Are many of you doing a lot of homemade gifts this year? I injured my thumbs and fingers a few years ago, so a lot of hand sewing crafts are out for me. I'm thinking of doing mostly food gifts. 
Good morning! Hope all of you have had a good week. We've been doing our fall cleaning around here and so far, my back is surviving, LOL! We sure manage to generate a lot of dust around here, and now (we live on a dirt road), with the wood stove going most days, the dust is increasing. 
Not much is going on around here, other than animal training. The puppies are ultra wild in the morning when they come out of their puppy pen, and it takes a while to get them calmed down. Holly and Grady are especially excitable.
Jackie avoids them whenever possible:) She prefers helping my dad with his gardening.
Bella, a German Shepherd/Australian Shepherd, is only nine weeks old, but she calms down faster than the terriers and has already learned what NO means and she will come when called.
Indy spends a lot of time with interior design. He is especially fond of this fall display, though he never seems satisfied with his arrangements, LOL!
We walked through our woods last week and I took this picture. This makes the prettiest waterfall when it has rained a lot. You can't tell so much from the picture, but the water flows down into a little pool. It needs a good cleaning out, as several trees and branches have fallen on it. It is on our 'list' of projects around here. And I have to say that it is a long list. Still, we are hoping to get this project done sometime this winter when all the snakes are napping.
and we are finding them everywhere, LOL! 
Praying for everyone on the east coast. Please take all the precautions you need to and stay safe!
For behind pantry doors, I like these cereal storage containers. They are inexpensive and you can easily get a couple of boxes of crackers in them, or several bags of brown or powdered sugar, and of course they are perfect for cereal. 
I haven't done an old wives tale post in a while, so I thought I would share these with you:
Good morning. I hope that all of you had a great weekend. It is another hot day here. We are under heat warnings this week, so I'll probably be staying indoors a lot.
I keep the garland (above) out all year. It is really a Christmas garland with angels and stars, but I like it a lot, so I try to make it 'fit' the season that is current. I gave the angels these little toothpick flags to hold for the Independence Day. I also looped the red, shiny garland around the curtain rod. It is also a Christmas decoration, but since it is red stars, I think it's also perfect for the Fourth!
I may pull out some of my craft supplies and make some new decorations to add to my collection. I figure it's one fun way to 'beat the heat':).
I've been making soap for a craft show in a couple of weeks. I've been experimenting with dried herbs (haven't used any fresh ones in the mix, yet), and really like the way it's been turning out. I've found that getting the scent to stay in hot process soap is challenging. I finally made a batch that's a lavender/mint mix and it smells pretty good.
I made this easy recipe about two weeks ago--and it turned out great! I waited until I'd used it a couple of weeks before posting. I wanted to make sure it is good stuff--and it is. It is so easy to make, too.
I've been surfing around the web, trying to find a tomato canning recipe like the woman told my mom about. This woman dips hers in boiling water, then in cold to remove the skins. They are put just like that in hot, sterilized jars, along with lemon juice and salt and sealed--she says the heat from the boiling water keeps them warm enough and they make their own juice. She has been putting them up this way all her life--just as her mother did. I'm not sure what makes the jars seal, since the tomatoes aren't hot. 
Put a half gallon of milk in your crock pot and turn it on high for 2 1/2 hours. Then turn it off for 3 hours. At this point--add 1/2 cup of active culture plain yogurt (like Dannon) and 1/2 cup of instant milk. Cover with a towel and wait 8-9 hours! It tastes exactly like what you buy, but a little bit thinner. You can drain it with cheese cloth or coffee filters if you like it thicker. 
e. But I also make a sweet dessert with it. I take a package of jello and add the hot water, then add seven ice cubes and stir till they dissolve. Then, add 2 1/2 cups of plain yogurt--stir and refrigerate. This makes a sweet custard-y dessert.
This little Royal Copely cat and book planter was just too cute to pass by. You can see that I still need to clean the dirt out of his book planter. I'm still trying to date him, but can't find the year he was made. I paid $4.50 for it. 
