What's been going on...

Thanksgiving started off with a bittersweet event. I looked out the kitchen window to see a large hound running across the neighbor's yard toward the street(we live on a busy corner). Sarah ran to see it and was just in time to see the hound's partner get hit and killed by a truck. The driver didn't even stop. We brought the hound in, hoping he had a tag. He was so sweet and stayed with us for 2 nights, sleeping on the bed with us. His owners had gone out of town for a funeral and came back Saturday afternoon. I hated having to tell them about their schnauzer mix.


Sonny and Sarah

We went the next weekend to collect our Christmas tree from Danville Farms. This is our favorite tree farm and we've been coming here almost 10 years. Of course this is not the first one that wasn't properly measured. The tag said 9 feet. I can understand 9.5 or even 9.9 or something, but 11 feet 7 inches?? That is WAAAAAAY off! We cut 10 inches off the trunk and it was still too big to fit under the ceiling beam.



We were pressed for time so there aren't many pictures. Here's Jasper doing his part to keep the tissue paper under control.







Meanwhile...



Fozzie was a busy boy and fathered, despite our best efforts to keep them apart, a litter of puppies with Sparkle. She went into labor on December 6th, exactly a year from the day we brought her home. Doesn't she look miserable?





Her babies, all female, are 1 week old now and we are in love with them!


Bijou, Biscuit, Maezy, and Macaroni

I hope everyone is having a wonderful, peaceful holiday season! I don't blog nearly as much as I want to, things are crazy with three extremely social kids.

I has a food blog

I post recipes on my facebook occasionally and have many on my previous blog(not so much here though). In the interest of saving them for my kiddos, not to mention finding them myself, I have decided to post them all in the same place.

Please visit me sometime at...

De-Cluttering Help...

My bloggy/fb friend Makin' Projiks posted this on facebook this morning. Oh My Gosh. I am now in love with Clutter Busting with Brooks Palmer. All of my plans for today are out the freakin window because of him. Dadgumit.

Fallish....

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
~Emily Bronte

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly
~John Bailey

Riverboarding!

What is Riverboarding?

Wordless(mostly) Wednesday-Summer

(creating)


(saving)


(progressing)


(eating)


(observing)


(relaxing)


(discovering)


(daydreaming)

Taste the Rainbow...

We are all skittleheads now thanks to Manic Panic's Classic Cream Formula.



(Amy's redo in Shocking Blue)


(Molly's teal-mix of Lizard Green and Shocking Blue)


(Ryan, just blond for now, will be Lizard Green on the spots)


(Sarah's Hot Hot Pink, over her natural coppery red)

CRRROOOOOAK!!!

Blackberry Pickin'

Last week the teens in our homeschool group went north to pick strawberries at McPeak Orchards. There were four families represented with seven kids. We had a great time and came home with about 15 quarts of delicious, fresh red strawberries. I put up 7ish quarts and we ate the rest within a day or so. I wish I had taken pictures of the outing but all I've got is one of our two baskets to show you...







We didn't quite get our fill of picking berries so one of our MOT(mom of teen) offered to let us pick from her dad's dewberry patch not far from us. Again, I did not take pictures but that's a GOOD thing! It was 92 degrees, sunny, and windy. None of the kids picked for more than 5 minutes so it was just us hot, sweaty, windblown moms doing the dirty work. And it was DIRTY! I came away with just under five pounds but we are going back next week for more. I froze three quarts and made a "scone cake" with the rest(what was left after the girls had munched them anyway)...



(before butter)


(now that's better)

Blackberry Chocolate Chip Scone Cake

(it is important to note that the measurements are extremely approximate!)

