A New Day

We were blessed with a beautiful sunrise this morning. Thank you, Lord! I just love sunrises and sunsets. They make me feel so special.

We ended up getting some sleet and ice on top of the snow the other day. Hopefully, it will start to melt today. I have some errands I want to get done tomorrow. We have warmed up nicely-30 degrees. So much better than the other day. Hubby and I walked down to the barn yesterday to get our milk. Old Red (our truck) wouldn’t start and we thought the road was way to slick for the van. It was a nice walk though. I really enjoyed it. I so much prefer walking outside to exercising inside.

I think I’ll get upstairs and do some sewing. I have a few projects I want to get done before Christmas. Enjoy your day and God bless.

December 17, 2010 2

Snow

We are getting snow here this morning, hoping it stays snow and not ice or sleet. Predictions are for 3-5 inches. I don’t think it will accumulate that much though but we will have to wait and see. This picture is from our bedroom window upstairs. If you look to the right of the picture, you can see the pond with the snow that has laid on the ice. The good news is that it has warmed up! Temperature of 15 this morning when we got up and hardly any wind. YEAH!

Last night our youth did their Christmas play at church. We were scheduled to do it Sunday but since we have had to cancel two Sundays in a row, the youth leader thought we should do it last night, just in case. It went very well. The kids did great. I should have taken my camera and got some pictures but, of course, I forgot. We did school yesterday, caught up on some laundry, wrapped some gifts, all the ordinary things. There is a lot to be said for just doing ordinary things. It brings a sense of peace, I think.

We experience some smoke problems the night before, so we let the fire go out yesterday. Hubby checked the pipes when he came home. All was well. Not sure what caused it. Maybe just the direction the wind was blowing. This summer, we put a topper on the chimney pipe. It is supposed to turn with the wind to keep the wind from blowing the smoke back down the chimney. We had such a problem with that last winter. Anyway, all looked well yesterday so hopefully it will not happen again.

Well, we have things to do. I pray your day will be full of joy. God bless.

December 16, 2010 3

Martha Washington Balls

I know this picture looks just like the picture of the peanut butter balls but it really is a different picture. These are the Martha Washington Balls. The recipe is:

2 boxes powdered sugar, 1 stick butter softened, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp. vanilla. Using mixer, blend ingredients together. Mixture will be stiff. Add 4 cups chopped pecans. Put powdered sugar on hands and roll into small balls. Chill. Dip balls into melted chocolate. Use 4 cups chocolate chips and 1/2 block parafin wax. DELICIOUS!

Temperatures are super cold here. Wind chill is close to zero again with gusts of about 50 mph but we are toasty warm inside with a nice fire going. Hubby was able to get propane for the gas logs Saturday. This really helps keep the house warm. Our little woodstove is a work horse. However it was severely overworked last week trying to do the job all by itself with zero temps. Pray our water doesn’t freeze again.

We are going to get some tires put on the front of the car. Hubby didn’t work today, so he is going with us. I’m glad. Enjoy your day and God bless.

December 13, 2010 2

Our Mantle Nativity

This little Nativity set is the star attraction on our mantle during Christmas. It is already sitting in its place of honor. It has been to cold too go to the building to get out our other decorations but we did venture out to get the Nativity. Hopefully, it will warm up some so we can get the other stuff down soon. Very cold here last night. Acutual temperature 7 degrees with a wind chill of about -5. Our water is frozen. So sad. Hubby thought he had fixed every little crack that the wind could get into but I guess we were wrong. Remember last year, our bathroom water was frozen for about 1 1/2 months. We were hoping to avoid that this year. Well, this morning all the water is frozen, nothing coming into the house anywhere. Definitely not good. Hubby is going to work on it this evening as soon as he gets in. Pray it will not be too hard to get it running again. Then I guess we will just have to keep a small trinkle running at night to keep it from freezing again. I am so grateful I went up yesterday to the cellar and covered up our pototoes and our canned green beans with quilts. Hopefully they are in good shape. Last year they froze in the cellar. I do not want a repeat of that. The green beans are closest to the door so I guess there must be some wind that gets in at the door. Oh well, this is all part of winter, I know. I can’t say I like it though.

I do have good news. A local bakery, The Bread Basket, has graciously agreed to display my aprons for sale. I am so excited!!!!! I took her 9 aprons this morning. I pray they sell quickly and that perhaps I could bring her more. This would be so much better than trying to sell them myself. All in God’s hands.

Well, I have things to get done-not laundry though. Can’t do laundry without water. Stay warm and God bless.

December 7, 2010 2

Grandbabies

This MawMaw’s heart is full to overflowing. I have had lots of MawMaw time this weekend. Thank you Lord! First, a picture of Sam. It will not be long until this swing is too small for him but he sure does enjoy it.

Daniel and Gilbert taking a small rest. Gilbert is Daniel’s kittie, an early Christmas gift. He loves Gilbert very much-sometimes maybe a little too much. Gilbert is a very good kittie though and takes it all in stride.

Alexius and Branson. Playing with kitties. Kittens and kids just go so well together.

Landon-wearing PawPaw’s hat. We went down to Jessica’s for Thanksgiving. She had a wonderful meal. Turkey with all the trimmings. Of course, we all ate too much. Then we did a little shopping on Friday. When we came home Friday evening it was very cold here. A huge change in temperature. At her house it was fairly warm but not here. The wind was fierce with gusts of about 40 mph. Inside our house it was very cold, 56 degrees. Needless to say, we hurried up and built a fire.

