Happy Birthday Bro and Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

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Wishing my brother Len a very Happy 45th Birthday......you are getting old bro! 

Much love.

 

 

Happy Tuesday and welcome to 'Chats on the Farmhouse Porch!'  This is when I join Patrice and the other lovely ladies at Everyday Ruralty, have a cup of coffee and chat the morning away.  Won't you join us?  Remember, my questions are always a week behind the others!

 

QUESTIONS:

 

1.  Do you prefer to drive or be driven?

 

2.  What's your favorite kind of jam, jelly or preserve?

 

3.  Do you have any special plans for this spring or summer?

 

4.  Lots of folks are becoming aware of issues with food.  There are many articles, books, and movies on topics allergies, GMO, pesticide use, bad or no labeling, over processed foods, foods from other countries that may not have high standards and many more topics.  What concerns you the most?  If nothing concerns you, have a cookie and skip to the next question.

 

5.  Do you use nail polish often?  Finger nails, piggies or both?

 

 

Everyday Ruralty

 

ANSWERS:

 

1.  Oh drive, yes drive. 

 2.  Homemade dandelion jelly!  The best!

 3.  Just making a trip to see my son and his girlfriend at my Mom's.  Should be fun!  Other than that....work.

 

4.  I worry about the long term consequences of what is in the food.  I try to eat homemade from scratch or organic as much as possible.

 

5.  Piggies only.  Like Patrice, my fingernails don't last long around here on the homestead.

 

Thanks for joining me today.  Why not pop over and see what the other ladies have to say ..... make sure you say hi to Wendell too!  Have a great Tuesday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Lap Quilt Finished!

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A while back, I showed you a pile of fabric during a winter storm we were having and I had decided to dive in and make a quilt.....seeing that being cooped up in the house was beginning to drive me mad. 

 

 

I did  have time to finish it and I LOVE it.  It is just the right weight.  A quilt's weight is very important to me.  It has to be just right to feel cozy.  Rag quilt instructions can be found all over Pinterest but I always followed my old standby from Jubilee Homespun.

 

 

One afternoon while the snow was falling and the wind was howling, I set my sewing machine up on the kitchen table in front of the bay window and sewed away while enjoying the view and pots of tea. 

 

 

This is the first rag quilt I decided to add binding to the edges rather than leaving them frayed.  I like the look of it....it seems more finished.

 

 

 

Although the weather is finally starting to turn pleasant, I will be enjoying the quilt in the fall when the weather turns cold once again. 

 

 

Happy sewing and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Sunday's Blessings

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this week I loved the .....

 

smell of :  stuffed peppers cooking in the oven

 

sound of :  Canadian geese flying overhead

 

taste of :  fresh pink grapefruit

 

sight of :  the first robin red breast

 

feel of : new to me books from the library's Spring used book sale

 

 

this week I am thankful for .....

 

-  my son's 23rd birthday last weekend

 

-  a day of sunshine

 

-  the opportunity to hand out books to non-readers and spread the love of literacy

 

Have a Blessed Sunday and remember to give your loved ones a hug! 

Saturday's Snaps

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The snow is still here folks....about three feet left.  Today the temperature is suppose to reach 60 degrees which will be heaven if it does.

 

Still no photos.  I am hoping to get some shots today or tomorrow if the nice weather stays so for this weeks Saturday's Snaps I bring you some cuties.

 



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Have a wonderful weekend and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Cinnamon Sugar Bread

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My love for bread continues ...... but if you add cinnamon to the mix ..... well, my heart goes pitter pat.

 

 

 

I found the recipe on Pinterest and it comes from Liz over at A Whisk and a Prayer and it sounds as if she loves cinnamon bread about as much as I do!

 

Ingredients

 

1/3 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.  In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup white sugar.  Add egg, milk and vegetable oil to the mixture.  Stir just until moistened.  Pour 1/2 batter into the greased loaf pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/3 cup of white sugar (I didn't measure out my cinnamon, I just sprinkled away and probably added quite a bit more since I love the taste of cinnamon so much!)

 

 

Now cover the cinnamon layer the with remaining batter.  Top with more cinnamon and sugar if you desire.

 

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf.  Let it cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

 

Wrap in foil and let it sit overnight before slicing.....okay confession time. I didn't see this part and I just sliced away and enjoyed it warm.  It was DELICIOUS but I don't know how it would taste if you actually DID wrap it until the next morning.

 

 

Happy baking and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Three Pin Thursday

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It's time again for "Three Pin Thursday"!  This is when I post three of my favorite pins from Pinterest ..... one of my favorite websites!

 

This week I am focusing on sayings that I love and wish to transfer them to wood ..... yep, wood.  I notice on my daily walks that our old barn took a bad beating this winter and well once all the snow is gone, it will be time to do some repairs to the old girl.  There is one area where the boards will have to be removed and since the wood has a wonderful faded, red hue to it, I want to use them for some artwork.

 

Here are the three sayings I hope to transfer to the barn wood sometime this summer.

 

Prims and Posies

 

With God Without Fear

 

Quotes and Thoughts

 

There are so many that I love but this will be a good start.  Happy pinning and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

World Book Night Was a Success!

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Well it has come and gone.  I received the email last week that my box of books arrived safe at Barnes and Noble and were ready to be picked up.  Between all the snow storms we had, I still managed to drive the 20 minutes to the mall where Barnes and Noble is located.

 

As I mentioned in this post,  "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan was the book I was awarded to hand out.  Quickly opening the box, I dove right into the top copy.  Wanting to read the book prior to handing them out was something I wanted to do in case someone asked how the book was or what it was about.

