The Needle in a Haystack

Ben and Jerry's 55 in 55....Mother's day edition

   Along with gifts, cards, and a great meal... My oldest and his wife helped along my 55 flavors in my 55th year by going with a musical theme.

Phish Food

Cherry Garcia

Imagine Whirled Peace  ( cute tiny chocolate peace signs)

and WIlle Nelson Chunky Peach Cobbler..

 with a side of Emily's homemade pound cake and homemade strawberry syrup... the perfect caboose to Jamie's smiked rolled pork loin stuffed with spinach, muchrooms and cream cheese wrapped in bacon...

   I was introduced to a couple of new bands I have been checking out today... and we had plenty of laughs...

    Best Mom's Day EVER!

  ..My her children rise up and call her blessed!

Have a fine day... all day long!

 

He Has Risen

 We're home sick today, I am feeling much better... but Chris seems to have  the "cough" now.... I miss being wiht fellow Christians this day  a group of belivers almost giddy witht he fact the tomb was found empty ..

    "

 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

⁷ But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phillipians 2

 

  and so with all heaven declaring the Risen Lord... I felt no shame opening the door and telling every bird, beast and bloom that Christ has Risen!

 

   He has Risen Indeed!

 

 

Valentine Trees and Fat Tuesday

When the boys were little we always had pancakes on Fat Tuesday. Bible story time would concentrate on the story of Jesus as n dult, his teachings, his miracles. This Fat Tuesday  the boys are grown but Chris and I decided that pancakes were in order, and a good reminder, no matter what day it is of everything  Jesus has done for us.

  This years pancake did not disappoint!

Oat/Pecan Pancakes

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup flour

2t baking powder

1/4 t salt

3T brown sugar

2t  vanilla

2 beaten eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

2T melted butter

1/2 cup pecans

mix and drop by the 1/4 cup on hot griddle... we had them with country ham on the side and butter and maple syrup.

I realized we had not shared our Valentine tree.  We really do love looking t it so much in the corner of our den that we decided to make our Christmas tree into a Valentine tree

Its all glizty and sparkly..

..I finished this little pillow last week

 We are thinking about an Easter tree.... we'll see...

... and on a side note, has anyone else been chowing down on Girl Scout cookies like there's no tomorrow???

     Go out and make it a fine day.. all day long

Things have been busy around here...

With some present making

.. and a Christmas play..

..and silly men making us laugh..

 and wishing you a very Merry CHRISTmas

.. see you in a couple days....

Thinking About Christmas

 Chris and I usually walk the dog every evening  around the neighborhood.  We enjoy it. Gives us time to talk, get fresh air and exercise.  One thing this year has been bothering me... inflatables it seems like everyone these days has plastic blow up inflatable thigs in their yard...and it stands for everything I am against.

   Now if you love these things, don't  send me hate mail... Trust me I am not :

  Now, what if everyone in the United States took the money they spent on that inflatable and  chucked that amount to their mortgage, credit card or automobile payment.... Lets see,  how much  would it  a. reduce the debt  and b. save interst money in the long run .

  and lets  say you have all your debts paid off... how about taking that money and investing in junk silver, gold or some other metal...... at least your finger tips would be hanging on to the ledge of that fiscal cliff...

     .
... well, what about the obvious and giving the inflatable money to charity... after all, it IS Christmas... well dears,  first of all do the research, pick your favorite charity and find out how much actually goes where it needs to and how much is administrative.

  ..and what is it about Christmas that we feel its Ok to only give of ourselves, our time and our possessions... how about we do that every month.... commit that money for decorations and give... in meal form to the elderly couple, to the new mom, to the senior center... make an extra plate of cookies for your neighbor.... just because... grow extra things in your garden to share with the neighborhood, tutor an adult that can't read,  plate of goodies to the local fire dept... the list is endless..

    ....and finally... what does an inflatable have to do about Jesus... not just the reason for the season... but simply...........the reason

 

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

What a Memorial

  so, along with working at the shoppe for the weekend I had several things I wanted to do for some soldiers and then dinner with the inlaws on Monday.... none of that happened..

Friday morning I woke up tired and not feeling 100%.. Christopher and Chris both said the same thing ( thankfully Cadence was home and she seems fine)..

  By Saturday Chris was "OK" sort of .. Christopher was feeling yucky, and I was spiking a fever of 102 with headaches, back aches and tummy aches...

  Chris recouped fastest .. of course when I asked how he got rid of the really bad headache he confessed to 10 ibprophen before he went to bed which I do NOT encourage anyone to do..

 Christopher and I hung on the longest...but I am happy to report today we have no fevers, chills, aches or pains.... a bit tired....

  So the post of the awesomeness of spinach/ strawberry salads and grilled sliders will just have to wait for another time..

  I will tell you if you have a tummy ache then raspberry leaf tea and a spot of honey does just the trick... and the warm liquid is comfort when you have the chills... might want to keep a stock in your medicine cabinet...

  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1Thess 5:18

..Be safe if you and Beryl are dancing... and have a fine day...all day long

 

Happy Birthday Josh

 Busting in 2 1/2 weeks past his due date at a big 10lbs. 1 oz.  My 3rd son hasn't stopped since...

