provoked

 

…unto good works.

As I said, the kids decided to pick all the ripe tomatoes before pulling up the plants on Saturday.  They knew I wanted to be done dealing with tomatoes, so they promised that they would do the work.  “You can show us how to can, then go to bed!”  Riiiiight.  ;-) 

As you can see, they did do most of the work.  Wash, core, through the food processor, and into a couple pots on the stove {plus another 4qts of puree in a bucket to cook down later}.

The Cowgirl had determined it would be wise to make pizza sauce so we wouldn’t have to buy sauce at the store for a long time {She’s been studying stewardship for math… and since pizza is her favorite meal...}  We just need a good recipe.  Sooo, last night we looked at my BH&G cook book, the Ball canning guide, the ingredient labels of sauce from the store… and I finally went online and found a few more recipes to consult.  :o  Nothing like keeping it simple.  We tasted often, and we all wept over chopped onions and minced garlic…  Tasting it again today, the Cowgirl decided if we don’t like it on pizza, we could just use it for spaghetti sauce {maybe I added too much sugar to the second batch?}

At any rate, we now have 11.5 pints of pizza/Italian tomato sauce accomplished ~ as well as a lesson in canning.  My shoulder says, ‘Tis Done!

Menu plan for April

 

1. turkey pot pie {actually I make filling on stove top and serve with biscuits}
2. taco soup
3. cheddar baked chicken
4. pizza
5. grilled turkey tenderloins, zucchini mexicali
6. beef roast
7. leftover turkey
8. leftover beef
9. farmhouse BBQ biscuits
10. baked turkey taquitos
11. pizza
12. grilled steaks
13. lasagna (from the freezer!)
14. leftover lasagna?
15. soup – thinking potato/broc/cheese
16. burritos
17. cajun chicken pasta
18. pizza
19. grilled burgers, brats
20. gyros {Resurrection Sunday}
21. potato/ham casserole
22. turkey packets
23. taco salad
24. spaghetti
25. KFC [do you know what that means?]
26. grilled burgers
27. pepper steak
28. pancakes, sausage links
29. madison county chicken
30. taco soup

Ta-da!

 

…which reminds me of “The Mom Song” by Anita Renfroe, which I saw again the other day.  hee hee – See next post!

Friday updates :-)

 

First, more good news from Sharon on Kim…

January 31, 2014

Posted 1 hour ago

Dr. Baskaya's words yesterday: "Kim, you are a miracle. I saw you when you first came to the hospital and know how severely your brain was injured. You should have died in the accident. You should have died before I could do your surgery. You should not be walking yet. You should not be able to see." Kim's answer: "If I'm doing so good, why can't I be home?" Then he gave her a motivational speech: "Don't give up now when you have come so far. You need to be at Clearview so you progress farther and faster than you would at home. When I see you in 2 months, I will see even more healing results."

At her appointment, a "drain test" was done. I and the staff at Clearview have been concerned with the amount of tissues she goes through because she is constantly wiping her nose. This could be a sign that she is leaking CSF (brain fluid). Dr. Baskaya did a simple test. Kim held her head down for 5 minutes. No drainage showed that fluid was not leaking and the brain surgery was successful. We were very happy with that diagnosis!

I was hoping Dr. Baskaya would be able to start taking Kim off the anti-seizure medication she is on as it has side effects that she continues to struggle with - depression and lack of appetite. But, due to the severity of her brain injuries, she has to stay on the medication for another 2 months. At her next appointment with him, she will have a brain scan and EEG to see if she is past the danger of seizures. Then he will gradually wean her off that medication.

She is eating better than she was but is still losing weight. At yesterday's appointment she was under 98 pounds. The tube feedings may have to start again if we can't get more calories in her. Her taste is starting to return and the ever-present threat of tube feedings will hopefully be enough to get her to eat more. She will be coming home for the weekend again, so I will make all her favorites and add all the fattening calories I can.

We give all glory to God for what He has done in Kim's life. We have no doubt God has something special planned for her.

 

2.   No pizza tonight due to circumstances beyond my control… and compliance with my husband’s leadership :-)

 

3.  One of my current projects…

A new cookbook for our kitchen.  Which also had room for our collection of “international” dishes --  since the youth group meal is usually in January, that works for me instead of spread out in every other cookbook binder.

