Lentil Soup

I have spent a few days thinking... Sometimes it's really good when you are in a period of life with lots of change  to take the time to reflect inward.  I have been doing that a lot lately and I can feel and see the growth within and it has made me a stronger person.  I embrace the changes along with life's challenges for they make me who I am.  I apologize once again for not posting daily but this will have to be the last time I apologize.  I'm afraid I will be constantly apologizing if not :) I have decided that yes, it is my goal to make daily post's but I am not going to stress about it.  I will post as often as I can and that will be just fine.  I would still like to try and post daily but have accepted that especially on weekends this just isn't always possible.  Life just works out that way :)

We visited a new pumpkin patch this year and I don't believe they used a lot of chemicals in their patch.  I say this because there were a lot of grass and weeds around but also these beautiful morning glories growing amongst the pumpkins.  I really enjoyed them.  Many of the pumpkins were green but we did manage to find some beautiful pumpkins that were ripe to bring home.  We had a lot of rain earlier in the season so they may not have been able to plant soon enough.  Their location was wonderful with a gorgeous farmstead and so many large old trees.  Very picturesque!

This delicious soup was our dinner tonight.  This is just as I combined the ingredients in the pot.  I really loved all the colors of the celery, potatoes, tomato, carrots, rosemary and lentils.  Very tasty and flavorful.  It is cool and fall is here so soups just hit the spot.  I feel very nestled and cozy baking and simmering soups on the stove when it turns cold outside. For me the most wonderful things about soups and stews and any recipe with large amounts is that I have plenty to share!

I have been steadily working on the circle jean quilt mentioned previously here, but progress is slow and not enough to notice in a photo so I will not post one :)  However, I am hoping that enough progress will be made this week to make a noticeable difference next week!  I am very excited to finish this quilt and put it to use in our home.  It's not as labor intensive as a traditional quilt.  Aside from hand cutting the circles, it is all machine sewn.

A second friend will be sewing and quilting with me during the week.  I love sharing my joy of sewing and quilting and I am so happy that we will get to spend time together.  I look forward to helping her each week progress on the quilt she is starting.  I am so thankful for my friends.  They are so wonderful and I am truly blessed to have each and every one of them in my life.

Lentil Soup:

1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
1 lb. dried lentils
8c.water
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 med. potatoes, peeled, cubed
2 c. tomatoes, chopped
1 ten inch. stalk rosemary rinsed, bruised
sea salt

Sort and soak lentils overnight then drain off water and wash well.  Finely chop vegetables.  In a soup pot saute onion with the olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium, until lightly browned.  Add chopped garlic and saute for a minute.  Add lentils, chopped vegetables, rosemary and water to pot.  Bring to a boil then turn heat down to simmer until lentils are soft, around 1-1 1/2 hrs.   You might need to add more water during cooking.  When lentils are soft, season with sea salt to taste.  Enjoy

Soap, Cookies, and Quilting

Yesterday I made up another batch of laundry soap.  I don't know why I had been putting off making it, well I do know. I cleaned out under my kitchen island and thought that the bucket the kids were making mud pies with in the back yard was my laundry soap bucket.  Turns out it was in the garage the whole time.  Anyway, I made up a new batch and this time added orange essential oil.  I have found that the Fels Naptha bar that I have been using as a base is offensive to me.  I sneeze every time I make soap with it, and last night found that my daughter also sneezes from it as well.  The orange helps but I have read that you can use any sort of bar soap as a base.  I am going to try a different one next time  so that I still have the Fels Naptha on hand if it fails.

This is what the laundry soap looks like it globs together after it cools and I mix it up with a spoon and put it a clean milk jug.  I fill the jug a little less than half way full and top it off with water.  The recipe I use makes five gallons of concentrate that you dilute in half.  The container I'm using is a half gallon undersized so I cut the concentration in the jugs a bit to compensate.  It's quick and easy to make.

Here is a jug filled and ready to go.  If friends stop by while I'm making soap or pouring it into containers I send them home with a half gallon to try.  It is inexpensive enough that I do not mind and figure if they like it that will save them so much money in the long run.  Unless my memory fails me and I will come back and correct this later if I find it to be an error.  My friend and I calculated it costs a few points over 3cents for a load of laundry!  Not too bad!

I decided at lunch after I finished washing up the dishes to make a bath of Chocolate No-Bake Cookies.  They are so delicious... Oddly enough I can remember when I didn't care for  cookies!

Here is a quick photo of the circle quilt you might remember from my beginning  posts.  I am still working on it as I have time.  It is going to be rather large.  I am ready to pin and sew the next row on and will have 18 more rows to do before I can start on the next stage.

