MerryHeartCrafts.comMountain Momma… Country Living

I thought I would show you all a quilt the girls made for Katie.  They did everything including heming it on the machine.  I thought they did a really good job.  I just finished crocheting an afgan for her but we forgot to take a picture of it.  I’ll try to get one next time we go down.

Today has been rainy and overcast here.  The air has become chillier as the day progressed.  Not much else going on here.  We did school and then Hubby and I went in to town to get some chicken feed.  They have been doing really well with their laying.  I had sold enough eggs to pay for the feed except for $2.00.   I thought that was pretty good. 

Supper tonight is deer tenderloin, gravy, corn, biscuits and plum jelly.  YUM!    Here are a few fall shots we took the other day.

This one is the field behind our house.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

They sure have grown!  Every time I see them they look so much bigger.  We discovered this morning that we have a female mallard duck nesting on the island now.  We are so excited!  We have wanted ducks to nest there since we moved here.  We’ve not sure why the ducks and the geese have decided that the island is now nest worthy but we sure are glad.  There is a big difference between the ducks and the geese.  The ducks are more secretive and the male is less aggressive.  Papa Goose is always on patrol, keeping away all others. 

I know it has been a long time since I made a post.  I have been busy this week helping Hubby with a job he had building a fence.  The girls took their school books and did school in the van while I helped him.  Last night the girls had their piano recital.  It all went very well.  They did a good job on their songs.    We have been busy this morning getting the yard mowed and other things that needed doing around the house. 

On Tuesday, I attempted to make homemade cottage cheese.  It DID NOT  turn out.  I’m not sure what I did wrong.  I followed the directions I got from the internet.  I think I need a different recipe.  Have any of you all ever made cottage cheese?  I sure would appreciate all info I can get. 

The girls found new kittens today in one of the old buildings.  It is always so exciting for them when they find new kittens.  These belong to one of our wild cats so we have no idea if she will leave them where they are or not.  Only time will tell.  We have much to do so I better get busy.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

The front porch is finished.  I wanted to show you the finished product.  I’m not sure the picture does a good job of showing it or not.

I rolled the blinds down some so you all could see them too.  When we do school out here, we roll them down some to eliminate the glare.  They also help keep it cooler in the summer.  We now have cleaned and mopped the floor and returned all the furniture to the porch.  It is so nice.  Thanks, Hubby.

Yesterday was spent down at Jessica’s watching the boys while she went for her ultra sound.  She saw the heart beat so all is well in Mama’s world.  She is 8 weeks and her due date is Nov. 9th.  Very close to Grace’s birthday.  Today will be catch up at school and getting the house cleaned for tomorrow’s bible study.  It is my turn for dessert and I am planning on making cinnamon rolls.  We are going over to the Horn’s tomorrow evening to eat and visit with them.  I am making enough cinnamon rolls to take over there as well. 

Enjoy your day and God bless.

We have a slight breeze here in Floyd today.  Well, okay maybe more than a slight breeze but not a hard wind.  Just perfect for drying clothes on the line.  When the wind is blowing like this, the clothes are so soft when they get dry.  We had a busy weekend but lots of fun.  The girls and I went to Sam’s Club Saturday and picked up a few things.  Before that we went to one of our local malls and walked around, just looking.  This is something we never do, so that made it special.  They have already started putting up their Christmas stuff.  It was so much fun.  Yesterday was church day.  The pastors sermon was very good.  He compared being a soldier in the Armed Forces with being a soldier in God’s army.  He did a really good job.  Last nights menu was soup, pinto beans, cornbread, tator tot casserole, cooked apples and carrot cake.  Very good.

Today we are doing Grace’s birthday party.  We are going over to our friends the Horns to celebrate.  Vicki is making the cake and I am taking some homemade chicken noodle soup.  We are all looking forward to a great day.  I know I have said it before, but we are very blessed by the Lord to have the Horns in our life.  We so appreciate their friendship.

Well, I gotta go party.  Take care and God bless.

Well, we came back home yesterday evening and I did remember to bring the camera.  The problem is the camera card is in Jessica’s pocket book.  So still no pictures.  Anyway, we have got a lot done.  All the walls and ceiling is finished.  Dave and Jess are painting it this weekend while we are home.  She decided to paint the room a light blue, the official name is icy blue.  It sounds really pretty.  We are staying here until Monday morning then going back down to work some more.  We will be coming back home Tuesday evening as Hubby has some work coming up this week.  He still has to lay the tile on the floor and do some more to the electrical.  We will be starting our revival at church tomorrow.  I am really looking forward to hearing the preacher who is bringing the message.  I have never heard him before but others that have say he does a really good job. The youth from his church will be doing the music.  We will be having a fellowship meal tomorrow following the service (of course), you know we gotta eat.  I think I will take potato soup and salisbury steak with gravy.  I’m not sure if I’ll have time to make a dessert or not but there usually is an abundance of desserts.

