At Home on this Mountain
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Weekly menu
Posted in EatingI know, the week is nearly over now but I need to jog my memory about what I have already served this week and get my head straight about what to cook over the busy weekend. I will not eat out and bust the budget. I will not eat out and bust the budget.
Monday
B- raisin bran
L-
D- out (Home Cooking Restaurant- funny, no?)
Tuesday
B- apple french toast
L- ramen, cheese, crackers, apple slices
D- garlic beef enchiladas, carrot sticks
Wednesday
B- fried eggs, apple toast
L- wraps, chips
D- skillet chicken teriyaki, brown rice, ginger glazed carrots
Thursday
B- 5 grain crockpot cereal
L- macaroni and cheese
D- corned beef hash, corn
Friday (must bake bread!)
B- pancakes
L- sammies
D- cornish pasties
Saturday
B- 5 grain cereal
L- egg salad or peanut butter pitas on the fly
D- crockpot chili, crackers, cheese, apples
Sunday
B- pancakes and bacon
L- pita pizzas, carrots
D- chili dogs, carrot sticks
I'll try to fill in the rest once I get it figured out. Friday is going to be a busy cooking day- bread, soaking beans, frying bacon for Sunday am. soaking cereal. Good thing I typed it all out- now I won't forget :D
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Thursday, October 2, 2008
Go check it out
Mennobrarian is having a giveaway at her blog. Here's the link directly to the giveaway post:
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/mennobrarian/111957/
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Thursday, October 2, 2008
Food Links
Posted in RamblingI am not going to put up a whole long post this morning but thought I'd share a couple of excellent food blogs that I have been frequenting of late. Then y'all can share in the tasty goodness.
First off, we had this for breakfast this morning and everyone enjoyed it. It does require a bit of advanced planning but then it's all hands off and just enjoy it in the morning when your brain is perhaps not at its best. Kimi's blog is great and full of practical ideas and recipes for getting nourishing food into your diet on a regular basis.
Then there's this scrumptious little number, which I made last night. Honey and I ate two each, in the name of not dirtying a plate and fork for just one little lemon bar. That would be wasteful. I haven't checked out the rest of that blog yet but the recipe was too good not to share. The only change I made was the type of oil used in the crust. I don't use canola oil so I used olive oil but in the future will probably go with melted butter.
Finally, I have been greatly benefited from this gem: Crunchy Procrastinating Perfectionist Keep going through her pages further back. The front page is full of recipes today but there's much more than recipes here! I can't wait to serve up her teriyaki salmon cakes since teriyaki and salmon are two of this family's favorite words. Also check out her weekly menu plans (for all 3 meals!) and stay tuned for a 3 week newborn-baby-in-the-house menu plan. I hope we'll need that at some point in the future.
And now I am off to put together the last of my quilt blocks for the swap over at Teresa's place. Ok, who am I kidding? I am off to make all of the quilt blocks. But I do have the fabrics all picked out. They're not ironed or anything but they're all on the cutting table. That's a start, right? I have the added advantage of living less than 5 miles from Teresa and Chas :D
Once the quilt blocks are done I get to move on to the project I am really looking forward to- cleaning out the big shed. I know that sounds crazy but I am really itching to get that thing straightened up. I think it's because of all the work I did yesterday in front of the house- like the FlyLady's shiny sink theory, now I want the whole outside to sparkle like those mums and that pumpkin :D
Have a blessed day!!
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
A few things
Posted in BeingThere's not a lot going on here but somehow we're staying busy as all get-out. Fall is my favorite time of year (I have been reading that a LOT lately) I think mostly for me it's because of the weather. I do NOT love hot weather. Spring is nice but the warming days are a hint of the serious heat to come and I can never quite forget that, even while enjoying the 60 degree days in April.
TH is still hard at work selling popcorn for his Cub Scout pack and Honey is the Popcorn Kernel so that's a good bit of work for him (and me) but TH is really enjoying it and likes the idea of achieving his sales goal so he can earn a bow and arrows- yikes! Even in spite of the tightening of belts, people still seem to have a little extra to give to the Scouts. This is our only fundraiser for the year so we have to go all-out and really get things done.
Other than Scout night, when we go to Big City for the bulk of the afternoon and evening, I have been trying to stay home during the week. Gas is getting higher all the time and I'm always wondering when we might not be able to get any at all. As far out as we live from everything, we try to keep tanked up all the time, in case of emergency.
