October....:)

I just love the month of October. I love Autumn and October is the month when Autumn shows off. Color here is beginning to reach peak in some areas and others are just getting started. DD and I started a new part-time job together last week. We like being able to work together. We are off on the weekends so hopefully Saturday I might be able to take a drive and get some pictures of the colors. I just wanted to write a short post this morning and post some pictures. So have a great day!

Wreath I made yesterday. Took about 10 minuets. Everything, even the grapevine was harvested from around my yard.

Goldenrod and Ironweed growing in my garden.

Purple coneflower in bloom in Cherokee NC

Black eyed susan in NC

Rainy and foggy day at Clingman's Dome.

My parent's neighbor's Passion vine grows through my parent's fence :)

I dead-headed some of my FIL flowers last year and planted some of the seeds here at my house. This hollyhock is from that bag of mixed seeds lol It is actually over 4 feet tall and has bloomed itself silly since Spring...still going strong :)

Brrr, Good Morning (*shiver `n` shake*)

I guess you can tell from the title that it is a bit cool here this morning. I'm loving it. We had our windows open yesterday and last night and it feels so good, chilly but good. We had a great service at church last night. We have been visiting a great little church not far from home and I love it there. Not sure if it will be our new "home" but if it is  I would be happy. We will be enjoying a fellowship dinner there Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it.
We took a lil trip to North Carolina Tuesday. We had a great time together as a family. We love to roadtrip and it was a hoot and a half. We got to see some turkey and elk and drive and walk through the clouds which wsas so cool. Clingma's Dome was cloaked in heavy clouds due to the rainy weather we were having. The kids decided the next time we hike it they want to do it when the cloud cover is heavy. Not sure if that will happen this Fall because they will be closing the road at the end of October.
The leaves are showing some color on the road to Clingman's though if any of y'all are looking for a nice drive. On the NC side of the mountain there is some color too. Driving over from Cherokee to Maggie Valley you can see some yellows are reds.The leaf report also said the drive through the Blueridge Parkway is showing color too. Plus Maggie Valley is getting all decorate for Fall :) I love driving down that road and seeing all the decorations.
If you would like to visit the Smokies  this Fall here are some links to check out the Fall foliage report and guided history tours.
 http://smokiesinformation.org/nature-wildlife/fall-foliage-updates/
 http://smokiesinformation.org/things-to-do-see/ranger-guided-events2/
 http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fallcolor.htm

Have a blessed day! Blessings ! ~ Nikki

Long Time Away...Needed A new Mindset

I have been away from this blog for a while. I have been lurking and reading my blog roll faves but whenever the thought of posting to my own would flit through my brain, all I could see was a blank page. Sometimes things happen in life and it drains everything in you. Mine has been a landslide of changes since early August. Basically I have just felt whiny and irritable because life didn't work out according to my plan this Fall and I let it steal all my joy. Worry has been my constant companion. And I should know better...I do... it is just sometimes getting your heart and head to sing the same tune is a difficult thing. To make a long story short (and therefore reducing my chances of whining even more), I lost my job and my funding for school. So I have to put off my Nursing classes for another semester and maybe even next Fall. No job (plus the loss of "extra" cash left over from my school loans, which helped pay some things) has meant things are more than tight here at home. No new job yet although I'm looking :) My DD's funding was affected to so she had to put off her classes til Spring. All that combined with all the "little" things just made a mess of my plans and I have been  upset and moody and heartbroken....you know, all the things a mature ( I once thought) CHRISTian should be. Anyway, I'm tired of feeling whiny. I decided to put my big girl pants on and move on. I need to focus on the good things God has done for me and concentrate less on what I feel like I "lost". Yes, I have efficiently been chastised :)
So , in the spirit of a renewed mindset... Preacher had surgery last week and is doing well. Maybe he can now have relief from his shoulder pain. Fall began to sneak in around the end of August (to say it is early is an understatement lol ) and all the wildflowers of the season are in bloom and cooler temps are here YAY! I had a wonderful birthday cookout with my family in August. We just finished our first week of homeschool and it went fantastic ( by the way , I will be updating that poor neglected blog of mine ). My DD made this cute template for me for Fall. I love the crow. She mad it using coloring sheets and PSP :) Best Christmas gift I ever bought her!
I do have a most urgent request for your prayer lists, my BIL Chris (whom I love like my own brother) was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He is praying for healing...will you pray with us ? The fact his cancer was found at all is a pure God thing so I know God has great plans for him through all of this. His wife (Preacher's sister) and daughters long to keep their husband and daddy around for a while longer so please be praying for them.
So much good has been given me than I could put here in this blog post and I have been too self absorbed to enjoy it ... but I'm gonna start to now lol So I'm off for a bit but have a great day ... get out in the Autumn sun and have some fun today...I'm going bug hunting with my baby DD :) Life is good...God is good ALL THE TIME :) If I ever forget that again will you kindly remind me ? Thanks:) Blessings ! ~ Nikki

