The Storms Blew Through

Hello dear friends! I'm glad you stopped by yesterday to see the flowers, as they do look so different today.

An Evening Occurence:
Major storms blew through last night, very severe. When I got home from work my hubby asked me to go up and check on Mom. She had evidently been bitten by something on Mon. evening. Tues morning my sis-in-law brought her down to see me at the Post Office. After I called the doctor they headed on down for him to take a look at Mom. She was swollen in the arm and hand, had hives over much of her back, eventually swelling in the left foot and even the face. Praise the Lord, she is now on a short stent of steroid to arrest this. THAT is why I needed to head up to see her when I reached home last night. Just as I was pulling out, the winds came up and the trees were bowing severely. As I was backing from the driveway one of our HUGE poplars just snapped off in the middle and came toppling down behind the house. Thank you, Lord, that it didn't hit anything! I prayed as I drove up the road, under all the trees, then turned up into Mom's field which is clear of any trees. Except for the car door being nearly ripped off when I opened it and getting entirely soaked running into the house, no mishaps. The hilltop and deck area looked like it had been raining plastic lawn chairs! It was comical! I said goodbye to my sweet Sis-in-law (without her I don't know how Mom would've gotten to see the doctor yesterday). Mom and I started a new puzzle and waited out that leg of the storm. She was feeling sleepy from the Benadryl and we sat down to catch a little news. The weather had turned calm, so I left her for a time and got home to see that we had no electricity. Syd and I took the dogs back up and we all sat around with Mom until my brother arrived. Her house on the hill is powered by solar, therefore she's never in the dark.

In the middle of the night the lightning storms came, and were severe. Trees were down everywhere and no one had power. When I left for work this morning everyone's generators on the Hill were humming along. We started ours this morning, with only the refrigerator plugged into it. Having gone so many years without electricity, that's all we really care about - well, except COFFEE, which I long ago mastered by simply dripping boiling water through the grounds, a little at a time.

You really didn't need to know all that, I just thought I'd tell you. Anyway -- this was simply to let you know why the flowers and bushes have taken on their "flat stage". Poor hydrangea is laying all over the ground and the lilies have lost many of their beautiful petals. The tomatoes and peas are holding up, being so near the house for protection.

A Midnight Encounter:
I heard the pitter patter of four little feet around midnight, after an especially huge crash of thunder. Taking my flashlight I was met by two beady brown eyes peering over the edge of the bed. I told Sturm that he would have to go cuddle up to Ruger but he bravely climbed back into his own crate instead. Soft brown eyes notwithstanding, no dogs in the bed.

A Morning Blessing:
God gave a huge blessing this morning. No electricity or phones in town were working. Ours simply rings busy and my brother's and church phone's answering machines pick up immediately. My mom's line is run from our pole out front, therefore I assumed that I would have no way of communicating with her today. I am working in a nearby village, so thought I would try her around 9:30 a.m. She ANSWERED! Her phone was working, though no one else's was! What an answer to prayer. She is doing much better. I did get to run up at lunchtime for just a minute and the swelling is down and it looks like she has more energy. Praise the Lord, our electricity is back on too, still no phones.

I am hearing reports this afternoon of trees being cleared and lines restrung. Though we have witnessed very severe thunderstorms and flooding in the past year, I am still so thankful to live in our corner of the States. I pray for those of you who have less protection from mountains and hardwood trees. May God watch over you as storms, flooding and wildfires threaten.

The forecast over the next several days is mid 70 temperatures! That's perfect Summer weather to me!

"Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield." Psalm 115:11


Such a rambling post today. Simply a little news from Darling Hill. Thank you for "stopping up by".

Hill Happenings

Hi to all my friends visiting the Hill this morning!! It's been a long time since I've written and there's really so much going on. As you know, we've had trouble with our internet at home. At one point we thought we had it fixed (paid the 125.00 to have it fixed) but have only had about three short sessions that we've been able to get on since!!! That was three weeks ago. We've been on the phone with the server and are thoroughly disgusted and awaiting it being taken care of. Wouldn't mind so much, if they'd just stop charging us the monthly fee. Enough of that...

