Outing of the Week 3 - VA, Mountain State Brewing Co., Cold Stone Creamery & the POOL

Ah yes, it has been a busy weekend! We started off with a quick trip to VA for the Memorial Service and Interment of JP's mother. It was lovely to see family again, and we were able to get a few pictures of those of us who were there. The girls (as always) adored being with their older cousins, and were extremely reluctant to leave. We had to head home directly after the services, however, since JP is on call this week, and we really needed to be closer to home.



We did manage, however, to include a Half-Birthday celebration for the girls later on. This is a concession, mostly to L, whose birthday gets lost in the shuffle and madness of Christmas. J can't stand being left out, so she gets included for the next couple of years yet. Usually we celebrate the middle of June, but it was overlooked this year, so...better late than never, right?

This year we celebrated by a trip to a new restaurant, recommended by an acquaintance, in nearby Mo'town: Mountain State Brewing Co. The whole building has a rustic feel, with the wood burning stone oven taking center stage inside, and logs serving as pillars and posts. We started off with this lovely appetizer plate, since we were all starving. It had candied roasted almonds, wedges of brie, Gorgonzola, and asiago cheese, green olives and dried apricots.



Next, we had an amazing "flatbread" (their name for pizza) topped with olive oil, garlic, artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and basil. We had to try a sampler of their micro-brewed beers on tap. The blond "Cold Trail Ale" was my favorite.



We had dessert at Cold Stone Creamery, and were quite conservative with our mix-ins for first timers...too full, I guess. But, we were able to work it all off with several hours in the swimming pool.

The girls got a couple of new Wii games for gifts (did you know that you can purchase used games on Amazon? It's the way to go!): Just Dance 2 (a new favorite they discovered after borrowing from a friend) and Wii Party (haven't tried it yet, but I noticed mostly 5 star reviews on Amazon, and it apparently has 80+ games for more than one player...bonus!).

Now it's back to grindstone...work tomorrow for JP and I. Luckily, JP got the mowing done yesterday, because it's TOO HOT to work outside today!

The Cool Spot

This afternoon, the girls and I happened upon our newest eatery in town on its opening day. We came home with a bag full of dogs and burgers that were delish. JP got his new fave: Chicago Dogs (M.C. got him hooked on those), and I tried a Chihuahua Dog: chili, cheese, and crushed fritos on a dog. They have decent prices, a big variety of lunch items on the menu, and an extremely friendly staff. The girls were disappointed that they didn't get to try some of their hand dipped ice cream.



It was not a particularly cool spot in my flower garden today, but I got half of the iron fencing up around it, and half of the weeding done. I also managed to move around some of the perennials that came back 3 times the size they had been!


This evening, we had dinner at my parent's house with my grandmother. For dessert, J baked shortcakes, which we ate with piles of strawberries and whipped cream. Tonight, I made 3 batches of freezer jam. Earlier, I froze about 15 pounds of strawberries. We are down to one big bowl of strawberries left, but-oh my-are they good!

Now that the pile of berries has been whittled down to a manageable size, it's time to tackle the pile of laundry that needs to be folded. I could be persuaded to be a fan of naked if it meant less laundry to do!!

Spring Planting

It may not feel like it, but it is still truly Spring. Every chance I get, I spend in the garden (or orchard, or flower bed) working on everything that still needs to be done. Soon I will have more time for outside work...J's last day of school is on Friday.

This weekend, I planted our towering oak tree (it is actually at least 8 or 9 feet tall, so it's towering to me!)



I replaced the cherry and apricot trees in the orchard that were not growing, along with 3 black raspberries. I also added 2 thorn less blackberries to the berry patch. The whole field around the orchard is thick with a species of penstamen, perhaps beardtongue??



I planted 8 blueberry bushes at the end of the garden. I hit shale at about 6 inches deep on the last 4. It reminded me of another reason we were anxious to get raised beds with good topsoil in this year!

Finally, I dug up sod on the hill next to the veranda, and weeded around my clematis. I planted Woolly Thyme there until I ran out of time/thyme.



This morning, I got another bed of corn planted, and a few onion sets...just in time for a good, soaking rain.



I think that the U-Pick strawberries will be available this week at our favorite local farm. I hope I'll get the chance to pick cherries too! Tonight we ate the first of our garden harvest: sugar snap peas!

Before I forget...I promised that I would spread the word about the new coffee shop in town, so here goes (on my well publicized and widely read blog...ha ha): I finally stopped there for an iced coffee today, it was delicious, although it gave me brain-freeze. It is a charming, yet tiny space, and while I waited for my drink, the staff told me tales of when it used to be the town cobbler shop. Do try. I hope they stick around!