Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 15th week of 2024? The dogwood trees have come alive. It's 47 degrees here this early Saturday morning. I had planned to sleep in, but I was bright eyed & bushy tailed at 4 am. I don't know why, maybe excited to go to the produce stand & get flowers to plant in the newly remodeled flower bed out in front of the house. Soon my everydays will be a Saturday as I get closer to my retirement date. Then I'll have plenty of opportunities to sleep in & take 2 to 3 hours to have my morning coffee. We got all that rain along with some wind that was forecasted last week. I have more sticks to pick up around in the yard. I didn't walk outside during work time to look up at the solar eclipse, but I did look at some interesting pictures of it online later that evening. I had a good time with the Grandgirls last weekend. The girls did end up convincing me that it was not too cold for them to get in the creek. Good thing I had plenty of hot chocolate on hand. It was too cold for me & Kevin to get in the water to move around the rocks that had washed out of their place. Kevin got a load of mulch instead. We all worked on putting it out around in the flower beds, Kevin cleaned out the chicken house. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you about a couple of whoopsies we had this week & a few of the fun things the Grandgirls did while visiting, walk with me...

"This is so much fun" for about 3 buckets, then
they got hot & went to the creek.

The mud bath loving girl.

 

The mud pie loving girl.

The stick fetching loving girl.

  

"Do you like butter?"

The new pulley verses the old
one that fell apart & caused
the belt to break.

*  Whoops... The belt broke on the jeep as we were taking the Grandgirls home. The belt flew off about a mile from our destination. Kevin kept driving on to their house without any power steering but before things started to heat up. Luckly, there are a couple of parts places open around here on Sunday. We were able to get the 2 needed parts to fix the jeep, though Kevin had to get 2 different size pulleys because he wasn't sure which size he would need. Son-in-Law helped Kevin put in the new pulley & belt to get the jeep back on the road. The unneeded pully was returned a few days later for a full refund. I was the flashlight holder & the tool hander in case anyone wonders what I did to help in the situation. 

*  Whoops... We woke up to the power being off one morning this week. Neighbor told Kevin it had went off about 11 the night before. That meant our electricity had been off for at least 8 hours. We went to work & don't know when the power came back on. Kevin has an incubator full of chicken eggs that are supposed to hatch the same time the baby chicks are expected to arrive here in a couple weeks. We're hoping the eggs are ok & maybe the only side effect will be a day or 2 later for hatching.

The hatching eggs look all snug
as a bug under a rug, or maybe not.
 The temperature stays at 99.5 F.
A good range of warmth is 
99 to102, plus a little water
in there for humidity.

A sneak peek of the arch for
Grand's wedding.
 

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

The strawberries are blooming,
the rhubarb has 4 beautiful leaves,
azalea blooms are about to pop
open, an asparagus the size of a 
toothpick has showed itself.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 14th week of 2024? It was a chilly 38 degrees here this early Friday morning. Looks like there is rain moving in next week, so that might be a good time for Kevin to work at home in his shop building the arch for Grand's wedding. We had our Easter gathering at our place this year. It was a gorgeous sunny day for egg hunting but a tad bit windy for our picnic tablecloths & paper plates. Kevin mowed the grass this week for the 1st time this season, after the egg hunt, of course, so there were lots of high grassy spots for egg hiding. He was pleased with the outcome of the Seed Swap he participated in last weekend. He sold everything he took except the tiller & mower. I picked up an arm load or 2 of sticks around in the mowing areas about every day this week. I think I'm caught up on that task for now. It's one of those never-ending jobs when living amongst the trees. I'm heading out to a baseball game this weekend along with spending extra time with the Grandgirls. We'll probably work in the creek moving some rocks that were washed out of their place, if it warms up enough. The girls will want to help because it's an any reason to get in the creek kind of thing. We'll play a card game or 2 & have some popcorn, I'll bring out my candy stash that I keep hidden for such occasions & we'll have to fit in making cookies some time or another, but 1st, grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you a little about our Easter gathering & a different technique I saw going around facebook that I tried for dying eggs for the egg hunt, come walk with me...

The weeping cheery tree was the boundary line for egg hunting between the littlest
Grands & the Middles. The tree was so beautiful in bloom & the bees buzzing
as they worked paying no attention whatsoever to us Easter egg hiders & hunters.

