Down on the Homestead - Aug. 29th - Sept. 4

**QuilterMom** · 08-29-2004, 08:34 AM

Good morning!

We're off to church in just a bit. We've been watching the weather channel this morning - (((((HUGS))))) to all of our members in S.C, N.C., and VA having to deal with the tropical storm! We are watching Hurricane Frances and unfortunately we are directly in it's projected (as of now) path. It's a category 4 out in the ocean and will most likely be a category 5 when it makes landfall (5 is as bad as it gets). I'll be charging the camcorder battery later today and making a video of the entire contents of our house either today or tomorrow. (That should be lots of fun considering we have stuff sitting literally everywhere because of lack of storage space and current remodeling). I told dh we are evacuating if it stays on path for us so I need to start thinking of what we'll take with us.

We'll be stopping by the grocery store on the way home from churhc and we're hoping to hit the beach later today with our friends, but rain may prevent that. We had a huge thunderstorm yesterday that started just as I finished mowing. I haven't been out to check this morning, but I'm sure our flooding is worse now around our property boundaries. What we don't need is more rain and that's all that's in the forecast.

Have a great day everyone!

**homesteadmamma** · 08-29-2004, 09:51 AM

Good morning everyone. Oh QM not another one. Please stay safe and for anyone else in its path or dealing with tropical storms, please keep safe. Post when you can and let us know how your all doing.

I can't believe we only have a couple days left of Aug. Where has the month gone. Seems like only yesterday we were starting into August.

Today is going to be a fun day. Dd and I are going to an international quilting and horticultural show at the Peace Gardens. Will deliver the papers first and then head out. The sun is shining right now, so I hope we have a nice day.

Tonight I need to clean the post office and then do some reading.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

**Darlene** · 08-29-2004, 09:53 AM

Hope mother nature is kind to those with severe weather on it's way. Scary stuff, stay safe!

Quiet day on our homestead. Kids are off working & Jack & I are relaxing.

Jack & I were going to have a nice fire in the outdoor fireplace last night but after a day with high temps & humidity that didn't seem like such a great idea.

We did have a nice romantic dinner, just the 2 of us shrimp with fresh tomatoes & fresh garlic on linguini. Nice dry white wine to go with.

For dinner~ a nice pork roast on the rotisserie, pesto noodles and I think I'll head to the carrotbarn http://www.schohariechamber.com/svfarms/ for some corn.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

**sunshine** · 08-29-2004, 09:55 AM

Off to church in a bit here as well. Going to the church where I was raised as they have a new minister and dd wants to check it out.

Then off to Springfield to take dd and her boyfriend shopping. They both have birthdays soon, so they are getting presents for each other.

I'll be doing some grocery shopping and maybe a quick stop at the fabric stores for some material if there are any good sales.

**Heather** · 08-29-2004, 10:27 AM

Good morning everyone!

Stay safe QM

CJ~Have a WONDERFUL time at the quilting show!

Darlene~what a lovely evening you had...

Denise~enjoy your time at your old church.....new hope!

I haven't been around much as I have been busy with the garden. Beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni...oh, it all happens at once and my freezer is lovin' it. I froze corn and beans, some peas, am making chili sauce and some salsa. I pulled out a recipe for stuffed green peppers and have the ingredients here to make that for supper tonight.

It is raining hard here today so it's a good time to do up the tomatoes that are ready. A neighbour brought in some more cucumbers so I'm making some pickles as well.

DH and dd were away at mil last night and the boys went out with some friends so I have a peaceful evening...almost too quiet.

I will also be getting dh's food ready for his week away and his clothes. I may have to run to a laundry mat in town and use their dryer as all his clothes were on the clotheline and they are soaked now.

Have a great day on your homesteads

**slowtypinwoman** · 08-29-2004, 10:28 AM

Good morning ladies and all to follow,

~QM I hope you don't have to evacuate. Seems you just got over Charlie.

~CJ have fun at your show today. I know you''l be droolong the whole time.LOL

~ Sunshine I hope you like the new preatcher at your church. It would be just like going home again.

~Darlene
I love those outdoor fireplaces. Wish we had somewhere to put one. Maybe it will cool down today and you can build one tonight.

Today I need to do laundry. We cleaned the house yesterday because we were having people over. So I need to sweep and do laundry. Our contractor is SUPOSSED to come today. We'll see. This has been going on for a 1 1/2. It has really made me loose faith in people in this profession. Sorry to anyone who does this or has a DH in this field.

