Country Life = Sunday Afternoon in the Barn

Such a comforting thought.

After church today, George and I spent the rest of the day in the barn.

This photo is a BIG DEAL.

Why? Because it's not zoomed in.

I was actually standing this close to the cows when I took the photo.

And why is that a big deal?

Because all my life, I've been afraid of cows.

I'm slowly getting over that fear.

Slooooowwwwllllyyyy.

Goats are more my size. 

But.... when you are trying to catch them, 

and hang on to them while they are getting their feet trimmed....

they can feel much bigger than they appear.

Let's just say after doing that with 22 goats, our backs felt it.

We aren't as young as we used to be!

Storm Clouds and a Sweet Quilt

It was a very odd day in Moundsville.

Rain then sun. Storms, then sun.

And warm, in the low 60's.

In February.

In West Virginia.

I do a Facebook page called Uptown Moundsville.

Not every day, but most days, I snap a picture 

somewhere around town, and post it on the page.

I call it #MoundsvillePhotoOfTheDay.

The hashtag works on Facebook.

Maybe someday I'll get around to Twitter.

Maybe.

With a capital M.

Anyway, when I left our shop at 5 to go home, I glanced up at the sky.

It summed up perfectly the weather we had all day.

Seems like a good day to show off this sweet baby quilt

we have in our shop right now.

How adorable is that?

The ducks don't care one bit if it's raining!!!

After several very warm days, it's supposed to get colder tonight.

And snow tomorrow.

Back to normal!

Bottles and Country Weddings

We sell lots of old bottles in our shop.

They are nothing fancy.

Not worth much.

Some people buy one or two to add to their collection.

But these days, most of my customers who buy them

don't have a collection in mind.

They have a wedding in mind.

Photo credit: Beyond the Screen Door

It's all the rage right now to use vintage bottles as 

vases for a few flowers. Often times, the bride tells me 

she will be using wild flowers in them to decorate 

the tables at the reception.

Photo credit: Lucy Dylan Weddings

It's a very cost effective way to add beauty 

to a country wedding.

 

Photo credit: Upcycled Wonders

Don't like the graphics on the bottle?

Or maybe can't get the bottle clean enough?

No problem!

Cover it up!

Back to my own shop, I posted this photo on my 

Facebook page today with these thoughts...

Aren't these pretty little bottles? I assume they held perfume. Are you a perfume wearer? I did some when I was young, but not anymore. The older I get, the more I can't handle the flowery smells. Too bad it's not fashionable to smell like a cinnamon roll - that I could do. Haha. I like men's cologne. I kept my dad's cologne after he passed. I open it once in a while and take a sniff, and it's like he is standing right beside me. The power of smell.....

In Him will I trust

I don't know about you, but I feel like the world is in a turmoil. And getting worse everyday. I was a child of the 60's, and a teen of the 70's. So, I've certainly seen the world in turmoil before. Sadly, I don't think it's my imagination that things have only gotten worse.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how important my faith in God is to me. I've also been thinking that maybe I keep it to myself too much. I'm not one to "shout it to the world". That's not my style on any subject. But maybe I could at least whisper it now and then.

So, I decided to put a Scripture based post on my business Facebook page every Sunday. Not a sermon, or a "shout". Just a little whisper of inspiration.

Creating these posts gives me a chance to look up some Bible verses and dwell on them for a bit. 

And maybe they will help brighten someone else's day as well. There is so much bad news in the world. It's nice to have something positive to reflect on, to find moments of peace. 

Have a blessed day.

Coffee time

Coffee.

It seems everyone awakens to coffee.

Photo from Pixabay.com

Everyone but me.

I'm allergic to it.

Seriously.

Severely allergic actually.

When I was tested for allergies as a kid,

the tests showed I was severely allergic.

The doctor said never to drink it.

And I haven't.

Photo from Pixabay.com

I wish I could!

I absolutely love the smell.

Oh well.

Since many of our customers are probably coffee drinkers,

we carry some coffee themed decor.

 

Gingerbread & coffee seem to go together.

Not that I would know from personal experience.

I added a burlap coffee sack to this door 

after turning it into a chalkboard.

I think these are coffee sacks....

they say Product of Columbia on the back.

I'm thinking it's a pretty safe bet these thermoses 

held coffee a time or two.

Or every day.

George tells me coffee isn't really that good.

