Home Sweet Home

 Springtime sweetness is in the air!

I love to travel and see new places--but I admit--home is my most favorite place to be.  :)  I thought I would share a few pictures of what is currently around our little corner of the world. . .

Love this pink flower!  I think it is a salvia, but am not positive.  I bought it half dead on the clearance rack last summer at Lowes.  Brought it home and planted it in one of my flower beds--and this year it is telling me "thank you" for rescuing it!

This blue flower came from the same clearance rack--they were both only $3.00!  And the tag said they were perennials, so $3.00 is a great price!  I am going to watch this year and see if I can find more clearance plants at Lowes. . .
 

This flower is an herb named "Rue."  I bought a little four inch pot of it when I lived in Texas, because it is one of the host plants for Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.  When we were moving away from that house, I brought some seeds with me from the original plant, and they grew me a new plant here--which has self seeded and grown a couple more plants.  Now my Rue plant takes over more than half of my 4x8 flower bed, and it's working on taking over the other half!  I don't mind, though, because I like the butterfly caterpillars it attracts!  I have no idea how to use Rue in cooking for people--I grow it just for the butterflies!

A visit from a friend--a Carolina Wren.  :)  The birds sing every morning in the Spring and Summer time--and they sing LOUD around here!  I love hearing them!  Honestly, I have heard birds sing in other places, but NEVER as much as they sing here in our corner of Tennessee!  Maybe it is because of all the trees around here?  Even my mother remarked about the birds as she was visiting me in April.  It truly is remarkable!

We had a shed built on our property so we would have a place to store our lawn mower (we have only needed a shed for the past eight years!).  We had to build a ramp so we could get the lawn mower inside.  Wanting the ramp to last a long time, we painted it with primer paint and waited for it to dry overnight before we put the top coat of paint on it.  Well, the next morning when we got up, we could see we had had some visitors during the night.  Maybe they were testing out our new ramp for strength!

This little friend was visiting in our garden this past week.  I am not positive, but I believe he (she?) is a box turtle.  His eyes were very red in color--strange looking to me, but I am sure to another turtle he was probably a handsome fellow.

And last but not least, the cutest of all--a baby bunny!  Every Spring, we grow baby bunnies in our garden.  This is the third year in a row--and even though they love to eat our garden up, they are so very adorable that I can't stay mad at them very long!  But this year we did fence in a large garden area with bunny fence to keep them out of it.  Don't worry--there is PLENTY of nice fresh clover in the rest of the garden area for them to eat!  We have even been known to put a large carrot out for the bunnies.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into our yard.  God is so good, to give us the beautiful things in our yard.  And He created them just because He loves us!

Enjoy Spring with your Savior!

~Susan

Tea Towel Apron

Hi Everyone!

Thought I would share a little project that some friends and I worked on over the weekend.  We each made a simple apron made out of a tea towel, and I am enjoying it so very much already.  We really did have a good "reason" to make these--this is a project that our local college is going to be doing over our soon coming alumni weekend, so whatever ladies (or gentlemen!) are interested, they can sign up and come to our location to have a little sewing project.  My good friend Judy is in charge of this project every year, and she is always on the look out for a nice, simple project--and it needs to be able to be completed in one day.

Anyway, the project she found for this year is a Tea Towel Apron, which I am at this point totally in love with.  Of course, I am an "apron person" anyway--probably because I am a messy person!  I can't say I got this from my mom--I have never seen my mom wear an apron in her life, though I suppose she may have at some point.  Maybe it's because she is a nurse and I am a teacher.  Maybe nurses are neat, and teachers are messy. . . not sure, but whatever the reason, I LOVE aprons and cannot hardly stand to do anything in my kitchen unless I am wearing one.  

So back to making one.  Since some of the ladies (and gentlemen) who come to the alumni Fiber Arts time have sometimes been completely new at any type of sewing, Judy had the good idea to run through the Tea Towel Apron-making with a couple of her local friends, on the condition that we would help her be "teachers" for the alumni who came for the Fiber Arts time.  SURE!  It sounded fun, I was planning on going to the alumni weekend anyway, and what are friends for?!

So here you have it--photos from my little apron making time, and the beautiful models showing off their new aprons at the end!

Tea Towel Apron

 You will need one large tea towel, and 1/2 yard of coordinating fabric.

Apron Instructions:
1.  Fold towel in half lengthwise, iron fold, and open.  If ironed crease is not easy to see, mark it by sticking a pin at the crease line.

2.  On both sides of the fold or pin, mark at 5 1/2 inches and at 4 inches from center.

3.  Now you are going to measure on the long sides of your tea towel.  Starting from the top corner, measure and mark at 5/1/2 and 8 1/2 inches.  Take a ruler and a chalk pencil, and draw a slanted line connecting your 5 1/2 inch mark on the side with the 5 1/2 inch mark on the top.  Do the same connecting your 8 1/2 inch mark with the 4 inch mark.  This is harder to put into words than it is to do!

4.  Fold and press on the inner most chalk line, and cut off the extra fabric corner by cutting on the outer most chalk line.  Then turn under the edge where you cut by 1/2 inch and press.  You are creating the casing where the apron ties will go.