I also want to work on some purses. I have a total of 12 done now. With just a month left until the craft show I want to get another dozen finished.
Good news! I did get a custom order for one. A co-worker of Michael loved mine and asked to see my others. I took them to a party where we were and she asked if I could do a custom made one. She wants one with music notes and a drum. That is the instument she plays. She wants it for the next payday. Sept 25. So very cool, I now am on my way! lol

We would like to get the yard worked on but with all the rain we ( and most everyone else) have been getting, no chance there.
Soon we will need to get started on the wood cutting. I like doing that. We get out there as a family and all pitch in. Poor Micheal is the one that has to do all the sawing though.

Tonight I want to watch the closing cerimonies of the Olympics. Will anyone else be watching?

Well, I hope everyone has a peaceful day on their homesteads.
Marcia

**forestdale** · 08-29-2004, 04:28 PM

Good morning everyone. Looks like you are all enjoying your Sunday.

I'm doing my main grocery shopping today. It comes around every four weeks so it's good to stock up and have most of it out of the way for the following four weeks. I do my shopping at a few different places - the mainstream supermarket, the butcher shop, the fruit and veg shop and the organic supermarket. Next week I'll go to another town to buy the flours I use to make bread + my other bulk items and DS's big bag of M&Ms.

This afternoon I'll do some work on the computer and some gardening. DH planted some bushes for me yesterday so I have some rose bushes to relocate and some cucumbers to plant.

Quilter, I hope you and your family stay safe. My sister lives in a high risk area for bush fires. Many years ago she bought herself a lightweight decorated box that she put everything she needed to save if she was caught in a fire. You can never save everything but there are certain things you must save, like photos, legal papers etc. She rarely takes things out of this box but she's taken it with her on numerous occasions when she's been evacuated. It saves valuable time when you need to move out fast. When things calm down for you it might be worthwhile to think about having something similar. Hugs, my friend.

Marcia, I'm so pleased you've got your first custom order. Good luck with getting all your bags done on time for the craft show.

Have a good week everyone.

**guest2** · 08-29-2004, 05:58 PM

QM~praying that the hurricane turns back out to sea and misses land all together.

CJ~have fun!

Darlene~Your dinner sounds yummy! Hope you get to enjoy that fireplace tonight!

Denise~praying you were blessed today!

Heather~you sound really busy with all your produce!:smile:
Marcia~congartulations on your order!!!! You are on your way!!!

Bethany~sounds like you are having a very busy and productive day!

Today we stayed home from church since we went to see John Bevere there last night. Wonderfully blessed by it but very tired after the long drive home last night.

It's been a productive day around here. DH got our room cleaned and reorganized and also did the pantry for me. He found all kinds of "treasures" in there that need to be used up.

I managed to get 4 loads of laundry done and they are now haning out on the line, 4 loaves of whole wheat bread baked, some groceries packed up and ready to go to Montana next week and a menu plan done for that trip. I still need to finish reading the library manual so I can get it back done to the library and ready for my sub to use it tomorrow.The boys are all working on cleaning their rooms. Jaysn is rearranging his and it's driving 2 of the cats nuts! They hate change!

Tonight we are BBQing steaks and having those with baked potatoes, green beans and tomatoes from the garden! Yumm!

Be blessed all!

**DaisyLady** · 08-29-2004, 07:28 PM

QuilterMom ~ sending prayers your way that you will be safe from the storm.

CJ ~ I hoped you enjoyed your quilting show today!

I missed church today due to horrible cramps starting in the middle of the night. Even Aleve didn't help

DH let me sleep in until 10.

I took it easy for the rest of the day, mostly knitting and working on my homestead challenge. I did manage to bake a loaf of bread (in my bread machine) and make some yogurt.

We had a thunderstorm and lots of rain this afternoon. Thankfully it was much cooler too. I had some quiet time on my bed this afternoon with tea and some books and magazines on quilting.

Dinner was chicken meatloaf with peaches on top and drizzled with Caesar dressing. We had frenchfries and salad with it. The kids really liked it and asked if I could make it again.

Have a great day tomorrow

**pqb52** · 08-29-2004, 07:41 PM

Hope everyone makes it thru the storms okay. Persoally I have never experienced anything like that, but what I see on the tv scares the beejeebies out of me. Up here in Buffalo, all we have to deal with is a couple snowstorms a year but that is nothing compared to what you guys go thru. Good luck and stay safwe.

