A LOOK AT SEPTEMBER 2010

Today is a fitting cool and wet end to a September that has been abnormally hot and dry.
It was definitely a long sleeve morning for the first time in many market mornings today.Had a pretty busy day even with the wet weather.
And this was an ominous looking sky this evening,too bad this is not a movie so you could see the clouds zooming by in the strong winds we have tonight.
As another month comes to an end its time for the decade pics of this month.
The yearly Apple Festival begins every September and this year there was an extremely large crowd.
Daughter and I had to hold on to one another to keep from getting separated in the crowd,it was no fun at all.Finally got a "widow maker" dead tree taken down that would have fallen on #2 son's house. Our associate pastor is also a professional tree climber.Took him about 2 hours to make firewood out of the huge triple oak.
Finally got to take that vacation to Cherry Grove Beach ,SC. Bernie and Dolly are ready to go.This is how we roll when we go on vacation,taking everything it seems and the kitchen sink !!Still injured and on crutches #1 son makes tha best of the time away from doctors and PT. That's #2 son with the crutches on his back.Here's a sight you don't see everyday on the beach.The weather was record breaking hot while we were there so we did a lot of fishing, relaxing and pool playing at our rental house.Our house was on the waterway so we netted our own bait fish.Grandson loves the ocean, here he is with his aunt T.With a friend named Cameron from Ohio that was staying right up the street.With his Uncle D and his Pawpaw.With his mom.Cutie Pie !!!Hubbie, #2 son and I took a drive about 15 minutes north to make one last drive over Sunset Island's historic old pontoon swing bridge as it is being replaced by the new high bridge on the right. This is the last of these bridges on the coast of NC.Hubbie, daughter and I enjoy a beach sunset.Old Timey Day at the Curb Market is on the last Saturday of September and we had a beautiful day for it this year,Me selling cakes from my booth on Old Timey Day.
A busy month of canning tomatoes,making pear butter, putting out fall decorations, doctor appointments, Super Harvest Moon,expecting new great nephew and all my regular jobs also has me looking forward to a relaxing fall season.
Thanking God for a wonderful month and all the blessings He gave me during it.
Good Night and God Bless.

PEAR BUTTER MAKIN !!

Well what should have been a 15 minute max, visit to the vet turned into an hour wait I began to wonder how I was going to get anything done today.
On the flip side because they forgot to tell me when my specimens were done they only charged for one instead of two,so I guess I'll forgive them.
I sat listening to the girls in the office talking excitedly about one of them being pregnant,I should have known they weren't paying too much attention to business !!
Anyway all's well with Bernie and Dolly, no sign of any kind of worms so that's a good thing.
On my way home I stopped at Ingles to pick up some extra sugar for my pear butter making this afternoon.
I ate a salad for lunch ,then started icing my cakes, 12 caramels and 4 chocolates. With the rain predicted for tomorrow I'm sure it will be a slow,slow day.
It started raining here about 2:30 this afternoon and has been on and off all evening.
What better way to spend a rainy afternoon than making pear butter.
I found a recipe on fellow blogger Farm Chick Paula's blog a few days ago and wanted to try it,I'm always game for new recipes.
Glad I picked these yesterday when the sun was shining !! The longest process in dealing with this type of pear is peeling and cutting them up as they are pretty hard.
This pot was level full when I started cooking,by the time they were soft it was 1/2 full.
After running the softened pieces through the food processor and adding Paula's recommended amount of sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and sneaking in some cloves and all-spice of my own (sorry Paula),that's why my daughter says she'll never be able to make her food taste like mine because I never fully follow a recipe. I cooked the mixture until it was very thick and put it in jars to process for 10 minutes.
Wound up with 7 pints of some of the best tasting pear butter I've ever made, Thanks Paula !!!

#1 son's nurse came to measure his wounds today and found he has a tunnel at the bottom of one of them that isn't heating,so she is searching for a different healing process again.
When hubbie came home from work he and #2 son went to Asheville to pick up a recliner for #2 son, he finally found a good deal on a black one like he wanted.
The camper cover we used for vacation is still on hubbie's truck so that came in handy for picking it up today in the rain.
It is really cool this evening and still on and off rain.
Daughter came in and started baking and I went to my office and buried myself in paperwork. I am still catching up from being gone a week.
We all watched survivor at 8:00 then it was back to work .
I iced coconut cakes tonight and labeled everything.
I am watching the weather at 10:30 all finished with everything and due a little relaxation time before heading to bed.
Thanking God for my many blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

LOVING THE BLUE SKIES OF FALL

SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN !! I don't think that's how that song goes but the sun sure did look good this morning after the last couple days.
Housecleaning Tuesday is here again also !!
The temperature is great today 73 degrees, fall is in the air. I love the color of the sky this time of year.
This evening I was watching the birds at the feeders to see if any new faces are migrating through. Didn't see any new faces but this female Cardinal looks agitated with me for disturbing her dinner.
Usually I only see Gold Finch at this feeder but today this House Finch was having diner there.

