Posted in On the Homestead

 Today and everyday!

Good Friday afternoon Friends and Family~

I pray this day finds you all well and healthy. We are doing well today but some of us are not so healthy. This has been a *germy* week around our house. There is a nasty cold going around and it all of the kids have it.

DD (18) picked it up from the camp she is working at. She said that there were A LOT of sick staff there last week. Some so sick that they couldn't get out of bed. She just managed to to get the sore throat and cold symptoms from it. She was able to keep going the rest of week with it and did a good job of not complaining.

The other 2 kids have had a harder time with it. Dd (15) has been really tired and just wore out from it. DS (10) had a really bad night of it last night with his asthma. All head colds always end up in his chest and it just brings on the asthma.I took him to the Dr. this morning and they gave him some antibiotics for it. Prayerfully he will be better soon as well as DD (15).

Hubby is off today. A good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It means less money for next weeks paycheck, but more time with his family. I'll take the time with us over the hours lost. GOD will take care of our needs and always does.

Hubby is also out visiting with some shut ins from our church. He took them some butter and milk. The lady he is visiting is about 80 years old and always had a cow when she was able to get out and about. He thought she might like some *old fashioned* milk and butter. Nothing is better than that in my opinion. 

I've had to change my plans for the 4th. We were to go to the beach tomorrow (a 4th tradition.) With 2 sick kids, we will have to forgo the beach for the weekend. We are blessed though in the fact that we can go when they are feeling better, seeing we live about an hour away. We'll just stay home and take care of some *undone business* around the house (there is ALWAYS UNDONE BUSINESS AROUND HERE.)

Here is what the rest of the day holds for me:

 ~Cook and debone chicken for Sundays dinner
~ Make a dessert for tomorrows dinner
~Make butter
~ Cut grass and weed eat
~ Make a Homemade pizza for dinner tonight
~ Then there are the *usual* days activities to deal with

Have a blessed day in THE LORD! Stay safe this July 4th weekend! Pray for our country and for our President's salvation!

Posted in On the Homestead

Good Thursday Morning Fellow Homesteaders! What a beautiful day it is today. Not too humid but still pretty hot. We will be in the lower 90's again today. Such is the season here in southeastern NC.

The harvest here at Piney Woods Homestead is in. The corn is all picked and put up. We ended up with about 200 ears. I left it all on the cob because the ears were so small. It is a far cry from the 500 we were expecting. It is on the other hand the most corn that has come out of our garden in at least 5 years. I am most thankful indeed. 

I am praying that the guy down the road from us will have a good supply of corn up for sale soon. I got about 3 bushels from him last year and it was really good corn. I will be thankful for whatever comes my way. A little or a lot.

The beans are also gone now. I ended up with about 10-12 gallon sized freezer bags. That is also the most our beans have produced in years. Again, I say," Thank you LORD!" for meeting our needs.

The tomatoes we planted have just started getting ripe enough to pick. I chose Romas this year because I wanted to learn to make my own spagetti sauce with them. Well, they seem to be getting black spot on them just as they are ripened. We have managed to pick a few, but not many. What we are getting will be used just to eat with dinners.Again, we have learned A LOT from this garden.

The taters are great! I picked some over a month ago and they are still on my cabinet with none rotting or sprouting. I am seeing how long they will last in my house without having to can them. Once I get a good idea of how long they wil last, we will dig the rest of them up and store them in our *tater box*.

Here is what didn't do so well at all;

Peanuts (A few plants came up, not enough though.)
Popcorn (a bust)
Cucumbers (enough to snack on as needed)

Our field corn that we wanted to use for chicken feed turned into squirrel feed! The little buggers dug up the kernels and ate them as the stalks were first coming up. We thought it was the birds at first. I found out it was the squirrels when I went down there after hearing crows in that area.( I thought they were the problem.) When I got there, I saw the little buggers feasting on the small stalks (seeds.) THAT little experience has also taught us a lot. Live and learn has become the motto for this Homestead. Experience really is the best teacher.

All in all I can say that this is the best garden that we have had in years. It has also taught us A LOT in the way of farming for a small family. Oh well, its now time to start thinking about the Fall garden.

