September Photos

 September is all about birthdays for us. My girl is now 24. Heather, how did this happen? Our Baby Shayla (niece) is now 8. And not quite a baby anymore. Cannot believe how fast the years have gone.

They shared a party this year. We never do themes, but this year I did an Alice in Wonderland tea party. Heather loves her some AiW!! I had the dining table set up with roses and cupcakes, cookies, cake, and other goodies. We had turkey and ham sandwiches on party buns with a bit more "real" food. The small photo is a treasure to me. It is of my girls when Heather was 16 and Shayla was 3 months. We had so much fun that day. Did you notice the googly eyes on the roses? hahaha You have to have googly eyes on your flowers for anything with Alice you know. It was a good day.

Then daddy had his birthday next. He and Jaidy were playing around. Daddy was getting ready to blow out his candles. He had a willing helper. A good pic of both their happy faces.

Jaidyn loves my wormies. Glad she is not too girly to get her hands dirty. She would carry one or two around and then trade them for others. Lots of worming loving and then hand washing.

This Little Miss LOVES my poor Timmy cat. They have a love/hate relationship. By looking at the pics, can you guess who does what? :o))) That is a very tight death grip hug she is giving him.

I am blessed. ~Angela

God bless America

Tomato Quiche

I know. I am turning this into a recipe blog. But hey, we all gotta eat! This is a nice way to use summer's bounty.

Tomato Quiche

1 unbaked pie shell

2-3 good sized tomatoes sliced (If they are very seedy, remove that part. It will make the bottom of the quiche too wet.)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 medium onion sliced into rings

1 cup shredded cheese

4 beaten eggs

1 tablespoon of milk or cream

salt and pepper to taste

Place the tomatoes into the pie shell, overlapping as needed. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning. Arrange the onion slices evenly. Sprinkle the shredded cheese. Mix the beaten eggs and the milk together and pour over the cheese. (I add the salt and pepper to the egg mixture and then pour.) Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45 minutes or until the center is set. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. This will allow the eggs to finish cooking. Enjoy! Makes great leftovers. I actually prefer it cold. You could also add very thinly slices zucchini.

I am blessed. ~Angela

Come see us at the market!

Penny and I set up each Saturday (with Mark's assistance) at the semi-local farmer's market. It is the best! It is in Orleans, Indiana. I am totally serious people, this is the best market. And well worth your drive if you live in southern Indiana. Tons of homegrown produce. Many of it organically tended with loving care. Yummy bake goods. Amish made baskets. Unique handcrafts. All in one place. The past few weeks, there have been over 70 vendors in attendance. And closer to 80 I think. As the season goes along, the numbers will increase also. It is a tiny little town with a sweet courtyard that we are allowed to use. Many nice shade trees and a playground for the kiddies. AND the music! The music happens in the Jammer's Tent. The local folks bring their instruments and voices and have a great time. All ages. Any acoustic instrument welcome. From guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, banjos, washboards, autoharps...you name it! The talent is amazing. Love the bluegrass and hymns that these blessed people bring to our ears. We are fortunate in that our tent is beside their area. The market is every Saturday from 8-noon. Come October, the hours change will be 9-noon.

Here is our Miss Jaidyn. Isn't she a doll? She went to a tutu party and had her photo taken. Aunt Angie loves this baby girl. Who is growing up toooo quickly!

I am blessed. ~Angela

Easypeasy Lemon Cake

Lemonade Cake

Bake your favorite white or yellow cake. If you LOVE lemons, bake a lemon flavored cake. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Prick the top with a fork. While your cake is baking, mix a 6 oz. container of frozen lemonade with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Stir often. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. I used a basting brush to help spread the glaze evenly. That is it! A simple refreshing dessert. You could also add Cool Whip topping or make your own whipped cream topping. I am going to try it with orange juice next. The glaze could also be used with pound cake or angel food cake. 

I have checked the weather forecast this morning. Not looking too good. They said at least 40 states will have temps OVER 90 degrees in the coming week. Many will have a heat index over 110, including us here in Indiana. We got a big ole rain storm yesterday. While the gardens loved it, definitely more humid now. Wherever you are, hope you are able to find a cool spot to nest down with your creating. 

Off for treatment #2 here in a bit. :o) In everything give thanks, right? So I am thankful for a car with air, a nice facility and staff to get my meds, air in my home, clean sheets on my bed and my precious family and friends.

I am blessed. ~Angela

Soughdough Bread Recipe

Here is the basic bread recipe I use.

