Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 It's apple season!  One of my favorite recipes with apples is this apple pie.  This is a recipe that I took parts of 2 different recipes and put together. It's really good. The filling is sweet and juicy, and the crunchy topping is perfect.

Mom's Apple Pie
Combine:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Press out any lumps. Add 6 large tart apples, peeled and sliced. Toss well.
Place unbaked pie crust in 9 inch pie plate. Fill pastry shell with apple mix.
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Stir together sugar and flour, then cut in better until mixture is crumbly. Spread over filling.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes or until browned.

Wordless Wednesday

 

A little prim(itive), not so proper!

 My friend Janice, from Prims By the Water is a big fan of primitive decorating. Her house is decorated in that style and she even has a shop where she sells lots of antiques and fun things.
I had mentioned to her in a comment that I have a friend who also loves that style. Janice said I should post some of her stuff sometime.
So, the last time I was at her house, I asked my friend Barb if I could take some pictures and post them.  Barb is a sweetheart, talks a mile a minute and is loads of fun.  That's why I named this post, prim but not so proper.  :)
She was thrilled to share, said she didn't know how primitive her stuff was, but to share anyway.
So, Janice....   here you go!  A few snapshots from Barbs house. She has some real pieces, some reproductions and some that she just bought because she liked them.

I think that sheep is so cute!

I really like the light above the table.
Janice - is this primitive, or Americana, or a mix?
Whatever it is, I really like it.  Her home is always comfortable and inviting.

Pics from the last week

 Here's a few pics of happenings in my world in the last week.

You may remember that we had to get a new drainfield put in this summer, and then take down a big maple tree in the back yard.  This left a big mess back there, with very little lawn left, and flower gardens dug up.   Bob's been hard at work, clearing the weeds that had grown. hauling and leveling dirt and getting ready for a lawn. This week he spread the grass seed and is now trying to keep it watered.  Hopefully we will soon have more than dirt!

In the meantime, here's a look at what's happening in the front yard.  It's raining acorns!  We can literally sit and the porch and listen to them fall.  This is what our whole yard looks like. Can you see them all?  One year Bob picked up 11 wheelbarrows of acorns just from the front yard.  This is looking to be a similar year.

Alaina and Ruby came over and we played a new game I picked up called Mantis. It's a quick, fun game that involves matching colors, stealing cards from each other and trying to score.  They loved it.

Ruby went home for the night, but Alaina stayed over. On Saturday, Alaina went out and gathered a bag of acorns to take home for the squirrels by them.  They always say their squirrels don't get acorns so they take some home.  :)

Before I brought Alaina home, we stopped to see Ann. She's always happy to see us.

The spirea in the back yard have started blooming again!

This cute little cowboy came by on Saturday night.  Heather and Andrew found this costume in a second hand shop and Cassie was so excited, she had to show it to us.

I think she may be the cutest cowboy I've seen.  :)

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 During the summer, our church has several tables set up that people can bring extra produce from their gardens to share.  I've brought in tomatoes and basil, and have brought home things like beans and peppers.
Last week someone brought potatoes and there was still some left when we were leaving so I grabbed some, along with a few peppers.
Then I looked for a recipe that had potatoes and peppers in it and found this one.  It turned out so good, and got a big thumbs up from Bob too.

Balsamic Roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Peppers

1 pound Italian Sausage links, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound potatoes diced (I used my Julienne slicer instead)
1 small sweet onion, sliced thinly
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
1 green pepper, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment or foil.
Mix oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together.  Add  potatoes, peppers and garlic, toss to coat.
Stir in sausage links.
Spread onto baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, then flip with spatula. Bake another 20 minutes until sausage is browned and potatoes and peppers are tender. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and serve.

Wordless Wednesday

 

A little project...

When we were cleaning out my Dad's house and barn, there were 2 old window frames found.  My brother was going to throw them away, but one was in decent condition, and I know how much these things sell for in thrift stores, plus I love old things like this so we took it home.
It sat in the garage for some time while I tried to think about what I could do with it.
Then I had an idea. My friend Kim, over at Exquisitely Unremarkable frequently shows such cute things she does with decals, and I thought this was the perfect time to try using them.

Here's the window. Bob scraped off loose paint and pulled out some random nails.  Then I wiped down the wood frame and washed the glass as best as I could. The glass is very old and had some stains I couldn't get off, but that goes with the old look.

I went to Etsy to find decals I liked that were the right size.

Here's the first decal, lined up where I wanted it and ready to be rubbed on.

One decal on and one to go!  I had flowers to put in the bottom right corner.  That one had much more detail, so was much harder to do, but I got it on.

Here's the finished product!  I really like how it turned out, and it has sentimental value since it came from my Dad's shed.
It's going to be hung by the back door in the garage.
Thanks Kim, for the inspiration!

