Duraflame® Roasting Logs™ Review

We were recently asked if we would like to try out Duraflame®'s new product, Campfire Roasting Logs™. We do have a fire pit out back, and we spend a lot of summer and fall evenings out there relaxing after sunset. With Bug around though, we hadn't had very much "relaxing" time. This particular evening was no exception. Bug's bedtime had come and gone, she had fought sleep for two hours, and we had finally won the battle. After a long day and with two bored teenagers in the house, we decided it was time to kick them (and ourselves) outside for a little R&R by the fire. The girls decided they wanted S'mores, and it was then that we remembered we needed to do this review. Duraflame® had been kind enough to not only send us a Campfire Roasting Logs™ pack, but also a S'mores Kit to go with it.

A Red Raspberry Weekend

We have been up to our chins in raspberries since Saturday. As you may have read, the raspberries were ready for picking, and they won't wait on you! So, we spent all weekend finding and picking ripe red raspberries on Flint Ridge.

Saturday didn't go so well for the picking. We had done work around the house, and by the time we made it to the patch, the mosquitoes had woke up. They were snacking on us big time, and we decided to give Sunday morning a try instead.

A Surprise Bubble Bursting

Tim had plans for a hike this weekend. I hate to burst his bubble, but:

I think the raspberries have other plans.

A weekend spent on Flint Ridge picking buckets of scrumptious, ripe, wild, red raspberries to begin in less than 24 hours!

Well, the least he can donate is a day of his time... right?!?

Gotta Keep On Keeping On

It's Saturday night, and Tim and I spent all day in the woods. And since the end of the world didn't show it's ugly face, I suppose we'll have to pay the bills and feed the cats after all. But that can wait until we're done being lazy by the fire.

See, the way we seen it, if we were going to be "called" today, then we were going out in style. Our style, that is. We dressed ourselves in our favorite hiking clothes (well, I had to improvise a bit as the baby has caused my favorite hiking pants to be a bit snug around the waist) and set out for a hike in the Big South Fork. It took me us all day to hike roughly 3 miles, and Tim and Clover were very patient with my numerous stops and out-of-breath-ness. Building a baby is hard work!  We hiked to the beautiful Slave Falls - where I ruined the seat of my drawers by literally having to slide down large muddy rocks to get the perfect shot - and on over to Needle Arch where Tim took my 10 weeks photo. He doesn't know it yet but it was the perfect place to take this one since it occurred to me not two days ago that in less than seven months I'm going to be forced to pass a camel through the eye of a needle. Needle Arch - the beautiful, naturally-formed, sandstone archway - will never be the same to me again. I will forever look upon it with fear and dread. And with those thoughts in mind, it was slightly disappointing that Jesus didn't show up to give me a reprieve.

On a side note - and a bit of personal trivia - what you may or may not know is that this is Tim and I's first birth together. Ashby - whom I've raised since she was three - is Tim's biological daughter and my adopted daughter. Although that's not relevant to our outdoors blogging, we thought it might clear up some things if we happen to sound like newbies all over again.

I know Tim is looking forward to detailing our hike for you - he loves that part of blogging! And I love to let him do it. So for now, and since I'm still here, I'll be working on the photos for his post in the very near future.

Oh, and Chip - these are just for you! The laurel is starting to bloom in the BSF.

Until then - Happy Weekend!
Robin and Tim

Rhodo-Boasting

Have I mentioned our rhododendron?? Oh, quite a few times already. But have I told you that it's the single most beautiful rhododendron in the world?? At least... I think so.

With light-pink blossom clusters larger than my face, here are some more photos I couldn't help posting of our backyard rhodo that towers over me when I visit and reminds me each time that it is much older than I.

Rainy Days by AnB Zeppelin

Yup... Robin is officially bored of the rain.

** To the tune of Dancin' Days by Led Zeppelin **

Rainy days are here again and the springtime evenings are cool.
The rhodo’s flowers are lovin’ the showers, the toads are on the stools.

Chorus
Temperate rainforest, Temperate rainforest – that’s what we get, I guess.
Rains for days and days, that’s right: days and days – shouldn’t expect any less.

Crazy weather is evident – There is snow on Mt. Mitchell in May
We’ve turned our heat on inside to keep the chillies at bay.

Chorus
Temperate rainforest, Temperate rainforest – that’s what we get, I guess.
Rains for days and days, that’s right: days and days – shouldn’t expect any less.

I told my Timmy I’d take some pics, but my camera hasn’t been waterproofed.
All this drizzle has made me sizzle with cabin fever under this roof.

Chorus
Temperate rainforest, Temperate rainforest – that’s what we get, I guess.
Rains for days and days, that’s right: days and days – shouldn’t expect any less.

Rainy days are here again and the springtime evenings are cool.
I want the sunshine back, the pretty sunshine back, I want to swim in a pool.

The Evening Post

Tonight we're spending time on the deck in the cool night air while the exhaust fan we have set up in the largest window pulls most of the hot air from the day out of the house. Our a/c is shot for the moment, and today's high temps reached nearly 85 degrees. It was 82 in the house around 9:30 this evening; an unbearable temperature in my opinion. But as the temps begin to dip outside, our fan pulls the cool night air into the house making it comfortable for sleepy time.










We spend a lot of evenings on the deck, fighting off the creepy crawlies and avoiding stepping on the caterpillars that seem to have an on/off switch. At some point in the evening, they just stop where they are at, never moving, flinching, or seeming to care that you nearly spilled their guts with the heel of your shoe. Sometimes we even find them hanging in place, as if they were in a half-reach stage when someone flipped their switch.

It smells like honeysuckle this time of year. The backyard is in full bloom; although it's hard to see any of that in the darkness. I turned on the halogens to keep the bugs off us, and they lit the rhododendron up quite nicely. And the evening forest is full of chatter - raccoons, crickets, frogs, and the occasional cat fight. There's also the beating of wings and the slamming of velvety bodies - kamikaze moths literally dying for one small moment at that halogen heaven.

Tim is reading Clover a bit out of our Advance Reader copy of Following Atticus that we are so thankful to have received. I don't know what it is, but that book has already made me cry more times than Bridges of Madison County. We'll just blame it on the pregnancy hormones. It is so beautifully written, and so heartwarming. I can't wait to finish it and write a review for all of you in hopes that you'll want a copy when it's released in September.

Until next time, happy evenings!
Robin & Tim