Welcome to my Blog 30 Jul 2023 10:00 AM (last year)

 Hi, everyone.

I started blogging back in 2008. 

That's a longtime ago in blog years!

I don't blog much any more, you can mainly see me on Facebook and YouTube. 

My channel is called, Janet Smart-Country Living. I post about wildlife, recipes, crafts, excerpts from my books, folklore and superstitions, wildlife, and traveling West Virginia. Go to my playlists and see what I've posted about. I'd love it if you'd visit me there and subscribe to my channel.

Even if I don't post a lot on my blog anymore, there's still a lot to see on here.

Go to my sidebar and you will see my -----

cooking and recipe posts you can click on

vintage collections you can click on

crafts and sewing posts you can click on

And there is a section called, Recording our Past posts.

 I'm just a country girl who grew up in a holler in West Virginia. I love writing. I've written two books loosely based on my grandparents who got married in 1908. The books, Where the Stars Grant Wishes and Mama's Memories, are filled with superstitions, folklore, and the old ways of growing up in the country in the early 1900s.  And I also write for children. You can find all my books on Amazon. Click here to visit my author page. 

Go here to hear me read the first chapter of Mama's Memories. 

Thanks for visiting. I will still  post on this blog every now and then, but until I do enjoy visiting my other posts.

Posted by Janet Smart  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty Gumdrop Ornaments 10 Dec 2022 9:37 AM (2 years ago)

THIS IS A RE-POST FROM 2008

 

I've got a table at a small craft show this weekend. I've been making, among other things, ornaments to sell.

I also made little gumdrops with the small cut off ends of the Styrofoam. These would be cute hanging on a small kitchen tree. I like the orange best, what's your favorite?

Writing Wednesday 19 Oct 2022 7:02 AM (2 years ago)

 Cliffhangers!

When I'm writing a story, I try to include cliffhangers at the end of my chapters. 

 In the first book of my trilogy, Where the Stars Grant Wishes, I end my first chapter this way. . .

My clammy fingers fidgeted with the embroidered hanky Ma had given me earlier for something new and  something blue. I gasped. What were my borrowed and old items? Had Ma forgotten? I couldn't get married without them. Restless, my feet stirred beneath my skirt. Should I turn and run or stay?

Does it make you want to read the next chapter to see if she gets cold feet on her wedding day?

Book two, Mama's Memories, is a little different than the first. I reminiscence in it. Or should I say, Lucy (my main character) reminiscences.  

I wasn't sure if it was gonna work or not, buy everyone who has read it says the book is not confusing at all the way I wrote it.

Lucy is pregnant with her 8th child in this book, which takes place in 1924, and she is close to her delivery date. At different times she thinks back to events that has happened in her life since the ending of the first book (Where the Stars Grant Wishes) in 1910.

I end the chapters before she reminiscences with phrases like this.....

"I try to block the memory out of my mind," I said. "We can't go back and change what happened. But I still remember every detail of what  took place  as if it were yesterday . . . 

This is the end of Chapter 1, and hopefully it makes the reader want to read chapter 2 where she reminiscences about the time she overdoses her first baby with laudanum. 

In 1918 the war raged overseas, countries competed with each other for power, and there was so much killing but not in the holler. In the holler I was giving birth to a set of twins . . . 

This is the end of chapter 11 where she leads up to chapter 12 and reminiscences about the birth of her twins, when all along she thought she was only carrying one baby!

And at the end of the book, I, hopefully, make you want to read the third book of my trilogy (which I am currently writing) by saying . . . 

It was time now for my youngins to start their lives and make their own memories and mistakes. I just hoped Jonathan and I had brought them up well and their good memories would outweigh their mistakes and their wishes on stars would always come true.

Only time would tell . . . 

If you haven't read them yet, I hope you consider reading them and write a review. They are also both available on kindle unlimited. Click on the pics below to go to their Amazon page.

'

Nuts! 2 Oct 2022 4:09 PM (2 years ago)

 We've had bags of walnuts sitting in our old laundry room for quite a while. 

We finally got our nut cracker out. . .

and started cracking!

We've got a quart of them so far, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.

They sure are pretty.

I got some out of the freezer today and made German Chocolate Icing for my husband's cake for his birthday.