Thank you LORD for meeting our needs and thank you LORD for all that YOU have taught us this summer season!

Blessings,

Posted in On the Homestead

I have never heard of this before. Sounds interesting.

http://patricelewis.blogspot.com/2009/06/dehorning-raven.html

Posted in On the Homestead

http://www.farmcollector.com/article-categories.aspx?taxonomyid=484-

There are quite a few interesting stories to read on this site. The majority of them are from the late 18th century and early 19th century. Classics to read with educational value.

Posted in On the Homestead

 Family & Friends! Here it is 6 in the morning and I have all of the windows and doors open. What a breath of fresh air. What a change from last week as well. I know that I will have to shut them by mid morning but I LOVE having them opened while I can. The heat and humidity are 2 things that I really HATE about summer. Those 2 and having to keep my house dark and shut up. So days like this are  blessing indeed.

I spent yesterday getting my house back in order after leaving it last week. I had 5 loads of laundry to wash and hang outside. I also did a complete cleaning of the house that really needed it. By 10 in the morning, I was already for a nap. I held off though until 1:30 and that 20 minute power nap kept me going until 7 last night. Then all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed. I am an early riser and I get to bed early too. Prayerfully, today will be a bit slower.

I had a friend bring me over some blueberries on  Friday. I spent Saturday sorting them and getting them into freezer bags. I ended up with 7 gallon sized freezer bags full. I would like to have at least 7 bags more to get through the year with. We will have to get to picking at the local blueberry farm soon. I can't wait until our bushes start producing more blueberries.

I had another friend bring over some plums yesterday and a sample of her plum jelly. (YUMMY!) She gave me the recipe, so I will be making plum jelly today (a first.) It will be nice having something besides strawberry jam. I would really love to get a hold of some concord grapes to make my own grape jam. I have no idea if anyone has those around here though.

We got the last of the green bleans picked yesterday. The kids are glad those are gone. It was the best harvest of beans we have had in many a year. With those being gone, we will be harvesting the corn in the next 3 days.

We picked a few ears the other day and noticed that they will have to come off soon. That is the one thing about corn that I dislike. You only have a 2 days really to get it off the cob and into the frezzer or canned to get that fresh flavor. Ohterwise it starts getting starchy and thick (YUCK!) It's a round the clock picking, shucking, cleaning and cutting or freezing whole. Not to mention a lot of standing up and heat in the kitchen. I LOVE it though! It means that we were able to grow our own food and depend on our garden and GOD first to meet our needs. A blessing indeed!

The potatoes are in the ground and are going to stay there until needed. As long as it doesn't get to soggy (not much chance of that here) the ground is the best storage place for them now. There are a lot of potatoes out there. Another blessing from our LORD!

Anna-Belle is giving 2 1/2 gallon of milk. The first milking is the most. The second gives us 1/2 a gallon less but gives the most cream in her milk. I can get a quart jar of cream off of her 2nd gallon of milk of the day. I am trying to get the butter made on Wednesday's and Saturdays. It seems like a good schedule.

I am also giving all of that skim milk to my pig now. Yep, I have a pig. He is not on the homestead here though. Mr. Tommy is letting me keep him with his other pigs on his homestead. The milk feeds my pig as well as his (all 9 of them). Do they ever LOVE that milk. They just about kill one another to get to that bowl of milk.

Please keep us in your prayers. We are having to deal with unexpected finanicial obligations. If one thing comes up unexpectantly, everything else seems to get out of whack. I know that THE LORD will see us through, HE always does. It just has never been this hard before.

We are having to cut back even more than before (kind of like squeezing juice from an already spent grape.) Not much coming from it. I am trying to do my part by staying home (which I LOVE anyway) more often and am going back to just using $20 aweek for my gas tank. When it is gone, its gone. So that means more planning with what we do have. I am also trying to use just $50 a week in grocery money. That's a hard one. It can be done though with a lot of planning and not being wasteful with what we do have.

