The Needle in a Haystack

A Thousand Mile walk to the Gulf by John Muir..~ Bok Across the states KY, TN, GA, FL

I'm a bit behind in my book postings, there is TONS of reading going on...

 I bought this book a couple years ago along with a couple other John Muir writings but for some reason I never picked them up.  When Ken Burns'  Our National Parks aired, I remembered the books and began to read... What a fascinating man!

This book is his waking trek from IN to eventually Cuba  , back to NY and on to CA... not just the flor and fauna... but also the people and cultures.....

This is a short read and a must read if you follow the National Parks series....

Pray for the troops.. if you live in the Raleigh/Durham NC area there will be a visitation at the Brown Wynne funeral home Wed evening from 4-9 for Captain Seth Mitchell...another mama to face the loss of her boy to this war...

Better check the front door......

..... you never know what God might put there

Pray for the troops... we have lost over 20 this past week......BUT...

God... is still on His throne.... so have a fine All Saints Day...all day long...

Chocolate Peanutbutter Oatmeal ..Nobake... Cow Pies....

  we had a little discussion on facebook the other day on all the names of these wonderful cookies.... one thing we all agreed on.... they are delicious.. Just thinking about them led me to the kitchen to make a batch....

I ate my first one in Lexington KY...I was 4 years old. My dad was in Bible College, my mom working on translating the writings of Henry Clay at the University of Kentucky, and I was safely tucked in at Mrs Whites. I can still hear her crooning as she rocked a baby.  She wore her hair wrapped around this little wire thing that wrapped it around her head just so.... but I digress.... she made these mouth water gems that changed my cookie life forever.

Chocolate Oatmeal Peanutbutter... Nobake.... cow pies

2 c. white sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix above ingredients. Put on heat and let come to boil, then cook 2 minutes, after it comes to a boil. Take from heat, add 1/2 cup peanut butter and 3 cups quick oatmeal. Mix well. Drop by teaspoon on waxed paper. Let harden. No baking needed.

I made mine yesterday in mini muffin tins that had been sprayed with butter spray... they were a nice bite size treat....

PS:  after a quick google I found out the dear lady wore a Gibson Roll hair do.... might have to sport one to work.... tooo charming!!

Pray for the troops... and have a fine day... all day long

How Great are the Works of Thy Hands

Psalms, psalm 92 Verse

1: It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
2: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
3: Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
4: For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
5: O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
6: A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
Amen
Shalom

                                        

...stump update..and preparing for winter

... Thought I would post a picture

just thought I would give you an update on the stump removal... that is now a crater

 

..and with the weather a balmy 75 degrees the last couple of days, it was perfect weather for the guys to split some wood...

 

..AND how about these fancy new boots I have to work in the yard... classic huh?

 

Pray for the troops....and have a fine day...all day long!

Soup of the Week..~ Homemade chicken Noodle

  Christopher came down with a good old fashioned cold over the weekend. Add that to the cold weather we have been having and it seemed perfect to make homemade chicken noodle soup.  My friend Beth @ Lighthouse keeper makes the best chicken noodle soup... this stuff is pure comfort food.

I will copy the recipe below... but you can find this recipe... and other yummies on her recipe blog

OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

6 cups chicken broth or homemade stock
2 cups diced cooked chicken
2 Tbl. olive oil
5 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed & minced
1 onion, chopped
1" piece of fresh gingerroot, peeled and minced
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups leftover cooked brown rice, or cooked fine egg noodles
1 tsp. salt
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne ( depends on your taste!)
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. savory
1 cup cooked peas

In a lg. pot, saute the onion and celery in the oil until softened; add the garlic and ginger and saute another 1-2 minutes. Add the broth and carrots, and simmer until carrots are tender - 15-20 minutes. Add salt and herbs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and add cooked chicken, rice or noodles and peas; adjust seasoning to taste.

.Pray for the troops... and have a fine day.... all day long!.

...and he would cry today...