 

It is hard to see in the photo because of the intensity of the flash, but the closest edge is darker and the quilt gradually fades to lighter which will be more noticeable as the rows are added on.  I will spend the rest of the afternoon until the children arrive home sewing and getting the next row added on.  With luck I hope to get this finished before it's too cool to use it outside this fall.

Dear Friends and Fur Kids

Today was a beautiful day.  I treated my dear friend to lunch for her birthday.  We had a great time together and sat outside enjoying the beautiful day chit chatting about nothing in particular.  We always have a good time together no matter what we are doing and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

As I was leaving the house to meet her for lunch, I realized that I had not been out of the house since Saturday!  This is Wednesday.  I was very happy about that.  I have been striving to cut down as much as possible the amount of errands I run.  In the past couple of week I feared I was going to have to install a kitchen in my vehicle because I was running so much.  Not only that but I was becoming quite exhausted.  I am feeling so much better and my house is proof that I am home more now.  It is becoming quite comfortable again and I am able to fully enjoy my housework instead of feeling dragged down by the chores that needed accomplished when I had places to be!

I have cut down on impulse purchases almost completely.  That being said I have been looking for a bed for my sweet little boy.  While my friend and I were picking up a few things we spotted this wonderful bed marked down.  Just what I had been looking for.  I could not make it for the price I paid and very happily added it to my cart.  I love the mode that I shop in now.  Instead of making quick purchases after deciding on what I need.  I wait until I find what I have been looking for at just the right price.  I am so much happier and not stressed about my purchases.  When I am not impulse buying, and getting things that I need at a good price it is a win win situation.  The key to all of this is, when possible have patience! My little guy climbed right on his new bed and snuggled right in.  This photo is a bit blurry I apologize but because of his dark color he is a bit hard to photograph.  He was a stray that we adopted from friends.  They found him and tried to find his owner and posted everywhere.  We were so lucky in that when we first went to meet him we were leaving the next day for vacation.  They offered to keep him for us until we returned if we wanted him.  I am so thankful each and every day that we have him.  Especially because ironically he was also an impulse! lol  Glad I didn't stop before him!!!  He is a very loyal and loving dog and I grow more attached to him each day.  He follows me everywhere I go in the house and stays quite close to me at all times.  He is wonderful with the children and best of friends with the cat.  He eagerly greets our guests and voices his concern at those he does not know.  I thought originally he was going to be more my husbands dog as he was quite attached to him in the beginning, he also drove me crazy at first, but we both adjusted and now I think due to the fact that I am always home he knows who the mom is and fell right in line with the cat and the kids. lol  I can't imagine life without my little guy.  He is truly one of my fur kids now and just as much a part of our family as anyone of us. 

Caring for Kitchen Tools

While on vacation this summer I picked up some Walnut oil.  I have many things crafted from wood in the kitchen and this oil is food safe and excellent for helping preserve the wooden items I have that get washed.  Currently I use bamboo spoons to cook with about 90% of the time.  I noticed they were getting a bit dry and set out to apply several coats of oil and let them soak overnight.

I set out an old towel and liberally applied three coats of oil and let them set overnight.  You can see the four that have received  oil and the two stacked beside the wash cloth that haven't yet received oil.  The far left spoon you can tell I use the most as it has a darker patina than the rest.  I love my spoons and are a valued tool in my kitchen.  With proper care they should last many years.  When I was finished oiling I placed my oil cloth in a resealable plastic bag to use again next time.  I keep it by the bottle of oil in my supplies.

The Absence of Water

The other morning bright and early the city office called and said that a water pipe had been broken during some road work.  They were going to have the water shut off for a large portion of the day.  I mumbled my thanks for the notification.  I had not been feeling well and decided to take advantage of the fact that I didn't have water to take a break from my morning laundry.  When I awoke some time later rested and clearer in thinking.  I discovered to my horror that not having running water was not just an inconvenience, it was literally stopping me in my tracks!  The stool has only one flush with no running water, there is no water for hand washing, there was not even a bucket of water as it had been shut off before they got to our call.  We have an automatic water dispenser in the refrigerator, that does not work or give you even the water still in the lines without the water turned on.  Since it was so early when I received the call I had not had my morning shower.  Now being noon I was wanting my shower.  I felt behind in my chores because I had could not wash up the breakfast dishes in the sink.  I could not run the washing machine.  As I looked around the house I realized even wiping off the counter tops was an impossible chore.  Aside from sweeping or dry dusting there was very little that I could do without running water!