I have learned in the past year that my stocking up has become very important in my household budget. We I see something on sale, I buy extra of it for use later on. Be it toliet paper, food stuff, medicine, or what not. Having a well stocked pantry really helped us last month. I was able to feed my family off of what we already had in the freezers and pantry and pay an unexpectant bill with what would have been our grocery money. A blessing indeed! I am just sitting back and watching GOD provide for our needs and HE always does.

We walk by FAITH. not by sight! II Corinthians 5:7 A great verse to live by.

Well, I need to get off here and get some more work done. Have a blessed day in THE LORD and be still and KNOW HE is GOD!

Posted in On the Homestead

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101597

Posted in On the Homestead

Good morning Family & Friends! It is such a clear morning here in NC. It stormed much of the night and it seemed to have cleared out some of the "stickiness" of the early summer air. A good thing in my opinion.

It seems as though my life has been in a stand still for the past few weeks. There has been a lot of work to do, but I feel as though little is actually being accompolished. I have spent most of my time in the house trying to get relief from this poison ivy. It is becoming really old really fast. I keep telling myself that I am to give thanks in ALL things, good and bad, and I am. I am just trying to stay focused on the things that I can and give the rest to GOD. He knows the problem and it is all in HIS hands. I just keep on keeping on with a "few" breakdowns  through out the day. I call them *stress relievers.*

The kids got some more beans picked last night. I have about 3 grocery size bags full that will need to be put up today. That will give me about 13 gallon sized freezer bags of green beans. A whole lot better than the previous years harvest of beans. 

DS (10) had a really bad allergic reaction last night after picking the beans. He started chasing the chickens through the corn. He came out of the corn patch with his face completely red and eyes swollen shut with splotches all over him. It was a horrible sight to see his face like that. He came in and I gave him some benedryl and he got a bath and changed clothes. It must have been the pollen on the corn stalks that did it. He was fine picking the beans. The problem started when he came out of the corn. I thank THE LORD that it didn't cause his asthma to flare up. His face and eyes are still puffy and red this morning so I gave him some more benedryl (just in case.) He will have to stay inside today, which he doesn't seem to be so happy about.

While all of that was going on, hubby called to say the cows were out, again. Not Anna-Belle (thank goodness) but Mr. Tommy's 3 cows. He told Dd (18) to make sure she was out at the end of the road so Mr. Tommy's cows wouldn't come into our yard. She went out there and stood watch while the dogs went crazy barking and Anna-Belle had to put in her two cents worth of bellowing. It is so funny to hear that cow bawl whenever the dogs start to bark. She is SO loud and is intent on keeping up with the dogs. ( I am afraid that she has come to think of herself as one.)

Anna-Belle has also recently begun to get very playful with the "evening watch." What I mean by that is, whoever is cleaning her pen in the evening and giving her fresh water. She will come up to the wheel barrow and start "nudgeing" it. She then proceeds to *jump around" and wants to lick who ever is at the wheel barrow. It just gets a bit scary when a 1000 lb. animal wants to run and play with a 150 lb. person. You have to watch your toes and never turn your back on her. I never realized that cows had such personalities and were so playful.

Well, time to get off here and get some work started.

Have a great day in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

Good morning Family & Friends! It's another beautiful day here in NC. The humidity is sowly rising this morning, as to be expected this time of the year. I don't mind heat, its the humidity and heat combined that bother me. It is almost summer though and at least I am NOT shivering, so there is much praise to heard from my lips for that.

I am still dealing with this poison ivy. Hubby finally found the source of it last night. It was wrapped around my azeala bushes leading up the front stairs. The very place that I go to each day ro "take a breather" so to speak, or just enjoy the peace of the day. It was so entwined in the bush that I would have not thought to look there if if were not for the comments of a friend who also had  some poison ivy wrapped in her azeala bushes.

Hubby got it all out (hopefully) and I will now be very careful about that bush from now on. Not to mention that it is going to get pruned this week as well. I like the privacy it gives but I need to be more careful of what else is growing in it from now on.

Thank you Mrs. L. for the soap. It has helped so much. All of the other soaps left my skin burning after showers. The goat/oatmeal soap has really helped. It is still coming up in different patches but is leaving in others.

