Madilynne has been debating getting more chicks. We have been having discussions about purchasing them lately. I am so torn. I want the chicks because they turn into chickens that lay eggs but they are work and they do have an expense. Madilynne will be the one taking care of them for the most part and Ryder will help when needed but it is still work.
We have three hens at the moment but they are getting older. Henny Penny is the oldest and I think her egg laying days are almost done. We will keep her though because she is more of a pet than anything else. ;-) The other two hens are each laying an egg a day.
IF we decide to get more chicks we have to keep the numbers low. I am thinking no more than 4-5 but we haven't made a decision on that yet. I guess we will have to see how cute they are when we go to get them! I will update with some pictures if we decide to get more chicks!
Monday, April 11, 2016
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Wednesday Hodgepodge
I haven't participated in the Hodgepodge for quite some time. Life has been busy and some of the questions lately have required more thinking than I was able to give! :-)
2. It's International Guitar Month...do you play? Does anyone in your family play? What's a song you especially like to hear played on the guitar or a favorite song featuring the guitar? I do not play the guitar but Madilynne, Ryder and Jeremiah all do. I do not have a favorite song to hear played on the guitar but I really like to hear the family playing together. It's beautiful.
3. What's your comfort food? I like fresh baked bread and spaghetti. Stand alone or together.
4. What's one activity or area of your life where you absolutely never procrastinate? Absolutely never those are strong words to a procrastinator! I have been thinking on this for quite some time and I can't think of one thing that I don't do at the last moment.
5. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? Does your local store bag the groceries for you or is it a do-it-yourself kind of place? Do you like someone packing your groceries? I do the grocery shopping for our family. It isn't a chore that I enjoy either. I shop at several different stores. My favorite store is Aldi and I bag my own groceries with Madilynne's help. We work very well together and have a system for bagging them. We think it is very effective! I do have to go to another store that bags the groceries for me in those junky plastic bags. It is okay but they only put two or three items per bag. I am not a fan of those bags because several years back we were carrying in the groceries and a bag broke. I had two jars of spaghetti sauce in that bag- both jars broke and was a mess to clean off the driveway! I started to take my own cloth bags to this store afterwards. The cashiers aren't very friendly to those bringing in cloth bags. Apparently it is more work for them to put the cloth bags on the turn table.... I wish that all stores would go to a bag it yourself system.
6. What's the coolest thing you've seen in nature? A black bear or a fox. However there are very few things seen in nature that I don't enjoy watching. This morning I heard a Ringneck Pheasant in our back yard by the swing set. He has been around a lot frequently. Last week he even visited our front porch.
EDITTED TO ADD PICTURES: SEVERAL HOURS AFTER I POSTED THIS THE PHEASANT VISITED OUR PORCH AGAIN. I GRABBED THE CAMERA THIS TIME! I TOOK THE PICTURES THROUGH THE WINDOW SO THEY AREN'T THE BEST BUT THESE BIRDS ARE BEAUTIFUL!
7. Share a favorite quote about home. Home is where the heart is.
8. Insert your own random thought here. I have a very simple thought today...It's chilly outside and I am having a cup of tea thinking "Spring can't come soon enough. I am tired of cold!"
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Quaint Cafe
Madilynne was recently given a gift certificate to a quaint little café in an area about 40 minutes away from home. This establishment is known to be different from other eateries in the area (farm to table type) so we were very excited to try it. Upon walking into restaurant I found that it was very bright and colorful. The proprietors had it decorated with lots of lights strung from the ceiling along with many colorful origami pieces throughout. The tables were all mismatched-no two tables/chair sets were the same but it worked. They also had local artesian work decorating the area that you could purchase.
The most important part is that the food was delicious! It was made fresh and with healthy ingredients. I ordered a Bourbon BBQ Chicken Flatbread sandwich with coleslaw. Mercy was it good! Madilynne ordered a kale salad with quinoa, butternut squash and dried cranberries and a side of cauliflower "wings". She reported that it was delicious. Ryder stuck with a basic- a cheeseburger. It was made with grass fed beef and was nice and thick and also received a good rating. My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law were with us and they both ordered Caesar salads with grilled chicken and cauliflower "wings". My SIL stated that it was one of the best Caesar salads she has had in quite some time.
