Seed Swap Excitement

How excited do you think I was when I opened my mail box and saw this big fat envelope?

To be honest at first I thought it was yarn, because that would just be super great if someone sent me a big bag of yarn(FYI, I prefer natural fibers. ;0p). But then I realized it was from the seed swap Howling Hill started. And I was just as excited about the seeds as I was when I thought it was yarn(are you getting the idea that I have a thing for yarn?) I signed up last year but the seeds never made it to me. This year though everybody was able to take and give and send it on and now it's my turn.

Jenna Z. over at Corgipants sent them to me, funny thing I forgot to mention to Jenna Z. I use to live in her neck of the woods. Kind of ironic isn't it.

I chose these veggies and flowers:

Watermelon-Moon & Stars, Chelsea and Sugar Babies

Squash-Gold Nugget
White Tipped Scarlet Radish

Eggplant-Long Purple

Sweet Fennel

Cucumber-Marketer

Pumpkin- Rouge d'etamps and Blue Moon
Peppers-Pretty In Purple

White Cleome

Swamp Milkweed

False Indigo

Larkspur (Pink)

Yellow 4 O'Clocks

And I put these seeds in:

Veggies:

Rhubarb

Tomatoes-Black Krim and Amish Paste

Parisian Pickling Cucumber

Heat Tolerant Lettuce

NuMex Big Jim Chili Peppers

Green Culinary Sage

Grandma Eink's Dill

Flowers:

Tall Blue Larkspur

Bee Balm

Gian Imperial Larkspur

Black Hollyhocks

Sunflowers-dwarf mix

Red Columbine

Giant White Moonflower

Cabbage Leaf Poppies

Rose of Sharon

I'm mailing them off to Melissa @ Melissa's Ramblings.

Knitting News

Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting........ Pretty much if I'm sitting still somewhere I've been knitting lately. I'm still working on this and today I posted here on the many items that go along with him. As well as, a pair of socks thrown in there for good measure. Cause ya know I can't just do one thing at a time.

Sheldon is not done. In addition to the animal costumes there are a couple of "career" costumes I have to knit yet and I've been toying, ha get it, with the idea of a couple more outfits. Of course I don't have patterns for those outfits so we will see if it happens. If not now maybe later on after I figure out how to make them.

Menu Monday 3/23

Here it is again:

Monday 3/23: Leftovers from weekend

Tuesday 3/24: Superfast Salisbury Steak and Boston Market Dill Potato Wedges

Wednesday 3/25: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Thursday 3/26: Family Style Shrimp Scampi and Oven Roasted Veggies

Friday 3/27: Homemade Pizza

Saturday 3/28: Sesame Chicken Fingers w/ Peanut Sauce and Sesame Garlic Broccoli

Sunday 3/29: Leftovers

Recipe I

Here's the recipes for Runsas, this is a fav at our house, frugalmom's too!

Runsas (Beef and Cabbage Buns w/ cheese)
( Cook's Country Mag. Apr/May 2007 )

Note: Don't overcook the cabbage--you want it to provide some crunch when you bite into the sandwich.

Dough:

3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. veggie oil
2 Tbls. sugar
1 lg. egg
3 1/2 c. all purp flour, plus extra for rolling out dough
2 pks instant or rapid rise yeast
1 tsp salt

Filling:

3 Tbls unsalted butter, 2 Tbls melted
1 1/2 lbs. 90% lean ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped fine
1/2 sm head cabbage, chopped(about 3 cups)
salt and pepper
8 slices deli American cheese (now some would say this is "cheese food", not real cheese and I would agree, but do not skip this or replace it. The creamyness it provides is soooo worth it.)

1. For the dough: lightly grease lg bowl w/cooking spray. Mix water, sweetened condensed milk, oil, sugar, and egg in lg measuring cup. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. With mixer on low, add water mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until shiny and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn dough out onto heavily floured work surface, shape into ball, and place in greased bowl. (Mixing can also be done by hand)
Cover bowl w/plastic wrap and let rest in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

2. For the filling: Melt 1 Tbls. butter in lg skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes, breaking up any lg clumps. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to paper towel-lined plate.

