Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Good-bye May-Hello June

I hope you had a very nice Memorial Weekend. Wasn't it nice to have a three day weekend? June is here. Today we will be 102 and by Friday, if the weather man is right, 109. As much as I complain about it. I do feel better when it is hot. I seem to get more rugs hooked when it is hot because I am not running in and outside as much.

I wanted to hook this rug this weekend. I really enjoyed these colors. I really like red and white and blue.

My own pattern
I dyed the wool's for this rug. I really liked these colors. I have so many rugs going through my mind. I was even dreaming of rug hooking last night.

One good thing about the heat, is I think the pool will be warm enough for me. I am such a baby when it comes to cold water. I will tell you, when I had the kids here swimming, they never seemed to notice how cold I thought it was. One of my grandsons dropped a toy that he had been playing with and it was going really fast towards the deep in. He was too afraid to dive for it. What does grandma do? What every good grandma would do, I dove in that cold weather and swam down and got that toy. I thought as I gave it too him, I don't know if I would have done that for my own kids. :) Grandma's are a different breed I think.

I hope you have a wonderful week. Another thing that is great about hot weather, my sheets dry in about thirty minutes and then has that wonderful line dried smell. Aw summer is nice. Seeds really come up fast and my tomatoes and peppers are so happy.

~Kim~

“Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.”
― Beatrix Potter

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

I hope you are having a nice weekend so far. Its kind of cloudy here today, but the house is open and it is very nice way to have a morning.
I know I don't share recipes very much but there are times when I find one that I think is outstanding. I thought I would share this one with you.

One of my sons asked me the other day could I make home made macaroni and cheese? I had all of the ingredients just not the know how. Its not something I make. I found this lovely recipe for Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese.

Slow Cooker Mac 'n' Cheese Recipe

Slow Cooker Mac 'n' Cheese Recipe

This classic casserole is a rich and cheesy meatless main dish. I've never met anyone who didn't ask for second helpings of this slow-cooked mac & cheese. —Bernice Glascoe, Roxboro, North Carolina
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Cook: 3-3/4 hours YIELD:10 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 package (16 ounces) elbow macaroni
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
  • 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
  • 1 cup 2% milk
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Directions

  • 1. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker; add butter. In a large bowl, mix 3 cups cheese, evaporated milk, condensed soup, 2% milk and eggs. Pour over macaroni mixture; stir to combine. Cook, covered, on low 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until a thermometer reads at least 160°.
  • 2. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cook, covered, on low 15-20 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with paprika. Yield: 10 servings. 

Of course I have to tell you what I changed. I used sharp Cheddar cheese. I also didn't have any evaporated milk. I had whole milk so I just used that. I did have the can of soup which surprised me, but as I was making it I thought it might be nice to add a can of celery soup or cream of mushroom sometime. When it is the first time I have cooked it I do try to adhere to the original recipe. I also added a half of teaspoon of ground mustard. I was feeling pretty anxious when I put it in the crock pot because it was so liquid. I shouldn't have worried because when I checked it, it was perfect just the way macaroni and cheese should be.

Once a week lately I have been putting chicken breasts in my slow cooker and I put a can of Rotel tomatoes and then the chicken breasts on top, I sprinkle the chicken with two packs of taco seasoning. I should make my own, but it is so nice having those little packets.  Cook them for five hours on high and then shred it. I have it on hand for tacos, burritos, fajitas, chicken salad and since the boys around here like meat they put this chicken in the macaroni and cheese. I noticed that every couple of hours that night the boys would come down and fill a plate. That was after dinner.


I am working outside so much right now, it is easy to have these kinds of meals on hand. This time of year I start my Fourth of July cooking sessions. I start trying new recipes I might want to use then. I think that this Macaroni and Cheese recipe would be one I might use as a side dish with the hamburgers and hot dogs. 

Now I should get outside and do some of that outside work. We are supposed to have a week of over 100 degree days starting next week. I need to get as much outside work done as I can before then. My little garden of tomatoes and peppers loves this hot weather. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for an ice age.

Have a lovely day,
~Kim~

I loved this so much, I just had to share it here.

“Sunday, January 27, 1884. -- There was another story in the paper a week or so since. A gentleman had a favourite cat whom he taught to sit at the dinner table where it behaved very well. He was in the habit of putting any scraps he left onto the cat's plate. One day puss did not take his place punctually, but presently appeared with two mice, one of which it placed on its master's plate, the other on its own.”
― Beatrix Potter, Beatrix Potter's Journal

Friday, May 27, 2016

Almost June---Just Thinking

I hope you have had a nice week. Are you looking forward to this weekend? How about that June is just around the corner. Has your May been as nice as mine? Just rather busy I think. The weather has been perfect so no complaints from me.

