HAPPY 61st TO ME !!!!!

Whoa !!! What a crazy day. The day before  we leave for vacation always is a bit crazy but maybe today was the worst . Seeming to drive that home was when I walked in the kitchen the next morning and saw the back door standing wide open !!  Glad no one came through looking for unlocked doors last night.
Hubbie took today off to help make things easier and it is a good thing he did with all we had to do today.
First on the list was a trip to Tractor Supply to get animal feed stocked up for the farm sitter. Then I wanted to get a new laptop as my old one is really aggravating me and hubbie wants it to surf around on. So after a look at Sam's Club while hubbie picked up a few supplies I decided to check out the sale Staples was having. Got a good deal and then headed to Dunham's sporting goods for a pair of deck shoes for hubbie for our beach trip.
Whew finally home at 11:00 and ready to begin baking , or so I thought !!  As I gathered supplies I discovered that I had forgotten to pick up any butter. Aldi is usually where I get this and they were out so I forgot to get it at Walmart.  I hurriedly made a trip to Ingles while hubbie started yardwork.
Only a 30 minute delay before my baking duties began. I baked 12 caramel, 7 chocolate, 5 pound and 2 blackberry wine cakes.
After a quick late lunch I started packing. Along with hubbie we got everything packed and sitting either inside the basement door or just inside the living room door.
Then we headed outside to get all the animal waterers and feeders filled.
Aa and Re came by to wish me a happy birthday .  I haven't had any time today to even think about turning a year older, but maybe that is a good thing !!!
Daughter came by a bit later and brought me a nice gift. This antique bird house and a gift card from my favorite place to eat, Cracker Barrel. Thanks kids!!! I love both my gifts.

She dropped Tipper her dog off as she has an overnight lock in with her volleyball team tonight and wants to get straight home and to bed in the morning so she can get some sleep before her and #2 son head to the beach.
When she left and all the regular chores were done I carried water to all my potted plants and flowers. The forecast is for 0 %  chance of rain for most of this coming week.
Back inside I started icing cakes and getting things ready for market tomorrow. I have a good friend that I hire to work my market booth for me on the first Saturday of vacation so that I won't miss but 2 market days. I used to go to market myself on this day and then hubbie and I would  leave after market to drive to the beach. We always arrived after dark and we are not good at driving after dark anymore especially in strange places.  This works out much better for us and Georgia Rhodes doesn't mind working the booth.
Hubbie helped any way he could to make things move faster but it was still 1am when we got into bed. I was very tired !!
I have a funny feeling about going on vacation this year. I am sure I need the time off but can't put my finger on exactly what is causing this apprehensive feeling. It is probably because this is the first time we have ever left the 4-legged kids at home. But since they have such health problems we just  didn't think they could make the long trip this year.
I'm sure I will enjoy my down time after I get there and things get settled here at home with Heather.
As this month of July comes to an end this has been one of the more exciting news filled months that we have had in a long time.
Beginning with the news that our entire farm is in the "study area" for the new mega power lines Duke Energy is going to build made us start thinking that it may not be in God's will for us to remain here for the rest of our lives. That news also put a hold on several projects we were getting ready to do around the house and farm.
We had a Fourth of July cookout here with Josh's family and then on their family beach trip he proposed to daughter making her a very happy lady and all of us very thankful that she waited for what seems to be her perfect husband. His family is excited also as they really love daughter.
In a usual July I would have been in the kitchen canning on many days this month but because of the recent drought we are in I have only canned green beans and made Dilly beans so far. All the other vegetables seem to be just sitting around waiting for some rain so they can ripen up.
The heat this month has been oppresive at times , so much so that at the end of several busy days I have found myself in tears I was so tired and wiped out from fighting the heat and a busy schedule.
G-son found a new friend as we made a couple trips with him to Carl Sandburg's goat farm where he fell in love with one of the young goats named Cinnamon.
D-in-love has had to only work Mondays and Tuesdays this month so g-son has only been here those two days each week.
Curb Market has been busy for me as the camps are in full swing around the area and they all buy cakes from me as well as all the summer residence that buy my cakes.
Unlike most months this month has seemed to drag by. I know I can't complain about time slowing a bit for me at this point in my life and I'm not complaining I'm just saying !!  Maybe it was the heat, maybe the busy time of year, maybe it is the not knowing where the power line will go, or maybe it is just a time in my life that things stop spinning for a little while which I am very grateful for. I rest in the knowledge that God knows what is best for me and as we end this month in the wee hours of the night feverishly getting ready for our yearly beach trip I pray that each decision that is made in the coming months will reflect the love light that God shines down on us each day.
God will take care of His creatures and all will be as He wills.  Thanking God for this blessed day.
Good Night and God Bless.

