Yes...I'm still alive!

Early Morning Sunbeams
Hello to anyone out there still hoping I will post in my blog! (If there IS anyone.) LOL Between trying to heal from a few health issues the last couple years, and keeping busy doing whatever it is that I find myself doing around here, I found myself not blogging.  Part of that was due to trying to avoid as much stress as possible...and trying to think of something to write, especially when I wasn't getting out and taking lots of pictures, can be stressful, least enough that I decided not to try.  I AM still very much alive though, just not showing it here!

Just thought I'd share a photo I took early one morning  a week or two ago while I let anyone who has wondered, know I AM still here, and I think...hope and pray...my health is improving, just slow it seems.  I've had some issues for years, but they really had me down a couple years ago so I figured I HAD to try and figure things out.  I have to praise God for the journey, AND helping me feel better little bits at a time!


Violet, this years calf!
Lately, since I've been feeling up to it, I've been helping to try and tame the calf that was born here earlier this year. With my hubby always being so busy she didn't get a lot of attention, and was quite WILD!  But it was past time to wean her, so we had to get her caught and away from her Mom.

We had to have one of our wonderful Amish neighbors who is younger and more able to, come over and help catch her.  He had to do it twice, because the first time she broke the rope we had her tied to a tree with and went back in with her Mom.  LOL  Course that was just AFTER he left, so it was a bit before he managed to get back over and do it again.  This time we had a better rope I guess, cause she didn't break this one as she lunged trying to get away from it.


Violet & my hubby.
It's certainly been an experience, and I didn't know if we could do it, (I can train dogs decently well...but never have tried to a calf) but...she is coming along real nicely!  I think I won her over with apple cores when I was getting apple pie filling into the freezer. LOL Once those were gone, hubby brought home some alfalfa cubes, and we give them to her as treats. She loves them, and will come running for them sometimes.  Nothing like a bribe, to get those animals to calm down and come to us!  ;-))

She treats me differently than she does hubby, I'm not good at "cow speak" so not sure what it all means that she does, but it's just good to see her trusting us more. I've been leading her around the yard some, getting her used to being walked on a rope, and she is doing better that way too. I have no idea if she would come to us if she wasn't tied up...we haven't gotten that far yet, but least there is hope she will be a good milk cow one day. :-))

We almost tried to sell her...actually put an ad online and everything, but something kept telling me to keep her, so we decided to take the ad down and see if we could get her tamed down...thankfully it appears to be paying off! God willing she will be a good one for us, like her Mom appears to be! She is her Mom's first calf...so Mom is still young, so hopefully we will have them for many more years to come.


Beautiful Morning!
Anyway, just thought I'd share the fact I'm still here, just quiet and working on my health...along with my usual pursuits of keeping house here on the farm and enjoying my MANY hobbies. LOL I have to say it's GOOD to feel a bit better too!! I still have a ways to go, and who knows if I'll ever get to where I think I should be...but least I'm not where I was a couple years ago! :-))

No promises you will see me back here a lot...but...least I finally had the urge to post an update for once!  ;-)))

Another year bites the dust!

A 2014 Sunset.

Wow...once again I can't believe that another year is pretty much over. Seriously, where does the time go?

Yes...I know, I wonder that EVERY year! LOL

DH's surgery that was suppose to be next week got canceled...a bad lab report snookered us, so now we try to get him "healthier" and wait a few months and try again.  *sigh*  Not sure if we will be able to should the labs come back better next round...because of our cows having calves around that time...but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

In the mean time, we pray...for DH as well as our sister-in-law (my brothers wife) who is in the hospital with congestive heart failure and failing kidneys.  It's been a hard year in some respects...with loosing family and having health problems but we've had worse!  We've also had some blessings, so for them I'm grateful.  :-))

We got our office moved downstairs...and even though it turns out we didn't need it quite so soon, I'm thrilled with the move so far!!  Don't know that hubby is, but wow is it wonderful to be cooking supper, and need something out of one of the freezers, and not have to go down the stairs to get whatever it is!!  I LOVE having those freezers up there, where they are so much easier to get to!!!!  :-))

Now if DH can just find time to get his stuff unpacked and put away...so we can get the downstairs looking better for once, I'll be a happy camper!  *giggle*  It already looks better than it ever has...but I'm still waiting to see what it's like once the boxes are all gone!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years Eve and Day...and that this next year will be better for everyone than the last was!!  Have a wonderful 2015!

Slowing down finally!

Just wanted to quickly share my favorite photo so far that I took at the wedding this last weekend. We are slowing down here a little bit...least I've actually been able to relax a little...but still haven't gotten all the photos ready for smugmug. Will be doing that slowly over the next week or so.

Canning is mostly done for the year now though...and while I LOVE to can, I'm rather grateful for THAT being done with again! It was a little much, mixed in with getting ready for the wedding. ;-))

It's laundry day today, so I need to get back to that...just wanted to share the photo and say I survived the wedding...although I HURT by the time we got home cause I was on my feet almost ALL day.  I MUST be getting old.  LOL  It was kinda fun though...so thankful the cake disaster was the worst disaster...and the day went well!

Praise God for my parents though...they helped a LOT at the wedding, with the food and clean up. WAY more than they had to, to say the least, since they aren't even related to our niece since she is from hubbies side!

