Happy, Busy Days

So, I have been a bad blogger, but time just goes by so fast. I thought I would update everyone on what all I have done recently...
Canning- well, not much got done in this category...I will try again next year with our garden, but start MUCH earlier. Our bumper crops...Carrots and GREEN TOMATOES...we are actually going to pick ALL of the tomatoes today and see if we have enough to can anything when they ripen.
Crafting: Well, I haven't done too much here...we already have 2 Christmas Projects done, and three in the works...at some point of being done. Having some trouble with one, need an item for another and we had supplier issues for the third. I will try to post pictures when Christmas is over...I don't know if my family reads this or not, but I'd rather not take chances.
Sewing: While technically a crafting item, I have a few sewing projects I need to work on...Grace and I need to finish 2 skirts, I would like to make aprons for us...I am such a sloppy person in the kitchen... and I still have a quiet book in the works...
Cooking: Menu planning fell by the wayside this month when my hubby said, "I would like __________________ for dinner tonight." So, now I am trying to get back on the plan...I LOVE menu planning, because when I have a plan, dinner is much easier...when I fail to plan...I plan to fail...I found a recipe for Pork and Mushroom stew that was served over apple mashed potatoes that looks SO incredible. I hope to try it soon and report on that. A friend gave me a recipe for gingerbread scones that I hope to try soon. Today, nothing says fall like gingerbread scones...I hope they taste as good as they sound. I am also hoping to try my hand at making buttermilk bisuits again...either I have not made these correctly OR I do not have a good recipe yet, but I LOVE biscuits and am going to try a new recipe soon. I have learned a couple things about biscuit making that I did not know before...I did not know there was an ART to making biscuits. On a similar note, I have told many people that I cannot make banana bread...I think I know what my trouble is and I also think I have confirmed it...GLASS PANS...I use Glass pans to make it in...and I think it bakes better in metal pans. It is ALWAYS either overcooked or undercooked...NO MATTER WHAT I DO...so I am on the lookout for 2 or 3 metal pans at a REALLY GOOD PRICE!
I went to a baby shower at church yesterday...there is NOTHING more beautiful that a pregnant woman...(well, unless it's me...I do not feel beautiful when I am pregnant)...she was blessed with a wonderful devotion, gifts, gift cards and sweet friends. A friend of mine made her this quilt...they are so adorable...she has made these quilts for most of the babies in the church (some of whom are in their mid-twenties now!) and I almost cried when she held it up...these quilts truly are special...a beautiful tradition in our church...
We have had a couple of deaths too in our church family...always sad on our end...one was a founding father almost of our church...a pillar for sure, the other was a new little lamb and so sad. We are trying to come alongside and support these families right now.
Our family has just started attending Bible Study Fellowship...we are studying Isaiah this year. I am so excited that all of us are in this study. I love BSF and I am so happy to be back...when I last went, my oldest was 5...so it's been awhile. I am already learning so much about this book, about myself, about history and about God...and we are only on lesson 2.
Well, I keep hearing some harsh words...time to redirect everyone.
Love you!
C~

Goodbyyye JUUUULYYYYYYY

said in your best Dave Neihaus voice (Mariners announcer)...

So July came in with my mom in the hospital with back surgery...she ended up in the recovery for seven and a half hours because her oxygen saturation levels were too low...and July went out with out friend Timothy in a coma from Cerebral Malaria...and we thought he was not going to make it through it...
Sprinkled throughout July were you usual things...Doctors appointments, meetings, etc...and also a couple of extras...taking a friend in for surgery, three family birthdays and Vacation Bible School...we also had a surprise...we thought DD broke his foot, but it turns out, he has something called Kohler's Disease, which, as I understand it, is when the tissue inside a little bone in your foot dies before that bone hardens and the bone collapses on itself...it will heal just fine, but it will take about a year to do so...
Things to be thankful for...
Well, we are SO thankful for Timothy being with us and gaining his strength, we are thankful for DD's foot not being broken, I am thankful that I am still 29, and I am very thankful that July is OVER!
August has so far brought the flu to our home...three down...hopefully NO MORE to go!
Love,
C~

