Walking Days

    

Audrey and Bella came for a walk today! It was the perfect day for such a walk. Bella is the best companion dog. She was happy and even exuberant during the entire walk. Henri was a good boy, too. We gathered leaves, bittersweet, and dried grasses for Audrey to arrange at her home. All photos were taken by Audrey with her phone camera.

Flock to the Mountains

     The first hints of fall color arrived in our mountains this weekend. I spotted a lone red leaf on one of our Maple trees and took that as a sign to join the migration to the Blue Ridge Parkway on this Sunday afternoon. I knew mom would enjoy another drive and I knew my sister would love the views, so up we went. The overlooks were busy and almost everyone held a camera. The sun had just returned after another day of rain, the temperatures were in the 60's, and flecks of autumn color dotted the mountains and valleys. The entire parkway felt like a festival.
     We were able to help mom out of the car at one overlook and it was worth the effort. Even with her limited vision she knew something wonderful was spread before her and she loved it. She remained in the car at the other stops we made, but still enjoyed the views because most of the overlooks are designed to enjoy the views from your car. It's the perfect outing for those with limited mobility.
     We stopped at one of my favorite picnic spots, one of the many places where the Appalachian Trail crosses the parkway. I have an innate tendency to long for escape to the woods and fields when I feel suffocated by the day to day details. It's akin to being thirsty and yearning for a drink of water. I walked over to the trail marker where the trail tunneled into the trees. I could smell the leaves and the damp earth and it was so very quiet. I imagined myself stepping onto the trail and walking into the woods and smiled at the thought. The longing was almost irresistible. I fingered the car keys in my pocket and turned back to the car. My mom and sister would be lost without my guidance... nor would there be the ice cream cones I promised from Bruesters if I walked into the woods. Some day I'll go for a walk, just not today.

Some Kind of Busy

 

Chelsea's bouquet

      My sister is visiting for two weeks and it has made a nice change to the routine. One of the things which we do best together is laugh. Everyone knows how siblings have subtle, uncanny commonalities that mainly go unnoticed by outsiders. We weren't best friends as children, we didn't share the same friends or clothes or anything like that. But, we do share a sense of humor. We react to things the same way, reply with the same inflections in our voices, and enjoy the same foods. Tonight we laughed until we were breathless at episodes of the Carol Burnett show. It goes without saying that my mom has enjoyed having both of us by her side and I've enjoyed having a 'partner in crime' in caring for mom.
     Steve-the-best-husband-ever drove five hours on Saturday to pick up my sister for us. He did this after flying home from Florida just the day before. Two days later, during dinner on Tuesday night, he was called back to Florida. He was on a plane again by noon Wednesday. We've ended up having a girls' week!
     For entertainment, we took a drive up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was glorious all week and afforded us beautiful views. We had a light picnic lunch at the Peaks of Otter and Mom pointed out the window a lot. She didn't say anything about what she was pointing to, she just pointed at things. The next morning Candy and I joined friends at the coffee shop, then we went to the country store to buy pumpkins and gourds. We kept the fall theme going by making a batch of caramel apples per Tess' request. (We all just ate one while watching the Carol Burnett Show.) Yesterday, Audrey was off work and joined us for lunch at the White Oak Tea tavern. You can't beat that place for its cozy ambiance. Their Chicken Almondine Salad is always a favorite.
     I had business to attend today at the Federal Building downtown. My destination was the Virginia Department of Veteran's Affairs. While waiting my turn in the waiting room, another client, an older man, approached me and asked my connection to the military. I told him my dad was a paratrooper in WWII and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He gave me a fist bump (the new handshake these days) and he choked up and started to cry. I was taken aback and didn't know quite how to respond. The next fist bump he tried to give me, I covered his hand with mine and patted his arm. He thanked me for my father's service and he said it's a shame how our veterans are treated and they deserve better. As he left the office, he stopped at the door, turned back to me and said I made his day. I thanked him and said it was mutual. Finally, I was called up and the lady who assisted me was also very kind. She was retired from the Navy. One thing I always take away from anyone I meet from our armed forces is their respectful demeanor and exceptional manners. Maybe it stands out compared to the norm these days. I think it makes a positive difference in relationships, whether business or casual.
     Amid all this busyness, our second daughter quietly remarried this week on the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire. The photos she sent were beautiful and my heart is full of love for her and her new husband. We all eagerly await their visit at Thanksgiving. I'm already getting things ready : )
    

Still Raining...

Glass pitcher filled with water

     Well, we're in a holding pattern with this rain. It switched yesterday from a balmy rain to a cold, windy rain. The house was so cold and damp this morning that I turned on the heat. I was particularly thinking of my mom who is cold all the time. We've had warnings from the local emergency services about flooding and power outages, so I filled up every container I could find with water. Steve was away again this week and without him it's tough for me to get the generator running. Without power we lose our well. No well=no water in the house=no toilet flushing. Not a pretty thing. Tess laughed when she saw I even filled the cookie jar with water. I wasn't taking any chances. By the way, Tess impressed me last week when we lost power. She was able to get ready and make it to her morning classes without running water or electricity and she still looked pretty. How many girls can do that?
     This weekend we're gearing up for my sister's arrival. She's coming to see mom for two weeks. We have some fun little outings planned and I know it will be a good time for everyone. At the least, I hope to drive us up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for a picnic. The sunshine is forecast to return along with milder temperatures. It will most certainly be a celebratory event!     

