Thanksgiving Fun

We spent the holiday with Dave and Jess. I managed to catch Daniel as he was running with Grace and took a quick picture. Ain’t he cute! One of his favorites things to do is run with Grace. As soon as we come in, he says “Hey Grace, Run.” Of course, Grace loves to run so this is much fun for them both. We had lots of good food and very much enjoyed our time together. No work this trip just fun. We went shopping on Friday and Jess got some really good deals. She loves to shop. Well today was the big day for the girls. They played the music for the entire church service, sunday school and all. They had 3 songs each. Big Job. They did great. Today also was the first day for our new pastor. All went well. I think we have chosen according to God’s will. He seems to have a heart for the Lord. No bible study tonight. We don’t have it on holiday weekends. I think we will just rest and enjoy some time together. It is a beautiful day here in Floyd. Temperatures are in the lower 60’s. Very little wind. BEAUTIFUL! It was a different story yesterday. We had been gone for several days with no fire in the stove. We came home the outside temperature was 47 degrees and inside the house the temperature was 45 degrees. I guess next time we go visit we should turn on the gas logs. Anyway, it didn’t take long to get a fire going and get it warmed back up in the house. No need for a fire today though and I’m glad. I so enjoy these last warm days. I think I’ll go sit on my green swing and enjoy some outside time. God Bless.

November 29, 2009 0

Before and After

Never give up on cast iron. We made a trip to our homeplace over the weekend. My mother-in-law knows how much I love cast iron. She had purchased these kettles in a set many years ago. Maybe as many as 50 years ago. I think she told me it was a 20 piece set and it cost about $20.00. ( thats says it was a long time ago) She had stored them in a building many years ago. We went on safari to search for them. When we found them I thought “Maybe they are too far gone”. But I brought them home and searched the internet for ways to clean them up. First I used an equal part of salt and oil. Rubbed that in(really good) with a cloth. Then for the really stubborn spots of rust, I used a brillo pad. Washed them in soapy water and reseasoned them. ( To season cast iron, coat the kettle with a light coat of oil. Turn upside down on a cookie sheet and bake at 250-300 degree oven for about l hour) I was so pleased with the result. I couldn’t wait to post about it. The largest kettle she called a pinto bean pot. I can just taste how good beans will be cooked on our wood stove this winter. Thanks so much, Judy. So don’t throw that old cast iron out. Re-do it. It’s worth the effort. God Bless.

November 24, 2009 1

Another Cat Picture

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.

November 24, 2009 1

Christmas Cactus

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.

November 18, 2009 1

New Kitten

Isn’t she beautiful? The girls have named her Star. Remember when I found the kittens in the wood pile. She was one of the them. They are both very cute. The other one is a little more shy than this one. Sorry I haven’t posted in several days. We went down to Jessica’s last week and guess what? We are finished with the bathroom. It looks really great. I think she is going to post pictures soon on her blog. I know she is so glad to finally have it finished, however it is worth the wait. Hubby has gotten 2 deer this week. That’s right. 2. What a blessing. This helps out so much with the grocery bill. When I was growing up in the hills of Southwest Virginia there were no deer in our county. My dad had to go several hours away to hunt deer. He usually spent a week of his vacation hunting sometimes with success, sometimes not. The first time George went deer hunting my dad took him. That was 33 years ago. Sometimes it seems like yesterday. Anyway, thanks Babe. We appreciate all you do for us. I am canning deer now and it is time for a canner to come off, so I better get busy. God Bless.

November 17, 2009 1

New Project

My latest project. Today has been a rainy, cold, windy, and just plain ucky day. So I decided it was a good day to start a new project. I worked on this quilt top all day. What do you think? The big pieces are called fat quarters. Those of you who quilt know all about these, but I am just learning. I think they are pretty neat. How else could someone who knows very little about quilting make a quilt top in one day. Hubby helped some with the design, then hurriedly left the room. Thanks Babe. Quilting is one of those things I wish I had learned to do at an earlier age, when I would have lots of instructors to help me learn. However I have had to basically teach myself what I know. I really enjoy doing it though. Hubby got a shot at a deer today, however the distance was too far. Better luck next time! Gotta get to work. God Bless.

