Tea Kettles and Lavendar

Tomorrow will be a busy day here at my home. Lots of folks are coming by for my annual Independence Day Cookout. Here is this year's menu:

Actually, its just like most of you will be having tomorrow--an All-American Cookout with all the fixin's! However, first and foremost in the day will be prayers of thanksgiving to God for the freedoms we are given each and every day. Many lives were lost, many others dedicated to insuring our freedom, and I am ever so thankful for this. Our God is faithful, and we must be also.

May you and your family and loved ones have a most blessed and safe Independence Day this year!

Thinking about the Fall Garden

But, in order to have a Fall garden, some things should be done now- planning, ordering seed, planting seeds to transplant into the garden when it is time, adding compost or any other needed soil builders, etc.

In my area, July 1 was the suggested date for planting tomato, pepper, and eggplant seed. I'm a few days behind schedule, mainly because I'm trying to keep up with harvesting the tomatoes that are ripening like crazy right now!

Most of the Fall planting for my area comes a little later, since July and August are always HOT

. The bulk of planting comes from September to November. But, if I don't at least make a plan now and make sure I have seeds ready, I may miss my planting date when it arrives.

Many of the same vegetables that grow in the Spring garden can be replanted for Fall, they like the cool weather and will do well if they have time to mature before a frost gets them. You can probably get a list of what grows well in your area in the Fall either online, from a local nursery, or from your County Extension Agent.

Zone 3 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 4 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 5 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 6 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 7 - Oct 15th - Nov 15th
Zone 8 - Oct 30th - Nov 30th
Zone 9 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 10 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 11 - Frost Free

With that information you can see how long it takes a particular crop to mature and then count backwards to get an estimated planting date. Of course, it all depends on the weather, and it is good to give your plants at least a week or two of a head-start if your area often has early frosts. I live in Zone 8, and sometimes we don't even have a frost until close to Thanksgiving. Fall is a great time for growing here.

Please share what you grow in your Fall garden and any tips you have. Those of you who live in colder climates, please share your wisdom, as this Texas gardener has never had to garden where it really gets cold

Hope you have a great holiday weekend, and maybe next week, spend some time planning (and perhaps planting) for the Fall garden!

Happy July 4th everyone!!!!

It's Official

Happy 4th

I would like to wish you all a happy 4th and for those that will have bbq and have family and friends over have a great day of fellowship.

Have a happy weekend for those on the road drive careful.. There are a lot of folks on the road this weekend..

My plans I'm having my brother and family and my parents? we are having a bbq with lots of outside games with prizes.It will be a good day with fellowship..

Up date on Thecfarm ~

Good morning from another rainy day in Maine the start of July isn't so good.. Just about he whole month of June it rained. Farmers are having a hard time with crops . The fields are filled with water tractors can't get on its a mess. We have such a short growing season too begin with. The hay crop some don't even have first crop in yet do to rain.

Here at the farm My garden not doing so good have replanted cucumbers again. Also have pumpkins -squash-cukes started over in the greenhouse.. I have to grow them enough so the rain and beetles do destroy them.

Ray has put new fencing up for the goats Mike and Blarney are doing just fine. Mike just got banded a few days ago he is doing fine. And Blarney lost his band a few days ago and he is doing great.

Ive been keeping myself busy trying to mow and garden and yard work between rain .. I've also doing some craft work.

Today I have a busy day we are having my brother and family and maybe my parents over for a bbq tomorrow. I have baking and cleaning to do. I have my first load of laundry in the washer and the dishwasher is humming away.

I would like to wish every one a Happy 4th and drive safely if your on the road and enjoy the week with family and friends all that fellowship is good..

Goats.. HELP PLEASE

When Ike was so sick with pneumonia I brought him and Mike in the basement we put down carpet and hay and clean it twice a day it didn't smell bad..But now it smells terrible.. The floor is concrete and there was some boards where we fenced them in..

I have bleached with a bush and I've also used pine sol and it still smells..Today I've opened up the windows.. I have put baking soda down on the floor and left it now for many days..

We have had rain for many days and its damp.. could that bring the smell out??? I'm lost..

Simple Hospitality......It really can be simple!!

I have been reading the book written by Jane Jarrell, titled, "Simple Hospitality". I thought I might share a little of it with you.

