a lovely peony from my garden

Yesterday we cleaned out the peony bed that had died back a month ago. I trimmed the stalks back to ground level. Adieu my beauties. Take time to check out the link below for more photos from bloggers participating in Today's Flowers

REMINDER My Vintage Kitchen Towel Book and Vintage Textile Give-Away Ends Tuesday, December 2nd-Don't Forget to Enter!!!

Hello everyone.

Just a reminder that my blog give-away ends on Tuesday, December 2nd. If you haven't posted your most humorous holiday story yet, please do. Don't forget to leave me your email address so I can get in touch with you should you be the lucky winner~ I will announce the lucky winners on Wednesday.

I will be giving away a "new" autographed copy of my most recent book, "Colorful Vintage Tablecloths" and a Tom Lamb designed vintage kitchen towel to two, yes two lucky winners. The towel, pictured here, in unused and features the cutest anthropormorphic veggies marching to the soup pot.

So...why are you waiting, why not join in the fun, I know you will love my book.

That's My World-Lake Moomaw, Virginia

Love the views at the Lake

Hooking the pontoon boat back up after a day on the lake

Marina Area at Lake Moomaw

Nestled in Virginia's scenic Allegheny Mountains, this area provides nearly year-round opportunities for boating, camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, mountain biking, picnicking, swimming, water sports, wildlife viewing and many other activities.

Lake Moomaw has been stocked with largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, brown trout, rainbow trout, lake run trout, brook trout, channel catfish, black crappie, yellow perch, chain pickerel, northern pike, gizzard shad, alewife, bluegill and various sunfish.

Gathright Dam and Lke Moomaw provide flood and water quality control along the Jackson and James Rivers in Western Virignia and are located on the Jackson River, 43 miles upstream from its confluence with the Cowpasture River, which, at that point forms the upper James River. The City of Covington is 19 miles downstream from the dam. From the dam, the lake extends 12 miles along the Jackson River. At its normal recreational level of 1,582 feet above sea level, the lake covers a surface area of 2,530 acres and has a shoreline of more than 43 miles.

Gathright Resevoir, as it was originally called, was authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1946. However, two years later in a similar piece of legislation, Congress stated that the project should be reviewed to determine the desirability of its construction. Lawmakers also questions whether some local funding should be sought based on benefits to be derived from water supply, pollution abatement and other conservation purposes.

In a review report to Congressional Public Works Committees, the Corps recommended that construction be undertaken without requiring local funding support. The project was put in abeyance in 1954, when it appeared that economic justification for Gathright was marginal. In 1957, it was officially "Deferred for Restudy."

The restudy, conducted in 1964, concluded that favorbale economic benefits would prevail by constructing Gathright Dam. Gathright was soon thereafter placed back on "Active" status, and initial construction was underway by 1967. A slowdown in Congressional funding minimized much of the construction work until 1970, when the project went into full gear. In 1978, following the death of Mr. Bejamin Moomaw, the man whose efforts brought the project into the Allegheny Highlands, Congress remanmed the area Gathright Dam, and Lake Moomaw. construction was comleted in 1981.

View Across the Road From My Friend's Acreage at Lake Moomaw-July 2008
A Cove at Lake Moomaw-July 2008
On the way to the main body of the lake, there are several little islands scattered about the lake and you can tie up your boat and have lunch on them or sun when the weather is right
Channel leading from boat dock to main body of the lake

July 2008

November 2008-Boat Dock
Water is let out from the lake area during the Fall and Winter to keep the river levels up downstream note difference between July photo immediately preceeding this one

(same vantage point)

November 2008-Boat Dock

The lake is 12 miles in length with a shoreline of 43.5 miles. The average depth is 80 feet and the depth at recreational pool intake tower is 150 feet. The surface area of the lake at normal water level is 2,530 acres. The spillway is 2,680 feet in length with a base width of 100 feet. It is an ugated spillway type.
July 2008 -Boat Dock

Dam and intake tower (located on left of photo)

The dam pictured above is 257 feet high, the length at top is 1,310 feet and the width at crest is 32 feet. The intake tower is multi-level and is 260 feet high. Above the dam at the entrance to the outlet tunnel is the 260-foot intake tower. Portals are arranged in the tower at nine levels in two wet wells. This allows the withdrawl of water from any level depending on the designed water temperature. Selective withdrawal of colder water from the lake, allows the Corps to maintain a prime trout habitat downstream from the dam. Hydraulically-operated sluice gates, eight feet wide and 17 1/2 feet high, used for flood control, are among the largest ever fabricated.

