How I Freeze Strawberries

I get lots and lots of berries throughout the berry season. I try to get as many as possible, so I can have them for jam making and for smoothies through the year. To freeze them, I wash and top them, and lay them out, cut side down, on a sheet of foil, on my jelly roll pans. I put them into my upright freezer and freeze overnight.

In the morning, I can easily remove the berries and put them in a freezer bag. The berries are individually frozen and easy to use in smoothies.

Jamberries!

We had a great day today! Poppy was home from work for Memorial Day. We slept in, had french toast made with homemade bread, then went to the park. After playing a couple of hours, we came home and my Honey BBQ'ed. Later, my strawberry lady called and I went and got six gallons of strawberries, four pints of boysenberries and she also gave us some cherries. This evening, I made up these 10 pints of strawberry-boysenberry jam. I put an additional half pint in to the fridge for quick eating.

I'm so thankful for our free, prosperous nation. Thank you to all the men and women serving in our military, and especially to the families of those who have given it all for our nation.

Carson and John

Can I ask a favor? When you are finished reading here, could you pop over to Tesney's blog for a few minutes? She wants to share the story of how Kirill has been miraculously freed from the orphanage, but has a request. Little Carson and John have a serious skin disorder called EB. Their skin blisters and opens with the slightest of trauma. It's a cruel disease. Can you imagine living with it, even with the love and tender care of a family, let alone in a stark orphanage? She's got a challenge for us all, to donate just a mite....$4 from 5000 people would full fund their adoption. Their family is ready, willing and able to go get them, they are just waiting on funds.

Could you spare the cost of a cappuccino; the cost of a couple of cans of coconut milk, the cost of a 12 pack of soda? Can we work together as the body of Christ to bring these boys home?

Go, read, ChipIn!

CyCo Cycle

Our friends at church blessed us today. They gave this odd cycle to the Lambies! It looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully it will outlast all the attention that will be given it over the next few weeks! Thanks, S and B! The gift is wonderful!

Boy, oh Boy!

Boy is beginning to look his age. He's 15 years old! I woke him up to take a pictures and he wasn't all that happy with me. I'll have to make up with him by giving him some tuna!

Pooches

EmBlem, GirlofGod and Trixie are puppysitting for a friend that is out of town. They are having so much fun! Who wouldn't, getting to play with adorable pooches like these?!

One More Batch

This is my last planting of Swiss Chard. Five little plants that are giving me tender greens for breakfast eggs and smoothies. I will sure miss my chard when it finally gets too warm for it!

Math Game Time

Missy's favorite school activities are copywork and math. This is a game she likes to get out once in a while. She nearly got the whole box matched up before she was finished!

Building Project

Daddy and Troubles built an airplane today. Handicrafts....check. Daddy time...check. A new toy to love...check! It's an all around win!

MUS Tower

After completing school today, Troubles asked to play with the blocks. I thought he meant Lego, but out he came with the Math-U-See blocks. He built this tower. It stood all day and was deserving of a picture on the blog. He told me so!

Church Picnic!

We had a picnic today with our church family, after church. My Honey manned the BBQ and fed folks on hamburgers and hotdogs. What a cook he is! We played around on the playground with the Lambies and enjoyed a FUN game of two-hand touch. I have never played football before. I like this getting more active thing! I intercepted the ball on one play (YES!!), though I didn't get any other receptions. I kept getting hit in a bad spot: the hands. :) What a fun day we had!

Thought you might...

...like to see the park where I walk. I walk the whole neighborhood, really, but try to get up and down the hills in the park a few times a week. This little "lake" won't last long, but it sure makes it nice and cool, and pretty, for now. There's a couple of ducks swimming around, but I'm not sure that they made it into this picture.

Recovering

These four have had a hard time with this illness, especially the boys! Today, though, the boys feel a little better. Trixie made a board game and they (along with me!) played a round. I'm so glad they are getting a bit better!

Breakfast du Jour

Since we are going through sick days, I wanted to make a no fuss, do-it-yourself breakfast for those who are well. I chose to make The Headmistress's Granola.

Quick, easy, not too sweet, perfect for breakfast or snack. Thanks for the recipe, HM!

Freezer Fodder

All 12 of these baskets of berries, along with the nine other baskets that I didn't take a picture of, are all in my freezer, awaiting a jam-making session. Strawberry jam is something I just can't seem to make a year's supply of, no matter how much I make! Last year, according to my canning inventory, I made 59 pints of strawberry and strawberry related jams. We ran out well before this spring. Too many PB&J sandwiches, I guess!

