Where Your Treasure Is

"Unless You Become Like One Of These...."

2012-01-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, I just had to share this video of my little grandson Ezra. Marie and Jon sent it to us the other day, and Steve and I just keep eating it up, it is so cute. One year old Ezra is watching a Gospel singer from a video on the computer. The song is saying J..E..S..U..S Jesus! And Ezra in all his excitement is shouting "Jesus" in baby shouts. I am amazed that a one year old gets it so well. It is blessing our socks off! I think it will bless you too. Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause my music so you can hear the video.

Catching Up

2012-01-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

We have had a snowier and muddier winter than we have seen in a long time here in southern Colorado. What we suffered in drought last spring and summer is being made up for this winter with abundant snowfall, for which we are thankful. And yet all the snow and mud does leave me often feeling that tinge of cabin fever and a yearning for Phoenix or Florida... those warm and sunny parts of the country where many of my loved ones live.

So, after Christmas was over, and cabin fever had set it, I went on a re-organize and clean out campaign that has lifted me up out of my winter doldrums. I pulled apart my pantry and completely cleaned it out and reorganized it; I cleaned out and spiffed up the spare bedroom (ready and available for you to come and see us now), and cleaned out many of the closets and drawers in the house, all of which made me feel a little less like I am living on an island surrounded by snow and mud. Why that is... I don't know... I only know it made me feel better to get everything in order. Spring cleaning is all fine and wonderful, but for me a little winter organizing has really done the trick.

In addition to the winter organizing, the chickens were signed up for an "Extreme Home makeover"... (I guess the show is called "Extreme Makeover Home Edition".... one of my favorite shows) and were given an upgrade... at least for now, since the walls of the chicken house that we were able to purchase late last summer, are still buried under snow, and awaiting the right time and Steve's greater mobility for the final coup raising. So we have upgraded the chickies into temporary housing; from the little dog house to the broken water tank that we used last year for a seed house. I think I will write an article on how to reuse an old water tank... I already have two for my list. Steve turned a couple of old crates into nesting boxes, placed them into the old tank along with some lovely straw, then we all repositioned the chain link fence....placed the chickies inside and with in 24 hours, we had our first egg... Hurray! Homegrown eggs are a lovely sight to behold... I'm sure those of you who have chickens would agree. As soon as the new housing was in place for the chickens, Eddie chanted... "move that bus"... which made us laugh... thus my link above to "Extreme Makeover..."

As for other events.... lets see...Nathan and Himilce are moving to North Carolina, from Phoenix, in fact Himilce and babies are there already, while Nathan finishes his last several weeks of work in Phoenix. He is staying with my Dad as he finishes up, and family and furnishings have been sent ahead. I am happy that Himilce will have another season of living close to her family... although, I feel very sad to have them go... isn't that funny, they live 12 hours from me, and I am all torn up about them moving.... its just that even though they were that far from us, they still felt "close" to us.... as opposed to living in North Carolina, which is "far". But I do entrust their lives and ours in the Lord's hand. He directs all of our steps. My precious little grandson Ezra celebrated his first birthday (what a precious little bug he is. I miss him so much), and also Eddie and my Dad, who share the same birthday, and Russ who is just four days after them. Those are my big events for January; that along with every day living and keeping up with life, we keep pressing in close to the Lord who strengthens us in difficult days and refreshes us as we carry on. Steve is coming along very well, and has been graduated to a boot and a cane, so is feeling more like his old self, and capable of more and more all the time. He still has therapy 2 days a week, and has had to deal with a few issues such as a torn rotator cuff, a few broken pins, and some scar tissue problems, but all in all he is thankful to be more mobile, and I am too. Hope you are all doing well this winter. I am off now to catch up on your news.

Chickies upgrade into old water tank

Some nesting boxes and a roost

First Egg! Let's Celebrate

Eddie was impressed when I showed him the difference between the pale, nutrient depleted, store bought egg on the right and the bea-u-tiful orange yoked egg laid by our own hens on left.

Fried rice for dinner.... the best way to divide up one egg between us. :)

Believe it or not, I tidy up this disaster every other week... this time I really cleaned it out and have spoken dire threats to those who would mess it up again.

Pulled everything out.

Ahhhhh

Looks so much better doesn't it?

Have a great Week

Blessings

Pam

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Phelps Family

A White Christmas

2011-12-23T13:45:00.001-08:00

It looks as if we are going to have a "White Christmas" this year. Even if it doesn't actually snow "on" Christmas, we have had enough snow in the last 4 days to last us through January. We started with about a foot of snow that we got in a storm several days ago, and then got almost two feet yesterday, those two together along with the drifts have left us looking like the North Pole... or so it seems to me... and I think I heard the chickens saying the same thing yesterday when I was trying to dig them a hole in the snow so they could breathe.

Here is the chicken house.... can you see it? exactly... neither can I.

"Whats that you you say? The chicken house has has disappeared?"

"There's no need to fear...."

"Super Shorts is here"

"Faster than the speed of light"

"Capable of digging holes through snow in a moments notice."

"With just a little help from a friend of course"

Look at those hairy knees. Yes, throwing on the woolen underwear one minute, and shorts with snow boots the next... its definitely Colorado.

"Don't listen to "Sir Galahad" over there... He is trying to take the credit for the emancipation of the little ladies...."

"Bok, Bok"

"Is it Christmas yet? Bok, Bok".

"No not yet dear... b, bok, bok."

"You ladies look smart now..."

"It was nothin, nothin at all."

Steve and a couple of our neighbors have been clearing snow with v plows and the backhoe.

I have been warm and cozy inside baking and making little gifts and getting ready for a cookie exchange... which got canceled.... because of the snow... of course.

This has been my fun little project this year: Paper Bag Scrapbooks.

You use paperbags folded in half; then glue scrapbook paper to each page, or use one sheet to connect the pages. There are a variety of ways to bind them together, but I did mine by pasting one sheet of scrapbook paper on two pages.

Half of the pages will be the open mouth of the bag, which provides a delightful little envelope to put more scrape book sliding pages in.. or anything you would like, such as pictures, christmas cards and recipes.

Decorate the sliding pages so that the outer edge of it is cute, because it sticks out and adds to the decorations.

My daughter Marie was given a paper bag scrapbook for a baby shower gift decorated with the theme of her baby room. It was adorable; I have wanted to make one ever since I saw it.

You can see the sliding page sticking out to the right, which is decorated with paper and ribbon.

This was fun. I made them for my friends for Christmas. They were almost nothing in cost.

Hope you are having a delightful week as you have been preparing for Christmas with your families.

Much Love,

Pam

The Nutcracker and an Anniversary Get Away

2011-11-30T21:58:00.001-08:00

Steve and I got in on the Black Friday specials this year... we found a 2 day get away in Colorado Springs for $45.00 a night... which included breakfast. We feel as if we got a lot better deal than all those shoppers who stayed up all night.

This was our anniversary present to each other.... not Hawaii yet;an appetizer for next year.. right? It was a nice, much needed, restful 2 days for us. We left on Friday and returned on Sunday.

Friday night we went to the Nutcracker Ballet, which was a first for me; I have never been before... I feel as if I have been missing out on a lovely tradition all these years. It was a delightful evening. Three special little girls who are the daughters of our friends were in the ballet, which was what made it the most wonderful of all. Not only that, but we bought the tickets at the last minute, but ended up with seats right behind our friends and their family, out of a crowd of so many, that was remarkable. With that joy to launch us, the Christmas Spirit is rising in us now, and I feel the desire to get the tree out and decorate it tomorrow... if Steve and I can figure out how to get the tree out of the attic now that Steve is "out of sorts". Steve doesn't even think Eddie can extract that tree this time, so we might have to get our neighbor to come over and help. Hope you have a wonderful week everyone. I pray the delights that belong to the Christmas Season be yours.

Blessings, Pam

Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T14:40:00.001-08:00

I have been praying this week that the Lord would help me make our Thanksgiving Holiday a special one. I have found it a little harder to get my enthusiasm up this year. Perhaps it is just because I am tired, and have had a hard time getting back into my strength. On Monday, I went to a luncheon at my friend Ava's house, where we had a wonderful surprise party for our friend Roxy, whose birthday is this week. Without doubt Roxy was surprised and blessed, and I was blessed as well. It was just the thing my heart needed to build some enthusiasm and delight for the week. I think my tank was filled back up, and Ava's hospitality restored my own sense of hospitality. After the party I went to Hobby Lobby and found a few Thanksgiving flowers and Decorative Pumpkins for 90% off original prices(that's always fun) and have spent the last two days cleaning, polishing silver, setting the table and decorating. We will have Luke, Eddie, Olga, our friends Roxy and Danny , and Steve's Mom with us this year. Russ won't be able to come home this year, so he will be missed. Now all is ready except the Turkey and fixins. I thought I would recap the joys of these last few weeks as my own little "Blogging Thanksgiving Celebration", and enter the gates of our precious Heavenly Father with Thanksgiving and praise for all the blessings in my life, and with gratitude that he has blessed our lives and our Country with such bounty and goodness.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Psalm 100:4

I am thankful for.........

pretty table decorations and...

polished silverware

Roxy's Birthday

Old friends (Me on left, then Missy, Amy, Roxy, Lynn, Kathy and Ava on right)

Missy's wonderful spice cake

Ava's pretty table

My precious Grandson Zane

and

Little Ezra

Another precious grandson; driving Grandpa's Backhoe (with a little help from Mom and Dad)

Visiting "Focus on the Family"

With precious Grandsons and...

Old family friends,

(sorry its a blurry one Danielle)

Delightful, golden, autumn days with adorable babies..

Beautiful daughters and daughter in laws,

and sons and son's in laws

and little Elon

and little Asher and ponies and good friends

And my gorgeous, man, doing well, recovering and healthy.... thank you Lord;

And for celebrating 32 years of marriage with him tomorrow.... it is definitely Thanksgiving.

My daughter Marie and her hubby Jon are celebrating their anniversary tomorrow also.
Happy Anniversary Steve and Jon and Marie!

Have a blessed Holiday Everyone!

Cowboy Birthday Party

2011-11-15T20:15:00.001-08:00

Here are the pictures of the Cowboy Birthday Party. We had the delightful addition of a little "Cowpony" brought by our friend Donna. Her name is Daisy. She was the highlight. All the little Cowboys got to ride her (with some assistance from Nathan and Benjamin). We had a fire in the stove outside, hoping for a marshmellow roast, and bales of hay for seats, but alas it became far too windy to continue in that mode; the day started out fairly sunny, but turned very cold and windy, so our delightful outside decorations were abandoned for the inside ordinary; and cowboy hats were exchanged with Beanies but all in all we had a rootin tootin time, and I think Elon enjoyed being the head Ranch-hand for the day.

Donna introduces Daisy to all. Himilce and boys and Steve (with Marie and Ezra in background)

Elon wispers to Grandpa asking "is this is the horse that rolled over on you?"

All the little guys gather around to give Daisy some "lovin"

From left to right... Donna, Zane, me, Asher, Elon (behind) Steve and in upper right hand corner, little Ezra. Aren't Asher and Zane cute?

Ezra and Mommy

From left to right... Zane, Elon, Asher, Donna and of course Daisy.

Elizabeth and Little Winston are watching.

Donna teaches each little boy to brush and take care of Daisy.

Winston is doing a good job... with a little help from Daddy.

Elon looks quite relaxed as if he has been doing this for years.

Asher is a little less at ease.

Since Zane was raised with a horse Great Dane, he is quite at home.

Cute even when crying.

"Hey Daisy, thanks for the ride".

Blowing out candles, and opening presents are always fun even for a tired bunch of cowboys.

Have a great week everyone

Golden Autum Days

2011-11-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been away for quite a while. It always takes a little umph for me to begin blogging after being away too long. It has been hectic to be sure. I hate adding how hectic things are, because it seems like a constant drone or excuse spoken of too often these days... and yet I must say it has been more hectic than I can ever remember. We have had our own struggles and tragic news of close friends to our youngest children... things you don't anticipate hearing about, and things I don't really want to blog about, but have felt compelled to mention, I suppose, as an obscure way of filling in the gaps of where we have been, and why my heart has been so heavy. Then there was also the loss of the father of our two sons in law last month which added to a very sad few weeks; It is enough to say that life has not been its usual, since Steve's accident. The Lord, however, is always good to us. His grace abounds and He blesses us and comforts us when we need it most. For us that comfort is found in our children and grandchildren. We have had a delightful houseful for about a month now. Beginning with the visit from Elizabeth and baby Winston whom we enjoyed for about a week, then was joined by her husband, Benjamin. Next came Nathan and Himilce with Elon and baby Asher, and finally Marie with baby Zane and baby Ezra. We were only missing Jon, Marie's husband, who has been in Mexico and Russell who has been out to sea with the Navy. I don't think I mentioned in my previous posts any updates about Olga, who has come back this semester from Wyoming. She is going to finish school and work here close to home.

The golden light of Autum has shone upon us and blessed our brief moment of togetherness. We were able to do a family picture (the results of which I will post after Nathan works on them a little and sends them our way); a family picnic, and a wonderful cowboy birthday party for Elon, who turned 5 in September. Here is the little conversation that Steve had on the phone the morning Elon and family got in the car to drive to Colorado

Phone rings. Steve picks up and says hello. Little voice on the the other end says: "Hi its me. *!#*!! (un decipherable excitement) something something... Colorado!"

Now if any of you have Grandchildren yet, you will understand how delighted such phrases as "Hi its me" can be to your heart. Elon told Himilce that there was no time to stop for breakfast.... nor any other breaks...just go straight there.... I am sure 12 hours of driving was inconceivable no matter how many breaks were cut.

Nathan and Himilce arrived by car on a Friday evening, and Marie and babies arrived by plane the same night in Denver, whereby I picked them up at the airport and we drove back together, arriving home very late, thus uniting the whole group for the first time in a long time. We had a brief reunion that night, but the next morning was like Christmas itself... all the little cousins together for the first time. There was noise and laughter just like I am sure we will experience in Heaven... as if we had opened presents all morning... and for Steve and I it was just the same as opening presents.

For 3 and 1/2 days, we were all together, then they began leaving in the order they came; with Marie and babies still amongst us. We are very blessed.

