A Card From Julia

Shortly after getting a job at the Fincastle Library, I met a wonderful family.  They home school the kids so they are library regulars.  It wasn't until a few years later I discovered we were cousins.  Our great grandmother's were sisters.  My side of the family went to California from Des Moines, Iowa.  Her family left Iowa and moved to New York.

We both ended up in Botetourt County.  Can you imagine???  My father wrote a genealogy and would have been so fascinated. I wish he were here to meet them.

 

Julia, one of my young cousins, sent us a Valentine's Day card that she made herself. 

 

Isn't that the sweetest thing?

 

So, of course I had to make her one, too.

 

I love that she thought of us and sent us a card.  People who make cards to send understand the time and thought that goes into making one.  So I know she will appreciate the one I sent back.

 

I need to finish the quilt I have been working on in the craft room to make room for some serious card making.  If we start sending cards between the two families, this means I have to ramp up my card making.  Julia is one of 10 children!

Deja Vu

There was  big snow storm in 2009 here in Botetourt County.  It dropped 18 inches and we were snowed in for about three days.  We have three 4-wheel drive vehicles, a Kawasaki Mule, A Ford 250 and a tractor.  All three slid into the snow and got stuck at various spots on the drive.  We would dig one out and it would drive for a bit and then slide off another side.  We did this over and over for three days.

We vowed that the next big storm Lee would get out and plow in the middle of the night so that we could see the road and not plow BESIDE the road.  And to keep the snow build-up from lifting the vehicles so high there was no traction.

 

Last night another big storm dropped about 10 inches.  Lee went out and plowed about 7:30, but it was only a few inches deep at that time.  He thought he would put out wooden stakes to mark the curve of the drive, but it was dark and cold and they were only talking about 8 inches.

 

Eight inches is no different than 18 inches if you are stuck and can't move.  Except it is easier to dig by hand.   And we got ten inches.

 

So now his tractor is stuck at the bottom of the drive.  The first part of the slope is steep and although the drive is cleared, he can't get traction.  It's too icy.  I drove down in the Mule to pick him up, but it slid off the curve.  Lee couldn't see the drive in an ocean of white and plowed on the side of the drive in a few spots, the curve being one.   The pitch was too great for the Mule.  It slid in the ditch.  I started digging and Lee hiked up the hill and we dug it free.  About 5 times.

 

We would dig and then Lee would try to get going.  The Mule would get stuck and we would hop out and dig some more.  It seemed to work a bit better when I was in the Mule with him, but he was kind enough not to point out that my weight assisted with the traction. Smart man. It's why we are still married.  Don't make stupid jokes that you can't take back, my free advice to the recently married.

 

So now I am on the computer and Lee is trying to see if he can get the truck going.  My thought is that we will soon have two 4-wheel drive vehicles stuck at the bottom of the drive.  Lee wants to see what he can do to get the tractor up.

The good thing is we don't have to be anywhere  anytime soon.  It is supposed to be about 47 tomorrow and that should take care of a good portion of the snow.

The only hurry to clear the drive involves a reservation at First and Sixth, the restaurant in the newly renovated Patrick Henry Hotel in Roanoke.  Tomorrow is Valentine's Day after all.  Also, our daughter, Tara, has a few days off from her Physician's Assistant program at George Washington and is coming to visit for a few days. And she will need to get up the drive.  Or park at the bottom and have someone come and get her.

Uh-oh.  It's snowing again.

 

At least the truck was able to get back up the hill.

So now we wait.

Waiting For The County

Our property is zoned for agriculture.  In order to get county approval for our B&B, we have to get a zoning change.  So we have to fill out an application.

 

After a bit of back and forth, they said our application was complete and we had to submit 25 copies.  Rather than using up a boatload of ink, or monopolizing the library copier, we went to the UPS store and got the copies made, collated and stapled.

 

Now the county has to send a letter to all the properties that border ours. That's quite a few, as we have almost 60 acres. If any of them object to our zoning change, they can come to the Board of Supervisors meeting and tell them about it.  There will also be an ad in the local paper so others know about this proposed change.

I don't see how it will affect neighbors as it will be a one bedroom B&B and I doubt we will have too many guests, one car at a time.  Still, they will have a chance to voice an opinion.

 

Let's hope they all love the idea.  That way, when their mothers-in-law come to visit, they can put her up with us and preserve their marriages!  Cheap at twice the price.

 

Don't you love our county offices?  Our courthouse was designed by Thomas Jefferson.

 

The old Jail is now the Chamber of Commerce.  Not sure I want to work in a building with BARS on the windows. 

 



But it does make for an interesting office.

 

Let's hope these old buildings approve the idea of a new business.

Free Magazines

 I read about a new program through the library to get free magazines to download on my iPad or other electronic devices.  I like free.  It's one of my favorite things.

I gave up magazine subscriptions because I don't always read them or there is only one or two things I find interesting and therefore, not worth the cost.  Plus, where do I put them? Must I keep them forever?  Can the shiny pages be recycled?

But if I could read them on my iPad and never have to recycle or worry about cost?  I'm in.

I generally go to Fincastle or Buchanan library and got help there.  The system also works through the Roanoke library system.  I assume that most libraries in the United States that have a e-library system are also hooked up.

This is how I did it.

Go to the county site. In my case it is  http://www.co.botetourt.va.us/  I don't know why I can't go through the library site, but I couldn't figure it out and this is what I was told.  You folks elsewhere will have to check with your libraries!

 

From there click on LIBRARY and then ONLINE SERVICES.