I baked layer cakes tonight ,but got started earlier so I can get to bed earlier.
Had no pain last night but after working all day housecleaning I'm wondering what tonight will bring.
Daughter came in delighted with the high school volleyball team she helps coach as they beat an undefeated team tonight.
It is 10:45,I should have all cakes out of the ovens by 11:00, watch the news,take a bath,read my bible and sleep,ahhhhhhh.
Saying a thankful prayer tonight for my niece,who is pregnant ,due any day, and was in an automobile accident last night. She was hit in the rear while stopped to turn,she has had 2 ultra sounds and a stress test on baby and everything seems to be okay. She is now dilated 3cm which is okay since baby's due date is 10- 12 so thank God for protecting her and her baby.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY COOL START TO THE WEEK

Delivering Avon all morning in the rain wasn't a fun way to start off the week. I've thought all morning if this gives me a cold I'm sure gonna be mad because I sure haven't made any money. I picked up returns at 2 stops so that knocked any profit right out the window.
When I got home after slushing around in the rain and cool 60 degree temps, I hit the couch and did not do a thing all evening.
It's just been that kind of day and we haven't had one of those in quite awhile !!!!

As I sit here writing this at 9:30 I hear thunder and hear more hard rain,we may get that flood after all.
I've been researching joint pain supplements on line tonight and now am totally confused.
The glucosamine the doctor told me to take doesn't seem to be enough.
Some of the ones I've researched like Flexceril , Flexcin CM8 , Nutraflex, all look like they might be worth a try but aren't for sale locally and are very expensive to order.
I am trying to take it easier especially in the evenings to see if that will stop the pain at night when I lay down. It's funny that my knees or hips don't hurt much during the day but when I lay down and they should relax the pain flares up,especially in my hips.
I am going to try getting up earlier and getting my baking done in the early morning so in the evenings I can stay off my feet more to see if this helps. With all the rest I've had today tomorrow is a good day to start a new routine.
Thanking God for the thirst quenching rain and the blessings of today.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY, RESTFUL SUNDAY

Not much sleep last night as Bernie,one of our 4-legged kids coughed all night. He sounded like he was in so much pain,but seemed to be calm and even ate some snacks hubbie gave him thinking they might clear his throat.
About 4 am the hard rain started falling steadily.
This morning brought more rain and a still coughing Bernie.
Our associate pastor gave the sermon at church today as our regular pastor is still on vacation. It was a good sermon, #1 son and I were the only ones hearing it as hubbie,daughter and d-in-love were all in the nursery today with 9 under 2 year olds.
We had a spaghetti lunch today with everyone here.
The rain slacked enough to look at the gauge and I poured out 1 6/10ths inches.
A good rainy,restful Sunday afternoon.The temperature today is 64 degrees,that's 20 degrees less than just yesterday !
I have a feeling these green leaves aren't going to be around too much longer now.
Flash flood watches have been issued for our area for tonight and tomorrow.Temperatures are looking more like normal to below normal for the next week.

Bernie's coughing has almost stopped this evening so we gave him and Dolly a haircut and a bath.
We have no idea what made him cough so much ,but are hoping for a quite night of peaceful sleep tonight.
Thanking God for a day filled with blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

FALL OLD TIMEY DAY 2010

Old Timey Day at the Curb Market in September is usually a good day especially with the weather we are having today.Come on in and join the fun !!!The old wood cook stoves were fired up early to bake the bisquits and fry the sausage and ham.Lines form quickly for a taste of yesteryear!These musicians called themselves Pickin' and poundin'.They were very good and I heard a lot of positive comments about them.Everyone seemed to be enjoying the food and the music.This is a friend of hubbie and me who brought his grandfather's first tractor to display.There were several antique automobiles on display also.My favorite display was this fellow market vendor's. Along with about every wood cutting and working tool of the past.....He had old pictures,my weakness !!!!If you live around here you are familiar with the Peter Guice bridge on I-26.Today there is a huge gated community around these water falls called Oleta Falls community.Notice the condition of the front tire on this truck !!!Old newspaper clippings always interest me because they tell us so much about our history and how our ancestors lived.There was a large crowd all day outside and inside.Daughter watches over our booth.I usually dress in an old timey outfit but didn't have anything I thought I could stand an 85 degree temperature in. I didn't see any of the ladies in their long dresses like we usually wear.These benches looked very inviting but not for sitting !!!!

After a very busy market day I shopped on the way home and then relaxed for a rainy evening,ahhhhhh. You can almost hear the grass,flowers and trees sighing with relief as the rain started to fall about 6:00 this evening.
God knows when to send rain and His timing is good,thanking Him for a wonderful day.
Good Night and God Bless.