A LATE CANNING DAY

Election day 2014 is finally here and thankfully will put an end to all the political ads and phone calls for a while anyway !!
I hope you all do your patriotic duty and go vote. Hubbie and I voted early last Monday.
I have a busy day planned today and got an early start this morning with an early cake order phone call.
After chores and breakfast I changed the bed covers and got a load of laundry started before I headed out on my morning walk. It is foggy this morning and the sun hasn't made it through the haze yet but it is still pretty warm already after only getting around 38 for the low overnight.
Next on the agenda was the box of apples that has been sitting in the sunroom for almost a month.
I peeled enough of the apples to fill 2 crock pots and got them going setting out on the sunroom table.
These are a mixture of apples types some Braeburns,Pink Ladies, Cameos and Goldens which should make a good tasting applesauce.
I started house work and got the bathrooms cleaned before it was time to go over to school to pick up g-son.  Today was an early dismissal day at school so he got out at noon but mom had to work all day.
When we got home Re came over because her water was off and EL stayed here to play while she went to get groceries.  EL and g-son played well together while I did some dusting.
After Re came back and took her home g-son and I stayed outside for the afternoon.

 Even as he gets bigger he still likes to play with sticks.

It was a warm , sunny afternoon a good one to be outside in or to take a nap in, at least Annie thought so.

I love the panorama setting on my phone.

When his mom came to pick him up she brought me his school picture for this year.

He looks happy !!!

I did the evening chores and then tackled another task for the day. These muscadine grapes, that hubbie gathered last Friday before the cold weather and snow came, need to have something sone with them before they all dry out.

In this warmer weather the fruit flies are coming back around with all these grapes sitting here.
I found a recipe for old fashioned grape hull jam using muscadine grapes, so that was the first order of business for me tonight.
Hubbie went over to Aa and Re 's house to help #1 son work on their well pump.  He is replacing the pressure tank.
I renewed my ability of jam making the old fashioned way without the use of added pectin.
This is some of the best tasting jam I have ever made. I couldn't resist tasting it while it boiled down.

When it got to this stage I knew it wouldn't have any trouble gelling as it sheeted off the spoon.

I made 7 half pints of jam using the pulp and the blended up hulls of the muscadine grapes.

As soon as I got these out of the water bath canner I got the crock pots in the kitchen and stirred up the applesauce in them.  I tasted it and decided not to add a thing as the flavor was very good.
I had 9 pints and 1 half pint of this.

Seems this is a little late to be doing any kind of canning but the growing season has been long this season with the late frost.
I still have lots of apples so there may be even more canning going on but it will have to wait as canning time has passed for this week.
Hubbie didn't get home until almost 10:30 tonight after working on the well pump. They got the new tank on it and discovered a leak in the water line that goes down into the well so they will have to pull the pump Friday when they can both get off work and the rain is supposed to be passed by then.
Thankful today most of all for my health that allows me to do all the things I do each day.
Grateful for all my daily blessing from God.
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW BOOTS AND PLAYTIME

Woke to the coldest temp of the season at 25 degrees,brrrrr !!
After chores and breakfast hubbie and I made a trip to the Shoe Barn in Buncombe county to see if I could find a pair of boots like I want.  After looking over the huge boot inventory in both womens and mens depts. I was ready to give up on what I exactly wanted.  Back in the womens dept a sales lady must have sensed my exasperation and came to my rescue. After explaining to her what I wanted she led me to a place I hadn't looked and showed me these Alegria Boots.  I had never heard of this brand but these boots were exactly what I wanted and the color was perfect as well as the comfort I was looking for.

I was happy and hubbie and I  both also got new insoles and headed home.
After lunch I started laundry while hubbie went to clean off the garden. He took all the trellising and stakes down as well as the fence around it so now the rabbits can have some of the greens for a winter snack. The greens are now covered with dead white flies so the chickens will continue to get these.

Re had to go to a staff meeting today at the hospital so this little sweet pea spent the afternoon with us. Love the rainbow sun beam in the pic.

She played for a while then we watched what appeared to be a large dust cloud or grass fire in the field across the creek.

 Then her daddy emerged from all the dust on his soy bean combine !!

She told me she was ready for a nap so we went inside and while she slept I did more laundry and took all the Halloween decorations down.
G-son wanted to come up to our house and stay while his mom went grocery shopping so he played for awhile alone waiting for EL to wake from her nap.

My, my he is getting so big !!!
When EL got up and had a snack the playtime for the two of them began. She loves to have him to play with and I think the feeling is mutual with him also.
She watched him ride his little scooter down this hill , she got her little car and had to do the same thing ,haha !! 

 Good thing Papa was at the bottom to stop her after she got the hang of pushing herself off !!!

 She kept asking g-son to push her !!!

We were watching the sunset when g-son decided to photo bomb us !!!

Boys will be boys !!!!
We played outside until the sun set and the air got too cold then we headed inside.

Then they cuddled up in the recliner with some snacks and watched TV until Re got here.

She took both of them with her and dropped g-son at his house on her way home.
A wonderful way to spend a beautiful afternoon.  The snow of Saturday is a distant memory today as the sunny mid 60's made for a really nice day.  Our weather week is going to be a roller coaster ride in temps.

