know that if any of our friends were interested to let her know. I think the total is some where around 2 acres in 3 or 4 lots but it does have a spring fed very small trickle of water on it. We came back and Nancy had a garden salad which I just harvested in the early morning hours while it was cool and crispy out and I reheated a frozen burger from dasy ago. Afterwards I headed out to finish the area I was raking the moss in and hauled it away and then decided to haul one of the large oaks trees I had cut up into pieces that could be handled, to the wood stack along the top of the back woods yards so it could easily be reached with a truck and trailer in the future when and if Joe needs the wood for this winter. I haven't heard how his stress test when yesterday as he wasn't up to par the past week or so.

Well after cleaning up in the basement I settled on the back porch and read for an hour or so until the Tracy's came for supper. We played some Kings on the Corner before supper and a round of Spades afterwards and this time the men won in a very close game. They headed out before dark and we will see them today(Tues) at a small local eatery for lunch as I have pickle ball at 6 at the Roaring Gap Club. The weather is supposed to be perfect once again with no rain and while it almost rained yesterday we had a dry day and the stars were out in their full display after dark. We so needed a day with no rain as the yards and gardens are saturated from the daily rains this past 10 days or so, LATER

I will be away from this keyboard tomorrow as we leave early for Cleveland, Ohio and hope to catch up some time in the next days as we will be staying in AirBNB's the next week or so. We are planning on attending a wedding in the Detroit are of Michigan and then spending some time with Nancy's mother before heading over to the Shenandoah Valley to visit with my family for a couple of days before returning here some around the middle of next week; but as most of us know plans can change at a moment notice. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for traveling mercies.

Monday Wet and Soggy Morning

Well Sunday was another wet day and evening and night, yikes when will it ever dry out; but it was a day of awesome worship at home in the early morning with our Bridgepoint Church on line and then again at Cornerstone in Sparta with our mountain church family. We heard two awesome messages and sang some beautiful praise and worship songs that honor GOD, Wow.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish rollout and to my daily routines that start with the cup if hot green tea laced with turmeric and ginger while I spend some quiet moments with my Creator in thanksgiving and lifting up several by name. I heard from one of these who had their colon punctured during a routine exam is recovering in a hospital in Winston-Salem and is on the way to a full recovery; Praise the Lord. The others are as well as can be expected as I've heard nothing to the contrary.

We met at the Japanese eatery in town called Kaipan which has a delicious fresh salad bar and an entree for about 5 bucks and some change for lunch with Patrick and Kathryn. It was absolutely delicious or mine was as I had the broccoli and shrimp with fried rice and their sweet and sour soup is really good. I would go back here again and the gal who runs the place has an awesome memory for names. It's been a year or more and she remembered my middle name was my middle name. We made a grocery stop on the way home and then got back to the cabin after the area had received another major rain storm. The ditches were full as well as lots of small ruts in the drive.

I was full so I sat and watched some baseball and women's tennis and the American had the first set on her racket at 5-1 in a tie breaker and let the game get away from her after some poor efforts. She lost the match in straight sets so I took off on a hike alone as Nancy was on the phone and didn't feel like hiking. I saw Eddie Harris on the hike and we chatted up several minutes before a rain storm was heading up the mountain from down below. We could see the rain heading our way so I took off through the woods and made it back down before the rain hit. It poured buckets once again and then again on the way home from the Luffman's last evening after dark. We did get in a couple hours of dry conditions during the evening hours.

We had a good crowd of 11 folks there for a barbecue supper and then some corn toss for an hour or so. The guys played the gals in Sequence and it was a whupping for a change by the gals. We had a newbie on the guys team and that didn't help our chances as our best guy player was Mechelle who since has gone back to the gals team, oh well. There was lots of hooting and hollering to say the least.

Well after getting back some where close to 10 we noticed lots of skunks in the back yard and now we know what has been turning up the grasses with divots. They are looking worms and grubs due to all this wet ground. They sure have made a mess of the grass. It wasn't long until I was in the hot shower and then read for a spell before the sandman calleth around 10:30, Later.

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday started out rather nice but then the rain clouds moved in and stayed around for several hours. I emptied the rain gauge of nearly another inch before the day was through. We managed a hike to the top of the mountain in the afternoon and just missed getting wet.

I started the day with the usual 6'ish roll out to my usual morning routines that start with the cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and ginger while I post this ramble then spend some quiet time with my Creator lifting up several by name and giving thanks for all of my many blessings. Our dear mountain top neighbor Joe isn't improving as well as needs to be which is very uncommon for him. Everyone else who I mention by name for healing and comfort are about the same. I spoke with Paw Paw and he sounded good as he spends the weekend with his middle daughter Pat in W.Va. and GG seems to be doing well. I haven't heard any difference from the others so I take it all is well.

I did manage to piddle around in the yards and gardens for a couple hours until the rain clouds moved in just before lunch with several gully washers moments before it cleared up and left us soaking wet once again. I harvested my first cucumber and it was a beauty despite it being one of the burp less variety which is long and thin and seems to take forever to grow. I have a couple more fingerlings on the vines but one vine is turning yellow from all the rain. Everything else is growing but lots of the lettuces are starting to rot at the roots. The beans are blooming like crazy and we should have a ton of them when we get back from our vacation trip along with tons of cherry tomatoes.

