The Big Lake

We like to go to Grand Haven and enjoy Lake Michigan and the lighthouse there.  Once it gets warm out, it's full of people and eating at restaurants there means a long wait.  So, we decided to go the other day before the crowds appear.

We had supper at a nice place on the channel. This was our view from inside.  Can you see the lighthouse in the distance?

After we ate, we walked part of the pier.

The last time I was here, there was still ice in the water. It's so good to see the sun shining on it now!

Just a few people on the beach right now.

Even with a cold wind blowing, it's fun to visit the big lake and the lighthouse!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe for biscuits is one I've seen people talking about online but had never tried it.  However, we had friends coming for Easter Dinner right after church.  In looking for food I could make ahead of time, these popped up again and I made them.  The name is intriguing, but they weren't at all greasy, were tender and very tasty. You can whip them up in no time at all!

Butter Swim Biscuits

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place stick of butter in 8x8 glass pan and melt butter.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in buttermilk until combined; be careful not to overmix.
Spoon batter over melted butter in pan. Spread to sides as best you can.
Cut the unbaked dough into 9 squares (3x3).
Bake for 28 minutes or until top is golden.
Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  You can make these ahead of time, just let them cool completely, then cover tightly. Heat for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Happy Post!

Guess what?  After a long, cold, snowy winter, Spring is showing up! I think it's such a happy time of year; blues skies, sunshine, warmer temps...   and flowers!

I wandered around the yard and here's a few signs of Spring.

This is a spirea bush that has burgundy leaves when they open up, but starts out this orangy color.

This cute little blue flower is a wild flower named Star of Holland or woodland squill, that grows in our wooded area.  It's tiny but grows in little patches that we can see from the house.

Here's what it looks like in a patch.

I love seeing these tiny little buds. It amazes me how fast they grow and pop open.

Even the pine trees have new growth.

The daffodils are so cheerful!

Reaching for the sun!

Happy Spring!

"For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land."
Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Easter Celebrations

I hope you all had a blessed Easter! 
We had our kids over on Saturday evening and started the evening with an egg hunt.

Bob and I had hidden eggs in the back yard before they came, but when Laura and Aaron came, they brought a bunch with them too.
When the kids went out to hunt, eggs were scattered across the yard, so they didn't have to look too hard!

 

Alaina and Ruby were very helpful in pointing eggs out to Cassie.

They all came in with plenty!
Here's Cassie....

and Alaina...

and Ruby!

Speaking of Ruby, she was excited to wear these earrings. They are Peep earrings!

Connor was watching all the fun!

We had a nice supper together which included this finger jello for the kids. Can you see what it is?  Those are bunny butts!

On Easter, we had a wonderful service at church, had friends over for dinner after church and then had a relaxing afternoon.
It's good to be together with family and friends and even better to celebrate our risen Saviour.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

I've heard of beef bourguignon often, but have never tried it. I recently found a recipe for it that's made in the crock pot and decided it was time to give it a try.  It turned out really good, the beef was tender and fell apart, the veggies were tasty and it was all contained in a tasty broth.  If you want to try it but don't want to watch over something on the stove all day, here's a recipe for you to try out.

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

5 slices bacon
3 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup red wine*
2 cups chicken broth, separated
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons dried thyme
5 carrots, sliced
1 pound baby potatoes
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp and add to slow cooker. Salt and pepper the beef and add to skillet. Brown for about 2 minutes on each side and add to slow cooker.
Add wine to skillet, scraping in the browned bits on side of pan.  Allow to simmer and reduce.
Stir in 1 cup of broth, tomato sauce and soy sauce.
Whisk together 1 cup of the broth with the flour, until smooth. Stir into sauce in skillet and allow to thicken slightly, then pour into slow cooker.
Add garlic, thyme, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms.  Stir well and cook on low for 8 hours.

* Alcohol in the wine will cook out so this is safe for children. You can substitute broth for wine if desired.

Wordless Wednesday

 (Why did the turkey cross the road?)

Renovation Time!

You may remember that I told you Bob was building new kitchen cabinets for Heather and Andrew.  They have a pretty small kitchen and the current cabinets weren't in good condition.  The plan is to do one section at a time, so the kitchen isn't totally unusable for a long time.  Bob had the upper cabinets made that went over the sink, so a week ago Saturday he and Andrew tore out the old ones.

Here's the before of that area.  For some reason, there was a big bulkhead and the cabinets were hung down low.  You can see that the counters could hardly be used because the cabinets were in the way.

