HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Another beautiful sunny hot morning to end July and to mark my 66th birthday.

I had forgotten completely that today was my birthday until I received an early morning serenade from IR of Happy Birthday .
As I did chores I admired these late summer blooms of the Crepe Myrtles in the yard.

I also couldn't help but marvel at how green everything is this time of year. Some years by the end of July things are starting to loose their green.

I had oatmeal and fresh blueberries for breakfast before heading back out into the heat of the morning to pick the Panda beans in the garden. I only had a few of these seeds to plant but they have done really well and I am anxious to see how they taste dried.

 Hopefully they taste as good as they are pretty with their black and white markings.

I spread them out on this large screen in the sunroom to dry.

 I also picked these purple beans for our lunch.

After lunch I changed out our bed covers and started a load of laundry.
Then I was surprised by this little sweetie with who brought me a strawberry cheesecake milkshake from Cookout for my birthday.

Her and d-in-love drove up to Jump Off Rock while they waited on g-son to swim with a friend today.
The milkshake really hit the spot on a hot day and was so yummy !!
After they left I iced the rest of the cupcakes for my friend's wedding and got them all in the frig.
I talked to sis-in-law Sandy and she said she was really sore but was thankful for only a broken sternum.
I caught up on some little jobs around the house this afternoon until the skies started to grow dark and we hurried through chores a little early to beat the storm.
The worst of the storm went below us thankfully and we only got a pretty steady rain along with a thunder and lightening show.
While the storm went on I went through pics for decade pics and finally got them to download onto my computer so I will have to back date them and add them to the past couple months.
This has been a restful evening and I am very thankful for the blessings of this day and very grateful to God for allowing me these 66 years of undeserved blessing filled days.
God Bless and Good Night

CUPCAKE MAKING DAY

Up to get chores done and then grab a cup of coffee and breakfast bar once again as we head out the door for our Thursday errands and deliveries.
Our first stop today was a couple egg deliveries and the dump / recycle center was second on our list.
After that we stopped at the Dollar General we usually go to because we are usually the only customers in there. I needed a couple pretty plates to hold some extra cupcakes for the wedding I am helping with and we picked up several other things we needed.
Our last stop was the last egg delivery of this week and then home to have lunch.
After lunch d-in-love came up and we started icing the 125 cupcakes for the wedding favors.
I think they turned out pretty with the pretty little flowers we had already made and kept in the freezer.

This went quicker than I had expected and although it still took us all afternoon I figured it would take today and tomorrow afternoons. We finished the 100 and put them in the boxes and had 4 left over for the extra 25 she added this morning.
Whew !!! Thanks d-in-love for all the help so we could get them done today.
It rained this afternoon while we worked but only about 2/10ths of an inch here while other areas very close to us got really heavy rains in a short time.
Hubbie and I got chores done and I heard loud peeps coming from this mama's brooder box and discovered that the 10 guinea eggs she was sitting on all hatched .

This is the second family this pretty lady has raised this year.
The red hen in the old rabbit cage turned brooder box is still sitting on 5 of her eggs with 1 little chick hatched so far and this is day number 23 for her. At least she has 1 little chick to show for her sitting dedication .
Hubbie and I finished out the evening watching a beautiful sunset and watching more light rain fall.

I spent part of the evening once again this week baking more cupcakes for the extras ordered today and a cake for another friend for a next week birthday.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

STORMS BUT NO RAIN

Up to another beautiful sunny hot July morning.