I am so blessed with my hubby AND my parents!  :-D

Sanity is overrated

I caught another beautiful sunrise a couple weeks ago...just didn't get it off my camera for the longest time with everything going on. It was nice to see it when I did though...a calm breath of fresh air in the middle of working on getting everything done for the wedding.

We had a huge problem with the cake...almost a disaster, but thankfully we got it fixed by ordering one last minute...thank God for being able to, even though I REALLY didn't want to spend that money on THAT! Seriously...hopefully that's the WORST disaster, and everything else goes smoothly...or least only little things going wrong if something has to! LOL That was NOT a good day...when we discovered the cake was not happening.

Life was kinda insane THAT day...

Only two more days...and it will be over! Can't wait!! LOL Then...our 23rd anniversary is the day after the wedding, so maybe we can enjoy the day together...or crash, I'm not sure which.  LOL  I'll probably be canning more tomatoes on Monday...so it will be a short crash if we do...but that's ok I guess. Life doesn't wait for recovery usually...and tomato's need canned when we have them, so we do what we have to do so we have food for the winter. :-))

Needless to say...I'm so tired...and tomorrow promises to be a LONG day...not to mention Saturday.  So...I took a little time to relax this afternoon, before the REAL insanity begins!  It was NICE!  LOL

Fall color is WAY behind this year.  There are a few trees changing...but not lots.  So sad we won't have lots of good color for wedding photos...but least most of the trees aren't bare...so hopefully they will still turn out ok...as long as my camera cooperates, and I don't turn into a complete idiot with it!  LOL

Enjoying the sane moments in our insane life...

Small break...

We took a small break from wedding chores (and boy are there still LOTS of THEM to do!) for a small family get together. My parents and niece and family came over for lunch today. I haven't seen my great niece since she started walking but she sure is doing a great job of that now! LOL She even managed to walk around on top of my dinning room table after lunch for a little bit.

Right after I snapped the above photo she got the cutest grin on her face...naturally AFTER I took the photo. I didn't have the camera ready to capture it either (of course). She is adorable...and full of energy and I bet she's a handful! Not seeing her very much I don't really know what she is like, but she acts like she would be. :-))

It was good to take a break from worrying about getting things done for the wedding...but now we have to get back to it, along with more tomato's to process tomorrow...I'm thankful for the tomato's, but sure wouldn't have minded a break for this week...but then I wouldn't have more for my winter's food supply, so I guess I'll take them while I can.  I am however letting a neighbor have most of our milk and cream this week...so I don't have butter I have to stop and do!  She is grateful, as am I!  :-))

The neighbor lady is canning some of the milk she is getting this week...and told me how, so guess what!  After the wedding, I'll have to do a little of that and see how it is, so I have some for cooking with, when the cows dry up.  LOVE learning about canning new things!  :-))

Gotta run!  Abbie's wedding is in less than a week now...and there is still SO MUCH to do!  :(

Chaos

Life seems to be in chaos right now...time is slipping away, and we are so busy between the wedding and canning that I'm looking for that peaceful life we used to lead...till our niece moved in with us temporarily...which is turning into a bit longer than temporary it seems.  I love her to death...but kinda miss that boring laid back life we lead before she interrupted our peaceful existence.  LOL

*sigh*

Oh well...God has his plan, and I'm trying to trust him and enjoy the time we have with our niece as much as I can...even if I do get exhausted sometimes by the drama that seems to come with having her here.


We went to pay for the wedding venue the other day, and then drove around looking for the best place to go for wedding photos after the ceremony.  We found the perfect spot...on a bridge by the water.  It will be even more perfect if there is GOOD fall color by the wedding!

Course, I'm a little worried about being able to get good photos.  Between being out of practice, and my camera being old I sure hope I manage to get something decent on the big day.  It seems to have some strange pixels these days...and I STILL can't afford to get a new camera, so I'm still using my first dslr that I love...but it's just not the new ones I'd LIKE to have.  LOL  I so want one that will take movies too...but that doesn't seem to be in the cards right now.  Thankfully Abbie isn't real picky...but sadly I am, and will sure be disappointed if I can't get some good ones for her.


We do have the mints made and in the freezer now...and are working on the cake. This week should see it in the freezer, and hopefully some practicing going on with frosting and cake decorating tips. LOL Before we made the mints, we went looking for new molds for making cream cheese mints cause I didn't have a heart shape and Abbie kinda wanted one but it seems that cream cheese mints are "out of style" or something, cause we couldn't find any molds in the stores and when we asked they acted like we were stupid for wanting them. LOL

 Oops, I guess I'm a bit behind the times as usual. ROFL

 That's ok, I still love the mints, even if they are not "in" at the moment. I've made them several times over the years, and each time (somehow) Abbie seemed to get in on helping to make them, so it's only fair that we finally make them together for HER wedding...even IF they are not in style.

If this wedding goes off without a hitch...I'll be somewhat surprised, but you know, it's the screw ups that make the day memorable, so thats ok.  Course, in the drama that surrounds us at times now, the wedding was canceled for a very short time...then was back on, so I guess nothing will really surprise me at this point. I can't say I will be sad for it all to be over...I want life to slow down a little bit again, so I can savor the fall color when it shows up and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

Hopefully we can enjoy a peaceful fall, once the wedding is over...and maybe even, if we are lucky....get back to normal around here!  Is it even possible?!  LOL  Time will tell!