Thankful tonight for the wonderful opportunity to spend time with these two little ones like this afternoon, I feel very thankful  to have both of them in my life.
Grateful for the blessings of this day.
Good Night and Gos Bless.

RESTFUL COLD SUNDAY

Uhhhh, How can an extra hour of sleep leave me feeling so "sleep deprived" ???  I  did chores and had breakfast, then had extra time before I had to leave for church.  The morning temperature wasn't as cold as predicted at just 30 degrees and the bright sunshine made it feel warmer than yesterdays windy day for sure.  All the snow around here is gone except the snow on the mountain tops that surround our area. Bearwallow  looked like this as I drove to church.

Church was good today we started our study in the book of Esther today.
Everyone made it to a lunch of fried country steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and corn with biscuits.  It was enjoyed by all and everyone had a really nice visit.
After everyone went their own ways hubbie and I had a restful Sunday afternoon. I even took a short nap, hopefully it won't ruin tonight's sleep.   It was a short nap because I  layed down about 4:30 thinking I cold nap for an hour then do chores.  I was woke up by the dogs barking at the door about 30 minutes later. I forgot their stomachs were still on daylight savings time and to them it was already  6pm instead of  5pm as the clock today said.
I did chores and then darkness seemed to come quickly on this first day off day light savings time.
It is 10:00 now as I write this and it seems like midnight already.
Tonight is supposed to be the coldest yet at 24 degrees. We'll see because it is still 39 at this time.
The high today was 45 degrees for a pretty raw day but the wind wasn't blowing and the sun was shining.
I have been thinking about all the things I need to do this week today and how with this cooler weather I need to catch up on some inside duties that have been put off in the nicer weather.
Grateful for the wonderful blessing of a perfect Sunday.
We are really happy with our new wood stove as it has done a great job keeping the entire house warm through all this cold weather. I love the new design so that the glass door stays clean and the fire is continually visible. I want one of these for the living room maybe next year so I can watch the flames.

Thankful today for the bounty of garden produce God gave us to preserve this season. It makes cooking so much more fun when you know exactly what you are cooking and who has been handling the food that you are putting in your mouth.
Good Night and God Bless.

SNOW WELCOMES IN NOVEMBER

SURPRISE,  SURPRISE !!!!!      Look what I woke up to this morning.

 We have about 2 1/2 to 3 inches of snow but thankfully the roads are clear which makes it an even more perfect kind of snow.Some areas of our county have 6 inches of snow this morning.

It was a pretty snow ,heavy and wet that stuck to everything making it a winter wonderland.

  The wind was gusting so high that it had blown alot of the snow around so it was hard to get an exact measurement. All my Halloween decorations had frosty hats this morning.

The lovely Petunia blooms were covered in the cold snow this morning as well as all the decorations on the porch where the winds had blown the snow all the way across the porch.

Hubbie and I did chores and headed out to market. The drive out was a pretty one as the snow is still coming down as I turned onto the street that market is on.

The signs at market were plastered with the sticky snow as well as some stop signs I passed.

Not a typical fall day around here, that's for sure.

Market was surprisingly busy for the cold windy day it was.  I am thankful for all the things I sold.
I had to laugh as I looked around at all the coats and hats and then looked at what I have on this morning and thought, judging by the way we are dressed it looked more like a January market day than the first day of November.

After lunch the market felt like a ghost town so the few sellers that were there decided to head on out about 30 minutes early . This was okay with me as I had to make a couple stops before getting home to get ready for the carnival at church tonight.
Hubbie helped me unload and we did the feeding chores early , then got things loaded in the van for the trunk or treat carnival.  We are all going to set up inside and see how many kids come out in the cold wind and still blowing snow night.
Daughter came by before we left and made a pic of hubbie and I in our bee costumes.

Our theme for this year is the "Bee Attitudes"  .  I made our costumes last week and we have a large hive that was going to go in the back of the van but now will set up inside. We also will be giving out little cards with the eight "bee attitudes" on them.

It looked pretty good set up inside and we had a great turn out even with the bad weather.

Re and d-in-love set up their farm theme beside us. There's was the most popular with the kids as they loved to play with all their decorations !!

Little EL was a chicken and here she is sitting on her nice cozy nest of old quilts.

And here is the Incredible Hulk in all his glory tonight as g-son gets into the posing for the picture.

Hulk is hungry for pizza.

Hulk and the chicken.  (she's upset because he wouldn't take her outside)

There were lots of really great costumes worn by the adults and kids alike tonight.

I love the picture below !!
I can just hear her saying "don't you know anything daddy ? !"   haha.

A fun time was had by all tonight inside out of the cold winds.

The crowds were really surprising to me and the fellowship hall stayed packed for the full 2 hours of the carnival.

We have a puppet ministry at out church and the kids loved their performances tonight.
Especially little EL as daughter held her she was transfixed on the critters up there singing.

Well as you can see November has come in like a snowy lion but this first day has been a special day in more ways than one.
 Praying that the blessings of this evening continue throughout the remainder of the month.
With Thanksgiving coming at the end of this month I am more aware of the things I am thankful for each day.
Today I am most thankful for the loving caring family and friends that God chose to surround me with.

And yes it is that time of year again, at least we get an extra hour of sleep but either way these time changes seem to mess with my sleeping schedule, uhhhh !!!

Good night and God Bless.