Driver Days 2012

In the past few months, my sister and I have been wonderfully blessed to be able to live in North Suffolk half a mile from the town of Driver...which I guess is more of borough than anything since it is part of the city of Suffolk. Yesterday, my sister and I took our three young charges down to see the sites. It was quaint and fun, with all of the usual festival/fair type crafty things, several produce stands with pumpkins, good food, and a ton of bounce houses for the kids. Since it's in Suffolk, Virginia, there were Civil War reenactors of both varieties, a blacksmith tent, and a show of antique tractors. It's nice to get out at events like that and just talk to people. I met a Mr. Bailey who refinished the 1941 Farmall tractor, and learned that it had been a retirement present from a friend. Who gives their friend a tractor? The small town was bursting at the seems with literally thousands of participants, while a country band rocked out on the stage. In any case, it's a fun way to pass the time of a weekend.

Pony rides! and Polkadot boots for the occasion!

The moon walk...complete with random kid flying across  screen. 

racing through the obstacle course!

Charge #2 climbing through the race course!

And who said you had to stay on the beaten path, or the red stripe, for that matter?

Charge number three loved looking at everything! He really is happy, just squinting in the sun.

Coolest banjo ever! Owned by one of the Mechanized Sons of the Confederacy.

Charge #1 with 24 pound field howitzer.

1941 Farmall H beautifully refinished.

These musicians wandered up and down the road. The man on the right is wearing a washboard!

The Teddy Bear Express!

Charge #1 talking to a wrought iron butterfly on one the displays.

Homebrewed root beer!

Parenthood: Day One

Yes, folks, I've finally taken the plunge and gone out and gotten myself a few kids. Mind you, I got the cream of the crop, the top of the shelf, etc. No buy-one-get-one-kind-of-sale for me!

Now lest you think that I've stolen someone's kids, rest assured that this is hardly, as in totally and completely not, the case. A very dear and wonderful friend of mine, a Mrs. K, has a husband who is out on a vessel serving our country and doing heaven knows what because not even Mrs. K has been able to communicate with him. This has been very hard for her and for her children since they cannot even talk to him and they know that he will most probably not even receive their letters while he is out. So, in view of the fact that the children are 1, 3, and 5 and the youngest is not dependent on nursing any longer, I encouraged her to please go out and meet up with him since the opportunity presented itself.

So...this first day can be summed up in one word: poop. Yes. that's right. poo...slimy smelly foul and putrid.It began shortly after breakfast when the three year old (boy2) called from the bathroom "There's  poop on my shirt!" I came in to find not only that it was on his shirt but also all over the outside of the toilet, on his pants, down his legs, on the floor,  and on the wall. oh dear. so I put him in the tub. what else was I going to do? And thus began my stay in the K household. stay tuned for more updates!

poetical snippet

Once upon a start crossed night there was a maid, and she was right to think that this could not be so, that all the world's madness would up and go far, far away from her and her brood...but she knew, yes she knew, this could not be true.

In deleteing all of my old facebook posts, I came across many little sayings that I've really loved. They are these that follow:


I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

blazing heat.

Someday soon, the evil heat spirit will give way to the breezes of the north, and I'll finally be able to wear sweaters and make apple cider and sleep through the night and go to fall festivals and drive through the cold rain (ugh) and wear clogs and wish that I had nice lady boots. But for now I roast and toast throughout the night...wishing, how I wish, that it would be cool and I could have covers on my bed again. don't melt. dear friends.

Natural Bridge and Copperhead

"It is impossible for the emotions arising from the sublime to be felt beyond what they are here; so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing as it were up to heaven, the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable!"

-Thomas Jefferson, former owner of the Natural Bridge, Notes on Virginia, 1782

One of the sights we saw on the aforementioned cabin trip was the Natural Bridge and the Natural Bridge Caverns. Thomas Jefferson put it very well, for there really is no way to describe the awesomeness of the natural rock formation that is the natural bridge without doing it a terrible injustice. It literally does take your breathe away as it is way more astounding in person than it is in my picture. It is 215 feet high and 90 feet wide. Cedar creek which runs below is culprit for carving out the archway. There are many historical claims to the place, though some seem a little suspect. For example, it was one of the wonders of the New World that European visitors came to see, which is no small feat as the country wasn't terribly settled in the 1700s-1800s and it is rather far inland. George Washington apparently surveyed it and there is a rumor that he could throw a rock up and over the whole thing. Methinks he'd have made a great pitcher if this is true. Thomas Jefferson bought it for 20 shillings (gasp!) from King George and in order to relax while he was president, he surveyed the land himself. He is also rumored to have chucked rocks up to the bridge. seems to be a popular legend for any famous person. The rock face below the bridge was waaaaaay too much for the climbers in our group, and Robby and Titus were up before we could say a word.

"Close up" of Natural Bridge. Hard to tell how tall it is from the photo!!!

Copperhead below Natural Bridge

Our dear MaryClare with her extra-observant-mommy-eyes noticed a cute little snake on the wall under the bridge...and quickly realized it was probably poisonous. With that, Rob and Levi flipped it into the water.On investigation after coming back home, I found that it is a little copperhead. A snake fairly common in the eastern half of the USA, it is part of the pit viper family and probably the least venomous of that family. Nevertheless, more snakebites happen with this particular species simply because instead of running away (like most snakes will do when a human is around) it freezes, which is exactly what you see this little guy doing here. He didn't move the whole time we were watching him. He is about 9 inches long I think, and if you notice, he has a yellow tipped tail, which the babies use to lure in small frogs and insects.

Little Isaac waiting for someone to go in Monocan dwelling with him.

