things round here #3

Have been on the quiet side. The new house is moving along well and we hope to be in it by Christmas.
The leaves are in full turning mode, and I must say that I can not get enough of them. So, Senior and I decided to load up the kids and take a day trip to the mountains. His stepdad is buried up there, and as we did some of his moms ashes over his grave, it was only fitting we paid our respects.

 

Down here in the lower elevations, the leaves have gone into full changing mode as well.   The colors are brilliant and makes me happy with our decision to move up here, I love having all four seasons,and being surrounded by the brilliant colors.

 



 

This is NDs  other pumpkin he was growing, it grew flat, So, since he was entering the schools "Book Character Pumpkin  contest" he chose it to be his "Headless Horseman" From the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He said the thing look distorted an extra level of  creepiness.

 

And after his paint job:

NW deicded the day before all pumpkins were due that he too wanted to have an entry-I went out and bought a small one and he chose "Frankenstein" :

 

 

In other news, our oldest NW went on his first camping/fieldtrip without us. The entire 5th grade goes every year. I have began making cuts in those apron strings. but I can't help but feel that a part of me is missing. Senior and the boys are my heart, and right now a part of my heart is not here. Senior and I miss him terribly. And even though he won't admit it, I know ND misses his older brother too.

He loaded up a large backpack Tuesday night so much to the point we all thought he would fall over backwards..lol  It was funny watching him hump that sack. The kids boarded a bus and left yesterday morning and will be home tomorrow afternoon. I know he will be excited and full of stories of the trip. I can't wait to have him back and hear all about his adventure.

-JUGM

things round here # 2

Things have been going good, not only for us but all our friends to the south. The Midlands are finally drying out, but the damage is done and much work is needed to fix what the flooding destroyed.

  A couple of weeks ago Senior bought us this double burner stove. When the new house is done, we will be moving it into a storage building that will sit right out from the side porch, I will move my umpteen canning jars, and all the supplies in that as well. Thus making it the canning supply room.
 Senior had Monday off for the Columbus Day. So we did some potatoes. The best part is being able to have two pressure cookers running at the same time. It is also great in case of emergencies, just another way to be prepared for whatever life throws you.

ND was about to pee his pants to finally cut his pumpkin, The kid is so excited about Halloween that he  couldn't stand it any longer. While it was no where near the size it could have been, it isn't bad. Bigger then a basketball, and weighs around 10-15 pounds. Next year though we will get them in the ground much earlier.

  Libby absolutely despises "Black Jack"the rooster and I believe the feeling is mutual.The two crack me up when they get started going at it. On this day his feathers were getting incredibly ruffled and he was trying to spur her through the wire.

 

 

 

It is turning much cooler here, lows will be in the 30s next week.We have enjoyed beautiful fall weather, and keeping the windows open. It is a welcome break from the drought and hot temps of the summer.  Have a blessed Day...    -JUGM

a reminder of why we prep

The South Carolina flooding is again a good reminder as to why we prep. The middle of the state that we have adopted has been devastated. Some people have lost barely anything, while others have lost everything.  My Aunt lives a block off the ocean in Folly Beach, her entire bottom floor was flooded, when I talked to her, she was in tears, one of the things that was destroyed was an antique doll house that my uncle bought her before he passed, it is irreplaceable. But while in tears,  her spirit still was not diminished, she knew others were worse off and had lost much more. ....she told me that even Hurricane Hugo wasn't this bad.

My faith in the human spirit has been a bit renewed as neighbor has been helping neighbor The donations are pouring in from everywhere. and I am happy to know that in a time of need, people can put differences aside and help others.

in 2004, while still living in Florida, in a two week period we were hit with several tropical systems. the local big orange store, announced that evening on the news, they were getting a shipment of generators. Senior, immediately rushed there to get us one. The next day, our area was hit, Power was out for a week. Fortunately we were one of the few who had a generator and was able to keep our fridge going, make coffee, and run some fans when needed.
That Thursday, the Red Cross announced they would be giving out ice, and sandwiches to those people in our neighborhood who were still without power. So, I went. and I stood in the long line that you so often see on the TV.  And what I witnessed made my stomach turn. People there only to get something "free" the items were not truly going to those in need. I left.
 Like Scarlett O'Hara eating a raw potato...I swore that day I would never be one of those people standing in line waiting for others to help me. That entire ordeal was a turning point for Senior and I. Buying that generator was the first step we took towards prepping.

