Last Saturday I attended a craft class at The Store@Mendota. It was a pumpkinpalooza of sorts! There were five of us, and we each paid $25 which included everything for two pumpkins. It also included refreshments. Here’s what we were making.

We could either bring our own fabric or pick a fall fabric that was on hand. I brought my own fabric and made two white pumpkins. Everyone else used fabric that was provided by The Store. Here are some pictures…the one below is a sweater pumpkin!

And more…

And more…

And it’s just so fun!

My pumpkins where out of a white cordouroy that I brought with me to the class. I wish I’d used the fabric that was provided as mine was a little harder to work with and I think the others are a little prettier than mine. Also, who in the world wears sunglasses to a 6 pm craft class? What was I thinking?

I am loving these pumpkins. Here’s a few I have in a bowl at the house. One is white sweater pumpkin. It’s 95 degrees. Why is my pumpkin wearing a sweater? Because she looks good in it.

Finally, here’s a few on top of my hutch in the dining room. Some of these are old pumpkins that I made a different way a few years back. Here is the post on that. They’ve held up well except for the one that Tippy Jo (my rescue dog) destroyed last week. It’s gone — went to pumpkin Heaven.

So that is what we were doing in Mendota last week. This week, we had the Hawk Festival and sadly, I did not go. I am still catching up from the summer and I had an agenda for today that didn’t allow much fun in it. Bad me!!

If you are interested in taking a pumpkin making class at The Store, please call 276.669.2401 and ask for Katie or Dottie. If you wish to buy one of the sweet little pumpkins already made, please give them a call. They’ll fix you up.

A little over a week ago, Adventure Mendota hosted a kayak day as our part of the Virginia Rules Camp. This is an awesome camp for Washington County, Virginia students entering sixth grade. It’s first-come/first-serve and there are two sessions. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office applies for a grant from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and they’ve been awarded it for the past three years, and Adventure Mendota is fortunate enough to have the gang out each year.

I’d used all of the picnic tablecloths on that day and then I threw them in the back of my car. It began to rain the very next day and rained off and on pretty much for an entire week. We are now getting ready to reopen for kayaking tomorrow (June 14), and I realized I’d never washed the tablecloths! I immediately tossed them in, and they are on the clothesline tonight as I go to bed. Someone has reserved the picnic tables for tomorrow and they’ll need the tablecloths. I like surprising our guests with these tablecloths and a small flower on the table. We do this at no charge. It’s based more on southern hospitality vs. profit. Plus I get the awesome task of taking them off the clothesline and breathing in that clean, sweet smell.

Just before Virginia Rules, we also did something else really fun. We made a promo movie for Adventure Mendota. I wrote a brief script story and gave it to Brad Deel. Brad then used his creativity behind the camera, and here is the end result.

Best yet, I get to see some of the people I care for over and over in the video. We’re currently working on a shorter version for Instagram. I’ve worked in so many jobs, but being an entrepreneur and owning Adventure Mendota is by far the most rewarding experience.

Do you like the movie? Tell me!!

So the movie is over, the second Virginia Rules is a couple of weeks away, and we’re back kayaking following the rain tomorrow. The only other thing that is going on are these two little beings that have been tossed away like trash on the Mendota Road. I can’t take in every dog that is dropped off around here–I am not above calling animal control–but occasionally, I can help out. I’m going to help these two out. They need it.

This is the puppy. Sorry about the small picture. I’m going to call this one Tippy while I am fostering it. I am assuming I can get it to stay here.

And the mother…looking pretty rough. I am calling her Dolly. Her boobs. Know what I mean? She’s the one that I”m more likely to have trouble placing because she’s not a beautiful dog. However, I think when she’s healthy and clean, she’ll show a different side and she might be a great pet.

They travel around begging food, but I’m giving them the best food — full of good stuff that they need right now. They’ve made it to my house three of the past five days — maybe more and I just didn’t see them. They get two cans of Science Diet and two cups of IAMS. They were eating River’s Blue Buffalo, but I could not afford to feed everyone that. (River has to have grain free in his diet or he itches.)

Today they were wormed. Tomorrow I’ll be treating them for ticks and fleas. They will be so much more comfortable. And then we go back to more worm treatments. As soon as possible–when they’ve built just a little more trust so I can catch and crate them–they’ll be crated and hauled over to Dr. Dotson for their shots and spaying.

So there is always something to do in this retirement life. It’s dogs and kayaks this week plus Mike’s son is coming in for Father’s Day so it’ll be a busy, fun weekend.

And one final thing, if you believe in karma, just imagine what bad things are going to happen to the person(s) who threw these dogs away leaving them on their own to suffer. I would not want to be that person.

