Distracted But Ever Thankful

Posting over here today.

My Favorite Ride, Hug Your Loved Ones Today, Wisdom

It's pouring outside.

The pergola with Trumpet Vine extends from the porch, creating a shady bower. (I still need to plant something in those pots on the steps!)

 1. Sitting on the porch when it rains is like one of those amusement park rides that involves all of your senses The kind where you watch a huge screen and feel things touching your body. After this afternoon's rain storm is over, I walk back into the house and announce to whoever, that this is by far my absolute favorite thing about summer; sitting on the porch when it rains. Some people ride roller coasters over and over again. I ride the porch.
2. She is well aware of why I want to hug her the minute she arrives home from school today.
3. We discuss people who inspire us. Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, is someone we all admire. Her wisdom and forgiving spirit are beyond measure:

"Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open."  Corrie Ten Boom

Swallowing the Blue, Where I Wait, Summer's Pleasures

1. Spectacular clouds loom up over the mountains. Dramatic billows of white cumulus stack up higher and higher casting shadows over the mountainside. By evening, they turn an angry gray and announce their onslaught with thunder.
2. Every Monday I drive to a pretty neighborhood situated behind Roanoke College and park for an hour while Tess has piano lessons. At the end of the dead-end street sits a heavily wooded area shared by the homes. Over a small creek, someone has built a sturdy walking bridge with beautiful railings crafted out of tree branches. It's a very attractive spot where I enjoy my hour of waiting.
3. Sitting on the porch and watching it rain.

Solo, Watercolor, Very Cool Movie

1. Amidst the drone of cicadas, the voice of a lone toad warbles loudly just outside the back door. He performs his unique solo, then recedes back into the cool shadows.
1.a. Returning home this evening, a little toad sits on the path. Could this little guy be the same toad with the big voice earlier today?!
2. I like it better after I remove the frame from my $1 garage sale find.
3. Steve and I settle onto the sofa and watch the last of three Ip Man movies together this week.

A Farm Long Ago, A Racket, On My Own

1. Remnants of an old farmstead endure on the property next door. Ancient cherry and apple trees line the lane with a tangle of Yuccas, Sweet Peas and wild Roses growing beneath. I stop under a cherry tree and eat a few before I head home. I imagine it was a beautiful farm at one time and I would like to have seen it back in its prime.
2. The cicadas stop scratching their nails on the chalkboard at dusk. Finally, peace and quiet! The gentle sound of crickets is music by comparison and I enjoy this while I read by lamp light on the porch.
3. The pulse of our home is bustling one day and empty the very next. Everyone has left and even those who reside here will be gone for the weekend. Husband is also out for the day. I'm a bit disconcerted, but only for a moment. This is my chance to do some fruitful work out in the garden.

   
1. Daughter #4 continues to surprise us. We had no idea she could draw. (I must admit this is one downfall of home schooling. It's easy for a child's abilities to fall through the cracks if the parent doesn't provide the opportunity to explore all subjects.)
2. Granddaughter sees me and calls me by name. She has my heart, entirely.
3. Our small community's high school's assembly is a Norman Rockwell type affair. Red curtains part on a small stage, eager parents watch for their child's face, the tall awkward boy (one of only two in the choir) sings his solo beautifully, teachers introduce their students with pride and the students shyly accept their accolades.

Frontier Culture Museum

Baskets of wool beneath a window.

Airing the Bedding

Irish Farm

Window in Irish Farmhouse

American Farm 1820's

Garden of American Farm

Frowning baby runs from goats.

The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia is comprised of several farm buildings and barns from England, Germany, Ireland, Africa and Early America. Each farm includes interpreters who speak about farm life of that particular period. Visitors are free to wander the grounds and lose themselves in history. We brought a picnic lunch and made an enjoyable day of it.