Another reason I love Fall is because all my favorite TV shows are on and new again. Shallow, yes. Ashamed, no! I love The Office, 30 Rock, Eureka (which started up again back in July) and Doctor Who (who will not be having a new episode until Christmas- boohoohoo! so I'll have to occupy myself with memorizing the first three series on DVD :D)
I am also all geared up to craft for Christmas. I am working harder than ever to simplify our Christmas budget. I have just about finished shopping for my children and they're the primary people I buy anything for. I am hoping to make something for just about everyone else on our list. I am also hoping to give handmade ornaments to more loved ones than ever. I have a good start but I may have to switch gears soon so I don't get bored with one project. I have something planned for my folks as well that I am excited to get started on.
I am not normally a big one for doing seasonal decorations. I still have my Springtime wreath on the front door (my sister made it for me and it's so pretty but I doubt anyone sees it any more, it's been there for so long) My best friend always has such wonderful decorations for every single season that I have been inspired to do a little to spruce up my house for Fall. It also helps that she made me this awesome pumpkin patch!
She said her kids like for there to be one pumpkin for each member of the family but she made mine a little bigger in the hopes that we might take the hint. There are 9 pumpkins there (for those who can't count) so I am guessing she's praying for triplets for the M Clan. If you want some of your own (pumpkins, not babies!) be sure to head on over to her blog and then click on her Etsy shop. She has all kinds of hand-crafted goodness to Autumn-up (autumnate? autumnize?) your home, shoulder or baby.
Lessons have been going well for us. We just finished reading The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley and started Heidi by Johanna Spyri today. That was a favorite of mine growing up so I am hoping they'll enjoy it. I scored The Hobbit unabridged on CD for $10 a couple weeks ago and we've been listening to that in the van. TH and I are also about halfway through My Side of the Mountain. All of that probably belongs on my homeschool blog but I am too busy to put it there.
Oh, I also spent my whole allowance on potted mums this morning. I really wanted something to pretty-up a sort-of flower bed in front of the house. We spread some straw on the ground, put a big pumpkin one corner and then tried in vain to find something in the woods to fill in the considerable empty spots. The mums (4 different colors!) fit the bill nicely. They're almost too big for the area and I really want to move one of them somewhere else but the kids won't hear of it. I'll do it in a day or two and they'll never notice.
I'd put some more photos up but I have forgotten my Photobucket password and don't have enough room here to put more than one. So the pumpkins are all you're going to get. I know you're all massively depressed that you don't get to see any more of my poo-tastic photography skills but you'll live.
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Friday, September 19, 2008
Blechies
Posted in BeingEveryone has been sick at least one day this week. It's been tons of fun. It started out last weekwith what I thought was an allergy attack. Baby developed the same symptoms the next day (Wednesday, I think). I came out with a monstrous headache on Friday that wasn't completely knocked out by 2 extra strength Tylenol (a rarity) and that persisted through most of Saturday. On Monday I was stuffy-nosed and sneezing again, then TH got a headache and wanted nothing more than to lie in Daddy's big chair all day Tuesday. By yesterday evening everyone had either vomited or felt on the verge at least 3 times :|
Today everyone is on the mend, I think. We've gotten almost no lessons done this week and we missed out several days last week so we're going to skip our next "off" week and work through that to keep up with our plans. That's the nice thing about this schedule, we don't have to wait until Christmas break or summertime to make up missed work.
Today will be spent burning paper trash that has nearly taken over its corner of the kitchen/living room entryway. I will also open up as many windows as can be persuaded to do so (we mostly have jalousie-style ones that don't care for any position except 1/4" open) and light a pear-scented candle or two to get the stink out. Everything feels very stuffy right now. I can't actually smell anything but I think that's because I am too used to it. I have done lots of laundry the past few days but the loads have been crazy ones- a sheet, pillowcase, 3 bath towels, and one complete outfit has been the usual. So we're a little low on some things. I'd also like to hang some pillows on the clothesline.
I had a recipe to share but thinking about it right now still makes me feel kind of sicky, so I will save that for later. I think we'll have a smoothie for lunch. We had popcorn for supper last night. I think I need to make some chicken stock too and get our bodies back up to snuff. I wish I could figure out a way to get apple cide vinegar into my children. I actually like it will a little honey or agave and water but I don't think I could get it into them that way. I can just make them take most things (like CLO) but ACV is a tough one. Any ideas?
Oh, one more thing. My husband suffers from migraine headaches; has done since he was a child. Lately he's been reading about Paul and his "thorn" and how he praised God for his suffering, not just in spite of it. So he has been trying that out- praising God for his migraines, and his whole outlook about them has changed. It's been pretty revolutionary. I decided to give it a try while we were sick, specifically while I was feeling so miserable. It didn't make it go away but it did give me the strength to stop sniping at my children and gather them up, explain to them how awful I was feeling and how much I needed their help getting things done and give them some love. So, praise the Lord for that. And today we're all mostly feeling better, so praise Him for that too!! Oh, and after my little pep talk we managed to get all of the laundry folded, hung up and put away, as well as several more loads swapped around in the machines, all while I sat on the floor directing traffic!
