Voice of the Spirit

I know....I just posted a video from the church on Sunday. But this one just came out today and it is so timely! Who today doesn't feel overwhelmed with so much information and temptations coming at them and wondering what to do? Sometimes we just need to stop and listen to that still small voice within us and tune out the voices of the world.

Click on the title below to view

Voice of the Spirit

Our-True-Identity

Today I am missing church due to allergies. If you saw me right now you would probably go...ewwww, what happened to you eye! You see for the last 3 days my right eye has not only been red, but also swollen and weepy. Couple that with my sneezing and drippy nose and you can see why it is best I am not around the children at church today. I look so bad they might even get scared! :-) I miss going to church and miss my 5 year old primary class. So, while sitting here at home I decided to check out the church web site and came across this video. It is touching and a great message for those who are lacking in self-esteem or beaten down by the expectations of others.

To see...click on the title

Our-True-Identity

Designer dresses...

Kaitlyn in her paper dress

Ally in her dress

What does one do when mom is out running the 'Hood to Coast'? You go to grandma's house and see what she has in store for you.
After watching, movies, playing the Wii, going outside and helping trim dead flowers off the plants, playing on the Plasma Cars and then with dolls, barbecuing hamburgers and roasting marshmallows, it was time for making toilet paper dresses! We have done this once before, but it was a couple of years ago. The girls thought it was a great idea. I bet if I didn't tell you...you would not have guessed that is what they were wearing.....right!?! :-)

Local Farms

This is Bi-Zi Farm...It is very close to our house and I love to stop by for fresh produce.
This is where I usually get our corn on the cob, plums, cucumbers and few other things. I enjoy having this farm so close by but....I have to say that I remain loyal to another farm for all my canning fruit.

This is the inside of Kunze Farm. It is located near the home where we raised the kids. I have been going here for about 3o years. Mr. Kunze passed away a few years ago, but Fran Kunze still runs the place along with her daughter. They are so helpful and have taught me a lot over the years.

This is another view of the store at Kunze farm. They sell jams and jellies and a few other items from local people such as baskets and crocheted throws.
The farm is known for it's hazelnuts and also sells various flavors of honey. I have never been a big honey fan, but Fran and her daughter gave me samplings of the different honeys one year and I became a fan of the blackberry honey, I have a few jars of that in my food storage.
I appreciate living in an area where there are so many varieties of various fruits and vegetables so close to home and for the families who have dedicated themselves to providing them within our area.
Todays shopping list?...More Peaches!

Moments I Treasure in My Mind

Today I allowed my mind to wander as I went about my household chores of cleaning out the refrigerator, sorting through the toys I have for the grandchildren, doing the laundry and other various things. As I cleaned out the refrigerator I thought about the holidays and all the wonderful leftovers that get put into that space and the good times throughout the years of family and friends. As I prepared my chicken tortilla soup for dinner, I thought about how dependent I have become on my crock pot and how much easier it makes my life. When doing the laundry I thought about how nice fresh laundry smells and how much I like things put away and organized. When sorting through the toys, I thought about the upcoming birth of our second grandson....then thought about how sweet it is to feel the breath of a baby on your neck as they sleep cuddled snugly against your shoulder. I also thought about how fun it is to build castles with the building blocks for my granddaughters so they can use their imaginations with their princess dolls. Throughout the day I looked out my window and remembered as a child watching the neighbor's horses run wildly in their fenced areas during a fall wind with the colorful leaves falling around them; and about how much I look forward to putting out the fall decorations once September is here... but grateful there is still some of August left to enjoy. My mind wandered to dreams unfulfilled.....places I would love to go...things I would love to do, people I would love to spend time with. I smile as I realize I still have things to look forward to and more memories to make while I also am filled with gratitude knowing I can look back and draw upon those things that bring happiness to my heart....simple pleasures. You know....it was a good day!

Here we go again...........

I know, I know....I can see you rolling your eyes and thinking, "More canning pictures!?!?!" Well, that is my life in August and I am not going to apologize for it...in fact, I post them because it is something that I feel really good about.
Andrea brought the girls over and we did up the two boxes of apples that were left in the garage, one hers and one mine. We did 22 quarts this morning.

Ally and Kaitlyn love the homemade applesauce and kept asking if they could have a spoon full. They know better than to double dip into the big bowl....so these are a few of the spoons that they used. Yes, there were more! :-)

Finally, Andrea got Kaitlyn a bowl. :-)

Two more days of canning.....

