Farmstead Chronicles

         This morning I joined Tom on his 4.1 mile walk. He does this every day, regardless of where he is. We are at the beach, so at 7:00 this morning we went walking. I'm not going to lie I thought this isn't going to be much of a workout for me. I WAS SO WRONG! I think he literally tried to kill me. I could not keep up! I almost had to do a slow jog to keep up and if you know me, you know I DON'T RUN!      He kept looking back asking if I was ok. I was like "yeah" because I am too proud to say no. Once we got past the first 1/2 mile I was ok, then we got to the last 1/2 mile and it was awful too. He is 66 years old and I couldn't keep up. Now, I get on my elliptical every morning so I thought this would be a piece of cake. It was more like a train wreck. He pushed me to want to do better and to keep up with him. LOL. We made it all 4.1 miles and I had met my exercise and calorie goal for the day by 8:00 a.m.. He has a lot of wisdom, ...

Drake, Dylan & Megan       I never thought I would be "old enough" to have adult children. I was 20 years old when Dylan was born. Why is it when you have kids you think, I'll be 40 when he is 20 (or is it only me that does that?)  We grew up together. He was my "test baby" I used to tell him. I remember one time when he was about 5 years old, I bought this leg wax. The hair on my legs wasn't long enough to try it out, but it was on Dylan's. My mom and I put a small blob of wax on his leg and pulled it off with that piece of material they give you. He still has a bald spot there to this day. My cousin Drew was the only boy I grew up with. I only have sisters. So, when I found out my first baby was going to be a boy, I panicked! I didn't know what to do with boys! I learned quickly... you get peed on a lot when they are babies.      Dylan had the best imagination growing up. His baby-sitter didn't have a TV so he had to play during the day...

Take the baby to the barn too          The Augusta County Fair is upon us. 2022 was the first Augusta County fair we did for the whole week. We had done a couple of jackpot shows for just Saturday, but last year we did the WHOLE week. It was so much fun! There are kids running around everywhere. They know their boundaries and we don't have to worry about them. We eat like kings and sit around and catch up with everyone. It's HOT and it's a lot of work, but so much fun! I posted on Facebook something that someone had shared, and it is really so true. Drake & Charley don't play sports, they show animals. I'll share it here too. If you get the opportunity, go out to the barn at the fair. Walk around and see how hard these kids and their parents work with these animals to get them here. You might just learn something. Go eat the Middlebrook 4H food booth in the Dick Coffey pavilion.  Go to your local fair, walk past the rides and the games and find tho...

      In 2020 I made a goal to read the entire Bible that year. I had heard someone say, "On the day of my judgement I don't want to stand before the Lord and say you gave me all this time and I read all these books, but I never read your love story to me." (I say "I heard" a lot, I hear a lot of things and when it strikes me, it sticks with me, it's an odd trait I have.) So, I made a goal to do it. I have had this bible for probably 10 years. I remember my Grandma Isabel used to read her bible each morning.  I needed it broken down for me into a daily reading. I have this weird mindset where if it is broken down into a daily/manageable thing then mentally it is easier for me to accomplish THAT DAY. Then I feel good. So, in 2020 I did it. I read the entire bible that year. It felt like a great accomplishment for me. Then I put said bible on my nightstand and would only pick it up occasionally. Then I got to thinking, should I read it again? Surely reading i...

The sky over Creambrook Farm Another view of the sky, it was so pretty!          Saturday I had the privilege of catering a farm days event at the local raw milk dairy. You know I love farms and cows and food, so obviously that was a no brainer for me to say yes, LOL. Ben & Kristen Beichler and there 4 boys own and operate Creambrook Farm in Middlebrook, VA.  They host "Farm Days" twice a year for people to come visit the farm, pet the baby cows, take a hay ride, enjoy fresh milk samples and delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies made by their 8 year old son. Let me tell you they are some DELICIOUS cookies, I won't tell you how many I ate today 😒. In fact, I bought what he had left over to sell at the store this week, small business supporting small business.       We got to be a part of "Farm Days" in the fall of 2021. They were unable to have one in 2022 and this was the first one this year. People travel for HOURS to come...

           This was my friend Katie on Monday morning. She's going about her morning and walks out the door to go to work and SURPRISE! Talk about a minor inconvenience. She attempts to patch the tire and put air in it, but as soon as the air goes in, it goes out. She cranks down the spare and puts it on so she can get to work. Honestly, I don't know if I would know how to get the spare tire out from under my car. She knows lots of things like that!      Minor inconveniences drive me crazy! When they happen to me, I first get mad, then I try to quickly remind myself that it is God's way of protecting me from something I don't know about. I heard that somewhere a long time ago and I still remind myself of it every time a minor inconvenience happens. God sees the bigger picture, he knows what's up ahead and what's going to happen and I believe the minor inconveniences are His protection. Let's try to be thankful for the minor inconveniences an...

      I haven't been to Sam's all year I don't think. I have been ordering from Sam's online and having it shipped or ordering from Amazon. The time had come though that I needed to make the trip, so today was that day. Good gracious! I go to the grocery store for home. Janice does the shopping for the store mainly, but I had forgotten what it's like to go to "the club." I have an event on Saturday that I'm catering for so I had to get things for that, then there was the obligatory jelly beans for the store and other necessities. 1 hour and $846.14 later, this is what it looks like. When I get to the store, all the canned chicken will more than likely fall out 😖.      It got me thinking how grateful I am to be able to go to the store and buy these things. Some families cannot. I have helped at the food bank and it is a humbling experience! I wonder sometimes how 1 income families do it. You can cut costs other places, but you still have to eat! I foll...

      I don't really have any pictures to go with today's blog. I am sitting up in my she shed, where it is sweltering hot, but there is a slight breeze blowing in through the windows. I'm listening to some "focus" station on Pandora (this mild music really helps me focus and concentrate. It's very calming) It makes me wish I was getting a massage though! Just thinking about everything that's going on this week. Sunday's are like that for me. I usually go to church, when I get home Noah will eat lunch and then typically go down for a 2-3 hour nap. I clean house (if I haven't already that week) do laundry, meal plan for home and basically think about everything I need to do that week. Sometimes it drives me crazy because my personality likes to know everything that needs to be done this week and then I will make a list and go over it 1,457,243,987 times in my head and make more mental notes. It's that control issue thing I have again. I really n...

Churchville Volunteer FD games He doesn't know what to think of all these rides. He was so excited, LOL Carnival rides They look thrilled 😆 Charley & Sydney - ride buddies     The Churchville Carnival... when I was growing up THIS was the carnival to beat all carnivals. This is where we went to see all of our friends in the summer and run around and ride all the rides when I was younger. As I became a teenager, it's where you went to walk around with your friends and hang out. When I became an adult it was like my high school reunion each year. I could see a good many of my classmates at the Churchville carnival with their kids or spouses or live in person. It was fun, it was wholesome, it was a good time. I can still remember my Mommaw and Noot & Dick Harlow sitting over by the trailer at the bathrooms, just watching the crowd. There would be bingo in the pavilion beside of them. There was beef BBQ, funnel cakes and all things in between. I remember Tammy A. running...