Is it true?

Written by Sue, Friday, June 1, 2012                        Partly sunny, afternoon showers, 90 plus temps. 
that a "Busy person" is a "Happy person", if so, I must be the happiest person on the planet. ~grin~ A few months ago we started 5 new outside projects and then they increased to 7, I am happy to report that they are 75% completed,I will share soon. Woo Hoo!

Yes, we worked on all 7 at one time, doing a little here and a little there. The only one that I know that is completed is the redoing of my clothesline which I was able to use yesterday. LOL Sleeping under fresh sheets dried and kissed by the sun was a real treat for me last night, I even washed my pillows, you should have seen me sniffing when I went to bed. ~You can tell it doesn't take much to make me happy. ~smile~
BTW I looked out my bathroom window yesterday evening and saw Mr. P. starting number 8. lol Can you find him in this photo?

I have also been busy gathering, canning and freezing vegetables from the garden,

Let's can some yellow squash... after they have been picked and washed

slice to the size you want

pack in hot sterilized jars,  , add 1 tsp. salt to a quart, adding enough warm water to the neck of the jar

remove air bubbles, wipe top of jar, cap with hot lids and  bands (forgot  to take photo), place in pressure canner and process according to canner directions.

Voila~ the strawberry sauce was made later in the day.

 While I was waiting for the squash to process, I shelled these peas, washed them and

used one of my favorite appliances, my Food Saver, if you don't have one, adding it to your Christmas, or Wish List you might  enjoy. I also use it when I find nuts, meats,, and anything I use on sale. These English peas have been measured and will be used for making chicken pot pie.

 and would you believe I am still picking strawberries. One of the projects we have been working on is redoing this potting shed. It has become so helpful for me to wash the produce after gathering, it saves a lot of work  on my kitchen sink, the water runs out to the herb garden and is perfectly safe because we use no pesticides.

A little encouragement for you... I cannot tell you how much enjoyment and pleasure I get out of growing and preserving produce. Some of the reasons for doing this are,..  it is more economical, much safer (it seems like more often  than not I am reading of all kinds of chemical that are being put in the foods we consume, these are more nutritional because they are fresher.To gather and preserve the squash and peas took exactly 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, that included cleaning the kitchen.  If Sue can do it anyone can. Even if you don't grow your own produce, there are a lot of local markets and farmers who grow them.
Another added benefit is ....jams, pickles, relishes, vinegars, make wonderful gifts. Family and friends will be so impressed!~smile~

We have had the most fruitful strawberry season, so I have been inventing new recipes, this is my new recipe... strawberry ice cream flavored sauce, great to top on ice cream or pancakes, so yummy! (pic. in above photo.)

So would you like to ask me what I am doing today,...... absolutely whatever I want to, I am taking the day off to relax, read, nap, blog, watch some Walton Specials, and Anne of Green Gables, work on updating my blog. WHY? because Mr. P. is working out of town again today, and you know the old saying... "When the cat's away the mice will play". So this mouse is playing big time.... The real reason for the day off is we have a big day of work planned tomorrow, going to clean front porch, place furniture, and plants in and about, plus sheers go up!!! I have been waiting all winter to do this.

 I am still "Savoring " moments like these.. every day these guys come by to say "good morning"while I am having devotions on the porch.

 The mallards love to show off, it is hard to grab the camera and get great photos, but these will have to do. I feel so sorry for Whitie , as I know he would love to be soaring with them.

Enjoy your weekend,

don't forget to "Savor" moments in your day, 

as they are gifts from our Heavenly Father.

Love,

Sue

Psalm 118:24~ This is the day the Lord has made: we will rejoice and be glad it.

~Life is a journey~

Written by Sue, Sunday, March, 18, 2012                       A beautiful warm, cloudy day, temps. 70.

Do we trust God enough to hop on the back seat and let Him do the mapping and  driving? Which road would you take, if you were driving? I know which one I would take... the easy one, but how boring and useless that would  be!!

Proverbs 3: 5-6~ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths.

