There and Back Again, As They Say ...

 Adam and I took a trip to West Virginia last week to see my mother (at last! after 16 months!) and my brothers and two sisters-in-law and one nephew. It was lovely. It was chilly. It had been way too long, not only since visiting dear family but since seeing the state I love.

(As an aside, the greatest obstacle to my blogging these days is the difficulty uploading photos. Google's storage limit keeps me from connecting my phone photos directly to Google Photos now, so it's a pain to get photos all the way over here to blogland!)

Here's the view from my mother's front porch:

We did go out to eat once, but otherwise we mostly enjoyed the beauty of my mother's home and my brother's farm. He has baby lambs!

Those are bottle-fed lambs from sets of triples or quads, whose mothers could not manage them all.

I've been saving my figs from last summer in my freezer, having promised my dear mother that I'd make her LOTS of fig preserves (with many, many lemon slices) to last her at least a couple of months.

I've never been much of a fig fan, but I think she's converted me. It's delicious on morning toast. When my figs ripen this summer, perhaps I'll make a few pints for myself.

Mother's doing pretty well for her age. Beau gave her a brief moment of affection.

It was hard to say good-bye!

Now we're back to our usual routine. My little "side business" of soaps/lotions/watercolor cards has grown slowly over the past year, and now I find that it takes much of my time each day. I am constantly making something. I paint for 2 -3 hours each morning, make skin care products after that, and try to film for my youtube channel along the way. 

Oh! Let me share my latest weaving project -- 2 little baby blankets for my two precious grandsons, woven on one warp. It was challenging because I don't weave often and make lots of mistakes. 

There will be youtube videos of both the WVa trip and the baby blanket weave, but they're not quite ready yet ... almost!

Sorry I've been so absent, and thank you for dropping by.

There and Back Again

I took another little trip to West Virginia to visit my mother and other family. She is doing so much better after her surgery.

We had a delightful visit with dear long-time friends, Ann and Beth. We met them at Tamarack for lunch, and we talked and talked and talked ....

The next day we drove to my brother and sister-in-law's home for lunch and a good visit there too. She made a wonderful winter lunch - wild rice soup and cheese toast and pineapple cake for dessert, with her delicious spice tea.

 Can you tell my mother is a dog person?

The weather has been quite good, but tonight it will turn nasty with ice and snow, so I'm heading home this afternoon to get ahead of the storm. I do miss my West Virginia family so much and the beauty and rich peace of this place.

I crocheted my mother a little tea cozy to hug her tea pot in wintertime.

 We've enjoyed movies (Miss Potter and Persuasion) and a couple of dinners with my brother and sister-in-law who live down the road, just wonderful family time.

Heading Home

Today I'm going back home to the coast, leaving the beautiful mountains. The coast is very beautiful too, of course. I've loved every minute of being here with my mother and caring for her. Do you ever wish you could be in two places at once? I do. 
Here are a few random photos from the last few days.

My brother Max with two of his kids, Nathan and Katie

A fun sign at mother's friend's house

This delightful fellow is the local post office dog.
The P.O. lady said she had to bring him to work each day
 because otherwise he tears up her curtains!
 He is just darling, sweet and friendly.
Look at that face!!

Bonnie has a good life.

Mother's maidenhair fern and orchid, on her desk in brilliant morning sunshine

 And now for a study in cardinals!

 See the male cardinal? The female is below the two box feeders.

 Each morning, Mr. Cardinal comes to the window several times during breakfast. Mother says he sees his reflection, but I think he is checking on Mother to make sure she is recovering well.

 Here they are again. And again.

 I painted a couple more cards.

 I'm enjoying the wreaths. A circular shape is so pleasing to the eye.

There's an old restaurant in Lewisburg called Jim's Drive-In.

It's been around for many years, and when highway 60 was the main route into town, its location was prime. You park, and the girl walks up and takes your order. Soon the food appears on a tray that perches on the edge of your window. Their specialty is an "English hot dog" -- buttered, toasted bun, with onion, chili, and slaw. Delicious!!!

 Last night we had the delight of dinner with Max and Anne. Anne always makes her home look warm and inviting, especially in colder weather.

 This is an osage orange fruit. Isn't it strange? They picked it up on one of their walks along the river trail, along with the tulip poplar leaves Anne put in a wooden vase.

Yesterday Mother had an MRI to assess her liver, which had a mass removed from it two weeks ago, in addition to the tumor in her colon. She's had an exhausting time. With elderly people, one health issue often leads to another, and another. The doctors do their best to guess and diagnose. Mostly we are trying to encourage her to drink a lot, eat more, and rest. That's the best medicine on a daily basis.

Resting in the Mountains

At last, after much traveling on the interstates, I'm with my mother in the West Virginia mountains. We are resting. She had surgery a little over a week ago and is recuperating, and I'm here to help, and make sure she eats. She's lost a lot of weight in the past year.

Adam and I drove from home to Chattanooga, stayed with our son and daughter-in-law there, and then drove on to Mississippi for our grandson's baptism.

 

 

We had a quick lunch with Julia while we were in the vicinity, enjoyed the changing leaves in the mountains, and arrived in W.Va. on Tuesday. Adam is back home now, and I'm staying in these lovely, peaceful, home-feeling mountains for as long as I can, to help my mother. (If you're a personal friend of Mother's and want more info about her health, please email me. She appreciates prayers and everyone's love, but doesn't want a flood of phone calls. She is doing well.)

Friends, wherever you are, whatever your situation, I hope these autumn months -- the cool air, the slanting sunlight, the approach of holy days, the crunching leaves and bright fires -- will bring you joy.

Returned from Places Far and Beautiful

I traveled to West Virginia this past week for a quick visit with my mother. It was nice to see family. In past years visits like this would've been filled with children - lots of nieces, nephews, and our own kids. Not any more! Just us old folks, but it was wonderful to see my mother, and so soothing to see the exquisite beauty that is West Virginia.

We visited Tamarack, a center (with restaurant) displaying the best of West Virginia's crafters. 

My sister-in-law's display of her gorgeous candles -- at Tamarack!

Mother, Anne, and I ate at Food and Friends in Lewisburg, and then Anne's mother dropped in and joined us, which was just delightful.

Mother and I also enjoyed early evening sitting on her front porch. West Virginia is perfect in late August - cool, peaceful, green.

Sorry I didn't take more photos of humans, but I don't want to be obnoxious.

Max and Anne sent me home with beautiful produce from their garden. I had a scrumptious tomato sandwich today.

Here's an egg from their hens - I've never seen such a big one!

Adam and I were back at the farmer's market in Oriental this morning.

All the talk in this little coastal town was of Hurricane Dorian, barreling for Florida's coast but looking more and more likely to prefer our coast instead. If it comes our way, I may be traveling again later this week -- for evacuation!

I did some knitting while in WVa, another pair of fingerless gloves.

These are just as decorative as they are practical. I finished them with a little red ribbon woven through above the wrist.

I'll end with a few photos of new watercolor cards. I need to restock my inventory!

If you'd like to purchase any, check out my album at this link to see which ones are in my sale basket right now. I'm happy to mail them to you.

I'll keep you posted about the hurricane and what we decide to do. Prayers are appreciated :)