Random stuff...

 I have a few pics from last week to share with you, just random bits of life!

Do you remember when we cut down the maple tree in the back yard?  Last week, Bob took the main part of the trunk to a friends house to have it cut into boards.  As you can see he got some big boards with live edges and some large pieces that can be turned on the lathe.  Now they have to dry for 1 1/2 to 2 years and then we'll see what Bob does with them.

We are entering a familiar season here - the acorns are falling.  When we sit outside we hear them hitting the driveway.  At night we hear them hit the roof and roll down and off.
Bob was cleaning gutters the other day and this is what he found; acorns. wild cherries and a few leaves. Unfortunately, there are a lot more to fall!

Cassie was over and discovered our Matryoshka dolls.  My sister Cheri and her husband, Mark brought them to us from Russia at 20+ years ago when they adopted our nieces.

She had the best time taking them apart and putting them back together.

She also discovered this chef hat and apron, and had a fun time playing with the play food.

A house that's fairly close to us is for sale.  They got this photo to show the area.  I thought it was so interesting to see from above!  It's a view I've not seen before.
I marked the photo to show you a few things.  There's an arrow (at about 8:00 on the pic) pointing to where our road is, then a circle (at 9:00) where our back yard is.  It's a brown patch right now, because of the drain field we had to replace, so it was easier to find in the photo. There's also a black line at the top of the picture which shows where the Grand River is. Much of the property in the upper left corner is protected State land. 
Now instead of just seeing my street, you have a new view of my neighborhood.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 Since Bob is only working 2 days a week, he's been trying to make a few meals. He's never cooked much; grilling burgers and steaks and making grilled cheese and pancakes has been his mainstays.
So this is a new venture!  I've been keeping my eyes open for things that are easy for him to try out. This is one he did; something a little different and tasty too!

Chicken Club Roll Ups
1 can crescent roll dough
4 chicken tenders, cooked.  You can use Rotisserie chicken, packaged tenders, even breaded ones - whichever you choose
8 slices bacon
4 slices cheese - cheddar, swiss, pepperjack, co-jack. Your choice!
Ranch dressing or BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Open crescent dough.  If you have the type that is just dough, cut it into 4 squares.  If it's the rolls, pinch the triangles together to make 4 rectangles.
Spread about 2 teaspoons of ranch or BBQ sauce on each of the 4 sections.
Add a slice of cheese, torn to fit.
Add 2 slices bacon.
Add chicken over bacon.
Roll up and place seam side down on baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
May serve with extra ranch or BBQ sauce for dipping.
This make 4 rolls, you may double for a larger family.

* Bob made his with BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese, mine had Ranch and swiss cheese.  Both were good!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Sunflower Farm

Last week, I left for work early one morning last week, so I could stop and wander around the sunflower farm. The sun had risen not long before and it was a somewhat cloudy day.  But, the flowers were gorgeous!

This place has things like this set up for photo opportunities. They also provide clippers and jars, so you can cut your own bouquet.
I was only taking pictures on this morning.

They have more than just sunflowers. There are lots of other varieties of flowers to add to your bouquet.

After walking through rows of other flowers, here are the sunflowers!

So many types, big, small, and lots of colors.

Isn't this a pretty color?  I don't know if I've seen one in this shade before.

I am always drawn to the flower buds.  I think they are so intricate and fun to see the different stages.

This one is ready to pop!

Here's a little bee enjoying the flowers too.
What a great way to start a day!  Then it was time to head on in to work.

Reunion!

Last week we had another reunion. This one was with Bob's family. He has 5 siblings, 2 sisters and 3 brothers. His brother Tom has been hosting this for the last 3 years, as he has property with lots of space to hike and play. We had a nice group there, most everyone who lives in the area came.  We even had Bob's Uncle and Aunt there, his moms only living brother, so that was an added treat.

We started off with supper in the garage, grilled hot dogs and brats. There were more people on the other side of the garage.

Cassie was more interested in the stones outside than eating.

Alaina and Ruby enjoyed supper though.

After supper we headed to the back yard.

The kids had fun playing some games, although Cassie may have been messing up this one!  :)

There are hiking trails and a stream down this hill, so lots of people took advantage of those things.

While the older girls were checking out the stream, Laura was playing with Cassie.

One of the boys had to show us the frog he caught.

When the girls came back they were calling for me to take their picture.  This one was an accident, but I thought it was kind of cute.

Here's the picture they were asking me to take.

Soon, everyone gathered around the fire pit.

Kids can find simple ways to have fun!

Most everyone enjoyed some ice cream.

Tom used his drone to get a group picture with Uncle Neal and Aunt Linda sitting in front.

Soon it was getting dark, and it even started to sprinkle.  Time to go home!  This was the sky as we left.
It was a nice evening with family.