Eli, and a few other things

Good thing I didn't boldly announce "MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS TO POST SOMETHING ON MY BLOG EVERY SINGLE DAY!"  That was actually a thought, you know. :)

Let me begin with old sweetie pie. Can you tell he is asking, "MAMA, HOW LONG BEFORE SUPPER'S DONE"?

We talk to each other that way; it's those eyes! Wednesday was Eli's birthday. He turned seven years old. Seems like just yesterday we brought that sweet little ball of fur home...

His first visit to the vet, Dr. Davis said to me, "YOU WON'T BE CARRYING HIM AROUND IN YOUR ARMS VERY LONG", and he was right. Eli grew really big, really fast!

and claimed Poppy's foot stool...

and has carried the same old Teddy Bear around for seven years...

and kept Teddy with him while on the job. Just kidding. Eli never worked a day in his life. He does like being with the goats but is probably saying, "YOU GOATS BETTER LEAVE MY TEDDY BEAR ALONE!"  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!

Well, here it is the middle of January and we still have half an acre of fall leaves to rake, but not to worry, Poppy stopped by Ace Hardware...

and brought me a brand new metal rake and new wheelbarrow. I have just about worked the wheels off my pretty pink wheelbarrow, no kidding, so it will be used for light duty now. Plus, I just didn't like that new wide plastic rake, purchased a few weeks ago. I am not a plastic person...give me heavy duty metal, any time! :)

Back in 1987 when we moved in our little log cabin, I vowed to do away with all plastic. We bought every piece of granite ware we could find. I still love, and use my old granite ware...

well, not so much those old slop jars on the top shelf. Sorry about the pitifully stocked pantry shelves. Had to spread things out to look like I spent lots of time canning last summer. :) 

I've used the small blue roasting pan many many times. It is perfect for cooking turkey breast and there's a large one on the pantry shelf that's good for ham or whole turkey. Both are old granite ware found at flea markets. How did I get off on all this anyway?

Guess I'll get back to work. Poppy worked at Food Lion this morning, giving me a break to get a little housework done....He gets off at 1:00! Better go!

Love,

Henny

I'll be around to visit and catch up. Absolutely can't believe I have a few new followers. Thank you so much! Hey, you just can't beat blogging friends. 

Sunshine and Chickens, Yay!

One of these days, when Lynn has time, I'm going to update the look of my blog. It's about time isn't it. Been this way since February 2013, but it still works. :)

We actually had a little sunshine yesterday and I was like a chicken with it's head cut off running around trying to decide what to do first. Then I noticed the rake leaning against a tree. :( Three tarp loads and three wheelbarrow loads later I dragged myself up the front steps and in the door, mighty proud of how that part of the yards looks now.

I wasn't the only one tickled to see the sun. Our soon to be neighbor Steve, was out working on the path. I waved from the chicken lot but he didn't see me...

Chickens excited over a little sunshine, gathered in a sunny corner...

 Notice how the new red hens have grown...

These sweet hens stay under my feet. Sure have to watch where I step. Don't think I've told you, but we lost one of our new hens which broke my heart. Have no idea what was wrong with her. She just got sick and died. She was eating and drinking right up to the end, but when I picked her up, was shocked at how little she weighed. 

Glad the hens are getting along now. Bringing in new chickens while the old chickens were moulting was stressful. That was an ill bunch of old hens the new hens had to adjust to.

We have had way too much rain lately and even the days without rain, were cloudy. Anyhow, late one evening the first of the week, the sun came out just before dark and made the most unusual colors on the trees...

almost looks like fall instead of winter...

Now we have rain again today with a chance of snow flurries tonight. We'll see.

Eli thought the trees were strange looking too. 

I'll never understand about Blogger and why it won't let use the large print. Lynn says she will help me with that too, when she has time. Lynn just started work at Michaels...her dream job! Guess it would be, for anyone into crafting, like Lynn is.  She is still making journals...big time!

Thank you for visiting. :)

Love,

Henny

Done with Deer Season!

Don't know about you, but we could sure use a day of sunshine around here. In fact, we could use an entire month with no rain.   

The weatherman said sun today, with a few clouds...I wonder what state he was talking about? It's been dark and cloudy here and misting rain.

Oh, but I am happy about the beginning of a brand new year...and happy too that deer hunting season has ended! Maybe the sun will shine again soon and things will calm down a bit...

Eli and Weetie have have worked full time keeping up with the yapping and barking of hunting dogs running in the area.  I must have opened the front and back doors a thousand times...letting them out and in, as they tore from front porch to back porch; gnarling and barking and carrying on. 

I'm tired of hearing about it all too. Every year, it's a battle between the still hunters and the dog hunters. Poppy and a couple others out here still hunt...sitting in a tree for hours, hoping a monster buck will walk past. 

While down below on the paved road the dog hunters abound; the sides of the roads lined with mud splattered pick-up trucks, each sporting a dog box on the back. The dogs are released, then the hunters gather around each other's trucks to admire the red mud and wait for the dogs to roust up a deer. 

and like Poppy says, once a pack of deer dogs run under your tree stand, you might as well come down and go home. WHY am I even talking about this! Well, I do have one more "hunting" story...

