{ Saying goodbye to August }

Living in the country, means there is always someone working on their property.  Seeing tractors across the fields, is almost a daily occurrence, and one that I quite enjoy watching.  One of our neighbors was working on an acre of field that he has.  

 

He slowly made his way around, back and forth on his tractor, while Kaia sat at our front door, watching intently, his every move.  Every once in a while she would let out a whine, or a bark.

Have you ever noticed how outside work tends to become rhythmic?  The repetition of the job, starts becoming almost comforting to watch.  Or maybe it's just me, but I do tend to find joy in the simplest of things.

 

 

As he worked outside, I worked inside, also slowly moving from job to job.  When I was a young wife and mother, I used to think that if I was not rushing back and forth through the house, then I wasn't busy, and there wasn't much to be done, or I wasn't really doing a good job.  What a silly thing to think.

As I've gotten older, and now 24 years into our marriage, I've learned to slow down, pace myself, because things will get done nonetheless, whether I'm panting and out of breath rushing to finish it all, or whether I am taking my time.  

Actually, the slower I go, the more I tend to enjoy my housework.

So that is what I did today......spent the last day of August, cleaning and homemaking.  Carpets were washed, windows were washed, laundry was done and a myriad of other little tasks, here and there, were crossed off the list.

I love productive days.  They're exhausting, but knowing that you are busy doing what you love, and taking care of your home, is everything that is good.

 

 

The weather remained dark and gloomy.  Grey clouds moved back and forth across the sky, sometimes turning a deep purple and looking quite ominous, other times dissipating to a lighter grey, but never leaving completely.

It thundered a bit, the wind kicked up, we got notifications of rain, but it didn't quite materialize.  And that's ok, we've been blessed with rain and anymore we get now, is just an added bonus from God.

I read my devotionals, I read my Bible, I answered emails and picked my newest review books.  I also answered an email for an upcoming review of some great products that will be arriving tomorrow.

I sat down and had lunch, finished off my menu plan, grocery list, and started adding items to the Walmart grocery cart for my pickup on Friday.

I watched a couple videos while doing my housework.  Just popped them on the tv and kept going with my task at hand.  Music, youtube videos, podcasts or even one of the Portuguese live TV channels playing in the background, always make the work seem easier and quicker.

Before making dinner, I managed to squeeze in my daily exercise.  I've been on and off this wagon for so long, and am quite tired of it.  I need to commit and really stick to it.  But the only way to do that, is to pick a small attainable goal, something that won't seem to big and intimidating, because those always surely make me quick.

I have started counting my calories again (even though my gynecologist told me that when it comes to hormonal weight gain, it's not that easy, it's doable but it's not as easy as it used to be when I was younger), and I picked a 7 day challenge from Lucy Wyndham-Read.  Did the first day on Monday and have not skipped a day.  

I will say, I thought about skipping today because I was so busy with the house, but I forced myself to do it, and feel much better for doing so.

After the 7 day challenge is up, I will pick another challenge of some kind, but always sticking with a 7 day or something similar.  If I pick a 30 day, forget it.  By the end of the first week I'll give up.

I am not looking for a quick weight loss plan, I know what I'm facing, I know how hard it is to lose hormonal weight especially related to perimenopause or menopause itself.  I'm willing to try.  I want to lose 20 pounds, even though I've only gained 10 the past 2 years, but still, I figure if I'm going to do this, I may as well shoot for the bigger number.  Trust me, I will be happy with even a 5 pound loss at this point.

And let me just say that real quick, I am not super unhappy with myself or my body.  I accept the changes, I accept that I am nearing 50 and menopause, and I am extremely grateful to be blessed with my life, and having reached this age.

I don't think I look awful, I just feel sluggish, my clothes feel tighter on me, and I would much prefer to lose some weight, but through prayer and time with the Lord, I have come to accept that even if that doesn't happen, I will still rejoice and praise Him for who I am, and what I look like today.

I am after all 48 years old.

So I say goodbye to August, my birth month, with a commitment to myself, to try and do better when it comes to working out, eating right, and staying active.  

