mountain time.

firstly, thank you all for your kind words and promises to pray for mom. she's rallying best she can at the spry age of 92 (come may 28). there are challenges in recovery for anyone in such a situation .. she's doing best she is able, with Shirley (& her husband & daughter) equally caring for mom. i'm so incredibly thankful for their loving care. 

*

onward ... mountain time style

*

we've been busy bees with getting our gardens ready for planting. our last frost date is june 18 so cool weather plants are in for now. in about 10 days i'll risk frost and begin planting our tomatoes, peppers, etc.  .....  i planted onions, german butter potatoes, purple potatoes, three types of carrots, beets, scallions, and spinach. lots more in my greenhouse, just waiting in the wings so to speak. i'm praying this will be a good growing year .. we've had enough snow to hopefully cancel out any fire danger. please, Lord! we shall see .. 

*

 breakfast of greek yogurt (nancy's probiotic plain greek is my favorite. perfectly tangy and tasty), granola (recipe on my blog), and berry preserves canned in 2022. yUm!

we have no lawn .. and don't miss it.

we have rocks. lots. of rocks.

boulders, biggies, bundt, baby .. size.

lots. of. rocks.

but flowers? i've missed those beauties.

the hubs loves me. last autumn he planted about 

150 bulbs in addition 

to what he planted the year before, of tulips 

(in the fenced portion of our property)

& daffodils in the open area of our property.

the dear deer LOVE tulips. quite tasty.

they leave the daffodils alone. 

just before my birthday we visited a Mennonite Nursery 

a couple counties over.. and picked up a number

 of things including a few pony packs of prettiness 

for the fenced area. we planted them here and there,

offering pops of color and a smile on my face.

i lost count of the number of tulips..

aren't these lovely? i think so. 

there are two lilac bushes gracing our gardens,

both are lavender .. both boast an intoxicating aroma.

i clipped a few for inside the house .. think i'll clip

a few more for good measure.

i feel oh so very spoiled .. the hubs had a greenhouse

constructed near our back door! 

once in place and bolted down good, 

he built it out a bit inside with two levels of shelving. 

we've done more since this picture 

was taken and soon i'll have electricity 

and a chandelier in place. 

having my plants and gardening equipment

out of our dining room is SO nice. 

our home was beginning to feel jungle'y.

*

oh.. just this morning i stopped by a house down

the road - the owner was readying for a yard sale.

i spied with my one good eye a few treasures!

walking back home with the hubs i drove back 

down the hill in my suburban assault vehicle,

parked it and went in search of the owner who was

at that time pressure washing his deck. interrupting his task

was the least of my concerns but i was sweet, 

pinky promise. truth be told i was desperate that no

other human latch on to the treasures i intended

to adopt. desperate...but sweet.

maybe it was the wild look in my eyes. hm.

he met me at the sale area and agreeing upon 

the items and price, he loaded everything

in my vehicle. i learned his home is going up

for sale .. making a note to tell a few folks who

might just want to move to our tiny village

and live out their remaining days, like us.

driving back up

the hill i noticed the hubs sitting out on the front deck

drinking coffee (aka liquid life). pulling into our drive i did the 

'queen wave' (but of course) informing him i'll need help

unloading. he's swell, that guy. the treasures have been

cleaned and presently drying in the mountain sunshine.

in an upcoming post i'll share pics and junque.

*

for now though .. here's my greenhouse.

she'll be named, like most every other inanimate object

in my possession. wink.

a week ago i squirreled away necessary time for

a well appointed nap. chilly day. wonderful.

most often i'll click the television on and tune in

to a show that'll help me nod off. worked like a charm.

woke an hour later - groggy and drooling.

lovely. wink.

last night we enjoyed a fabulous dinner.

roasted new potatoes, onion, zucchini ..

and grilled ribeyes with a chipotle espresso rub.

holy moly .. such goodness.

we consider great cuts of meat to be for a special

occasion. there wasn't necessarily a special

occasion for this meal .. just a whim really.

*

with that thought in mind, use the good china.

use the silver. use the crystal. 

use your bestest and kindest heart-i-tude.

make most every meal an occasion,

never mind what's on the plate. 

you'll never ever ever ever regret it.