2 c. soughdough starter

2 T. oil

4 t. sugar

1 t. salt

3 c. all purpose flour

I only actually mix in  2 cups of flour. The third cup I knead into the dough. If you have a wetter dough, add it in the bowl. Knead bread approximately 5 minutes. Shape into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl to make sure the top is oiled also. Cover with a towel and allow to rise. When you poke your finger into the dough and the hole does not fill back in, the dough has risen. Turn out onto the counter and knead 5 more minutes. Shape into loaf. Allow to rise again. Place into oven to bake at 350 degrees. Do not preheat the oven, but rather place the bread into a cold oven. Standard baking time is 30- 35 minutes. Bread is done when the top is golden and the bread makes a thumping noise when tapped. Watch the bottom to make sure it does not get dark, this is my problem area. This recipe has been a good sandwich bread, little crumb when sliced. 

I am blessed. ~Angela

Here I am

I haven't felt, well, very bloggy this past month. The pleurisy is gone but I still have a touch of pneumonia. Have been trying to keep the house up and do my crochet work for Farmer's Market. And the weeds from my flower gardens. They are really pretty easy to maintain. Just the stray ones here and there. We use a heavy compost/mulch each year to feed them and it really does the trick. This year they are gorgeous! Every year we are moving and changing things. Mark enjoys them thankfully. I would never have any of this if he didn't. The front is a mass planting. And as they self sow and increase, we divide and move them around. This is a pic of the front corner along the drive. You will notice we do not have a door mat. 1.) The wind blows it away each and every time and 2.) No one uses this door. We use the side door. 

 From left to right...cat mint, chives, pink yarrow and yellow cone flowers. The yarrow and cone flowers are new to this spot, so haven't filled in yet. Past the bunny is our blue Siberian iris's. Gorgeous purpley blue when they bloom. It got hot so quickly this year, they didn't have very long to perform. They are like a hedge to cover the house foundation.

 The two lovelies above are from Sarahbeth. My new sourdough starter. Alas, Charlotte Rose didn't make it. We tried, but it just wasn't meant to be. The rainy damp weather we had, was not a good time to make sourdough starter or sponge. She just didn't take. BUT Sarahbeth is doing very well. This is my second batch from her. Those are full size dinner plates. A nice texture with very little crumb. Delish

My mom has loaned me her camera. She hadn't used it for some time, so I have pics! It is just a borrow until I can buy one. Unforeseen expenses...Mark's truck repairs, lawn mower died and I need two front tires on Ladybug has sucked up our Market money. But there is still a lot of season left! :o) Man oh man, last Saturday was killer hot. I am thinking this Saturday will be even hotter! We have a canopy Praise The Lord! And are in a lovely spot. No complaints.

Here is an easy recipe for Italian Chicken. Cut your chicken breast into strips. Boil until tender. Drain well. Place Italian salad dressing into a bowl. It doesn't take alot. Add your chicken while hot. Coat the chicken well and let it set for 10 minutes. YUMMMM You can heat it up in the microwave or in a skillet (no need to oil it) or eat it as is. It will still be warm. We ate pieces of the sourdough bread with it and used the dressing as a dipping sauce.

Well, today I start chemo again. I thought I had better play catch up with you all today before I left. Not looking forward to it. But am thankful for the skills of man and the grace of God. The next 8 weeks or so will be over soon I keep telling myself.

Hope everyone is finding a cool spot and doing something they love.

I am blessed. ~Angela

Got the tshirt!

We came. We walked. We got the tshirt. :o)

I was so very proud of mom for making the walk. She suffers from several illnesses, not the least being degenerative bone disease in her spine and shoulders. This is a horribly painful disease and makes walking and sitting very difficult. This photo is after our survivor lap. Daddy could out walk all of us. He walks his farm's hills and hollows every day. A quarter mile around a flat track was nothing for him. :o) Heather walked the caregiver lap with me. And even Miss Jaidyn walked a whole lap. Debbie and Penny were both there to support us. A big thank you to all that supported us in The Relay for Life. Cancer is a wicked thing and the cure needs to be found NOW.

Happy Father's Day Daddy! You are the best daddy to your girls. We love you! Yesterday we had our family celebration. A farmhand supper of chicken/dumplings, green beans/potatoes, buttered carrots, deviled eggs, cottage cheese and tomatoes. Pineapple cake for dessert. Simple fare is so good.

I am blessed. ~Angela

It is time!

Our Relay for Life is this Friday! You can go HERE to read my story. You will also find the donate buttons there. (hint hint HINT) I will walking the Survivors Lap with Mom and Daddy. That one lap around the track will be hard to accomplish. But we will get'r done. I have pleurisy again in both my lungs. A huge thank you to all that have supported me financially in this. I completely realize that monies are tight. No worries or pressures for anyone. Just offering you the opportunity.

I am blessed. ~Angela

Simple Dessert Recipe

1-large box of Jello of your flavor choice (I used sugar free cherry)

3 cups boiling water

1-tub of thawed Cool Whip topping ( again, I used sugar free)

Stir together the gelatin and boiling water for at least 2 minutes. Blend in the topping. Place into a pretty clear dish for the "aaaaaaaaahhh effect". Chill until set. The mixture will separate as it chills. The bottom layer will look like regular gelatin, the second layer will be a softer milkier color, the top layer will look more like the topping. It was very refreshing and so simple. I will be making it for our Fourth of July family event. The recipe came off the side of the box by the way :o) Sorry no pic of the finished yumminess, still no camera.

