Now, after 2-1/2 years in Virginia

we still love our house, the setting and living in the woods. What's changed is that we don't like Staunton so much, finding it to be stuck in the 20th C. - perhaps the mid-80's. The town seems to have added new businesses too quickly when money was available; now wherever you drive there are scores of vacant buildings. The downtown area's quaintness was great when there were truly thriving businesses; now we find that it's only depressing. Shopping here means driving from one area to another, and even then the choices are rather dismal. Being retired we have no need to shop for career-oriented clothing but the choice of JCP, a smallish Belk's and Peebles isn't exactly a shopper's paradise; but perhaps the choices speak to what the natives want.
We enjoy going to Charlottesville for major food buying trips where we can visit Whole Foods, Food of All Nations (tinned mushy peas anyone?) and a wonderful deli called Feast! where we can buy great cheeses and salumi and other items such as vinegars and olive oils. And, of course, a Latino and Asian market side by side where we stock up on items not available at all in Staunton. We've also discovered a couple of eating establishments, but this is something we partake in rarely; why eat out when you can make it better at home. We've been to the Boars Head Inn 3-4 times and have never failed to enjoy the meal.
We're nearly finished now with our second remodel of our kitchen, doing this time what should have been done the first but I guess we just couldn't get our head around the idea of removing a patio door and replacing it with a window. Actually, it's good we waited; now the patio door is in our master bedroom looking out onto a lovely flower garden (or what will soon be lovely). What a huge difference that made. Anyway, we now have a kitchen measuring 12 x 18, with a 6' window above the sink looking out into the woods across our driveway. The difference is simply magical and except for one, we've reused all the cabinetry from the original kitchen. Add to that a 3' x 8' commercial SS island with shelving above, lighting and heat lamp and small sink; a 30" x48" SS worktable next to the 40 yr. old Garland 6 burner/griddle/open broiler/2-oven stove we picked up in Chicago back in January, a breakfast bar we built in the closet under the stairs, and an electric convection oven. And we can't forget the wonderful 3-door, bottom freezer LG refrig.
We moved the laundry room down into our large master bath, and put the wine cooler and "dog" refrigerator behind the door where the stacked W/D used to reside. For those of you who don't know, we make our own dog food: raw gr. beef, chicken livers (supplemented with occasional bear or venison if a neighbor has been hunting) cooked brown rice, garlic, and shredded carrots and fresh broccoli. We've been grieving the loss of Bob's dog Rosie whom we had to put down at the first of April. She was 12 and had beat cancer 4 times; she couldn't win the 5th round. Now we have just Saku, another Giant Schnauzer, who's 3-1/2. He's still a puppy and loves to go down to, and in, the Calfpasture River, some 60-70 feet down the hill from our house.
A month ago Bob drove to Luray and brought home 6 laying hens, so next month we can expect to begin harvesting eggs. The previous owner had a coop so after much discussion and changing of minds, we decided to give it a try. Saku just discovered them out in their yard a couple days ago, and while he barked a little bit, they all lined up along the fence and looked at him. We're enjoying them alot. They have a safe coop to spend the night in and it's fun to see how they come running when they hear us. The first couple nights I went out to bed them down and had to chase them around and pick them up; now when we go out they're in the coop on the roost or huddled into a corner. Does anyone know why they all huddle into a corner?
Tomorrow we're going to Chile's Peach Orchard in Crozet for our first fresh peaches of the season. What a treat that is going to be. And this year we're going to do some canning. Imagine! a husband that wants to can.
Our little herb garden is going really well; we have about 8 tomatoes on our plants; the leeks,peppers, chard, and green onions are growing like crazy - and of course radishes. With the hot weather we've been having, corn is already knee high and there are great hay bales around the countryside. Having lived in Minnesota so long that makes me think that summer is nearing its end, when it's only just getting started.