Mom~ Ya Wanna Ride Horse?

Those are the words I heard today as I sat in the dining room, so I ventured into the laundry room to see just which little dumpling was yelling at me from the other end of the house and saw Grace and Sassy at the door. Sure Grace, let's go ride horse. She's been asking me to let her jump with Sassy and decided today was the day. We went down to the barn and got Lightning and headed out back to the half done arena.

Now Sassy is a good little following pony, but she certainly has learned how to get her own way when she wants to. It's time to get serious about teaching Grace how to ride her horse rather than just following along on the trails. First up is listening to Mom. Then we worked on rein and leg pressure.
Being the fence is not up on the outside of the arena yet Sassy thinks it is fare game to head back to the barn every time she rounds the yard side.

Taking with her one little girl who gets pretty grumpy about it.

After Lightning and I did our trotting and arena work, and were waiting for Grace to come back yet again, I decided to set up some barrels to help Grace keep her position as she worked on walking around the rail.

Wahlah! They finally got it down and made some nice, even laps around the arena.

Sassy finally decided she really didn't like to go around in circles anymore and behaved for Grace.

By the end of our training session Grace decided to just walk over the jump rather than trying to jump it today. She figured maybe she should work on rein and leg pressure a little more before she decided to get into jumping. Smart little girl.

Here's what we found once we got back to the barn. Three extra horses out.

Due to a malfunctioning gate.

Add that to the list please honey!

The Sink, Girls, The Sink!

Ooooooohhhh!!! The day I have been waiting for!!! The sink that has been in the box in the garage for nearly 3 years is finally now in my kitchen.

The only real expense that we really splurged on for the kitchen remodeling project.... all the way from Israel..... courtesy of e-bay...... my double fluted kitchen apron sink. It's a dream come true girls!

One day, hopefully someday soon, this dream just may have running water, too, so I can get my kitchen back and wash all those dirty dishes. Thanks honey!

Hard Working Boys

Three walls up and standing. A roof, a window, a door and a covered porch to go. I couldn't have done it without these two hard working boys.

My Little Project

It has been far too long inbetween projects for me due to way too much running and busyness this summer. Rob has had his share of big projects to do but most of them have not included me as it takes a bit more precision than I am inclined to use and he tires quickly of all my advice so I try to stay out of his way. Remember the corral roof he so sweetly reminded me. Yes dear, I remember. With all of that lumber just sitting around out there from the tear down projects I decided to start the chicken coop to help him out. I talked Cole the chicken man into helping me create this masterpiece which is all cutsey in my mind~ a little red and white chicken chalet complete with a peaked roof with lattice trim, a little chicken door out the back, a nesting box and roosts inside, insulation and wiring, a chicken weather vane, a window with a window box and even a little covered porch with that vintage chair sitting on it from Uncle Jim~ aaahh! I can see it now! Those chickens will be so happy that they will lay us lots of farm fresh eggs for years to come. So while Rob was busy working inside the house on those never ending kitchen counter tops we headed out to start construction. Per his advice we even used a square to square the corners as best we could with all that warped wood.
The frame of the foundation and the deck for the covered porch were finished before lunch.

Then we worked hard and finished the coop floor and even got up two walls.

Then.... here he came to encourage (inspect??:)) us.

And of course.....

He brought out the level. Now the best part about our differences in construction is that usually he ends up helping me out once he sees my attempts, shaking his head all the while, yes, but those muscles and that expertise is much appreciated.

No money spent, no trips to the lumber yard and even this free screen door from that wonderful Uncle Jim and some used windows at Russell's house make this project all the sweeter.
When all the others abandoned me after supper to work again on those counter tops Trent came out and helped me finish up the last wall. 4 walls framed and a square, level deck makes for one happy farmer and his wife.