I am blessed. ~Angela

Set up at a lovely quilt show

 I received an opportunity to set up a table space at a quilt show near Evansville, IN. The show was sponsored by Quilts N Bloom. The guest speaker was the designer of Kansas Troubles fabric (sold by Moda). There was a few other vendors and a humunnnngous display of toy and salesman sample sewing machine. To. Die. For. There were prob 150-200 of them. We crammed our table and even used the skirt tail of the quilt covering the table to create a bit more display space. This is Penny's hand dyed wool yarn. So yummy.Debbie took these pics with her phone. Technology! Amazing stuff :o) The table booth was a bit rumpled up in the photos, but that was a good thing. It meant folks had been lookylooing about. Pristine means, no touching/no buying. We like messy.

 Ridiculously full table. Pincushions of several different mediums, wool covered tape measures, felted small bags and wool Teddies were the gist of it. I couple of painted goodies also.

Don't know what the smirky smile is about, but here I am with 2 hours sleep. After getting up at 5am and driving 2 hours. :o) But all good and worth it. Got to see some sweet friends (my shout out to Phyllis and Dawn), spend time with my sister Debbie who was a doll to come along and made a bit of money. Always a nice thing. Penny and Mark did the Farmer's Market for us, so we were spread out thin that day. Made us all think of the old craft show days. Our next show will be a wool show (rug hooking being the primary focus but lots of great primitive and craft vendors also) in September. I will have a 10' x 10' space there.

Just thought I would show you a bit of my day last Saturday. 

I am blessed. ~Angela

The Reason for the World by Matthew West

Just a thought

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

~Teddy Roosevelt

I am working on contentment in my life. I thought this quote applied to that idea well. 

I am blessed. ~Angela

All gave some. Some gave all.

" I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Genesis 12:2-3.

I am so blessed. ~Angela

It's not easy being green...

At least that is what Kermit always says. But it isn't hard either. Honestly, for me, it is just remembering! I have been trying to think more about things. That is where that phrase to me, living intentionally, really comes into play. There are so many big things we can do. But then there are all the little things that add up to the big things too. Not grabbing a paper napkin for a spill. Not using a foam plate when I feel too lazy to wash a dish. Turning off lights in empty rooms. Planning all my errands in one day instead of two. Using both sides of a piece of paper. Adding layers instead of turning up the gas heat. (And I guess this works in the reverse in the heat of summer??? Maybe then we should just drink more water and sweat it out. hahaha) Saving those pop cans. Reusing plastic bags or taking our own cloth bags to the store. Just a bunch of little stuff. That takes an extra step or just remembering. I am trying. Of course if you can get your entire family on board, it will be even better. And easier. You do not need a cleaning product for each room of the house. Honestly. A spray bottle with 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar will clean your kitchen, bath and windows/mirrors. Baking soda works in place of bleach. Just takes a bit of elbow grease to go with it on stubborn stains. Vinegar in the rinse cycle is the best fabric softener. I use it in an old Downy ball. There is no stinky smell when you get the clothes out of the washer as you normally associate with vinegar. Not everything has to go into the dryer. Your towels feel great line dryed. A great skin softener also in the exfoliating. Shocking fact I know! A clothes line or a drying rack are easypeasy to use. It has just got to become a habit. In the winter hanging your wet clothes (blouses, tshirts, nities...) on the shower rod help with the dry air that makes our noses all stoppyupped. A bowl of water on the floor register helps with this also. No machine needed for everyday use. Composting your yard and food scraps. It is okay to take the extra steps to the side yard. We can all use the exercise. (Totally talking to ME here!) And here is another shocker, please do not stone me, a dishwasher is not a necessity. I am not a huge Goodwill store person. I prefer to give my clothes and other "cleaned out items" to church ran thrift stores and The Salvation Army. Places that help local people in need at a reasonable price or even free. Our local Goodwill is as expensive as a new retail shop now. JMHO

I know this is all stuff some of you are probably already doing. This is only the tip of the proverbial being-thrifty-saving-the-world-one-plastic-bottle-at-a-time iceberg. I wrote this mostly as a reminder to me to keep doing it. It is worth it. I am worth it. My family is worth it. Saving money is worth it. Saving energy is worth it. Just being AWARE is worth it. I so wish I had taught my daughter more of these ideals when she was at home. I am trying to encourage her now as a young married woman. She listens. And the only time she has really shook her head at me is over my wormie farm....I don't think she will getting wormies anytime soon. :o)

I am blessed. ~Angela