We read during the rain period and just stayed indoors. The humidity is back and so is the a/c on. It makes us wonder how we got along for all these years without it especially during the wet foggy days. After our hike we piddled around outside pulling some weeds and just admiring the beauty of the woods and the surrounding gardens by the cabin. We did see a couple of huge deer in the early morning hours checking out the cabin from the backwoods yards. So far they haven't eaten anything but the new growth on the black raspberry bushes just before we got here. They are so prickly I'm amazed they would eat them.

We cleaned up some leftovers, salads for lunch and a frozen pizza for our supper. We sat and played Kings on the Corner afterwards while watching the Dr. POL show until it was shower time. It wasn't long afterwards I was ready for some horizontal lab around 10:30, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was a mixture of work and fun with some excellent eating at the Tracy's cabin later in the day. It stayed dry for the day but on the way home last evening around 9'ish we encountered some light mist which required the wipers and this morning I awakened to everything being wet outside. The yards and gardens have dried out somewhat but we need another day of bright sunshine to really dry the area.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to my routines that always start with some vitamins and supplements washed down with a cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and a slice of fresh ginger while I post this ramble and then lift up several by name. I've added a couple to the list as our neighbor Joe Browning isn't doing the best and as well as our pastor's mom, Gay who had a puncture of her colon during a routine colonoscopy, yeow that is once reason I've stayed away from the procedure. All the others are doing well as I've heard nothing to the contrary.

I headed outside with my rubber boots as the dew is so heavy in the morning despite no rain over night to check on the both the veggie and flower gardens. First the veggies are holding their own despite the wet soil. I've daily been hoeing around the plants loosening the packed wet ground and then I added some horse manure between the rows to help with getting some nutrients back after such leeching by all of the rain. My manure supplier called the other night and informed me she had plenty just waiting for me to come and get it; I trade cleaning out her stables for the manure which I compost and then add to the beds.

The flower beds are the best we've had in years although one perennial daisy succumbed to all of the wet weather as its stopped blooming but I think the plant will live. I harvested the dead heads and hope to start new seedlings with them next year. The cone flowers are everywhere and with many different shades of color and now the zinnias are blooming with their many colors as well. I'm still waiting on the morning glories and the marigolds to bloom but the vines have just about reached the the top of the arbor as they grow up both sides. The marigolds are huge in size but no heads yet.

I started to rake the green moss which grows in the backwoods yard as it gets limited sunshine and less attention as the rest of the yards. Each year I rake and reseed the area but the moss loves the shaded area. I need to lime and fertilize again which helps with keeping it under control. I raked up several golf cart loads which easily comes up but with it some of the grass seedlings, oh well. I have fun keeping busy and giving the arms and shoulders a workout. We took off on a late morning hike to the top and stopped and visited with Jetta on the way. Joe still isn't doing well enough to sit and visit which is very rare for him as we all love to sit and talk. He has a doctor's appointment on Monday for a stress test as many years ago he had a heart procedure.

We came back and had a late lunch of a leftover a deer burger for me which I would always eat in place of beef, its that good. Neighbor Gerald blessed us with several packages of the ground meat from last years hunt which was processed by a butcher, Yeow it was delicious and even Nancy likes the meat which makes it even better. The delicious meat is a result of them eating my garden at times. I headed back out to the backwoods yard for another hour and half of raking moss down the hill. I try to rake the most visible areas which crowd out the grasses and have a few more areas to go. That yard is probably a good acre in area so I will have plenty to do before we head out on Wednesday for a weeks vacation to Ohio,  Michigan and Virginia before heading back home around the last week in August.

We cleaned up and headed out to down town Sparta with a stop at the local library where I introduced the librarian to my son, Bobby's second book in the trilogy of EPIC OF HAVEN titled the RAVENOUS SEIZE. She wanted him to autograph the book before adding it to the shelf. It's a beautiful hardbound edition and if you like The Lord of the Rings this story is for you. Amazon carries the book and the kindle version as well. He is still writing the third and final book in the trilogy. We left there around 4'ish and headed over to the Tracy's cabin which is just a few miles west of town.

Kathryn had orderves set out along with some fruit of the vine and we partook of a little of each while starting a game of Spades; the four handed variety which is quite different from the six handed game which is what we have been playing the past couple of weeks when the Botbyl's were here. She and I teamed up against Nancy and Patrick for a change as we played together last week when Nancy and Carol were sightseeing on top of the mountain and we beat Dan and Patrick as they love to go Nil; which is to not take any tricks. Playing with two decks is so much different than playing with one deck and Kathryn and I prevailed after a break for supper and the cleanup on the last hand. It was a barn burner as Kathryn had never attempted to go Nil and she did it which gave us the win. All of us but her had tried the Nil approach several times during the game and had succeeded and failed. It's a really fun game with lots of depending on your partner for the right card to play.

Kathryn made Sopapillas from scratch which were awesome and so delicious. We headed out just before 9 as darkness was setting and got home just before it got pitch black out. We encountered a light drizzle on the parkway. I hit the shower and curled up with a new read from the library while Nancy flipped channels. I learned the Ray's were winning against the Jay's before the sandman calleth around 10:15, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday saw us finally with a day of NO rain for a change, wow was it ever nice outside as well as we turned off the /c and opened the windows and doors for fresh air and comfortable temps with a nice breeze throughout the day. I worked all morning and then piddled and basically loafed the rest of the day except for a mid day hike to the top of the mountain.