Will I succeed?

I sure hope so, but if I don't, that's ok too.

{ Rainy days }

The Rain by Raymond Garfield Dandrige

 

 

The clouds are shedding tears of joy,
They fall with rhythmic beat
Upon the earth, and soon destroy
Dust dunes and waves of heat.

 

 

Each falling drop enforcement bears
To river, lake and rill,
And sweet refreshment gladly shares
With wooded dell and hill.

 

 

Every flower, bud and leaf,
Each blossom, branch and tree
Distills the rain, 'tis my belief,
To feed the honey bee.

 

 

I pity every wretch I find
Who, frowning in disdain,
Is deaf and dumb and also blind
To beauty in the rain.

 

The past two days, we have been blessed with late afternoon storms.  The skies go from blue to a dark purple, the wind kicks up, and big fat rain drops start falling.

It rains and rains for a few hours, then clears up.

But just the few hours of rain each afternoon, has brought so much joy to everyone, nature, animals and humans alike.  The air feels fresher, the fields are green and the air seems lighter.

I don't know how many more days of rain we will have, but I will be sure to enjoy them.  Maybe it's summer's last hoorah before welcoming in Fall?

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 08/29/2022 }

Good morning sweet ladies, how are you all doing this last Monday of August? Can you believe it? Thursday is the first day of September, my word, but, at least we are heading into Fall right? There's always a silver lining.

I have already been out of the house, and am back home now to get my day started. I have a lot I want to do, so need to write up a list and try to get to it as much as I can.

I wanted to quickly take a moment, to just thank you all for the comments and being so sweet with my return to full time blogging. I hadn't realized just how much I missed it, until I started. And then one day back in July, July 13th to be specific, I made my first daily blog post.....Wednesday Catch Up!


I went into it thinking that it wouldn't last, like so many attempts before, I would start off great and within a few days, just stop. But something clicked within me that day and I'm so glad it did, it's been such a blessing sitting down every day to write up a post. Makes me miss our old blogging days.

Anyway, enough about that, just thank you for commenting, interacting and making this comeback so wonderful. I appreciate you all so much.

Now, let's go see what is happening around our homes. Have a wonderful, blessed week!

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥
Wonderful. We've stayed in the upper 80s and lower 90s, since our rain last week, and it's cooled things down so much. The garden, the trees, the lawn is thriving, it looks so green out here. Love it.

Monday - A stray shower or thunderstorm, 96
Tuesday - Partly cloudy, 95
Wednesday - Partly cloudy, 96
Thursday - Partly cloudy, 96
Friday - Mostly sunny, 96
Saturday - Mostly sunny, 97
Sunday - Mostly sunny, 95



♥♥ As I look outside my window ♥♥
There is a slight breeze which is making the trees sway back and forth. From my bedroom window I have a perfect view of my garden, and I can see the cucumber plant filled with little yellow flowers, clinging onto the fence. We are so late in producing anything in the garden this year, so I am hoping that we get a harvest before the first frost sets in. Which also reminds me, I need to figure out when that is, so I can get the Fall/Winter crops into the ground.



♥♥ Right now I am ♥♥
On my bed, typing this post while Kaia and Elliott nap next to me, one on each side of my leg, so I'm kind of pinned down. We have this routine, or rather they have this routine, where every morning, after 8am, they both climb onto my bed, snuggled into the blankets and take a 2 hour nap. I'm not even kidding, this is their daily routine and if for some reason it doesn't happen, they are a mess the rest of the day.

♥♥ Thinking and pondering ♥♥
I am planning on doing a new routine schedule for myself. I used to have one when the kids were little, and as they've grown and we moved States, first to Idaho then to Texas, the routine just fell apart.

Since then I've been just flying by the seat of my pants, and it's not a feeling I enjoy. I feel so lost some days, and I much prefer to have a set routine to stick to. Just need to figure it out, and adapt it to my new chapter in life, which is that of a much older mom, with adult kids who do their own thing.