I got chores done and then grabbed a breakfast bar and a cup of coffee as we headed out to the market to get the weekly business done and deliver the supply order I got last week.
An egg customer picked up her eggs while we were there and I got to talk to another board member, Shannon who was there meeting one of his customers.
We went to our bank and then to the market bank before heading out of town. I noticed today the streets of downtown were pretty empty for this time of year.
We made a stop at Tractor Supply for hubbie to pick up a tube for one of his wood splitter tires and then our last stop was to pick up our curbside grocery order from Aldi. Each time I do this I am impressed at the ease of this way to grocery shop !!
We came home and had lunch then hubbie went up to work at his shop and I started changing all the furniture covers and decor from July and vacuuming all the furniture. I put away the pack and play that has been in the living room for the last several months and picked up all the toys strewn around the living room for the first time in quite a while. With the kids here every day there is no sense in picking up each day.
Hubbie came in and ran the vacuum all over the house while I continued to change out my decor from the red ,white and blue of July to the sunflowers for August.
It thundered and threatened to storm most of the afternoon but never did anything but sprinkle rain here.
I did a load of laundry and then watched the early news.
We got chores done and then walked down to #1 son's house and checked out his new bass that chipped in to buy him. He acted like he was really enjoying it.
I came home to get weekly bills paid and then start baking cupcakes for the wedding I'm helping out with . I got 50 of the 100 baked tonight.

The "I" tropical storm was named tonight as this one is predicted to cause some problems for the eastern US in the coming days.

The track of this storm is following right along the islands that we visited last December on our cruise and my heart goes out to these already devastated islands as they can't find time to recover from one hurricane until they are ravaged by another one. Thankfully this one doesn't seem to be gaining to much strength.
Thankful for all the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

BUSY TUESDAY

Up to another sunny hot morning to get chores done and have breakfast before starting on my to do list for today.
First hubbie helped me get all the canned beans and squash carried downstairs and added to our pantry shelves.
Then I iced the 3 caramel cakes I made last night.
Next up was taking the bones and discard from the chicken we cooked Sunday out of the refrigerator and adding carrots, onions, and celery plus seasonings in the crock pot to make some delicious chicken broth.
Then I headed outside to help hubbie put a cover on the old guinea house. I have tried everyhting to keep this lot dry including recently hauling buckets filled with pine needles from the woods to cover the mud before I took the last pullets out of there.
We made the lot more sturdy and removed the netting from the top of it and added a large piece of a plastic sign to cover the entire lot. This will also hopefully help keep the door from warping anymore setting open out in the rain.
We came inside to have a late lunch and then delivered 2 of the cakes.
We came home and I did a load of laundry of an old quilt and pillow cases I had found at a sale .
While I was downstairs I bottled the herbs that I have been drying and gathered more fresh herbs to dry.

I bottled sage, oregano, peppermint, spearmint, mint julep and stevia leaves. I gathered more peppermint, spearmint, mint julep and Stevia and added some basil and mountain mint to continue my herb supply for the season.
We watched the early news while a light rain shower came through out area.
We got chores done and then d-in-love came up to help with some cup cake decorations for the friends wedding I am helping out with this weekend. They turned out pretty good I think.

These are in the freezer waiting to be added to the cupcakes when we get them made and iced.
Hubbie and I went in halves with Deb, g-son's other g-ma and we all bought him this new bass guitar he picked out and he was a very happy boy today.

Thanfully sis-in-law Sandy is home and only nursing a broken sternum today. After having the wreck yesterday that totaled her car . We are all thanking the good Lord that she wasn't hurt badly or killed.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and for protecting Sandy .
God Bless and Good Night

ANOTHER GREEN BEAN MONDAY

Up to welcome RL this morning. This is the last week of her mom's 2 day only work week. She starts full time next week.
I got chores done and found an injured hen. I had caught the hen that runs loose around the garden with the red rooster last night and put her in the camper cover tractor with the 3 hens and rooster that is in there. Since I just added a hen to that group a couple weeks ago I thought things would be fine to add this one also. I was wrong , evidently the residence of this tractor did not like this little hen at all and pecked a bloody hole in her back. I found her crouched in a corner of the lot trying to hide from the other hens and rooster.
We got her all doctored up and I put her in the empty condo box I had taken the silkie hen and 6 chicks out of to let her heal without any more damage. RL thought a coyote might have gotten to her last night. She kept petting her and talking to her while I put medicine on her.
I came back inside and had breakfast then gathered weekly laundry and got a loaf started .
Hubbie took RL outside with him to do some gardening before it gets too hot.
I got started on all these green beans.

