11/29/18

It was such a beautiful day after it warmed up . The last two nights have been brutal and I had to ask Emmett to run to town and get me a heat bulb for my little chicks. I had regular light bulds on them but they were not warm enough when it went down into single digits. Now they are doing much better . It warmed up enough today that the water bowls thawed out . Yea.

Emmetts head gasket has blowed on his little car so he ran to town today and got a new head gasket and some oil, did not have enough money for the plugs he needs as his are bad now. So he is working on that project before all the rain they are calling for arrives for the next four days?? Hard to work on a motor when you are out in the cold rain?

This is a set of a baby cap, booties and little mittens for a new great-grandson named Phoenix Kale. I was amazed at his name. But they are so talented at picking out uncommon names as they little girl is Adalee.

We had leftover turkey soup and peanut butter crackers for our supper and I have another Pumpkin Cobbler in the oven.

I am tired as I have spent all afternoon wrapping Christmas presents. My legs and back are so tired.
But a beautiful day and I am so grateful for it.

Daisy kept trying to convince me that I needed to sit down so she could come snuggle. lol  She is a real "Snuggle Bug".

Even Miss Mocha came out and rested in my chair as she watched all the goings on. Her little heart is so bad and each day I have her is a treasure to me.

Nov. 25, 2018

I had an absolute wonderful Thanksgiving with my children. Good food and good fun . The kind of holiday I appreciate. No fussing or fighting or violence of any kind. I am so amazed at how wonderful that kind of day is , it is still hard for me to believe that such things really exist in our world.

We filled our tummies till I was So stuffed I could barely wiggle all day long.
I am so very grateful for these kind of days and for all the help .

Tues. Nov. 20, 2018

I wish time did not have to fly by so very quickly. By the time I had accomplished the morning outside chores and came in and fixed beans and cornbread for lunch the day was over half gone.

Emmett and Sandra had gone and cut another load of wood so they were good and hungry. My tummy was upset so I only had half a small bowl of the leftover celery and rice soup from yesterday which was restful on my tummy.

Then I opened a can of pumpkin that I needed for a recipe and decided to make some pumpkin peanut butter treats for the pups. They were actually good enough to eat since they were made with coconut flour.

My next project was to be our evening desert which was called a pumpkin cobbler. I got half of it put together and then thought the remaining directions sounded crazy????? After you made the batter and put it in the pan you covered it with a sugar and nut topping and Then Added Hot water poured all over it but not mixed in???? I argued with it but finally did exactly what they said and it turned out like this and it was Really Good . A cake like top with a sauce on the bottom. It was a delightful new experience.

My oldest son Cory came to go hunting but had a flat tire in the field so he spent the next couple of hours trying to fix one. He would get one off the rim but the next one would have holes in it. It was a nightmare and I got so very cold . I did not want to leave him to suffer alone  with little Connor. But he made it home safely , finely. Yea.

Nov. 18, 18

 

How nice it is to have help. Emmett climbed on the roof and cleaned the chimney, then he cleaned off all the leaves from the roof and finally he reattached the gutter on the front which scared the "beejesus" out of me. It he would have slipped and falled it would have surly been a broken back. But God guided his footsteps and he arrived safely back on the ground and the chimney and the stove are working like a new set up. How wonderful that is.

This is his sweet girlfriend Sandra , who has worked right beside him loading and unloading all the firewood. Nothing like a pretty gal who does not mind hard work. I am so very grateful to both of them.

It was a lovely day with very mild temperatures and no rain so I was able to put out two loads of laundry today . Yea. 

I worked a little in the garden as I had started a small fire trying to burn up a pile of brush in the garden and while I kept an eye on it I used my turning fork to turn over a small patch in the garden. After I get this brush pile burned I hope to cover this area with black plastic like I did last winter and I had no weeds 3/4 of the way through the growing season. I would like to do that again but Have to get this brush pile burned.

Then I came in and fixed a pot of Spicy Cauliflower Curry  and it filled our tummies. Topped it off with a pineapple pie that refused to set up so Emmett suggested I freeze it and we had it like an ice cream pie . It was very good that way. I really liked that idea so maybe it did not set up for this specific reason.

As bedtime sets in my bedbuddies love to have some fun and I spend my moments with laughter at the joy they bring to your life, and we all know Laughter is so good for the soul.

Nov. 15, 2018

It has been a nasty , wet, cold day here in Va. , USA. The temps hovered around freezing , starting the day with a couple inches of sleet and ice and then cold rain which continued all day long.

I got the outdoor chores out of the way first thing. The donkey was really glad to see his breakfast as he was in the little barn space I had cleared out for him in this dilapidated barn which is in bad shape. Doug and I had built this thing back in the 70's . A master build for two dumb kids who had never built anything . Raising the roof was the hardest part. I thought we were going to kill ourselves . I raised lots of beautiful baby goats in there and  treasured the relationship I had with them. They gave me love and lots of food for the table. Fresh sweet milk, lots of buttermilk all kinds of cheeses and a dip to can and serve with the apples. It was hard work , but I loved it and the animals who shared my heart.

Now after a big tree crashing into it it is trying to hang in there but one side of it floods when it rains now and the corner I have saved for Yukon is where I use to milk the goats at. I hope it can stand as long as Yukon is alive .