WEDDING VENUE SHOPPING

Hubbie is going in late to work this morning so he can help get the large cake order to market. I can't haul 19 extra cakes plus all my other regular cakes in one vehicle.
We did chores and loaded everything and then made it to market at regular time. He helped me get set up then went on to work.
I sold very well today and had the large order so it was a very good Thursday for a change.
It is stifling hot in market today. I have gotten dizzy a couple times and had to get out my ice packs from my lunch cooler to help get cooled back down. I have my little fan running but it is still hot air moving around. After lunch the aisles cleared out and I'm sure everyone is looking for cooler places to be. Most of the sellers have left. I had a regular customer call and is coming up from Travelers Rest SC to pick up a couple cakes so I am stuck waiting on him. 
After market I had regular errands to run plus shopping for baking supplies for tomorrow at Aldi and Walmart. Yes it is a very hot day.

When I got home hubbie was already home from work. We unloaded and I had an early supper because we are going with daughter and Josh to look at a couple wedding venues this evening.
They got here a little after 5:00 and we were on our way up Bearwallow mountain to the Grand Highlands at Bearwallow. This is a very nice place with a lovely view and plenty of room if you luck up and have a nice day to have your wedding.

 As we headed back to the car this rainbow was in the sky. Apparently it had rained somewhere in the distance.

 Next we went to check out a place called "The Cabins at Sugarloaf" which was a very nice place but very rural. No power except from generators and no air conditioning anywhere. The restrooms were run from gravity rainwater caught in two 1500 gallon tanks . It actually had a nicer view than Bearwallow but was even smaller.

I loved how she had saved all the old furniture in the old buildings.

This hand painted saw blade was painted by a friend of mine Ruth Ellen Busbee Boreman.

We made it home around 8:00 and they hurried off to get some supper. Hubbie and I hurried through chores as all the animals were wondering where we were I'm sure.
As I looked at the huge "Blue Moon" that seems to hang low in the clear sky tonight I felt very happy that the clouds drifted away in time for this "once in a Blue Moon" to be viewed tonight. There won't be another one of these until 2018.

I was planning to get some baking done tonight but I am way to tired for that. Tomorrow is another day !!  And it will be another very busy one for sure.
Thanking God for the wonderful world He created for our pleasures. Grateful for the blessings of this day.
Good Night and God Bless

BUSY LAST WEDNESDAY OF JULY

Seems eerily quiet around here this morning after the last two days of three kids running around !!
After feeding chores and breakfast I read my devotions and then decided to get to my baking for the day. I baked 6 more caramel, 2 chocolate, 1 coconut, 8 pound and 1 blackberry wine cakes.
I stopped in the middle of this and had to turn the ovens off while I took Dolly to the groomers.I thought about not taking her as there is a canine flu that is going around right now but they assured me they were sterilizing things after each dog.  She really needs a haircut and I just don't see time in the anywhere near future for me to do her myself.
She wasn't as scared today as sometimes in the past. I take her to Petco just out the road now and they always only keep her about 2 hours. It is handy for me only about 5 minutes out the road and I called Monday and got an appointment for today.
I came home turned the ovens back on and finished my baking about 3:00, just before they called me to come back and pick Dolly up.  She looks so cute after her grooming.

I tried to print something off my printer and had to work on it until hubbie got home.
At 4:30 Heather a girl that I have hired to stay here and watch after all the animals and house while we are on vacation came by for her walk through. She went to school with daughter and is such a sweet girl. We have known her family for many years.
After she left d-in-love came by on her way to VBS and fixed my computer.
Ha when they come in and push a couple buttons and fix something I feel so stupid !!!
She was on her way to take g-son and EL to VBS. I miss going this year so much, but time just didn't allow it with getting ready to go on vacation and the extra bakery orders for the week.
This is g-son (in the red old Navy shirt) and his class.

 After chores hubbie fried some fresh okra to go with our fresh tomatoes for supper , yummmm !!
I tried to pick some fresh green beans but there is just not any coming back on the drying vines.
I did weekly paperwork and then iced cakes until 11:00 before it was time to get ready for bed.
Whew !!! another busy day in the books for this summer.
D-in-love went to the doctor this morning and this a wonderful photograph of my new grand daughter as she looks right out at us.

Amazing what these ultrasound images show these days.

As usual I am blogging between customers at market and back dating this post.
Thankful for the strength God gives me each day and striving to glorify Him in all that I do.
God Bless.

