Rocky Knob Picnic Area

Some pictures of the area we went to Sunday for our picnic. The rocks formations are very pretty.

They have lots of picnic tables set up all around the picnic area. We hope to go back soon when everything is not so wet.

Being wet, however, did not stop adventures. Daniel had a wonderful time playing. Today is wet still. We had lots of rain pass through last night and it is still extremely overcast with fog. A little chilly this morning, mid 40’s. I think the rain makes it feel much chillier. We are working on school today. We are almost finished with history and science. YEAH! Well, I better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 17, 2011 3

Parkway View

We had a really nice weekend here in Floyd. Dave, Jess and the boys came up to celebrate Hubby’s birthday. Jess and I went to a yard sale in town. Later that evening they took us all out to eat at a local Mexican restuarant. We had a great time. On Sunday we went on a picnic down the parkway. This is a picture we took from one of the lookouts.

Today, we went down to watch the boys while Jess went to her doctors appointment. All is going well with her and the baby. Thank you, Lord. She will find out next month if she is having a girl or a boy. Daniel said they don’t want any “gwirls” there. Jess told him “but what about Mommy.” Daniel said “You’re not a “gwirl” , you’re Mommy. We are just praying for a healthy baby-boy or girl.

We have been getting lots of rain here. We have had a little sun this evening but mostly overcast. We still do not have our plants in the garden yet. It has just been too wet. We don’t have the brush pile burned or the lower garden tilled. I still have lots of flower seeds to get in the ground too. Oh well, all in God’s time.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

May 16, 2011 3

Snowball bloom

We have a very small snowball bush that was given to us last year by a friend from church. I was not sure it would survive the winter but it did and now has one beautiful bloom on it. It also has several new starts coming up from the root. Next year we are hoping for lots of bloom.

Yesterday the girls and I went to big town. We needed chicken feed and a few other things. We went to Books-A-Million, which is a big treat for us. We used to have one in Christiansburg but they moved to Blacksburg. The girls had some money they had been saving. They each bought a new book with their money. I found this documentary in the bargain DVD basket. I am thinking of using it some for next year’s history course.

We have had several days of fog and rain. Today, though, the sun is peeking through the fog. Hopefully the weekend will be nice. Dave, Jess, and the boys are supposed to come up for the weekend. Our church is having a clay shoot tomorrow. Dave is going with Hubby to shoot and the rest of us are going to a big yard and craft sale here in Floyd. We hope to picnic Sunday and celebrate Hubby’s birthday.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 13, 2011 4

A Good Day

Yesterday was such a fun day. Daniel and Sam spend the day with us. We went riding in the “bumpy truck.” When we came back Daniel told me “That SURE was a fun ride, MawMaw.” I love it. Children are so easy to please. Just simple things make them so happy.

Wild strawberries we saw blooming on our ride.

PawPaw, of course, pointed out the deer trials. It was a very nice day here yesterday, warm with lots of sunshine. This allowed for lots of outside playing. They saw the chicks, the new kitties, the baby calves and the goslings. A full day in little boy world.

We had a storm pass through last night with thunder, lightning and lots of rain. I’m not sure what the day will hold. Right now it is cloudy and everything is soaked. Maybe not a good day for hanging clothes on the line. We’ll see.

This rosebush came up on its own at the fence line. It has had a tough time getting started. The cows keep wanting to eat it. This year though it is huge and full of buds. It has never bloomed before so we are excited to see what it looks like. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

May 11, 2011 4

Baby Gooseberries

Our gooseberry bush promises to have lots of fruit on it this year. We’ve glad as we really like them. We spent today making a swing for our neighbor. She is in her upper 70’s and loves to swing in her yard swing after working in the garden. We first intended to repair her old swing but it was just too far gone. Hubby made her a new one exactly like her old one. We took it down and hung it up for her. She was very happy. We so enjoy doing things that make others happy.