♥♥ How am I feeling ♥♥
So tired. I woke up at 2:30am to go to the bathroom, then for the life of me, could not fall asleep again. I laid in bed, I prayed, I let my mind run rampart....have you all noticed that when you can't sleep, is usually when the enemy will come into your mind and one by one, lay down every failure, every thing that is wrong in your life, everything you messed up....it's so frustrating. I usually combat that by praying and praying until my mind clears, God calms my heart, and I fall asleep again. Problem is, by the time I drifted back to sleep, it was 4:30am and the alarm goes off at 6.

Coffee, lots of coffee is going to keep me going today.



♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥
Cup of coffee with pumpkin spice creamer, and two mini croissants, toasted and buttered.



♥♥ On the lunch plate ♥♥
Salad, just lettuce, tomato and onion with olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.  It's what I feel like.  Also, I'm going to start having just salads for lunch as well, so if you have some healthy tasty salad recipes, send them my way.  



♥♥ On the dinner plate ♥♥
Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken, Rice, Garlic Spinach

 

 

♥♥ What I'm wearing ♥♥
One of my summer dresses, you can see it in the picture above showing Kaia and Elliott.



♥♥ On my reading pile ♥♥
Reading through Isaiah in the Bible. 

Paul David Tripp New Morning Mercies devotional.
I still need to finish Butter in the Well, didn't get much time to read last week, but it needs to be finished.  I have so many other good books to get through, plus I have the Fall and Winter book tours starting in a few weeks with more amazing books to review.  

 

One I'm quite excited to review is this one.....

♥♥ On my TV this week ♥♥
Mad About You - finishing off the show then will have to find something else to watch with hubby
Homemaking vlogs
House of Dragons



♥♥ On the menu ♥♥
Will need to start working on the new menu plan this week.  I'm already craving chilis and soups and slow cooked meals.   So, I have meals until Thursday, then will see what is left in the freezer to make a meal for Thursday night.  Friday I go grocery shopping, so new menu plan will kick in there.

 

Monday - Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken, Rice, Garlic Spinach 
Tuesday - Honey Chipotle Slow Cooker Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Scalloped Potatoes
Wednesday - Creamy Taco Pasta, Garlic Bread, Salad
Thursday - 

Friday -
Saturday -
Sunday -



♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥
I need to tidy the living room, just fold blankets on couches, fluff pillows and vacuum.  The kitchen just needs the breakfast dishes done and the counters wiped down.

♥♥ To Do List ♥♥
- Clean master bathroom
- Vacuum carpets
- Dust living room, den, bedrooms

- Prep salads for the week



♥♥ Something fun to share ♥♥
If you love medieval anything (like me), and you also enjoy ambience videos where you can go about your day with just background noise, then you'll surely enjoy this ASMR  Medieval Castle video.  

 

I love popping one of these on, and getting to my chores around the house.  

 
 

 

 

 

♥♥ From the camera ♥♥
One of my favorite things to photograph, is nature.  You don't need to add anything to the picture, just look at those gorgeous colors.  

 

♥♥ Devotional ♥♥ 

The Bible is not a collection of stories of human heroes.  No, the Bible is the story of a hero Redeemer who transforms weak and ordinary people by His powerful grace.  

— New Morning Mercies Devotiona by Paul David Tripp

{ This weekend.... }

The sun is starting to set, which means the most gorgeous of golden glows is covering the trees and the lawn.  I've always thought this time of day is so magical.  The colors, the winding down, the way that everything seems to slow down in anticipation for night time.

I've spent this weekend doing....I don't even know.  I haven't done anything in specific and didn't have any places to be or things to do, but yet, the weekend is over and we are but a few hours away from Monday morning.

I did manage to snap a few moments of the past two days, just for prosperity.  

The more I get back into daily blogging, the more I am reminded of how much I want to write down and take note of my days and what I'm doing.  How important it is to ME, to keep going, to keep sharing, to keep this online record of my life.

I can't tell you just how much I am loving blogging again.  