I’m also working on a book for my standard bridal shower gift.  Which is usually just a reprint of ones I’ve been doing for the past ten?! years or more.  Well, this week I’ve decided a cookbook called Family Favorites should really contain our *current* favorites instead of what I chose oh-so-many years ago plus all sorts of additions.  The shower is in two weeks, so I must keep this on my Priority List!  Wouldn’t want to cause a world crisis.  {eyes roll}

 

4.  But since I’m not cooking supper today, I shall make a test batch of these miniature cinnamon rolls – which are on the menu for yet another bridal shower in just four weeks!

Can I get a “YUM!”?  “Cinnabon clone” recipe linked HERE.

how to reduce inflammation

 

Many people take stock of their physical health when we begin a new year.  And often resolve to take better care of themselves.  So here are some of the ideas I’ve considered when making my own self-improvement plans.

I don’t remember the exact source where I found these lists… Aha!  found it: the conscious life. 

 

   

To reduce or avoid inflammation, here are some of the recommended DOs and DON’Ts as far as diet.

 

DO eat:

1. kelp
2. turmeric, ginger root
3. wild salmon, flax seed, walnuts
4. shiitake mushrooms
5. green tea
6. papaya, pineapple
7. blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries
8. extra-virgin olive oil, avocados
9. broccoli, cauliflower
10. sweet potatoes, spinach

 

AVOID:

1. sugar
2. poly-unsaturated fats, hydrogenated fats
3. nightshade family – tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers
4. grains
5. obvious junk “food”  ;-)

 

And there’s more of course, but I can’t bring myself to list milk and meat :-)  But if you know me well enough, you know I do prefer the non-GMO, unpasteurized, grass-fed good stuff!

Since adding some new supplements like EFAs {from Healthy for Life} and turmeric - and reducing grains especially – I think I’ve made progress in some of my own issues with inflammation.   I’m still far from a “trim healthy mama” but there’s hope!  And Dr. Weil even includes dark chocolate on his food pyramid :D

youth international missions meal ~ january

 

Saturday, January 19th, was the youth group’s annual international missions meal ~ Where Pastor B. announced the destination of this year’s trip…

The teens are each to bring a dish with non-American origins – and something other than tacos or spaghetti if you please. 

Even though the Popper is not in the youth group yet, Abby enjoyed her help stirring up some pretzels.  I think this recipe was linked to a South American country.

          

                      

   

Then she helped the Cowgirl with doughnuts {“kleiner” from Iceland}

  

{roll out dough, cut diamond-shaped pieces, cut a hole in the middle and twist one end through the hole ~ or something like that.  Fun, eh?}

             

The Cattleman made raspberry and apricot rugelach ~ yum! 

        

The Computer Geek was happy to share brats and sauerkraut.

 

And the destination for this year’s learning-while-serving adventure is…

  BOSTON!  :D

maple-nut coffee twist

 

…is really just a twist on cinnamon rolls.  ahem. 

3.14  It’s PI Day today {which my brainy children tell me should be pronounced ‘pee’ :p  but mathematicians aren’t bound by those rules?}  So here’s a recipe that almost looks like a pie.  And more importantly, would make a delicious addition to a special holiday breakfast or brunch  :)

 

Basically it’s sweet roll dough divided into 3 parts, each rolled out and stacked with goodies in between.  Put a glass or jar upside down in the middle while you cut pie shaped wedges, then twist each wedge five times and remove the glass.  Looks so impressive, but it’s really not that difficult!  My favorite kind of baked good!  :)

I looked for the recipe online, but it must be an oldie from Pillsbury that didn’t make the cyberspace cookbooks.  A family from the church in Menomonee Falls shared a copy of the recipe with Kate.

 

MAPLE-NUT COFFEE TWIST (Pillsbury)

Coffee Cake:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

2 3/4 to 3 cups flour

3 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 tsp maple extract

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

 

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup chopped nuts

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp maple extract

 

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T butter, melted

1 to 2 T milk or water

1/2 tsp maple extract

 

In small saucepan, heat milk and butter until very warm (120-130 F).  In large bowl, blend warm liquid, 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, yeast, maple extract, and egg at low speed until moistened.  Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  By hand, stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes.  Place dough in greased bowl, turn greased side up.  Cover, let rise until light and doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.  In small bowl, combine filling ingredients; set aside.