Mornings

On quiet mornings I like to retreat to our back deck with all of it's child strewn miscellaneous.I am headed to this chair for a little peace and quiet in the Word.To drink my coffee and look out across my construction zone half done farm yard. That's all I want. But it never fails that I have to fight off these little critters first. Then there's this one that insists on sitting on my shoulders. Or in my lap. Then here comes the dog who has to make sure she gets her dirty nose in there and gets some lovin' . Yeesh! It's quieter in the house some mornings! Yesterday I did get to have a date with this charming man out there as he read scripture to me (awe~ how romantic!) as I fought off the critters. Gotta love farm life!

Butterfly Season

Summer is butterfly season. We have as yet to track down a caterpillar to watch transform into a butterfly yet this summer, but the kids have been enjoying catching the butterflies. Grace came in with this beautiful Monarch yesterday and made it a fancy new home. We have a one day rule in our house for "other" critters, which means that all those snakes and toads and frogs and insects are only allowed to be captured for a full 24 hours. I know they are all thanking me. Trent told her how to mix up a solution of sugar, water and red food coloring to feed the butterfly and we all gathered around to watch her drink. Beautiful!

Soup and Bread

Yum! Yum! What a great rainy day summer combination for lunch we came up with the other day. While our garden has been long since forgotten, Russell's garden across the road has been providing him with more than he can eat so we are the lucky recipients of fresh grown veggies. The other day he sent home a couple of bags with some broccoli and cauliflower in it. I scrounged around through the fridge and found a jar of cheese sauce so decided to make a creamy, cheesy vegetable soup. Now when I cook I dump and pour so you may have to tweak this very casual recipe for yourselves, but it was delicious!

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Wash and cut up your veggies, then boil or steam. I used broccoli, cauliflower, peeled carrots (I peel them rather than chunk them) and onion. I like to cook my veggies in chicken broth (just add some boulion cubes if you don't have the real thing) for a little extra flavor for soups. Drain the liquid, saving it to add back to your soup. Make a rue in a large kettle. Melt butter (1/2 stick??) over medium heat then add flour (1/2 cup??) until you have a nice gooey glob. Then with a heavy whisk start adding milk slowly while constantly mixing. Continue to add milk as the mixture thickens, then switching to the broth once you have it as creamy as you would like. If you thin down your base too much just mix some flour and milk in a separate bowl and add slowly back to your pot while mixing. As soon as you have enough base at the thickness you want add the cheese sauce to taste and the veggies and let simmer while you make your naan bread.

You've never had naan bread?? You are in for a treat then my friend! It is a very traditional Indian bread served with everything. When we were waiting for Micah to come home I had found a great Indian cook book and thought I would become a chef extraordinaire and immerse these children in the art of cooking authentic Indian food. Well I have now mastered naan bread (how we like it anyway) and that's about all. Yummy! It was a great addition to this meal and we couldn't get enough of it, especially to dip it into the soup.

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Naan Bread, courtesy of The Best ever Indian cookbook

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Ingredients:

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp fresh yeast

2/3 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp ghee (butter)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp poppy seeds (I like to use sesame seeds)

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*Place the sugar and yeast in a small bowl, add the warm water and mix well until the yeast has dissolved. Let it set for 10 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.

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*Place the flour in a large bowl and add the ghee and salt then pour in the yeast mixture. Mix to form a dough, adding more water if needed. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled in size (if I am in a hurry or impatient I have skipped this rising).

*Preheat the broiler to high and grease a cookie sheet. Return the dough to the floured counter and knead for 2 minutes. Break off small balls with your hand and pat them into circles. *Place the circles onto your cookie sheet and cook under a very hot broiler, turning to brown each side. Brush with melted butter on each side and sprinkle with poppy (or sesame) seed. Serve them hot and enjoy!