This week we have a couple dr appointments to go to, which means I won't be around to help my Mom with her tomatoes since she plans on doing more on one of the days we will be gone, but will have to get a couple bushel of apples into our freezer, between cleaning and making sure we get more done for the wedding.  I also need to decide if I actually want to BUY a few tomatoes so I can make a little more pizza sauce and maybe diced tomato's before we get a frost and the tomato's come to a stop.  I wouldn't hesitate...but I'm afraid we won't have time, so haven't decided what to do yet.

I just finished up getting some beef broth canned, cause we butchered a problem steer last week...a bit earlier than planned but it worked out good so that's ok.  I cut up almost 4 gallons of meat into cubes and turned it into corned beef and then canned it and WOW, it really turned out GOOD!! LOVE it!!  I had made it twice before with a roast, and baked it in the oven, but this time I wanted more so decided to do it this way, so it was ready to grab when we wanted some.  It really makes great corned beef hash with my home canned potatoes too!  ;-))

That's just a few of the things I've been up to the last few weeks.  No time to update most of the time, but decided to get an update in here since Abbie is gone for the weekend and I had a little time.  Course my "quick" update, turned into a short book but what else is new!  LOL    :-))

Exciting Times!

We've been canning up a storm here, but we've also been planning a wedding!!! Our niece is getting married, and since she is living here for now, I'm getting in on the fun!

I never thought I'd be in on planning a wedding this much since we weren't blessed with kids, but since Abbie lost her Mom this summer and is living here, I get to enjoy the fun planning and shopping trips her Mom should have been in on. She told me earlier today she didn't think she could have gotten married this fall, without our emotional support, because she misses her Mom and couldn't do the shopping trips by herself since that's something a mother and daughter usually does together. I totally understand that, cause it was fun shopping with my Mom when we did MY wedding shopping all those years ago.

I do feel for her though...cause I know I can never "replace" her Mom, and I'd never try to. Hopefully I can help ease her through this sad yet happy time though!


Abbie is just having a small wedding, but we found the venue for it and it's beautiful! If all goes well, it will be an outside wedding, with the reception inside. If it's bad weather then, we can have the wedding right there where the reception will be...but we both are hoping for good weather, and hoping the fall color is popping really GOOD when the wedding date gets here in October!

With canning still in full swing...and the wedding to plan for, needless to say we are BUSY!  Money is tight for everyone, so we are trying to do this in a frugal manner too...but yet still give her as many nice memories as possible.  My hubby (who's Mom used to own a bakery...so he's had experience with making wedding cakes) will be in charge of the cake decorating.  It's been a few years since he's done that kind of thing though...so will need to do some practicing before he starts on the cake.  LOL  However, that will save some money, AND give her a nicer, larger cake for the money which is great.

I'm going to be the official photographer (poor girl!  LOL) so hopefully I can manage to get a few nice photos for her.  I'm so out of practice lately...so we will see.  I warned her she may not get anything GOOD...but she is ok with that, so I'll just do my best.  It's not like when our other niece got married...I wasn't going to deal with her Mother so I said I wasn't going to be the "official" photographer.  Besides...it's more fun that way for ME.  LOL  However...I know there is no money for a different photographer, so I will pray that God guides my hand and lets them turn out.  If it's nice weather so we can have the wedding outside, there will be a better chance that they WILL turn out, as my outside photos are usually better than the inside photos.  :-))

So anyway, cake is figured out...photographer is chosen *roll eyes*...venue is reserved...and invites are printed.  A little bit of shopping has been done...but still have lots to do as soon as we have the money together.  More plans will be made over the next little over a month, and cake and mints will be made in my humble kitchen.

Exciting times are certainly here!  Now you know what's been keeping me busy...not much extra computer time for me.  LOL  We will see if I can update at all before the wedding date gets here.  And yes...I realize I always have an excuse for not blogging lately!  *snicker*

A good weekend!

We had a good 4th of July weekend here on our hillbilly farm. We had some lazy times, and not so lazy times but all in all, it was fun!

The 4th saw us helping get some of Dad's Hay picked up out of his field, before rain came. It wasn't to hard, since it was only part of the field. With us all getting older, I think Dad is planning on doing small bits at a time, so it's not so hard to get done and into the barn. When we do a whole field at once it's a pain to get it all in the barn in one day.

That evening (of the 4th) Mom and Dad came over to our house for an evening of food and fun. We had supper together, then played games, then went out and sat in our front yard watching the neighbor's and people in the nearest town shot off their fireworks. It was actually a decent show, between the fireworks and the cats! LOL We have a kitten that was enjoying playing while we watched and the older cats hung around too...till it got dark enough and the fireworks started anyway.

Gotta love living on top of a hill...so we have a decent view to watch fireworks from! ;-))

It was an enjoyable evening and nice to spend time with my parents. We don't seem to do enough of that, even though we now live close to them. We keep busy and time runs away from us all I think! LOL


Last week, before Abbie went to visit other family, we made some egg rolls. I've made them by myself before, but it was sure nicer having help this time. They were good too! We froze most of them though, to be eaten over the next month or so with stir fry.

I like cooking by myself, some things...like today I am trying a new supper dish, guess I was in the mood to cook since I was here by myself without distractions...but some things is just more fun to do with company around to distract you from the boredom of doing the same thing over and over again. LOL

I do tend to get more "creative" when I'm alone in the house...which could be why I've not really been in the mood to "cook" or try new things lately...with Abbie being around...however since she is still gone I took advantage of my "wanting" to cook by opening pintrest and choosing a new dish to try.  LOL  Love having company...but also love my alone time!

