We're home from the country

Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 01:38 by keeperofthehome - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Photo courtesy of www.lovelywhatevers.blogspot.com

Howdy Dear Friends! 

Oh, how good it is to be home.  My husband, the boys, stepdaughter, and I made the long trek to my in-laws in Northern Ohio from Atlanta.  Thankfully, my parents live about halfway in Kentucky for us to stay the night to break up the trip.  We were worried about gas, but my husband got a great deal on renting  a Prius hybrid.  Although the kids were a bit squished in the back (poor Bry stuck between 2 large teenagers) it was worth it financially.  We would have spent more in gas in our minivan plus the wear and tear that the minivan doesn't need at 200k miles than with the Prius.  We only spent $100 in gas the entire 1,300 mile trip!

When we got to my in-laws farm last Tuesday it was so nice.  The weather was perfect, 75 with a light breeze and sunshine.  We unloaded, ate, and sat outside until it got too cold catching up with my in-laws and neices lives.  Oh, and of course my husband just HAD to show off the car, which Lord willing will be ours this fall. 

On Wednesday, we just relaxed around the lake on my in-laws property.  Man, those deer flies eat you up!  My poor toes are just bit to pieces.  It was nice and relaxing, just what we needed coming from the city. 

On Thursday, my 18 year old neice, the boys, hubby, and I went to a neat outlet mall.  We got the best deal on Bath & Body Works products.  Since B&BW is based in Ohio the deals were so incredible.  We do not use the typical products because of the chemicals, but the Savannah Bee Company and that French company (the name currently escapes me) that use all-natural, paraben-free products were all 90% OFF.  Can you believe we got some scubbing salts regularly $25 for only $2.10?  It was so awesome and I believe we are filled up for quite some time.  The rest of Thursday we helped my MIL get the house cleaned.

On Friday, we had a big 4th of July party.  My MIL whole family (11 siblings and their families) come for a BBQ.  Everyone played cornhole (boy, I never knew how competetive my husband is until he plays this game), swam, talked, and of course ate.  It was so nice seeing everyone.  My SIL and her family plus our family drove over to Mansfield to see great fireworks.  I was really impressed at how long they were in such a little town.

Saturday we helped clean up, I did our laundry and got us packed, and we just rested.  Saturday night some of us went to see a balloon glow.  I had been to one years ago in Kentucky as one of the events prior to the Kentucky Derby.  But nobody else had been to one.  I have to say this was neat, but a bit boring.  My husband was laughed the whole time about how hokey this all was.

Sunday after lunch we loaded up the Prius.  As we were getting ready to get into the car my stepdaughter (whom we have seen little of this trip because she is staying with my SIL helping on her farm) wants to stay a week.  So, I called Delta to see if we could change her ticket from Atlanta to Columbus, and we could so she is staying her last week up there.  We miss her, but this is a good experience for her.  Hopefully we'll see her at Christmastime.  We drove to my parents where we had a small birthday party for my Dad.  

On Monday morning we were packed and ready to leave and once again something happened.  My husband, whom didn't wake up until 11:30am, decided to stay another day.  Bry doesn't have any cousins his age (he's the baby on my husband's side) at my in-laws, so he was having a blast with Sister's kids and hubby didn't want it to have to end.  One thing I have learned on our trips is to have a separate bag for when you stop.  I keep a large tote with pajamas, underthings, bathing suits, and a few toiletries.  So, when we decided to stay all we had to do was get that bag out.  That morning I just was wash our clothes from the previous day, we take showers, and off we go, that is when we actually do decide to leave.  So, my husband asked me what we can do.  I told him that I wanted to visit my maternal grandmother.  He has always wanted to go to a bourbon tour and tasting and there is one near my grandmother's.  So we went and toured Maker's Mark Distillery (very historical and neat).  Then we went to visit Nana for a few minutes.

Yesterday we finally made it home.  Although there were storms and no electricity when we actually arrived, but there was enough light to get my oil lamps and a few candles together.  About an hour before we went to bed the electricity came on and we unpacked and did a little cleaning.  We had quite a journey both physically and spiritually.  When you have the distractions of everyday life, especially here in the city, one certainly does find God in the country.

This morning life is now running again.  I got up, and got dressed (very important), made my husband's turkey sausage and oatmeal like every morning, started a load of laundry, and got meat out for dinner.  Now, Bryson's complaining about swimming so life is back to normal.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week and this week will be just as terrific!

