It's Been a Long Time!

It's been ages since my last post, five months to be exact. So much has happened but it's almost all the same thing, just a different year.

A most beautiful puppy that went to live with a really nice family.

We have baby turkeys, a big garden, puppies, a new roof, and on and on. I take pictures almost everyday, wanting to post something but it all seems repetitive and boring to me.

Our new arbor.

We built the arbor to block the view of the road. We also built new steps that lead to the front door because we never had any and the people that had the house for 20 years before us never built any either. What were they thinking? Guests had to attempt to walk up the steep slope.

We are hoping that the grapes eventually cover the lattice.

The garden.



There are changes are worth noting though. This year we used black plastic on the garden. Man oh man, I feel liberated! No weeds at all. The only area I have to weed is along the bean and pea fence and that's actually fun. I can mow along the borders. Another thing worth noting is the fishing line that we have strung, at different heights, along and around the garden. You can kinda see it in the picture. It supposed to be a deer deterrent.



It's working so far. Yesterday while I was mowing, (And yes it was so hot that I was practically sliding off of the vinyl seat from sweat.) I saw that one of the lower pieces had been pulled way into the field by something that had gotten caught in it. It's only 20lb. test so it couldn't hurt an animal but we sure hoped it scared it.



I just went out this morning and picked way more cucumbers that I can use. Too large for pickles, they really snuck up on me. I think I'll make some freezer pickles, they are sooooo good, almost like candy.

The new roof.

We re-roofed the house last week, very hot and very humid but it needed to be done and it is!

So that's the update, maybe I'll be back a little sooner next time.

~Beth

Santa Was at the Dollar Store!

I grocery shop at Dollar General. Maybe two times a week, sometimes more. Every third week or so I stock up on basics, maybe dog food, paper towels or whatever and usually my cart is heaping.




On these trips I usually fill a cart up to the point where stuff is falling out, like my dog biscuits and bread last week and it costs less than $100.00. A heaping cart for less than $100.00! The total for these same items at a normal store would be at least $200.00. And believe me the items are EXACTLY the same, just in different boxes. Sometimes the items are name brand like the tea that I buy. Dollar store price is like $2.00, grocery store price $4.00. I love, love the Dollar General!



Anyway, An advertisement for the dollar store is not what this is all about. Santa is what this is about.



Thursday when I had this heaping cart and I was about to checkout I remembered that I needed cereal so I pushed my cart near the register and hurriedly went back to grab it. I popped around the corner and there was a man standing in the middle of the cereal aisle looking for something that he was having trouble finding.



I was kind of peering over his shoulder because he was, of course, standing right in front of the Cheerios (which by the way are much cheaper at DG than at the grocery store). I noticed that he was quietly singing the Christmas song that was playing on the overhead speakers. He found what he was looking for and when he turned to go to he noticed that I must have heard him singing. He looked a little embarrassed and smiled so I smiled back and grabbed my Cheerios.

When I got back to my cart at the checkout line he was waiting behind it. I had parked it about 10 feet back so people could easily get around it but he had decided to wait behind it thinking that I was already in line.



Now, one thing you must know is that I'm always in turmoil with a full cart at the checkout line at this store. Most people go in there to grab a few things quickly and don't expect to wait in a long line. So of course, me being the middle child or whatever the reason, I always tell them to go ahead of me. -Always.- Sometimes I'll let three people go in front of me and then I'm in agony, watching the other shoppers, hoping no one else comes up behind me.

If they have a cart then I don't feel so bad but if they don't and if they have so few items that they are carrying them in their hands then I have to let them go ahead of me or else I feel terrible. Even though I am always in a hurry to get home, I still let them go ahead.



Now, back to the the man that was waiting behind my cart... So when I see him standing there I (of course) tell him to please go ahead of me. He looked surprised, actually very surprised and said "Are you sure?" and I said "Of course!" and then I thought nothing more about, because I'm on the lookout for shoppers possibly getting in line behind me with few items.



As he was paying the cashier he seemed kind of nervous. First he gave the lady too much money and she got confused and that made him kinda confused and then when she gave him his change he dropped a couple of pennies but didn't pick them up and kind of turned and sheepishly smiled at me again.

I smiled back but believe me I was eyeing those pennies on the floor cause I would never leave pennies on the floor and I was busy thinking about trying to pick them up for him but my bulging cart was between me and them (the pennies) and I was starting to put my items on the counter. For me, if I see pennies on the ground, face up or down , I'm picking them up. (Ha, I didn't mean for that to rhyme.)



The man then turned towards me and laid a 20 dollar bill on top of my groceries that I was in the process of stacking up on the counter. Then he said "Thank you for letting me go ahead of you and I want you to put this towards your grocery bill."