I really need to make cheese...I've not been making it much lately, and GOT to get back to it.  Was going to this morning, but once I got some things done and had time to I wasn't really in the mood too.  *sigh*  LOL

I did however get a batch of my Grandma's Lime pickles started!  Dad planted a bunch of cucumbers this year and they are just starting to produce.  They are really GOOD this year too...nice and crisp and juicy!  Loving eating them raw...and will enjoy getting some canned up too.  I'm planning on making several batches of lime pickles...then making some more dill relish...then...we will see what we do.  I have a feeling, if they produce well, Dad will have them coming out his ears, with the number of plants he said he planted...but that just means we can eat bunches of them raw too, which will be wonderful!  I do LOVE cucumbers!

Before we know it the tomatoes will be starting...can't wait for them either and am hoping we can come up with a bunch of them too!  I'm almost out of salsa, so really need to be making a bunch of that this year...we may have to buy some tomatoes from someone else though for some of that, depending on what Mom and Dad's do.

Nothing major going on here, just the usual stuff...including making butter several times a week, for the freezer, daily use and my Mom when she needs more.  Love having that butter coming in, even if I don't always want to take the time to get it made.  LOL  Least I'll have it this winter, if the cows dry up, although I still have a ways to go to have enough for that.  :-))

Anyway, hope everyone had a good holiday weekend!  Better get off here and finish supper!  ;-))

Family, Food and Fun!

I've been (for the most part) enjoying having our niece living here! She enjoys a lot of the same things I do so we get along pretty good. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few times I've gotten a bit irritated...(remember I'm kinda hard to live with at times LOL) and I'm sure she can say the same, *giggle* but thats the way it goes when you are living with someone, no matter who it is. We still love each other and as long as we are willing to talk about our problems...things will be just fine!

Abbie is one of the only people (women anyway) who I can stand to be in the kitchen with! My Mom is probably about the only other one LOL. I've always prefered to cook on my own for the most part...not that I don't like having help on the BIG family meals, but for the most part I'm happy being alone with my cooking. In fact, I at times prefer to have the whole house to myself...not just my kitchen. DH doesn't bother me, although I tend to get more motivated to cook if he is outside  busy with his own thing, but that's just probably cause I know he is busy so I should be too...and if he is being lazy, we can be lazy together. *giggle*

Anyway, I'm not really compatible in the kitchen with most people, but Abbie and I are doing quite well together, even having FUN being in the kitchen together at times! We don't even have to be working on the same thing and still haven't gotten in each others way...least so far...even though the kitchen isn't real huge. (Well...she didn't get in mine anyway...don't know if I got in hers. LOL) That's a big surprise actually to me, cause although I know we've cooked together before...and been around each other, it's not something we've done a LOT of...so I didn't know how it would be with her living here, knowing how I tend to have "loner" days where I want that alone time.

I have to say it's almost like having a daughter come home, cause we finish each others sentences...can interpret each others sign language when one of us can't think of the word we are looking for...and have a lot of fun together when we are both feeling good. Seriously we can have a blast together at times...and talk and talk and talk. Course, it's not a never ending chat fest...we both like our quiet times...but when we ARE in a talkative mood look out! LOL We both can be shy...but not with each other. It's so GOOD to be an AUNT sometimes!! ;-))

The other day Abbie wanted to make homemade Runza's. In Nebraska there is a fast food resturant that serves Runza's that Abbie and DH LOVED. I've never been fond of them cause I didn't like the cabbage in them. However, knowing how they both liked them, I agreed to get out some hamburger (which I'm a little stingy with...one package, which is two pounds, of beef and one package of deer burger a week is all I've been allowing...cause I wanted it to last till we butcher again if possible since the store bought burger just isn't agreeing with me to well.) Abbie mixed up the dough recipe I pulled out that I usually use for dinner rolls...I got it from my Aunt Betty, and it's the BEST!...then fried up the meat mixture for the middle. She even made a pan of it especially for me, without cabbage!

While we need practice rolling them and getting them the right size, they really turned out YUMMY! We are for SURE going to have to make them again sometime...maybe enough to freeze some, for easy lunches. DH and Abbie said they were pretty close to the "real" thing...and I thought they were WAY better, cause mine didn't have that nasty cabbage that I didn't like in the "real" ones in Nebraska. LOL

The photo above was an after thought...I stole Abbie's plate, after she got done taking a photo to send to her fiance, and snapped my own photo of it, so I could share our success story with making Runza's. (although it was mostly Abbie's success story...I just supplied the dough recipe and a little help with rolling them...oh and my companionship for the afternoon of baking.  LOL)  Needless to say, I really can't wait to have them again...cause they really ARE good!  :-))

It's been a hotter week here...a little rain, not as much as "they" were saying we might get, but that figures.  LOL  It's been peaceful for the most part.  Abbie's been working on a late garden...she likes to garden, silly girl... she hasn't done it for a while, so doesn't know if it will produce anything, but least she can get her feet wet (or muddy) this summer and see how it goes. I finally got some salve made, and more started...and need to get back to making soap, but that's for another week I guess cause this week is almost gone.  Strawberry season is finally over...next week we may get a few black raspberries (not enough, thanks to the hail storm we had a few weeks ago *cry*) but least we are done with the first wave of fruit for this year!  Hubby has been running around doing his own thing...I never can remember all he's doing during the week.  All in all I'd have to say it's been a pretty good week.