With that said, I am going to end this very short post.  We have a new week ahead, more daily blogging, homemaking, and cooking.  I've been enjoying sharing recipes with you all again, and the one I'm posting tomorrow is a MUST try.  Here, I'll leave you with a sneak peek.  It was SO good!!!  

 

{ And Friday rolls around again }

 

Y'all, I know I say it all the time, but honestly, what is it with time flying lately?  

 

When I was a kid, I remember thinking that the days dragged.  It seemed that one day lasted a month!  *not really, but you know what I mean*

 

As I got older, it seemed to move a bit faster, but nothing like it's been the past 2 or 3 years.  It's been just going so fast, that I feel like I blink and a whole week has gone by.  I'm not complaining that it's Friday, because I love my weekends with my family, but simply making an observation.

 

So, this morning, Jasmine was off work, but had a therapy appointment, so I offered to go with her, because I had to pick up my prescriptions on base, and the antique store I mentioned last week, that was closed that day I tried to go, was actually opened today.

 

It gave me a reason to go downtown.  I walked around the store for about 40 minutes, and would have loved to have spent more time in there, but my time was short, and it was so hot in there too, that I started feeling a bit sick to my stomach.  I was also wearing jeans, which is usually a big no no for me on hot days. (totally random piece of information for you, but hey ho, it's my blog and I tend to ramble on as if you're sitting across from me, having a cup of coffee).

 

 

Base air traffic has been quite busy lately, which means lots of cool jets flying above

 

 

We picked up some Sonic for lunch, on the way home, and the rest of the day I spent organizing the tv stand in my room, and the bookshelves too.  

 

I quite enjoyed going through the crochet blankets I have, the ones that I still have in progress, which I'm ashamed to say are at least 5.  I need to get back on the crochet wagon.

 

There is a corner to corner granny, so easy to make and so quick to work on as well, not sure why I haven't finished it.  I have to put a border on a small lap blanket, that also won't take very long to do either.  I have a plaid blanket I was working on, but I've since then forgotten how to do it, so will have to go look for the pattern again.  

 

There is also a new Mandala Madness blanket on the hook, and two others that I can't for the life of me remember the pattern name.  This is what you get when you set things aside for years, and don't leave some sort of note on hook size, yarn weight or the pattern.  I'm a ditz, what can I say!

After finishing that chore, I stepped out to let Kaia potty, and was just so happy to see all the green that has suddenly sprung up everywhere.  Grass is growing, plants are happy and the blossoms have come out, the birds are flying around chirping back and forth, and all because of the 3 days of rain we got . 

Isn't it amazing?

Back inside, more pops of Fall are springing up too.  I love, love, loveeeeee the BER months.  Not to say I don't enjoy Spring and Summer too (normal summer, not the summer we've been subjected to), I tend to love all the seasons, but if I were to pick the absolute faves?  

Fall and Winter.....most specifically Fall.

Crunching leaves, hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, fire crackling, warm sweaters and comfy blankets.  

 

"Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings, now for October eves." -- Humbert Wolfe

{ Cooking Thursday - Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread }

 

Hi everyone, welcome back to another Cooking Thursday.

Today, I am sharing the recipe for a copycat Starbucks Banana Bread.  It is so good.  What I love about it, is that it's just the perfect combination, it's not overly sweet,  and it's also really easy to make.

If you have bananas that you need using up, this is the perfect recipe.

 

 

Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread

Source: My Frugal Adventures

Ingredients 

 

2 cups flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

 ¼ teaspoon salt 

1 egg 

1⅛ cup sugar 

 ½ cup vegetable or canola oil 

 2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk 

½ teaspoon vanilla 

3 bananas mashed very well 

 ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

 

 

Instructions 

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Add flour, baking soda and salt to a small bowl and set aside. Mix egg, sugar and oil and stir until well combined 

 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well. The mixture will be thick and dry. Next add milk, vanilla and bananas and stir until incorporated. 

 

Mix in walnuts and pour into a loaf pan. 

 

Cook 50-75 minutes, checking regularly until a knife comes out clean. 

