Enjoyment

Time to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor. Our first zucchini, our first squash, and our first peas. Delicious!! I think it is so exciting when the garden first starts coming in. I combined all these together with a few other ingredients and had a wonderful stir fry for supper last night. I am eating the remainder of it for lunch today. Today is ladies bible study day. We are on our third lesson. It is about being a true servant of God and how we can encourage our church leaders. I think it is a very interesting study. Many times in churches today, the members can’t encourage their leaders because they are too busy criticizing them. This lesson shows us ways to avoid that trap. The girls and I cleaned house yesterday, found some new kittens (which are adorable) and in general just enjoyed the day. Dale and his mom came by for a visit and to pick up his wood splitter. They came right when I was taking some homemade rolls out of the oven. It was so much fun to be able to share them. Hot and buttery. YUM! Food is so good when it’s shared.

Can you believe this is the baby geese? They are almost as big as mama and papa. It certainly has been entertaining to watch them grow. This morning as Hubby and I enjoyed our morning coffee together, there were lots of wildlife activity here on the farm. The geese were playing at the pond, a deer was grazing in the field straight in front of us, and a coyote was passing through on the ridge to our right. Some mornings we don’t see anything but cows and birds. Other times there are lots to watch. I so enjoy our morning time together. We think its worth getting up a little earlier for. The ladies will soon be here so I guess I better get ready. We are going to Jessica’s tomorrow. PawPaw has yet to see his new grandson. Take care and God bless.

June 18, 2010 1

Garden

It’s been a while since I posted pictures of our garden. It has really grown. Everything looks to be doing really well. You can’t tell it from the picture but the potatoes are beginning to bloom.

This is our beans and corn. We kinda got a late start on planting them but they look strong and healthy. Today is an absolutely beautiful day here in Floyd. Temperatures are in the lower 70’s with a nice breeze. It’s one of those days where it is hard to work inside. I would much rather be outside enjoying the day. Hopefully, later after our inside work is done. I plan on spending some quality time with my green swing.

This is the kind of space I always dreamed of having. It is one of the most peaceful places I know. I so much enjoy coming and sitting down in this swing. The Lord and I have had some of our best conversation here. I am so thankful to my hubby for making this swing for me and for helping me keep this area beautiful.

I wanted to show you all how the sun was glistening off the rows of corn. The corn stalks seem to be glowing. I thought it was very pretty. I guess I’d better get busy if I want to get my housework done today. After all, the green swing IS calling my name. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 17, 2010 1

Horseshoe fun

Just a few pictures of the fun we had at our horseshoe pitch. We think we might do it again before summer is over. It was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful place down by the river, a great place to camp.

This is a picture of our pastor and his wife. I believe the Lord truly led him to our church. I have never known a pastor to fit in with a church like him and his wife do. I think they are truly dedicated to the Lord and want to serve Him.

One of our catawba trees. We have several in our yard. Right now we are enjoying our “summer snow”. When these trees bloom out and the bloom starts falling, it looks like it has snowed in our yard. Very pretty.

A better view of the blooms. We spent some time yesterday with our friends, the Horns. The kids had fun playing together. Vicki and I walked around her yard and garden. She has a beautiful garden this year. She has already picked peas from her garden. Hopefully, ours will be ready soon. We had a pretty good rain yesterday. The garden was needing a drink. However, the rain came while we were gone, so the clothes hanging on the line were soaked. I had to bring them in, spin them out again in the machine and then dry them inside. Oh well, things like that happen. I think it will be a nice day here today. Kinda hot for us but it is getting that time of year. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 16, 2010 2

Flowers

This lily has had a rough beginning. In early spring, it was trampled and broken by a big footed pup. It seems to have survived nicely though. I have waited all spring to see what it would look like. I think it looks pretty next to the purple flowers. I most definitely will have to separate some of these flowers next year. The bed is extremely crowded. Yesterday was a busy day. The girls and I cleaned out both of the big freezers-making room for this year’s harvest. This took a major portion of the day. Then I helped Hubby by mowing some before he came in from work. For supper, I used some of the pork tenderloin I had cooked the day before. I like to cook a large amount of meat at one time and then use it in different dishes for another meal. So I put the tenderloin in the oven with some potatoes and roasted them. We also had corn on the cob from our freezer, biscuits with butter and homemade blackberry jam for dessert. Today is starting out to be a beautiful day here is Floyd. Lots of sunshine. Tomorrow our church is doing a horseshoe tournament down by the river. We will play horseshoes, eat lots of good food, listen to good music and in general have a great time. It amazes me some people think Christian life is boring. We have a blast at my church! We are small in number but we do lots of things together. We are family. I will try to get some pictures to post of our activities. This is the first year we have done this and we are hoping many will come. Baby Sam and Mom are still doing good. Daniel says he loves his baby brother. Thanks so much for your prayers. I hope to go down to see them soon and get more pictures. Take care and God bless.

