Beloved Blackberry Cabin

Eggs

2011-10-11T17:24:00.000-04:00

Holy Cow or I should say Holy Chicken -- I am now getting two eggs a day from the first 6 gold comets I purchased. The first girls are now 22 weeks old. I decided to get 6 additional gold comets that are 19 weeks old. When they all get to laying I should get about 10 eggs a day. Gold comets are prolific layers and can lay up to 300 eggs a year. I was so excited when I got the first egg but today I was excited at the size of this egg.

This picture is of the first egg I got and and the next picture is the one I got today.

The Girls

2011-09-24T16:21:00.000-04:00

I've had my Golden Comet chickens for 3 weeks now and they are about 20 weeks old. They haven't started laying eggs yet but I expect them to any day now. Each day they get out of the chicken house while I do some clean up. This pic shows them eating under this pine tree -- one of their favorite spots.

The chickens are here

2011-09-06T17:49:00.000-04:00

Lordy, I had no idea they would be so big. They are amazing and I am learning so much. Of course I caught a cold so I feel like doggie doo but the chicks still get attention. They aren't laying yet -- maybe another month

Chickens

2011-08-03T21:32:00.000-04:00

Again it has been a long time since I have posted. I have ordered 6 Gold Comet pullets from Shook Poultry. I also hope to get 6 more chicks when I go on September 3 to pick them up. That will be 12 chickens 16 - 18 weeks old. I want to show the progress and my journey with chickens since I have never had chickens before. My neighbor Walter Ford is helping me build the chicken house and I so appreciate his help. If you are interested in purchasing fresh eggs at $3 per dozen, please let me know. Picture to come soon!

It has been a long time

2011-04-16T00:05:00.000-04:00

Wow -- with facebook, I hardly ever post on my blog -- but here goes. My yard is green and looking for it's first mowing. The garden is plowed but needs tilled. I hope to have lots of fresh vegetables this year. I am starting on my scare crow. I have cleaned up the area for the chicken coop and hope to have lots of chickens and eggs too. Oh -- I adopted a 14 year old cat -- Woody.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2010-12-16T20:27:00.000-05:00

They crossed the road to get to my house -- Well these are wild turkeys but you get the picture. The first pic of them crossing blackberry road and the second pic is them in my yard. There are a bunch of them around.

New scarfs new yarn

2010-11-26T16:00:00.001-05:00

I fell in love with this yarn but couldn't crochet it even though I did try. When I learned how to knit though, I found knitting was perfect for this yarn. I just love the organic look of this scarf.

I bought this yarn and I think it is making a very pretty crochet scarf. I love the shimmer.

Scarf for Christmas

2010-11-18T13:49:00.000-05:00

I love bamboo yarn -- it works up so nice and comes in such rich colors. This scarf is a gift for one of my grandchildren and the green yarn is bamboo angora and the multicolor is a wool. I can't wait to see the finished scarf.

Pictures of the Fog

2010-11-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

I love black and white fog pictures --

This is another view off my front porch with saturated color of fog --

Remember

2010-11-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

I have so many members of my family in the military, that I would be hard pressed to be able to remember them all. But the closest to my heart right now is my grandson in Afghanistan and my daughter Teresa who is in the Army National Guard. I am so proud of them all and so very proud of our military men and women. Thank You!

Knitting Socks

2010-11-06T18:43:00.001-04:00

Oh my goodness -- I think I am unteachable when it comes to knitting. I have a great teacher but my brain just does not want to knit. But I am determined to learn it by-golly. I am making a pair of socks -- I hardly ever wear socks my self but these will be a Christmas present if I get them done. The other knit project is a scarf in this wonderful crazy yarn I fell in love with. The red and white yarn just has to hats. I even have a commission to make 2 crochet hats from this yarn.

New Hat and Scarf

2010-11-05T14:25:00.000-04:00

I love the simplicity of this hat and scarf that I made as a gift for Christmas. One of the things I love to do when I know I am making a gift for someone is to pray for them while I am making their gift. It gives me peace and I hope it does them as well.

New Fall Shawl and the Last of the Summer Blooms

2010-10-27T20:27:00.000-04:00

I crocheted this shawl using wool, mohair, and soy yarn. It is just light enough to wear when I walk outside with out a jacket. I'm really excited about all the new kinds of yarn now. Who knew you could add soy fiber to yarn?

This geranium is probably the last of my summer flowers. So sad till next Spring. I may go by the garden center to check out something else out though.

Another Fabric for Sale

2010-09-30T17:04:00.001-04:00

These 2 fabrics will be for sale in the coming week. I took this picture of the Rhododendrons a couple of years ago and used a photo edit program to design this look. It is truly a beautiful fabric. You can purchase it at http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/309893

JanetChristian design fabric for sale on Spoonflower

2010-09-10T20:43:00.000-04:00

I finally have some fabric for sale on Spoonflower. This is just beautiful -- it is a cropped image of a butterfly's wing.

