Sunday

Hello everyone! Definitely long time-no post. Not sure why it has been so long. I would say I have been busy but then we are always busy. I guess I am in a blogging slump! I just can’t seem to think of anything to say (I know, imagine that huh!!) Well, anyway, today is beautiful here. Our temperature is 55 degrees and we have lots of sunshine. We had snow Friday about 3 in. but it is all gone now. YEAH! I am so done with snow and cold weather. I am ready for picnics and hiking and fun stuff like that.

As I said I am in a blogging slump. Sitting here typing and I just can’t come up with much to write about. We are enjoying our new pastor. He really has some interesting messages-gets us to really thinking about things. School is going well. We finished history this week, now to double up on science and get it done.

I guess I better get started on my Sunday night bible study lesson. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

March 9, 2014 6

Update

Hello everyone! I hope all is well in your life. I still do not have my computer back but I thought I would post a little update while I had access to a computer. The keyboard Dave ordered for Grace’s computer did not work so she is still using mine. Oh well, the things we do for our children!

We have been busy here. The garden is doing fairly well. We have had tons of rain though. We have been harvesting beets, cucumbers, carrots and such. We planted a new type of beet this year. They are called Chioggia beets or candy striped beets. They look like this http://www.rareseeds.com/chioggia-bassano-beet. They are really pretty. I will definitely be planted them again. I want to try out a new pickled beet recipe refrigerator pickled beets.

We picked blueberries last week. We made blueberry freezer jam using the pomona pectin. I really like using it. Thanks, Cheryl, for telling me about it. We also made homemade blueberry ice cream. So good!!!

I’m sure there is lots more going on around here but I just can’t seem to remember it all. That’s what happens I guess when I don’t do a post for a long time. I hope you all have a great Sunday and God bless.

July 14, 2013 5

Wedding

Hello everyone! Whew, what a busy weekend we have had. Fun, but busy. Our son, Chuck, was married yesterday. I couldn’t wait to get home today and check out this picture. I have wanted a picture of all of us together for a long time. I guess it took a wedding to make it happen. And just look, we’re all dressed up too!

After the reception, we played in the hotel pool for a while before bed. We had to do something to let the kids wind down after being still for so long. Sam amazed us all by sitting still and quiet beside his Grace the whole time the ceremony was going on.

We stopped on the way home and enjoyed a picnic. The weather was cool but it was still nice.

Most things are green here now.

We have definitely been cool though. We have freeze warnings for tonight and tomorrow night. Hopefully, though, when this little cool spell is over things will warm up for a while.

Little boys wishing it was warm enough that they could get in that water. Well, I better get busy. I have lots to get done. I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

May 12, 2013 5

Rosemary Marinade for Meat

I have had this recipe for a long time. I am not sure where I got it from. It is Dave’s favorite marinade for pork on the grill.

1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 2 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary. Combine all ingredients and pour over meat. Let sit overnight or at least a few hours. As in all marinades, overnight is better but not always possible. I have made this plenty using dried rosemary and even not using any rosemary at all. It is still delicious either way.

April 25, 2013 0

New Canner and Homemade Deodorant

This is my new canner. I stopped at a yard sale a few weeks ago and the lady had this canner for sale. One of the handles was missing so she sold it to me for $5.00. Yesterday, I stopped at Farmers Supply here in Floyd to see if they could order new handles. I had no idea if they could or not as the canner appears to be old. Well, they could and they only cost me $8.00. I then went to the extension office and had them calibrate the guage. It was off 1 and 1/2 pounds so I thought I probably should get a new guage too. This cost $l8.00. Amazing. These parts will be in by Friday. So for roughly $30.00 I got a new canner. This one is much taller than my other ones. It will hold 1/2 gallon jars which I plan to use for our juice that we can.

Then we went on over to Vicki’s and had a great visit. We ate lunch together and then Vicki and I made homemade deodorant.

We used tea tree oil in the solid deodorant and lavender in the powder. I really like it. It smells so fresh and clean. I am impressed. I definitely will be making it again.

Today the girls and I are making spaghetti sauce. This will be our last batch of spaghetti sauce. I think the rest of the tomatoes will just be used to make tomato juice. Our tomatoes are doing very well this year. I think this isthe best ours have done in a long time.

I better go stir the spaghetti sauce as I do not have Mrs. Sally’s good kettle any longer. I took it back to her Sunday. Enjoy your day and God bless.

August 21, 2012 3

Saturday

Hello ladies, I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far. We worked today on putting a fence around the gardens.

The “ladies” were very glad. They had not been free all week as we had not had time to get the fences up. We knew the minute they were turned loose they would head straight to the gardens. To express their dislike of not being turned loose they cut back on their laying. We usually get 11 or 12 eggs every day. This week we got 7 or 8. I told them I expected full quota next week. No excuses.

