Warm Days in May!

      The weather has finally warmed up! And I think it's here to stay! I'm at the place where I stay inside after 1 or 2 in the afternoon until about 6 at night. I have lots to do during that time though. I just now got through working out with Jillian Michaels! Isn't it nice to have a celebrity right in your own home? During the other hours, I clean, cook, do dishes, and laundry.Tonight I'm making chicken fajitas, so I won't have to cook them until the guys get home. Skylar has finished school and will graduate on the 29th. My baby! Where did the years go? I remember when.......!

      The garden is doing better than last year, so far. One tomato has a bloom! I wished they all did! Something is eating the leaves of the beans. What can I do to help that and keep it organic? I purchased some non-organic sweet potato slips and am going to see how they do. I planted organic heirlooms I ordered a couple of years ago and they didn't make it. I have more knowledge how to grow them now. I just don't know if chickens will eat the sweet potato leaves. Do ya'll know? There's a great spot to plant them in the chicken yard. I'll have to read up on that. How's your garden doing?

      The goat girls are doing well. Their bellies are beginning to get bigger. The brown one is bigger than the white one. Maybe she is further along, or has twins. They are due mid-July. The babies will be here before I know it! I hope ya'll are experiencing a warm in your temps! I'll try to send some of our warmth to you! Have a great week! Blessings from Bama!

The making of biscuits.

I think he's the cutest boy in the world, even if he doesn't smile!

The candy striped amaryllis is fading fast!

I need to look up this vine. Do you know what it is?

Hillbilly chicken shade! They love to gather under here!

I hilled the potatoes but it doesn't look like I did enough!

How high should the hill go? I think it might start to fall down if I go further.

The bees are calm and carrying on. I don't know if I told you in the last post, but Guy had to put the nuc in a larger box because there was no more room for them in the small box. They were honey bound!

These are right next to the bees. Funny how purple shows up blue in a photo.

My one and only bloom so far is from an heirloom: Nepoli.

I wanted bread for breakfast but it was too late to run the bread machine. I thought of the bread that is the easiest, from Jim Lahey's book, My Bread. It is delicious!

Hot and fresh, right out of the oven!

      

October is a Great Month to Celebrate Birthdays!

      First we celebrated April's. Today is Oma's; tomorrow is Skylar's! Amber's is the 30th. Wow! So hard to believe my baby is 18! These years have passed by way to quick! And most of the years, I've been home! I am keeping Win and Riley for a few days since April is in the hospital. She has some kind of bacteria in her stomach and inflammation. She is very sick and we thought it was her pancreatitis. I don't know who would keep the kids if I worked! Send up prayers for her if you would!

      We had a great time this past Saturday! We went to a craft festival called Homestead Hollow in Springville, AL. You would not believe the traffic! The festival is about five miles from the interstate where we got off and it took us an hour to get there! Maybe longer; I tried not to watch the clock. But it was fun once we got there! Lots of food vendors and LOTS of crafts! Mostly monogrammed things for kids and Fall decorations. Lots of jewelry booths! I got Amber a blank for her birthday! I can't tell you what it is cause she reads this blog!

      I just pulled some homemade bread out of the oven! It's the Trim Healthy Mama one but it's way too salty! I wondered about that when I put in the three tablespoons of salt it called for. I'll stick to my Jim Lahey's bread, thank you! They were selling those yummy cinnamon nuts at the festival, but they are very costly! So, you know me, I came home and found a recipe and made some! They are not exactly like those, but delicious anyway! I love when recipes turn out as well as something you'd buy or taste even better! I also made brownies this weekend for Skylar's lunch, and they are the best yet! Hershey's recipe! See what I mean, me stick to a diet? I don't think so! But I haven't told you about all the good stuff I ate. Beans and greens, green juice, no rice at the Mexican restaurant we took Skylar to Saturday. Moderation! And exercise! I hope to walk and workout today, but I'm not sure how I'll pull that off since I don't have a double stroller! I can work out, but I won't be able to walk unless my Mom comes over! Would you like to stop by and watch them for me?