One of the tastiest things that we tried today was a blueberry soda. Oh my! was it ever good. I am not a fan of soda but for some reason it just sounded good and it didn't disappoint! We are all fans of that soda. The label was kind of confusing but I think that it was from Maine Root??? Not quite sure about that though.
I am so glad that we tried this restaurant. It was a bit of a distance to travel but good food, good company and a bit of an adventure for our taste buds made it worthwhile. It is fun to try something outside the norm. My SIL listed a couple other restaurants that we should try sometime. Sounds like fun! I hope that they all turn out as enjoyable as this one!
The most important part is that the food was delicious! It was made fresh and with healthy ingredients. I ordered a Bourbon BBQ Chicken Flatbread sandwich with coleslaw. Mercy was it good! Madilynne ordered a kale salad with quinoa, butternut squash and dried cranberries and a side of cauliflower "wings". She reported that it was delicious. Ryder stuck with a basic- a cheeseburger. It was made with grass fed beef and was nice and thick and also received a good rating. My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law were with us and they both ordered Caesar salads with grilled chicken and cauliflower "wings". My SIL stated that it was one of the best Caesar salads she has had in quite some time.
One of the tastiest things that we tried today was a blueberry soda. Oh my! was it ever good. I am not a fan of soda but for some reason it just sounded good and it didn't disappoint! We are all fans of that soda. The label was kind of confusing but I think that it was from Maine Root??? Not quite sure about that though.
I am so glad that we tried this restaurant. It was a bit of a distance to travel but good food, good company and a bit of an adventure for our taste buds made it worthwhile. It is fun to try something outside the norm. My SIL listed a couple other restaurants that we should try sometime. Sounds like fun! I hope that they all turn out as enjoyable as this one!
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Random funny!
My mother-in-law loves to give gifts. It is her nature and she shows love through thoughtful gifts. She knows that I like cardinals and I have a small collection of them. She found a small plastic one that has a petite metal clip and makes the cheer, cheer sound that a cardinal chirps.
I was excited by this gift and we quickly opened the package to activate it. Unfortunately my little cardinal didn't chirp and we were disappointed but I clipped it onto the plastic pull on the kitchen window screen thinking that I would remember to take it home with me. I forgot to take it with me and my MIL must have placed it on top of the fridge so it wouldn't get ruined.
Jeremiah's dad was sitting at the kitchen table today working on the laptop when he heard a bird chirping. He looked out the window and couldn't see a bird anywhere. He proceeded to open the patio door and look around outside. He heard it so close yet couldn't spot it. He looked out the kitchen window again, still nothing. He found the cardinal on top of the fridge and thought that I left it there to prank him! :-)
I was excited by this gift and we quickly opened the package to activate it. Unfortunately my little cardinal didn't chirp and we were disappointed but I clipped it onto the plastic pull on the kitchen window screen thinking that I would remember to take it home with me. I forgot to take it with me and my MIL must have placed it on top of the fridge so it wouldn't get ruined.
Jeremiah's dad was sitting at the kitchen table today working on the laptop when he heard a bird chirping. He looked out the window and couldn't see a bird anywhere. He proceeded to open the patio door and look around outside. He heard it so close yet couldn't spot it. He looked out the kitchen window again, still nothing. He found the cardinal on top of the fridge and thought that I left it there to prank him! :-)
Monday, March 28, 2016
Bits and Pieces
Our home has been busy as usual. We had a full weekend with Easter and Ryder's birthday all mixed into a busier than usual weekend. My "baby" isn't a baby anymore at over 6 feet tall and only in his early teens! He has more growing to do! He requested several different birthday cakes this year. He asked that my mom make him a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. She was more than happy to make it. He wanted a Chocolate Chip Cookie "cake" from Walmart and asked me to make a Funfetti Cake and a Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing! He has been having leftover cake for every meal since his party!
