Horseshoe Picnic

Yesterday was our second annual horseshoe pitching picnic. I thought I would share a few pictures with you all. We had a great time with lots of good food (of course), good fellowship and good music. I think that hammock is calling my name!

A few of the people sitting around enjoying themselves.

What do you think he might be looking at?

Deer, right across the river from where we were.

The creek.

The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day.

Our VBS starts tonight. The girls will be playing the music all 5 nights. Julie is in charge of the games tomorrow night. When did my babies become workers instead of just participants? Well, it does this mama’s heart good to see them serving the Lord.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 26, 2011 4

First Ripe Tomato

Look at what Grace found!! We are all very excited to get this first one. Remember the big tomato plant we bought early in the spring and put in a bucket. Well, the tomatoes are starting to get ripe on it. All our other plants are, of course, way behind this one. Tonight we will divide this one four ways so we can all have a little nibble. So much fun, sharing the first of the harvest.

This morning the girls and I went out early and started working on the hen house. It needed to be cleaned out and we wanted to get their nests ready as we are hoping soon to get eggs-maybe by the end of next month. We just barely got finished before it started to sprinkle rain. I think though it has already stopped. What we need is a good steady rain but I know many blogger friends who are in severe drought conditions.

Our chicken yesterday evening was delicious. I will definitely be making it again. I was thinking that the spice mixture would be good on pork or beef as well. I took the chicken off the bone and put the bones and skin back in the pot with the broth that had cooked out of the chicken. I then added water -enough to fill up the crock pot. Then I turned it on low and this morning I will be freezing delicious homemade chicken broth for soups and such. YUM!

I better get busy. I want to make some hamburger buns for supper this evening. We will be having pork bbq, fries, corn on the cob and cantelope for dessert. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 23, 2011 5

Little Okie

Here’s a picture of the little kitten the girls have decided to give lots of love to. He is the runt of the liter. His mother is one of the wild cats that stay here but he is anything but wild. He is definitely a people kitty. He loves being where we are and will come running when they call his name. His mother’s name is Mexico so they decided to call him Oklahoma-Okie for short. We have been feeding him special food hoping he will catch up to his brothers and sisters.

I have a whole chicken in the crock pot for supper. I tried a new recipe that I found online. This is the first time I’ve tried it so I’ll have to let you know if we like it but it smells delicious. I think I have mentioned before I want to try out new crock pot recipes more this summer. Hopefully, it will mean easier for me and less heat in the kitchen. Along with the chicken we will be having stir fry veggies-fresh from our garden. Squash, zucchini, green onions and peas. YUM!! The recipe is as follows.

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup chopped onion

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the spices.
Remove any giblets from chicken and clean chicken.
Rub spice mixture onto the chicken.
When ready to cook, put chopped onion in bottom of crock pot.
Add chicken. No liquid is needed, the chicken will make it’s own juices.
Cook on low 4-8 hours.

Today is a beautiful day here in Floyd. Temperature is about 72 degrees right now. We have a strong breeze and the sun is shining. We got a little rain last night which our plants really appreciated. I have clothes to hang on the line. My girls are doing school on the front porch. My Hubby is at work and our supper is cooking in the crockpot. God is SO good. I am indeed a truly blessed woman.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 22, 2011 2

Our First Harvest

We are starting to enjoy the fruit of our labor. I know its a small amount but the first is always the best. We love it when the garden starts coming in.

Yesterday we went over to the Horn’s. Vicki put some of my old schoolbooks on ebay for me. I have never sold anything on ebay. They only allowed us to put 10 items. Hopefully, they will sell and then we will put more. We’ll see. Anyway, thanks again Vicki, for helping me. The girls had a great time playing as usual. Vicki showed me some pictures of projects she wants to do this summer. It was a really good visit. After that we had piano lessons. While the girls did their lessons, I did some grocery shopping. We were out of chick feed so I picked some up. They are starting on the layer crumbles now. Hopefully, soon, we will be gathering eggs. So exciting.

I better get busy. Clothes to hang on the line (as usual). Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 21, 2011 4

Raspberries

Our raspberries are getting ripe! YUMMY!!!! Black raspberries are one of my favorite fruits. We have a few vines we have been working on getting established and it looks like this year we might get enough to make a cobbler at least. (if we can keep the birds out of them)

Yesterday was a nice day. We came back from church and cooked steak on the grill in honor of Dad’s day. Steak on the grill is Hubby’s favorite meal. We had fries with it, rolls and ice cream for dessert. Our pastor’s sermon was very good. It was of course directed mostly to the men in the church. He preached on Ezekiel 22:30. The verse says “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land but I found none.” He challenged our men to be the one that could stand in the gap. It was a very powerful message.

