Sunflowers

I just love sunflowers. I think they are so cheerful and fun. These come up underneath the feeder and I think they add so much to the area. The cats have played there so much though that a lot of them are drooping down to the ground. They still look pretty though.

I have been kinda busy for the past few days. As you all know, we went down to Jessica’s on Friday. We had a great visit and enjoyed play time with the boys. Then we went to pick the apples. She didn’t have very many but we got what was on the tree. I haven’t worked them up yet so no picture of pink applesauce. On Saturday, we went to pick apples at Faye’s sisters house. We ended up with about 4 bushel. When we got home I started working on them. I have told Faye all about our steam juicer and sauce maker. She has been wanting to buy them for herself. Sunday evening at church Gene (her husband) said he was going to buy them for her. We met them yesterday morning in town at the Farmers Supply. He bought the steam juicer, the sauce maker and a steam canner for her. She was so excited. We then went home with them and showed them how to operater their new equipment. She had a 5 gal. bucket of apples to work up. From that she got 2 qts of juice and 5 qts of applesauce. It was a really fun day. I really want one of those steam canners. It takes my water bath canner about 1 hr. to start to boil. The steam canner is ready in about 10-15 min. Amazing. We definitely would be saving on the amount of gas we use. Hopefully, we will be able to get one soon. Much faster and more economical.

I worked up some more of our apples yesterday evening after we came back from Faye’s house. We will be working on them more today. So far, we have 8 qts of applesauce and 4 qts of apple juice. Grace has been taking some more pictures. This is a picture of the sunset God gave us yesterday.

I forgot to tell you ladies about the nice weekend we had. Remember Thursday evening I said temperatures were cooling off. Well, Friday and Saturday morning the temperature when we got up was 58 degrees. Can you believe that? Then Sunday and Monday morning it was 61 degrees. The highs for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were only in the mid 70’s. Wonderful!! Thank you Lord!! Yesterday, it started warming back up and today I think it will be back to normal but it certainly was wonderful to enjoy a few fall-like days in summer. Enjoy your day and God bless.

July 19, 2011 6

Home School

How much more fun is school when you can sit outside under a big shady tree and watch the kittens play? We have had hot temperatures here for the last few days. Not as hot as it is at Jessica’s but hot for us, anyway. I went out early this morning in the garden to work. Hoping to get it finished before it got too hot. I left Julie and Grace inside doing dishes and other inside chores. I much gather work outside than in, even if it is hot. Anyway, I got the garden finished weeding, replanted some tomato plants, planted some beans and some corn. Everything is in the ground now so we’ll see how it does.

I thought you all might enjoy seeing how big the baby geese are. They are almost as big as their parents. Geese are definitely good parents. They are very watchful and protective-always together.

We have piano practice this afternoon so I better get busy. We have another load of clothes to put on the line before we leave and a folded basket to put away. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 31, 2011 5

Pan-Pan

This cat’s name is Panther but somehow Grace started calling him Pan-Pan and now everyone calls him that. He is a very loving and playful cat. Here he is thinking about “attacking” another cat that is walking by.

We seem to be on the mend here. Grace (I think) is almost over it and Julie is feeling better than she was. Hopefully we will soon be completely better. Jess had planned on coming up this week with the boys and spending a few days with us while David is gone on a business trip. This won’t be happening now. Oh well, we hope to go down on Easter Sunday to spend the day with them. Yesterday was a beautiful day here. We had sunshine and warm temperatures after the fog lifted. Today is slightly overcast but the temperature is warm. I have clothes on the line outside to dry. Our birds are singing beautifully. I think it will be a nice day.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 11, 2011 3

Lilac Bush

Our lilac bush has lots of buds on it. YEAH! If all goes well, it will have lots of beautiful, sweet smelling flowers soon. We have a small bush we just planted a few years ago at the edge of the garden and it is full of buds too. I love spring. I think our rain has stopped for a few days. It is still very cloudy but the forecast is for the sun to come peeping through this afternoon. It is already warmer than it was all day yesterday so that is a good sign. We are hoping to do some more outside work after school. We have been trying to start school a little earlier so that we can be finished around lunch. Then we have the afternoon for work and play. It seems to be working out well so far.

