Tuesday

Hello ladies! I thought I would make a post and give everyone an update on how things are going. We have been busy, isn’t everyone these days? I have been helping Hubby yesterday and today. The sheetrock is being delivered today and he will start hanging tomorrow. The insulators came last week. They sprayed this insulation in that looks and acts very similar to Great Stuff. It was pretty amazing. Anyway, I think he is going to get someone else to help him hang the ceilings. (Someone maybe a little stronger and taller than me). I don’t mind. We have plenty to do here.

Tomorrow morning, we will start picking blackberries. I think there will be plenty for canning, juicing and making jelly. Speaking of making jelly, I still am having no luck getting my jelly to set up. I just don’t understand what could be going on. The other day, the girls and I made 15 pints of peach jelly. None of it set up. Very disappointing and very expensive. I went to our local health food store and purchased the pomona pectin that my blogger friend Cheryl uses and redid it. It finally set up some but it is a soft set definitely not as firm as jelly usually is. So I used the magical powers of google to see if I could find out what was going on. Now I am not a novice at making jelly and jams. I’ve been doing it for years. Anyway one person said they had to switch kettles that they were using and then theirs did just fine. Do you all think it could be the kettle I am using? I tried to remember how long I have been using the kettle and it could coincide with the jelly problem. My old kettle finally gave out and I did switch to a different one. The kettle I am using now is a teflon kettle. The next time I do jelly I am going to try a stainless steel kettle and see if that makes a difference. What type of kettle do you all use?

The girls and I picked a mess of green beans for supper this evening. We also dug our first hill of potatoes. We will be having pork tenderloin, green beans, potatoes, onions and peppers and cucumbers for supper. Everything fresh from our garden (except the pork tenderloin). I can hardly wait. I could just feast on the veggies but Hubby always wants meat.

Our pullets are starting to lay pretty good. Yesterday we got 6 pullet eggs. Our old layers though have slacked off for some reason. Probably the heat. We have been hot for the last several days. Low 90’s. We did get a storm yesterday evening and it brought a pretty good rain with it. Lots of thunder and lightning too.

Well, I guess I better get busy starting supper. Enjoy your day and God bless.

July 17, 2012 6

Blueberries and Squash

The girls and I picked a gallon of these beautiful blueberries yesterday. It was a nice day for picking. It rained on us before we got to the blueberry place but stopped before we got there. The bushes were wet but the temperature was not bad and the bugs even left us alone.

Today we made this zucchini pineapple recipe. We used yellow squash instead of zucchini. It actually tastes like pineapple. You would never know it had squash in it. I got the recipe from here. http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/zucchinipineapple.htm A blogger friend of mine had made it the other day. She posted about it here. http://holcombhappenings.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/a-day-of-canning/ I think it will be really good.

Now, question time. I found out from the internet this squash is called a patty pan squash. Do any of you ladies have a recipe for it? Our pastor gave them to us and I really would like to try them. Online it says it pairs good with tomatoes but I thought I would ask you all.

Our weather change here has been amazing. We had rain yesterday which we so much needed. We laughed and said the plants in our garden were doing a happy dance for God. The temperatures have cooled off so much. We are right now at 73 degrees!!! Thank you Lord.

Well, that’s about all. I hope you have a great evening and God bless.

July 12, 2012 5

Eggs

Just look at all our little pullet eggs. Ain’t they cute? Notice the ameraucana one. We were so happy to see it in the nest. We have been busy here for the the last few days. Thursday afternoon we went over the our pastors house to pick peaches. I, of course, forgot my camera so no pictures of his beautiful trees. They are all full of fruit. Friday and today was spent working up the peaches we got. We ended up with 15 qts canned, 3 qts frozen, and 10 1/2 gals of peach juice. YEAH! Such a blessing.

We have been HOT here. Not as hot as some of you all but hot for us. Upper 90’s for the actual temperature. I’m not sure what it is with the humidity, feels like, at least, 110 degrees (to me).

Well, that’s about it for now. I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

July 7, 2012 7

July 4th

I hope you all had a great 4th of July. This MawMaw was very happy! For the first time, EVER, all our grandkids were here at the same time. Chuck and his crew arrived first.

They managed to find a few ripe blackberries.

We did hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill and sit in the shade most of the day.

My oldest granddaughter, Alexius.

My youngest, Miss Katie.

Everyone was very impressed by the little frogs that are in the “little pond”.

Sam, just being Sam.

The swings got lots of use.