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Friday, September 5, 2008
Family Reunion and a recipe
Posted in EatingWe spent Labor Day at my Grandpa and Grandma's house this year. Well, my folks have their RV parked on the G's property so we were at their house too! Anyway, it was something of a reunion since my dad's whole family was there except his sister's family and *my* sister's family (but they're moving to the same town as the folks, as I type!) It's always fun to see the cousins (especially since 3 of the kids there weren't born the last time we were all together. Here's a picture of us:
In the back row, from the left, we have my dad's younger brother (who is the same age as my husband), then my dad in the brown shirt with the gray hair and goatee, my dad's identical twin (holding the black dog), my brother, my husband and my grandpa. In the middle row we have my youngest cousin, his mom (holding him), his older brother (in the white shirt), my Aunt M. (married to Dad's twin), my mom, me, RK and my grandma. And in the front, the daughter of Dad's younger brother, TH, AC in front of my mom and MJ. Oh and in the very front is Jose, my mom's Chihuahua.
I had a giggle at the picture since my dad is standing behind my aunt and his brother is standing behind my mom. It's not the first time they've gotten briefly confused. This time it was because Dad was setting camera and timer so he had to run and get in the picture wherever he could find a spot.
And here's a scrumdiddlyumptious recipe that Aunty M. made for us on Monday. It was easy peasy and everyone loved it, even the kids!
1 big can black beans (about 3-4 cups if you're using homemade), drained and rinsed
2 normal sized cans Rotel tomatoes with green chiles (I think I will try it with some salsa when I make it)
2- 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
Combine everything in a large bowl. Serve with tortilla or corn chips. That's it! So yummy too!! And pretty easy to make some NT style changes for an even healthier treat. My favorite!
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Thursday, September 4, 2008
Put THIS on your blog, Mom!!
I went outside this morning to put some clothes on the line (mostly new fall things for the girls, from the thrift store that is closing out its clothing section and has everything half off)
and my children said, "Come look at our tent, Mom!!" "I built it all myself!" "I couldn't have made such an awesome tent if I was an only child; I'm so glad I have a brother and sisters!!" Those were all from the same child, by the way, and he saw no contradiction in any of those remarks, so I chose not to as well.
They asked if I would put the tent on my blog and when I said I would (as soon as the laundry was hung out) they proceeded to ask if I would put "this! and this! and this!" on my blog as well.
and one more shot, of the back of the tent:
All the materials for the tent were found around the yard (even the blue and white striped sheet- yes our yard is a mess, why do you ask?) and I was not enlisted to help in any way. Pretty good work, I say.
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Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Always running
Posted in ReadingAnd so far not running behind. Our first week of lessons for the year was a great success. The fact that my oldest is now required to be getting an "education" and spend 4 hours a day doing something "educational" has been a great motivator for me. In the past we've done lessons 5 days in a row, maybe 4 times. That's over the course of 2 years. We had no problems last week squeezing in 3-4 hours of read alouds, math worksheets and Explode the Code. Yesterday we started Cub Scouts but we still managed to get our time in beforehand and we didn't even have to have dinner at a restaurant- TH and I packed a picnic supper to eat in the parking lot and Daddy LOVED it. It was pretty tasty, if I say so myself.
Speaking of Cub Scouts, we belong to a great pack of all homeschooling families. It is so nice to spend a little time with other families who are doing the same "crazy" things we are and see how their kids are just as goofy and normal as ours are. Honey is the head of the popcorn fundraiser this year and seems to be enjoying his new role. Our den leader from last year mentioned that his wife does lessons for 3 weeks and then takes 1 week off, all year round. For some reason this had never occured to me, I think because I thought I would want a long break in the summer time. Then I realized that I HATED summer break in school and was always bored after 2 weeks. Also, spending 4 hours a day reading aloud and teaching phonics and penmanship doesn't leave a lot of time for big projects like sewing Christmas dresses, piecing quilts, balancing the checkbook or canning up gallons of chicken stock. I think having 1 week off out of every 4 will be a great set-up for our family. The boys are already counting the days until their "vacation." Hopefully they realize that we're not actually going anywhere :D
Additionally, 3 on/1 off gives us 195 days of lessons per year. We're only required to have 174 in this state so we'll have 4 extra weeks to play with, maybe taking 2 weeks at Christmas and 2 at Easter and an extra in the summer at some point. We'll see how it goes. What I don't want to do is waste those extra days here and there when we don't feel like doing lessons one day in the middle of the week. That is a VERY SLIPPERY SLOPE for me. I can't even get near the edge.