We found this drift netting at the barn, rolled it out and cut it in two pieces. The posts are cut from old wood we got from the job site. Not bad-zero expense. I am hoping the plastic bags that you see will keep the birds away. So far it seems to be working. I replaced the 14 plants they had eaten and so far all is well. It took us 4 hrs to put this fence up. Hubby helped or it would have taken much longer.

The rose bush at the green swing is in full bloom. I think it is lovely this year.

Another picture of the rose bush.

I realized it had been a very long time since I put a picture of Jasper on here.

He is our farm dog in training. Shadow has been teaching him all the tricks. (Most times, Shadow just tolerates him). Well, that’s about it for today. Supper was hotdogs and beans. Simple because Mom was tired. I hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend and God bless.

May 26, 2012 4

Katie’s First Thanksgiving

I thought I would share with you all a few pictures from our Thanksgiving. Katie spend most of the time doing what she does best. Ain’t she beautiful!

Next two very handsome boys. Sam loves to have his picture taken. When he sees the camera, he will stop whatever he is doing and sit down for you to take his picture. Then he wants you to show it to him.

Then my “baby” girls. I am such a blessed woman. Thank you, Lord!

You will notice I am doing something a little different on the blog. I have wanted to do this for a long time and yesterday David fixed it for me. I now have a recipe link on the sidebar. Hopefully, I will be able to remember how to make it work. Today, I put the recipe for Oatmeal Muffins on. (Are you proud of me, Dave?) I got this recipe from my friend Cheryl at http://holcombhappenings.wordpress.com/ and it is one of my favorite breakfast muffins.

We will be working on Dave and Jessica’s bed today. Hubby hopes to get it finished this weekend. I hope you all enjoy your day and God bless.

November 25, 2011 9

A Wood Cutting Day

Saturday, before Grace’s party, we went up on the hill to cut wood. Grace decided (just for fun) she wanted to chop this log with the ax. She chopped for a pretty long time. This is how much she chopped.

Pretty good, considering it was splitting maul and not an ax. Then Hubby had difficulties with his chain saw and we had to load up and come back home for him to work on it.

Now you can’t see him but in the left corner at the tail gate is Shadow. This is what he is waiting on.

He is too old and too heavy to jump up into the truck bed. Hubby has to lift him up now but we would never dream of leaving him behind. If the girls are riding in the truck bed, he thinks he has to be there too. He checks out the area where we are cutting and then comes back and stays where we are. If the girls go for a walk, he goes with them. He has always taken his job very seriously.

Everyone loaded and ready to go. Hubby did get his chain saw working again. He went back up and finished getting the load of wood while the girls and I stayed down and got everything ready for the party. It was a really fun day.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

November 7, 2011 7

Hello Everyone!

I think it has been a long time since I made a post but things have been kinda busy here. Jess and the boys came up on Thursday. We spent Friday doing some shopping and then Dave came up Friday evening. He and Hubby went over to our pastor’s house for a men’s shoot on Saturday. Today Dave, Jess and the boys went with us to church. It was pastor appreciation day. We had a fellowship meal after church with lots and lots of good food.

Today has been a very nice day here in Floyd. Sunshine, a slight breeze and a temperature of about 65 degrees. Very nice. I hope to get some fall pictures this week to show you all. The trees are starting to get beautiful colors here. Tomorrow the girls and I will go down to play with the boys while Jess has one last ultra sound. She only has about 3 weeks to go.

This is a picture of some flowers that are blooming beside the road on our way to church. Aren’t they pretty? Well, I have a lot of posts to read to get caught up on what has been happening in everyone else’s life. Enjoy your day and God bless.

October 9, 2011 5

Stack Cake

It’s not very often I make two posts in one day, but I thought this was worth sharing. Tomorrow we will be going down to play with the boys while Jess has another doctor’s appointment. She asked me if I could make her a stack cake. This cake goes by different names. Some call it a stack cake, others a “lassie” cake (molasses). No matter what you call it, it is GOOD! In the mountains where I grew up, this cake was common at most all family get-togethers. It is not as common now, as the art of making them has all but disappeared. It took me many years of trial and error, but I finally got it. (I think, anyway.) These cakes are best eaten the next day. Most like them with a cold glass of buttermilk. In Grundy, these sell for $15.00-$20.00 and worth every penny. The layers are thin and between them is a good amount of homemade applebutter. Well, I just wanted to show you all my accomplishment for the day. Just kidding, it didn’t take me all day to make it but it did take a long time to clean up afterward. Enjoy your day and God bless.

September 15, 2011 8