You can click here to see my YouTube video on making German Chocolate Icing.

 

Watch our you tube video on cracking the walnuts.

Writing Wednesday 28 Sep 2022 7:42 AM (2 years ago)

 People tell me all the time that they would like to write or they could write if they wanted to.

"Then do it," I tell them. But most never do. Maybe they start but then find out it is harder than they realized.

Don't just talk about writing, or say you will some day when you have time. Time passes and opportunities disappear.

Start writing today. Don't be like Scarlet and say, "I will think about that tomorrow." Tomorrow may never come.

There are many things you can write about. You don't have to start with a novel. Start small. Practice, learn, and grow as a writer. It takes patience, perseverance and passion. Patience is hard for me. I want things now. I started writing some of my books years ago. I'm glad I had the patience to work on them until I was satisfied and happy with the finished product.

Storytelling is an oral form of writing. If you can tell a story you can write a story.

Write tall tales, family traditions (so they won't be forgotten), family recipes and stories to go with them, superstitions, non fiction, nature, lists, love stories, jokes, journals, how-to books, ghost stories, lines for greeting cards, folklore, your family history, short stories, poems, etc.

You see there are many things you can write about. You just have to put pen in hand or fingers on keyboard and take that first big step and start. You might find out that once you begin you can't quit. I've thought about quitting before, but I can't. Another idea comes and I have to write it down.

The difference between a writer and someone who wants to write is that a writer writes and the other one talks about writing.

I like putting down family stories so they won't be forgotten. I want my kids and relatives to know about and remember the past. 

I like writing stories for children.

I started out writing picture books and poems. They were my first love. I eventually started writing longer works. I didn't know I had it in me but I did. I've written two middle grade books (one yet to be published) and two novels. I am now working on my third novel. 

So, my advice to you is just START. 

LEARN the rules.

FIND a writing group to help you grow.

Happy writing!

Posted by Janet Smart 

Writing Wednesday 21 Sep 2022 4:42 AM (2 years ago)

 Hi everyone.

I used to do a post on this site called Writing Wednesday.

Well, this is Wednesday. I think I will revive the tradition.

My latest writing achievements have been the release of two books recently.

One is just a new version of an older book. My Hum Hum Hummingbirds is now in hardcover - and I love the new cover! I also had to make the book 72 pages in order for them to publish it in a hardcover version.

And the second of my trilogy series is Mama's Memories. It is now out! It takes place in 1924 and Lucy is pregnant with her 8th child. She goes back in time and reminisces about what has happened since the ending of the first book, Where the Stars Grant Wishes, which took place in 1908-1910. 

I am very happy with both books. And I am now working on the third book of this trilogy. It takes place during WWII and at the moment it is called, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.

I was recently at a book signing at our local library and met a young girl who loved to read and write. She was the sweetest girl and said she had just started 8th grade. She purchased my MG book, Duck and Cover, and was excited about reading it. She asked us about our writing journey and said she has entered writing contests before, but hadn't won any yet. We told her to keep writing and to keep entering. Writing is something that gets better with practice. The more you write, the more you learn and the better you get. 

A number of years back my youngest son said that if you were a good writer, you shouldn't have to go back and make changes all the time. I said, "No, that is not the case". Editing is the process of making your writing better. All authors, even the big name ones, do a lot of editing. That's what makes a good story great.

I write a column for the local newspaper. I always try to have it finished before the deadline, because when you sleep on it and look at it again in the morning with fresh eyes, you always find things to change and make better. I don't think I would ever turn anything in without letting it rest and looking at it again with fresh eyes.

 A couple of my favorite quotes are:

"I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter." James Michener

 "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try." Dr. Seuss

My Amazon page.

Posted by Janet Smart 

 

FREEZING CORN 29 Jul 2022 8:05 AM (2 years ago)

 We braved the muddy garden and went out and picked corn to freeze. The garden has had a rough go this year from all the rain and storms that have passed through our area.

We picked a little over 5 dozen ears. We wanted to freeze 5 dozen and eat the rest for supper.

After shucking them, we cut the corn off the cob with a knife. Our corn (serendipity) is so pretty.

You put one stick of butter, one cup of water and 4 Tablespoons of sugar into your large pot. Turn on the heat, stir to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. 

