My Mountain Life

Good morning, friends.  I've been up to my usual doings here on the hill.  Summer is truly here and we're having our hottest weather of the year.  It's still a lot cooler than a lot of folks so we don't complain too much. 

Hubby has been walking at Meeks Park most every day and I go every other day.  It was a little warm and with the humidity we worked up a good sweat.  It's still a gorgeous place, though.

I took this picture through my sunglasses trying to eliminate the sun's glare on the creek.  Obviously it didn't totally work.  

Tonight there will be a movie night at the park with free snow cones, popcorn and hotdogs.  The movie will be Charlotte's Web. 

I've been  prepping a new needle turn applique project and am just now starting the stitching.  It's a gorgeous pattern and I hope to do it justice.  

Back in April when family members were here, I had a quilt hanger put in the master bedroom.  Right now it has my pig quilt on it because it happened to be the one I grabbed at the time. 

Its about time to change it out for something different. 

I've also canned some green beans that I bought from our friend who has a booth at the farmers' market.  I wound up with 21 pints of green beans.  They are so much better than anything you can buy at the grocery store.  

12 of the 21 pints 

Since tomatoes are at their peak right now, we like to have tomato pie made from local grown tomatoes. 

It was SO good.  We'll have more too. 

We have unfortunately had some visitors we didn't want.  This hornet nest was attached to the bottom of a shelf under the leanto back of our garage.  This one was over 12 inches long from the shelf to the bottom.  It had to go which is sad.  The nests are so gorgeous.  Some folks use the vacant nests as part of their country/ mountain decor.  Normally you see them up in trees.   

Hope everyone is having a good summer.  Y'all take care. 

Fresh veggies and black bulls

Summer is here in the mountains.  We're having days of high 80's with higher than usual humidity.  Oh well, this too will pass soon.  At least we're not looking at months of hot, humid weather. 

It's that time of year when fresh vegetables are becoming more available.  I picked up some fresh bicolor corn and tomatoes at the farmers' market yesterday and we had them for dinner last night.  I sprinkled sea salt from the Camargue coast of France on them and it was delicious.   I discovered this wonderful Fleur de Sel while having lunch at a ranch in the Camargue where we saw the black bulls famous for the French style of bullfighting.  No bulls are injured in this style and they can go on to live long happy lives after retiring from the ring.  

Our trusty wagon pulled by a small Massey-Ferguson tractor

A field of champions, some retired some still active

We had a wonderful lunch at this ranch and it was during this meal that I tried the Fleur de Sel on a tomato that was included in the appetizer tray.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day but my friend traveling with me had come down with a nasty cold so she was miserable.

As my friend says, I drank more wine in that one week in France than I've likely had in the last few years!!  What can I say?  When in Rome...(or France as the case may be).....

Hope everyone is well and happy.  Y'all take care 

Home again, home again

Hello again, good folks.  I'm back home again.  I took a trip to France with my friend and while it was enjoyable I am SO glad to be back home in my own little world.

We spent three days in Paris before our river cruise playing tourist.  I'd been to Paris before but my friend had not, otherwise I would have skipped it this trip.  Anyway, there were a couple of snafus but all in all was a good trip.  

Notre Dame rising from the ruins

Obviously, one cannot get close to Notre Dame now.  It is blocked off with armed guards.

The yellow vest protesters were active on the Saturday we were there and, in fact, moved down the street in front of our hotel but we were at the Eiffel Tower at the time so did not see them.  Have you ever thought of the subway system in any larger city?  It boggles my mind how they are designed, built and operate so well.  All the time underground and out of sight.  Mostly it was good, but due to a breakdown on the line we were on, we did miss a tour for which we had tickets already.  Let's hope I can get a refund, but I'm not holding my breath. 

It's always an adventure in European hotels to see how things work.  Bathroom fixtures don't always look like we expect.  Took us a while to figure out the faucet but we got there.  Didn't like it though.