3. Pour off all but 2 Tbls. fat from pan. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage and toss until just beginning to wilt, 2 to 4 minutes. Return beef to pan and season with salt and pepper.

4. To assemble and bake: Adjust oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Working on lightly floured work surface, roll each piece of dough into 7-inch circle. Place one dough round in deep cereal bowl and top with one slice of cheese. Spoon 3/4 cup filling over cheese and pinch edges of dough together to form bun. Transfer bun, seam side down, to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, cheese and filling, placing 4 buns on each baking sheet. Cover buns with plastic wrap and let rise until puffed, about 20 minutes.

5. Bake buns until golden brown, about 20 minutes, switching and rotating positions of baking sheets halfway through baking time. Brush buns with melted butter and serve.

*I think frugalmom told me these freeze well, ours never last long enough to get frozen. ;0)

Menu Monday 3/16

Well, since my blogging has been lean I thought I would start posting my menu for the week. We shall see if it lasts. If something sounds good and you want the recipe let me know.

Monday 3/16: Crispy Pan Fried Pork Chops w/ Beer Braised Cabbage

Tuesday 3/17: Egg Sandwiches and Hashbrown Casserole

Wednesday 3/18: Three Meat Calzones and Salad

Thursday 3/19: Sausage Asparagus Skillet and Salad

Friday 3/20: Homemade Pizza

Saturday 3/21: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Corn & Green Beans

Sunday 3/22: Runsas and Broccoli Casserole

A Surprise or not

I mentioned a project I would be working on a few posts back. Here is the finished product.

After talking to frugalmom, I'm quite sure lil G will not be surprised as it seems he's mentioned several times that I'm knitting him a turtle. But I'm sure he will be pleased anyway, now his mother may not be as pleased. Getting that lil turtle out of his shell and into his other costumes is a bit finicky. But well worth the hours of playtime in my humble opinion.

Sheldon in progress(this is the pattern name, it is my understanding he will be called Franklin)

Naked Turtle!

Finished turtle in the sun.

I'm good at finding things

I'm known around these here parts as "the finder". Lost something, call Mim, within a short period of time I will find what is missing. I'm an observant person. I notice things, little things that other people may overlook. So, when I read this, I bout peed my pants laughing. I live with three males, most of the time they can't find anything.

Now I know why, it's my uterus!

Happy 8th Birthday G

My "baby" turned 8 this last week. I can hardly believe it's been 8 years already. He really wanted to have his party at a gym where they screw you throw birthday parties for children.

He decided mid week that he would like to have a football cake. That brown smudge is, absolutely not a place I dropped icing, it's a spot where a football players cleat ripped the turf.

The birthday boy getting ready to run.

This is how most of the pics turned out that I took. Blurred! Either from the constant motions of the kids or from my lack of camera skills.

Here are quite a few of the kids "stuck" in the foam block pit.

Fun was had by all. Even a Daddy had some fun!

Mrs. Stripes

Isn't she lovely. A friend of mine realllyyyy wants chickens of her own and it will be a while before she gets them. Sooo, I knit her one.

Monsters and such

Go check out what I've been up to lately.

Snow Days

Monday night we started getting snow. Yesterday morning they cancelled school. We had maybe three inches but the forecast was for more and "wintry mix".

Snow Dog

We woke to this. They cancelled school last night about 9PM.

Sooo, this is today. It's beautiful and blinding. We were going to go sledding at the Reservoir but we couldn't make it out of the driveway. Once we hit the snow covered rock lane we were stuck. It took us 10 minutes to get unstuck and back to the garage. So, the boys are playing in the yard and on the hill.

This and That

Not much to write about these days. The whole "done with winter" attitude has taken hold of me. Not my boys though, they have been praying for a big snow. They want to go sledding and we need a big snow for that to happen.

I did post here the other day A Confession of Sorts

I've also started purging and organizing the upstairs. Today was my closet and tomorrow I'll finish it and move on to the Master Bedroom.