I had bought two boxes of peaches on Monday thinking I could can them them while I waited for my apples to ripens...well, neither seemed ready on Wednesday morning so I went over to the farm and got myself some apricots to can. I wasn't going to do apricots except for the jam I already made, but George informed me he liked them better than I thought he did...and I like them, too...soooooo I canned 20 quarts! Yesterday I finally decided that the apples were ready and went to work and canned 23 quarts of applesauce. After examining the peaches this morning, I think they might be ready tomorrow...I certainly hope so since I have no intention of doing them on Sunday, and Monday and I have Mya here during the day which would make canning more than challenging. I am not sure how tomorrow is going to work out since I still have another box of apples in the garage plus a box of Andrea's. She and I are planning to do them tomorrow, too! I guess it will be a very long day!

Parenting: Touching the Hearts of Our Youth

More quotes

It was time to update up favorite quotes/sayings book.

Here are a few that made the book:

"After everything is said and done, usually more is said than done."

"It is no measure of good health to be adjusted to a sick society."

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."

"Raindrops make a hole in a rock, not by power, but by persistence."

"Being happy and content does not mean that everything is perfect in your life, it just means that you have found ways to overcome imperfections in yourself and others."

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."

"Never fear the shadows, they only mean there is light shining nearby."

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

" Take the most difficult challenge you are facing and turn it into the greatest opportunity to grow simply by changing how you see it. Dead ends then become turning points."

Green Apples

Cooking apples for applesauce

The sieve ready and waiting for the cooked apples

Cut up apples waiting their turn to be cooked in the pot on the stove

Kaitlyn cranking out the applesauce

Ally taking her turn with the sieve.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to rush things. Andrea and I each bought 2 boxes of Gravenstein apples and were anxious to get going on making applesauce. I thought the apples seemed too green, but Andrea is so busy all the time and it is hard to squeeze in large amounts of time to be able to accomplish large tasks such as the apples that we decided to go ahead. Well, we tried to get things rolling today. It didn't turn out to be such a good idea. First of all, Andrea had one thing after another coming up to keep her from getting here earlier this morning so I just went ahead and got everything ready for the applesauce. After waiting for a while and figuring she would be coming soon, I went ahead and started cutting up apples and got the first batch cooked, put through the sieve and in the jars before she got here. I had cut all the apples in the first box. It didn't take me long to realize once I tasted the sauce that the apples were not ready for applesauce...they needed to ripen more. At first Andrea thought it tasted just fine....then I told her I had to add more sugar than usual. When the second batch was done cooking and went through the sieve, Andrea tasted the sauce without the added sugar and agreed that it just didn't taste right so we added more sugar. As enthusiastic as we are to get our canning done, we both came to the conclusion that the rest of the apples can wait until later next week. there is no point in making applesauce loaded with sugar when if we wait, the flavor will be better and less sugar will be needed. It was fun while it lasted! 1 box down...three more to go....then I will buy more boxes. Who knows how much we will end up with ...we go through a lot! :-)

More.....Pickles!

Oh my, what did I get myself into?!? First of all, I have a confession to make. My first batch of pickles I made looked good, tasted good, but....I did mess up. I looked at the wrong directions and over processed them so they got a bit soft. Of course this would not do for giving them out to people, so I decided I had to make another small batch. I did and they turned out nice and crunchy and good....but not quite as flavorful as the first batch. I gave those few away. Well, this morning, I made another batch with the help of Ally and Kaitlyn. That batch went home with them. Then tonight...yes, another batch! So in total I have done 52 quarts of pickles! Now who in their right mind makes that many pickles!?!? Peaches, or applesauce, sure....but pickles?!?!! Only someone who was having a lot of fun. Yes, I said fun. We have more pickles than we usually eat in 3-5 years!!! But at least I now know that I have some good ones to give out. I figure the softer ones will be good chopped up for sandwiches and potato salad...not that I usually make that many sandwiches with pickles..and normally only make potato salad about 2 or maybe 3 times a year. But boy....are they ever going to look good on my storage shelve! :-)

Pickles!

