How We Passed Time On This Saturday

She(the great grandmother) was making a huge pot of her wonderful chicken corn soup. The little one(the great granddaughter) was observing the process on her little stool in the corner.

Here she is being shown what was in the pot that Great Grandma was spending time making. This will go in smaller plastic containers, to be eaten this winter, or to be given as gifts. She started out this process by cooking three large Perdue oven stuffers in this big pot of water, with all her special seasonings. After cooking it until it is quite tender, she removes all the chicken from the bones, cuts it up with a kitchen shears, adds it to the broth along with sweet corn. Oh my, this is so delicious!!

Time for the little one to get her hands washed after feeding great grandma some pieces of chicken. How special for them to have this time together.

We brought out the crayons and the big sheets of white freezer paper, and the two little girls and their aunt spent time coloring. Of course, their aunt would have cupcakes on her mind.

The little fellow and his grandpa played harmonicas together. First they both had their own and then he requested that they both try playing the same one. Next they moved on to playing guitar together.

It is a very cool, overcast day and the little one's parents are in the process of getting their newly purchased home ready to move into. Yes, moving and the birth of twins in the same month. So, now you understand why it is, that we are finding things to do with these little ones, this Saturday.

Indoors or Outdoors, the Fall is best.

If you would come to my front door this Fall, on the evenings where I do not have plans, the following few pictures would convey to you, a part of my personality that you may not be aware of. When it is a cold and rainy evening like this evening, you will find...

A fire in the fireplace, and a soft, comfy afghan on the sofa...



...along with candles lit. This is my kitchen table. The gold glass hurricane lamp is from JC Penneys. It is from the new "Cindy Crawford" line, and it was on sale a few weeks ago. The glass acorns that I dropped in around the clear oil burning candle, are from the Dollar Tree. The gold glass gives a soft glow to our kitchen eating area. Yes, the rose is from my garden. They continue to bloom in the middle of October.





A corn candy candle creation adds another soft glow.

But, if the sun is out and I am anywhere near a trail like this...I will be there. So,whether indoors with the fire in the fireplace and the candles burning...or outdoors enjoying the beauty of the leaves, and the smells of the season...this is by far, my favorite time of the year. My uncle captured this picture.

A Rare Saturday Afternoon Experience

Saturday afternoon...in the mountains...cool, clear, sunny weather...and great food! It was homemade chicken corn soup, made in a big, old, iron pot. Three large chickens were put in the pot at 7:00am. After hours of cooking, the chicken was taken off the bones, the freshly cut corn was added along with some seasoning...the soup was ready to be served by 2:00pm. Oh, my it was good. It was an old fashion picnic in the mountains, and it was memorable. We went with our dear friends, and they were invited by the host and his wife, because they are good friends.

This gentleman was in charge of the soup. The black iron instrument leaning against the pot of soup, was used to stir it so that it did not stick fast.

This pot of chicken corn soup was so delicious! Remember, like grandma used to make. Maybe because the surroundings were so beautiful...maybe that is why the soup tasted so good. Afterall, how rare is it that one gets to eat homemade soup made in an old iron pot.

In addition, the coffee was made in an old black iron coffee pot right over the fire.

This gentleman was in charge of making it, and serving it. We had the joy of sitting on lawn chairs around the fire, with the sun peeking down through the trees, drinking our coffee, and conversing with new friends. For my husband and I , this was one unusual and enjoyable Saturday afternoon. In our busy lives, living in an area with many people and activities...we were blessed to have this time away in God's beautiful creation.

The Winner Is...

Tonight, my husband reached his hand into the crock and choose a name from the many folded slips of paper. The winner of the new apron is ...Cynthia@An Accomplished Woman. Congratulations to you!

When you are ready to choose the apron that you would like, you may visit apronsbyjuliaann@gmail.com She will send you her apron Picassa Album.

Would you please send me your snail mail address, so that I can mail the apron to you. We will be showing blogland the one you choose, before we mail it to you.

To close this giveaway, I want to convey my heartfelt thanks for all the support, encouragement, and kindness you showed through your many comments. Both my sister-in-law and I were thrilled with the response, and grateful for everyone of you. Really, after reading all of the comments, I wanted to send each one of you an apron. But since that is not possible, I'll just say thank you all again.

