I've sat down several times this week to write this post...and each time I've gotten interrupted.  Hopefully this time I will finish. 

Every Friday, Allen and Lizzie take a 2-hour chemistry class at CSM in LaPlata.  They love this class!  We have met some wonderful folks there.  The class is only for homeschoolers...a real plus. 

I saw this license plate and just had to take a picture.  "Bless it."

Our basil plants love this cool weather. 

My lettuce growing on the back porch is also doing well.  I have two planters like this.

My mustard greens are still going strong.

And I have actually developed a taste for fresh jalapenos.  (Hard to see but there are 3 growing on the plant.)

There's nothing like freshly-picked lettuce for salad!

Today the weather is very cold and rainy.  Most of Maryland is getting some form of snow...some as much as 5".  I'm sure our first frost is right around the corner, so Allen is looking forward  to using his new AeroGarden that he bought at the thrift shop for $5.  Since this cost $149 new, he's doubly excited!  We keep changing our minds about what we want to grow...but I think cilantro and lettuce will win.

I didn't realize I hadn't posted Ruthie's winnings from the county fair.  She got Honorable Mention for sewing her doll clothes.  (Ruthie sews on a Janome treadle machine.)

She hand-appliqued a cross on this pillow for second place.  

First place for a dress.

Second place for a gift wrapped pillow.  We were blessed with a bag of ribbons and laces...and Ruthie just loves to sew with them.

Last year, Ruthie asked for Polly Pocket dolls for Christmas.  Since then, she has spent hours playing with them, sewing dresses for them, and building a dollhouse for them.  She got first place for sewing their clothes.

Ruthie took some of Maggie's honeycomb and mounted them in a shadowbox for Honorable Mention.  (The honeycomb has since slipped down.)

First place for sewing these felt pants.  (Why felt?  Because someone gave us felt!)

Ruthie made this owl candle for second place.  Not bad for having dropped it on the way to the fair! 

My children gave me this picture for my birthday.  I love it!  

This picture is for the folks at church.  Dan and his family moved to Florida last year.  Here he is at the Pensacola County Fair last week.  We miss you, Dan!

I took this picture today on my early morning run to the amish farm for duck eggs.  Our local highway is getting two new traffic lights this month.  As much as I loathed traffic lights in our once-rural county...I have to admit that every time I drive by there, I think about the 54 lives that were ended at this intersection. 

Anna made three thank you cards recently.  She made two of the above for Grandaddy and Mr. Harry for all the chainsawing they did.

The second card was for Uncle Glenn to thank him for taking them water skiing and tubing last month.  I always enjoy seeing her creative cards.

Lots of miscellaneous pictures on this post.  This shows my "new" washing machine that I bought for $50 on craigslist.  I love it...it has a supersize tub...huge!  Ever since Hurricane Irene came through, our appliances have been acting up.  We had to replace a part on one of my dishwashers.  And now the heating element on my Viking range doesn't work...again!  

Last week I had fun with an afternoon project.  I bought this bread bin at the thrift shop.  All year I'd been looking for something to serve rolls in when I'm having picnics/parties.  My overhead fans tend to make the rolls go stale quickly.  Now I can keep the rolls out of the draft!

Only a thrift shop would write the price in permanent marker...on wood.  But since I needed to sand the whole bin anyhow, it didn't matter.  I used a one-step stain and seal process. 

I didn't want to stain the inside because of the chemicals, so I used mineral oil to seal it.  Worked perfectly!

It's hard to see how much difference there is in this "after" picture...but it sure looks nice!  Wish all my projects required one afternoon...!

Here's a great picture of my nephew, Cody.  He's the same age as my twins.  

Hunting season is in full swing around here (blackpowder season)...so orange hunting vests are par for the course.

I came home to find my bedroom blind turned into Modern Art.  My new blinds are on order.

Mike drove Sarah and Maggie to NC to the Wilds for a College and Career weekend.  Anna and Lizzie are visiting their Aunt to help out with cleaning.  So it's just Allen, Ruthie and me doing our own housecleaning.  We are hoping the weather clears up enough to stack firewood on our porch.  We woke up to a chilly 62 degrees in our upstairs...so all our talk about not using electric heat was easily brushed aside as we turned on our pellet stove.  Now it's warm and toasty!

We are feeling very blessed these days as Maggie has returned to her pain management/acupuncturist dr.  She has even re-started writing again.  She's up to a small paragraph.  PTL!

Many blessings ~ Kathie

This past weekend, our family was invited to dinner at my friend Lynn's new home.  What a wonderful time we had!  The food was delicious (as always) and we are still talking about the fellowship.  Praise the Lord for like-minded friends!  Lynn's new home is fabulous.  We loved her huge kitchen and felt right at home there.  Thanks so much, Lynn, Al and Tim. 

This will be a boring post for most people but I want to document all our family's winnings at the county fairs this summer.  My children entered many things in the St. Mary's County Fair and a few things in the Calvert County Fair.  (Why so few in the CCF?  Their process for entering items is long and drawn out.)  But now that the checks for CC have been cashed, everyone here is smiling!  The above wallet was made by Lizzie.