Blessings,

~Farrah

PS I'll load some pictures up when I get a chance.  

Daily Devotion 190

Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 06:03 by Sister Lori - 0 Comments - Link

Play dough

Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 01:10 by Paula - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Today, I read in the "Making a Home in Town" blog a Play Dough Recipe that brought back memories.  Years ago, I made this for little ones.  The recipe makes about 8 cups and was perfect for taking to the local Head-Start preschool or to a children's hospital ward as a donation to brighten the kids day.  This is one of the very few recipes that actually has the same texture and consistancy of the store bought play dough.  It also has a long shelf life, unlike many recipes that go bad within a couple of months.

For Abbie, I cut the proportions of the ingredients down to 1/4th of the amount given in the recipe.  It still made enough to fill a plastic marshmallow fluff container.  I use the paste type of food coloring as I find it is the most vibrant.  The results were great!  At 2 yrs. old, Abbie has never played with Play Dough before.  She was uncertain of what to do with it at first and barely poked at it.  We will be getting it out each morning though and I am certain she will figure it out in no time!

I am already planning ahead to helping Abbie make ornaments for Christmas with the dough.  I am going to test it out as I cannot remember if it shrinks or cracks during the drying process.    If it works out, it will be great to use in making the Jesse Tree ornaments.

2 weeks and counting...

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 10:47 by Shari - 2 Comments - Post Comment - Link

If you've wondered where I've been lately, but perhaps you haven't, we've been crazy busy trying to get the tile done, and the house re-assembled... and I've been recovering (slowly) from being sick... and we're working on being ready to leave home for 3 weeks to go visit Al's family.  (you know who you are...) SOOOOOOOOOO....  My "homesteading" right now looks like this:  Laundry on the porch, bread from the store, trip over laundry baskets full of canned goods from the pantry that had to be moved, kittens every where (including reports from the girls of a NEW one under our porch last night, but no sighting yet, a chicken who is an escape artist, evidently the grass IS greener on our side of the fence... and dogs who smell, shall I say... FOUL!!!  Too many ealry trips to the lake for them, I think!  Our garden is suffering from lack of H2O as the hose that was watering it is now running the washer (gotta pick your battles) but I did get to eat a few small carrots from the garden yesterday that were great!!

We're also talking big about our plans for AFTER the vacation... Paint colors for one.  All neutral.  It's like a decorating version of let's make a deal... or poker, I'm not sure which... I'll see you your white ceilings, if you raise me olive green walls in the loft, and paprika stair treads.  Wide trim, or stick with what we've got (stickin' by the way...) today we chose a cabinet finish (my super handy hubby is going to re-finish the functional, but ugly cabinets we have to give me the awesome but far too pricey look I love at Lowes...)  Countertops, backsplashes, floors, freezers, dishwashers, lighting.  I guess 6 months was as long as we could live somewhere without a re-modeling project.  BUT so far we're way keeping the cost down, so I feel pretty good about it.  Also we're discussing homeschool plans for the girls, and possible college plans for me.  There's talk of garden re-working, and adding more space for next year.  Rain barrels, and building Al's shop.  Terracing the hillside under the powerline, and creating an orchard...  A BILLION and ONE things.  If you want to check out how the floor is coming hit my Home to Gilead blog, I posted a Pic or two over there today...  Things are crazy as usual, and I really wouldn't have it any other way.  Gotta Run!  Peace~

Shari

What say you? Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace.......

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 07:47 by gokings13 - 2 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Dinner in a Pie

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 06:06 by Paula - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

This is a very hearty meal that is great for using up leftovers.  I had some ground venison on hand, so I browned it along with some onions, garlic, and bell peppers.  Next, you add assorted vegetables and just enough seasoned tomato sauce or a gravy to moisten the meat & vegetables.  You don't want too much liquid as it will cause the bottom crust to become soggy.

Make enough pie crust for a 2-crust pie.  I rolled it out abit thicker than I would for a fruit pie so that the bottom crust would hold together better when I served up the meal.  Line a deep dish pie pan with pie crust.  Fill with the meat & vegetable filling.  Top with the second crust and seal the edges.  Poke holes into the crust to allow steam to vent.

Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for about 1 hour or until pie is bubbly and crust is a golden color.

There are many variations to this pie.  Any combination of meat and vegetables that sounds good to you will work.  These pies can be made vegetarian style or with meat.  Try making the pie with a tamale pie filling and serve with cornbread.  Other simple variations could be: fajita mix, chili with cheese, loaded up with your favorite pizza toppings, chicken/broccoli/cheese mixture, beef stew leftovers, or philly steak/bell peppers/onions/cheese mixture.