Temperatures here are cool-mid 50′s.  It has been raining most of the day.  It is also pretty foggy.  I think it will be a nice sleeping night.  I just made some blueberry muffins and they are ready to eat.  I think I’ll see if they are good.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Look at these beautiful pears!  We went down to Jessica’s over the weekend and Saturday we went to David’s Moms.  She gave us lots of beautiful apples and pears.  We have 3 boxes of apples and 1 box of pears.  Thanks, Donna!  I think we will start on the pears today.  I am thinking I will freeze them.  They are very juicy pears.  I’m not sure if they would hold up to canning them.  The girls had a great time swimming Saturday afternoon in Donna’s pool.  Daniel is making great progress  learning to swim (with his lifejacket on).  He can move all around the pool by himself and of course does not want any help.  We also enjoyed hamburgers on the grill with corn on the cob and mac and cheese.  We had a lot of fun  but it was soon time to come home.  Time goes so quickly.

It was a very pleasant day here yesterday.  Sunshine and nice temperatures.  Upper 70′s to low 80′s.  After church, we came home and did our lesson for Sunday night class.   I spent some time reading outside on my swing.  For our evening meal at church we had polish sausage with peppers, onions and potatoes, sauerkraut, corn pudding, rolls, cucumbers, tomatoes, cole slaw, peach pie, pound cake with ice cream and brownies.  I think that’s all!  Really good food.  We have decided to do II Corinthians next.  We are almost finished with I Corinthians. 

Grace took this picture the other day.  I think she did a good job.  Yes, Jess, I know you do not like butterfly pictures.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

We were extremely impressed with the food strainer.  It was super fast compared to the old food mill and had very little waste.  We processed a bushel of apples in about 4 1/2 hours.  We used both big canners.  We got 12 qts and 24 pints.  YUM!  I have always used the hot water bath canner to process applesauce.  However, I read in my Mennonite cookbook, they could be processed in the pressure canner.  We tried that yesterday and it went very fast.  15 min. on 5 lb. pressure.  Much faster than using a bath canner.  Vicki and I had a great time and of course the kids had fun.  It is so much more pleasant sharing canning with a friend.  I am so thankful the Lord placed our families together.  Good friends are sometimes hard to find and I consider Vicki one of the best.

  The girls and I are planning a “girl day” out today.  We are going into C-burg to run some errands.  This will include Wal-Mart and Goodwill.  Temperatures have been very warm here in Floyd.  On the farm though, it isn’t near as bad as it is in town.  We are usually a few degrees cooler.  In the summer this is a plus, in the winter not so good.  Thankfully, we have quite a few shade trees in the yard and that really helps. 

Time for us to get ready to leave.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Ain’t they cute!  We went down for a short visit Saturday.  Not as long as we would have liked but still a good visit.  Sam is growing so much already.  He had really filled out.  He seems to be a very content little boy.  Daniel is busy drawing pictures for his mom.  If you look close at his face you can see the “little boy” dirt streaks all over it.  One of his favorite things to do Saturday was play in his little pool for a while, then get out and go play in the dirt and gravel pile.  Pretty much all out fun in little boy world.    Sunday was Ladies Day at church.   This means the ladies have the entire service.  We do everything.  We decided since it was Father’s Day, we would say a few things about our Dads and how they had influenced our lives.  It was a really nice service.  Everyone did such a good job.  Julie and Grace played the special music.  Julie played “God’s Touch” and Grace played “God of our Fathers” and “Faith of our Fathers”.  They both did a great job.  Hard work and practice do produce results.  Having a great teacher really helps too.  Hubby and I make jerky yesterday from some of the hamburger meat we put up from the beef.  We all really like jerky.  It gets eat up pretty fast around here.  After church we mostly just rested and enjoyed the day.  No Sunday night study because it was Father’s Day.  We won’t be meeting for several Sundays in the evenings.  Next Sunday night, VBS will start and the next weekend is the 4th of July weekend.  When we first started doing these studies, we all agreed not to meet on holiday weekends.  Everyone is usually busy doing things with their families.  I think I will be able to pick some more peas today.  I have gathered a few more squash.  I think I will cook a venison roast to go with them, maybe some homemade biscuits.  Sounds good to me.

While we were down at Jessica’s we went to this little hardware store that is a Charlie’s soap outlet.  I don’t know if any of you have heard of it or not, but it is a laundry soap that is made in Mayodan, NC.  You can read about it on the internet.  Well, Jess and I both bought some to try out.   I am going to use it today and see how we like it.   Time to go hang clothes out.  I so enjoy hanging my clothes out on the line.  It is a perfect opportunity to enjoy the sun.  The birds always sing such beautiful praises to God while I’m out there and I get to be part of it.  Thank you, Lord.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Here’s a few pictures of all the hard work the girls and I have been doing this summer.  Ain’t God good!  So much good home grown food.  I love it.  Julie took the pictures for me and I think she did a good job.  I went shopping today and purchased enough material for 9 more aprons.   I have sold all my dishcloths.  I have 2 aprons  left and 2 quilts.  I gotta get busy.  I also have some orders for Christmas to get made.    Today we went to a fall party at our friends house and the girls had so much fun.  Thanks Vicki!  I also bought some tea today (Christmas flavors).  So now every day at school we’ll be having a tea break.  Homeschool is so much fun.  Tomorrow is Sunday so I guess I better get busy doing my study on Daniel.  God Bless.