BUSY ENDING TO A BUSY MONTH

A 3am wake up call from Mother Nature this morning as thunder boomed and lightening flashed through our bedroom windows. The sound of pouring rain followed as hubbie jumped up and grabbed a rain coat to hurry up to the shed and unhook the charger from the golf cart and get it in the dry. If lightening struck the electric fence it would have ruined the charger.
We both crawled back into bed to get back to sleep. It took me awhile as the thunder still was pretty loud as the storm passed to the north.
This morning I got a few extra zzz  before I got my Sunday started. After chores and breakfast I looked around at the floor and decided it needed vacuuming before everyone got here for lunch.
I vacuumed the entire house then got ready to go to church early to do my "greeter" duties on this 5th Sunday morning.
Church was good and I ended it taking Rebekah's place in the nursery so she could sing the ending song.
After church daughter, d-in-love, Rebakah, Evy and I went to the estate sale that we always go to but found very little. I got a couple cube shelves to put beside the computer and daughter got a couple things.
We had lunch of the last of the smoked butts from the freezer along with fresh green beans, corn and potatoes.
 After lunch Rebekah took Evy home for a nap, d-in-love helped daughter with her online teaching degree class homework, hubbie changed the oil in daughter's jeep , #1 son took a nap and g-son played games on his mom's phone . I decided by the look of the clouds I had better pick the grapes. After receiving 1" of rain overnight it looks like we are in for more rain today.
I picked two large bowls of grapes just as the rain started this afternoon and left an additional 1/2 inch in the gauge.
I usually like to rest on Sunday but with all this produce looking at me on a rainy afternoon. I decided I would make jelly. I made 9 jars of jelly in the first run then Rebekah came and we made another 10 jars plus 3 jars of apple peel and core jelly.  We also made 12 quarts of grape juice before calling it a day.
Daughter came by after youth at church and picked Rebekah up to go get baking supplies for more apple pies the orchard stand ordered for tomorrow.
It has been a busy last day of a busy August. I have spent countless hours in my kitchen this month preserving the glorious bounty of produce that we have been blessed with this season as well as baking cakes for a busy market month. I am very thankful for both and feel very blessed to be able to do all that I do.
After starting the month on a wonderful beach vacation the leisure definitely was quickly forgotten as we came home to a garden brimming with ripe produce.  This month is always the biggest canning and freezing month for me and this year was no exception.
They finally got the road by our place open with a new bridge just before school started back on the 25th.
D-in-love started a new job at the local elementary school where g-son goes.  It has been very strange not taking him to school and picking him up this year.
I met my weight loss goal the second week in the month and have been doing very well with my new healthy diet.
Daughter is coaching volleyball at the school she teaches at and so far her teams have been really up and down.
Market has been busy this month but will slow down after Labor day.
As this month comes to an end I will post one more photo post. I have been doing my unknown pics but have finished them and now I am going to start with the pics I know who they are but have no idea when they were taken.
These are the ones I choose for August 2014.
This is my favorite aunt, Hattie Ruff Holmes who I look alot like but she died when I was about 5 years old.

This is her husband, Anderson Holmes who was at least 20 years older than Hattie and had been injured in the war and lost one of his arms.

This is one of my first cousins who died after  diving into shallow water and breaking his neck. He was my dad's sister, Hattie Pryor Beddingfield's son.

Aunt Hattie Beddingfield also lost this son in the war.

One of his nieces wrote this poem in tribute to her uncle.

This is one of my dad's brother's Cecil Pryor in his military uniform. He survived the war and worked in police work in Buncombe county the rest of his life.

These are old photos I surely want to preserve so putting them on here as part of my decade photos will help to keep them in my memory.
As this month ends and another begins I am truly thankful for all the blessings the Lord sends my way each day and look forward to what He has in store for me and my family as we begin September 2014.
Good Night and God Bless.

APPLE FESTIVAL SATURDAY AND 2004 MEMORIES

The 7am alarm was an unwelcomed wake up call this morning but hubbie and I dragged ourselves out of bed for an early morning.
We rushed through chores, got the van loaded and were off by just a few minutes after 8am.  It was an easy drive to market this early as there was no traffic to fight yet. I'm sure that will soon change.
We arrived and parked right beside the door where I always try to get so our stuff can easily be carried in. Daughter came in a little later and said she was surprised that she made it on time as she forgot to set an alarm.
We had a fairly busy day but not as good as you would expect with all the extra folks in town.
Most of the locals came early and left to get out of town before the crowds got too bad.
I was decked out in my regular apple attire for this day.

