FALL IS IN THE AIR AGAIN

I haven't had much time to write lately and nothing to write about. I have been keeping busy with the medical transcription and will probably get even busy when my sister-in-law takes on another client. I am still enjoying the working at home and not having to spend money on gas. Chuck started back working last week on another barn and I think that they have one to do after that. I hope before the weather gets cold. So far its been beautiful and nice not to have any humidity. Its been in the high 70s daytime and 50's at night but it will be in the 40's at night later on this week. The high on Wednesday is only suppose to be 69 with a low of 49 at night. The leaves on the trees are starting to change a little bit. Its hard to believe that Oct starts next week. This year has gone very fast for me.

Son Stephen was planning a trip up from FL in Oct. now it may not be until Nov. I do hope he makes it. We plan to drive down to FL the day after Christmas and pick up Kristy and the girls and bring them back here for a visit until the kids have to return to school. I know if Kristy sees this area she may want to move to TN. One can always hope.

We are enjoying eating all the peaches we froze they are just as good as when we froze them. Next year we plan to have a much larger garden and freeze veggies for the winter. Our neighbor planted his winter crops of greens and maybe we will be lucky to get some of them. He has given us some excess stuff from his sisters garden she lives just down the road from here. I still have tomatoes, green peppers and eggplant in my garden. Froze a bunch of tomaotoes to use in soups, chilli and spagetti sauce for the winter.

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us. Both sister-in-laws will be coming for Thanksgiving and Diane's son Robert may fly in from CA. Diane finally got a larger car so it will be a much more comfortable drive for them to come here. It will be great to cook for more than two people to. I heard on the news that hams will be going up in price so I think I will get one ahead of time for New Years day.

Well thats it for now. Not a lot happening in the mountains of Tennessee.

Peaches

Yesterday we put up a big box of South Carolina white peaches. We first had to put the peaches in boiling water for 15 seconds, then into cold water. The peel comes off very easily. Then I sliced them and layed 4 cups of sliced peaches at a time on a cookie sheet and sprinked with Bell's Friut Fresh (pectin) to keep the peaches from turning brown. Chuck was putting them in the plastic bads and sealing with the sealing machine. The sealing machine takes the air out of the bags. You acually have to cut and make the bags yourself which is nice you can have larger or smaller bags. We will enjoy eating these all winter. I hope the man that was selling the peaches in the bank parking lot is there tomorrow when I go into town, I would like to buy another box full. Otherwise, maybe we will catch him on Monday.

I went to the Farmers Market in Byrdstown this morning. I wish I had started going sooner. There were only 2 people there selling veggies all they had left was pole beans so I got a big container of those. Its the end of the growing season now so I doubt that there will be anymore fresh veggies to buy. We hope next year to plant a lager garden and also find some places to go and pick our own fruits and vegetables. We found a place that you can pick your own strawberries so next Spring will try picking our own.

I finished my transription for the day. The imaging centers are open a half a day on Sat. and the Dr.'s will come in and read on Sat. and sometimes on Sunday. I will make more money this month since I have been doing more reports one gal was on vacation all this week. She only works Tues. Wed. and Thurs. so I will usually do more on those days and after 5pm when she leaves work if she has left any work to do.

The days are starting to get shorter its uaually dark by 8 pm now and its getting cooler at night. Its been ion the low to mid 80's lately with a little bit lower humidy. Fall will be here before we know it. I am looking forward to the leaves changing fall is my favorite month. We may have company for Thanksgiving Chucks 2 sisters from IL. Well thats it for now. Not alot to write about.