The day started much the usual for me with a 6'ish roll out to my cup of hot tea with turmeric and ginger while I posted this ramble and then spent some quiet moments with my Creator lifting up several by name. I just learned our mountain top friend Joe is having some health issues from a fall he had a couple weeks ago while picking wild berries. His hand has just not healed properly and despite being on antibiotics its maybe the cause of some major other issues and his being 85 isn't helping any. All of the others I mentioned by name to the Creator for healing and comfort are about the same as I've heard nothing to the contrary.

I had a light breakfast of oatmeal with a banana for a change with honey and cinnamon before donning my rubber boots and heading out to check on the gardens. The dew was very heavy and I love my rubber boots which save my work boots and shoes from all of the wetness. The gardens looked good but I did notice more of my lettuce plants are starting to show the effects of the soil not drying completely despite me hoeing and keeping them as loose as possible from the packed, rain soaked ground. I hoe every day the plants as much as possible to help with getting some air to the roots. I noticed most of the zinnias are now blooming with their beautiful colors of all shades. It amazes me each plant can have different colored blooms as the zinnias send out extra limbs with all different colors on the same limb, wow.

I fired up the golf cart and loaded my new chainsaw as well as the sledge hammer and wedges and headed up to the huge downed oak tree I wanted to cut up and split for my dear neighbor Joe.( I didn't know he was having serious issues until later in the day on our hike). The new saw cut through like it was butter and it took me no time to finish the sawing of the huge trunk. The big job was turning the saw chunks over and splitting them with a wedge into 4 pieces so I could cary them out of the woods to the golf cart and the transport them to an area for Joe to pickup later when he had time. The chunks when split into the 4 pieces each weighed 30-40 pounds, yikes where they ever heavy and I could only transport 5-7 pieces at a time to a stacked pile. I managed to complete the job by noon and was soaked in sweat despite the cooler temps and breeze.

Nancy had two loads of laundry drying on the clothesline. There is something so satisfying about clothes drying outside which takes me back to my childhood on the farm and a simply way of life. I changed out of my work clothes which were soaked and dirty from lugging these huge chunks out of the woods, so we got ready for a hike after an energy bar. The hike to the top was uneventful except for chatting up first with Sarah who just arrived for a few days from Charlotte, then Billy who was working on cleaning some fresh corn on the cob and then speaking with Bertie who was sitting on her front porch staring off into the mountain ridges below. What a beautiful day with great views.

We came back and had the last of the smoked beer in the rear chicken on a bun with lettuce and the last of the tatter chips which I seldom consume with the last of the French onion dip, yeow what a combo. Nancy wanted to read on the front porch so I piddled around on the internet as I had read the last new book I had checked out from the library. She decided that maybe it would be a good idea if we are invited to the rehearsal dinner in Michigan which is going to be an 11 hour drive from the cabin to maybe leave a day earlier and stay somewhere closer to Michigan; so I began searching for an AirBNB near Cleveland, Ohio and found one not to far from the Great Lake Erie for a reasonable price for one night. So I booked it for Wednesday night which means we will only have to drive 8 hours or so the first night then another 4 hours the second day. I think we will take a scenic route the second part of the trip to the next AirBnb in Michigan.

 I find them so much more exciting than motels and our first experience was fantastic in Whitmore Lake with Christine who was really great. We will leave a day earlier than planned and if we aren't invited to the dinner we will sight see that area of the country. Neighbor Gerald blessed us with some frozen packs of ground venison he wanted to get rid of as hunting season approaches in just a couple months and the deer this year are huge from all of the browse which is plentiful from the rain. We see several in the area and noticed how beautiful and filled out they are. I'm sure Gerald will bless us again before we leave in November as he hunts our land each year. We grilled some venison patties to go with our tatter soup for supper and sat outside on the deck. What a beautiful evening. We had to turn the a/c back on and close the windows as the night time insects were so loud we couldn't hear the TV. We decided to play Kings on the Corners and Nancy whupped me big time after the whupping I gave her the night before while watching the Ray's on TV because they televise the Orioles games here; the Ray's finally won.

Well it wasn't long after the game I hit the shower and was soon ready for some horizontal lab a little after 10 which seems to be my hour for bedtime. I have no idea what time Nancy came to bed as she sleeps in, in the mornings when I'm wide awake at 6 and start the day, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday was another fun day with shopping in Galax, Va. and then lunch out at a Mexican eatery before heading back to the cabin. It was another beautiful warm but muggy day with temps into the low 80's but we did see some storm clouds and a moderate rain for a few minutes in the evening hours.

I started the day much the usual with 6'ish roll out to my routine cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger while I posted this ramble and spent some quiet time with my Creator in thanksgiving and lifting up several by name. All is well as I've heard nothing to the contrary. We ate light for breakfast as we were eating at an old favorite called El Toritio in Galax. I loaded up the garbage, gas cans and a cooler and we headed out around 10:30 for town. We made a couple stops before eating a tasty lunch of enchiladas, burritos and the usual rice and beans with a bowl of chips and salsas. That held us until late evening when we had a bowl of fresh garden salad. I dropped Nancy off at the super Wal-Mart while I headed over to Lowes to get a new chain saw then gassed up our cans and the truck. Gas has gone up a little since we last filled up at 2.38 a gallon.