Praise God for the wonderful gifts of love, family, and food God has blessed us with this week!  :-))

Miracle's Happen!

A butterfly I captured with my camera while out butterfly hunting today!!

Yes, miracle's really DO happen!

It's been several years since I've gone out butterfly hunting. With our move, I fought poison ivy the first summer...so didn't venture out to far, even once I (FINALLY) got rid of it. I DIDN'T want to catch it again. I still have that problem...but am trying to stay away from the worst places it's growing.

Also...last summer my foot was bothering me so much I tried to rest it as much as I could. I figured out that even just walking on the uneven ground could cause a bad flair up...so I stopped walking around outside lots, when I had free time. Pain and I don't do well together.

The miracle I'm talking about is, after a year of flair ups...and using special shoe inserts for plantar fascitiis, not to mention the special brace I bought to wear at night (WHAT A PAIN THAT WAS...sleeping happened, just not as well as usual. I'm one who hates to wear socks to bed, so a big bulky brace was NOT my cup of tea LOL) as well as foot stretches with and without an elastic band a friend of mine sent me (THANKS DJ!) my foot pain seems to have slowed WAY down! I'm still skeptical that it's "gone" but...we will see how things go through canning season. If it doesn't flair back up by the time THAT'S over...maybe...I will go out on a limb and say it's better! LOL

Nothing seemed to totally help...I'm not for SURE what finally got me over the major pain. The shoe inserts helped a little, but not a lot...the brace did help some, but didn't stop the flair ups, and major pain. The stretching helped...but still had lots of pain with it. I rested it a lot this winter and spring...so not sure if that finally helped...or if my herbal salve worked.

I did start rubbing some of my herbal salve into my feet 2-3 weeks before I finally noticed that my foot pain was better, (NOT to see if it would work...but for a different reason) so I'm wondering if THAT did it...but can't really say for sure, and with summer being here and it being our busy season, i'm afraid to check it out and stop using it, to see if it comes back. So...till canning season is over, I'll be doing what I can to keep it in check...including using my herbal salve on my feet everyday!


Another butterfly I caught with my camera while it was sitting on a tree.
I am going to hopefully (when I have time and remember to) start going out walking around, looking for butterflies though...unless I notice my foot pain coming back again, cause it's so fun to capture them with my camera...and I really need the exercise, not to mention the practice at taking their photos cause I'm so rusty now with my camera. LOL

I've been so THRILLED the last 2-3 weeks, since I first realized I wasn't having so much heel pain, and our last shopping trip was so much nicer, cause I could still WALK by the time we got home!  I almost danced into the house, cause of the relief of no heel pain, even if I was still kinda tired after the long day out and about.  There has been several times over the last few weeks that I've not been able to stop myself from chattering with excitement about my lack of heel pain to anyone who happened to be around me.  You have NO IDEA how WONDERFUL it feels, unless you TO, have had to deal with this pain.  Yes, I still have problems...but least I can walk now!  *knock on wood*  I'm still being pretty careful...but will hopefully stop being so careful as time goes by.


A cicada I saw on one of our apple trees while butterfly hunting.
Needless to say, with less pain in my heel, I'm going to enjoy the beauty around us just a tad bit more! Pain dulls everything as I'm sure most of you know. If I'm on my feet a lot, I can still have foot pain...just not (so far...for the past few weeks) that horrible pain I was having a lot of over the last year. I'm so thankful to God for the relief! Praise Yahweh for my own personal miracle, even if it comes back, the break has been WONDERFUL!!

Where has the time gone?

Wow...over three weeks since I posted...time just flew this month! We have had a lot of changes at our house too, which accounts for time getting away from me.

Plus...it's strawberry season now!!!! Yippee, may be busy the next couple weeks playing with strawberries, least till the money I saved for strawberry season runs out! LOL Trying strawberries on Anglefood cake with a strawberry glaze (above)...there is shortcake and coffee cake, not to mention making fruit leather, jam and syrup! Lots to do, and little time to do it in, it seems!

After our sister-in-laws funeral, our niece came home with us for a few days to relax at our farm...out of the noisy city. She enjoyed the peacefullness while she got through the first few days of missing her Mom. Then...after she left, I ended up getting sick! IN MAY! Thats just NOT right! LOL I've been fighting that ever since...although the worst of it was over after a few days. The cough held on though...not to mention the stuffy nose. *sigh* It's slowly getting better now...I think. *roll eyes*

I celebrated my 44th birthday...and had a good day with my wonderful hubby and family in there somewhere...

...then we found out our niece's fiance lost his job and found another one but he had to go to school for three weeks for it, so we offered our guest room to them while they are getting back on their feet...so had to rush around getting things moved, so they had a little more room...and getting her moved in. She had a friend help with the move, so her friend and her two kids were here for a week once we got the move over with, and between all that and me still not feeling real great, I didn't find time to even WANT to post here! LOL

Hopefully things will get back to normal now (or a new normal since we will have someone else living here now for at little while) and I can get back to posting a little more, but...since it seems I post less and less instead of more, I wouldn't hold my breath! LOL

Gotta get off here and make lunch...strawberries being a part of it I think!  LOL  Have a great weekend!  :-))

Barn Raisings

Last week, hubby went and helped our Amish friends/neighbors with a couple barn raising's. The first one was just over the hill from us, so I was able to go stand in our garden, and get a photo of the men getting the roof on.

