November! Where Did October Go?

I try to post at least once a month but somehow October came & went way too fast. Nothing major going on just a few random things.

While cleaning up from Irma at the Country House we ran across a Muscadine vine by the road, that became accessible after a tree fell down. We picked 2 huge bowls. I gave one to MIL & I juiced the other, after I had my fill. It made about 2 1/2 pints of delicious, sweet juice. We also picked a few persimmons from a wild tree but not enough to do anything with & I forgot to open one to look at the seed to see if winter will be mild or not.

I went to the Jax Quilt Fest in late September & as usual saw some amazing quilts.

After that, I went to SC to a surprise Birthday Party for my friend Debbie from
Fox Trot Farm. I stayed w/her on the Farm & finally got to meet Porkchop, their adorable & very friendly pot bellied pig.

Then, in mid October I worked the Ag Expo at the Hoss Sustainable Living Center. The weather was perfect this year! The plants were also pretty spectacular.

5 Different kinds of okra (zinnias to the left)

Broccoli & Cauliflower

6 kinds of Eggplant

Buttercrunch & Red Leaf Lettuc

There was also corn, cucumbers, micro greens, kale & rainbow chard.

Last weekend I decided to clean up my 3 raised garden beds in the City. They were all in terrible shape.

Here's a pic with them all cleaned up. The 3rd one on the right has some horrendous weeds growing that I couldn't get out. Will cover w/black plastic over the winter to hopefully kill them.

I also had a couple of whiskey barrels filled with Amaryllis that were falling apart. So I separated & put them all in pots to take to the country next spring. No pics but when I was putting them in the plant hospital in the corner of the yard I looked up & there sat this guy.

I finished placing the pots & went inside to get my camera. I was sure he would fly away but he stayed there for about 30 or 40 minutes. I was literally about 8 ft. from him! Note: Broken fence courtesy of Irma.

We are in the process of having the siding replaced on our city house. with Hardy Board. It was cedar & rotting in spots. It was over 30 years old so I can't really complain ... about the product.... but I can complain about the contractor. Will get into that in another post.

I think that gets me caught up on what's been happening. Still working on Christmas gifts, will also post about those soon.

A Mini Vacation!

We went to SC last weekend to visit our friends Debbie & Bob from Fox Trot Farms. They raise Dorper/Katahdin Sheep. They have also chickens, honey bees & goats as well as many dogs & cats. I have been to their place many times but this was a first for Greg.

We got there Friday afternoon & toured the farm then had a nice relaxing evening with a simple meal of delicious bean & pasta soup & crackers. Sat outside & talked for a while but made it an early evening.

Saturday, after the menfolk fed & watered the animals we had a late brunch of homemade biscuits & sausage gravy, delicious! We went to a consignment shop & then Debbie started preparing things for dinner.

There were about 15 people coming for chili (with all the fixins) & cornbread before heading over to the Homeplace Bed & Breakfast for an open house & to attend the Bethlehem Marketplace. It is a play that the family puts on every Christmas season. Their are 33 rooms in the mansion, 33 Christmas trees are put up & this year they have 33 grandchildren! They act out the play 3 times on Saturday night. You start by following Joseph & Mary trying to find a room & then finally wind up at the stable which is actually the family's very large beautiful barn complete with blacksmiths, vendors selling cloth & herbs, horses, cows, etc. All the family gets in on the act, playing the parts of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Angels, etc. An orator tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, to his execution, his resurrection & then of him coming back one day. The singing was beautiful & overall it was very well done. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

They then served refreshments in the banquet hall, which is where we hold our quilting retreats that I posted about back in March - 2015 Quilt Retreat.

Several people went back to Debbie & Bob's for some after dinner wine & drinks.With a very diverse group of people, the stories were all over the place but I can honestly tell you that we haven't laughed that hard in a while. We stayed up telling stores until after 11:00p, late for us!

Not one single picture was taken, just wasn't in the mood. Debbie & Bob are gracious hosts, food was delicious & we had a great time! Greg loved seeing how they have things set up & got some great ideas for when we finally/eventually/can't come quick enough, move to the Country!

Of course Debbie sent us home with biscuits, cornbread, chicken chili, red chili & various other gifts. Greg ate biscuits for lunch & the chili will be heated up Wednesday night as I am preparing for Thanksgiving in the Country.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday this week ... Happy Thanksgiving!

Note: Historically, I can't make biscuits for anything but after watching Debbie make them, I think I am going to try my hand at them this weekend. Mine usually turn out a lot like hockey pucks .... we'll see.