Date Night, Buchanan, VA

 

 

Almost every Friday night we go out for dinner with friends. It is rarely anything fancy. We like burgers, wings, or pizza. Last week Steve suggested we check out a little place in Buchanan called "Mrs. B.'s Restaurant and Bar" for dinner. The building has changed hands so many times over the years that we have lost track of when it was open and when it was closed. But, we like to support local businesses when we can, so off we went. We ordered our usual burgers, tater tots, quesadillas, etc. I thought my sliders and tots were very good. It was a lovely evening so we walked up to the corner and across the swinging bridge. Steve and I had never walked on it in all the years we lived here! It was pretty wiggly and a little disconcerting to try and keep my balance. After our walk we crossed Main Street and spotted a little place that sold Homestead Creamery ice cream. It is called, "James River Drip and it looked like they served easy meals too. We got cones and sat on the cement steps of a closed storefront. We wanted to linger and enjoy the mild evening while we ate our ice cream. A church friend walked by with his granddaughter and her friend on their way to the Buchanan movie theater. We all chatted and kidded around for a few minutes and then went on our way. 

It felt real pleasant to be on a small- town- America Main Street just strolling and hanging out like this. I wish Buchanan were thriving but it doesn't appear to be so. There are too many empty storefronts sprinkled among the open businesses. A new brewery recently opened on the southern end of Main Street and perhaps that will bring in some new businesses. The town sits directly on the James River. Every summer there is an old time carnival and Fourth-of-July fireworks. There is an active library and an antique shop and a few years ago they brought back the agricultural fair. There is also "Twin River Outfitters" where one can rent kayaks and enjoy the river. I think this coming weekend I will suggest the brewery for our evening out. We should keep supporting these places as long as we can.

We drove the back roads home. I especially enjoy the Blue Ridge Turnpike which is a little back road that connects Route 11 to the town of Fincastle. There are some beautiful farms along the way including this tree that I always admire. Tonight we stopped so I could take a photo. It is a magnificent tree.

 

The Next Shiny, Bright, New Thing

 

I took some time to examine why, in this beautiful season of rebirth, life continues to feel overtaxed and complicated. The answer was not difficult for me to see. I barely complete one task and I am already looking ahead to the next. Sometimes I do not even finished with task number one when I begin number two and three and four. I am juggling too many balls. I get it all done, but the joy of the moment is lost in the hustle. Like many of my creative friends, I am distracted by the next, shiny, new thing. The result is a backlog of projects that are forever lined up waiting their turn but never get done because another new project bumps into first place ahead of them. 

No more!

It is time to slow down and smell the beautiful flowers in the yard. It is time to sit with a magazine and slowly contemplate every page. It is time to take all day to bake some bread and then sit on the porch while it rises. It is absolutely time to stop scrolling on my phone, but rather sit and think about things or do a bit of hand sewing while I wait for dinner to bake. It is time to have long conversations with people instead of quick, abbreviated text messages. It is time to paint life with forethought, one careful stroke at a time. No wonder it feels like the days are passing in a blur. I am too busy to notice them!

In the spirit of living up to my desire to slow down, I went into my pile of unfinished projects and began carefully finishing each one. I finally attached the binding to the Christmas tree skirt I pieced back in February. I finished sewing an apron that I started two years ago. (!) And now I am hand quilting a little doll quilt that I pieced a few years back. I am still working on the little quilt and it is giving me great pleasure. I took it out to the porch and sat there to stitch. I enjoyed making the little stitches around each little bit of colorful fabric. I listened to the birds sing and let my mind wander from thought to thought. I stopped to fix lunch for Steve and our son-in-law Daniel, who was here for the weekend. It was a lovely pace for the day.

There is no profound revelation here, just the acknowledgement that I was getting off track and not living each day with the purpose and intent that gave me joy. I am glad I took the time to assess what was making me feel over anxious and irritated. It was just me, getting a little bit lost. I think I have found my right path again. No surprise that it is not in the next shiny, bright, new thing.

Finis!

 

 

Spring is Here Big Time!

 We had a busy but wonderful weekend. Friends came for dinner on Saturday and I made a delicious meal of Carnitas, guacamole, pico de gallo, etc. We had apple pie and ice cream for dessert. The kids planned to come for lunch on Sunday so food prep continued all weekend. I made a new-to-me recipe of Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole for Sunday's lunch. It was excellent and everyone declared it a keeper. Because we have so many pecans on hand, I made a pecan pie for dessert that day. I was happy to have everyone here, sharing a meal, and sitting around with coffee and pie afterward.