November 11, 2009 0

Wood

Here’s our wood supply so far. What do you think? Enough for winter? The back goes 7 rows deep. Lots of work thats for sure. But some surprises too. I found 2 little black kittens in the pile we were moving today. The mommy cat had them hid really well. They were scared but friendly and of course very cute. Weather was very nice for wood splitting. Short sleeve weather. Tomorrow is a slight chance of rain so I’m glad the wood is in the dry. I am baking amish friendship bread this evening. It has been a 10 day process but I think it is going to be worth it. It smells WONDERFUL. I can’t wait to taste it. Hubby didn’t get a deer yet but we did have one donated to us. Thanks, Eldon! We’ve had tenderloin and gravy for breakfast two days in a row. Good stuff. Well, I’m pretty tired, all that wood is hard work. God Bless.

November 9, 2009 1

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl!! Yesterday was party day. Best Friends celebrating together. Life is good. Yellow cake with chocolate icing and only a few sprinkles (just the way she likes it). Yesterday, Hubby and his brother went out to cut more wood and today he is going with our friend from church. Hopefully lots to split and stack. He is deer hunting this morning , something he truly enjoys, and something we all truly enjoy eating. Good Luck, hon. I’m not sure what the girls and I will get into yet. There is always something to do around here. Tomorrow we hear another trial sermon from the candidate for pastor. We will have another fellowship meal after church. We also start our new study on Revelation from John MacArthur tomorrow. I think the book of Revelation is one of the hardest books in the bible to understand and probably the most misunderstood. Hopefully, I will know a little more about it when this study is finished. Next Sunday we will vote on the pastor. I’m still not sure how to vote Yes. or NO. I’m still praying. I think this is a very BIG decision and I want to make sure I’m on the same page as God. Pray that all will go well and that we, as a church, will vote according to God’s will. Well, better get busy. God Bless.

November 7, 2009 0

More Fall Pictures

Here’s a few more fall pictures. The maple tree is in our yard close to the house. It gives wonderful shade to one of my swing areas. The other picture is in the field behind our house. The leaves are almost all gone now but the maple is still holding on to some color. Today is a big day in our house, my baby girl’s birthday. We will be having a little party tomorrow with friends. I let them off with half school today. You gotta do something special on birthdays. Another beautiful day here in Floyd. Sunshine, wind, (almost always wind) temperatures in the 50’s. Chilly enough to have a fire this evening-around 40 degrees now. Inside the house is nice and toasty thanks to our hard work yesterday. I think Saturday has been set aside as another wood cutting day, if weather permits. It is a wonderful feeling to enter winter knowing you have enough wood to keep you and your family warm. I think these are blessings we sometimes take for granted. Well time for me to get to work. God Bless.

November 5, 2009 0

Christfest

Pictures from Christfest Saturday night. My girls wore puddle skirts, Daniel is Spider Man, David is Wafer Man and Jess is dressed as a devil. It was a GREAT surprise when they came to the party. I had thought they were going to stay at their house to give away candy. Change of plans, which made MawMaw very happy. Julie, Grace, and Daniel had a great time playing the games and getting candy. Everyone probably noticed I spelled the cats name wrong on my last post. I noticed it too, but did not know how to change it. Her name is Stripes. Anyway, I guess I need to use spell check. We went down to Dave and Jess’ for a few days, worked some more on their bathroom. The shower stall is now tiled. We have to put the grout on our next trip. We worked very hard today, splitting and stacking wood. No school today just work. The girls would rather do school than work this hard, but as I told them we will appreciate it this winter. I have been blessed with very good girls. They work hard and complain very little. They had fun too. They make work into a game and that makes it fun. It was a very beautiful day. Lots of sunshine, temperature around 50 degrees. Very nice for working outside. It’s 6:00 and already dark, however, I do like the fact that it gets daylight earlier. I have always been a morning person. Well, it time for me to get some stuff done. God Bless.

November 4, 2009 1