Sep 15, 2007

Fall Color Festival

It was Fall Color Festival time at the little town just down the road from us.  My honey was home so he was able to come with this year.  What a treat.  We went in early for the pancake breakfast.  The pancakes were the size of the plates.  For real!  After pancakes, we took in the car show.  I didn't think that they could fit that many cars in a town this size.  We went to look at a sharp Corvette and were welcomed by my cousin, who owned it.  Surprise!  Then off to the farmer's swap at the feed store.  We brought Little Red, our bantam rooster.  The other roosters won't let him in the barn and he'll freeze all alone this winter.  No takers, but we did meet a nice man who has many milkgoats and is willing to part with some of them before the snow flies.  I need to set up a better pasture.  We'll see.  Then is was over to the kid's tractor pull.  This is what my little ones have been waiting for all year.  They didn't place last year and vowed revenge this year.  Dd pedaled her heart out, only to come in third.  And ds pushed it hard and came in second, which is good enough to get a trophy.  He's one happy camper.  Last of all was the flea market.  My son collects everything.  He was able to buy another license plate to add to his collection and our daughter purchased a small, decorative wall cupboard.  I don't know what she's going to do with it yet, but...Honey found an antique monkey wrench to add to his collection.  (I wonder where our boy gets it?)  I found some Doritoes and hamburger buns at the grocery store and called it quits.  (I collect calories. )


I have pics on my digital, which I'll get to maybe tomorrow.  I'd better go and freeze some broccoli, can some beets and make horseradish sauce.  My dad loves horseradish, so I make him  a quart to keep him all winter.


God bless your day. 


From Glory Farm

Sep 13, 2007

The Harvest is Plentiful, but the workers are few....help

 


Tomatoes...Also peppersWe spent most of the day in the garden yesterday, harvesting what the frost didn't kill.  God has surely blessed us.  I picked five wheelbarrow loads of tomatoes.  And I have enough squash and pumpkins to share with the whole neighborhood.  Look...


pumpkins and squash...



I put up some applesauce today, have apples in the dehydrator, yogurt warming, and sunflower seeds roasting.  I'm going to go and gather those tomatoes and start some more salsa.  I'm starting to feel like I need a break from all of this blessing.


Thank you Lord.


From Glory Farm

Sep 12, 2007

The Big Freeze

I know what I'm doing today. 


 Weather is always such a "hot" topic here.  Last week we had 90 degrees.  Last night it hit 20.  Brrr.....I did get the furnace fired up yesterday.   So we had heat. PTL  But, of course, my pumpkins didn't have a furnace.  My garden is so large that I couldn't cover even 1/4 of the freezable stuff.  I covered most of the tomatoes and peppers, but even then the frost was so hard that I don't know if it helped.  I'm not going out there until about 10:00 to survey the damage.  The poor sunflowers wrapped their leaves around themselves tight, but alas, they just froze that way.


So today it's pick and pull time.  Tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkins and watermelons.  We're having an abbreviated school day and heading out.  I have some pickle relish started this morning and I need to put up some applesauce today.  I think, if the tomotoes survived, I probably have to put up some salsa.  I think the peppers might be toast.  They were so far off of the ground,  and the plastic cover blew off some of them.  Thus ends my garden.  I still have fall broccoli and lettuce coming.  Lots of carrots and beets and a couple of cabbage lefr.  Time to till, mulch and fertilize. 


May I do all to the glory of God.


From Glory Farm

Sep 10, 2007

Mosh Pit

Here I go again.  The lock-in I wrote about last week or so, happened.  Our girls went and I still don't think it was something edifying.  Saturday night, I took them to a "Christian concert".  This was a rock band.  I don't mind more modern worship, but there seemed to be nothing worshipful about this band.  They dressed modestly, and did nothing objectionable.  But no one could understand the words to their songs and their mention of Jesus was so brief that I barely noticed it.  This was supposed to be a Christian outreach concert.  I know many Christians who thought it was great.  But where was the difference between this and a worldly concert?  There didn't seem to be any.  The teenagers all formed a mosh pit down in front.  Body surfing wasn't allowed, but they were so packed, girl, boy that they couldn't move.  Then some of the boys took off their shirts, too hot, ya know.  Not a good siutation, in my opinion.  I'm glad I was there.  Now I know just what is involved.  This time I'm going to be a party pooper and not allow the girls to be a part of that.  Just thought I'd voice my opinion.  If people gave their lives to Christ at the concert, I guess it has it's place.  I'm just not comfortable with it.


