Gathering In

32 this morning, frost that soon melted off. It only reached 49 today, so odds are we will finally have a freeze tonight.

This has been the day to finally gather in the non-hardy vegetables, flowers and plants--or at least as many of them as possible. Freeze seems likely tonight, late in the season for us, and I am thankful to have so long to enjoy the gardens. But it's time, and I think we are ready.

Today I gathered in all the peppers left out there, about a peck's worth of small banana and bell peppers and a few chili peppers. I picked what broccoli was ready, found some very tiny squash, and pulled a few carrots to see how they are coming along. They look great, ready to use. They will stay in the ground for now, since carrots can handle hard frost. We pulled up the celery and stored it in the cellar. We shall see how that works!

I picked quite a few bouquets of the last roses and zinnias. They won't last long, but I will get a few more lingering days of joy from them.

The garden is still so green. It will certainly look different after tonight. 

The cacti and begonias are inside now. I hope i do a better job with them than last year. I am just not good with house plants. The cacti survived, as did one begonia, so it wasn't a total loss.

The trick-or-treat kids are starting to make their rounds, but although we see them go by on the ridge, very few come down our driveway--we are lucky to get one or two kids, and some years none at all. It's a big change from when our sons were young! Back then it was normal to get 20 or 30 or more. I still prepare with lots of candy, but expect to have most of it still here tomorrow. We had planned to do reverse trick-or-treat tonight with our visitors, going around our road and giving candy instead of getting. But Sarah and Tommy are working late, trying to get ready to leave tomorrow. So I am saving that idea for next year.

Enough for now. I am looking forward to the full moon tonight! Isn't that the quintessential Halloween moon?  The clouds are clearing so it should be a beauty.

Enjoy this spooky night!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Fire and Dance

51 this morning, steady rain all night and most of the day. Possible frost tonight.

Last night was the broom dance! As it turned out, though, the usual instructor was not well, and several people had Covid, so this year there were just 4 of us. But what fun we had. I will say, I am a terrible dancer, but I love doing this anyway. Here is a short video of our efforts.

Yeah, we're not good but we sure had fun! I am going to practice this year until I have this down pat. I will still be avterrible dancer but at least I won't look like a befuddled granny again!

We had a frustrating day today, trying to find ceiling fans to replace one that quit working (after 26 years, the nerve!), and one to replace a light fixture. It took all afternoon and visits to 3 stores to find what we wanted, but I guess there are worse ways to spend a cold rainy day.

Our nerves were soothed this evening, however, by good soup and companionship up at Sarah's cabin,  and a lovely bonfire that surely kept way any evil spirits that might be roaming around on this All Hallow's Eve eve. Fire, family, food, friends, what's not to like?

It is now officially the witching hour and Halloween,  so I will say good night and safe travels in your dreams.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Spooky Fun

63 and rainy. Clouds and showers all day.

Last night we decided to go to town to see what was happening with the "Spooktacular" event tbe town was sponsoring. The event was actually winding down after a day of chocolate vendors, games, contests, music, etc, but I was intrigued by the "dancing in tbe streets" that was to happen late in tbe evening. So I donned my witch hat, and off we went.

It was just plain fun. People in costumes were everywhere.

A DJ played dance music and explained the steps, and people of all ages were dancing together. 

Even tbe Mayor was right in there and she had some good moves! The Mayor is the blonde in jeans,, and the lady in black is the Conventional and Visitors Bureau head. With my tricky knee all i could do was tap my feet and watch.

Our courthouse, looking particularly spooky.

We strolled around a bit, and stopped in a downtown eatery that had an outdoor patio, thinking we would eat outside and enjoy people-watching, as there were so many people on costumes. But alas, the patio was closed, so we opted to go to our town's best Mexican restaurant,  where staff and customers were dressed up and having a good time. Some good food and adult beverages made a perfect end to the evening.

Tonight was the broom dance! More about that in my next post.

October Roundup

64 this morning, overcast. Occasional sprinkles through the day.

I have certainly been a slacker, haven't I? It is rare that I go so long without posting, but this month we have been up to our ears busy, although nothing really newsworthy to write about.

So October is nearly at an end. The last blossoms are holding on as we have not yet had a killing frost, although there were a few mornings where we saw frost on the vehicles and in some low- lying areas. 

We are still enjoying a few veggies from the garden, 

and Larry has gathered and hulled a half bushel of black walnuts so far. He will let them dry for a month or so before shelling them. We put some hulls in a bucket of water to soak, and will strain them in a week or two to get walnut wood stain.

This Fall continues to be one of the most beautiful I can recall. The leaves have just been spectacular. Most of them are gone now, but the beaches and oaks are still putting on a show. It takes my breath away just driving down our road. 

