BLESSED SUNDAY

Up extra early to get to church this morning. I am doing "greeter duties" for another lady this morning so I have to be in the parking lot at 9:30.
We heard from our mission group in Pennslyvania and all is well so far with them.
We had a young replacement preacher named Pastor Hefner this morning and he did a very good job.
The air conditioning in the church wasn't working properly today and it got uncomfortably hot during the service but it made me think of how in the Biblical days it must have felt to come together to worship the Lord.  The power was off in the area of the church in the wee hours of the morning to do some repair work on the line circuits so that was what caused the trouble I'm sure.
We had everyone here for lunch today except #2 son who is golfing and came by later for left overs. I made a mac and cheese and ham casserole, salad and corn on the cob. Rebekah came early and made sauteed squash and onions.  We washed it down with sweet tea.
After lunch the girls all made a trip to Walmart while the guys took the kids home for naps.  Hubbie and I tackled the downstairs.  I have been arranging and cleaning down there for a couple weeks but got a point where I needed some help moving larger things so today was the day.  We covered the carpet down there with Borax to super clean the area and get rid of all the spiders that have moved in.
Aaron came up to check fences and put out fly predators and said he saw a pile of white feathers down in the woods of the pasture and sure enough when I checked they belonged to the little white silkie that wouldn't stay inside the lot. We have no idea what got her but there is nothing left but a circle of feathers, no bones or blood. She was here this morning when I turned them out so whatever got her did it in broad daylight.
Hubbie, d-in-love, #1 son, Aaron and I checked out the new road and bridge construction up close this evening.

This is the creek after it goes under the new bridge. These trees need to be cut out of the flow of the water.
After we did the chores we relaxed for the evening watching the clouds slowly take over a beautiful day.

Grateful for a beautiful blessed Sunday.
Good Night and God Bless.

GOOD OLE SUMMER FUN

Uhhh!!!  Up extra early again to have time to go the long detour to market this morning.
Daughter was already there when hubbie and I arrived.  We did make it on time today !!
We had a pretty busy day. Daughter sold out of her blackberries early and then left to go home to mow her lawn.
I didn't sell out but sold well so I am thankful for that.
After market I stopped at Aldi and Ingles on the way home to pick up baking supplies and things for tomorrow's lunch. I hurried home to meet more hen buyers.
Hubbie took a break in his lawn mowing to help unload the van then helped catch the 4 hens and rooster this buyer wanted.
That makes 6 hens and 1 rooster to reduce my flock. I keep the hens for 2 years then sell them. I hate to see some of these hens go, especially a couple of the ones I sold today because they were like pets when they were younger but they are older and have stopped laying eggs regularly so I can't afford to feed them. I still have at least 6 hens I need to sell before this fall.
I cleaned out a hatching box to put the silkie that I have put 6 quail eggs under in so hopefully I will have some baby quails shortly. I have read about folks using these to raise quails but have never tried it. The bird chicks are so small if they do hatch I hope the mama hen doesn't step on them.
I went down to d-in-loves to watch g-son slide on his new slip and slide.

When I came back home hubbie and I had supper then did the evening chores before we relaxed for a few minutes out in the patio, with no traffic to watch it is pretty boring to sit out there for long.
#1 son, Aaron and g-son spent the evening fishing across the road in the old pond my dad made pond.

I pre-cooked part of tomorrow's lunch tonight then got ready for bed. I have had a busy but accomplishing week.  The "good ole summer time", when gardens grow and life is the busiest.
The Super Moon was visible tonight after a partly cloudy evening.

Thanking God for all the blessings of this day.
Good Night and God Bless.

BUSY FRIDAY OF BAKING AND CANNING

Up early to welcome g-son and a very busy Friday to end this week.  Hubbie is off today and he also has a long list of tasks to fill his day.
After we got g-son settled with breakfast we did the feeding chores and had our breakfast.
Hubbie went to work on his list of yard work and electric fence clearing, I took my morning walk before beginning my cake baking for the day.  I baked 18 caramel, 5 chocolate and 6 pound cakes.
Daughter and a friend from college who helped her pick blackberries this morning came by and picked the bush beans we left in the garden. Daughter is going to make some dilly beans with hers.
Her  friends name is Rebecca and she has a little 2 year old girl. They took g-son and went to have lunch at Chic-fa-la .
I broke the rest of the green beans for canning while I waited on a couple to come get some of the hens I am selling. They drove for over an hour to get here and their three kids wanted to stay and play around the farm, it was so cute.  They were replacing a couple hens for their neighbor that their dog had killed.
Rebekah and Evy came in to help finish the canning.  We canned 20 more quarts of beans and 1 of yellow squash to fill up the last canner. These are really good to make squash casseroles with.

