A Day at the Lake

Today was hot so I decided to take the kids to the lake. Because we live in West Texas, a dry area, finding a swimming hole isn't easy. The only place I know of that has enough water for swimming is Buffalo Springs Lake. It is a pretty place but it isn't free so we do not go very often. The cost is $5 per adult and $3 per child.

Our outing began with my Personal Chauffeur at the wheel.

Here we are entering the lake area.
This is the small beach where we spent the afternoon.
The water felt good and since it was a weekday we were not over crowded.
This was the very first time Elizabeth had ever been to the lake.
The day turned out nice but we are now exhausted and very sunburned!

Quilt Along Update

Well, the quilt top is finished! I am so pleased with how it has turned out.After I machine quilt it I am planning on using red for the binding.
I am very glad I participated in the quilt along. Knowing I needed to keep up with everyone else helped me stay focused and not find an excuse to put it away for a later time. I already have too many projects sitting around waiting to be finished.

Back to Normal

Elizabeth began feeling better last night.This morning she had a good appetite.

Is full of energy.

And is pretty much back to her energetic self.

Sick Day

Elizabeth woke up this morning with a sick stomach.So, all day she has laid around and been waited on.
Too bad she was too sick to appreciate being spoiled!

A Full Day

Today while I was working on Rani's pillow Elizabeth wanted to play in the sprinkler.
We gave Pat a weed eater for Father's Day and he has really been putting it to good use.
The grass and weeds were so high around the little trees that you could only see the tops of some.
The weed eater has made it very convenient to get close to the trunk of a tree without cutting into the irrigation hose.
I love how everything is looking.
When you stand in the middle of the trees it is like standing in a miniature forest.

Pillow Project

Jonathan has been after me lately to make a pillow for Rani to sleep on and since I was feeling lazy today I decided today was the day to get busy and make one.

I used a medium weight canvas type fabric with red stripes that I found at the thrift store last year. This fabric reminds me of the old blue stripped pillows we used when I was growing up.

Once the pillow was made I lined the inside with quilt batting leftovers and filled it up with a soft foam stuffing that I purchased for 50-cents a bag at a garage sale last year. It took two bags to fill the pillow.
Once the pillow was complete I took an old sheet and made a pillow case. I am hoping the pillow case will help keep the pillow clean. Rani didn't know what to think about her new bedding.
Jonathan laid next to her but she still wasn't sure about it.
I imagine in a couple of days she will love it. Hopefully she will shed more on the pillow and less on the couches.

Canning Jars

During Tex Prep Jonathan over heard one of his teachers talking about having an excess of canning jars that she wanted to get rid of. Jonathan told her I did canning and would be interested in them.

Today, while in town, we went to pick up the jars. I was shocked at just how many jars we ended up with.

The boxes of jars completely filled up the back of my explorer;
All the way up to the front seats.
There are many vintage jars;
With wonderful vintage lids. I love using vintage jars to store spices in.

I even found some bluish green jars. At antique stores these sell for $6 to $7 a piece.

Chicken Enchiladas

Begin your chicken enchiladas by chopping your chicken into small bite size pieces.
Grate some Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese.
A lot of people heat their corn tortillas in oil before adding to their enchilada sauce but that is not necessary; simply heat a tortilla over a flame until warm.

Place in your enchilada sauce;
And cover it in sauce. Do not leave in sauce too long or the tortilla will tear.
Now place the tortilla in your baking pan;
Add some chopped chicken;
And some cheese.

Roll the tortilla and scoot it to the side.
Continue until your dish is full.
Top with more cheese.
If you do not want to roll your enchiladas simply place your tortillas flat in your baking pan.
Add your chicken.

And your cheese. Continue layering until the pan is full.
Top with cheese.
Bake at 350 until the cheese is brown.
Now it's time to eat.

Home Made Enchilada Sauce

Here is a step by step guide to making great tasting enchilada sauce. The secret to this recipe is to use chicken broth instead of water. When I boil a chicken, along with adding some salt, I add an onion and one or two Jalapeno peppers that have been blended until smooth. This adds great flavor to the chicken as well as makes a very rich broth.