From Glory Farm

Harvest

In the spring, the thought of planting and weeding seems like so much work.  But then you think about the harvest and the thought is thrilling.  Why is it, we forget the work part of that?  At least I do.  God has blessed us above and beyond what I thought He would.  True, I planted for a farmer's market, so I have a large garden.  I've been giving and giving it away (especially the zuchinni :)  )  Today our trip to the garden produced strawberries, zuchinni, buttercup squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, habeneros, green peppers and sunflower seeds.  Now I get to make more spaghetti sauce, salsa, relish, and sunbutter.  The sunbutter I haven't tried yet, but I hope it works.  I'm taking a load of vegetables up North on Friday, Lord willing and another down to the cities in a couple of weeks.  How good is our God!  I hope it doesn't sound like bragging, because I could never have grown a garden like this myself.  Maybe there's a parralel there in the spiritual sense.  God provides the seed, the water, the soil, and the increase.  We just have to be willing to do some work.  The harvest is great. 


Praise God.


From Glory Farm

Sep 4, 2007

Dying Yarn

Well, I'm finally posting the results of my experiment.  I dyed one skein with black cherry Kool-Aid and one with beets from my garden.  The Kool-Aid gives nice, vivid color, the beets gave a surprise.  I think using different mordants will produce different colors.  I used vinegar and ended up with an orange/rust  color.  I think I'll try alum next time and see if I  get a different color.  I simmered the wool in vinegar and water for an hour and at the same time simmered the beets for an hour.  Then I strained the beet liquid and returned it to the stove.  Added the wet yarn and simmered for another hour.  Then I let it set in the dye bath for another three hours.  I rinsed it in lukewarm water and airdried on the clothes line. 



The yarn on the left is the beet dye and on the right is the Kool-Aid.  Not sure what to make with it now.


I'll keep you posted on my experiments.


From Glory Farm

Sep 15, 2007

Fall Color Festival

It was Fall Color Festival time at the little town just down the road from us.  My honey was home so he was able to come with this year.  What a treat.  We went in early for the pancake breakfast.  The pancakes were the size of the plates.  For real!  After pancakes, we took in the car show.  I didn't think that they could fit that many cars in a town this size.  We went to look at a sharp Corvette and were welcomed by my cousin, who owned it.  Surprise!  Then off to the farmer's swap at the feed store.  We brought Little Red, our bantam rooster.  The other roosters won't let him in the barn and he'll freeze all alone this winter.  No takers, but we did meet a nice man who has many milkgoats and is willing to part with some of them before the snow flies.  I need to set up a better pasture.  We'll see.  Then is was over to the kid's tractor pull.  This is what my little ones have been waiting for all year.  They didn't place last year and vowed revenge this year.  Dd pedaled her heart out, only to come in third.  And ds pushed it hard and came in second, which is good enough to get a trophy.  He's one happy camper.  Last of all was the flea market.  My son collects everything.  He was able to buy another license plate to add to his collection and our daughter purchased a small, decorative wall cupboard.  I don't know what she's going to do with it yet, but...Honey found an antique monkey wrench to add to his collection.  (I wonder where our boy gets it?)  I found some Doritoes and hamburger buns at the grocery store and called it quits.  (I collect calories. )


I have pics on my digital, which I'll get to maybe tomorrow.  I'd better go and freeze some broccoli, can some beets and make horseradish sauce.  My dad loves horseradish, so I make him  a quart to keep him all winter.


God bless your day. 


From Glory Farm

Sep 13, 2007

The Harvest is Plentiful, but the workers are few....help

 


Tomatoes...Also peppersWe spent most of the day in the garden yesterday, harvesting what the frost didn't kill.  God has surely blessed us.  I picked five wheelbarrow loads of tomatoes.  And I have enough squash and pumpkins to share with the whole neighborhood.  Look...


pumpkins and squash...



I put up some applesauce today, have apples in the dehydrator, yogurt warming, and sunflower seeds roasting.  I'm going to go and gather those tomatoes and start some more salsa.  I'm starting to feel like I need a break from all of this blessing.


