APPLE BUTTER

It's apple time again! Yeahhhhhh!! Tina picked me three buckets of apples yesterday at a friends house and I started peeling and cutting as soon as we got home. The first run was 34 jars. I'm so excited. I still have a bucket and a half. Lots more to come.
I can hear them sealing from here. Pop, Pop, Pop!!! I love the sound of canning jars sealing. Have I said that before!! LOL

Late Night Visitor

The other night we were just sitting around. I was playing on the computer and Brenda was watching TV in her room. We kept hearing this odd noise and the dogs started to bark toward the front windows. We went to investigate and found this beautiful Regal Moth flying around outside the front of the house.









You can see by the size this is a pretty big specimen. They can get up to 6 inches across. They are one of the largest moths in North America.











As you can see by this picture, the Regal Moth is truly regal. The larval stage is called a Hickory Horned Devil. Although they look quite foreboding, they are actually not mean or dangerous.

Back in the Kitchen..Again! Part Duex

I started making homemade vegetable soup this past week. Danny's sister, Diane, gifted me with bunch of tomatoes, so I started making soup and salsa. So far, I have 40 jars of ready to heat and eat soup and 33 jars of salsa.









I can't wait for the apples and pears to come in. There won't be any plum jelly this
year because the worms got them first. Maybe the birds will eat them. They are
full of protein you know. Ewww, yuck!!

Fourth of July

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I posted on this blog. But a lot has been happening. Sh-h-h
don't tell anyone, I should have been posting about that too. Jamie finished truck driving school and went to work with Prime, Inc. out of Missouri. So now he's on the road all the time. Tina is with him on the truck. She will be coming home soon to start her truck driver training and afterwards she'll be joining him on the truck, team driving.

Ambre and Kojak decided to move back to the coast. Ambre got accepted at Carteret CC in the nursing program and Kojak starts work tomorrow with DirecTV. So that leaves me here alone except that Chris's grandmother is staying with me while we get Ambre's house ready to move into. She will be renting from them. So I do have someone here with me and she is a big help. She makes sure I take my meds ( she's bossy like that! hehe!)

We went out to visit Ambre and family over the fourth of July weekend. Even though they had only been gone a couple of weeks, we were missing them something fierce. Right now they are staying with Kojaks grandmother and looking for a place of their own. Here are a few pics of our adventure.

We were hiding on the little
beach area on the island
when K and Ambre brought
them down. They were
looking like "who are those
strange people over there
taking our pictures. " Then
they realized who it was
and pandemonium broke out.

We stayed near the end of the island at Calico Jacks. You could see the Cape Lookout Lighthouse from the boat docks.

The air was so clear.
You can almost see
the light keepers house
at the base of the light-
house. The light was
turning and I tried to
get a pic and the light
but the only one I was
able to get was blurry.

We went fishing too.
I don't know what that
is that Danny caught.
But Ambre caught this
really cool, toadfish. It
had the tail of an eel
and the head of a cat-
fish w/o whiskers.







Anyway, we had a great time and can't wait to go back
Labor day weekend. Hopefully by that time, they will
be in their own house and we can stay with them. I
would not recommend Calico Jacks. But it is very
beautiful and relaxing there on the island. I would not
mind living there at all.

Back In the Kitchen....Again!!!!!

Well, summer is finally here. The time for planting is over and the time for harvesting natures bounty has begun. Danny's sister, Diane gave me some cucumbers and squash. I canned the squash and made pickles with the cukes. I enjoyed making the pickles so much, I went and bought some more. The plums will be ready soon for jams and jellies. Already beat the birds to the cherry trees and froze the fruit for pies later in the year. The apple tree is full and the pear tree looks about the break with all the fruit that's on it. Why is it that I hate cooking but I love to can. Who knows, who cares. Here are some pics of my canning so far.
Here are the four quarts of squash I got. They turned out real pretty and colorful.
This is the first batch of dill slices I made yesterday. Can't wait to taste them. I have to wait 24 hours.
Twelve more pints of dill slices and 11 pints of kosher spears. Yum!!! Tomorrow it's more kosher spears and bread and butter pickles. I hope I can find the jars. I bought the last two Walmart had this morning. Anyway, can't wait for the apples to ripen so I can make apple butter and canned pears too. Yum! Yum!! Oh! Wait. I've still got two jars of pears left from last year. I think I will have one right now. Goodnight everyone. Enjoy your summer.

Special Quilt

Jamie got home Wednesday night. He had asked my to make Jim, his trainer, a quilt to thank him for putting up with him for the last few months. Jim is an ex-marine, so we made him one to fit his personality. Here are the pics.



Here's a close-up!!

FOR SALE

Hi everyone! I am posting some pics of some crocheted blankets I have made. They are for sale. So if you know someone who needs a gift for a new baby or would just like to have one just in case, let me know. My email is " gabsnana@bellsouth.net.

This first one is called "Mommie and Me". It's actually a knifty knitted blanket. It's done in panels that are mattress stitched together. It's 26" X 36" and is oh so soft. It sells for $45.
This one is called " Peaches and Cream". It's crocheted in a chevron pattern. It measures 36" X 42". The perfect size for a crib. It sells for $45.00 also.
This beauty is a " County Fair" pattern done is soft peach and off white. It's very soft and measures 34" X 50". This pattern is especially dear to me as it was designed by my Mom. It sells for $50.00. If you like any of these, please do not hesitate to let me know. If you have special colors or patterns in mind, I will do those too. I can also make coordinating quilts and changing pads too. Some of those are in some of my earlier posts. Take a look below!!!

Another Gift set

Our friends, Ruchir and Dhrutika Patel, had a baby girl on Jan 6. They live in Centerville, Ga now. I made them a set for their baby and here are the pics.
I've got the material and am starting their quilt set to match. Pics later.

Next, I have been working on some baby boggins to present to the Hands of Hope for Life organization in Forest City. They are a group that works with unwed and teenage pregnant girls. I am going to take them down tomorrow. Here's a picture of all 30 of them.

Baby Tate's Quilt Set

My great-niece, Courtney, and her husband, Jason, are the proud parents of Baby Tate. Born Feb 1, 2010 at 11:15. He weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 20 1/2" long. I would share a photo but I don't have one yet. But I have been working on a quilt, a crocheted blanket, a changing pad and boggins for little Tate. Here are the pictures.
This is the quilt and changing pad. It's made from the same material that Ambre made the diaper bag from.
This is the crocheted blanket and two toboggins I made. I hope Baby Tate enjoyed them. I really enjoyed making them for him. We are going to see him later today.

New Beginning

Well, Danny and I have decided to try and lose some weight. We have been watching Dr. OZ everyday and Lord knows we both need to. I had lost 34 lbs when I was able to swim at the college but I had to quit for awhile. Hopefully I can start back soon. I know that will help me a lot. I was breathing better and had a lot more breath. We brought the treadmill back in the house and we have both been walking on it. Building a little bit at a time. I am going to be posting here on the blog with updates as we progress so, wish us luck and here goes.

The Ant

One day a very small and timid ant climbed a very tall mountain. When he reached the summit, he looked into the heavens and said, " God, why am I here?" And a voice answered and said, " Because I love you!". " But how can you love me? I'm just a small, insignificant ant. The smallest of the small." And God answered, " No one is insignificant to me. Everyone and everything is important. Even the smallest of the small." And the little ant smiled and went on his way. The moral of this story is: God loves you no matter how big or how small or how insignificant you think you are. Believe in Him and He will believe in you.