Does anyone know of a good source for books on CD? I have found these to be SO helpful in getting our daily dose of literature (or just-for-fun reads too) but our library's collection is pitiful! My goal is to spend at least 2 hours per day reading aloud but that is a strain on my vocal chords, especially during allergy season (which is pretty much year round for me) I plan to buy The Chronicles of Narnia on CD for the family for Christmas but we just finished reading/listening to those a few weeks ago and Christmas is a long way off. So where can I find more? I guess I need to start checking out the discount and used bookstores that I see from time to time and have the grandparents keep their eyes peeled as well.
Now it's time for lunch and I still haven't emptied the dishwasher or cleaned up the breakfast dishes (though they're in the kitchen instead of the dining room- that's a start!) So it's off the computer for Mom and into the kitchen. I'll be back again soon!!
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
First Birthday Cupcakes
Posted in EatingHere is the promised recipe for RK's birthday dessert. These would make very nice muffins for breakfast and we (almost) all enjoyed them as cupcakes too.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees (you'll turn it down later).
Combine in a medium bowl and mix well with a wire wisk:
2 cups flour (I used AP this time but would normally use whole wheat pastry)
1/2 tsp baking powder (I will increase this to 1/2 T when making with WW flour)
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
In a large bowl combine (stirring well to thoroughly combine wet ingredients):
3 eggs
3/4 cup agave nectar
10 T liquid fat (EVOO or VCO or melted and cooled butter)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups grated carrots
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold gently until just moistened throughout. Pour into greased or paper-lined cupcake tins. I used a 12-cupper and filled them 3/4 full so they would have a nice crown. They turned out lovely that way!
Put the tins in the oven and immediately turn down to 400 degrees. Bake for abotu 20 minutes.
For cupcakes I mixed together a couple ounces of cream cheese and a little agave nectar (maybe 2 tsp?) and a splash of vanilla. I think I added a little milk too but then had to add a little powdered sugar to thicken it all up again. It was a very soft spreadable type icing and quite yummy. Experiment with that and see if you don't end up as happy as this:
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Monday, August 11, 2008
Sand Mountain Academy post up!!
We started our "school year" today so be sure to head over to our other blog http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SandMountainAcademy and see what we're up to!!
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Monday, August 11, 2008
Menu Plan Monday August 11-17, 2008
Posted in EatingMonday- chili dogs, coleslaw, oven fries
Tuesday- cabbage rolls, fried okra, bread
Wednesday- enchiladas, Mexican rice, salad
Thursday- leftovers or sammies
Friday- pancakes, bacon, eggs
Saturday- taco salad
Sunday- spaghetti carbonara, salad, bread
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Friday, August 1, 2008
All sorts of things
Posted in Beingoh ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH! That's my best Charlie Brown impersonation. And it's all because I was just about finished with my oh-so-lengthy blog post when I clicked a bookmark on my browser window toolbar and navigated away from this page and LOST IT!! Oh boo-hoo-hooooooooooo!
Enough wailing and gnashing of teeth- I'll try to recall most of it because it was good, oh yes, GOOD stuff.
It's been a pleasantly busy week or two. We celebrated our 8th anniversary on the 22nd, my first nephew was born on the 25th (which is not to discount the value of my husband's nephews, whom I very much claim as my own, having known them since the older one was 7 months old) his sister turned 3 on the 30th and my own sweet baby RK turned the big 0-1 on the 28th (oh, and my dad turned 45 too :D) Here's a photo of my birthday girl, after enjoying her first ever "cupcake"- she's my first baby to get a personal cake on her first birthday, but these were such pleasant and not oeverly sweet cupcakes that I didn't mind (and I may have mellowed a bit since that first hyper-attended baby):
(please excuse the slightly pinkish eyes- I forgot to doctor that up before uploading and I am trying to keep the above pictured baby from eating a pair of fingernail clippers) That's her new outfit (one of them) from Great Grandma and Grandpa. It is very cute with a little pair of snug-fitting capri pants (a good trick to get anything to fit snugly on my skinny baby but they do.)
Baby RK also took her FIRST STEPS on her birthday!! It was just about 2 steps and she hasn't repeated the trick but that makes her my earliest walker ever. The others have all been at lest 13 months. Her favorite trick at the moment is standing up on her own and her sibling never tire of screaming in glee and excitement "LOOK AT BABY! SHE'S STANDING UUUUUUUUUP!" It is pretty exciting.
My weather widget tells me that it's supposed to be sunny and clear with a high of 94 and since my laundry is threatening to overtake the entire house if I don't start washing it and pegging it out on the line, I think it's time to make breakfast and get to work. My bad toe has been injured again and it's killing me but I am going to limp around the back yard anyway and get it done. I've already used the dryer 4 times this week and that's killing me even worse than the toe, so there ya go.