I really enjoyed reading this one thing that she wrote about using the letters that spell out the word "hospitality". So today we look at the H.

Why does one go to the hospital? To visit, maybe, or to welcome a new person into the world. But oftentimes it's because our bodies are broken. A hospital can be a place to go for healing and repair.

So the word hospitable is taken from the word hospital, which means a charitable institution, a repair shop, a hospice, or a shelter. Hospitality is a shelter for the soul, healing for the spirit. So when we open our home in the true spirit of hospitality or when we bring our gifts of hospitality outside of our homes, we are offering hospitality!!

The Bible states it this way: Romans 12:9-13, "Let love be without dissimulation.....v10, Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;. .vs12, Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; vs13, Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality."

Some may think focusing on hospitality is frivolous or a waste of time. But in reality it is nothing less than obeying God's clear command in Scripture. Hospitality was not Martha Stewart's invention; it was God's!! Romans 12 paints an incredible picture of what it means to truly give our lives to God......In these selfless acts, we serve not only those in need but Christ Himself. Hospitality is obeying God by cheerfully serving others.

If we don't approach hospitality simply, most of us won't do it at all. When we exchange the harried hoopla for the heartfelt, everyone is blessed. Can we be comfortable when everything is not perfect, or do we always need to put on a show for people? As one lady states "I don't want to buy your house, I just want to visit." Simplicity brings us closer to having authentic relationships. Our focus is on our guests, not on the "stuff" that surrounds us.

Hospitality involves prayer. Ask God to show you who and how to show hospitality to. God will show you the when, the how, and what that someone might need. I may not know what a person needs at the time but God knows!! You should always ask God for His blessing on the gathering you are about to have with someone, no matter how small or large the number will be.

Intimacy is sharing who you are and what you are to others. You need this type of relationship with your husband, your family and your friends, but nurturing genuine intimacy takes time and effort.

Cell phones and emails are nice, but we need to take time to sit quietly with a friend sometimes. You never know where they are at or what they may need.. Time plus realness plus genuine caring equals intimacy.

Are you ready to take your kindness on the road? Do you have a plan or list of ideas that will work in a hurry?

Keep a few recipes with the ingredients on hand so that you can prepare a meal or a welcoming treat for someone in need.

There is something extra-special about busy people who take the time to reach out and help others.

We all have our own gifts, but what about those who are known for the hospitality? They also need a "dose" of hospitality sometimes. They need to be acknowledged for their kindness, appreciated for the efforts and recipients of the hospitality of others.

Most of us are "takers' by nature and unless we make a conscious effort, we’ll always take and forget to give back. Those who are more "givers", either by nature or intent, often get taken for granted.

Hospitality is a lifestyle, a ministry lifestyle. God weaves it into our hearts. We all need each other to make the body of Christ its best. You are making the commitment to a lifestyle of opening up your heart to others on a regular basis.

You will need to start small, perhaps by committing to one act of hospitality each month. Gradually you will see how easy it is and move towards once a week and before you know it you will be asking God to show you someone in need every day!!

Take time to ask God to show you how He might use you today, this week or this month. You are allowing God to work through you and when He is working, we cannot fail.

When looking for ideas for hospitality, scan your favorite magazines, talk with your friends or keep a simple notebook or card file with your favorite recipes, holiday decorating ideas, party themes, or anything else that spurs your hospitality thinking. Just keep it simple, and honest. Let God's love show through you and that will be all that you need to make any time a good time to visit.

We are all short on time for the things that we want to do or need to do. That is why hospitality is such a valuable gift to others. It means we gave them our most precious resource: our time.

Think of things to do for hospitality for others when you are doing for your family. Double a casserole for dinner one night and freeze the one for a family that may be in need, or a mother who may be sick at the time.

When baking cookies for your family, bake a few more to brighten someone's day. Out buying groceries? Cut back on one thing or two for snacks and make up a meal for a new mom.

If your time is limited, begin your quest to hospitality with small things and think about other ways that you will want to show it when your time allows for it.

To show hospitality to others, you must first love yourself so that you are capable of loving others. This means taking care of yourself so that you are able to take care of others. When we've taken the time to put our own hearts in order, we are freed to reach beyond ourselves to meet others where they are.

Cured

Yeah for duct tape!