5.  Top stitch edge, back stitching at both ends.  Repeat on the other corner.  The above picture shows the apron at this step.

6.  From the 1/2 yard of fabric cut 3 strips 3 inches by width of fabric.  Cut only 2 strips if you want shorter ties if you are a skinny minny--(ahem, I am NOT a skinny minny) or if you are making the apron for a child.  If you want to be able to cross the ties in the back and bring them around to the front to tie, you might want to add in one extra strip.  With the width of my fabric, I "can" tie it in front if I want, but some of the other fabrics made ties with a little extra for front-tying.

7.  Sew tie strips together, end to end.

8.  Fold in half lengthwise and press.

9.  Open and fold in half each long side to center crease, press and pin.

10.  Fold in each end, press, and pin.

11.  Top stitch along all four edges of the tie--above picture shows this point.

12.  Take your completed apron tie--this will be huge, because it is one complete tie that goes up to include the neck strap and then down the other side--and poke it through the apron casings, centering it evenly along both sides.  You might find putting a safety pin on the end helps to pull it through the casings.  Adjust the neck loop to sit how you like it.  Most of the ladies left it like this at this point.  I, personally, do not like it if the straps change on me, so I choose to sew a little spot on the casing, tacking the ties to that specific spot.  Other people like the flexibility of the apron being able to adjust to the person wearing it.  Just do whichever you prefer.  :)

Optional Pocket Instructions

1.  From the 1/2 yard fabric, cut 2 8x16 inch rectangles.

2.  With right sides of fabric facing, stitch all around rectangles leaving about 4 inches open for turning.

3.  Trim corners, turn, and press.

4.  Top stitch top edge of pocket--this is one of the long sides of your rectangle.

5.  Center pocket on apron or as desired, and pin in place.

6.  Top stitch sides and bottom of pocket, which will sew the pocket onto the apron at the same time as well as stitch closed the 4 inch spot you left open for turning.  Make sure you have that spot turned in and pressed before sewing, so your sewing will catch and close the turning spot.

7.  Stitch either a center line along the middle of the apron pocket, dividing the pocket into two pockets, or stitch two lines dividing your pocket into three smaller pockets, whichever you prefer.  My pocket was wider, so I stitched it into three pockets, while Judy's pocket was smaller so hers is stitched into two pockets.

Grab your apron and put it on, snagging a close by friend to take your picture.  Don't Judy and I look great?!  You can see her apron tied in the front, while I left mine tied in the back.

More beautiful models--Lorraine and Arlene.  What fun and laughter we had that day, over the silliest things while making these tea towel aprons!  Trust me--these ladies are a HOOT!  I just love spending time with them!
Hope you are inspired now to go make your own apron! :)

~Susan

Busy, busy, busy!

Hi Everyone!

Today was one of those days where you try and catch up on everything, and are busy running around the whole entire day--but when you get to the end of the day your "to do" list hardly looks like you touched it!  Guess that's what I get for going away from home!

Most important things today were to get food made.  Knowing that I was going away, we effectively ate most everything that was in the house--good for not having food spoil in the fridge when you are gone, bad for having something to eat when you get back home!

Tried out some new recipes today--started with breakfast, making a Strawberry Smoothie.  It was absolutely delicious, and super simple.  I only regret that I did not take a picture! :(  But both Alison and I think it is an awesome recipe, so I will make it again SOON and take a picture then to share with you. Lunch time I made  "Easy Enchilada Bake", and also "Mexican Salad."   I had made the "Enchilada Bake" before, but never the "Mexican Salad" and I really liked it.  My menus for this week are focusing on salads, so I also made a "Barley Salad" to eat tomorrow.  Didn't eat a serving of it, but I did lick the spoon and it tasted good.  Maybe I can remember to take a picture of it tomorrow before we eat it for lunch!  Also cooked some quinoa to heat up tomorrow for breakfast.  I plan on topping it with fresh peaches and strawberries, and a tofu whipped cream that I make to substitute in places where you would normally use whipped cream.  It is not as puffy, but is made from real food--not a bunch of chemicals--so I am much happier feeding it to my family!  Normally I am not making new recipes all the time--I am quite the little "recipe rut" kind of person, so every now and then I get inspired to really try a bunch of new ones. . . this is that kind of week!  Maybe not the best planning, as I am also "officially" starting our homeschool year tomorrow as well, but oh well!  Salads did sound rather easy at menu planning time!

Also made four loaves of oatmeal bread, four batches of my home made rice milk, and did three loads of laundry!  It's no wonder I am tired!

Thankfully, not all Sundays are THIS busy for me!  But today it did feel good to get caught up on some things--and at least we have food to eat in the house now!

So--what are all of YOU up to????

Hope you have a great start to your week!

~Susan

How to Menu Plan

When menu planning, I am of a firm belief that you should never force your children to eat what they do not want to.  Always, always, ALWAYS have two choices they can pick from.  This is especially important if you have a P-I-C-K-Y eater that lives in your house.  I have one of those.  Well, if we are counting husbands then I have two, but my hubby is MUCH better than he used to be. . . . 