There were a couple of egg relay
games. Have you ever tried walking
with an egg between your knees?  It's 
not as easy as I thought it sounded.
Some resorted to jumping, that did
not work for me. We laughed so much,
I laughed the hardest I've laughed in a
long time.

There were bubbles, so many
bubbles, I love bubbles.

*  I dyed 2 dozen eggs for the Easter egg hunt. Most of the eggs used were plastic but I still like to mix in some real eggs for old time traditions. At the end of the hunt, all the eggs were given back. We'll use the plastic ones again next year. I made egg salad with the real eggs that didn't have any cracks. Kevin & I ate egg salad sandwiches the rest of the week. Anyways, I tried something new using paper towels for dying a couple of the eggs. Some folks probably already know about it, but I had never seen it, that I recall. Daughter has used silk ties, but I had not seen the paper towel thing. It worked so good, I think I'll dye most my eggs that way next year, if I can remember about it. Paas has been my tried & true egg dying kit forever, though this year, the instructions were on a sperate piece of paper instead of on the back of the box. The reading on the paper was so tiny, I thought I was going to have to get the magnifying glass. Here's how I done the paper towel method...

1st - I marked on paper towel sheets with a marker.

Next - I wrapped one of the paper towels around each of the eggs & tied the paper towel at the top using the Grandgirls hair bands that I had on hand. 

Then - I rolled the eggs in a bowl of vinegar till the paper towel was wet & stuck to the egg all over.

To finish - I let the egg set in a dry bowl for a bit then slowly took off the paper towels. It was a WOW moment seeing the marbled look on the eggs.

Sister got the bunny at the bin store
for $2. It was a cute & fun addition to
our Easter gathering. It needed more 
strings attached to keep it upright due
to the blustery day.

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

The finder of the most eggs
found 42 & 1/2 eggs. He had his
pockets full too. He didn't know
where the other 1/2 of the
egg went.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 13th week of 2024. It's a chilly 33 degrees out this early Friday morning but it's going to warm up though. It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend for Easter festivities & for the local Seed Swap that Kevin is going to. He's got several items he's taking to sell or trade. I've got eggs that I need to get boiled & dyed for the Easter egg hunt we're having at our place this year. My little finger is still sore & swollen from where I dislocated it last week, but it's on the mend. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll catch you up on my final sample for Grand's wedding cookie table & a few other things, walk with me...

I found this rock along the River
Walk Trail at the ballparks while
waiting for Grand's baseball
game to start. The rock was
rehid for someone else to find. I
also discovered a few azalea
blooms along the riverbank.

*  Haystacks were my 4th & final cookie sample to go on the cookie table at Grand's wedding. Littlest Grands were my cookie making assistants while birthday party decorating was going on for their sister.

Mixing up chow mein
noodles & butterscotch chips.

There was way too much topping leftover.
We took the cookies to the party &
they were eaten, so that's a thumbs up. 

*  A couple other things we did while waiting to go to the birthday party ...

Took a walk down the
hill to check the mail...

& played in the mud puddles
on the way back up.

*  Birthday party fun...

Moma & Me having a little fun
& laughter with some silliness at
the photo booth area.

There were smash burgers & hotdogs
with all the trimmings & fixings along
with these cute delicious fruit cups & dip.
A splendid idea for grab one & go to keep
the food line moving along.

No secrets being told here from Granddaughter-in-Law
of baby names they've picked out.

The Birthday Girl.

* 

*  I go to the baseball games to smell the fresh cut grass...

  

Grand playing 3rd base & Great Nephew the
 runner, playing on opposing teams. I shouted
to each of them "knock the ball out of the park".
 I cheered for both teams. It was a good close
game, neck & neck the entire game. Both teams
got good hits, both teams made good plays,
 both teams made errors. My team won
either way. Yay! Final score 13 to 10.

Grand warming up. He's got a good
arm. I enjoy watching the younger
 ones as they improve throughout
 the season.

Grand & Girlfriend all gussied
up ready for the prom. I proudly
pinned on his boutonniere, 
Daughter did her hair.