Grease 12-inch pizza pan.  Punch down dough, divide and shape into 3 balls. On floured surface, roll or press 1 ball of dough to cover bottom of prepared pizza pan.  Place in prepared pan.  Brush dough with 1/3 of melted butter; sprinkle with 1/3 of filling.  Repeat layers of dough, melted butter and filling.  To shape, place a glass about 2 inches in diameter in center of dough.  With scissors, cut from outside edge to the glass, forming 16 pie-shaped wedges.  Twist each wedge 5 times.  Remove glass.  Cover; let rise until light and doubled in size, 30-45 minutes. 

Heat oven to 375 F.  Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. 

In small bowl, blend glaze ingredients until smooth.  Drizzle over warm coffee cake.

 

I don’t have any close-up photos with the glaze added ~ I baked it and put it in the freezer wrapped in foil to reheat and ice on Christmas morning.  I don’t remember for sure now, but I think I used my usual sweet roll dough (using half the batch).  Likely I used softened butter to spread on each layer and then sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar, and nuts until it looked good to me  (meaning I did not measure the filling ingredients – I am a lazy cook with a family who loves lots of cinnamon on their sweet rolls!).  I baked it and kept in on the pizza stone to serve.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Do you have a sunrise service or breakfast at your church for Easter?

spinach manicotti

 

{photo by Taste of Home}

Make-Ahead Spinach Manicotti (Taste of Home, F/M 1999)

1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese (or substitute cottage cheese)

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

(We prefer to use 5 or 6 oz of fresh spinach)

1½ cups (6 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg

2 tsp minced fresh parsley

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

2 jars (28 oz each) spaghetti sauce with meat

(I add my own browned ground beef to Prego, about 1 ½ jars)

1 ½ cups water

1 package (8 oz) manicotti shells

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmesan, egg, parsley, onion powder, pepper and garlic powder. Combine spaghetti sauce and water; spread 1 cup sauce in an ungreased 13x9x2” baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti with spinach mixture; arrange over sauce. [I’ve heard suggested to put mixture into plastic bag, cut a hole, and squeeze into shells.] Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 min. before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-50 min. or until heated through. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Note: When I was without manicotti shells, I used the spinach/cheese mixture in layers with sauce and uncooked lasagna noodles instead. :)

-------------------------

That’s how the recipe looks in my personal cook book.

But for the recent banquet I chose to make the spaghetti sauce from scratch to avoid unwanted ingredients.  We are meat-lovers so I always add meat to the sauce.  For the banquet I used both ground beef and Italian sausage {which the meat counter guys assured me did not have any MSG} – at our house I usually just add ground beef.

If your sauce is saucy enough, you don’t need to add that much water.  The point is to have enough liquid for the pasta to cook well.  But you don’t want your sauce too bland either, so feel free to spice it up!

Abby (a practiced cake decorator) liked using a bag to stuff the manicotti shells.  A spoon worked better for me. 

Note that pieces of chopped fresh spinach do not necessarily flow well out of a pastry bag and tip. 

Also, when you’re grabbing shredded cheese from a five-pound bag, it tends to go on a bit heavier  ;-)  So my manicotti looks a lot cheesier than the photo above.

See the cheesy difference here?   hmmm, more sauce too? ~ 7-8 cups in each pan

When a recipe says “shredded mozzarella,” I almost always use the 3-cheese blend from Stella (mozzarella, cheddar, provolone).  I baked the manicotti as directed, then cooled each pan before freezing.  We made weekly double-batches of manicotti for a month before the banquet.  (Each half-size steam table pan held 12 manicotti noodles, so we put 11 pans together.)

For the gluten-free guests, I made a smaller pan of manicotti using Tinkyada rice lasagna noodles.  I softened the noodles in a dish of very hot water, then wrapped each noodle around a mass of the ricotta-spinach filling.  Sorta messy, but it seemed to work.  I waited until the day of the banquet to bake it, not wanting the rice pasta to get overcooked.

Here was another “What would you do?” conundrum:  The manicotti box says a serving equals three noodles.  I decided to make enough to serve two noodles to ~70 adults.  We served one noodle (with the plan to offer seconds, but we were a bit understaffed and overwhelmed…) – I don’t think anyone left hungry.  We had an amazing amount of leftovers however.

lemon {half} pound cake

 

How could I {melanie} not like to read a blog called Mel’s Kitchen Café?  :)  Well, this other Melanie from Minnesota does have a fun blog for foodies. Y’all should check it out.  Just set your timer first.