However, I did like the tiramisu.  An Italian restaurant just a few doors down from our hotel had really good food, including the tiramisu which was scooped from the dish and served onto your plate.  We ate there only once but I did stop in again just to pick up tiramisu to take back to the hotel.  Good stuff. 

I'll be back soon with more adventures.  Meanwhile, y'all take care. 

Bits and Bobs

Today was Mama's birthday.  She was born 108 years ago on May 8, 1911.  We lost her on July 1, 2007 at the age of 96.    I don't know where the years have gone. 

95th Birthday celebration

At the moment, I'm not doing much sewing.  But I did get two quilts finished earlier.  One is made from Australian fabrics and is way out of my comfort zone with all the patterns and colors used together. 

Its simply a variation of a log cabin block and very easy to sew.  There are eight sets of 3 fabrics used for the blocks.  There is a total of 26 different fabrics in the quilt.  I bought the kit in Oregon where I attended the Sisters Quilt Show last July.  They provided fabric and the pattern but I had to choose the fabric combinations. 

This next quilt is all hand applique, except for piecing the blocks together and the actual quilting.  I saw this quilt at a show in Springfield, Missouri a number of years ago.  I had decided I wanted to learn how to do needle turn applique and figured that by the time I finished this quilt I'd be pretty good at it.  It has taken me at least three years to do this quilt, working on a block at a time.  I did not work exclusively on this quilt but wove it in among my other projects. 

The quilt is called Across the Wide Missouri.  It was lots of work but I really enjoyed making it.  I learned a lot and still have a lot more to learn to be more than what I think is just adequate doing applique.  

It has been busy around here.  We had company for two weeks and the "kids" were kept busy with honey-do projects.  Before they came, they all requested a list of chores they could do for us.    I got a garage door opener at last, along with a lot of other chores that hubby and I just could not tackle for various reasons.  I don't think they'd know how to act if there was not a chore list for them upon arrival.  

Y'all take care

Spring has arrived!

Spring is here in all its glory.  Fat buds on all the trees, carpenter bees buzzing around, yellow swallowtail butterflies flitting around and the birds are singing their little hearts out.  Oh yeah, the pollen is here too.  I don't suffer from it too badly but poor hubby does. 

Our temps are in the high 60's and low 70's these days with sunshine.  Can't ask for better.

Went to dinner with my friend last night and was driving home just at dusk.  Sun had set but still showing colors over the mountains.  It was a breathtaking sight and I didn't even have my phone with me to take a picture!  It's times like that that just reinforce the feeling of home. 

My birding classes have begun again.  Mostly they are just outings.   Never know who is going to be in the class.  Some are total novices and hardly know what a cardinal looks like.  Others are far more accomplished and there are others in between.  I just like the occasion to get out in the field and look at birds.

I recently picked up three quilts from the long arm quilter.  I'm pleased with all three of them and they couldn't be more different from each other.  One is a modern geometric pattern, one is a total hand applique pattern and the other is made of Australian aboriginal fabrics.  I've finished the binding on the applique quilt and I'll wait a few days before starting on another one.  I like to break up the types of hand work.  I need to get pictures of the finished quilt and will post it later.

I'm working on a bunch of little wool applique pillows for friends at the moment.  I've got the basic stitching done and now trying to figure out how to embellish them with decorative stitches and beads....if I ever find my beads!  I've got a tube of them somewhere.

Hope you're all doing well.  Y'all take care.  

Waiting for Spring

Yes, I'm still alive and well.   About to grow webbed feet but still alive and well.   We have had an unusual amount of rain from last fall and on through the winter.  Doesn't appear that the end is in sight either.  We've not had major flooding like some areas but our soil hasn't dried out for months. 

I've been up to my usual stuff.  I took a quilting friend who is a new birder over to see the sandhill cranes at the Hiawassee Wildlife Refuge northeast of Chattanooga.  It was a gorgeous day but very cold and windy.  She didn't believe me when I was emphasizing how warm she should dress for the day, but she complied.  Once we got out of the car and headed up the little rise, she knew exactly what I was talking about.  Although the numbers of cranes were lower than some years, there were still some to see.  