Today has been a nice day here in Floyd. A slight breeze with warm temperatures. You all will not believe how much our plants have grown in the greenhouse. I will try to take a picture of them soon to let you see them. Well, it is late and we are all hungry. I’m frying chicken for supper with gravy, corn and biscuits. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 9, 2011 2

Goslings

They sure have grown! Every time I see them they look so much bigger. We discovered this morning that we have a female mallard duck nesting on the island now. We are so excited! We have wanted ducks to nest there since we moved here. We’ve not sure why the ducks and the geese have decided that the island is now nest worthy but we sure are glad. There is a big difference between the ducks and the geese. The ducks are more secretive and the male is less aggressive. Papa Goose is always on patrol, keeping away all others.

I know it has been a long time since I made a post. I have been busy this week helping Hubby with a job he had building a fence. The girls took their school books and did school in the van while I helped him. Last night the girls had their piano recital. It all went very well. They did a good job on their songs. We have been busy this morning getting the yard mowed and other things that needed doing around the house.

On Tuesday, I attempted to make homemade cottage cheese. It DID NOT turn out. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I followed the directions I got from the internet. I think I need a different recipe. Have any of you all ever made cottage cheese? I sure would appreciate all info I can get.

The girls found new kittens today in one of the old buildings. It is always so exciting for them when they find new kittens. These belong to one of our wild cats so we have no idea if she will leave them where they are or not. Only time will tell. We have much to do so I better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 7, 2011 2

Our Greenhouse Plants

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.

May 3, 2011 4

Grundy Visit

This weekend we went down to Grundy to move my in laws into their new house. It was a long hard weekend but well worth it. I have a few house pictures but for some reason they did not load correctly. I will try again later but here are a few pictures that did load. This is looking out her kitchen window.

A view from the back yard. The new house was built in the exact location of the old house just laid out differently.

View from the side yard.

Her azelea bush. We bought her this bush several years ago as a mothers day gift.

One of her snowball bushes. She definitely has a green thumb. We had a good visit and got lots of their stuff moved into the new house. We were hoping to get them in completely but time ran out. Hopefully they will spend their first night in the new house tonight.

I did finally get the other pictures loaded. This is their kitchen. She has never had built in cabinets. Very exciting for her.

Their floors. I’m not sure what is going on with the 3 pieces that do not match. They ran out of the other and used those. Hubby was appalled. Of course, the contractor in him found all sorts of flaws. This one though is very obvious.

Their bathroom. They are so excited to have a bathroom. This new house is set up handicap ready as my father in law has to use a walker. I know this will make their life so much easier.

Well, enough for now. It is past time for school to start. I just wanted to show everyone a little of what we’ve been doing over the weekend. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 2, 2011 2

A Big Surprise

We had a wonderful surprise yesterday. We went to the N.C. Zoo. On Wednesday about lunch time, Jess called and said David had tickets for us all to go to the zoo but we had to go on Thursday as this was the only day he could get off. We were sooooo excited. We got up about 5:30 yesterday morning and got home around 8:30 last night. It was an absolutely great day. We all had so much fun. Thanks Dave for thinking of us. Grace took lots of pictures.

Of course, by the end of the day we were all getting a little tired.

Well, maybe not the one who rode in the stroller all day.

We hope to go back again as there was much we didn’t get to see.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 29, 2011 6

Tomato Plant

Yesterday, while in town, we visited our local greenhouse. We bought some cabbage plants and this tomato. See the bloom at the top. Hopefully, we will get tomatoes early from it. I put it in a bucket (dry wall ) and as of now it is on the front porch. I plan on moving it out on the front deck, then moving it back in a night. For today it will probably stay on the porch-too windy outside. I tried to leave it out some yesterday but the wind kept blowing it over.

The other day when my brother in law came, he brought us over some morel mushrooms. It was a very nice treat. These grow in the wild and are only available in early spring. Some people call them dry land fish. Anyway, after eating the ones he brought us we decided to go looking for some here. Hubby thinks it is still a little too early for here but we had a lot of fun looking. It was so nice to get out in the woods and walk around.

Time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 27, 2011 3