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

Crocus

We are finally getting a little color in our yard. I love these cheerful early flowers. They brighten up the landscape and our outlook so much, I think. Saturday was very nice here. We got all the trimming done. YEAH! Everything looks so much neater. It is all piled up in the garden to be burned whenever we can catch a day the wind isn’t blowing too hard. Yesterday, was absolutely beautiful. The temperature actually got up to 60 degrees. I sat outside for a very long time reading. Then Hubby came out and entertained me with his banjo. We had a team leaders meeting yesterday after church so we did not do our bible study last night.

Friday’s weather was very different from Saturday and Sunday. First we had quite a lot of rain.

Then we had some hail.

Today is chilly and overcast. They are calling for rain today and tomorrow. Grace has an appointment at the eye doctor later today. We will be doing school until lunch then leaving for the appointment. Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 14, 2011 4

Daniel and Sam

Daniel is doing some serious thinking about something, probably something he can get into.

Baby Sam is definitely growing. I have other pictures but for some reason I could not get them to load correctly. Hopefully, I will be able to post them tomorrow. Today is sunny here but kinda chilly. Temperature is 30 degrees. It was 18 degrees this morning when Hubby went to work. I am going to hang clothes outside in just a few minutes. I’ll need a coat and gloves though. I can’t stand for my fingers to get cold. I know I’m becoming wimpy in my old age.

We are planning to go to our friends, the Horns, after lunch. It has been too long since we got to spend time together. Supper tonight is cooked beef chunks with potatoes, pinto beans and corn bread. I already have the beef in the crockpot. Before we leave to go to the Horns, I will add the potatoes. I also have the pintos cooking in another crockpot. Hopefully all will be done when we get home except baking the corn bread.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 4, 2011 2

A New Shelf

This is a picture of our new shelf Hubby and I made yesterday for the new laundry room. I’m sorry it is not a very good picture. I forgot to take the picture before we moved it into the room. After it was in the room, I couldn’t get enough room to show the whole shelf. The top shelf is 5 ft tall and it is 30 in. long with a depth of 9 in. I will be storing all my laundry and cleaning supplies on it. He will be building another shelf soon to store our bulk items.

Temperature here is very nice today-upper 40’s. Sunshine. I love it. The girls are working on school and I am getting ready to hang more clothes on the line outside. Hubby is busy painting the old laundry room. I am a blessed woman.

I am making homemade pizza for lunch. Supper menu will be fried chicken, gravy, corn and homemade biscuits. As I said earlier, I am a blessed woman. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 16, 2011 3

Jerky

Monday we made jerky. Jerky is one of our favorite things to dehydrate. As some of you may remember, we were blessed last year to have a beef given to us. As it was an old bull , we made hamburger out of most of it. Above is a picture of our dehydrator, our jerky shooter and the type of jerky mix we use. All this came from Wal-Mart. There a lots of jerky mixes out there, this is just the one we use.

This is what it looks like after it has dried. The rack is not necessary. I just put it on it to take the picture. I thought it would show the jerky better.

When finished, it all fits neatly back into this basket and off the the attic it goes to be stored until next time. We have dehydrated apples and peppers too, a few bananas and grapes. We used to dry our green beans on a string in the attic when we lived in Grundy. I wonder how green beans would be dried in a dehydrator. Anyone out there ever tried this? I think I will try it this summer and see how it turns out. We just called them fodder beans but I have heard them referred to as leather britches. I know they are good no matter what you call them.

We did get a storm last night but it was only rain. YEAH! Temperatures are very nice today. Mid 40’s already. Lots of sunshine. I have clothes outside on the line. The wind is supposed to pick up after lunch, about 30 mph with gusts in the 50 mph range. Typical wind for Floyd. It helps the clothes dry and makes them soft as long as you can keep them on the line.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 2, 2011 5

Candy

We had so much fun yesterday making candy. When we got to Vicki’s, she had already made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. They loved it. After lunch, we made oreo truffles, then peanut butter balls and last we dipped oreo cookies in white chocolate. It was such a fun day. The recipe I use to make the peanut butter balls is:

1 stick butter-softened, 1 lb powdered sugar. Mix these together. Then add 2 cups creamy peanut butter. Mix everything together. You will need to add about 1/4 cup water to this. Just add a little at a time until it is a little creamy. Be careful not to add too much water. Form into balls. In a double boiler, put 2 cups chocolate chips and 1/4 block parafin wax. Heat until chocolate is creamy. Dip peanut butter balls into chocolate. Place on wax papered cookie sheet. Refrigerate and enjoy. These are much better after they chill. I want to make Martha Washington balls next. I think they are my favorite.