The weekend was great. Saturday was so cool and cloudy. I was able to keep all of the windows open all day. That was a miracle considering I had the oven on most of the day. Our church was hosting a dinner for a Christian Camp and its workers. We needed a lot of food and a lot of food we got. DD (18) has been working at the camp all week and kept telling me that these young adultscould put some food away. Well, they did indeed and it was a blessing to help feed these young souls.

Dd (18) was asked to stay for the summer session and work at the camp. At first she was not too sure she wanted to. As the week went along though, she knew that was where THE LORD wanted her and has decided to stay.

I am very proud of her desicion to serve THE LORD in this way through the summer. She has been praying that THE LORD would send her a chance to serve him. HE did indeed! She could have taken the job that was offered her but she felt that HE wanted her to do something else. She was so confused about turning the job down. That very morning (about 3 hours later) she got a call from the lady who wanted to know if she could work for the week at the camp. It completely confirmed to her that THE LORD wanted her there at the camp this summer to serve HIM through serving others.

She has experienced a lot of heartache over the years with "so called Christians" saying one thing and doing another contrary to GOD'S Word. I have told my children over and over that no matter what "others" say and do, that you and ONLY you are responsiable to GOD. You can't choose not to interact with others because they say one thing and do another. You must be the witness for Christ and bring glory to HIM through your actions. They may choose the world and its ways, but your choices (my children) are to be made through THE WORD and to the glory of GOD! Even if that means having to work with or be around others who do not think the way you do. Life is hard, but with Christ ALL things are possible!

Well, I need to get off here and get some more cleaning done. I do believe that I am finally getting back into the groove of things since Ann-Belle came into our lives. It's been more work, but a very fulfilling work.

GOD is so good and ever to be praised!

Blessings,

Posted in On the Homestead

Good Afternoon Friends & Family! It is another really warm/humid day here in my neck of the woods. I have finally had to come to the realization that I need (want) the A/C on when the humidty starts rising. Having this posion ivy made me come to this conclusion sooner. I don't use it at night though, we all use fans. I also keep the setting so high that it usually comes on by itself at about noon. When we go to bed or at 9:00, it goes off. I am really doing all that I can to keep the power bill as low as I can. With hubby's hours being cut to 40 per week, it has changed our budget considerably. We have been doing this since last August though, so it comes as no surprise, just a little getting used too.

Dd (15) and I are at home today by ourselves. Dd (18) is working and DS (10) is at a friends for the day. So I decided to spend some "extra" time today with her working on a project. The project is the above picture of a Hankerchief Doll. She is currently sewing the lace to the outer edges of the hankerchief. When she finishes that we will then procede to "put it together." I am not the most crafty person there is. So when I go to do "crafty things" it is to the kits I look.

I told Dd that if this works out and we actually get a doll put together, we can go to the cloth store and get the materials there to make the dolls ourselves. The kit was $6.25 for one doll. I am sure that I can get the pieces and more dolls made from materials and scraps bought at the local craft store. We will see about that this weekend.

Well, that all for now folks. What do you all do for summer craft projects? I would LOVE to hear your ideas.

Posted in On the Homestead

Okay, that's about how old I have felt these last few times trying to make butter with Anna-Belle's cream. I did finally get some made this morning. It actually turned to butter and not whipping cream. We put some on toast and it was so good! I am going to use the buttermilk that was left and make some corn bread to go with tonights dinner of tuna casserole and fresh green beans. 

Thank you all for your sincere comments that you left about my poison ivy problem. Sorry to say that it is still coming up in new spots and still driving me nuts with the scratching. I went to the doctor's yesterday and he gave me some steroids to to help clear it up. He also said to up my dosage of Benedryl, which is leaving me foggy headed. 

Last night was the worst yet dealing with it. I went to bed and woke up with my my legs and arms on fire. The Calamine lotion was not working on controlling the itch/burn .So I had to get into the shower and wash down and just stand in the hot and then cold water to get some relief. (This was at 12:30 last night.)  It did help though and for that I am so thankful! Today is a new day though and once I get off here it will be time to reapply some more lotion. I just pray that this stuff goes away soon.

