Nearing the end of Gardening season

Hello everyone,
Gardening season is moving by quickly, It has been really nice raising my own vegtables, it has been exciting learning new things about growing different vegtables. This year I grew a giant pumpkin, I have never tried to grow one before but it happened. It is so big, I'll have to get some pictures on the blog about it, actually here are two pumpkins. One weights about 30 lbs the other about 10 lbs I guess , they are supposed to be able to grow up to 300 lbs, but I'm excited for the size they already are.

We have red beets, green onions,carrots, cucumbers,jalapenos,green peppers, tomatos, and lots of squash --zuchini that is. we had peas earlier in the year, and radishes and lettuce. My sister gave me some apricots from her tree this year ,and so I was able to make apricot jam , my children really like it with pancakes and fried bread scones.
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In July, I made a quilt for my Grandson it was a picture of luigi It turned out pretty well.
Also this month I was able to get together with some of my girl friends I went to high school with for lunch at the park, that was really great. It was nice to talk to all of them and see what they have been up too.
Last month I had what I thought was an stroke and I couldn't see for three days. I figured that my life being able to sew was over so I gave away all of my fabric, That was crazy for me because I love to sew and create things so much. But what done is done.

Family Reunions

We left for Idaho on Friday around noon. We went to a family reunion in Idaho. I haven't driven to idaho in many years. I remember the last time when I was coming home my car broke down. So I was very careful this time and took my time.

My daughter and I stopped along the way there, we stoppped in Poccatello, and visited the zoo, we took pictures of the animals from the park next door.

There were tons of large rocks in that park. One was so big it was amazing to me, we took pictures of us sitting on them. It was so nice there in Idaho still lots of room to breath fresh air and just open land I really loved it.

Our next stop was Blackfoot, Idaho. There we ran past a large statue of a baked potato, including sour cream and butter, we had to have a picture of that too.
On to Groveland, this is where our reunion was. We set up our tents at the Groveland baseball park, had dinner and then we told stories about our ancestors, then finally to sleep Yeah!!!!!!

Saturday was a great day to visit, and learn about our heritage. I learned about the herbs that my great grandmother used to heal and take care of her family across the plains with, certain plants that can be used for foods and vitamins. My great grandmother wanted to go to school very bad, when she went to the school house as the teacher rounded up the children, the teacher asked her "what religion are you?" she replied "mormon" the teacher said "we don't allow mormons in this school" but that didn't stop her from learning to read. She took pictures she had from a New Testament that she carried around in her pocket, and she would match it to the stories that the missionaries taught her. From there she would try to decode the story one word at a time. She also listened to the men talking in the inn where she worked, when they would leave, she would gather the newspapers they had left behind, and search for the words they ahd spoken. There is so much more to this story, and it has made such a difference in me, knowing that she never gave up. That she found the success that was hers.

Spring has sprung

You know that old saying spring has sprung the grass has riz I wonder what that white stuff is. Well it's the first of April ,and you can see the tulips heads pushing out from under the snow. Here in Utah, the snow comes then the sun comes out and melts away the snow then it does it all over again. It is kinda springy feeling.
I have added five raised beds to my back yard for planting this year. I have two more to make. I decited ( well acually Joy from "Joy in the Garden" gave me the direction.)that the only way to be able to grow a good garden without fear of the animal in the ground was to dig up the ground and put down ground cloth, or a wire fencing to keep it out. So I've done all that, Now I am going to get a garden started. Last week I planted my peas, next I'm gonna get in some lettuce, and onions. I love this time of year the best to get out and plant and see what you get.
One day I want to be able to have enough flowers growing to be able to gather bouquets for the graves on memorial day. Last year I had some Iris to send, purple and brown ones.

Time to start over

The New Year is already slipping by. It is already towards the end of January .The Christmas season was nice but I'm happy that it slipped by swiftly.And now we are into a more relaxed time of year. It for me is a time to start over, and a time to do better than I did last year. I was hoping that we would be warmer after we had our house well insulated but it seems that we are just as cold. We are all walking around the house with our jackets on trying to keep the chill off. Maybe we need a new furnace. Or maybe we need to eat more grains and be more active,( I know this really would help.) It's hard to get my kids to eat anything made from grains, when I add oatmeal to the ground beef my son tells the family we are having horse patties for dinner. There is so much processed foods in the world today, its no wonder that there are so many unhealthy persons upon the earth. I think that if we could only teach the hungry people of the world to use grains in their diets more and eat brown rice instead of white rice, that they would be able to fill the nourishment that their bodies need .And I know that they would be less hungry, and feel energetic. I kind of answered my own delima of why I am so cold all the time it seems.
Last year I learned how to make cream of mushroom soup out of bean flour to use in my casseroles, it was so much better for our bodies and the best thing is that my children didn't know that I changed the ingredients in the recipe, it was more healthy and had less salt. I get alot of my healthy recipes from the store where I shop for my grains. Kitchen Kneads is the name of the store, it is located at 7579 South Redwood Rd west Jordan ,Utah, 84084 They have classes on Saturdays to teach you how to use your grains and your dried food storage . After each class they let you sample the foods that they have made. I like the challanges that the owner gives like trying to live on your food storage for one week with out going to the store. or trying to live without power for one week . It can really give you a chance to see what others around the world are going through. And hopefully will help you to be prepared for the furture.

November

Life is good, last week my son Andrew came down from Arizona. He and Bryan put insulation in the outer walls of our home. Some of the walls had no insulation at all. One had a thin Styrofoam liner from a box, in my room the floor had been built up higher than it originally had been built, so there was an opening from the foundation where the cold air was coming through. I'm thankful that my boys were able to do this job otherwise in would have cost us a lot more money than it did. The past winters we have been paying so much for heating bills, I'm sure now we will be warmer and for less. Now its time to get the house back in order,first paint the walls and all that. Thanksgiving was very nice,We had our Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday night so all of our family could be together, It is really nice to have peace in our home, I mean like no yelling and fighting, and arguing. Maybe it comes with growing up.Or maybe we have found out how to love one another. Andrew went home Wednesday morning.My life is good.

preparing for winter

Back to blogging! I've been busy for a while doing things like crochet, canning, sewing Halloween costumes,sewing baby booties, super Saturday,and learning about libraries,How to organize and put books in the proper order. Learning things I never really knew. It has been nice doing volunteer work in a school library. Can you imagine how hard it is to keep a library organized. With all those small children just learning how to use the library moving books here and there. It has been a challenge for me to try to keep up It's a big job.But I enjoy it.

I have crocheted two hats, I followed the
pattern off of the t.v. program Knit and
Crochet today, They said that this particular pattern was popular in New York right now ,and it was a very simple pattern, so I gave it a try. The first hats sections are straight up and down, but when I started the second hat, it started with a twist, and it turned out really cute too.
I've also been canning Apple pie filling, a recipe I obtained from the web. Some of the recipes I have found out for my self have to be tested first because something has been left out. oh well that's OK.
The booties I made were out of old wool skirts, then I lined them with a flannel print.I was hoping that I would be able to help with some Halloween costumes this year , I have made so many in the past years for my grandchildren but this year they decided to buy their own. I did get to sew up one hoodie for a Darth Vader costume and a pinafore for a clown suit. I'm glad that I can help others, by doing this I have been blessed greatly.I'm Thankful for the gifts that I have been given. And most of all I am Thankful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,And for the Atonement of Jesus Christ,For because of these great blessings, I have become a better person.

It has been a while since I have blogged. There is really nothing new in my life to blog about, sounds pretty bad huh? I am going to find a picture to cheer us all up. Maybe soon I will be blogging again.