2-2.5ish cups of flour(I use half white, half whole wheat)
1.25tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1 loose cup(about 2/3 cup packed) light brown sugar
1 heaping cup of blackberries or dewberries
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
enough milk to make a think batter
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
(I did NOT add any vanilla or cinnamon but both would have worked-I just plain forgot)
Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine dry ingredients and toss to mix and break up sugar. Add berries, chips, milk and egg and mix well. Pour into a buttered 9x9 or 9x13 pan(mine was a 9-inch straight sided round stoneware tart pan). Bake for about 20 minutes, testing at about 15-16 minutes with a cake tester. It might take longer than 20 minutes, I was facebooking and didn't pay attention. The edges were slightly pulled away and browned when they were done if that helps. Let them cool a bit and cut into serving sized pieces. Eat buttered with plenty of coffee!! Enjoy!

Painting is DONE!!

We have hemmed and hawed for months and months about painting our dining room and kitchen. I just could NOT find the right color even though I knew what I wanted. Lowe's started carrying a new line called Creative Ideas with Color and **Finally** I found the perfect match! Its called Gecko and boy is it ever green! Like the new growth on our holly bushes or newly leafed out oak trees. GREEN! We need to add some artwork and I really want a pot rack. I'll just bask in the green-ness for now though!

Rainbow Clouds...

An explanation of rainbow clouds.

And pictures of the one that occurred for a few minutes above our park day this afternoon(not nearly as spectacular as the one in the link) but still pretty cool huh?

Comfort Food...

Today we took the boat out to Gilmer Lake for a test run to see how the motor would be. We had a not-so-great day fishing(we didn't catch anything, sunburn, lost lures, fought winds, and had so-so luck with the motor-but it could have been worse). Plus Mark has come down with the nasty sore throat I had a few weeks ago and tomorrow is his birthday. When we came home I was scrounging for some dinner that wasn't a frozen burrito or eggroll or leftover spaghetti. I spied the half-eaten bag of Doritos we took on the boat and had an instant craving for Dorito Casserole.

My mom's sister Donna introduced us to this awesome, tasty dish when I was a little girl. It had Rotel tomatoes, cream of mushroom and chicken soups, ground beef, and lots of cheese. My mom made it very occasionally and I've made it a few times now and then(like every 2-3 years). It is sooooo good and sooooo bad for you at the same time, the perfect comfort food! Once you get a craving for something like this, nothing else will do though so I was disappointed to think I couldn't make this tonight... or so I thought.

There was a new block of extra sharp cheddar in the fridge along with a couple leftover chicken leg quarters I'd baked on Thursday, some sour cream, and a jar of green chili salsa. In the pantry was a jar of roasted red pepper alfredo sauce. Oh my gooosh this was good!!!! It didn't make much but it was just enough for the four of us to have one serving(Ryan is camping with friends and missed out- bummer).

Southern Comfort Chicken Dorito Casserole

(all measurements very approximate)

3/4 cup sour cream
1 jar roasted red pepper alfredo sauce(use 3/4 of it)
3 cups Doritos(not crushed), I used spicy salsa flavor
3 cups cut up chicken(cooked)
2/3 cup green chili salsa, I used Herdez brand
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder(or cook up an onion if you have time)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a greased 8x8 casserole dish or 9x5x3 loaf pan(I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan). Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350. Serve hot with cut up veggies such as baby carrots and cucumbers. This will serve 2 very hungry people or 4 very tired people who need something to eat.

Some video...

Mark finally loaded the software for Amy's video camera. Here's some of our goofy animals and our record setting SNOW from mid-February.

Something new...

but first...


(Jasper with his darling pink nose being his cutie-pie self)

And now...

Several days ago an idea popped into my head. No idea where it came from but I knew I had to act immediately to put it in motion. These are my latest creations.... beaded crocheted necklaces and bracelets! They go together in minutes(about 15 total) and are super easy. I make them big enough to slip over the head so I don't have to put in a hook or closure but I plan to make some chokers too.