 Our youngest son passes a milestone this weekend. On Monday, he will be 21 years old. I just have a hard time with this. How can it be that time as passed this fast. I still remember being huge and pregnant and trying to finish up school for the older four and take care of the two year old. While trying to get our berries picked and in the freezer before the baby came.


 It was Tuesday morning. I was trying to get my laundry finished. I had a doctors appointment that morning. I knew I had been in labor all night but it being the sixth time around I knew it could be like that for hours. I drove myself to the doctor. Then she made me go check myself into the hospital. I drove there and checked myself in and had to call Ron at work to tell him where I was. Then I had to call home and tell the kiddos Mom was going to have the baby. Then after all of that it ended up being a C-Section. When I ever have to encounter anything hard now, I always make myself look back at that period of time. I had a new born, 2,4,6,10, and 14. I had to hit the ground running. My grand parents were going through health challenges. My parents had moved away and were experiencing health issues as well. Ron was extremely busy with his job, I was busy with the kids, little did we know how fast our life was getting ready to unravel.



Now 21 years later, we have weathered storms, we have met challenges. We have gone down paths we would not have chosen. We have been given such  gifts that take your breath away and without those hard things, we would not have recognized the joy that only suffering can bring. The small things that surprise you. On a day I felt I would break into a hundred pieces. I had to run to the grocery store. I was beyond exhausted I came out of the grocery store and there was a note on my windshield. I just shuddered, wondering what I had done. I opened the note and it said, " You are loved---Everything is going to be fine---God."  I got in my car and put my head on the steering wheel and cried and cried. It lifted my burden though.  I remembered whose I was and today I remember the note, but not the trial. Isn't that the way it always is when you look back?


  One of the things I have loved about having babies and now being a grandmother. No matter how bad the day is, picking up a baby, breathing in the sweet baby smell, holding that sweet little body in my arms and rocking will cure I think just about any problem there might be going on in the world.

Pattern by Notforgotten Farms
Not the post I was going to write. Here is my latest little bee chair pad. Gosh how funny it looks in my picture. I have just steamed it. I have this round stool in the kitchen,  I though this might look nice on it. Its kind of primitive isn't it?

Anyway, On this Memorial Day weekend. It is nice to remember the past. It is always nice to look forward to the future. But this weekend, it is nice to be thankful for the now.
Blessings from me to you, thank you for stopping by and visiting.
~Kim~

Perhaps, after all, our best thoughts come when we are alone. It is good to listen, not to voices but to the wind blowing, to the brook running cool over polished stones, to bees drowsy with the weight of pollen. If we attend to the music of the earth, we reach serenity. And then, in some unexplained way, we share it with others.
Gladys Taber

I hold an old-fashioned notion that a happy marriage is the crown of a woman’s life.
---Beatrix Potter

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Gardening and Rugs.


We went from unbearably hot on Thursday to very chilly and spring like today.  Being a weather junky, it is interesting to me how May has been all over the place with weather. I couldn't believe how much snow fell in the mountains yesterday. I worked in my garden this morning, I had lots of helpers. I took out all of my now dry and crunchy sweet peas. This week our Governor removed the 25% water restrictions and sent the water issues back to the individual water districts. Our water district sent a letter that said they would remove the fines that they enacted last year for going over the water budget. As a way of celebrating, I went to Home Depot and over bought plants and flowers.


Tomatoes and peppers for the garden inside the yard. It will be nice to have some in the ground finally. Then for out in the pasture I bought seeds. Way too many seeds.

I have horded my pickles I made summer before last. I am going to plant pumpkins again but I am going to wait until July. Maybe I can get them to stay on the vine until October this year.
The parrots have been flying over and complaining because there are no sunflowers to be seen around here.
So I got plenty of seeds for sunflowers and just a flower garden in the back.

I did manage to hook a rug this May. I don't know how but when I pulled that last loop, I felt pretty proud of myself.
Pattern by Old Tattered Flag
While Kessie was here, I had her all to myself, and she drew out rug patterns for me. I am so excited to be able to have new patterns again. I can't wait to get them drawn out and on linen. It will be so nice to do summer things again.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

My campers are needing lunch.

~Kim~

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."---Laura Ingalls Wilder

Friday, May 20, 2016

Grandma Camp Weekend!


This is Grandma Camp Weekend. Ben and Megan's 10th anniversary is today. I picked the boys up yesterday and we went to lunch. Then we came home and we have been busy, drawing, eating and riding scooters. Right now, I think they must be getting tired as they are quiet, it could also be that they talked Uncle Elliot into playing Minecraft. So I am writing a blog.