 

 

{ Wordless Wednesday }

{ Tuesday without Internet }

The internet was working until about 7am, then suddenly it went off.  I did the usual checklist, unplug, reset, pull this wire, pull that one, wait a minute or so, plug it all back in and expect it to pop right back up.

Well that didn't happen. 

Turned out that our router had gone bad.  I wasn't surprised, it's something we were expecting, after all, it is over 10 years old, and usually a router lasts about 4 years.  We just kept putting it off.  If you didn't yet know, we are a family that uses things until they break.  We don't just buy or replace if they're still functional.

Unfortunately, today was the day.

 

And you don't really ever realize just how much you need internet, until it's not available.  Everything we do, is online, including our TV.  We don't have cable or dish, we use Firestick, Netflix and HBO, but those are also online.  So when that goes, everything goes.

I spent the day, doing housework, unplugged, reading, taking some pictures of the yard and bird watching.

I highly recommend everyone to unplug, at least once a week.  It's crazy just how much it helps to pull away from all the noise online.

 

The base jets were doing their training today, so I got to watch quite a few fly right above our house.  Will always love that.

 

I don't know if you can spot them, but there are two Alpacas, laying in the grass.  A brown one and a black one.  

The neighbor across the street has about 12, and they are just the cutest things to watch.  They make weird noises though, the first time I heard them, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the heck the sound was, and where it was coming from.  

 

Fall is beginning to show up around my house.  I haven't quite gone full Fall mode, and pulled everything out, but there are definite bits and bobs that are popping up here and there.

 

This little gnome is a new one this year.  I fell in love with him at Target, he was in the dollar section, and was just $3.  Jasmine actually got him for me.  How adorable is he?

 

I got 3 little black and white gingham pumpkins too, and the gnomes body matches them. 

This candle is also a new addition this year, also from Target, and Jasmine got it for me as well.  It smells soooooooo good.  It's quite big, it's 28 oz as you can see.  Just beautiful!

There wasn't much else I did today, so I don't really have anything else to share with you.  I did however receive another Thrift Books book in the mail, I got it as a free book.  After so many books you buy, you get a free book as a reward, so I used my reward to grab a book.  I'll show you tomorrow.

Anyway, it is quite late, and I'm going to go read my Bible, watch an episode of Mad About You with hubby and get some sleep.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 08/22/2022 }

Good morning, from a very wet and cool Texas.

We are on day 3 of rain, and it's been such a blessing to our State. 96% of the State was in a drought, we were blasted with really high temperatures, for weeks and weeks, and not a drop of rain. Then Thursday night, the rain came, and it's been steadily falling, since then.

My garden is thriving and happy, the veggies are soaking in as much moisture as they can and doing so well. My grass is even turning green, thank goodness.

Now, let's go see what is happening around our homes. Have a wonderful, blessed week!

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥
Wet, cool, wonderful. The temperatures have dropped, we are staying in the 80s, and the blessed rain has been pouring down on our parched land. We have more rain ahead the next two weeks.

Monday - Showers, 80
Tuesday - Mostly sunny, 88
Wednesday - Partly cloudy, 88
Thursday - Mostly sunny, 88
Friday - Mostly sunny, 90
Saturday - Partly cloudy, 92
Sunday - Thunderstorms, 91



♥♥ As I look outside my window ♥♥
A little bit of a breeze, and rain pouring down. Everything looks so green this morning.



♥♥ Right now I am ♥♥
Sitting on my bed, typing this post and drinking my coffee.



♥♥ Thinking and pondering ♥♥
On my mom's health. As I mentioned before, back in April, we had to move her to a nursing home. She has brain atrophy, and had developed a huge bed sore, that none of us knew about, because she hadn't mentioned anything at all.

She's now been in the nursing home for going on 4 months, she is still not walking and is bed ridden. Her bed sore is almost completely healed (Praise God), but her condition makes this whole situation harder. She is very confused, she doesn't process information like she used to, she has problems moving her body because her brain is not sending out the signals. It's just a very difficult situation, and we've left it in God's hands because the future belongs to Him and only He knows how this will go. It's not easy to sit back and watch though. She's 73, she can't eat on her own, she can't get up, she can't walk. It's sad.



