Frosty Fall Treat

If you live in the South, you know that when fall arrives, fall-like temperatures don't always come immediately. It is cool here at our house today, but will be back in the 80s by the end of the week. Summer just doesn't want to let go.

Still, we try for a fall-like mood. I haven't baked any pumpkin bread, yet, but will be making some soon. In the meantime, to cool down a bit, we enjoy this frosty pumpkin treat.

1/4 cup of sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
1/2 banana
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt (or plain--I always use vanilla)
3/4 cup of milk
a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice
4-6 ice cubes

Put all in blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy! This makes two fairly tall glasses of frosty pumpkin drink.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Well, I've been meaning to post for a few weeks and life has just kept me busy. I hope all of you are enjoying your fall. It has seemed like summer for the most part here in western Arkansas, but today it is practically cold out there! It will only last for a few days before it warms back up, but I'm loving the 'chill' in the air!

Have all of you put out some fall decorations? I have put out a few around the cabin, but not as many as usual. My favorite part of fall decorating is my porch. I always put out a little scarecrow and some other decorations. But not this year. My porch is gone! Why? Because the cabin is going to 'grow'. Yep, we pulled off the porch and we are adding on a new kitchen and a little bonus room that is going to be our 'hobby room'. 

I'm pretty excited about the addition, but we are kinda slow at all of this, as we are doing it ourselves, so it is going to be a while before we are finished. I will try to update you with some pictures along the way.

Our garden was pretty much a bust this year, but I did manage to grow one white pumpkin. And it was a little 'volunteer' plant, so that was the extent of our pumpkin growing this year. I hope all of you had better luck with your gardens!

Big waves to all of you!

Wednesday Wives Tales

I used to do a lot of Wednesday posts about folklore because I enjoy the history of the mountain regions. I haven't done one in a while and thought I might today. 

When I woke this morning, there was fog. The first I have seen in August. Old timers say that you can know the number of snows in the winter to come by the number of fogs in August. I kept up with this a few years back and it held true. I thought I might do it again this year, so I marked it on my calendar.

I also read that the number of days the first snowfall of the season stays on the ground is an indicator of how many snows to expect during the season. Another indicator of the winter to come can be figured by this method. Count the number of sunny days from July 1 to September 1 and multiply x 2. That will give you the number of freezing cold days to expect the next winter.

I hope y'all enjoyed this bit of folklore. We are having a cooler than usual and wet August here in western Arkansas this year. I hope you are enjoying your summer, wherever you are!

Summertime Songs in the Yard!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that our garden isn't so productive this year. But there are no complaints about how productive our chickies are! They are keeping us well supplied in eggs. We have twenty layers, as well as a few older birds that spend most of their time ridding the yard of ticks and other bugs. 

I know. . .a true farmer would have 'harvested' those old girls and had some yummy chicken and dumplings. But by the time they are that old, we are 'old' friends and we are content to let them live out their days here on the place.

Our girls supply us with enough eggs for ourselves, as well as family and a few friends. I love those sweet chickens and look forward to seeing them throughout the day, as they make their way around the place. They are one of the reasons I love living in the country. Their sweet voices singing whenever they lay an egg, as well as all the 'talking' they do when they find a juicy worm or extra special bug. Do you have chickens?

Happy Chickie Thursday to all of you!

Have a Blessed Sunday!

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. I Corinthians 1:18 KJV

Have a wonderful day and remember how much God loves you! 

Happy Saturday!

Good morning, friends! It has been a good while since I came by here, and I'm starting to miss it. I hope all of  you have been doing well and are enjoying your summer. It is hot and humid here, and we are mostly trying our best to stay cool. We are supposed to get some rain on Monday (Yipee!) and we are looking forward to it.

I used to do something called Saturday Smile on my blog, and I was thinking about it this morning. I shared a sweet picture and told what it meant to me. The little canister in the picture above belonged to my grandmother. She kept it on the counter in her kitchen and kept bags of tea inside of it. I always think of her when I see it--and it brings a big smile to my face.

I have so many things to smile about! Sure, things don't always go smoothly and there are little (and sometimes big) 'bumps' along the way, but God is ALWAYS good and I thank Him for all my blessings.

My garden is not doing so well this year, but a lot of people have been giving us tomatoes and cucumbers, so we are able to have good, homegrown salads with our meals. I have a few extra tomatoes today, and I'm planning on freezing them to add to soups this winter. I always love a little 'taste' of summer in the wintertime!

Please do your best to stay cool and drop by and say 'howdy' when you can.

Making Muscadine Jam

Happy fall, everyone! I know, it has been here a few weeks, but I haven't posted since then! I hope all of you are having a good start to this beautiful season. It is still hot here, in the hills of Arkansas, but I'm hoping it will be cooling down some by next week. We are starting to have a little bit of color in the trees, but are still several weeks away from anything really pretty.