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

The burial service for Baby Grand was
precious & comforting knowing that she'll
 always be shinning in glory.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 12th week of 2024. It's 53 degrees out this early Friday morning, maybe some rain expected today & tomorrow. Sunday, we're expecting sunny skies & warm temperatures up to 70 as the final preparations for Grand's burial service are completed & carried out. It's been a tuff couple of weeks for Daughter. So many people have stepped up in so many ways to help her get through each day, one day at time. Daughter wrote up the sweetest little obituary I've ever read. I'm feeling more confident this weekend that Daughter is physically on the mend, having more of her strength back & able to get around & about a bit better, so let's grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you about Great Grand's gender reveal, oh & I hurt my finger. Kevin finished up the flower bed around the old tree in the front yard & he's not so patiently waiting for the baby chicks to arrive next month, walk with me...

Sister & Me.
Do you think Great Grand #1 is a girl or a boy ❓
The majority said boy.

The proud parents to be.

It's a.......BOY!

I didn't notice before how much
I need my little finger for tying
 my shoe & typing.

*  I thought I had surely broke my little finger. I was picking up trash along our creek bank. I lost my footing, clumsy me. What seemed to be slow motion at the time, both feet ended up in the water as I tried to steady myself. I turned back toward my right side putting my hand down to catch myself. I found myself flat on my back laying on the bank. I rolled over & realized my pinky was hurting. It felt like I had stoved it up. I couldn't bend my finger as I looked at it to see if it was alright. I noticed a bump in the knuckle that something wasn't right. Kevin told me it would be alright. I told him no, I thought it was broke. I 1st called urgent care. They didn't have an Xray tech on hand that day, so off to the Emergency Room we went. The diagnosis of my pinky was dislocation not broken, thank goodness, I guess. With a couple numbing shots, some powerful tugging & pulling, my finger looked like it was supposed to other than some swelling & bruising. My pinky was splinted up, I was discharged & we were sent on our way. 

Dislocated pinky, not broken.

Happy Birthday to Grand Jemma.
She lost her 2 front teeth. They'll
 probably be grown back
before Christmas.

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

Aisley Joy, our beautiful one, always
shinning with glory.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 11th week of 2024. It's 57 degrees out this early Saturday morning. It's going to be a good weekend for the opening ceremonies of youth baseball. Sadly, we lost Grand #10 this week. We'll have coffee or your favorite beverage next week or so. I thank everyone for your thoughts & prayers for Daughter & family during this rough patch.

Happenings on the Homestead in the Appalachian Mountains

Weekend Coffee Share

Hello there Adventurous Friends & Family, greetings from Georgia. How you doing this 10th week of 2024. It's a chilly breezy 37 degrees out this early Sunday morning. It's not even daylight yet since the time change. The heat from the gas logs feels good. The grass is growing, spring flowers are blooming. Kevin has had a touch of a cold or covid or something this week, I had my yearly well exam. We both applied for our retirement that will take effect in May. Our plan for the day is to work on the flowerbed in front of the house. Grab a coffee or your favorite beverage & I'll tell you about Kevin's garden work & the next cookie sampling on my list for Grand's wedding cookie table, walk with me...

We're about to get started to finish up this
project. Rose has been enjoying the warm
days this week & wants to stay outside longer.

*  Kevin planned out what he's going to plant in the garden & where he's going to plant what. He's been separating the strawberry plants along as he comes up with containers. There's a couple of swaps & sales coming up that he wants to try to participate in.

Lots of runners from the
original plants.

 

Look at those nice hearty roots.

These strawberry plants are called Eversweet Everbearing.
Grands have already made rounds in the garden looking
for strawberries. I told them it's too early just yet.

* My 3rd cookie sample, I'm going to call it turtle cookie. It's a sweet & salty mix. The cookie stayed together & it stayed fresh for days without the crackers going soft.

It's simple & looks kinda fancy.

Tastes delicious.

I...

• went to Grand's baseball game, the smell of the fresh mowed grass was therapeutic.
• repaired my eyeglasses with a repair kit.
• made a crockpot of beans, then made chili using the leftover beans & deer burger, then had hotdogs with the leftover chili. 
• didn't order anything from Amazon this week, though I'm still waiting on shapewear to go under the dress I got to wear to Grand's wedding.

Took a tour of Moma's gardens
while taking a break from working
on the wedding arch flowers. 

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

I would like to get some of these
lenton rose started growing around
our place.