Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 22nd week of 2024? It's 52 degrees here this Friday morning. We've had a couple of chilly mornings the past couple of days. I just completed the last walk of my 31-day walking challenge for May. I walked every day except on Mother's Day. Me & Kevin had a good day fishing on the Lake & went to the rodeo. Me & Moma postponed our day going to cemeteries. We had a thunderstorm pass through that did a smidge of damage around our place. Our driveway was blocked & our power was out for about 8 hours. The power meter box to the workshop had to be repaired before the power could be turned back on down there. We put more strawberries in the freezer. I made another strawberry pie. Searching for recipes that uses frozen strawberries is on my to-do list. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you a little more about these things before heading out to a family picnic this weekend to celebrate my last day of work & the Grand's last day of school for this school year, come walk with me...

I did it. I made it to 30 years.

Happy FriYay! It's the last day
 of my work career. 

Kevin noticed these Indian Pipes
while we were exploring around
the lakebed. There were lots
of them.

*  We brought home 6 fish from the lake. Kevin cooked burgers. I made squash casserole. We had a picnic out on the front porch to kick start summer & to celebrate our freedoms, remembering Fallen Heros that gave their life. We went to the rodeo since Kevin got tickets from Employer being a sponsor. 

My original recipe for squash casserole don't call
for the bacon & sour cream like this one in the
church cookbook does. Yeap, it was a delicious
addition that made a difference.

Fairgrounds where the rodeo took place.

I tried some of Jerrie's kettle corn
 at the rodeo. I went to school
 with Jerrie & her husband Jamie.
They have a good thing going with
this kind of popcorn. Glad I just
got the small bag. I would have
ate every kernel no matter what 
size of bag.

Pausing for a few moments at the
Veteran's Memorial at the ball
fields during one of my
30-minute walks. "All gave
some, some gave all"

Walking the River Walk Trail.

*  The results from the 31-Day Walking Challenge of intentionally walking 30 minutes each day concluded with me being able to wear a pair of pants that had been previously too tight. I enjoyed walking 1st thing in the morning & want to continue that healthy habit into retirement for the exercise, sunshine & enjoyment of the outdoors.

Walking on our property.

Walking the Quanassee Path.

*  Here's a few pictures of the early morning storm that rolled through on the Memorial Day Holiday. I've got enough sticks to pick up that will last throughout the summer. Kevin hauled the bigger stuff with the tractor.

Even though the tree & branches blocking
our driveway was small, we were
concerned what might be on the roads
in other places for Me & Moma to
get out to go to cemeteries to view
grave decorations. We had already placed
our flowers though we wanted to visit
other family member's graves. 

 

The insides of the meter box
was damaged & had to be repaired.

"Rose, what do you think about the
power being out & we can't get out
of the driveway?"

This tree broke off about chest high &
fell over the iris. Good thing my car wasn't
parked there like I do sometimes.

The last day of my countdown to retirement.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how has your week been?

My strawberry pie recipe.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 21st week of 2024? It's 65 degrees here this Friday morning. Rain is in the forecast for our Memorial Day weekend. The daylilies are blooming. We put lots more strawberries in the freezer this week. The Baby Shower for Great Grand last weekend was entertaining & I had a blast. I love gift giving showers of any & all kinds. We took Rose out for her 1st boat ride & fishing. She is content doing anything that we do, so she was delighted to get to come along. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you about the Baby Shower & what I got them. This weekend is grave decoration. I'll be going with Moma to several cemeteries to honor & have remembrance of loved ones that have passed before us, come walk with me...

The countdown to retirement continues. 1 week to go after today.
Next Friday is my bittersweet last day. 

*  The expected birth celebration of Great Grand was a fun get together hosted by Daughter & Son in Law using an Enchanted theme. The Parents-to-be were showered with lots of love & laughter along with many cute & useful baby items. The baby's chosen name was announced & new grandparent names for Daughter & Son in Law were discussed.  All will be announced officially after the birth. We played a mystery gift guessing game to test everyone's knowledge of babies. The middle teen boys claimed they got the most points & won bragging rights of knowing the most about babies. Everyone wrote down their predictions about the baby's arrival date & time, appearance & features & their fun-loving unsolicited advice. 

Grand said we're both going to be
Seniors in a couple more weeks.
He'll be a senior in high school.
  I'll be a senior being a retired
 person. 

5 generations to be.

Granny's diaper cake did not
disappoint. It was an adorable
decoration & an awesome gift.
The couple got a home supply
 cake for their household shower.
We love our shower cakes.

Guess what baby item is in the
bag for 5 points. "Is it one of those
nose sucker things?" There were 10
 bags to gently feel, squeeze, smell...
Add 1 point each for guessing
 the brand, scent, color or ounces.

90 points. Really? 

Burgers

* Along with the guessing game & predictions,

 there was: 

Knights & Princesses

Dragons

Last but not least there was the gifts. Mine &
 Kevin's were a diaper caddy & a Radio
Flyer wagon. Sister made the Mommy to be
& Daddy to be sashes.

Rose enjoying our morning on the lake
 before it got too hot & before the
rain down poured. We brought home
3 fish. We ate some & put some in
the freezer.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how has your week been?

We freeze the strawberry pieces
individually before putting them in
vacuum seal bags. 

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 20th week of 2024? It's 58 degrees here this Friday morning. We got lots more rain this week & more rain is forecasted for the weekend. The mountain laurel beside the house is starting to bloom, some call it ivy. We put strawberries in the freezer. Kevin requested another pie, so I got more pie making ingredients when we went grocery shopping. Stuff in the garden is coming up. I discovered a different squash recipe in the church cookbook I'm going to try, maybe next week, using squash in the freezer. A coworker passed away after a brief courageous battle with cancer. I've got 14 more days to go till retirement, after today. I got in my 30 minute walk every day except on Mother's Day. I celebrated Mother's Day with my Moma last week so, grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you what I did this week on Mother's Day, then I'm heading out this weekend to help prepare for Great-Grand's baby shower, walk with me...