When the butter has melted, add 10 cups of cut off the cob corn and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes.

Empty into a large container to cool. I sit my containers on those reusable blue ice packs that you use in your lunch box to keep things cold. 

After the corn cools, I put them in freezer bags. I put 2 cups in each one. The 5 dozen ears of corn made 16 containers to put in the freezer.

The corn is delicious frozen this way. We just had a reunion and I brought some to it that I had put up last year, and everyone loved it. Still tasted great!

Just take from the freezer, thaw and heat. No need to add extra butter, only salt if you want to. I don't even add salt to mine.

This and other recipes are in my cookbook, Cooking with Family:  Recipes and Remembrances.

Enjoy making memories in the kitchen!

Beautiful Rose of Sharon 6 Jul 2022 6:05 AM (2 years ago)

 I love my Rose of Sharon - and so do the bees!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. We've had these in our yard for many years and they look more like trees than bushes. 

I hope you enjoy the pics.

Do you have Rose of Sharon in your yard?

PS The hummers also love them!

Catching Up! 28 May 2022 7:43 AM (2 years ago)

 I don't post like I used to. I mainly post on Facebook and You Tube.

We've had a cold winter and a crazy spring. 

This year we've been visited by chipmunks, many birds, beavers, ducks and whippoorwills!

I will post a few pics and links below.

We love our little chipmunk we call Freddy. My son even made him a little picnic table to eat on.

Our robins have been nesting in the strangest places!

And we have been listening to whippoorwills every night. Click here to check them out on my you tube channel. Make sure your sound is turned up. If you want, you can click here and subscribe to my YouTube Channel. It's called Janet Smart-Country Living.

 I've been writing a new book, which will soon be available on Amazon. It is the 2nd in a series. If you like Appalachian fiction, I think you will enjoy these two books. The first one being, Where the Stars Grant Wishes. You can click here and check out by books on my Amazon page. 

We've just finished getting our garden out. We have peas, green beans, corn, squash and tomatoes. Can't wait for fresh veggies from the garden.

We constructed two teepees to plant our green beans around.

I am also helping plan for our high school reunion that will be held in August. My how time flies!

I will try and remember to post more often.

What's been happening in your world?

Christmas Keepsakes and Memories 10 Dec 2021 8:00 PM (3 years ago)

 We finally got our Nativity up today. I love it.

I'm still in the process of decorating and trimming our tree. I don't put up nearly as much as I used to. 

My tree is a tall skinny one, which I find hard to decorate. The limbs don't stick out far enough. I've got a variety of ornaments - lots of them home made and all sizes.

Here are three things that are important to me. The old Santa hat belonged to my mom. She always wore it on Christmas. Now I wear it. The ceramic angel belonged to my mother in law and the white crocheted snowflake was made by my cousin, Vera.

This Christmas card is very special. I found it in my dad's things after he died. Grandma and Grandpa sent it to him and my mom in 1947, the first Christmas my mom and dad was married. I love it. I display it every Christmas.

These are just a few of my Christmas keepsakes. 

One of my special memories is Charley proposing to me and giving me a ring on Christmas Eve in 1977.

Do you have any special keepsakes or memories of Christmas?

 

USING ITEMS FOR OTHER PURPOSES 28 Oct 2021 6:36 AM (3 years ago)

 I'm always thinking of ways to use things for what they are not supposed to be used for.

I've been cleaning and organizing around the house. I found this desk organizer in the floor gathering dust. 

It's not gathering dust any more. It's the perfect addition to my kitchen table.

This is an old printers tray that I use to display my kid's hot wheels on.

I use this old sewing machine drawer to store my vintage buttons in.

This used to be an old floor model radio that that was converted into a bookcase that I bought at a yard sale for $3.

Of course, I believe this is supposed to hold wine bottles. I use it to place my rolling pins in.

I'm sure lots of you do the same as I do. 

What item do you use for something entirely different than what it was supposed to be used for?

Making a Barn Star Quilt 29 Sep 2021 7:38 PM (3 years ago)

 I love barn star quilts that you see on barns (and other buildings) as you travel along country roads.

I love them so much, that we decided to make one to put on the back of our building (we don't have a barn).