Through the south abutment of the dam there is a concrete-lined outlet tunnel, which is used for passing lake waters into a tilling or quieting basin before the water enters the Jackson River downstream.

Please check out That's My World where people from all over the globe share pictures of their part of the world.

That's My World ... from Buchanan, Virginia

The Old Soda Fountain
Vintage Theater

Buchanan City Hall

Buchanan is located approximately 8 miles from my home. Each fall the town has the Mountain Magic in the Fall festival. The pictures are from this event taken back in October 2008. Please check out That's My World where people from all over the globe share pictures of their part of the world.

History of Buchanan

From its earliest development, the Town of Buchanan, Virginia was a principal crossing of the James River via the "Great Valley Road" and other regional transportation networks. As an early transportation-oriented community, the Town included taverns and ordinares, stables, blacksmith shops, wagon and carriage makers, general merchandise stores to service travelers, teamsters, and producers of goods being sent to external markets from the region.

Transportation routes and changes in modes of transportation have had primary influence on Buchanan's history. People settled in Buchanan because of the Town's location at a major intersection of transportation routes. Commercial and manufacturing enterprises located there because of the Town's advantageous location for transport of raw materials, goods and products. Changes in means of transportation shaped the Town's periods of growth in commerce and manufacturing.

Since the 1740's the area now encompassed by the Town of Buchanan has always been distinguished as the point of intersection between two principal transportation corridors: the great northeast-southwest overland route west of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Pennsylvania and the old Upland south; and the James River, the principal river system of central Virginia that provides and east-west route for transport of goods from Mountain and Valley Region, through the Piedmont, to the Tidewater and Chesapeake Bay.

In the 1740's the earliest trace of the Great Road from Philadelphia to western Virginia first crossed the James River at Looney's Ferry, whose approximate location is marked with an historic highway marker along route 11 west of downtown. Frontier colonial leader and land speculator James Patton obtained lands at the Great Valley Road crossing of the James River in the mid-1740's. His heirs the Buchanans, Boyds and Andersons acquired title to those lands and settled there over the next three decades. William Anderson laid out the town of Pattonsburg on the north side of the James River in 1788 while James Boyd laid out the Town of Buchanan on the south side of the James across from Pattonsburg in 1811. Plats of Buchanan in 1811 and Pattonsburg in 1818 established a grid of streets and enumerated lots that conform in large part with the current tax maps.

Water transport on the James River was improved from Buchanan to Tidewater by 1807 and the two towns became centers for processing agricultural products from southwestern Virginia for transport to Richmond and the Chesapeake. The Virginia General Assembly in 1819 acted to establish warehouses for inspection of tobacco and flour in both towns. River traffic increased in the 1830's with internal improvements that brought a better road system to Buchanan from western Virginia. By the mid-1830's internal improvements resulted in completion of the Cumberland Gap Turnpike from the Kentucky border to central Botetourt County.

By the 1840's Buchanan's buildings included the John Wilson warehouse, store and residence, the Botetourt Hotel and the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches, all brick structures which still stand today. By 1851 the James River and Kanawha Canal was completed from Richmond to Buchanan. At this time the two towns experienced a boom in commercial and artisan activity during the decade before the Civil War.