All in all it was a good day even if it did take the whole day for the trip. 

I've been doing some sewing and have three tops at the long arm quilter for completion.  They should be home in three weeks or so.  One is a hand applique quilt called Across the Wide Missouri that I started several years ago when I began learning how to do needle turn applique.  I figured that by the time I got the top done, I ought to have a good grasp of the technique. 

I admit that my stitching did improve but its still far from perfect.  

I attended a quilting retreat with friends from Florida and Alabama back at the end of January.  We met at he Grand Oaks retreat center near Scottsboro, Alabama overlooking Lake Guntersville.  I worked pretty much solely on a top using Australian fabrics.  The mixture of so many patterns and colors was way out of my wheelhouse but I will say that I love the way it finished up.  The pattern is a variation of a log cabin block and is very simple.  It's the colors and patterns in the fabric that makes it so stunning.  

It's a quite large quilt.  I'm looking forward to seeing it all quilted up. 

I also made another modern looking quilt top.  The colors simply called to me and I used grunge fabric from Moda.  The colors are very rich and lush. 

This picture doesn't do it justice.  

I made a day trip over to Lake Junaluska in North Carolina with the Franklin Bird Club last month.  I knew where the town was but had never done any birding there.  We were able to see a good number of ducks there.    I had planned a trip to the Outer Banks this winter but due to medical issues in the family did not get to go.  It's too late now as the ducks, geese and swans have already started migrating.  Oh well, let's hope next year will be the one. 

I find it so hard to believe that we will be switching to daylight savings time this weekend.  Seems to be way too early, what with Easter coming late on April 21.  

I'll do my best to be back more frequently.  Meanwhile, thanks for hanging in there with me. 

Y'all take care 

Progress, at Last

I've been working on this quilt called Across the Wide Missouri now for about 3 years.  Saw a finished quilt at a show in Springfield, MO and loved it.   It's all hand applique work so it takes time, at least for me.  When I began the project, I was just learning needle turn applique and I figured by the time I was done that I'd be pretty good.  I have improved a great deal but will be the first to admit that I'm still not "good" at it like some of my friends.   

hand appliqued blocks 

I've been putting it off but finally broke down and started the sashing strips to join them all together.  Lots of tedious measuring and cutting and I'll also have to make 47 different flying geese units to add into the sashing.  Its not hard work, just tedious. 

cutting sashing

My long arm quilter runs a 20% off deal during January and February so its a good time to get tops finished and off to her for quilting.  I can do them, but its not fun for me and turns into a real chore.  This time, I'll write the check.

Y'all take care

Happy New Year, Everybody

Happy New Year, blog friends. 

Let's wish for a happy, healthy New Year for all our friends and neighbors, and then go out and do our darnedest to make sure that happens. 

Start with a smile today.

Y'all take care 

From Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC

Merry Christmas

Yes, I know I'm late.  But we can never have enough wishes for a Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth. 

We had a quiet day here on the hill.  Did seem strange to not be with family.  It was the first time in a number of years that occurred.  

My treat here of late has been watching Eastern Towhees outside my windows.  We've had a pair around the place  for a long while, but this winter we're blessed to have about 6 of them (maybe more) moving around the yard.  They are such gorgeous birds.  

My quilting has been very slow.  I did finish one quilt that will be sent off to its new home in a few days.  The recipients have been in and out of town so I'll wait until they get back home before shipping it off. 

It has a cozy flannel back so should be good for a warm snuggle.  

No other excitement here, thank goodness.  

I do appreciate all of you who stop by for a read.    If I'm not back beforehand, let me wish all of you a Happy Year Year filled with good things and good health. 

Y'all take care. 

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  Mostly good health, family, friends and financial stability.  With those things behind me, I'm allowed the freedom to enjoy a spectrum of activities, some simple and some not so much. 

This morning, my husband and I were simply sitting upstairs in the living room in very comfy swivel rockers facing the fireplace, each with a cup of coffee, talking and watching the many birds out at the feeders.  The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky.  Leaves were still floating down regularly.  There is no more perfect moment in my mind.   That's the kind of stuff that finds me grateful beyond belief. 

