There's greenbeans in the garden,

Clean clothes on the line,

There's little ole' barefoot children playing beneath the grapvine.

The sun is shining bright

And the creeks a' bubblin' too

We've got alot to be thankful for

And Lord I want to thank you.

Today is another hot one here on the little bitty homestead.  I do have my dryer running but it's just to dry the undergarmets.  The towels & the rest are out on the clothesline. 

My husband & son are gone fishing and Abigail is still sleeping.  So even though it's a little after 9:00 it is very quiet here. 

I got my package from Rainbow Resource in the mail yesterday.  It feels like a holiday when those crisp, clean schoolbooks arrive....To me anyway.  Abigail came running in from outside yesterday evening with the package the UPS just delivered.  Here was our conversation:

A- "Mama, mama, we got a package & it's got your name on it."

M- "Oh great it's from Rainbow Resource."

A- "What is that?  Is there anything for me in there?"

M- "Yes a few things & a couple for your brother."

A opens package up and pulls out a couple of books.

A-" Are these school books?"

M- "Yes aren't they neat.  Come look at this one for you all about animals."

A- looks at cover & looks back up at me not too happy.

A-"Next time can you please order something useful."

M-

Hope everyone has a good 4th of July.

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My mom gave me this cute little set of tin bread pans.  4 all hooked together.  Very cute & it fit into my countertop oven.

They were crying out to be filled with a little treasure.

So I abliged them and baked some yummy zucchini bread.

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There is a slight chance of a shower today.  I sure hope it comes because we need it something badly.

Over the weekend my husband rented a bobcat to move the piles of dirt in the back.  He filled in some ruts and holes.  Also burried a septic tank for the dog kennels. (Mr. Invention)  They are suppose to be coming sometime this morning to pick it up.

We really need a tractor of our own.  One that we can mow with and with a front loader.  Maybe one day.

My husband's boss will not be at work for quite some time.  On Saturday he had a tree fall on him.  He broke his hip, some ribs & a couple other problems too.  Please say a prayer for them if you can. 

Today we'll be around the homestead until time for Ju Jitsu practice.  Abby & I will be visiting the library after we drop him off to pick up some movies.  When it's this hot it's just a good time to stay in during the afternoon & watch a good movie.  We saw "The Sin Eater" last week.  It was ok.  A bit odd in my opinion but Abby really liked it.

I've got a couple of projects to do to keep me busy for the next couple of days.  I can hardly believe June is almost over.  Our summer is going by so fast.

Hope you all have a fun day!

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Here is what I got at the store.

Honey nut cherrios (bag of off brand) ...$1.87

Whole wheat spaghetti noodles...$1.78

Dry pinto beans, 2lb bag...$1.68

2 pks dry ranch seasoning...$1.36

20 pk flour tortillias...$2.53

Taco seasoning...$0.33

Taco shells...$0.99

Tortillia chips...$2.00

Doritos chips...$2.48

Sliced pepperoni...$1.97

2 pks. shredded motzarella...$2.00

2 pks. shredded cheddar...$2.00

1 lb real butter...$2.18

1/2 gallon buttermilk...$2.19

Salad Crutons...$1.17

2 freezer burritos...$0.76

Natural peanut butter...$2.78

2 cans tomato paste...$$0.86

Sugar free drink mix...$1.98

Louisiana pepper sauce...$1.25

Vegetable oil...$2.48

Unbleached flour...$2.48

Elbow maccaroni...$1.18

Leaf lettuce...$1.48

2 lbs. carrots...$1.48

Bananas...$0.88

Gallon whole milk...$3.55

Gallon organic milk...$1.99

Total $49.68

Tax $2.29

Final Total...$51.97

So I went over $1.97.  Not too shabby.  The organic milk was marked down as it will expire in 3 days.  The burritos were a treat for my son. (he loves those yucky things)

I am planning on making my own salad dressing using buttermilk mixed with the ranch seasoning.  I think it will probably be a tad runny but still good and not so many chemicals & goo like in the bottled stuff.  I will let you know if it turns out.

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And it's hot, hot, hot!