I have some sewing pics to share and will have more this afternoon after I make cloth diapers for a certain drinking and wetting baby doll. I will also try to post the recipe for Baby's birthday cupcakes. They're actually muffins with a bit of icing on top and not too terribly unhealthy. Now it's time to put the computer to sleep. Goodbye!!
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Menu Plan Mon-Tuesday July 21-27
Posted in EatingI haven't been planning my menus much lately, on paper/screen anyway. I've just had a general idea of what I want to use up, what I bought at the farmers market and what everyone has been asking for. I've been playing it pretty much by ear. I thought this would be a good week to try a bit of advance planning though. So here goes:
Monday
breakfast- waffles
lunch- leftover baked pasta, garlic bread
dinner- corned beef hash, fresh corn on the cob (garden), sliced roma tomatoes (garden)
Tuesday (must go to bank and grocery for a few odds and ends; soak pintos for tomorrow's dinner)
breakfast- oatmeal
lunch- Pippi's
dinner- It's our 8th anniversary so I'll give the kids some mac and cheese and put them to bed early, then serve my love a nice grass-fed sirloin steak, more corn from the garden, tomatoes and maybe some boiled red potatoes. I need to think up something for a dessert as well.
Wednesday (put pintos in crockpot in the morning)
breakfast- corned beef hash with scrambled eggs
lunch- leftover Chinese from Sunday, pbj pitas for those who wish
dinner- tacos, refried beans, Mexican rice
Thursday (bake pita in morning)
breakfast- scrambled egg pitas
lunch- egg salad pita sandwiches, pretzel sticks
dinner- burritos with Wednesday's leftovers (probably in pitas because I will be low on tortillas from tacos)
Friday
breakfast- baked oatmeal
lunch- leftover burritos
dinner- Chili's downtown before the ball game (hopefully with my parents)
Saturday (pull chicken to thaw for Sunday dinner)
breakfast- blueberry coffeecake, fried eggs
lunch- grilled cheese, tomato soup
dinner- Alton Brown's french toast, bacon
Sunday
breakfast- omelets, biscuits
lunch- something on the run; we'll hit the farmers market after church
dinner- chicken cacciatore, fresh veggies, polenta
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
SWD #2
Posted in Being
Outside my window...
the scent of wood burning into charcoal in a can in the side yard. My husband and oldest son working hard to clear the space for our new "firehouse"- the home for his blacksmithing forge and my outdoor earth oven. I'll definitely be posting photos when the time comes for that.
I am thinking...
about getting dressed at some point today. I don't want to rush things though- it's only 3:10 in the afternoon.
I am thankful for...
three-day weekends! It's like getting an extra Saturday. All day yesterday, Honey and I kept thinking it was Saturday and then remembering that it was only Friday; it was great and worth the day of lost pay (as long as it doesn't happen every week :D)
From the kitchen...
wafts the savory aroma of GARLIC- three head of it, to be precise, in the buttermilk brine for my fried chicken. I am testing out a recipe from Cook's Illustrated's American Classics cookbook, a thrift store find from week before last. $2.99 is often more than I want to spend on a used book and if I had noticed the cigarette smoke smell in the pages of this one I probably would have passed it up. I'm glad I didn't now because I don't notice the smell any more and it's a great book. I think I'm going to try the thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe next. I also have peach puree in the fridge and freezer that needs turning into more jam. Not my favorite chore but a satisfying one nonetheless.
In the sewing room...
that baby quilt is still waiting to be basted. I bought one of those new-fangled basting guns at Walmart recently, the kind that insert those little red plastic hang tag thingies into the quilt sandwich. I have to test it still to see if it will make holes or if I can use it. That must get done this week- baby is due on 7/11 and lives 3000 miles away.
I am reading...
Clifton Fadiman this week. Also several volumes on keeping goats, Max and Ruby books, a new-to-me Annie Dillard (we go way back to my high school AP English days) at a leisurely pace, Jeremiah. I always have time for reading- it's not optional. Oh, and Woe is I - brushing up on the grammar I never learned in that AP English class, or any of my other English classes. Blasted school systems anyway.
I am hearing...
the dulcet tones of Coldplay's X&Y album (yes, I still call them "albums") Coming up next on the ole iPod is Death Cab for Cutie's Marching Bands of Manhatten. Man, I love my iPod. Who ever said that was a frivolous gift?? Not me!
Around the house...
the laundry is ganging up on me. I really need to get it under control. I might have to resort to the dryer since my forecast shows a cloud with a nasty lightning bolt for each of the next 3 days.
I am looking forward to...
cooking in my earth oven. It's so hot in the summertime here and I have been really good about keeping the AC off for most of the warm weather so far this year. If I could keep the cooking heat outside with the rest of the heat, I might be able to keep our power bill under control. Despite a rising price per kilowatt in the past few months, I have actually kept the bill BELOW our budget amount.