I picked her up and we headed home with our goodies once again. It was really hot and muggy in Galax which is some what down off the mountain and we could see the temperature drop once we got back on the parkway heading south. We noticed neighbor Gerald was down for a couple days from Blacksburg. He came and visited for a few and had his tractor warming up to scrape the roadway. The road has stayed in really good shape after all the gravel that was spread last year. It occasionally needs scraping when the water gushes causes ruts but I mainly do that by hand on our driveway hill.

I piddled around and got the new saw ready to finish up the large downed oak tree as I want to cut it up and get it up to our mountain top neighbor Joe so he can get it split and stacked for the winter months. I'll have a couple cords of wood by the time I'm done for him. I so enjoy the physical work which helps keep these muscles in shape. We were going to hike to the top after supper but the storm clouds moved in and it did sprinkle but Nancy wasn't convinced it wasn't going to catch us up on top so I did a hike up to the back road which is a good workout especially without stopping when she isn't around. I checked all of the gardens for those pesky worms and found none which seem to really like my kale plants.

We decided to watch TV for a change and while doing so got into a marathon of Kings on the Corner card games. I whupped her 10-4 through out the evening as we used one of the small lamp tables in front of the tube. It's a fast fun filled game which sharpens your instincts much like Solitaire. We just learned to play it this summer and now its a great two person game as well as 4 or how ever many want to play. Just before dark we heard someone banging on the door and it was neighbor Grant who was wanting to visit. He stayed for a few minutes before heading home on his golf cart. We chatted with him the other day as he is up to maintain his beautiful cabin as you come into our road. We often take the grans down to his small creek when they visit as we like to play in the ankle deep cold water that runs constantly.

Well I settled into the RAY's game of which they lost in the last inning to a terrible Oriole Team with an awful record because of poor pitching and coaching. I'm beginning to question the manager decision to put in the worst pitcher in the last inning when leading by a run who gave up three straight hits, oh well. We found the game on TV and watched a near come back but so sad to see them lose by a lousy pitcher in my book, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was a work day until the late afternoon when I sat on the porch a read, taking a power nap as I rested for a good work out on the pickle ball court at the Roaring Gap Club with 4 other players. It was basically a sunny day but the temps had once again climbed up an into the middle 80's but no rain here at the cabin but just a few miles away we got rained out around 7:30 for me so I head home with a wet shirt for sweating as well as the rain.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out with my cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and a slice of fresh ginger which washed down a handful of my vitamins and supplements. I spent a few moments honoring my Creator with prayers of thanksgiving especially for another year of which this makes 72 . I was honored and overwhelmed with so many birthday wishes on the internet but also with several cards and gift certificates within. My son called with the grans in the truck and they sang to me as well and my daughter always sends me cards that make cry. I'm blessed with two fantastic kids as well as 5 sweet grans. I'm sitting here tearing up just thinking of how I've been so blessed.

I ate light for breakfast with oatmeal and a peach for a change after so much bacon, sausage, eggs and waffles the past three weeks with company. Now that we have no one scheduled until the Fall I will try to work on this expanding spare tire once again as we need to hike daily and watch our diet. I checked all of the gardens and found some green worms on my kale plants and I quickly dispatched them between my fingers and then I used some Sevin dust as I've noticed the blue butterflies are back who lay the eggs on our vegetable plants which become green worms. They ruined a couple plants but I think they will come back. The cucumbers are the burp less ones which are long and skinny. I bought some seedlings at Lowes and did not noticed what they were as I usually grow the Straight 8's variety, oh well. The gardens are still saturated with wetness so I loosened up the soil around all of the plants and flowers. Hopefully it will dry out soon as I noticed several lettuce plants rotting from all the rain.

I fired up the chainsaw and went to work on the huge oak trunk in the backwoods. The saw is getting  old and needs a new bar and chain so for what it costs to replace those things it cheaper to buy a new model. I'm going to get a new one this week to finish the job plus I have a few trees that are shading my blueberries plants and need sawed down and cut up. I love running a chain saw which drives Nancy nuts, oh well. I use to run one when I was but a teenager on the farm and loved cutting pulp wood and timber as well as lots of the firewood we burned for heating and cooking.

We ate a salad for lunch and then cleaned up some leftovers for an early supper around 5'ish as I had a pickle ball match at 6. It was very hot and sunny to start the match but the storm clouds moved in and after an hour an half of play the cooling light rain was a welcome. It soon became to heavy for me and I bowed out to head home plus all of these players were young whipper snatchers compared to me. It felt great to play after the lay off last week due to bad weather. We got word the Botbyl's made it back to the 'hood in Seminole safely after an earlier morning start.

Well that was about it for a Tuesday. Its still rather muggy with all of the moisture in the air but at least we aren't in a drought situation like the west coast. If only they could have some of this rain as we have too much, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday found me with tons of birthday wishes, cards, cards with gift certificates, phone calls and even a birthday song over the phone from grans as well as an awesome cheesecake. I'm humbled by all of those who took some time to remember me on such a special day. Thanks!

I started the day much the usual with a 6 ish roll out to my routines that start with washing down a handful of vitamins and supplements with a cup of hot green ta laced with turmeric and fresh ginger while I post this ramble and then spend some quiet time with my Creator. I'm so blessed at this age to still be able to function as I did in my younger days and still have a clear mind. So many of my classmates have passed on after suffering some terrible calamity and many are living in terrible times with their health issues; all I can say is Thank You GOD.

