Prayers please!

Written by Sue, Monday, September  30, 2024  partly sunny, warm, humid, temps. 86+ today

Hello dear Friends,

First things first, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were/are affected by this terrible storm, Helene, especially in the mountains and western part of  North Carolina, my home state. I  have seen photos of total devastation!

This region is known for it's tourism, lots of apples, I love N.C. apples, pumpkins, Christmas trees, (that's where mine comes from each  year) fall tomatoes and produce! 

When I started this post this morning I was going to write about me, and what I have been doing lately, but I will forgo that until another day, my heart is so heavy for the people who lost so much, especially the loss of life, and loved ones, which is so precious!

The western part of N.C. rarely are hit by hurricanes/tropical storms! Coastal /central residents are usually better prepared and know what to expect when hurricanes and tropical storms come, but I don't think we would have been prepared for a storm like this one if we had had a direct hit, it was so widespread and powerful!

It affected our area with lots of rain and strong winds, nothing in comparison to our neighbors in the western part!

Please continue to pray and help any way possible.

2Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and  God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God

Love,

Sue

~My favorite season is upon us~

 Written by Sue, Wednesday, Sept. 18th, 2024  ~ sunny, warm, temps. 70, great September day!

Hello Dear Friends, 

Hope all is well with everyone, we have had an extremely busy summer here at the farm, our summer vegetables have been gathered and preserved.

and we are planning for fall crops, i.e. collards. turnips and other cool weather crops. It is a never ending adventure, but so rewarding especially since grocery stables have increased in price. There is one thing for sure, we all have to eat.

My Mother continues to have a few health issues, but she keeps going, no matter, such an encouragement to us all.

My favorite season is arriving , I can see the trees beginning to change their colors just a wee bit for me! Autumn colors are reflected in my choices of wardrobe, decorations, 

flowers, zinnias my favorite flower, it was the first flower I ever planted, I was introduced to them by my paternal grandmother many moons ago, she taught me how to plant and take care of them, I save seed and replant each season. 

 Aren't grandparents one of Gods greatest gifts to families! Now that I am a grandparent I think I appreciate my grandparents more and more, though they are no longer with us, I realize what a positive impact they had on my life.

 and of course my favorite spices, I love apple cider simmering in the crockpot, and apple butter lined on the counter top ready for the pantry.

Our apple crop is a little sparse this year, due to a late frost. We like our apple butter on the spicy side, how abut you! ~wink~ 

I guess that's all for today, 

thank you for stopping by for a visit,

Blessings,

Sue

 Written by Sue, Thursday April 11, 2024       Rain, very windy, temps. 70's

Hello, dear Friends, my,... it has been quite a while since we have visited, much to long for sure. I will try and make this a short post  today, as I want to have some time to visit  over at your homes.

The past nine months have had a few ups and downs, mainly dealing with a few health issues with myself and family, last fall my Mother was in the hospital for a lengthy stay, and was doing quite well until this past week, she now has a chronic case of bronchitis as well as a bad sinus infection that is affecting her eyes. Please remember her in your prayers.Thank you so much.

Like you and as always  I am so busy with farm chores and it seems I am always looking and finding new ways to preserve food, there is always something brewing on the kitchen counter top and pantry shelves.

 I learned to make fire cider, good for immune system.

Have I mentioned that I learned to make apple cider vinegar, It turned out so well.

We planted our vegetable gardens, the garlic is really growing, as you can see I need to do some weeding.

The potatoes are really big, it looks like there will be an early harvest.

I will be replenishing  the  herb garden as soon as this weather clears up. I have already purchased a few herb, to plant Saturday.

We also visited our favorite wholesale nursery for our ferns which have been repoted into hanging baskets.

I enjoy this time of year, everything refreshes itself, there seems to be more optimism in the air of new beginnings,{Hope} if you will, If there was ever a time for Hope for a brighter future it is now. Always my  Faith and trust  remains  in the Lord Jesus Christ! 

