That time of year!

I have a holiday tradition. Every year I start in about October planning what I'm going to do for friends and family for Christmas presents. And I plan, and I fret, and I change my mind a hundred times, UNTIL.....


It's a two weeks before the big day and I still don't have anything started. And unless I take a trip to the nearest crafts store about 60 miles away I'm going to have to use what I've got on hand to create gifts that I hope will show them how much I care. 
The end results are rarely what I thought they would be, but that goes for everything I create.
So here we go, the starting pistol has gone off, the countdown has begun, and maybe this year I will be able to finish before Christmas Eve and enjoy the rest of the holiday!
Then again, maybe I shoild just buy handmade and save myself the trouble!

maybe for Mom

for my RN daughter-in-law

my bff who makes jewelry 

and for me! 

New Beginnings

When we lost our beloved Porky, we were devastated. I was actually worried about Richard,he was in such a blue funk. About 3 days after  the accident he told me he wanted to find another pup, not to take Porky's place but to be a "buddy". We found him today.


"Hi, I'm Smoky."

I'm a little shy,

but I'm gonna be Richard's good buddy and make him feel all better.

do ya think I have a chance?

Speechless

I haven't posted in a while, I have had post rolling around in my head that never make it to screen,  only to change in a day or two to another idea that still doesn't make it to the computer.
Life has been good, I did my first ever craft show two weeks ago to great results, our harvest was wonderful, new root cellar being built, freezers full and plenty of dried foods stored.
and then today, on my dear husband's birthday, "King Porky" was run over and killed. We are devastated. I have felt both guilty because I'm so upset over a dog and so heartbroken over the lose of a dear friend that I'm lost. He was a very special dog, I can't even describe his personality. To give you an idea, we've had friends visit and call this evening to make sure we're ok. He was a community dog. I'm thinking of ways to tell our grandchildren, and I can only say he is with God because he had a special spirit and love in him.
I want to gather pictures to post, maybe later.

Fruits of the Labor

I spent today working on the "fruits of my labor"- Richard and I picked and broke green beans, and then I canned them and pickled the beets we pulled while we were in the garden. I also shredded a few zucchini that were a little too big and have them in the dehydrator now (love that thing).
I thought today as I was working on my canning, this is hot and messy work but how I love it. My favorite thing to can is tomatoes, I usually try to do at least 100 quarts. Most of the canning I do is more time consuming and messy  than hard. So far this year I've done dill pickles, beet pickles, peach preserves (thanks to my good neighbor Debbie who went to the Myrtle beach and brought us a basket of peaches back)and green beans.  Waiting on the tomatoes to start getting ripe. If the cabbage does well I'll freeze(and dry) it  and either dry or freeze green peppers,
AND... from what we have dug so far our potatoes are great and we'll have big crop to store. And we had corn on the cob for supper, good grief it was good.

Oh, and since I had the kitchen heated up anyway I baked a cake,

pineapple upside down cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so thankful for all the bounty our gardens produce, for having the place to plant the garden and the knowledge to perserve it.
GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!

Scrapbook background

I'm not a scrapbooker, but I like collages. I put together this digital picture, using some random photos I'd taken and one of the digital sheets I've added to one of  my Etsy shops, diaimage. I'm going to post more  sheets in different styles over the next week.

Back in Action

I can't believe I haven't posted in over two months. My how time flies! this is one of the biggest things that has been occupying my time lately.  We love to put out a big garden, even thought it's a lot of work. Now it's to the point of keep out the weeds, and wait. We have corn, beans, tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, squash, and cucumbers. I planted sunflowers but some critter ate them all as soon as they came up. It's always a wait and see thing to see what seeds come up and what animals or bug will be waiting for them. Right now I can picture the racoons sitting in the woods watching for our corn to start setting ears, they love it and seem to know exactly when to "pick"it!
Back in February I started a gourd project that has taken me a lot longer than any others have. It's been one of those things that nothing came together right! I posted about it here:gourd beginings II, gourd beginings III, and  gourd...middle?.  So it's almost done, I think I want to add a couple more little touches to it. Here's a (really bad) picture.

Hopefully I'm back on track, and will finish it and post it for sale soon.