HOT AND HUMID JULY TUESDAY

G-son was late getting here and didn't come until after 7:30, guess my inner clock was set for 7:00 and then I went back to sleep. When d-in-love called to say they were coming up the drive I had a hard time figuring out what was going on I was in such a deep sleep.
After I got him breakfast I got dressed and then Re brought a sleepy EL and BB over so she could go to a recertification course at the hospital this morning.
I did chores quickly while she was still getting them settled in.
When g-son was just starting to move around in a walker I don't remember moving anything off my shelves but that is not going to be true with this little guy  as just after 2 days in this walker he is moving right where he wants to go. And is becoming a quick expert at clearing off shelves !!!

Ahhhh!!!   Mimi I just wanted to read the newspaper !!!

By the look on his face he must have read some bad news.

 EL pretending to sleep !!!

G-son played well with BB while I got some cake baking done this morning. I baked 18 caramel cakes to fill a large Camp ending order for Green River Preserve.
Re came after them just before lunch and they had Sunday's left overs for lunch before they went home for naps.
After they left I did some house cleaning while watching the clouds fill the sky. The storms today all were east and south of our area and we only received a short sprinkle of rain. Just enough to really steam things up. I went to the garden and gathered bell peppers that are starting to get some rot on them and put them in the freezer. I was going to use them in my salsa but the tomatoes aren't ripening fast enough so when the tomatoes are ready I will take the peppers out of the freezer. Have no idea why I put 8 for the date, guess I'm trying to speed things along this month.

When Hubbie came in from work he bush hogged the upper pasture for Cayenne the horse while I moved some chicks around. I had to separate one of the white Silkies because the other chicks  had pecked her head bloody. I put her in what I called my hospital cage and then moved 3 of the bigger ones to the Silkie lot. I had to close a couple holes under the wire that these smaller chicks could slip through and by the time I did this I was soaked with sweat from the heat and humidity of the evening.
With the humidity also comes the mosquitoes as we have not seen many at all until now around the farm. Tonight they were out in droves and stopped our nightly relaxation in the covered patio.
I iced all my caramel cakes tonight to get a head start on a busy tomorrow.
God is so good to me all the time and I am so thankful for the blessings He sends me each day.
Good Night and God Bless

SPECIAL TRIO

G-son arrived at 7am today to give the day an early start. After chores and breakfast EL and BB arrived so mom who worked last night could get some sleep today.
These three are best buddies and they all were really great today.

The good ole summer time is great for freezer pops on the front porch after a hot morning of weed eating (or playing)  !!

I spent the morning with a great laundry helper, EL, after BB went down for his morning nap.
After lunch BB and EL switched places but she had a hard time going to sleep. As if she knew mom and dad were going to be coming to get her she played quietly in her crib. Sure enough the meeting with their doublewide salesman was postponed so they came to take the kids home for naps.
With the clouds threatening rain any minute I worked on the new babies quilt this evening.
Just as the rain started Re called and I went over to sit with sleeping BB and EL while they had a later meeting with the salesman.
He finally brought a serviceman over to their house to do some of the fixing up that should have been done a couple weeks ago. Hopefully he will get the ball rolling  and get this finished so they can move in.
When she got back from their meeting I came home and checked the rain gauge to see how much rain the shower had given us, only 2/10ths inch but we are thankful.
I finished the little quilt and made pics which I will show after the baby shower in a couple weeks. Don't want to spoil the surprise !!
D-in-love picked up g-son to get ready for his second day of VBS tonight. He said he really had fun last night.
The church is all decorated up with jungle themes.

Looks like a lot of fun. I have such a busy week this week I am sitting this year's VBS out. Daughter has volleyball camp all week this week and D-in-love is 8 months pregnant so we all sat out this year of VBS leadership.
I cleaned out my refrigerator and freezer tonight to end the jobs for today.
Hubbie and I had a few minutes out in the covered patio in what now feels like a sauna outside from the earlier rain before coming inside for the evening.
Giving God all His glory tonight and every night as I end the day humbly grateful for the many blessings He bestows on me .
Good Night and God Bless

LOVELY SUNDAY AND OLD UNDATED PICTURES FOR THE MONTH OF JULY

Up to get potatoes in the pressure cooker and get them done and holding on warm before I left for church. My pressure cooker does a great job but it takes it a long time to build pressure. I like for it to be finished cooking before I leave it.
I did chores and got ready for church, I even had time to get my secret sister monthly gift together and take it with me.
Church was good today ,we had the folks that just returned from a month long mission trip to the middle east each give an account of their trip instead of a sermon.
We came home for a lunch of smoked butt with baked beans, corn on the cob, potatoes, slaw and peach/blueberry cobbler for dessert. Everyone made it except daughter and she was with Josh at one of his brother's birthday dinner.
We all had a very nice visit and after everyone left hubbie watched a race on TV and I sat outside and enjoyed the nice day.
It is not so hot this afternoon with intermittent clouds.
After I did chores this evening I gleaned the garden but didn't find much. I wonder why our tomatoes are not ripening faster than they are since we have had some recent rain but there was none to pick today.
I started making a baby quilt for my new grand daughter that is expected in September tonight. I got the quilt blocked and the cut-outs that go one on it ready to be stitched into positions before the muscles in my back said it was time to stop for the evening.
As I watched the sun set this evening these clouds built quickly.