After my morning routines I wanted to get two whole chickens ready for the smoker of which I did a little before 10. I stuffed their rears with fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden  and then set them on a stand which holds a beer can about half full for the next 5-6 hours in my smoker filled with applewood and some hickory all from here in the mountains. That combo leaves such a beautiful color but the taste is so delicious as the bird pulls apart when preparing for the plate. We had the Tracy's and Botbyl's from Florida over for the occasion and Kathryn made my favorite cheese cake with blueberry topping, yeow.

After getting the birds in the smoker I decided since the sun was shining and such a beautiful morning to fire up the weed whacker and do the yards which kept me busy after a semi mountain breakfast of bacon, eggs and a waffle. The sun had started to dry out the yards so I fired up the riding mower after an hour of weed whacking and mowed until nearly 1:30. Nancy had two loads of laundry hanging on the clothesline in the bright hot sunshine which is now in the low 80's and felt so good for a change. Around 2'ish just after finishing up all the yards but the backwoods yard the skies began to darken and thunder was present in the distance so we got in the clothes of which most were dry but needed touching up in the dryer when the skies opened up with torrential down pours, lightning was cracking around the cabin and the power flickered a couple times but stayed on after one very close strike that shut the clocks off. Anyhow we had an inch of rain in 30 minutes which is usually a gully washer; I was looking to see if hail was in the rain as it was that loud on the tin roof.

After an hour the sun was back out and it was around 4'ish and the time our company was due. We had some appetizers, a little fruit of the vine and then we settled into a game of OH -ELL while waiting for the twice baked taters to cook as well as the cream corn off the cob. The birds in the smoker were resting and looked picture perfect. OH_ELL is a fast game with 16 rounds and if you make your bid you get that plus 10 pts. By making your bid is determined by how many tricks you take each round which changes starting with one card added per round and the dealer determines if you want a wild card. Its a fast game that goes up with 6 people for 8 rounds then back down again to just one card as there are just 52 cards in a deck divided by the number of players. It a game where the nickname come from when you don't make your bid; you must follow suit but if none then a wild card can take the trick.

We dined on delicious smoked chicken, twice baked spuds, cream corn and fresh garden salad, yeow what a feast and then afterwards we cut the cheese cake with the blueberry topping. One of my favorites and it was so creamy the way Kathryn makes it. We have enough leftover for another sitting or two. Well Nancy and Carol took off on a golf cart ride as it was her and Dan's last day here on the mountain this year. The rest of us played Spades which is different from the 6 player game. Kathryn and I teamed up and whupped up on Patrick and Dan who were determined to go Nil almost every round. I think its easier to go Nil with 6 players than 4 because you have 17 rounds or tricks instead of 13 in a 4 player game and you use only one deck as opposed to two decks; anyhow they were minus for most of the game and I did manage to go Nil twice and won.

Well they all left around 8'ish and we said our good byes as the Botbyl's were leaving in the early morning hours around 4'ish for Seminole. They have lived 3 houses up from us for nearly 40 years and our kids grew up together and Nancy and Carol are often confused with one another where ever especially at church. They were here nearly three weeks and they spent last week at the Tracy's rental cabin. We have eaten way too many dinners both out and pulled together and the spare tire has started to expand especially from the desserts which seem to find us at the end of our meals and or during card games. It has been a fun three weeks and now it time for me get back to some cabin chores.

I want to paint or stain the high sides of the cabin as I've finished with the front and back porches and then saw up a large downed oak tree for neighbors Joe and Jetta on top of the mountain who burn wood during the winter for their heat plus a couple of small chores for our "mountain mom" Helen. I'm throughly blessed to love to work and stay active. I have pickle ball at 6 this evening with a couple other players at the Roaring Gap Club and so look forward to it for a couple hours, LATER

Monday Morning and the ripe age of 72..

Well Sunday found us finally with no measurable rain for a change. I think its been 10 days or there about since we've had a totally dry day and my garden and yards are showing it's appreciation. We attend Cornerstone for worship at 10 then headed over to the Tracy's place with the leftovers from last nights supper in a cooler.

The day started with a 6 ish roll out for me and to my usual routines that start with the cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger while I post this ramble and then spend a few quiet moments with my Creator in humble prayer and thanksgiving and lifting several up by name. All is well with those as I've heard nothing to the contrary. We listened to our home church Bridgepoint in St.Pete, Fl. on line and Tim had a great message in the series titled Road Trip. Pastor B here in the mountains also has a really good message on the Stress series taken from the 23rd Psalm.

We cleaned up the leftovers from Saturdays supper which featured marinated chicken breast and London broil carved into fajitas along with sauteed peppers and onions, yellow rice and black beans, yeow tasted as great as when first served . We sat and visited for a couple hours then headed out around 3'ish to the cabin after a Food Lion stop for some whole chickens. I'm doing beer in the rear birds for supper with the gang as the Botbyl's leave early Tuesday morning to go back to Seminole. They will have been here nearly three weeks which is quite the change for them. They visited with both of us and we had an enjoyable time.

We got back to the cabin sometime after 4 then took a hike to the top of the mountain. It had finally warmed up in the bright sunshine and the temps had climbed from the early morning low 60's to the low 80's. I worked up a sweat on the hike. We walked across the top and visited with Joe and Jetta for a spell. She remembered it was my birthday (tomorrow) and cut me hearty slice of a fresh baked coconut creme pie, yikes was that ever tasty. That held me the rest of the day and evening.