Yesterday when we came back from practicing at church, we had a message on our machine. Chuck was coming for a visit! He lives in West Virginia so we do not get to see him or his babies very often. It was such a nice visit. We had canned deer, mashed potatoes, green beans, blackberry cobbler and homemade rolls.

Today, we will be doing the music at church. The girls will be playing a congregational each and each will be doing one special. Hubby and I will-with 3 others- will be doing 2 specials. Pray that all goes well. I hope you all enjoy your Sunday and God bless.

November 28, 2010 3

Cushaw and Pumpkin

Today along with my many other duties, I will be processing these beautiful cushaw and pumpkin. There were 3 cushaws altogether but one is already in the steamer. I plan to steam them enough to cut the peeling off, puree them in the sauce maker and then freeze the puree. You see the pumpkin in the box, I have never tasted this type of pumpkin. The lady who gave it to me said she thought they were called cow pumpkins. She said they were very good for pies. The cushaw was a gift from my mother-in-law. Thanks, Judy.

We had a nice afternoon yesterday. Hubby needed a haircut so we went over to our friends house who cuts our hair for us. We shared coffee and an excellent dessert she had made. Then after he got his hair cut, Hubby and Faye got out their guitars and we enjoyed singing some old hymns. I so enjoy these times. The dessert she made was very simple. 4 large apples, 2 containers of store bought crescent rolls. Quarter the apples and place a quarter in each crescent roll. Roll the crescent around the apple. Put into baking dish. Heat 1 stick butter, 1 cup sugar, cinnamon (to taste) and 1 1/2 cups water until melted. Pour this mixture over the apple dumplings and bake at 350 about 45 minutes or until cresents are golden brown. Serve warm topped with whipped creme. They were delicious. I guess since I am working up pumpkin today I thought this recipe would work with pumpkin instead of the apples. I think I would change the sugar to brown sugar, also add a little nutmeg. Maybe I’ll try that today. We’ll see. Sunday is our Thanksgiving dinner at church. I need to get started making rolls.

The sun is shining here today. Lots of wind-gusts of about 30 mph. This made walking a little more difficult. Hubby went with me though and that made it much more enjoyable. Enjoy your day and God bless.

November 17, 2010 2

Mr. Squirrel

This little guy was playing hide and seek yesterday while we were at the park. Hubby kept trying to get his picture and he would run away. It was kinda fun trying to catch him in a good pose. Finally, he just gave up and took the shot. I think it turned out good. This question is for Jess-Do you think this could be the one? (It’s a long standing family joke)

The sun is beginning to shine today so maybe we are done with the rainy, dreary days for a while. I really want to hang my clothes outside today. I have them in the machine in hopes of getting them out before the sun decides to hide behind the clouds. Today we will be doing school, as usual, cleaning the house for bible study tomorrow, and hopefully finishes another sack of apples. So I guess I’d better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

October 28, 2010 3

Apple Muffins

Here is a picture of the apple muffins I made this morning. They were very good. I definitely will be making them again. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Cheryl. Here is the recipe:

2 cups flour (I used whole wheat), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 cup apple juice, 1/3 cup oil, 1 egg and 1 cup diced apples. Combine all ingredients and put into muffin pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. Next time I make it I will add nuts but I didn’t this time. Anyway they were really good.

Today has been rain, rain, and then some more rain. Extremely dreary. Hubby is having trouble with the van but has been unable to work on it because of the rain. We did manage to sneak in a picnic lunch over at the park. They have a shed there and we were fortunate enough to get to use the shed, otherwise we would have had to come home. We had hamburgers on the grill, pasta salad and yogurt. We got some more good pictures to share.

I hope you all enjoy your day and God bless.

October 27, 2010 1

Rolls

I thought I would share a picture of my rolls. Always before I have put them on a cookie sheet to bake. When I do this, I get 13-15 rolls. Over the weekend, I tried something different and put them into 3 round cake pans. I get 21-24 rolls using these pans and I think they look and taste better. Yesterdays supper was fried chicken, home canned corn, and gravy. With of course, these rolls.

We worked on the apples some more yesterday. I canned this juice instead of freezing it. Freezing it is much easier but, Praise the Lord, my freezers are getting full. I have to save some space my the deer my Hubby will be getting. Notice my positive thinking! Anyway, we got 5 qts of juice and 2 qts of applesauce. Hopefully, we will be doing more today.

I am trying out a new recipe for apple muffins for breakfast. Thanks Cheryl for sharing. They have just came out of the oven. I think I will go enjoy them. Take care and God bless.

October 27, 2010 2

Juicer/Steamer

Here is a picture of my juicer/steamer in action. Yesterday it was raining very hard. It would have been difficult for me to go outside to do the juice. Hubby set up the propane burner on our enclosed front porch. It worked extremely well. So much better than out in the shed. We just opened up the windows for ventilation. We got another 2 gal. of juice yesterday and 3 qts of applesauce and 4 qts of applebutter. The mountain of apples is getting smaller now. Soon we will be starting on the pears.

I thought you all might enjoy another fall shot. I snapped this as we were going down the road toward Floyd. I thought maybe it would be blurred but it turned out nice, I think. Today we will be working on more apples and school. It is very foggy here today. A dreary day. A day for lighting candles. Enjoy your day and God bless.

October 26, 2010 1