One of my favorite things...
is folding dish towels, napkins and cleaning cloths. Those are my favorite loads to deal wtih, I think because they stack up so nicely into just a few piles and they all get put away in the same spot. No running hither and yon around the house to put away one measly load.
A picture thought to share...
Don't forget to head on over to Peggy's blog and read all the other Simple Woman's Daybook entries. Maybe you can make one of your own!!
the scent of wood burning into charcoal in a can in the side yard. My husband and oldest son working hard to clear the space for our new "firehouse"- the home for his blacksmithing forge and my outdoor earth oven. I'll definitely be posting photos when the time comes for that.
I am thinking...
about getting dressed at some point today. I don't want to rush things though- it's only 3:10 in the afternoon.
I am thankful for...
three-day weekends! It's like getting an extra Saturday. All day yesterday, Honey and I kept thinking it was Saturday and then remembering that it was only Friday; it was great and worth the day of lost pay (as long as it doesn't happen every week :D)
From the kitchen...
wafts the savory aroma of GARLIC- three head of it, to be precise, in the buttermilk brine for my fried chicken. I am testing out a recipe from Cook's Illustrated's American Classics cookbook, a thrift store find from week before last. $2.99 is often more than I want to spend on a used book and if I had noticed the cigarette smoke smell in the pages of this one I probably would have passed it up. I'm glad I didn't now because I don't notice the smell any more and it's a great book. I think I'm going to try the thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe next. I also have peach puree in the fridge and freezer that needs turning into more jam. Not my favorite chore but a satisfying one nonetheless.
In the sewing room...
that baby quilt is still waiting to be basted. I bought one of those new-fangled basting guns at Walmart recently, the kind that insert those little red plastic hang tag thingies into the quilt sandwich. I have to test it still to see if it will make holes or if I can use it. That must get done this week- baby is due on 7/11 and lives 3000 miles away.
I am reading...
Clifton Fadiman this week. Also several volumes on keeping goats, Max and Ruby books, a new-to-me Annie Dillard (we go way back to my high school AP English days) at a leisurely pace, Jeremiah. I always have time for reading- it's not optional. Oh, and Woe is I - brushing up on the grammar I never learned in that AP English class, or any of my other English classes. Blasted school systems anyway.
I am hearing...
the dulcet tones of Coldplay's X&Y album (yes, I still call them "albums") Coming up next on the ole iPod is Death Cab for Cutie's Marching Bands of Manhatten. Man, I love my iPod. Who ever said that was a frivolous gift?? Not me!
Around the house...
the laundry is ganging up on me. I really need to get it under control. I might have to resort to the dryer since my forecast shows a cloud with a nasty lightning bolt for each of the next 3 days.
I am looking forward to...
cooking in my earth oven. It's so hot in the summertime here and I have been really good about keeping the AC off for most of the warm weather so far this year. If I could keep the cooking heat outside with the rest of the heat, I might be able to keep our power bill under control. Despite a rising price per kilowatt in the past few months, I have actually kept the bill BELOW our budget amount.
One of my favorite things...
is folding dish towels, napkins and cleaning cloths. Those are my favorite loads to deal wtih, I think because they stack up so nicely into just a few piles and they all get put away in the same spot. No running hither and yon around the house to put away one measly load.
A picture thought to share...
Don't forget to head on over to Peggy's blog and read all the other Simple Woman's Daybook entries. Maybe you can make one of your own!!
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Friday, July 4, 2008
Hair of the Week
Posted in BeingInspired by She Does Hair (thanks Chas, for sending me there!) I have been fixing up my girls' hair every single day this week! I didn't think Baby Girl even had enough hair to fix up, but I've been pleasantly surprised by what I can do there. It's still pretty limited, but in 6 months we should be doing quite a bit. And she is SO GOOD about leaving it alone once it's done. She hasn't removed a single band, bow or clippy yet.
I have taken photos of them every day, mostly for my own reference, but I want to share one from each of them this week. I am going to restrict myself to just one per girl, otherwise we could end up with an all hair blog really quickly. So here are my favorites from this week:
I had two different women comment on how much hair Baby has while she had it like this:
And this is Big Girl's 'do for today. Each of the 4 small ponies is done in a flip through/knot/bug and then another one for the full pony at the bottom. I also broke down and trimmed a full inch off of her bangs. We'll just wait until she's older to grow them long. Or maybe she'll always wear them.
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Friday, June 27, 2008
Simple Woman's Daybook
Posted in Being
Outside my window...
the magnolias have been blooming for over 2 weeks now and I have been in the throes of a particularly heinous allergy attack for about 2 weeks; ya think there's any correlation? It's cool out there, for now, and the sun is shining (again, for now) It makes me want to go work in the garden.