LIST OF SUPPLIES NEEDED:

FROG TAPE (This is really good tape. It makes very crisp paint lines)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMALL FOAM PAINT ROLLERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXTERIOR PAINT (we bought sample jars at Home Depot) and white exterior paint to prime the plywood with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 x 4 MDO PLYWOOD (we bought an 8 x 4 sheet and cut it in half)

9 galvanized dry wall screws

The first and maybe hardest part is to decide on a pattern to draw. You can google Barn Star Quilt patterns and lots and lots come up for you to look at. Then you have to decide on what colors to use. We decided to use crimson red, sunspark and beacon blue.

Put on two coats of white paint for the primer. We already had exterior white paint that we had recently painted the building with. Also paint the edge of the plywood.

After the primer paint dries, draw on the pattern you want. We used a fine point sharpie.

 

Tape off the sections to paint (one color at a time) We did the blue first. Let the first coat dry for a day, then paint on the 2nd coat. After applying the 2nd coat, carefully peel off the tape while it is still wet.

Let paint dry a couple of days before taping off next section.

   

Tape off the 2nd sections to paint. We did the sunspark next. Like before, let the 1st coat dry for a day, then apply the 2nd coat, carefully peel off the tape.

Let paint dry a couple of days before taping off next section.

Lastly, tape off the 3rd sections to paint. Like before, let the 1st coat dry for a day, then apply the 2nd coat, carefully peel off the tape.

FINISHED PRODUCT

Let dry for a few days before putting outside.

My son drilled holes about 1 1/2 inches from the outside border in the corners, one in the middle and one on each side. For a total of 9 holes. He then countersunk the holes so the screw would be flush with the plywood.

We screwed a board up on the outside wall of the building to set the barn star on while we screwed it to the wall. 

After screwing it to the wall, we got the blue paint and painted the screw heads.

Then we stepped back and enjoyed the view. I love it!

As you can see, allowing for drying time, it takes at least a week to finish it. 

But it is worth the wait.

Do you have one of these on your building or barn?

Recipe - Deer Stew 10 Jan 2021 3:52 PM (4 years ago)

 We had deer stew today for Sunday dinner. It is a new favorite of ours.

The last time my son got a deer we canned it. Or, I should say, he went next door to our cousin's house and they canned it. 

I chopped up a bunch of carrots, potatoes, celery and an onion.

I cooked it in a can of beef stock and 2 cups of water for approximately 15 minutes.

I added the canned deer meat and cooked it just a few minutes longer. Then I added a small amount of the liquid from the pot to 2-3 Tablespoons of cornstarch and stirred well.

I stirred it into the pot and cooked it for a few minutes to thicken it a little.

It's very good and easy! The deer meat is very tender and already cooked, so it's a quick meal to cook.

How do you like to fix your deer meat?

COVER REVEAL 22 Dec 2020 9:33 AM (4 years ago)

 UPDATED SEPT. 2021

I started this story back in 2008. Go here to read my post about it.

That's a long time to be working on a book, but it has been a labor of love. They say that your first story shouldn't be published, that it is a practice of sorts. Well, instead of not publishing this book, I edited, changed and continued to add to this story down through the years.

I have three versions saved on my hard drive. One is 21,000 words, one is 28,000 words and one is 31,000 words. Thanks to one of my writing buddies, Max Price, it is now over 56,000 words. So, although a short one, I can now classify it as a novel. Max convinced me to try and write the added words needed to make it into a novel. His encouraging words gave me the confidence I needed.

This story started very early in my writing career. It came from a writing prompt. They said to take the book nearest you and take the first sentence and start your story. The book next to me was Christy. I love that book and have read it numerous times. It just so happened that it took place during the same time my grandparents got married. I was into genealogy and family history at the time, so I thought I'd write a fictional story loosely based on my grandparents. 

My only fear is that family members will read it and say, "That's not what happened" or "How do you know that's what happened?" My reply will be, "I know. This is a FICTIONAL story." I'm sure they will see similarities and say it reminds them of our grandparents, but that is fine. I want the similarities to be there. This is my humble way of honoring them. I never knew my grandpa, he died a few months before I was born, but I grew up living next to my grandma. I only wish I had asked her more questions and learned more about her early life.