I have been making jam the past couple of weeks. I made two batches of muscadine, and one of plum. I had some of the plums leftover, so I'm planning on buying a few more pounds and making another recipe of them. The recipe I use, makes up 10-12 cups every time I make it. It is a real toss-up around our house as to which we like best--muscadine, or plum.

Not much else is going on around the cabin, right now. We have been getting in some firewood, which is a lot of work, but well worth it, come cold weather. 

The garden is about gone, except for one tomato plant. We have a few 'volunteer' pumpkins that are just about orange. They were a nice surprise, as we had no pumpkins from the plants we actually planted.

Have a nice day!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday to all of you! Not much has gone on around the cabin this week. We have had mostly rainy weather. The cooler temperatures have been a nice break for us in this hot month of August.

I used to be disappointed when we had these long stretches of rain, but I'm liking them more and more. It is good for the plants and, I think, good for us to have a break in our usual routine. Of course, I'm not talking about the kind of rain they're having down in Louisiana. I've sure been keeping those folks in my prayers!

I would like to say that my garden is loving all of this rain, but I'm afraid that the hot temperatures in July pretty much burned up most of my garden. I do still have a few squash and a pumpkin or two coming on. 

What about your garden? Did it do well this year? Did you have enough produce to can? I haven't canned tomatoes in two years, now. I'm really hoping for a better gardening year next year!

Snow in the Forecast!

OK, no snow for us. At least, not yet. But, when I opened our kitchen curtains this morning, I could see that we had our first heavy fog in the month of August. The old-timers all say that for every fog in August, there will be a heavy snowfall in the winter to come. Well, I have to say that with all the heat and humidity we've had this summer, a heavy snowfall sounds good to me!

There are a few other old sayings about fog, as well. For instance, if a fog seems to disappear, by descending into the ground, you can expect several days of warm, sunny days. And if a fog comes up fast, it is a sure sign of rain.

I usually mark each day of August fog on my calendar and then go back and check it during the winter. I've found it's a pretty accurate way to forecast snow. They aren't always 'heavy' but it is usually accurate to how many snowfalls we have.

Keep counting those foggy mornings!

Fun Times Three!

Sorry folks, I've been a little bit busy lately. Savannah had triplets two weeks ago today--two bucks and one doe. They are just the cutest things. But, she also developed mastitis in one of her udders. She had it last year and the vet was sure it would be 'cured' once she dried up. Well, two days after kidding, her udder was hard, red, and swollen.

I couldn't bring myself to put her back on antibiotics. She had so much of it last year and it did her no good whatsoever. So. . .I put her on apple cider vinegar (with the mother). Two teaspoons on her grain at each feeding and loaded her water with it. I'm also adding a little bit of vitamin C and dolomite to her feed. She is doing great! The udder (which is ruined from last year) has no milk. But it has shrunk way down, not hot, and it getting softer and softer every day! I am so pleased that this 'cure' truly works.

She is a very heavy milker, even with only one udder, and so far I only give two bottles a day to one of the kids. I'm sure as they keep growing I will have to give them more in the next few weeks.

I'm so glad winter is on it's last leg. I didn't put out any peas, but I'm getting ready to put some onions out in some of my raised beds. And potatoes will go in soon. Are any of you gardening yet?

Happy Holiday!

Yep, today is a holiday~National Chocolate Cake Day!! Any day to celebrate chocolate is my kind of holiday, LOL!

Click here for an easy Chocolate Sundae Cake from Christy Jordon's Southern Plate site.

She uses a cake mix, but this cake could easily be made from scratch.

Enjoy your chocolate!

Winter Fun

What are you doing to keep yourself entertained while stuck indoors? We've had a lot of really cold days, but also some nice, mild days with lots of sunshine. We've a possibility of freezing rain tonight, but then in the 50s tomorrow.



A lot of my entertainment on snowy days is watching our animals. Domino, above, does not really care for the snow. He, along with the other goats, is definitely looking forward to warmer weather! I have several bird feeders on my porch, so sitting at the dining room table with a nice cup of tea is an enjoyable way to watch the activity outside.

I'm also learning to crochet. I'm only a beginner, so I have a long way to go. I've been practicing different stitches and am about ready to start on my first project--when I decide what it will be:).

Everyone stay warm and have a wonderful day!

Happy Friday!

I've been going through some of my kitchen drawers, sorting out things I do and don't use very often. I, unfortunately, have one drawer for most hand implements, so it's become a little crowded. I've taken some out and stored them away in a place I can get to easily. Knowing me, I'll have them all back out in another month, LOL!

Some things I do use quite often, are these two items. I use my old potato masher whenever we have mashed potatoes. I don't have to put together my hand mixer and I find this little thing easier to clean than the beaters.

