{ Making memories to last a lifetime }

 

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
― Edith Sitwell

 

 

It is currently 58 degrees and cloudy.  There is a scent of rain in the air, and a quiet only broken by the random chirps of birds littered throughout the tree branches.

 

The kind of morning that makes you smile, that makes you appreciate that hot cup of coffee or tea, even more.  Although I am quite ready for Spring time, even knowing what means for my allergies, I do try to enjoy these last winter mornings as much as I can.   

 

I made this decision that I need to be present on my blog more.  I was looking for a specific post the other day, trying to find something, and I was saddened at the fact that the past few years, my life is but a memory in my mind, and not recorded here on my blog.   Until 2016, I could go back to a month or day, and tell you exactly what we were doing, what had happened, what we ate or watched, where we went and so forth.

 

It's always been my little corner, a place to come back to to and reminisce, watch my children literally growing before my eyes, as I move from post to post.

 

Funny enough, there were even moments where Curt and I would be trying to remember something and needed a specific date, and I was able to come back to the blog, knowing that I had written it down.

 

 

But that was then, and this is now.

 

When did I stop taking note of my life and what we were doing?  

 

Anyway, my husband said to me the other day "How is your blog?   Did you make anymore blog books to add to your collection?"  Sadly my reply was "oh the blog is still there, but no I haven't made anymore books, there hasn't been much to put in the books the past few years."  How sad!!!

 

Speaking with him, he reminded me that it's not about having some major fun adventure to put on the blog, it is about doing what I always did, which was share my day, no matter what I did, no matter how boring or trivial I may think at the moment, because the point is to have it as a memory for when we are older.  A memory we can pass down to our children and grandchildren.

 

He is 100% correct!!!

 

I have often thought how amazing it would have been, if my grandmother or great grandmother had kept a blog, that I could go back and read right now.  I would have loved to read about her day to day, seen pictures of her homemaking, her children, what she was doing and what life was like at that moment.

 

 

Like my husband said "just get back in there, share what you did that day, even if it doesn't interest anyone else, it is for our records, your blog, your life, that's what matters."  Smart man I say.

 

So, here we go, let's just get on that horse again.  You ready to read some posts that may at times seem boring to you?  After all, I'm just a homemaker like many of you, so what I do around here is what you do every day, and you may not want to read about it, but it's my life right and it's what I have to show.

 

You know the kids are growing up.  Jasmine is about to turn 23 and Nick is turning 19.  My earlier blog posts were all about raising the kids, and that was so much fun, but life continues even after they're grown, so now it's all about older kids, a slower life, and still keeping track of what we're doing.

 

I can't wait to sit down one day, when I am much much older, and read my blog from start to finish.  Boy what a trip down memory lane that will be. 

 

 

So here's a rundown of my Tuesday.......

 

::::  Woke up 

My usual 6am time.  Prepared lunch for my husband and daughter, and made our coffees.  Got dressed, and ready to leave the house to take Jasmine to work.

 

 

::::  Breakfast

Had a cup of milky tea and toast.

 

 

::::  What I did

Switched the dining area and den area around.  I love doing that every year, and usually I would wait until end of March, but I just couldn't anymore.  We love eating dinner while watching nature around us, whether it's the deer that visit our home, the birds, skunks, cats, oppossums, racoons, the alpacas right across the road.  You name it.

 

 

::::  Lunch

Made a quick tuna salad for Nick and I, but Jasmine also got to enjoy some when she got home from work at 3pm.

 

 

:::: Watched

The Secret Garden, finally.

 

 

::::  Afternoon

Picked Jasmine up at 3pm then came home and folded a load of laundry, and started dinner right away.

 

 

::::  Dinner

Beef Burrito Skillet.  Super quick and easy meal to throw together, but very yummy and filling.  Recipe will be up today on the food blog.

 

 

::::  Night

Had the best shower, did my night skin routine, then climbed into bed and read my Devotional and my bible.

 

 

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 02/14/2022 }

 Good morning everyone, happy Monday!!!!

How are you all doing today?  I have woken up to a beautiful day, the sun is shining brightly, although it's a little cold, but I am eagerly anticipating Spring.  It's time to move on from this cold and start gardening and planning the year ahead, right?

I hope you all had a restful and wonderful weekend.  Mine was good.  On Saturday we celebrated my brother Miguel's 50th Birthday.  I made his cake for him, which is something I wanted to do because it's such a special day.  You know I'm not a cake professional, I just have fun playing around with fondant.  Seeing that he is a huge Liverpool fan (English football team), that was the theme for the cake.