Our Curb Market apple  contest display won a first place star this year.

After market we both found our way through the crowded streets and made it to our homes safely.
I stopped at Aldi for only a few things and was glad to get out in the country and in the peace and quiet.
After watching all the sweating people come through market from the street festival complaining of how hot and crowded it was on the street I had no desire to make a trip to the festival this year. I was tired from dealing with the heat inside market today.
When I got unloaded I helped hubbie finish the quail cage and get it in place. We are going to wait until after dark and use a red light to move them without them flying around. I will get pictures tomorrow of how much they have grown and their new home.
After we finished that project hubbie went to work on daughter's weed eater and push mower he brought here the other day to do some repairs on. I decided to start moving some of my Christmas decor down into the new storage building. I am looking forward to spreading out all the tools up in the gardening shed.
I used the golf cart to haul four loads down to the new building. I stacked the boxes and called it a night as hubbie went inside to watch a Nascar race on TV.
Rebekah and Daughter took Evy to the Apple festival this evening, she called and said they had a good time but the streets were still pretty crowded.
As I said last night there will be decade post all these last August days and in August 2004 I made these pictures of my Dolly who was still a puppy and d-in-loves dog Roxy, she had just gotten.  D-in-love  and #1 son had been dating only a few months at this time.

Here I am with all our four legged kids at that time, Dolly, Willy, Sadie and Pepper.

Sadly Willy and Pepper are no longer with us as they both died of old age since then.
This is #2 son holding Dolly who has always loved for him to pick her up and rub her belly.

At that Time Dolly and Roxy  were about the same size, now dolly weighs under 5 pounds and Roxy weighs probably 30 pounds.

As this next to last day of August 2014 comes to a close I sigh an accomplished but very tired sigh of relief from the busy month that is coming to a close but am looking forward to what God has in store for my family and me in the coming month of September.
Good night and God Bless

MORE BEANS AND SOME 1994 AUGUST MEMORIES

The day started of with morning chores as usual then a little bird chasing as I tried to give fresh water to the baby quails when one flew out of the box and around the sunroom. I finally corralled it in a corner.  These birds have got to get outside in their big box soon.
I spent the morning baking cakes, 12 caramel, 2 chocolate, 2 pound and 2 wine cakes. I bought some apple wine but had to pick another variety jello to go with it to make an apple wine cake since the only apple jello they make is green apple and I do not think a green cake would look good. I chose apricot but turns out it turned the cake orange and over powered the apple flavored wine completely, but it was still a deliciously flavored cake.
I decided to glean the garden this afternoon for my dose of vitamin D for the day.  Hubbie came in from work and helped. We picked almost another 1 & 1/2 bushel of green beans and a 1/2 bushel basket full of tomatoes.

This is what I have let after giving Aaron a bucket full to take to some friends he was going to see.
I need some ideas for green bean preservation as I have enough canned this year.
After evening chores I iced my cakes and then hubbie and I got everything packed up for market.  Since the 2014 apple festival started today I need to get to market early to get a parking spot.

I dread this day every year as the streets into town become gridlocked with the 250,000 festival visitors that are expected this year.  Our little town is getting too small to handle a festival of this size.
With just three days left in August I need to catch my decade picks up so there will be a picture post each of these last days.
In August 1994 my first cousin Winnie Moore from Vienna, W. Va. came for a visit and we went to the cemetery where our great grandmother is buried.  This is Winnie scratching her head as my oldest brother Robert and another lady that we ran into at the cemetery try to figure out something.

This is a clean little cemetery across the Rocky Broad river in Gerton, NC.

#2 son went with us exploring.

Also daughter and my niece Susan  tagged along.

We found grandmother's head stone.

Her husband loved her so much he hand carved the stone front and wrote a touching verse on the reverse side.

Just last year a couple of my cousin's added a foot stone stating that Susan was the mother of my grandfather and great uncle since there was no mention of her maiden name on the stone.

I remember stopping by several of my cousin's houses who live down around that area on that same trip.
Thankful for all the family that God choose to preceed me in this life and all the blessings of each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

KATHLEEN AND PATTI COME FOR A VISIT

Got an early start this morning as daughter brought her baked goods by on her way to school at about 7:30.  She has been busy with all the baking she brought in today.
I got ready for market and got there a few minutes early but business was pretty slow to start the day.
I did have a decent day as the flow of customers did pick up as the day went on.
I have more apple cake varieties this time of year to go with my regular layer and pound cakes.

I was decked out in my apple vest for the occasion today also.

There is always an apple display competition and this is our entry this year as we decorated one of our old wood cook stoves.

