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Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Works for me Wednesday
Meals make Memories
Casserole Delicious
1 onion chopped
1 # hamburg
4 stalks celery
1/2 cup white rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Brown hamburg and onion, season to taste. Simmer with rice, celery, and water 10-15 minutes; add soups. Place all ingredients in casserole. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
This must have been a popular recipe in our area during the 60's and 70's because when Bob and I got married, his Mom gave me the same recipe and said it was one of his favorites. It is something I still make at times; however 2 of my kids don't like it because of the celery, so they were never happy to see it on the table when they were home. As a matter of fact, the recipe card I just copied this from has been altered by one of them, to read "Happy Casserole". Believe me - she (Laura) was being sarcastic when she wrote happy!
I do have one other memorable meal to tell you about. When Bob and I were first dating I decided to make a nice lunch for him. I had a day off, and his work was near my home, so I told him to come over for his lunch break. I was a pretty good cook, but for some reason I decided to grill for him. Now - I had never grilled anything before. You can see where this is going right? Yes - the meat was burned. He was a good sport and laughed about it. I don't remember what else I served him. It must have been okay, because he kept dating me and we have now been married for almost 26 years. This did work out alright in the end. I have been teased about this for years, but when it is time to grill anything - he does it!
Thanks Megan for hosting this. It's been fun to bring back those memories. To read some other memories go to FriedOkra.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sunday Devotional
Friday, July 27, 2007
And the winner is...
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Friday Funnies
A man drowned in a tub of milk with a banana in his ear. Authorities suspect a cereal killer.
A toilet was stolen from the precinct. Police have nothing to go on.
Remember - today is the last day to sign up for the giveaway. I will pick a winner when I get out of work and will post it here, so check back to see who wins!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Slow Cooking Thursday
White Chicken Chili
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped celery
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 (48 oz) jar Great Northern Beans
8 oz shredded Monterrey jack or Cheddar cheese
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 (16 oz) jar salsa
3 c chicken broth
Melt butter in skillet and saute celery, onion and green pepper until translucent. In crock pot, combine broth, cumin, salsa, white beans, chicken and cheese. Stir together and add celery mixture. Cook on low 4-6 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and additional shredded cheese.
*I use canned broth and frozen, cubed chicken to throw this together in a hurry.
**This can also be made quickly without a crockpot. Follow same directions, but add 1 extra cup of broth or water and simmer on low for 45 min to an hour, instead of cooking in crockpot.
If you want more great crockpot recipes, visit Sandra at Diary of a stay at home Mom.
Works for me Wednesday
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I won a CD!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Bloggy Giveaway starts today!
Here is the item for my giveaway. This is a Santa ornament, which was hand carved by my husband for you! I'm afraid the picture doesn't do it justice, but in my own humble opinion, I think he is pretty cute! My husband carves figurines, and has carved quite a few old fashioned Santa figurines and ornaments. This ornament is about 2" long. So - sign in the comments section and I will draw a winner on Friday. I will be using this random number generator to make sure the drawing is fair! Good Luck!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Coming soon to a blog near you!
There are exciting things going on in blogland! I have a few of them to tell you about. Shannon, over at Rocks in my Dryer is hosting a carnival giveaway. There will hopefully be quite a few blogs participating in this. They each will have something they will be giving away that week. This will start on Monday and a winner will be chosen from each blog on Friday! All you have to do is go to these blogs and make a comment to be eligible to win. Make sure there is a way for the blogger to contact you in your comment, whether it be by your blog or e-mail.
I have something planned for this giveaway, that I hope you will all like, but you will have to come back on Monday to find out what it is.
On another note, Megan, over at FriedOkra is doing something to help out Teagan, an adorable little 22 month old girl who has recently undergone surgery for a brain tumor, and has had some complications. Megan is going to make 3 custom baby blankets and auction them on her site on Monday. The top 3 bidders will win the blankets and the proceeds will go to Teagans family to help pay for her expenses. So - if you know someone who could use a baby blanket check out Megans blog on Monday. If you don't know anyone who needs a blanket, but you want to help, you can find that information here.
Stay tuned for more information!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
My Childhood Home
I grew up on a farm. When I was a kid, I didn't know how lucky I was to live where I did. I had fields around me, a creek to catch frogs in, a meteorite out in a back field (it was just a very large stone, but us kids thought it was a meteorite), hills to go sledding on and a barn to play in. One of my favorite memories is going to a hill that was out by the creek. This hill had a dry rocky side where we would go and find fossils. They really were fossils - very small ones from plants but they sure made great things to bring in for show and tell. (I still have a small bottle of them that I collected when this property was developed.) We spent a lot of time outdoors and our Mom didn't have to worry about us getting into too much trouble, other than getting stuck in mud or falling out of a tree. Our house was an old farmhouse. I hated the basement, because there was often some water on the floor and it was a dirty old basement. There was a tornado shelter that was dark, damp and I thought disgusting, and I hated to go into it when there was a warning. I shared a bedroom upstairs with my 2 sisters until I was in 8th grade and we built a new house. It wasn't a problem to share because most everyone I knew shared a room and we had a lot of fun talking and goofing around when we were supposed to be sleeping. Under the double bed I shared with my sister Terri, was a register grate. Our furnace was a gravity furnace and there were no ducts to the upstairs, so this grate was open. We would crawl under the bed and watch what was going on in the kitchen below. This was especially handy when we had a babysitter. We would watch what she ate and listen to her talking on the phone. (What naughty kids) When we heard Mom and Dad come home, we would crawl into bed and pretend to be sleeping!