For vegetarians, you can make any vegetable and grain combination that you love and bake it in the pies.  The options are only limited by your imagination.  You can use any vegetarian stew recipes and the pie would be great.

For those who do the once a month cooking, this is a great meal that can be frozen for later.  You can also scale down the size to use the small single serving sized pie pans to make your own homemade pot pies.  Prebaked, these would make a great meal to take to work and heat up in the microwave for your lunch.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Thoughts

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 4:09 PM by Kitty - 3 Comments - Post Comment - Link

Another chick!

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 07:04 by Sister Lori - 0 Comments - Link

Blessings!

   Well, Delta hatched out another chick!:P Silly duck:)

Musings On A Quiet Monday....

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 01:34 by Sher - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link

  It's been a wonderful two days now that the 4th of July celebrations are over and while we had a nice family picnic I'm happy to have the fireworks overwith as are our dogs!  Poor animals, they don't understand the loud bangs of the fireworks and firecrackers going off and it scares them into a panic.  We were taking care of my sister's dogs too while they went camping and they were frightened beyond belief as well.  Fire crackers, sparklers, bottle rockets and the like are illegal in NY but it seems there's still no shortage of those who feel the need to acquire them and shoot them off inspite of the law.  I just wish they wouldn't shoot them off for hours on end but hey, I'm not intruding on anyone's right to celebrate as they see fit.  It's just a bit sad to see the animals running scared and that includes the horses in the pasture next to us.  Fireworks without the loud bang and flash of bright white light are great, we love those kind!!!!  It's the loud ones that we don't enjoy and over the years it seems that most of the displays have more and more of the "bangers" as we call them....  So anyway, I'm glad it's all over for another year! 

   I started working on a small braided candle mat, it's coming along but not quite finished as it needs to have a few more rounds sewn on.  Here's a pic of what it looks like as of now. 

  Just a little scrappy braided mat is all and nothing fancy.  Other than this I haven't really been working on anything although I do have quite a few unfinished projects that need my attention.  I always tell myself "tomorrow, I'll work on finishing this or that project" and of course tomorrow never comes as it gets pushed off to yet another day.  Ho hum, sooner or later (likely later) they will get done I'm sure. 

    I was out in the flower garden pulling weeds yesterday before the weather became too hot and humid.  Here's a pic of the friendship flower bed I started with the help of my dear friend Sher/Keith.  I'm really enjoying it this year as some of the perenials surprised me and survived the cold winter we had here in Upstate NY. 

   From left to right the flowers are: Cosmos, geraniums, Love In The Mist, Forget-Me-Nots, Bee Balm, Blanket Flower, Pink Yarrow, Sweet William, Yellow Lilies, Black-Eyed Susans, Some type of Poppy like flower and a yellow flower that I don't know the name of but was from a packet of wildflower seeds sown early in spring.  Along with the flowers there are chives, Clematis and Morning Glory's planted at the other end of the flower bed. Last year I had beautiful Zinnia's but after a fungus disease did them in I decided not to replant those seeds this year though I did enjoy the colorful Zinnia's as well.

My favorite flowers this year are the Blanket Flower and the Red Bee Balm, both of which are perenials! 

 The hummingbirds love the red bee balm too!

Farmyard Fun

Posted on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 20:59 by Sister Lori - 1 Comments - Link

Blessings!

   Dog's have puppies

   Cat's have kittens

   Goat's have kids

   And Ducks have...chickens?:P

   Yep you read that right:) Upon entering the barn this morning to check on our duck who has been setting a nest for weeks now and to feed and water our doe and her baby, this was what we found! Actually it was still quite wet and fresh when we got there. This was taking an hour later. All dry, fluffy and now in the house:P

We are still waiting for Delta to finish hatching out her nest. We never noticed a chicken egg under there:P Not too sure but she just might have a couple more under there along with her own eggs so we'll see what the next few days bring:)

This is her 4th nest and so far none of her own eggs has ever hatched. We are hoping that this time it will work. Otherwise we will be absolutely sure that JohhnyB. is sterile. He's the only male on the place for the last several months so this will tell it.

Well, I just wanted to share our joy on our first barnyard born chick:) We are hoping that eventually we will be having our own and no more ordering:)

Have a very blessed day!

God be with thee!

Sister Lori