When God is in control, He takes the scenic route. He likes to climb high roads, so as to build muscles, and make us stronger. Sometimes he will coast down hill and we will lift our hands high in the air, with the wind blowing in our hair, and the sun shining on our face,.... we feel so free.

Sometimes God's route takes us through a deep dark valley, it is at this time  that we put our arms around him and hold on real tight, all the while crying and asking Him to not let go. He then will say, "hold on tight my child,  just  'Trust Me'  a little further and you will be through this valley."  It is during  this time  we learn to trust Him most.

Isaiah 55:8-9~For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.~For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts, 

And there are times when we really think we can handle the steering  by ourselves, God being so gracious will let  go and let us take hold, when all of a sudden we hit a bump, or we get on a wrong road , we get scared and then we say "Lord I need you, please help". He then smiles and takes the realm back.

But at last we arrive at our destination safe and sound, it is then we say "wow! what a journey, I  feel so much stronger, I am now learning how  to deal with obstacles as they come, and for sure I have learned how to enjoy the ride too!! I also know now that if I had not let go and let You, Lord take the lead, I could not have made it." "Thank You Lord."

Blessings,

Sue

~Happy Friday~

Written by Sue, Friday, March, 16, 2011                  beautiful, sunny and hot, temps. 85
I am forever coming to their rescue. lol Do you think they appreciate it? No, or else they would behave!

DH and I had a consultation as what to do with the situation of Sue's chickens messing his gardens about. I had been letting them out early and it seems they were getting into some mischief.

Here I am making the point that they are eating slugs and bugs, and not meaning to mess the garden about, and that they have to take dust baths to clean themselves.
He was telling me how long it took him to undo what they had done, and how he had more importnt things to do than to chase them around the house like he did yesterday, ~btw~ that was a funny sight, one hen even hid from him, and I was trying not to let him see me laughing.

For some unknown reason thy like to clip the heads of onions and garlic, and they were taking sunbaths in the asparagus bed,and potatoes, so much so that dh had  to replant them, so for now the chickens are on lock down and are only allowed out for an hour late in the evening.~sigh~ That is until we get the fence repaired, painted, back in place. This is the same fence that we took down last year to make these repairs. So much for progress.

Today dh sanded the poles and I painted them. One happy camper he is to have me back painting, this is one job that he absolutely does not like to do. It is one that I enjoy. I had  so much fun basking in the sun and swishing that brush. He  kept asking me how I felt, and finally ran me in the house when he saw my face was getting red, hey! it was hot here today!, between running me and the chickens I think he's got his hands full, don't you? I am a big handful too!!LOL

And would you believe, ten minutes after letting them out four of them went right back to the garden, I sneaked out of the house to run them out before Mr P. saw them as I knew he would put them on total lock down.I am forever the peace maker around here!~grin~ When they saw me coming with my camera they took off running as fast as their short little legs would carry them.Do you see the newly painted poles? I painted all of them, and the caps today, and hope to put a second coat on tomorrow.

What a wonderful week it has been, a renewed friendship, with Jane, spending time outside soaking in the sunshine, she and I were able to do some visiting, Wednesday and Thursday morning at the VA nursing home and a couple of nearby nursing facilities. Visiting these sweet precious ladies and gentlemen was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in a while. We were so warmly welcomed and got lots of hugs and kisses from them. The best medicine in all of the world!!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your sweet kind thoughts and especially your prayers for me. There are not enough words to tell you how much you mean to me.

Enjoy your weekend!

Love always,

Sue

~Numbers 6:24-26~

"The Lord bless you and keep you; 

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift His countenance upon you,

And give you peace."

~Finally out and about~

Written by Sue, Tuesday, March 13,2012          a beautiful, sunny day, temp. 80 degree, unbelievable!, so thankful!

Hello Dear Ones,

I  pray all is well with you and yours, I guess by now it is obvious that I have been  on a break, one that I did not chose. I am so much better, and getting stronger each day. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts, cards, emails, and thoughtful gifts, but most of all for your prayers.