 

Scroll down to Magazines and News and click on  ZINIO.

 


You will need to have a library card number to sign up ( which you can get in any of the county libraries) and you have to download the free ZINIO app.

Follow the prompts and then choose a few magazines and start reading.

You can bookmark pages to return to, which is good for those that want to refer back to recipes and decorating ideas.  Like ME!

I have only been doing this for a few weeks, so I don't know if the next month of the magazines I chose will pop up or if I will have to go choose them again. It isn't an onerous thing, so I don't mind either way.  There is quite a few to choose from.   I really like this new program.

But, PLEASE, libraries.  Don't stop buying BOOKS.  They don't run out of power in the middle of the book.  I can flip back and forth in chunks and I just like them better.  My potential future grandchildren may not , though.

I'm OK with e-magazines, though.

It Was COLD This Morning!

Spring and Fall in Botetourt are glorious.  There is one thing I dislike about them and that is that they are too short.  I could do with less summer.  The winter is OK if you have stuff to do inside and don't feel compelled to do stuff outside.  The nicest thing about winter is that nothing grows and so you don't have to cut anything back.  Of course SOME of us don't feel compelled to do anything at all.  They are just fine chillaxin' on the couch.

 

    

 

 

The humidity gets to me though.  Working outside on a hot sweltering day means it is a two bath day.  Well, even if you are clean, you have to take one to go to sleep, don't you?

   

But this morning had a chill in the air.  It was 48 degrees!  This was the first morning where it was too cold for breakfast on the screen porch. 

   

We were surrounded by fog.  AND it was not humid.  A good day to get stuff done outside.

   

I only expected to do a bit of cutting.  But then I got involved and did more.

   

 I obviously didn't dress for the kind of work I was doing.  I am going to give myself a few weeks off so I can heal up for the wedding we are going to in England.  Don't want to look like the common laborer types from the States.  We ARE the common laborer types, we just don't want to LOOK like them.

Guess I'll go bake something.

Upper James River Water Trail

So last fall Lee and I decided on a career change. We became models!

Well, actually, it's not as interesting as that. The county tourism office sent out an email letting me know that all Botetourt County employees willing to be photographed while rafting, canoeing or kayaking on the James River could get a day trip on the river for free. Free?? Tooling on the water in beautiful weather? I'm in! Lee was willing, also.

The weather chose not to cooperate for weekend after weekend. We had more than 50 inches of rain last year. More than the usual 36 inches. And most of it on the weekends, or so it seemed to me when I had plans!

Rather than a summer day on the James River, it turned out to be a fall day on the James. The water was lower and colder, so the rafting was cancelled, but about 15 people showed up on the appointed day.

We all met at Twin Rivers Outfitters in Buchanan. After a short movie on safety, everyone followed the buses to Springwood to drop off our cars and then the bus took us up to the drop off point. And thus the picture taking began.

Anyone who knows me knows I hate having my picture taken. This has its' roots in childhood trauma from a photo happy father with dreams of a spread in National Geographic. Some day I'll write about our sojourn to the South Pacific and being photographed incessantly, but that's for another time. Nonetheless, I was glad the pictures were about the beauty and fun of the Upper James River water trail and I was to be seen as background only!

We regrouped, grabbed life vests and a canoe and hit the water. I took the "steering position" at the back of the canoe. I had spent many hours in our 2 person Fol-Boat (Fol-Bot, maybe, I don't remember) kayak in my youth and had more experience than Lee. He took the front seat or the "power position" as he is way stronger than I.

The experience didn't help me much. I still got us hung up in a shallow area. The current pulled us into it before I could steer us away from it. In my defence, I was trying to avoid getting in the shot of the photographer who was shooting other boaters. Still, I should have back paddled, but at the last minute, I thought I could get through. We were stuck for about 5 minutes, while Lee had to power us off the boulder we were flush against. We managed to scrape ourselves down to deeper water. Now I know why the Outfitters get new boats each season!

There was one drop at the very beginning of the trip that was a bit dicey. One of the canoes tipped over and the occupants got soaked. But that was at the beginning before we had gotten any sort of rapport or comfort level with each other, so it was understandable. Fortunately they had spare clothes in dry bags supplied by the Outfitters, something I won't neglect next time. It could very well have been us! I think I would portage beyond it as it was a tricky drop and immediate right turn that we only were able to navigate because we were almost the last ones through and watched all the others very closely.

The rest of the ride was gorgeous. The sky was blue and the leaves were turning golds and reds and yellows. It took a lot longer than if we had gone by ourselves as the photographer would hold groups in one position or beach certain groups to get lots of shots. It was the only day to get the shots for the brochure and the web sites so he took a LOT of pictures.

If you want to see the web sites, you can see a lot of beautiful scenery and perhaps you, too, might like to plan a trip on the Upper James River water trail. The water was clean and clear and the scenery was unsurpassed. I have been on lakes and rivers and oceans throughout California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. All are different and wonderful. But the James can hold its' own with any of them. I also like the fact that I am on a river that goes all the way to Jamestown and is full of history around every bend. If I was younger, I would plan a trip all the way to the Atlantic. On the other hand, I am afraid of rapids and I don't want to go on the more difficult sections. Quiet, peaceful beauty is just fine for me.

Here are the links. www.visitbotetourt.com www.upperjamesriverwatertrail.com I will make an effort to link them to my site, but my computer skills are close to my water craft skills in scope, so we'll see. Let me know if you can see me and Lee. Maybe I can add model to my resume!