Fire Pinks

On one of the rare occasions Sunday that the sun actually peeked through the clouds, we happened to be at Smartview Park. These beautiful fire pinks were blooming everywhere.

I thought you all might like them. We are always looking for different types wildflowers and quizzing each other to see if we can remember their names.

Today is STILL overcast and foggy. We had rain most of the day yesterday and more last night. Our temperature this morning was 40 degrees. I finally decided to just go ahead and build a fire. I washed a load of clothes on Monday and hung them up inside. This morning there were still not completely dry. It takes a long time for them to dry if I don’t have a fire and besides the house was a little chilly and damp.

Time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 18, 2011 4

Snowball bloom

We have a very small snowball bush that was given to us last year by a friend from church. I was not sure it would survive the winter but it did and now has one beautiful bloom on it. It also has several new starts coming up from the root. Next year we are hoping for lots of bloom.

Yesterday the girls and I went to big town. We needed chicken feed and a few other things. We went to Books-A-Million, which is a big treat for us. We used to have one in Christiansburg but they moved to Blacksburg. The girls had some money they had been saving. They each bought a new book with their money. I found this documentary in the bargain DVD basket. I am thinking of using it some for next year’s history course.

We have had several days of fog and rain. Today, though, the sun is peeking through the fog. Hopefully the weekend will be nice. Dave, Jess, and the boys are supposed to come up for the weekend. Our church is having a clay shoot tomorrow. Dave is going with Hubby to shoot and the rest of us are going to a big yard and craft sale here in Floyd. We hope to picnic Sunday and celebrate Hubby’s birthday.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 13, 2011 4

Chicks

Our baby chicks are now 3 weeks old. It kinda amazes me we have only had them 2 weeks. Seems much longer somehow. The red ones are a week older than the white ones but for simplicity’s sake we put them all at the same age.

We had some rain last night, with wind (of course) and it is still overcast today. I am hoping for some sun but we’ll see. Temperature is nice though, 56 degrees. I was hoping to get some of the earlier veggies planted in the garden but it is too wet. Maybe I am just getting in too much of a hurry. Several years ago, when we first moved to Floyd, we had to replant all our garden. About the last week of May, temperatures dropped to the teens for 5 nights in a row. Everything froze, even through our buckets that we had used to cover our plants. The seed potatoes froze in the ground. So needless to say after that I try to not plant too early. However, I can plant peas, lettuce, onions and cabbage now (as soon as the garden dries up enough).

Well, time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 12, 2011 2

Spring Time

Our forsynthia bush is in full bloom. I love the bright yellow color, so cheerful. Today is beautiful here in Floyd. Temperature is mid 50’s, the sun is shining and the wind is not too aggressive. Very nice. I have one load of clothes on the line and another on the way. We are busy with school and have plans for outside time this afternoon.

Yesterday was a nice day too. Church was very nice and our evening study went very well with lots of discussion. Our menu last night was beef roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans, macaroni salad, cookies and peaches. Very good. We did hamburgers on the grill for lunch yesterday, with grilled onions and asparagus. I love cooking on the grill. I think it makes everything taste so good.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 4, 2011 3

Happy Birthday, Alexius

Today we will be celebrating our granddaughter’s 6th birthday. It is amazing how quickly they grow up. Weather here this week has been pretty chilly. Yesterday’s high was about 35 degrees with lots of wind. COLD! We have had some snow, rain, ice and lots of wind. Hopefully today will be better, at least the sun is shining. I have one load of clothes on the line and another washing as I type. We have had to dry clothes inside all week. YUCK!

I better get busy. Lots to get done before party time. Enjoy your day and God bless.

April 2, 2011 5

“Brash” Pile

This is one of our brush piles to be burned or as some of the old time Grundy people would say “brash”. I am assuming this would be some of our celtic roots coming through. I have no idea really. I do know the older people had a different word for lots of things. Help was hope, cover was kiver, boiled was biled. These are a few that come to mind right off the top of my head. Anyway we have this one piled in the first garden to be burned as soon as we can catch a day with not too much wind.

We are supposed to get much warmer today-upper 50’s I think. We will hopefully be doing more outside work after school. The sun is shining beautifully but it is still chilly right now-30 degrees. I have clothes that are ready to go to the line. I love it when we can dry them outside. The birds are telling me to hear out so I can hear them sing. God is so good!

Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 17, 2011 4

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

Christmas in March

I think my Christmas Cactus is confused. It bloomed around Christmas time and has decided (to our great pleasure) to bloom again. It looks so cheerful and happy in the room.

Todays temperature was a little warmer when we got up, 26 degrees. It is a little overcast but the sun is coming through. It is now about 30 degrees. I have one load of clothes on the line and am getting ready to take another. They are predicting rain for tomorrow.

On the menu for tonight is pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and kale. I think I will do homemade biscuits with it and have cooked apples for dessert. Time for us to start school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 8, 2011 5

New Study

This is a picture of the book for our new study on Sunday night at church. We are working our way through the New Testament. They have all been good studies so far. We also will be starting a new study for the Friday Ladies Group. I will try to take a picture of that book tomorrow to show you all.

Today has been very windy here. We started out the morning with rain, then some sun, then rain again. After that it has been fairly sunny. Our wind has been about 30 mph with gusts of about 50 mph. I have towels on the line. The hardest part is keeping them on the line. They will be so soft when they dry with all that wind.

Tonights supper is pizza and bread sticks. This is a favorite of the girls. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 25, 2011 3

What Should I Do With This?

I know. I’ll make tea. Yes, it is sassafras root. We found quite a lot of it up on the hill where we cut wood. They had pushed over a few sassafras trees so we got the roots, brought them down and made tea. First you wash the root. They usually are pretty dirty.

Then I broke them into smaller pieces. Put into a kettle with water. I used about 1 1/2 qts of water to this amount of roots. Bring water to a boil and let simmer for about 15 min. Then strain the water, add sweetener of your choice and you have a delicious cup of tea. We love it. It is probably Hubby’s favorite.

We went to visit Jessica over the weekend. They have much warmer temperatures than we do. They have some forsynthias that are already blooming. Her Easter lillies are almost ready to open up. We even saw some creeping phlox blooming. Then we came home, temperature was 34 degrees, very overcast. YUCK! We even had a slight dusting of snow this morning. I don’t want to complain though. I am working on enjoying the seasons without complaint. It is still cold but the sun has come out so that makes it all seem so much nicer.

Lunch break is over. Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 23, 2011 3