Spring

Friday these beautiful red winged blackbirds stopped by our feeders for a little snack. They are usually the first birds to return in the spring. They are a week earlier this year than last year. Hopefully, that means an early spring. However, this morning was no indication that spring is on its way. Wind chill temperature -10 degrees with snow on the ground. Well, the snow is gone now and the wind chill now is 5 degrees so we are warming up some.

Not much going on here. I have started work on Sam’s quilt. I have all the 5 x 5 in. squares cut out and am ready to start sewing them together. School has went well this week. Did I mention to you all about the last batch of homemade laundry soap I made using the laundry bar soap instead of fels naptha? Well, those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that in the past I have had trouble with the homemade laundry soap. My clothes seem to get a dingy look and the towels became really non-absorbent. I know, strange stuff, but strange happens a lot here. I guess it is our water that causes these problems. Well, so far I have had no problems using this batch. It is a little bit different recipe than I have tried before but I think the real difference is using homemade laundry bar soap. I will try to remember to keep you all updating as to how it is doing.

Well, I better get busy. Church tonight and the menu is baked potato bar. Sounds delicious to me. I really like baked potatoes. Enjoy your Sunday and God bless.

February 17, 2013 3

Tuesday

Good morning, ladies! I hope you all stayed warm last night. We were at 8 degrees this morning with a wind chill of -4. The bathroom and laundry room water was frozen but it didn’t take Hubby long to get it unthawed. The above picture is in what we call our sitting room. I wanted to share the beautiful sunshine coming through the window, especially for Cheryl. I understand she has had a really cold dreary several weeks.

We will be starting school in a little bit. After school I hope to work some more on the quilt pieces. So far it has been kinda fun. I am making crockpot terriyaki pork for supper with rice and green beans.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

January 22, 2013 6

Mrs. Sally’s Decorations

We love to visit Mrs. Sally and see all her Christmas decorations. Her walls are covered with these beautiful wall hangings she has made.

She also has so many nativity scenes.

This one came from Israel. I think it is my favorite.

She has lots of snowmen.

We had a really nice visit. She cooked a beef roast with potatoes and carrots. I took fresh made rolls and an oatmeal pie.

Not much going on here. Just normal stuff. Hubby is gone to work and I am letting the girls sleep in a little bit. Clothes are in the machine washing and dishes are waiting.

I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

December 19, 2012 6

Snow

Can you believe we are getting snow? Amazing!! I can’t remember ever getting snow in October in Floyd. Maybe years ago, but not since we have lived here. Anyway, we are getting it now. It is COLD here-well, maybe not real cold but cold compared to last week. It has been a drastic change in temperature. We are right now in the upper 20’s with wind gusts of 40 mph which makes it seem much colder. Needless to say, we are so thankful for a dry wood supply. Definitely makes all that hard work on Saturday seem worthwhile.

Last night we had an intruder in the meat chickens coop. It was an opossum or as we call them-possum. We leave off the o part. Jasper and Hubby took care of it though. He is definitely becoming a valuable part of our family. Shadow is getting too old for critter chasing. Well, that’s about it for now. We will be starting school in just a little bit. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

October 29, 2012 6

Apple Tree

Our apple tree is in full bloom. It certainly looks like we will have lots of apples on it-if the warmer weather holds out with no frost. Our temperature was 36 degrees this morning. It has already warmed up to lower 50’s. As I type, the birds are singing, the sun is shining, clothes are drying on the line. I truly have a blessed life. Thank you, Lord!

We will be starting school in a little bit. After school, I need to go into our little town and get a few things. Then hopefully get home and get a few things done here. I want to get our seeds started this week. Tomorrow, Julie has an eye appointment in C-burg. This usually is an all day thing. We want to visit Goodwill while we’re over there. The girls are hoping to find a few books. Our Goodwill has an actual used book store in a separate building. It will be a fun girls day out.

Our back road is full of wild spring flowers. We see something new blooming every time we travel that way. Yesterday, the columbine was blooming. I so enjoy seeing all the spring flowers come to life.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 3, 2012 5

Grace and Sam

Grace and Sam are pretty big buddies. She is usually his watcher and Julie has Daniel. As you can see, Sam must be barricaded away from the construction zone. He is just a little bit too much help.

