Summer Vacation is on.

Well, our summer is underway and I'm already tired.  It might just be the heat.  Today it's 33 degrees Celsius.  Thankful the pool is warm as I've been swimming a bit.  I'm not complaining that's for sure because we get enough rain and cold in the winter so this is awesome weather we are having right now.

My favourite fruit is in season right now and we are enjoying an abundance of "raspberries". Yum.  I have made raspberry cheesecake...raspberry viniagrette...raspberries and cream...just plain raspberries...raspberry shortcake...you get the picture.  Plus, I put 40 pounds in the freezer to make raspberry jelly later. I am not doing much this summer...I am still working on this "tennis elbow" thing and so any amount of work causes pain...and trying to use my left hand for everything is also difficult....so I am taking it easy this summer and just sitting around doing only what absolutely needs doing...and with five kids still home, that's busy enough.

We took the kids to the ocean and for ice-cream...and now Anika says she has touched her feet in the North Atlantic Ocan and now the Pacific Ocean..it was exciting, not to mention we all had our favourite ice-cream...mine is "tiger"...delicious!  The tide was out so we were able to walk quite a ways out.

Dh and I also made our first "beer can chicken"...or others call it, "beer up the butt" chicken.  It turned out amazing.  Next time though we will leave in on the barbeque 1/2 hour longer..but the flavour was unbelievable.  I went on the internet to look up recipes and there were hundreds of them, so dh and I just came up with our own rub and everyone loved it.

The boys got the go-kart out from the garage and pumped up the tires washed it and even got it started on their own.  Last year they couldn't really touch the peddles very easily but this year well.....my boys are growing up too quickly for "this mama"....but it was fun watching them tearing around the grapes and through the long grass.  They had a blast....so did dad!!!!

We are reading Daniel Boone right now...and because the weather was so great today we took our blankets and I read to the kids under the big tree in the back yard...I sat in our wonderful Muskoka chair and the kids laid on the blankets...it was fun.  I finally got a sore throat from reading so we all laid on the blankets while the kids  talked about all kinds of things...we all told story after story until I got a whopper of a headache...so Anika decided to massage my head so I wouldn't go inside...she loves listening to my stories...she even braided my hair.  It was a fun afternoon.  Of course every once in a while the wind would blow a certain way and it was "chicken poo smell" everywhere....then thankfully the wind would shift and it was beautiful trees and grass smell.  Oh the joys of living in the country.  God is so good!

Our cherry tree is producing lots of fruit this year...but unfortunately the birds are getting more than we are. Any ideas how to keep the crows away? 

Well, that about sums up our past week....looking forward to the weekend. 

Happy "4th of July to all my US blogging friends

and

Happy Birthday to my sister!

A song stuck in my head & new school books

There's greenbeans in the garden,

Clean clothes on the line,

There's little ole' barefoot children playing beneath the grapvine.

The sun is shining bright

And the creeks a' bubblin' too

We've got alot to be thankful for

And Lord I want to thank you.

Today is another hot one here on the little bitty homestead.  I do have my dryer running but it's just to dry the undergarmets.  The towels & the rest are out on the clothesline. 

My husband & son are gone fishing and Abigail is still sleeping.  So even though it's a little after 9:00 it is very quiet here. 

I got my package from Rainbow Resource in the mail yesterday.  It feels like a holiday when those crisp, clean schoolbooks arrive....To me anyway.  Abigail came running in from outside yesterday evening with the package the UPS just delivered.  Here was our conversation:

A- "Mama, mama, we got a package & it's got your name on it."

M- "Oh great it's from Rainbow Resource."

A- "What is that?  Is there anything for me in there?"

M- "Yes a few things & a couple for your brother."

A opens package up and pulls out a couple of books.

A-" Are these school books?"

M- "Yes aren't they neat.  Come look at this one for you all about animals."

A- looks at cover & looks back up at me not too happy.

A-"Next time can you please order something useful."

M-

Hope everyone has a good 4th of July.