I spent the entire day between canning in the kitchen and running up and down the stairs to get three loads of laundry done.
By 7:30 tonight I had 37 quarts of green beans and 5 quarts of zuchinni ready for the pantry shelves, whew !!!

Got some bad news tonight. This evening as hubbie's brother and sis-in-law Sandy, who I had just talked to earlier today, were on their way to one of their grandson's little league games and were t-boned by a driver who ran a red light. Bro-in-law seems to be okay but sis-in-law is still in the hospital tonight with a broken sternum and having test done on her heart . We are praying hard for her as I write this.
From the looks of her little car I can't believe they didn't get hurt worse than they did, God must have been watching out for them. They were in her Toyota Scion and were hit by a full sized pick-up truck.
I ended the night making 3 caramel cakes for a friend .
Whew , what a day and my back and legs are telling me how long I have been standing today.
Thankful for the blessing of health that allows me to work like I did today and praying hard tonight for sis-in-law Sandy.
God Bless and Good Night

GREEN BEAN BREAKING SUNDAY

A lazy Sunday morning for us as we bring this week to a close. I got chores done and had a leisurely breakfast before we started getting food ready for lunch.
We had cooked the rooster we harvested several days ago in the crockpot all night and I added Jasmine rice this morning.
We also cut a cabbage from the garden for boiled cabbage, fixed some of the green beans we picked yesterday, had some cucumber salad from vegetables from the garden, glazed some of the carrots I harvest this week and had some corn from last years harvest. When I looked down at my plate I felt proud that all the food on it except the rice came from right here on our farm.
After lunch the kids had ice cream cones and played outside until they got hot and wanted to go to Aa's house and play in the pool so they all left.
Hubbie and I got set up in the covered patio and started breaking green beans.
 We broke beans all afternoon and d-in-love came up after their swimming and helped with the last basket of beans.

That's a lot of beans to can tomorrow for sure !!!

Hubbie and I got evening chores done and I discovered that the red silkie hen sitting on eggs that were scheduled to start hatching on Wednesday of this week were already beginning to hatch today with at least one chick already out of it's shell this evening. I took this pic yesterday to include it in a chick update today but now I will wait for the update to see how many chicks she hatches.

Hubbie and I spent a relaxing evening gearing up for a crazy busy week .
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for a wonderful, gracious Savior in Jesus Christ.
God Bless and Good Night

GREEN BEAN AND BERRY PICKING DAY

Saturday mornings are usually pretty laid back around here but this morning I have an agenda to get finished before the storms start this afternoon.
I got chores done and then had breakfast.
Then it was back into the hot muggy morning to pick half runner green beans.

We were planning on picking these last Thursday but it rained and every evening since then so we had to get out in the heat of the sun and get the job done this morning. D-in-love thankfully came up to help so that made the job quicker. We picked almost double what we picked the first time around.

 I don't think I have ever saw bean vines so loaded with beans and we are thankful for the bountiful harvest.
After we picked we carried everything inside , RL had some cucumbers and squash in her basket.

We grabbed a quick lunch and d-in-love went home to do her housework while hubbie and I headed back outside to get the blueberries and blackberries picked before the rain got here from the storm that is already brewing.

Just after we came inside the rain started and the thunder and lightening got pretty close but thankfully we only got 1/4" of rain from a slow steady rainfall that last quite a while.
While it rained I put away laundry and cleaned house.
For a mid afternoon snack I cooked some of the blackberries and put them over one of the English muffins daughter made and it really hit the spot.