I shared it over on Instagram, but I'll try to transfer the photo I took from my phone to the computer, and share it with you all later.

Anyway, I hope you all have a blessed week, may it be filled with joy, love, happiness, and abundant health.

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥

It is cold this morning, just 29 degrees at the moment, but a high of 72.  We are living in a seesaw of temperatures lately.  I would say it's a Texas thing, but I'm noticing it is everywhere, literally all over the world.  Just yesterday my stepmom was telling me South Africa has been the exact same way.

I am so looking forward to spring and summer weather.

Monday - Sunny, 73

Tuesday - Partly cloudy/wind, 73

Wednesday - Partly cloudy/wind, 78

Thursday - AM rain/snow showers/wind, 42  (I just can't lol)

Friday - Sunny, 54

Saturday - Sunny, 66

Sunday - Mostly sunny, 71

♥♥ How I am feeling ♥♥

Really good thankfully.  I slept so well last night.  It's amazing what a good night's sleep will do.

♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥

Cup of coffee and toast with apple butter.

♥♥ On my reading pile ♥

Currently reading Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, hoping to finish it today, so I can move on to my next read.  The next one on the list is The Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini.

♥♥ On my TV ♥♥

Today I am watching The Secret Garden (2020).  I've mentioned it a few times before but never end up watching and I really want to.  

I'm still enjoying my two Portuguese soaps, Quero e Viver and Para Sempre.  As well as the usual homemaking Portuguese vlogs.  

 

♥♥ On the menu ♥♥

Yesterday I made the new menu for the upcoming two weeks.  I'm trying really hard to make easy, budget friendly meals because the prices of everything, is completely out of control, and it's getting harder and harder to budget through this time.

Monday 

 Chicken, Potatoes and Bacon Au Gratin, Valentine's Day Cheesecake

 

 

 

Tuesday 

 Beef Burrito Skillet, Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday 

Salmon Patties, Spinach Rice, Salad

 

 

Thursday 

Ham and Potato Soup

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 

*Grocery Shopping*

♥♥ From the camera ♥♥

Fresh bread, straight out of the oven.  There is nothing so comforting as a slice of warm bread, with a pat of butter.

♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥

I'm itching to start switching things around again.  You know that every spring and fall, I take my dining table and couches in the den, and switch places.  During the spring and summer months, the table is by the big window, because we enjoy watching the deer come by to eat, and the rest of the animals, as we eat our meals.

During the colder months, I switch the table to the other side, so it is by the fireplace, where we can eat during the colder weather, enjoying the fireplace.

I'm thinking I may switch it all around today, as we've been really enjoying all the deer we've had visiting our yard, each day.

Aside from that, my house is clean and tidy, and I just have the usual daily tasks to worry about.

♥♥ To do list ♥♥

I find that there is always a running list of things to do, in my mind.  Sometimes it helps to get it on paper, even if I'm not a huge list person.  Ok, let me rephrase, I love lists, love writing lists, but don't always stay on top of them.  I think the writing of the lists is more fun, than ticking off or staying with it.

Anyway, this is what is on my list today:

 

* Make cheesecake for Valentine's day dessert

* Take pictures of the two Valentine's day desserts Jasmine made.  She made these delicious truffles and some cheesecake bars for her boyfriend, and for us too.  

* Start laundry

* Take pictures of the next review book

* Mail off my Texas Voter Regristration Card

* Finish my book

* Take chicken and bacon out of freeze, for dinner

 

 

 

♥♥ Today's Devotional ♥♥

I was thinking I should just change the title of this category, for myself, to New Morning Mercies Devotional  Hahaha

I'm just enjoying it so much, that I plan on continuing every Monday with that day's devotional. 

 

Here is today's:

 

God's grace will expose what you want to hide, not to shame you, but to forgive and deliver you.

 

The light has come.  Run to the light, it is not to be feared.  Yes, it is the light of exposure, but what will be exposed has already been covered by the blood of the One who exposes it.

{ Prepping for the week }

You go grocery shopping, bring it all home and start putting it away, fully intent on using everything before it goes bad.  

 

How many times have we done that?  I used to do it all the time, but it never quite worked out the way I envisioned it in my head.  The parsley and cilantro would go bad a few days after shopping, fruit would go bad, my lettuce would wilt.

 

Then we would run out of bread some weeks and I had to run out and buy more.  

 

But over the years, I have learned that if I just take some time, some effort and some organization, I actually save a lot of money.  It's all about having the right attitude.

 

A few days ago, I took two hours to get everything sorted in the fridge. Did I feel like it? Not particularly but I knew that I had to do it, and couldn't put it off any longer.

