Porch Cushions

I'm so happy to have company come over. We're not big entertainers here, and we live sort of out in the boonies, so I feel bad inviting folks to come way on out here. But if it weren't for the occasional guest, this house might never get spruced up!

One of my best college buddies, Kim, is coming to visit this afternoon. I haven't seen her in probably 8 years or so, and she hasn't been to our lake place since before our house was built -- back when we had a 1960 single wide trailer that we stayed in for weekends.

So we decided we had to take the plunge and replace our porch cushions. Let's face it, our porch is the one place most folks want to be. It has a great view and is north-facing so it's fairly cool even in the summer. So it needs to look decent for visitors!

Our porch furniture is old and/or homemade, so store-bought cushions don't fit. I have 2 porch swings that were made by my dad, and an old metal glider and chaise lounge that came from who knows where. So we have to buy foam rubber cushions and cover them in fabric.

Here's what I did this week.


This is the chaise. It's covered in a green fabric with teeny blue polka dots.



Here's the glider --



and one of the swings --



The other swing is on the downstairs porch, it has one cushion on the seat (none on the back)and it's from the same fabric as the other swing.

I replaced the foam for 2 swing cushions, and covered 6 cushions and 6 pillows this week for less than $150 -- not bad! Cushions and pillows are pretty simple to do -- I don't add the cording or other fancy trims. These are outdoor cushions, after all. And I was lucky enough to find enough remnant pieces of matching fabric to cover it all, so that was a big money saver. These will probably hold up for 5 years or so, assuming we can keep the dogs off of them! so I guess we came out pretty well.

Camping

I went camping with My Girl last weekend.

We went with the youth group from church, and there were about 20 kids and 6 adults. We set up our camp at a beautiful spot near West Jefferson, on some property that is owned by a retired minister. His property is probably about 1-2 acres, set right along the New River. In the far corner of the property is his cabin, which was built in the 1800's.



I absolutely fell in love with the place. It was built from rough-hewn logs, and had these gorgeous stone steps leading to the front porch.




I loved the lichens and moss that were covering the steps. Everything about the place said "comfort" and "welcome". It was surrounded by huge trees and wildflowers. There was bee balm growing wild right behind it -- the same bee balm I paid over $6 a pot for at my local garden shop.

The rest of the property was a large grassy field where the owner allows friends and church groups to come and camp. He's even set it up with water and power hookups.







He's also got a permanent fire pit installed, and we kept a nice fire going most of the weekend.




On Saturday, we spent the day on the river.



We put our inner tubes in right in front of the house, and arranged for two of our adults to meet us a few miles downriver. None of us had ever tubed that particular stretch, but a neighbor told us where to pick up, and he said it should take us around 3 hours. We all slathered on our sunscreen and plopped our fannies in our tubes and set off.

It truly was beautiful. We saw a total of about 6 houses along the way, and all the rest of the scenery was forest or meadow. Every so often you could see old fenceposts that had been forgotten. I thought I could have stayed on that river floating all day.

But then the 3rd hour came and went. We were supposed to be picked up at the "3rd bridge." We had passed two bridges, but had no idea when or where we would see the 3rd. Some of the kids were starting to get antsy, and sunburned. Luckily we had taken snacks (thank heaven for "dry bags"!) but even I was starting to turn into a prune.

The 4th hour came and went. Still no 3rd bridge. There were some spots where the current was almost non-existent, and that's why it was taking us so long. You just never know what the river's going to do!

Luckily for us, the guys who were picking us up came and looked for us. They took the road back from the 3rd bridge and were able to follow the river towards us for about 1/2 a mile, and they waited there for us. We were so happy when we saw Mr. Rick standing on the side of the river waving us down. Even I was ready to get off the river at that point!

Still, the trip was a lot of fun. I shared a tent with My Girl and two of her friends. We had a great time!

Peach Cobbler

My Man's sweet mother, Ruth, was an awesome cook. I have several of her recipes, but my favorite is her peach cobbler. I made one this afternoon, and thought I'd share the recipe with you. I'm sure Ruth wouldn't mind!

Ruth's Peach Cobbler

4 cups sliced fresh peaches
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
2 cups sugar, divided
pinch salt
1 cup milk
1 T lemon juice
ground cinnamon or nutmeg


Place margarine in a 9x13 pan (I use glass) and place in oven set to 375 degrees.

Place peaches, 1 cup sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk. Stir until moist.