Grandma's Apron

One of my very special grandmas, with my daughter and her daughter, which was my grandma's great-great granddaughter. At this point of my grandma's life, she no longer wearing her aprons, but clearly I remember both of my grandma's wearing aprons whenever we went to their home to eat a meal. In my teenage years, I remember thinking that I would not wear an apron when people came to my house to eat. Well, fast forward many years, and here I am, not just wearing an apron myself, but actually having an apron giveaway. How interesting life tends to be. Of course, my grandma's would have been thrilled to have had an apron as beautiful as one of
my SIL's apron creations.

I found this poem in one of the magazines I read in the last year. It brought back so many memories for me, that I cut it out and set it on my desk. Since today is my apron giveaway day, I thought I would share it with you.

Grandma's Apron
"Sometimes when she was cooking and the stove was very hot,
She'd wrap the apron 'round her hand and peek into the pot.
When she baked sugar cookies--and she made them by the score--
The apron kept her hands from getting burnt against the door.
One time my baby kitten got run over in the street,
The corner of her apron wiped the tears from off my cheek.
When unexpected neighbors came (a clean house was a must),
The apron gave the tables a quick swipe to hide the dust.
The apron waved above her head to Grandpa on the farm
Meant, "Hurry home! The cows are in the corn!"
Oh, how I loved the pockets in the apron Grandma wore.
Sometimes she'd take me in her lap, and then I could explore.
There were buttons, marbles, a tiny car, a penny, a piece of string,
A tack, two nails, a picture book--I could find most anything!
But when I fell and hurt my knee, and Grandma held me close,
And wrapped me in her apron, that's when I loved it most."

~by Verna Byram


If you would like to be part of my apron giveaway this evening, all you need to do, is to make a comment on this post, or my last two apron posts. Your name will be entered into the drawing. This evening my husband will be drawing out a name from the old kitchen crock. I'd love to have you be a part of this event, even if you never thought about wanting an apron.

An Apron Update

Greetings to each of you, my blogging friends. Your gracious, kind and encouraging comments regarding my sister-in-law's new apron venture and her latest apron creations, have left both her and I, feeling quite overwhelmed and thankful. Because of this, she came up with the idea, that the name that my husband pulls out of the crock tomorrow evening, will be given the special privilege of choosing the apron of their choice from her "apronsbyjuliaann.gmail.com" Picasa album, instead of me choosing which one I will give away. Yes...if your name is chosen, you will get to choose your apron...the exact one you would like to have. There is plenty of time left until tomorrow evening, to visit my apron post, and comment. That is all you need to do to qualify. Both of us are excited to be involved in this giveaway.

Today is a clear, cool, lovely Fall day here in my part of the world. I took the above picture yesterday in my walk in the woods. I could have stayed all day, it was so beautful! I wish each of you a relaxing enjoyable afternoon, and I want to thank you again for your friendship in this world of blogging.

Not Quite Like Your Grandma's Apron

Some of you may remember from many, many posts ago, I shared with you what transpired with my sister-in-law and me, in our newly acquired empty nest situation that we found ourselves in. I encouraged her to start sewing again, remembering clearly what an accomplished seamstress she was over the years. Somehow, with four children close in age, sewing had taken a back seat in her activites of life. I had seen aprons making a comeback in stores, magazines and the blogland, so I suggested that perhaps she should consider creating aprons, with her sewing and artistic skills. Well, that was then, and this is now. Yesterday, I asked her to send me some photos of her creations over the last few months, and this is what I received. I am going to share these today with you, only because I thought they were too beautiful to just sit in my email bin. She has been totally surprised at the doors that this new interest has opened for her, and now I understand why.






This is one like I sent to my daughter for a special gift. She was thrilled to have one of her aunt's aprons.

I think this black and white one with the trees, is her latest creation, and I think it is one of my favorites.

Just in case you would like to see more of her aprons, you can email her at "apronsbyjuliaann.gmail.com" and she will send you her Picasa album of aprons.







This is my very special apron that I love to wear when serving dinners to friends and family. I don't even have to think what to wear, I just do the black slacks, white top and my fancy apron, and I am set. As I was thinking about these newly designed aprons, I decided that since I was the one who tried to talk her into this venture, that I was going to have an apron giveaway on my blog. Yes, you heard me correctly. If you comment about any of these aprons in the next three days, I will put every single comment in an old crock and have my husband draw a name. That name will win for you, a unique, beautiful, custom made by my sister-in-law apron...from me. I think talents and creativity is a gift from God to us, and I love seeing all of the many talents and creativities out there in the world of our blogs. It is truly inspiring and encouraging, and adds beauty to ordinary days. Please feel free to comment...you just might be the name chosen to win.