During the Civil War Buchanan served as an important Confederate supply depot for shipment of agricultural produce and pig iron to Richmond via the James River and Kanawha Canal. Federal General David Hunter marched through Pattonsburg and Buchanan on June 13, 1864 on his ill-fated raid of Lynchburg. After the Civil War commerce and manufacturing declined in Buchanan and Pattonsburg.

Numbers of town merchants and artisans fell sharply as canal traffic on the James River from Buchanan to Lynchburg was eclipsed by rail traffic from Salem to Lynchburg. Steel rail transportation came to the towns of Buchanan and Pattonsburg in the early 1880's, the time when Buchanan incorporated Pattonsburg into its Town limits.

Industrial growth and revival of commerce followed completion of the Norfolk and Western and the Chesapeake and Ohio lines through town because the new railroads hauled heavy freight to distant markets faster and at a lower cost than earlier wagons and canal boats.

The Continental Can Company and the Virginia Can Company established significant manufacturing operations in Buchanan after 1903. The Virginia Can Company employed at least 38 employees in 1906 and in 1910 owned buildings valued at $16,000 on a Norfolk and Western track siding just east of the original Town limits.

By 1920 railroad employees far outnumbered self-employed artisans. By World War I industrial manufacturing had replaced pre-Civil War patterns of production by skilled craftsmen. Industrial employment in Buchanan increased between 1920 and 1940 with limestone and bone product operations employing over 400 workers, many of whom commuted to town by automobile on newly improved hard surface roads.

On the eve of World War II, Buchanan's population had grown to 870 inhabitants and Land Books for the Town recorded 70 more lots with buildings than in 1910. Industrial employment continued to provide for Buchanan residents during and after World War II. Hafleigh and Co. converted to military production during the war and sold out to Groendyke Manufacturing Co. in 1965, an operation that by 1980 employed 125 workers in the manufacture of silicone and rubber products. The James River Limestone Company employed 125 workers in 1980. Buchanan's textile industry employed between 130 and 200 workers from the 1950's through the 1970's.

Since 1960 truck traffic on Interstate 81, the latest upgrade of the great overland route west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, shipped precut and finished garments to and from Buchanan.
Following recent annexations, Buchanan's population has grown to over 1,200 inhabitants.
Today, after decades of physical and economic decline, the Town of Buchanan has become a leader within the area for economic development within the context of Historic Preservation. This contemporary practice of development uses historic preservation as a catalyst for growth, promoting quality growth which respects the community's traditional land use development patterns.

After six years of concentrated downtown revitalization activities following the "Main Street Principles," and 3.5 million dollars of private sector investment, downtown has once again become host to a variety of businesses and residences proudly representing the community's dreams and aspirations.

Score a " W" for UCLA

My oh my...my UCLA Bruins beat Washington 27-7 at Husky Stadium in Washington. It was a sweet victory for the Bruins who have had a lack luster season. Not so many years ago the powerhouse Huskies would have had their way with the Bruins, no questions asked.

The Bruins (4-6, 3-4 Pac-10) scored on the first drive of the game and never trailed as Washington fans who showed up on a cool November night to voice their anger and animosity about Neuheisel's messy divorce from the school in 2003 were left to boo their own lame-duck coach Tyrone Willingham in his final home game at Washington.

"I hope that we can talk about the Bruins and the Huskies from now on instead of the messy ending," Neuheisel said. "It will never go completely away because it was a controversial time. It will be exciting for me when it's the stories about the players getting ready to play than what happened back in 2003."

Neuheisel did his best all week to soothe the return. The first-year UCLA coach even apologized to angry Washington fans who blame him for the school's 18-50 mark since his firing in 2003.
But with the two schools occupying the bottom of the Pac-10 standings, the focus was bound to be on the sidelines.

Many fans made certain Neuheisel knew of their displeasure. A large contingent showed up with signs, ranging from "Neu-weasel!" to one asking for betting advice -- "Hey Slick, should I take UW and the points?" -- in reference to Neuheisel's involvement in an NCAA tournament pool that was part of his dismissal at Washington.