I also put 2 pans of blackberries in the freezer to be bagged . I plan on making a blueberry cobbler tomorrow for lunch and then I will freeze some of them and save some for my oatmeal toppings this week.
We got chores done and then finished the evening making the remaining little favor boxes for my friends wedding next weekend.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for family that is willing to jump in and help even in not so comfortable times.
God Bless and Good Night

CARROTS

Up to get another cloudy muggy day started. I got chores done and then came in for breakfast.  As I walked by the garden I noticed all these leaves were outlined in rain droplets still from last night's rain. The picture didn't pick up the sparkle that was shining off the droplets. This put a smile on my face to start the day as I thought what a wonderful God we serve ,who puts these little beautiful images out there for us every day and I silently said a prayer that we will all be able to notice the beautiful things surrounding us each day if we only take time to notice.

We were going to pick up all the girls to take them with us to the feed store but plans for both families changed this morning so we are going to pick up feed by ourselves and then getting the girls right after lunch.
We picked up chicken feed and some fall garden seeds while we were there also. I am usually sitting in the car with the girls so I got the seeds while I was inside today. I like this feed store as they will not let anyone in without a mask on.
We came home and unloaded the feed and then I decided to harvest all my carrots before the rain begins as the clouds now looked pretty threatening already.

I brought them inside and washed and cut off all the tops and put them in the frig for additions to meals. Some of them are small and I know I should have thinned them for bigger carrots but these little ones are so tasty and sweet.

Daughter had a test that started at 1:00 so hubbie went over and picked up the girls and picked up RL to come and play for the afternoon also.
We had lunch then settled in for another rainy afternoon of inside play time. The bigger girls colored while CA was napping and when she woke up she had to have her time at the table with the coloring books (minus the crayons!)

Daughter passed the test at 1:00 and the one at 3:00 so she is done and has earned her recertification.
I made a cake delivery at 4:00 and then came home to meet a guinea buyer. Daughter helped me catch 5 of the 6 week old guineas for them and they left happy. I only have 2 of this group left for sale now.
Then they all left and hubbie went up to his shop to work on the lawn mower while I got chores done and cleaned out the old guinea house where the older pullets that I moved yesterday have been staying. I also raked up pine needles from the woods to cover the muddy lot.
Daughter and the girls stopped back by with some baking supplies I need and IR found some google eyes.

Hubbie and I relaxed for the evening.
2020 hurricane season is getting a really early start as there are two named storms now and an area being closely watched.

It rained very lightly all afternoon today leaving only 2/10ths inch in the gauge. We surely needed a day with only light rain .
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

CHICKEN MOVING DAY

UP early to help get ready for the kids earlier than usual this Thursday. Hubbie went to pick up IR and CA at 8:30 and get daughter's trash. Daughter has a test at 9:00 and a faculty meeting at 9:30 this morning.
RL is coming at 9:15 so d-in-love can take g-son to meet other g-ma in Asheville to look at base guitars. G-son has been teaching himself to play the base with a borrowed one and he has gotten pretty good at it.