Much love from me to you,

Sue

p.s. So sorry for long and boring post,💤😱💤

~A day in the life of a farm girl~

Written by Sue, Saturday, July 29, 2023   Cloudy, very warm, high humidity, temps. 90's

The sheep don't seem to mind the excessive heat, as long as they can graze ,they are content.

Wow! Another week has passed, and July is drawing to a close, which means our hottest month is approaching, on the brighter side, fall is coming soon, my favorite season. 

This past week found me mostly in the kitchen doing what I do most in summer, preserving  our food for the rest of the year.

You might wonder why I do so much preserving of food, and there are many reasons,.. to name a few,.. we grow it, it is safe from chemicals, it's cheaper, both Mr P and I enjoy gardening and we get to bless our children and grandchildren with bounty from the farm. Most of them live in the city, and have such busy lives that time nor resources permit them to do this. It gives us so much pleasure to share.

The spring and summer garden season is closing, Mr p has planted a few things for fall that we haven't grown due to the excessive rain. I will now get a break to do some much needed house cleaning, which I am so looking forward to.

So here are a few things I canned this week......

Three types of relish,

dill which is a favorite, I use this in all types of salads, all ingredients came from the garden except the vinegar and sugar, spicy sweet relish same with ingredients this relish is spicy and is good when eating collards, turnips or any fresh veggie, cucumber relish so good on hot dogs and hamburgers.I also canned okra, with okra you either love it or hate it, we love it. making relish is so simple and delicious.

My brother always blesses my Mother and I with peaches in the summer, aren't they pretty.

 so I canned a few jars, and made peach jam, dh says one of the best jams I have ever made, I added a secret ingredient, 

I pinky promise my photos of canning will end soon, maybe I will share other things, but for now this is my daily routine.I know I have another post I would like to share of a new skill I am learning about food preservation so please bear with me, I think you might find it interesting. 

Have a great weekend.

Blessings

 Sue

A word of encouragement.

Nahum 1:7~ The Lord is good,

 a stronghold in the day of trouble, 

and He knows those who trust in Him

So... How do you begin your day?

 Written by Sue, Saturday, July 22,2023    cloudy, very warm, and humid, 90's. high heat index

Most people are creatures of habit, I know I am, I am an early riser, always have been. My morning routine goes like this, upon awakening, I do stretching exercising, up to bathroom, to test, blood glucose, all the while praying for a good reading, then I take my blood pressure. Coffee pot catches my eye,sitting there on the counter so pristine waiting for me to pick her up, add water and coffee grounds with a pinch of sea salt, I like freshly brewed coffee). Turn burner on and precede to warm the cream adding a touch of vanilla extract sometimes cinnamon. ~smile~ while waiting I pour myself a glass of water adding minerals, I warm coffee cup with hot water. Now  the moment has arrived, fresh brewed coffee, it not only smells divine it taste so delicious.

What's next?

I walk to my favorite sitting area, where my bible, devotional books, notebook and pen await, this is the most special time of day for me, this time with God sets the tone for my day. 

One of my favorite devotional writers is Lysa, TerKeurst, I have gained so much insight in  so many spiritual matters, and have been challenged in so many ways. A  prayer that she prays each day, has now become a prayer I pray, it just spoke so vividly to my heart......

 "Lord I want to see You. Lord I want to hear You. Lord I want to know You. So that I can follow hard after You."

Psalm 119:18~ Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your Law. 

Do you have a routine to begin each day? I will add,  there have been days when I would have to stray from my normal routine, and it just didn't seem right.

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

I must add it has been such a busy summer for us, our garden produced lots of vegetables, herbs, and the chickens gave us  lots of  eggs. I have canned, dehydrated, and learned a new skill, to ferment  produce this year. 

These are the last of the tomatoes, I have made Italian sauce, spaghetti meat sauce, and plain tomatoes.

I have an abundance of cucumbers so today is relish making day, one of my favorite things to make.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by for a visit.

