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June 24, 2013

Backtracking

Almost a month has passed since my last post.

Where has the time gone? Yikes, this year is FLYING.

It’s even hard for me to believe I haven’t posted here in about a month.

I’ll try to get y’all caught up…

Sick Pup

On June 1, I was all set to go feed Charlie and his new pasture-mate, Charlene (female motherless calf), but then Meg got sick. She gets something like pancreatitis involving the biliary tract. It comes on FAST, is painful, and life-threatening. So she and I spent Friday evening at the pet ER. And all weekend hanging out at home taking care of her. We even had to cancel reservations we had with friends for the grand opening of a new restaurant (The Brick at Black Bear Bistro).

The good news is, she’s fine now. She is on a very strict diet, but is doing quite well.

On the bright side, since I had to stay home all weekend, I was finally able to finish painting a bench that Hubby made for Amy (our youngest daughter) and her family.

Gift Delivery

The second weekend of June was pretty busy, too. We had to drive to Baltimore, and slightly beyond, to deliver the bench.

TJ isn’t in the picture. He’s in the Army and had already reported to his new duty post. Amy and the kids will be joining him soon.

Speaking of Amy and kids… look how cute they are sitting on their new bench.

After we left their house, we visited with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Lester for awhile. Then we went to Mike’s Mom’s for a visit. The last stop was Dad’s house. I knew we wouldn’t bee seeing him on Father’s Day, and we wanted to make sure he had his gift.

As he was waiting for his new home to become available, he told me several times that he was looking forward to walking. So we got him a stroller for his sidekick, Sylvia. It’s hard to see, but Sylvia the cat is inside of the stroller.

It was a full day. By the time we got home, we were beat.

On Sunday, Eric and Kelsey, now married, came for a visit. They were here all day Sunday and into Monday.

Eric, Kelsey, and I went to The Brick for lunch. Hubby is dieting, so he opted out. Plus, he had a Boston Butt in the smoker to monitor.

their_food — Kelsey had pizza and Eric had a salad.

The Brick’s specialty is Neopolitan pizza, which must be backed in a brick-oven. It’s delicious.

After lunch, the three of us strolled around Middleburg (a nearby town) for a bit then returned home to a fabulous pulled pork dinner.

That fast, two whole weekends were gone.

Odds and Ends

I’ve still been taking flower pictures, too. I’m hoping to make some note-cards soon. When I get some free time.

If only I didn’t have to work…

The Big Move

On the Saturday before Father’s Day (third weekend in June), Hubby and I helped move Dad to Pennsylvania.

Then this past weekend, I spent the weekend at Dad’s new house helping him get a bit more organized and sprucing things up. That’ll have to wait until the next post. Here’s a sneak peek to tide you over…

Front of Dad's New House — Front of Dad’s New House

April 3, 2013

A Last Time, Captured

I did something special the weekend before last. The first full weekend of this crazy 2013 Spring. My son, Eric, and I went skiing.

Yep, skiing. In Maryland.

I actually started this post last Thursday. Almost a week ago. I didn’t finish it before heading north to Dad’s on Friday. He doesn’t have internet access. He, my brother, and I spent the weekend going through and weeding out his worldly possessions in preparation for his impending move. That’s a story for another post. While there, I caught a humdinger of a cold that had me on my back for a couple of days. Today, finally, I feel like I can function. Still sick, but WAY better. So life goes on.

Now, back to the last time referred to in the title…

My baby boy, Eric, is getting married on April 20.

He’s marrying Kelsey, his middle-school sweetheart. They may have “gone out” off and on a bit in high school, but his high school years were rough times for all of us. He prevailed, got his life back on track, and they re-connected a few years back. They rest, as they say, is history.

In 17 days, he’ll be a married man. We couldn’t be happier for them both. They make a really cute couple.

When Eric was younger, he and I would often do trips together. Usually to visit my brother in Chesapeake, Virginia. But we also did camping trips and other stuff, too, like ski vacations.

So I decided, since he’s going to be married soon, we should have a final Mom and son trip while he was still single.

I was having a heck of a time deciding where we should go. Since Winter has dragged on for so long, I thought maybe we could squeeze a ski trip in.

Eric captured the windmill pics while I drove. It was a gorgeous day.

This has been a crazy weather year, but it worked out well for us.

Who would ever have thought we’d be skiing in Maryland in Spring?

As you’ll see in these pics, we had the place practically to ourselves.

Hamming it up for me. I trained him well…

The place was deserted, but almost all of the trails were open and the snow was in great shape.

Some folks asked me to take their picture. So I asked them to take our picture, too. A great shot, right? Except my pockets were crammed full of stuff and I look about 30 pounds heavier on the top than I actually am!

It was a great day. He’s a good boy.

🙂

After we’d exhausted ourselves on the slopes, we headed to the WV Place to spend the evening. Sunday, we were thinking about heading down to Green Bank, West Virginia to see the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. But the weather dudes were predicting snow for the next day. Lots of snow. While the roads around Green Bank are a motorcycle Mecca, they’re no place for an almost-new car when the roads are sleet- and snow-covered.

So we took our time on Sunday morning. I drove home via the scenic route, through Bean Settlement so I could show Eric my favorite Oreo cows.

We continued east on WV-55 through Wardensville and found the cutest little old timey mercantile/cafe. More material for yet another blog post.

It was a perfect Mom and son bonding weekend. I do love my boy-turned-man.

Where HAVE the years gone? Sigh…

Yes, we’re looking forward to gaining a daughter-in-law. She’s very sweet. She’s got a lovely family. Those two are made for each other, that’s for sure. More on them later. I promise.