Just about every day that Poppy hunted, he came home complaining that something was stinging or biting his arm.  I must have washed his thermals a dozen times hoping to wash out whatever it was. Finally, we decided to take a closer look and there...

deeply embedded in the fabric was a straight pin, with a pearl head! I laughed! Of course, it had to be my fault, but I have no idea how that pin got there. 

A crow stopped in for a snack...

Oh, I've been meaning to show you what a good job our new, little red hens are doing...

Had no idea these hens would start laying in December. Big pretty eggs, and these are the sweetest hens.

Guess that's it for now. Anyhow, it's about time to dip ice cream. Poppy has been eating Turkey Hill's Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream...and I've just finished a carton of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Hope to be back real soon.

Love,

Henny

 

A kitty, and other bits of news

Well, as it turns out, Christmas was wonderful. Hope yours was wonderful too. Didn't get to see all the children or the grandchildren, but Andee and Todd, without Madison home for Christmas for the first time, had dinner with us. Got to say, that made Christmas!

So first things first...Is there anything cuter than the face of big sweet kitty cat that's not sure what's going on...

I picked him up for a hug and Andee said, Mom, I've got to get a picture of that. Smokey wasn't sure about Andee and that strange looking iPad.

This big boy gives THE BEST HUGS!

"It's okay Smoke! We're gonna whip Andee for scaring you". :)

Around the first of December we ordered a Santa poster...the 24"x 36" size for the big wooden frame on the front porch. The sunflower looked out of place at Christmas. 

Well we waited and waited, we made phone calls, and eventually tracked the package to the Louisburg post office but no one could find it. 

Guess what arrived Christmas Eve, delivered by our regular mailman...

I was really looking forward to hanging this life-size Santa. At least it got here, and did add a little joy to the porch and old cupboard for Christmas Eve and Day...

Were you surprised by any unusual gifts this Christmas? We surely were. Let me back up a little first...

Poppy's daughter Windy, and her family, moved from Missouri to Virginia about a year ago. They bought a nice home with a big fenced-in back yard with ready made raised beds for gardening. Had no idea what big gardeners they were until just before Christmas when Windy sent pictures...

Oh my gosh!  How pretty, and is that Bamboo I see growing in the background? (actually, I asked if that was reed growing in the back, I didn't know there was a difference) :) I searched all last spring for a decent piece of Bamboo to make homes for the mason bees. When you guys come for a visit, you can have all the Bamboo you want, Windy and Brian agreed. 

Before Christmas, a UPS truck backed into the driveway. The driver jumped out, opened both back doors and struggled to pull out a big heavy 7' long box. Poppy helped get the box up on the porch. What in the world is this, asked Poppy. Obviously, something that will have to be put together, said the driver...by the sound of the wood clanking together inside the box.

We opened our present Christmas Eve...

A box filled with beautiful perfectly cut, 7' tall Bamboo pieces! Prettiest I've ever seen! Can't wait to use these in the garden next spring and try to create something really pretty. 

Speaking of gardening...I'm already dreaming and planning.

Good grief! No wonder Poppy is always saying, will you get to the point! You've all probably signed out by now. If you're still here, thank you for visiting! 

Love,

Henny

Next Week! Christmas!!

Hey Friends,

Well, it was a week Friday since my last post. Need to get going here, because I know me...I'll mess around and miss wishing you all a Merry Christmas.

Where have the weeks of December gone! Next week is Christmas! I've done a little bit more decorating.

My beloved old cupboard that sits on the front porch really needed a Christmassy touch...so I went gathering more cedar, pine, and a few holly limbs...

and tied a little of the greenery together for our tiny screen door made with chicken wire...

This door badly needs a coat of stain. It used to be a warm golden color. If you've never seen such a door as this, it's because, it was built by me. :) I sawed an old full size screen door in half, bolted the two pieces together, and added chicken wire., and it worked!

This was back when Eli was ten weeks old. He loved being on the porch but we were afraid he would wander off. I also enclosed the porch with garden wire. You can probably tell. :)

Okay, don't know how I got off on all that. I have something to show you...

Also don't know  how I got lucky enough to be one of four to win a beautiful hand carved ornaments...

from Far Side of Fifty.blogspot.com  Both Connie and her husband are amazing wood carvers.  

Can you believe how much this looks like those old glass ornaments! I love it! Thank you Connie. Appreciate that little scrubby thing too. Those things are great, especially for those of us without dishwashers...

and I wish I had taken a better picture of the card. Connie makes these cards and they are beautiful...

Connie has the neatest blog and posts something every day...something interesting! I could never do that. Some of her posts are hilarious and make me laugh. She's great and got a great husband too.

Got something else to show you...

A very special bunny rabbit from a very special person!

A Bunny that ice skates. He is so cute, and fits right in with the animals on the tree. 

Most of you probably know Deb from Just Cats.  She is such an animal lover and boy do the animals love her. Even the tiny little Chickadees will light in her hands. It's amazing. 