I had moved some of the chickens around last night in preparation for this storm. It is the first one of our season . I was fixing the kids breakfast when the electricity went off so I turned to the wood stove and managed to complete a hash brown , biscuits and eggs breakfast which filled us up at least.

Then Crystal had to go to her doctor and Emmett had to go for his appointment and just as they left the electricity came back on so I was able to clean up the kitchen and carry up some of the firewood that Emmett had busted up for me and put on the sidewalk. I like to keep some in the house and some just outside the door so I won't have to go down the steps out into the weather through the night. I am having trouble getting it to burn today so I am worried that the chimney is stopping up again like it did last winter and I really Hate that because it scares me to death to see anyone climb up the steep ladder and work on that dumb chimney. If anyone was to fall and break their back I would never get over it.

I had put a big pot of red beans in the crockpot last night so at least we had that for supper and I  fixed a full skillet of cornbread . So we all filled our tummies. I also had some potato salad to go with it. I have experimented with a technique I saw online where the lady just washed the potatoes and boils them with the skin on and then chops them up and adds whatever you normally add .I like it because it takes a lot of work off of you from peeling the potatoes and you know the skins are suppose to be good for you anyway so I see it as less waste?

Emmett's girlfriend , Sandra always helps me clean up and I am so appreciative for her help. She is so very sweet and so good to me. I have always loved my kids partners and considered them my family. ( Weeellll - Maybe  just one of Crystal's boyfriends way back many years ago??? He really was a dud! And I was so thrilled when she throwed him back into the waters of single people for someone else to fish for - chuckle, chuckle) Some relationships are just not meant to be but you do not know that until you test the waters as we are just human and not mind readers.

As you can see I am working on Christmas gifts . I have played around with lots of crochet slipper patterns through the years . But last year I bumped into this pattern and it kinda stuck in my memory even though I only made a couple of them. But I remembered it was simple and with my eyes fading I need simple? So I made these first two sets and really did like them . They will be for my deceased girlfriend's grandchildren. The black and white pair have pom-poms and the brown and white pair I added jingle bells as they are for a younger child and I just think they like to "make a joyful noise". lol

This set was another experiment . Last year I had made some slippers for the family with a pattern called cloud slippers because they were made with blanket yarn and they were so soft. But the pattern was so hard for me to follow?? I do not know if it was the eyes or the brain giving me a fit. So I decided to test this new pattern out with the blanket yarn and I am throughly happy with it. This pair will be for one of my granddaughters.

Emmett and Sandra went out with me just at dark and helped me do the chores in the cold rain . It was so nice to have young people padding around in the slush with me just in case I were to fall. With their help it was accomplished in half the time and I was back in the house where it is warm and dry. I am so grateful to have my children that I love and appreciative for the help and a roof over my head. God is so good.

November 8, 2018

 

I have finally got started on my Christmas presents , boy am I getting a late start ? 

I figured almost anybody can make use of a handy dandy kitchen towel if they cook? So, I still am trying to come up with things that are useful and not just take up space.

It was a nice finish to a stressful afternoon. It had started out as a nice morning getting all my outdoor chores completed and enjoying some beautiful weather in the 50's which is lovely for us this time of year.

I had gone in and all my kids had headed to town to run errands and I was enjoying a nice late lunch when I thought I heard a noise outdoors. I peeked out the window but saw nothing so I stepped out on the side walk and heard voices. I peeked around the corner behind the house and saw two men jumping up and down on a truck that was stuck in the mud at the side of the house? I quickly darted back in the house and locked the doors as I was NOT expecting anybody ,  much less a truck stuck in the mud beside my house. I called my daughter to see how close to home she was and she said she would come right on.

This was peeking through one of my windows. That is the tail end of their truck as they are trying to push it back from the pasture where they had got stuck after they had moved the lawn mower and all of Crystal's tools and moved the gate to allow them access to go hunting without permission. 

Turns out I did know them but by now I was too terrified to go out of the house and too upset that they would just act like they owned the place. It is my deceased husbands brother and his grandsons . He would have nothing to do with my husband in the last 20 years of his life but now he acts like this is his land to do what ever he wants when ever he wants and that is usually deer season when he wants to bring his family to show them the joys of deer hunting. I do not want them here and I hate to cause a scene and make enemies of my nieces ? 

Crystal gets stopped for speeding by a state policeman and gets a ticket and I finally call her back and ask to speak to the policeman. I ask him if he could just let her come home because there are men here who have guns wanting to do hunting and I am scared of them - so he lets her go . By the time she arrives the brother has the entire driveway blocked where nobody can come or go and Crystal cannot even get in. She is upset too as she knows how scared I am . Then my youngest son arrives and he defuses the situation and they finally leave -saying they will be back in a few days! I really do not want them here . I just want my peace and quiet with my family. I have not had a relationship with this side of my hubbys family and I am too old to want to now. Deer season just tears me all to pieces anyway and I wish I could just disappear off the face of the earth for the duration of it.

I was left just trembling and so upset it was very hard to calm down when you feel like you have no say so over your own home and you privacy has been invaded when all you were doing was enjoying a quiet moment at home. Needless to say I was late getting all of my evening chores accomplished  and can not even calm down to sleep and my tummy is upset.  

I have many blessings to count and some days we just end up in trouble without even trying to?