My Home Among The Hills

We were at the farm last weekend after Emily’s return from FL.  She was exhausted so we sent up an awning for her to sit under (and sleep).  That was the idea anyhow.  It turns out the wind was so bad that she ended up holding on to the thing so it wouldn’t blow away.  Meanwhile, the kids and I scurried off to do other things.

Isaac and Abigail found the neighbor kids.  Isaac borrowed a bike and the kids pedaled about 3-4 miles down the old dirt road.  Someone had a phone to call a pickup truck to haul them back (the up-hill part).  Abigail played in the mud mostly and made some serious mud-pies.

I have not yet seen the entirety of the property so I took off exploring.  I was hoping to find some morel mushrooms on my hunt for the property lines.  I know it’s prime mushroom season right now but I found not a single one.  I did find one edge of the property line though so that was cool.

In my hunt for stuff, I found a few interesting things…sort of an impromptu scavenger hunt.  I love a good scavenger hunt.  I also love peanut butter and waffles and pina coladas and getting caught in the rain…and the feel of the ocean and the taste of champagne…wait…sorry…channeling Jimmy Buffett (EDIT:  apparently this song was actually done by Rupert Holmes though there are tons of references to JB too…) there for a second.

My Dad calls these "Smart pills" I don't think they helped me at all...

Anyhow, it turns out there are at least three small streams on the property.  I am not sure whether they run all year but as I was walking, all I could hear was the sound of running water.  No cars, no horns, no planes.  It was magnificent.  I walked several deer trails (which wandered past the water of course) and stepped in deer poop.  It was magnificent.  I saw the tiniest white and blue and purple flowers everywhere.  The trees had pink and green tinges to them as spring appears to finally be taking hole.  It was magnificent!

I have started a new website to keep tabs on Seph, the little kitten we found and are trying to rehabilitate. If you would like to keep up to date on how he is doing, browse over to:

Little Orange Kitten

I am in Las Vegas on a business trip…no…really…a business trip. We left Charleston, WV at 6:01 this morning and got here 10 am local time. That left us with…well, all day to explore and see some sights in Las Vegas. It’s already 1:22 am on my “brain time” so I am about done for the day…but I will leave you with a few pictures with more to come when I get back home…

I posted some pictures over at Not Dabbling in Normal along with some other folks…

Check them out!

Did you hear that?  This entire week, it has sounded as if the entire planet was letting out a huge groan.  The San Andreas fault was not shifting.  BrittneySpears didn’t show he naughty bits to the world again.  No, school started.  Kids everywhere seemed to deflate a bit.  Of course, there must be balance in the universe, and indeed there was.   As kids were groaning, parents let out a cheer.  The same thing played out in our house…

I don’t think they were as amused as we were.  Really, we are all a little excited and a little sad for school to start again…

Click to see the videos

Alas, we are back in school and that means we get down to business now. Of course, there must be balance in the universe…

My blog friend June Cleaver has an serious obsession with movie stars and I have to admit, I have a bit of a crush myself.  I have been reading the Twilight series of books so I could figure out why Emily was all the time dreamy-eyed.  She kept saying the name “Edward” in her sleep and I was beginning to get a bit of a complex.  I cracked the first book and I have to admit, I get her obsession.  In fact, my crush on Edward has now surpassed hers and I mumble his name in my sleep too…Emily has recordings of me so I will deny no longer…I have a huge man-crush on Edward Cullen!

(somewhat cool?)

(GROSS!)

Ok, so I am not the first person to have a crush on Edward.  There are tons of fans sites and many (way too many if you ask me) people have Twilight-inspired tattoos.  I laugh at those folks though.  Edward is a purist…he doesn’t want all that body art!

Ok, so I am bodering on gross here, but I really like the books.  The other thing I have to tell you is that I bought the movie soundtrack.  I liked the movie pretty well, but of course, it pales in comparison to the books.  Anyhow, the movie also has an awesome soundtrack.  I am no soundtrack guy, but this one is excellent!  We have been listening to it a lot lately and Emily and I dance around to it even more than the kids do I think.  It rocks!

So, here are a few selections from the soundtrack…

I love you Edward…call me!

(My family with Grandpa)

We went to PA a few weeks back for my Grandpa’s 95th birthday. I thought I would share a few stories about him in celebration of his 95 years!

- My grandpa was a great story teller. He wrote tons of things and I have copies of many of his writings. His stuff is so clever and I cherish it. His stories tell of all sorts of things from when he was a kid. His tales were tales of adventure or romance or insight into living through tough times.

- He was one of 8 children. The older ones were often tasked with watching the younger ones. Apparently at some point grandpa became too much trouble so the older ones strung him up in the barn. I am not sure how he got out of that one.

- He told about getting on top of train cars (which he hopped) and rocking them to confuse the winos and hobos.

- Grandpa was rebuilding the rear end of a tractor (not too long ago) when a gas leak tangled with a pilot light and blew him up. Actually, more through a wall than up…but anyhow, it melted his shoes to his feet somehow. I am not sure how he got out of that one.

(My new cousin with Grandpa)

- Grandpa got a motorcycle when he was in his 60s. I figure my first motorcycle ride was on the back of his bike. I got a motorcycle later on and loved it. I am not sure how either of us got out of that one.

- He often tinkered and built all sorts of stuff. He let me monkey in his garage and we tried all sorts of stuff. He was a genius with stuff like that though nothing ever had a safety guard. I am not sure how he got through that one.

- He went target shooting with some buddies and afterward, while enjoying the camp fire, threw a bunch of blanks into the fire. People scattered everywhere. Not sure how he got through that one.

_Grandpa loves to whistle and he whistles constantly.  I am sure that more than once, he has whistled and some husband turned his head to see who was whistling at his wife.  I am not sure how he got through that one.

(Click here for a different version if you have trouble with the above)

The stories go on and on and it’s hard to know how he survived many of his escapades. Isn’t that what makes a life well lived though? I am so proud to call my grandpa my inspiration. I certainly don’t want to ever look back and say that I only took the safe way through. I guess no one gets through life alive, but my Grandpa has spent every day of his life living it to the fullest!

We started seeds about 2 weeks ago according to the signs.  Some folks may be naysayers but it seems to work (as do rain dances and adding a little eye of newt to the watering can…don’t be a doubter!).  Anyhow, we found a bunch of sprouts this weekend for just about everything we planted.  This first pass, we were heavy on tomatoes and cabbage though there is more to come!  I know most gardeners feel incredible excitement at the sight of seeds pushing through the dirt, but it can’t possibly compare to how excited I am this year. 

Winter is always a real drag for me so any signs of spring brighten my days and make me do a little garden dance…well really, a big barefoot, hobbit-feet-in-the-dirt garden dance.  Ok, picture this…me..barefoot, hollering and bounding through the dirt, rolling in the compost pile, gliding over the newly furrowed lines in the garden…yeah, that’s me!  Actually, come to think of it, the garden dance is not unlike the dance I do when I get a bee in my beesuit…but that’s a different dance altogether really.

Emily’s granddad always gets the itch pretty early too so we set seeds just as soon as we possibly can…but according to the signs.  He nurses the sprouts every day and talks to them.  We all sort of check on them as much as possible, but these sprouts are his babies. 

It’s a delight to watch him as he hums a tune or looks at the soil, trying to will the first head to pop through the soil.  We’ve all got the garden bug, thanks in great part to him.  Once the sprouts get in the ground, the tough work begins, and Emily and I love to rise to the occasion…but we always think of the simple joy of starting seds in the spring

Oh yeah…and for all of the doubters…here’s proof of spring in the South!