Preparing For Winter

My husband is just about the most handy, creative guy I know. Really. He never ceases to amaze me. When things are broken or in need of repair in and around our home it seems he can always fix it. There are very few times we ever have to call a repairman out. You know how much money that saves us?

So, I decided to brag on him a little today. Can you tell what this invention is? I looked out my front window one morning and saw my man outside with this "thing" behind his truck. Out the door we came to see what he had created. This, my dear friends, is a log splitter!

Last winter Monroe borrowed a store bought log splitter from a friend. We use a lot of wood during the winter. It is our main source of heat for our home. We have a large fireplace in our living room that keeps us nice and warm but it surely likes to devour wood. So, using that borrowed log splitter set my hubby's imagination spinning. He had been pondering about building one for a few days because we talked about it several times. Work has been very slow over at the shop so that gave him some extra time to put his thoughts into action.

He used all scrap pieces of metal, parts from a wrecked truck and a lawn mower motor that were of no use at the shop and TAAAH...DAAAH....a log splitter!!

The axe or blade thingy that splits the wood is just a flat piece of metal that he bent and welded together. Then he used a grinder to put the edge on the blade. Pretty nifty don't you think?

The trailer was an old road sign trailer that is used on the highway to hold the flashing signs.

I looked in the Tractor Supply flyer that came this week and they were advertising what else but log splitters! Guess how much they cost???? They cost from $1,000 to $1,800!! Talk about a savings!

It makes me happy to know that my boys can learn from their Dad. They are watching and learning. One day when they are in charge of their own household I hope they will look back and remember all the things their Dad made and repaired at our home. I have a feeling he will be getting some phone calls in the future for some advice which he will not mind at all :-)

They are already excited about the new log splitter because splitting logs is a chore they must take a turn doing during the winter months. Now they just have to stack, stack, stack!

A Summer Re-cap

Summertime always seems to fly by too quickly for me. Before I know it, it is time to hit the books again with my boys. This summer was no different. We worked, we played and we visited friends. We were not able to have a family vacation but we did manage to take a couple of weekend get aways and day trips.

So here is a quick look at some of the highlights of our busy summer.

We bought a pregnant Saanen dairy goat the first of this year and by late spring we had two does born! There is nothing quite like having baby goats. They are so much fun. They can be just as much a pet as a farm animal. Just look at these two! We named them Sugar and Spice. We chose the right name for Spice because she does have a "spicy" attitude ;-)

We learned how to milk a goat, how to prepare the milk and I was very busy finding ways to use all of the wonderful milk we were able to get! I began to hear complaints every time someone opened the refrigerator. "I can't find anything in here for all this milk!" was a common remark.

So I began making yogurt, shown below, and a yummy soft cheese, sour cream, buttermilk and ricotta cheese. Talk about busy!! It was very rewarding though.
I was fortunate to make a trip to the farmer's market with a dear friend. She suggested going along with me for my first "buying experience" and I am so glad she did! It can be very overwhelming. There are so many vendors and they will negotiate with you on their prices! What fun! I bought this box of tomatoes for only $5.00!!! Aren't they beautiful? I had planned to can them but we ended up eating them all fresh. They were so delicious.

I also bought corn from the farmer's market. This was my first attempt at freezing corn. Brooke went in on halves with me so she came over and together we put up creamed corn....whew.....sore fingers and a messy kitchen was our sacrifice. Speaking of messy kitchen, even now, months later, every once in a while a speck of something will catch my eye in the most unusual place in my kitchen and I will wonder, "What in the world is that? Oh, of course, CORN!" Next year this will be a back porch job!!

Our summer garden didn't produce as much as I would have liked but we were able to get a few good pickings of peas. We did get lots of okra. It seems every year we have a good crop of okra that continues producing through the entire summer.

Here is our pea sheller. What a time saver!

There was time for a little R & R. Brooke and I had girls' night out with a couple of friends and we went to see Mary Poppins at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. We really enjoyed ourselves and this was something that no one else in my family envied me for going to see. This was most definitely a "girl thing" to do, according to all my guys!!

How was your summer?

New Website

I am a proud momma and proud momma's just have to share with the whole world when they are proud of their child/children.....right???

Well my first-born, Brooke, now officially has a website for her photography business and I would like to invite you to go and take a peek if you haven't already done so. I was (am) very impressed but my opinion may be slightly biased! The photo below is just a sample of her work. Here is the link: http://brookescottphotography.com

If you ever find yourself in need of a photographer, please keep her in mind. The Lord is so good and she has been able to stay home with her babies while maintaining a photography business. She is a busy mommy!

Brooke and Brent, my second-born, have worked together on several weddings now. Brent loves photography as well and is currently in college majoring in Communication Arts. Imagine that, two photographers in my family and how long has it been since we have had family pictures taken? Many years ago is the answer to that question!! I guess trying to photograph your own family is probably harder than photographing someone else's family. No matter! I am ready for a family photo session!!

I'm Back

Finally I have time to sit at my computer long enough to gather my thoughts for a blog! Can anyone tell me what happened to the month of August ;-) I seem to have lost it somewhere!
We have been so very busy this summer. I will share the highlights of our summer in the next few blogs.

Haven't my two sweet grandsons grown? They are so much fun!
They have new backpacks and they were so proud so show Nonna!Uh-Oh! Here's trouble! She is too sweet to get into too much trouble. Just ask her Poppa!!

And here is Reese's partner in crime! Oh well, no harm done.

School is back in session in our household. We are beginning our studies this year with the people of the Pacific Ocean and SE Asia. It has been AMAZING thus far. I just love learning along with my boys! Did you know that between the area of West Africa to East Asia live 95 percent of the world's unevangelized?! Eight-four percent of the world's poor live there as well!

What a mission field! This is the basis of study for our school year and I can't wait to dig in. Let me just put in a good word for the wonderful people of Sonlight Curriculum. If you are looking for the BEST of the BEST in home school curriculum look no further! In all my 22 years of home schooling I have never found any other curriculum that measures up to Sonlight! They are a great resouce.

That's all for now. I have a couple of videos from our camp this summer. I am having trouble getting them to post but I am not giving up yet. I hope to have them posted soon. Stay tuned...