Striving for Simplicity

A sweet "bloggy" friend, Linny, Posted this great tip on her blog and I thought I would share a tip that has made life more simple at my house...
For the youngest two children here, I make them clothing bags for each day with their entire outfit in it...no shoes, but everything else...so for the Principessa, I fold her clothes and put everything in the bag, one for each day...and as I am doing that, I try to think of what will be happening and plan accordingly...For DD, I just put together the pants and shirts...he doesn't have enough socks and skivvies for the number of bags I have for him. On his bags, I wrote his name...since he can't read (but can recognize his name) and because I was finding empty ziploc bags all over the house and I was never quite sure if they were his or mine...I wrote days of the week on the Principessa's.
So, I am sure you are wondering...how does this Simplify your life? Well, now they are not digging through their drawers to find clothes...which if it were left in the drawers, would be okay with me, but they ended up ALL OVER THE FLOOR and then because they were on the floor and became mixed with dirty, got thrown into the laundry and so I was washing clean clothes several times...which, when you have more than the 2.5 or 1.9 or whatever the average number of children is right now...well, let's just say...I don't need any more laundry.
And now, when I am doing laundry, I have them grab their basket and I refill the bags while I am folding...may not be rocket science, might not work in your home, but in my home, "It's a Good Thing!"
Now, we're working on CLEANER BEDROOMS!
So, how do you Simplify your Life?
C~

Jam Session

Canning Seasaon is just beginning to be upon up and is ushered into our home with freezer jam...Strawberry and Raspberry...our family's favorites...I am thinking of trying mango too as we really love mangoes, but I will not go crazy with that in case we're not that crazy about mango jam...also hoping to do some peach too...
My other canning plans or hopes at this point are for:
Applesuace- I really need to get one of those peeler, slicer jobs though...
Apple Pie Filling
Green Beans
Peaches
Pickles- been a few years since I have done these
Tomatoes in almost all forms....sauce, puree, chunks...
and...I am going to try canning some jalapenos...we will see about that...

So, I would post pictures, but I am not so sure Bessie can...I'll play with that a little later (and by "I" I mean my techy teenager who seems to know all of that stuff by osmosis or something....) but right now, I need to go put away my jam!
What are your canning plans this year?

Blog Stalker?

So, many of you might be thinking I never read your blog...I assure you...I do...I just have this issue...a pet peeve really...I don't like the way the comments are done...how you have to go to a seperate page to leave a comment...the when you are done, press back a few times til you are where you were...makes me nuts!!!! I wish the comments could just be left under the post...like facebook...I can leave you a cheery little message and scroll down right keeping up with what is going on...ahhh...perhaps one day...but not today...Bessie just can't take it...even if it didn't make me nuts on a regular day...
So...anything make you nuts about blogging...either posting or reading...do tell...just don't get me started on those fancy pants blogs where you have to click "read More" to read more...or I might really go over the edge...do something drastic...like tweet to all my twits or write on some walls...only if Bessie doesn't get her bytes in a bundle!!!
C~

Scrabble

Ok...strange request, but I am getting a little frantic in my searc* for Scrabble games...now, I know t*at stores have t*em stacked up all day *ig*, but I am not $15 frantic ....well....yet....but t*e day may come...I am like 50 cents, or $1 frantic and *ope t*at maybe someone can *elp me w*ile t*ey are out and about...garage sale-ing...t*rift store s*opping, etc...because I need 12+ of t*ese puppies...yup...you read t*at rig*t...and w*ile you are at it...you all mig*t want to write the nice folks at Scrabble and let t*em know...that 2 H's in a game...is definitely NOT enoug*...
So, please let me know if you find any and I will make arrangements for taking t*em off your *ands....and t*ank you most profusely from the bottom of my *eart...see need more H's...

(A little confused...put H's in the places of the *...just a little play on letters!)
C~

Poor, Poor Bessie

Well, when I told you all about our dinosaur, I forgot to tell you her name...we are calling her Bessie...well, because it just fit. Back in April, I rode to a women's retreat with a dear friend...it was her first time driving this new little commuter car her husband was going to be using and she was worried about how it would go up the pass...I told her it would be fine as long as the semis weren't passing us...well, the semis WERE passing us...and we had a great laugh over it...and I am not sure what the computer comparison would be for Bessie, but the semis are DEFINITELY passing her!!!! I feel so helpless as I can offer no help as she wheezes and groans with each page or email opening...just think back to dial-up if y'all can remember back that far...maybe we should have called her Granny...but Bessie, sad as it is to watch her work, is most beloved...perhaps we will have to have Flat Stanley adventures with her...well, except for the fact...well...that she is not that flat!!!!
Keep rejoicing with me though...and don't worry as the semis pass us by...the laughter in the car is WORTH it! (well at least Cheri and Grace will get it! ;-)
C~