Maple buds

Grace took this picture of the maple buds last time we were down at Jessica’s.

Today has been a very beautiful day here with lots of sunshine. Temperatures are in the upper 50’s and the wind has finally laid down. Very nice. We had planned on going to the Horn’s today after school but Grace is getting a sore throat. So we decided not to go. Hopefully, it is nothing serious and we can go over there on Thursday. That’s the plan anyway.

I have found a new curriculum for school and was wondering if any of you all were familar with it. It is http://www.clp.org/christian_light_education It seems pretty good and I am thinking of going with it for math especially. Their teacher books have the solutions to the problems, not just the answers. I need that especially now as we are getting into geometry and alegbra.

I think I will go enjoy some of this sunshine. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 27, 2012 5

Orange Cleaner

Fill a qt jar with orange peeling. Add white vinegar until jar is completely full. Let sit for 3-4 weeks. Strain. Dilute with water. Equal parts water to cleaner. Put into a spray bottle. I got this recipe from http://justlikemynanmade.blogspot.com/2011/05/citrus-cleaners-so-easy-and-good.html

February 24, 2012 0

Orange Cleaner

I wanted to share with you all something new I am trying. It is homemade orange cleaner. I got the idea from http://isabellaanddorinda.blogspot.com/2012/01/homemadecitrus-cleaner.html Mine has been made for less than a week now but it already smells so good. I will let you all know how it turns out.

Today we finished with school and had plans for doing some outside work. However, before we could get outside, it started to rain. This, of course, required a mad dash to the clothes line. Thankfully, we got the clothes-which had already dried-off before they got wet. I think our outside work will have to be put off for another day. We are planning to expand our chicken lot and purchase more layers this spring so we have much to do to get everything ready. Maybe it will dry off enough later to work on it some.

I also wanted to share another bird picture. Grace took this picture yesterday. Mr. Woodpecker has been a regular visitor to our feeder for the past few days. Isn’t he beautiful?

Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 24, 2012 7

Crocuses

Look, everyone, what is blooming at our home!!! We were all so excited today when we saw them. I just had to share them with you all. Also yesterday, the red winged blackbirds came back. They are always one of the first birds to return to our area in the spring. Every year, they stop at my feeder in the dogwood tree and spend the day there. We wanted to get a picture of them but everytime we would get close to the window they would fly away. Grace did however get a picture of this sparrow.

Today has felt like a spring day. Warm temperatures-60 degrees right now. Amazing! I LOVE it.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 23, 2012 6

French Bread

I got this recipe from my blogger friend Cheryl at https://holcombfamilyrecipes.wordpress.com/ I did alter it some as I wanted to use my bread machine to make the dough.

1 cup warm water, 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 4 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. yeast. Put into bread machine and set on dough cycle. When cycle is finished, take out on floured surface, flatten dough and roll into a long roll. Pinch ends and let rise for about l hr. I put mine in my oven and turn the oven light on. Then bake at 350 degrees for 15 min.

Garlic butter for making garlic bread

1 stick butter- softened, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. dried parsley. Spread onto bread and toast.

February 22, 2012 0

Daniel and Darth Vader

Daniel is SO into Star Wars right now. He has a light saber and everything. He earned his light saber. He has just recently been promoted to a booster seat and was having trouble getting his seat belt to buckle. His mom told him if he could buckle himself in 10 times on his own, they would buy him a light saber. Motivation, you know. Well, it took him a while but he has it down pat now. He was super excited because when they went to purchase his light saber, they found a place on line where they could get 3 light sabers for the same price as one at Wal-Mart. Daniel says he got himself one, Daddy one, and Sam one so they can all be Jedi. Way to go, Daniel.

Today is a BEAUTIFUL day here in Floyd. The sun is shining and the temperature is already 40 degrees. We have gotten a great start on our day. The house chores are done and we even have a few minutes of relaxation before school starts. I was wondering if any of you ladies make kefir and if you do, do you use the powdered starter or the grains? I have made it a lot using the powdered starter but am wondering if the grains would be better. Any opinions?

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

February 22, 2012 5

Tuna Cakes

1/4 cup each chopped green pepper and onions, 1/4 cup mayonaise, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 5oz. cans tuna drained, 1 egg beaten, 1 cup dry bread crumbs. Mix all ingredients together. Roll balls, flatten into cakes. Fry cakes in melted butter until done.

February 21, 2012 0

Snow

I thought I would share with you all a few pictures of the snow we got on Sunday. It was (in my opinion) the perfect snow. It was beautiful to look at, it didn’t get bitter cold after the snow and it is already melting off.

We have been working on school and getting housework caught up. I wonder how it is that our house got so dirty when we were not even here! Well, you know what they say, “a woman’s work is never done.” But I love it. It really makes me happy to look around our home and have things be in order. Speaking of which, I guess I better get busy with our day. Tonight’s supper will be tuna cakes, pinto beans, fried potatoes, rolls and (maybe) a peach pie for dessert. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 21, 2012 7

Finished

Hello ladies. We are finished with our part of the redo. Here we are getting ready to texture the ceiling.

Hubby does the rolling.

I do the stomping.

The finished ceiling. There are 11 recessed lights in her kitchen now. When we started it was pretty dark in her kitchen now it is very bright.

Here we are just starting to put down the floor. Now I must say, this floor just about did us in. It took us 2 days on our knees to get it down but it was definitely worth it.

It looks beautiful! David’s sister will be coming tomorrow to paint the walls. Jess chose buttercream for the walls. After the walls are painted, the next step will be to finish taking the doors off the cabinets and stripping off the laminate. The cabinet doors will have to be sanded. Then the cabinets themselves will be ready for paint. Jess has chose black for the cabinet paint. I will continue to show you all pictures as the process comes along. I think it will all look really great.

Well, that’s about it for today. I have lots of catching up to do with everyone. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 19, 2012 5

Another Update

It is Tuesday evening and we are home for the night. The project is getting closer and closer to being finished. Yesterday, we hung all the walls. Today we got everything mudded and tomorrow we will sand and texture the ceiling and then the drywall part will be done. After that, we have a place in front of the sink to fix, possibly replacing the sink and sink cabinet. Then the new floor will go down. YEAH!

And now some pictures of SPRING! Jessica’s temperatures are much warmer than ours. Down where she lives, there are many signs of spring. Her daffodils are just ready to bloom. On the road down to her house, we see lots and lots of daffodils already blooming. We are like kids in a candy shop, looking for them, trying to be the first one to spot them.

The maple tree in her yard is full of buds.

The onion grass is huge.

Dandelions are already starting to bloom. I thought you all should know that while I’m there its not all work. There are flowers to enjoy, warmer temperatures and, of course, GRANDBABIES! I have a blessed life.

Well, I better get busy. I had hoped to catch up on what’s been happening in everyone else life but it is late and I still have much to get done. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 14, 2012 6