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!

Today, I canned the flat of peaches that I got at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. I was in a hurry, so I raw packed them. I don't mind the floating. I peeled the peaches and my daughter Polly cut them into slices. It went twice as fast with help! Over the past few days, I've canned these, pizza sauce, elderberry syrup and mock pineapple. I'm on a canning roll!



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

GggrrOOOWwwlLllL!





Are you frightened? He does look vicious! Our new kitten, Ohren, showed me this seemingly terrifying face as I was snapping pictures this evening. However, this is actually the beginning of a hearty yawn. He succumbed to an attack of BabyKitty-narcolepsy about 30 seconds later.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Chipotle Burritos

I've been trying to make a great chipotle meat for a while. Tonight, I think I found one that will be the go-to recipe. It's really good. Hot, spicy and easy.



I paired it with homemade refried beans, shredded cheese and lettuce.



It made for some mighty fine tacos.



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

Mike and Jaime had court in the region to adopt little Wilson (Zeb). They blogged about it here. Go...read...Praise the Lord!


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

Dear Adeye has brought to our attention sweet little Liliana. These pictures are not pleasant, but they are the truth.

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

Sneaky Momma





Somewhere between age eleven and twelve my eldest son stopped liking hugs. I still sneak one in once in a while. Could be he doesn't mind as much as he acts like he does.....I see that little grin!

Monday, August 15, 2011

The Crew in Shadowland

Not the best picture, since it was taken at dusk with my phone, but I do love this picture anyway. This was taken at Morro Bay after the baptism. I love spending time with my family! Time goes way too fast even though we are together as much as possible. I can't imagine if they were off at government school being 'socialized' all day. I would not have time to get to know them! May the days be slow and long and the years even longer. Amen.





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!

We went to Avila Beach yesterday with our church for a picnic and baptism. My daughter Polly was among those making a public profession of her saving belief in Jesus Christ.







What a special day it was!

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

We made lots of food with the Crew this afternoon! Poppa cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, as is Sunday tradition. Later, for Sunday Night Dessert we made homemade doughnuts. Yummy! We've not made them before, but I bet they make an appearance now and again.



I also wrapped up yesterday's strawberry fruit leathers. They dehydrated all night and we perfectly done today. They were supposed to be a treat for the first day of school, but school has unexpectedly been delayed a week. Oh, well. They'll be a treat for a plain old Monday instead.



We also got six quarts of green beans canned. I just LOVE home canned green beans in winter! The Lambies had them topped, tailed and stringed in record time. Many hands make light work!



We finished the day with a swim and an episode of "Pawn Stars". It was a good 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

Haircuts



Many of the Lambies got haircuts or trims today. Missy loves when I cut her hair short. She tells me she feels pretty and light when it's cut. I agree that it's pretty, but I will miss being able to French braid until it grows out!



By The Content of Their Character

http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/mlk_at_home/mlk_at_home_01.jpg

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."