(pics taken with Amy's camera phone and not edited at all- sorry so blurry and washed out)




So far I've made 20 necklaces and 2 bracelets out of white, teal, red and black threads but plan to add a rainbow multi, marigold, and pink(among other colors) this weekend. My mom is going to send me a few handfuls of beads since I can't find what I'm looking for at our local Hobby Lobby or Michael's. They used to carry tubes that were color-themed but varied in shape and size. Now all I can find is assorted(very muted) colors in the tubes. Luckily I had a pretty decent stash to plow through because these them!

In other news...

I've been sick for over a week with a NASTY sore throat and sinus problems. Ugh! It is better today but definitely not gone. Last night Sparkle and Tallulah slept on either side of me, I think they knew I didn't feel good.

I've got to put my beans on to soak tonight! Homesick Texan's Ranch Style Beans are on my mind, been wanting to make them for a week now but haven't felt like it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be icky and rainy so it will be perfect weather for beading and bean eating. Mark has another 5K race. He won his age group last weekend and was 14th over all out of 200+. His friend, who is running because of Mark's encouragement, won his age group too(30somethings) and was 3rd over all!!! Hopefully they'll do well this time out too.

If I feel well enough we'll texture the walls on Sunday. I'm SO ready to paint!!!
If I feel up to it we'll texture the dining room walls on Sunday. I hope I do because I'm S

random stuff...

It has been seriously hard to blog without my own computer! Hopefully it will be fixed soon and I can get on with sharing pictures and so forth. Right now I'm sharing with Amy so I only have access to her pictures(and her camera broke so she's down to her cell phone). Here are some recent ones...


sunset over our back fence



the triplets


what really goes on in the girls' room


running with tiger at Long Park

In other news...

We were finally able to take a load of stuff to the local thrift store! Of course it barely made a dent; I'm still in the process of clearing out dresser drawers and closets! Maybe after another 3-4 loads we'll be to a manageable state. It would be nice to be able to get the last of the carpeting out of everyone's closet floors soon.

We've chosen one of the three paints for our kitchen/dining area so far; a nice super saturated olivey green for the dining area. I want to put orange in the kitchen area and a peacock blue or plum on the soffits to connect the two. Last week the kids helped peel wall paper but we still have a few small sections to go. Maybe today...(to see the paint sample go to http://www.valspar.com/explore-colors/choose-a-color.html; scroll down a bit and click on Creative Ideas for Color. Then click on Kids & Fun. Our oolor is the second green right above the word Kids; called Gecko). This is the color I've had in my mind's eye forever but for some reason I never came across the paint card(I think they just added the Kids & Fun line to our Lowe's store). It looks SO good with our warm wood stained cabinets and wainscoting.

I made a new dish last night and everyone scarfed it up! Its from Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook(1977 edition) and is called Dutch Kale with Sausage and Potatoes(or something like that). I simmered 4 medium sized potatoes(cubed) with a large bunch of curly kale(torn into small pieces) until both were tender. Meanwhile I fried a pkg of beef smoked sausage and an onion in a bit of butter then added a cup of milk. The kale and potatoes were drained and added to the sausage mixture along with a shake of cayenne pepper; some garlic powder; and black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes stirring to break up the potatoes a bit. This was YUMMY and all the kids ate it. We had no leftovers!! Tonight we're having chicken leg quarters; green salad; and parsnip patties(from the same cookbook).

We are planning an early spring camping trip out west to celebrate Mark's 44th birthday. Our destination is the Caprock Canyon State Park (you'll have to copy and paste this because Amy's comma button doesn't work so I can't make it a clickable link) http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/videos/state_park/panhandle_plains/caprock_canyon.phtml (video of the canyon worth watching!!).

And some sad news...

Our beloved guinea pig; Basil Ferdinand; died last night. He was old for a piggie and we noticed he'd been slowing down/losing weight over the last month. We'll miss his sweetness.

Now I must get busy doing something; I hear the girls stirring.

A recipe and a crochet pattern....