I thought I would share with you. It is now Skunk 1 and Sasha 0. She was out at midnight minding her own business when a skunk decided it needed to make its power felt. It was too. My house reeked. Sasha had to be sprayed with that de skunk smell stuff and had to drip dry and then the next morning I had to give her a bath. She is good now, but now she has a vendetta with that skunk. The skunk must have moved under my shed because she went crazy this morning trying to dig it out. Aw Spring.

 The boys are wanting lunch now. Time for me to figure out lunch for them. I need a nap. I don't know if they will or not.

I have to show you this picture from last weekend. We have new neighbors and they had a yard sale. The early birds are serious about their finds. This one lady pulled in and her truck was already loaded down.
We managed to get a picture of the truck after she finished loading it. I do hope she didn't have far to go.

She was seasoned in her ability to pack that stuff in. and I thought it was a work of art.

Oh and the apricots I managed to take a picture of before they were gone. I just love the bottled sunshine that apricots manage to capture.

Have a delightful weekend.

~Kim~

"Wherever you are be all there."---Jim Elliot


Monday, May 16, 2016

Fun Times and Lots of Photos.

I will give you fair warning. Since William got married and we have a professional photographer in the family, we have someone to take pictures. What an awesome camera by the way. Last night we got together for our grand daughter's seventh birthday party.




 Everyone was here. We are quite a large number now. I thought I would share a few. I will try not to drown you in them.

First our family photo with the whole family now.


I stood there thinking, about how weird it is that we have grown to have such a large family. It has been a fun week. Lots of laughter, and lots of visiting. It reminded me of when I was a kid and all of my Mom's family would get together and how much fun it was to be a kid in that environment.

Peter, Nik and Ben and Megan. 
Such a silly bunch!
We were laughing so hard.
The other side of the fire pit.


Part of the gang eating dinner.

Elliot and Peter
Peter holding Elsie
The kids were playing Secret Agent and looking for clues.
I just loved this.
I will finish this up with a picture of Ron and I. God has been so good to us. I still don't know how we got to here, but we have. Our cup overflows. Thank you for sharing in our life.

~Kim~

“And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
and silently steal away.” 

---Henry Wadsworth Longfellow




Monday, May 9, 2016

Oh Happy Day!!


After three days of being off line I am back in the land of the internet. I am tired of people breaking things I can tell you. Friday afternoon, there was a man working on the phone lines. Next thing I know, no internet.
Ron had to spend 45 minutes trying to get it worked out, they even told us we didn't have service. Today there were three work trucks out here trying to fix what they broke on Friday. I feel like I just cringe inside when I see a work  truck pull up outside.

Its spring, and the skunks are back. I thought I would tell you about my little adventure last night. At 3:00 A.M.  I heard all of this noise on the porch outside my bedroom. When I work up my thought was there were burglars and why were they trying to steal our ash bucket. You know how you wake up and things just don't make sense? I kept waking up bit by bit, when I got the bright idea to grab the remote for the lights on the porch. That way I could sneak out and blast the porch with lights and scare off the burglars. Me and my bright ideas.

I did what I just said, only I went out my bedroom door, and what do I see to my absolute horror but this big ole skunk with his plumey black and white tail pointed directly at me. Ron had got out of bed by then and I almost ran over him trying to get back in the house, saying, there is a skunk right there on the porch. I watched the skunk as he raced off the porch, through the bars on the swimming pool fence and out the back way of the yard.


This is of course my fault. We have an 18 year old cat. She just won't sleep in the house anymore. She is this little hunter cat and she spends her days keeping us free of mice and rodents. I keep her bowl of food on the kids little Tyke table. That skunk had got up on the table, and they have such long claws that it was what I heard. I had forgot that skunks just love cat food. Lesson learned.

Our oldest daughter, Kessie and her family will be here on Wednesday. Our oldest grand daughter's birthday will be on Saturday and she wanted a big birthday with all of her cousins and aunts and uncles. She wanted to swim and roast hot dogs and make smores and have and ice cream birthday cake. Our oldest grandson, ( by three days) asked if we can have the fire pit and have smores every night that they are here. I of course told him yes. I am so excited. Kessie has never met Makenzie in person so I am looking forward to them getting to be friends. We should have really warm weather this week, so the kids will I imagine be in the pool. It will be so nice to get to hold the babies.

That is my week. I will get to do what I love best now, feed people. I miss having people around that eat.
I have so much food I want to fix.
I hope you have a lovely week. My lap overflows.

~Kim~

The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it. ---Doug Larson