As I stood looking around I realized that I have no back up plan in place in the case of prolonged water shortage.  I have no collection tanks outside, no jugs of water, or even bottled water.  I realized that in the case of an emergency I had no way to get water and life as we know it cannot go on long without water.  I was stunned at this discovery.  Not in a panic it's important to note because I was well aware of the fact that the water would be on before our city workers went home for the night and my father lives just up the road and had running water.  I was just stunned at how ill prepared we are for any sort of situation that would require the prolonged absence of water!  I called my dad and packed a small bag and went to his house to shower.  I cannot describe the almost euphoric feeling of standing in the shower with nice warm water running over me.  I was so thankful to have a place to take a shower and get clean and in the very same moment so very thankful and grateful to have what many of us take for granted each and every day, running water.  Ironically when I returned home of course the water was back on.  I had to turn it on and let it run to get the dirt out of the lines and was once again thankful for normally not ever having to worry about our water quality as well.  Yes, it was an inconvenience to be without water but I took from that small experience a grateful and thankful disposition for having something we consider standard.  I will not be taking it for granted.  I also came away with the keen sense of needing a backup plan in case of emergency so that our family is not without water the very next time a line is broken.  Water is important and for me I discovered just how reliant I am upon this resource.  I can barely function in our home with the absence of water!

Orange Julius

Today was a busy day around our house for me.  I woke and made the girls lunches, then treated them to delicious Orange Julius's for breakfast made while they were getting ready for school.

These are so refreshing and simple to make;

Orange Julius

1c. milk
1/2c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
18 cubes of ice
6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

combine milk, sugar, vanilla and orange concentrate in a blender. When thoroughly blended add ice one cube at a time until well blended.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 large glasses

It's been overcast here lately which is perfect weather for taking a nap.  However I had a bit of catch up to do around here.  I was so thankful for the nice cool breeze coming through the windows while I went about my chores.  When I was finished for the day I baked a delicious smelling banana cake.  I had to smell it cooling on the wrack all afternoon and if it tastes anything like it smells it will be a delight to share.  I will be taking it with me this evening to a woman's meeting. That will be great ending to my busy day!

Rise and Shine

Today is an absolutely beautiful morning!  When I awoke this morning the morning sky was just beginning to lighten up, the breeze was slight but refreshing and it immediately put me in good spirits.

I try to start my day off with fruit.  I guess it's something like what coffee is to others.  This morning I decided on a breakfast smoothie.  It's a very simple combination of a whole  banana and about a cup of frozen berries.  I add about a half cup of milk to help make it smooth in the blender.  Blend that all up and I strain the berry seeds.  They annoyingly get stuck in your teeth!

Here it is!!!  A delicious berry banana smoothie.  A perfect breakfast drink to get your day going.  While I was looking out the kitchen window I remembered a special picture that I wanted to take to show you.....

This beautiful little guy catches my eye each and every morning.  Isn't it beautiful!  I will be very sad when it's little leaves fall off and it's not much more than a stick in the ground.  I love trees very much and we tend to plant new babies every year in our yard.  I am always rewarded by a beautiful display of color in the fall and the joy of watching them grow taller each and every year.  I could never understand when I was younger why older people would say things like see that tree over there, it was just this high when we planted it.  Now I understand as I have several little trees that I am so proud of that have grown and I exclaim to people myself when I show them my towering saplings... "see that tree over there".....  Have a wonderful day whatever your tasks may be today.  It's a beautiful start of a fantastic weekend!

Out With The Old, In With The New

I have been making a special effort to provide as large of a variety of fresh healthy foods to snack on as possible.  Sometimes we just get stuck in a food rut and purchase the same types of foods like apples and banana's as snacks.  The children especially grow tired of this limited selection and I like to change things up a bit anyway to give them more experience and knowledge of different foods. 

 I purchased a large bag of delicious looking grapefruits and decided to enjoy one as a morning snack. I reached for the sugar shaker on the left to sprinkle a bit of sugar on my delicious grapefruit. The sugar was clumped together and I decided to refill the container and could not for the life of me get the top to budge!  This has happened too many times and a "new" antique cream and sugar set flashed in my head that I had purchased a few years back for when we have guests.  Needless to say if you read my post about our dish set you would know that I am tired of saving the good things for company.  So I went to the cabinet and took out the antique sugar bowl filled it up and it's so much prettier and easier to use than the old shaker style sugar dispenser.  Out with the old in with the new is actually a play on words in this case as the "old" shaker is a modern replica and the "new" sugar bowl is antique and purchased more recently.  Once again I encourage you to use what you love and enjoy and don't save everything for a special occasion.  Life is special each and every day.

