BUSY MARKET DAY

The sun is already shining brightly this morning as I hurry through chores to get ready for market.
Hubbie went along to help me get set up and have his regular weekly visits with neighbors.
It was crowded in the market today and I had a pretty good day. People are looking for fall decorations and I sold our pumpkin along with several craft items.
I stayed so busy I didn't even have time to open my laptop while I was there. Hubbie left to stop by Tractor Supply for chicken and cow feed and then he went to our great nephew's 2nd birthday party.
The party is from 1:00 - 3:00 so I won't get to go because after I get loaded and drive out there it will be over. G-son isn't  getting to go either as he is with his mom and aunt T down in Polk county at the "Battle of the Youth".
After market I did go to a grocery store that I hardly ever go to ,Harris Teeter. I used to go there all the time until they moved and I just haven't went since then. One of the neighbors at market told me about a special they have on some of their really good soup so I went over to get some. And of course I could never go into a store and come out with only what I went after !!  I really like the new lay-out of this store and probably will do more shopping there.
I made my regular stops and picked up my Avon order on the way home. Hubbie helped me unload when I came in.
He went down to finish mowing the lower lawn and I rested for a while.
After chores I had some of the soup for supper and it was very good.It is a fresh made soup,refrigerated in their deli case.
I sat out in the sunroom with Dolly and Bernie and watched darkness come tonight. The clouds have come and gone all day but we haven't had any rain yet. It is cloudy tonight but the rain looks like it has passed by us already.
The first snow of the season fell Friday in some of the northern and western  states.

This is very early even for the far north to have measurable snowfall !!

This is this past weeks fall foliage forecast map.

As I looked through the weather maps this one jumped out at me. It shows the drought the heartland of our nation is in and the reason food prices are steadily rising.

I was surprised by this next map. I did not know there were earthquakes everyday somewhere. And quite a few actually all along the west coast.

I'm a tired lady tonight and headed to an early bedtime. It always amazes me how tired handling market for 5 hours makes me !!
I am ever gratefull to God for the strength He gives me each day to carry out what I need to get done.
And I am very thankful for a safe travel and successful day for daughter and the youth of our church.
Good Night and God Bless.

LAST REALLY WARM DAY, MAYBE ????

Wow what a foggy morning !!!

I couldn't even see any mountains at my usual photo spot as the sun was rising over them in  the fog.
G-son was in a good mood this morning and not acting as tired on this Friday as he usually does.
Back home I did the chores and had a routine morning. As I walked I noticed the leaves starting to get some color around the farm.

I baked 12 caramel, 1 coconut, 2 chocolate,2 apple butter, 2 pound and 1 wine cake before lunch.
Daughter had a couple hours off at lunch time and went over to have lunch with g-son at his school where she used to work .

He was really surprised to see his aunt T !!!

I had the afternoon all to myself as other g-ma picked him up from school today. So I spent some time outside soaking up the warm sunshine as this maybe the last warm sunshine we have for a while according to the forecast.

Took a walk down in the lower pasture this evening just as the sun was going behind the trees.Our farm pond has had plenty of water in it all summer this year with all the rains.

I ran into Rebecca the renter as she walked her dogs and we had a nice visit while Sadie and her 2 dogs had a really good time playing and sniffing out all the scents along the creek bank.
The shadows grow long earlier and faster each day this time of year. As I walked back to the house I thought of how good the pastures look to  be full of cattle and horses again.

After icing all my cakes I got into bed about 11:00.
Thanking God for a beautiful fall day and the many blessings He gave me today. Saying a special prayer for daughter tonight, as early tomorrow morning she is driving a big van load of youth from our church into Polk county for a youth competition.
Good Night and God Bless.

POOR COUGHING BERNIE AND SOME GOOD NEWS FOR SON

Today is picture day for g-son and he looks so handsome this morning.
We talked about haunted farms and houses on the way to school this morning. His reading buddie went to a haunted house and told him all about it.
When I got home I groggily hurried through chores and got ready for market.
I was right yesterday when I figured last night would be a sleepless night with poor coughing Bernie. He really had a bad night and it was almost at times as if he was trying to suppress his coughs so he didn't wake us up. Hubbie put ear plugs in but I cannot sleep with something stuck in my ears.
Poor Bernie seems to be feeling better this morning and is coughing less. He is sad here because he knows I'm getting ready to leave.

Market was slow today as expected. I visited with some friends and caught up my blog between customers.
I ran errands and picked up baking supplies and did daughter's shopping for her. I got home about 4:30 and hubbie came in shortly after to help me unload.
We started to watch the news and daughter came by for her baking supplies. She had went over to the neighbor's pumpkin farm that has the maze and bought small pumpkins for her Sunday school class to paint.
She left and we went back to watching the news and snoozing then #2 son came in with  the good news of the day. The banks had re-appraised the house he is buying and they reduced the price $32,000 from his original offer. He is very happy because this is the amount he felt the most comfortable borrowing all along. I thanked God for answering my prayers for him. He also said the selling bank is wanting to move the closing date up as soon as they can get their renters out of the house.
After he left hubbie and I ate supper and did chores then we finished putting the mulch out in the back yard. At least all the bare ground is covered now. Guess we'll see if the rain washes it all away.
I took a hot cup of tea out in the covered patio and watched the beautiful sunset tonight as I reflected on what a wonderful day this has been.