Table runner made by Anna.

Pillow sewn by Anna.

Landscape quilt by Anna.

Applique quilt by Anna.

Patchwork rug by Anna.

Shirt by Anna.

Lizzie pieced this pillow...which has two sides.  We like the other side better...but the picture was blurry.

Anna sewed the above three dresses.

Lizzie pieced and quilted this music quilt for me for Christmas.  I love it!

Anna sewed the three doll dresses.

Lizzie sewed this tote bag.  I can't find the picture of Allen's tote bag...but it also won first place.  (They entered them in two different categories so they wouldn't be competing against each other.)

Maggie was so pleased that her honey won second place in the SMCF and first place in the CCF. We were pleased too!

Anna was pleased to win first place for her quilt that she made for her Grandaddy.

Anna put together this display of sharks teeth from San Pedro Island, FL.  Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa L for taking us there!

Anna won first place for her wallhanging quilt she made for me.

Anna had a lot of fun piecing together this quilt.  Her only 3rd place ribbon.  This picture does not do the quilt justice.

Abigail loves this stuffed elephant that Anna made.

Anna made this little boy's shirt.  Adorable.

Every once in a while when Maggie is doing well, she'll make her way to the sewing machine.  She sewed this dress...and was happy to win 2nd place!

Lizzie's coaster set.

Anna had too much fun sewing this Othello game set with 2 matching bags.

The weeks of the fairs were extremely busy...so when it was all said and done, everything came home and got dumped onto the table. When we went to take photos, we found some of the clothes wadded up.  I assure you...they were neatly ironed when we took them to the fair!  Lizzie made the jumpsuit shown above.

Lizzie pieced this quilt together to earn Junior Grand Champion in quilting...for the second year in a row!  Hurray, Lizzie!  She also won two 3rd place ribbons for her muffins and sourdough dinner rolls.  Not bad considering we didn't know our oven's heating element was dying and never heated past 200 degrees!  Oh well.  (The judges commented that the food was undercooked.) 

Autumn is definitely flying by.  Tonight was the first practice for the Christmas Messiah.  Allen is trying out his new bass voice and joining the choir along with Mike, Maggie, Anna and Lizzie.  I love it!

Enjoy this wonderful time of the year.  Many blessings ~ Kathie

 Our cosmos are in full bloom right now and just as beautiful as can be.  My cosmos garden looks dreadful thanks to Hurricane Irene but the flowers are still growing.  I like the pinks best, but I also have some autumn cosmos growing out front that are beautiful as well. 

  I was finally able to find some crocs at the thrift shop for little Clara.  They fit perfectly!  Clara used to enjoy wearing my crocs while we were visiting for violin lessons.   (For my own info:  size 5-6.)

 My friends on facebook post some of the funniest photos.  Here are two for your enjoyment. 

 This photo is called "Find the cat."  If you know what my cat looks like, then look for him.  I'll leave a clue at the bottom of this post.  You should be able to double-click on the picture to see a larger version.

Time to post a picture of Abigail.  She loves her cousin Maggie.

I was originally going to post the photos of all the county fair winnings...until I saw how many photos there are!  I'll save that for tomorrow.  This is one item...Anna's denim rug sewn from recycled jeans.  

My son is a night owl...just like I was in high school.  He tries hard to get to sleep early but it rarely happens.  Since he plans to attend Bob Jones University in two years...and they have an 11 o'clock lights out...I think he should start getting into the habit now:-)  Anyhow, Allen has a loft bed with an enclosed desk under it.  That's how he gets away with staying up late...in secret.

Caught him!  My daughters don't mind if he does schoolwork on his computer...but they do mind when he makes noise with his ham radio or morse code practice! 

Here's his loft from the outside.  Right now he has a twin mattress on it...but we're looking for a full size on freecycle.org.  So far all the full size mattresses have been from homes with indoor cats...but we'll keep looking.

Ruthie made my cherry birthday cake this year.  I think ukulele cakes are now a tradition!

You have to look closely to see why I took this picture.  See all the slanted trees right next to the Outback Restaurant?  They were straight before Hurricane Irene!

This is my latest use for my spanish cazuela from Clay Coyote.  If you remember, this is the only stoneware that is made for stovetop use.  I think my homemade bean dip looks perfect in it.  Actually...I like to make all my heated dips in it. 

Easy Bean Dip

1 lb shredded colby (we used goat cheese)

1 large can refried beans (I made mine from 2 cups dried beans)

1 jar salsa (I used a large jar from Walmart)

Mix together and heat until cheese is melted.  Serve with tortilla chips.  If you are serving this to the Henry Boys (from church)...make a second dish just for them. They love this dip!

We enjoyed having hubby home from work today for Columbus Day.  He took the youngest 5 children to his brother's home for an afternoon of water skiing.  They are still shivering.  But NO stinging jellyfish!

As I am sitting here typing, my windows are open and a gentle breeze blowing.  This is such perfect weather.  Hope you are enjoying the same.

Clue:  The grey cat is in front of the rocks, to the right of the picture.

Many blessings ~ Kathie