Late Night Rambles

I hope this post finds all of you in Blogland doing well. We have been enjoying cooler temps and lots of rain in our area. Everything is turning green again and Preacher actually had to mow this week. This drought and heat has been terrible for so many. Gas has already risen back to $3.18 her and we were at $2 .92 around the 4th. Food prices are expected to  soar too. Now would be a great time to stock up if you have not already. Buy while it is cheap :) Stretch that dollar til it screams !
School has been going ok so far. This summer I am taking speech and a humanity; neither which I like. Oh well, it must be done. At night while at work I try to accomplish all I can on homework when I have some down time.
Today I managed to can some salsa. My parents had an abundance of "maters" so they shared with us. This was my first time making salsa but it turned out so yummy. I tweaked a recipe from the Ball canning book. I will write up a post about it later; hopefully tomorrow :)
Signing off tonight I will leave you with this interesting tidbit:
As I have mentioned before, my DD BabyGirl is a writer (an amazing one at that) and she is having an interesting discussion on her blog. You should check it out!
Words On A Page

Carnival of Home Preserving #18 – Come Link Up!

Come join in at

Laura Williams' Musings

I linked this post from last year : http://tnmtnrose.blogspot.com/2011/10/easy-blue-ribbon-garlic-dill-pickles.html

How I Miss The Bee Keeper

The Bee Keeper holding me. Also my brother Rog and my cousin Pam. The hill behind us would soon be the home to his bees and the miniature Jerusalem.