During market I got a call from my cousin from Texas, Kathleen, who usually comes in this time of year for her mother's side of the family reunion.
Her and Paul, he husband flew in about noon today and Patti her sister and her husband, Bruce are driving down today from Ohio. We all agreed to meet at Outback Steakhouse for supper at 6:00 tonight.
After I left market I did the weekly errands and picked up baking supplies and groceries at Sav Mor, Aldi and Walmart on my way home.
I got unloaded about 4:30 and then took some things I picked up for Rebekah over to her house.She is not feeling well at all today and was trying to get her baking done for the apple orchard stand.
I came back home and did chores, then changed clothes and headed out to meet Kathleen and Patti.
We had a wonderful dinner and visit as we talked away for 2 full hours.
We always have such a great time together when we see each other.  They are considering putting their land they own here up for sale.  It is part of the old home place of my grandfather.  It is landlocked up on the side of a steep mountain.
I will see them once more before they leave when they visit me at market Saturday.

Back home I caught up on my blog and took another cake order.
Thanking God for a wonderful day.
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW STORAGE BUILDING ARRIVES

Woke to a ringing phone this morning as cake orders come in for the holiday weekend. I also heard another unfamiliar sound as I stretched and got ready to get out of bed and that was the loud peeping of one of the little quails out in the sunroom.  I told hubbie, who had taken today off to be here with the guys who put up our new storage building,I'll bet one of them had flown out of the tall box I had them in.  When we got up and dressed and went in to check one of the little birds was sitting on the window sill outside the box. We caught him and put him back with his siblings then I went up to get a screen to place over the box while hubbie watched to make sure they didn't fly out again.
Hubbie has almost got their new outside box ready.
After chores and breakfast the builders came bringing the storage building. It took them less than 5 hours to completely build it.
I really like it and it fits perfectly in the area we chose for it.

Hubbie will paint it grey to match all our other buildings.
Aaron and Rebekah had to go to the insurance office today so Evy stayed with hubbie and I. She is so cute and is a good girl.
I baked cakes while hubbie played with her. I baked 18 caramel,3 chocolate,5 pound cakes and 1 blackberry wine cake. I took over Evy, feeding her lunch and then we went outside to check out the building before her mom came after her.   Hubbie got on the lawn mower.
After Evy left I decided to get a job done that I have been putting off for a couple months now.  I cleaned out all my chicken houses and hatching boxes. I needed to do this before I went on vacation but never got time.  My pile of garden fertilizer grew alot today !!  All the chickens acted like they appreciated the new fresh smelling shavings that now line the floors of their houses.
I met a friend with 5 caramel cakes to take back to Florida with her then did chores and had supper.
Daughter sent a picture of the fried apple pies she is making for the apple orchard stand for the busy weekend coming up.

Friday started the 2014 Apple Festival and all the apple farms around the area are gearing up for all the activity. The weather looks like it will be a good weekend for a festival.

No time for relaxing this evening as I did weekly paperwork and iced cakes until after midnight once again.
We never know what the added activity will do for our business as the streets get so crowded with festival goers that customers can't get into market.
Praying for safe travel for all the folks who will be on the roads this weekend.
Good Night and God Bless.

DEHYDRATING TOMATOES AND MAKING GRAPE BUTTER

Up extra early to get things done and get to my haircut appointment at 9am.  Got a refreshing surprise when I opened the door and headed outside as the cool breeze hit me.

These look like Fall temperatures instead of August but it sure felt good !!

  It was nice to visit with my friend/beautician for an hour while she did a conditioning treatment on my really dry sun damaged hair before she cut it.
Back home I started this busy day off with getting the dehydrator filled with roma tomato slices sprinkled with basil.

Our garden is winding down now as the white flies have moved in and are damaging the plants in spite of all hubbie's  diligent efforts to prevent it.
These tomatoes will taste really good re-hydrated with olive oil in salads.
After I had lunch I took Dolly and Bernie to the groomers out at Petco.  This is handy as it is 5 minutes from the house and they only keep them for a few hours to get them all prettied up.

While they were gone I enjoyed the sunny day as I soaked up some vitamin D for about an hour before the kitchen called me back inside.
This time to get the grape butter that had been cooking in the crock pots all night spiced,sweetened, jarred and processed. I was surprised there were 9 jars of the grape butter.  Although I added honey,sugar and some wassail mix that also had sugar in it, the butter was still pretty tart but I have hope that the sugar and spices will mingle more as it ages.

 After chores this evening hubbie and I got to relax out in the patio and watch traffic once again pass by on the road below.  There is still equipment left to help put the last layer of pavement on so maybe they are planning on doing it soon.