June 11, 2010 1

Cherry Pie

Today has been kinda a resting day. So much has been going on here lately, I thought the girls and I needed a day to rest. Of course, as all you know there is no such thing as a completely resting day. Especially during the week. Anyway, I decided as I was resting to make a cherry pie. I used the cherries we picked over the weekend. I put about 3 cups of pitted cherries and about 1/2 cup sugar. I brought this to a boil and let it boil down some. Then I thickened it with 2 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp. water.

Then I made my pie crust. The recipe I use is: 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/3 cup milk, 1/2 cup oil. Mix all this together, then add 2 1/3 cups sifted all purpose flour.

Then I divide the dough into 2 parts for the bottom crust and the top. I must warn you though this next picture is not too pretty. I have never been good at rolling out pie crust. I want to be, so I keep trying. Maybe someday.

The finished product. I know it doesn’t look too good but I believe it will taste great. Especially with that homemade vanilla ice cream I’m making. We are also having pork tenderloin, pinto beans and mashed potatoes. I think I will have cornbread with this. Today for lunch I had my first batch of wilted lettuce and green onions, so I had to bake cornbread to go with it. Now, where I from they would have said a “mess” of lettuce and onions but I didn’t want to confuse those of you who do not understand mountain talk. For you all who don’t know what this is, I’ll explain. First pick the lettuce and onion, fry some bacon. Then you wilt down the lettuce and onion with the hot bacon grease. Add a little salt and enjoy with cornbread. Hubby likes pinto beans with his. Anyway you fix it, it is good! My ice cream maker is finished, so I must go. Take care and God bless.

June 9, 2010 3

Samuel Lucas

Ain’t he handsome! Everything is going very well. They both came home this afternoon. So much different than with Daniel. I so thank you all for your prayers and I thank God for all His blessings on us.

He looks a little small in Dave’s hands but he really is pretty good size. He seems to have taken to food like a true champion.

This is Jessica, just a few hours after delivery. I told her she could do an advertisement for the makeup she is wearing. The makeup she is wearing is the same makeup she put on the evening before when they left the house, about 18 hours before. Amazing. I haven’t been home long so there is much to do. Just wanted to show him off a little. Take care and God bless.

June 8, 2010 3

He’s Here

Samuel Lucas Bates arrived today at 10:53 A.M. He weighed 7 lb even and is 20″ long. He, of course, is a beautiful boy. I do have pictures, however, I do not know how to load them on David’s computer. I will post pictures as soon as I go home. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. It was a fast and relatively easy delivery. Both him and his mother are doing very well. Daniel, the girls and I are having a good time together, however he misses his mom and dad terribly. Hopefully, they will be back home tomorrow. I just wanted to let everyone know he is here and well. Thanks again for your prayers. Take care and God bless.

June 7, 2010 2

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was my Julie’s birthday. We celebrated by having a picnic lunch at Groundhog Mountain with our friends, the Horns. The building you see behind the kids is the lookout tower.

This is one of the things you can see from where the tower is. The mountain in the distance is called Buffalo Mountain. I think you can probably guess why.

We had birthday cake, hot dogs, chips and all the things that go with it. We are so blessed to have friends like the Horns. Their kids and our kids have so much fun together.

After the picnic, it was time for some work. We went to Levering Orchard in Ararat, Va. Time to pick some cherries. We had a great time. It is a pick your own orchard or you can purchase them already picked. It is, of course, cheaper if you pick. Besides who would want to miss all that fun. We picked almost 9 lb. or the equivalent of 2 gal. They are very good. After getting all hot picking cherries, we stopped on the way back at this little store for an ice cream cone. It certainly tasted delicious. All in all, it was a great birthday day. Prayerfully tomorrow I will be making a post about a beautiful new baby boy, with lots of pictures. I am making sure I have my camera with me. We are getting ready to leave as I type this. I need to be there by 5:00, as she is scheduled to be at the hospital by 7:00. I know I have asked before, but remember to pray for us. Take care and God bless.

June 6, 2010 1

Garden

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.

June 3, 2010 3

Memorial Weekend

I have no picture to post today. I just wanted to let everyone know I was still around. David is working on my computer this week so hopefully I will be back in action soon. Things have been very busy here this past week. We were blessed with a beef. Billy had butchered him for someone and they did not want the meat. He was an old bull-about 10 years old and weighed about 1800 pounds. My friend Vicki and I have been working all last week to process it. We are cutting some of the meat in chunks and canning it. We are making hamburger out of the rest. We are about half done (I think). George and Quentin-Vicki’s hubbie-will be helping us tomorrow. I will let you all know the total of cans and hamburger we get when we finish. We went to visit Jess yesterday. She is scheduled to have her labor induced June 7th. Little Samuel will soon be here. We took the cradle down and it is all set up and ready. Just needs a little one in it. Continue to pray for them. We took the long way home today and stopped at a little picnic area. It was very pretty with lots of overlooks. We then stopped at this little store in Meadows of Dan and they were having a craft show. Lots of cool stuff to look at, lots of new ideas for me to work on. Of course, we took the camera case down to Jessica’s however the camera was not in the case. So I have no pictures to show you. Oh well, that’s pretty typical of me. Enjoy your Sunday and God bless.

May 30, 2010 0