Oh Dear September, How I remember!

      When school used to start and from my Mom I would depart! You have passed by so quickly I can hardly remember what all has occurred in your rush! I remember how last September was oh, so very hot! This September has been such a blessing! The temps have been hot some, but recently, they have cooled down to low sixties at night and upper-low eighties during the day! That is a drastic change from what I remember last September!

     I've been busy crafting, cooking and helping with children since I spoke with you last. The leaves are beginning to take on a Fall look, so I enjoy being outside as much as I can. I just wished those biting gnats would leave me alone! I still can't get in the garden, and I don't know when I'll be able to! Maybe Randy will weed-eat in there so I can get in it.

      We have embarked on our birthday season! Last week was Randy's, this week April's! The next birthday's will be Skylar's and Oma's, then Amber's! I'm working on Riley's birthday banners which will be in November. We have three birthdays in November and one in December, one in January, and one in February! What about all these birthday cakes? I will eat some of each! Oh no, what about my health? I will eat only a small piece! Maybe not any at all! We'll see. 

      If it seems like I'm rambling on about nothing, I'm trying to feed Riley as I write this. Thinking of something to write and feed a crying baby isn't easy! April had to go to the hospital because of severe diarrhea and vomiting, possibly her pancreatitis is acting up. I'll have the girls maybe over night. Just hope she gets well soon since her birthday is Thursday and we're supposed to celebrate it Saturday! I'll try to get back with ya'll later this week and give you an update on her condition. Thanks for bearing with me! Riley ate it all gone! Have a great week! Blessings from Bama! Roll Tide!

The recipe on the can is always too much for one pie crust, and that's using deep dish crust!

If my birthday was now, I'd want a pumpkin pie! See how much I ate!

This photo wasn't taken today, I fed her something by hand.

Winterlynn had a blast riding the golf cart!

Randy has as much fun as she does!

Such a cutie with that red-looking hair!

The dogs love to bark and chase them!

In the process of making lollipops for Riley's November birthday. I wonder how they'll turn out?

I have a new Bestie!

      It's: Barkeepers Friend! I can't believe I'm just now trying this stuff! I used it a couple of weeks ago to clean the tub and it worked like Magic Eraser! I like my friend better! It cleans stainless steel pots and pans like nothing I've ever tried before! I couldn't believe how new they looked after cleaning them with my new friend! And now the stove top!!! It was embarrassing how dirty it was! Now it looks almost brand new again! I didn't think I could use Barkeepers on the stove-top until I read the label again! Oh yes you can! I am really excited to find something that makes my toil a little easier! If you've never tried Barkeeper's Friend, now's the time!

      I didn't mean for the week to get so far along before I wrote another post! I'm still painting the door frame and door in the powder room and laundry room. I don't get to work on them everyday, and have decided to paint over what I just painted! The color on the outside looks SO much better than the color I just painted the inside of the bathroom door! Now, I'll have to paint the whole room! It needed another coat anyway! I'm thinking about changing the color, but to what I'm not sure!

      It's a beautiful Fall day today! The temp in in the mid-eighties and there's a slight breeze. The sun is still mighty hot, though! I can't believe how short the days have gotten just since I wrote the last post! We'll be setting the clock back before we know it! I like the change, though.

      I've been working on crafts still, and made Win's teacher a pencil can. I need to send it to her! I've also decided to cut the girls names out instead of using stickers or a stencil. I tried it last night and it turned out nice. Now I have three girls names to do. It's kind of time consuming cutting those letters but at least I saved a ton of money! The sticker letters I wanted at Hobby Lobby are not on sale this week and are $3.99 a pack. I would need at least 4 packs since the owls are all different colors and there's only 3 of a kind letters in each pack. So free, is a lot better than close to $20! 

      Hope ya'll are having a good week! Thanks for reading and commenting! Blessings from Bama!

I just had to share Riley's smiling face!

I finally made some GOOD pumpkin bread. It's supposedly Starbuck's version. It sure tastes delicious!

My stove-top after using Barkeeper's Friend! Hard to see but at least you don't see the brown ring around the eyes anymore!

I believe I could use some Barkeeper's Friend on this pan!

My new Bestie!

The pencil can for Win's teacher.

Apple Cobbler and Crafts!

      I've been making apple cobblers and crafting this week! Does that surprise you? Oh, and I've decided that the house isn't going to finish itself and if I want painting done, I'll have to do it myself! I don't like painting! At least not that kind! I'm not that good at it and it shows! I splatter paint everywhere, and I get it on doorknobs! I also leave streaks so you can see the brush strokes. That really urks Randy! But I just don't know how to do it his way, even though he's shown me many times! My way will just have to do! There's too much to mention that I have to paint, so I'll just show ya'll when I finish it one day!