After they left I did the evening chores and started my icing for the night.
 It has been a beautiful day but some clouds are making their way across the sky tonight.

I got in bed about midnight so it was a typical before market day Friday night. My legs and feet are aching tonight from being on them the entire day.  I'm glad to see bedtime come.
Grateful for the blessing of growing our own food and the many other blessings of the day.
Good Night and God Bless.

SLOWER MARKET AND GREEN BEAN CANNING

Off to market this morning, as I hurried to get ready so I would have extra driving time to take the detour I was sweating from the humidity of the morning. I poured almost and inch of rain from the gauge.
Daughter was already set up selling her blackberries and baked goods when I got there.
We had a decent day but it was slower than the last couple Thursdays. But this is the week after a holiday weekend so it was expected. We are very thankful for what we did sell.
It was pouring rain when we left market, the parking lot was standing full of several inches of rain. I had to wade to get in my van.
Daughter had blackberries left over so I took a gallon and she went to Sav Mor with me to get pectin and jar lids to go home and make blackberry jam.
I also went to Aldi and Walmart along with a stop at my insurance agent's office to sign some  re-writes of some of our farm policies.
While I drove home the rain started again and this time it was our area to get the downpour of rain. I sat in the van and waited until it passed over before getting unloaded.
It only left 1/2 inch in the rain gauge but it sure seemed like more.
Rebekah came over and we spent the evening canning green beans.  We canned 28 more quarts tonight and have about 21 more quarts to can tomorrow.
Aaron came in and we all had egg, bacon and tomato sandwiches for supper.
Hubbie kept breaking beans and Aaron played with Evy. 
Beans, Beans , Beans !!!   They are so pretty and look so good in the jars.

This is my old antique pressure canner and it just keeps plugging along.

Rebekah also has an old antique canner with a "jiggler" on the top instead of the gauge.

Hers keeps plugging along as well and it sure makes quicker work of canning to run 2 canners.
This is what my kitchen looks like after we stopped for the night.

Daughter came by earlier this evening to pick up some jars for her jam making endeaver and while we canned our beans she made lots of blackberry jam.

And it all jelled perfectly for her.

I made a yummy blackberry cobbler for our dessert tonight and put the rest of my berries on cookie sheets in the freezer.

These are called "triple bite"berries, they are so huge. They are still a little tart but with all the rain we are getting they have to be picked or the rain will beat them off the vines.
When I went outside tonight to shut up my chickens I just had to get my camera and practice some moon shots on this gorgeous full moon. I used the manual setting and after several attempts to get the right settings I got this beautifully  clear picture .

It's funny how the moon looks just like the earth from far away with all the darker shapes on it.
Thankful for a blessed day with all the joys of knowing the love of Jesus Christ.
Good Night and God Bless.

MORE GREEN BEAN PICKING

Up early to greet g-son this morning. I tried to talk him into going back to bed and resting some more but no dice.  I fixed him breakfast then went outside to to the chores.
He came out and walked with me. The day is nice so far, it is sunny and not so hot so far.

After we finished our walk I had cakes to bake so he watched TV and played with his Legos.
I baked 18 caramel, 3 chocolate layer cakes then turned the ovens off  and got g-son some lunch.
We went to his basketball camp. When I asked him if he liked it any better than the first day  he said "it is getting less painful", haha  I guess he has learned to keep his hands up so he won't get hit in the face with the ball.
He met his friend Andrew on the way in and they played at one of the goals all by themselves until the camp drills started.

I came home, with the detour we are having to take the school that is less than a mile out the road now takes 15-20 minutes to get too. They are working deligently so maybe they will finish early.

I had a late lunch and then baked my pound cakes.  The skies clouded up off and on but no rain fell.
After hubbie came home from work we did the chores and I iced 6 of the caramel cakes.
Rebekah and Evy came over and Rebekah and I picked over 2 bushels of green beans while hubbie entertained Evy. It was almost dark when we finished.  We didn't get the bush beans picked.
She took over half of the beans home to break and hubbie broke tonight while I iced the rest of my cakes.
After dark tonight the rain started and we got almost an inch with some distant thunder and lightening flashing around but never close thankfully.
I made it to bed at a little after midnight after getting everything ready for market.
Grateful to God for the thirst quenching drink for our garden tonight and for all the blessings of this day.
Good Night and God Bless.

ROAD CLOSED

GOTTA LOVE  MOUNTAIN SUMMER MORNINGS !!!!

