Sunday Morning

It seems I have so much to share with you all. Our church has a fellowship breakfast once a year at Smartview Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Sunday was a beautiful morning for eating outside. Saturday we were wondering if we would get to have it or not. We had lots of fog but Sunday morning was bright and beautiful. I took sausage gravy, biscuits, fresh churned butter, and scrambled eggs-fresh from our hens. God is so good!

Jess and the boys came up Saturday morning to spend the weekend. David was at a conference in Georgia all day Saturday. He came to our house after the conference. He got here about 1:00 A.M. Jessica’s friend Leah came over on Saturday to visit with her. Our house had lots of action-five children all together chasing after kittens. They all had lots of fun. We made peach ice cream Saturday evening. It was VERY good but I am partial to peach ice cream. I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com

2 1/2 pounds fresh peaches – peeled, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup white sugar

1 pint half-and-half cream

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk, or as needed

Mix all ingredients together and put into ice cream maker.

Yesterday I made homemade tomato soup from our tomatoes. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com also.

4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

1 slice onion

4 whole cloves

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

Directions

In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, onion, cloves and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors. Remove from heat and run the mixture through a food mill into a large bowl, or pan. Discard any stuff left over in the food mill.
In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, cooking until the roux is a medium brown. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato mixture, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest. Season with sugar and salt, and adjust to taste.

I did do a few things different. I used about 1/4 tsp celery salt instead of regular salt and I only used 1/2 tsp sugar. I made enough of this to can 5 pts. According to the Ball canning book, you process this for 20 min. on 10 lb pressure. I ended up putting mine in the freezer as I was pushed for time.

Okay, one more recipe. I told you all I had a lot to share. That’s what happens when I don’t make a post for several days. Anyway, today I made a peach simple syrup. I had a few peaches left and wondered what I could do with them. Something easy. I cut the peaches into chunks. Enough to make l cup chopped peaches. I then brought to a boil 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Pour the boiling water over the peaches and let sit. I let mine sit all day. Strain the mixture and you have a great tasting peach simple syrup. Then I put about 3 tbsp. peach simple syrup into an 8 oz glass. I then added ice and sparkling water. I would have used club soda but I was out of it. I got this idea from http://theblessedhearth.blogspot.com/. She did something similar with ginger. I think I might even try mixing the peach and the ginger syrup together. I might try adding this to tea as I really like peach tea. Well, I’ve bored you all enough with all these recipes. Enjoy your day and God bless.

August 9, 2011 4

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

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

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

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

Wood

Here’s our wood supply so far. What do you think? Enough for winter? The back goes 7 rows deep. Lots of work thats for sure. But some surprises too. I found 2 little black kittens in the pile we were moving today. The mommy cat had them hid really well. They were scared but friendly and of course very cute. Weather was very nice for wood splitting. Short sleeve weather. Tomorrow is a slight chance of rain so I’m glad the wood is in the dry. I am baking amish friendship bread this evening. It has been a 10 day process but I think it is going to be worth it. It smells WONDERFUL. I can’t wait to taste it. Hubby didn’t get a deer yet but we did have one donated to us. Thanks, Eldon! We’ve had tenderloin and gravy for breakfast two days in a row. Good stuff. Well, I’m pretty tired, all that wood is hard work. God Bless.

November 9, 2009 1

Flowers

These are some late blooming flowers in one of my flower beds. Yes, I actually took these pictures this morning . Temperatures in the low to mid 30’s. These flowers are close to the house so they are kinda sheltered. I certainly am glad they decided to bloom so late, adding their special color to fall. Almost all my flowers are gone so these are especially appreciated. I think today I will work on making Grace’s poodle shirt for our Christfest (Halloween alternative) at church. The girls look forward to it every year. Lots of games and of course more candy than any 2 girls could eat. We have a new member at our Friday Ladies Bible study. So good to have you, Vicki! We had a surprise yesterday. We heard a kitten meowing in one of our outbuildings. When we went to check it out we discovered 3 new kittens, 2 gray, and 1 black with a little white on her face. I will try to get a picture of them later today and post it so you all can see them. They are very cute! Of course, we never seem to have a shortage of cats here on the farm but no matter how many we have it is always exciting to the girls to find new kittens. Hours of playtime for them. Well it is time for me to do some work. God Bless.

October 17, 2009 1