The grass is always greener

2010-09-02T13:40:00.001-04:00

This is my neighbor's horse. He decided to come across the creek and feast on fallen apples, peaches, and some yummy munchie grass. Isn't he cute! Hmmmmmm

Swarm of Butterflys

2010-08-30T17:38:00.000-04:00

Butterflys love this flower -- I thought the flower was a weed but then it is pretty. The butterflys would let me get within inches of them to take pictures. This is the best one. I so love it here.

If you love fabric and have never been to http://spoonflower.com/ it is worth your time. Soon you will also be able to purchase fabric that I have designed. Stay tuned and I will let you know when it is available.

Deer eating peaches and watching me take her picture

2010-08-03T17:39:00.001-04:00

I knew there were some deer in the trees next to me, but today I found one eating peaches that had fallen to the ground. I love living here, being able to put up peaches, raspberries, and blueberries for the winter.

My Items for Sale

2010-07-15T18:12:00.002-04:00

I have started selling some of my handmade items on Etsy again. I will be adding more items as the weeks pass. You can find them at this link.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
belovedcreations.etsy.com

Apples, Peaches, and Nuts Can't Wait

2010-07-14T15:40:00.000-04:00

I am so thankful for the people who have lived here before me for the thought that it is a good thing to plant trees. Here are some pics of the very imature apple trees, a nice peach tree, and I think the nut tree is hickory but not sure.

Rain, Rain, Rain

2010-07-13T17:05:00.001-04:00

One thing I have learned here in the mountains, is that you have to cut your grass anytime there is a sunny period of time. My grass is growing, and growing and I can't find a time between rain to cut it. Yikes!

So instead of working in the yard, I am doing some needle work. Here are some pics of crochet flowers and a winter hat I can't wait to wear.

This spider web is at least 4 feet around. You could barely see it until it rained, now the moisture has outlined it well. I'm glad it was on my porch so I could just sweep it away.

Time for some new pictures at the cabin

2010-07-06T14:17:00.001-04:00

As the evening sun was setting one evening, I saw everything was bathed in this beautiful golden light. This picture was taken off my porch and you can see some mist in the mountain across from me.

My neighbor across the street brought me some fresh vegetables. I plan to make a cucumber salad and stir fry. yumyum

Diabetes

2010-07-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

Wow, it has been a while since I've posted. I found out that I have diabetes just like the rest of my family. I don't think anyone -- parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents or my brothers have escaped the diagnoses. Even though I knew it was a possibility I still did not believe it. For the first month I didn't take my medicine or check my blood. Finally after talking to a diabetes educator I started to do what I am supposed to do. I also found out that I have moderate kidney damage or Stage 3 kidney disease. This is caused by diabetes and blood pressure problems I have had for years.

One of things I have learned is that it takes about 3 months after diagnosis to learn what you need to learn if you are actively seeking information and 3 more months to get things under control. My diabetes educator is really good at making sure I know all about my diabetes. She also told me that just because others in my family have had bad side affects doesn't mean I will. So I am working at educating my self and keeping my diabetes under control.

I get a lot of info from the Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/
and from the website of my glucose monitor http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/adc_dotcom/url/home/en_US

There is also a magazine I get called Diabetic Living http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/

I've Made Friends With My Lawn Tractor

2010-05-19T20:40:00.001-04:00

Today I was supposed to go see a friend's studio, but I was itching like crazy from the medication for my shingles to keep me from being itchy and in pain -- go figure -- I had to cancel. After two doses of antihistamine and a nice nap I wanted something to do so I thought I would finally go out and make nice with my tractor. Once I realized that I was in control and not the tractor, we got along just fine. I mowed for just under 2 hours. The pictures show just some of what I mowed today.

You can see here how high the grass is -- part of the reason it is taking me so long to get it all done.

I was working on crocheting a basket but the yarn didn't work for the pattern so I took most of it out and now have a round dish cloth.

Back a few post, I said I wondered if this was going to bloom -- well it is.

Rain and Hail At The Cabin

2010-05-16T17:17:00.001-04:00

Yesterday a storm rolled into Blowing Rock and brought hail with it. I took a few pics to show. I know this isn't much hail -- not like the golfball size hail Clarksville TN goot but it was still hail.

There was little bitty hail all over my porch

If I sit on my couch in my living room, this is the view I have. Dosen't look like I live in a tree house? I love to sit with a cup of coffee and relax looking out the window.

This is a test pattern but when finished it is supposed to be a basket. I'm not sure yet that it works.