But some chose to remember Neuheisel's accomplishments in Seattle with signs acknowledging the 2001 Rose Bowl title, a 33-16 overall record and bowl games in all four seasons.
"I had great years here at the University of Washington. ... My memories are mostly favorable," Neuheisel said. "I understand the messy ending, I acknowledge my part in it and I'm happy that hopefully we can put this behind us."

Bell led UCLA with 97 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Bruins handed Washington (0-10, 0-7) its 12th consecutive loss and kept the Huskies the only winless team in the country. Washington is 0-10 for the first time ever and its best hope for avoiding the first winless season in school history is next week's Apple Cup against equally woeful Washington State.
"I would say it adds to the urgency," Willingham said of avoiding 0-12. "I think our guys feel it. I feel it."

Neuheisel first stepped on the field about two hours before kickoff, his first time in the stadium since June 2003, and lingered near midfield taking in his old surroundings. The one time Neuheisel's name was mentioned through the stadium's speakers, he was mildly booed. His security detail was more cursory than a show of force with one lone state trooper jogging across the field with Neuheisel when the Bruins emerged from the locker room before kickoff.
After the victory, Neuheisel got his wife, Susan, from the stands and walked off the field satisfied with the return. One of their older sons yelled "scoreboard" to a group of fans around the tunnel on his way out of the stadium.

"In some ways, maybe, hopefully, a little closure," Neuheisel said.
Meanwhile, Willingham walked the Washington sideline for the last time in Husky Stadium, his future already determined to be unemployment following the Huskies season finale Dec. 6 at California.

A familiar name to Neuheisel tried to give Washington momentum early. Trenton Tuiasosopo, cousin of Marques who led Washington to the 2001 Rose Bowl, intercepted Craft to set up Washington's first touchdown and deflected another pass that became Craft's second interception of the first half.

Craft threw his third interception early in the second half, but rebounded by engineering a 15-play, 92-yard drive, hitting on all three of his throws. Bell then flew over the pile from the 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Bruins up 24-7. Neuheisel gave an emphatic fist pump on the sideline and had a high-five waiting for Craft as he came off the field, while the remnants of a half-filled Husky Stadium -- the announced crowd of 59,738 was tickets sold -- started heading for the exits.

"In some ways it was important to try and play well and get a win but it was more for our team. I tried to make sure our guys understood [that]," Neuheisel said.
Washington's only score -- a 7-yard TD run by Brandon Johnson -- came on a drive in the first quarter that started at the UCLA 11. The Huskies finished with only 135 total yards.

"I never in a million years would have thought we would turn out 0-10," Johnson said.

My First Blog Giveaway !!!

With the upcoming holiday season I thought what better time than to have a blog giveaway. I will be giving away a copy of my most recent vintage textile book to two (2) lucky receipients along with a little something extra, a vintage textile treasure.

What you will get: an autographed copy of my book "Colorful Vintage Kitchen Towels" (2006) and a vintage textile treasure.

Who Can enter: Anyone with a valid email address (United States, Canada, International) and mailing address.

To Enter: All you have to do is leave a comment about your "funniest" holiday experience on my blog. I will do a random number selection and notify the winner(s) by email to get your mailing address.

Closing Date: December 2, 2008 at midnight (EST)

That's My World Volume IV-Tingler's Mill at Paint Bank, Virginia

More about Paint Bank Virginia and Tingler's Mill

Tingler's Mill has a long and varied history. As a present-day decorative fixture of Paint Bank, its presence makes a grand statement about revitalization and historic preservation. In the past, however, it was an important element of everyday life in the town of Paint Bank, Virginia, serving area farmers and residents as a source of grain and flour by grinding corn and wheat.
The grist mill sits on Potts Creek, on property originally owned by Revolutionary War hero Colonel William Preston. Preston was given the land grants in 1780 for his service in the war. Through Preston's children the property eventually passed to John H. Peyton, Preston's granddaughter's husband, in 1816.