Thank you Lord.


From Glory Farm

Sep 12, 2007

The Big Freeze

I know what I'm doing today. 


 Weather is always such a "hot" topic here.  Last week we had 90 degrees.  Last night it hit 20.  Brrr.....I did get the furnace fired up yesterday.   So we had heat. PTL  But, of course, my pumpkins didn't have a furnace.  My garden is so large that I couldn't cover even 1/4 of the freezable stuff.  I covered most of the tomatoes and peppers, but even then the frost was so hard that I don't know if it helped.  I'm not going out there until about 10:00 to survey the damage.  The poor sunflowers wrapped their leaves around themselves tight, but alas, they just froze that way.


So today it's pick and pull time.  Tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkins and watermelons.  We're having an abbreviated school day and heading out.  I have some pickle relish started this morning and I need to put up some applesauce today.  I think, if the tomotoes survived, I probably have to put up some salsa.  I think the peppers might be toast.  They were so far off of the ground,  and the plastic cover blew off some of them.  Thus ends my garden.  I still have fall broccoli and lettuce coming.  Lots of carrots and beets and a couple of cabbage lefr.  Time to till, mulch and fertilize. 


May I do all to the glory of God.


From Glory Farm

Sep 10, 2007

Mosh Pit

Here I go again.  The lock-in I wrote about last week or so, happened.  Our girls went and I still don't think it was something edifying.  Saturday night, I took them to a "Christian concert".  This was a rock band.  I don't mind more modern worship, but there seemed to be nothing worshipful about this band.  They dressed modestly, and did nothing objectionable.  But no one could understand the words to their songs and their mention of Jesus was so brief that I barely noticed it.  This was supposed to be a Christian outreach concert.  I know many Christians who thought it was great.  But where was the difference between this and a worldly concert?  There didn't seem to be any.  The teenagers all formed a mosh pit down in front.  Body surfing wasn't allowed, but they were so packed, girl, boy that they couldn't move.  Then some of the boys took off their shirts, too hot, ya know.  Not a good siutation, in my opinion.  I'm glad I was there.  Now I know just what is involved.  This time I'm going to be a party pooper and not allow the girls to be a part of that.  Just thought I'd voice my opinion.  If people gave their lives to Christ at the concert, I guess it has it's place.  I'm just not comfortable with it.


From Glory Farm

Harvest

In the spring, the thought of planting and weeding seems like so much work.  But then you think about the harvest and the thought is thrilling.  Why is it, we forget the work part of that?  At least I do.  God has blessed us above and beyond what I thought He would.  True, I planted for a farmer's market, so I have a large garden.  I've been giving and giving it away (especially the zuchinni :)  )  Today our trip to the garden produced strawberries, zuchinni, buttercup squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, habeneros, green peppers and sunflower seeds.  Now I get to make more spaghetti sauce, salsa, relish, and sunbutter.  The sunbutter I haven't tried yet, but I hope it works.  I'm taking a load of vegetables up North on Friday, Lord willing and another down to the cities in a couple of weeks.  How good is our God!  I hope it doesn't sound like bragging, because I could never have grown a garden like this myself.  Maybe there's a parralel there in the spiritual sense.  God provides the seed, the water, the soil, and the increase.  We just have to be willing to do some work.  The harvest is great. 


Praise God.


From Glory Farm

Sep 4, 2007

Dying Yarn

Well, I'm finally posting the results of my experiment.  I dyed one skein with black cherry Kool-Aid and one with beets from my garden.  The Kool-Aid gives nice, vivid color, the beets gave a surprise.  I think using different mordants will produce different colors.  I used vinegar and ended up with an orange/rust  color.  I think I'll try alum next time and see if I  get a different color.  I simmered the wool in vinegar and water for an hour and at the same time simmered the beets for an hour.  Then I strained the beet liquid and returned it to the stove.  Added the wet yarn and simmered for another hour.  Then I let it set in the dye bath for another three hours.  I rinsed it in lukewarm water and airdried on the clothes line. 



The yarn on the left is the beet dye and on the right is the Kool-Aid.  Not sure what to make with it now.


I'll keep you posted on my experiments.


From Glory Farm