This other little implement is new to my kitchen. It is a Danish dough whisk. A lady on a forum I go to recommended it for folks who don't have a large stand mixer (that would be me), and for anyone who has trouble with arthritis in their hands, also me. It does such a great job of stirring through any kind of thick dough, such as bread dough or cookie dough. And even better, it was a very good price on Amazon! It comes in two different sizes and I bought both. I use the biggest one for my bread making and the smaller for cookie doughs and anything else that's not quite as heavy as bread dough.

What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets?

Sunday

I hope all of you have had a good weekend. We had a warm, rainy Saturday. Today started off COLD. So cold we got. . .graupel. I guess it may be common where some of you live. It looks just like little beads of styrofoam--or those little beads of ice cream they sell at fairs and specialty shops. Very interesting to see (I borrowed a picture from another site). It didn't make anything slick and melted off after a few hours. I love any kind of snow as long as it doesn't make the roads slick!

I also wanted to say a special thanks to my Aunt DJ for making my new banner! The blog was really needing a facelift and she did a great job incorporating some pictures taken through the years of our home. It is an ever-changing decor around here and it is fun to see these pictures.

I hope you all have a great start to the new week:).

Big Waves

Hello friends! I know I have been AWOL for a while. A lot has been going on. I have been reading your blogs and trying to keep up with all of you. I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year. We had a white Christmas here in the Ouachitas. It started snowing Christmas day and continued into the night. We ended up with close to seven inches. There is still some out there in places. We are supposed to get rain tonight or tomorrow, so I figure that will wash away all that is left.

With the weather keeping the ground wet (which we need!), we don't have as many pecan trees in the ground as we would like. We are still working on having the land cleared and, hopefully, some ponds will be put in soon.

I've been trying to find some lighting ideas for my kitchen and found this idea on facebook. I'm not sure it will work for me, but I like it!

Have a great day!

Rain

We had beautiful, beautiful rain yesterday. Added to what we got on Monday, it has taken us out of the extreme drought and put us in the severe drought category. Hey, you take what you can get, LOL! Anyway, we are very thankful. And so are my tomatoes.

I've been drying my cherry and Juliette tomatoes and will do another batch tomorrow. The hotter it is, the faster those little things seem to come on and ripen.

Hope all of you are having a wonderful week:)

Going Bananas

We like bananas around our house. But sometimes we don't eat them like we should, and before you know it, there's a bunch of browning, extra ripe bananas. Muffins, breads, cakes, and pudding are all an option. This week, with the extreme heat out there, I opted for the pudding.

Going through my stash of pudding mixes, I found only one small box of vanilla. There was also a small box of lemon pudding. I sometimes put lemon glaze on my banana muffins, so why not have lemon in the pudding? I'm so glad I tried it!

My recipe:

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

1 small box instant lemon pudding

3 cups milk

1 cup of Cool Whip

bananas

graham crackers (as many or little as you like)

Cool Whip for topping (optional)

Mix puddings and milk, then add cool whip until combined. While it thickens, break up graham crackers in a bowl or container for the pudding. Cut up bananas over the crackers, add a layer of pudding. Top that with more crackers, bananas and pudding. Then, spread a thin layer of Cool Whip over the whole thing and chill.

I hope all of you are having a great summer and staying COOL!

Happy Saturday

I wanted to share a couple of pictures of our new babies! Ike and Abby are almost four months old. They are half Alpine and half LaMancha. As you can see, they got their little ears from their dad, Domino, a pure-bred LaMancha. He will be coming to live with us in another month or so,


I'm dealing with a lot of problems in my garden. My cucumbers are wilting and no sign of bugs, so I'm wondering if it is a bacterial wilt. Anyone else having that problem? I think most of the yellow leaves at the bottom of my beans and tomatoes are from a nitrogen deficiency, so I'm working on that.

I'd love to hear how your garden is growing:).

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all of you a very happy and blessed Mother's Day! Have a wonderful day with your family!

“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30 KJV

Playing in the Dirt

That's what we've been doing for the past week. We will start planting some of the pecans tomorrow. If the weather forecast holds, we will finish planting over 6,000 nuts in the pots by the middle of next week. And then we will sleep for a week. Just kidding:).

This is one pile of dirt (hubby hauled in fourteen). Unfortunately, they are full of roots, so we have to sift the dirt first. Hubby dumps a tractor bucket full of the stuff through these old baker's racks and they do the job after we clear the roots off the top of the racks.
Then we take it into the designated area in the tractor bucket and begin filling pots. With the bucket, the dirt is at a good height to fill without hurting our backs--which is great since this is such a long project!

Two people fill and two people put them in their holders we made with the fencing. Tomorrow, we will start putting nuts in as we fill. The pots that have already been packed with dirt will have to be planted, which I think will be a slower job. So far, we have about 2500 pots filled. This is definitely a learning project and we hope to get more efficient as we go.

Everyone have a great weekend!