Rain Dancing On The Tin Roof

As I woke today I heard the sound of rain dancing on the tin roof. Such a soothing sound. Looking out the window I seen the rain falling & raindrops running down the glass panes.

No spending time in the garden today so on this dreary day I tinkered around the homestead adding a little more of fall inside while being warmed by the fireplace.

The kitchen tree has been waiting to be decorated for fall. Pears & pumpkins have been added.

Its beginning to look more like fall here. The scarecrow has been hung to great family as they come in the kitchen door.

Our calender has been changed to October & a new fall scene has been inserted in the frame.

Tonight Sam works to get his leaf collection done. The leaves are turning color & falling to the ground outside. We are hoping he will have enough. While waiting for them to press flat we thought they were safe. Some had became to brittle. Some stems fell off. Some needles fell off. What will this young man do?

The warm cozy scent of clove lingers in the air as we get ready for bed. Time to turn out the lights & rest our tired heads on our soft pillows. Good nite everyone.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Wednseday At The Homestead

Wednesday started with the sound of cackling ducks wondering about the yard looking for a tasty snack to eat. Worms & bugs but I gave them a handful of chocolate Cheerios. Only one drake in the flock. He has so many hens to spend his time with. The drake belongs to Sam & he named him Drake. Drake is Sams pride & joy along side Toby his turtle.

Today was a first in a long time since I went to the barn. To my surprise Lucky was not in the bunny hutch. My heart sank. Ducks do come & go so I thought Lucky had expired. I asked my husband what happened to Lucky & he had moved him to the other pen where Lucky could get some exercise & peck in the dirt for snacks. I was amazed just how much Lucky had grown since I last seen the little duckling. Can you tell just how much Lucky grew?

The fish pond needed some TLC so I removed all the dead water lettuce & put it to bed in the flower bed. It has now became fertilizer. For now the fish are still in this pond. Not sure the other pond will be finished before winter.

The mums we got the other week have all been planted. One plant a day was all I was able to get in. Looks like we needed more to go to the end of this bed. Hope they sill have this color when we go by next time.

A beautiful new fall flag was hung. Those happy sunflowers always make me smile. So many thing needed done in the garden but so few got done today. More another day.

It was a bit chilly this evening so we decided to light the fireplace for warmth.

As the fire warmed the living room & dining room we ate diner & the boys did homework. Some T.V. later then off to pick Laken up at work. Lucas will get to drive Mom again.

Candles are lit & the warm scent of clove fills the rooms. The window candles are lit & all is cozy here at the homestead tonight. I started keeping a candle lit in the kitchen window 13 years ago when my oldest son was missing for almost a year. I kept it lit as a sign I would not give up on seeing him again. God kept him safe & brought him home again but to his own home by this time.

Some yummy green apples fill the bowl in the kitchen for a snack before bed tonight. I have a new recipe I want to try. Apple dumplings that were made in Lindas kitchen of Parkers General (parkersgeneral.blogspot.com) & tested by her husband Mike. I need to get to a store to get some things first.

If time allows I plan to look at some magazines & enjoy the articles. Maybe even do some catching up reading your blogs. I have tried some today & seen so many great fall displays in your homes.

This is the canner I bought a while back that I wanted to share with you. Thank you to all who commented on my post asking for help. In just a few weeks I plan on packing these jars with some deer meat & canning it.

May you all have a wonderful evening & a wonderful Thursday.

Blessings Til Next Time!

