September Theme Day - PINK!

(click on photo to enlarge) Downtown Roanoke

Walked around downtown a bit on Saturday after the Bacon Festival. Ended up getting some locally grown honey from the market and some fresh baguettes from On The Rise. I've shown you their window display before right HERE

Come visit the City Daily Photo community for more pictures of PINK!

Friday Fences & Random 5's

(click on photo to enlarge) Eagle Rock, Botetourt County

Friday Fences

1) I love Crepe Myrtles. The color in my photo is my favorite. When we lived in Georgia, our little town of Monroe held a Crepe Myrtle Festival every summer.

2) I took the photo above right down the road from the Blue Ridge Vineyard while we were there on Sunday.

3) I dislike when websites or blogs have music that auto plays when you visit. I was just reminded of that as I was getting the link for the vineyard and almost jumped out of my chair when the music blasted on.

4) Tomorrow is a Bacon Festival in Roanoke. We're going to go. It's a good month for festivals. Last weekend was Wing Fest and now Bacon Fest.

5) I'm sitting here enjoying my coffee, being the first one up. I have to get the boys up in about a half an hour. I need my quiet time before I jump into breakfast and lunch making!

Random 5 Friday

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Signs, Signs - Corned Beef & Co

(click on photo to enlarge) Downtown Roanoke

Corned Beef & Company. I've never eaten here before. I never really noticed it till Saturday when we were walking around downtown after the wing fest. I'm going to add it to my list before it gets too cold to sit up top!

Signs, Signs

Wordless Wednesday - Blue Ridge Vineyard

(click on photo to enlarge) Blue Ridge Vineyard, Eagle Rock, Botetourt County

Wordless Wednesday, Rurality Wednesday

Friday Fences & Random 5's

(click on photo to enlarge) Floyd Co

Haha, doesn't it look like he's walking along the top of the fence? :)

Linking with Friday Fences

And now some randomness:

1) First of all I apologize for not visiting your blogs this week. It's been rough adjusting to our new schedules!

2) The boys had a great first day of middle school. I am thankful that our school district starts school on a Wednesday, makes an easier transition from summer break to going back to school.

3) I can't wait for the new season of American Horror Story to start in October. Why do shows start at weird times now? Remember when they would all start back up in September. Now they start at any given month. Really makes it hard to follow a show.

4) Tomorrow the boys have their first football scrimmage. Then we are supposed to go to Roanoke for the Wing Fest.

5) Today is my birthday!



Have a great weekend!

Signs, Signs - Farmers' Supply

(click on photo to enlarge) Floyd Co

Horatio Howard Building (Farmers’ Supply Store)
101 E. Main St.
1897. Horatio Howard constructed this building after the great 1896 town fire. Note the cast iron “stars” capping structural tie rods, the pressed glass tile transoms on the storefront, and early painted advertising on the west wall. Originally a mercantile store for Howard and partner Thomas B. Huff, it’s been Farmers’ Supply Store for about 85 years.

For a walking tour of Floyd CLICK HERE

Linking with Signs, Signs

Rurality Wednesday - First Day of School

(click on photo to enlarge) Old Kelley School House, Floyd Co

Right now, all over Botetourt County, kids are waking up and getting ready for their first day back at school. This year Braden and Dalton are starting middle school, Christian is going into 11th and Ashlyn is in her 2nd year of college (although she gets one more day of summer). I wish all the kids a great first day back!

Barn Charm Tuesday - Peaks of Otter Winery

(click on photo to enlarge)

Another from inside the barn looking out. Peaks of Otter Winery. Gotta go school supply shopping today. School starts tomorrow. Yep, I wait till the very last minute ;)

Sunflowers

(click on photo to enlarge) Peaks of Otter Winery, Bedford

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do. - Helen Keller

Friday Fences and Random 5's

(click on photo to enlarge) Fincastle

Linking with Friday Fences

And now playing along with Nancy's Random 5's:

1) I was up with the chickens this morning, 5:00 am! Tough after sleeping in all summer, well sleeping in till 7:30 when Nick gets up for work but anyway...some of you might recall that I work part time at the high school. School starts on Wed but I had to go in for a couple of hours this morning to help get the kitchen in order.

2) After helping out I zipped down the road to Fincastle. I had a court date. I was nervous. Why? It was nothing but a fix-it ticket, which I got fixed, but I was still nervous lol...it was soooo foggy in Fincastle. Up the road from the courthouse I saw this willow (my favorite tree bt-dubs) and it was so pretty sitting there in the fog so I stopped to snap a quick photo to show you how foggy it was, and to have a fence photo. The fog didn't show up :(

3) Court went fast and after a half hour and $91 later, I was finished.

4) I'm heading back to the high school shortly. Christian's girlfriend is transferring there this year. We have 2 high schools in our county, James River and Lord Botetourt. We are the latter. She is going to go and get her schedule this morning and I'm taking Christian over so he can show her around to her classes. Then she'll spend the day with us.