I did get in some yard and garden work as the ground needed loosening from the heavy downpour yesterday evening which dropped nearly 3/4 quarters of an inch of rain in about 30 minutes, yikes did it ever come down. I made the area where the black raspberry bushes are sending out runners larger so I could expand the patch. The Zinnias are showing some colors and will add some beauty to the old circle drive flower bed which is usually grass and weed infested. I did notice a couple fingerling cukes on the vines so maybe thats a sign we will get a few. I smashed a couple green worms on one of the kale plants and the tomato plants are still growing and now over my head in height; but I'm afraid to say all of them are cherry or small tomato's, oh well, its tough to make a sandwich with them but the store bought tomato's are anything close to good.

Well the Ray's lost again and while in third place they will not be making the playoffs again this year if they continue down the road with losing, oh well, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well we did have some sun on Saturday but later in the evening it came a gully washer and ruined what initially was a beautiful day with no rain. At least the rain is coming in bursts and not a long drawn out all day long affair, oh well. (As I'm writing this two very large does appear in the back woods yard and were heading for my garden) I did get a little work done around the cabin until the early afternoon when we were to meet up with the other four at Olde Beau Country Club to look at houses for sale as the Tracy's and Botbyl's are supposedly hunting for one.

I started the day much the usual with a before 6 roll out to my usual routines that start with my cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger while I post this ramble and then spent some quiet time with my Creator in humble thanksgiving and then lifting up several by name. All is well this far as I've heard nothing to the contrary. Our sweet niece Arriane had her baby boy by C-section and both are doing well.

I headed out after a lite breakfast to check on the driveway and raked and filled in some ruts from the wash out rain during the night. The cut outs across the road have really helped with keeping the driveway from washing away from the torrential down pours. I  loosened up the packed soil around all of the garden veggies which helps to keep them from rotting in the ground by getting some air to the roots plus it a way of weed control as they continue to grow. I'm at a loss why the cucumbers are not setting fruit with the tons of blooms. The cherry tomato's are in full production on every one of the four volunteer plants which are now close to 6 feet tall and the lettuces are ready for harvesting daily. I found my first green worm on a kale plant and quickly dispensed with it, as it had taken its toll on the plant. The peppers are slow in producing but show lots of blooms and buds, oh well.

We met up with the salesman Tommy from Olde Beau and what a really nice feller as he grew up here in the county and we both know lots of the same people. I mentioned pickle ball and the club has painted the lines on its first tennis court for the game. He mentioned there was some interest in some of the club members and I told him I was available for lessons. He took my number and said he would let me know. The houses he showed us were top notch dwellings; some individual houses and some villas. All were well built and only a few years old and the prices were nearly half from what they were initially sold for when first built. Its a beautiful club with over 800 acres on the mountain, golf courses and a beautiful club house and a recreation complex that featured and in door heated pool, outside pool, work out rooms, etc. All with such scenic views and I was amazed at how cheap the HOA was for the houses; 650 a year.

We headed back to our place and got into a game of Phase 10 before starting supper. Dan was blowing us away with his luck in the game. The gals cut up onions, red, yellow and green peppers and mushrooms for the grill basket and had yellow rice and black beans waiting for the grilled chicken breasts and London broil to cook for fajitas, yeow what a feed and we have enough leftover we will bring with us for lunch today(Sun). They all left after eating to attend the demo derby at the fairgrounds in Sparta which is just a few short minutes from their rental cabin. I declined on a couple reasons as it was wet and cool after the huge rain plus it would mean another half hour drive after dark from town. We cleaned up the dishes then settled into the Ray's game on the internet of which they lost in the last innings. I hit the shower and then was ready for some read time before the sandman calleth around 10'ish, LATER 

Saturday Morning

Well the rain finally abated around noon here at the cabin with some awesome sunshine which helped to start drying up the soaked and soggy yards and gardens. I headed to Sparta to meet up with the other two couples for supper out and Music on the Main around 5'ish and the weather turned beautiful for this monthly event. Just a gorgeous evening despite the flying insects had had been driven out by all of the rain the last several days.
 I started the day with my usual before 6 roll out to the sound of rain falling on the tin roof which went on all morning. I had my usual handful of vitamins and supplements washed down with a cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and a slice of fresh ginger root while I posted this ramble and then some quiet time with my Creator. All is well with those I lift up daily in my thoughts and prayers for healing and comfort in their time of need. Nancy rolled out around 7:30 and got ready to meet the other two gals at the end of our drive for day in Mt. Airy. Since the rain washed out our plans for any adventure either on the river or on the bike trail I decided shopping with gals was not in my play book so I stayed at the cabin while the other two guys did their thing at the Wellness Center and at their cabin on the other side of Sparta. I drove Nancy out to the hard road to meet the other gals in the driving rain which was close to gully washing.

I piddled around in the basement and then basically read until the rain stopped a little after lunch. We had some leftovers from the other night so I fixed a burger and dog for my lunch then headed out on a power hike to the top of the mountain where I saw Shawnee and she made it known I could use her bikes anytime we needed an extra one for company. I headed across the mountain and stopped for a few with the Brownings before heading back down the mountain where I sat in the sunshine and enjoyed the warm air after all of the damp cool air the past several days. It was so nice to see the sun for a change. I sat and read on the porch for an hour or so and actually took a small nap in the rocking chair while waiting for the right time to head out towards Sparta after a stop at the local meat market for todays supper with the other two couples. I'm grilling marinated chicken breasts and London Broil for fajitas along with all the fixin's.