Sunrise from the deck

I hope all of you who visit here take a moment to be thankful for the good things in your life.  I'm also grateful that you stop in to visit me.  

Y'all take care.  

Climbing on the Soapbox

Is it just me?  Why do people buy a house in the mountains with lovely trees all around and then within months, they've cut them all down?  We're not talking about diseased or damaged or broken trees.  Or trees within 10 feet of your house, or growing crooked.  We're talking about healthy, straight native trees that have been around already for 25 plus years, maybe even 50 years or more.   And I really don't want to hear "but they might fall on the house" which has also been right there with those trees for the last however many years.   Really ticks me off.   Passed a house down the way today and they were removing a gorgeous tree of some sort that has to be at least 85 feet tall and not a thing wrong with it, along with several other smaller trees.  

We also have a new neighbor just next to our lower lot who thinks the same way.  He's hinting at wanting us to agree for him to remove some large trees on our lot.  Guess what the chances are of that happening?  I've already plainly told him I'm a true tree hugger.

Errrrrrrr........just upsets me something fierce. 

Now, that being said, y'all have a good day and take care.  

Random Thoughts

Our weather is still quite warm and above normal but the humidity levels have dropped.  It's really gorgeous outside now.  As I've been driving around the last week I've been reminded of just how much I love living here in the north Georgia mountains.  I look at the valleys and hills and it just makes me feel good.  My husband and I sit in the mornings with our coffee and talk about how the foliage on the trees changes. 

Not this year but the view from our deck

We love our bird feeders and I'm an avid birder also, so we keep tabs on the activity around the house every day.  We've had both male and female rose breasted grosbeaks this week along with summer tanagers.  I still have at least one ruby throat hummingbird.  

We've had some erosion control/drainage work done lately.  Its the kind of job that couldn't be delayed.  We live on the side of a mountain and our lot is quite sloped so when a small erosion site develops it has to be stopped immediately.  We had several new french drains put in along with drain pipes from them down the hill.  We also had covered gutters put on the back of the house to match the ones on the front of the house.  We've not had a lot of rain since the job was finished so we'll see how it works.  

As much as I hated to do it, we also had to have some saplings removed and a couple of larger trees that had developed what I call root rot.  Its where the trees develop cavities near the ground and weaken the tree.  One was on our downhill lot and was threat to the neighbor's house should it fall, so it came down.  The other one was beside our driveway and would block us in should it fall.  Truthfully, if you didn't know the trees were removed you'd never know.  

I got a new laptop several months ago and still haven't transferred the photos from the old one.  Therefore, I don't have many pictures to choose from to add here.  And for whatever reason I haven't taken many pictures lately.

We visited Crater Lake earlier this summer

Hope you're all doing well.   Y'all take care. 

Uh Oh

Well, when Blogger knows I haven't posted in a long time and wants to know if I still want to get notifications about comments, I guess its time to fish or cut bait.  I'm not ready to cut bait so here we go. 

I'm still doing the same old - same old around here.  My quilting hobby keeps me fairly occupied and I still read voraciously.  

We took a trip to the west coast in July to visit family.  My stepdaughter now lives in Redmond, OR.  I went to the Sisters, Oregon quilt show while we were there.  That was the very first quilt show I ever attended back in 1996 long before I took up quilting myself.  It was hot, but then I expected that.  I and many others showed up about 7:30 in the morning while quilts were still being put out for display.  I met up with a couple of friends, one from here in the mountains and one who lives in Portland, OR now but used to live here in the mountains.  

Quilt Shop that sponsors the show

It had been many years since I'd been to Bend, Sisters and Redmond, Oregon.  Hard to believe how they've changed since we were there.  At one time I would have loved to live there but no more. 