Now, first begin by melting 2 to 3 tablespoons shortening in a skillet. Next add 3 tablespoons flour.
With a wire wisk blend the flour and melted shortening.
To this add 2 tablespoons red chili powder.
Continue stirring until blended and thick.
Begin adding chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time. The amount of broth used depends on how thick or thin you need your sauce to be.
Continue blending to remove all lumps.
When your sauce begins to look and feel like thick paste;
Add more broth.

Continue stirring.
Add broth again.
And keep stirring until it is just right.
Add salt to taste at this point.Now your sauce is ready; it looks and smells great!

Peach Season Has Ended

The last peach tree has now been picked. The birds and wasps ate at least half of the peaches.

But we still managed to collect quit a few.
And we canned 10 quarts this evening.
I love being able to see how the peaches look inside the jars.

Glass is so much nicer than a can.

Quilt Along Block 13

Finally, my last block is complete and I can now add the final row to the quilt top.Once the top is complete then the borders are next!

Finished Quilt

On Sunday I began the final stages of the scrap quilt I have been working on for the past several weeks.I began by spreading it out on my bed, a king size, so I could pin the 3-layers.
It took me all day to do the machine quilting.
By evening I was exhausted so I set it to the side until morning so I could have a fresh start on trimming the edges and adding the binding.
The quilt really turned out pretty; it is the largest quilt I have ever machine quilted.
Now that it is finished I only lack boxing it up to ship.

The lady I made this for loves pink and I think she is going to be so pleased. I like it so much it is hard giving it up.

Fresh Peaches

Yesterday we picked peaches again. They are riper than the last ones but still not just right. The birds are really eating them up so we had no choice but to pick again. We lack one more tree to be picked and we are hoping to hold off for another day or two.

This time I had enough peaches to can some. I love how they look in the jars.
I even had enough for a cobbler.
Click HERE for the recipe.

The house smells so good right now I'm not sure I can wait until lunch time to begin eating the cobbler.

Freezing Corn

The kids like to eat corn while it is still on the cob, but my freezer was too full to hold much more so I decided to freeze Grandma's corn off the cob.

First you will need several pans, I used a large stock pot with lid, a large dish pan, cake pans, a strainer, tongs, a knife, a timer, ice cubes and zip lock bags.

I began water to boil in the stock pot while I set out everything else on the counter.
To my dish pan I added two to three trays of ice cubes.
The corn was then washed and set to the side to wait for the water to begin boiling.

When the water was ready I quickly added several ears of corn, being sure not to add too much at one time.
To blanch the corn it must stay in the stock pot covered for 4-minutes.
When the timer went off I quickly removed each ear of corn;
And placed it into the iced water.
The corn stayed in the iced water for 4-minutes.

When the timer went off again the corn was moved to a strainer.
Now it was time to cut the kernels from the cob.

The kernels slide off the cob with ease.

In no time my pan filled up with tiny corn kernels ready to be put into zip lock bags.
This was the first time I had ever prepared corn in this way; I usually just freeze it on the cob. The process was very easy and not time consuming in any way.

Going to Grandma's

Grandma from Slaton called this morning to say Grandpa planted too much corn and they had an abundance. She wanted to know if we would like to come and get some?

Well, I had a freezer full of corn on the cob and wasn't sure if I wanted more; especially since my freezer is full to the brim. But, free corn is tempting so the kids and I went to Grandma's and picked corn. The ears were infested with worms, mostly at the tip of the cob. This was great because that meant the chickens would get a treat.
After shucking the cobs we cut the tips and fed this to the chickens.
We worked outside under a very large shade tree with the chickens under foot. We have a very comfortable cushioned swing that works well for sitting and doing your work.

Grandma also sent us home with some white cucumbers. I had never seen these before but they tasted just like a regular green cucumber.
Supper was corn on the cob.
Everyone enjoyed it a lot.
Especially Elizabeth.

Music Lessons

After many years of paying for private music lessons for Jonathan, they are now paying off!

Elizabeth wants to learn how to play violin; but until I find an affordable teacher she will begin her music career learning piano.
We have our very own live in piano teacher.
His rates are perfect;
Who can beat FREE!!!!!