We all met at the Pizzeria for supper and most of us had the salad bar buffet which is very fresh for 6 bucks. An awesome deal as well. Afterwards we walked up town where the local police close down the main drag for several blocks and several different bands and combo's give free entertainment to those who wonder from area to area. We listened to bluegrass, blues, pop, country and an a combo of all of the above. The headliner was a local group who were very good and we stayed through the first set until 9'ish. The only drawback was they were moved inside an eatery which had limited seating and mostly standing room for our group; speaking of our group they left before the headliner started at 8 so we paled up with Mechelle and her group. I saw several familiar faces. Usually the main entertainment is outside on the courthouse steps but the threat of rain moved them inside which did limit the viewing gallery, oh well. It was an enjoyable evening as we listened to all of the bands and groups over the course of the evening. We headed out after 9 for the cabin and while the rain had stopped the roads were still quite wet and muddy.

It wasn't long after a hot shower and 10'ish I was ready for some horizontal lab, LATER

Friday Morning...Rain, Rain and then some Rain

Well Thursday found us with mostly a play day as it was too dad gum wet to do much outside here at the cabin. We awakened to a drizzle which finally abated long enough to get in a hike to the top of the mountain during mid morning, then we took off around 11:45 for Galax,Va where we met up with the other four for lunch at Macado's. The gals did their thing and we guys got haircuts(two of us) then shopped at WalMart before gassing up and meeting the gals back at the Tracy's place around 4'ish and watching the Trump speech in Tampa on YouTube until the gals got home and then had a marvelous supper outside on their deck.

The day started with a 6'ish roll out for me to the drip of rain onto the tin roof from the upstairs dormer. The skies were overcast until around 8'ish when the rain stopped and the sun tried to break through. My garden was drinking in the little bit of sunshine as were we. We had nearly another half  inch of rain during the night and the flash flood warnings were up for this county as well as several of the smaller cities down off the mountain. This whole week has been wet, foggy and damp with very little sunshine especially here on our "foggy mountain". It seems the area west of us and Sparta does get less rain than we do but that is just my observation, oh well. The rain really is a Godsend as we can see from the dry conditions in the western part of the nation with the wildfires and high temps; so I will quit complaining as our area is so lush and green albeit a bit soggy.

I did my routines that start with my usual cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger root while I honored my Creator with a humble prayer of thanksgiving and then lifting several up by name. All is well with those as I've heard no different. I did my checking on the nation and wished several Happy Big Day's before heading out to check on the gardens. The drizzle had stopped and I emptied the rain gauge once again. I would like to see it dry at the bottom for at least a whole day for a change. It's really coming down now as I make this post; not a gully washer but a steady pour none the least. I think the forecast was for less rain and more sunshine today. It seems its the same kind of weather in our area in Florida and maybe since the rain is keeping the Gulf Temps cool there is less a chance for a hurricane to develop; so far so good as it that time of the season.

I loaded up the garbage to make a dumpster stop on the way into town. We met up with the gang at the Macado's eatery in old Galax where we usually have a great meal. Our daily lunch special was awesome but a couple of the others were some what less than desirable so they sent the Cole slaw and salad back. My fish tacos with fries was awesome and very filling as was Nancy's grilled chicken tacos with fries. We left satisfied to say the least after a very lite breakfast of just cantaloupe for me. We split up with the gals going together to walk the streets of Old Galax browsing the many small shop none of which interested us guys. We had a shopping list of things to get at the super WalMart after having our ears lowered. We filled the list then stopped to gas up at 2.38/gal which was 40 cents a gallon cheaper than N.C. so our trip to Va. was worth the trip in fuel saving.

Kathryn for our supper made a delicious sandwich ring she had seen on T.V. and wow was it ever not only beautiful but oh so tasty. She also put together a potato salad and the recipe was so much to my liking as she included mustard, eggs, celery, onion and paprika; oh so good and then we had left over baked beans from the other night. We dined outside on their side deck (under roof) as we watched deer off on one of the green hills graze. Awesome vistas to say the least. We headed inside as the evening skies turned gray with a light rain and got into a great game of 6 person Spades. We played to the score of 1000 instead of 500 and the guys won on the last hand with several of us going NIL a couple of times and even once two of us went NIL and made it. It was a hotly contested game with guys vs gals.

Well we headed out around 9:30 for the cabin in the once again rain and some fog rolling in off the mountain. We got back a little after 10'ish and I was soon in the hot shower and then curled up with a book for a few minutes while Nancy perused the HGTV channel. I have no idea how she can stay up to midnight or later but of course it's after 7'ish when she rolls out in the morning or even later, LATER

Thursday Morning 8-2-18

Well it been so dang gum wet around here I'm thinking of either buying a boat or start building an Ark, wow and its back at it again this Thursday morning. Wednesday was almost a wash out except for some early morning hours when I was able to get out side and do some work. I need to get in a hike today at least to keep these one tight muscles now going to flab if this weather continues.

I started the day with my usual roll out around 6. The fog was so thick I couldn't see off the back porch and a drizzle was evident as the rain dripped from the upper dormer onto the tin roof. I know it makes for great sleeping conditions but I was wide awake after a fairly good nights sleep. That darn internal alarm just wakes me most every morning around 6 no matter what time I hit the sack the night before. I did my routines with the hot green tea with fresh ginger root and turmeric while I posted this ramble then spend some quiet moments with my Creator in thanksgiving for my blessings and lifting up several who are daily on my heart for healing and comfort in this their hour of need.

