MerryHeartCrafts.comMountain Momma… Country Living

Wednesday, we had a GREAT time!!  We went with the Horn’s to Dollywood.  They had bought season tickets and got free one day passes to take a friend.  We were their friends.  Thanks again, guys.  We left Floyd at 7:00 that morning and got back home around midnight.  It was a long day but filled with fun.  Everyone was tired but happy.  Please be in prayer for Vicki and Quentin.  Quentin’s grandfather passed away yesterday morning. 

Yesterday was a dry day here in Floyd so I jumped in and started working on the garden.  

I tillered both gardens and got them ready for planting.  It was a full day.  This morning I started getting the plants in the ground.  So far, I have planted the potatoes, corn, onions, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.  After lunch, beans and tomatoes.  The girls will be helping me with them.  They have been inside doing the housework this morning while I worked outside. 

These are the seeds the girls and I planted in the greenhouse.  They have done really well.  Maybe all we needed all along was a greenhouse.  They certainly look the best of any seeds we have started before.  Hopefully, they will do good when transferred into the garden.

The squash and cucumbers have really grown.  Speaking of growing, look how big the goslings are.

They were up in the field watching me while I worked.  Well, I think that’s about it.  I better get back into the garden.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Look at our new toy!  Grace and I put it together this evening.  The thing is  I’m not sure how to use it.   Do we leave it inside when we start the seeds or do we put it outside?  I am totally unfamilar with one of these.  I tried to find out how to use it on the internet but could’nt find exactly what I was looking for.  Have any of you used one?  If so, could you share your knowledge.  Grace is really excited about starting seeds so I would really like to make it work.  I have tried starting seeds for many years but never have success.  They grow up tall and “spindly” and then die.  Last year we tried starting them like this:  http://merryheartcrafts.com/2011/04/20/our-greenhouse/  They looked really good until we transplanted them and they just died.  So sad!  All that work and then nothing.  I REALLY want Grace to be more successful than I have been over the years, so as I said earlier, any advice would be appreciated. 

Enjoy your day and God bless.

Our apple tree is in full bloom.  It certainly looks like we will have lots of apples on it-if the warmer weather holds out with no frost.  Our temperature was 36 degrees this morning.  It has already warmed up to lower 50′s.  As I type, the birds are singing, the sun is shining, clothes are drying on the line.  I truly have a blessed life.  Thank you, Lord!

We will be starting school in a little bit.  After school, I need to go into our little town and get a few things.  Then hopefully get home and get a few things done here.  I want to get our seeds started this week.  Tomorrow, Julie has an eye appointment in C-burg.  This usually is an all day thing.  We want to visit Goodwill while we’re over there.  The girls are hoping to find a few books.  Our Goodwill has an actual used book store in a separate building.  It will be a fun girls day out. 

Our back road is full of wild spring flowers.  We see something new blooming every time we travel that way.  Yesterday, the columbine was blooming.  I so enjoy seeing all the spring flowers come to life.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

Well, we have decided to give Mr. Rooster a chance.  If he is a good boy, I guess we’ll keep him.  We all think he sounds so cute when he crows.  We have decided his crow adds a little something to our day.  Wow, we really DO need to get out more.  Anyway, we’ll see how it works out. 

Yesterday, we worked with blackberries.  We made some blackberry juice.  Then took the berries we had cooked down to make the juice and put them in the Roma sauce maker.  The sauce maker takes out all the seeds.  We then make blackberry freezer jam.  We had some blackberry puree left over and I wondered what I would do with it.  Then I thought HOMEMADE BLACKBERRY ICE CREAM!  It was so good.  I tried to take a picture to share with you all but I couldn’t get it to turn out right.    I got the recipe online at Cooks.com but altered it some to better suit us.  Anyway, here is the recipe I used:

2 cups blackberry puree, 2 cups sugar, 3 eggs beaten, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 6 cups milk, 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk.  I mixed all the ingredients together and put it into the ice cream maker.  I plan on making peach ice cream this weekend when Dave, Jess and the boys come up. 