Easter was a great day of celebration. We attended church services on Sunday morning. After church we headed home to make a dessert for dinner with Jeremiah's family. I made a Pistachio Pudding Salad. My mother-in-law requested it so I told her I would make it. It really is good if you like pistachio pudding. (Side note here: my younger brother liked pistachio pudding as a kid but didn't like the little nuts in it so my mom and I would sift out the nuts and make a smooth pudding for him!) My In-laws had most of the food prepared so there wasn't much to make. Jeremiah's aunt made collard greens. I will say that I lived my life having never eaten greens before until Thanksgiving 2014. I have only ever tasted hers and they are delicious. The meal was rounded out with ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, spinach salad, a cheesy hash brown dish, maple baked beans, macaroni and cheese, broccoli cauliflower salad and rolls. I am sure I am missing some items. Dessert was several peach and apple pies along with ice cream, cookies, quick breads, and the pistachio pudding salad.
Spring is coming quickly! We have some daffodils blooming at the entrance to one of the pastures. They look so "happy" blooming there! :-) We are starting to see some of the trees coming into bud. Ryder and his two friends like to make maple syrup each spring and they were able to get some boiled before the buds came.
We went to our local Aldi's store several weeks back and I picked up some of the plants they had for sale there. I was very happy with them. They are very healthy and sturdy. We purchased two Spider Plants, two Boston Ferns and one Wandering Jew. After getting them home and seeing how nice the Wandering Jew was I wished I would have gotten two of them. I wasn't sure how nice they were at the store.
Easter was a great day of celebration. We attended church services on Sunday morning. After church we headed home to make a dessert for dinner with Jeremiah's family. I made a Pistachio Pudding Salad. My mother-in-law requested it so I told her I would make it. It really is good if you like pistachio pudding. (Side note here: my younger brother liked pistachio pudding as a kid but didn't like the little nuts in it so my mom and I would sift out the nuts and make a smooth pudding for him!) My In-laws had most of the food prepared so there wasn't much to make. Jeremiah's aunt made collard greens. I will say that I lived my life having never eaten greens before until Thanksgiving 2014. I have only ever tasted hers and they are delicious. The meal was rounded out with ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, spinach salad, a cheesy hash brown dish, maple baked beans, macaroni and cheese, broccoli cauliflower salad and rolls. I am sure I am missing some items. Dessert was several peach and apple pies along with ice cream, cookies, quick breads, and the pistachio pudding salad.
Spring is coming quickly! We have some daffodils blooming at the entrance to one of the pastures. They look so "happy" blooming there! :-) We are starting to see some of the trees coming into bud. Ryder and his two friends like to make maple syrup each spring and they were able to get some boiled before the buds came.
We went to our local Aldi's store several weeks back and I picked up some of the plants they had for sale there. I was very happy with them. They are very healthy and sturdy. We purchased two Spider Plants, two Boston Ferns and one Wandering Jew. After getting them home and seeing how nice the Wandering Jew was I wished I would have gotten two of them. I wasn't sure how nice they were at the store.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Enjoying Life
To say that it has been awhile since I posted would be an understatement! I think it was Feb. 17 when I last appeared on here. I have been preoccupied with living life. It has been a busy season for our family. Lots of visitors and running here and there but all has been well!
I will admit that another reason I haven't been online much is Jeremiah gave me a new Kindle. Our old Kindle was shared between Madilynne and myself and it stopped working. I didn't stop reading, I just went back to reading actual books. Yes, they do still make actual books and I can go to this nice building and borrow them! It says "Public Library" on the sign outside! :) Madilynne loves the smell of new books. She will flip the pages and breathe deep!
I have found that it is harder to read in bed before going to sleep when reading an actual book. It requires light and I was using a small flashlight that wouldn't disturb Jeremiah too much. The new Kindle has a black background option so all is much better at night. I also like that I can just push a button and shut it off and it will keep my place. Another thing I enjoy the dictionary feature. I just touch the word that I am not familiar with or want to know what the actual definition is and it will pop up.