He looks a little sad, don’t he?

The electrical is all done and the ceiling is hung. Monday we will hang the walls and start putting the mud on (hopefully). After that, the new floor goes down. Hubby will be building her a pantry to go beside her new stove.

The boys were very happy when they were allowed inside the construction zone to help. They worked very hard pulling up the old tile. Daniel would pull it up with his special tool and Sam would carry it to the trash. Very good helpers.

Temperatures here are very cold. Wind gusts of about 40 mph with an actual temperature of 13 degrees, putting the wind chill below zero. Our wood stove has been working hard keeping us nice and warm inside though. I hope you all have a great weekend and stay warm. God bless.

February 11, 2012 5

A Dirt Road

I love dirt roads. Yes, for those of you who live or have lived on a dirt road, you are probably thinking that I’m a little bit crazy. Well, yes, I am that but I do think dirt roads have a yesterday feel to them. Forget about the fact that your vehicle is always dirty, either with dust or with mud. They just have a slower type atmosphere about them, which I love.

Yesterday, we went to play with the boys while Jess went to the doctor. She and Katie are both doing well. Time is ticking down for them, just a few more weeks to go. Well, I’m going to tell you all, those boys sure know how to pull on MawMaw’s heart strings. I made the comment that it was getting time to go and Sam immediately wants MawMaw, following me everywhere, wanting me to hold him. Daniel doesn’t want us to leave either. We finally get out the door and I am almost to the car when Daniel opens the back door and says “MawMaw, I wish you could just stay forever and ever.” I tell you, I sure love those boys. They will be coming up this weekend. Saturday, our pastor is having a men’s shoot at his house. David and Hubby will be going to that.

I will leave you all with a sunrise picture Grace took the other morning. She was standing on our front porch when she took it. Enjoy your day and God bless.

October 5, 2011 5

Water Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from our trip Sunday. This little waterfall was very pretty.

See all the cracks in the rocks.

And last, just a little stream to listen to. So relaxing.

The girls and I went to Roanoke yesterday. They had a dentist appointment. After the appointment, we did a few things they enjoy doing. We went to Books-A-Million, which is one of their favorite places to go. We went to Sam’s Club to pick up a few things we needed. We then walked around a little bit in the mall. Joann’s Fabric had fleece on sale so we wanted to go by there. Grace will be making a top with it for her next sewing project with Mrs. Sally. We discovered that Joann’s was no longer there. We were very disappointed. We wanted to stop at Fresh Market to get some pumpkin spice coffee. It is a specialty coffee they only have in the fall. Well, we were pulling into the shopping center and one of the girls said, “Mom, look, there’s Joann’s.” Yea! So, Grace got her fleece and Mom got her coffee. Grace chose a red with white snowflakes on it. I think it will look very good.

I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

September 28, 2011 6

Picking Tomatoes

The girls picking tomatoes.

You all hear me talk about sitting on the green swing. Well, this is the view from it. As you can tell, there is lots of shade there, which is one of the reasons I love it.

This is a little bit closer view of the pond. See all the geese. Our pond has had lots of activity all summer.

A picture of the house as you turn down the driveway. To the left of the yard is the pond. Well, the yogurt turned out great. I think it is the best homemade yogurt I have ever made. I definitely will be making more. Also, the plum juice was very good. We enjoyed a cold glass of it this morning with our breakfast. I went to help Hubby today and the girls spent the day with the Horn’s. They had a great time. Temperatures here are still nice-upper 70’s today with a good wind. I hope you all enjoy your evening and God bless.

August 24, 2011 6

Babies

We have kitties! The girls are so happy. These four belong to Stripes. Babies are always so exciting. Temperature this morning was pretty chilly, mid 30’s. Hopefully it will warm up and we will have some sunshine. We worked outside yesterday afternoon on the chicken run. It is almost finished. Then it started to rain so we had to hurry and put everything away. Oh well, every little bit helps get us closer to being finished with it.

David’s sister had her baby yesterday. I will post a picture as soon as I figure out how to get it off my email. She had a little girl, Emily, and she weighed 7 lb. 9 oz. They both seem to be doing well. As I said earlier, babies are so exciting.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 13, 2011 3