      The weather is supposed to start cooling down a few degrees this week and rain by the weekend! It may only be in the sixties by then! Wow! That will feel so good! I'm ready for weather changes, are you? I'm also hoping to get that garden cleared out soon! Randy said he'd weed eat it for me, but he's been busy working on the house and it gets dark out soon after he gets home. That's what I don't like about Fall and winter! Short days! Oh well, learn to live with it and do the best we can. Ya'll have a great week! Who knows? I may be back with another post soon! Blessings from Bama!

The entrance to the festival.

Love this old buggy, just glad I don't have to ride in it!

Aren't these mums gorgeous?

Skylar won't look at the camera so I can get his picture.

My Mom and Dad.

Me and Randy.

Lots of folks here.

I'm glad it was shady in most of the park!

I love the bridge that crosses over to the cabin! And I love the cabin!

Guess what these guys have set up!

My Dad asked him to take a drink.

He said he had to keep things on the up and up. I smelled it and it smells like vinegar. It's moonshine!

We left before I go to see them dance! Reminds me of Linda!

Traffic on the way in as we were leaving!

Skylar at Superior Grill, a Mexican restaurant.

Randy waiting patiently on me to take a photo of this sign I got at the Almanac Store in Leeds.

She had a bad virus Thursday and Friday! She still looks pekid under her eyes.

She's doing a good job on the pumpkin!

Riley is so cute reaching up! Like my five-year-old cell phone? It's older than the girls!

I love the concept of this bread, just not the way it tastes!

I've been enjoying some really great salads lately!

      I can hardly stop eating to write this! It is so good! And I just made it up! Except for the balsamic dressing recipe. I did modify it slightly by omitting the maple syrup and Dijon mustard. It's not Trim Healthy Mama friendly I don't think, but it's sure healthy! I was reading a post from Wellness Mama and the topic was the thyroid. She said that iodine deficiency can disrupt the function of the thyroid. One way to get more iodine is to consume veggies like onions and artichoke hearts. Kelp is another way, but I don't have access to that other than in supplement tablets, which I take daily. Needless to say, my salads have been full of yummy artichoke hearts and onions, lately! I see that I can't follow ANY diet rigidly, so I do the best that I can! I love all the wrong things! Pizza, rolls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, cheesecake, salty and sweet crunchy things, etc. I actually made popcorn for my crunchy snack last night. I intended to make caramel corn, a big no-no, but when I tasted the popcorn, it was so good I had to eat it plain! At least I didn't pick up the box of Cheez-its, which taste terrible to me now, but satisfy the crunch factor! What is your favorite snack or food?

      I'm sure ya'll get a kick out of reading my blog cause you don't ever know what I'm going to write about! I hope that's OK, cause sometimes things just come to me on a whim! I love to craft things and just now made a teacher gift for Win's teacher. I saved some empty peanut canisters (I love the crunchy, salty taste of peanuts!) and put some Fall-looking scrapbook paper around it, and a Treats, Not Tricks label on top of it. I'm going to buy a small bag of candy to go inside and give it to her. The lid is still blue and looks funny that way but I didn't know what else to do with it. I think it will be alright.

      Skylar's 18th. (I can't believe my baby is turning 18!) birthday is coming this Tuesday and we are taking him to the Bass Pro Shop in Birmingham to get him a new rod and reel. All of a sudden, he's into fishing! He went with his Dad and Poppa this past Saturday and caught a really big catfish! He was trying for a bass when he caught it. Maybe he'll be a pro-fisherman one day!
I'm curious to see where he'll want to eat! Probably Sumo's or Styx! He loves Japanese restaurants!

      We're still experiencing really warm days with temps dropping into the upper fifties at night. I wear shorts and a tank everyday, just like summer. But I'm still wanting some more pumpkin bread! Don't tell the Trim Healthy Mama people, but I'm going to make some soon! I'm feeling better about myself and I'm walking almost everyday and working out with weights 3x a week! I believe in moderation! I just don't need to eat the whole loaf! Maybe I can share some with ya'll! Have a nice weekend! Blessings from Bama!

Today's salad with tilapia cooked on the grill.

Apples after being dehydrated.

Prepping of apples for dehydrator.

Sometimes the peeling wraps itself back around the apple. I found I had to peel both ends of every apple. I wished to peeler would do that!

The dehydrator full of apples!

Surprise! A birthday cheesecake I made for April! I love these and want to make a pumpkin one! This was vanilla and oh so good!

Aren't these mums pretty!