♥♥ How am I feeling ♥♥
Very happy due to the rain we are finally getting. I've always loved rainy days but am enjoying this rainfall more than anything.



♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥
Cup of coffee with pumpkin spice creamer. I know, I know, but I just had to. For breakfast, I'll be having some toast with the apple butter I just made this weekend.



♥♥ On the lunch plate ♥♥
Not sure, I'll have to figure that out later. I'm craving pumpkin soup for some reason, so I may make some with the pumpkin I have in the freezer.



♥♥ On the dinner plate ♥♥
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili, Cornbread and Biscuits



♥♥ What I'm wearing ♥♥
Still in my nightgown, it's only 730am.



♥♥ On my reading pile ♥♥
Reading through Isaiah in the Bible. I love the book of Isaiah, and lately it seems everywhere I look, it is being quoted, even our church sermon yesterday focused on Isaiah 2.
Paul David Tripp New Morning Mercies devotional.
I am finishing Butter in the Well today, and then moving on to the next one in the series, called Prairie Bloomin, which was formerly titled Prärieblomman.

♥♥ On my TV this week ♥♥
Mad About You
Homemaking vlogs
Becoming Elizabeth (watching the last episodes)
The Lost Kingdom (only watched the first season, so getting back on it)
House of Dragons



♥♥ On the menu ♥♥
Monday - Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili, Cornbread and Biscuits
Tuesday - Million Dollar Spaghetti, Salad
Wednesday - Honey Walnut Shrimp, Beef Bulgogi, Basmati rice and Egg Rolls
Thursday - Cowboy Casserole, Black eyed pea salad
Friday - Coney Island Chili Dog Tacos, Waffle Fries
Saturday - Arroz de Marisco (Seafood Rice), Salad
Sunday - Bacon Cheeseburgers, Fries, Shakes

Desserts this week - Rice Pudding, Chocolate Chip Cookies



♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥
The house is dark, as it always is when it's raining. Love it!!!
There is a bunch of white fluff on the living room floor, from Kaia tearing up a toy this morning. What is it with dogs and beating the fluff out of their toys? Hahaha



♥♥ To Do List for the week ♥♥
- Pickup Prescriptions from base hospital
- Start writing the Bible
- Carpet clean bedroom



♥♥ Something fun to share ♥♥
I just need to share this channel with you. Adventures with Purpose on Youtube, is a group of volunteer divers, that have been helping families retrieve their missing loved ones, from water ways.

They have solved 23 cases the past 2 years, some being 30 years old.

They just solved the case of missing teenager, Kiely Rodni, yesterday afternoon. They arrived in Truckee, California (where she went missing), on Friday, and by Sunday afternoon, they were able to retrieve her vehicle with her inside, from the Prosser Lake. Such a heartbreaking discovery, but so thankful that they were able to help her family.

Just had to share this channel with you, they are phenomenal at what they do. I have been binging their videos since last week.

 

♥♥ From the camera ♥♥

Pumpkin Spice Apple Butter. I had apples to use up, so made another batch of the apple butter, it gave me 2 jars, and a little bit left that I have in the fridge. 

 

♥♥ Devotional ♥♥ 

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. — Galatians 6:7

{ My Saturday }

It's been a busy day, getting things done inside and outside the house. 

Well, the outside was mainly Curt, he had to get an oil change, an inspection and his registration renewed. 

 

I on the other hand spent the day inside, getting things done that really needed doing, but had been put off for a bit. 

Before I continue though, I just have to show you one of our does and her baby.  This is the baby that mama kept leaving on our property, for hours, a few weeks back.  I didn't understand, and at first even though the baby was abandoned, but after looking it up, this is normal behavior.

 

This is how mama teaches the baby to forage for food and spend longer periods of time on their own.  They will leave their babies up to 12 hours at a time and then come back and pick them up.  And sure enough, that happened for about 3 days.

 

We would wake up to baby on our front yard, or back fence line, just laying under the trees.  He/she would stay there all day, and then mama would show up at night, eat, then take the baby with her for the night.