Anyway, I did get out of jury duty. The doctor gave me an excuse. I didn't have to use it though. When I got to court, I found out that all of the weeks cases were resolved and that my "patriotic duty" was not needed. (Another blessing from my LORD!)

I also managed to get the beans that were picked on Sunday evening into the freezer. I got 7 gallon sized freezer bags put up. There should be one more picking this week to put up. The beans have done so well this year as is the rest of the garden. Thank you LORD for your sweet blessings!

It looks to be another hot day here. I am glad that I don't have to be away from the house too much today. The house is a mess and the chores are piling up. Thank you Father for the strength and able body to care for my family and serve you!

Have a blessed day in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

 & Family~

Wow! What a busy week this has been on the homestead and so many of the events that took place were not even planned. Just goes to show you that you are never in control of your life. It is in THE LORD'S hands and how thankful I am that they are.

Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful. We just had to do the usual work around the house as well as the garden work. Speaking of garden work, I just finished harvesting the last of the broccoli yesterday. I only managed to get 3 gallon sized bags into the freezer. We ate most of it as it came in through the week. Broccoli is just not something that I could ever get tired of ( I think.) I am sure the kids (DS and DD 15) think differently.

The humidity has really started rising here in the past 3 days. So much so that i finally turned on the A/C yesterday. I think that I could have held out a little longer but sweating with poison ivy on your body is NOT a pleasant experience.

Yes, I am just about covered in a poison ivy rash. It started behind my knees and progressed to just about every other spot that you can imagine. At first I thought it was chigger bites or something of the sort, but the welts and "other" ugly signs started showing up yesterday. It is driving me nuts!

I keep putting the Calamine lotion on the patches to relieve the itching. It lasts as long as I stay still and don't let anything touch the infected areas. That is really hard though. I woke up this morning with it on my neck and climbing towards the face. I just pray that it goes no further up my neck. I may get really "cranky" if it gets on my face. It is just so hard not to scratch and I have been touching my face without realizing it. LORD, please help me deal with it.

On top of that, I have to report to jury duty on Monday. Can you imagine the looks I will get walking ionto the court room with that lotion all over my body in splotches? I know that I could use the clear stuff, its just that I have spent enough money and am determined to use what I have before spending any more. I will just have to wait and see what happens.

This week does look to be an interesting one indeed. I can usually get a lot of work done. This week looks to be one that will have me going backwards on most days. Oh well, This is the day  (week too)THE LORD has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!

Have a blessed weekend in THE LORD!

Amanda <><
Matthew 6:33

Posted in On the Homestead

Backyard lantana and view of half of the garden. (Corn, taters, and broccoli)  Our apple trees are also in view.

Another view of the homestead facing the tomatoes, blueberries bushes, cucumbers, popcorn and our "solar dryer."

One of our blueberry bushes (sorry about the weeds.)

Bush beans. (There will be some ready to pick this weekend. (If we can keep the chickens from them.) 

Strawberry pyramid from last year. This one has already been harvested to the max. by the birds and the family.

This years strawberry bed. It will produce next year (LORD willing.)

Yummy Taters!

Broccoli plants.Our first year planting them and are they ever yummy!

Happy Homesteading!

Have a blessed day in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

http://www.freewebs.com/amishway_homestead/index.htm- An interesting blog to read.

Posted in On the Homestead

Good Morning Family & Friends! Where has the month of May gone to? Here it is, already Memorial Day 2009. A beautiful, sunny, and warm (humid) Memorial Day. When I start to think about the time that has gone by recently, it amazes me. Maybe I am just getting older, or my days are just getting busier. Or maybe its a combination of both.

Things are progressing really well with Anna-Belle. We are finally getting on a schedule that is working out well for the family. We milk Anna-Belle at 6:45 in the morning and again at 4:45 in the afternoon. After milking her in the morning, we clean up the pen and feed and water her. It takes about an hour to do all that needs to be done.

