fishing pocahontas

My husband surprised the three of us Saturday when he came home from a job earlier than expected. "Get up and get dressed," he said as he came through the door, as I was still perched on the couch in my pj's with the laptop at 11 a.m. (same place I was when he left a few hours prior).

A quick stop for a Virginia fishing license and we were off to Pocahontas State Park. It was pretty busy. We could smell the hot dogs before we came to the first pavilion. Ahh ... summer. The pool was full and the playgrounds empty.

We scouted the banks of Swift Creek Lake for a location that wouldn't inhibit the casting of a six year old and found an ideal spot. While our fishergirl did get nibbles, she didn't land anything. A little guy nearby caught his first fish, however. A bass, I overheard.

WHEN YOU GO:
* Parking: $4 weekdays; $5 weekends
* Events: Pocahontas Premieres concert series is $10/ticket + parking; advance purchase and season tickets available. 12 and under free. Three free concerts slated for 2009.
* Camping: $25 for electric & water
* Pet-Friendly
* Boating: $3 launch fee; no gas-powered; rent a canoe or kayak
* Swimming: varies by age (free to $8)
* Hiking, biking & bridle trails; no bike or horse rentals
* Seven picnic shelters

Enjoy Virginia's State Parks - voted "America's Best".

a great mennonite-run greenhouse

A most welcome highlight to my day was a stop by a greenhouse I used to frequent with my mother. Milmont Greenhouses on Route 340 in Stuarts Draft, VA has the best prices on gorgeous, overflowing hanging baskets! I took home two beautiful 10" purple Calibrachoa baskets for $14.99 each. While that was the reason for my stop, your adventure will yield trees, shrubs, Henri Fountains, a wide variety of potting goods, gardening clogs and tools, flags, and of course, row upon row of flats full of annuals and perennials.

If you find yourself traveling through the Valley tomorrow (May 30), be sure to swing by for their Rose Festival. You'll score 10% off roses and rose accessories, plus be greeted with free homemade strawberry ice cream!

While you're in the area, visit The Cheese Shop. It's a hop, skip, and a jump down Route 340 to a right on Tinkling Spring Road. Yes, you can certainly buy cheese there, as well as bulk wheats, grains, cereals, spices, nuts, flours, and the list goes on. It's a true organic's paradise and even offers gluten-free products. We love the trail mix and bulk pretzels. Like Milmont, The Cheese Store is proudly run by Mennonites, and you're sure to return to both treasures to take advantage of the tremendous savings.

Happy Valley Shopping!

building a bombus terrestris

The SECOND science project of the year has rolled around just three weeks after the first. And my kid is only in first grade. I don't remember all this work as a six year old.

Anywho, with a great deal of help from her father, my daughter created a Bombus Terrestris, or a Bumblebee, if you prefer. It's ginormous, to be perfectly honest. Way bigger than I imagined it would be. The parts, laying separately, didn't look like they could create a finished product the size of this bee. It boasts a wingspan of 16" and it's length is 10". A pretty substantial furry bug, if you please.

Elements include
* floral foam (the head, abdomen and thorax are carved from it)
* thick gauge floral wire (the wing frames)
* yellow and black pipe cleaners (wrapped the body and created the legs)
* tissue paper (for the wings)
* black and white paint, either tempra or acrylic (white for the wings, black to paint the foam before covering with pipe cleaners)

happy day cake!

I've twittered about this a few times today and keep coming back to it. I just love the ideas presented here for a really fun, colorful birthday party! Except it doesn't have to be a birthday party - I can see making this fun cake and melting crayons any ol' day of the week.
Thoughtfully Simple is a great blog with crafty and creative things to do. And as we all know, crafty and creative is THE way to go in these penny-pinching days.

new pic of the house in lexington

This is a great view of the mountains behind the house and the potting shed!

lexington / rockbridge county, va home for sale

See this highly efficient 2005 rancher perched atop nearly seven acres with fantastic mountain vistas. Expansive master suite with custom walk-in closet, bath, office and screened porch makes a cozy retreat on the rear of the home. Two bedrooms and hall bath offer additional family comforts. The spacious kitchen boasts cherry cabinetry and marble countertops. All appliances, including a brand new wine chiller, are offered with the home.

The newly stained deck affords evening sun and beautiful mountain views, and the freshly mulched entry landscape nurtures new bulbs and maturing shrubbery. Find the potting shed behind the house to offer lawn tool and equipment storage, as well as electricity! It's a great retreat for hobbyists and horticulturists alike.

MORE INFORMATION * VIRTUAL TOUR

To make your appointment to see this gem on the hill, contact Cathy Shiflett with Homes for Sale in Rockbridge at 540.460.4004 or cdshiflett@aol.com.

love for ax men

I swear, we could watch nothing but the History Channel in my house and get by just fine. We watched the most recent episode of Ax Men tonight and, I've gotta tell ya, I'm disturbed every time they show a computer-generated accident scenario. James loves 'em and laughs every time. Kind of morbid, ain't it?

We agree that the S&S Aqua Logging operation could have been left out. That father and son operation is messed up, and a bunch of con men, to boot! How about those stolen Hoquiam River logs, eh?

While I don't have a favorite crew, I do have a few favorite loggers. That Levi Brown is a handsome fella (and I like his name, too), Dustin Dethlefs (DooWap) is a cool kid who's pretty level-headed, and his Daddy, Dwayne Dethlefs, keeps us in stitches. So maybe I do have a favorite crew - they're all part of Pihl Logging, who as of this writing, are in second for the log load count with 275.

Next week is the season finale and then it's on to Ice Road Truckers!

carl edwards - the flip camcorder

So now I feel like a big dork. Well, sorta. I wanted to replace our dinky Kodak EasyShare with a new lightweight digital that also shoots video. Lo and behold, a Nikon Coolpix landed in my lap on Mother's Day. Cool, huh? :) And then I'm stalking Carl Edwards (not really, but he's a cool guy and I was checking out his website - http://www.carledwards.com/) when I saw this fancy shmancy, handy little diddy. Think I'd like to trade in the Nikon on a Carl Edwards signature Flip!

10 minutes later ...
Holy Smoke! Didja know you can completely personalize that little sucker? I love Carl Edwards and his smooth back flip, but I created quite the beauty for myself. Now who's got $229 I can borrow?