 

Next morning, the same thing.  Nature really is amazing isn't it?

 

Baby is much bigger now.  But this morning, we had another doe just show up on our front lawn with a tiny, tiny baby in tow.  I mean this little one wasn't even strong on it's legs yet.  Not sure how old it is, but it looked like it may be but a day or two old.  Wow!!!

 

I'll definitely be keeping my camera nearby in case I see it again.

Last night, I got apples into the crockpot, and then left them overnight, cooking away with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla.  They were just perfect this morning, and after blitzing them with the immersion blender, I put them in jars and processed them.

I only had enough for 2 jars, but that's ok, every little bit counts.

And this batch of apple butter came out so good, so thick and dark, just like I like it.  I already have a recipe for it on the food blog, but I basically did 6 cups of apples (cored, I didn't peel them), 3 cups of sugar, and then I added cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla to taste.  So good!

 

After the apple butter was done, and was cooling on the counter, I got busy with our pecans.  We still have a ton to get through.  I have 2 big boxes, plus a plastic tub filled with pecans.  I need to get them either in the freezer whole (which will last about 2 years), or I need to get them cracked, processed somehow and also into the freezer or used.

My plan is to freeze as much as I can.  I do want to crack as many as I can, put them in ziplocs and freeze them as well, to use for pies, desserts, cakes and milk.  I did two big gallon ziploc bags of boiled pecans earlier and will pop those in the freezer in the morning.

I just wish there was an easier and quicker way to just crack them all at once, but, alas, there isn't and after a big batch, my poor thumbs are killing me.

Thankfully we harvest every 2 years, and since our last harvest was last year, we won't be having one this year, which gives me time to sort through this one.

 

 

The next job that Curt and I worked on together, was replacing my coolant reservoir.  I started noticing that my car was going through a lot of coolant, and then recently, I noticed some coolant on the driveway and when I checked the reservoir, it was wet underneath.  I couldn't see an actual crack anywhere, but it's definitely leaking.

Thankfully the job is quite easy to do, so in no time, we had the old one out and the new one in.  Hoping this makes my car run smoother.

I did take a break in the afternoon, to get my Bible reading done.  I'm continuing reading in Isaiah and I must say it is one of my favorite books, in the Bible.  

While I read, both Kaia and Elliott took their afternoon naps, next to me.  It's so funny that they both have their routines and schedules during the day.  They always take a morning nap, of about two hours, then they play and eat, and then in the afternoon, they're back on the bed for another 2 or 3 hour naps.  

I just think it's sweet how our pets develop their own routines.

 

While Curt worked in the front yard, feeding the animals, Kaia watched him. She always does this. She loves sitting at the front door watching the yard, or whatever is going on.  Elliott either lays by her too, or he is nearby, relaxing. 

 

 

This time, I joined them and grabbed my zoom lens.  The birds were so happy out front, because rain had just started falling.

They kept flying back and forth, making lots of noise and happily chirping back and forth.  It was like the rain started falling and the yard came alive.

And just like that, our Saturday has come to an end, with a good productive day, and rain blessing us after this horrid drought we've been under.

We even got a flood warning, just a few moments ago.  Haven't seen one of those in months.

The rain is continuing all through Monday night.  I think the garden is going to be very happy.

Tomorrow I have church in the morning, then I'll be coming home to make us a batch of Million Dollar Spaghetti.  It will be our lunch/dinner.  Weekends tend to be quite relaxed when it comes to meals, either I don't cook, like tonight, because no one wanted dinner......or I make the meal earlier in the day, and everyone eats when they're hungry.

Weekdays is different, we have a set dinner time, and we all sit down at the table to eat.  It's just a tradition that we've kept since the children were little, and it's pretty much the only thing I ask of them all.  To share a meal, to sit, to chat about our days, and enjoy a home cooked meal together.

So, that is what is on the plan for tomorrow.  I hope you've had a wonderful Saturday and an equally good Sunday.

Have a blessed night friends.

xoxoxo