SUMMER IS ALMOST ENDED

I have been to busy to write on the blog for the past 2 months. I am still learning my new" stay at home job", "Medical Transcription". It was a bit tough at first the biggest problem understanding the Dr.'s one speaks with an accent, the other rather fast and one is quite long winded (more money) and learning all these new terms. I get $.12 a line although that doesn't sound like much it quickly ads up. I made $242 last month just part-time. I could make more if I wanted to work full time. Sometimes my sister-in-law has extra that needs doing so I will help out. I hope to make a little more this month since I am getting much faster at it. I kinda enjoy it. All work has to be done the same day so there is a 24 hour turnover. This allows the Dr.'s time to get the printed reports we type, look them over and sign them and then they go to the Dr. who requested the procedure. My sister-in-law is looking for another new client preferably another imaging center. I mainly do MRI's but will soon be doing CAT scans and PET scans. They each have different terms to learn and spell. With the price of gas being so high, its nice not to have to leave the house (this will be especially nice in the winter) and drive anywhere. Everything I type is done on the computer and sent to a temp file where my sister-in-law checks the reports before sending them on. Not all her clients use the computer she still has a couple of clients that use tapes that she has to go and pick up then return with the printed reports. Luckily, she doesn't live far from them.

My vegetable garden is doing well last week we picked some okra and everyday there are cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes and regular tomatoes. I have som Japanese egg plant and some green peppers as well as about 6 different herbs. Next year we hope to have a bigger garden and that way I can freeze vegetables for the winter months. Our neighbor gave us some potatoes out of his garden. What a difference compared to the ones from the store. We will plant some potaoes eyes next Spring and see how we do. One problem we are having is some kind of bug is eating holes in the leaves of some of my plants and grasshoppers are a problem to I think that they like my tomatoes. I have had to pick some before they are vine ripe and just set them out on the porch to ripen.

My second grandaughter celebrated her 10th birthday yesterday. I had sent her a package last week so she opened it while I was on the phone. She loved her new outfit and digital/camera/camcorder. They live in FL and start school the 19th of this month. The baby, Lilly, was keeping busy getting into the packages having a good time. She also got a new outfit as did the oldest one Jynna who is 12. I was at Penneys on the 1st of the month and was able to get Jynna 2 new bathing suits for $.89 each and one for Kaylee at the same price. They have been going to the beach at least once a week and are really tan, even Lilly.

Well its time to get the rest of the housework done and make the pasta salad for dinner. Hubby is working today and hopefully will be home early. He and Ken are trying to finish up a job so they can go on to the next one.

Rare Summer Storms

I got up to go to work at 0600

one morning and when I went out on the back porch, this is what I saw. A Summer storm was crossing the valley, following Wolf River (top photo) and in a short time the clouds were nearly in our back yard. Temp was really cool (68) and you could feel the moisture in the air.

Black Berry Time

Well Now - It's that time of year again. Chuck went out today and came back with about a half gallon of black berries. This year there seems to be a lot more black berries than usual. They're a somewhat smaller because we have not had the rain we need but when you look close to the ground you can still find some larger berries, about the size of your thumb. They'll be around for about another week. The turkey's are really getting them early in the morning and late afternoon, so we'll have to try to beat them to the punch. They tend to strip all the ripe berries off the lower branches and obviously that's where the best ones are. Turkeys ain't dumb and they been picking them a lot longer than we have. These berries make an oooohhhhh sssssooooooo good cobbler

Spruce Creek Garage

This is the garage that Chuck helped build in Spruce Creek. He, Ken and Brian also built the three board fence you can see in the background, which was 700' around three sides of the property. The owner has someone who is coming in to stain the garage a cedar color. Brian, Chuck and Ken have also been signed on to replace the roof on the cabin that's on this property. It already has a shingle roof but the owner wants it to look the same as the garage, which is hunter green steel roofing. Another job a little more income to help out. Chuck and Ken also finished up about 2,000' of wire fencing last week and are supposed to start another project, a combination of fencing/construction next week.

My Little Spring Garden

Small but effective. I've planted seven tomatoe plants, five peppers, a Japanese egg plant, five okra and a bunch of herbs. Still have some radish and carrots to replant. Not a very big garden but big enough for us.