Nancy was still in the sack so I checked all of my usual medias, news feeds and finally the infamous FB where we keep up with our associates on whats happening with our friends, church and community. After a lite breakfast of cantaloupe I headed outside as the drizzle had stopped to check on the gardens. The rain gauge showed nearly another half inch over night and the gardens were soaked as it the yards. They are squishy when you walk on them despite the good drainage down the hill. The veggies are holding their own with the beans a blooming and the lettuces are growing so fast I can not use them fast enough as is the kale and Swiss chard. I did manage to hoe around them to loosen the soil and get some air to the roots as they will rot with all of this rain. The flower gardens are loving this weather as is the Morning Glory vines. I'm still waiting for our first"heavenly blue" blooms which are so beautiful. The Rose of Sharon bushes are in full bloom and add so much color to the yards as well.

I fired up the old chain saw and worked up the branches of the oak I threw down the other day but when it came to sawing through the trunk the saw balked on me as I need a new blade and because of that the saw cuts at an angle. I must have bent the blade or bar as its called and need a new one when cutting anything larger than 12-14 inches thick, oh well. I did haul several golf cart loads of the cut up wood for neighbor Joe's wood pile this winter. That gave me a little workout but the rain soon came and kept me from hiking.

We were once more having a house full of company for supper so Nancy was busy doing her cabin clean and required that I help. We had the Luffman Gang minus Caleb who is off with his youth group in Charlotte and minus Patrick as he pulled a muscle in his back while working out at the Wellness Center in Sparta with Dan during the morning hours, Kathryn, Dan and Carol came to a delicious supper of burgers, dogs, baked beans, Cole slaw and lots of ordurves prior to the sit down. Afterwards we got into the hot game of Sequence and the guys along with Mechelle playing on the men's team annihilated the women team 5-2 at one time it was 4-0. I don't know if Mechelle was the difference in place of Patrick as the gals usually win in Seminole but whatever it was a night to remember for the men which doesn't happen to often.

They all left around 8'ish as Mechelle still punches a clock so we cleaned up then I settled into the Ray's game on the internet and they whupped the Angels at the Trop 7-2. It wasn't long afterwards I hit the shower and then read a little before the sandman calleth a little after 10, LATER

Wednesday Morning ..August 1st

Well Tuesday was a drizzle, foggy and wet day but the temps didn't drop as much as predicted so it wasn't a total loss for getting out an about. I did check the driveway for wash outs in the morning and raked the gravel where the ruts and gully's had washed the night with 3 and 1/2 inches of downpour. Yikes, what a storm with lightning and thunder.

I started the day much the usual with a 6 ish roll out after hitting the sack early the night before. I did my usual morning routines and managed to post this ramble before anyone awakened. I love the early morning hours when I can spend some quiet moments alone while I post this ramble then thank my Creator for my blessings and then lift up several by name for healing and comfort in their times of need. Nancy spoke with her mom and I spoke with Paw Paw all of whom are in their 90's. Our quests moved over to the Tracy's for the next week but will still be in the area as they like to spend time at different venues but we will still dine regularly each evening and the girls with take off on little side trips as will we guys. We guys are planning a bike trip long the New River Trail on Thursday if the weather holds as both Carol and Kathryn are having leg issues and can not ride.

I did manage to loosen the soil around most of the garden veggies from the compacted wet soil to get some oxygen to the roots as well as work the flower bed in the circle drive. It's unbelievable how quick the weeds begin grow after a rain. The veggies, especially the lettuces were somewhat flattened down form the down pour but I think they will survive. We saw the bright sun for about 10 seconds until the fog once again shut it out. We did see some sunshine later in the afternoon out at the Tracy's cabin but our mountain stayed shrouded in fog and clouds throughout. We even ate supper out on their deck as it was that nice. The different mountain ridges effect the weather at specific times in the area and our area is appropriately named Foggy Mountain, oh well. It's supposed to be this way for the rest of the week.

There wasn't much I could do and no one wanted to hike in this fog and wetness so we played some Kings on the Corner card game while we waited to head over to the Tracy's. We put together some dishes to take with us and then after the Botbyl's left we ran some errands in town on the way and got there a little after 4. We snacked and had some fruit of the vine for a change before a delicious salmon supper with half runner green beans and spaghetti squash and then strawberry shortcake for dessert. We played 6 man Spades, Kings on the Corner and ended with a game of OH -ell which is a riot. Everyone bids on how many tricks or plays you can take with each hand and its the dealers choice if you have a wild card or trump.

We headed out just before dark and they started receive some rain in their area and we could tell it had rained at our place for most of the evening albeit a drizzle which is nice after the tremendous rain the night before. We are having the Luffman gang along with the Tracy's and Botbyl's for burgers and dogs this evening at our place and I'm hoping the rain will hold off so we can get in some corn toss games as Gerald is an exceptional player. Well that was about it for a lack luster day with no sunshine. I get cabin fever after so many days but did get in some activity on the driveway with a rake and had a wet shirt from the sweat. I'm hoping to work up the downed oak tree from last week with the chainsaw this morning as the cooler temps make for good working conditions, LATER