 I am blessed beyond words to have you in my life. But am even more blessed to have such a wonderful husband that takes such great care of me,. He has the heart and hands of Jesus, so compassionate and caring.I remember waking up one night when I was so sick, and feeling his hand gently on my head and hearing him softly praying for me. I never let him know that I had  heard him as I knew that he and the Lord were having a quiet time together, but needless to say, there were tears of joy from my eyes.

So many verses in the Bible speak of God's strength for us, one of my favorites that I have committed to memory  is Habakkuk 3:19~ The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Each day as I am getting  stronger, I know that I will once again be jumping as the deer in these photos that I took today from inside our front door.

With my strength returning I look around and see so  much work that needs doing, (for me that's a good sign that I am better, lol) our dear little farmhouse, and garden  have been calling  my name asking me when or if I will be able to attend to their needs, ~smile~

Another motivation to get busy cleaning is, some of the older grandchildren have called and want to visit in April, while on spring break! Now that is a shot of energy for this grandma! ~big grin~

Today was a busy one, as I had an appointment for a hair cut,one that I had canceled twice during my illness, this is what it looked like before leaving today,looking real shaggy, huh?

Why the photo, well I had been telling my hairdresser that I needed a before and after photo, because she does such a great job with my hair, so my plans were to take one before I left, which I did,  come home and take the after photo, well, guess who forgot to take the after photo when she got home? She did a beautiful job! I need all the help I can get! lol

It seems I got side tracked by going to visit a friend who had recently moved back, (after being gone for 20 years,) to our neck of the woods. She had called weeks ago, but because of my illness we just couldn't get together.

 My plans when I left the salon was to go straight home, but for some reason I was inspired to make a turn toward her son's home, whom she is living with while her home is being built! I do not make it a habit of just dropping in on people, as I do not like this to happen to me, but God's plans and ways are not ours.

We had a wonderful visit,and made plans to visit a nursing home soon. You see, lately my heart's desire has been to start visiting nursing homes again, but just could not seem to get it going because of being sick. I found out that she had been visiting several since returning,this is something she and I used to do together, one that I have so missed! We picked up right where we had  left off, just like it was only yesterday that we were together.Talk about our steps being ordered by God, and His perfect timing for our lives! ......

*********************************************

So not a whole lot going on around here as I have been out of commission for about six weeks, dh has continued to work on the green house, all the while looking after me, and what a wonderful job he is doing, I really feel bad that I have not been able to help him, I did however, slip out and take some photos, and will update in a later post. 

Pear Tree Lane is in full bloom, I  took these this afternoon as I was coming home. 

I love to walk under these trees and inhale the fragrance from these flowers! Just savoring another moment! These trees will soon shed these beautiful flowers for beautiful green leaves that will turn orange, burgundy, yellow and golden come fall!

Do you remember, Noel the lamb that we raised on a bottle, well, here she is all weaned and doing well, when I pass by the fence she runs and lets me rub her back. The other sheep just stare at us, not quite figuring out what is going on.

I think of you so often,and hope to be back posting regularly and visiting soon,. Please understand why I have not been out in blogland, as there are times when one is so ill, that they just don't feel like talking. I have only recently started taking phone calls.

Until next time, 

Love,

Sue

~just a note~

Dear Friends, I am so sorry that I have not visited you lately, but have been  and am under the weather! Hopefully I will get around to visiting in the neighborhood real soon. Dh is taking very good care of me, I have missed you all so much. Needless to say our projects are on hold, as painting is usually done by moi. ~smile~

Here is a bouquet for you

Much love,

 Sue

busy! Busy! BUSY!

Written by Sue, Wednesday,February, 8, 2012            partly cloudy, cool, temps. 50's, 

The beginning of???

"Need any help Pops?" "Here we are!"

"come on in Lucy, POPS  needs some help, getting the soil level."

"there, all done, now let's go play."

"Pops"always gets it level, don't'cha know."

"Lucy, please don't drink the well dry,  save some for Noel and I."

A guy and his girls!

"Hurry pops, it's almost time for my feeding."

