Virginia Summer.

Lots of people asked me on our trip, "So what's it like in Virginia?"

Virginia is gorgeous in the summer.  Although we had a 2 week heat wave, it is back to normal now.  Hot, muggy days.  Temperatures around the mid to upper 80's.  The nights cool down somewhat but are still humid.  For all you people wrinkling up your nose at the thought of humidity, just think...you're saying that as you think of your long sunny days without a drop of moisture in them.  Your nice, dry, insect-free heat.  But, it's that humidity that keeps Virginia GREEN all summer long!  Here's a picture taken of our local area; found on the Charlottesville fb page.  Morning mist, Blue Ridge Mountains in the background, green fields, trees, and bushes....ahhh.


Also, this time of year in Virginia is peach time.  We have lots of orchards around here - lots of fruit available.  I don't know how prices are in other parts of the world, but I was pretty happy with getting a half bushel for $12.50.

These are Red Havens.  Freestone.  Seconds.

Our favorite way to eat them, (other than fresh), is sliced and frozen.  So delicious!

 I got about 20 quarts out of this bushel.  That's after we ate a ton of them, made some pies, and ice cream.

By the way, the best way to eat these after they're frozen is one of two ways:


Use them in a smoothie.  Or....
Get one bag out of the freezer right before you go to bed. Stick it in the frig.  The next morning, it will have thawed to just the right slushiness.  Serve in small bowls for breakfast.  Mmmm.  Can't beat it.  They also make a great, cool snack on a hot summer day.

Here's a batch of peach ice cream I made last night.

With 5 cups of heavy cream and lots of fresh peaches, you just can't go wrong here.

So there's a sample of summertime in VA, and a sample of what I've been doing since we got home.

Enjoy your summer, everyone, and try to find some fresh peaches!  It will make your summer feel more complete.

Why every wife should get sick just once a year...

On Thursday, I felt the crud that has been creeping around our house - one victim at a time; one week at a time - come creeping up on me. I protested vigorously, but to no avail. By Friday morning, it had hit hard. I was so bummed because Friday is a no school day for us and I had a nice list of things I wanted to get done. Also, Abe had a game that night and I was looking forward to it.

Change of plans.

I spent the day on the couch. I thought if I took it really easy, drank a lot, slept, etc, then I would be fine by game time and could make it to the game. (Right) That's what I did all day.

Then around 4:00, I got up and took a shower and put on real clothes. (Psyching myself into feeling good.)

Tim came home, took one look at me and said I could not go. (Bossy)

Another change of plans.

I climbed back into my nest on the couch.

Tim and Marci cheerfully left for the game.

Conni stayed home with me. (Before you start thinking, "Aww. How sweet of her to stay home from the game to take care of her mom," let me tell you this: Conni doesn't really like basketball. She is done with it by mid-December.) But yes, it was nice to not have to be here by myself. At some point during the game, Tim texted me the score. (We were winning.) At that point I had to eat some crow and tell him he was right. It was a good thing I didn't go. I felt awful and now had a fever. Like the loving husband he is, he refrained from saying, "I told you so."

When they all got home, I got a blow by blow report. We won the game and Abe had a new career high: 29 points! (Why did I have to miss THAT game?)

Saturday was a repeat: couch day.

I did accomplish one thing though. I learned how to run the remote! Yes, I know. Some of you are laughing...including my children. But I am pretty proud of myself. I actually got pretty fast at it.

I had fever all day. Tim and Conni were out and about running errands. Abe was at a friend's house and Marci had a photo shoot. So it was just me, myself, and I. By the end of the day, I was getting on my own nerves.

Tim called and told me not to worry about dinner - he would do it.

Nice.

As Conni and I watched a movie later, Tim worked in the kitchen. Lots of banging, chopping, and good smells kept coming to me.

I went upstairs at one point and just had to smile. The kitchen was....well, let's just say it was being "worked in". Food, pans, and grocery bags were everywhere. And Tim was cooking in typical "Tim" fashion...with purpose, determination, and speed. But it smelled so good! I had complete confidence that whatever he made would be yummy.

Mar and Abe came home and finished watching the movie with us. Then came the call to come to dinner.

It was amazing! The table was set so nicely. He served soup first. It was a veggie soup packed full of you-better-get-well-or-else yumminess. Then came fresh haddock with creamed broccoli and cauliflower on the side. Mmmmmm. So good!

I managed to help clean up the kitchen then collapsed again.

This morning, Tim scored again. Left-over haddock broiled in the oven, fried potatoes, caramelized onions and peppers, and fried eggs. Delish!

After everyone's belly was full, then came the announcement they all love:

Time to go get wood!

I got out of it this time.

Too bad it's one of the coldest and windiest days of the winter. I cleaned the kitchen, swept and mopped the kitchen floor as I listened to the new John Denver CD Tim brought home, and watched my hard-working family out the window.

I am feeling better - at least there is no fever today. I do hate to be sick, but I love the way my husband spoils me when I am.

So the next time one of you wives are sick, here's my personal recommendation for making it all better:

Puffs Plus (in our house, this is a splurge and reserved only for times of definite illness),

John Denver CD ( a favorite of mine and always makes me smile),

and your favorite man to fix you dinner.

May you all have a happy, healthy, flu season!

The First Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving morning, we all slept in 'til 8, then dad and the other kids went outside to blow and rake leaves out of the yard.

Thanks to them, we now have lots of awesome leaves in our garden. All ready to till into the soil in the spring!

Mom and I stayed inside and made a huge breakfast of:
Sausage gravy & biscuits
Grits
Fried Apples
Bacon

Wow, so much food! Thankfully we had our cousins Wes and Kels over to help us eat it! After we finished breakfast, the guys went outside to finish the leaves, and we girls got a few things ready for dinner.

Marci and Kels making stuffing.

 Mom getting the turkey ready.

 Mom and Kels showing off their cinnamon candy!

 Conni and me goofing off at the piano

Next, we got ready for some paintball. Our friend Cory came over and added another person to the teams, which made it way more fun!

 Wes

 Marci

 I was having issues with the face mask. It just wasn't working for me, so Marci had to help out.

 The whole crew. None of us are intense hunters or anything, so we all went digging in the old "army" dress up box for our outfits. :)

 Our deadly team.

We totally dominated. (I think)

We came back and cleaned up in time for a 4:00 dinner.

The table.

 Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry dressing. Beyond amazing.

 The Turkey

 Each of us had one of these under our plates, and we all had to answer each of them. It generated some great conversations!

 The after-dinner-stupor...

 Serving dessert!

The cookie game

The day ended with a little football watching, a movie, popcorn, and Kelsey's apples and dip!
Talk about lots of things to be thankful for!!!!!! What a day!

Thanksgiving Prep.

For various reasons, this was the first Thanksgiving that we had been able to celebrate at our house. We were all very excited, and we had all kinds of fun things planned, and tons of awesome food to make.

Conni made a pumpkin pie, an apple pie, and a french silk chocolate pie (mom made the crusts)

 Her favorite pie of all time!

She also made a batch of cinnamon candy. (yes, it's totally non-healthy-but hey, it's Thanksgiving!)

 Cinnamon oil is some harsh stuff!!

She is getting to be quite the little cook! Go Conni!

We managed to get Abe to help in the kitchen just long enough for him to seed two pomegranates!

Thank you Abe! :)

Pumpernickel bread rising.

Abe also contributed greatly by getting the lawnmower up and going so we could do our final mowing of the year.

All ready for the big day!