After all the girls got here and we got them settled in for breakfast I went out and got chores done a little late.
I grabbed a cup of coffee and an English muffin daughter had sent over that she made with sour dough starter for my breakfast on the way out the door.
We all headed out to get our Thursday errands done. First stop was the dump, then on to meet a couple cake customers , then the bank and PO , A fruit stand to buy a cantelope and a couple ears of corn for CA to eat since she loves corn so much , then to pick up the broken lawn mower deck spring and then to get gas for the truck and lawn mowers and last stop was at Cook Out for the girls some chicken nuggets and cheese quesadillas for lunch.
We barely beat the rain home today and as soon as we got inside the rain poured down for about 30 minutes and then the sun came back out.
Another customer picked up a caramel cake while we ate our lunch and then we all settled in to watch some movies on TV.
Daughter and d-in-love came in about the same time around 2:00 and daughter got ready to take another test and d-in-love worked on some craft videos for virtual VBS this year.
Hubbie and I took care of all the girls who played and watched a Minnion movie on TV.
Another bad storm blew up with high wind, thunder and lightening and more pouring rain leaving a total of 1.5 inches for both storms today.
After everyone left hubbie and I walked around and surveyed the damage but thankfully only a few small limbs down and more driveway ruts was all we found.
I started moving some chickens around and the first things I moved was the red Silkie hen with the week old 6 chicks from the small condo brooder box to the bigger brooder box in the lower hen lot.
She acted very thankful for more space.
Then I got the lower hen lot house ready and started picking out some pullets from the first incubator bunch of chicks who are now 8 weeks old . It took a while to hem them up and catch them but I would rather do this during daylight. I picked out for sure pullets and put them in the hen house. They look lost in the bigger house and even after I added the three oldest pullets to make it eleven total in there they still have so much room I will probably leave them in the house for at least a couple days to get them accustomed to their new house and to each other since it is supposed to be cooler these next couple days.
I moved the three silkie chicks that were with the bigger pullets into the silkie lot to empty the old guinea house and lot.
My plan is to fix the torn netting over this lot and make this the home of the first 6 guinea keets that I hatched and decided to keep.
Whew !!!!!   That's a lot to keep up with but thankfully it is done. I will make pics tomorrow when everyone settles down.
I am tired tonight and thankful for an evening of rest.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

TYPICAL DOG DAYS OF SUMMER WEATHER

Up to get another busy day started. After going to bed with it still lightly raining last night we woke to a very foggy morning today.

We got chores done and then headed out to the Curb Market to get paperwork and a deposit made.
We met one customer there for a cake pick-up and dropped another order off at a lawyers office.
We left there and went by our Dollar General to see if it was overcrowded with customers or not. We thought since all other stores are requiring mask that more customers might turn to Dollar General. Thankfully there was no customers there so we went in to pick up some supplies for market.
We came home at lunch and after we ate hubbie went out to mow the lawn. He got almost finished when a spring broke on the mower deck and he had to stop.
I got the frozen berries bagged today then went outside to clean out the hen house and spray it down with insecticide before moving the new chicks into it.
I had to hurry and finish up before the rain started again. At least the thunder and lightening stayed in the distance today and there was very little wind and we got another 1/2 inch of rain.
Speaking of weather we have the 7th named storm and the earliest 7th storm in Atlantic storm history named today,

As "dog days" began in the middle of July we are hot and muggy with rain each day. This pattern surely reminds me of when I was growing up in these mountains.
These next days follow a typical "dog days" pattern for sure.

Hubbie and I got chores done and then we harvested the rooster that was one of the first hatches of this year. He was 16 weeks old which is about 4 weeks older than a typical meat chicken and he only dressed out at about 3 pounds but I bet he will make some tasty chicken and rice for Sunday lunch.
We rested for the evening.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the love of a gracious Savior.
God Bless and Good Night

HIGH WIND STORM HITS

Up to get the day started with chores and breakfast.
Daughter has to take a test today to renew on online teaching degree so she brought the girls over early. D-in-love and RL also came up to play.
I went to pick up our Aldi order around 10:30 and had a lot of good help unloading when I got here as g-son was now here and helping.
Daughter brought donuts this morning and I caught IR lickng the sugar circles out of the box after all the donuts were eaten.

We all ate lunch and then played the afternoon away. D-in-loved walked to the mailbox with RL and IR to get them outside for a little while and they enjoyed exploring together.

We all sat on the front porch and had popsicles while watching a very windy thunder and lightening storm roll in .

The storm was pretty bad with high winds and close thunder and lightening that left trees limbs and a dead tree fallen almost in our driveway but only 1/2 inch of rain in the gauge.

After we surveyed the damage around the farm we did chores in a light rain.
It sure has gotten really muddy quickly around the hen lots.
We came inside and I spent the evening in the kitchen baking and icing cakes.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night