Today was garden and deck cleanup day. I put away most of the flowerpot and garden tools and decor items, but could not bring myself to dump out pots where the plants are still doing well. I bet I will end up out in the freezing cold doing that job! But can you dump pretty flowering plants? 

Of course work on Sarah's cabin continues, although pretty much at a standstill until the roof arrives. The company is performing true to form, and for the life of me I don't know how they stay in business.  At least the outhouse is coming along.

Larry and I have been making more cider. I believe we are up to about 15 gallons now, and more to come. This is mostly pear cider, with some mixed apple- pear batches. 

It has been a long time since we have had such a good year for pears so we are making the most of it, with canned pears, spiced canned pears, and the cider.

I also finally got around to canning pickled jalapeños rings. I waited so long my peppers had turned red! I read that the heat on peppers increases as they turn red, but since these have no heat to begin with, I guess it won't matter. They sure are pretty.

I have been working on a few furniture projects too, and finished up this wine cabinet this week.  

Moving on now to a large cabinet. We stocked our booths again yesterday,  and next week will be taking out Halloween decor and begin to add Christmas.  Far too early for me, but customers are asking for it.

I have been reading a good bit lately, but nothing that has really excited me enough to recommend. I was disappointed in the book Claire and Mr. Tiffany. Since it was about the Tiffany glass company's history, I was sure I would find it fascinating, and it made the NY Times bestseller, so I thought it would be great. But not so much, unfortunately.  The story is told through a great deal of dialog, which in my view was poorly written, seeming unnatural and stilted. Much of the history is shared with the tired old "As you know, Bob" trope, where characters explain something that both characters already know.  I am amazed that editors overlooked the books weaknesses, but perhaps they considered the subject matter interesting enough to excuse it? Basically, the the story is told through Claire, the woman who designed many Tiffany lamps, and indeed came up with the concept of the stained glass lamps Tiffany became so well know for. Claire was never credited for her design work, all credit being given to Louis Tiffany. It could have been a great story, but this telling of the tale is definitely lacking to me.

Enough for now--I need to catch up with all of you!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Good Times, Sad Times, Peace

48, overcast, but some sun later.

After a good day's work yesterday, we all gathered at Sarah's cabin for a campfire dinner. Foil-wrapped veggies and sausage, seasoned to perfection and tossed in the fire to cook--so good!

We stayed around the fire, talking and laughing. What good memories these days will be.

Oh and yes that might be a bloody towel on Sarah's hand. She cut her finger while prepping veggies, but between Derek's first aid kit and Tommy's good attentions, it was well taken care of.

Grandson James with Sarah's dog Glen.

Haley, Sarah, Tommy.

Poppa Larry and James.

Granny just wouldn't stay still for a picture,  Haley tells me!

Sons Aaron, Derek, and granddaughter Sarah.

My "boys". Having 2 out of 4 here at one time makes me so happy. 

Sadly, though, our old black lab Otis finally went to rest this morning. We have been expecting this for some time, but still it is not easy. At 15, he had a good long life, and we will miss him. I so wish our pets would live as long as we do. Poor Daisy, our yellow lab, is grieving; she even turned away from bacon. Poor girl.  

This is Otis as a young pup, back in 2010. What a funny, good boy he was.

I also got news of the death of a friend, Larry Staats. Larry was a unique individual: a retired Army officer, lawyer, bankruptcy judge, scuba instructor, hiker, biker ( he once biked across Australia), cover, square dancer, player of odd musical instruments,  and a storyteller. He grew up in my county but spent most of his life in Columbus, Ohio. Many of his stories were of his childhood exploits, and all were imbued with his quiet humor. Larry was 90 this year. I hadn't seen him since 2019, because of the pandemic, and I have surely missed him. The world lost a good one with his passing. I will visit him though, in the cemetery near here, and sit on the bench he had installed there on his gravesite that is inscribed, "Have a seat on Larry." Yes, a sly humor. Here, Larry is dancing in 2007, and this is how I like to remember him.

Late last week I  heard of the unexpected death of Jesse Corlis. Some of you may remember when I posted about the mural being painted on the building of the West Virginia Museum of American Glass. I stopped one day when the painter was at work, and Jesse graciously stopped work to tell me about the design, and about his other murals. 

I kept up with Jesse's work, and knew he was in the midst of a couple projects when I learned he had passed away from epilepsy complications while on vacation. Another great loss of a good, kind, and talented man.

Add to that the death of the infant great- grandson of a dear friend, and, well, it has not been an easy week. I am grateful to have had so much family here this week--2 sons, 4 grandchildren, 2 great-grands--to keep me busy and keep me laughing. Because even with sadness, there is still so much joy in this life. We must just keep reminding ourselves of that, and keep seeking joy whenever we can.