The weather was sunny and mild but very breezy. We walked around the yard, pulled some weeds with my weed puller birthday gift, and played softball with Violet. I took the photo above in the side yard. I call it our trifecta: Butterfly Magnolia, Ornamental Plum, and Forsythia. The ornamental plum was all abuzz with bees. We could hear the hum of their buzz across the yard. We all stood under the tree feeling the hum and exclaiming how wonderful it was to see honeybees! We watched closely as they maneuvered over the blooms and laughed when they went fanny up inside a flower.

The Friday prior to the weekend, I drove a friend and myself to the Bedford Library where a rug hooking group meets each month. The Bedford Library is a very nice library and I always enjoy going there. They have a beautiful garden on the grounds. The pansies greeted us as we walked along the path to the entrance. Spring is greeting us everywhere we go. The white pear trees scatter the landscape along the highways and the Redbud is soon to follow. 

The ornamental plum from the upstairs bedroom window

Too Much Going On Including Pecans and Wallpaper

 

Ahh. I am taking a moment from all the chores that swirl in my brain to smell the daffodils. Tess brought them to me last night. She and her husband are enjoying their first home, which is a sweet little vintage bungalow in town. Whatever flowers had been planted there before them are now popping up. What a delight to find flower surprises in the yard!

We had our favorite corned beef and cabbage dinner last night. Meals that we only prepare once a year taste extra delicious. Of course we threw two pepperoni sticks to into the boil. They are my favorite! 

While dinner cooked, I carried up spring decor from the basement and tidied up around the house a little. As I made my way from room to room, I saw another chore at every turn. Windows need washing, screens need to go up, doors need painting, the lawn needs attention, old plants need to be pulled out of the garden beds, etc., etc. It was all I could do to not let the corned beef boil away unattended.

 

There is always such a list to do in the spring. It is of my own doing so I can't complain too much.  Steve did get cracking on the pile of pecans last night. His engineering brain is drawn to gadgety tools. He found not one, but two nutcrackers in an antique shop last fall for five dollars each. He bought both and he finally got to use them on the load of pecans from our friends Sara and Walt. Walt's parent's property in North Carolina has pecan trees growing on it and there was a bumper crop this year. We are very thankful to be given a bag!

In the long list of chores and projects is the current upstairs bathroom remodel. Steve is the handyman carrying out the work aspect of it. I hand him the materials. I forgot to take a "before" photo so I will wait and post more about it when it is finished in a couple of weeks. It involves a fun, whimsical, bird wallpaper. I hope it turns out the way I imagine it in my head. 

 

Weekend Getaway Frederick, MD

 

Harbingers of spring- Redwing Blackbirds always remind me of my father. I bought this card at a gift shop in Middletown, MD.

We had another fun, couples getaway this weekend. Our destination was Frederick Maryland. Two friends and I had just been to Frederick in January but this time Kay and I went with our husbands. 

The "rules" for choosing a destination are few. We try to make the drive not more than three or so hours from home for a weekend getaway. We also look for a place that has somewhere to dine out, a nice indoor (or outdoor for summer) space to relax in the evening, and something of interest for the husbands as well. Frederick has a vibrant downtown area, a few nice antique shops, plenty of restaurants, a few brew pubs, and many more little shops of interest.

On our drive Friday, we stopped for lunch in Strasburg, VA. Over the winter, Steve stumbled upon a restaurant during one of his drives home from a work trip. It is called, Blue Wing Frog. Ever since, he has been raving about one of their dishes called, Shakshuka. He talked about it frequently and hoped to eat there again one day. his was the day! The place has a fun, hippy vibe and the food is delicious. Steve had the Shakshuka of course, I had black bean and sweet potato quesadillas, Tim had a shrimp po'boy, and Kay had potato pancakes. After lunch, we crossed the street to a vegan bakery and bought delicious Boston Cream Pie cupcakes. We ate these while seated on a bench outside on the sidewalk. 

Arriving in Frederick, we stopped at Kathy Makers shop, Primitive Homespuns, again and then on to our rental. For dinner, we ate at Dutch's Daughter. It was definitely high end dining for us. We all ordered fish of one type or another and the food was delicious. Then, we settled in at our rental for the evening.

