Around Home --Wrapping Up Summer and Getting Ready for Fall

 

Around Home

Wrapping Up Summer and Getting Ready for Fall 

   It is that time of year again. I always like it.    We're trying to wring the last days of fun out of Summer.   I took the kids over to Jarvis Park one day to let them play in the creek when it was still hot enough.   They had a blast.   Mia would happily play in the creek every day. 

Below is a photo of Gabe, Tessa, and Mia in the creek at Jarvis Park. 

   I have taken excellent care of my teeth all my life including regular dental visits.   Yet I grew up without fluoride in our water supply so my teeth are softer than they should be.    I've had a head full of dental work and thought it was about finished.  I was oh so wrong.   I ended up having another oral surgery to remove an abscessed jaw tooth that was hurting so badly.   I am going in for an implant soon as it heals a bit.    It has been hard on my immune system.   

   We also went back to Virginia where we came from.  It was a great visit to see my parents and brothers and sisters.   We took the kids because they wanted to see their grannies and Papaws.   Mia had never been to the farm house.   They loved it, but it was work for me.   Cleaning up and hauling off trash.  The stuff we did last time including all the trash gathered up was still sitting there on the front porch when we returned.  It had been about six weeks.      Between the memories and grief and running it has really pulled me down.   I returned home from that trip a couple weeks back exhausted.   I  brushed my hair Monday and had two fistfuls of hair fall out from the stress.      It is a good thing I have enough hair for two or three people.  

        A lot of good will come from this visit though and conversations with family.   Misunderstandings sorted out and healing taking place.   We have a strong family with good people in it and a lot of love.  

Below is a photo of one of my two cats Dolly. She and Bakoogan have been lounging on me a lot trying to fix me.  They know I've not been feeling the best.  They try to cheer me up and heal me.

          

My mom got me a solar fountain for my bird bath for my birthday!  It is awesome. It runs even in the dark for several hours and changes colors!  It puts on quite a show and the birds love it.  

Below are two photos of it. I'll have to get some when it is lighting up and a video of it. 

   

    Above:  My sister Valerie got me a kit to root cuttings of flowers and plants! It is so pretty and useful.  

 I had a skunk encounter in my yard.   Below is a photo..blurry because I took it from far away of Mr. Polecat.  It has been an odd Summer. 

     The second Virginia trip .. the one in September was the clean out and haul stuff home trip.  It did not finish things up, but we made a dent in it. Hauled lots of trash away. Found out that the county moved the closest set of dumpsters getting rid of them entirely.  

  I brought home a pie safe that was my mother-in-law's.  We polished it up and cleaned a mouse nest out of it.  It is now in our daughter's kitchen. It looks fantastic!  She wanted a keep sake from her grandmother and this was perfect.  

Below is a photo of Kenny helping polish it up and clean it.   It was in great condition.  

  One of the nice things that happened on these couple Virginia trips was that my step mom gave me a quilt made by my great grandmother Maggie Cash Mohler and my great aunt... Mary Margaret Groah. 

Below is a photo of it shown on the foot of our bed.  The chenille bedspread and pillow cases belonged to my mother in law.   The pillow cases were sealed up. Never used.  The spread was one that was in a baby crib upstairs in storage. I brought it home and washed a discolored place out of it and it is spotless now.   The cats are busy putting hairs onto it.  It is very cozy now that the evenings are beginning to cool down.  We love it!  

I change the bedrooms around in the decoration and bedspreads and quilts for cold weather.  I haven't gone into full tilt mode, but I'm working on it.  I made me a new wreath for my front door for Autumn.

Below is a photo of it right after I got it finished.  

Above is the gorgeous view from our front porch after I hung that wreath up.  Can't beat this view or this bluebird weather.  

Below is a wreath I made inspired by the colors of the La Sal Mountains on a trip to Moab, Utah. 

I put it up. 

Below is a set of chair and porch swing cushions I sewed for the porch swing and furniture out on the farm.   It will make it more comfortable and look nicer while we are still using it.  I've had the fabric to do this for 2 years and finally got it completed. 

Below is a photo I found on line of part of the old Beverly Patent. It predates the American Revolutionary War.   I was always told by Lena that our farm was the "Old Cook Place".  and upon finding the Beverly Patent map she is correct!  I see on there Patrick Cook and John and Mary Cook.  The dates are 1740 and 1749 respectively. That means our farm is 283 years old historically. I'd say the house is around 200 years old.   It had a set of very narrow winding steps going up into a servants quarters above the kitchen.  My father in law did away with that long ago.   

 I am looking forward to Autumn and camping trips, hiking and decorating.  Kenny wants to have Thanksgiving in Virginia at the farm.  I told him we'd do it if I can go up ahead of time to clean, decorate and go to the grocery store.  I am not dragging all that stuff to Virginia from Tennessee.  It is too much work.  I figure we've got a whole house there I'm going to make use of it.   

Below: side view of the farm house. Kenny and James fixing fence. 

Below: view of the front of the house in Winter.

Below: My in laws Bucky and Lena.  This was a Memorial Day picnic I think.