Family Traditions

To some this may not look like  much more than several stacks of fabric.  In our house this is the beginnings of a new quilt.  No it is not going to be large obviously but it will be mighty!  My oldest daughter is beginning her first quilt.  She has made a nine patch pillow a few years before and has again taken an interest in sewing and quilting.  It couldn't be that her Mama and Grammy enjoy quilting and fabrics could it?  I am so excited to share this skill with her now that she is ready.  Tonight she learned how to use a rotary cutter and cut most of her pieces to size.  She was a bit nervous but she did great and we will be working on piecing tomorrow.  Soon before she knows it we will be sitting together each hand quilting our projects and watching a show.  Most importantly she is learning a tradition that has been in my family for generations and I am only too happy to pass down the knowledge to my daughters as well.  Sewing is a valuable skill to have for all the reasons you can think of.  So today marks a special chapter in our household as now both daughters are busy working on small doll sizes quilts and mama couldn't be happier!

Embracing the Cool of Fall

It is becoming quite cool here in the evenings now.  I am refraining from turning on the heat until I have to.  I always challenge myself to leave both the air conditioner and heater off for one month.  That is usually the month of October and it is the one month that I get a break from the large utility bills.  Replacing the windows in our home is on the list but there are far more pressing things at the moment on the remodeling schedule.  However, I know we will see much lower utility bills when our windows are replaced.  Until then I continue my little personal challenge in enjoying at least one month with no heat or air.  My husband had a wonderful suggestion to do the laundry at night so that I would be running the dryer when it is coolest outside.  I thought it was a wonderful idea.  Our washer and dryer are located in the kitchen so it warms the area up nicely.

It is cool enough now consistently that I pulled out the teapot to switch from cold tea to enjoying hot tea in the evenings as I read or sew.  I am getting myself situated to be nestled in and in the house more with the cooler weather approaching.  With children I find myself constantly driving back and fourth to go to the different activities that they are involved in.  I don't mind when it is nice outside.  However, once it gets cold outside I like to be home tending to dinner in the afternoons, ready for my family to arrive home to a warm cozy home with the delicious smell of dinner in the air.  My pantry supplies gets checked once more in the next few days and any supplies of dry goods like beans and lentils or other soup ingredients or flour, sugar, and wheat berries that I might need this winter are noted and will be picked up on my next supermarket trip.  We are about twenty minutes from the nearest large supermarket or town.  Of course once winter gets here and we have our one or two snow storms or ice storm there is always the possibility that we could go without power so I like to make sure that I am stocked  up and have emergency fuel for the heaters and camping stove just in case.

We enjoyed a treat of warm peaches with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg after dinner.  It was very good and tasted very much like cobbler or pie without the pie shell.  It was nice and warm on this cool fall evening.  I look forward to preparing more soups and stews in the following weeks as we prepare for winter to arrive.

Joy of Exhaustion

My mother came for an overnight visit and to spend extra special time with the children.  We had a wonderful visit and my children were able to spend the evening learning a new skill.  I bake bread when the girls have already left for school but we were preparing for a fundraiser held today and we were up late into the night making cinnamon rolls for the sale.  My oldest daughter worked closely with my mom and she was showing her the tricks to the trade of yeast bread.  She learned Grammies technique for kneading the dough.  She did an absolutely wonderful job and I can see that I will be spending time on the weekends baking with them.  It was extra special because since it is only my step father and her at home now, she doesn't enjoy cooking so much from scratch for just the two of them.  So for my daughter she was learning a skill passed down from her grandmother and for my mother she enjoyed doing something she hadn't done for years.  And for me I was so thankful for the opportunity for them to come together and pass a skill down from one generation to another.  I really didn't think that would happen since mom doesn't bake anymore.  My youngest daughter really enjoyed mixing and measuring and learning new things.  Even though it is many of the same things I do with them already, it's always so "new" when being shown by a loving  grandma.  A memory my girls will cherish. 

We stayed up very late last night making chili and cinnamon rolls for the fundraiser today.  I was very exhausted and I know my mom who has returned home today is as well.  I am so grateful for her help last night.  Despite our exhaustion the fundraiser was a success and we were able to raise a good amount for our public library here in our little town.  We had a lot of helping hands contributing to it's success.  I felt a great sense of joy in helping out and contributing to something so important in our community.  I praised my children for being such a wonderful help as well.  They are learning what it is to work within the community and help others.  It helps instill a sense of pride in your community because it is a part of you.  It instills in them a sense of belonging to our community.  It's not just a place where they live, it's a place that they help and work toward making better and providing services for everyone to enjoy.  The library provides so much in this tiny town benefiting all who go through it's door.

The temperatures are supposed to be just a few degrees above freezing tonight.  A true sign that fall really is here to stay!  We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous fall day today to be outside all day.  When I returned home despite being so tired I decided I had better take advantage of the weather and tend to my potted plants before the true cold set in.  I really enjoyed working in the dirt arranging plants, spreading new starts to other pots and arranging them in a pleasing display.  They are now nestled in on their plant stand ready for a long cold winter with proper soil and nourishment for a long winter.