Preparing for Holiday Bible Club

• Designed a template for an angel decoration craft
• Designed the template for a ridiculously complicated stained-glass craft
• Made a giant cardboard sword, helmet and shield for Goliath
• Stuck together masses of paper to draw Goliath on
• Designed a David and Saul's armour paper doll craft
• Started working on a lion mask - need to check the size of it on a child
• Bought 18 pairs of socks to make into sock puppets
  
• Bought balloons and plastic cups to use for the Goliath activity
• Cut out 36 snake tongues from pink felt
• Laminated two sets of Bible dominos

The Garden at the Beginning of July

Our main vegetable bed.  There are strawberries here permanently, and we've planted beans, squashes and courgettes there as well.

Two tiny beans

A bean that's big enough to eat!

I suspect we may be able to start eating them next week, which is very exciting!

Vegetables in Pots

I've also got a few things growing in pots, owing to lack of space in the bed more than anything else.  I've got four large-ish pots of leaf beet (chard - perpetual spinach) growing, and they seem to be doing ok.  They actually seem to grow better if I cut some of the leaves of and eat them.

I've also got peppers and chillis growing in pots.  The pepper is actually in our bedroom, on the windowsill, chiefly because I need to keep the pepper and chilli separated so I can save the seeds.  It's got a flower or two on it now, which is exciting.  The chills (2 plants, in the mini greenhouse) also have flowers:

The tomatoes are starting to produce fruit, too.  We've got three plants in a "hanging basket" bolted to the fence a few feet up, and they're growing very well.  Lots of trusses of flowers, though only three tomatoes have appeared yet.  It's a Siberian variety, a yellow cherry tomato, which I'm hoping will make ripening more likely.  So many of our friends grew tomatoes last year that simply never ripened.

The "basket" with three tomato plants in it.

Tomato fruit growing and (hopefully) ripening

The Herb Garden

At the other end of the garden, on our patio, most of my herbs sit in pots.  We have chives, marjoram, lemon thyme, golden thyme and ordinary thyme in a herb pot, parsley in a pot and a third pot containing mint. 

Mint, growing like mad and thinking about taking over

Parsley

This is one of my (ordinary) thyme plants.  I'm really impressed by this, as I grew it from a cutting taken from my mother's garden in May.  There are three of them, and they seem to be doing really well.

We also have a basil plant.  This is amazing - it was meant to go outside (according to the label on the plant when it was bought), but it promptly withered and appeared to have died.  There were maybe two leaves left, both brown, and we thought it had had it.  We're not sure why - lack of water / too much water / not enough sunlight / too cold are all possibilities.  Anyway, we shoved it in the greenhouse, and a few weeks later it looks like this:

Menu Plan 1st-7th July

Pickles, pickles, pickles

I started early this morning due to the heat.  I got 16 pints of dill pickles canned & made a double batch of the refrigerator pickles & put those in the fridge. 

We are watching my niece (the 2 year old one) today.  She was apprehensive about our swimming pool the last time she stayed.  However today I put on my suit and got in with her.  She LOVED it.  I'm watching her again on Friday & then next week too so I'm going to get some floaties and things to play on.  Our dog Carly (Should have been named "Dog that chews everything to bits") Has squeezed on the pool deck and popped every float we have. 

Well, I have a little while until she wakes up from her nap so I think I'm going to get a couple things done. ~Take care

Refrigerator Pickles

I had about 10 cucumbers to use up & made this small batch of refrigerator pickles.  They were really simple to make & taste great.  Not too sweet & not too sour.

1 cup sliced onions

1 cup sliced bell peppers and/or banana peppers (I used both)

6 cups sliced cucumbers

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 T. salt

Put sliced veggies in a big bowl.  Then put the sugar, vinegar & salt in a sauce pan.  Heat on low until sugar is dissolved.  Pour over vegetables & stir.  Place in jars or containers.  Cover & put in fridge.

These are to put in refrigerator.

Good Monday

There is a slight chance of a shower today.  I sure hope it comes because we need it something badly.

Over the weekend my husband rented a bobcat to move the piles of dirt in the back.  He filled in some ruts and holes.  Also burried a septic tank for the dog kennels. (Mr. Invention)  They are suppose to be coming sometime this morning to pick it up.

