Blueberries and Squash

The girls and I picked a gallon of these beautiful blueberries yesterday. It was a nice day for picking. It rained on us before we got to the blueberry place but stopped before we got there. The bushes were wet but the temperature was not bad and the bugs even left us alone.

Today we made this zucchini pineapple recipe. We used yellow squash instead of zucchini. It actually tastes like pineapple. You would never know it had squash in it. I got the recipe from here. http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/zucchinipineapple.htm A blogger friend of mine had made it the other day. She posted about it here. http://holcombhappenings.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/a-day-of-canning/ I think it will be really good.

Now, question time. I found out from the internet this squash is called a patty pan squash. Do any of you ladies have a recipe for it? Our pastor gave them to us and I really would like to try them. Online it says it pairs good with tomatoes but I thought I would ask you all.

Our weather change here has been amazing. We had rain yesterday which we so much needed. We laughed and said the plants in our garden were doing a happy dance for God. The temperatures have cooled off so much. We are right now at 73 degrees!!! Thank you Lord.

Well, that’s about all. I hope you have a great evening and God bless.

July 12, 2012 5

Blueberries

Just look at all these beautiful blueberries! I think I mentioned we planted 3 blueberriy bushes this year. Well, this is one of them. They all have lots of blueberries on them but I think this one has the most. They seem to be doing very well so far.

Monday, we worked around the house. The girls and I made a batch of cherry jam. It is very tasty! Yesterday, we worked in both gardens, hoeing and weeding. We then took down the greenhouse and put it away for next year, cleaned the fish tank, and did several odd chores that have been needed to get done for a while. The girls worked on history and science while I ran into little town to get chick feed. Supper last night was hamburgers, corn on the cob, and pineapple all fixed on the grill. I love cooking on the grill. Not near as much clean up involved and the kitchen doesn’t get heated up.

Well, today we will be cleaning out the chicken house and working on the nests. Definitely not my favorite job, but it is a little cooler this morning so hopefully that will make it a little easier. This morning I am making kefir and buttermilk. I have shared before how I make my buttermilk but maybe someone is reading this that hasn’t read it before, so I thought I would share it again. It tastes a lot like kefir. Heres what I do. First add 1/4 cup of whole milk buttermilk purchased from the store to a quart jar. I suppose you could use lowfat or fat free for this, we just prefer whole buttermilk. Finish filling up the jar with milk. I use raw milk but any milk will do. I leave the cream on but you can take it off. I then shake it up and sit it out on the counter for about 20 hrs. There is no set time for how long to leave it out. It all depends on the temperature of your house. This same rule applies to kefir. The warmer the temperature the quicker it will set. It is ready when you turn the jar over and it all leaves the side of the jar in one clump. Shake the jar for about 5 min and put in the fridge to chill. Now to making kefir, I use kefir grains when making my kefir. Jess bought the grains for me a little while back. Before that I used the powdered starter. The grains will continue to produce indefinitely. I store them in the fridge in a jar covered with milk. When I want to make kefir, which is usually every other day, I take them out, finish filling the jar 2/3 full with raw milk and leave it out on the counter for about 24 hrs. This time is also dependent upon the temperature in your home. Kefir is very good for us. You can read about the benefits of kefir online. It is full of good stuff. It tastes very good in smoothies. I think it is good to drink plain with just a little sweetener.

Well, I guess we better get busy with our day. God bless.

May 30, 2012 5

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

Spring Blooms

Our dogwood tree in bloom. This one is located just outside the dining room window.

Our lilac bush. I love just walking around the house and smelling the sweet smell. They make the entire yard smell so good.

Coming around the house from the kitchen door, looking at the bushes. The smaller bush is our gooseberry bush.

Care to rest, anyone? This is a beautiful sitting spot. We will be going to Jessica’s to celebrate Easter with them. I pray you all have a wonderfully, blessed Easter filled with the presence of our Lord.

God bless.

April 23, 2011 3

More Daniel and Sam

So here are the other pictures I could not get to load yesterday.

Today we are getting much needed rain. The fog has already come in so it promises to be a dreary day here in Floyd, a good day for a inside project. Temperature is about 35 degrees. Hopefully, this will all be rain. I am hoping next week to get some outside work done here. All the trees and bushes need trimming, along with the grapevines. We also need to do some cleanup in the blackberries. Not my favorite job. The thorns are hard to work with but it has to be done if we want to enjoy the berries. I love outside work. In my opinion, so much more fun than cleaning house. I am already looking forward to enjoying fresh fruit and veggies.

I added a little bit to my menu last night. One of our favorite things to eat in the spring is wilted lettuce and green onions. Hubby likes pinto beans with his. So I purchased some fresh baby greens at the store, put a little chopped onion on top. Then I heated olive oil (shameful but I did not have bacon grease). Next step is to pour some of the hot oil on top of the greens and onions, then top it off with pinto beans. A big chunk of cornbread finished it up. It was not as good as it would have been fresh from our garden but it definitely was good.

Enjoy your weekend and God bless.

March 5, 2011 4