After leaving Redmond, we drove up to Lummi Island, Washington to visit more family.  The drastic difference in weather was so welcome.  We left 100 degree temps in Oregon and arrived to the low 70's on the island.  

view from the deck Mt. Baker 

Also, the day after we left Oregon, wildfires erupted again covering the very highway we had traveled the day before.  They don't seem to have let up a lot since then.   The smoke from inland fires reached the Island a few days after we left. 

look close, afternoon snack 

While there, all four of us went up to Victoria, BC to visit Butchart Gardens.  Had a great trip up there.  Pretty gardens and good food and lively downtown Victoria. 

I'll do my best to be back without too much delay.  Hope you're all doing well. 

Y'all take care

Homemade Doughnuts

I've been lax with my own blog posting but I've been keeping up with others on a regular basis.  Leigh at 5 Acres and a Dream asked me to share my mother's doughnut recipe.  We didn't make doughnuts very often but they were scarfed up readily by the three teenagers in the house along with my parents.  It was a production to make them because they ALL needed to be made, rolled out, cut and left on parchment paper or waxed paper ready for cooking before starting cooking any of them.   Mama did the cooking, I did the shuffling from table to stove and then took care of the sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg when they were done.  YUM. 

Buttermilk Doughnuts
4 cups all purpose flour, sifted before measuring
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg & cinnamon (proportions to your taste)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3 eggs beaten
1 1/4 cup buttermilk 

Sift all dry ingredients together.  Add shortening and cut in.  Combine eggs and buttermilk.  Work liquid into dry ingredients.  Knead for one minute.  Divide dough into 2 parts.  Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thick.  Cut out.  Place cut outs on waxed paper or parchment until all are cut. 

Fry in hot oil about 1 1/2 minutes per side or until golden.  Drain.  Shake warm doughnuts in paper bag with sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg mixture.  Enjoy.  

This is from an old recipe book she had and no oil temperature was given nor the number made but it's a bunch.   Hope you enjoy them.  Let me know how you like them. 

Happy New Year, friends

Y'all take care 

Evidence of Progress??

I went to northwest Florida last weekend to attend a family gathering.  Since we don't have ready access to good seafood up here in the mountains, my hubby and I wanted to take advantage of the proximity and headed down to the coast with my brother for dinner on Friday night.   It had been a long time since I'd been the south end of the county where I grew up so I figured we'd head out early and see what was happening, even getting to see a few birds along the way.   

Well.......let me tell you.  I got the shock of my life.  I knew south Walton County had been growing in popularity for years but nothing prepared me for what I saw.  Every single foot of the gorgeous white beaches I grew up with and loved has now been  plastered with condos, houses, restaurants and shops.  Public access to the beach is almost non-existent.  I was driving so I didn't get a single picture but you can go to some websites to find out just exactly what I saw.  Rosemary Beach   Watercolor  Seaside   and others including Sterling Properties.  Some of these have been in existence for many years, but the spaces between have all filled up.  

The traffic was unbelievable, both on the 4 lane divided highway parallel to the coast and on the inner roads, and this was on a random Friday in early November!  Knowing what happens in the summer, you couldn't pay me enough money to go there then.  Makes me so sad to see places I loved become inaccessible to a whole lot of folks who actually live in that county.    Perhaps had I not grown up in that county I wouldn't look at it as a bad thing, but I did grow up there and it hurts.  

Since I got no pictures on this trip, let me see if I can find something in the archives, so to speak. 

Hubby with friends from Germany

Oh, well.  I'll just stick to my little town in the mountains and proudly proclaim I've become a curmudgeon.   Oh, and there wasn't a bird in sight.  

Y'all take care

Fall in the Mountains

I wish there was some way that I could share  accurately the breathtaking beauty to be found here in the mountains at the moment.  We don't have as many maples as New England so we don't have as much red color, but the oranges and golds certainly make up for it. 

Every one of these was taken without getting off my porches and deck.  When you look out the windows, you are looking into a sea of shades of gold, yellow and orange.   Sadly, though, this peak color also means that leaves are falling.  We're enjoying them every day because soon there will be long months of bare limbs.   

Winter months provide their own beauty with lacy limbs, sometimes outlined in snow, and allowing views in directions not seen while leaves are on the trees. 