The title has changed numerous times. It is now Where the Stars Grant Wishes.

The names have been changed numerous times. 

And, that first line has changed numerous times.

But, I am finally ready to share it. 

Blurb from the back of the book:

In a time and culture steeped in superstition and old traditions, Jonathan and Lucy marry. The place is Blackberry Holler, which cuts through the Appalachian hills of West Virginia. The time is  1908. Lucy, a spirited young girl, marries Jonathan even though she secretly believes his ma is a witch. During the first years of her marriage, she discovers secrets and makes wishes on stars, but will she ever accept her eccentric mother-in-law's ways? Her life, the life of her unborn child and the life of her husband's young cousin are in jeopardy. Will her wishes on stars and the unique abilities of Jonathan and his ma be enough to save them?

For those of you who may worry that this is a story about witches, it is not. It is about a time and place different from today, and people who had certain abilities were often thought of as being witches, but were not -- they were just different.

Here is the cover.

An old-fashion cover for an old-fashion story. The cover and the few illustrations in the book were drawn by me.

 

I'm a little nervous about doing it, but I am going to push the 'publish' button and release it after Christmas. (It was released on December 28, 2020) It is be available on Amazon in paperback and e book. 

I've already written one that takes place in the 1940s during WWII. But, I'm thinking of writing a sequel that takes place in the 1920s. (I am working on that sequel that takes place in 1924 now) These books will feature the same families.

I hope you enjoy reading Where the Stars Grant Wishes as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Here is a link to my Amazon page.

Download it or order the paperback. I think you'll like it. Then whether you like it or not, leave a review. Reviews, (good  and bad) help sell a book. 

PUMPKIN MUFFINS with CRUMB TOPPING 11 Oct 2020 11:46 AM (4 years ago)

Busy Summer, New Book and Autumn Begins 29 Sep 2020 8:02 AM (4 years ago)

 Hi everyone. 

We've had a busy summer and I've been putting writing on my blogs on the back burner. But, I do go out and visit other blogs when I have the time.

First off, my husband had total knee replacement surgery on September 2. We knew it was going to be painful afterwards, but . . . 

It has been almost 4 weeks, and the pain and the swelling are still there.  Otherwise things are getting back to normal around the house. 

We haven't gone anywhere, except for a quick and short trip to our favorite state park, Pipestem.

  

view from our room

 

 out and about

As with every summer, it starts with a rainy season and then a long hot drought and now fall seems to have arrived.

I've been watching and taking pictures of the critters outside all summer - chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer, birds (especially the charming hummingbirds).

 

 

Since I had written a picture book manuscript around 3 years ago about hummingbirds, I decided to add my pictures of the hummers to the words and create a picture book.

It is now on Amazon and I also have copies.

Hope all of you have had a nice, safe and healthy summer -- now let autumn begin!

Wildflowers - Dandelions and Violets 22 Apr 2020 6:48 AM (5 years ago)

I love wildflowers!

I picked them as a child and brought bouquets of them to Mom, especially Sweet Williams. And I loved the Jack in the Pulpits. I haven't seen either of these yet, but our yard is full of dandelions and violets.

Some people think of them as weeds. But I consider these colorful flowers one of God's beautiful creations.

After a long winter of drab and dreary landscapes, these yellow and violet creations pop out of the ground for us to enjoy.

What is a dandelion? It is a wild plant with a large yellow flower, deep taproot, and deeply notched leaves, that changes into a fluffy white ball of seeds.






From root to flower, dandelions are highly nutritious plants, loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Free Kindle Download and a No Sew Mask 17 Apr 2020 3:02 PM (5 years ago)

Hi everyone!

I would like to announce that my newest book,

Fun Through the Seasons Volume Two 

is available for FREE  download through Sunday, April 19, 2020.

I would love it if you take this opportunity to download it and enjoy.

It is always free on kindle unlimited, but if you don't belong to it, this is a great time to get my ebook.

It is a good book for kids and adults, especially during this Pandemic when we are encouraged to stay at home and the kids are home from school.

It is filled with easy recipes, poems, fun and informative articles, and interesting facts. It also has colorful photos and illustrations.

If you download it, I would appreciate an honest review on Amazon.

click here to get the free download.  Remember it is only free through Sunday, April 19!