 I'd LOVED to have gotten a bunch of photos AT the barn raising itself of course...but do like to abide by the Amish wishes of no photos as much as possible. I figured this would be ok, since you couldn't see anyone's face well enough to know who they were.

Hubby had a LOT of fun with his Amish friends, and enjoyed fried chicken, mashed potatoes and lots of other sides and deserts for Lunch.  I didn't go to either of them, being the shy person that I am, there were just to many people there for my comfort...but it would have been interesting I'm sure.  I'm glad hubby was able to go...he came home with lots of stories to tell, and hasn't stopped talking about all the fun he had.  LOL

Updates

When I took this photo a day or two ago, we didn't know if the birds were moving in or not, cause while we had seen some, we hadn't seen them flying in with nesting materials.  However today, DH did finally see some flying in with grass or something so we think at least some of the apartments will have birds living in them this year!!!  Loving my new bird house!

I was thinking about going to KC today, since hubby had to take some Amish friends down there, so I could see our niece and sister-in-law.  However, my niece decided she needed a break from the rat race she's been running and from the city, so she came up to us this weekend. It's been so good to enjoy the day with her...and she cooked supper for the most part, so I didn't have to!  Gotta LOVE that!  LOL

 Her Mom is not doing well which in turn is making our niece a bit upset (naturally) so hopefully a day or two in the country with her Auntie (and Uncle) will help her deal with the stress better and give her the break she needed.

Her Mom just went into a nursing home...which is why she was able to get away as she was caring for her at home till she went into the hospital again. However with the health problems our niece has (bad back...plus other things), it's almost impossible for her to care for her Mom now that she's gotten so she can't walk.

The end is near for Kathie, our sister-in-law.  She has gone down hill fast, which I'm not really surprised at, cause I figured she had had ALS for a while now...just hadn't had it diagnosed, since she hadn't been to a doctor.  She is on hospice now...and while they haven't given a time frame, Abbie, our niece said they are saying it will be "quick" now.

Abbie is just hoping her Mom lives till the first of May at least...so Abbie's birthday (which is the 30th of April) isn't ruined.  I'm hoping she lasts through next week, cause we have a LOT going on around here next week (two barn raising's for our Amish neighbors and a trip to KC with my parents).  But...God will have it happen, in HIS time.

Course, who knows...maybe she will surprise everyone and hold on for a while longer!  It's happened before, I've heard.  I just know she is having trouble breathing at times and if that goes...she will.  :(

Enough of the bad news...our niece is here so I'm going to go enjoy her company!

I'm just so glad we are close enough to be here for her, in this sad time in her life.  While I know an Auntie's love can never take the place of a Mamma's, and I'd never DREAM of trying, I do hope I can help her through the pain and stress of loosing her Mom at least a little.  I LOVE being an Aunt...since I wasn't blessed enough to be a Mom!  Love all our nieces and nephews...but the few who keep in touch are in my heart the most!!

Prayers for strength for our niece...and mercy for her Mom...would sure be appreciated. God's WILL be done!  :-))

Love this time of year!

When I got up a couple mornings ago, I found these flowers on my desk. Hubby had gone out and picked some for me for a sweet surprise. Love it when he picks me flowers, he IS a sweetie!!

The daffodils we planted up against the west side of our house, haven't done well this year...but we still have some out by the rail fence!! Hopefully they don't give up on us, cause I do love my daffies...probably cause I'm a bit daffy! *giggle*

Sure wish I had a green thumb instead of a black one, then the darn flowers would stop dying off on me!!  *roll eyes*


We also see lots of "pink" spots when we are looking out into the timber on our 20 acres...which is so cool! Love the red bud trees that grow wild here in Missouri! There weren't near as many of them in Nebraska. I'd sure like to get one planted in our yard though...so I had one closer. Maybe one of these years we can. LOL

 Least we have quite a few of the pretty red buds on our land! Next thing we know, the trees will be turning green...now that the pink has shown up! I know some of the trees in the orchard are getting leaves...but mostly in the timber they haven't yet, but it won't be long before they will!

Love it when my world turns green.  It's one of my favorite times of the year...with Fall a close 2nd...until Fall gets here, then I sometimes think that spring is a close 2nd to fall.  *giggle*  Guess that tells you how close my love for those two seasons are.  ;-))

Hope everyone is enjoying the season YOU are in!

Let the Yummy season begin!!

Hubby just picked the first bunch of asparagus for this season from our asparagus patch this morning!!!  I do love this stuff, and am looking forward to eating it more for this next little while!!

Let the Yummy season begin...next thing we know it will be berry season, which I'm REALLY looking forward to, too!!  ;-))

April Showers...

Nothing major going on here at this hillbilly farm...just enjoying seeing the green popping out all over!! Today is a rainy day here with several of those April showers they talk about that are suppose to bring May flowers!

We haven't done anything news worthy around here...or maybe it's just that I've lost my blogging edge, I don't know. Course, I also haven't taken to many photos either which sometimes helps me actually blog about something, even if it's boring. In fact, these peacock feathers are the only thing I've snapped a photo of in the last week or more. *sigh* Yep...really need to get motivated a little better than I have been, cause I always got such enjoyment out of taking photos. Oh well...guess if I'm happy it doesn't matter so much what I do to get that way, just that I am huh. :-))

The willow trees are finally starting to get leaves here, which always seem to be about the first, so the rest of the trees should be following in their footsteps soon hopefully. It's actually been almost hot the last few days, although is suppose to cool back off for this next week.