Evening Moon

Last night I went outside to get some ice cream from the store room. The moon was full, gentle clouds were floating by and all was still. I quickly went back into the house to see if Jonathan could take a photo to capture the moment.It is hard to photograph in the dark but I still love how it came out.

Quilt Along Progress

On Monday I will be putting together the 13th and final block for the Star Quilt-a-long. Since I have little patience I decided to begin sewing my finished blocks together while I am waiting for Monday to arrive. I have all but one row attached. Once the final row has be added then all I will lack are the borders.I am getting so excited about finishing up my new quilt; it is so pretty I'm not sure where to put it.

My Son the Rocker

For the past 4-years Jonathan has been participating in a 7-week summer program at Texas Tech called Texprep. At the end of 7-weeks the kids have a talent show which everyone looks forward to each year. Usually Jonathan plays his classical guitar but this year he wanted to do something different; so he and two of his friends played a rock song.

Here is a link to the 8-minute performance;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZOXA7qGCZQ

The boys had a great time and they won 1st place; a $25 cash prize.

Machine Quilting

For the past year I have been searching the web and quilt stores to see various quilting techniques. I love how quilting brings out the beauty of a quilt and I love the texture of a finished quilt. Stippling is the main technique I use the most but it doesn’t always work with each quilt style. I have and use a walking foot but this too does not work with every style.

Last week I began my normal stipple technique on this charm square quilt. I wasn’t happy with it so I spent several days ripping out two rows of stipple; it was a very time consuming job.

Once the stitching was removed I began searching the web to get ideas for something different and unique; but I wasn’t able to find what I was looking for.So, I decided to combine two techniques. I used my walking foot to sew vertical and horizontal lines.
Next I used a simple technique called Loops and Swirls for each colored charm square.
The end result was one of the nicest quilting jobs I have ever done.
I love the feel and the look of this quilt and I am excited about trying something new again on my next quilt.

Good Food Good Fun

While I was in the kitchen making these;Elizabeth was in the living room doing this;You just can't beat good food and good fun!

Quilt Along Block 12

OK, I am now on track; this is block 12 and I only have one more block to go and it will be time to put all the squares together.Boy, it feels so good to be nearing the end!

Peaches

Well, the bugs are eating all the peaches and we are now forced to pick them, unripened, or do without. There are several trees so we are picking from the smaller ones first.

This tree has the most peaches and we are going to wait until the last minute before picking in hopes some will ripen before the bugs can eat them all.So, what does one do with a small basket of unripened peaches?
You make peach preserves!
The taste is incredible!

Potato Crop

Yesterday I dumped out one of my potato containers since I saw blooms on the plant. I had read on the Internet that your potatoes would be the size of New Potatoes when you see blooms. What did I see? I saw ants and other assorted bugs and no potatoes. The chickens had a feast on all the bugs.

Tonight I decided to dump out a second container; guess what I found?That's right, two new potatoes! They look just like a radish to me and are about the size of a radish. I let the chickens enjoy these, the next batch will be all mine!

Today’s Bargains

Each Thursday I go to town for Jonathan’s guitar lesson and Elizabeth’s dance class. While in town I usually do shopping and run errands. Today I found some really good bargains and some really good sales.

At Wal-Mart I purchased all of this for $4.50; before coupons the total was $11.92. Here’s the breakdown;
Johnson’s Buddies soap 94-cents each; Free after my $2 off two coupon
Post Just Bunches $2.50; 50-cents after my $2 off coupon
Sandwich Cookies 50-cents, regular price 98-cents
Kraft Marshmallows 88-cents each; 63-cents each after my 50-cent on two coupon
Kraft Bar-b-que sauce 78-cents roll back price
Planters Cashews 1-lb can $4.50; 1.50 after my $3 coupon (this coupon was only good if I purchased 3 Kraft, Nabisco, or Oscar Myer products so I searched for the items that cost the least)