There are downsides to reading on the Kindle. It has to be charged up occasionally and I am not a fan of buying many books so I just usually download the free books. Many are good but I think some of them are self-published or something and they didn't take the time to proofread. I don't enjoy reading a book and feel like I need to draw a red line at all the mistakes! For the record...I don't think this blog is perfect either! I know there are going to be mistakes, but you dear reader are not required to pay anything to read my mistakes and ramblings and it won't cover 100's of pages! HAHA!
A book that I just finished reading was co-written by a well known historical fiction author and was well written. I enjoyed the book a lot, however, I do not like to read a book that leaves me hanging with what happens to the characters. I understand that authors need to sell books to make money, I get it but honestly, I just read 336 pages for you to leave me hanging on what happens next. No closure at all and I don't wish to spend $14.99 to find out in the next book because it is a series of like 3 or 4 books. It probably won't tell me anything until I get to the last book and I am out $44.97! I just don't care enough.
I don't know how my ramblings ended up with a whole post on my thoughts about my Kindle but it did! ;) I was just going to touch base with a post on enjoying life and not worrying about posting. I do have some other posts bopping around in my head so I hope to post more soon!
Blessings to you and go enjoy living life!
I will admit that another reason I haven't been online much is Jeremiah gave me a new Kindle. Our old Kindle was shared between Madilynne and myself and it stopped working. I didn't stop reading, I just went back to reading actual books. Yes, they do still make actual books and I can go to this nice building and borrow them! It says "Public Library" on the sign outside! :) Madilynne loves the smell of new books. She will flip the pages and breathe deep!
I have found that it is harder to read in bed before going to sleep when reading an actual book. It requires light and I was using a small flashlight that wouldn't disturb Jeremiah too much. The new Kindle has a black background option so all is much better at night. I also like that I can just push a button and shut it off and it will keep my place. Another thing I enjoy the dictionary feature. I just touch the word that I am not familiar with or want to know what the actual definition is and it will pop up.
There are downsides to reading on the Kindle. It has to be charged up occasionally and I am not a fan of buying many books so I just usually download the free books. Many are good but I think some of them are self-published or something and they didn't take the time to proofread. I don't enjoy reading a book and feel like I need to draw a red line at all the mistakes! For the record...I don't think this blog is perfect either! I know there are going to be mistakes, but you dear reader are not required to pay anything to read my mistakes and ramblings and it won't cover 100's of pages! HAHA!
A book that I just finished reading was co-written by a well known historical fiction author and was well written. I enjoyed the book a lot, however, I do not like to read a book that leaves me hanging with what happens to the characters. I understand that authors need to sell books to make money, I get it but honestly, I just read 336 pages for you to leave me hanging on what happens next. No closure at all and I don't wish to spend $14.99 to find out in the next book because it is a series of like 3 or 4 books. It probably won't tell me anything until I get to the last book and I am out $44.97! I just don't care enough.
I don't know how my ramblings ended up with a whole post on my thoughts about my Kindle but it did! ;) I was just going to touch base with a post on enjoying life and not worrying about posting. I do have some other posts bopping around in my head so I hope to post more soon!
Blessings to you and go enjoy living life!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Update on the Recipe Flop
I thought that I would let you know that I tried the Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken again. I didn't think that the recipe was too good. It was better than the first attempt with baking powder but still not a winning recipe. Ryder ate it but it wasn't his favorite thing to eat. He prefers to not have that recipe again and he is the big meat eater here. Since I used 6 chicken breasts to make it and it was only eaten so we didn't waste any of it, I don't think it is worth making again. I just wanted to update the blog with that info.
I think that I will look to find another Honey Sesame Chicken recipe though. I did really like the fact that I could use the crockpot for cooking. I am trying to find some more crockpot recipes. If you have an easy crockpot recipe that is tasty please feel free to share it! By easy I mean, not a lot of steps! I like a recipe that I can just throw into the crockpot and go.
I think that I will look to find another Honey Sesame Chicken recipe though. I did really like the fact that I could use the crockpot for cooking. I am trying to find some more crockpot recipes. If you have an easy crockpot recipe that is tasty please feel free to share it! By easy I mean, not a lot of steps! I like a recipe that I can just throw into the crockpot and go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)