Do you remember what triggered your concerns? Can you recall what it was that made you realize that you needed to be prepared?

Our prayers go out to all those people across the midlands of our adopted state that have lost so much with this disaster.

Rain...

When the weatherman uses terms such as

" Historic Levels " and "Biblical Proportions"  perhaps it's time we build an ark...

We are somewhere under those dark yellows. The flood advisories have gone up and it isn't suppose to stop until sometime Monday morning....

Things round here ( take 2)

( blogger was wonky earlier and I have no idea what happened with the first post about this so this is another shot at it)

Things are here have been busy. The construction of the new house is moving along nicely. We are growing accustomed to the coming and going of subcontractors. This week it has been the masons who are doing the brick work around the base. Senior and I thought they would run out of the red brick  so, this morning I slowly approached and politely asked if they would be getting another delivery. I was looked upon as if I had three heads, unbeknownst to me  none of the workers spoke a lick of English...  They just kind of smiled like they understand and nodded their heads as if agreeing with me.

ND has been giving me fits these past few days. He is expanding his vocabulary and the word for this week is "Apparently"  everything begins with : "Apparently Mom"...   Yesterday  he put the word to use while ratting out his older brother  it was " Apparently Mother your older son is to blame"   I rolled my eyes and silently giggle...  Kids! you just gotta love the things they say...

The fall garden is in full swing and we have been blessed with an abundance....This is NDs gigantic pumpkin, it has grown quite a bit since the last post about it. But it still has a ways to go before Halloween.

These are the two vines that the boys planted:

The fall green beans are being more prosperous then the spring and summer ones, so we have decided in the future to only do a fall planting of them.

We get half of a 5 gallon bucket every 2-3 days. Thus it  has become the ritual after our evening  baths to sit at the kitchen table, and snap them. We have 3-4 gallon bags frozen and plan to start canning some this weekend.

I was told "Apparently Mother, ( lol)  I have picked and snapped so many green beans, they are growing out of my nose" 

 OMG! 

I had to take a pic

We got the collards in earlier this year, thus they are exploding:

We are being blessed with cooler weather, the lows are down in the 50-60's highs in the 70s. Hopefully those stiffing hot and humid days are gone until next summer.  And rain is back in our forecast, which is much needed for our region. Everyone is hoping it will start to cut into the drought we have been under since April.

It is the first day of fall and the only positive thing about being so dry and hot this past summer is the fall leaves are expected to be very brilliant... they are currently turning a bright yellow, with some reds and oranges splashed here and there.

-JUGM

our ebenezer

We have lots of boulders, and rocks here at the estate,  lets not kid around, you can't walk or dig without stumbling over rocks of all shapes and sizes here. So, it was not abnormal for the foundation crew to find and have to unearth this behemoth rock.
I thought it was cool, and another one to add to the many others, so I actually blew it off.
 Then Friday, I was flipping through the bible in the book of  1 Samuel and came across the story of Israel and the many battles they have had against the Philistines. The battle was incredibly fierce and the Israelites cried unto the Lord for help. As the philistines drew near for battle, The Lord caused a great thunder upon them and were defeated by the Israelite's. 
 After that Samuel grabbed up a stone, used it as a monument and called it "Ebenezer" it is a combination of two Hebrew words that literally means: " the stone of help"  What it did though, was remind the Israelite's that God is with them and provides for their needs, no matter how big the problem is...God was there protecting them.

Okay, I know Samuel used a stone, and this thing is a massive boulder but during the past year of our family moving to the estate, The problems we faced and challenges we had did seem"boulder sized" to us. There were many times we talked about  about throwing in the towel. But, I would give it to God because there was no way I was going to be beat.

Now, with Seniors job, and the house construction started, we have seen Gods work in action.
So when the rock was unearthed, and reading the story of Samuel  it reminded me that  much like he did back then with the armies of Israel, God has and will provide for us.
like the stone Samuel used, this big rock serves as an everlasting monument that our needs were provided for.  When we felt things were so dark, God provided. 

We have discussed where to move the thing to, and we have all decided to keep it in front of the house. So we can never forget where we have been, and where we are going......  

-JUGM

Say a prayer, stay vigilant and never forget