While the unincorporated town was officially formed in 1851, the mill building itself was not built until 1863. Henry Tingler began a small water-powered operation to process corn, wheat and oats for local farmers. During the civil war Tingler was drafted into service by the Confederacy, but managed to return home by proclaiming that his services as a miller were more valuable than his services as a soldier. A Union sympathizer, after his return home he not only supplied food to the people in the area, but also gun powder to the fighting forces.

Tingler's daughter Molly married W. H. (Harve) Humphreys, who lived in a house near the present-day general store and worked the mill with Tingler. According to Humphreys's grandson, Watson Smith of New Castle, Humphreys wanted to keep the business in the family, and expand it to include making flour. Tingler could not read or write, so Humphreys provided the driving force behind the renovation. In 1897, Humphreys borrowed $10,000 and reworked the mechanics of the mill, tearing down the original building and starting over. The small grist mill became a manufacturing mill capable of large scale flour production. The building which stands today most likely is that second building, erected over the old foundation in 1897.
Humphreys bequeathed the mill to his son, Johnny Henry Humphreys, who operated the mill until 1952, when he sold it to Roy S. and Coral May Morse. Roy Morse sold the mill to David E. and Marcia Harrison a little over a decade later, in 1967. By this time, local residents say, government regulations on the mill had become so strict that operating it was no longer cost-effective.

From 1897 until 1971 the mill was known as "Humphreys Mill". In 1971, when the Harrisons sold the mill to A.J. and Dorothy W. Tingler, the mill became known as "Tingler's Mill". The Tinglers kept the mill in the family until 1993, when it was sold to Jonathan F. Fitzgerald with the stipulation that the mill continue to be called "Tingler's Mill". Fitzgerald sold the property to the Mulheren family, the present owners.

In 2004, the mill pond was revitalized and is now stocked with trout. Recently the entire exterior of the mill was restored, a new race was constructed and the big wheel is once again turning. Restoration of the inside of the building is on-going as the present owners continue to bring the mill back to its former beauty and function. In the future, they hope to add tours to view the machinery and to be able to have demonstrations of the complete milling process, from kernel to flour (borrowed from post posted by The Depot Lodge)

Check out That's My World where people from all over the globe share pictures of their part of the world.

Some Critters from the Swinging Bridge Restaurant

Yesterday I posted about the Swinging Bridge Restaurant in Paint Bank and noted they decorated with taxidermy pieces throughout. I particularly liked the way they worked the bears into the design scheme. This one is after the honey. Be sure to take a peek at my Saturday post about the restaurant.

Oregon St. 34, UCLA 6

OREGON STATE WON in Pasadena for the first time since 2000 as they won their fourth straight conference game improving to 6-3 and becoming bowl eligible.

Jacquizz Rodgers set a Pac-10 rushing record for freshmen and Sean Canfield filled in ably at quarterback to help Oregon State beat UCLA 34-6 on Saturday.
Rodgers ran for 144 yards to increase his season total to 1,089 - the most ever by a freshman in the conference. He's only the third Pac-10 first-year player to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a season. Ken Simonton, the Beavers' career rushing leader, had 1,028 in 1998 and Darrin Nelson had 1,069 for Stanford in 1977.
Rodgers, who has now rushed for over 100 yards seven times, scored on a 1-yard TD run with 7:18 left in the third quarter and a 5-yard pass with 10:15 remaining after an interception by safety Greg Laybourne.
The victory helped keep Oregon State's chances at a return trip to the Rose Bowl alive. The Beavers (6-3, 5-1 Pac-10) need to run the table in their final three games against No. 21 California, Arizona and Oregon to win the conference title.
Oregon State's 27-21 upset victory over USC on Sept. 25 would serve as the tiebreaker for the Rose Bowl if it came down to that. The school's last appearance in Pasadena on New Year's Day was at the end of the 1964 season, a 34-7 loss to Michigan.
Canfield completed 16 of 22 passes for 222 yards, including a 75-yard pass play to James Rodgers that set up one of Justin Kahut's two field goals. Last week, the left-handed Canfield led the Beavers to a come-from-behind 27-25 victory over Arizona State, throwing for 218 yards and two touchdowns after starting quarterback Lyle Moevao went down in the second quarter with a strained muscle in his shoulder.
Saturday's win, which snapped a five-game losing streak against UCLA, came a year and five days after Canfield injured his shoulder against USC and lost his starting job to Moevao. Canfield underwent surgery for a torn labrum and missed spring practice, then suffered a setback early in fall practice when shoulder soreness sidelined him for the first few games.
UCLA (3-6, 2-4) was 2-for-15 on third-down conversions after coming up empty on its first nine attempts. Kevin Craft completed 20 of 42 passes for 189 yards and threw two interceptions, one by Patrick Henderson that set up Ryan McCants' 35-yard touchdown run with 2:18 to play.
James Rodgers had six receptions for 115 yards, and Stroughter gained 93 yards on six catches.
UCLA, coming off a bye that followed a 41-20 loss at Cal, was missing offensive guards Micah Reed and Scott Glicksberg along with defensive tackle Jess Ward - all of whom were suspended for the game for violating team rules.