 

 

 Just FYI, it is worth the read.  Very, very good.  Actually a neighbor of mine had indicated to me that not only had he read the book but also listened to it on tape when driving on a trip.  He liked it that much. 

 

 

 It was fun being part of such a worthwhile event.  First people were hesitant when trying to give them something for free ..... which I found to be sad ..... but when they realized I didn't want anything from them, they gladly accepted a copy.  I hope they enjoyed the story. 

 

Happy reading and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

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Happy Tuesday and welcome to 'Chats on the Farmhouse Porch!'  This is when I join Patrice and the other lovely ladies at Everyday Ruralty, have a cup of coffee and chat the morning away.  Won't you join us?  Remember, my questions are always a week behind the others!

 

QUESTIONS:

 

1.  Are you part of the back to nature/ecological group or are you more of the mindset of "I'll do what I want and everything will work out in the end?"

 

2.  What's a favorite dinner dish to make?

 

3.  What animals have you seen give live birth?

 

4.  If you had the opportunity to teach something, what would you teach?

 

5.  What did you most love about school?

 

Everyday Ruralty

 

ANSWERS:

 

1.  Definitely part of the ecological group.  Definitely.

 

2.  Spaghetti and meatballs!  I love them and could eat them everyday but then I would never be able to get off of the couch....as my butt would be too big!

 

3.  Kittens and a deer.  There was a Momma deer walking through our front yard a few years back, stopped and gave birth to twins, right there in front of us.  Amazing.

 

4.  Well I am a high school teacher.  Social studies is my favorite!

 

5.  I didn't care too much for school growing up but library class was my favorite.

 



Thanks for joining me today.  Why not pop over and see what the other ladies have to say ..... make sure you say hi to Wendell too!  Have a great Tuesday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Happy Earth Day!

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Earth Day was first conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson in the early 1960s.  Senator Nelson worried that environmental issues were not being addressed in the political arena.

In his conservation efforts, Nelson organized a nationwide grassroots demonstration in the spring of 1970, to further promote conservation involvement and awareness. Support for and interest in the activity was immense and the 1970 demonstration became the first official Earth Day.

The first Earth Day helped inspire the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Each year, April 22 marks the celebration of Earth Day, which is now observed around the world.

Earth Day Networks estimates that 500 million people from over 4,500 organizations in 180 countries will participate in Earth Day events during the month of April.

Get involved in your community.  We all need to respect Mother Earth for all she does for us.  Our actions today determines the future.

 

Take care of the Earth ..... it is the only one we have and always remember to give your loved ones a hug!



Happy Birthday to my Son

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TO MY SON LUCAS who is celebrating his 23rd birthday today.....

 

What if today,

you could see yourself

the way that I see you?

 

I wish I could

somehow take you back

and show you for a moment,

the beautiful baby boy

who won my heart forever

the first time I held him

in my arms.

 

of the mischievous toddler

who never stopped

for more than a minute -

so full of life and curiosity

about the world

around him.

 

What if I could

somehow take you back

to that very first day of school,

or show you

the kind and generous man

I now see standing before me?

 

what if you could see yourself

the way I see you?

 

then you would know

how much I have loved

watching you become

the special kind of man

I always knew you would be.

 

I love you honey with all my heart and I hope you have a FABULOUS day!

 

Sending many hugs and kisses.

Mom

 

Saturday's Snaps

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I just can't.  I just can't bear to show you any more pictures of snow.  Another winter storm moved in Thursday night and dumped 23 more inches (and it is still snowing) so all I can do now is dream of spring so I am borrowing some spring pictures this week to hopefully convince Mother Nature that she missed over us and needs to come and visit us too!

 



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A girl can dream right?  Enjoy your weekend and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Stuffed Peppers

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The other day, the local grocery store had large, organic, beautiful peppers on sale.  They were the perfect size to be stuffed!  Since we will have to wait quite a while for our own peppers to be planted, grow and be picked, I wanted to have that 'garden grown' flavor now.

 

Our method of stuffed peppers is pretty basic and the recipe is never the same.

 

Ingredients  - give or take

 

1 pound of hamburger

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 (15.5 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

smidge of brown sugar

splash of Worcestershire sauce

small can of tomato paste

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth

4 green bell peppers

 

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add ground beef, stirring constantly, cook until brown and crumbly.  Pour off the grease, , then stir in the garlic, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook and stir until the onions are soft, about 4 minutes.  Stir about 1/2 of the cheese into the mixture, set aside.

 

Cut the top of the peppers and remove the veins and seeds.  Rinse well.  Fill each pepper with the ground beef mixture and then carefully pour some of the chicken broth over the hamburger mixture.  Place in muffin tins or a bread pan so they stand upright while baking and replace the tops.

 

Bake for approximately 30 to 45 minutes or until peppers are soft. 

 

they were steaming hot out of the oven

 

Remove peppers from the pan.  I then take off the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Just a note:

 

The Rotel tomatoes it adds quite a bit of 'heat'.  If you prefer a 'cooler' pepper just use regular diced tomatoes.

 

 

I hope you have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 



Three Pin Thursday

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It's time for Three Pin Thursday!  Today in anticipation of Earth Day that will be here Monday, these are my three favorite pins that celebrate our Mother Earth.  There are so many wonderful ideas to recycle and reuse....they are just endless!

 

I just LOVE these cookies!  Such a great idea.

 

 



The Decorated Cookie

 

This is just so pretty and quite easy to make.

 



 

Craftster

 

and my last pin to celebrate Earth Day .....  homemade bird feeders!  The birds need to eat too.

 

Eat, Make, Play

 

Happy pinning and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

 

My Sympathies

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My heart goes out to all those ....

 

 

 

affected by the Boston bombing.

 

Please remember to give your loved ones a hug!