We have had a wonderful time catching up with each other and various old friends each week (loved getting to be with you Roxy, Amy and Danielle... you were all so good for my heart). I will post what pictures I can (Elizabeth was sweet enough to e-mail me pictures... I cannot seem to get the pictures taken when so much is going on... but it is exactly the time I wish that I had taken the pictures.. so thank you Elizabeth. Marie and Nathan will get me some of theirs as well. Many Blessings to you all. I am hopeful to get over to each of your blogs this week, and catch up with your families, which is always a blessing and delight to me.

Benjamin and little Winston

Uncle Luke with baby Zane

Aunty Olga with baby Winston

Trying to take a family pictures can be a little confusing some times. Left to right.... Eddie, Olga, little Zane and Nathan

Steve getting around with arm in a sling, and foot in a boot.

"Lolli pops all around!" Bribery seems to be the only way to get 5 little boys in one picture at one time.

From left to right: Baby Winston 18 months, Asher 2, Elon 5, Baby Ezra 10 months, and Zane 2

Stay tuned for pictures of the Cowboy Birthday Party later this week.

Momentum

2011-09-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Our Momentum is coming back, and we are feeling a little more like normal. I should probably say "I" am beginning to feel a little more like normal. I am sure Steve doesn't. I saw him looking wistfully out the back door yesterday, while sitting in his wheel chair. Now that is a sad picture isn't it. But, in spite of a little cabin fever on Steve's part, we are developing a type of normal routine, and he is able to do a little business during the day. I have been able to catch up on garden and house next door. I am getting things ready in anticipation of Elizabeth and Winston coming to visit. They fly in from Florida on Monday. I am searching out the old box of family toys, the "Pak and Play" and high chair, planning who will sleep where and when (I think I had mentioned on a previous post that the other kids are coming; in increments).

I am trying to cook a few meals ahead, and use up some of our garden surplus (I am considering a roadside sign for passer-byers to help themselves to our Zucchini which is still going strong). Our chard, spinach, spaghetti squash, green onions and tomatoes are all ready to be used and I have had to just leave them alone these last 2 weeks. I was wanting to post recipes of each veggie as they were being used up through each season.... I have had a passion to cook and create veggie recipes this last couple of months (I'm sure you haven't noticed), and probably won't dry up until the veggies do... so stay tuned for a few more recipes... provided I don't get pre-occupied with children and grandchildren that are coming to visit.... and did I tell you that my children and grandchildren are coming to visit... well, they are... they are coming to visit. You can't tell that I am excited that my children and grandchildren are coming to visit can you. I can't wait!

Home

2011-09-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday, and we are home instead of in Church today. It has been a long week, and very exhausting. We are settled in now... I think. Emotional exhaustion is subsiding... I think. We got Steve home from the hospital 4 nights ago. We decided our best approach to surviving the next 6 weeks was to move into our little house next door ; It is a mobile home, and we call it "The Cottage" now. It is a quarter mile from our house and is the house my Mom used to live in before she moved out to Nevada to be close to my brother and his girls while they are growing up.

The house has all flat surfaces, wider doors into the bathrooms for wheel chair access, and a bath tub and shower that is much more accessible than our own at home. We had furniture already in The Cottage; some left from my Mom, some of our own extra odds and ends, some of Steve's Mom's odds and ends, so we are already set up pretty well. We do have to haul water, because we are only set up on a cistern. Between Luke and Eddie and our neighbor, they got the water tank on the back of the truck again, then Luke and I got the water loaded and into the cistern. I am trying to learn some of the tasks that Steve has always done, and I am a little slow. Thankfully the boys are helping.

There have been all kinds of other little tasks that keep life running smoothly, such as can openers and other kitchen utensils, washing machines, sheets, towels, clothes, and personals which have all kept me running back and forth between houses through the week, as well as taking care of Steve and running errands for wheel chairs, medications, supplements and so on. We have had the most amazing help from family, friends, neighbors and church. I don't think you can truly realize the love and goodness in peoples hearts until you are the recipient of such kindness and generosity. What would we do without our loved ones who have given to us in every way conceivable. Thank you all; family, friends, neighbors, blogging friends, for the help, prayers, meals, love, words of encouragement, and more... Wow... such amazing blessings. Some very dear friends came here yesterday, and brought food, encouragement, and built us a ramp from our porch so I could get Steve and wheelchair out the door and into the van and to his doctor's appointment on Monday. Phew. Thank you guys. It is very difficult to express the emotion I have felt over all these things, but gratitude and love just over flow.

Eddie and Luke are holding down the fort at the other house. Yes, what a strange family we are. We now live in two houses. The boys have been wonderful at keeping things clean for me. I told them "this house is like a sinking ship... we have to keep bailing water (pick up and keep the dishes clean), and if we stop, it will start sinking again". That is truly the way it feels to me (keeping up with house work)... it never just floats along clean and lovely for a while, it must be constantly bailed or we are sunk. So they have kept it going. I pop in and help out, and do laundry and cook up a meal, etc... but they are doing great.

Eddie wanted to go to all the "Homecoming" activities at school this weekend (bonfire, game, formal etc..) So between Luke, Grandma Jo and I, we were all able to get him there and back at all the various hours for all the various activities. He looked very handsome in his blackshirt and tie, and came and chatted with us before and after yesterday. Incidently, I have loved seeing the personalities of the boys during these difficult times. Luke, with his quiet, cooking and cleaning and worried looks wanting to help all he can, but never much of a conversationalist. Eddie, fluctuating between normal teenage concerns of "how am I gonna get to my game" to "Pam, I 'm kinda worried about Steve... no one is up there with him... Grandma Jo just left, and you gotta get back up there..." on the phone to me when I went to do an errand the other day. I have had to leave Steve for an hour or two here and there; with phone and walkie talkie in hand, knowing my mother in law and neighbors were right here to pop in if needed, but Eddie didn't like that. So Sweet. As a side note, Our last three kids came to us at the ages of 10, 14 and 15... (now 20, 19 and 15) and have always called us "Pam" and "Steve"... something we have grown very used to. To their friends and others, they speak of us as My Mom, or My Dad, but at home it is as I said.

My other kids are setting dates for those visits coming up; starting with Elizabeth who will arrive with little Winston a week from tomorrow. A little after that will be Nathan and family, and a little after that, will be Marie and family. All we need is Russell and Benjamin, who are out on deployments with the Navy, then we would have all our chickies under our wings. Such delightful prospects.

So today is truly a day of rest for us. We are feeling fairly caught up on urgent things. Steve has felt much more himself yesterday and today. I put on a pot of coffee and can hear it brewing; such a comforting sound to me. One of the luxuries I treasure in my life is sipping coffee in bed early on a Saturday morning with Steve and dreaming dreams together. We skim the computer looking at houses, motorcycles, airplanes, vacation spots, goats, horses, cows, chickens, and barns. How is that for eclectic. It is our cozy wake up moment before the world creeps in and responsibilities start hammering at the door. I love those moments. Perhaps we will have a moment like that this morning; peaceful, quiet rest. I realize this is a long post, but it has been very relaxing to me to just sit and type and re-cap the week, so I hope it hasn't been too much for you all at one time. Blessings to you all this week. I will be popping in for a visit with you as the moments open up.

Have a lovely week,

Pam

My Scripture for today

Psalm 23

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

her restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they are a comfort to me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surly goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

2011-09-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well, We have had a little trouble around here. Yesterday morning, I was awakened by a neighbor who is a nurse, and was called in by our small town ambulance service on a call from our other neighbors about one of their cowboy crew who had been thrown from a horse. The cowboy was my husband. They were moving cows up on the mountain, and my husband's horse got himself in a strange situation with hoof and reins... the horse proceeded to quickly back up to try to untangle himself, stumbled and fell, rolling on Steve in the process; at least this is the story I have pieced together by those who have tried to tell me about it. Steve had to be helicoptered out, because of the difficulty in getting him out any other way. He broke an ankle and arm. We are thanking the Lord that was all. No back, head or neck injuries. He was in surgery for about 6 hours yesterday. They put plates and pins in both breaks. The ankle was a compound fracture. Phew. What an ordeal.

So It has been a rough couple of days for us; yet we feel such a peace of the Lord. He does go before us, and is with us through all things, and His presence is amazing. We have had such an outpouring of prayers, and kindness from our family and friends, which alone has been a balm to our hearts.

Tomorrow I will be trying to get our house ready for Steve, which isn't super easy, considering we have several levels and our bedroom is up a flight of stairs. We are not very wheel chair friendly at our house. It sure makes you think differently when all of a sudden you need to consider wheel chair access. I have a few Ideas; so I will keep you posted. I wanted to share with my blogging friends, and of course I am so grateful for your prayers.

The picture above is my little grandson Elon, who really does want to grow up to be a cowboy like his grandpa. With five little grandsons, all adorable little cowboys, there's probably not much point in my post title, but, well, you get the idea :)

Much Love,

Pam

Psalm 91

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge —
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

Zucchini Bisque

2011-09-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a nice Labor Day weekend. We celebrated Lukes 29th birthday Saturday night, and our Grandson Elon celebrated his 5th birthday. If you could have heard the phone conversation we had with him, it would have just melted your heart. He wondered if we were coming for his birthday. We told him we couldn't be there, because it was so far away for us, but that he could come to us in several weeks, and we would have a party with him then. He said "How will I get there if it is so far". I said, his Daddy and Mommy will drive him on a long drive and then he will be here, and his cousins will come too, and we will have a wonderful time" He liked that, and wanted to have a cowboy birthday party; and so of course... we will.

We had a wonderful breakfast at my Mother in Law's house yesterday morning, and had some old friends over to visit and have barbecued chicken and a veggie feast with us last night. It was a very nice
day through and through.

We were able to find a nice little chicken coop on Craig's list for half of what we would have paid for the material to build it, and so Steve, Luke and Eddie went and got that this week end. They had to take it apart to get it over the fence of the man that we bought it from, and onto the flatbed trailer and then home. The guys will put it back together when time allows... at least we have it... "thank you Lord".

Today is quiet and peaceful. I haven't had one of those kinds of days in a little while. It is overcast and cool, and it feels lovely out. I worked in the garden this morning, and am having a peaceful afternoon.

I have one more zucchini recipe to add to the collection. It is a real yummy one as well... otherwise, of course, I wouldn't post it. I am still up to my ears in Zucchini, and have had a fun time treating the abundance with experimentation in stretching the budget, and making use of that abundance when we have it. My Mom fixed this soup for us when we were visiting her in June. I loved it. I had seen another recipe very similar to hers which added potatoes, and tried that one as well. I loved it also. I will add the potatoes to this recipe, and feel free to put them in or leave them out. They don't change the flavor of the soup too much, but they do add a little more substance to the soup if you want to serve it as a main dish rather than a starting dish.

Zucchini Bisque

Ingredients

I medium onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup butter or olive oil

2 1/2 cups zucchini shredded (I chunked it and used more)

2- 3 medium potatoes peeled and cubed

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (if you think nutmeg seems odd, add it anyway, you will be delightfully surprised at the subtle flavor it adds).

1 cup light cream

Instructions

Saute onion, garlic, zucchini lightly in butter or oil. Add remaining ingredients except cream and simmer about 20 to 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. spoon soup into a blender and blend thoroughly; I have been doubling this recipe, and when I blend it, I do it a portion at a time and then pour it into another pan from the blender until all is blended. If you have a hand held blender, you can use that directly in the soup pan, with no need to use another pan... I don't have one, so I just blend in blender. You may add the cream or even a little sour cream at this time. It is very good even without the cream. Serve with croutons and french bread.

Thanks Mom

Zucchini, Strawberry Jam

2011-09-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have a few more zucchini recipes to post before I wrap up with zucchini and move on to some other veggie recipes. Hope you find one or two you can use.

Here is a fun one that I tried this year for the first time. It is great on the budget, using Zucchini to stretch or replace your strawberries, you only need Zucchini, Strawberry Jello, pectin and a little lemon juice or citric acid I made two recipes, one with strawberries and one without. They were both really good. My favorite was for sure the one with strawberries, it was more than jam, almost like dessert, but the one without strawberries makes a great jam as well, and considering there is very little invested into, it is a great way to give Eddie inexpensive peanut butter and jellies after school everyday... since that is one of the things he loves; Shhhh don't mention that zucchini is the main ingredient I will wait till the jam is all gone and then pass on the "by the way". You can tell we have food issues at this house. Just as a note, from what I can tell there are 3 different ways to prepare the zucchini for the jam: shredded, pureed or chunked. I have tried the shredded and chunked so far. I liked the shredded the better of the two, because it seemed to blend and look like wonderful preserves. With the chunked, the pieces floated to the top of the jam jar, and looked decidedly suspicious to any child with a question about ingredients. I think pureed my be a great way to do it, and it is on my list for the next batch. Also, I wanted to mention that the jams came out slightly soft/loose, but once refrigerated jell up wonderfully (probably due to the jello).

Look at that strawberry jam oozing over rice pudding... mmm

Zucchini and Strawberry Jam

Ingredients
8 cups Zucchin peeled, and pureed or shredded
4 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup water
8 cups sugar
3 Tbs lemon juice or 1 tsp citric acid
6 oz package Strawberry Jello

Instructions
Place zucchini, strawberries and water in stock pot bring to boil. Simmer about twenty minutes until are tender and then mash together. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Boil another 12 minutes. Pour into hot sterile jars and water bath can. Makes about 6 pints

Zucchini Strawberry Jam (No fruit added)

12 cups Zucchini skinned and pureed, shredded or chunked

1/4 cup water

8 cups sugar

3 Tablespoons Lemon juice, or 2 teaspoons citric acid

6 oz Strawberry Jello (or any flavor... I hear apricot is good, haven't tried it yet)

1 package pectin

Follow instructions above without the strawberries, adding the pectin with the sugar. Almost every recipe I looked at used shredded pineapple in their recipe. I am sure that is a good addition, but I wanted to create a very inexpensive jam using what I had on hand (I did have to buy the jello, and don't usually keep it on hand but you get the picture). This worked and tasted great.