I am going to finish out the decade pics for this month since I don't have anything else today.
These are some old undated pictures and a newspaper clipping I found.
This first pic is my paternal grandfather, Richard Martin Pryor , his daughter Hattie Beddingfield, her daughter Geneva Fletcher and one of Geneva's  sons and his wife and baby.

This clipping is about Geneva's son Hugh.

These ladies are my mother and 3 or her 4 sisters, from left, Hattie, Mary, Goldie (my mother) and Carol , the Ruff girls.

This is Hattie and Mary in the snow.

Tonight as I reflect back over this day I am glad I have a wonderful Lord who listens and cares for each of His children during our good and bad times and that I can rest in comfort knowing His will is always best.
Good Night and God Bless

91st BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND 2005 LAKE MEMORIES

Out to get the chores done and get ready for market on this muggy July morning. Market was very busy this morning with crowded aisles until around noon.
Gladys Barnwell , one of our older market members celebrated her 91st birthday today and her daughters brought Hot Dog World hot dogs for everyone for lunch followed by birthday cake. She is an apple and vegetable farmer and has sold in market for over 50 years. Happy Birthday Gladys.

It was pretty comfortable inside market today with the cloud cover outside, maybe that's why there was such a crowd today.
I left market and went by Aldi and Walmart for baking supplies for some very large orders for next week. I ran into an old friend , Susan Fox, in Walmart and we had a few laughs as we  talked .
Hubbie was weed eating when I got here and stopped long enough to help me unload quickly and then went back to get done before the rain came.
He didn't have long and the rain came down fast and hard , leaving 6/10ths inch in the gauge in just a few minutes.
Hubbie and I relaxed on the front porch and watched the rain fall while the aroma from the smoker was intoxicating and made us really hungry !!
We took the chicken breast out and had one for supper they were very good. We left the butts in to cook until about 10:00pm. We will have one for lunch tomorrow and put one in the freezer for later.
After the rain this evening the fog came in thick and low to make a really muggy night.
 In July of 2005 hubbie, daughter and I enjoyed the lake in the boat we had at that time.

Daughter loves to  water ski.

I only had one 4-legged kid back then, Dolly, who loved the water also.

Thankful for another blessed day and striving to glorify Him in all that I do.
Good Night and God Bless.

JULY BLOOMERS

Another busy Friday on tap today. I got the chores done and had breakfast then decided I needed my morning walk to commune with the Lord today.
Seems I am letting myself get overwhelmed with all the work, heat and expectations of this time of year once again. Every year this happens , usually about a month or so later than this but since we haven't had our  usual July vacation break I think the feeling is coming a bit earlier this year, plus there is a lot more going on this year.
The heat and drought of this month has hampered a lot of the blooming flowers but this Crepe Myrtle in the back yard is splendid this year.

I am still very pleased with these trailing Geraniums that I bought last spring.

My Crown of Thorns is slow to bloom this year. Maybe I'm not carrying water regularly enough !!

On the front porch stair rail these bright Morning Glory beauties greet me each day and put a smile on my face to start the day.

I came inside feeling more refreshed and baked 12 caramel, 3 chocolate, 4 pound and 1 blackberry wine cake before lunch time.
G-son came to stay this afternoon while his mom went shopping. He has a runny nose and doesn't feel like going anywhere today.
He is a handsome little guy even if he is mine !!!

This afternoon I took a soapy dishpan up to the hen lots and did their dishes !!!  All the waterers get a yucky coating of green slim in the heat of the summer days so they have to have their dishes done !

After g-son went home I did chores and rested a little while out in the covered patio with my big camera.
I saw this guy fly over to this fence post. I don't know what kind of hawk he is but I am glad he is in the bottom pasture instead of up here terrorizing my hens !! I was hoping to have clear enough pics to identify him but he was too far away even with the 300mm lens.

There was some clouds around tonight and they gave us about 1/10ths inch of rain just as darkness fell.

Daughter continued her beach fun today as she caught this baby shark while surf fishing.

I iced all the cakes and made it to bed around midnight.
I, as usual am typing this between customers at market on a busy Saturday market day.
God Bless