Sunday, March 30, 2014

Friday, March 28, 2014

Truck Driving Mama

My husband has been home all week.

College kid has been home all week.

Older son has been home all week.

I love my family
(rips... face.... off)

I really do but this has been the longest week!

It might would be different if we had money to go on vacation

or money to do home projects

or money to do our hobbies.

But we are trying not to spend any money while we figure out our next business step.

So they are all underfoot.....

eating...

(why do they have to eat every...single...day)

and messing things up....

and piling up the laundry...

and asking questions......

"Hey hon...how do you log out of your email so I can log in to mine?"

Gasp.....log out of MY email...

"Hey Mom...what's for lunch?"

Didn't we JUST eat?

"I'm going to leave this huge pile of jackets and crap on your chair
while I take Dad and some other people somewhere in my truck.  There isn't
room in my truck for them with all this junk in there."

Sure.....but...
(rips... face.... off)
Okay....sorry....just had to get that off my chest...

This is not even what the post was suppose to be about...

I needed some girlfriend time...:)

It was suppose to be about helping hubby move the tractor to a different field.

But could it be easy?....

Noooooo......

He pulls the two ton tractor on a one ton trailer with a one ton truck..
(don't really know the weights...I'm just throwing figures out there)

up a hill.....

at night......

and gets stuck in a rut....

I'm following in his regular truck and he wants me to turn the truck around

and back up the hill

over ruts and bumps and mud so he can hook the truck/tractor/trailer combo up

to his 4 wheel drive truck and me pull him out.

First of all it's dusk/dark...I can barely see....

and what's with the hand gestures....

it would take a MALE sign language expert to understand what he is trying

to get me to do.

And I'm backing over ruts and mud uphill and he is standing between me and the back

of the tractor......

I just pictured me revving it to get over a rut and smashing him between the

truck and the tractor (accidentally of course).

I was playing the 911 call in my head....

yes 911....I have my husband pinned between the truck and the tractor...

where are we?  I really don't know.

What are we driving?  I'm really not sure.

Who was driving?  Well I was...but it really was an accident.

But thank goodness it didn't happen.....and me pulling him out didn't work either..

so he had to unload the heavy tractor and drive the truck up the hill first

then come back and drive the tractor up the hill.


Then he loaded the tractor back on the trailer and we tried this again.

While I was waiting I decided I better get some photos of all of this

so I started taking pics.

I thought it would be cool to get one of me in the rear view mirror.


But when I finished I looked up and hubby was gone.


Don't let this pic fool you...it was really getting dark by now.

This is not just one dirt road.....this road V's and Y's and has other dirt roads

that come off of it.

I took off trying to follow dust....

yes...you know hubby doesn't have tail lights on that trailer rig....

I'm jumping ruts, leaning over the steering wheel trying to find hubby...

his phone!...yes....his phone!.....

was.......in.......my......truck....:(

The dogs were hanging on for dear life in the back....

911?

yes.....it's me again.....

I seem to have lost my husband.....

yes...that's right...the one I almost killed...

Oh wait...

I see him!!!!

Thank you Jesus!

You always know what to do....:)


Can we just go home now?

No.....I didn't have anything to do with your truck running hot....

(she looks up and slowly smiles....:)
Thank you Jesus.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Spinach and Bacon Quiche Recipe

Quiche making 101

Look up 12 different quiche recipes..

realize that you don't have all the ingredients

to any of the recipes..

make up your own.

Step 1.   Gather supplies


The recipes called for 6 eggs....two eggs....three eggs...

so I decided on four eggs.

Not just any eggs.....these came from happy, spoiled chickens.

I think they had eaten caramel cake that morning.

Makes the quiche sweet.

Now....it called for shredded Cheddar cheese.

All I had was Mexican 4 cheese...

it's a winner!

Most of the recipes called for heavy cream...

I didn't have heavy cream

or a cow....

so I just used regular whole milk. (probably not from happy cows)

Here's what you do.

Take your thawed spinach and drain it of it's moisture.

I put it in my colander and mash (that's a southern term) it down

with paper towels.


Fry your package of bacon until crispy 

then chop the bacon into small pieces.

Take some butter and melt it and paint the bottom of your pie crusts.

Then assemble spinach and bacon.


This is half the box of spinach and I halved the bacon.

Don't forget to chop up the bacon.

I had enough bacon and spinach to do two pies.

I mixed a cup of milk with my 4 eggs.


And added 5 dashes of hot sauce..