And she in turn is a fan of Smitten Kitchen {which my Kate discovered in her quest for cake perfection a couple years back}. 

So a recipe from Smitten Kitchen recommended by Mel’s Kitchen Café?  Ought. to. be. good.  {at least if it’s a lemon pound cake, and that’s what I’m looking for}

This recipe I didn’t do much tweaking with, except I only zested one large lemon, which also yielded me the needed 3-4 T of juice to add to the buttermilk.  Um, and I add powdered buttermilk to the flour mixture and liquid skim milk to the liquids – follow that?  that’s how I do buttermilk here.  :-} 

I also followed some of the pound cake technique suggestions from Better Homes & Gardens May 2009 issue.  :)  Such as counting 20 seconds of mixing time for each egg before moving on to the next one.

I guess there’s more of my own quirkiness to explain…  I used a Bundt pan for 24 servings from each cake – with the entire batch of batter. 

I did not use any powdered sugar glaze.  {I had a corn-free guest at dinner, and didn’t want to restrict her choice of desserts.}  Instead, the whipped cream and raspberry sauce made it more “oh la la” – not to mention “delicious.”

I haven’t yet been convinced of the merits of using unsalted butter, so I guess I’d have to call that optional.  :)  I buy the fancy-schmancy store brand of butter from Fareway anyway.  It works for me.

Oh, and I reduced the amount of syrup to pour over the baked cake… hmm, my memory is foggy now.  Maybe half the amount listed?  Because I’m just a little bit of a miser:  I poured the syrup on the cake once, then moved the cake and its rack to drip on a diff pan and scraped the drippings from the first pan over the cake again.  Not quite so much left to wash away  :)  Not sure how that works if you make the cakes in loaf pans… but I’ve made this look complicated enough already.   On to the recipe!

With an inspiring photo from Mel…

Lemon Pound Cake {Mel’s Kitchen Café}

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup plus
• 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, and lemon zest.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Divide batter evenly between pans, smooth tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
4. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves.
5. When cakes are done, let them cool 10 minutes. Invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon lemon syrup over cakes. Let cakes cool completely.
6. For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cakes, and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2007/12/lemon-pound-cake.html

flourless chocolate cake {pudding on a plate}

 

Yum.   

I should have a worthy photo or ten of our desserts from last week’s banquet, but I don’t…

so, here’s what we attempted to look like…

except we had to skip the fresh raspberries, and we had whipped cream not white chocolate mousse

{Photo credit:  Judy}

Pretty, yes?  Delicious, yes!

Pretty delicious.

The recipe I used actually came from food52.com  {Judy’s above has beans in it to replace the flour}, but I also took some hints from allrecipes, epicurious, and Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.  Hard work, this business.

Recipe contributor “TasteFood” says: This luscious chocolate cake is made without flour, resulting in a rich truffle-like torte. The key to its intensity and flavor lies in the quality of the few ingredients. Choose a high quality dark chocolate (I prefer Lindt 70%) and use a European-style butter, such as Plugra or Lurpak. The brightness and acidity of the raspberry coulis balances the richness of the cake, while cooling whipped cream smooths out the flavors, allowing you to come back for more.

 

Methods & Ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups (12 oz) Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

6 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter a 9” spring form pan.  Line bottom with buttered parchment paper.  Dust pan with Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder (or other unsweetened cocoa powder).

Melt butter over low heat in small saucepan.  Turn off heat and add chocolate; stir to melt; return to very low heat if needed to melt chocolate.  (This method replaces the need for a double boiler  :)  so work it carefully.)

Whisk sugar and eggs together in large bowl (First sample cake I whisked ingredients by hand; the cakes for the banquet I used my KitchenAid stand mixer with whisk attachment).  Stir in vanilla.  Add lukewarm chocolate mixture and stir, combining well.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until set and top begins to crack, about 45-50 minutes.  (Center will still be moist.  Cake will rise while baking, then fall as it cools.)  Cool pan on rack until easily handled to remove side.  Transfer cake to cooling rack until completely cool (remove bottom of pan and parchment paper).  Transfer to serving plate, or store tightly covered in the fridge for up to a week.

Serve with small amount of raspberry sauce and whipped cream.  Cake serves 12.

Sweetened, real whipped cream

Raspberry Sauce:  Heat 12 oz of frozen unsweetened raspberries on low to medium heat in saucepan; add 1/2 cup of sugar; heat gently and stir to dissolve sugar (and smoosh raspberries).  I use a stick blender to puree the sauce.