This building has been a been a part of the fabric of the lives of those of us who grew up in Mendota. I took this picture a long time ago.

Today I did not take a new picture of the exterior, but it has not changed much since this picture except that now it is really a store! The store that was built in 1929….a building that has hand-made blocks that my father made as a young man…a building that closed in the 1980s…today opened again to welcome the public. It’s The Store@Mendota!

I’ve spent many hours in The Store. When I was a teenager, I got off of the Battle bus because my mother worked in the store. I’d have a Ginger-Ale with Terry’s potato chips and played Rook until it was time for Mom to get off work and for us to go home.

The only ones more excited than me that The Store was opening was the owner, Katie Benfield Harris, her Aunt Dottie, her sister Lisa, and her daughter Dawn. These four have worked their tails off. They really needed a few more days, but Katie said she was opening May 4, and she held to it. She’s like that. Bull-headed. Stubborn. Tenacious. Day and night, I saw her vehicle there as she and the others cleaned, prepared, planned and dreamed. Aunt Dottie is the only one that doesn’t smack you if you take a picture.

Today’s opening was a simple menu made up of primarily hotdogs. The staff knew that many would be coming and wanted to keep it manageable. The actual menu will include box lunches, hamburgers, etc. with soft drinks, tea, water and coffee. I purchased a Coke in a glass bottle. The profit margin on these small Cokes is less than the canned drinks, but how could The Store@Mendota not have them? I opened it and it went psssss. It tasted good. So good.

There were lots of people present. This is the Mendota Trail Head where everyone parked today. The Mendota Trail folks do not mind sharing a little parking space today as they know this store is a needed and welcome addition to the community; and as the trail continues development, it’s hikers and bikers will enjoy having The Store for refreshments, etc.

I had to actually stand in line for my hotdog!!

Want a Moon Pie?

How about a tee-shirt to help support the Mendota Trail?

Oscar played while I took pictures. This man knows his way around an autoharp! Some say he is the best in the nation. I think so. Each time he plays, he honors Jeanette Carter who encouraged him to learn to play the autoharp because she was afraid its music would be forgotten.

More pictures…Sew Lillie is the label that Katie Harris makes. Lillie Millard was her grandmother.

A beautiful, one-of-a-kind Katie-made dress. They are $50. If you have purchased nice fabric lately, you understand why they are $50. They are one-of-a-kind, custom dresses made by the talented Katie Harris. They are worth every cent. I hope someone sees this post and buys this little dress. There are lots of cute little dresses at The Store, but this one..with it’s color and those cupcakes! I love it.

And another..

This one (below) went home with Angela Hildebrand for her grandaughter, Ava.

Signs..signs…everywhere there’s signs!

The inside…those picnic baskets will be incorporated into basket lunches where customers may swing by for a picnic lunch which will include a deposit so the basket will be returned. The quilt is a family heirloom which is not for sale; but this is Mendota where we love quilts, so it would not be a proper opening without a beautiful quilt.

As the staff of The Store@Mendota gets their rhythm, there will be classes added. Classes to learn to sew, paint gourds, sip and paint, make baskets..

Classes to make things like these cute pumpkins…Mendota will probably have a whole field of these pumpkins this fall! There will be many classes of many different things…it will be so fun!

Outside, Vickie Roark sold plants. It gave it a sort of “Farmer’s Market” atmosphere. Maybe this was a first step to a small Farmer’s Market in Mendota. It’s not a bad idea.

A closer look at that chair…

I am so happy The Store@Mendota opened. It will be such a nice addition for Adventure Mendota. Our kayak guests will be able to drop in for an ice cream, a soda, or a lunch. They’ll be so appreciative. Likewise, folks who walk the Mendota Trail will enjoy The Store for the same reasons. And finally…people like me who live here and crave a candy bar once in a while. Boom! We’ve got a source!

Mendota is changing. It’s slow, but it’s happening. I call this Mendota Rising. I want Mendota to be more like the community of my youth, and this store is one more step toward that occurring. Mendota — we’ve been called one of Virginia’s lost communities — but there is a growing movement challenging that statement.

So if you are out and about, stop by The Store@Mendota; and if you get the Bristol Herald Courier, look for the article on The Store in the Sunday (May 5) newspaper!

I do not think anyone can look at a picture like this and not think how pretty the river valley community of Mendota is in the spring. This is Nordyke.

It’s lush. This is farmland on Appaloosa.

So when we drove up Nordyke about a week ago and discovered 160 tires had been tossed on the roadside, it was hard to imagine who would do such a thing. Furious did not begin to describe how mad our community was.

