Cabin Crafted

Category: Celebrations

  • Heat wave

    Like so much of the world right now, we are experiencing unprecedented heat with heat advisories. We normally take a 2.5 – 3+ mile walk each day, preferring to do it outdoors, but after sweltering through two days this week when the temperature was about 7 degrees cooler than today’s 96f, we chose to go into the local mall. Like many malls, it is sparcely populated with stores anymore with 3 anchor stores, a Planet Fitness, a Children’s Museum, and a remote campus of the local community college holding it together. It is cool on days like today and frequented by many mall walkers. On very cold or icy days, it is also our go to spot. A complete lap is about 1/2 mile, so we can still get our exercise.

    With the heat and dry weather, our hay guy has spent the last 3 days, mowing, teddering, raking, and baling the hay fields we own. Because this region is in a light drought and has been for several years, no one is getting huge amounts of hay. Tommy got 47 five foot bales, not the least ever done during our 20 years here, but certainly light. It is done, the yard was mowed the day he started, so the farm looks neat and in order right now.

    This is definitely a beautiful place to live.

    This is good, because we will have all three of our children, their spouses, and 10 of our grandchildren here for the 4th of July. One son and his family staying with us, daughter and her family live locally, and the other son and his family coming in early Saturday and staying through the fireworks in one of the nearby towns before driving home.

    I don’t usually decorate for the 4th, though it was my Mom’s birthday. She would have been 103 this year. We did purchase some tablecloths, pinwheels, a couple small flags, and two adorable patriotic gnomes. It will be too hot to use outdoor tables, so we will seat everyone indoors for meals. And with 16 to feed, 13 of them breakfast and lunch before the others arrive for dinner, we did break our rule and bought disposable plates, cups, and cutlery. It was that or try to figure out enough plates and doing dishes 3 times in one day.

    They were too cute to pass up at the dollar store.

    Stay safe everyone, heed the heat and the dry conditions. Happy 250th anniversary USA.

  • Anniversary

    ❤️❤️❤️❤️

    Yesterday on Valentine’s Day, we celebrated the 48th anniversary of our wedding day. We met through a mutual friend 49 years ago and after a post Christmas ski trip together, he proposed on New Year’s Eve at midnight. I had my left arm in a sling from having seperated my shoulder on the first day of that trip, my first real ski trip, continued to learn to ski that week and didn’t get it Xrayed and treated until we were back home. In discussing when and where to marry, he suggested Valentine’s Day, laughingly stating that if he ever forgot, he would be in double trouble. He has never forgotten, no, he treats me like a Queen, always, and makes that day extra special.

    Flowers have been brought to my office, meals out at fine restaurants, three times contacting spindle makers I like to purchase me a new spindle, jewelry he picked with daughter’s help. One piece, a heart shaped necklace that I have worn daily for more than 20 years, having had the chain replaced or repaired a few times.

    Yesterday, a group message initiated by eldest son wishing us a wonderful day, elicited many family greetings wishing us a Happy Anniversary.

    There are a few nice restaurants here in rural Virginia, there were many more when we lived near the coast. And they book very early for Valentine’s Day. We started looking more than a month prior. A couple we like were fully booked, one is temporarily closed, one is up the mountain at the resort. We were successful booking our dinner there only to receive an email later that they regretted they were accepting no outside reservations that night because of a weekend event and open only to people staying at the resort. Needless to say, we were upset and disappointed.

    We live near a University town, a wonderful location with many local restaurants. Many calls and online searches later, we managed to book a table at a new Nepalese place in town. Upon arriving, there was a line down Main street and around the corner and every table in the place was seated. As we had a reservation, we bypassed the line and approached the owner. He looked around, didn’t ask our name or check a list and finally seated us at the only table not seated, a rectangular 6 top. Seeing all of the mostly college aged couples and groups still waiting, we offered the other end of our table to share. They seated two delightful young women, one from Baltimore, one from Williamsburg who chatted with us briefly about their majors, thanked us for sharing the table, and left us to our meal. Town was buzzing with activity. It was certainly a different experience, but very pleasant. And a new spindle joined by fiber tools.