Now, since I am actually feeling human again, I need to get to work!

March 24, 2013

Farm and Park Fun

This is a continuation of our visit with the grand kids, from last weekend, that I started describing in my previous post.

Knowing the kids would need to burn off some energy after spending hours in a museum, I wisely did some research in advance and found nearby Frying Pan Farm Park in Fairfax County. As explained on their web site…

…the park preserves and interprets a 1920s through 1950s farm, agricultural process, rural community life and landscape for the educational, cultural and recreational enrichment of citizens and visitors of Fairfax County.

There’s a playground, equestrian center, carousel, general store/concession stand, and critters!

The horse appears to belong to or is being boarded by people living next to the park.

I loved all the red barn buildings!

And, look. A rare shot of me with the grand kids.

Speaking of me and the grand kids… I’m not sure who was more excited about seeing the critters.

Joey hollered “Ew, it stinks!” repeatedly about 20 times before we could shut him up. They are not exactly city kids, but they are FAR from farm kids, too.

The big pig outside was cool. But the animals inside the barn were cooler.

That was the sweetest little calf ever.

Prepare yourself for some serious cuteness here.

Ready?

Even Hubby said the baby pigs were WAY off the cuteness scale. I mean, how can you not think all these happy little pigs are cute?

I think the goat was happy to see our loud crew go.

When we got home, Hubby needed a power nap, so the kids and I went for a stroll around town.

The first stop was, of course, the caboose. Joey LOVES the caboose.

They were having fun hamming it up for the camera.

I explained to them about the slave auction block near the courthouse. Gaige declared it sad and told everyone they should look sad in the next picture.

Apparently, Joey was confused about how “sad” should appear. But he redeemed himself in the next shot, which I think is quite cute.

On Sunday morning, Hubby and I walked the kids up to visit the Old Jail Museum.

Isn’t my Hubby a handsome grandfather? I sure think he is!

And that was the end of the visit. Sort of. I did feed them before packing them in to car for the return drive to Maryland.

It was a fun-filled visit that went by WAY too fast.

The next visit will have to be longer so we can squeeze more stuff in. Of course, it may need to be followed by a day or two of vacation, too, so Hubby and I can recuperate. Those kids wear us out! But they sure are fun.

March 19, 2013

Snow Belt Confirmed

A little over a week ago, I did a post on what I thought was our last snow storm of the season.

I was wrong. We got snowed on again.

Lucky for us, we only got a few inches.

It was very cold, though. And downright miserable. I am really ready for Spring now.

The dogs didn’t mind the snow too much.

Bell and K Wrastling. — Belle and K Wrastling.

Belle, who is BADLY in need of a haircut, and K enjoyed some outdoor “wrastling” for a change. They usually wrestle in the basement.

I made a little slideshow of them playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2f10TWmSlQ&feature=share&list=UURk2SuI5Ak0Du7nVW5VaODQ

How badly does Belle need a trim? Our youngest, Eric, and his fiancee, Kelsey, came down for a visit last night. When Eric saw Belle, he thought she was a new foster dog I hadn’t told him about. As soon as it warms up, she’ll get bathed and trimmed.

The daffodils are blooming. It’s really time for Spring.

Saturday, it was like 60 and partly sunny. Really. Here’s proof.

The grand kids spent the weekend with us. On Saturday afternoon, I took them for a walk around town so Hubby could get a power nap.

They were hamming it up for the camera. And I wasn’t too serious about shooting, which is why this super-cute pic (I think) is blurry.

This next shot is my favorite from our stroll.

Gaige, Brianna, and Joey at the Courthouse

Although this next one makes me laugh. There’s a story behind it, which you have to read to appreciate the humor in the shot.

As we were walking through town, Gaige and Joey were walking ahead of Brianna and me. Since I was letting them be goofy in pictures, every now and then Gaige would stop and say, “Here’s a good place for a picture!”

As we neared my friend Janet’s store — The Empty Nest — I told them not to get too far ahead because there was a store window we had to stop at.

When Gaige got to the window, he looked in, and yelled back to me, “Brianna can stand in front of this one!”

It’s very pretty and VERY pink.

I made them pose there for me. The boys were not happy. Here’s that pic.

They DO make me laugh.

More kid pics to come in the next post!

February 20, 2013

Reflecting on the Past Week

I’ve been neglecting you all again. I know it. And I am sorry. Sort of. The truth is, nothing has really moved me to write. And I’ve been busy.

First, I had to get ready for the Tag Sale.

I’m happy to say, I sold both big, galvanized tubs, the chamber pot, the lard cans, and the enamelware, among other things. Those were all big items that really put a crimp in my space here.

Oh, and Aunt Bertha was here.

She stopped on her way home from the Carolinas and ended up staying for several days. It was a lovely visit. She’s always fun to have around.

There were some miscellaneous strolls around town, as usual.

That bear is a fixture at Amy’s at Rhodes, a gift shop on Main Street.

I’ve been painting, too. The girls like to hang out with me when I am in the basement. Only Meg is in the picture, but the others are nearby.

The color in that picture, captured with my phone, is a bit wonky. The bench is not nearly as purple as it looks. I am about halfway done now. A picture of the completed project will eventually be shared here.

As an aside, like my new workbench? That’s one of the treasures I acquired at auction during my crazy inventory binge. It cost me a whopping five bucks.

So that’s what I have been up to. Of course, there’s also work, which keeps me busy during the day. And some other miscellaneous stuff.

There’s not a ton of excitement on the horizon over the next few days. But I’ll try to be back sooner.

Can you believe February is half over!?!