Chicks In The Dog House and Flowers in the Field

2011-08-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Chickie Chicks are moving up in the world. They have intermediate housing until their chicken coup is built. Shortie is slightly perplexed.... because even though she didn't really like being in the dog house.... it was still her dog house. Now who are these people in her dog house?

The dog house and dog pen make a wonderful intermediate chicken coupe and yard. Steve and Eddie put chicken wire up on the inside of the chain link to keep the little babies from getting through the holes.

The Chickie Chicks are growing quickly; I think they have doubled in size in less that 2 weeks.

We are really enjoying them. I had forgotten how delightful chickens are. I love to watch the personalities and chicken society at work.When they first got into the big dog cage, after a moment or two of hesitation, they jumped and ran around, chested each other (chicken for : "high five" and rooster for "Macho, Macho Man") and stretched out in the dirt. They couldn't get enough of the dirt. It is healthy for chickens to be able to dust themselves... and they were very much ready for their dirt bath. I believe especially once they get their feathers, this is a delightful way to cool off.

They were not very eager to try out their new little coup, even with hay and food and a nice little log for a temporary perch... this was strange new territory, perhaps a trap... they were not going in there. I had to force them to stay in for a moment or two, just so they could pause to see that shelter, food and comfort was there for them. They wouldn't have any of it. Thankfully by nightfall they all went in; it was nice to see that their instinct was working.

The sunflowers are always delightful to see in the garden.

I like to plant some for beauty and attracting bees and so on. I like to plant some for seeds... yet even if there were no practical purpose for them, I just like to see them every summer.

We planted our cover crop in the open beds on Saturday. We started with Buckwheat, since should sprout within a week

and be full grown by the end of fall. Once it is mature, we will till it into the ground and then plant another cover crop of field peas and oats.

The ground where we planted all these new beds was so hard when we began; There was hardly any organic matter to comfort and nourish our lovely garden veggies, that we had to really give it a work over to even begin. We added compost and rototilled, Luke has hooked up some nice drip systems, but it still needs work. It used to be a horse pen, then an equipment yard, which really compacted it. I have learned that cover crops are wonderful for the purpose of adding nutrients and loosening up the soil with their root systems, and then the add organic matter once they are lightly tilled in just before planting your next crop. They also attract the good insects and organism such as lady bugs, and earthworms to your garden, and help keep the weeds at bay. Buckwheat adds phosphorous, legumes such as field peas, alfalfa and others are wonderful for pulling in nitrogen. Oats are great for adding aeration with a wonderful root system that loosens the soil. Now that we have conquered some of the hardest work, we are enjoying seeing it come slowly together.

We planted some Blackberries this year. They are looking nice.

We have about ten berries on the bush. Yippy Skippy.... okay, well can't exactly bake a pie from that, but its a start... perhaps next year.

We have seven grapevines... seven children, seven grapevines... I like it... its a good number.

Can you see my green bean tee pees? I built them for our little grandsons who will soon come to visit. Once you construct the tee pees(bamboo poles tied together at the top), you plant green beans at the base of each pole. The green bean vines are supposed to climb up the poles and fill out and you have a wonderful little tent made of green bean vines, with green beans hanging down to be eaten as you sit inside.

To me the idea of being a little boy, and being able to sit in a tee pee made out of green bean vines seems wonderful. When I was little, I loved forts, and hideaways in the bushes. I used to have a hammock strung between 2 trees in the back of the yard. I liked to imagine that I lived with the "Swiss Family Robinson". I would read my books there, it was wonderful... thus the green bean teepees for my grandsons. Unfortunately the grasshoppers came in during the drought and ate them 4 or 5 times over right down to the nubbins.... but green beans are evidently resilient.... (we should all be like that)

they are coming back. I am not sure if they will be very tall by the time my grandsons all get here, but I am glad they are growing again. Next year I will try again, with bigger poles for bigger tee pees, because my grandsons will be bigger. Perhaps I will have developed a grasshopper strategy by then... or perhaps we will not have as many grasshopper problems next year.

Blessed are all who fear the Lord
who walk in His ways
You will eat the fruit of your labor,
blessing and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
Your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
and may you live to see your children's children.
Psalm 128

Zucchini, Strata

2011-08-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

This makes a nice breakfast, brunch or dinner meal and makes one large casserole or two smaller ones.
I like cut up left overs into squares, and send in lunches.

Zucchini Strata

Ingredients

olive oil
10 -12 slices bread, buttered and cubed (I sometimes substitute 2 sleeves of saltine crackers crushed)
1 large Zucchini shredded
8- 10 mushrooms sliced
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups white cheese (such as Provolone, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Parmesan or Romano, or any combination of these. Note: If you use mostly mozzarella , it will have a more rubbery texture, but is milder in flavor, Swiss, and Monterey Jack are creamier, with a little stronger flavor. Parmesan and Romano add a nice flavor that, I think, goes well with the Basil so I always add at least one of them, say about a 1/2 cup)
6-7 leaves fresh Basil, chopped
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup f lour
3 1/2 cups milk
14 eggs
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Instructions
Drizzle bottom of 1 large lasagna baking pan with olive oil. Layer in order: Bread, Zucchini, mushrooms, onions and basil leaves. In a large mixing bowl, Mix together ricotta cheese and flour . Add eggs, whisking each well as you add . Add milk. Whisk vigorously. Pour mixture over pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Let set several hours or overnight. Bake at 350* for 50 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown and firm.

Enjoy

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2011-08-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favorite chocolate cake recipes. I like to double most of my recipes, and put one in the freezer. Then I have an extra for another occasion with hardly any extra effort.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I like to substitute coconut oil for oil whenever I can.. coconut oil gives this cake an Almond Joy like flavor, so well worth a try)
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk or milk
2 1/2 cups flour (any substitution of whole wheat or oat flour works fine for this)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups shredded zucchini

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375*. In a large bowl mix sugar, oil and eggs until well blended. Add and mix vanilla and milk. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together, and then add them to wet ingredients. Stir in shredded Zucchini, and mix until well blended. Pour into a 15 X 10 inch greased baking sheet or cake pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.

Frosting

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter softened
1 pound or 4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
6 Tablespoons evaporated milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Mix and spread on warm cake. This is like a sheet cake. It is very moist, and is even better after it sits for a few hours.

Enjoy

Zucchini, Potato Fritters

2011-08-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

These are really yummy, and even if your kids are a little picky and don't care for zucchini, they will love these if they enjoy potatoes; It is very like potato pancake... but better I think... If they are picky eaters, my philosophy has become "what they don't know won't hurt them", and so I don't give them the list of ingredients... just dish it up with a smile (it works some of the time).

Ingredients
6 cups hashbrowns (from the freezer section works fine.. or make your own by cooking potatoes whole and then grating them)
6 cups grated raw zucchini
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 - 4 cloves garlic crushed and minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup flour (either whole wheat or white unbleached flour works well).
2 teaspoons dill weed or a handful of fresh chopped basil or both.

Directions

In a large bowl, toss together hash browns, zucchini, onions and garlic. Add oil and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add flour and fresh herbs and mix well using hands.

In a large frying pan, heat a few tablespoons natural shortening or oil; scrub surface with a spatula, once it is hot, to create a non-stick surface. Once oil is hot, turn heat to low/medium. Place a dollop of your mixture onto pan, one by one until pan is full. Fry until brown, and then flip and brown the other side. I don't like to fry it too hot, because I want it to cook in the middle, and not just brown.... this accomplishes both. Serve as a dinner side dish, or for breakfast with eggs. Extra's can be frozen and re-warmed in oven. Enjoy.

James and Giant Zucchini... or something like that.

2011-08-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I looked at my garden today, I was reminded of a book I had read as a little girl, and realized where its inspiration must have come from. Well, the book was really called "James and the Giant Peach" but I think the author must have first been inspired by the Zucchini that was about to take over his garden, and was filled with a marvelous and magical imaginative story... and then at the last changed the produce to a peach, because peaches are so much more appreciated by children.

So you work all summer through drought and grasshopper to get your garden to produce something... then at last you are beginning to see some fruit of your labor.... you have zucchini taking over the garden. It happens every year... in fact I have posted about Zucchini abundance before. But I love zucchini, it is a wonderful veggie, and it is always faithful to show up to your garden party even when everything else doesn't. You could feed a third world country with zucchini don't you think? Well, I think every year zucchini deserves a little post, so that those who are experiencing its abundance can find some ideas to use all that zucchini. I am going to share some of my favorite zucchini recipes all week... I am hoping you ladies will link up your zucchini recipes with me and share... or at least come by and help your self to my garden surplus.

Skunked

2011-08-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

"I don't know what all the uproar is about, I was just trying to make friends with a stranger... who happened to look a little like me.....now no one will let me in the house, or pick me up or touch me.... and I heard them saying they were going to give me a bath in Vinegar... ewwww"

Surprised by the Peepers

2011-08-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

While I was in town the other day, I got a call that Luke had a surprise for me when I got home. My standard guess of "Puppy, Kitty, Horse," were all met with "No, you will have to wait until you get home and let Luke show you". Here was the surprise:

Luke brought home two precious little Chickie Chicks. So the homestead is being resurrected. Smile.

We realized that we will need to build a new chicken coup. If we are going to build a new chicken coup, it would be a lot of work for only two little chicks. What to do...... I went to town and bought 12 more. Problem solved. In the mean time the chickies are cozy in Steve's shop housed in the old Ferret cage (yes, we used to have ferrets... fun pets.... another story for another time).

I will up-date you as they grow, and as the chicken coup gets built

Raspberry Pretzel Dessert

2011-08-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

Another recipe card design by Smilebox

I was searching the internet for some recipe card templates, and when I clicked one to check it out,
my Smilebox uploaded. I have used Smilebox quite a few times for greeting cards, but evidently they have recipe cards and scrapbooking too. Any how, it was too cute to pass up the fun. So the recipe I was going to share with you anyway, is now jazzed up for your entertainment. This probably isn't a template I would use for the blog all the time, but it sure is a fun way to pass a recipe along to someone special via e-mail. Hope you enjoy... you may want to try out smilebox yourself, its free.

P.S Scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause my music playlist to limit the clash of music.

Enjoying My Boys

2011-08-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Been having a lovely batch of boys through the house for the past several weeks. As I mentioned before, Nathan and his film crew were here (by the way, the photo above is one of the photos taken on the scouting and filming trip; you have to look closely at it.... it is my favorite...Steve and I just chuckle and chuckle when we look at it. I am not going to tell you the story about it quite yet, : it is entitled "Photo Shoot Gone Wrong" Its gotta make you laugh.) Most of them stayed up at our little mobile home, we call it "The Cottage". We had worked to get everything in order for them before they got here. Steve had to re-do almost all of the plumbing, which was a long and drawn out frustration, but needed to be done, and this gave incentive to put it into overdrive. It was up and running by the time they got here... Yea! We had a great time, and I had a feeling of the "old days" when all the other kids were home and all their friends were in and out of the house. I loved having them around. Eddie thinks its the "cat's meow" when the big guys are all home... particularly with all their friends in tow, and all of them taking him target practicing and off on one of their exploratory trips, really makes life bearable for him. He was in rare form. We all watched a movie together on Thursday night (a film makers assignment). It was a movie about Ghengis Khan... so you can imagine there was a little blood. Eddie informed me that it probably wasn't a movie I should watch. I got a great chuckle out of that.

They all left last Friday morning, after which I drove up to Denver to pick up Russell at the airport. We are now enjoying his company until Friday. I am getting chubby again because of all the cooking Luke and I are doing.... I know, I know, self control etc., but I seem to love to eat when everyone is around. We had a dog that was like that once. Whenever you came into the room, he would lay down and eat. He didn't really like to eat when no one was there with him. We had another dog that loved to eat whenever food was available at anytime... even in the form of peanuts wrapped in Christmas wrapping and placed under the tree. She guarded those peanuts valiantly. Now which dog I am I like? I really was talking about the first dog... hate to think I am like the second dog, but I do understand her happy thoughts of food. Okay, there I go.... great confessions on the internet. Back to the boys. One of these days, perhaps we will have a family reunion... with everyone here all at once. I love seeing them all together, but haven't been able to since Elizabeth's wedding (how many years ago is that Elizabeth? I am already loosing track of the years). The good news, in regards to a family reunion, is that my girls and families are preparing for a visit here in the near future... and Nathan and family may come back for some more film work in another month or so, and Olga is working on a visit as well... so we are having a family reunion of sorts... one that lasts all summer and fall, . I am loving that. I have missed them all so much since they grew up.

I have come to realize, when my children left home, I went through quite a mourning. I know this is a common occurrence it even has an official title: "Empty Nest Syndrome". It may be more difficult when you have homeschooled them all their lives. I say this about "when you homeschool", because they have always been with you. For 20 and some years, you have done every last thing together... well almost. It is a part of all that you are. It probably wouldn't have been so hard if they had all moved down the street or across town, but across the USA, is difficult. Thank goodness for telephones, and internet. People used to talk about "the empty nest", and I didn't really pay attention to it. I didn't think twice about it... until my nest was empty. I never knew how hard it would hit me. But it did. So we refilled the nest with one last batch. Of course I say this jokingly, for we had always had it in our hearts to adopt. It was not done on an impulse to fill a void, it was a calling that had been in us for years; but it just so happened that it came together after the first nest was empty, and that was kind of nice. I am finally getting used to the idea of going on to the next phase of life, and am really excited to be the jet set "Grandparents" who travel all over to see their children and grandchildren at "will and whim".... its not all figured out in the budget yet, as to how to do it at "will and whim", but is certainly in the heart.

Enjoy the pics of the boys... am hoping to add pics of the girls in the next month or two.

You can tell the difference between my pictures and the ones I got from Nathan... his are great quality, from good cameras that he and the guys took; mine are from my phone, and half of them are blurry... but at least I was able to take them and down load them.

Russell, Eddie and Luke... along with half of Toby Mack (I think Luke just got up off the floor... his hair is going every which direction... smile).

I got these from Nathan, and they are some of his crew, at some of the various places they camped and worked.

Here's Nathan at the Great Sand Dunes.... Looks like the Sahara doesn't it?

That's Colorado for you... deserts and mountains all with in a short distance of each other.