A Long Day

I went to my doctors appointment at the urologists today. It was a little wait. The doctor had surgery at the hospital. I hated waiting. The longer I waited the more I worried. After being in pain a month now and all the complications I have had since the surgery I was thinking that I would not mind being put to sleep for this. They do not put you to sleep to have the stint removed. Well I guess to bad I would just have to go threw with it. The nurse called my name & I followed her to the room. I was a bit taken back when I entered the room. It was a little operating room set up right there in the doctors office. I knew my husband (he did take me & waited in the waiting room for me) would not believe it so after the nurse informed me of what I was to do to get ready I took some pics with my cell phone. I try ed to load them to my computer but it did not work out. The nurse came back in and prep ed me. Good thing she asked about iodine. They were going to use it. I am allergic. The nurse was nice & answered my questions. It was great to have her to talk to before the doctor came in. He removed the stint. I was glad the nurse had put numbing gel on before hand. But I could still feel some what. I was told it would be nothing compared to the pain I had when the kidney stone was in there. Well that was all fine and good but after being in pain since the last week of August I did not want no more added pain. I was told during the surgery the kidney stone in the urethra tube had spurs on it & was wedged fast & I would have never passed it. Another larger stone was removed from my kidney also. There is still trace build up in my kidney that can form larger kidney stones. Oh my just great to hear. Not that I would want to go threw childbirth again at this stage in my life but I have to say I would have rather went threw labor & childbirth then have kidney stones. It was easier. My throat is still bothering me due to the breathing tube during surgery. The doctor did not seem to be concerned about that. I was told the pain stomach sickness & vomiting should now go away. I was set up for more blood work & an ultra sound of my kidney & another follow up appointment. Thank God I have insurance. I just pray it will pay all the hospital & doctor bills. I pray I never get another kidney stone.
I am hoping I am feeling well enough to travel to a fall festival this Saturday. It is a bit of a drive. I have attended it for many years and it is such fun. They always have great food. I want to be able to eat something good to. I lost 8 pounds since the surgery so I can try a few extra goodies. The festival has a web address if you would like to visit it. www.bedfordfallfestival.com

Blessings Til Next Time!

Pumpkins All Around

Laken went to the basement for me & got the rubber maid tub with my pumpkin collection in it. Straight from the good old rubber maid pumpkin patch I have these wooden pumpkins to put all around the homestead.

Of course Sam had already displayed his special white pumpkin here but mom added a little extra color. Amelia got a soft fabric pumpkin and I put my wooden pumpkin beside of Sams pumpkin. I changed the coverlet on the rocking chair for a little extra splash of color to.

The stove board just had to have a pumpkin. Of course it is white the color Sam likes so much. Me to.

A pumpkin for the roosters to crow about in the dining room.

Needed a few pumpkins in front of the canning rack with this cute scarecrow I just love.

Another orange wooden pumpkin added to the dining room.

Yes mom had to add one of her orange wooden pumpkins here to with Sams other special pumpkin.

The days have been long here at the homestead. I have not been able to do much of anything these days. So many complications from the surgery. My follow up appointment with the urologist is Tuesday. I want to get this over with but I am not thrilled. Getting the stint removed has been worrying me. I guess its just the not knowing part. Just placing my pumpkin collection around the homestead has gotten me worn out. Thank you all for lifting me up in your prayers.

Blessing Til Next Time!

Mums & Pumpkins

Fall seems to have came a little early this year. As the leaves change colors & slowly glide to the ground I know it is time for the many fall festivals in the neighboring counties to begin. This has always been my favorite time of year.

As always there are lots of beautiful mums for sale along the roadside. We seen these beauties last Saturday.

Many fine orange pumpkins lined up in rows to pick from but just not the color Sam was looking for.

Off Sam went to the stand with the white pumpkins. These had bumps all over them.

Before we left Sam found this big old pumpkin he called the Granddaddy of them all. He sure would have loved to bring this one home with him.

Sam had a time picking between two pumpkins so we just got both of them. This one he put in the kitchen.

This one he put in the dinning room. Sam & I have always thought how fun it would be to have our own pumpkin patch. I hope he always finds the joy in such simple things.
Sam is feeling better & has gone back to school. I am thankful he is better but I sure do miss his company. Sam has such a gentle spirit & is such a blessing to me. His smile can always make my day better. I hope you are all finding just the right pumpkin to add to you homestead & of course some beautiful mums also.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Day Dreaming Of A Veggie Garden

As I sat on the swing inside the arbor trying to ignore the sharp pain in my back side & stomach all while feeling the urge to vomit I kept going over & over in my mind just how stupid it all seems to me that I will have to see my family doctor again before I can be seen by the urologist the hospital E.R. doctor advised me to have follow up treatment with A.S.A.P. To top it all off the urologist told me I had to contact my health insurance company to see if I would be covered & if they were in the network. I sure did not feel up to this & thought that was the docotrs job not mine. But it is done. Needless to say it upset me & caused stress I did not need. This kidney stone is a pain every where but my butt.