Alice.com /Farmers Market

..This week has been a whirlwind... Everyday there was an appointment... work or errands... to that with an MSG allergic reaction one evening and I was wiped out!

 I did manage to visit the new Alice.com and I must say I am smitten! Getting a Sunday paper and clipping coupons is a bit of a chore for us since we live 8 miles out of a town whose local paper runs on Mon and Thurs. and has NO coupons...so when I read about a site WITH FREE SHIPPING and coupons you apply on line I jumped on it.  I just place my first order and bought several items... Suave shampoo ( which we use) ran .60 a bottle after they applied the online coupons... ( just an example here) I think  if you look at many items you use and shop their coupon deals it might be cheaper to order this way if you live in no mans land...

Part of our shop local/ shop in season project sent Chris to the Farmers Market for apples... the bonus.... 50lbsof NC grown onions.... so I'll be processing onions today while making applesauce ( checkout soulemama ) and apple dumplings ( check out Pioneer Woman) and apple crisps ( which I consider breakfast food...

Perfect for a rainy day.....

APPLE CRISP

Butter a 9X9 or 8X*8 baking dish

peel ( or not) and core 3 large apples

place in dish

mix 1 cup brown sugar

3/4c flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup softened butter

spread over top of apples ...place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes...

eat warm..cold... ice cream optional..

Pray for the troops..and have a fine day...all day long!

Soup of the Week : Spicy Bean and Sausage..under 5.00 meal

  Yesterday was so cold and dreary . On days like that when everyone but me has to be out and about..I love to light an autumn scented candle, bake something tasty, and simmer a pot of soup.

 When we were at Myrtle Beach my Grams mentioned that my uncle liked to eat beans and kielbasa  instead of a ham bone. Since I had presoaked a batch of pintos and had a kielbasa int eh fridge I decided to try it.  I chopped up an large onion and the kielbasa and sat the mixture to boil....after it boiled for a half hour I turned down to simmer and threw in a package of taco seasoning I had in the pantry that we got for free with the ElPaso deal a few weeks back.

..A skillet of hot cornbread and some warm tortillas and we were in hog heaven! this will surely go in the soup rotation for the fall/winter season...

Here is the break down

Beans: .89

onion: .33

kielbasa  2.50

seasoning :packet free

cornbread:  .75 ( eggs free..cornmeal in bulk..1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup sugar)

tortillas :also free with coupon

total: 4.47  

Christopher is the only one who had the tortillas with it...Chris and I both had cornbread....

Tomorrow I will share  the recipe for homemade taco seasoning mix that will keep the cost down when there is not a coupon for the seasoning...

Pray for  the troops...and have a fine day...all day long!

Tea of the Week, This weeks current read, dog treats

Many nights after a busy day I look forward to a cup of chamomile tea, jammies and a good book. I have tried several types of chamomile and even harvest what I can of our own here at End of the Road.... but hte special treat after a very long day is Republic of Tea Chamomile lemon  to me this requires nothing but a plop of honey to make it wonderful....I sleep like a baby after one cup. I so understand why Peter Rabbit's mother put him to bed with a cup of it after his harrowing day with the farmer.  when my own children were little i too would fix them chamomile tea and toast .  Jamie, when he was no more then 2 would ask for cammy meal tea...

 After watching the Ken Burns special National Parks, i dug out tow of the books on our selves by John Muir funny how they had sat there for all this time un touched..and now we can't get enough.  These will surely go into my Book Across the States reading.. Currently Chris and I are reading  a Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf together and I am reading National Parks. I am scouring paperbackswap ( which if you have not used them I suggest you do) and half  dot com for some of his other books.

Yesterday the smell of peanutbutter cookies was all through the house... not for me but for the Pups!

Dog Treats

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375'F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container. --- This is the original recipe, but I have found the cookies burn easily.

The dogs LOVED them.  A couple of years ago I bought a dog bone shaped cookie cutter when we visited Mast General store ..These made  several big dog treats ( our dogs are over 100 lbs each)..

 Busy day today....

Pray for the troops...and have a fine day...all day long!