I got a call from Liberty House which is where we ordered a storage building from and they are coming tomorrow to put the building up. Hubbie is taking tomorrow off to help with the building.
Thankful for the blessings God gave me today.
Good Night and God Bless.

GRAPES, GRAPES AND MORE GRAPES

An early call to the storage building place was disappointing because they had already sent out all their crews so we will have to wait until next Tuesday to get ours unless they have a cancellation.
Hubbie took advantage of the cool morning to do some weed eating.  I got laundry started after chores and breakfast while waiting for Rebekah and Evy to get over here to pick grapes.
We picked 7 big bowls full in just a short time and you can hardly tell we were there !! This had been an exceptional grape growing year. Seems like it has been at least 3 or 4 years since I have had this many grapes to preserve.

We spent the day turning 4 of the bowl fulls into 21 quart jars of grape juice and 8 half pint jars of really good grape jelly.

We also filled two crock pots with grape pulp from 2 more of the bowls to cook overnight and then we will make it into grape butter tomorrow. Leaving 1 bowl to snack on .
Later this afternoon Rebekah went to a meeting at work so Evy and I had fun while she was gone.
She is guarding the canning jars.

And relaxing in front of the TV in a been bag that g-son used to love to sit in until he outgrew it.

The day has been really nice outside, too bad we were cooped up inside for most of it but this evening we went out for a walk and a ride.
We went down to #1 son's house to see how g-son's first day of school went.  He said it was fine and then he was off to play with Evy for a few minutes before his Cub Scout meeting.

Evy and I came back to the house and played outside until mom got here.  Rebekah made a very good supper for us tonight and Aaron came in late from work to eat and pick up Evy to get her home in bed while we finished up the preparation for the grape butter.
I've never made grape butter before but the recipe peeked my interest because it has no sugar only sweetened to taste with honey and spiced to taste also.
After it cooks all night and into tomorrow we will see if we like it or not. You never know until you try some of these things out.
D-in-love sent this picture of g-son fishing at the Cub Scout meeting tonight as the sun went down.

She said he didn't catch any fish but he had a good time with the other boys.
 After everyone went home tonight I got my dehydrator out and got it ready to dry some of the Roma tomatoes hubbie picked .
That will also be a job for tomorrow.
Grateful to God tonight for a really wonderful workday and for those blessings He sends my way.
Good Night and God Bless

1984 LAKE CAMPING MEMORIES

A cloudy Sunday morning for  a change. We were supposed to get some rain overnight but that didn't happen.
Daughter was here early today to make a baked goods delivery to the apple farm before Sunday school today. She baked late last night getting into bed after midnight and Rebekah baked when she got home from work this morning at 6:30.
Hubbie left to get things started in case she was late getting back.
I went early to church also to create a flower arrangement from some pretty Zinnias one of my friends were bringing.
After I got the flowers arranged and they were really pretty I did my "greeter" duty.
Rebekah worked last night so Aaron brought Evy to church and sat with us so we could help entertain her.  She needed little entertaining as she got interested in emptying the cards from one of the pew pockets over and over again and was quiet as a mouse all during the service.
Everyone made it to lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs with all the fixins. 
We had planned on eating outside but the threatening clouds and light misty rain changed those plans.
We grilled the burgers and hotdogs outside and ate inside.
After lunch everyone had their own agenda this afternoon. Daughter had lots of work to do to get ready for her first day of teaching school tomorrow so d-in-love went with her to help and then they went to d-in-love's elementary school where she will begin her work for this school year tomorrow.
#1 son, Aaron and g-son went to Lowes to get some things, #2 son went home to do laundry, Rebekah and Evy went home to take naps.  Hubbie and I cleaned up the kitchen and then hubbie went down to put our mailbox back up. The grader that took it down was supposed to come back yesterday and put it up but that didn't happen so if we want mail I guess we will put it back.
I am betting they never pave our driveway the way they promised either, but only time will tell.
Later this evening Aaron moved all his cattle across the road into the new pasture they are buying.
The cows  acted happy to be in belly deep grass for a change.
As we came inside after chores this evening there was a misty rain falling again but we haven't had any measurable amount today unfortunately.  The third named Atlantic storm has popped  up and is called Cristobal, but is expected to do no damage as it is pushed back out to sea.

Back in 1984 August was a busy, fun time for our little family as we spent many of the last summer weekends at the lake camping with our two little boys.

Fun times and great memories.
 Grateful for the blessed life God has gifted me with through the years.
Good Night and God Bless