Happy Birthday to the best L.E.O. on the planet.  Love you Sweetie!

Feb 14, 2012

We had an awesome Valentines Day... busy , but great.

Along with planting 100 onion sets, gracoery shopping, delivering a computer, laundry, general sweeping, and animal care....

  our Valentines present to each other...was this

.. an outdoor pizza oven.   Our goal was to not spend more then 20.00 on the whole project and after a scavenge hunt around the property  we came in right at the 20.00.

We had originally found the plans at Garden Fork TV. This guy has so many great ideas and this one was at the top of our list.

we used the top to an old stand that was behind the shed

 We built an insulated well house with our pump enclosed so the old well enclosure worked wonders as a stand.... it was a two man job..

...and now a picture of where I crawled to retrieve the bricks left over from the old pony barn that was on the property when we moved here.. I braved spiders, dirt, and  a gaggle of slugs...not to mention there was some sort of unidentified scat under there... racoon? skunk? velocoraptor?

 Anyhow.. we then began layering brick

We did not have an old bedframe and could not find one at the local dump or resale store so we ended up at Tractor Supply and bought some angle iron...

some of our bricks had holes in them so we had to turn them sides ways on top to hold in the heat..

and there you have it...! We are christening it tomorrow with a pizzapaloza... I can't wait!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1Corinthians 13:4

Have a fine day......all day long

 

 

Taylor's 7th Birthday

 Taylor's actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but we celebrated tonight . He requested Thai food ( I asked if he had ever had it and he said no....) so I sort of made my own Thai sort of food and we rolled with it.

   Chris and I had stopped by the Asian Market in Raleigh for a few things, including chopstix... these fancy ones were just a 7yo size!

 We had a type fo LoMein with Thai spices.

 ..a chicken/ wun sen  dish... and spring rolls

  These are so good I have to share the recipe... they also freeze well ( uncooked)

 

2 pkgs spring roll wrappers ( not egg roll)

3 boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded

5 large carrots shredded

1 large onion diced

2 eggs

3T oyster sauce

Mix the last ingredients and put a large tablespoon of mixture in to a spring rolla nd wrap.

Either freeze or deep fry until golden brown... serve with a variety of sauces.

 

For dessert we had brownies topped with ice cream, chocolate syrupa nd whip cream

...and the birthday boys drink of choice

  We had a great time ...

HAPPY BIRTDAY TAYLOR

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

...Have a fine day............all day long!

Jan 2,2012

 One of the treats for the holidays was to have dinner hosted by my brother in law and his wife.  The food was delicious!  To make it easy all the way around Laura decided on breakfast for dinner.

 

  I HAD to have her recipe for the coffee cakes she made. Chris and I made this today for our afternoon "coffee/tea" time.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 ½ c. sugar
½ butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
¾ c. milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 c. mini-semisweet chocolate morsels
Powdered sugar

Directions:
Combine 1st 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; mix on low speed of electric mixer until mixture resembles fine.  Remove about ½ cup crumb mixture and set aside.
Add eggs, milk, and almond extract to remaining crumb mixture; mix until well blended.  Stir in chocolate morsels.  Pour batter into a greased 11x13 baking dish; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool slightly; dust top with powdered sugar.

Note:
    This is also good made with blueberries in place of the chocolate chips. 

 

It was Day 2 of the Crazy January Challenge and todays project was the January Owl from Oakhaven. He really is sweet but I do believe tomorrow's start will HAVE to be on large count material.

 

Today's Bible reading was Genisis  4-6 and Matthew Chapter 2

Almost finished with My Debbie Macomber book and read more on Mourning Gloria while I was on the recumbant bike.

I also made our laundry detergent for the next 6 months.  We have an He front loader and I was tired of paying the exensive prices for the special detergent. This recipe works fine on about a 1/4 cup in a front loader...

Laundry Detergent

• 1 measuring cup of Borax
• 1 measuring cup of Super washing soda
• 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap OR 1 bar of Ivory soap
• If desired 1 small bottle of fabric softener

I use 1 measuring cup of Borax 1 Cup of Super washing soda and 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap or you can use 1 bar of Ivory soap.  You can find the Fels-Naptha soap at Kroger and also Walmart but it is not in the isle where all the soap is in the laundry detergent isle.

Shred bar of soap with cheese shredder put into sauce pan covering the soap with just enough hot tap water to stir. Cook on top of stove on medium continue stirring soap until soap melts.

Fill 5 gallon bucket with hot tap water add all ingredients stir put lid on  Bucket let stand over night take off lid stir again ready to use I usually fill up one of my tide bottles using the tide lid full for each load washed shake well before each use  . You can also add 1 small bottle of fabric softener if desired .

This will make 5-7 Five gallon buckets minus the bar of soap.

 

  Today a dear sister went to be witht he Lord. I have known her since I was a baby. She and her husband were a part of my life when I was growing up. They were in a car accident and June was killed instantly.  Fred is in intensive care in Morgantown , WV.  June wa sin her 80's as is Fred.  I know June is rejoicing witht he saints, but my heart aches for Fred at the loss of his bride of 60 years.

 Chris chose this Bible verse for us today....... it was a good fit..

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:44

  Have a fine day....all day long