{Option: Press raspberry sauce through a fine-meshed sieve to separate seeds from coulis; discard seeds.} 

Freeze leftover sauce if not used within the week.  This makes enough sauce for 36-48 servings possibly (-?- I didn’t actually do the math on this.  And my brain is still slightly on overload…)

The raspberry sauce is very tasty with lemon pound cake too  :D

fyi, we noticed the texture of the chilled cake to be much more like a cheese cake.  {didn’t notice that when we served the first cake at home without chilling}

 

Special kudos and thanks to Angela for the loan of her T-fal springfrom pan (above on the right) –> very nice to use!  Interesting difference in appearance between the cakes from the diff pans too.  (our pan is a Norpro)

Artichoke & Spinach Dip {and why}

One of the reasons you haven't heard from me lately:  I indulged my whim to sort of "cater" a couples' banquet at church.  No, I don't know how my husband or family live with me either...It's been a crazy month of preparations.

 
Abby helped me stuff about 140 manicotti shells.  (Then we decided one shell was a good serving size instead of two...)

  (The cookies were for the kitchen and child care staff... who had no time to eat them!)

Yum, this French baguette recipe from Cooks Illustrated magazine  is soooo good!

 
The flourless 'decadent' chocolate cakes were delish!  After chilling, they have almost the consistency of cheesecake.  But it's just eggs, sugar, butter, and dark chocolate chips.  With raspberry sauce and whipped cream... oh my.

The final day!  Tim did all the chopping of spinach and artichokes for four batches of dip.  Yes, he is my hero!

The Cowgirl sniffed her way through an entire red onion for the salads.

And the really chaotic final hour... which wasn't quite enough time to steam frozen green beans... Tim managed the food warmers and the beans for me!

 Another one of my cheerful volunteers in the kitchen, ready to serve up some salad.  :)

 

We expected up to 33 couples to attend - and were blessed to have 54 adults for a fun evening in a beautifully transformed fellowship hall with some good food and a sweet couple delivering a great message together on love and kisses.

The appetizer served was the following Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip with pita chips (or Almond-Thins for my gf friends).  So far it is the most-requested recipe from the evening.  If you choose to make this, beware not to overindulge!  :)  You have been warned.

Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip

Combine in saucepan, heating just until butter is melted and spinach is wilted:

¼ cup butter, melted

1 clove garlic, pressed

5-6 oz fresh spinach, chopped

Combine thoroughly in mixing bowl with hand mixer (or use food processor):

8 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz sour cream (cultured - Daisy Brand preferred)

Aprox ½ cup of shredded aged 4-cheese blend

(aged provolone, parmesan, asiago, romano – Shullsburg/Italia Brand)

¼ tsp salt, optional

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

Drain, rinse, and finely chop one 14 oz can of artichoke hearts.  Combine with all of the above.

Spoon into buttered dish (6 -8 cup size) or dishes.  Top with shredded mozzarella (I use the 3-cheese blend by Stella available at Sam’s – mozzarella, provolone, cheddar).

Bake about 30 min at 350 F. 

Serve warm with pita chips, tortilla chips, crackers, or toasted Italian bread. 

Makes about 18 small servings.

Recipes for the chocolate cake, lemon pound cake, raspberry sauce, spinach-stuffed manicotti, and baguettes will be forthcoming... if or when I can...

praline sweet potatoes

{Especially for Julie G.}

My mom found this recipe on a can of sweet potatoes many years ago.  Fortunately I was able to convert her to using fresh sweet potatoes, so this is really yummy!  Even better when they come from your own garden, but... not this year.  So grab some at the grocery store while they are on sale this fall!

{insert picture that I cannot find}

Praline Sweet Potatoes

3-4 pounds sweet potatoes/yams, steamed or baked and skins removed, cut into chunks or mashed

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1/4 cup butter, melted

Place chunks of sweet potatoes in a buttered baking dish (2 quart).
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potatoes.  Some people's children think the quantity of topping should be doubled. 
Bake at 350F for 20-30 min. uncovered.

Can be frozen to thaw and bake later - highly recommended when it's a busy food-centered holiday like Thanksgiving Day!  You'll want to make enough for a 3- or 4-quart dish if you're hosting more than 20 people.

dreaming of the simple life

 

or not so simple maybe.  But where everything has a time.  So it gets done. 