Reviews are one of the best gifts you can give an author.

Thanks and keep safe and healthy! 

Easy Peanut Butter Easter Eggs 5 Apr 2020 8:16 AM (5 years ago)

Easter is almost upon us and we never bought any homemade Easter Eggs. Churches in our area usually make thousands of them and distribute them to different businesses for sale. A few weeks ago they had to stop making them because of the corona-virus outbreak.

Peanut Butter, cherry nut and maple nut are our favorites.

I have a recipe in my cookbook, Cook with Family Recipes and Remembrances, for Buckeyes. I thought I would use the recipe to make peanut butter eggs.

I halved up the recipe, because I didn't want to have a lot of them here at the house. I knew I would not be able to resist them.

In case you want to make an entire batch, the original recipe calls for -

1 cup of peanut butter
1 stick of butter
1 pound of powdered sugar
melted chocolate

Mix butter and peanut butter, stir in powdered sugar. Roll into small balls,. Melt chocolate bark in microwave. Dip peanut butter balls into chocolate until almost covered. Place on wax paper until chocolate is set.

I used 1/2 cup of peanut butter, 1/2 stick of butter (room temperature), around 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and melted chocolate bark. This made three eggs about 1/4 pound each.

 

Sewing Masks and Keeping Busy 18 Mar 2020 4:39 PM (5 years ago)

Charley and I are pretty sociable people. But there was . . . 

no Writing Group Meeting this week

no Conducting Craft Class at the Senior Center this week

and a locked door at our water company which is almost in sight distance of our house, so we dropped our bill into the slot in the door.

I talked to my cousin last night and she is making pretty masks. She sent me pics of hers and I liked them. I have tons of material, so I decided to make a few today to pass the time away.

They are very simple to make. Here is a pic of the pattern that I cut out of card stock. Cut two 6" pieces of elastic for each one, also.

They are reversible, so you cut out four pieces of material for each mask. Bend over the 2" side about 1/4" or so and iron. Sew two sets of the material across the 6 1/2" end of the pattern. Then put the two sets of material together (right sides facing each other) and sew up the 5" sides. Leave the 2" sides open, and turn right side out. Iron and insert the elastic and sew across the ends.

fold over small 2" side and iron

with right sides together sew the long 6 1/2" sides together

after sewing 2 sets of longs sides together, pin them together and sew. Leaving small ends open.

turn right side out and iron.

Insert elastic into openings on each end and sew all the way across.

As you can see, I back-stitched the row of sewing to make it secure.

Here are some of my finished masks. They are reversible and washable. You can't tell, but I put different coordinating fabric on the back of some of these. There is a somewhat light solid brown on the back of the one I did above. There is a light gray material on the back of the owl and cat masks and the black one. I'm just using what material I have on hand.


You may have to adjust the measurements a little, depending on how big or small your face is.


I don't know how good they are at keeping out germs, but they might help keep your hands from touching your face so often, which they say is how you spread germs. They might also be good to use when you have a cold or out walking when the pollen count is high.

I hope everyone is healthy and you don't get the corona virus.

SANTA SIGHTINGS 24 Dec 2019 6:25 PM (5 years ago)

Here is an excerpt from the 'winter' section of my soon-to-be published volume two of FUN THROUGH THE SEASONS Recipes, Crafts and Fun Facts for Kids.

SANTA SIGHTINGS

PEPPERMINT COOKIES

 

Merry Christmas Time of Year 19 Dec 2019 6:15 PM (5 years ago)

Hi everyone!

I don't post a lot anymore, but I used to post a lot!

I thought I would direct you to some of my older posts to put us in the Christmas mood.

Do you like to craft?  Go here to see how to make gumdrops for your tree. This is one of my most popular posts this time of year. It gets a lot of visits.

Click here to see all my cookie cutters and learn how to make cinnamon dough ornaments.

Click here to see all kinds of Christmas craft ideas.

Click here to see how to make Scrabble Christmas ornaments. I used to make these and sell them. 

If you look on my sidebar, you will find lots of recipes you could try out on Christmas. Click here to see how to make my applesauce stack cake. Grandma made the best one ever!

