It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Tree

A Snowy Day
Kids trying to stay warm

I woke this morning to the first snow of the season! I always look forward to that first snow every year. This year I have a new home and a new view and it is marvelous. The kids are all cuddled up on the couch and I have been cleaning and going through some of my things. I have added lots of primitives from my collection on my website for sale. They are under the Old Stuff Category. I have added Christmas things and everyday things and still going through my items. If you get a moment please take a look and I hope you will find something to add to your collection!

Blessings,

Jill

Here is the Link........

http://www.thefruitofherhands.com/shop/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=18

Happy Thanksgiving

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving sure snuck up on me this year. Nevertheless, I am responsible for the turkey to take to mom and dads this year. He is in the oven working his magic and I am praying he will be moist and tender. After all the turkey is the star of the show. I hope you all have a blessed fun filled Thanksgiving. I am most thankful this year for having such a wonderful family who have helped me through a difficult time.

God Bless,

Jill

New Offerings

The olde saying that time waits for no one is oh so true......I can't believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Where has the year gone? I am sure you all know that my designs have become few and far between ever since I started working a full time job but lately I have been itching to get creative. I am so pleased with this wonderful soap my sister, my mom and I made. It's pure GOAT'S MILK SOAP. It's all natural and unscented. I made this soap with the intention of using it other than just decorating with it. I use this soap all over including my face and it makes my skin feel so soft without irritating my eyes. I am offering small bars for $2.00 ea. plus shipping

My other offering is this sweet little mouse tucked in an olde baby shoe. His face has been hand stitched and he has little bead eyes. He is $16.95 plus shipping. I hope to have some more new creations now that the weather is turning cool and I am settling in for the winter. I hope you all are having a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Jill

Preparing for Halloween

Halloween has finally arrived..........I so love this holiday and all it entails. I am preparing for our Halloween party this weekend. I have trays of appetizers prepped and some not so appetizing props ready to scare some folks. Tomorrow we our dressing up at work as the local schools bring the kiddies on buses to trick or treat at the business's in town. I hope you all have a ghoulish good time this weekend!

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

I have so enjoyed this Sunday..........the weather has been divine. I made this cute little pumpkin shaped cheese ball for a church service today. I got the recipe from Taste of Home. Hope you all are enjoying this blessed day. Thank you to everyone who commented on my house photos..............you are all too kind!

20 Servings
Prep: 20 min. + chilling
Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 carton (8 ounces) spreadable chive and onion cream cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 celery rib or broccoli stalk
Sliced apples and assorted crackers
Directions
In a small bowl, beat cream cheeses until smooth. Stir in the cheddar cheese, paprika and cayenne. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.
With a knife, add vertical lines to the cheese ball to resemble a pumpkin; insert a celery rib or broccoli stalk for the stem. Serve with apples and crackers. Yield: 2-1/2 cups.

Note: I changed the recipe and added 2 t. of Bacon Salt instead of the Paprika and I added 1/2 t. of Paprika instead of the cayenne.............It was yummy!

My Humble Abode

I finally took some photos of my humble little house. It's less than 1,000 square feet and filled to the brim with treasured antiques. I am slowly as my pocketbook allows completing my home. I am still lacking my kitchen cabinets, a front porch and some of my trim. The good Lord has blessed me to come as far as I have with it.
I apologize for my random postings, work has been hectic. I wish I could comment back to each and every person that post but my schedule does not allow it. Hope you all enjoy these photos of my home.
Blessings,
Jill

The Bedroom
My antique dresser and some treasures finds

Little Hutch in the hallway filled with laundry goods

My kitchen sink that I restored Click on link to see it's original state http://thefruitofherhandstudio.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-04-20T21%3A34%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

My make do island.................until my daddy makes mine

Kitchen Table

Items Added to Website

Greetings everyone, I have added these two wonderful old dresses to my website for sale. They were part of my collection and I just haven't been able to find a place for them. I am still getting my house in order and even sat down to the sewing machine last night to sew. It's been awhile since I have actually had time. I want to wish you all a wonderful safe Labor Day weekend. I am off work Fri-Mon and I am really looking forward to having some time to create.