I thanked Daughter for letting me borrow one of her kids for Mother's Day. I didn't
really plan it, it just worked out that way with everyone's activities going on. Even
though I had to work, we had a good day out on the lake between my shifts &
brought home 2 fish to cook.

I stopped by to pay respects to my Mother in Law. She was a Stay-at-home Mom
 & Housewife the years I knew her. Cooking, baking & quilting were some of her
 best attributes. She put several recipes in the church cookbook. I've made
cowboy beans on several occasions using her recipe from the cookbook.

Counting down to retirement,
2 weeks to go.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how has your week been?

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 19th week of 2024? It's 65 degrees here this Friday morning. We've had a lot of rain this week. There was an EF-1 tornado touched down not too far away. There was power outages & lots of down trees on homes & vehicles. Grand's ballgame was cancelled last weekend due to the rain. Moma's Birthday & Mother's Day lunch went on as planned. It rained about all day that day, so it was good to have something to do. I've continued counting down my last days of work & I've continued walking 30 minutes every day for my 31-day walking challenge, so far so good on those. We took the boat out for her 1st voyage after Kevin revamped a lot of things on her. Kevin picked strawberries from out of the garden, I made a pie. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you how our Iron Maiden floated. I'm heading out to a ballgame this weekend & I'll be working this Sunday since we've already done our Mother's Day things, walk with me...

Happy Birthday to this Birthday Girl.
Happy Mother's Day to my Moma.

 

After

* Our boat was ready for the water after Kevin had worked on her a little all along for about 6 months. The final thing was getting a battery. Here is a quick peak inside our Iron Maiden of before & after pictures & our 1st outing with her.

Before

She floats. We caught 3 fish & released
them. I caught 2, Kevin caught 1.
Mine was a bluegill & a largemouth
bass, Kevin's was a largemouth. 

  

Me taking a break from fishing
as Kevin continues to fish & cruse
 us around the lake. I actually caught
a fish here in this spot.

Here we go, cautiously down the lake. We stayed close to the boat ramp at 1st & made
 sure to bring 2 paddles, just in case. All went good overall. Our Iron Maiden needs
 a few more tweaks such as cleaning out the carburetor & working on some loose
wires. Also, about 2 gallons of water made it in the back end, so that'll probably need
 to be check too. 

She's 28 in dog years.
She's a sun seeker &
a stick fetcher.

Happy Birthday to Rose.
She was born 4 years ago.

I postponed walking this morning.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how has your week been?

22 days left to retirement.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 18th week of 2024? It's 60 degrees here this good Friday morning. The black cherry trees are in bloom & they are so sweet smelling. I'm on the count down for my last days of work this month. I've officially joined the Dull Women's Club in preparation to a retirement lifestyle. I've ordered a magazine subscription as a substitute to work comradery for recipes, what movies are coming up to watch & info on things going on in the world around me & such. People have asked me what am I going to do after I retire. The 1st things that come to mind are... 2 hour morning coffee quite time, meal planning more strategically - cooking things we keep stocked up in the freezer & things from out of the garden using recipes from that magazine subscription, the church cookbook & several cookbooks I have on hand plus all those other recipes I've collected through the years that I had planned to make one day. I have plans to finally & truly organize my pictures & make photobooks that I've had on my to do list for at least 19 years since the 1st Grand was born. Then I have thoughts of everyday feeling like it's a weekend. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll show you our 90th birthday surprise for Aunt before I head out to Grand's baseball game this weekend & a dinner for Moma's birthday & Mother's Day combined. Also, Me & Kevin enjoyed a picnic & jeep ride last weekend, the wild azaleas were in bloom & lots of other wildflowers that I took pictures of that I'll share with you, come walk with me...

I came up with the birthday card idea,
Sister put it into action. Aunt is very
loved by so many. There was a big turnout
 of family & friends to celebrate her birthday.
 She received lots of cards & pots
of flowers. Happy 90th Birthday to 
Aunt Velva.
 

  

I saved room for a piece of the delicious
birthday cake made by Cousin, the same
one that made the cake for Grand's
wedding. Cousin is a wonderful &
true cake artist. 

*  Since I made a countdown of my last days of work, my mind wants to put off doing anything & everything till after I retire. They'll be plenty of time to do it then, I'm thinking. The overflowing dirty clothes hamper along with the small mound of dirty clothes beside it & the dirty dishes stacked in the sink told me otherwise, so there was laundry done this week & the dishes washed as usual. I started a 31-day walking challenge for May. I need to get some weight off & also eat less portions & have less to none sweets for my health to try to get those glucose & cholesterol numbers down or else... So far, I'm rocking it & have walked the 1st 3 days of May. I've been walking 1st thing in the morning after coffee time, of course. 

Some have asked if I was counting down the days
to retirement. I am now, 29 more to go.

* We hadn't been on a jeep ride in a while. Nature did not disappoint with all it's beauty. There were lots of blooms, these were some of the best pictures I took.

Asters

 

Yellow Flowers, Maybe Ragwort
The poison oak does not bother me.
Kevin steered clear of it.

Lady Slipper

  

May Apple

Wild Iris

 

Fern

Wild Azalea 

 

We went through several
fords in the creek.

Lunch, using the new lunch box
Daughter gave us for Christmas. 

  

It's me, sitting on the creek bank 
taking a moment to admire the 
beauty, sounds & smells.

Cucumber Tree

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how has your week been.