Remove pan from oven, and pour batter over the butter. Then pour the peaches over the batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg. Return to oven, and cook at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

If you get some fresh peaches this summer, you've got to try this recipe. You'll want to eat it all at once!

A Mother's Love

My heart was touched this morning by this blog post by Mary Grace over at Books and Bairns. Mary Grace and her husband, Mr. Blandings, have opened their hearts and homes to foster and adopt two very blessed children with special needs. This blog post shares the daily struggles and joys of rearing one of them. I encourage you to follow the link and read the post yourself. It's not long, but something about it makes you thankful there are folks like Mary Grace and Mr. Blandings who so willingly and overtly follow God's call on their lives.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (July 13, 2009)...

Outside my window... It's still dark out, and an early morning thunderstorm has just begun. I can hear the rumble of thunder and the sound of rain on the leaves of the river birch tree just outside my window.

I am thinking... about Calvinism and Arminianism lately. Maybe you've noticed I've added two blogs to my bloglist, both about Arminianism. I'm looking for writers who can articulate the Arminian position in a way I can get a good grasp over it. We'll be studying Calvin and Arminius later this year, and I have a feeling I need to be ready to answer some questions here. My Boy has been having some heated discussions lately with his friends about free will (homeschoolers! gotta love 'em!) so I expect he'll be very interested in this topic. I just want to be prepared with some answers.

I am thankful for... this rain (cue loud crack of thunder). It's been a couple of weeks and things are starting to look a little parched around here.

From the learning rooms... Not a whole lot yet. Both kids are picking up their math studies, and My Boy is diligently working to finish his biology. Speech & debate season interfered with his getting done with all of his subjects, and I let him take a much-needed break in June. Now he's trying hard to get it all wrapped up.

From the kitchen... right this minute, nothing. We did enjoy dinner last night: chicken kabobs on the grill and brown rice. Tonight: baked barbecue pork chops, canteloupe, and brussels sprouts with cheese sauce (the only way my kids will eat brussels sprouts is with lots of cheese sauce, and then not very often :-)

I am wearing... cotton pj bottoms and a green t-shirt from Naples, FL.

I am creating... still those socks. I picked up some yarn and a pattern for a light weight jacket/cardigan. I'm hoping I'll get to wear it almost year round around here. It would also make a great house jacket -- sort of swingy, with 3/4 sleeves. I'll post a picture when I get it done.

I am going... to stop by the vegetable stand in the nearby town this morning. I'm hoping to find some cantaloupe and some fresh blueberries. And maybe even some peaches. It's about time for the freestone peaches to be coming in -- as a descendant of a long line of SC peach farmers, I've been spoiled to only eat peaches when they are fresh, ripe, soft, and freestone. It limits my time to enjoy peaches, but boy are they good!!

I am reading... Wives and Daughters. I'm enjoying it, but just reading a bit before bed each night. At this rate it will take me awhile.

I am hearing... thunder and heavy rain. It's really coming down right now. All else is quiet around the house.

Around the house... I need to do some work on my porches. The cushions on the porch swings and lounges need to be recovered, but my sewing machine needs to go to the repair shop first. The bobbin isn't feeding correctly. It's been this way for awhile -- I don't sew much, but there are projects every once in awhile, so I need to get it fixed.

One of my favorite things... brown rice salad for lunch. Mix some leftover brown rice, cooked chicken, chopped tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and my new favorite dressing -- Kraft Asian Sesame. delish!

A few plans for the rest of the week... taking My Boy back and forth to the local high school for driver's ed. He's a little nervous about it, but at least he'll have a friend there too. He's been practicing driving a bit on some of the little lanes around here.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... My Man was given an old sailboat last year, and he has spent the winter and spring fixing it up. I gave him a sail for his birthday. Here's a picture of him sailing into our cove after an afternoon out.




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My Man Posts...

My Man gave me permission to copy his church newsletter article here. I changed a little to keep our names out, but otherwise it's straight from him. I thought you might enjoy it...

Living the Adventure

It's hard for me to believe that August is here and summer is starting to wind down. It’s like that old expression, “Where does the time go? It just seems to fly by.” It had to be just a couple of weeks ago that I was on my June vacation!

Speaking of flying and vacation, my family and I were able to fly out to San Francisco, CA, to see all the tourist sites. We were able to do this trip because a friend who works in the airline industry gave us some “non-rev” airline tickets. We had an awesome time and we are so thankful to have received such a generous gift that made it possible for us to do such a wonderful trip.