Blessings to all, Pam

The Buzz of Summer

2011-08-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

As I write this post, I am trying to think about what to say for myself over the last 3 almost 4 weeks since I have posted. Where have I been? What have I been doing? Well.... it has been busy without a doubt, but it isn't like I can give you a nice mountainous list of my great accomplishments I just can't. Let me try to make a quick post to recap what I've been up to..... its not coming quickly... it all runs together into a fast and furious blur. A month has come and gone like the buzzing of a bee and where did it go I ask you? We have been working in the garden (which hasn't been an easy or abundantly fruitful occupation in this drought.... we are finally getting a little rain, and the veggies have finally gotten a grip on themselves, ceased fainting, and are finally growing, blooming and fruiting... they have whispered and gasped to me that they do not like this heat at all even with abundant water Luke and I have been giving to them. I have been strategizing what to do next year if this drought continues... perhaps we could build some sort of shade cover... I am still thinking it out. We are planning a cover crop for this fall and winter on the new beds we put in this year. I ordered buckwheat, black-eyed peas and oats for the cover crops The soil is so hard and dead, that we have been working on a plan to bring it to life. We have roto-tilled compost into it that we bought by the dump truck load, and it is a nice start, but it will need to do more to make healthier beds.. cover crops are a good way to go to improve the ground.

Believe it or not we are actually talking about goats again. We have some ground that has been taken over by a weed tree. These stringy little trees suck up all the water, proliferate and do not think twice about sprouting back up quickly when they have been hacked down. So we thought... "goats". We are considering trying meat goats this time around. I will let you know when/if we begin that project officially.

Our son Nathan and his film crew got here last week. Nathan is working on a movie. He has had it in the works this last year (a little more than). It is a survival movie that involves a plane wreck, a battle for life, and the battle and outcome of a soul. But that is all I will say for now. They are beginning their work up in the mountains close to here, and Lord willing, will come back next summer to finish the film. I have had the privilege to cook for them. They are a smaller crew than was first planned... the bigger crew have been put off until next summer now. I cooked up a big barbecue brisket, potato casserole, strawberry pie, rolls, big batch of fried chicken, chili, potato salad, and macaroni and cheese, and prepared hamburgers and hotdogs for them to cook. They all get back from the mountains tomorrow night, and Luke will be making them pizza and spaghetti. I will make them Mexican food for Thursday night. It is nice to feed a hungry crew of young men. They are always very appreciative, and I can do a lot of cooking on a little enthusiastic appreciation and enjoyment.

That seems to be my great claim to anything impressive this summer. I liked what Anne of Eight Acres of Eden linked to a day or two ago. It had to do with being "just a Mom". It is written by a young girl who has the great aspirations of being a "Mom". I love what she wrote, and it was a precious reminder that the calling of being a Mom is good enough. The world pressures us to be more or other than that, but don't forget what a great calling it is. We need not apologize for it.

There is a little pair of swallows that build their nest under the roof of our porch every summer; and every summer Steve tries to discourage them (because they always leave a mess) by removing their little mud nest each time they begin it... but they persevere and build it anyway quicker than he can take it down. By the time they are done Steve admires their perseverance and leaves them to it... he even hammers up a little patio for them, so that they won't leave a mess on our coffee table beneath. It is interesting to watch their perseverance. They spend their entire summer building nest, laying and hatching eggs, and feeding babies. It has a familiar ring to our lives doesn't it? I thought of the scripture in Matthew 6: 25, where Jesus reminds us "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store way in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" And I thought to myself those birds take care of their babies... that's all they seem to do... and our heavenly Father feeds them... of course he will do the same for us. The World with all its pressures and fears is not our provider. It is not our wisdom or who we should listen to, it is not there for us when times are hard. Our Heavenly Father placed within us our callings. He promised to take care of us. He is the Voice we listen to, the Hope, the Provision, and the Wonderful Reward in our Lives. Praise His Name. Have a great week everyone. I am hoping to post something truly remarkable in the near future, but if I don't I will be praising the Lord for the buzz of Summer, the carrying on in life, the ordinary everyday things, and I hope you will be too.

Blessings,

Pam

Red, White and Ol' Blue

2011-07-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

We have all heard of our dear flag being referred to as Ol' Glory; today Ol' Blue is doing his part to help represent the color blue on behalf of "Ol' Glory"

We had a lovely Fourth of July Weekend. We went on a picnic Sunday afternoon, with Ol' Blue as our Chauffeur. Just a couple of miles down the road. I took a few pics to share. It was so pretty out. You almost wouldn't know that we are having a terrible drought.

This little creek is usually a river....

The water fall is no longer falling, but a little bit of water still remains at the bottom.

Look at that lovely sky.

RED

Love this wonderful old gate. It was a part of an old homestead... the only remaining relic of it in fact.
I think its a wonderful red.

WHITE
This is closest to white I could find... got a pic of him today at the parade.... he was enjoying a great cool off, and I could not resist him.

And Blue
Good ol' truck

The Pueblo West Wet and Dry Parade..... We all agreed in our family that this is the funnest kind of parade of all.

The streets are lined with cars and the people are prepared with Super soakers, water balloons water bazookas, and hoses of all calibers.

Close friends and all of our families relax in bathing suites or shorts and catch up with each other as we wait for the parade to begin.

My Friend Roxy with our Luke with Steve and Barry in the background.

Roxy and her Hubby Danny and their son, daughter in law, and grandsons made everything great fun... especially since Barry (Roxy's son knows how to bring enough water to win the war.

This is Roxy's Grandson... atop the water tank... ready for the big water fight.

The horses are so calm and easy going.

Three cheers for our soldiers.... every one clapped and cheered as they went by.

Amy, and little guys all loaded with their super soakers and hoses, just waiting for those fire trucks to come and start spraying everybody.

The wet part of the parade is about to begin.... everybody is ready.

Here come the fire trucks... sirens are blarring.

I took these pictures at great risk of getting blasted... and put my camera up when the really big trucks came through.
Some of the trucks had blow up pools with people sitting in them, spraying everyone as they went by. There were trucks and trailers, Fire trucks, Police and Sheriff vehicles, people walking, huge bus's that had people in every window with super soakers and water coming from people in the parade and people on the sidelines.
What boy doesn't love a "Huge Water Fight".... although notice that you do not see Eddie in these pictures... he would not get wet, nor let me get a good picture of him... So Barry and Luke had to hold him and drench him Ha.... I didn't get my camera back out in time, but take my word for it, it was funny. I had the privilege of getting Steve wet myself, he wasn't as eager as I was to get wet either... can't have that. We all went home nicely cooled off.

And then along came this guy... He was hot. His Mama didn't remember about the parade when she started on their walk this morning. She got detoured and so did he. He wanted somebody to spray him down and give him a drink. No problem; he was certainly in the right place.

My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our father's God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

Happy Fourth of July Everyone

Have a blessed week

Thank You Trisha

2011-07-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

I have had the hardest time getting back to blogging. We had company arrive less than a week after we got home from our trip, and with so much to do to get ready for them, it has been non stop. My Mom and my niece Rachel came for a fast and furious visit. It was great to have my Mom here again (in what I consider her home). We had a great time, and hated to see them go. Rachel and Luke cooked up a storm together; they both share a love for cooking, and inspired each other all week long. They left at the beginning of the week and I miss them already. All week I have said to myself... "just a few more things, and I will be caught up and can get back to blogging." Well at last I am here..., not necessarily caught up (I'm not sure that ever happens, yet one does try), but satisfied with having laundry done, an almost clean house and the garden a little more in order.

I wanted to say a big Thank you" to Trisha from amultitudeofmercies.blogspot.com, because; I am now the delighted recipient of a new cupcake cookbook that she sent to me. I signed up to try to win her give away last month, and was amazed to find that I won it. I have never won one before, so this is a "wonderful first" for me. You all will enjoy her blog when you pop over and check it out. Now I am inspired to get creative. Thanks again Trisha, I'm lovin it.

Don't you love the cover?

This sweet little note came with the book.

I am going to make this one first. Doesn't that tantalize you? Do you want the recipe?

I miss having my Mom live next door... nice to have her for a visit though.


Cooking Cousins

What is everyone doing for the Fourth of July?

Hope it is a great weekend for everyone.

Many Blessings,

Pam

Home Again Home Again Jiggidy Jig

2011-06-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

Its always nice to come home after being away. I love to go and I love to come home again to my own bed. We had a great visit with all of our family, and saw some lovely sights along the way. Steve flew back home from Phoenix and Eddie and I drove on to California together. We stayed at the Navy Base with Russell, and had a great a visit with him. The ocean was lovely.... I could look at, smell, and listen to the ocean forever (I envy you ladies who live near the ocean). From there we drove up to Nevada and visited my Mom, brother and nieces. We came home by way of Utah... a very pretty route. I am posting the pictures that Eddie and I took along the way. Unfortunately they are unedited, so I think even the bug slpats on the windshield show up in some of them... sorry.

Today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to my precious Dad and my precious hubby and also to my son Nathan, and my sons in law Jon and Benjamin; to me the best Dads in the world. Love you so much.

Dad and I when Steve and I got married.

From desert to mountains to ocean to desert to canyons to mountains and home. My camera did me wrong again.... only half of my pictures downloaded. I had some great ones of Eddie, Russ, the ocean, some seals and more... oh well. perhaps I will get a new camera one of these days.

Have a lovely week everyone.
Blessings to all,

Pam

Little Hobbit and the Mad Hatter Tea Party

2011-05-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

We forged through mountains and deserts, to get here. At last we arrived at our destination: Sunny Arizona; Phoenix to be exact. We arrived just in time to celebrate the birthday of Little Hobbit who is now 2 years old. It was to be a tea party... a "Mad Hatter Tea Party". Little Hobbit was dressed adorably; The Mad Hatter himself could have no negative word to say, and if Alice were here, she would be confused as to who the real Mad Hatter really was. Mommy/ Himilce was dressed like the Queen of Hearts (a little variation of the red queen), she looked almost as cute as "Little Hobbit". Princes and Princesses arrived from other privinces. It was great fun all around.

Little Hobbit is ready for tea.

He smiles sweetly even though his tea cup is empty. The day is still young. Tea will be something to look forward to.

The Queen of Hearts has been slaving for days to prepare for the party. None of the servants showed up, so she had to do all the work herself.

Little Hobbit grows slightly weary of waiting for his tea. So much activity, so little tea. What is one to think.

Princess and Princesses from other provinces are still in good humor as they too wait for their tea.

The situation is improving as more sandwiches are brought out, and tea pots are filled.

The Topsy Turvey Cake is a delight to all in the Kingdom.

Little Hobbit examines cake.

All Five senses are applied to determine the quality of the cake.

Topsy turvey cake is approved above all cakes in the Kingdom.

A little more careful examination, just to be sure.
Yes.... it is indeed the best.

"Mommy" I think "Little Hobbit" has had too much cake and too many presents, and way too many festivities, perhaps I should go ahead and open this one for him; I am afraid he might become overwhelmed".

Everything is just a blurr, as they say all good things must come to an end. Good bye to all good friends.

On Saturday, all Hobbits were exhausted. So it was decided that we should go fishing.... a cure for everything even overindulgence.

The big hobbit in the middle was threatened by fear of bodily harm or (exposure on facebook) if he didn't smile... and so he did.

Little Hobbit is still a little peaky from the previous days activities, but willing to give fishing a try.

Such a delightful pond to fish in.

Fishing is such a soothing occupation for all.

Night Song

2011-05-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing a bird singing outside my window all week. The interesting thing about it, is that it has been singing at night. It has continually intrigued me when I have woken up to hear it singing in the darkness. A couple of days ago I researched the "Nightingale Bird", remembering that they got their name because they sing at night; but alas there are no Nightingale birds in America. I found out that there are several other birds in North America that sometimes sing at night. So now I have learned something new. There was something very lovely and sweet about it. It made me think how the Lord's Light shine's in the darkness. He has given us beauty for ashes and a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness; He prepares for us a table in the presence of our enemies. He blesses us even in darkness, and not only that, He watches over us all the time.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

Job 12:7‑10 But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Of everyday things, Eddie graduated from 8th grade this week; Highschool next year. Its hard to believe. School is out, which makes us all glad. The last few days were spent workinging on the garden like crazy. We are off tomorrow for our trip... I want to have as much of the garden done as was we could. Luke will be home, holding down the fort, watering the garden taking care of the critters, so that works out very nice.

Here's Eddie the night of his "graduation ceremony". It came out a little blurry, but he looked cute I thought.

Have a delightful week everyone. I will post when I get a chance.

Many Blessings to all,

Pam

The Busy Season Has Begun

2011-05-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

We've been home since last Wednesday, and all my aspirations of posting pictures of our lovely little trip have gone by the wayside. The busy season of the year has begun. Between gardens, and school finishing, (and 8th grade graduation for Eddie) returning from a trip and leaving on another at the end of the week, it is hard to keep up. As for the pictures, I have been having trouble downloading them onto the computer, simply because of some weird malfunction when I was taking them. I think, if I understand it right, the pictures were re-allocated on my phone to a diffierent storarage center... how, which, why it is there, and how it got switched, and how I retrieve pictures from that storage center, I don't know..... (I have tried over and over to download them... they are not cooperating). I can at least look at them on the phone itself. So I would like to invite you all over to my house for tea and cake (chocolate), cucumber sandwiches, and a happy visit with a lovely slide show off of my phone so that I can delight in showing you pictures of the most amazing countryside, and animals of Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole Wyoming. We had a great time. We saw buffalo everywhere, including in front of the car, beside the car, to the right, to the left....you get the idea. We saw elk in like manor, a Mama bear with 2 cubs, a Grizzly Bear, 2 Moose... or is it Mooses, or Meese Ha Ha! We saw a coyote (we see plenty of coyotes around here, but none that are so accommodating as to pause and pose for a close up photo), the amazing Teton Mountain Range, "Old Faithful", the beautiful "Snake River " and the delightful little town of Jackson ... among many other things. It was a great time, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly for a family vacation to all.

I snagged a couple of freebie pictures very like my own, courtesy of google, so that I could at least show you how pretty it was. If you google "images" of Jackson Hole, the Tetons, or Yellowstone, you would see some amazing pictures.