Blessings.

Sue

~Still Kicking,... not going anywhere, yet ~

 Written by Sue, Thursday, February 23, 2023 sunny, very warm actually hot, 88 degrees🌞

I always look forward when these cute babies arrive, I know 'spring' is not to far away, at least on the calendar. We are having extremely hot weather, breaking temps.records,which I know won't last, we have had some big snows in March, but I am keeping my fingers crossed the snow will skip us this year, because the warm temps. have caused a lot of early budding. For now the chicks will be staying in the laundry room. ~wink~

When One is not able to move about freely, they have a tendency to get behind in their work, such as was the case with me, it's been almost 4 weeks since I sprained my ankle, I am now able to move about freely, so I decided I better get cranking or I will get behind.

So what have I been doing?

I juiced and canned orange juice, very refreshing, I used Cara Cara oranges, I was surprised it wasn't real sweet, which I like, 

I canned apples with vanilla and cinnamon, yummy, I see, apple dumpling, apple pies, or plain cooked apples.

Applesauce with vanilla and cinnamon, we like chunky applesauce.

I canned chicken with bone broth,  this makes great tortilla soup, chicken and rice/noodle soup.

Canned chicken bone broth, so delicious, when I was sick with covid 19, bone broth was so nourishing to me.

That's what I have been doing among other things, it was so nice to be up and about again, I am still not able walk outside, yet, though I have been busy. ha ha.

Love,

 Sue

A "Quick Note" Maybe!

Written by Sue, Saturday, February 4,2023     sunny, temps. 40's 

Hello dear Friends,

My, how quickly your daily routine can change in an instant, as I found out this week. One of my goals for the new year was to become more consistent in my walking exercise, I was off to a pretty good start walking outside for an hour 4 to 5 days a week, and having fun, being able to get fresh air and keep an eye on what was going on around the farm.

 Tuesday, as I was rounding a curve in the driveway my right ankle completely gave way, throwing me to the ground, and boy did it hurt. Instead of going to the house and icing it, I picked up a wooden  handle and kept walking for along while, not a smart thing to do,  I will admit to being somewhat stubborn,that's  not a good trait especially with something like this.

This week has found me sitting, around the fire,

foot elevated,  ice packs, rotating with Epsom Salt foot soaks at night,  and my Dh having to feed and take care of me. I am truly blessed, he has done everything with a smile, while  also reminding me that  his hourly wage has increased. Ha! ha Inflation, don't you know!

One of the good things about this week is I have had some time to visit blogging friends, catching up on some reading, meditating, making plans for future projects, as if I really needed more. 

I also found that my blogging skills have decreased, and blogger is always changing things or either I have forgotten a lot of things. Oh well! It is what it is!

Up until this week, I have been so busy learning new prepping skills, I have always wanted to make and can my own cranberry sauce, so I did, so easy peasy... I am now wondering why I waited so long to learn.

I use cranberry sauce in a lot of recipes, it goes so well with pork loin, baked ham, makes great cranberry breads and muffins, add to other sauces. 

 I also wanted to try new home remedies, since we grow our own garlic, I learned how to ferment garlic with raw honey, with so many new viruses around we need to protect our immune systems, garlic and honey are two of the many foods to help with this, as are many herbs, turmeric being one of them.

Peel, chop, garlic,

Place in sterilized jar, add raw honey, stir, several times a day turn jar upside down as to keep garlic covered in honey, each morning burp the mixture by slightly unscrewing lid, tighten again until next day, after two weeks it is ready to use. We chew  a piece a day, and put a little honey in our lemon, vinegar water. The honey makes the garlic taste so good not spicy at all, and it is good for you.

I am also learning about how essential oils are vital to our health too. Love this book, a gift from one of our sons and his fiancee.

Well! that's my supposedly quick note!~wink~Thank you for visiting.

 Enjoy your weekend.

Blessings,

Sue