Blessings,

Jill

A Sneak Peek

I am in the process of moving in the house and getting everything situated. It is a difficult process trying to move and work full time. Needless to say I never realized that I had so much stuff! Sadly, I still have boxes of things that haven't been unpacked. I also have more things to move.............Lordy will I ever get done? I am very pleased at how the place is shaping up........it's everything I hoped for and more. May you all have a blessed evening.

Jill

Primitive Spice Jars

I just finished these new prim spice jars. I will be offering these on my website. I am selling them in a set of 4. They are for decorative purposes only.
Set of 4 Parsley, Thyme, Oregano and Rosemary $12.00
Hope you are all having a blessed Monday,
Jill

Moving...................

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post! I was smack in the middle of moving into the new home when I came down with a nasty stomach virus. Needless to say it stopped me in my tracks. I missed work yesterday and was only able to stay a half of a day today. I will have some updated pics of the house very soon.................everything is coming together and I just like the finishing touches. Such as the front porch, trim, cabinets and so on. Hope you all have a blessed day.
Jill

A Bountiful Harvest

Giving Thanks to God Almighty for a Bountiful Harvest.

A Bee's Life

Here are some updated pics of the Bees and the work they have done!

Filling up their feeder with syrup
Preparing the smoker

I was the smoker/ photographer .......lol

The bees already have comb on 4 frames!

These guys are hard workers!

In the right hand corner you can see some honey they have capped!

Well folks, it's been another busy hectic work week. I am putting the finishing touches on a large wholesale order and hope to begin making some new creations. As for this weekend their is lots to do......I plan on doing some major cleaning and packing up some stuff not used very often in plastic totes. Wow I never realized how many kitchen gadgets and appliances I have! For those of you whom asked about the walls in my new house this is what we did. We used pine 3/4" thick sheeting boards. We nailed them up and stained it Early American. We did the same thing on the ceiling. This wood is very inexpensive and you don't even have to sand it. The best thing of all is we have the cistern complete and we got lots of rain yesterday from a storm. So we now have running water in the house!

Hope you all enjoyed the pics of the bees and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Blessings,

Jill

Long Over Due House Update

Well folks it's sure been awhile since my last update. Life has been so hectic between work and the house. I took several pics of the progress we have made..........hope you enjoy them. Blessings to all & a Happy Father's Day to all the Daddy's. We are celebrating for our daddy by getting his fav.......KFC.
Jill

The beginnings of the cistern, when complete it will hold approx. 2,000 gallons of water!

The bedroom

Bedroom

Bedroom ceiling

Pedestal Sink (a giveaway from a cousin)

Bathroom

Bathroom window and tub

Hallway

Where has the time gone?

Is it just me or is this year flying by? I have had so much going on this week I haven't had time to sit down. I miss checking up on all your alls wonderful blogs. It felt so good to be out in the workshop today with the sun shining in and working away on orders. Especially after being in a office all week. Working an office job has really made me miss being at home and creating and working on my terms and my time. But with today's economy lots of folks are working two jobs to make ends meet.
The house is coming along wonderfully, we are currently still working on the cistern. I am hoping for a August or September move. Keep your fingers crossed for me :) I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.............it's back to sewing for me!
Blessings,
Jill

Man's Second Best Friend

For the longest time I have wanted a goat. I have admired them on blogs, neigbors farms and magazines. Then I got to hankering to make goat's milk soap. A neighbor gave me this wonderful Nubian cross goat named Licorice. She is a delight! I never knew a goat could be such a loving companion. Licorice is so clever and nosy. I plan on getting her a companion soon.

I enjoyed the weekend and had three days off. We grilled out and celebrated my mom's 60th birthday.

I hope you all had a wonderful Tuesday.

Blessings,

Jill

The Bee Finale

Here are the photos from the bee finale. After the flooding went down I took the bees to the new homestead. Unfortunately I was at work when the bees got put in the box. However my sister took these photos. The bees are now in their box and working away. My daddy is their beekeeper. He loves to sit and watch them in the morning. They sure are fascinating little creatures and best of all no one got stung! Now all we have to do is wait for the sweet honey we will be able to collect next year.