No g-son this morning as he is spending time with his other g-ma today.  Hopefully she can get him over his fear of basketball camp by 1:00, you go Deb !!!
I hurried through chores and breakfast to get over to Asheville to do some shopping before my dr's appointment at 11:30.
As I got to the end of our drive way I saw the road closed signs in place and they were already tearing up the pavement of the old road.  The state DOT inspector came over to the van and talked to me about what they were going to do and asked me some questions about the flood waters when they came.  He is concerned that the plans are not going to handle all the water that flows through there in a bad flood. I told him I knew it wouldn't as we have been saying that the bridge should be longer all along.
I guess only time will tell !!!
I got all my shopping done before the dr's appointment and it was a good thing as when she checked out a lump on my back right beside my spine she sent me immediately for an X-ray. They will send the results to the doctor tomorrow. I pray that it is nothing serious.
I was in and out of the radiology center in no time at all and still made it home at the same time I was expecting to be here.
The road crew was done for the day by the time I got home at 1:30 so I don't know what is going on now.

After a late lunch I did housework all afternoon.  The day was a hot one with a high of 88 degrees and clouds took over as the afternoon wore on.
I worked in the basement trying to get things re-arranged down there until it was supper time.
After supper and chores hubbie and I relaxed out on the patio. It seems strange for no cars to be passing on the road but the quiet sure is nice.
I can't wait to see how things look after they are finished. He told me today that our drive will be paved almost up to #1 son's house. He also asked if I knew how old the pavement on this road was because they had never taken up pavement that thick.  I am almost 60 years old and it has been paved for as long as I can remember.
 The rains came and ran hubbie and I inside . It rained for a couple hours slowly and more is expected overnight.  I am so thankful for the rain to give the garden a nice drink.
I put an Avon order on line and caught up on my blog reading tonight.
Grateful to God for the blessings of this day and prayerfully asking that it be His will that this lump not be anything to worry about.
Good Night and God Bless.

BASKETBALL CAMP

G-son was here around 7am this morning. I fixed him his breakfast and got ready for my day. I noticed he was unusually subdued this morning.
I did chores and was having my breakfast when he came into the kitchen crying with a pain in his right chest area.
He said if it didn't stop hurting so bad he wouldn't be able to go to basketball camp today, hmmmm!!
I asked him what he thought might help the pain and he said an ice pak.
I got him laid down on the couch and covered with a blanket with the ice pak on his right shoulder and tried to tell him it was normal to be nervous about going to the camp for the first time, before I went outside for my morning walk.  When I came back inside 30 minutes later he was asleep.
I think he is just wore out from all the activity this weekend and needs a good rest.
When he woke up the pain was gone and he acted excited about basketball camp and seeing his friend Andrew again.
I started laundry and then made him some lunch.
We were expecting the road by our house to be shut down this morning to finish the bridge work but so far the closing hasn't happened.  They have hauled in some heavy equipment but no workers came today.

We are going to have to allow extra time anytime we go anywhere when the road closure happens as the detours will be longer for us than anyone else. They are supposed to have it completed in 30 days.
When g-son got to camp he jumped right into a pick-up game with some bigger boys and looked like he was having fun so I left.

He is built for this game so we are hoping he enjoys this camp as it is his first basketball experience.
I went to Walmart on the way home for some milk and dark brown sugar.
Back home I had lunch and did more laundry. The clouds started battling with the sun as the day is getting warmer the humidity is rising. I turned the air conditioning back on this morning before the house got too heated up.
I spent the afternoon outside pulling weeds, first from the back patio and steps where we have gravel then on to the garden.  Our rows of lettuce and onions have become over grown with fast growing weeds and grass that the chickens will appreciate.
After all the weeds were pulled I fed some and kept others in the garden cart to feed tomorrow and later.  I gleaned all the vegetables from the garden , getting bell peppers, cucumbers and squash to go with the left over onions and a few beets that came up with the weeds that were growing with them.
The green beans will need picking again soon.  I see more dilly beans and canned beans in our future.
#1 son picked g-son up from camp and came by here to pick up his things from this morning. Camp turned out to be not so good of an experience for him as he is one of only three younger players at the camp so they have to play with the older boys and g-son got hurt several times.  Hopefully the coaches will come up with some alternatives for these younger boys tomorrow.  G-son went to sleep in his dad's car while we talked.  Poor little guy is really pooped out this evening.
Rebekah had to work tonight so Evy came to wait for her dad to finish with his hay tonight.
She is getting so big and today she was running up and down the hall to the play room laughing all the while. She has a special set of pans in the kitchen that she is allowed to play with wear !!!

After dad picked her up hubbie and I sat outside to watch the sunset.  Clouds are moving in tonight and our rain chances go up tomorrow. We do need some rain on our garden.

Grateful for the wonderful blessings of this day may I glorify God in all that I do.
Good Night and God Bless.