So grateful for the love of Jesus Christ tonight and for the blessings He gives me each day.
Good night and God Bless.

I'M SO TIRED OF THESE RED MUD FOOT PRINTS

A surprisingly cloudy morning, the weather wizards predicted a beautiful fall day but that doesn't look like it's going to happen today !

After I got g-son to school,the chores done and had a bowl of cereal I started a load of month ending laundry to hopefully get it hung on the line to dry. But just as I finished my walk the rain started to fall so I had to use the dryer. These covers and bed quilts are so bulky they are hard to get dry in the dryer.
While the washer ran I baked 12 caramel,2coconut and 3 chocolate cakes.
After lunch I spent the afternoon vaccuming and mopping red mud from my floors. We have got to do something in the back yard to stop all these muddy tracks. All the hard rains we have had this summer have washed all the grass from the yard and left the red clay soil exposed.
G-son had another good day at school. It is so interesting sometimes to answer some of the questions he asked on our trips to and from school. It is like talking to another adult some days which just is really hard for me to get used to. He is learning so fast and some of the stuff I'm sure is not coming from the teacher !! He talks alot about a "reading buddy" who is an older boy. They eveidently talk more than they actually read and he is trying so hard to be all grown up already.
His dad picked him up shortly after we got home.
When Hubbie came home we discussed the red mud situation and decided to try mulching the part where the grass is gone so off he went to Lowes with a coupon I had that expires Sunday.
He got some of it put out when he got home while I was buried in the weekly paperwork. We will finish it tomorrow evening.
I iced my cakes while I watched Survivor on TV and then called it a night. Bernie , one of my 4-legged kids has picked up a respiratory bug and is coughing his head off and I know it will be a looooonnngggg night !!!!
He has done this before and it usually only last a couple days so I'm hoping this is the case this time as well.
Praying tonight that God helps poor Bernie get over his coughing quickly and thanking Him for the blessings he poured out on me today.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY MORNING AND FALL DECORATING

Every time I woke up last night the rain was pounding on the metal roof. This morning g-son used an umbrella to get from his mom's jeep to my porch.
As we headed out to school at 8:00 the rain had slacked off and I was hoping it was over as I looked over the lower pasture on my way down the driveway. It had a lot of water standing in it but I couldn't see the creek,so hopefully it won't flood.
I watched the weather while I ate and the worst of the rain has passed with only a few more showers to go. We got  2 1/2 more inches in the gauge after I emptied it at chore time last night for a total of 3" from this system.
I got a load of laundry started before my exercise  and walking tapes.
I wavered from my routine today as I was anxious to get all my fall decor out and up. I did get our laundry finished but got little house work done.
I did get into the attic and got most of the fall decorations out .
My sunroom table is now home to the pretty little gourds I bought yesterday.

The electric fireplace in the sunroom.

The old storage trunk in the sunroom.

The wood stove in the living room.

This ceramic platter is a new addition,it is hand painted.

This pretty basket sits on the TV.

When g-son came in from school he ask "did you do all this just because it's fall?" As he sits in the recliner covered by the leaf quilt.

I feel exceptionally tired this evening for some reason.  I rested after g-son left until chore time.
After I ate supper I felt a little better but still not normal. Hopefully it's just tiredness and not a sickness sneaking up on me !
As I finished chores tonight I noticed some clouds were still hanging around at sunset.

It is cooling off quickly outside as I walked back toward the house.  I noticed a few lightning bugs were still flashing around even with the cool temps we have had on a couple nights.
I'm blogging early so I can get plenty of rest tonight and hopefully get re-energized for tomorrow.
Grateful for the blessings of the day and for the rain which quenches the thirst of God's living creations.
Good Night and God Bless.

SPENDING A RAIN AFTERNOON AT A PUMPKIN MAZE

G-son was here at 7:00 this morning. Hubbie got up to meet him so I could snooze a little longer,although that type of snoozing doesn't do much good as I'm always listening to what goes on and making sure they get headed to school on time.
It is lightly drizzling rain this morning as I do the chores. We got just enough rain over night to make things slippery.
While I exercised and did an inside walking tape hubbie worked on our new smoker. He had to season the entire inside and heat it twice.

He coated all the racks,pan and even the inside of the door in cooking oil, soaked some wood chips we had and put them in the chip drawer, heated it to 400 degrees and let it run for 30 minutes.