The biggest thing that's happened around here is we finally got our new water heater installed. (I know...big deal huh! *giggle*)

I could tell it was dying last summer, least that's what I figured was going on with it. So...it wasn't a huge surprise when the wood furnace went out one night this winter and we didn't have any hot water the next morning. I knew exactly what had happened, and thankfully had a little money saved towards getting a new one. Sadly, with the extra pipes hooking it up to the wood furnace, so the furnace could heat our water when it was on, we had to pay someone else to come install it. Yikes...that wasn't cheep...but they hooked it up so that next time hopefully it won't be quite as hard to get it switched. Whoever installed the furnace and water heater in this house sure had it set up strangely...making it harder for just anyone to work on it.

Least we finally got it installed yesterday, so now we don't HAVE to keep the wood furnace running. Depending on the direction of the wind, we were having trouble having the windows of the house opened, cause I didn't want the smoke of the furnace coming inside (since smoke bothers my nose to much) and with spring here it's NICE having the windows open.

Other than that...it's pretty much been the same old thing around here, Galen keeps busy outside or with the neighbors, and I keep busy with whatever I am doing inside...butter, ghee, cheese, cooking, cleaning or if I'd ever get around to it (which I haven't much), playing in my soap room.  As usual, there's so much to do...and so little time.  Time flies by, the week is over before I know it, and another started.  Who knew I'd ever get to where I didn't think about blogging for over a week...*sigh*  Guess thats probably a good thing, since I don't seem to have any interesting stories to tell lately.  LOL

Hope everyone is enjoying spring...or fall for those friends of mine who live "down under" as they say here.  I myself am really enjoying the change in color...the brown's turning to greens are so soothing on my eyes!  :-))

A Neighbor's Gift

For years I've wanted one of those Martin houses that I saw a lot of, as we drove by Amish houses...yes you see them elsewhere, but it seems almost all the Amish have at least one. I've always thought of them as bird apartments...but they always looked so cool I wanted one (or dare I say some?!  TEE HEE) of my own.

This winter, DH told me that one of our neighbor's was making one for himself...and hubby also let slip that the neighbor was making one for me too!! Ahhh...can we say NICE!! Both hubby for letting the neighbor know I'd love one, and the neighbor for building it for me!!


I never knew that some of the houses came in four pieces...that were then put on the post, but attached so they can be lowered to be cleaned. I'm not sure how that all works, cause I didn't actually go out and watch them put it up...that's just what hubby told me. I did manage to snap a photo of the pieces on the ground, while the guys were busy elsewhere...but had to go back inside and finish what I was doing, so didn't watch when they came back to put them up.

I guess it's possible (according to what our neighbor said) that they won't get birds in them this year...but hopefully next year they will be found and used!

Anyway, hubby said our neighbor made it for my birthday...and yes this is EARLY, but Martin's have been sighted, so they wanted to get it up.  

We sure have been blessed with wonderful neighbors in this move!!  The BEST ones we've ever had...and we actually have had a few good ones before.  Just not as MANY of them!  :-))

Maybe it's the quality of neighbors that I'm so enjoying.  We've not had to many neighbors who we KNEW we could count on if we NEEDED  help.  We had one (maybe two at the end) neighbors in Nebraska I'd have felt somewhat comfortable calling on, had I needed anything when hubby was gone, and even then I think I'd have been more comfortable calling hubbies best friend for help and he lived a few miles away at the time.  But here, there is a whole community of people I'd go to for help, not to mention my own family...so we truly have been blessed in this move, even if we do still miss having hubbies best friend closer.

So anyway...sorry, I kinda went off on a tangent a bit there...back to the bird apartment; now I have to work on getting a comfy bench for the back yard, so I can enjoy the warm sunshine from time to time, and watch the birds flying in and out of their new home!!   *sigh*  Yep...there is ALWAYS something I "need".  *giggle*  Maybe I'll just put one of our lounge chairs back here...even though it would be more of a pain to move it, when mowing.  We will see what happens, as spring and summer progress.  :-))

Ohhh....I almost forgot, in all the excitement we've had here the past day or two...I'm pretty sure I heard the frogs a night or two ago. (If you don't know...I LOVE the sound of the frogs in the spring.) They are harder to hear here cause the creek is further from the house.  We may still have cool nights...and even some cooler days, but least spring is finally showing it's face here and there!  Yippee!!!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

A year or two before we moved to Missouri, I made my first homemade Vanilla Extract out of Vanilla Beans and Vodka. I read about doing it here...although there are LOTS Of places to tell you how online.

After giving my Mom some, and using lots over the last few years, I finally started my 2nd batch a month or so ago.  It has to sit and "brew" a while, so I wanted to get some started, even though I still have a quart jar of my first extract left. (The jar on the right is the old...the new is in the half gallon jar on the left.)

It's sitting in my dark pantry, working and I'm sure it will be ready by the time I need it, once I've finished the last of that first batch.

I'm not real fond of a strong vanilla taste, but do use vanilla in a lot of my baking...It's good in small quantities...although DH would LOVE to have more of it in some things, cause he likes the vanilla flavor.  LOL

The beans may not be real cheap to buy....but neither is the "real" vanilla extract, and I never wanted to get the imitation stuff.  Least it lasts a LONG time...and I do like the satisfaction of making my own.