That it's an acquired taste.

He tells me that as he is enjoying his cup.

Hmmm....

Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville, WV

Our shop is located in Moundsville, in the northern panhandle of WV.

Moundsville. MOUNDSville. Named after...... wait for it......... a large burial mound. The Grave Creek Mound is the largest conical mound of the Adena people. Built in 250-150 BC, it is 69 ft. tall and 295 ft. in diameter at the base. Learn more about it here.

Drawings and photos from the 1800's are fascinating.

At one point, there was a saloon on top.

Oh my!

It doesn't seem like trying to make your way back down 

that steep hill after having a few too many drinks

would have been a good idea. 

The last couple of years, I have been taking several pictures of the Mound as I walk around town. I'll show you a few of my favorites. The one above was in the springtime, when the trees were in bloom.

Beautiful sky.

Beautiful day.

Snow melt.

Another snow melt, in black and white.

Evening was near.

Early morning, just before sunrise.

You may notice the trees that were growing on the mound are gone. They were cut down this year. I don't know why, and I miss them. But, on the other hand, someone pointed out that without them, the Mound is more visible. And more imposing. I have to agree with that point of view too.

No matter how you look at it, the Grave Creek Mound is a very unique piece of history!

Valentine's Day

I saw this quote the other day:

Falling in love is easy.

But staying in love is very special.

How true.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Country Life = Town vs Ridges in the Wintertime

After a very mild start to winter, we are finally getting hit with snow and cold. A couple weeks ago we got a foot or so of snow at our home on the ridge tops, and 7 inches or so down in town, along the banks of the Ohio River.

That is generally the story. Less snow in town. More on the ridges. This past week was a perfect example.

We left town around 4 pm. There was maybe an inch of snow. The streets were clean. It had snowed all day, but didn't really stick.

The  picture above is a mile or so out of town. Not all that far in miles, but elevation is the story here. Moundsville is down in the valley, right along the river. If you stand in the middle of town, you can look in any direction and see the hills of the surrounding ridges. 

Where the "ridge runners" live. 

That would be us.

When I posted these photos on my Facebook page, a friend of mine left this comment about the above photo - "oh no way!!!!"

Can you guess that she lives down in town? 

We left the main road you saw in the above photos, and started back our dirt road. Oh yeah. 

Definitely deeper.

These are the tracks from our turn into our driveway. Or should I say our spin into our driveway. I should point out that I was not driving when I took these photos. I was safely in the passenger seat, while George drove. And let out a "wheeee!" sound as we spun up the driveway. 

Why do guys think it's so fun to slide? 

It rather terrifies me.

At home we had 7 inches of snow. We had traveled 6 miles to another world. 

I started shoveling, and discovered that some places had a half inch sheet of ice under the snow. Not a fan of ice! Nor is George, despite his glee at sliding into the driveway.

Many times, it's hard for people in town who never venture out into the country to understand when school gets cancelled. Or people call off work. Or are late if they attempt the trip. 

Once in a while, the opposite problem happens. I remember driving to town one day in the rain. As I started down the hill into town, I noticed the car coming up was creeping. I will always be thankful for that car, because it was the warning. It was warmer up on the ridge, and it was just rain. But as the elevation dropped into town, the temps did too. I slowed down, and crept down the hill. At the bottom, I saw a car in the guard rail. I met the salt truck who was just turning to go up the hill. I crept the rest of the way to town, put a sign up that said CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS on my store, and gingerly walked across the black ice to the mailbox. I then got back in the car, and headed for home before it got any worse. And while the salt from the salt truck was still fresh and working it's magic.

It never did freeze on the hills that day. But town was a black ice skating rink.

Winter. 

Gotta love it.

Country Life = A Hatching

We got to watch the most amazing thing a couple weeks ago...

A baby chick hatching out of it's shell!

It's a struggle.

 But that struggle is what gives it the strength to live outside the shell.

It was inside an incubator on our son's farm,

where it had all the warmth it needed.

It pecked and pecked and pecked and then....

it finally broke free!

For a few seconds it stayed all coiled up in a little ball.

But then before long, it stretched out.

And it was immediately hard to believe it had been inside that egg!

Talk about CRAMPED quarters!

No wonder it was desperate to get out!

In a day or two, it had dried and fluffed out it's feathers.

How cute is that?

Pretty cute!