New pictures of Gracie

I took Gracie on a walk last week. just the two of us. Well not exactly  the two of us, Porky had to go along. But since he thinks he's a king and doesn't have to associate with the peons he stayed in the distance, just close enough that we knew he was there. Anyway, Gracie and I enjoyed our girl time, she hadn't been in this part of the woods before so she stuck pretty close to me, something that I know will change as she gets older and the genes kick in.

In this picture you can see the foot that froze, she lost all the toes on this foot, as well as small places on the other back foot and part of her tail. She is a fireball, though!

"You can't see me, can you?" She was hiding behind a tree, or thought she was.

Who could resist this face?
We've had a lot of dogs over the years, and some of them really touch the heart. Gracie has been one of those. For those of you who don't know her story, I posted about it  meet the puppies.
She has become one of those pets who make their way into your heart and stay there. 

Team Giveaway

Check out this great giveaway from CAST (Christian Artist Street Team )members! Wonderful items!

CAST giveaway

Meet the Puppies

My husband's Walker hound Princess gave birth on February 18 to eight puppies, 4 males and 4 females. She has been a great Momma, very good considering it was her first time. We didn't have a good place to keep her and the pups warm, so a friend offered his workshop/garage as a  "birthing room" since he could keep a fire going if need be  during the first crucial days.

We brought the little ones(and Mama!) home today, at 6 weeks old. We've been visiting them every day, it's good to have them here where we can see them anytime we want.
This is Thumbtack, he's the male Richard decided he wanted to keep when they were 1 week old. He's grown into the largest of the litter, We'll have to by a saddle for him when he's full grown!

This is Gracie. I don't have a really good picture of her, but she is a special baby.
All of the pups  were born about the same size, which is unusual. There didn't seem to be a runt in the bunch.  Then when they were two weeks old, somehow Gracie got out of the whelping box. It had been really warm that day, so  it was decided that the fire wouldn't be needed. None of us know why she got out of the box, or why mama didn't' come after her when she heard her crying, but for whatever reason she laid on a cold concrete floor all night.
When our friend found her the next morning, he thought she was dead. She was cold and still. He picked her up and laid her outside the pen while he cleaned it out. His mom was with him and she told him she thought the pup was breathing. He checked her and felt the inside of her mouth, which was cold. He really thought she was beyond help, until he heard her whine. so he brought her to our house. I was at work, Richard called me in a panic wanting to know where the heating pad was, what the milk recipe was, etc.He put her in a box with a covered heating pad,fed her,"wooled" her, and watched her like a hawk all day.  I came home on my lunch break to check on her, and she seemed fine.
That evening we decided to take her back to mama, and I noticed her left back paw was blistered and swelled. Long story short (too late) she had frozen back feet and the end of her tail was frozen, from laying on the cold floor. Since then I doctored her feet and spoiled her, and convinced Richard she need to stay with us. It didn't take a lot of convincing.

In this picture she is resting against my leg. All tuckered out from playing.
I'll try to get a good picture of her soon to post.
Oh, and her name. I wanted something to mean "miracle"  One day the friend's mom who had found her almost frozen that morning said "it was a saving grace we found her when we did"
Grace!!! God's grace works for his creatures as well as us, so I have a reminder. My Gracie.

Maple Tapping Time

This past week we tapped our maple trees, something we've been doing for several years and really enjoy. It started as something for my husband to do during February and March, which is between all the hunting seasons and farming seasons, pretty much a down time for him. He remembered how all the families around here tapped their sugar trees and made cane molasses when he was growing up (along with raising their own meat and just about everything else the family ate). So he found someone with a vat for sale and we started a yearly tradition.
   We usually do this a lot early than we did this year, but the weather wasn't right for it until the last couple of weeks. Warm days and cold nights make the sap run. This year we also hung fewer buckets, only 23, and ended up with almost 3 gallons. Plenty for us and our family and friends.
  Here are pictures, starting with Richard tapping trees and ending with the finished product. He boils it over a fire until it gets to a certain point, then I take it in the house, strain it and jar it. We had some on pancakes this morning and it was GOOD!!!