I am thinking...
about writing, of all things. I have always been more of a reader than a writer. I think I have addressed that here before. Lately I have been reading essays, which I never realized existed as a genre, outside of high school English classes, and I am really intrigued by them. I think I would like to try my hand at writing something other than a grocery list or an inane blog post. We'll see.
I am also thinking about how much time I spend on the computer and how it affects the way I spend the rest of my time. There is much to be found online that is lovely and good, and I enjoy the time spent being inspired and refreshed by other homemakers and their endeavors. But I also can relate to what's being discussed in this blog post and I don't want to fall prey to that. So I have taken my nightly computer shut down one step further (the lady at Apple Care told me a few months ago that turning my computer off at night, rather than putting it to sleep, would help keep it in tip-top shape, and it has!) and actually started shutting it down during the day. Granted, it only takes 2 minutes to boot it all up, but that's about 1 minute and 55 seconds longer than waking it up, and sometimes that's all my laziness needs to just go do something else.
I am thankful...
for interlibrary loan. A little prosaic, I know, but I really am. I borrow so many books this way and even when I don't get them read through, I can get a feel for whether it's a book I'd like to buy and I get to know the author's name and the physical feel of the book. Then when I am browsing through piles at thrift stores I am more likely to notice that book and buy it, if our visit together was a positive one.
In the sewing room...
more peace than in the whole rest of the house combined. My decluttering efforts have been especially strong there and it shows. Now I can go in and immediately start accomplishing things instead of spending half an hour clearing a space in which to work. So this week I made a quilt top for my sister's soon-to-arrive baby boy. I am really pleased with it and today I will get it basted together and maybe start quilting. I have several other projects in the planning stages, so I have lots to choose from once this has been finished.
From the kitchen...
wafts the scent of nearly overripe peaches. I am making more jam today. I even bought new jars yesterday since last weekend I had to empty out 4 jars of last year's apple butter to make room for peach-strawberry jam. Not coincidentally, I also have nearly 4 laoves of apple butter bread in the freezer.
I am wearing...
a gianormous gray tee-shirt nighty, covered in ice skating penguins, which belonged to my Grandma Joyce who passed away more than 5 years ago. I wore it a lot during my last pregnancy and I unearthed it yesterday in one of my decluttering forays.
I am reading...
Anne Fadiman's At Large and at Small, Job, Acts, The Last Battle (aloud with kids) and several goat care books
I am hoping...
that I can withstand the heat today and leave the AC off. Not likely with jam-making in the works, but a girl can dream, no?
I am hearing...
the 3 rooster-boys are crowing for all they're worth, letting the other neighborhood roosters know they're back here and they're not taking any bull. Also Pokemon on the tv. Early mornings are tv time here. It helps me to distract the children while I drink my coffee and wake up a bit, so that I am less grouchy once we turn it off. 15 more minutes until that happens.
One of my favorite things...
is hearing my husband drive up and sneaking outside before anyone else realizes he is here, so that I can get a kiss before anyone else.
A few plans for the rest of the week...
include killing the last 25 chickens tomorrow and going to church on Sunday. We will probably go to the Farmer's Market after church; I think I'll pack a picnic lunch to eat in the car on the way to that. I've been saving up our "eating out" money each week to go to the drive-in when something we want to see is playing. Eating out money because the drive-in has the best junk food in 3 states. Even though they're an hour behind us, we wait until we get there to eat supper (usually around 8 pm our time) and Honey has fries with his burger and later on, more fries. Yes, they're that good.
A picture thought to share with you...
this is the sort of thing you can expect when you turn a 7 year-old loose with a camera of his own. That's our chicken coop out there beyond the window screen. I love to see what he finds snap-worthy. A lot of things fall into that category.
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Banned book meme
Posted in ReadingNo one tagged me for this meme but I am playing anyway :)
These are the top 110 banned books. Bold the ones you've read or partially read.
#1 The Bible - of course and I'm still reading it...
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
#7 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
#11 Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
#12 Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
#16 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
#23 Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
#25 Ulysses by James Joyce
#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
#27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#29 Candide by Voltaire
#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#31 Analects by Confucius
#32 Dubliners by James Joyce
#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal - read it in French and wrote a Thesis on it...
#36 Capital by Karl Marx
#37 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
#39 Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
#43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair
#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (this is on my "recently-acquired" pile and next up after I finish Light in August)
#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
#58 Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
#60 Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison
#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
#69 The Talmud
#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
#75 A Separate Peace by John Knowles
#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
#78 Popol Vuh
#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
#80 Satyricon by Petronius (just heard of this while reading Francis Schaeffer and decided I need to look for it)
#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - I've read all of Vonnegut's published works - loved them all, no matter how weird.