The blue and gold alas are out of bowl contention this season. I can only look forward to next season.

A Day in the Virginia Countryside

Paint Bank, Virginia is located on State Route 311 and is in the far northwest corner of Craig County close to the West Virginia border.

The restaurant, called the Swinging Bridge, was our destination for lunch this day and features home grown bison (I will show pictures of them in future posts). Paint Bank’s Hollow Hill Farm is home to about 200 bison and Highlander beef cattle. The meat, which is shipped all over the country is featured prominently on the restaurant's menu. There's buffalo stew, buffalo burgers, and buffalo steak sandwiches. Homemade pies, cakes, breads, and desserts top off the menu.Hubby waiting for me while I run about looking at potential photographic opportunities.

While waiting to be seated for lunch we ran into friends from my work (Jay and Joan and Alex and Ellen) who were out for the day on their motorcycles. We enjoyed a hearty lunch. A couple of us had bison stew while the others had buffalo steak sandwiches. Dessert was yummy and of course we could not pass it up. Hubby and I shared a piece of pecan pie. Jay and Joan shared a piece of pumpkin log as did Alex and Ellen.

I ventured up to the swinging bridge after lunch and snapped a photo of hubby, Jay and Alex (right to left) while they chatted about how to solve the world's problems.

Here is the swinging bridge that is above the restaurant dining room. It is firmly anchored and you walk across it to get from one side of the gift shop to the other. You can also walk around but it isn't nearly as fun. The restaurant decor is quite interesting and features a bevy of taxidermy animals. I will share them in a future post.

After lunch we decided to follow the bikers and ventured further into the Virginia countryside along route 600. I will share more photos in future posts.

Memories of Summer with Friends-Lake Moomaw, Virginia

Bill and Cindy's younger daughter Sherry babysitting the watermelon :) She's a cutie.

Hubby tending the grill...sporting his "VIRGINIAN" hat. Hat design from one that Thomas Jefferson wore.

Bill, Yvonne and my hubby.

Getting ready for a cruise on the lake in Bill's pontoon boat...

Life is good for my hubby...a day in the country and tending the meat on the grill, what more could a man ask for~

I was going through my pictures and thought I would post some pictures of our wonderful summer days at Lake Moomaw with our friends Bill and Cindy and their children and Bill's co-worker and his wife. Bill bought this lovely acreage just down the road from Lake Moomaw and is going to build a house there. He's already built a barn and is in the process of digging a well. I love the area...it is pristine and so beautiful. After we chowed on yummy meal we had a fire in the fire pit. The pictures made me smile ^..^

Let's Remember as We Cast Our Votes Today...

America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses-Woodrow Wilson

That's My World-Issue III View from Cemetary Hill, Fincastle, Virginia

Check out That's My World where people from all over the globe share pictures of their part of the world.

View from the cemetary on the hill in Fincastle, Virginia looking toward West Virginia.