She is also giving a little bit more milk every day. She gave 2 gallons yesterday (1 gallon @ each milking) and this morning she gave us 1 and 1/2 gallons of milk. That pail was just about to the rim. We were not expecting the let down that she gave us. It was like fire hoses letting off powerful streams of water.  Anna-Belle is also so calm and still while we milk her. She has come along way in a weeks time (as have we.)

We had a real blessing yesterday during our Sunday meal. We were able to pick and eat our broccoli and some potatoes yesterday from our garden. It was such a blessing to be able to have 1/2 of what was on our plate for dinner yesterday, come staight from our garden. Espcially after all of the hard work that has gone into that garden. GOD is so good and we are so blessed.

Today will be another busy day. I have a lot of clothes that need washing and then hung out. Oh yeah, we still have not had to turn the A/C on. It has been warm, but all in all we are learning to deal with it. I do realize that as the humidity goes up, we will eventually have (want) to turn it on.

Here is a list of todays chores:

~ Milk the cow (twice) and clean the pen
~ Wash several loads of clothes and get them hung out to dry
~Make a menu for the rest of the week

~Plant my lantana
~Water the flowers
~ Cut the back yard
~Weed the garden this evening
~ Cooks the usual 3 meals of the day
~Mop all floors
~ Clean all bathrooms
~Deep clean my bedroom (total disaster)

I am so thankful that THE LORD gives me the ability to take care of my family and the strength to do it. He is so good all of the time and ever to be praised!

Have a blessed day in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

Good Afternoon Family & Friends! Long time, no post! I hope to make up for it today. I have had plenty to blog about, there just has been no time. That's partly due to a decision I made a week or so ago.

I decided that I would put a limit on my computer time. If there is work around this house to do (usually is) then I would complete that first, then blog. The problem with that is the fact that this has been a really busy week. By the time I got finished with everything I needed to do, I would look at the screen of the computer and say, "I am too tired. I'll try again tomorrow." Well, tomorrow has turned into Thursday afternoon and I am finally caught up with the weeks work. (most of it anyway.)

We did make it to look at the cow this past Saturday. What an experience that was. I will NEVER look at a jug of milk again the same way. You hear stories and read things about large dairy producers, the good and the bad. The "bad" really hit home though when I saw the conditions (not the best) myself. I won't go into the "ugly" details. I just decided that after we saw the cow we wanted (#505-her name) and got some information about her, that I would dub this adventure "The Rescue."

So tomorrow, there will be "rescue mission." # 505 will have a new home and new owners. She will not just be a nameless cow among the masses. She will be spoiled rotten and have all of the attention a family cow deserves. All thanks being given to my LORD and CREATOR. The maker of #505 and me.

We have spent the past week getting ready for her to come home. We put up the pen and will put the finishing touches on it this evening. Hubby just needs to get the hot wire on it and tighten up the fence itself. We also spent the week getting all of the things that she will need (food etc.) and most of our supplies for all of the fresh milk that she will be producing.

Now getting that milk from her is going to be the interesting part of this "mission." She is not halter broken and has always been milked by a machine. She is also used to running with a herd and not being by herself. All of this being new to her and us will make for an interesting weekend and a sure fire learning experience as well.

I am not worried though. I can see the hand of GOD in all of this. This is a work in progress that ONLY THE LORD could have bought about. So much prayer has gone into this endeavor. Just when I thought it was hopeless, THE LORD, again, showed me who was really in control. HE is so amazing and is ever to be praised!

It has been and still is my prayer that having this cow as part of our family, will be a blessing. Not to us, but to others. The "others" who think that I have lost my mind. I have had so many "blank" stares when I have told others of the cow. Now, had I told people that I was getting a horse, it would be "way cool!" A cow though? Well, I guess I just don't think like others do. A good thing I might add. I am in this world, but NOT of it. Just as my LORD is!

Well, I think that this post says it all for now. I will be starting a series I will call "Annabelle's Diary", (the cows new name) this upcoming week. It will be about all of the up and downs that I am sure to have with this cow. It's an adventure that my family is taking on and one I thought that I would never see happen.

THE LORD is good all of the time and ever to be praised!

Have a blessed evening in THe LORD, Sweet Jesus Christ, my LORD and Saviour forever!

