MerryHeartCrafts.comMountain Momma… Country Living

Okay, so our visit went by much too quick.  Monday evening when they first arrived it seemed like such a long time, but now it is Thursday and they are gone.  I miss them already.  We had so much fun. We went to a park here in town.  When the girls were little they called it “the colored swings.”  We, of course, still call them that.  Tuesday was a beautiful day, we packed a picnic lunch and headed into town.  We had a great time.  Wednesday was cool here.  Not much outside activity.  Today however is gorgeous.  Nice and warm with lots of sunshine.

Doesn’t he look like he is having fun!

The girls had a great time keeping up with him.  Well, maybe not a great time but they did have fun.

No fear-no gain.  Tuesday evening while we were outside burning off the garden, Daniel had lots of fun playing Superman.   As I have said before he is all boy.  Time for me to start supper.  I think tonight’s menu will be sloppy joes and fries.  Something easy.  MawMaw needs to rest.  (Just kidding)  I don’t think anything makes me feel any younger than being around small children.  They love so freely and completely.  No wonder Christ said for us to come to Him as a little child.  Take care and God bless.

Here are some pictures of the fun we had last Thursday on Jess and Daniel’s visit.  In the first picture, we are outside playing, the next picture is coltsfoot (one of our earliest wildflowers to bloom).  We took a ride around the farm in “MawMaw’s bumpy truck”.  On the tractor road, we spotted these kildeer walking on the road.  Jess took the picture from the truck.  I think they might have a nest somewhere close as they did not want to leave thier area.  The last picture is Daniel, thinking.  I am not exactly sure but it looks like he is trying to figure out how to get the sawdust in his wheelbarrow.  We had lots of fun!

Tonight’s menu is pork tenderloin on the grill, french fries and corn on the cob-frozen from our garden last year.  I gathered some rhubarb today and plan to make rhubarb dumplings for dessert. 

Rosemary Marinade Recipe

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

2-4 tsp dried rosemary-crushed

Combine all ingredients.  Pour over beef, chicken, or pork. (I use this on all types of meat).   School is finished for today.  Time to enjoy the sun.  We got our bikes out today, pumped up the tires,and oiled the chains.  We rode for a little while.  Long enough for me to discover how out of shape I am.  It will take a while before I can keep up with the girls.  I hope to work some on the garden this evening.  We have some clean up to do before Hubby can plow.  I hope you all enjoy your evening.  Take care and God bless.

Here is how I make our pickled eggs.  First I boil the eggs.

After they have cooled, peel them.

Put them into a large glass container.  I use a wide mouth half gallon canning jar.  Using a wide mouth jar makes it easier to get the eggs out.  We grow beets in our garden.  In the fall we harvest them and make pickled beets.  I use the pickled beet juice to pour over the boiled eggs.  If you don’t have your own pickled beets you can buy them from the store.  If using store brought you will need to add pickling spice to the juice.  About 1 tsp. per can.

As soon as you pour the juice over them, they turn this beautiful color.  Put them in the fridge and they will be ready to eat in about a week.  As I said yesterday, Hubby loves them.  I think they are just okay so I consider making  them an act of love.  Last night’s supper menu was pork roast baked in a cast iron dutch oven, mashed potatoes, home canned corn, homemade rolls, and blackberry dumplings made from blackberries we canned last fall.  Delicious!  Today is sunshine, beautiful sunshine.  Warmer temperatures are on the way.  Jess is coming up tomorrow with Daniel.  She has some shirts she needs altered.  We also hope to go the the local greenhouse and check out the flowers.  Lots of fun!  The girls don’t know it yet but we are taking an Easter break.  Half school today and then no school until Monday.  They will be very happy.  Well, now it’s time for a language test so I better get busy being Teacher.  Take care and God bless.

Another picture of Stripes.  Maybe she wants a shower.  Grace took this picture of Stripes in one of her strange places.  She lays in the sink quite frequently.  She also loves to get a drink from the faucet.   I think the word “spoiled” might come to mind.  Yesterday was lots of fun.  I went to my friend Vicki’s  and we made our own hot cocoa mix.  It is really good.  Much better than the powdered mix bought from the store  and I’m sure much healthier.  We read the ingredients of the store bought instant mix and it contained lots of things we couldn’t pronounce.  In case anyone is interested in making their own here is the recipe.  16 cups powdered dry milk, 1 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 5 cups sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt.  In a large bowl mix all ingredients well and store in an airtight container or zip lock bags.  To use measure 1/3 cup of mix into a cup and add hot water, stir.  This will make about 1 gal. of mix, perhaps a little over.  Vicki and I halved this recipe.  The powdered milk will be your biggest expense, so shop around for the best price.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we have.  God Bless.

What do you all think about my Christmas cactus?  Ain’t it pretty?  It was given to me several years ago by a dear friend.  I’m not very good with indoor flowers but this one has been beautiful every year.  I quess I just have it in a good location.  Thanks, Barbara!  I really enjoy it’s color so I thought I would share it with everyone.  Today is a very dreary day in Floyd.  Rainy, foggy, windy, chilly.  Yuk. No outside activities today, except carry in some wood for the fire.  Oh well, it could be much worse.  School has went very well today.  We are learning about writing reports in language.  Not very exciting but necessary information.   Tonight is church night and the girls always look forward to Team Kids.  They have lots of fun and learn about scripture too, so it makes them and us happy.  If anyone wants to learn more about Team Kids, it is a program through Lifeway.  You can go to their web page and find out all about it.  We are still doing the Beth Moore study on the Fruit of the Spirit on Wednesday night.  Pretty good study.  Well lunch break is over and I better get busy.  God Bless.

Every day the weather permits the girls try to take Jasper on a walk.  They want to teach him how to walk on a lease.  They call this their P.E. class.  They walk to the top of the hill on the tractor road.   As you can tell, the kitten goes too.  Sometimes, however, Dad has a real P.E. class for them.  Anyone who has ever moved much wood knows what a workout that can be.  It was a beautiful day for working outside.  A litte windy, as usual, but warm with lots of sunshine.  The last two days, however, have not been so nice.  Lots of fog and wet.  Oh well.  The girls were probably glad for the fog.  The splitter was loaned to us from a friend at church.  We are very thankful for the use of it.  Splitting wood by hand, I think, is a young man job.  The older we get the harder it is to do.  So thanks again, Dale.  We appreciate it.   Hubby is gone today with other church members to shoot some clays.  The place, I think, is called Primland and that’s about all I know.  They go there quite often.  George has been looking forward to going with them for quite some time.  They seem to always have lots of fun.  Tonight is our Halloween Alternative at church.  We call it Christfest.  Lots of fun.  Dress Up-kids and adults.  Lots of games and candy.  I will try to get some pictures to post so you all can see what fun it really is.  I pray everyone enjoys the children tonight and that everyone will be safe.  In my Daily Bread devotional today, it talks about children tonight filling their bags with candy and then it asks “What are we filling our vessels with?”  Think about it tonight every time you drop candy in a child’s bag.  If we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we leave room for other things to fill us.  End of sermon.  God Bless.