5) The weather is so WEIRD. The last couple of days have been beautiful. Just like fall. The only problem with that is it is still summer. But then it gets worse, tomorrow's high is only 64 and rain. WHAT? Dislike! Looks like things start warming back up on Monday...but not happy about this weekend's forecast, at all! Oh well, it is what it is I suppose!

Have a great weekend!

Signs, Signs - Floyd County Dry Goods

(click on photo to enlarge) Floyd County

This place is for sale now. Looking into it I found out that it was an antique store and the owner would also sell homemade baked goods, and fresh eggs and produce from local farms. On Sundays there would have been live Blue Grass Music and lunch cooked over an open fire. You could also bring a dish and stay for the picnic later. How fun would that be?!

I also found a BRIEF history on the place: "Before the Parkway was built this property was owned by the late Beulah Nichols. She lived in the house, using a back room with a side entrance for a grocery store and trading post. Her daughter was raised here and still lives in Floyd county."
(I told you it was brief!)

Linking with Signs, Signs

Rurality Blog Hop - BoCo Fair

(click photo to enlarge) Botetourt County Fair, Buchanan

Well I told you we were going to run off to the county fair on Saturday and we did. What I didn't know is that it had been 50 years since they last had a county fair, which I learned from my blogging buddy Anita over at Blue Country Magic. She's lived here almost forever so she knows almost everything about Botetourt, or at least I think so :)

Anyways, I was standing over at the bb shooting booth waiting with Braden and Dalton to get their turn and heard these two girls sweetly singing hymns. I took a picture because I liked the sound of them and little did I know I knew these 2 girls. Their dad walked over to say hi (one of Braden and Dalton's football coaches) and told me the girls were singing!

We had a great time at the fair. Saw friends, ate a pork chop sandwich, learned about bee keeping, sampled some yummy salsa, fed horses, watched another of the boys' coaches wrestle sheep to get them back on their truck, sampled wine from 2 wineries, listened to some wonderful entertainment and when it felt too hot a light sprinkle fell from the sky. It was a perfect afternoon and I really hope they hold it again next year!

Linking with Madge's Rurality Blog Hop as soon as the linky opens a little later!

Barn Charm Tuesday - Inside the Barn

(click on photo to enlarge) Floyd Co

Remember earlier this summer when we visited the Hodges' farm in Floyd County? Well, this is another shot of the inside. I liked the friendly little dog.

Chasing Turkeys

(click on photo to enlarge) Peaks of Otter Winery, Bedford

Braden chasing a turkey...turkey's are pretty quick little runners!

Sitting here procrastinating...need to go have my oil changed and inspection done. Just heard Christian wake up. Maybe I can get him to go with me if I let him drive? :)

Friday Fences and Randoms

(click on photo to enlarge) Peaks of Otter Winery, Bedford

This is one of the cute inhabitants at the winery. Isn't he adorable? I love his eyes, so full of expression!

Linking with Friday Fences

And now I'm playing along with Nancy and her Random 5

1) I am reading a really fun book right now called "Goodnight Nobody" by Jennifer Weiner...it is funny. It's about a mom who lives in an uppity CT neighborhood and doesn't quite fit in. I'm only 28 pages in but she really made me laugh starting on the first page. I only read at bedtime once everyone is asleep.

2) Speaking of bedtime, I had a dream about Oprah this morning. We were at some sort of event and she was signing autographs but instead of signing "Oprah" she would sign "Nikki Nikki Nikki"...I was about to ask her why she signs her name that way when the alarm went off...booo...now we'll never know.

3) What's for dinner tonight? I'm thinking of making fried chicken. My boys LOVE fried chicken and ask for it often!

4) Speaking of unhealthy meals (see what I did there? lol)...I just started my second round of P90X on Monday. I've owned it for a couple of years and completed one full round as soon as I got it, 90 days. Since then I've just kind of maintained my weight with it by integrating some of the workouts with other workouts. But Monday I joined a challenge group and I WILL complete my second round. Today will be day 5....after I drink my coffee!

5) Our county is hosting a County Fair tomorrow that we'll go to. I was reading that it is the first time they've held a county fair in years. There will be pork chop dinners and ice cream sold by the FFA, local entertainment, tractor driving contests....cake, cookie and pie baking contests...just sounds like some wholesome, old timey fun!

Have a great weekend!

Signs, Signs - Kelso Mill

(click on photo to enlarge) Bedford

When was this built you ask? Well I don't know. Another great old place that I can't find anything on unless maybe I want to dig 20 pages deep in my google search that just wants to show me page after page of home sales at Kelso Mill or Burger King and Kroger popping up in there for some reason... BUT....I'm not going to whine through a whole post about it again today, I'll spare you...so I'll just put the picture up and shut my mouth ;)

And about the other mill I posted, the only thing I heard back was from a worker in the museum who would only tell me they had some books with the mill mentioned. Wouldn't tell me anything else and I never heard from the historical society or the few others I emailed....gosh, I do sound whiney!