Time for us to leave for piano practice. Enjoy your day and God bless.

December 9, 2010 3

Gilbert

Daniel’s little kitten, Gilbert, taking a much needed rest under the Christmas tree. He certainly is a cute kitten. Very fuzzy. Sam’s eyes light up every time he sees Gilbert. He would love to sink his chubby little hands into all that fur.

We had a fun day yesterday. We went over to our friends, the Horns. Vicki fixed us lunch, then while the kids played, we make some gingersnap cookies. They were very good. We also tried our hand at making some breakfast bars or as we call them energy bars. They did not turn out near as well as I had hoped. Not too bad just not as I envisoned them being. We all had a lot of fun though. God is so good to provide us with friends like the Horns. We feel very blessed that they are in our lives.

We had so much rain here the first of the week. I have no idea how much but I know it was a lot. Everything was soaking wet. Water was standing in so many places in our yard. After the rain, temperatures took a drop. It dropped about 20 degrees from yesterday morning till this morning. The sun is shining though so hopefully things will warm up some. I would like to hang my sheets on the line.

The girls and I have lots to get done today so we better get busy. God bless.

December 2, 2010 3

A Mountain of Rolls

One of the things I am taking tomorrow for our thanksgiving meal at church will be these rolls. I froze them ahead of time and have been baking them all day today. The one difference I have noticed is that the frozen dough did not rise as much as it would if it had not been frozen. They taste the same though and I guess thats what counts. I am also making cinnamon rolls to take. Not sure what else yet. After our meal, the youth of our church will go shopping. Every year they get two “angels” from the angel tree. A boy and a girl. Each family in the church contributes $5.00. Then the youth go shopping. They boys buy for the boy and the girls buy for the girl. It is a very nice tradition. Our youth really look forward to going. One year, they were shopping and picked out something they wanted to buy and they were a little short on the money needed to buy it. One of the boys said he had some extra from a job he had done that week. He gave the extra so they could purchase the item. I love that. Children being raised to give generously and without expecting anything in return.

Yesterday I had a WONDERFUL surprise. Jessica and Sam came up for a visit. I did not know they were coming. They just walked in the door. I was so happy. Daniel and David were at home. She stayed until after lunch. The bible study ladies had not gotten to see Sam yet. It was a great surprise. Have I mentioned I love happy surprises?

Beautiful day here in Floyd. Very nice temperatures with lots of sunshine. A great day for being outside. Enjoy your day and God bless.

November 20, 2010 4

Another Fall Picture

I know, another fall picture but soon all the colors will be gone and it will only be snow pictures again. David, Jess, and the boys are on their way up this morning. Our church does a halloween alternative, which we call Christfest. It is always lots of fun. We will be doing it tonight. Kids and adults both usually dress up. I hope to take lots of pictures to show everyone. We will be eating at church for the evening meal. Lunch here will be burgers on the grill with homemade buns, home fries with ranch dressing for lunch. Depending on time, I might make a pumpkin pie-not sure. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy your day. I know I will, lots of MawMaw time. God bless.

October 30, 2010 2

Our First Fire

Okay, so it finally got cold enough to build a fire. The temperature inside the house was 61 and I decided we really did need a fire. This stove may look small but it is a real workhorse. It heats our old farmhouse, keeps us toasty warm. We do use the gas logs some when it gets really cold but most of the heat comes from this little stove. It even keeps the upstairs warm. We are very blessed to have it. A few years back, Hubby and I traded some electrical work for this stove. I think we made a good bargain.

We had to make a run down to Jessica’s today. She has been sick over the weekend with strep and thought the boys might be getting it too. Praise the Lord, Daniel just has an ear infection, which is bad but not as bad as strep. Sam seemed to be okay, just congested. We had a good visit anyway and she made some awesome chicken noodle soup for lunch.

Well, I think I will relax and enjoy the coziness of our fire. Enjoy your evening and God bless.

October 4, 2010 2