When I think back to being a kid and my memories of my home, I am struck by the fact that it didn't matter that the house was old and not very big. The memories I have are colored by the fact that I knew I was loved as a child. I knew that no matter what had happened during the day, when I came home I was with my family who would always be there for me. I am reminded again of how blessed I am, not necessarily with material things, but with a God who saved me, a family who loves me and friends who care about me!
Now it's your turn - if you have a blog, write something about your childhood home and post about your blog with Mary. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave a comment about it with me. Have fun remembering.
Andy Update
He's in the Army now!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
He's on his way
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Works for Me Wednesday
If you want to find more great hints, go visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer
Monday, July 16, 2007
AAAGH!
Again my picture keeps disappearing from a post. This is the hummingbird moth from the post below. Hope you can see it now.
Hummingbird Moth
Yesterday I posted a picture of Diane and Andy, where I said they were trying to take a picture of a bee, that was flying around our lavender. This is the picture I took of the "bee". It was difficult to get a picture because it was flitting around constantly and its wings were constantly beating. When we were looking at it we noticed the way it flew and Diane said something about it being some type of hummingbird. We didn't exactly agree with her, but today I got an e-mail saying "ha" and this information: "Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth: Size 1.25" - 2.0" The snowberry clearwing hummingbird moth is a small hummingbird moth which more closely resembles a large bumblebee than a hummingbird. Like other hummingbird moths, this one flies during the daylight. It most often visits the coral honeysuckle and the butterfly bush." I am amazed by all the different varieties of life God created, from the largest whale to the smallest insect, with all the minute intricacies that make them unique. This is amazing, but on top of that, the same God that made this moth created us, knows us by name and loves us!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Saturday Night
Saturday night, Bob's sisters, Karla and Diane came over to see the new sprinkling system he has set up to water the flower beds in the back yard. This also gave them the chance to see Andy before he leaves. His nephew, Curt and wife Brenda stopped by later in the evening. In the pictures you see Bob, Karla and Diane talking about flowers, Diane and Andy trying to take a picture of a bee, Andy Brenda and Curt laughing, and Curt tormenting poor Cleo. (He actually tried to be nice to her, but those of you that know her, realize she is a "snooty" cat!) There were many ideas for new flower beds for Bob and irrigation ideas for Karla and Diane. There were also plenty of laughs. We were going over what Andy would be doing in basic training, and Karla's ideas didn't always mesh with reality! She is a good sport and laughed with the rest of us. It was also nice to see Curt and Brenda. Brenda is very sweet. You may notice I did not say that about Curt. I'm sorry to say that Curt is not sweet. (He probably wouldn't want to be) He has teased and harrassed me his whole life, so I don't expect him to change now. We have warned Brenda that she is going to be in trouble when any future children arrive! (He is a great guy, in spite of his teasing!) We had a fun night and Andy enjoyed seeing them all again and will be happy to see them in December.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Flowers of the Field
"I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?...See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" Matthew 6:25,28-29.
I was wandering around the flower beds last night, trying to photograph some of the different flowers and I was really struck by the beauty of the flowers. They are each different; different colors, different forms, different sizes, different styles, but each one beautiful in its own way. I thought about what an amazing God we have. He has created an awesome world for us, with beauty to be found both in large scale and the very small. God tells us that he dresses the flowers of the field and he will also care for us. He loves us regardless of our color, form, size or style. We are also meant to be beautiful and the best way to do that is to show God's love to the world around us. Someone I used to work with was known by some of the staff as "Jesus with skin on". What a wonderful description of what we are called to be!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Slow Cooking Thursday
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Works for me Wednesday
Monday, July 9, 2007
Hidden Picture
If you want to make your own, go to this site.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Mugwumps!
What, you may ask is a mugwump? My friend, Nancy and I both have groups from our churches that we meet with for Bible study and fellowship. We talk about this frequently at work, especially when we are planning for our turn to host one of these gatherings. Our old work partner, Lavonne, started calling these groups, "Mugwumps". Why? I don't know, but somehow the name stuck. My group gets together every other Sunday night most of the year. In the summer, we are not quite as regular, but we got together at our house tonight and talked about what is going on in our lives. We always have good discussion and spend some time praying for each other and anything else that comes up.
As you can see, we also spend time eating. You can see most of our group in these pictures. One of the men is a Fire Captain, and was working tonight, so we missed his usual good humor. We are blessed to be part of this group that studies, prays, laughs (and eats) together!
Friday, July 6, 2007
Something New
I wanted to share a find with you. I have been looking for some time for a plate rack that holds a few plates in black. I have seen ones that friends one, but can never find one to buy. A few weeks ago, a co-worker came in to work and wanted to show us something she had purchased as a gift for a friend. It was a black plate rack and could be purchased right in my town. I like it even better than the ones I have seen before because it doesn't just stand straight. It can fold together when not in use. Better yet the racks hold large plates, salad size plates or bowls so it can be used for many things. There were plates available at this store also but they each cost $10 and weren't in a pattern that fit what I wanted. I thought I would just look around for something more reasonable. I found plates that were just the look I wanted at Walmart. There was an entire set there for only $24. I am really happy with how this turned out and plan to try it out Sunday night when we have friends over.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Our July Fourth celebration
This year we had my side of the family over to celebrate the holiday. It was also a chance for many of them to see Andy again before he leaves. This year there were several of us taking lots of pictures. Most people cooperated, although there were a few that were being difficult! We also celebrated a few birthdays. The top picture is Shaelyn and Halle playing in the bushes. Next is Bob with Arianna, who is helping him with his birthday cards. The stilts came out and were tried out by Laura, Nick and Andy. The bottom photo is a picture of all the cousins. We had to take quite a few to get one where everyone is cooperating, but I'm happy with this one. It was nice to spend a day relaxing and enjoying family. I have to thank my friend Nancy for agreeing to trade holidays with my so I could enjoy this last one with Andy here!