#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I have read the whole series at LEAST 10 times since I got them for my 9th birthday)
#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner
#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
#98 Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
#102 Émile by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#103 Nana by Émile Zola
#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
I marked ones I know I have finished with bold print- 12 in total, although the Bible really should count for more than one book :) Titles in italics are ones I have started but never finished. There are 18 of those. Sheesh. I really should work on finishing some of those. Maybe I should dedicate the rest of the year to finishing those books that I have often started but never finished.
| 2 comments | | Link
Monday, June 9, 2008
Happy Birthday to TH!
Thursday my oldest "baby" turned 7 years old! How is that even possible?? We had a little outing last weekend to a local park where we were able to swim with Granny and Poppy and have a little hot dog cookout. The great-grands came too and a good time was had by all. TH got a GIANT ant farm, remote control car and $10 to spend. Oh, and The Waterhorse DVD. That was a big thrill :D Saturday Ms. Chas
left him a surprise gift in our car while we were at a church party. It contained two t-shirts, one of which has a map of the US colored in like an American flag. TH is "a big fan of America" so that was just perfect for him.
Here are some pictures of the big day.
At the pirate park. Isn't he handsome?
Enjoying his "best gift EVER" a backscratcher. The picture is a bit blurry but I just couldn't leave out his expression of glee:
The "best birthday cake ever"
And finally, all the young'uns (and all the gifts, at TH's insistence) on TH's "best birthday ever"
I guess I did all right.
| 4 comments | | Link
Monday, June 9, 2008
A new friend
A post about our new critter pal over at our Homeschool blog here.
That is all for now. I do have a post brewing with birthday pictures and other goodness but it will have to wait a bit.
| 0 comments | | Link
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Jambalaya and the first garden veggies
Posted in EatingLast night's supper:
I bought the yellow squash from the vegetable stand, as our squash plants are still just a small green dream of suppers to come. The rest came from the garden- the first of the peas, mostly in the pods, some lamb's quarter (also known as a weed) and a bit of swiss chard. I had never eaten swiss chard before. It's tasty. I just sauteed the squash in a big bit of butter for 3 or 4 minutes then added the green stuff and some salt and pepper for another 2 minutes and chucked it in my pretty new bowl.
All the things on table are from my yard sale trip with Chas last weekend. The doily, the bowl and the platter were 50 cents each. That was the average price of all the things I bought actually.
The jambalaya is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything although I used kielbasa instead of shrimp and 2 CANS of tomatoes instead of 2 cups of fresh ones (that was a bit of a whoops but it worked out well) I also used brown rice which extended the cooking time to at least an hour (and I put the lid on for a portion of the cooking time). In lieu of fresh bell pepper (which I should have in spades in a couple months) I used a pickled pepper from last year's bounty. My garnish is a few leaves of wood sorrel which has a slightly tangy taste when eaten alone but adds only color to this dish. Honey said it was the best jambalaya he has ever eaten (because growing up north of Seattle you know he's a serious authority on Cajun food) which made me happy. We'll definitely be having this again, much to TH's dislike. I used a whole kielbasa (1 pound) but half would have easily sufficed. This dish would double nicely for a bigger crowd- we had plenty of leftovers as it was.
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Preserving the Harvest 2008
~June 22nd~
*11 half-pints
honey-sweetened peach-strawberry jam
~June 27th~
*7 half-pints and 2 pints
honey-sweetened peach jam
~June 28th~
*24 home-grown chickens in the freezer
(7 whole, 17 cut up
plus feet and backs for stock!!)
~July 6th~
*8 pints and 14 half-pints
honey-sweetened peach jam
~July 16th~
*18 cups fresh green beans,
blanched and frozen (a gift from the boss)
*12 pounds ripe bananas,
cut into 1 inch chunks and frozen for smoothies
~July 22nd~
*32 ears home-grown corn
blanched and frozen in meal-sized packages
~July 27th~
*8 pints cream-style corn
(home grown)
~July~
about *8 cups blackberries
and *5 cups wild blueberries
from around our property,
in the freezer
~August 4th~
14 pints
4 half-pints
and 1 quart
hot and spicy tomato salsa
(that's 18 cups altogether)
What I'm reading
The Bible- currently in the book of Ezekial and Romans
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
The Hobbit (on CD) by J.R.R. Tolkien
What I've Read Recently
One Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
At Large and At Small by Anne FadimanHow To Be Good by Nick Hornby
The Book of Joby by Mark FerrariThe Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
World Without End by Ken FollettAnne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (for the 12th time or so)
What I Watch
The Office
30 RockDoctor Who
HeroesEureka
Scrubs2008 Crafty Stats
Yardage In:
13.5 yardsYardage Out:
3 yardsItems Made: 2
Money Spent:
$58.06
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Money Spent:
$58.06Recent Entries
Weekly menuGo check it out
Food Links
A few things
Blechies