I grew up in northwest Florida where so many of the trees did not shed leaves.  The area is covered by pines and though they do shed needles, they are never bare.  Even the oaks there mostly shed part of the leaves in the fall and the most of the leaves in the spring as new growth appeared. 

For many years I dreamed of living somewhere with rolling hills, hardwood trees and four seasons.  I've got those here and I'm a happy camper.  

Strangely, there are very few acorns this year.  Gonna be a lean year for critters that rely on them.  I'll bet that means that the squirrels will be flocking to our feeders even more than usual.  I don't mind supplementing their food supply, but being the primary source gets tiresome, particularly as their feeding keeps the birds from the feeders.   

Y'all take care 

Impact of Irma

At the moment (Monday night, 8:15 p.m.) we're experiencing light rain and gusty winds as a result of Irma.  We've had the rain off and on all day but the winds have kicked up only in the last little bit.  I'm expecting and hoping that it'll just be these little gusts that I'm guessing are somewhere around 30-40 mph.    No loss of electricity yet but that doesn't mean much.  It's not uncommon for us to lose power up here.  In fact, just a bit over a week ago it was off for about 7 hours due to a blown transformer.  So, it goes.  As long as we're safe otherwise, I'm good. 

My blog pals across the pond can rest easy for now.  And thanks for being concerned about me.  

Y'all take care 

From earlier this summer 

Bird Pals and Trips

You know, if you dug out your trusty Webster's dictionary and looked up the word "procrastinator" you'd find my picture right there.  'nuf said. 

I did make my trip to Texas in April for the spring bird migration.  It was a different trip in that my Birdlady friend couldn't go because of her health.  Unfortunately, her Parkinson's disease will no longer allow her to hold binoculars steady enough to view birds.  Her heart is broken as is mine.  She was and is such a mentor to me when it comes to the birding world. 

Birdlady in green fleece

She taught kindergarden and second grade all her teaching career so she knows how to impart information well.  Dang, I miss birding with her.  We rambled all over northwest Florida, southern Alabama and on trips to Texas, Mississippi and northern Alabama.  Many happy days were spent in the Blackwater State Forest on unnamed roads, not seeing another vehicle or person for hours at a time.  Our lunches were packed along and we ate wherever looked good.  

Anyway, my friend, Larry, was also along with us on most of those outings and he went with me to Texas this time too.  We didn't have much luck seeing raptors at all.  Then, one day on the way back up to our motel we were cruising along when I noticed "something" out in a field.  Since I was buzzing along about 65 mph at the time,  it took me a minute to get pulled over and stopped after I registered what it was.  I then threw the jeep in reverse and buzzed back down the road to get a good look.  Yeah, I made sure no traffic was coming behind me before doing that.  Anyway, it was a great horned owl being dive bombed by mockingbirds. 

Photo by Larry Goodman

Larry took this shot from the car.  It's obvious to me that they had a nest in that bush and they wanted no part of an owl being nearby.  

We usually also see Crested Caracaras some time on the trip.  I think it might have been the same day as the owl, but as we were scooting down that same highway toward the gulf, there on the shoulder of the highway was a caracara just strutting toward us on the ground like he owned the place.  Didn't even fly as we passed each other.  

We didn't see any unusual birds on the trip but we still enjoyed seeing the same old, same old.  We never get tired of them. 

Laughing Gulls 

Yellow crowned night heron 

Red-breasted Merganser

Rookery in full swing

Nesting birds decimate any vegetation under trees 

Sanderling

Black bellied plover

Great Blue Heron 

Least Bittern, little thing and a bugger to catch

One of our favorite birds that are just wonderful in their large flocks is the American Avocet.

American Avocet

And no trip would be complete without seeing the nesting swallows on the bridge over the Intercoastal Waterway.

Bank swallows

Lots and lots of swallows

At the end of Bolivar Peninsula where it meets up with Galveston Bay, here's the view across the way.   We do our very best to avoid looking in that direction.

So, who's up for a trip next April?

Y'all take care.