When I was a little girl I learned to view pickles as a special snack treat. I would see my dad go to the refrigerator and grab a pickle. As with so many things, if dad thought that was worthy of being a treat, so did I. Through the years I have fond memories of pickles. I associate them with good times...... on relish trays for the holidays, a side with grilled cheese sandwiches, chopped up in mom's potato salad for a summer treat, etc. I have always wanted to make pickles but different people told me they had bad luck with them....some would come out cloudy, others would be discolored, and yet others would be mushy....so I never bothered. Then this past winter, my cousin Susan came for a visit and brought me a jar of her pickles. The first thing I noticed is that they weren't cloudy and had good color. It took me only until the next day to open up the jar and taste the pickles. George and I both loved them! They were crunchy, garlicy and well, YUMMY!
I vowed right then and there I was going to make pickles this summer. Tonight I did and here are the results. They are not cloudy, have good color, and though I have not tried one yet, I have no doubt they will be wonderful. I just may have to report back tomorrow...for I know George and I will not be able to keep out of them. :-)

Naps

Andrea took Ally with her to Seattle to see her old high school friend, Natalie yesterday. Kaitlyn was suppose to go, too, but decided she didn't want to go and was hoping to spend the night with grandma. Well, grandma has been miserable with her allergies this week and has been coughing, sneezing, has watery eyes, and has not been able to get very much sleep. So another plan was devised. Kaitlyn would come here until her dad got off work and she would have daddy-daughter time in the evening then brought back over this morning and keep grandma company until Andrea and Ally got back today. When Jeremy dropped her off this morning, he suggested that Katilyn take a nap today as she was up late last night and got up very early this morning. I knew she was a little tired by 11:00 so I made her lunch at 11:30 then told her she needed to rest for a little while. She was not happy about that idea, but I told her she could just curl up on the couch with grandma. After a couple of minutes of persuasion, she curled up next to me. I didn't expect her to crash so fast! She usually is very squirmy and will do all she can to resist falling asleep. As soon as she got her blanket over her and tucked her hands under her face, she closed her eyes and was asleep in about 3 minutes!
I remember as a kid also resisting the idea of a nap. It seemed like some kind of punishment to keep me from doing all the things I wanted to do. My how times change. Now I would love to nap more and forget about all the things that await me.

A story not to be told......yet

There are stories that we each have within us that are kept private from many because the impact of those stories on our hearts is considered almost 'sacred' and need to be protected from those who may not understand or appreciate the significance to the degree of those feelings.
The story or (should I say stories) behind these little monkeys is one of those. They seem to tell their own story by the message they convey of speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil. A message that is timeless for all and valued by so few.....like they are.
I feel honored to have these little monkeys and appreciate the trust I have been given in making sure the 'right' people will eventually know the story and honor what they stand for. Yes, I have already shared the story with a couple of people...but the timing isn't right for others...and for some, it will never be.

Family reunion

Today was the annual family reunion picnic of my paternal grandmother's siblings and their families. These picnics began back in 1945.

During this past year, information was collected by cousin Susan

and put into book form by the wife of another cousin, Jen.
They did a great job and I feel very fortunate to have a copy.

It was a beautiful day for a picnic and many people came who I have not seen in several years.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

These are Susan and Jen.

This is Susan and her husband Walter.

Susan did a wonderful presentation about the family; connecting the lines of the family tree and sharing information about the individual siblings of the original family as well as their parents and grandparents

Cousins Dory (and her daughter) and Jim, Susan's brother.

Another cousin, Teresa

Teresa's sister Luann and their mother Myrna with Susan in the background.

My little munchkin Kaitlyn.

I didn't know that Kaitlyn and Ally would be coming to the reunion until early this morning. They had been in Idaho and Utah on vacation with their mom and dad. They all decided to drive through the night for over 12 hours and got home about 7:30 this morning. Andrea and Jeremy were too tired to drive anymore and needed rest before facing the new work week so we took the girls with us to the picnic while their mom and dad stayed home and rested up. We enjoyed having them with us. They were so good.

Ally with great-grandma

Mom and I

Susan and I.....say Cheeeeeeese...actually we said something else which explains the silly smiles.

Mom with Susan's mom

Over all it was a very pleasant day. I was happy to see faces that I have not seen for a long time and some I may never see again. There are only 3 of the original cousins left and it is getting harder to get the next generation together.
It is amazing how time goes by....one day I am the granddaughter of one of the original siblings standing by my grandmother's side...today I am a grandmother with grandchildren standing by mine...the 5th generation. There may not be anymore of these gatherings...we shall see. Whether there will be or not, I am grateful to have learned about these people I call family.
Susan.....Thank you! (You know what for.) You are one person I know I will see again...you are not only family, you have become a dear friend. This has been an amazing year of reconnecting and learning. I look forward to what lies ahead!