       I haven't had the girls yet, but Win and Riley will be here tomorrow. That's why I am writing tonight! Wow! The Fall season is approaching quickly! The angle of the sun seems to shift daily! And the days are getting shorter now, blah! Not enough time for Randy to mow and weed-eat when he gets home! Skylar does the big mowing and Randy does the trim work. That takes an enormous amount of his time, therefore he doesn't ever get to finish painting the outside of the house! We've been here seven years! Will it ever get done? If I could only do things over, it would be so different!

      The apple cobblers turned out so good! I didn't like all the breading, but Randy does so it's a keeper. It's called Lazy Man's Cobbler and that's why I like it! Now I want something pumpkin like pumpkin bread or cupcakes! I don't need the sugar, but maybe just one piece or one cupcake will satisfy! Can you ever eat just one piece? What are you craving for the Fall season? Foods, drinks, crafting? All of the above for me!  It's supposed to cool off here a little this weekend! That will be great since it's been hot and humid this week! Ya'll have a great weekend! Blessings from Bama!

I love this photos of us! We were at a different Mexican restaurant.

Checking for honey! We missed the nectar flow this year so there won't be any honey for us, sad!

Ran got these close-ups for me.

I love how he caught them in flight!

The apple cobblers after being taken out of the fridge. Delicious!

I felt like the owls needed a little something. What little girl doesn't like glitter?

Here they are with their glitter!

I also added some glitter wings!

I'm going to get some glitter letters to spell the girl's names across the top. The owls will then be hung on each girl's door to her room!

I finished Riley's onesie! I did it all without the help of Randy! He's a great artist, but I can do this!

Our September Camping Trip

      At Lake Guntersville State Park! We had an awesome time! It was just the two of us since Skylar doesn't like these 'boring' trips! We do ride the roads a lot, but there is such pretty scenery in all the places we travel! There was so much water everywhere we drove on this camping trip, and the foot hills in the backdrop were just gorgeous! The leaves haven't changed much. The dogwoods are beginning to turn, and a few maples, so it will be absolutely beautiful in a few weeks! We found a very nice place called Buck's Pocket State Park that we would love to go to when the leaves change! Hopefully the spots won't all be taken, as they are a first come campground. It's down in a valley, with a dry creek surrounding it. We had a lot of rain, and the creek was dry! We couldn't figure that out! The mountains around it are quite tall, so there were some beautiful look offs at the top. We'll probably go there instead of Ellijay GA apple festival. We've been to Ellijay quite a lot these past few years, and although it's a beautiful place, I want to go somewhere different. Guntersville was hit quite hard when the tornadoes came through in 2011. The campground where we stayed used to be so full of trees. We have been there before, that's how I know. But now, the place looks like a logging crew has been through and stripped out the trees! So sad! It's still pretty, and you can see the lake much better, but it was nicer before the tornadoes! One night this trip, we had very strong winds come through with hard rain and the camper was just rocking! Randy slept through it but I was ready to wake him if it got worse. Thank God it didn't! The downtown area was hit hard as there were a few trees down, and places without power. I can imagine what it much have been like in April 2011!

      We picked scuppernongs and got a basket of not ripe peaches while we were on our trip. I got the scuppernongs ready and extracted juice, which is now in in the refrigerator waiting for me to make jelly. I've also been peeling and cutting apples from our tree, YAY! I put them in bags and in the freezer for pies. I have a few left that I want to make cobblers with. The girls have been here since Thursday, so I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but it was nice to spend time with them.

      I'm still working on a few crafts as I have the time and I can't believe how swiftly Fall is approaching! I won't be able to get everything done that I wanted before then! There is just never enough time in a day! Oh well, just do what you can do! Ya'll have a great weekend and thanks for reading! Blessings from Bama!

Some letters I began last year for Yasmine. Do you do that, start something and not finish it for a long time?

I used a wood burning tool to cut them out of the foam board. I took these with me on the camping trip since I knew I would have some free time. I am covering them with scrapbook paper and Mod Podge.

Winterlynn is telling me how much she loves me! She has on the little shirt I made.

Downtown Scottsboro where they have first Monday! They have been having this for a hundred years!

Some vendors set up at first Monday. Oh yea, my Bama Man!

More vendors.

Art in the park at Scottsboro.

It was nice and shady here!

A pier at a place called Goose Pond Colony. Like I said, there's lots of water all around where we went!

A finished letter!

The view of our campground from the lodge above it. Where there are no trees is where the tornado took them out.

Another view from the lodge.

A close-up of the campground.

Our camper is down there in the trees. I love how the foothills meet the water!

The lodge needs to remove the Crepe Myrtle trees so the front entrance is more visible.

The campground at Buck's Pocket is down in those trees.

We wear hats around here!

Yasmine pushing Winn.

Layla has on her hat too!

Yasmine's hat is cute!

  

Yasmine is trying to whistle.

The scuppernong juice being extracted.

Apples being processed.

A few left for cobbler.

Randy and the girls! He likes babies!