The first on the list was a gallon of milk that had expired days prior, and I really didn't want to waste it.  so I decided to use it to make some cheese.  I used 2 quarts for Ricotta Cheese and there was about a liter left which I used to make cream cheese.

To make the ricotta cheese, I used the recipe from Attainable Sustainable.  I didn't have cheesecloth but thankfully had some muslin cotton that I used, I would have preferred the cheesecloth, but I just made do.  However, I have made a note to buy some soon.

The cream cheese recipe is on my food blog, and you can find it here.  Homemade Cream Cheese.

The only downside to any of this, is that it doesn't make a lot of cheese.  You would need a ton of milk to get a sizable amount of either cream cheese or ricotta cheese, but at least the milk didn't go to waste.

 

Here is the finished Ricotta Cheese.....

 

And here is the finished cream cheese....

While the cheese was making, I quickly got some bread loaves made, as we were out of sandwich bread.

It took no time to get the dough done and rising.  In no time I had four loaves of delicious sandwich bread for the rest of the week and the freezer. 

The last thing on my list was taking care of the two bags of lettuce I had bought.

 

We eat a lot of salad, but there's still times that my lettuce goes bad quicker than we eat it. With just a little preparation, it stays in the fridge longer and crispier. 

 

Pulled all the leaves apart, washed them all well, and let them dry on the counter.  Once they were dry, I placed them between paper towels in a big tupperware container.  

 

And just like that, in about 2 hours, I was very productive, and got everything done that I needed doing. 

It's crazy the amount of  money I have saved over the years.

The Lord has been working within me for a long time.  He has taught me so many things, even and especially about my job as a wife, mother and homemaker.  The minute I invited Him into my life, in every area, and submitted to His plans, it all fell into place.

Could not be the homemaker I am today, without Him!!!

{ At Night by Margaret Peot - TLC Book Tour }

32 pages

Ages 4-8

 

The woods are busy at night while we sleep. Who is awake? And what are they up to?

What animals forage by night and sleep by day? This children’s picture book describes the nocturnal lives of nine common animals: foxes, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, opossums, bobcats, owls, mice, and rabbits. Join the animal parents guiding their children through the forest during the dark of night. The book includes information on the common names of the animal’s offspring (for example, a young fox is called a kit).

 

Amazon |   Barnes and Noble |  Indiebound 

Margaret Peot is an artist, writer, teacher and paints costumes for Broadway theater, as well as dance, ice shows and arena shows. She is the author/artist of twelve other books, including Inkblot: Drip, Splat and Squish Your Way to Creativity, which was awarded the Eureka! silver Medal for non-fiction children’s books. 

  

 

MY THOUGHTS:

What an absolutely wonderful little book for your kids.  I have to say, I love kid books, and still reach for them even at 47 years old.  

 

The illustrations are just adorable and it is written in a way that your little one can easily understand, matter of fact it is the perfect first reader book.

 

It focuses on the animals that we don't see much of during the day, and tells us what they do at night.  At the end of the book is a two page spread with the different animals featured, and some more information about them, like:

 

A baby fox, a baby skunk and a baby raccoon are all called kits.  I didn't even know that LOL

 

It also tells us what groups of these animals are called, so a group of bobcats are called a clowder, a group of porcupines are called a prickle, and a group of oppossums are called a passel.  

 

It is the sweetest read aloud bedtime story, or for any time of the day read.  Your kids are sure to love them.  I'll be passing mine along to my great niece Eva who is 3 and half years old.

 

If you want some neat activities to go along with the book, go on over to the author's website, and you can even print out some masks for a bobcat, great orned howl and raccoon.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Muddy Boots for the review copy.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 02/07/2022 }

 

Good morning and a very happy Monday to you all!!!

 

I hope this post finds you well, and ready for a new week ahead.  I have to say, I love Mondays, and most people will probably disagree with me and call me crazy, but I just love the start of a new week.  

 

I feel like there's nothing quite as satisfying, as knowing you have a brand new week ahead, with endless possibilities and opportunities.  So, I want to start by wishing you all a very blessed week, for you and your family.  Thank you for stopping by and joining in with our Happy Homemaker Monday, it's been years since I started it, and it's wonderful that it's still going strong and still seems to be one of the favorite posts here on the blog.  

 

I have the next 3 days at home, which I am very much looking forward to, there are projects I want to get going with, also want to plan my garden so that I can start seedlings as soon as possible, and of I've also been very much enjoying sharing more homemaking posts with you all.  I hope you've enjoyed them too, because I plan on a few more this week.

 

I decided to add them to my Homemaker Series posts, so if you're looking for them all, or want some motivation as a homemaker, be sure to check those out by clicking on the tab above in the menu.