Hector and the Search for Happiness

This is my kind of movie. I dislike the term, "feel good movie", but I must say this is a movie that made me feel good. I wade through so many mediocre and crappy movies on Netflix that it's exciting when I find something worthwhile. The ending was perfect.

Rain, Rain, and More Rain- Homemade Chicken Stock

We are in day five of rain and I've heard no one complain. On the contrary, everyone seems to delight in it. We had a break in clouds for an hour yesterday afternoon and promptly sat on the porch with sunglasses on because even the filtered sunlight was too bright to our eyes after days of cloudiness. It was raining again by dinner time but we continued on the porch because the temperatures were so mild. Steve invited a co-worker over for scotch and a cigar. I brewed a nice pot of tea for his wife and myself and we sat by candlelight in the balmy night. The very same weather continues this way today with a heavy, rain soaked sky following the sound of pouring rain all night. It is the most peaceful, relaxing sound.

The only creature who seems to love this weather more than myself is our resident mockingbird. He perches in the tallest tree and sings his heart in an imploring aria that would move the staunchest, cold-hearted ogre. It's a beautiful song of which I will never tire. He's an annoying fellow on sunny days, singing much too early on summery Saturday mornings and chasing all the gentle birds from the yard. But, he makes up for his annoying personality with his singing in the rain today.

This is the season where summer co-mingles with fall. We have geraniums boldly blooming next to mums, cherry tomatoes and squash still producing while leaves begin to color and drop. I hope the season continues to change gently for our benefit. The potted geranium in the photo has done so well, I think I will bring it indoors for the winter. It will need to be pinched back so it doesn't become 'leggy', but after an ugly spell, it may bloom for us come January. That would be sweet, indeed.

What to do on all these rainy days? Well, there is always a ton of ironing. When that becomes too dull, there are good things to cook and Netflix movies to watch. Today I retrieved a post-cooked chicken carcass I had saved in the freezer for the purpose of boiling it into some nice chicken stock. To make a good stock is very simple: Put the chicken or turkey frame in a soup pot, add 2-3 bay leaves, 8 peppercorns, 2 ribs of celery chopped, and 1 onion quartered, plus a little salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours. Strain out all the solids and Voila! The best chicken broth. Once cooled, you can freeze it in pre-measured containers, ready to pop into your next soup recipe. It will yield about twelve cups.

Plastic Solo cups work best for freezing the stock, making it easier to remove the frozen stock from the cup. I tried foam cups and it made a mess.

I pop each cup of stock out of the plastic cup and into a freezer bag. Each frozen' cube' of stock measures one cup. This makes it handy when it's time to add stock to a recipe!

Changing With the Season

Autumn has arrived! I woke Monday to the beautiful sound of steady rain. It was a welcome sound to mark the change of seasons. Then we were treated to three glory days of sunshine before more rain arrived Friday. Another steady, pouring rain. I love it and I found multiple excuses to walk out in it today, ie: walking the dog, getting the mail. I don't think I was quite as silly as the old man I drove by who was on his riding mower, mowing his lawn in the steady downpour like it was the perfectly normal thing to do. I'm still a little worried about him and I hope he has some family watching over him.

Steve has been gone T-E-N days and is due home today. Hallelujah! I have purposely not made a list of broken things for him to fix when he's home.We will celebrate his homecoming with Slow Cooker Barbecued Beef Ribs.  I like the fact that I can assemble the meal in the morning. We'll be out to the airport in the afternoon and that can be a waiting game. It's still pouring rain and a perfect kind of day to be in the kitchen. While I'm at it, I'll make several chicken pot pies in individual aluminum pie tins. These are for hard working daughter #3 and her husband to keep in their freezer for all those long days when they have no time to cook . (All the daughters are hard working, but only one lives nearby whom I can support with frozen dinners.) I hope she doesn't read this before I get them to her because it's a surprise.

I cleaned out one of my dresser drawers and found an old notebook I had journaled seventeen years ago. Of course I stopped cleaning and sat down to read it. The memories of what I'd written came vividly back to me and I was caught in a time warp for a half hour. I'm glad I wrote down those few day-to-day memories, but it made me sad to read them because I will forever miss my girls. I never could have dreamed how children capture a mother's heart forever and squeeze it with never letting go. This cartoon sums up a typical day from all those years ago. Oh we had many of these days! Now multiply this times 6,570 or more. Even though the children have moved away and their beds are empty, that love just keeps on beating in my heart. The words in Box #4 are declared and always given thanks for in my prayers.

So, everything changes with the seasons: families, wardrobes, gardens and a refreshing change in menus. I made Baked Potato Soup this week and it was delicious because we haven't eaten it for months. We had sweet Italian sausage on the side along with plenty of the most adorable, miniature saltine crackers. (Those little crackers made me happy- just ask Tess.) There are a wide variety of Baked Potato Soup recipes out there to try, but I've linked the recipe for the one I always use.