Try some...you just might find out you prefer it over what you buy too!!  :-))

In other news...I'm feeling so much better this week, than I did last!  So glad to be pretty much over the cold, with just an occasional runny or stuffy nose to remind me of it.  Least I'm able to work in the kitchen again, without having to stop every little bit!  We will see if I can get my gumption together enough to make my brother those cinnamon rolls he requested.

Oh yeah...and those nice warm temps we had last week...not so warm now.  We had snow flurries again today, thankfully it didn't really amount to much.  Just irritating, when it's SUPPOSE to be spring!  LOL  Least it's not May, I'd be really upset to get snow in May two years in a row!  ;-))

Now...get off your computer and try making your own vanilla extract, if you haven't already!  I've gotta get off here, it's past my bedtime!  LOL

Just when I thought I was going to make it...

...through the winter season without getting sick, a bad cold hit me. Ugg...I so HATE being sick! LOL

And when it's a head cold that takes me down, even if I don't feel horrible, I have a problem, cause I'm a snot factory (Sorry, I know...TMI!!) and I have to blow my nose ever other second almost, or I'm dripping everywhere.

 The first day I didn't feel so bad, except for the drippy nose and a bit of sinus pressure...but the 2nd and 3rd days weren't so fun, not only did I have breathing difficulty and the snot factory problem, but my face and head hurt and I don't deal with pain well. Poor hubby hates it when I get sick, cause in this relationship, I'm the one who is the big baby when sick, not him. *giggle*

Needless to say this week hasn't been MY week...while I may not be the healthiest person on the planet, and fight being tired a lot, at least I'm able to do SOMETHING around the house, like cooking and cleaning here and there, but this week not much has gotten done. I did finally make butter and load the dishwasher today...and will make an easy supper...but so much else needs done it's sad. LOL

 Least I am finally on the mend, and maybe will be able to start sleeping a little better again. I've also been (mostly) able to breath and been able to part with my box of Puffs tissue's for short periods of time...so I'm happy about THAT!!

I will just try to be thankful that even though I didn't fight off all the germs that came my way this winter, I only went under the once...cause last winter I was sick at LEAST three times, which was unusual for me, and I hope it stays unusual. I prefer to be able to say I didn't get sick at all over the winter...but once is better than three times! LOL


Anyway, I stole these two photos from my Dad's smugmug, since I haven't used my camera in the past few days...and didn't want to take the time to now, since he had perfectly good photos I could use on HIS site. *giggle* This is my new purse. I LOVE a big purse, cause then I have room to stick my big camera down in it, if I don't want to carry my camera bag...and hate buying purses anymore, cause I'm kinda picky.

Ok, I'm REALLY picky! Hush, those of you who know me! *giggle*

Anyway, I really like a denim purse, especially blue denim...so since the last purse my Mom made me was dying...the purse was actually ok, but the zipper was dying on it (and actually totally died just before Mom got this one done)...I bought some denim for a new one.  I loved my last one so much, with all the pockets on the front, that Mom made this one pretty much like it, only added some extra fancy embroidery designs to it.

Dad had to help me get the zipper pulls on it, cause my fingers weren't working that day...they don't usually work with small things like that...but it's all snazzy now, with pretty zipper pulls and embroidery all over it!

I'm loving it!!!  It's a pain to make I guess...least up by the handles, but I'm thrilled that Mom managed to get it figured out and I have a pretty new purse to haul around all the junk I like to haul around when I go somewhere.  It's so much nicer than the cheap junk I would buy in the store's I usually shop at, and lasts so much better too!

Thanks so much Mom (and Dad)!!  I LOVE it!

Now I better get off here.  Suppertime is coming up soon, and I need to make sure I have everything upstairs that I need to make it.  Hopefully I'll finish my "recovery" this weekend, so I can actually do some work next week!  LOL  My brother wanted some of my cinnamon rolls this week, but with not feeling well I had to put him off...maybe I can manage them next week, between some other baking I need to do.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!  :-))

Nap Time

The above photo was taken with my hubbies phone...cause thats what was handy, so it's not real wonderful...but thats ok. LOL I just wanted to get a photo of hubby napping, with Peaches.

We've been busy at times....and not so busy at others the last couple weeks here. Nothing of major interest going on, least that I can share with photos...so I haven't blogged. That, and I've been kinda not spending all that much time with my camera anyway lately, or on the computer for that mater.

Winter is still hanging on...it warmed up and the snow melted, but then we get another round of snow this weekend along with the well below 0 temps, that I'm SO TIRED OF!! Least we didn't get as much snow as they were calling for...for THAT I'm very Thankful!

Still...it's white outside again, and as pretty as that can be, I'm so ready for the white to be GONE....and hopefully start seeing Green taking over...soon! I sure won't hold my breath though, with how COLD this winter has been. My luck winter will hang on forever. LOL

Spring can't come soon enough!  This winter sure has brought to mind a photo I saw one time of a mini snowman laying on a deck, with a knife plunged into it and the words DIE, WINTER, DIE! on the photo!  I'm feeling kinda like I need to do and say THAT myself this year!  *giggle*

Oh to see the beautiful green of spring again! Hear the frogs singing their spring song...feel the warm sun on my skin, not to mention smelling the earth as it warms up releasing it's earthy aroma.

Yep...I'm sure ready for spring...and feel like taking a nap until it finally arrives because I'm so tired of my world being blanketed in white and everything frozen with the extreme cold temps.  

If ONLY winter would DIE!!!