But sometimes, the long arm of the law reaches out and justice prevails. Last week, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and VDOT coordinated a clean up about the time the four litterbugs responsible were caught. They will have their day in court. What were they thinking?

So they were caught and the tires cleaned up and then there is some more good news. We’ve made great progress on the Mendota Cemetery Quilt. We had to sew more strips for the border today. It will have a red border.

And here’s the quilt draped over Chris’ couch. This is with the first border. It has a SECOND border that will go around it as well. Whew! This could be the quilt that takes forever but this beauty will be worth it!!

And the back of this quilt…it’s not what you think. We talked about muslin, but we decided on this.

Stunning.

Mike and I had a great drive over to the Devil’s Bathtub in Scott County, Virginia. Until kayak season opens, we’re going to absorb as much of Southwest Virginia as we can between working and getting ready to open Adventure Mendota.

I posted a whole post on our trip over at Adventure Mendota’s River Blog. If you want to read it, please follow this link and it’ll take you right over there.

I am enjoying taking my pictures in a raw format now as I get much better photographs to post on the website. If you have any photography tips for someone who knows nothing and is using a Canon EOS Rebel T5 camera with its in-the-box lens, please let me know. I need all the help I can get.

Speaking of pictures, we saw the rockiest creek yesterday. I explained to Mike that it “had to be the rockiest creek ever” and it was probably named Rocky Creek. I was close. It’s Stony Creek. Kind of famous in Scott County Tourism history.

It’s a busy day today. I’m heading up to see how the Mendota Cemetery Quilt is doing and then off to Horticulture Class this evening. I can’t wait to show you what progress has occurred on the quilt.

I do not know of the exact year when Mike and I bought our first “real” furniture — a kitchen table with six chairs and a hutch. We lived in Franklin, Tennessee and desperately needed a new kitchen table but we did not want to make the expenditure until we had to. Mike sat in a chair one day and it broke. We went furniture shopping and soon thereafter, our new kitchen table, six chairs, and hutch–all manufactured by Pennsylvania House–were delivered. I don’t have a picture of it, but it was pine and I thought we were really going places!

Pine is a soft wood and it scratches fairly easy. We moved two more times in Franklin after the furniture was purchased and then we moved a whole bunch of times after that. Honestly, I kind of miss moving sometimes as I never really got a house filthy before we sold it. Crash bang boom on about ten moving vans and the furniture was seeing some real wear. In 2000, in Virginia, the table and chairs went to Michael’s son, Aaron, and they are now either with his stepon or ex-wife or on a curb somewhere. I have no idea and don’t really care. However, I kept the hutch and had it painted with a crackled finish along with vines, flowers, a gray cat and a honeybee…all things I loved then and still love today.

So just to summarize, when we were young we bought a new hutch. We moved it at middle age and had it crackled to look old. Now it is old and looks too old. Are we ever satisfied? The exterior has held up pretty well, but the inside has darkened to a very unattractive yellow brown. Here’s what it looked like last week.

I’m having a No Spend January so I didn’t want to spend any money but I did find a quart of paint in Walmart on sale for $5. It looked to be the right color (the one in the swipe.) I bought it in spite of my No Spend vow. The timing is right with the cold weather to try and improve this hutch–or move it to the garage and stack paint cans in it. I am not ready to do that yet.

And so the painting began. Three coats. Look how much lighter. These plates are white and the background doesn’t clash with them any more. It’s hard to get a good picture because if I turn on the light inside the hutch, I get a yellow glow that doesn’t really exist.

The glasses below show how “cleaned up” the interior of the hutch now is.

I put in this preserved boxwood wreath I had a Christmas to give some color since I’m placing all of my white china in the hutch. It has a yellow cast since I have the interior light on inside of the hutch. I’m going to replace that bulb with a LED that has a nicer appearance.

This room has terra cotta, red, purple, white green and some deep orange. I’d like to do a wall display of antique plates in some of those colors; but, unfortunately, I only have one of the plates! I have a lot of projects that are like that…they are always in progress! While I’ll continue to look for those plates, I wanted to display the one green transfer plate I do have.

So the light isn’t great, but here it is. I’m very happy with it. Now, I’ll start organizing the inside of the bottom of the hutch so that it is not crazy stuffed and jumbled up!

Now that I look at it, it may want new knobs as well!!