We really need a tractor of our own.  One that we can mow with and with a front loader.  Maybe one day.

My husband's boss will not be at work for quite some time.  On Saturday he had a tree fall on him.  He broke his hip, some ribs & a couple other problems too.  Please say a prayer for them if you can. 

Today we'll be around the homestead until time for Ju Jitsu practice.  Abby & I will be visiting the library after we drop him off to pick up some movies.  When it's this hot it's just a good time to stay in during the afternoon & watch a good movie.  We saw "The Sin Eater" last week.  It was ok.  A bit odd in my opinion but Abby really liked it.

I've got a couple of projects to do to keep me busy for the next couple of days.  I can hardly believe June is almost over.  Our summer is going by so fast.

Hope you all have a fun day!

A Beautiful Sunday

Direct my footsteps according to your word. Psalm 119:133

It has  been just a beautiful day today!  The weather was so nice and everyone appreciates it after the week we have had with the heat!

I had an early morning meeting at church, came home and went back with hubby for the morning service.  A wonderful lady was there today and really brightened the day for us all.  She had a stroke last August and has been in the nursing home since, today was the first day she came to church.  It was such a surprise to see her sitting there when we walked in............she is in a wheel chair and can not really speak, just a few words, but you could tell she was happy to be there and see all of us.  And her husband was just grinning from ear to ear all morning, he was so happy to have her there with him! God has a plan for her, we certainly do not understand it, but he does!!

We ate with Mom at the local cafe, then came home  and relaxed a bit.  I went out and rounded up some chickens to take and get tested this afternoon.  I took 1 rooster, 4 production red pullets and 4 Maran pullets.  They have to have a blood test in order to enter them at the county fair.  We will take them for the grandkids to enter.

One of our county fairs (we have 3 in our county) was last week.  The heat was unbearable those days!! Nick didn't enter his goats at this one, but I went to watch the goat show and it was hot.  I was kind of glad he didn't take his because of it.

I better get off to bed..........this week is going to be quite a crazy busy one!!!  Many extra things going on in our little community  for the 4th of July.  We are getting a float ready for the parade, baking extra for farmers market, have 4 special pie orders, want to make cookies for a contest,  our church is having a supper with fireworks on Friday night (have to make a side dish for that and make sure my work is done here so we can go!)  Sigh............tired already.  Good night

Country Blessings,

Marilyn~at Heritage Hill Homestead

It has been a long time...................

Direct my footsteps according to your word. Psalm 119:133

I have been missing here for way too long.  Three months ago today was my last post, so it is about time I get back.  I have checked in and read some blogs along, but just not taken the time to post.  Several of my homestead friends have inquired about me and I am thankful for your friendship and appreciate your concern!

Things are going well.  Hubby has just passed the 3 month mark following his heart surgery.  He is feeling better than he has for a long time.  We are so thankful for his recovery.  God is Good!!

We are busy with Farmers Market season.  I am doing a lot of baking and the garden is doing fairly well.  Some of it we got in late due to wet weather and hubby's surgery.  We have harvested radishes, onions, beets, peas, some green beans, and 1 tomato!

I have just weaned some of the baby goats, a few needed to wait a few more weeks.  Next year I hope they will be born much closer together.  We lost a doe recently so I now have a bottle baby.

As of this evening.............an incredible heat wave has just broken!  Out just before dark and it was beautiful out!!!  For 7 days it has been nearly unbearable to be outside.  Temps in the mid to upper 90s and up to 100, with heat index around 105-110.  Early mornings chores could be accomplished, but as it usually cools down in the evenings during the summer...........that just didn't happen this time.  The other night I heard the weather man say that at 10 pm the heat index was still at 95!  I have been wondering how folks years ago could sleep with heat like that??  I am very thankful for air conditioning!!!

I need to get to bed, this heat has worn me out, and we have a busy day tomorrow.  I have an early meeting at church tomorrow.

Glad to be back, and I will try to keep up regularly again, I have missed my friends here!

Country Blessings,

Marilyn~at Heritage Hill Homestead