I hope to post once or twice more before we are off at the end of the week. We are making a visit to Phoenix to visit my son Nathan (who is graduating from Collins College), daughter in law Himilce, and two precious grandson's; one of which is celebrating his second birthday (So excited that we get to be a part of this one Yea!) We are also going to visit my my Dad and Kathy, and our other son Russell, who is in California now, and my Mom (next state up in Nevada) and brother... it will be a fast and furious couple of weeks, but a highlight of our summer.

Have a blessed week everyone.

Road Trip

2011-05-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

This time last year, I was on a road trip with Olga, and my friend Roxy. We had gone up to the Northwest corner of Wyoming to visit a college that Olga was going to attend. Now we are here again. This time Steve and I are the travelers. A whole year has gone by, and Olga has been through year number 1 of college. She will be a photography major. Her work is looking very nice. I might have to post some of it one day. She will be staying through the summer taking a couple of classes and working. She has rented a little house with 3 other friends, and they are settling in. We came up to bring her some much needed things; Pots, pans, dishes some of her boxes she had packed away etc. We also brought her a nice start of groceries (amongst which is 20 pounds of potatoes ....ought to hold her over for a few months don't ya think?... the little potato eater... ) It is very pretty country here. Steve and I are going to take the scenic way home and come down through Yellowstone National Park, and Jackson Hole. Can't wait... a long waited for mini vacation for us, even if it is very brief. I 'll post pictures as we go.

Have a Blessed Week Everyone

Pam

The Unseen Army

2011-05-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Unseen Army

Here is a word for you from the Word

Psalm 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. NIV

Do you believe in angels? I want to tell you that I do. I believe there are myriads and myriads of good angels who are given charge over God’s people.

Another passage says that God will give His angels charge over us to guard us in all our ways. I tell you, I believe we need the guardianship, the protection and the support of angels. I’m glad to know that wherever I go there’s an angel of God that encamps around about me and he delivers me.
There was a prophet in the Old Testament, the prophet Elisha. At a certain time he was in a city besieged by a large alien army that was there to take him, to capture him. His servant went up on the roof and pointed out to him the tremendous numbers of the opposing army, but Elisha prayed for that young servant and said, “Lord, open this young man’s eyes.” And when He opened his eyes he saw the armies of God around about the prophet, far greater in number and infinitely greater in power than those invading alien armies. And I believe that if God could open our eyes we’d see it’s true today. Those that be with us are more than those that be with them. We have a great unseen army on our side.

Let’s be encouraged, let’s take heart, let’s reckon with the presence of the Lord’s angels encamping round about us to deliver us. - Derek Prince

From Derek Prince Ministries... Weekly Devotional

When I got this devotional in my e-mail, I wanted to share it as an encouragement today. There is so much going on in the world around us these days, that a spirit of fear often seems louder than the Spirit of the Lord, but His word is a reminder that He cares for us and that He watches over us and that He sends His angels to help us. I think that is amazing... do we really believe it I wonder... I do, but sometimes I forget. Nice to remember.

Mother's Day

2011-05-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

Eddie made this for me for Mother's Day. Isn't it sweet. I just love it. He made it in wood shop. It is definitely a treasure to me. He was very proud of it, and so was I .

It is a flower pot holder. It can hang from a hook in the ceiling, or just stand up right.

He potted the flowers. He said he had tried to get a yellow flower, but the other kids got to the yellow ones first. I said I liked the ones he picked for me better than anything else.

This is my Mom and I a couple of Mother's Days ago. Happy Mother's Day Mom. I miss you.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's in My life, and to all of my friends who are Mothers, and to my daughters who are Mother's. Now that is a mouthful.
Many Blessings to you all.

Pam

Making a Cake Plate: Part One

2011-05-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

I saw this sweet idea at a little antique store in Florida when I was visiting Elizabeth last fall.

I have kept it filed away in my head in the "things I want to try" file, and finally I did.

I thought they might make a nice, yet easy and inexpensive Mother's Day Gift.

Two candlesticks and two plates from the thrift store.

Glue that works with glass

Glue rim of candlestick, place plate on top; turn upside down, checking to make sure all is centered... dry according to glue instructions.

More to come.....

Seedlings

2011-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:00


This is an old water hauling tank. It has crack in the back, so it is no longer any good for hauling water. But....

It makes a wonderful little greenhouse for seedlings. Steve and Luke cut a door out for it and put hinges on the door.

The seedlings have approved. They say its nice and cozy, warm.

We have been growing tomatoes from seed this year; a first for us. In addition to some heirloom seed that we have purchased, Luke has also been saving tomato seed from some of our favorite store bought tomatoes. He has been planting them and they are coming up wonderfully... we are not sure if they are hybrid, or whether they will actually produce fruit, but we are experimenting.

Some of the sprouts are getting big, and some are just beginning to sprout (these pictures are actually a couple of weeks old, so all are sprouting/growing nicely now... didn't feel like getting more pictures up-dated, but perhaps a little later).

Can't wait to see them growing like crazy.

Eggplant

Squash

This is one of Luke's many plantings... not sure what is in this one... we have actually set aside a little plot called "mystery garden"... we'll see what grows, what produces fruit etc...

Lettuce

Beets


One of our experiments this year will be a straw bale garden; Shorty demonstrates the excellent platform for a lovely warm bed these bales will provide. More on the bale garden later.

Hope your week brings you sunshine, joy and peace.

Many Blessings to all.

Pam

Royal Day

2011-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Royal Wedding is today. It seemed a day to do something different, something sweet, something pretty, and join in the celebration. I was talking to Marie on the phone this morning. I miss my daughters very much. Wish I could dress up and go to their houses for tea and scones to celebrate with friends in Great Britain and be enthusiastic for the sweet, young, newly, married, Royal Couple (that was a mouthful wasn't it?). Instead I decided to get dressed up and go to town and meet my friend Roxy for tea. I am dressed and cleaned up and feeling a little less like a red neck and a little more like a lady; I even managed to put on some pretty pearls. Its a nice change from the dirt, and the seedlings in the garden, and all the dirt and grit that the wind is blowing our way (hoping it won't be windy in town). It feels like a day to take a hold of joy... joy needs to be chased and embraced of late, for it has been hiding and fleeing. What a happy day when we are all together at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. That will be a day of unsurpassed joy. No need to chase it then.

May you all be blessed with a day of joy today.

Much Love, Pam

David Wilkerson goes to Heaven

2011-04-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up to the sad news that David Wilkerson was killed in a car accident yesterday.
My daughter Marie had e-mailed us about it, and then my husband found it on his daily e-mail devotional. David was like a Father in the Faith to us and to many of our family and friends. I feel such a sad loneliness for him already, and have been getting choked up off and on all morning. His daily words of encouragement blessed and comforted us so much. It seems there are not that many "modern day" Fathers of the faith left. I think of Billy Graham and Tommy Barnett... they also are comforting fathers . It is hard and difficult days we are in. I posted a little post about David Wilkerson last fall, when we had the privilege to go with our friends Roxy and Danny to hear him and his son and Nicki Cruz speak at a Pastors and Leadership conference. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to go to that. Here are the last words David wrote yesterday. So amazingly prophetic, insightful and comforting.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

WHEN ALL MEANS FAIL

To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God and is most acceptable. Jesus said to Thomas, “You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those that do believe and have not seen” (John 20:29).
Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence of an answer to prayer—who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.
Someone has come to the place of hopelessness—the end of hope—the end of all means. A loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. Death seems inevitable. Hope is gone. The miracle prayed for is not happening.
That is when Satan’s hordes come to attack your mind with fear, anger, overwhelming questions: “Where is your God now? You prayed until you had no tears left. You fasted. You stood on promises. You trusted.”
Blasphemous thoughts will be injected into your mind: “Prayer failed. Faith failed. Don’t quit on God—just do not trust him anymore. It doesn’t pay!”
Even questioning God’s existence will be injected into your mind. These have been the devices of Satan for centuries. Some of the godliest men and women who ever lived were under such demonic attacks.
To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”
Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

Posted by David Wilkerson

Easter Lambs or Roast Beef?

2011-04-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a hectic week, and has been so hard to get a post done. I got the final 2 lambs crocheted for precious grandsons and all the lambs went into the mail at the beginning of the week, hopefully to arrive at their homes soon. They don't really seem like Easter Lambs, but for little boys, I think they will do.

I've got my Easter Menu ready, how about you all? I would love to be eating lamb, but will suffice with roast beef, which we have in more abundance.

Luke and I have been working on our seedlings and garden this week when the wind would stop long enough for us to move and think straight. I will post about it, in a day or two, after Easter is over.

Hope you all have a Blessed Easter, as you celebrate the "the Power of His Resurrection.

all boxed up and ready to ship

Easter Menu

Appetizer:

Shrimp

Hummus dip with crackers

Main Dish
Roast Beef with Rosemary

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Fresh Raised Rolls

Roasted Vegetables with Herbs

(Zucchini, Asparagus, Eggplant, Green Onion, Sweet Potatoes, Sliced and drizzled in Olive)

Green Salad with Mandarines

Fruit Salad

Dessert

Strawberry Coffee Cake

Many Blessings to you all during this Easter/Passover season

Pam

Unless a seed....

2011-04-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

Steve and I went to the funeral of a good friend and neighbor yesterday. She passed away on Saturday after a long fight with breast cancer. Today I have been feeling sad and flat. Strange how you process sad news. I find I try to grip myself when I know something is coming, but when it happens, it doesn't seem real; I feel numb for a little bit. Then sadness hits at various moments of the day. Great sorrow for Kim's husband over takes my heart. I can't imagine Dale without Kim. They were like 2 peas in a pod. How will Dale bare it? How would I bare it if it were me? Not very well. But of course the grace of God is real, tangible and powerful. It is that power that works in us, when it seems impossible for us to go on. It is here with us. It is here with Dale.

We told Eddie about Kim. He knew it was coming too, but I think when we are young the inability to understand or grasp the reality of those things is even stronger. Eddie was taken aback. His first question to Steve was "How is Dale?" That was so precious for Steve and I to hear. It really touched our hearts. Yesterday Eddie called us on our cell phones after the funeral; he said. "How is Dale?" That was a double for Eddie, who more often than not doesn't seem to notice the world around him in his adolescent cloud. This blesses me.

Life and death are a mystery. They are everywhere and all around; sometimes in the obvious such as I have just talked about, and in the not as obvious, like the grain of wheat; like our life as Christians, which dies progressively to "self", and lives progressively to "redemption". Dying has seemed to me lately like giving birth; pain and travailing giving forth to a new life. For Kim that new life is in Heaven. I see so many changes in the earth these last few years. More death than I ever remember. I don't quite know how to take it in. For some we can rejoice, and for others, it is great sorrow. Every time I hear of a movie star or someone famous dying, it grieves me greatly, because their death has not necessarily translated them into new life. I don't worry about Kim's soul I know where it is, but I find my heart heavy for the world. I am reminded how my Heavenly Father gave the life of His only begotten Son so that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The symbolism is everywhere; I have often marveled at how death reigns in the winter, but life reigns in the spring. Out of hard dead sticks come soft supple buds, new leaves, new life. I understand it, and yet, it is a mystery.

THE ANGEL

The hospice nurse was a friend of Kim's from previous days, and the Lord brought her to be Kim's hospice nurse. She told a story at the funeral that blessed us all. She said that as the end drew near, Kim whispered to her to get Dale (who had been up all the previous night, and was now sleeping while Kim's Mom and the nurse took the shift). As the nurse turned to go get Dale, she looked up and saw an Angel of the Lord; yes, an Angel. And then he began to ascend. Kim said "hurry". Dale came quickly to Kim's side and was able to be with her those last moments; and that was the end. It was very comforting to think of that Angel there to assist Kim to Heaven. What a treasure.

Dale and Kim standing next to Russell and friends and family at his going away party last year.

John 12:24

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone ; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

7 Random Facts

2011-04-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

Keri from Keri On tagged me for this award. I am supposed to give 7 random facts about myself, and then I will pass it on. I enjoyed reading the 7 facts about Keri, and I do think it is a nice way to get to know a little more about each other. Thanks Keri.

Now let's see 7 Random facts....

1. I was born in California (yawn... I know but still, its a fact and its random)

2. My family moved to Europe when I was about 3 years old; We lived in Wales, Italy and Germany for several years.

3. I spoke Italian somewhat fluently (or so I am told), but don't remember any of it now except the few words that my family sometimes say to each other such as; "Pamela cativa" (pronounce Pamela: Pam - a - (long a) - la): or" Mikala cativa" or : "Davida cativa".... which means "naughty Pammy" or "naughty Mikey", or "naughty Davey".... (my brother's names are Mike and Dave). Now isn't that funny the things you forget, and the things you remember?

4. My family moved to Phoenix , Arizona after we returned from Europe, where I lived until I got married.

5. When I was in High School I took German as my language course. I can remember a little more German than Italian, because I was able to go back to Germany for a summer when I was 17, to visit my Dad who was living there at that time.

6. When I was a little girl I used to say "when I grow up, I am going to marry a rancher". When I was a junior in High school, I met a young man whom I fell in love with and I married him 2 years later. He grew up helping his Grandfather on his ranch every summer. It was his desire to be a rancher. Isn't The Lord good to us? We have been married 31 years now.

7. Books are one of many favorite things. I love to read, collect, look at and smell books. To me a house doesn't seem quite complete with out some sort of library to brows through.

Now I would like to tag Ann of 8 Acres of Eden. I would enjoy learning 7 random things about her.

Spring Lambs

2011-04-01T14:06:00.000-07:00


Three of five are complete... two more are in process. Little Easter lambs for my own precious lambs (Grandchildren)

Luke titled this one "Popeye the sailor lamb" I thought that was pretty cute.

I didn't have any directions for these, I simply began crocheting. I got the hang of it when I began the lion (previous post) and have been able to just crochet animals by increasing and decreasing in appropriate areas for shapes and sizes desired. If I end up writing down any instructions I will share them with you at that time, but for now here they are.... will post the other two when they are done.