We've been getting our outdoor chores done in the mornings as we've had a heat index warning of 105* for the past couple of days.

The children have been enjoying their cousins being here just about every day.  (My sister-in-law, like most summer, weekends, holidays, etc. seems to think that my mother-in-law and I are great babysitters.)  As she drops her children off as often as possible with my mother-in-law.  They just always seem to end up back here.(my mother-in-law lives 2 1/2 acres in front of me)  --Soon enough school will be back in session & things will go back to normal.  Have I mentioned I really like normal?

I've been working on getting the children's plans for history & science done.  The main 2 books I'm working with are Streams of Civilization Volume 1 and Ancient Science 

I got Streams of Civilization on ebay and the Science on from Amazon.  I'm just going through and making out a daily lesson plan and adding things to go along here and there.  I'm also making a list as I go along on extra books and things we may need to get ahead of time from the library. 

For dinner tonight instead of what is on the menu, we're having left-over fish, beans & potato salad.  So just a little re-heating for me.

Hope you all have a fun afternoon!

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We killed another mouse last night.  Eeeekkkk!  Since our cat has been gone that makes 2.  I told hubby yesterday that we really need to go ahead and get another one.  The thing is, I want one that comes from a farm or at least in the country because I am hoping this means it will be one that will like to hunt.  We don't leave food and things out but I think they just find ways in because it's so hot out right now.  So as we drive different places I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for a free kitten sign up at a home.  When I did not need a cat, seems like I'd see them quite often.

As for our day, I had planned on making zucchini bread but I forgot to put white sugar on my list.  Since I'm trying to be on a tight budget for a little while I'm going to have to find a sweet treat that you make with just brown sugar. (I'm sure I will)  Hubby likes to have something sweet to go with his lunch at work.

We've been getting yellow squash, zucchini, banana peppers & cucumbers from our garden so far.  There are lots of green tomatoes on the plants just waiting to turn red.  I could eat fresh tomatoes just about every day.  Yum.

Here's a quick recipe for a tomato cucumber salad:

Take a few tomatoes and cut them into bite size pieces and put into a bowl.  Then peel & slice up a couple of cucumbers and put them in.  Then add one of the following dressings.

EITHER:  1/4 cup red wine vinegar & 1 T. white sugar

OR:  1/4 cup mayonaise or miracle whip & 1 T. sugar

Mix all together & refrigerate for about 1 hour.  Stir and serve.

This is great with just about any meal or sandwich for summertime.

Menu for the week

Fish, potato salad, baked beans, hush puppies

Venison stew, rolls

Pork steaks, corn, baked potatoes

Tuna burgers, parmesan noodles, jello w/fruit

Chicken & Dumplings, cucumber & tomato salad (vinegar one)

Round steak w/gravy, rice, squash

Pork cutlets, potatoes, zucchini w/tomatoes

Hope ya'll have a great day!

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I did my shopping for the next 7 days (hopefully) today.  We went to Wal-Mart Supercenter.  Here is what I bought:

2 heads iceburg lettuce...$2.56

celery...$1.36

whole carrots...$0.68

28 oz pkg honey ham...$3.98

potato chips...$1.75

tortillia chips...$1.65

brown sugar...$1.28

tea bags...$1.25

sugar free drink mix...$1.98

cream cheese...$1.50

sliced cheese...$2.38

angel soft bath tissue (24pk)...$5.97

value size suave shampoo...$3.00

yarn...$2.47

dog collar...$1.94

laundry detergent...$12.00 (ouch)

Subtotal:  $45.75

Tax:  $3.30

GRAND TOTAL: $49.05!!!!!!!!!

The yarn is for me to start on my son's blanket.  The dog collar was actually for my daughter's yorkie & she paid me back for it so really it doesn't count.

The only thing I will probably add will be if the local produce farm gets their cantaloupes in I will go buy 2 of them for $3.00.  So I really still made my budget!

I'll share my menu tomorrow.

Hope all have a great day & good luck to those of you who are joining me in the challenge.  I'd love to see what you got & the total.  Just leave a comment & I'll stop by your blog.

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