Last Day

Greetings from not so sunny California! I made the trip with my daughter Kate and her boys to help move them across the country. The airport was quite the ordeal...getting Frankie the dog in the right check in line and all patted down and inspected by security...2 strollers apart for the TSA screeners with a crying hungry infant and a sobbing tired toddler as his Teddy went through the big black unknown tunnel of the security machine...and me having an emotional time as is, knowing that the goodby was down to a few days, combined with the fact that I don't fly very well to begin with...

But we made it.

 Kate is happy to be with her husband. Husband is happy to have his family together and that is the way it is supposed to be.

My 2 older boys have each moved into new places of their own and my youngest will go back to college in just a few weeks.

All are very happy and that in turn makes me happy too.

Except for that todayistheLastDaywithdaughterandgrandsonsandmyheartiscrying thing..

He Still Has It

On a little outing over the weekend we happened across a group of motorcyclists as we often do on these beautiful country roads here in the valley. Among the traditional Harley riders decked out in their "summer" leather...t-shirts with the sleeves cut off and fingerless gloves...were two riders on three-wheeled street bikes. Our daughter asked Fritz how old he would have to be to ride one of those and still look cool.

Apparently he's not there yet

Now when are we going for a ride on the Harley to the top of the mountain?

Harvest Help

As much as I miss being a Harvest Helper at Stoney Lonesome Farm, I am happy to have a little harvest helper right here at my own farm. Each morning, after he has had his 'milky' and 'bar', my grandson always asks if he can "check Marme's garden?" in the cutest little todler voice imaginable. We put on shoes (sometimes right over PJ's), or not, gather the harvest basket, the previous nights scraps for the compost pile, slide my pocket knife to a place of safety and hand-in-hand make our way out to the garden. Frankie his dog is always along.

Cullen loves the garden. He goes around to each bed or row telling me whether the cantaloupes are still growing, or that the beans and squash are ready.

He makes his way to the broccoli, now nothing but a few wayward shoots, to help himself to a morning snack.

 We dig a carrot up each day to see how much they have grown from the previous morn

and his keen eyes spot the ready tomatoes from afar. 

 He knows the name of each plant and somehow understands when a veggie is ready to be plucked.

He spots the weeds and valiantly tugs often with a "Marme, Cullen can't do it,"  but has the nozzle of the watering hose mastered (Frankie often gets watered more than the plants producing a big 2 year old belly laugh that I think I could live on for years!).

 We fill the basket and reluctantly head back to the house to wash up, but always with a fresh picked bunch of flowers in hand for Mommy.

I love that time with him.

 It should really be called "Marme and Cullen's Garden."

...Only 7 days left....

Morphing the Kitchen



Country Cooking

I love cooking when there are lots of folks around to eat. I love cooking even better when I can stop by the farm store and pick up my dairy products from a creamery right here in the Shenandoah Valley and turn them into a yummy pound cake (with a little help)

Or decadent biscuits,

and serve them with Apple Butter made in nearby Stanley, VA

A favorite is to stop by Wilson Farms and stock up on meat, including chicken perfect for frying

or making stock.

 Adding onions, carrots, parsley and dill right from the garden into the chicken stock really makes it worthwhile.

Completing the meal with some fresh picked green beans and sauteing a few patty pan squash from the garden with garlic and olive oil make for some pretty darn good eats.

But no dinner is complete without wonderful people to share it with. Kate's fabulous friends from her high school days visited The Farm this weekend. I so enjoyed cooking for them and their graciousness made me so happy.

Yet another reminder that motherhood lives on.



Summer Surprises

Have I mentioned that I Love this place?

...and for an updated view of before and after FarmHouse Living Room photos
see this 

It's Nice to Have Help

The second best part of having my daughter live in our farm house for a month is that she gets things DONE. And done well I must say!

Kate turned this

and this

and this

into

THIS!

and this



A Visit From Oma and Opa

A glorious holiday weekend in the country brought MANY visitors to our Farm over the weekend. Most significant for Fritz, was his parents with his brother Andreas and his family. Opa arrived and immediately went to check out my vegetable garden.

 I got a seal of approval! (huge to me!)

Then he went straight to to the man shed and hopped on the tractor.

I am not sure who was happier...Opa or Fritz having his dad here. 

Meanwhile, the wee baby B found comfort in Oma's warm loving arms.

Again, I am not sure who was happier...the babe or the great grandmother.

Andreas highjacked the tractor,

while son Christian rode a 250 for the first time.

Andreas' girls enjoyed the swinging and swimming

while their mom contemplated a dream barnstyle farmhouse of her own

The visit would not have been complete without a land survey from the front porch.

Happy Times!

Simple Gifts From the Garden

For a Friend

and for me