This bunny is more than cute, He is beautiful! I love him!

And friends, I'm serious about Deb and the Chickadees...

I love this picture of Deb in the snow with a Chickadee. (I didn't ask permission to post this picture. Hope you don't mind, Deb). It is so pretty! Thank you for another bun bun.

Well, before I go, here's an old picture from the 40's. 

                                    Kids on the right; Shelby(standing), me(center), Jackie(on the sled)

Taken probably some time around Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love,

Henny

A little decorating, A little painting

Seems like the harder I try to be a good blogger, the worse I do, and getting worser and worser. Is worser a word? Shakespeare said, "I cannot hate thee worser than I do",  (just learned this from Merriam-Webster). 😊 Also learned from the Collins English Dictionary that the word 'worser' is found only in some regional dialects, and is considered non-standard. Sounds like me! 

Anyhow, been doing a little decorating, 'little' for sure...

I did bring in lots of cedar (from limbs hanging over the dam that needed to be cut anyway).

and the mantle...nothing special, just set up parts of the little Christmas village without taking down the Indian pictures...

Seems like everyone, well, except me, is going all out with decorations this Christmas. Oh, but I am excited about Christmas. I love Christmas!

We did move the little tree from in front of the windows to the wall space under the deer...

and picked out just a few ornaments, but then noticed the green cord is showing and half the lights are burned out...sigh. Well, half my lights are burned out too. 

and again...I have pulled out my old 'Country Living' magazines from the late 1980's and early 1990's. These were the most beautiful Christmas magazines, and usually featured log homes. 

Candy canes on the coffee table. Have you tried the 'hot chocolate' flavored ones? 

Here's a bit of news.  Lowes Home Improvements installed our new front door this week. Yay!!

The glass in the old door had become cloudy. After 31 years, the seal had broken and no amount of cleaning made it better. It was awful and depressing to look at? I dearly love clean windows so having to look through this cloudy glass for the last few years was driving me crazy.

The new door! I LOVE it, but it's white and needs painting. The white is beautiful, isn't it?

but just doesn't go with these dark cedar walls. Here's the outside...

Tomorrow I will start the tedious job of painting. The color we picked for the door is 'sweet tea,' and the trim will be dark, like the board over the door. I will post 'after' pictures. 

This new blogger!!! I like big print and Blogger is determined to pick the print size for me...and not only that...mix all print sizes together!!!  and move my words around! I hate how it all looks! 

Better say goodnight. It's Poppy's bedtime. He will be in here to check the emails one last time. 

This is a terrible post, but I'll publish it anyway. Thank you friends for putting up with me.  Maybe a picture of Smokey will make things better...

Love,

Henny

 

Patty and Holly, no, Holly and Patty

I've just got to say thank you for the nice comments on my last post, and Gale, who had never left a comment before...thank you so much! Your comment sure touched my heart.

The Holly trees are beautiful this year...

and were even prettier a few days ago. Poppy has reminded me every day..."you better get a picture of the holly berries before the birds eat them all".

First the Robins came...hundreds of them filling up on the red berries before moving on. Now the Cardinals fill the holly trees but that's okay.

Back when we cleared a spot in the woods to build the cabin, we intentionally left all the holly trees and all the cedar trees...

and in the dead of winter when other trees are bare, the hollies and cedars are dark green and beautiful. The green trees in the background are hollies and cedars too.

You probably remember my cousin Patty, don't you? Patty, who gave me the old cupboard, and the old pie safe, plus many many other things too numerous to mention...well, Patty called me last week...

by the way, this is cousin Pat and her husband Mike, (the nice looking couple on the left).  Anyhow, Patty said, "every morning I get up and get started on something. This morning I decided to sit here and read this old church cookbook."  

It's one of those cookbooks put together by members of the church. This church is located in a small community called Ether ...

near where my mother Jewel, and Pat's mother Agathel, were born and raised...along with their sisters, Aunt Bass, Aunt Berlie, Aunt Martha, Aunt Ruby, Aunt Macie, and Aunt Eva, oh and brothers, Uncle Henry and Uncle Charlie.  these folks...

Front row is Aunt Eva, Jewel (mama), Aunt Martha, Aunt Bass

Back row is Aunt Macie, Aunt Agathel (Pat's mom), Aunt Berlie, Aunt Ruby, Uncle Henry, Uncle Charlie

So the old cookbook contains recipes and tips from relatives and friends from all those folks. The main thing Pat called about were the hundreds of tips and ideas listed in the back of the old cookbook. "I've just got to share these with you", she said. Some are really good, some a bit strange, some funny...

Not sure how easy these will be to read...Oh, I would be overwhelmed if someone put all this in front of me to read so please...

Some of these are pretty amazing. It's easy to tell there were no microwave ovens around at the time. Patty thought this would make a good blog post...and I agree. 

Better get up from here...looks like some of the sweetie pies around here played too hard today...

Sorry about the raggedy old couch, it's just so darn comfortable. One of these days we may get a new living room suit. :)

Love,

Henny

PS.. Debby, just saw your comment for the first time too. Thank you so much!