 

Right, I think that is is, let's get right on with our HHM!!!

 

 

:::: The Weather ::::

 

It's 33 at the moment, although the real feel is 22, but I have to be honest, I have my bedroom window open and I am not feeling the cold at all.  The snow has been slowly melting over the past 2 days, but there is still quite a bit around, hopefully that goes as the temperatures rise.

Looks like we've got a week of cool temperatures.  I am good with that, I don't like too cold or too hot, so this is just fine.   

 

Monday - Sunny, 57

Tuesday - Sunny, 69

Wednesday - Sunny, 67

Thursday - Partly cloudy, 63

Friday - Sunny, 71

Saturday - Partly cloudy, 57

Sunday - Sunny, 62

 

 

:::: How I am feeling this morning ::::

 

I'm doing well, not going to lie, still seem to be dealing with lots of sinus issues, post nasal drip and all that nonsense, which is affecting my stomach (as it always does).  But, that's just part of getting over a bad flu, and the sinus stuff is something I've dealt with my whole life, so it's ok.  We are not going to let any of this get us down, we push through and rebuke it all, right?    

 

 

 

:::: On the breakfast plate ::::

 

I just had a cup of coffee, and some Cream of Wheat for breakfast.  It's funny, I love cream of wheat but half the time I forget I have it, so I don't have it.  I specifically left it out last night, by the water kettle, so that I could remember to have it this morning. 

 

 

 

:::: On my reading pile :::: 

 

Finished March, which I didn't really enjoy, but that's ok.  I am halfway through the next one, which so happens to be another Geraldine Brooks book called Year of Wonders, and this one, I am loving.  It's so strange how the same author can have a book I don't like (didn't enjoy her writing at all in March), but then feel like I'm reading a new author in the next book.  

 

I have a really cute review coming up today, a book that I think your little ones will enjoy.  It is called At Night by Margaret Peot.

:::: On my TV ::::

 

On Youtube, I have been catching up with one of my favorite channels, The Indie Projects.  Bea and Theo have been living in a van for the past 7 years, they've traveled the world and shared it all.  About a year and a half ago, they bought 5 acres in central Portugal, and have since been renovating an old barn into a livable home for them both. 

 

I have just loved following their progress along, they are absolutely fantastic, and so hardworking.  They've done it all on their own, just the two of them which is crazy, but the barn is almost ready to be lived in and it looks gorgeous.  

 

On tv, I watched the new movie on Netflix called "My best friend Anne Frank".  It was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.  Well worth a watch, if you have a moment.

:::: On the menu this week ::::

 

I'm starting to work on the new menu, because Friday is grocery day, but in the meantime, these are the meals for the rest of the week. 

Monday - Skillet Lasagna, Salad

Tuesday - Chicken with Broccoli and Cauliflower, Rice, Sauteed Squash

Wednesday - Beef short ribs, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday - Grilled Salmon, Butter Rice, Salad

Friday - Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken, Cheesy Ranch Instant Pot Potatoes, Mixed Veggies

 

 

 

:::: From the camera ::::

 

I love Beatrix Potter, and have for a long time been wanting to build my collection, of The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Books.  So far I have 4 books, the ones that I could get my hands on through Paperbackswap, but I'm keeping an eye out to grab the others.

 

By the way, I think it was Carol that asked me about Paperbackswap, I've talked about it many times here on the blog, where I explain what it is, how I use it and how long I've used it for.  

 

A little homemaking, and a lot of books

Around here - a look at this past weekend

 

 

 

 

:::: Looking around the house ::::

 

One of the kids left an open soda can on the dining table, and of course, Elliott got to it and knocked it off.   I woke up to a knocked over can and soda seeping into my carpet, so today is a carpet cleaning day.  Not my fave, but that's ok.

 

The sun is so bright this morning, and as it reflects off the snow outside, it seems to send these blinding rays into the living rooms.  It does look pretty thought.

 

 

::::  To do List ::::

 

♥ Kitchen - unload dishwasher, wash the few dishes in the sink, it's just a bowl, two mugs and a plate.

♥ Put up the book review

♥ Take out meat for dinner

♥ Carpet clean

♥ Start planning the garden

♥ Change bed linens

 

:::: Today's devotional :::: 

 

As always, today's devotional is from the New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp, devotional.

Are you experiencing anxiety because you've forgotten who you are, and what you've been given?  Are you experiencing the fear that results from trying to know what you'll never know?  He knows, he cares, and he will complete the job he's begun.

 

For further study and encouragement:  Romans 8:18-39