Food for Thought

2011-03-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

These are some books I've been reading recently. I have really enjoyed them. They are cookbooks with stories from the Great Depression. I've had my interest piqued lately about the Great Depression. Many of our grandparents or great-grandparents lived through that era. I wonder how many of you remember your grandparents talking about the Great Depression. I know my husband and myself had grandparents who were greatly influenced their entire lives from that era. Conserving water, making use of every last thing, eating oatmeal rain or shine, and feeling a sense of uneasiness towards banks and governments were all things we both remember hearing about. Sometimes when we were younger their excessive expression of those things would seem wearisome to us, but now as the days get more and more difficult, I long to hear what they had to say. Sad to say, our grandparents have all passed away. There are, however, still many valuable nuggets to be attained from our parents and from stories like these, in these books. I really enjoyed and appreciated the stories or even just "one liners", particularly in "Clara's Kitchen". She talks throughout the cookbook about what they did and how they ate to survive. Her story, her life, her outlook and her recipes are all delightful.

Seeing the days that seem to be coming upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to take seriously the wisdom "that" generation has to give us from those days. We at least have the ability to look back, and then look ahead and pray "Lord, give us wisdom, give us a plan".
I have been mulling over ideas that would help earn money, save money, and stretch what we have, and help us persevere through difficult times. Would love to hear your ideas.

If you get a chance, you should visit Clara's Blog and enjoy the little video below. Clara is 94 years old. depressioncooking.blogspot.com depressioncooking.blogspot.com

"God is our refuge and strength

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change

and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea:

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though its mountains quake at its swelling pride......

....The God of Jacob is our stronghold."

Psalm46

Don't forget to scroll down and pause my music before you press play.

Crocheted Baby Hoodie

2011-03-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

My first crocheted sweater. It is very satisfying to have completed it. I cannot say that it went smoothly, but the fact that I was actually able to complete it is a huge victory to me. Now I only have 4 more to make before Christmas.

Blessings to all

Much Love Pam

Found these cute little doggie buttons, Couldn't resist them.

For the Love of Goats

2011-03-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

This story was brought to my mind recently through a blog conversation I had with Keri from Keri--on.blogspot.com, so thought I would tell the story for everyone.   It is a funny story, at least... 20 some years later it is...funny. I really am amazed that over 20 years have gone by since that happened... but yes, my first four children are now 26, 26, 28, and 30. I think they were about the ages of 2, 2, 4, and 6 at that time.... guess that makes the story closer to 25 years ago, but let me tell it to you.

     When I was a little girl, I had always dreamed of growing up, living in the country, and owning all kinds of animals. I kept that dream into my young adult life, and married a handsome cowboy from Colorado. After about 7 years of marriage, we were able to move to Colorado (or in Steve's case: back to Colorado).

Oh what delight to get to begin the dreams of having a farm/ranch and all kinds of animals. Now obviously, horses and cows go hand in hand with any ranchers idea of what ranching is all about, but chickens and goats and what ever else I could come up with were not necessarily something this particular rancher was as enthusiastic about.... but this rancher was eager and ready to please his wife, so we went to a little farm auction not far from here and got our first goat. We really didn't know anything about goats, but were willing to learn and I was excited at the prospect. I had an image of Eden in my head, where all the dear little animals would roam happily and freely around the property, coming in eagerly at milking time or bedtime, playing gently with my children, and walking companionably with us all on afternoon walks. Chickens roaming the gardens and eradicating all the unwanted bugs while not touching one plant that did not belong to them. Oh yes, such bliss. I'm sure you can get the picture.

It really was fun...no really it was... and crazy... and chaotic.... We did get to milk our goat, and learn how to make goat cheese.... She did play with the children...( did I say gently? well, never mind that)... she did go on afternoon walks with us (only a few head butting battles and minor injuries... no worries... tough kids).....but lets see in the process, we also learned about goat breeds, and goat pens (and consequences of the lack of them).... companionable goats? yes, at least to all but the Mama of the family (I was never really sure if she was trying to kill me or she was just playing).... we did learn that some goats are taken purposely to farm sales because... well, they were not necessarily ideal. We did love our chickens.... and had wonderful fresh eggs... and we did have a delightful garden... what was left of it....and we did learn not to let the goat out of the pen (which we eventually constructed) while the "addition" to our little house was under construction (especially while husband has framing hammer in hand and no more patience for goat who takes too many liberties and one too many blueprints eaten for lunch .... hubby did, however, improve his tomahawk throwing skills while practicing with framing hammer) or leave her out while changing out chocolate cookies in oven.... unless of course you didn't mind a goat coming through your ceiling.

Okay, so now I have you.... and if any of you don't believe this story, just ask my older children, they were there... happily eating cookies at their little table in the kitchen... thinking all was right with the world until..." what in the world is that noise....?!!!!?"

Now I was also thinking all was right with the world and humming happily to myself and breathing in the delightful smell of fresh baked cookies When..."Uh oh. I left the goat out while I popped back inside to change these cookies "rats", Steve told me not to do that... he reminded me how she loved getting into the "addition" and onto the roof because of her fantasies of being a mountain goat... he reminded me how he had ripped off the existing roof on that one side and there is nothing there right now except insulation and sheet rock. he told me to keep an eye on her ... is that a hoof I see coming through the ceiling? ".

Well, the rest just gets better... or is it worse.... there were no more delightful thoughts of chocolate cookies, no serene motherly blessings to such dear children... no, there was a goat on top of the stove!

The children were crying at least some of them were...(I'm sure like myself, they had no idea what was happening... earthquake perhaps... "the rapture".... I don't know it was just something loud and unbelievable. I heard Luke (the 4 year old) mutter "Daddy's gonna shoot that goat, he's gonna shoot that goat and use real bullets"... and then the goat ran bleating through the house.... apparently not a scratch on her.   Steve was away at the moment... I was thinking.. "what shall I do what shall I tell him?" I did think quickly, because I knew we would be eating goat for dinner if I didn't come up with a quick plan.

"Oh yes", I thought to myself , "the neighbors have been wanting to get a goat themselves.... I will call them and tell them to come quickly and get this goat if they would like to have it for free". And so I did and so they did. My husband called before returning home. This is what I told him on the phone; "Sweetie, there's been an accident"... now I really was getting choked up as I was trying to tell him... and of course my husband thought someone has been seriously hurt, so his heart went right into his throat. "whats going on is everyone okay?"   You can imagine his relief when it was nothing more than; "the goat fell through the ceiling!"

Ahhh such blissful days when we were young....ha ha. We have had quite a few goats and chickens since that day and my husband is a patient man who has blessed me with his perseverance and love. He fixed our kitchen ceiling, while at the same time finishing the floor to our upstairs, and the addition was completed. We never again had a goat in the kitchen, although, there have been many calves in there (those needing a little extra help after coming into the world on a cold wintry night). There are many more stories to tell, but another day, another blog post. In recent years Steve's career went through some changes and we come and go from the ranch more often, and don't raise the animals like we used to...so we have only 2 dogs and 2 cats to entertain us. But I was dreaming yesterday about "Alpaca's". Wool is such a delightful thing... I would really love to learn how to "Spin" and "weave".... I feel the full "Proverbs 31 Woman" coming on. Smile.

Have a blessed week everyone

Love Ya,

Pam

To this day, I still really love goats, and Nubians are my favorite

Steve brings a little Valentines Day Calf to join the party 20 something years ago. (Steve on left, Elizabeth in foreground and little friends on either side).

All of the "four" together with friends... about the time of "goat incident" (The Blondies are all mine). (Nathan in back on left, Elizabeth on his lap, Marie on friends lap, Luke squeezed between baby Danielle (friend) and Marie.

Nathan and Himilce with new baby goat.... the first time Himilce came to meet us.

Old Friends

2011-03-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

I got a package in the mail yesterday. It was from some old friends. Such a sweet surprise.
We got to visit with them last month....prior to that, I think it was Marie and Himilce's baby Shower that we last saw them... was that almost 3 years ago?

Art and Barbara are old friends whom we met almost 30 years ago when we moved in next door to them.They love the Lord, and what touched us about them when we met, was that they would talk about the Lord and how He blessed them in almost every conversation. It bonded us to them. We all became very close. They were like family to our kids, and I think we to theirs. Our kids were babies at the time, and theirs teenagers. We were in and out of each others' houses all the time. Barbara was/is a great cook and homemaker. She always set the prettiest tables and to this very day I think of Barbara when ever I am setting the table. I love to make it pretty the way she does. I love to use pretty china and lovely centerpieces and my Mom's beautiful silverware, because of Barbara. Art used to make us laugh with his booming voice and hilarious stories about hunting and fishing and horses and well... you name it, Art could tell a hilarious story about it. We used to go out to the desert and have cookouts together (we lived in Arizona then, where they still live today). For many years we spent our Thanksgivings together, and I miss those days very much. I miss living next door to them. They are very special friends. Their 4 children also are blessings (grown now of course), and their grand children are all scrumpscious. We get to see 10 of those grandchildren (theschefflers.com) on occasion because they live only a little over an hour from us.... they are all such treasures and every time I see them I am blessed.

Art celebrated his 70th birthday this year, and we were the happy participants of a wonderful family birthday party at his daughter Shari's and Son in law Bob's house last month. What a great time we had... they even included me in the birthday celebration (Art and I are 1 day and 20 years apart and have often celebrated together .... with a little math you can figure what that makes me... a half a century now, along with my hubby :) ).

Love you Art and Barbara. Thanks for the sweet box and the happy memories, they are treasures to me.

Much Love,

Pam

Art took this picture of Steve and I; Barbara sent it to us in our little package.... It turned out pretty sweet, so thought I would post this one. The one on top is a picture of Art (in the middle) and Barbara on the right, with 10 of their grandkids at Art's 70'th. It was taken with my phone, and I didn't have my settings right, so it didn't come out as clear as I would have liked, but well, what the heck... everyone looks so cute don't they?

In Like a Lion out like a Lamb Crochet Project

2011-03-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Well it is March and as the little saying for March goes "in like a lion and out like a lamb", I thought I would post this little lion for my weekly project. I finally got the nose and mouth sewed on, which was all it has been needing for the last month. I started this while visiting Marie. We started them together actually, but I came home with the pattern, so Marie was left with only the beginning of the head. Instructions are following so Marie and any one else can whip it up in no time. Now I am hoping to come up with a nice little " lamby project" so that I can post it at the end of March.

Check out little Tobby posing with Lion... isn't he cute?

Instructions for Crocheted Lion

This came out of one of Vanna White's little crochet books with a few variations of my own.
I used one color, hers called for three
I used 1 portion of 1 skein of gold yarn
2 plastic eyes

Head and Body
Begin at center off face, chain 2
Round 1
work 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook.
Place marker for beginning of rnd; move marker up as each rnd is completed.

Round 2
2 sc in each st around : 12 sts.
Round 3
(2sc in st, sc in next st) 6 times -18 st
Round 4
(2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts) 6 times - 24 sts

Round 5
(2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 sts) 6 times - 30 st
Round 6
(2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 sts) 6 times - 36 sts.
Round 7
(2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 sts) 6 times - 42 sts.
Round 8
Sc in each st around.
Round 9
Working in back loops only, sc in each st around.
Follow package directions to attach safety eyes.
Rounds 10 -17
Sc in each stitch around.
Round 18
(Sc2tog, sc in next 5 sts) 6 times - 36 stitches
Round 19
(Sc2tog, sc in next 4 sts) 6 times -30 sts.
Begin to stuff piece firmly. Continue to stuff as work progresses.
Round 20
(Sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts) 6 times- 24 sts.
Round 21
(Sc2tog , sc in next 2 sts) 6 times - 18 sts.
Round 22
(Sc2tog, sc in next st) 6 times - 12 sts.
Round 23
(Sc2tog) 6 times - 6 sts. Fasten off.
Mane
For the mane, I did single strands inserted in each stitch, tied and knotted.
Here is the other variation:
Join with slip stitch into any stitch on round 9.

Round 1
Working in front loops of round 9, chain 1 ( sc, hdc) in same stitch as join, (dc, hdc) in next st, (sc, sl st) in next st, *(sc,hdc) in next st, (dc, hdc) in next st, (sc, sl st) in next st; repeat from * around. Fasten off.
Ears (make 2)
Ch2
Round 1
Work 8 sc in 2nd chain from hook. Place marker for beg of rnd: move marker up as ech round is completed.
Round 2
Sc in each st. around - 8 sts
Round 3
(Sc2tog) 4 times 4 sts. Fasten off.
Legs (make 4)
Ch 2
Rounds 1 and 2
Work rounds 1 and 2 of head and body
Round 3
Working in back loops only, sc in each st around
Rounds 4 and 5
Sc in each st around. Fasten off.
Tail
Chain 5. 3hdc in 2nd ch from hook. Fasten off.
This little tail seemed too skinny to me.. I added another row of stitches and a little fringe on the end like the mane.

Finishing
Sew ears to head. Stuff legs and sew to body. Sew tail to end of Body. With contrasting color, embroider straight st nose, mouth and whiskers.

If you have any questions comment me.
Enjoy

Kefir

2011-03-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

While I was in Ohio for the birth of little Grandson Ezra, my son in law, Jon gave me a gift.

Now this gift is not something many of you would often think about desiring to own, unless you knew about what a delightful thing it was; I have been so delighted with my gift, that I would smile and giggle every time I would look at it. What in the world could this gift be? And have you ever seen the like of such a thing? It is a living organism. It is something that is good for your body. It tastes really good when made into a smoothie. It is well known in many parts of the world, but hasn't been as well known in the U.S. until recent years. I had been tempted to make you guess.... but of course the title of my post has already given me away. Yes, It is kefir. Jon knew the value of kefir and brought it home to his family. He then grew and multiplied his kefir, and blended up its produce into many lovely smoothies (I was the delighted recipient of these smoothies). In short order his kefir culture multiplied, and he sent me home with a share.

Many years ago I ordered kefir through our food co-op in a variety of flavors. The kids thought it was a real treat. When Russell, Olga and Eddie came to live with us, I would pick up kefir at the health food store on occasion. It was a familiar food to them, because it is a common food in Russia. Eddie often asked for it. Now I can make it myself.... because of my son in law. Thanks Jon.