Coming right along ~smile~

A love note to my sweetheart!! 

Oh! my! it's coming along just fine! Please be careful,

Has anyone guessed yet, as to what this is going to be?

Hint, hint! It might have something to do with these!We will show the finished product soon,it isn't quite finished yet. I am so excited. Mr P surprised me a few weeks ago with this plan.

~Other happenings~

We bought a new ram last week, his name is Abraham, (father of many nations), and we are counting on him to be just what his name sake says.~smile~

 

He is a beauty, and goofy at the same time! Look at that crooked smile! He kind of looks like a camel, he is so much bigger than our other sheep, and he has a great bloodline.....

I think he is adorable,  he is so docile, and just plain sweet!

Mr P. and I received another package from Susan this week, I got new pj's and socks, Mr P. got candy, he has such a sweet tooth!

Last, but not least.... Still "savoring moments" like these, I took this photo as I was on my way upstairs to go to bed last night. I sat on the stairs in "Awe" of one of God's great creations!

These were taken tonight looking out our kitchen window through the trees.

 AWESOME!! Psalms 136:9 The moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy endures forever.

A lot of planning, and soil preparation for the new growing season is going on around here at the farmhouse, we are so looking forward to this new season. We also use the Farmers Almanac in planting our crops. Our parents and grandparents did too. How about you, are you making plans for your veggie and flower gardens? 

Until next time,

Hugs,

Sue

~Something new to see~

   Written by Sue, Monday, January 30, 2012                              it is sunny, cold, temps. 50's, beautiful

Written especially for  our granddaughters,

 Lauren, Maddie, Abigael, and Katie,

who love our animals, specially horses,

 and for my friend Benjamin, 

who enjoys our farm animals too.

There is always so much  excitement around the farmhouse, when we have a new baby, such was the case yesterday when Mr. P. came in from feeding the animals. Says he "I have some good news, guess what we have?" He likes for me guess what is newly happening on the farm.~smile~ "A new lamb?"  By now I am grinning, "did Bessie have her calf?" Mr. P. grinning. "Yes and it is a beauty." He wanted me to see, so off we went to the pasture. We are calling the calf an it, because we don't know what gender it is, just can't get close enough yet. 

Here you see the other cows being introduced to the calf. Did you know that farm animals are very family oriented, and that they look after one another, here in the pasture, the cows are guarded by our three horses. 

Rain is being nosy!

Her curiosity got the best of her, when she saw us looking at the new calf, she just had to come over and check it out. Animals use their sense of smell a lot! They are very nosy.~smile~ Notice Bessie being very cautious.

She didn't impress the new calf a bit, it was "Savoring" all of the attention.

Rain takes off running and 

 Kicking up her heels, a sight to behold,

 She gallops off,to go tell the other horses, to which they took every thing in stride, this comes with maturity,  don'tcha know!~smile~

 She's just a teenager and acts just like one! Full of energy, always hungry, and always wants to be where the action is. ~smile~

 We watched as she galloped all over the pasture, after meeting the new calf.

She comes back to the herd, and gets between Bessie and her baby which just seemed to be fine with Bessie. I have also noticed that animals have an unwritten language of their own, they are so amazing to watch,  we could learn a few lessons from them.

After a bit, she takes off running again! A horse in motion is a beautiful site!

She finally gets over her excitement, comes to the fence for a snack from Mr P. Are you wondering why Mr P. is in his pj's? He had a stomach virus, and was not feeling very well, I was just getting over mine, Yes, I gave it to him.

After her snack she strides away, back to her business! Looking so proud, as if she was the one bearing the good news!

Still "Savoring Moments"

like these,

 until next time, 

May you continue

 to "Savor Your Moments"

Love, 

Sue 

Thank you so much for coming by, and for taking the time to leave me such sweet notes, I hope to be visiting in the neighborhood tonight.

Genesis1:25~And God made the beast of the earth, according to its kind, cattle according to its kind and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.


Linking with all the ladies at the Barn Hop, thank you for hosting.
http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2012/01/barn-hop-47.html