I stopped in at a church rummage sale this morning and scored this two and a half foot terrarium, complete with screened top, UV light, heating pad and large feeding/watering bowl. It was only $5! The children are split on what critter we should get for it. Suggestions are a snake, a scorpion and a turtle. We will see.......
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
SCORE!
I stopped in at a church rummage sale this morning and scored this two and a half foot terrarium, complete with screened top, UV light, heating pad and large feeding/watering bowl. It was only $5! The children are split on what critter we should get for it. Suggestions are a snake, a scorpion and a turtle. We will see.......
Monday, August 29, 2011
Peaches!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
New Goodies!
Borders is closing and it's finally marked at 50-75% off, so we visited. I figured that that percentage off would bring the prices down below normal retail. Wonder why they are going out of business? I would love to take home some of their bookshelves and will keep an eye on the prices. Right now they are still too much, but maybe in a few weeks......
They did have two of the books that were patiently waiting in my saved-for-later Amazon cart. I have some good reading ahead of me!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Humid Friday
It was 102 today. Not too bad; in fact, that's a rather nice temperature for August for us. However, a layer of clouds rolled in this afternoon and things got sticky. What's better for a humid afternoon than a spin in the sprinkler? I'm happy to report that the humidity was forgotten and fun was had by all Littles present.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Chipotle Burritos
Chipotle Roast
3 lbs chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
3 chipotle chiles in adobo
1 (4 ounce) cans green chilies (I used homemade)
1 (7 ounce) cans salsa verde (I used Green El Pato)
1 cup sliced onions, optional
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup beef broth or water
Place roast in crockpot. Place all the other ingredients in a blender and liquify. Pour over roast and cook on high for 5-8 hours, the longer the better. When done, remove from crockpot and shred. Put back in crockpot liquid and mix. Serve.
The Desicion
Monday, August 22, 2011
Unwinding...
...Playmobil style. We pulled out a police set that we bought months and months ago today, just because. Squeals of happiness ensued. Most of the afternoons free time was spent adventuring with police and firefighters. What a good way to spend an afternoon!
We also did some cooking this afternoon. GirlofGod used a new recipe and made chocolate granola bars. They will be breakfast. I made Vanilla Granola, a perennial favorite. Dinner was Cubed BBQ Beef over rice, (adapted from the linked recipe) Carrot Raisin Salad and Green Salad.
Poppa and I enjoyed watching the preseason MNF game while the Lambies swam and/or played outside. A little quiet time is nice!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Brave Trixie!
(Photo taken by EmBlem at Avila Beach, 2011)
My daughter, Trixie. She lives all out. She holds nothing back and loves every minutes of life. I didn't get pictures of today's adventure, because she was on her own. She went with a veterinarian to do bovine pregnancy checks on a dairy.
Yeah. She's learning all about being a vet this year. The first lesson began with a glove....
This is a vet tech student demonstrating with Trixie did today:
Good for you, Dear, for learning all you can about things that interest you. Keep up the good work!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Liliana's Ransom
This dear child is 11 years old.
10 tiny little pounds at 11 years old! She desperately needs to be brought home. Will you help?
There's a large giveaway at Adeye's blog. Let's fill Liliana's Chip-In account so someone can rescue her. Pray for her at the very least. Our God is mighty. Let's be His loving hands for this precious soul.
Everyone needs compassion
A love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations
Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever
Author of Salvation
He rose & conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Crew in Shadowland
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Brunhilda-Polly
My daughter GirlofGod is multi-talented. She has taught herself to do balloon animals, card tricks and other illusions and is mastering face-painting. She plans to sew herself a clown costume to wear when she performs. She did this work of art on Polly the other day. I think she has a great eye for color and a steady hand! I'll enjoy seeing how far she takes this interest in entertaining!
Baptized!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Blueberry RICH!
A friend of mine who lives in Oregon sent us SIX pounds of blueberries! What a gift! I have visions of muffins, pancakes, pancake syrup, jam, breads, fruit salad, all speckled with blue. What will tomorrow bring? Who knows. I'll take some pictures and share the results, whatever they may be. I'm starting my search at this site. If you have any suggestion, recipes or hints, let me know!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Impromptu Nature Study
I found a drowned insect in our pool skimmer and brought it in so the kids could see it. I think it's a Bush Katydid. I don't recall ever seeing one alive before. I didn't even know that they lived around here! It's marvelous how wonderfully camouflaged their wings are. How could that be chance? They are clearly designed by a Designer!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Busy Food Day
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Mixed Fruit Jam
Today I was blessed with a large amount of bruised-up peaches, nectarines and plums. I spent some time trimming off the ugly spots and ended up with a dozen pints of mixed fruit jam. I even have more to do tomorrow. I think I will freeze the trimmed fruit chunks for smoothie making.
There are only eleven jars cooling on the towel because one pint went into the fridge uncanned to enjoy this week. Don't hesitate to accept ugly fruit, my Thrifty Canning Friends. You can make a lot of good from it!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Green Beans!
I got to go to my friend's house and pick green beans today. I ended up with a full gallon bucket! We had some with dinner, and I hope to get more at the farmer's market Saturday. I need to get some canned. They are our absolute favorite summer veggie. Here's one of the recipes I like to make with them. We haven't had it in a long time, though, since it has tomatoes in it. If you can eat tomatoes, you should try this...tonight. It's that good.
Sizzling Green Beans
1 pound green beans, topped, tailed and snapped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp EACH thyme and oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Boil beans in water for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice water. Heat olive oil in skillet and add peppers. Cook one minute. Remove pepper flakes. Add garlic tomato and seasonings, except cheese. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add beans and heat through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Six Flags Magic Mountain
We made our very first visit to Six Flags today. We had such fun. However, I need to remember to bring a camera and not rely on my iPhone for pictures. Sadly, the battery ran out much too early. Overall impressions from my point of view.....X2 was not worth the wait, Ninja is not to be missed, Colossus is best ridden as many times as possible. Here's a first person POV of Colossus and one of Ninja for you to enjoy. I can't wait to go back!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
By The Content of Their Character
This is from this week's Ol' Remus' Woodpile Report. It's a very good thought.
"As Remus told you in Woodpile Report 8, nobody really judges a person solely by the color of their skin, at least nobody he'd wanna know. Martin King was right when he said we should judge people by the content of their character.
So let's do some judging.
We form entirely reasonable opinions by observing ordinary things about other people. For instance, are they considerate, courteous and pleasant or are they obnoxious, confrontational and crude? Do they dress to an acceptable standard, or wear offensive costumes? Are they thought well of, or are they habitual troublemakers?
Are they dependable and honest, or untrustworthy and criminal? Are they reasonably intelligent and inquisitive, or ignorant and incurious but deviously clever? Are they sociable and cooperative, or consumed with self interest? Do they speak intelligibly, or use gang slang? Can they disagree without insults, threats or violence?
Are their kids well behaved, or foul-mouthed junior street thugs? Do they value education, or are schools just their free day care? Are they self-reliant, or does the world owe them a living? Do they take personal responsibility, or is somebody else always to blame? Do they give others the benefit of the doubt, or do they see others as cunning victimizers?
Are they truthful about their personal history, or is it a pastiche of self-serving fantasy? Do they plan for the future, or lunge at short-term payoffs? Do they earn respect, or demand it? Do they believe race is irrelevant, or do they use race to extort preferences?
King had it right, judging people by the content of their character is reasonable and just. We should do more of it."