I am laughing this morning in response to someone's reaction to one of the recent blog posts. I really should read the posts "through someone else's eyes" before I publish them, I guess. My Aunt emailed, concerned that I am so afraid of mice.  On one of the recent posts I had mentioned about when I see a mouse, I don't rest until he's not running around my house anymore. I just wanted to clear up,  I'm not afraid of mice. They're actually adorable and soft, I just hate the thought of them crawling around on my furniture, counter tops and bathroom & kitchen shelves. I have open shelving and my dishes are all exposed to those cute little, dirty mousie feet. The mention of it was mostly to point out how trivial my little "trials" are while the early Christians had to wander about in rocks and caves of the earth (imagine the mice and rats there), being hunted for their very lives.

Happenings:
My white hydrangea bush is in bloom, as are the white foxglove and rose campion. The tall flox (also white) are about to pop open! Originally, I had planned on having an all-white garden, including any flowers that produced a silvery-gray leaf . However, a few zinnias and bright colored annuals now grow amongst the white. I had seen a beautiful photo of a tiny house which was set into the edge of the forest, therefore it was a somewhat dark setting. The white flowers, trees and silvery "greenery" made it literally come alive. It lightened it up so much. We are located on the north side of Darling Hill and are shaded much of the time. Perhaps one day the white flowered perennials and flowering trees will lighten up the front of our little cabin. I would much rather have the Lord come and take us Home any day now though, wouldn't you?

It's hard to believe, this huge hydrangea (just showing one end of it) only produced  one "ball" of flowers last year!

My neighbor gave me a gift certificate to a nearby greenhouse because I watered her flowers for part of a week! With it I purchased the pretty white foxglove

abundant lilies

The rose campion, with it's silvery leaves and stems

I have pictures to show you. There has been construction and improvements done at our house and you all have been part of it. I hesitate to post pictures yet, as it is all still underway. If you can be patient (really, if I can be!) photos should be revealed within the next couple of weeks.
well....never mind...since the house showed in the background of one of those flower photos, I'll show you now (hee, hee!)

Before

Our dear friends came on Saturday and sure did a TON of work! Don't know what we would do without Dennis

The poor little garden out front suffered some trampling, but seems to have survived

After

Syd is still working on the cute little log stoop at the front door. The roofing on it will likely be the shingles, but perhaps the "siding". What color do YOU think the trim work should be? It's still up in the air.

Syd stepped in a hole and turned his ankle (crunching involved) early into the project on Saturday. My friend, Dottie, could not talk him into icing it right away. I was at work at the PO for the morning. Syd asked for his work boots, laced them up VERY tight, and poured ice cold water down his boot & kept right on working, all day (he repeated with ice water at least two more times). He was in a lot of pain and ended up on crutches Sunday and Monday, but it seems to be getting less painful every day. I do not even think he took his crutches to work today. Poor dear, he was so anxious to get this project completed that he just didn't think he could stop, so he didn't.

enjoying a quick lunch, then Sarah made us a nice chicken dinner later (she is pictured to left). Our dear friends, the Rs come and help us out on all kinds of projects!

Denny conquered an orange peel in one single strand!

We have been blessed to have an old friend, Sarah,  move back into the area. She's not old, but she's an old friend and we've gotten to see her twice since she's returned from the South. We are praying for her as she seeks employment and a permanent place to live (temporarily, as her home is Heaven also). I don't know if you've noticed but there is a spot for Prayer Requests now, to the right of the blog posts here. These needs are things that fellow-bloggers have asked prayer concerning and also needs of our own local church. I hope you'll mention any special requests in your "comments" so that they could be added to the prayer list.

I'm so glad you stopped by the Hill today to share in some of the changes we've seen. Come back again too, o.k.? Remember to leave a comment if you have an idea for the trim color on house. It must be a stain, as I do not want to paint and re-paint. The challenge is, the windows have been trimmed out for a while, therefore already weathered some. The corner posts and one other window are brand new barn board; matching may be tricky.