Good find!

I found this today at a local thrift store. I paid a quarter. Happily, it's selling on Amazon for at least $17.20. This one will be posted for a few dollars less than that and will help pad the savings account when it sells!

Sick..

We've got the creeping cruds. Troubles is the worst, but others are dropping quickly. I'll post again when I can!

An Abundance

Strawberry season has begun in earnest. We've bought as many as we can. Besides eating them plain, we've been enjoying them with my "Incredible Pound Cake" and homemade whipped cream. Most have been washed, topped and frozen. They will be made into jam after school ends for the summer.

Saturday Fun

Troubles and his brothers, sisters and friends all swam this afternoon. When Troubles came in, his lips were a lovely shade of blue. Poppa wrestled around with him to warm him up some, then they posed for this pic.

Spicy!

Here's my stuffed-full spice cupboard. I use Mason jars to store almost everything. The Rumford can is quite old. I have been making my own baking powder for years!

Awwww!

Someone is going to make a great Daddy someday!

Rocket Readers

I have a full set of Rocket Readers that I bought when the company was going out of business. They aren't too hard to find yet, if you have little ones. I have Troubles going through the Pre-Level One books on his own, while doing the Level One ones with me. Missy may be ready to do some of the Pre-Level Ones next year. I like that they are so simple, yet are Bible based. They give beginning readers the same sense of accomplishment that finishing a Bob Book does, but they tell better stories. :)

The Crew 2011

Recently we went to the zoo with Grandma. Every time we go, we take a group picture in front of the flamingo exhibit. It's neat to have a similar picture year after year. Here's this years shot. All of the Lambies are getting so BIG! Compare here, the picture from 2002:

from left to right: Polly, Trixie, EmBlem, Vic, foster son, GirlofGod, foster daughter (in stroller), Momma and Jack. We didn't have Missy with us yet. Look at how little they were! Yes, I had eight children aged seven and under. Those were the days.

Meet Lester

Meet Lester. He's our African Fat-Tailed Gecko. He came to us in a funny way. My Honey's co-worker, M., found him in their garage. He asked all the neighbors if they were missing a lizard and found his home. A few days later, Lester was back in M.'s garage.

Since M. knew that we homeschool and have a nice collection of all kinds of creatures, he offered to give him to us. We said yes, of course. Lester has been living in our kitchen ever since.

A Self Portrait

Trixie took this nice picture of herself today. Isn't she lovely?

A Good Breakfast

This is all from my garden. I harvested it this morning, after outside chores.

The chard joined two eggs, some bacon and cheese for this delightful dish, and the rest went into a green smoothie that we enjoyed mid-morning. I love having a garden!

What Did Amazon Send This Time?

On the advice of a bloggy friend, whose opinion I respect on these things, recommended these books. Of course, being the good consumer that I am, I clicked over to Amazon and spent some swagbucks. I can't wait to look them over and plan how we will use them next year!

Someone Got Bit...

...by the gardening bug! GirlofGod is preparing an area for a flowerbed. My Honey and I bought Alyssum today to get her started. I promise there will be pictures when she is finished!

MUS Time!

Missy's math skills have greatly improved this year. Several months ago, we were given a wooden tray designed to hold MUS blocks. It has channels cut into it to build the problems in. After lots of work, she finally understands how to build the number sentences! She lays a ten block atop the numbers, then she finds the unit block that will complete the equation and writes the answer. Look at the page she did!

Thanks, Maria, for the gift. It's been beneficial and appreciated!

Lego Maniac

I found Duplo Legos at the thrift store today; a new tub of 71 blocks! Troubles and Missy played with them right away. Here's Troubles' creation. Clever little guy!

It's Finally Here!

It's finally here! I ordered this book way back on April 11th. It has been the only package ever that I didn't receive from Amazon. It got halfway here and then the post office lost it. After a two week opportunity for the post office to find it, Amazon stood behind their promise. They quickly sent a replacement using UPS. I am SO looking forward to looking through it and trying a recipe or ten!

Twenty-Eight and a Half Pounds

That's how big the hunk of beef flesh I bought yesterday was. It made seven hamburger based meals....

...and three roasts that will be crock-potted this summer. You can also see five gallons of kombucha brewing in the background. Good eats at the Crew's place!

Spider-Boy

Troubles just loves to do this. Crazy little Spiderboy!