On Saturday, we made the rounds to three antique shops outside of town. We lunched at a brewpub and then worked our way toward Frederick. We ended the afternoon downtown at the Antique Emporium as well as several shops along the main street in Frederick. Frederick was a happy, bustling place on this Saturday with families and couples like ourselves. We visited a few gift shops and the Irish Imports store. A man played the fiddle in the store and it was all around fun. We needed no dinner after our big lunch so we relaxed for the evening at our rental. 

On Sunday morning we packed up and began the drive home. We stopped in Harrisonburg at a familiar antique shop called, Rolling Hills Antique Mall. Then we lunched on pizza at a place right next door. Two hours later we were home, but not before getting a coveted ice cream cone at Bruster's for my birthday. Two scoops! Butter pecan and chocolate turtle. As we made the drive home, Kay perused Airbnb to see where our next excursion might take us. We chose to go to Warm Springs, VA in a couple of months.

I spotted this Grenfell rug at an antique shop near Frederick, MD. It is large- maybe 24"x24" and priced at $185.00. The Grenfell hookers used the tiniest loops!

Violet Stays Over, Making Pysanky

   

Tess' first egg and Violet's jellybean egg.

Granddaughter Violet came for a sleepover last Friday! We met Tess at church and the three of us enjoyed a fish fry dinner at the Knights of Columbus fundraiser. Then Violet and I came home and made a blueberry pie for tomorrow's dessert. While the pie baked, we got into our pajamas and settled in with one of my absolute favorite movies, The BFG.  It is a wonderful children's story written by Roald Dahl. The BFG is a Big Friendly Giant who speaks in funny, invented words that still make perfect sense. He captures and befriends an orphan girl named Sophie and she helps him, with the help of the queen of England, defeat the mean giants. It is a clever, creative story with a happy ending.

     The following morning, we had a breakfast of biscuits and berries. Then Violet and I gathered jars from the basement and mixed up all the dyes to color pysanky eggs. I taught Violet how to play Battleship while we waited for Aunt Tess to come over. We spent the rest of the late morning into early afternoon making a dyed egg. It is a long, slow process and Violet displayed great patience. She nipped off to the other side of the table to draw when she needed a break from waxing her egg. Tess' husband, Blake, arrived midday and Violet's parents arrived mid-afternoon. We had chili for a midday meal followed by the blueberry pie and coffee. We sat around and visited, catching up on things. With all the sickness the kids caught after our Vermont trip, this was the first chance we have had to get together. After everyone left, the house felt very quiet again with just Steve and me here.

    Tess and Blake came back over on Sunday evening. Tess dyed another egg while I cross stitched and we visited. The next day I took some time to dye an egg for myself. I haven't made one in a few years and my hand is a bit shakier nowadays. Even still, I find waxing the eggs to be extremely peaceful and calming. The beeswax candle that is kept burning during the process and the beeswax that melts in the waxing tool (kistka) smells so good. The sound of the tool scritch-scratching on the eggshell is also a soothing sound. At the very end of the process, the waxed and dyed egg is held next to the candle flame in order to melt the wax so it can be wiped off. This step is the big reveal when the dye colors finally pop into view. I felt that this first egg was somewhat of a success and it gave me confidence to make another, when I get a chance.

Many designs start with dividing the egg in segments.

A kistka tool and a partially waxed egg. Yellow was the first of three dye colors for this design.

The final color, Huron Blue, with the wax still on the egg.

Holding the waxed egg next to the flame to melt the wax and wipe it off with a tissue.

The finished egg after the wax is melted and wiped off. Every stroke of the wax application is revealed. This is where a steady hand is appreciated. Even an amateur egg is pretty! Google "Pysanky eggs" you will see incredible works of art!

Friends of the Hart, Plum Street Samplers

 

This has been a fun pattern to stitch with its woodland animals, leaves and pomegranates. The blue hart that takes center attention will be stitched in next. As so often happens, the fabrics I am considering for a quilt are in the same color palette as the pattern I am stitching. I suppose the colors with which we create are a reflection of our moods or our current interests around our environment at a given time. I wasn't planning on these two elements being placed in the same room but maybe it will have to happen.

On another note, the wind was roaring so loud all night, I barely slept. It was a vibrating roar as it barreled down the mountain. This morning, it is perfectly calm like the wind was never even here.