Once you have the little kefir cultures or grains, (check the internet to order some), it is easy to make and maintain. It goes like this. Put your kefir culture in a quart sized canning jar. Add two to three cups milk (might as well make it organic milk if you are trying this for a healthy treat). Place lid on top loosely. Allow to sit at room tempurature 12 to 36 hours. Once milk and culture mixture are thick, strain into a bowl, using a plastic strainer and spoon. (Jon told me and I have since read on the internet that metal can cause your kefir to respond negatively, which may inhibit its growth, so use plastic instead). Set the kefir liquid to the side. Put kefir grains back in jar. Add 2-3 cups of milk, Now the process starts all over again. Meanwhile, blend your kefir with banana and other fruit, and you have a wonderful smoothie. When blended with fruit and a little sugar and even some vanilla, it is a delicious beverage and tastes like yogurt in drink form. If you cannot attend to your kefir as soon as you would like, you may keep it in the refrigerator where it keeps nicely with out spoiling. Also, as a note, the longer you let your kefir sit and ferment at room temperature, the thicker it gets, and also the tangier it gets. If you prefer less tang, refrigerate or drink it sooner. It never seems too tangy for me, but that is just a little info to help you on your way.
Enjoy

Whole Wheat Bread

2011-02-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Luke and I spent the day in the kitchen baking. I made whole wheat bread and hamburger buns, and he made pita bread, raviollis and egg noodles. I ~~think~~ I am gaining weight now that Luke is home. He is a great cook, and I am an enthusiastic encourager of all that he makes. The other night I told him I had been thinking about the Stromboli he had made us several days before and had been fighting off the desire to drool all day. A couple of hours later (bedtime to be exact) he came up stairs with a fresh, out of the oven, plate of Stromboli and homemade Bruschetta. Needless to say, I did not give my waistline a thought, I simply devoured...(expect a post on dieting, exercise and loosing weight from me in the near future). But we are having fun together baking and cooking in the kitchen. He is an enthusiastic encourager as well, so I am enjoying baking again. Not that I haven't been baking in the last few years, its just that my enjoyment had dwindled somewhat. Decided to post about whole wheat bread today. I am also talking Luke into creating his own blog, so he can post pictures and recipes. He enjoys trying things that seem like way to much work to me. He makes it seem like an easy task... I was thinking he should blog it.

The first of Luke's egg noodles drying.

Pita Bread fresh out of the oven.

Happy Loaves of whole wheat bread rising.

I think homemade bread is beautiful, not only to taste, but also to look at. I think a loaf of whole wheat bread looks like a classical painting. About 12 years ago, Steve bought me 2 machines that I have loved in a big way ever since. One is a Grain Master Whisper Mill, and the other is a Bosch Mixer.

Look at that pretty wheat. I didn't get a picture of my wheat grinder, but I did have this picture.

The Whisper Mill is a convenient electric grain mill which can easily grind wheat (or other grains) fresh every time I make bread or desire flour. I can store my wheat berries with no worries of spoilage and yet still have whole wheat flour when I need it (once berries have been ground into flour, the germ is exposed to oxygen, and will soon begin oxidizing, causing the flour to become rancid in a short amount of time. Mass marketing in the 20th century brought us flour with the germ removed, which gives a longer shelf life, but cheats us out of vital nutrients contained in the grain. This is why I love to grind my flour fresh as opposed to buying it. . We recently started grinding some wheat berries that we had in storage for over 10 years. The grains were fresh, clean and ready to grind. The flour made delicious bread. Wheat berries if stored in a clean, fairly cool environment, will actually remain nutritious and intact for thousands of years. Wheat berries which were discovered in Pharoah's tomb were found to contain all vitamins and minerals still intact, and were able to be sprouted and also ground for bread after 5000 years. God sure knows how to package and preserve food doesn't He?

There are several good quality mixers on the market, but for making whole wheat bread, my favorite, is my Bosch Mixer, which is a wonderful heavy duty mixer that allows me to mix and knead dough in large quantities (5-6 loaves at a time), without worries of burning up the motor, which incidentally I did with a couple of bread machines years ago from excess whole wheat bread making.

The first mixture of bread dough sponging in my Bosch machine.

The recipe I use for my basic whole wheat bread is one I got from the little bread making supply store that we bought these machines from. They were located in Denver but I can't even remember their name now... they are no longer in business. Everyday they did demonstrations for grinding wheat, making breads, buns, rolls, pizza etc. I have been using the recipe ever since.

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

Grind approximately 10 cups Wheat Berries in your Wheat Grinder. This produces about 16 or 17 cups of flour.
In your mixing bowl put:
6 cups of very warm water (when it is hot to the touch, but not scalding)
1/3 cup oil (I use olive oil... you could use whatever you like)
1/3 cup honey (if you use the measuring cup for your oil first, then measure the honey, the honey comes out of the cup easily)
2 tablespoons yeast (I use instant or fast acting yeast)
5 cups wholewheat flour
Mix together and let sponge 10 - 15 minutes.... until bubbly.

Turn on mixer and add:
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/3 cup gluten (this gives the bread a softer, airier, stretchier texture)

Approximately 9- 1l cups more flour) Each time you make bread, your flour measurements can be different, depending on the moisture in the flour or the moisture in the air, or whether the flour is freshly ground, or has been ground previously (the flour will be more compact, the longer it is stored as flour). The best way to determine if you need more flour is to watch as you put in each cup. Once it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, you have enough.
Add ins may be added at this point... such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oatmeal, dill or caraway seed what ever you like.

Knead for 5-6 minutes if you have a Bosch Machine, or 7-10 with a standard mixer (if using a standard mixer, cut this recipe in half or 1/3), 13-15 minutes for hand kneading (not for me).

Put bread dough onto an oiled surface (this keeps the bread moist, where a floured surface can dry out whole wheat bread). Cut dough into portions for each loaf pan, pat them nicely into a log shaped loaf and place into oiled pan. This recipe makes 4-5 large loaves, or 5-6 medium loaves. I also use the dough to make pizza, cinnamon buns, hamburger buns and rolls.

I grease my bread pans with natural shortening or Pam type spray or you can also use a mixture of oil with a little bit of liquid lecithin as described below: Also, a narrow sided bread pan is best, in order to support the rising bread dough, providing better chance that your dough will not collapse in the center.

1 Tablespoon lecithin (this adds to the non-sticking quality of the oil)
2 Tablespoons oil
You can keep a mixture of this in your frig for ready use.

Nice large lump of dough waiting to be oiled, and divided into loaves and rolls.

Rising Loaf

Rising Hamburger Buns

I added sunflower seeds to this batch of bread and rolls, which is a variation we enjoy.

Cinnamon rolls and sticky buns are a yummy way to enjoy healthy, wholesome, bread.

Cinnamon Buns rising

Look at that wholesome chicken salad sandwich with mounds of fresh veggies heaped onto the whole wheat bread.

Origami Boxes, and gifts of the heart

2011-02-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

For Valentines, our son Luke made origami boxes.... well, rather it went like this. Luke made some really wonderful origami boxes one evening and I thought they were so delightful I asked him if he would make up several of them for Valentines, so that I could put my truffles in them and make a pretty table. He obliged.
He's such a sweet lad.

Aren't they pretty?

I decided that I would post them as one of the 52 weeks of projects.

Those little truffles fit in there perfectly (recipe in previous post).

Luke is also a great cook. He added this to our Valentine Schmorgesboard (my spell checker says this is not a word).

My Meatloaf doesn't look quite as pretty as his pizza, even though we put it on a lovely crystal plate.

Another of Luke's accomplishments. Croissants... they were delicious.

We had fun this Valentines Day, cooking and decorating together. During dinner, we watched Dean Martin on You tube singing "That's Amore". All we needed was our little grandsons to dance with. Our Favorite version of "That's Amore" is the one where Jerry Lewis joins in. Eddie didn't know who Jerry Lewis was, so we decided we needed to update his education. No child should go through life with out at least one Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis Movie don't ya think?

Don't forget to scroll down and pause my playlist music before you press the start button

Valentine Dinner

2011-02-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

This year our Valentines dinner is a family affair. Romance is still waiting for Steve and I .... some day somewhere... Yes, Hawaii, that is our promise we are going to Hawaii... one day to recharge our romantic batteries and make sure we don't end up looking like this couple. We tried to get there on our 20th anniversary, then our 25th, then our 30th. I can picture myself there on Valentines day too; we're not particular. But, oh well, perhaps next year. This year, there will be 4 of us ages 50, 50, 28 and 15, and we will be home with the dogs and the cats and the cows and the snow.... but it can still be romantic don't you think? Here's the menu:

Menu:

Dinner:

Heart Shaped Meatloaf

Mashed Potatoes

Corn

Rolls

Salad

Iced Tea

Dessert:

Chocolate Oreo Truffles (see recipe below)

How can you go wrong with that.... at least not around here, where meatloaf and mashed potatoes are always in high demand

Chocolate Oreo Truffles

2011-02-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

I first tasted these at my Dad's house. Kathy blessed me with one of these choice morsels on one of my last visits. They were one of the most scrumpscious treats I have ever had. My sister Katheryn (Moms serving Christ) had made them. I kept meaning to ask Katheryn for the recipe, but never did. I googled the recipe and wow was there a huge response. It is not a difficult recipe to find, nor is it difficult to make. You're going to love these. They make a wonderful Valentines Day treat.

Ingredients

1 16 ounce Package Oreo Cookies

I used Newman's Own, because he doesn't use hydrogenated oil

8 ounces cream cheese

softened to room temperature

16 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips

or you can use milk chocolate, white, or mint flavored for a contrasting mixture

Instructions

Place cream cheese in a bowl. Crush Oreos in food processor. Add to cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Roll into walnut sized balls and place on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Place in refrigerator. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler ( I saw Paula Dean using a glass Pyrex bowl over a pan of heating water on the stove top..... I liked that). When balls are cooled and chocolate is melted, dip chocolate ballls into chocolate extended from a tooth pick, skewer or fork. Place on wax paper to dry. If desired sprinkle with additional cookie crumbs, or purchased sprinkles or drizzle with contrasting colored chocolate. Place each in a cupcake paper to give it a nice touch.

Try to keep them out of sight until ready to serve... they may not last.

Soothing Bath Salts for Valentines

2011-02-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

A nice Valentine soak in the tub to soothe and calm the nerves is what sounded nice to me this year for Valentines. As a gift or a romantic indulgence, bath salts seemed like a nice idea to try.

I found Dead Sea Salts, dried Lavender flowers, dried Chamomile and baking soda in the bulk section of the health food store (quite inexpensive).

Put them in the blender and pushed the button.

Spooned the delighful smelling powdered bath salts into clear Valentines Bags.

Tied off the plastic bag and placed into a homemade bag. Tied with pretty ribbon.

Gave them to my girlfriends and indulged myself in a trial bath. So soothing to the skin, and smells so good.

Soothing Bath Salts

4 cups Dead Sea Salts

2 cups Baking Soda

1 cup Dried Lavendar flowers

1/2 Cup Dried Chamomile Flowers or Calendula petals

Blend all ingredients in a blender and breathe in the delightful smell.

If you don't care for little petals floating in your bath water, consider putting a large scoop of the bath salts into a coffee filter. You can seal all openings by sewing edges together like a little envelope or

tea bag; or pour into a nylon stocking, tie off and add to bath, or add essential oils instead of flowers.

Other optional ingredients:

Oatmeal (soothes itchy skin)

(be sure to grind it fine first and mix it with the other ingredients once they are ground

Powdered Milk (a beauty treatment used by Cleopatra)

Essential oils

Enjoy

Potato Soup and Returning Home.... Comfort Food Part 2

2011-01-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

I've been home from Jon and Marie's a week now. I always feel so torn when leaving any of my family on either end of where I am. I think it is a mother's dilemma. What a wonderful time I had with them. I got a full dose of filling that hole in my heart where they belong, and even though I know it won't be long before that hole will need filling again, I praise the Lord for being able to be with them and drink in the bliss of it for that moment. For those of you who don't have grandchildren yet, just you wait; your going to love it... it really is wonderful and special.

Since being home, I have been inspired to clean out and reorganize my kitchen. Got the pantry, refrigerator, tupperware cabinet (does that one ever stay cleaned out and organized... I don't think so), spice cabinet, dishes and pots and pans reorganized. I love doing that (I have to be in the right mood to get it done though). Went to town and restocked the groceries (the cupboards here were like ol Mother Hubbard's if you know what I mean). Have been working on cooking up a few comfort foods around here, to bring in some cozy winter cheer, and bless my hubby and Luke and Eddie. Incidentally, My hubby missed me greatly and said he would "rise up and call me blessed".... Love him so much. Its nice to be missed and valued.

This morning as I post it is delightfully sunny, but there have been a few snowy days since I got home, and those days always call for soups. Thought I would post the potato soup recipe that I made for Jon and Maire. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Much Love, Pam

Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients

8 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 large onion peeled and diced

2 cups diced turkey ham or ham

3-4 cups chicken broth or potato water or both

1 4 oz stick of butter

1/2 cup of flour

2 cups cream, half and half, or milk ( I usually use mostly milk with a little cream)

1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt

2 or 3 Green Onions Chopped

Croutons (homemade are easy and taste the best)

Instructions

Place potatoes in a pot of water and boil until tender. Drain desired amount of water and add broth to potatoes. Add chopped ham and onion. In a skillet, melt butter, stir in flour and then add milk to make a roux. Gradually add the rest of the milk over medium heat until you have a thickened sauce. Slowly pour into potatoe soup. Simmer gently for a few minutes. Spoon into bowls and top with croutons and chives. If you like a thicker soup, increase your flour in your roux, if you like a thinner soup, increase your broth. Mmm Mmm good.

Note: you can add cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream to this recipe and it would be delicious.