I opened my mouth to say something but no words would come out because I immediately started to tear up. I absolutely couldn't believe it. He quickly turned and walked out of the store before I could protest. Which I would have done if I could without blubbering and possibly scaring the man and embarrassing myself to the point of never being able to return to that store ever again.



I finally got control of myself and was able to pay the cashier. I have no idea why that made me react the way I did. My husband thinks I'm nuts.

So this year for me, Santa was at the dollar store, no red suit, no jingle bells but he was there.

Oh and by the way... we have two Sheltie puppies for sale. I think they would make a really great Christmas present for you to give to someone special...

Don't ya think?

And if I don't post again for a while...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

And oh by the way, I did pick up the pennies. I put them on the counter for the cashier but then changed my mind and picked one back up and put it in my pocket. When I got back into my car I set it on the dash so that every time I get into my car to go somewhere I will see it and remember...

Apple Pie Filling, Turkeys and Puppies

Apple Pie Filling Sauce...

I guess that is what you would call it. It starts out watery and ends up like gel. Last year I used a recipe with cornstarch but that's not supposed to be safe so I switched to Clear Jel. I kinda like the cornstarch better. The Clear Jel filling was so thick it was like goo. We'll see when I make something with it.

Bad picture, sorry but it got smooth after a while but was very prone to sticking so I had to stir, stir, stir.


Apples all cut up.

Put in jars and poured syrup over then noticed that the sauce was too thick to get to the bottom so I poured it all out, started over and layered it as I went.

Then capped them up and processed.

Some of the jars were sticky so I think it boiled out so I'll be watching those jars and not filling so much next time.

Looks really pretty though.

Remember the turkey with the broken leg? Well, she is fine and back to roosting on the spot where she got her leg caught. Kevin pounded the hooks off of it so they won't get caught again.

(Eileen, it looks like the one in the middle is a tom and on each side are are two hens so I'll be bringing one over when your ready.)

They are so beautiful!
The tom's starting to gobble and strut, just in time for Thanksgiving. (but we're not eating him though, just yard decoration.)

Newest puppy picture, they are getting so big. If you can count them there are seven in that pile!

Til next time,

Beth

YAAAY! A New CAMERA and PUPPIES!

Finally, finally I have a camera!

And this one I'm pretty excited about, that is if I can learn to use it. It is a Fuji Finepix S1800. It's no fancy, expensive one but I am thrilled with it.

I checked reviews and compared prices til I was seeing double but this one seemed to be the best for me. It's got all kinds of features that I have no idea how to use but I am determined to learn.

It's 12 mega pixel and has a macro function so I tried a closeup of this Honeybee on a Moonflower and then cropped it for a closeup.

I think it looks pretty clear, you can even see the shadow of his little antennas. I'm going to try to crop it closer and see what it looks like...

It still looks pretty clear. Awesome!

I am so excited to play with this camera!

Here's a picture of Husband taking the son out for his first tractor driving lesson. The son is not too excited and he did not enjoy it much. Maybe once he learns he'll enjoy it more... hoping.

Finally the canning season is winding down, when it's apples you know the end is near. I used all of our own apples to make apple butter so off we went to the local orchard to get a bushel of seconds for apple sauce and apple pie filling. Actually I should be making the pie filling and not sitting here typing right now but you know...

Cut them up and cooked them til soft.

Ran them through my wonderful Kitchen Aid Mixer attachment.

Set it on the stove to keep hot...

And filled up the jars and processed. This will be so good all winter.


I also have been experimenting with an apple crisp dessert that will work with a jar of my pie filling. I made this jar last year and this is what I will be making as soon as I get done with this post.

I think I have gotten it perfect!

I want to be able to just empty a jar of the filling and then have a quick apple crisp topping when I need a fast dessert. This was almost perfect but I have to maybe double the topping so it's crunchier around the edges but the flavor was yummy.

And now for some great news......


WE HAVE PUPPIES!

Here's the proud daddy, looking all leisurely cause he didn't do all the work.

Awwww, could you just die?

Shelties normally have three to six puppies, she had EIGHT. Poor thing. The first one was born in the wee hours of the night and I was not there to help her and she must have been so scared that I think she hid from it and it died.

But the second one woke me up crying so I was able to calm her down and help and the rest went pretty well. After each one I kept thinking... oh good, she must be done but ooooh no they kept on coming.

They all have really cute markings. One of the boys has a little white heart shape on it's head. So cute. The other two boys have perfect white collars and the four girls all have a little white that goes up a little on the back of their head, just like their momma.

Their eyes will open in a couple days and then I'm sure all hell will break loose.

But for now they are little angels that sleep all the time.

Although one morning at about 4am I heard a puppy crying and I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally figured out that it had crawled into the hem of a pillow that was exactly the same size as him. There was no way to get him out cause he wouldn't go backwards so I had to cut the pillow open. Crazy.

No words needed.

Mamma below is thinking....

GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!

More pictures to come as they grow!

Til next time, Beth