On my sidebar is a link to my cookbook on Amazon. It has a pic of my stack cake on the cover.  Cookbooks make great gifts for people who like to cook!

I hope you have a nice Christmas and make lots of memories. Click here for a couple of posts about my Christmas memories.

I read on the internet somewhere that Christmas Eve is the most popular day to get engaged. That is one memory I forgot to write about on my blog. I got engaged on Christmas Eve 1977. Six and a half months later we were married!

I think it surprised our families. We had dated for years and I don't think they thought he was ever going to propose. But I knew better.

What's your favorite Christmas memory?

read Christmas story books

decorate with holly

make angels out of songbook pages

make m & m icicles to put on packages

Merry Christmas.

Getting Your Thanksgiving Cactus to Bloom 17 Nov 2019 1:44 PM (5 years ago)

I have discovered the secret to getting my Thanksgiving Cactus to bloom!

I had just about given up on getting my cactus to bloom. For two or three years in a row it never bloomed.

I wanted to give them away.

I wanted to put them in a yard sale. (I used to have two - one small and one large)

My husband wouldn't let me, even though I suspected he was partly the reason they never bloomed.

Why did I suspect he was part of the reason?

I had researched online about how to make them bloom. I tried doing what they said, but they like coolness and they like darkness.

My husband likes a warm house in the winter and he leaves lights on at night. I was fighting an uphill battle.

Well, last year I put my cactus on the front porch for the summer and I kept it there until the nights started getting a little too cool for comfort. I didn't want it to freeze. I brought it inside the garage and placed it on our chest type freezer until I had somewhere to put it in the house.

Well, after a few weeks I noticed red buds developing on the tips of the plant! More and more buds developed and they started turning into flowers.  Yeah!

I brought it in the house and it bloomed beautifully.

I did the same this year and it is in full bloom again.

The garage gave it the environment it longed for -- cool and dark.

Feeding the Squirrels 8 Aug 2019 3:52 AM (5 years ago)

Traveling West Virginia - Hawks Nest - New River Gorge Trail 6 Jul 2019 6:27 AM (5 years ago)

We don't do as much traveling as we used to. But we recently took a day trip to southern West Virginia.

Our first stop was Hawks Nest State Park. If you have traveled there before, you know where they get the expression half the fun is getting there - that is unless you are prone to motion sickness. If you are, then I would advise you to sit in the front seat of the car.

We have been to Hawks Nest many times, but this is the first time we ever rode the tram down to the river.

We wanted to ride the jet boats, but they were all booked up.


The hike was beautiful - a path filled with large rocks, rhododendron, foot bridges, caves, snakes . . .

Of course, my son had to climb up onto the first big rock we came to. Boys will be boys.









And speaking of snakes. This is where I encountered a baby snake wriggling under my shoe. I didn't stay long enough to see what kind he was, but he wasn't a black snake.


On the way back down the trail on this neat little foot bridge.



Our next stop was at a trail we had never walked on before. You drive over the New River Gorge Bridge, which is an experience I never tire of, and then travel a local road to a set of trails that take you to a great place for a photo op of the bridge.

I never took any pictures along the trail because we were in a hurry. We even sprinted in a few places. I never walked a trail so fast in my life. It was late and given the length of the trail we were going to be walking back in the dark. Thank goodness for cell phone flash lights!

The first mile and 3/4 was a fairly easy walk. But the last 1/4 mile was a heavy breather. This is approaching the end of the trail. And believe me when I tell you the view was well worth the huffing and puffing. 


This was as far out as I would venture. My son said that I couldn't fall off unless I just walked off the edge. I said different --- You could trip. You could slide. You could get woozy. So I played it safe.



We still got some great pictures. My son even took a few selfies.










After enjoying the view and taking a bunch of pictures, we started back. And yes, it was in the dark. I kept imagining encounters with wild animals, but none appeared.

My son said, "If we see Big Foot, shine the light while I take the picture."
I told him, "Please make it a clear picture."
For some reason all the pics people take of Big Foot are blurry. 😊

Press this link to a list of trails in the area. I would like to try them all out. The name of the trail we took is the Long Point Trail.

 Hope you enjoyed this Traveling West Virginia.

Have you ever been to either of these places?

If not, I hope you get to visit some day.