Non-reving is a great perk that allows employees to travel for free on selected airlines. The catch is that you become the last person to get on the plane, because the paying customers get first priority. If the flight becomes full then you get “bumped” and you have to find another way to get to where you want to go. Needless to say you have to be flexible when you are traveling non-rev. You go into the adventure knowing that you will probably get bumped, and might even get stuck somewhere short of where you want to be, thus making you have to buy a full fare ticket to get to your final destination. It doesn’t help to get upset, because in reality, you are a guest that has been given a free gift which allows you traveling privileges with that particular airline. As a non-rev passenger, that airline reserves the right to withdraw those tickets at anytime. Non-rev passengers shouldn’t complain, but while we were standing at the ticket counter, there were other non-rev travelers doing nothing but complaining.

Our entire family did get to San Francisco, but we did have to split up once we landed in Chicago. Jana and My Girl went on ahead of My Boy and me. I told her to catch the airport shuttle and that My Boy and I would catch up with them at the hotel at some point. We said good-bye to them in Chicago as they boarded a flight to Los Angeles which would then take them to San Francisco. My Boy and I scrambled to find another way out to California. We found room on a later flight that got us to Albuquerque, New Mexico. From there we were able to get on a flight to L.A. which continued on to S.F. We arrived at the hotel at midnight Western Time. Our travel day started at 7 AM Eastern Time, you do the math. Like I said earlier, to non-rev is an adventure and I’m not complaining! Our travel back was almost as adventurous. At the last minute two men who were trying to sneak their dog onto the plane were busted, so 4 seats opened up as the airline was beginning to shut the door to the airplane. They quickly got us on board and we got home.

The Christian life is like non-reving. We are given a free gift through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We just have to accept the gift and step out on faith that God will guide us on our life’s journey. We may come up short sometimes, and we may often find ourselves complaining about our lot in life. (How did I get stuck here? Why do I have this crummy job? Why did I marry this person?) I think we lose sight of our final destination, which is our heavenly home. We need to remember the words of that old spiritual song that Burl Ives was known for singing:

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
trav'ling through this world of woe.
there's no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright world to which I go.
I'm going there to meet my father
I'm going there no more to roam;
I am just going over Jordan
I am just going over home.

Time does fly by and before you know it this life will be gone. Do you see yourself as passing through and enjoying the adventure that God has put you on, or are you stuck at the ticket counter complaining about his free gift?

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (July 6, 2009)...

Outside my window... It's been such a nice few days here. Very warm (mid 80's+) but low humidity. That's so unusual for this area! Sitting on my porch, enjoying the evening breezes, has been worth the (more than) occasional mosquito bite. Heaven!

I am thinking... we could use some rain. I know, I know, my kids say I'm never satisfied, but I really don't want a repeat of the drought we had the last couple of years. It's been 3 weeks or more since we had some good rain.

I am thankful for... God's provision for us, rain or shine! I know He has everything under His control, and I'm thankful I don't have to worry about it.

From the learning rooms... We picked up our math studies today -- My Girl continuing in the math she started mid-year last year, and My Boy finishing up the last couple of sections from last-year's math. My Girl, who loves all things Japanese, began the free Japanese program Irasshai by Georgia PBS.

From the kitchen... The kitchen's all cleaned up from dinner. My Man is the best! He is so good to do the clean up for me after dinner. What a blessing he is to me :-)

I am wearing... Navy blue nylon gym shorts and a purple floral scoop-neck tee. Bare feet.

I am creating... these socks. I actually began them last winter, but stopped after 1 1/2 socks. I'm finally motivated to finish them up, because I want to start a new project. My Man gave me a gift certificate to my favorite knit shop for Christmas, and I need to go cash it in. I'm trying to have a little self-discipline by making myself finish these socks before I start something new.

I am going... to get a mammogram tomorrow. yippee.

I am reading... Wives and Daughters. Yes, I realize I started it a long time ago. It's a long book! And, like my socks, I put the book down for a few months and have decided it's time to pick it back up and finish it!

I am hearing... three dogs chewing on chew sticks. We are babysitting (dogsitting?) Sugar, our friend's cute little Bichon Frise. He fits in pretty well here when he stays with us -- Ginger loves the company, but Princess could probably do without it. They're getting used to each other by now, we do this doggie exchange a couple of times a year.