For years, I’ve read about No Spend January.   After ending up in both November and December with less money than anticipated at the end of the month, I realized that there’s a “leak” or a “hole” in my wallet!      I decided to embark on a No Spend January.   I have an ambitious savings plan for the next 24 months as I’m going to redo my kitchen plus we have a spring vacation; a possible fall vacation; and a weekend get away with my sister planned and I don’t want to look at a bunch of $20 receipts for things that I have nothing to show for while sitting at home.    Starting off January in a positive way sets the tone for the year.  If careful, I can have those nice vacations, contribute to my ambitious savings plan, and still enjoy a lot of wonderful, enriching activities.     I want to be more purposeful in how I spend money and time.

Here’s something funny though that I should add…I was explaining all of this to Mike’s son and he said “hmm…are you and dad okay?  Do you need some money?”   I didn’t realize how I must have sounded.   I assured  him we are fine, but why not take the time to be purposeful and live well vs. just wasting money?   I choose to live well–but for less.

Here’s some things that have been so easy.

I put aside credit card purchases and pay cash (checks and cash) for everything and refrain from buying when I have a “want” vs. a “need.”    Of course, there will be times I give in to the “wants” but not in January and hopefully not as often during the remainder of the year.   While we always pay our credit cards off at the end of the month, we have not accounted for the charges as closely as we should while the month is happening.   If we did, I would not have been shocked in November and December!   By changing how we pay for our purchases, we become more mindful.    How am I doing on Day 7?  So so.  I had a little slip up last night at Target in an effort to buy and save at the same time.    More about how that came about later.

We are still doing things…although in some areas not as much.  We did go to the movies today — we go to the matinee since we’re retired and we can!  $9 for two people, and we had the entire theater to ourselves.   I could play on my phone during the previews that I don’t like as I wasn’t bothering anyone!

The first thing I did on January 1 was look at those charges on my credit card that are automatic.

• Audible for $14.95 per month.  Do I enjoy it that much?  I do enjoy Audible, but the Washington County Public Library has audio books I can download on my smart phone for free or I can pick up a book on CD at the Mendota Branch (see below).    I currently have the Audible membership paused for 90 days. I’ll decide what to do with it later.  At this time, I think I will cancel it.   Meanwhile, I don’t need to be bored…
• Bristol Herald Courier.   I love the newspaper, but in Mendota, we can’t get it on a timely basis.   Apparently it is hard to find a carrier out here, and if the post office is used for the paper, we get it one–or even two days–late.  At $14.95 per month with my news being old,  I discontinued it.    I have carefully considered the online version but I prefer to handle and touch the newspapers and I like to reuse them in the garden.    I may revisit the online version at some point.  Unsure.

There are still several recurring charges on my personal credit card that will remain, but they are for insurance — pet insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, AFLAC, etc.    I have them on the credit card because I earn points, and I pay them off monthly.   During a year, I receive about $250 in gift cards — I typically get Home Depot, TJMaxx,  Pottery Barn and Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards.  I love them all but I think Pottery Barn is my favorite.  Pottery Barn has the nicest, generously sized duvet covers and when they come on  sale; that is when I pull out the gift cards.   Duvet covers that are washable are very handy when you have pets.   I’ve either completely purchased or subsidized the purchase of all of my Pottery Barn bedding–and I have a lot–and all my Pottery Barn throw pillow covers.

Here’s one which is currently packed away.  It went on sale and I bought it for free with my gift card.

I wasn’t even aware of the points for a number of years, and when I discovered them, I gave everyone gift cards for Christmas.  Now, I’m greedy with them–they are real dollar stretchers.

• Eating out.   Mike sometimes says “it’s cheaper to eat out then to cook at home.”   Actually, he’s wrong.  I will agree that it’s more fun!  It’s easier.  In our case, it  might even taste better.   However, eating out means we go to town (gas).  It means we leave a tip.    We can eat a little cheaper with fast foot such as Pals, McDonalds, etc, but the end result of that is weight gain (please pass the carbs) plus no savings in doing so.   I’m not a great cook but I am an adequate cook; and when I look at past receipts, I see that we are literally eating up our money yet spending a large amount on groceries.  Go figure.

But we do still eat out.   We like to eat at Chili’s and we are there at least once per week.   So…when Chili’s has the occasional “buy a $50 Chili’s gift card and get a $20 gift card free,”  I am in.    We ate at Chili’s last week for about $6 for both of us.  Most of that was tip as I had two $10 gift cards that were free.   All year long, they have the buy a $50 gift card and get a $10 gift card free, so we always are buying gift cards.   If we are going to eat there, we might as well take advantage of those $10 gift cards that are free.

Like with audio books, use the library.   Check out my magazines and books vs. buying them.  This book actually relates to what I’m doing right now…being less of a consumer…being more thoughtful in my purchases.  Smelling those roses.