Linking with Signs, Signs

Rurality Blog Hop - Peaks of Otter Winery Collage

(click on photo to enlarge)

Big photo: Doing the wine tasting. The strangest wine was "Chili Dawg". Our wine tasting host sprayed a tiny blob of that spray cheese on our hands and we had to lick that then sample the wine. It was good, just very unusual lol...We ended the tasting with "Kiss The Devil"....HOT! The wines are all made with the fruit they grow right there on the farm. For a list of wines CLICK HERE

Dog photo: This is a guest's dog, Zeus. Dogs are welcome at the winery!

And for a history of Peaks of Otter CLICK HERE

I'll introduce you to some of the animals that live there on the farm tomorrow!

Linking with Rurality Blog Hop

A Mill Without a History

(click on photo to enlarge)Bedford

On our way to the winery Sunday, we saw this "barn" so Nick pulled over for me to take a photo. I thought for sure it was a barn until about an hour ago when I googled it to see if I could find any info. It looks OLD right? Well, I found out that it isn't a barn at all but a mill. I found a few images online naming it Penicks Mill or Pattersons Mill or Upper Pattersons Mill. Did I find any historical info. NOPE, NADA, ZILCH. I searched and searched until I felt like banging my head against the computer desk. I even asked the Bedford Historical Museum if they have any historical info on this mill to which they replied "I'm 90% certain we do". What? What kind of answer is that? Anyways, I sent out a couple of emails to the historical society and a man I found online that had a Bedford history page so we'll see. I just have a difficult time posting a photo without the proper history/info on the place! Kills me!

So anyways, this mill is very near to the winery, like 5 minutes from there. And, hopefully I will have a bit more info on it by the end of the day. I just don't get how these gorgeous old relics sit there without a story.

Peaks of Otter Winery

(click on photo to enlarge) This gentleman is showing us where to park.

Sunday we jumped on the parkway and headed north. Ended up at Peaks of Otter Winery. We partook in the wine tasting and tried some very interesting and different kinds of wines. It was fun. We packed a lunch to bring along so we sat under the pavillion at a picnic table and ate lunch. Then we walked down the pathway to see the farm animals. I'll show you more throughout the week!

SkyWatch Friday Fences - Football & Randoms

(click photo to enlarge) Lord Botetourt High School, Daleville

Our first practice of the new football season. Stretching those neck muscles. This is Braden and Dalton's last year of rec ball. Next year they can play for middle school. Looks like we will have a pretty good team this season! Go Hurricanes!

"No son of mine is gonna play any foos-ball." Mama Boucher from the Waterboy :)

AND! Today is my Ashlyn's birthday! She is 19. Where has the time gone?

Linking with Friday Fences and SkyWatch Friday ....have a great weekend!!

Ohhhh, and a little game of Random 5!

1) So like I mentioned, today is Ashlyn's bday! She is at the dealership right now having something done with her car so that in a few hours she can head to the beach. For her present I got her a couple of beach chairs, a cute zebra striped cooler and a bunch of snacks to fill it up for her weekend. I'm going to make her some "cone-cakes" (which is what the boys call them)...cupcakes cooked in ice cream cones. My kids LOVE those!

2) Got that basement cleaned up. Hauled tons of stuff to Goodwill, the curb for trash day, and donated a lot of children's books to the elementary school. The books were kind of hard to get rid of since many were from when Ash was little, and books I bought for Christian and the boys. Picture books that they'll never look at again. I did however manage to still save a big bin of them, the ones I just couldn't part with lol

3) Thinking of cooking Talapia for dinner. I saw a recipe for Talapia topped with tomatoes, olives and feta. I love feta!

4) I want to go do something fun this weekend. I want to see something new. There is an event at James Madison's house, Montpelier, but that is a 2 hour drive for us and Nick is whining about not wanting to drive that far. I'm kind of mad about that...grrrr

5) I better get those cone-cakes going so they are finished before she gets home!

August Theme Day - Street Lamps and a 2fer

(click on photo to enlarge)
Yup, that time again. Another first of the month and another City Daily Photo Theme Day. This month's theme is "Street Lamps" and I was thinking since today is also the first football practice of the season for Braden and Dalton, we might as well feature the lights at the football field.

This is the football field at Lord Botetourt High School. My oldest graduated from here last year and my oldest son will be a junior here this year. Braden and Dalton will be practicing here tonight. Excited about football starting but at the same time a little sad as summer is quickly coming to an end :(

And this post is a 2fer, linking with Signs, Signs and to see street lamps from all over the world, you can visit City Daily Photo