Around the house... there's a stack of vhs tapes in front of the tv. My Girl decided this weekend to have a movie-thon of "old" movies -- Toy Story, Lion King, Little Mermaid, and Lady & the Tramp. "Old" movies indeed ;-)

One of my favorite things... Pioneer Woman's pico de gallo and guacamole. Oh my goodness! I made some for dinner tonight, and now I'm stuffed full. Yum yum!

A few plans for the rest of the week... Not much. I've got my mammo tomorrow, a trip to the library to pick up a few reads for My Girl, and not much else. Still enjoying summer!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... These are some of the sea lions on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. They've got the right idea on how to spend these summer days...





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Happy 4th!

I hope you're having a great holiday weekend!

Mine has been pretty traditional, for us. Which means, we don't really do much that's different on the 4th.

I did forget to watch tennis yesterday morning, but I'm watching the men's finals today. I don't watch much tennis like I used to. I used to love watching John McEnroe (I admit I was a fan of his), Ivan Lendl, and Martina Navratilova. These days I only watch the Wimbledon finals and US Open finals. But this morning, Andy Roddick is playing Roger Federer, and he's surprisingly holding his own. Roddick recently married a local girl -- Brooklyn Decker -- who is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. I have no idea who she is other than that, but we've been seeing them on the local news lately so I'll root for him. Plus, he's the underdog. Gotta go for the underdog.

Our other 4th activities: I did too much yard work yesterday. There's a fairly steep bank that leads down to the water, that is the bane of my existence. I tried to landscape it a few years ago, but the maintenance is backbreaking. So this year and last, I've kind of let it go. And the weeds have loved me for it! It has really started looking baaadddd, so yesterday I took the plunge and got to work on it. Many of the weeds were trees that had been allowed to grow into saplings 4-5 ft. tall (I told you it was bad), so most of my day was spent with the long pruning shears. Keep in mind this is on a steep bank, so I was in a constant reaching/stretching position, and having to keep my balance or else go sliding down the hill. Once I got the big stuff, My Man followed behind with the weedeater. The bank looks much much better today.

Lets just say I'm paying for it this morning. I'm walking around like an 85 year old!

Of course, one of the nice things about doing yard work here is that, if you do it in your bathing suit, you can jump in the lake to cool off. So I spent a good deal of time yesterday on my float, too.

We did try to do stick to tradition for dinner. We grilled corn, grilled hamburgers, made Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes, and finished off with homemade banana walnut ice cream. It was pretty delicious!

We ended the night watching a few fireworks from around the lake, but just the ones we could see from our porch. Then I went to bed, and fell asleep to the sound of fireworks booming that went on until around midnight.

It's a pretty quiet morning around here today. Ahhhhh.

Happy 4th!

July 4th Kickoff

You don't need a calendar to know it's coming up on July 4th weekend on the lake. All the signs are present:

-- for the last few nights, we've heard sporadic fireworks from all around us. Everyone's gearing up for the big night.

-- tonight, on a Thursday, there were as many boats buzzing by at sunset as there usually are on a typical Sunday afternoon.

-- our little lane is busy with cars going in and out of our peninsula. There are only a few of us who live on this lane year-round, and about 75% of the houses are occupied on a summer weekend. But on the 4th, everyone's here.

This weekend, we'll hear the sounds of boats non-stop, our dock will rock in the waves like it's on an ocean, we'll probably hear a boat siren or two as the lake police try to keep drunken boaters off the water, and there will be fireworks everywhere you can see.

I have a love-hate relationship with the Fourth on the lake. I love the feel of a hot summer day, I love cooking out (of course, we do this several times a week so it's not just a July Fourth thing), I love seeing all the American flags flying by all the docks around the lake, it's nice to sit on our porch and watch fireworks all around, and yes, I do love going out on the boat around 9:00 pm to get a good view of the big fireworks show a couple of coves over.

But we don't go anywhere near the water at other times on the weekend of the Fourth. Taking a boat on that bumpy water is too much like punishment, especially our little boat. You can't enjoy a ride, and you certainly can't ski or tube, so we don't invite friends over that day, either. For full-time lake dwellers, July Fourth weekend is the time you almost want to leave town.

I guess it's kind of like folks who live in Augusta, GA who leave town during Master's Week. A lot of folks even rent out their homes to pay for their own week away. Hmmmm.... there's a thought....