Then he had to let it cool completely so we loaded all the dirty rugs in the van and ran out to a laundry that is just out the road. I like using their huge commercial machines for the rugs because they get them cleaner plus it keeps all the gritty dirt out of my washer.
We loaded 3 machines and then went to look around at the Goodwill Store just out the road. We didn't find much and we got back to the laundry just as the washers were finishing.
Most of the rugs were rubber backed so we brought them home and  hung them up in the laundry room and started the de-humidifier to keep the moisture from overwhelming the house on this damp rainy day.
Hubbie went back to the smoker and re-oiled everything,added more soaked wood chips and fired it back up to 400 degrees for 20 more minutes. Now it is ready for the meat !!
We picked up g-son from school and stopped at a neighbor's kids pumpkin maze. This neighbor sells at the Curb Market with me and told me Saturday about the maze so g-son could come over.He usually only sells plants but had turned one of his green houses into the maze.

Okay Neena I'm going in,hope I don't get lost !!!!

There were all kinds of interesting things to see on the way through. I  think I heard him muttering about "pumpkin butt cheeks" at one point !!!

He made short work of the maze only making a couple wrong turns.

And it ended with a slide into a corn pool !!!

For almost an hour he went through the maze over and over again and said he would "just like to live here" !!!
While Pawpaw tried to talk him into leaving I did some shopping,they had an impressive array of pumpkins in all sizes and colors and gourds in all shapes and colors along with fall plants galore.

I bought several to use in my fall decor which I will hopefully get out tomorrow and some acorn squash,sweet potatoes and apples to eat.  It was a wonderful way to spend a rainy afternoon and g-son finally got hungry enough to leave.
He acted really tired after all that running and laughing.
He had just finished his mac and cheese when his dad came after him.
The rain is starting to pick up just in time for evening chores. So it was raincoats and boots this evening.
I dumped 1/2" out of the gauge after chores but I have a feeling that is just the beginning !
As I write this blog tonight at 9:00 the rain is pouring outside.  Hopefully we don't get all 3" of promised rain overnight !
Thanking God tonight for all my blessings tonight and for a wonderful Christ filled life.
Good Night and God Bless.

CATCH-UP SUNDAY

A cloudy morning greeted me today but no rain yet. As I got ready for church I couldn't decide whether to wear a jacket of not, so I just carried it. I always arrive early to fix flowers for the communion table and as I was finishing that up today a good friend followed me back to my flower closet with some bad news. She is having surgery Wednesday for a melanoma that was a lump under the skin of her armpit area and the cancer was already in her lympth nodes. About 12 years ago she had a mole took off her back that was melanoma and now it has rared its ugly head as a lump under the skin.She has COPD and with only 25% of lung function she is very worried about any treatments she may need after the removal. I am praying that God will work his miraculous powers on her during this time.
Our associate pastor gave an energetic message this morning since our regular pastor is on vacation this week. The service was good and touching.
We had everyone over for a lunch of BBQ, baked beans,cole slaw,oven baked fries and corn.
The BBQ came from Sam's Club and it was good. I can't wait until we get our new smoker going and can do our own BBQ.
Hubbie bought a smoker from a friend of his last week, it has never been used,was originally priced at over $200 and he payed $40.  We have to season the entire grill box before we can start using it, hopefully later this week after the rain passes we can get that done.
After everyone left I sat out in the sunroom with my 4-legged kids for awhile until I started to doze off. I decided that it would not be good to sleep the afternoon away so I went outside to catch up some little jobs I've had on my "to do" list for this month. I trimmed some overgrown bushes in the yard,and got so involved that after I was finished I had to get hubbie and his truck to load all the trimmings and haul it up to our brush pile.
As I walked by my hen houses I was reminded that they needed a fall cleaning so I dived into that job also. I ran out of shavings and had to use some old hay from the barn to line the bottom of the big house but the hens acted like they liked the hay better anyway. I had better remember to buy shavings this week because they may have all the bedding eaten before the week is over !!!
I took no pictures today so I thought I would catch up on some weather maps.
This is the fall leaf color map for this week for our area.

And this map shows the predicted rainfall amounts for the next 48 hours, we are in the 1-3" area.

With all the clouds here we are going to miss the "harvest moon" for tonight and probably tomorrow but here is a picture from last night.

The first full moon after the autumn equinox is always called the "harvest moon".
It is hard to believe another month has passed already. September 2012 was a typical early fall month for the most part.After a short family vacation at the beginning of the month it turned out to be a very routine month mostly.  G-son finished his first month of kindergarten, #2 son has found a house after searching all summer, market business was better than expected for me and hubbie and daughter hauled many loads of free mulch for jobs at both our houses during this month.  The weather hasn't been bad with rain to begin the month from the remnants of hurricane Issac after it entered the gulf coast and one other flooding threat about the middle of the month. Temperatures were close to normal and we haven't ran the air conditioning this entire month and even had to cut the ceiling fans off on most days.
Relaxing tonight after a busy afternoon but with an accomplished feeling.
God is good all the time and all the time God is good, ready for whatever He has in store for me in October.
Good Night and God Bless.