Wish me luck, if you don't here from me for a few days send a rescue team. LOL

I Am Second

Some friends of ours past this link onto us. I sat mesmerized listening to their stories. Check it out.

I Am Second

The Shack Giveaway

So, I finally made it through this book, not because it was a difficult read but just because of timing. I received it from Suzanne right around the Holidays and it sat there waiting for me until things slowed down enough for me to get to it.

This book made me cry and laugh. But it also made me ponder some ideas I hadn't really thought about before. It gave me a better understanding of God's love, mercy and grace. Whoever wins this book will be blessed by it I'm sure.

Suzanne's idea was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Shack. So, if you are interested in this endeavor please leave a comment on this post. If you blog about this giveaway let me know that too in the comments and you'll gain an extra chance to win. I will be drawing the winner on Tuesday January 20th @ 9PM.

Eggs, Chickens And Butter

Hmm, the title of this post could be some kind of recipe. But it's not.


This site makes me happy everyday. Even if it's dark and gray.

This was a total surprise. The egg wasn't huge or really even largish. But I cracked it open and out popped a double.

He is just so handsome and shiny.

Some of the girls outside for some scratch. Hmmm, what's that over there on the left?

A closer look, I notice this occasionally on different girls. Hmmm, I think someones been taking a ride?

Here's the Butter part of this post. Here she is in sit and stay mode, trying really hard to stay.

And this is what happens when she's in sit and stay and I squat down to try to take a picture at a different angle.

And this is her trying to give me and the camera a great big kiss. This picture is sooo Scooby- Doo to me

Coop Improvement

I saw this grit/shell dispenser over at Farm Mom's blog a while back. That girl is always inspiring me with her ideas. I had C take a look and he said no problem. He had it together in no time and installed it right away. It works great and no more spilled grit or shell.

This Was A Challenge!

Farm Mom over at Children In The Corn has issued a challenge

Challenge: 4th picture folder, 4th picture

So, here's mine:

Mmmm, homemade applesauce. Something to look forward to next fall. All of these jars are empty now. I have lots in the freezer though. This fall I will check out the local orchard that I didn't' know about last fall. And hopefully I will have lots and lots of this on my pantry shelves.

Feel free to play along.

A trip to the big city

Today we ventured out of our comfort zone to the big city to the west of us. It takes a little under two hours to get to the big city and it takes just about forever to decide where to eat. LOL Since my surgery eating out has been an adventure. Finding things I can eat and enjoy has been a little difficult. Soup is a definite standby right now but I'm finding as long as I'm careful, eating small bites, chewing really well and slowly I can start adding things to my menu choices. We were looking for someplace that served soup or pasta and thirty minutes after we had reached our destination finally found an Olive Garden. Thank goodness for GPS.


There are lots of things to do there but we were just there to take care of some Christmas gift returns and exchanges. The biggest and most exciting part of our trip for all the men was to go to Cabela's. We stopped in at the Aeropostale store and exchanged a shirt for P, then it was off to Cabela's. I made it 30 minutes before I abandoned them for better shopping. I hit the Marshall's and found and purchased these. I've been looking for something like this to show off my hand knit socks. I got them for $25, originally $110, what a deal. We were also in search of a game for G. He's been on the "hunt" for this game since before Christmas. We finally found it at a Gamestop, twenty five minutes from our house. It was a good day, a little crazy with all the people, but still a good day spent with my men.

Happy New Year! 2009

Wow, a lot happened in 2008.

I'm looking forward to 2009. Lots of goals:

1. Finish our basement (by finishing it I mean actually starting the work so it's usable for family life) this will include: family room, bathroom, bedroom, storage room, utility room and the best thing a craft room for me.
2. Purge and Organize the upstairs
3. Continue with Piano lessons
4. Start exercising regularly
5. Two vacations: One will be the annual family trip up north the other will be just the four of us some place interesting.
6. Plan and execute a much larger vegetable garden
7. Set up a shop on Etsy and start selling my creations.

These are a few things, I may add to this list as inspiration and needs arise.

What Christmas is really about......