Today I found that joy and peace in tbe woods, taking a long walk with granddaughter Haley.  Not a walk so much as a meander, as we searched for mushrooms, picked up black walnuts, examined odd trees, and just enjoyed the beauty of the forest in autumn.  

Here, a small maple makes its golden stand beneath taller trees.

Moss-covered hollow log, a place for some creature to live in, perhaps?

The old gasoline access road through the woods. I wish I had a dollar for every time I walked it in winter, back when our road was impassable due to snow and mud. I well remember walking it, and the steep,  steep hill at the end, when I was pregnant with my youngest son.

Haley, hoping to find a Chicken of the Woods mushroom. No luck today.

Brightly colored leaves were everywhere, so pretty.

Haley has gone home now, as she must be back to her job with the Army National Guard tomorrow, but both of us enjoyed this slow and easy walk together.

Tonight is trivia night at a local restaurant,  another opportunity to laugh and just be together.  I know I am a fortunate woman, despite the vicissitudes of this life.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Catching up

46 this morning, drizzly and cloudy.

A little patch of sunshine yesterday Illuminated the trees on Sarah's road.

Rainy weather has certainly slowed down progress on Sarah's cabin. We needed the rain, but it is a mixed blessing. Nature does its thing and we just have to fashion our plans around her.

I have been so busy that I have taken very few photos. We made more pear cider last week and it is just superb. I added a little cinnamon and lemon juice to this batch. 

Another bushel or two of pears awaits me in the cellar, and added to that are 4 bushels of apples, from a friend. I am in no rush, as both will keep a while. Our granddaughter's boyfriend was a great help with the cider; they both have been interested in all the things we do around here. I never really think about what we do or why, so often I have to think before answering their questions!

Of course I am cooking a lot once again, which I enjoy doing, as they work on the cabin. Our son Aaron (who turned 50 on Friday the 13th) is here wiring the cabin today. I am making a big pot of chili and some cornbread,  with salad and chips and salsa to go with. Yesterday was my version of Italian wedding soup, breakfast was apple-hickory nut muffins and fruit salad. I have made black walnut-pear pancakes, oatmeal raisin cookies, molasses cookies, brownies, omelets, tomato rice soup, venison soup...well, you get the idea. That well-stocked cellar and the freezers sure come in handy.

We restocked our booths Thursday and Friday, adding this tall shelf that Larry built to our Ravenswood location,

and doing some re-arranging to get this buffet in our Ripley booth.

I did up this metal stool in West Virginia colors.

The buffet in the above photos that I finished  last week sold in 2 days. So time to get another piece ready. I wish sometimes that I could get ahead enough to always have something ready to move in when something moves out. Sometimes we manage it, but not always.

Our dryer quit heating (it's a gas dryer) so we have it taken apart and are trying to figure out the problem. Meanwhile the trusty old drying rack is back in service.

And one last photo, taken in late afternoon one day last week. I love the light in this.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The Usual

40 this morning after a breezy, cool day yesterday.  Temperatures have not reached 60 yet this week. Lovely weather. 

Along Joe's Run 

Nothing exciting going on here this week, really. Our young neighbor came over to bring eggs, and visited for a couple hours. It's funny, but up here we consider everyone on the two forks of Joe's Run, as well as everyone along our ridge, halfway down Trace Fork, and about 3 miles along the highway as neighbors.  That is, I suppose, roughly about a 7 mile radius. But we know almost everyone in that area.

Another neighbor came yesterday to get my excess of banana and cayenne peppers, a bushel of pears, and zinnia seeds. We still have 3 bushels of pears in the cellar, which Larry will make into cider today. It makes my happy to share this abundance when we can. 

Oh, and we had this visitor! Actually there were several of them. Monarch butterflies,  making their epic migration south. This is the first time I have seen more than one here on our land, so I was thrilled.  We left some thistles growing here and there this year, as well as planted quite a few pollinators, so perhaps this made a difference?

I was so excited I just took picture after picture. Such a beautiful little creature.

Other than that, I worked on this buffet, and it is almost done. We will take it to one of our booths tomorrow. I also painted a couple small things,  and Larry got two more pieces ready for me, one to paint and one to wax.

On the cabin front, Sarah and her guy are busy, busy.  They made a marathon 5-hour trip to Lowe's,  and built a bed frame and framed up the outhouse, along with several other tasks. We are very, very disappointed with the company she purchased her container cabin from,  Container Homes USA.  Constant delays have set her far back in her plans. I would certainly never recommend this company to anyone. Still, Sarah is forging ahead and doing as much as she can while she waits for the company to do what they promised.

Today I will be planting garlic. I usually don't plant garlic, but just the plants propagate themselves. But I am going to try planting it this time and see if there is any difference in the size or number of bulbs we harvest. And then I suppose I will be processing cider, so that will probably be my day! I hope yours is a good one too.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.