The old cabinets came out quite nicely.

The bulkhead wasn't so easy though, and it made quite a mess!

Then drywalling had to be done.  Bob was at their house almost every day last week, putting up drywall, mudding the seams and sanding.

Andrew put this picture on Facebook last week as Cassie was very involved in "helping"!  Bob said everywhere he went, she was with him telling him "Grandpa, I can help you!"  He loved it.  :)

Andrew did some touch up painting after Bob finished the drywall so that this past Saturday the first set of cabinets could go up.

Bob built these ones to go up to the ceiling, giving them extra storage space.

Happy to have made this much progress!

You can see where the old cabinets used to hang, all the way down by the windowsill.  Heather is already appreciating being able to use the counter space!  Trim needs to be done here yet, but otherwise the uppers are done.  Next up is starting the base cabinets!

Spring Flooding

We live near the Grand River and this time of year, it always floods, mostly from the snow melting.  I always like to go down to the riverfront to see it, and although it's not nearly as flooded as it has been some years, it's interesting to see how high the water can be.

I went to the little riverfront park near us last week and this is how things are looking.

This is the bayou next to the river.  The road that runs next to it is closed, because as you can see, it's impassable!

It's kind of a bleak beauty I think, no leaves on the trees yet and water everywhere.

I always walk under the bridge to see how high the water is.

 

The water is usually quite a bit away from these trees.

On Saturday, I was driving along the river in a different area which shows more of the flooding.

The river is the area in the back.  The area with water in the front of the picture is usually a pasture with cows grazing there.

Here's another shot of that same area, you can see how much water is flooded from the river.

As I said, it's not nearly as bad as other years, but still interesting to see.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

I've heard from several people that steak in the air fryer is really good.  If we have steak, Bob usually grills it, but who wants to stand over a grill in snowy or rainy weather?  So, I decided to give it a try. This was such an easy way to cook a steak, and they came out tender and juicy. If you have an air fryer and don't feel like standing over a grill, this is a good alternative.

Air Fryer Ribeye Steak with Herb Butter

2 - 1 inch thick ribeye steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
coarse salt
steak seasoning

Garlic Herb Steak Butter

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh, shopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh, chopped oregano

Stir herbs and garlic into butter. Place on plastic wrap and form into a roll.  Place in refrigerator.

Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
Lightly coat each steak with olive oil on both sides, then season with salt and steak seasoning.
Place in air fryer basket and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, depending on how done you want it.
Allow steaks to rest for 5-10 minutes before eating.
Right before serving, place a slice of herbed butter on the steak.

*leftover herbed butter can be frozen.  It can also be used on scrambled eggs, potatoes or vegetables.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Start of Spring Break

Alaina and Ruby are on Spring Break this week, and they were actually off last Thursday and Friday as well.  That gave us the chance to pick them up early on Friday and do some fun things with them.

We started by going out for frozen yogurt.  They love this place and it's a good way to welcome Spring, even though it was still pretty cold!

After that snack, we went to a nearby park where they've moved an old one room school house.  I love old buildings like this.

They agreed to let me take a few pictures of them, but wanted me to hurry because they were cold.   :)
Here's Alaina.

and here's Ruby.

Ruby was trying her hardest to pet a duck, but they were too quick.

When we got home we made some Easter egg nests.  They're Rice Krispy treats pressed into muffin tins to make a nest shape.  Once they cool you put candy eggs in them.  We used Cadbury mini eggs.
Alaina wasn't thrilled with buttering her hands to make the nests!

Here's some of the finished "nests".  They turned out cute!

They played a few rounds of Mario Kart with Grandpa.

Lately, we play this Yahoo game every time they come over.  Alaina won this round.  PS - The Pringles can is our marble container.  I think I need to get something better!  :)

The last time they came over, we watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  This time we watched the next one - Prince Caspian.

On Saturday, Bob left early.  He was spending the day at Heather and Andrew's place, tearing out old cabinets and preparing for the installation of the new ones.

We made some bunnies out of white jingle bells.

You glue a smaller bell onto a bigger one, draw eyes and a nose, make ears out of cardstock and glue on a pom pom tail.

Here's our finished bunnies!

The girls said that since Grandpa was at Aunt Heather's house, we should trade him for Cassie and take her for lunch.  Cassie thought that was a great idea!

We went to Chik-fil-A, their favorite place.

They had fun together, and then it was time to go home. As I was driving, they were talking about when they could see each other again.   Good times for all of us!