(or maybe a smidge more because it's hard to take a picture of that)

and I added a little salt and pepper.



Next your husband will come in and ask

What are you making?

And then you will say quiche and he will turn his nose up and say

What's that?

And you say never mind it's not for you and beat him out of the kitchen.

And speaking of beating...


Now put one and a half cups (or whatever looks good to you) of cheese on top of the spinach and bacon

and pour the wet ingredients over that.


And top that with Parmesan cheese.


I will say that I had enough spinach, bacon and cheese to make two pies..

I only had to mix up the wet ingredients again.

Bake at 375 for 35 to 45 minutes.

And voila.........quiche!

And you look around and beat your chest

and say in a deep voice

Uga....I make quiche!

(you don't do that?)


Anyway the quiche was delicious!!!

Even the guys liked it!

And I was able to take the other one to a very, special person.

Here is one of the recipes that I kind of, sort of followed.

Enjoy!!

Ingredients Edit and Save

Original recipe makes 1 9-inch quicheChange Servings
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Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop when cool.
  3. Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, and set aside.
  4. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Spread the spinach into the bottom of the pie crust; top with bacon, Cheddar cheese, and green onion. Pour the egg mixture over the filling, and sprinkle the quiche with Parmesan cheese.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is lightly puffed and browned, and a knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

HE gives you rest....

What do you do when you've worked your entire life toward a goal and it doesn't work out?

How do you start over at 50 or 52?

How do you navigate through feelings of  disappointment, anger, confusion and worry?


How do you stop the rapid beat of your heart or the sleepless nights?

You open a book.

HIS book.

You pick up your slightly bruised hopes and dust off your dreams

and tuck them in the worn pages of your Bible.



You pray....

a lot.

You pray for knowledge and wisdom.

You pray for peace.

You pour out thanksgiving for friends and family and 

 for HIS forgiveness when you 

step into the darkness.


HE didn't promise easy.

HE did promise never to leave you or forsake you.

Hold on...

tight....

grip it....squeeze your eyes shut...

Now open your eyes....

Do you see the new dreams?


Do you see part of the plan that God had mapped out for you all along?

Do you feel that twinge of excitement

about a new hope for your future.

HE has a plan.

Your burden is light.

Your heartbeat slows.

Peace spreads through your marrow.

HE gives you rest.




Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happy Days

First up

I have 100 followers!!!

Whoop whoop!!

Thank you Julie for being #100.

I hovered on 98 for a very long time.

Then I hit 99 and a few days later went back to 98.

What?

Did follower 99 read my past posts and decided they had to leave immediately?

LOL!

Anyway....I'm so glad to have each and every one of you....:)

You all brighten my days!!

Speaking of bright days....

the sun has been shining and we have had some beautiful days!

I have been outside all day digging, and weeding and painting and cleaning

and I still have a lot to do!

Which means I have a sink full of dirty dishes and I had to eat my cereal out

of a mixing bowl this morning.


I consider this a win/win for me....:)

Sunny days and giant cereal bowls

what could be better than that?!

So my Irish blessing (but I'm not Irish)

but if I were...it would be.

May the sun always be on your back and your spoon fit in the bottom of your bowl.

:)

Sunday, March 16, 2014

My Kind Of Weekend

SATURDAY


A cloudy cool day.

Hubby and I took the dogs on a drive to the river.



A man and his best friend.

It doesn't matter if he only has three legs.

He will always be his faithful companion.

He will even hang with me sometimes too.



SUNDAY

Sunny and 75 degrees.

The only snow on the ground was from the 

white blooms falling from the pear trees.


After church I spent a lazy afternoon in the swing with a book and a breeze.


And I don't know about y'all but where ever I am...

the animals are.

Big Buck spied me in the swing and was heading over to me.

Bucky is really doing great after his leg amputation.

We still pray that the vet is wrong about him only have six to eight months to live.

We can't imagine life without him.


And then Sambo had to jump up in the tree above me.


Sambo said "mom...wouldn't this make a great photo shoot?"

I'm ready!

"Okay...I'll pretend to smell the flowers in this one."


And you know that Mr. Rod Stewart had to have his moment to shine.

 He was like..."hey...what about me?"


He said "get your camera ready...I'm going to show that cat how to pose!"


Just beautiful Rod.....ahem...I mean handsome.

And just in case I have you lulled into a calm, peaceful, coma.....


It's not even officially Spring yet and they have started crawling.

But not this one because my hubby killed it.