I think the hammock was the most loved though. They spent lots and lots of time making the hammock into a big swing. After we ate, we all took a ride down the Parkway to Mabry Mill. I, of course, forgot my camera but Dave took a picture of everyone there at the mill. He is going to email it to me so if I can figure out how to transfer it over I will post it. I so badly wanted to get a group picture but the day just sped by and it slipped my mind. Then on up to a little place called Meadows of Dan. We ate pizza in a little gazebo there. Thanks Dave! The little boys had tons of fun playing with rocks that were there. We then came home and Dave and Chuck set off some fireworks Dave had brought with him. The first boom sent 3 or 4 deer running out of the cornfield. I guess they thought it was hunting season starting early. After that it was off to “little town” to see the big fireworks display. We all had a great day. From about 10:30 in the morning till about 9:30 that night, my entire immediate family was together. God is good. Now, I wonder when we could do it again!!

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

July 5, 2012 7

Eggs

We got our first egg from the chicks we bought this spring!! Isn’t it cute? I thought I would show you the difference in sizes. The one on left is the pullet egg, the middle one is our regular size and the one on the right is our extra large. We have a few white hens that were gave to us last year. They are the ones who lay the extra large white ones. Anyway, I guess it doesn’t take a lot to get us excited.

Here’s a picture of Chuck and Hubby working on the car Sunday. They replaced several things. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if that fixed it or not. The girls and I have been busy this morning doing laundry and some house cleaning. Our Pastor brought us a 5 gal. bucket of peaches Sunday night. We are going to work those up after lunch.

Not much else going on that I can think of. I hope you all have a great 4th of July and God bless.

July 3, 2012 4

Friday

Hello everyone! Well, as we knew would happen, our wonderful, cooler weather is gone. Today, as I type this, we are at 94 degrees. HOT! Oh well, this makes us appreciate cooler weather more. Days like today I really wish we had air conditioning!

My car has been giving me trouble lately. Hubby is not exactly sure what is going on with it. Chuck is coming Sunday to help Hubby (hopefully) fix it. They are trying several things to see if that works but Hubby says it could be the fuel pump. We hope not but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Our VBS is over. This is kinda good and kinda sad. It is a lot of fun but also a lot of work. We leave home around 6:00 P.M. and don’t get back until around 10:00. It takes us 30 min to drive to church and 30 min. back home so a lot of our time is spent on the road.

Well, I think my crew is getting hungry so I guess I best get started cooking. Supper tonight is fried chicken, corn, gravy, homemade biscuits and some homemade blackberry jam to go with the biscuits. I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

June 29, 2012 4

Around the Pond

The other day we all decided to take a walk around the pond. It has been absolutely beautiful here in Floyd this week. Our morning temperatures have been mid 40’s. Amazing!! Wonderful sleeping weather. The days have only gotten into the mid 70’s. I love it. For my part, the Good Lord could just let it be this way all summer and I would be happy.

The girls had lots of fun. They came in the house and got their wading shoes and spent lots of time wading in the pond. Jasper even joined them for a while. He doesn’t care much for water. I suppose after his accident the first winter, he thinks water isn’t much fun.

Lots of cool bugs were flying around the pond.

I have no idea what they are but if you look closely you can see the tiny blue bugs that were hovering around the blade of grass.

We have so many of these birds. I couldn’t tell for sure from the picture if they were barn swallows or tree swallows. Both birds are abundant here. They will fly down to the pond and touch the water. It is amazing to watch. Sometimes as many as 50 or more just skipping above the water. I’m not sure if they are getting a drink or catching bugs but it is one of our favorite evening passtimes to watch them.

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

June 27, 2012 4

Apples

Yesterday we walked up on the hill to check out the apple tree that is along the fence line. It is loaded with apples!!!! We are so glad. These apples are very good. We don’t know what kind they are. The tree was already here when we moved in.

This picture of the pond was taken from up on the hill at the apple tree.

This is a view of the house from the hill. I will have to make this a short post. Our VBS starts tonight and it is time for us to leave. I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

June 24, 2012 4

Saturday

Hello ladies!! I know it has been a while since I made a post but I have been having technical difficulties with my blog. My thanks to Dave for getting me back up and running. I’m still having trouble with my pictures so no picture today.(Picture Added – Dave) Well, we have been busy here this week. Monday, I helped Hubby at the farmhouse. He started on the plumbing this week. Under the bathroom, the crawl space is about 18 inches. As you can imagine, not my favorite place to work but someone has to do it. Then on Tuesday, the girls and I went down to Jessica’s. They all have been sick, even little Miss Katie. Hopefully, though, they are finally on the mend. Wednesday, I helped Hubby again. Difficulties with the plumbing caused us to decide to finish it up Monday. (Didn’t hurt my feelings any). I’m sorry, I guess I am complaining a little but of all the jobs I help him with, plumbing is my least favorite. Thursday and Friday, the girls and I stayed home and worked on things here.

Well, that’s about all for our week. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

June 23, 2012 3