I took a new magazine and some old magazines from my stash to the gazebo thinking maybe I could read some and relax. I have been thinking a lot lately about planting more veggies to try canning again. The spot above the gazebo would be perfect for that. I was thinking I would like a small potting shed to start plants in & do some canning in. I am wanting an old cook stove in the potting shed for a little heat to start seedlings in the early spring and heat for canning all the many wonderful veggies I dream of growing.

The new garden magazine had an article about box gardening with a potting shed in the middle. Here it was the type garden I have been dreaming about. I would not need a tractor or plow for this kind of garden. Oh but I do like tractors. But I would need railroad ties & a potting shed.

In another magazine I found an article about sheds others put on their properties. I really like this one. I can just see me rocking in a rocking chair on the little porch of the potting shed as rain softly falls down to water my thirsty veggie plants as they stretch & grow. Of course while blooming & producing veggies to.

If I could just find another gazebo similar to the design I have in the flower garden I could close it in to get the potting shed. It would match every thing else here at the homestead to.

This would be the front of the veggie garden. A nice cedar rail fence and another arbor to enter into the veggie garden would be lovely.

This would be the back side of the veggie garden.

A side view of the veggie garden.

The other side view of the veggie garden.

The inside view of the veggie garden. It would need a lot of work to create my dream veggie garden. Well some dreams do come true so I am crossing my fingers. They do not hurt. I talked to some one about some free railroad ties that were to be gotten rid of. They are to check on them & get back to me. Hurry! They could be the start of my dream come true. You see I really need this dream to come true because I bought 5 dozen jars & a pressure canner last Saturday. That will be another post in its self another time. I have a vision in my mind of that dream pantry I told you all about in another post. In the dream pantry my shelves are filled with my canned veggies & deer meat.

I am still not feeling well but dreaming and sharing this post have helped pass some time for me. I will be taking my splitting head ace & retiring to my soft bed to rest on my heating pad now & hope I can get some sleep.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Relaxing In The garden

So nice to relax in the gazebo as the breeze blows thru. Tired I am & not feeling great. I spent the biggest part of last Thursday in the Doctors office & Friday in the hospital E.R. Now waiting for my next doctors appointment with my family doctor Then on to the urologist not this Tuesday but next Tuesday. I believe they like to all get a cut. However I am not enjoying the pain I am in while waiting. To top it off I had to do the contacting of my health care insurance myself.

The sunflowers have started to bloom!

Autumn sedium has bloomed & this happy yellow butterfly is enjoying it.

Ageratum is a bit late blooming but I welcome it.

Muffin is relaxing on a rock soaking up shade & sun both.

Miss White is relaxing on the soft chase on the porch.

Lucky is growing & has moved to the bunny hutch to get acquainted with the other ducks in the duck house next door.

Many other thing are going on here at the homestead including staning the cedar siding. I will let you in on that soon.

Blessings Til Next Time!

Amelia Gets A New Dress & Bonnet

Amelia is the first doll I ever made. I had to keep her for myself since she was the first. I will be adding some of my other dolls to my selling blog in the future. As the title of this post says she got a new dress & bonnet. I seen this great dress at a shop while the homestead owner & I went for a drive Tuesday. I could have made it myself but you know some times it is nice to just get it and use it right away. I had made this bonnet weeks ago and offered it in a post. It did not sale so I had it packed away in a picnic basket. I knew it would look great with this new dress so out it came and now Amelia is all dressed for fall. I also got this beautiful coverlet that is behind Amelia. It is another Family Heirloom Weavers throw. It is a bit littler than the last one I got. I could not pass this up. I was given a 20% discount on it. That made it all the better. I hope to collect other pieces to put with the two I have now & use them to redo my bedroom.

Amelia was wearing this little white baby dress & bonnet I coffee stained. The dress & bonnet was worn by my daughter Laken for her first baby photo. For many years it hung in the closet. Laken has already graduated from high school a few years ago. Oh how they grow up so fast.

For now Lakens baby dress & bonnet have went into the wood chest. I plan to hang it from a peg board in the bed room. I would love to start the bedroom soon. I am waiting for the homestead owner to purchase some boards to frame the window. I have so many ideas for this room. Got to have one of those blanket cranes in there to. In time one thing at a time I always say.

Thank you all for your helpful comments on my Home Canning Question Post! You are all great!

Blessings Til Next Time!