It was not in my yard....hubby plucked me up out of the swing

and made me ride the dirt roads with him.

It's his favorite thing to do.

All in all....

it was another great weekend

in 

MY  ORDINARY  COUNTRY  LIFE.
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Friday, March 14, 2014

Chickens, Crocks and Quiche

Today I decided that I would cook a quiche and take it to a friend that

is taking treatments for cancer.

He has chickens and I pick at him because his coop is not decorated.

He thinks I am so silly for decorating my coop...:)

I told him I would bring him a quiche from happy, spoiled chickens.


And I thought this post was going to be about showing you the recipe

for the quiche.

But then I went to his and his wife's home.

I will post the recipe later.

First let me say that facebook and this blog have been a wonderful thing in my life.

I've known these wonderful people all my life but I feel like we have

connected in a better way due to my blog and facebook.

Mrs. B. says that Mr. B. loves to read my posts.

This makes my day...:)

And so I arrived on their doorsteps with a quiche in one hand and a wooden,

brightly painted whirly-gig chicken in the other.

We had a wonderful chat and I almost couldn't pay attention because I

was in awe of my surroundings.

He and his wife love all things old and antique.

So do I.

As we talk about gardening and such Mrs. B. said let me show you Mr. B's canned stuff.

I took one look in that room and asked

"May I please go get my camera and take some pics?"

She said sure.


He makes furniture like this table.

Isn't it beautiful?

But wait.....there's more.


Ohhhhhhh.......myyyyyyy....

Don't you love those crocks......

I didn't even get a pic of all of his canned vegetable...sorry Mr. B.

Then Mrs. B. said have you ever seen inside my hutch?

I'm drooling now....like a dog waiting for his treat.


Could you just die?!!!!

Is this not beautiful!!

And that's not all....


Did I mention that Mrs. B. is an artist?

This is a door inside the house....

I'm thinking...just a couple of screws and I could get that right off the frame

but I can't hide it under my shirt....


Mrs. B. is telling me that this is a very, very old chair with a very fat bottomed seat...

hmmmm....I was mentally measuring my bum....

I think it would be a perfect fit.

We turned to go back into the living room and this view...

oh....this view....

swoon....


Does this make you as happy as it does me?

I'll give you a close up of those little cast iron pans...


Mrs. B. and Mr. B. and I had a great talk.

He wants me to come back in April and we will tour the chicken yard...

I told him I was going to sneak by one day and fancy it up...lol.

They even sent me home with goodies...:)


Here I thought I was doing a good deed and little did I know

what a blessing they both would give me.

Isn't that funny how that works?

I can't wait to see them again.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Off-Grid Fail!


So the power has been out for hours.

 I am obsessed with reading the blogs about off-grid living.

 I tell Shannon all the time....I could do that....wouldn't that be wonderful? 

And he always just shakes his head.

 So the power goes off before breakfast. 

I'm thinking that's okay I will just read my Bible by the window first anyway.

 So then I think...wow..it's cold in here I'll get in my chair that I have the heating pad in......................duh!


 Then after that I decide I am really cold and I would just go lay back in bed under the covers just until I warmed up.........

ummmm......I think a loud snore woke me up and I jumped up (thank you Lord)

 right before Shannon came by the house to get something...

whew...that was close.

 He did ask why my face still had pillow wrinkles and I kind of pouted and said....

I'm not young anymore...

I can't believe you said that...and made him feel bad...heeheeee....(see how you turn that around ladies) 

So then I was really hungry and so I thought Yea! I have a gas stove.....

what shall it be? Eggs or pancakes? Pancakes it is!!

 So I turn the knob and nothing. 

Where's my clicking noise? 

Don't tell me I have to manually light it?

 Where are our matches? Do we have any matches?

 Finally found some deep in the cabinet....will I catch my arm on fire?

 Turn knob, strike match...wait...match didn't strike.....smell gas....QUICK..TURN IT OFFFF!!!


Okay...do this again....strike match first...then turn the gas on...whoooosh!


I DID IT!!

 I then make up words to this Katy Perry song Roar...

I sing "I'm a survivor...your gonna hear me roar!!!!

 So now I'm full....I wonder what everyone is saying on facebook.....

I know...I'll check my phone...awww...i forgot to charge it......sigh......

can I take my shower.....will I have hot water?

 So I sit here under a blanket, all smelly, wondering.....will I make it?

 Can I survive?

 How long will the pancake mix hold out?