At a local grocery store they are having a summer game sweepstakes. The store gives scratch off tickets for a chance to win money as well as a special code for a chance to win coupons for food items through their web page. Today I purchased all of this for $9.78; before coupons the total was $20.39.Here’s the breakdown;
1-gallon milk $4.19
Hot dog buns 79-cents
Blueberry yogurt 55-cents; 1-cent after my game coupon
Quaker Oats instant oatmeal $3.79; 1-cent after my game coupon
Quaker Chewy Granola $2.99; 1.99 after my game coupon
Laundry soap $3.99 on sale for $2.50; Free after my game coupon
2 bags potato chips 2/$3.00; $1.50 after my game coupon
2 boxes Pop tarts 1.29 each; $1.29 after my game coupon

I am really having fun learning how to use coupons. A lot of what I have been learning has been from Money Saving Mom. This lady offers so much information and doesn’t charge a thing.

Kitchen Duty

Today I had planned to spend the day in the sewing room but instead I spent the day in the kitchen canning.

It all started this morning when I spotted more crab apple trees in town and stopped to pick some. The tree was so loaded with apples I had enough to make 8 more jars of jelly,
And 9 jars of syrup.
The grocery store had corn on the cob on sale; 8 ears for $1.00. I shucked, steamed and packaged many ears for the freezer.
And lastly I canned 6 jars of salsa. Now I am exhausted but it sure feels good to have accomplished so much in one day.

Oops!

I guess I was getting ahead of myself with the quilt along. I assumed the quilt consisted of 12 star blocks to go along with my 12 setting blocks I had made earlier. After reading earlier today at crazy mom quilts' blog I realized I would be needing 13 star blocks. So, even though I am very near to the end of my quilt along blocks I still have two blocks to go instead of one block I had previously written about.

Quilt Along Block 11

Here is my 11th block; only one more to go.I sure am excited about finally being able to start piecing the blocks together.

Late Night Sewing

My Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law came from El Paso on Thursday to spend the weekend. We have been having such a nice time eating and visiting.While everyone was up late last night shooting off fireworks and messing with the bonfire I was up late sewing. This quilt was finished except for the machine quilting.
I wanted to complete it so my sister-in-law could take it back home after this weekend. I didn't know if I would be able to compelete everything in time but I wanted to try.
I was up until 1:30 AM working on it; I managed to finish all the quilting and only lacked the edges before going to bed. Early this morning I was up again at 7:00 AM and by 11:00AM everything was done.
I am very pleased with how it has turned out.

Happy July 4th

I love celebrating July 4th. We usually go into town to watch the parade and then walk around the street fair. This year we had clouds which made everything feel cool and comfortable; usually it is over 100-degrees and very sunny.

This was my favorite float in the parade; if you look closely you can see a star flying up. The big black box is some sort of bubble making machine which released floating stars all along the parade route.I also really liked seeing this horse drawn stagecoach.
Mrs. Baird's had a small car that looked like a toaster which was the cutest thing.

One item I look forward to seeing each year is the vintage fire trucks, this is one of several that were in the parade.
A parade just isn't a parade without lots of horses.
Miniature cars are usually plentiful but this by far was the best one of all.
After the parade we came home to this for lunch; I had smoked it a bit yesterday and then slow cooked it all night long until it fell apart. We ate it on burger buns for lunch. Yum, yum.
Tonight we will build a large bonfire and shoot off fireworks.

Doll Quilt Swap

Well, my doll quilt has arrived at its destination in record time; I mailed it on Monday and it was received today, Wednesday.My swap partner is Jody from Florida. She sent me a very nice e-mail and also did a write up about the quilt on her blog.
Along with the quilt I sent her a small pincushion that was stuffed with cotton we picked from the field next to our house last year.
I really liked participating in the swap, I hope to do another one in the future.

Quilt Along Block 10

Here is block 10 in the quilt along.Only 2 more to go and I can begin putting all the blocks together!!!!

The Jelly

The jelly is ready and the color is so amazing!I was able to can 4 pints; after the water bath I had 1 pint that didn't seal and instead of putting on another lid and doing the water bath a second time I had Jonathan take it to our neighbor who lives down the road.
Whenever I make jelly I like to keep some of it for eating right away.

This jelly is so good, I may have to go back to the crab apple tree and pick more apples for a second batch.