Comfort Food Part One

2011-01-20T07:24:00.000-08:00

Stuffed Shells

We are often told in magazines, by all the "experts" that we should think about our motives behind our eating and in doing so we would better be able to manage our eating. I am inclined to agree with them... at least from my own perspective. Food is something of an issue at our house; Steve and I were just talking about it the other day, saying "what in the world is up with all the food issues we often seem to have at our house". Much of that conversation stems from our last 3 children, who came to us as adolescents, bringing with them pain and fear from their own heartaches, resulting in a huge barrage of emotions that often exposed themselves through food. It made me think about our emotional connection with food. I know I certainly have an emotional connection with it; especially when it comes to chocolates and sweet treats ... and I am one of those people who loves to eat when I am happy and loves to eat when I am sad. Certainly a quality that can make me fat, and believe me I have had my own "battle of the bulge" because of it. But, with that said, how can you remove yourself from that emotional connection with food? Of course we must eat to live, nourish our bodies etc.. but I believe that we were created with the emotional connection to food. Babies are soothed as soon as they are born with their first little portion of Mama's milk, all the great moments of our lives are celebrated with it, even the death of a loved one is mourned with it., and in heaven, there is wonderful wedding feast being prepared for us. Yet the key to all the emotional satisfaction we get from eating, involves eating with those we love.

For me personally, "Comfort Food" is a delightful thing to share with those I love. It comforts us in every situation, and connects our hearts with good feelings and happy memories. I thought I would share some of the comfort foods we have been eating around here at Jon and Marie's. I was able to help Marie put some of these meals in the freezer for future dinners, and give her a little extra help now, especially when there are two babies. I remember the days of having more than one baby.... lots of work. Something that comforts my heart, is having meals already prepared on those busy and hectic days.

Macaroni and Cheese

Crepes

Potato soup

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Stuffed Shells

1 large box of large pasta shells (I actually use two boxes... fill them until I am out of the cheese mixture, and use left over shells to make chicken and noodles.... another favorite comfort food).

32 oz Ricotta Cheese

1 1/2 lbs shredded Mozerella Cheese (reserve about 3/4 cup to sprinkle over the top)

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Olive oil

1/2 medium onion chopped

2-3 cloves fresh garlic crushed and chopped

1 28oz can tomato sauce

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

fresh or dried basil

Directions

Cook shells in boiling water until soft, but still slightly underdone.

Drain and cool.

Mix together all the cheeses then stuff all the shells. Placing them one at a time in an olive oiled baking dish. Spread sauce liberally over shells. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees until bubbly (about 30 minutes) Sprinkle with reserved mozerella and bake uncovered 10 minutes more.

For Sauce

Saute onion and garlic in a liberal amount of olive oil until slightly soft. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and basil. Simmer gently 15- 20 minutes. Pour over pasta

More Recipes Next Week.......

Baby Ezra

2011-01-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

December was a non stop chaotic month for us, sweetly finalized by the birth of a baby; our 5th Grandson (No Granddaughters yet....). The birth of a baby always reminds me that hope is eternal and is one of 3 important things we are told in Corinthians that we should abide in (Faith and Love being the other two). To me each new life that is brought into the world is a reminder of the blessings of a precious baby that came into the world 2000 years ago: God coming in the likeness of man, that we might be transformed into His likeness. Wow. Eternal hope. I cling to the hand of hope every day.

All Grandmas are given bragging rights, and I am no exception, and this little guy is no exception either. He is beautiful, not to mention sweet; he makes us all feel peaceful. I am chomping at the bit for Steve to get here so he can have his portion.

I have been enjoying my moment in time with Marie and baby Ezra, Jon and baby Zane, and (not to be left out) Strydiss, the giant dog. We have been peacefully keeping house, taking care of baby and eating some of the delightful meals the Church has brought over to bless Jon and Marie.

Marie took these wonderful pictures, and I have the privilege of using them.

More pictures to come, when Marie gets a chance to help me.

New Years Eve Surprise

2011-01-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Announcing the arrival

of
Baby Ezra Wyatt Marius

8 pounds 11 ounces

21 inches long

Mother and baby are doing well

Our New Year's Eve was more special than any other we have ever had, because we were given the gift of a New Grandson. Grandson number five to be specific. Praise the Lord. We are abundantly blessed. And now this Grammy will be leaving in the morning to go to Jon and Marie's and try to be a bit of a help, and to get a hold of that new baby and baby Zane.

Christmas Eve Morning

2010-12-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

Quiet morning...

peaceful moment....

ahhhh so relaxed,

got it all done....

I think...
no wait, do I have to run to town for one more thing.... no, we can do without.

Another sip of coffee...

Steve and I feel so peaceful...

getting ready for Christmas this year felt like giving birth.

Another sip of coffee.

It is overcast out.

The fire is crackling in the stove, we are still snug in bed.

The children are all still sleeping peacefully... perhaps this moment will stretch out until noon.

Sigh.... Christmas Eve Morning, still quiet, still peaceful.

Time to reflect...
I haven't had a nice, sweet moment of reflection yet this Christmas.
It shouldn't be that way, but too often it is;
this year, especially, it has seemed like those delightful feelings of the "Christmas Spirit" are so far away.
Must be the condition of the world.
But I feel it right now (the Christmas Spirit)
So does Steve.
Am remembering Christmas's of times gone by.
Sweet, happy memories.
Thank you Lord, that you are still here, right here.
Thank you Lord for giving us the most wonderful gift of all.... your precious Son, and our ability to fellowship with You.
All this is trivial in comparison to what awaits us with You.
You are so sweet, Oh Precious Lord.
Thank you for your "Light". I have seen it everywhere; shining in the darkness. It is beautiful.
I long to make it shine from me.

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

December's Projects

2010-12-24T09:31:00.000-08:00

My grand illusions of all the lovely things I would make and do and post about during the Christmas Season and all of its happenings, were diminished by the reality of December chaos, and my lack of ability to begin all these "wonderful" Christmas projects a little earlier.... let's say maybe September. But it seems that no matter how often I plan to be well organized and ahead of schedule, I cannot seem to begin "Christmas" until 3 weeks before, at which time my enthusiasm gets carried away, and I am "in" way too deep to blog or delightfully sip tea while I write my Christmas cards (which I did finally do by the way, and got most of them out 2 days ago, the rest will be "New Years" cards). I am thinking to myself that I can look at my project making in a different light by not feeling badly that it is now the morning of Christmas Eve, and I am just now posting my projects, without any instructions (contrary to what I had first committed myself to do), and instead decided that I can look at it this way: I am an entire year early, and how wonderfully organized I am for 2011 Christmas. Ha Ha. Here is a brief picture summary of my December projects. I really did enjoy making them, even if I did try to push them into too tight of a time frame.

Salt Dough Ornaments

(Recipe at bottom of Post)

Painted to look like German Pottery

Dipped in Paraffin

Christmas Stockings for Grandkids

Blankets for Adults...

and Babies.

Jammies for all the Grandkids.... hope they all fit.... (didn't get a "sane" moment to take pictures of those... was over the top by that time, but loved making them... (plan to start that project again, in June next year :)

Salt Dough Recipe

3 cups flour

1 cup salt

approximately 3/4 -1 cup water

Mix dry ingredients together, then add water a little at a time until a soft dough is formed (not too wet, not too crumbly.

You may add cocoa, cinnamon or food coloring if you would like to work some color into the dough prior to making ornaments, or you may paint them after they are baked.

Roll out and cut with cookie cutters, or form into desired shapes. Place on floured cookie sheet, and bake at about 270 degrees until completely hard. (1 to 3 hours depending on the thickness of dough). Once cool and dry, paint with watercolor or acylic paints. Allow to dry again and then dip in melted paraffin, or pray with clear acrylic spray, or paint with shellac to seal.

Note: I have looked up quite a few recipes for salt dough, this is the one I have used the most, but they all vary by cup of flour, some adding more many adding less; the point is, this does not have to be a stringent measurement, it all works well. The cinnamon or cocoa are nice if you want to cut out little gingerbread men that look like gingerbread.

Have fun.

Painted Glass Christmas Bulbs

2010-12-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

These Christmas Bulbs I am getting ready to post came to my attention over a year ago while at Hobby Lobby. I found a little Leisure Arts book called "Ornamental Magic 2" by Martha Kenton. (Evidently "Ornamental Magic 1" is still out there for me to find, and I look forward to devouring that one day). I bought it and brought it home. When my son Nathan and daughter in Law Himilce came to visit, I roped Himilce into making them with me. We both had a ball; and after making those, I made a gross of them, and sold them at craft fairs, and gave them away for Christmas gifts.

Supply List :
Clear glass Christmas Bulbs (both the frosted and clear work well)
Acrylic Craft Paints (I used all metalic colors)
Rubbing Alcohol
Paint Brushes or Paint Sponge Brushes
Old Tooth Brush
Eye dropper
Clear Acrylic Spray
Fabric trim and Beaded trims (The fabric department of Hobby Lobby or Joanne's, has wonderful trims of every sort... I also bought up all cheap little grab bag scraps, because each bulb takes only a little).
fuzzy yarns
beads and bead making supplies (including Jewelry wire, pliers knitting needles for wrapping wire into corkscrews and ornamental designs)

Other Supplies for optional paint designs:
Cheese Clothe
Natural Sea Sponges
Rubber bands
String
Wire Mesh
Mesh Bath Pouf
Hair Comb
Plastic Wrap

To begin, you will want something set up to hang your wet painted bulbs on so they can dry. When Himilce and I first made these, we used old hangers and opened them up and hung them up everywhere. It was a big mess, but it worked, and we had fun, although a few were broken here and there because it wasn't the sturdiest contraption, and we had to run around putting newspaper underneath them so they wouldn't drip onto the surface they were hanging over. After I decided to make a lot of them, Steve let me use his Shop Shelf Unit that was made of metal rungs, and I could hang dozens of them up at a time. I placed newspaper on each shelf so that they would not drip on each other.

Next, I put newspaper down on my work surface and began painting. Generally speaking, I did most of the bulbs the way I am describing in the following steps, but you can let your imagination kick in, and believe me once you begin you will have all kinds of ideas come to you.
Step One
Paint entire bulb a base color so that it is completely covered

Step Two
While bulb is still wet, spray or drip with an eye dropper a second color that has been watered down so that it runs quite easily. You will want to spray or drip these paints at the very top of the bulb and let them run down. If paint does not run down the bulb readily, spritz it with water and it will begin to run. Consider adding a little more water to the paint you are spritzing with to make it run easier. You may add a third color at this time if desired.

Step two, other options
Allow first coat to dry, and using various texturing techniques, apply a second and or third color. You may use a sponge, or the mesh or wrap bulb with string or rubber bands, and apply another coat over the rubber bands or string. You may use the comb or plastic wrap to apply various textures with second color. You may drip alcohol over the wet paint or spritz the alcohol over it for a wonderful technique, or you may splatter paint with a toothbrush. You may also squirt paint in variety of colors on the inside of the bulb, and I did a few like that. They turned out pretty, but the paint often ran together and almost mixed as one color. Also you have to be sure to put them upside down in an egg carton to make sure they have all they extra paint out of them so they can dry.

Step Three
Hang bulbs up and allow paint to dry several hours to overnight.

Step Four
Spray clear acrylic spray over bulb to seal paint and allow to dry a couple of hours so that they can be handled.

Step Five
Using a hot glue gun, glue embelishments of trim, yarns, beads etc, around top and (if desired) around the bottom of bulb.

Preserving Autumn Leaves

2010-11-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

As the final leaves of Autumn make their way to the ground, I realize that this peaceful season has almost passed. Winter and Christmas are right around the corner. Marie had longed for me to come and visit her in Ohio before the last of the leaves fell from the trees, and happily I was able to make it before that happened. The leaves there are so huge and beautiful, and it is sad to see them disappear completely. We decided to preserve them so that they might last.

While I was there we had fun doing a couple of projects involving paraffin. I would have loved posting this project before Thanksgiving so you all might have been able to make some before Thanksgiving, but ran out of time. There is still a tiny amount of November ahead of us, so I decided to go ahead and post this easy project anyway. Marie was sweet enough to send me pictures, since I had not taken any on my camera.

A wonderful way to preserve Autumn leaves, is to dip them in paraffin. The steps are as follows. Find a

large coffee can or a double boiler, and place it in or over a pan of water. Place the paraffin blocks in the can or double boiler. Turn burner onto medium to medium high heat.

Once Wax is melted into liquid, turn off heat. Next, take each leaf by the stem and dip into wax. Pull out, let cool momentarily, and dip again. You may repeat the dipping process several times if you like, depending on how thick of a coat of wax looks best to you. When done dipping, lay them on a piece of wax paper to dry. They come out so pretty. Click here at IdreamtIdweltinmarblehalls.blogspot.com to see how lovely they looked on Marie's Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

It is a delightful, quiet moment of the day as I finish preparing for our Thanksgiving feast. Olga and Eddie and friends are in town working on a photography project. Steve has gone to Denver to pick up Russell at the airport. Grandma Jo will not arrive until later this afternoon. Russell arrives at airport by 1:30 P.M., so they will not be back here until about 5:00; which means we will be eating later than we do traditionally. Here I sit, my meal almost ready, and a few free hours to blog; not a usual Thanksgiving Day occurrence, but a sweet and restful occupation for me to put my feet up. I am thankful to my Lord for His bounty and His blessings in our life. How wonderful to have a holiday to express these things as a family. Our Puritan Fathers and Mothers Left us a wonderful legacy and example.

Each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, among my favorite things, are planning my food and looking at all the favorite recipes. They are in themselves a memory of years gone by. The recipes from my Mother, Grandmother, Mother in law and friends, are treasures in themselves, and everyone in the family has strong feelings about which ones are their favorites, and ought to be served. I also love pulling out my Mom's silver, and my Grandmother's dishes. I usually set the table first thing in the morning after I get the turkey in the oven, that way I can enjoy the process of table setting, which is my favorite part of the preparations.. and serves my creative cravings for the day. If I wait until later in the day to set the table, I am usually too tired, and loose my enthusiasm.

This year I had the delight of including my friend Anne ( homeschoolonthecroft.blogspot.com ) in my memory making, by wearing the apron she sent to me.

I was the only one at home, and couldn't get a picture of myself in the apron very easily, so here it is on the mannequin.

Isn't it so cute with those Scottish Sheep?

The sheep in their "Wellies".

Granny Florence's dishes and Mom's silver

Place cards to direct everyone to their seat.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pie (a recipe of a friend of mine)

Cream Peach Pie (My Mother in Law's Recipe)

Look who just arrived home

Its been quite a few months since he has had some home cooking.

Olga and Aseel (friend from school)

I think Eddie missed Russell more than he thought he would.

Steve with his Mom (aka Grandma Jo)

Hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Many Blessings to you all.