There was also a replica of a Monacan Indian village there. The site is believed to have been held sacred by them owing to a victory at that location over the Powhatans some centuries before it was settled by whites. The dwelling looks like it's a little worse for wear, and about to fall over!

After the village, there is a lovely little hike up to a waterfall (which we did not make it to) which winds through the forest.

Hanging out by the river and watching the fish.

At the mouth of a cavern that is not open to the public.

Playing in the creek...best place ever for a pit stop!

And the sky opened up!

The rain does not stop those of the party under 4 feet tall.

Soaking wet children waiting for food.

 There is also a wax museum, a butterfly garden (kinda so-so) and toy museum (dusty and full of old toys) where we went to dry off before heading down to the caverns. For some very logical scientific reason, subterranean air is always freezing cold...and I'm never sure if I've got the reason figured out in my head. furthermore, I'm being lazy so I'm not going to look up any more factoids for this post. period.

she found a doll as big as she was.

Yes, he's that big.

Stalagtite and stalagmite have grown together to form a column. 

Looking up, the hundred foot crack in the roof of the cavern caused by an earthquake a century ago.

We finally made it out of the caverns in one piece!!!

That's all folks. Ttfn.

Quotation

Saw this quote on my friend Siobhan's facebook and had to share.

"Spouses are therefore the permanent reminder to the Church of what happened on the Cross; they are for one another and for the children witnesses to the salvation in which the sacrament makes them sharers." ~ Familiaris Consortio

Red Wine Mushrooms

I'm always looking for simple yet REALLY tasty recipes and last night when I opened the carton the carton of mushrooms I was very happy to see this recipe.

8oz mushrooms
1 clove of garlic crushed
2 tablespoons onions (I put in many more)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup red wine
1 teaspoon of fresh tarragon (which I didn't have so it is omitted)

melt butter over medium heat and saute garlic for 30 seconds. add mushrooms (halved or quartered), onions and tarragon season with salt and pepper and saute until mushrooms are browned which should take about 6 minutes. Add wine and reduce heat. simmer until wine is evaporated and mushrooms are tender. the recipe said 10 minutes, but after that long a lot of the wine was left and it still tasted good! It seems like the sort of thing to put over a steak. Soooooo good!

Mountain Cabin Vacation

The front yard

I am a pretty odd person apparently. How do I know this? Well, any girl in her twenties looking for a good time and a great vacation does not typically spend the weekend in a cabin with two married couples and all of their young children. Unable to do anything "adultish" until the kids are in bed, waking up before 7am to a crying baby every night, helping everyone go to the bathroom, breaking up fights, constantly watching to make sure no one fell over the edge of some precipice or other hardly seems relaxing. However, it was the best vacation I've ever had, and I would do it again in a heart beat!
 Strangely enough, my sister and I were the last to arrive...after getting lost 3 times owing to poor directions, because I would never get lost on  my own (teehee...not true at all). The kids were all running around and hunting lizards when we arrived. So lovely!!! the outdoors, lizards, cookies, and tons of space. What more could a kid want? Watching their games and their excitement about the whole situation made me so very happy. It's like watching children on Christmas morning, and realizing that you are enjoying it so much just because they are.

They quickly discovered that the lizards love hiding in the wood pile.

This sweet girl was so happy to showcase her little friend!!! a couple of lizards actually survived her little brother in the background. He's so exuberant that many of the life forms he catches don't survive long, though he actually means them no harm. Her elder brother, on the right, caught nearly a dozen and showed everone else just how to do it.

Outside blowing bubbles to keep the kids out of the way of dinner preparations

 The lizards did eventually get wise, so we broke out the bubbles to keep the kids interested before dinner. Funny how the children are the only ones with energy even though they have been climbing and falling and running all day!

 The twins could not understand why they couldn't get outside with everyone else. They were so sad to be kept indoors all the time, but since they still have pretty severe balance issues, it seemed in their best interest to contain them.

The view from our front yard!

The best view in our yard was from this rock! And there was a ton of room on it!

Sunlight burst through the clouds just before dusk! it is a good deal brighter outside than the photo shows, but the mountain was completely dark due to the angle of the sunlight coming over it. I am at heart one of those people who absolutely loves mountains and very nearly abhors seashores. Not only does one feel closer to nature, but one can also feel much closer to God, I think. I've rarely been to a place less populated and so very beautiful. We were there just at the very beginning of fall, right before all of the leaves began to change and well before all the folliage begins to rot in the fall.

Such happy children in that hammock!

  As the nights came on,we would gather around the campfire every evening...and all of the children would get more and more excited. Fire!!! "Mushmows!!!  'Mores!!!! I think that more marshmallows wound up on the ground and in the fire than did in stomachs. They were so well behaved though. I mean, if you think about it, a 3 or 5 year old child holding a 5 foot long stick with a flaming glob of stickiness on the end does seem to be a bit risky to their own safety...not to mention the environment, but their parents remained calm and the kids did too. Cries of "Hold it! Don't move!" rang out all night, followed by some adult huffing and puffing to put the flaming marshmallow torch torch out.

My sister, Deborah, had perhaps the bravest job of the group. Her job was to yell "No! Wait! I will do it for you" as an eager young one came up with a mass of melted marshmallow and tried to slap it onto a graham cracker.

Waiting impatiently for s'mores. "now? now?" "is it time yet?"

Dad is the coolest person in the world!!! he taught me how to roast a marshmallow on a stick!!!

They were all so very happy to get them!!! No sooner had they consumed one s'more, then they were stuffing more marshmallows onto the stick and laughing and having the most fun of their young lives. None of the children are mine, but I still felt as if I was living through their experiences. so wonderful.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The second night it began to rain, so the festivities had to move inside. Dance party!!! Yay!!!

But Mom!!! I'm not even tired yet!!!