*

blurry pic .. but you get the idea.

*

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet 

of those who bring good news, 

who proclaim peace, 

who bring good tidings, 

who proclaim salvation, 

who say to Zion, 

'Your God reigns!'" 

Isaiah 52:7

 

golly.

 

"She was an adventurer at heart;

but oh how she loved drinking this

tea from this mug in this chair.

Oh how she loved to be home."

*

i didn't mean to be away this long of a while.

rather than sharing detail as to what i've been up to, 

i'll instead just jump in with both feet

offering snippets .. vignettes .. of a year and

then some in no particular order

here and there in future posts. 

upon checking my blog and trying to figure 

out my password, ultimately deciding on a new 

and improved selection 

of letters numbers symbols 

and bunny slippers etc, 

i saw more than 

a few messages inquiring as to my 

whereabouts, concern, and so forth. 

i thank you for your inquiries and i apologize for not

seeing them far sooner! 

i'm well. truly. 

some would question such a bold declaration 

but i truly AM well.

.pinky promise.

{ that's my story and i'm stickin' to it }

in my drafts are oodles ..

absolutely oodles ..

of blog posts.

started but not finished ..

rethought .. reconsidered

nixed or simply set aside

for a later date. 

.onward.

to say we've experienced record snowfall this winter

would be a great understatement.. golly! 

so much snow that at one point our long driveway berm

boasted a thirteen foot wall - 

no where to blow and shovel

even more snow as it continued to fall fast. 

so. 

out to the road in hopes the 

plow masters would take pity.

it's april 20 as i type and while much of the snow has

melted, there's still a sizable berm left to dissipate. 

alas, the daffodils and tulips and iris bulbs the hubs

planted last october are reaching heavenward

in their sweet glory. precious little bits of color.

we're anxious to get the kayaks on the water

but the lake road is still under huge amounts of snow.

when it gets down to five feet it'll be plowed using

a special snow machine then we'll wait for more melt 

and warmer temps as it's still freezing overnight. 

tommy is his name. 

in october during our first snow of the season

he made his way just beyond our back property.

i zoomed in and snapped this pic. he was following

an available girlie dear deer with procreation

on his mind. ahem. it was rut season after all.

this is my garden in march. 

that's a bit over five feet of white stuff.

mid-march i started seeds indoors

and indoors they remain.

our last frost date is june 18 and i'm

itchin' to plant. but wait! there's a 

greenhouse on the horizon!

ordered earlier this week..

i'm beyond anxious.

tapping my little foot

not so patient-like.

May 2022 we stayed at a delightful harvest host

location in washington state .. we purchased

a few items including farm fresh free range

eggs .. once home i made this dish:

arugula, crispy rice, fried eggs,

fresh bread toasted just so,

& a drizzle of hot chili oil.

yUm.

and this dish.

boy howdy yUm.

i'll share the recipe

in an upcoming post.

you'll want to make it.

.pinky promise.

there are days. 

those who get it .. get it.

*

a couple new baby squirrels have

joined our little kingdom.

*

the ravens have been spending

more time in these parts .. creepy.

*

this lovely lady is my mother

on her 91st birthday. she's beautiful!

she turns 92 in may.

but right now she's in need of prayer,

pretty please with lots of sugars.

last december her gallbladder burst

resulting in sepsis and a host of other

maladies, drain issues, etc. she wasn't able

to have the needed surgery right away due

to some rather key reasons

so she's waited a terribly long time.

the hubs and i made two trips to washington

state this year to help out a bit.

*

surgery was yesterday and as the surgeon 

said, "it was a nightmare." he was able to care

for very little even during the four long hours

she was on the operating table. only a small bit of 

gallbladder was able to be removed due to extenuating

circumstances. poor thing had/has a cesspool of grief

in her gut and appears it will remain. 

two of my (431) sisters are tending to her in hospital..

she lives with shirley and her husband.

please .. keep my mother in prayer.

our entire family humbly thanks you.

*

and that, dear ones, is all that's fit to print at the moment.

until next time .. see every day as a blessing,

to breathe, to love, to seek His face,

to know this broken world is not your forever home.

Selah ..... Maranatha!

with love,

.sherry.