Amazingly as the main plantars wart disappeared three little ones emerged right beside it. The freeze kit along with more duct tape took care of those very quickly as compared to the old, well-established original. She's very happy and pain free, and has the scar to prove she used to have a huge plantars wart.

An interesting side note: Every time I post anything about the wart I get a drove of new readers. I have this gadget on this blog that tells me who reads and approximately where they live and thus I can guess who they might be. (Hi Katie, Tina, Sharon, Melissa, Dad, Julie, Yvonne and everybody else...

) It tells me what words people googled that led them to my blog. The two most often googled words that led random people here are: Plantars Warts and African Tumbu Fly! Unfortunately for the random readers they aren't finding a lot of help here, but I will vouch for duct tape on the wart.

The gadget also tells me if you came to my blog via some other site. I know when Jason visits because he always links from his blog, etc... it's fun. It adds interest and it lets me know if I am actually communicating with friends and not just journaling life for myself ( which was the original intent).

The gadget also taught me a few things. I learned to use * in words I don't want googled. I learned not to use first and last and town names all together. Once someone googled a friend's name and town and it led them to my site. I was beside myself. Turns out this friend wrote a comment on my blog listing the town she lives in and her email address includes her full name. Whew! At least I wasn't at fault for that. Another time someone googled pr*tty girls and they landed on my site. They did not find what they were looking for, but I learned something valuable and now I use * often. I'm all for safety.

This gadget can be wrong sometimes about where a reader lives. In fact it lists me as living in city that isn't very close to here. It lists the server city, actually, and our server is from out of town. All my friends who use the same server as me are pretty anonymous. I can't tell which of my 6 friends who uses the server is reading. Sometimes it will tell me 8 people from this server visited, but it's a guess as to who they might be.

Sometimes it drives me crazy. Pray tell - who are you that visits from Denver? And Poland and Spain?

Well, back to business. The cherry pitter is calling my name.

I suppose you all noticed I had a guest editor yesterday. She was a really good helper. She did laundry, baked all kinds of goods, washed a ton of dishes, watched my canner, practiced flute, fed the animals, and took care of the garbage... but was looking for something fun to do...

Dogs and Burgers Cupcakes info ~ recipe and picture

now this has to be the cutest cupcake I've ever seen with so much detail.. I wish I didn't have dial up..

No BBQ is complete without hot dogs and burgers. No grilling necessary!

Watch a step-by-step video demonstration of this recipe.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	Hamburger Cupcakes
	2 vanilla wafer cookies
	1 Keebler Grasshopper cookie
	Yellow and red icing in tubes
	Green tinted coconut
	Slices of green gumdrop (optional)
	Orange juice or lemonade concentrate
	Sesame seeds
	1 baked cupcake
	White icing
	Multicolored nonpareils
	Hot Dog Cupcakes
	1 circus peanut
	1 caramel square
	Yellow icing in a tube
	Green tinted coconut
	Cut-up green gumdrop (optional)
	Orange juice or lemonade concentrate
	1 baked cupcake
	White icing

1. For Hamburger: To build the hamburger, start with an upside-down vanilla wafer. Add a dab of icing to attach the Grasshopper cookie, then a squirt of yellow icing, a squirt of red icing, a sprinkle of tinted coconut, and 2 thin slices of a green gumdrop for pickles (optional).

2. Top with the second vanilla wafer cookie, right side up (glue on with icing if needed). Rub the top "bun" with juice concentrate, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Frost the cupcake with white icing, place the "burger" on top, and sprinkle on nonpareils.

3. For Hotdog: For the bun, cut a wedge in the circus peanut. If the caramel is soft, roll it into a hot dog shape. If it's hard, first soften it in your hand or in a microwave for a few seconds.

4. Caution: the caramel can get hot! Place the "hot dog" in the bun and squirt on a squiggly line of yellow icing.

5. Garnish with green gumdrop "relish," if you wish. Frost the cupcake with white icing, place the hot dog on top, and sprinkle on nonpareils.

Tea Kettles and Lavendar

Happy 4th of July 2009!

Thinking about the Fall Garden

Happy July 4th everyone!!!!

It's Official

Happy 4th

Up date on Thecfarm ~

Goats.. HELP PLEASE

Simple Hospitality......It really can be simple!!

Cured

Dogs and Burgers Cupcakes info ~ recipe and picture

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

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