Posted in On the Homestead

 Family & Friends!

Well, we made it another day without the A/C. Not so sure it will last today with the temps. going into the 90's. Again, its just that humidity that makes it so hard to deal with. Considering we will be gone most of the day, I am sure that we will be able to "deal with it."

We are off to the dairy farm this morning. We will be looking at the cow that I have posted about recently. I am not sure how it will go but am praying that all will g Noo well. If it does, we should have her home by the following weekend. It will give us a week to set things in order around the homestead. It's on THE LORD'S hands. (always is) No matter what, I will be content

The garden is doing well. The  "seed" corn we planted is starting to come up. The sweet corn is almost knee high now. The potatoes are all blooming and the tomato plants are getting bigger every day. The broccoli is HUGE, but they have no florets on them. I am starting to think that all of the growth has gone into the leaves. We'll see for sure in the next few weeks.

We are also getting some strawberries. I have been able to pick about a "cool whip" sized bowl every day for a week now. They are small but ever so sweet. I would love to have enough to make the jam with but what we are getting now is going into everyone's stomach before I can get them into the fridge.

That's about all for now. We are off to South Carolina. Please keep us in your prayers if we come to your mind.

Have a blessed day in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

Good Afternoon Family & Friends! Whew! I am SO close to turning the A/C on right now. The heat is not so bad, its just that aweful humidity that makes it feel so HOT and sticky. YUCK! I have also had to close the front and back door this afternoon because it seems that the flies read my post yesterday and decided that I needed a visit. So there is not much air getting through the house today to keep it comfortable. Oh, well we will just have to deal with it. It's suppose to get into the low 90's on Saturday. Oh the joy! At least I am not shivering. Thank you LORD!

I was able to go online today and order the supplies I will need if we get the cow on Saturday. (Thank you Mrs. L. for the information.) Tomorrow we will go and get the materials for the pen. Hubby said that he would ask the man, who is selling the cow, if he would keep her an extra week until we get the pen completed. I pray he says it will be okay. I can't stand the thought of taking the cow down to the neighbors pasture first and her not being able to get used to her real home. Not to mention the milking that will need to be done twice a day. We would have to literally chase her around 2 acres of pasture to get a hold of her. Can you see a cow coming willingly to a woman and 3 kids who have no clue as to what they are up against? Scary thought indeed.  Trust me, the cow would win that battle.

I'll tell you what though, if we don't get the cow after getting everything arranged and ordered for her, we will be "udderly" prepared the next time an opportunity comes around. Dd (15) just rolled her eyes when I told her that.

Well, I need to get off here and get some business taken care of. Have a blessed evening in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

http://grannymillerblog.blogspot.com/-

Posted in On the Homestead

 Family & Friends!

I do believe that summer is fast making its approach around here in southeastern NC. It is SO humid this morning. I'm praying that it means more rain today. We could use every bit we can get. The rain we got on Monday night and yesterday was a real blessing though. It really laid down all of the dust in the air. It also make my "crunchy grass" soft and green again. It was really looking like the grass we have in July and August (brown and dry.) It's back to that beautiful green again.

We have not had to turn on the AC as of now. Monday though, really tried my thinking. It seemed like the hottest day we have had so far this spring. We made it through though and and am glad we did. We just keep every window in the house open and the front and back doors opened. It keeps A LOT of air moving through the house. We have also been blessed that we can keep them open and the flies have not been bad at all.

I am determined to keep it off as long as possible. It will cut the bill down to at least $100 (praying for more.)  That would really help get our budget in line as well. I have learned that if I get all of my housework done by 9:00 a.m. its not all that bad. I would also rather be outside and if it gets too hot in the house while "doing school," we can take the work outside and in the shade. (I'd rather be outside anyway.)

The kids have not complained (too much anyway.) We have just really blessed to have a good wind blowing on most days. Then it gets cooler once that sun goes down. It's going to be interesting to see how long this will last.

I have the doors opened now and it is starting to rain (thank you LORD!)

Have a blessed day in THE LORD!

Posted in On the Homestead

My bets on the buggy!