Some call it dinner and some call it supper. I've always used both words for the same meal but this time its definitely a supper kind of night.

Here is (sort of) what I'm cooking tonight. I've got it simmering on the stove now and its not even noon! It may end up being lunch as well, it smells soooo good!

Of course I made changes, I always do. Since I'm not a big fan of cooked carrots, I left them out along with the tomato sauce. Because we love spicy, I added a big handful of chopped cilantro, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, oregano, chili powder, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and beef broth(better than boullion paste). Also, I only put in two celery stalks, added an extra potato, used a whole red pepper, and subbed a can of salt free diced tomatoes for the whole tomato. My 5 quart stock pot is about 3/4 full so I'll have some to freeze for this weekend too. It is so nice to find recipes like these that can be customized to individual tastes. Woman's Day cookbook has one similar that uses mint for flavoring and it is awesome!

This is our second meatless meal in a row. Last night I had no clue what we would be eating until about 45 minutes before we actually ate. Colcannon was on my mind all day but I didn't have cabbage and my kale had already turned yellow. Sigh. Anyway, I did have some other veggies so I threw them all in the skillet with olive oil and boiled some rotini pasta. Here's the deal:

1 red pepper, chopped
7-8 large brown mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
red pepper flakes to taste

Cook in olive oil til tender, serve over noodles with lots of parmesan cheese! YUM!!

Amy accidentally messed up their camera and my computer is in need of doctoring so I can't post any pictures! Its driving me crazy because I'm making the CUTEST little 6-petal crochet flowers. I'll share the pattern with you though. Now this is something I came up with all on my own so YMMV(your mileage may vary). I used I Love this Cotton from Hobby Lobby(similar to Peaches and Cream but softer) with a size I(9 or 5.5mm) hook.

I don't know how to write out a pattern in crochet language so bear with me!

Chain 3. Make 12 double crochet stitches in the first chain loop(chain will count as 13th). Join with a slip stitch in the top of the ch 3(this is the tricky part for me because I can't really tell which one I'm sl in so make sure there are 12 loops around the outside of the circle including the the sl st). Chain 5, skipping next stitch, slip stitch in next stitch. Repeat 5 times from ch 5, ending sl st will be in the back of the starting sl st. If for "some reason" you come to the last flower petal and have two stitches to skip before the final sl st, chain 6 instead of 5 and do the sl st in the normal place. This has happened to me on a few of them(see above) but isn't devastating. Fasten off. These are super cute and super fast! I've made about 20 in a really nice taupe novelty yarn that has a gold thread, slubby things and "foof", hopefully they will be a scarf or part of a scarf, I can't decide how to use them. Maybe I can get Mark to take a picture or two with his phone.

Yesterday was a terrible day for breakable things at my house. Bright and early Tallulah knocked the dog food bowl off the counter and it shattered into a million shards. Then she was sleeping on the microwave and stretched out to push my favorite vintage crockery mixing bowl to the floor. It had another vintage bowl nested in it so two were lost at once. Later on Tibert jumped into my windowsill and caught his foot on a candle holder; sending it sailing. Lastly; he jumped onto a bookshelf and flipped an oval mirror off. I haven't lost so many things in the past 10 years!! Hopefully this will NEVER EVER EVER happen again!


(crock from Marshall Pottery)


Now I've got to protect these beauties from the cats! My brother got a nifty glass cutter from his girlfriend this Christmas. He finds bottles at their local recycling center/dump and can have as many as he can haul away. The beer bottle juice glasses are probably not dishwasher safe but that's ok. Three of the wine bottle coolers didn't survive the shipping and one juice glass broke but I have enough and he can always make more later. The blue ones are not mine but the green and brown ones are(except for the green juice glass). I LOVELOVELOVE them!! The kids helped me unwrap them and now Ryan wants a cutter so he can make some.



(cobalt juice glasses)


(beer bottle juice glasses)


(wine bottle coolers/iced tea glasses)