Have you ever laid aside a couple of projects and started another one just because it got your attention?   I have.  Many times.   I call those UFOs (unfinished objects).    I’m working through UFOs.

I made my first two quilt tops in 2018 and I have a lot of small pieces left.  I cut them into 9″ squares and I’m making a scrap quilt.    River loves to move them around when I’m working.    He’s so precious.

It’ll get rid of those scraps and it will be something someone will enjoy.    It’s my “sister” quilt as I am making it for my sister, Pat.  She looks odd each time I say that because she hates being indebted (she knows she’s not but still…) and it’s not her all-time favorite quilt–she eyes the hot mess quilt but it’s a twin and she needs a queen.

Here’s the hot mess…just waiting to be bound.

In December, I did buy some fabric to accompany my scrap quilt for Pat, and it’s how I came upon the idea of giving her the quilt.  She loves to sew, and look at what the alternate squares of the quilt say…

TV..we’re watching more Amazon Prime and going to the movies less.    Living in the country, even though I try and shop local, I still use Amazon Prime a lot.   It’s a must for getting things that I can’t get locally (outside of Bristol/Kingsport/Abingdon).    Prime has lots of shows and movies we enjoy.   We just had not noticed them before except for the show Justified which we binge-watched last year.

And speaking of Amazon, there’s been a couple of time I’ve been invited to write a review for a product or service that I’ve used.     If the review was selected, I received a $20 gift card which I’ve converted to Amazon.   I thought it sounded too good to be true, but I’ve written three reviews; two of the reviews were accepted and I have $40 in my Amazon account.  Go figure.  I’ll use that free money for something that comes up as a need–or a want–in the next 6-8 weeks.  I’ve actually got my eye on something but I’m $17 short.  Maybe another review will come through!!

I’ve got a pantry to clean…projects to work on that cost nothing but need to be done.  I’ve got the inside of a hutch that needs painted.  All of those are coming up in the next few weeks.  When I get up in the morning and look around and realize that  going somewhere is not an option, I start thinking of what else can be done.  My productivity increases.

But it’s not been perfect. There is that trip to Target.   I realized that I do not have more than 6-8 rolls of paper towels in the garage this week.  No way!!    For some crazy reason, I like to have a lot of those on hand.   I’ve wondered if other people like to have toilet paper and paper towels on hand like I do.    Then..I saw where Target had the “Spend $50 on household items and get a $15 gift card” and “Spend $15 on skincare and get a $5 gift card.”    I picked out what I wanted for my $50 — paper towels, toilet paper, dish detergent and SOS pads.  I picked out what I wanted for my $15.   I went to Coupons.com and got a few coupons.  I went on my Target ap and found any Cartwheel discounts and coupons.   I used my Red Card for an additional 5%.  I also bought catfood because I needed it.   I left spending $102 with tax but I had $20 in gift cards and all stuff that I need or will need.  I could have turned around and used the gift cards then if I’d broke up the order and spent about $82, but I hold onto them.  So far, with these cards, Mike and I bought for a child at Christmas (last year),  bought several Christmas decor items after Christmas for the following year, etc.   They come in very useful, and I typically get about $200 in gift cards throughout the year–I buy all my paper towels and toilet paper for Adventure Mendota at Target so I accelerate the amount of gift cards in the summer months.    It’s really fun the day I pull them out and pay nothing for approximately  $200 in purchases.    I feel like a thief!! The important thing is that I cannot charge any purchases at Target.  I have to pay for them as the Red Card I have  is a debit card–not a credit card.

Something else…  If you have ever seen Bellasforward advertise their Hallmark stuff, they have very nice pictures and they have sales that pop up on Instagram and Facebook.   They also have free shipping if you buy XX amount.  Here’s the warning.  The quality is okay but it’s not as nice as pictured; and if they tell you 14-16 days for shipping, plan on 28-30.   It is from China and I would not order from them again.    I ordered items which should have arrived just before Christmas.  They arrived today.   Sigh.  I’ll save them for next year’s gifts.  Here’s the picture in the ad.  It looks soft and lush with a rich, deep red.  

Here’s what I got when it finally arrived.   I paid $19.99 for that blanket and thought it was a bargain as it said it was 60% off.    Not so much.   I’m a little disappointed.  The socks are cute though.  I’ll save them for next Christmas.

Spending less, eating out less, using my gift cards wisely, being creative, being resourceful…all of these will help me meet my savings goal.  However, there’s the occasional misstep.   Sometimes no matter how hard you want to think you’ve scored a good deal, it’s just not.