**QuilterMom** · 08-30-2004, 08:56 AM

I've been out to weed the garden and found a dead mole (baby) on the back porch. Ewwwwwwwwww! Well, actually one of the dogs found it and then ds started screaming for the dog to get away from it. Still though - ewwwwwwwwwwwww! I put a bucket over it until dh gets home and can dispose of it. LOL

I need to do a bit of laundry today, watch a Peanuts video with ds, and return some items to the library. I want to clean out our file box where we keep important papers (we keep receipts from our electric bills and such and I know we still have ones from our old house that we don't need anymore). Then I'll hopefully get started on our videotape. The hurricane won't be affecting us until this coming weekend (if it does at all), but we should still have this tape for lots of reasons. It's slowed down in intensity, but it's still so far away that anything could happen.

Nor sure what else is on the agenda for today. I've got to get in homeschool mode again - we start our year officially on Wed.! I think on Thurs. I might go to the base (to the commisary) with my friend. Her dh is retired military so she can shop there and she told me they have some organic products so I'd like to check out the prices.

**sunshine** · 08-30-2004, 09:40 AM

School today-- so not much else will get done here. Two classes in two different towns, each 1 hour from here.

Church was terrific yesterday! I loved seeing and worshiping with all the people from my childhood. The love they showed us was just so touching.

The new preacher had met my dd at Friday's football game and he remembered her name. He has 2 sons that both play in the band- and they were glad to see Deana at church. They were pleased to see a friendly, slightly familiar face in the sea of unknowns. I'm guessing that even though we don't attend that church on a regular basis, we'll be seeing lots of this family

**homesteadmamma** · 08-30-2004, 09:47 AM

Good morning everyone. Its a beautiful morning outside with sunshine and the promise of warmer temperatures, even 30+C the middle of the week. Hopefully some of my tomatoes will ripen.

Once the papers are here, I need to get the kids up and we will get them delivered.

After that, we need to go into the city and deposit some checks and pick up a few veggies and fruits. I also need to pick up some puppy food as they don't have any in our little town, nor in the towns surrounding us. I've asked the local Co-op store to bring some in and they promised they will, but were almost out of food and they can't bring any in until the middle of the week.

When we get back, I need to wash the material I purchased last week and then do some quilting. This week is also going to be a week of re-evaluating everything in my life and taking time to pause and reflect on where I want to go with my quilting. My life has gotten too hectic over the summer months and I'm craving once again for simplicity.

Marcia, glad you got a custom order. Thats wonderful.
QM - glad to hear the hurricane has slowed down. Hopefully it will continue too.
Heather - wow, you've been doing lots of canning. WTG!!

Have a wonderful day everyone.

**guest2** · 08-30-2004, 11:46 AM

Goodmorning all!

It's a gorgeous sunny day here and I have the windows and curtains flung open to let it all in.

On the agenda for today...

~school for the boys
~a lawn to mow for Josh for a lady here in town
~taking a walk downtown to pay a bill
~exercise for me, gotta do those pilates so I don't start a friction fire with my thighs!

~more reading to do
~get some more packing done for our trip on Friday
~clean the livingroom and diningroom, inlaws are coming voer tomorrow night for birthday cake for the twins
~looking for freebies on the internet
~finding really nasty jobs for the twins to do if they don not reign in their rather nasty attitudes here soon.

Have a blessed day all!!!!

**forestdale** · 08-30-2004, 04:51 PM

I have a fairly easy day today. I'm going to Buderim to do the store banking for DH, and while I'm there I'll go to my favourite plant nursery and have a wander through all the spring plants and flowers. I love going there. When I come home I'll be cleaning the bathrooms, making bread and a cake and, naturally, gardening. We have rain forecast today but I'm not holding my breath for it. They are usually wrong.

It seems strange to me that you've got your school year starting in September. The school year here ends in early December, kids have a 6 - 8 week summer holiday and go back to school in the last week of January. I hope you all have a successful school year with your children. I'm always interested to hear about homeschooling, so don't forget to update us throughout the year.

My DS Shane goes to New Zealand tomorrow on his first holiday outside Australia. He's really excited as he's never seen snow before and he'll be trying his hand at skiing, as well as sky diving, bungee jumping and jet boating.

Have a great day everyone.