Fingerprint Friday

Beki at The Rusted Chain was inspired to start Fingerprint Friday. Her inspiration was a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, and her wish to find out what others saw as the fingerprint of God

I  see God in so many things, in the love of family, the laughter of children, the comfort of home. But the first thing that came to mind was nature.

From the tiniest creature or bit of dirt to stately  trees to mountains, every inch is covered with the fingerprint of God. His majesty, love, and creativity shows in every minute detail.

Every little bug counts forsomething        



Nature isn't always pretty, or kind, but it knits together in an amazing pattern. Proof of God's greatness and plan.

I spend a lot of time outdoors, looking and absorbing, and it's my belief that God's fingerprint is everywhere.

Great items from Etsy sellers!

waterwaif

starsb117

 elegantlysimple

EdisLittleTreasures

Gingeroni1

 tansyandco

Finally outside again

It's been a month and a half since the weather let me get out into the woods. That is a long time for me. So today, eventhough it was chilly and damp, I decided to take the walk. I'm really glad I did.

When I left home I had two companions with me. Tom, my husband Richard's  Blue tick coon hound, and Porky, our owns-the-household Beagle. Above is Tom, not long before he abandoned me. See, Tom is an almost 4-year old, with the energy of a year old pup. He will start out the walk with me really excited, ready to go, but I bore him. When Richard heads up the old logging road he goes on his 4-wheeler, and that's more exciting to an energy to spare hound. I'm boring. I stop about every 3 minutes to take pictures of look at a tree or leaf or something. So as soon as he figures out he's stuck with me, he high tails it back to the house to look for Richard.
And this is King Porky.

He wasn't a chubby dog when Richard named him as a tiny puppy, but every winter he gets his "winter layer" and lives up to his name. It's amazing, within about a month from now he will be slim and trim again for summer. I wish I new his secret. Anyway he is faithful. He stays close to me and goes into guard mode to watch for anything that moves to protect me. Or not. He's actually just looking for something to run.He'll go ahead of me and stop, turn around and look for me as if to say "will you come on, already?"
I've been on this road countless times over the last 14 years. During all seasons. Every year something different shows up  that I haven't seen before. Depending on the weather, dry or wet, cold or hot, and all combination. Truly amazing.

This is the same road, in about the same spot, as the  Forest road and green ferns photo in my Etsy shop.Quite a difference!
I got some nice shots of some fungi that are already coming up, and some different kinds of tree bark I have an idea of turning into backgound papers.
Spring is coming, it's almost here!

Oh! What a Beautiful Morning

I guess it's because I grew up in the country, but nature always inspires me to remember God's power and love.
I go out every morning to take care of my chickens. I 've gotten into the habit of looking west at the sky every morning when I walk around the end of the house, then east as I go around our tractor shed. Every morning, no matter what the weather, both views are beautiful.
Some mornings the sky is blue and inspiring. Other days it is dark and  foreboding. God's greatness comes through to me in both instances. This morning it was both.

Clouds were coming in but there was a ray of sunshine coming through on the barn and field in the background. The water is from a wet weather spring that is usually about a foot wide, but with the snow melt running off it's become more of a creek. There were robins and sparrows in the trees, singing their hearts out, and more birds all around competing for attention.
On my way to work I saw a gang of wild turkeys, a huge gaggle of wild geese, and more birds everywhere. A mix of clouds and sun, a few sprinkles of rain. Blue sky and gray.
All of this  shows me God's handiwork. And makes me grateful that I have a home where I'm surrounded by it all.

Gourd….middle?

Seems kind of off to say beginnings now that I’m more into the project.I was able to get outside for a while today, it was really nice. Still a lot of snow left, however, so I couldn’t really find pieces of small branch I was looking for. I did,however, find a piece hanging out of a tree that had broken off, and had another idea. This is it so far… (bad pictures, sorry)

                                    

               

Still not a done deal, but this is the way most of my pices progress. Trial and a LOT of error, seeing if this works, or that works. So far I’m liking this idea, need to figure out how to stand it up, and how sell it will stay on the branch. I could attach it permanently, I would rather leave it loose.

Putting on the thinking cap again…