The new job is going well, I have been there two weeks and have adjusted to the early morning schedule. Lol, I don't feel as zapped in the evening as I did when I first started. We have the bedroom and bathroom almost done in the house and will be moving on to getting water. We will be installing an old fashioned off the grid water source called a Cistern. If you are not familiar with this it's pretty simple. Rain water runs from the house gutters underground and into a water tank. It's runs through a filter so everything is nice and clean. I hope to eventually drill a well (I can't get city water where I am building) but for now this will be my water source. I will be taking photos this week of all the house progress. Blessings, Jill

A Bee Dilemma

The Bees
Some curious bees from the neighborhood
The bees arrived this morning, they were late getting here for some odd reason. I was expecting them yesterday. We have had severe flooding in our area. The problem is that I cannot get to the new homestead where the bee boxes are! So I have to try to keep them here and feed them until the water goes down. As soon as I got them this morning I sprayed them with water and the sugar syrup. I checked and made sure the queen was alive and she is. They are fascinating to watch. The neighborhood bees are wanting to join the party and are swarming around the box. I hope you are all having a great weekend and I will keep you guys updated on the bees.
Blessings,
Jill

Updates & Crock Pot Hamburger Steak Recipe

There's been so much going on in my crazy life I don't know where to start! For starters the bees are coming tomorrow! Too bad it is giving rain, so we will probably hold off putting them in the hive until Sat. I hope to get lots of pics. The house is coming along great.
I now have a great deal of empathy for you working moms and women. Monday I started a new full time job at a local law office as a file clerk. It has been a huge system shock for me as I am not a morning person and have been getting up at 6:20 am for work. When I get home I am so tired that I don't want to do anything let alone sew. I am hoping work will get easier because it is stressing me out learning their filing system. I hope it works out and I am going to try to at least commit a month to it. I managed to go to Curves today as I haven't been all week. I was naughty last month and gained a few pounds...........lol
Several of you requested the recipe to my hamburger crock pot steak I mentioned in a previous post. Below are the directions. Keep in mind it's not an exact recipe.
Blessings,
Jill

Crock pot Hamburger Steak

I take about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of ground beef, I mix with it salt, pepper, 1 egg, worshtershire sauce and enough bread crumbs to bind it. Form the mixture into relatively close sized hamburger patties. Roll each patty in flour and brown on both sides in a skillet. Place the hamburgers in a crock pot and set aside. To make the gravy I use two packages of brown gravy mix and follow the directions. Pour the gravy over the steaks and turn on low for about 6 to 8 hours or until the hamburgers are tender. If you gravy gets too thick just add a little water or broth, if its to thin for your liking add a cornstarch thickener. I hope you enjoy these, they are one of my family favorites.

A Welcome Surprise

I went to the barn to discover my stray chicken is sitting on eggs! What a welcome surprise. For some odd reason she prefers the comforts of my barn and the companionship of Clover my pig to her former home (my neighbors). I hope she has lots of little baby chicks.

Kissy went today to be spayed, she is out of surgery and all went well. I will be going to pick her up soon. I will keep you all updated on the bees! I am nervous and excited at the same time. The bee box still has not arrived. Which is making me worried the bees will arrive before the box. I am hoping that is not the case.

The house is coming along nicely and I will have new pics very soon. There's hamburger steak and gravy simmering in the crock pot and buttermilk biscuits and potatoes to come later. The freshly laundered quilts are flapping in the breeze, it's truly a lovely "summerish" day.

Blessings to all!

Jill

The Bees are Coming!

For a long while now I have been toying with the idea of keeping bees. After watching the movie Secret Life of Bees, then I really wanted to give it a try. So today I finally took the plunge and ordered all the necessary equipment and the bees. They will be arriving May 6 th. I have no idea how to begin the new hive so we enlisted a local bee keeper who we know. We need all the help we can get! I have also been told we will not get any honey the first year because the bees need it to survive the winter. Which is a little disappointing, but good things comes to those who wait. Hope you all are having a blessed week.
Jill

House Updates and Easter

Old sink I found at a antique shop
Pics of the bedroom and bedroom closet

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We sure did, we had church service on the family cemetery. The weather was spectacular and we had a huge dinner afterwards. The above pic is of the bunny cakes I made. We had so many different and yummy foods it was overwhelming!

Now on to house updates............we have electricity and have been working away. I am so excited to see how its turning. Above are a few pics..... I found the old sink and paid $25 bucks for it! I will be using the sink part not the old metal cabinet in my kitchen. It will most likely need a new faucet but other than that its in perfect condition. Hope you all had a wonderful day.

Blessings,

Jill