Tonight I have been thinking... thinking about the Bee Keeper. I called him Papaw. He was my whole world when I was young. An old Baptist preacher who worked the land to make a living. He built the home where he raised his children, including my Momma. He also built a two story apartment on his farm for his grown children to come home to when times got hard. That apartment was my home for many years. At one time my family lived in one story and my Aunt and her family in the other. Papaw wanted to keep family close. He knew second to God, family was most important. I hunted, trapped and fished with Papaw. Our blackberry pickings were always memorable too. Our ginseng hunts were legendary; at least in my mind. Papaw let us grandkids grow up country style...barefoot on the first warm day of Spring and playing in the creek catching crawdads but we learned about hard work too. We all had chores. We worked in the fields, carried water and helped Mamaw around the house. I was even known to paint the bricks of his house with a can full of creek water and a feather from one of his laying hens. I loved how those half brick walls would shine, at least while they were wet. My nickname was Lucy Slewfoot...I don't why ... but I loved it. Papaw had a strict dress code for himself; Monday thru Saturday: overalls, white tank tshirt and white button up, Sunday: White button up and suit and tie. He smoked; during the week it was hand rolled cigarettes with Prince Albert canned tobacco, or a pipe of cherry tobacco ( I still think of him every time I smell it), Sundays he smoked Marlboros. He didn't want all those ashes from home rolled cigarettes to get on his Sunday clothes. We buried tons of treasure in those old Prince Albert cans. Papaw loved making concrete statuary. He even built the city of Jerusalem in miniature in the side yard. That was one of my favorite places to play as a child. In my eyes, Papaw could do anything. There were many things he loved to do. Preaching was his favorite thing I believe. Mine was sitting on the couch with him as he read Scripture to me. I can close my eyes and still see his finger sliding across the worn pages of his Bible as he showed me the words he was reading. He even let me "marry" him and Mamaw one day. I felt so much like him as I read the words from his old Pastor's manual. I still remember the sweet kiss they shared when I "pronounced" them man and wife. Many times I would be playing in the yard and couples would show up and ask him to marry them. His yard probably saw more weddings than the church building. I made him promise that he would marry me and my future husband someday. He couldn't keep that promise but that's ok...he would have if it was up to him. He did marry my brother and his wife. I know Rog treasures that memory. We lost Papaw not long after the wedding. Papaw had a hobby that was very special to him. He was a beekeeper. Bee hives lined the hill above his house and the yard was always full of the sound of busy bees. He lovingly donned his gear and would bring out sweet warm honey fresh from the hive for us to eat. Yummmm, there is nothing like it in the world. Papaw loved his bees. He found his quiet time working with them. I was always allergic. A bee sting meant a trip to the ER. Sometimes the swelling would be very bad and I would be ill for days. Papaw always worried about me during those times but I know he also mourned his bee. Sometimes the bees and I could come to an agreement and I would go through Spring and Summer without a sting. I'm not sure who was happier, Papaw or me. There are many stories I could share about Papaw. But tonight, I was thinking about the Bee Keeper. I would have bees if I could. I long for that sweet warm honey.I listen each Spring as the few honeybees around my house visit my gardens, I long for the sound of their wings. What memories they bring... I long most of all for the Bee Keeper...

My Papaw, My Mamaw, My Granny (his Momma) and my brother Rog. Behind them is the apartment from my post. Also you can see in the background the limbs of Papaw's snowball bush , where he sneezed his teeth out one afternoon...but that's another post.

Heatwave and pics

Like most of the country we have been experiencing a heatwave here in the Smokies. Our temperatures have been around 105 for the past few days. It has been too hot to do much of anything except chill inside in the air conditioner. I have been blessed to have the weekend off so I had my Aunt Patsy come and stay with me. She is like a second Momma to me. She was recently diagnosed with Alzheimers. She moved in with my Momma and Daddy so she could have full time care. My Momma had a bout with her MS and injured her arm when she fell (due to loss of sensation). I wanted to spend some time with my Aunt and it gave my parents some alone time and gave Momma a break so she can get to feeling better. We have had great weekend going to church and watching I Love Lucy reruns.
My Summer classes are going good so far. I had a midterm today in my Humanities class and made a 91. Speech class is interesting although if it wasn't required I wouldn't take it. I am also trying to get organized for my fall nursing semester. there is so much to do before class even starts.
Well, it is getting late and I am ready for bed. I work tomorrow night so I need to get some precious sleep. I thought I would finally post the pictures of my kitchen rearrange lol.Have a great night y'all. Blessings! ~ Nikki

On the left is an old secretary that my neighbor threw away. We salvaged it and it now sits in our dining room and functions as a bookcase/computer desk. It once had a home on the opposite side of the room. On the right is a metal cabinet that belonged to my Mamaw. It will hold my canning jars on the shelves (notice the empty pickles jars lol my kids raided me), and in the bottom my canners have found a new home.

This is one of 2 antique Hoover style cabinets I have . This one belonged to my Mamaw. It used to be home to our school books. Now it serves as a storage unit for my blender,food processor and cake plates. The canisters belong to my daughter  and were given to her by Aunt Patsy. The breadbox now houses the microwave and the top shelf is home to my metal cookware collection. My MIL and cousin contributed these lovely pieces to me. This cabinet (and the other) were once in the dining room (same spots as the cabinets in the other picture). They now are in the kitchen. The other cabinet is home to all of my baking stuff. Bringing these into the kitchen opened up both the dining room and kitchen and made them feel larger.