Well Tuesday was a rainy day for most of the night and day. I believe our neighbor on top of the mountain measured a little over 4 inches in the 24 hour period. Around mid afternoon the skies broke and we saw some sunshine before sunset but the front brought with it some unseasonably cool temps. It's around 52* this morning (wed.) as I checked at 6 AM.
There was my usual rollout around 6 on Tuesday morning to a cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger while I did my morning routines that include the posting of the day before's activities, of course always a few quiet minutes with my Creator and then lifting up several by name of which there are many. I must say I'm surprised at how well our mountain mom's sister is doing after she fell and broke her hip/femur on Saturday and was operated on Monday. She wasn't in the best shape to start with but she came through doing better than expected. Helen and I headed back down off the mountain around 10 for a visit with her and got back around 3'ish with a stop at Cracker Barrel for a late lunch/early supper.
We met up with Denise the wife of the cousin of Helen and Martha who came up from Charlotte to sit with Martha during the afternoon and several folks from her church came in to say hi as well while we were there. Martha also has some issues with her back and we wanted the doctors at the hospital to check that out before she is released to a rehab facility in Elkin for the hip rehab. It will be awhile before she can return to her home in the Sparta area which is going to require Helen and Joe to make the trip down the mountain. Both Joe and Helen are not spring chickens any longer and walking is becoming an issue with them as well. They both live alone yet and like it that way but taking on Martha's issues will become such an added burden for them not only physically but emotionally as Martha is not a very warm thankful person.
We stopped by Joe's on the way home from the hospital and I picked plums from his tree which is just loaded with fruit. So many have fallen from the tree and a large branch gave way under the weight of the plums. They look just like the purple plums you see in the store and these are totally organic with no pesticides. We headed for our place and she dropped me off and headed home. We had a great lunch once again at the Jonesville Cracker Barrel of meat loaf, smashed taters and gravy and I introduced Helen to the Brussel sprout/kale with pecans salad and she was amazed at the flavor. We haven't ever had a bad meal and the price is just right as well.
Well around 5'ish Nancy and I took off on a hike to the top of the mountain and I put on long pants and of course Nancy had on an extra shirt as the chill was in the air. It was already down into the 60's and expected to go even colder over night. I harvested the garlic at the old Browning place as it was starting to rot with all the rain and then blessed Billy with a nice bulb of the few I harvested. I pulled several volunteer Black-eyed Susans seedlings Billy had growing out of his beautiful in full color plants and then transplanted them around one flower bed in the backwoods yard. We didn't see or talk with anyone else on top before heading back down the mountain. It was a good hike as we missed yesterday's hike due to the rain.
Well the weather is supposed to be the best in years for July according to Ray's Weatherman site. We have company coming from scorching hot Florida on Thursday and they will be greeted with some almost winter like temps for Florida. What a change that will be. I did get off a letter to our new airman Caleb Dalton who is in his third week of basic training in Texas, so far so good. Our bug man from Orkin is coming this morning(wed.) to spray the inside of the cabin as it hasn't been done since last October and we have noticed more spiders than usual since we've been here. He has the outside of the cabin treated nicely as we've seen no black carpenter ants which a few years back took up residence one summer and was the reason for getting a bug man.
We are meeting for lunch our former pastor and his wife in Jefferson which is about 40 miles south of us at a local barbecue house. Their two kids and our two grew up together and are about the same age at Seminole First Baptist Church and we have kept in touch over the years. They have a place near Blowing Rock and we try to meet once a year about half way which is Jefferson but its been a couple years since last saw them. They now have several grand kiddos as well which has kept them away during the summer months. We always have a grand time catching up and the conversation never stops while eating some great barbecue.
The rain was perfect for the garden and the fresh coat of pelletized lime I applied the day before. The weeds and moss are trying their best to recapture the backwoods yard but the lime is a show stopper for them and so much less expensive as well. Well that was about it for the day as Nancy came back from the beauty parlor with no gray in her hair which really makes a difference in her looks. Brenda does a fantastic job and I'm considering having her color mine if it makes me look as young as Nancy. The Ray's were tied when I headed for the shower around 9:30 after a blow out last night by the Red Sox, LATER