I went to work with Hubby this morning and helped him until lunchtime.  Then came home and the girls and I started working on the peaches.  We made some peach freezer jam and then canned some of the peaches.  We saved the peelings again and got 2 more qts of peach juice.  We also had a peach cobbler for supper.  I love peaches. 

I am looking forward to tomorrow as Sam and Daniel will be coming up to spend the day with us.  Enjoy your evening and God bless.

Remember the rose bush up by the fence that had not bloomed yet.  Well, this is it.  It is full of tiny white bloom.  Very pretty.

I thought I would share with you all how my plants look.  This is what the cucumbers looked like before we transplanted them.

This is what they look like now and this is one of the better looking ones.  Oh well, live and learn.  I am going today to a local greenhouse and hopefully get some cucumber plants.  Yesterday, after school, the girls and I worked on weeded some of our flower beds.  We planted some cosmos seed, some columbine and some seeds that just said “cut flowers”.  It is a little late getting the seeds in the ground but I think they will still have time to make flowers.

Temperature here is beautiful.  70 with sunshine and a good steady wind.  I have clothes ready for the line and another load to wash.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Our plants are growing.  YEAH!  Today makes 2 weeks since we planted the seeds.  I think they are doing really well.

The tomatoes and peppers seem to be the slower growing.   The cucumbers and squash are the fastest.  The broccoli and okra are growing pretty fast too. 

Today is overcast and windy.  The temperature is 60 degrees though so that is very nice.  I have clothes on the line outside.  We worked on school yesterday and then went into the library and piano practice.   I found a book at the library.  It is written by Ree Drummond.  She has a blog www.thepioneerwoman.com If you have never been to her blog I am sure you would enjoy it.  She has some excellent recipes and many interesting stories.  The book I got at the library is about her and her husbands courtship and marriage.  I think it will be very good.

Time for school.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless.

This is Baby Emily, David’s neice.  She is a very hardy eater and seemed very content in Daddy’s arms.

Daniel and his cousin Zack riding bikes.  Zack is Emily’s older brother.

And baby Sam held prisoner in his walker.    We all had a lot of fun with lots of good fun.  Jess had ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and banana pudding.  YUM!

Yesterday we went to get the inspection sticker on my car and found out the tie rods ends were bad.  We had to make a run to C-burg to get new ones.   Hubby and his brother put them on yesterday evening.  We went back in this morning and got the inspection sticker.  Hubby still does not have his window fixed on the van.  This has given him much trouble.  He of course is trying to fix the old one instead of buying a new one.  For some reason, the wire is not winding up on the spool correctly. 

We are getting rain today.  Temperatures are warm though so it will be very good for everything.  The girls and I checked our seeds out yesterday underneath our greenhouse.  We have a few tomatoes coming up, cucumbers and broccoli.  Very exciting.   Well, our lunch break is over.  Time for school to start.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Here are just a few shots of our garden.  We hope to soon enjoy squash as you can see the bloom on it.  This one tomato plant will be an early one.  The others are not near as big.  Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Floyd.  Hubby and I finished getting the garden out.  We planted a few more tomatoes and beans and corn.

Later in the evening we got a good rain.  I guess God knew our seeds needed a drink.  The girls and I are working on cleaning the house today and washing clothes.  My house is a little behind as we have been doing up the beef.  Our total is 80 quarts of canned beef and 88 bags of hamburger.  Pretty good I think.  Tomorrow is bible study day.  We are studying I Corinthians. Little Samuel will be here in 4 more days.  Unless he decides to come before then.  We all can hardly wait to see him and hold him.  God is good!  Also hopefully David will have my computer back in operation soon.  I really miss it.  It’s sometimes hard for me and Hubby to coordinate on one computer.  His free time is usually my free time too.  Well, my time is up.  The wringer is calling my name.  Take care and God bless.