And check out these Angel Trumpet flowers! They are so pretty!

   

  
      

Calling all doctors!

      Yasmine and Layla were here this past weekend and we brought them out a doctor's kit to play with. They were ecstatic! They played with that thing all night long! They also played with some 'stainless steel' pots and pans and plastic food. We ate all day long! It was such fun playing with them! They are getting at the age where one doesn't have to babysit them; they can occupy themselves with toys and such! We don't have cable, so they don't watch tv except for a few videos. I mostly let them play instead of keeping the tv on. It was a pleasure to keep them.

      Skylar helped me in the kitchen again tonight. We cooked his beloved chicken stir-fry. It was delicious! It was nice to have his company in the kitchen! We had Panettone for dessert. It is an Italian fruit cake that we can only find this time of year at World Market. In the years past, we could find some at Wal-Mart and Aldi. Have you ever eaten Panettone? It is delicious! We also like the soft gingerbread cookies from Aldi. They are a product of Germany.  They taste so good!

      I will be celebrating my 52 birthday on Friday! I plan on staying home and enjoying the company of a friend. We ate at Bonefish Grill in Birmingham this past weekend for my birthday. I don't like having a birthday this time of year because it cuts into Christmas! I never liked it as a child either! Never many presents! I'm ok with that now, though. I don't need anything! Except a Nigerian Dwarf billy! They are hard to find around here! I'll be so glad when I get two! Yes, two! Not brothers, two separate ones! I'm still searching Craigslist and I'll let you know as soon as I get one! Ya'll have a blessed day! Blessings from Bama!

They were so cute 'doctoring' uncle Randy!

Layla copies everything Yasmine does! Soon Riley will join them!

Loving that passy! Still has that head-full of hair!

Layla is checking his ears.

Now it's Yasmine's turn.

Skylar's chicken stir-fry.

I finally did it! I just made my first batch of soap!

      I was so nervous that I forgot to take pictures! The soap is in a box drying for twenty-four hours, but I can show you that. Tomorrow, I get to cut the bars. I am really excited to see how this soap turns out! I did a few things wrong, which I think was because I rushed. But, we learn from our mistakes! I will definitely be making soap again! I need to get some more essential oils, but I will utilize what I have until then. I don't want to smell lavender again for a long time! I'm sure it won't be that strong in the soap, but I'm tired of it for now. 

      Today is such a beautiful October day! The temps are in the lower eighies, so the ac is on. The wind is blowing just enough to ring the wind chimes; they sound so pretty! I hardly ever untie them because I hate to be awakened in the middle of the night to the loud sound of chimes ringing! The hubs especially doesn't like it because he's usually the one who has to get up and tie them back! Therefore, we need to see if it's going to be windy tonight! 

      I am doing better with my smoothie drinking. I found out that they don't have to have dairy and can still be smoothies. I like dairy, I'm just not using it in my smoothies. They consist of: spinach, carrots, celery, green apple, strawberries, blueberries, and sometimes grapes. I tried a tomato in there today and didn't like the flavor. Oh, I also add a scoop of non-dairy protein powder. I've been drinking them for breakfast, and they seem to hold me until about eleven, then I eat a handful of nuts. I love nuts, but I rarely ate them until now. They are very nutritious and seem to curb my appetite until I can eat lunch. Today for lunch I had scrambled eggs, some homemade pimiento cheese, and a biscuit with honey. I'm thinking about making calzones for dinner tonight.

      The hens are laying again, so I am getting about five eggs a day. I really should try an egg recipe tonight, but the guys like pizza on Friday. We'll see. I poured up the first pear vinegar but I should have waited. It was weak. I'm going to let the other vinegar steep for at least six months. That's what I read, the longer it steeps, the stronger the flavor. Kind of like wine, I guess. Hope ya'll are doing well! Have a great weekend! Blessings from Bama!

Skylar loves to play with the goats. Look at all that goldenrod!

The young mechanic! He's done a lot of things to his Jeep!

That looks dificult!

He's painting something.

They were inside taking a Siesta!

The new fencing is large enough for their heads to fit through, but their bodies can't!

They are so funny!

The Tyson chicken just lays around now. She's gotten really big! She'll probably fall over dead one day!

Cheese? No, soap! I made a mess so I hope it turns out well!