{sorta like a place for everything, and everything in its place}

 

 

If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. 

But here’s a wish list anyway.

Time for blogging.  Baby books by hand.  Photo books via digital online.

Planning for landscaping.  Ordering trees, shrubs, flowers.  Starting seeds for a vegetable garden.  Our own berry patch with fruit and nut trees.

Painting the bookshelves I started scraping in 2010.  Somewhere there’s a can of beautiful blue paint for them.  Sometime down the road, the walls will need painting again ~ then or sooner, I will think about a few accent walls.  Maybe.  I need a few other ducks in a row before my thoughts can go there.

Reading multiple chapters in my Bible daily.  Time spent in prayer.  Remembering those I need to pray for {including those who live in this house}.  Reading more profitable books beyond the fast food diet of vacation reads {such as Bonhoeffer or The Maker’s Diet or Sweet Journey Bible study and more}  Thinking.  Reading historical fiction aloud to my kiddos.

Sewing.  Fun stuff like flannel baby blankets.  Needed things like culottes or skirts for my girls.  Practical jobs like mending jeans for my boys and Tim.  {The bzillion pieces of my “grandma” quilt wait quietly.  Someday our school room or the boys’ bedroom might be a sewing room.  Then it might be time for that quilt.}  It’s good to have something in this list that is appointed to wait for a different season of life.

But in the meantime, I have a stack of school papers to check.  Checkbooks to balance.  Supper to cook.  E-mails to wait for that should contain important links.  A new-to-us treadmill to ignore get back on tomorrow.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Just to brighten this post ~ and show you I haven’t been in la-la land all month ~ and confirm that we mostly live to eat ~ here’s a few more snapshots of life here…

 

Kate made a cranberry tart with her birthday tart pan {actually she made it into part cranberry /raspberry /cherry}  Recipe from Smitten Kitchen I think.  The cherry was the best of course.  {Must have a cherry tree in the future orchard}

 

Tim treated us to his waffle dessert on a Sunday night…

      

      

 

Kate also made a raspberry chocolate cake that was delish {surprise}  but it would be best to chill it for a while before serving…

            

 

She also found a different recipe for potato soup…

 

{Are you wondering what I have been doing instead of cooking?}

I did bake some breakfast tea cake the other day.  Just no pictures.

Did I mention we bought a tread mill? 

{Can you guess why I need a tread mill?  and Kate needs to reserve her daily desserts for the restaurant?}

Yeah, that.

Tim finished the floor in the school room!  ta da!

Everything was (is) terribly dusty from the sander {on top of months of neglect}  I started with the ceiling fans/lights  in the kitchen, dining, living, and school rooms.  I cleaned shelves {thought about painting them while they were empty} and dusted every thing that had to go back on them.  etc, etc.  I had four microfiber dust rags going plus the vacuum.  I did have the Computer Geek clean his own desk, thank you.  And his beloved office chair was banished to the basement due to evidence of unwelcome marks on the plywood floor.  He was not overly happy with me that day. 

I’m thinking about buying some shelves at Target for the ‘closet’ area.  We aren’t using the vertical space very well in there right now.  And I could use that low green shelf elsewhere…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Tim just has to finish the laminate in the front entry hall and put in the other threshold pieces.   And then it will be back to staining trim.  yee haw. 

{prepare to roll your eyes} In other headline-worthy news: I had an ironing marathon one day.   While I was doing laundry and little else.  I should have saved the entire season of Downtown Abbey to watch that day instead of just the last episode.  I suppose that might have been worthy of before/after photos.

And I dealt with the mending pile again.  No pictures.  It’s just too exciting for public record, ya know.  When I get Hanna & James’ new baby boy’s blanket stitched, that will call for the camera.

I am somewhat Monday-challenged. Do you know what I mean by that? I’ve long made it a habit to stay at home on Mondays. Then we met Miss Artist’s harp teacher who is only available on Mondays or Wednesdays. So the choice seemed obvious. But I’m still in training trying to remember I have someplace to go on Mondays.  And it’s more than just a few miles away.  I’m thinking that about the time I develop the habit, she’ll be able to drive herself solo.  {Yes, add a trip to the DOT for her DL to the List}  And then maybe I can manage a daybook/happy homemaker sort of weekly post again?  Maybe.

And there’s more on my List.  But it’s still a secret. 

Stay tuned, but please don’t hold your breath!