Temperature here this morning is wonderful. Low 60’s with a pretty strong wind. Great for drying clothes. I have one load ready to hang out and several more to go. The girls and I have many errands to run today plus piano lessons. I guess I better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 20, 2011 5

Update on Sell

Hello ladies. I thought I would give you all a quick update on how things went today. Not near as good as I hoped but I know it could have been worse. I sold $22.50. The rolls were the big hit. I sold all of them and 1 bag of laundry soap. No dishcloths sold or aprons. Well, at least I know now what to take next time. My friend told me I could set up anytime. So I think next time I’ll make rolls and cinnamon rolls. Anyway, I’m $22.50 richer than I was this morning and it really was a good day. I got to visit with my friend and her family and meet lots of diffferent people. I definitely will do it again, maybe even next week.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

June 18, 2011 3

I’m Going Selling

You all will never guess what happened yesterday. I took the apron in to my friend, Retia Meade. She owns The Book End, a local Christian book store. She is the one who will be selling some of my stuff. Anyway, tomorrow is a big day here in Floyd (I can’t remember what they call it exactly) but it is a festival of sorts. She told me I could bring my goods in and set up a table in her store to sell. AT NO CHARGE!!!!! So I have been busy all day getting things made and priced and ready to go. I have 17 bags of laundry soap, 10 dischloths, 1 set of cotton napkins, 2 aprons and 6 pans of homemade rolls. Pray for me, ladies. This is such a blessed opportunity. My thanks to Retia for this gift.

Well, that’s all for today. I have much still to get done. I’ll let you all know how (or if) everything sells. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 17, 2011 5

New Apron

This is a picture of the latest apron I made. Remember last week, I told you all I was taking the laundry soap and some dishcloths to a local store. Well, she wanted them to sell and she said she would try to sell my aprons as well. I hope to take her this one tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be a blesssing if some of my homemade stuff starting selling? I hope to use the money I make from selling my stuff to purchase school books for next year.

Today we are having a new soup recipe I got from a blogger friend, who got it from another blog. I altered the recipe a little to better fit what I had on hand. The recipe is

Super Easy Crockpot Hamburger Veggie Soup

1lb hamburger (I used london broil leftover from the other night chopped into small pieces)
1 onion, chopped and 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 can green beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
1 T chicken or beef broth powder
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 can organic cream of mushroom soup (a brand such as Amys, found in health food stores)
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and onions until meat is no longer pink and onions are soft. Add to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients, stir. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve with some hot homemade dinner rolls for a great meal. I am hoping to do lots more crockpot meals. The crockpot doesn’t heat up the house like using the stove does and it is easy (I think).

When I started making this soup, I realized I did not have any cream of mushroom soup. I went on line and found this easy recipe to make my own. I found it at CheapCooking.com The recipe is:

Make your Own “Cream of …” Soup

Whether you want to control the chemicals or the fat, making your own white sauce and flavoring it is cheaper and better for you than those canned cream of whatever soups.

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup milk

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour over it and stir to incorporate. Cook over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the milk.

Cream of chicken

If you want to make a cream of chicken flavored sauce, use half broth and half milk. If you have troubles getting this to be smooth, try heating the milk or broth before adding to the flour and butter. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat, barely simmering, for a few minutes until thick.

Cheese sauce

To make a cheese sauce, add grated cheese and stir until melted.

Cream of celery or mushroom

To make a cream of some vegetable soup, saute 1/4 cup or so finely chopped celery, mushrooms, or onion in the butter before adding the flour and use half broth and half milk.

I am making cinnamon rolls for dessert so I guess I better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 16, 2011 5

Sunset

Monday evening Julie and I were outside letting the chicks run free for a while and this is what we saw. God is so good to show us glimpses of His glory.

Sorry I did not make a post yesterday. As you know we went down to Jessica’s on Monday for her ultrasound appointment. Well, this baby did not cooperate. He or she decided no one was going to look that day. All kinds of movement but legs crossed. They told her they would do one more a little later on. I guess this is a shy one or stubborn-not sure which.

Yesterday the girls and I went with Hubby to help him work. He is doing the sheetrock on a remodeling job. He can do it all by himself except hang ceilings. That is just too hard to do alone. The house is in a beautiful location. If we go back with him another day, I’ll try to remember to take the camera so you all can see some pictures of it.

Today we’ll work on catching up here at home. How can a house get so dirty when no one is home? This morning was very chilly here-42 degrees when we got up this morning. Yesterday was really nice. Hubby’s van tells the outside temperature and it was 70 degrees when we left the job site yesterday around 3:00.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 15, 2011 3

Flowers

Here are a few pictures of some flowers that are blooming around our house now. I am pretty sure these are called violas. I so enjoy their tiny bright blooms. So cheerful. Purple and yellow are my favorite color combinations for flowers.

Yesterday, we made strawberry rhubarb jam. I had enough rhubarb to make a rhubard pie as well. The recipe I use is :

1 cup rhubard- finely chopped, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 tbsp cornstarch and 2 eggs well beaten. Combine all ingredients and pour into 1 unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees until done. It takes about 45 min in my oven. I have made this pie for about 25 years. It is a family favorite.

Today was friends day at church. We had a great day. Probably about 70 people in total. Our numbers usually run in the 40’s. We had some really good music, a good sermon from our pastor and a great fellowship meal afterward because you all know how much we like to eat. I took pinto beans, green onions and a peach sauce pie. We won’t be having evening bible study tonight so we plan on just relaxing this evening. The girls and I will be traveling down to Jessica’s tomorrow to watch the boys. She will be having an ultra sound tomorrow to (maybe) discover if she will be having a boy or girl. This all depends upon the baby’s cooperation of course.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 12, 2011 5