The Saga of the Never Ending Counter Tops

Where to start, where to start with the saga of the Never Ending Counter Tops. I guess we have to go all the way back to 4 years ago when we bought this old diamond in the rough of a farmhouse. Now I know that there are lots of other things to worry and fuss over but humour me just for a few minutes as these counter tops have been the unending test of my patience these last 4 years. Of course I knew going into a huge remodeling job that not everything would get done at once, but being the kitchen is a wife's main domain I had really hoped (begged and pleaded and even bribed) to have the kitchen be one of those first things that was done. First of all tho there was the furnace shooting flames that had to be taken care of, then the failing sewer, the fences and falling down sheds and all the other immediate necessities that kept coming up, like installing a bathtub and replacing the water pump. Eventually about 2 years into this place we started on the kitchen which meant tearing down a wall, rebuilding a wall, living with a curtain bathroom wall for 6 weeks, building yet another wall, moving plumbing and gas lines, taking down and reassembling the existing cabinets, ripping up all the old linoleum and old flooring, pouring new cement to level the floors, then top with new flooring. Now being all this is supposed to be done with cash and only Rob's extra hours makes things go slow, so when the old counter tops just got put back on I resolved myself to be happy with that. Granted, most of them did not fit again, but I have tried my hardest to be humble about the whole thing and not that many people laughed at me when they came to visit. Especially because the estimates we got for new counter tops was astronomical and would take way too many 30 hour weekend shifts to make it worth it. So I waited patiently. Until that day 2 months ago when I was strolling through the back rows of Menard's and happened to spot their precut counter tops. Luckily I only had 1 child with that day so we stuffed three 8' pieces of laminate counter tops in the van (to the surprise and snickers of the yard crew) and proceeded to finish our grocery shopping at Aldi's. The dreaming wife I am I thought Rob would just do back flips and be so ecstatic that I just saved him well over a thousand dollars and he could just put those counter tops right on that very night. Ahem. He wasn't that excited, hence the reason they have sat in my kitchen for 2 months. Now to his credit he did acknowledge that they were there but what I didn't realize was that he would need some very expensive tools to cut such counter tops. So he contacted a couple of guys who weren't too interested in doing the small job. Then he finally got a hold of a brother in law who agreed to cut them for him. Thanks Kevin:) But, it couldn't be that easy because as they went to cut the last piece they saw that the laminate did not go all the way to the end of the counter top and had to be returned to good old Menard's. So much for my great idea.

Back to Menard's we went. And, ahem, amongst those fabulous counter tops there was barely a one that didn't have a scratch or a bow that Rob figured he could get to straighten out. These guys just couldn't believe that I had brought my camera into Menard's. Moooo-oooom!!!!!!

But Alas...... two of those crooked counter tops are setting in place with the hopes that they will straighten out enough to screw down some day. And if he can figure out how to glue the end caps on (some day after he finishes the barn the granary the shop doors the arena the hitching post the garden fence and the trim work besides the other things on his own list) he promises to get to putting that fancy new sink in for me. And then maybe we can hope to get that dishwasher. And that island counter top. Bet he'll never buy me another old farmhouse again.

Soap Labels

For not really knowing just what I am getting myself into, it turns out I have created a soap business. One thing I know is that I love goats milk soap. The whole soap making process intrigues me. There is unlimited use for the imagination and all those yummy scents to try out. Then you get the final product of that wonderful soap that leaves your hands and elbows looking and feeling better than they have for years since abusing them with all this farm work. Luckily I have a husband who humours my every whim and lets me play around with all these things, plus he's my biggest sales man, a department I am lacking in. It just so turned out that all those soap samples we have given away to every neighbor and their brother must be about used up because just in the past three days we have had three requests to buy soap. Yippee! It first of all made me do the happy dance, then I realized I am almost out of soap so we invested some more in Walmart stock and loaded up on oils. Yesterday Cole helped me make five new molds for the soap logs, then Alexis and Cole helped me make five batches of soap. Rose, Lilac/Vanilla, Cucumber/Melon, Sandalwood Vanilla, and another Flower Power. I am excited to cut into them today and see how they turned out. Another thing we needed was a fancy spancy label. I have been playing around with labels for months now and just couldn't find one I really liked. Then I came up with this one. Very simple. I like it with the little bow tie:) And for more soap news, I took another plunge and signed up to teach two soap making classes through Community Ed in November. We shall see what God does with it all! For now I'm just enjoying the ride.