New Christmas Toy Horse

I finally finished a new design for Christmas '08. Well it's not completely new........I have made a ornament very similar to this for years. But this is a 9 1/2" tall toy horse I will be offering. I am so excited to be working on Christmas designs.

The house is coming along great...........faster than I could have hoped for. We still have not gotten any rain. The forecast is giving a 50 percent chance Thursday. The very day we are supposed to put the metal on the roof. Hopefully we can get the roof on and then it will rain buckets and buckets!

Blessings,

Jill

Dried Turnips and So on

Boy did we have a hot day today! Dad, hubby and I worked all day on the house. I can't believe how far along we have gotten.........considering it's pretty much Dad doing all the labor. We have all the inside walls up and the rafters up in the roof. Dad and hubby worked on the rafters in the roof today and it made me nervous just watching them. I hate heights and get weak in the knees if I get up high on a ladder. Hopefully we will get the roof on it next week if all goes well. Then we will have to take off for a few days for Dad to work.
Our county has been declared a state of emergency due to the drought. The newspaper said this is the worst drought since 1897 and the second worst ever in the state's history. Our county is buying water off a neighboring county but their are rumors going around that it is only temporary because they don't have much to spare for themselves. I am hoping for some rain very soon!
On a happy note I have been working on some new Christmas items. I wanted to share a pic of my Mom's dried turnips. I just love them! I will be offering them on Simply Primitives the 15th. I am so glad tomorrow is Sunday..........I have a birthday party to attend after church and then it will be a wonderful day of rest........hope you all have a lovely day tomorrow.
God Bless,
Jill

New Blog

My sister Keeper of the Past finally took the leap and started a blog. If you get a chance come check it out. Blessings, Jill

A Quick House Update

Just wanted to share a pic with you guys with all the outside walls up. We have actually got a lot more done since this pic was taken Monday. Today we got all the inside walls up. You can really start to see the house coming together. We are expecting some rain tomorrow...........and I could really use a day off to work on some orders. It's so exciting to sit inside the bare walls and close my eyes and imagine it all finished. Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Jill

Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake

Forgive me everyone for being such a bad blog buddy. I wish I had time to visit all your blogs every day. I can see it's going to be a struggle to keep up with my orders and the house building. But with the Lord's help I can do it. He has already blessed me with more energy than I normally have. I have been able to come home every night and work on my orders. Thanks to everyone for all your wonderful comments. We got ALL FOUR WALLS up today. Which I am so excited about ( I will post a pic Monday) you can really start to visualize what the house will actually look like. We laid out where all the rooms will be. I am so blessed to have a daddy that can build anything...........although he is pretty stubborn and wants to do things his way. He wanted to build a separate room for the washer and dryer, but I wanted them right in the bathroom behind doors. We finally agreed upon my way :) I made this yummy cake tonight for church tomorrow. The recipe came from a Taste of Home mag. Hope you enjoy it!

Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake
1 package yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 c. water
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 3/4 t. cinnamon, divided
1/4 t. ginger
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 1/2 c. cream cheese frosting
1 1/4 c. chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, water, pumpkin, 1 t. cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg. Beat on low for 30 seconds; beat on medium for 2 minutes.
Pour into two well greased and floured nine inch baking pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool ten minutes before removing from pans and onto wire racks to cool completely.
Combine frosting and remaining cinnamon; spread between layers and over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle top of the cake with walnuts.

A Solid Foundation

Believe it or not the weather here has turned really cool. We are expecting a frost tonight. I love the cooler weather but we are so in need of rain. I haven't done much in the way of crafting all week other than doing some sewing on orders at night. I finally got the pics of the foundation...............it's really starting to come together!

The leaves are changing

The lumber was delivered today and we got a lot of the sub floor done

The mountain of lumber that's waiting to be used.

I Feel Like this Guy Today

As I was doing the rounds this morning feeding all the animals I saw this guy. I thought he would make a good picture so I ran back to the house to grab my camera. Lol, he had barely moved an inch and it was a good little walk back to my house. I thought to myself he and I have a lot in common today. Seems I can't get anywhere very fast. When I was at mom and dad's yesterday I noticed I had ran over a metal thing, it was punched into my tire. Dad didn't have a plug kit so hubby had to come get me. So now I am sitting with no car waiting on my sister and mom to come get me. Dad and I are working on the house today and he's going to plug my tire this evening. Also my blackberry is still not adding my pics to the computer. Thanks goodness my digital camera is working fine. On a happy note the weather is awesome. We are really starting to feel the coolness in the air. We got a little rain last night but it didn't amount to much. They are handing out drinking water to everyone, so the situation must be pretty serious but I am sure the Lord will provide in due time. Hope you all are moving a little faster today than my friend Mr. Turtle and I.
Blessings,
Jill

Clover happily sharing breakfast with the neighbor's chicken