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.......

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!