Yesterday, while the girls were at their piano lessons, I went into our local thrift store-Angels in the Attic. It operates entirely on donations and volunteers. All the profit each month is given to help local needs. It is amazing. They have moved 3 times because they keep growing. The last time they moved, they purchased the building and in about 2 years had it paid off. Since all workers are volunteer they have very little expense. It has really helped our community. The lady who thought it up is a Christian and tells everyone she can “It is all God”. Anyway I said all that to say this. Many years ago, my sister-in-law gave Hubby a coffee cup. He loves this cup and uses it every morning. Well, guess what I found. One that looks just like it at Angels for 25 cents. How exciting! This morning I put my coffee in the new cup so that our cups matched. Cute! Ialso found this pretty glass. I love old dishes and this glass just so wanted to come home with me.

I better get busy. It’s almost time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 16, 2011 5

Busy Days

We have been very busy this week. Dave, Jess, and boys came up for a visit. We have been watching the boys while she had some business to take care of. The first evening they were here, part of her back tooth broke off. She has been in quite a lot of pain from this. She has a dentist appt. tomorrow to get it checked. We will be going down in the morning to watch the boys while she gets this taken care of. I’m not sure but we might stay a few days so Hubby can put up the chair railing in her livingroom.

Temperatures here have been very nice-warm, sunshine, and just a slight breeze (20 mph wind). Daniel has had so much fun playing outside. He has “helped” MawMaw with all her work. He is quite an eager helper. Sam, of course, has helped too. He is crawling now and loves to get into everything, especially places where he is not supposed to. I love MawMaw time.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 2, 2011 3

My Accomplishment-Pumpkin Roll

For many years, I have thought about trying to make one of these. However I have always been intimidated by the idea of rolling it up. I’m not sure why as I make many other things that need to be rolled. Anyway, today was the day I put my fears behind me and tackled it. Guess what? It was not near as difficult as I thought it would be. With a little practice, I think it would even be easy.

Today is an absolutely beautiful day here in Floyd. Temperatures are in the mid 60’s. Lots of sunshine. Just beautiful! I can hardly wait to get my stuff finished and get out in this wonderful weather. Yesterday I cooked a large pork roast in the crockpot. We had pork roast, cheesy potatoes and pinto beans. Tonights menu will be pork bbq with homemade buns, home fries and slaw. I think there will be enough pork left over for burrittos tomorrow night. I like to do this. Cook a large amount of meat and then use it in several different ways for supper over the next few days. This speeds up cooking time in the evening.

I think I need to get busy. My “green swing” is lonely and needs me to come keep it company. God bless.

November 10, 2010 4

Outdoor Fun

We decided to surprise the girls today and do a picnic lunch. This area is one of their favorite picnic spots and it is close to home. We had a great time. We took so many pictures. I will share them with you all over the next few days. This is the road leading into the park. After lunch we came home and had some difficulties with our stove. As you all know, we have been using it a lot this summer. Hubby only recently replaced all the stove eyes and their receptables. Well, today as the steamer/juicer was busy with our second batch of cider, the receptable shorted out and caught on fire. Praise the Lord, Hubby was here and got everything under control quickly. This does mean, however, that until he can fix it the biggest eye on my stove is not usable. Well, “all things worketh good”. He has been wanting to fix us a place outside to use the propane burner to can on. So today, prompted by need, he got the burner set up and I used it to cook the second batch of apples on. It works really well. I’m not sure how it will do using the pressure canner though. We haven’t tried that yet.

We now have 2 gal. of apple cider. YEAH! We have been running the apples that have cooked down through the roma sauce maker. Yesterday we just used it for applesauce. It is really thick though as all the juice has been cooked out. Today, we decided to try something a little different. We make applebutter out of it. No cooking involved-no simmering for hours praying it does not stick. Just added the sugar and spices AND put it in freezer bags and froze it. I’m not sure how it will be but it certainly was easier. It tasted just like applebutter that had simmered for a long time so I think it will be good.

Well, I am tired so I think I will rest for a while. Oh, I almost forgot, Hubby got the room painted today. I guess the next step is to lay down the rug. Getting closer every day. Enjoy your evening and God bless.

October 21, 2010 2

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

Fall Pictures

Here’s some pictures taken on the back side of our road. It is a very beautiful drive. We’ve been down to Dave and Jess’ for a few days working on the bathroom project. Making progress. Commode is set and walls are ready for paint. Jess hopes to have it ready in time for Thanksgiving. I think we’ll make it in time. Temperatures here are nice today. Upper 60’s. The sun is shining. A beautiful fall day. Dad is home and has suggested a hike on one of the many trials here on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The girls are hurrying to finish school and get ready for the hike. It promises to be a really nice afternoon. I hope everyone enjoys their afternoon as much as I am planning on enjoying mine. God Bless.

October 22, 2009 1