Therefore, in keeping along with the belief that children should have choices, when I saw a sign recently at a store that listed my menu planning philosophy I could not resist purchasing it.  I have since asked my sweet not-as-picky-eater-as-he-used-to-be husband to hang this sign just above the counter where the stools are and we frequently eat meals.  There it is within easy reference, for when I am asked "Do I HAVE to eat this?"  My answer is always "No.  You can chose menu item #1 or menu item #2."  

Of course, if menu item #2 is chosen (sometimes due to continued complaining) then there is no other food or snacking until the next meal time.  At which time the complained about food from the previous meal magically appears to be eaten first, before any other foods.

I know.  I am a mean mother.  But I come by it honestly, as my parents were mean parents.  In fact, we come from a long line of mean grown ups.  I remember my Grandmother making me eat my vegetables as well.

So there you have it.  My menu planning technique.  Remember the key word--choices!

In a Jam!

Help!  I'm in a JAM!

Alright, alright.  Just teasing.  But I AM in a jam--literally!  But it's a very sweet tasting jam, so I don't mind. 

When we moved to our house five years ago, we knew we wanted to plant blackberries.  They are tough plants--just the kind I need.  They don't kill easily, and even if you WANT to kill them off, it's well nigh impossible to do.  That's the plant for me!  Our friends from California where we used to live think we are crazy, because back there the blackberries grew wild EVERYWHERE.  You hacked at them to keep them from taking over your yard--literally!  And whenever you wanted fruit, you just went out and picked.

Not so in other parts of the country.  So ever after, whatever state we moved to, we planted blackberries in our yard.  While we lived in Texas, I found a variety that was very much "Texas Tough," which is just what I needed.  No coddling, no spraying, no fussing.  Just throw them in the dirt and they grow.  O.K., the first year I did spray them with water occasionally.  But no watering after that--really, they need to survive my lack of care!  So, when we moved to THIS state, I actually mail ordered the very same Texas bread blackberry root cuttings--ordering them from a plant nursery in Texas.  Fortunately for me, they seem just as happy growing in this state as they did in Texas.

 Blackberries need around three years to start producing.  The third year, we got "some," but we knew the harvest the following year would be GREAT.  And it was.  For the deer.  We had deer eating the blackberries in California, but there was always PLENTY for us as well.  Guess there was just more plants growing wild in that area, because we never noticed a lack of berries for us.  But here in our yard we sure did.  Last summer we saw scores of blackberry blossoms, and new it was going to be a GREAT harvest.  Our mouths watered as we watched the berries turn a deeper color.  We got to eat a few.  But then would go out to pick and the berries had turned invisible.  They just. weren't. there.  But there WERE plenty of little green stems sticking out with nothing on the end of them.  DEER.  Those dear little deer.  I don't mind sharing some with the deer, really.  But they did not exactly leave any to share with us.

So this year we knew we needed to do something, but what?  The bushes are not really planted in an area where they can be easily (or cheaply) fenced.  Besides that, deer can jump fences--they have even been noted to jump six foot fences upon occasion!  Dogs help, a lot. But our dog does not run free in the front yard since it IS unfenced, so she would only be helping to keep any deer out of the back yard.  Finally a friend of mine suggested that we try bird netting.  I didn't have much hope, but it was worth a try.  Well, so far, so good!  Maybe the netting just is kind of scary to the deer, so they aren't messing with it too much.

SO.  Back to my jam.  First, you need to start with some blackberries rescued from the deer!

 I follow directions in the low sugar pectin box.  It tells how much crushed fruit for each variety, and how much sugar to measure out.  You take a little bit of that sugar, and mix it with the pectin and that gets stirred in with the crushed fruit right away.  You also have to add in just a tiny bit of margarine, to keep it from over foaming.  I forgot once--and was amazed at how foamy it was!!!  The directions say to add in 1/2 tsp.  I personally do not want to add fat to my jam, so I put in probably closer to 1/4 tsp. and it seems to work just fine.  I asked my chemist husband about it, and he said it worked as a surfactant.  He said I could also use soap, if I didn't want to use the margarine.  I think I will continue using the margarine!

Anyway, so you take the crushed fruit with the sugar/pectin mixture and the margarine and this gets brought to a boil over high heat.  You have to stir it constantly, and I will warn you that it will splatter hot jam at you, so I always wear oven mitts when I am stirring jam.  After it has come to a rolling boil, you add the rest of the sugar that you have already measured out and then stir it as it comes back to a boil again.  Things can get tricky at this point as you need to move fast, so have everything laid out and ready that you are going to need.

 I keep my clean, washed jam jars in hot water in the sink, where they wait for my jam to be boiled and ready.

 I have already boiled my lids, and they are sitting in their hot water just waiting on the counter where I will bring my hot jam.

 Then you ladle the hot jam into each jar, filling it to within 1/8th inch of the top.  Next you wipe off any jam that spilled onto the top part of the jar, and place the lid on screwing the band tight--but not over tight, just hand tightened.

I wish I had a picture of the next step, but my computer messed it up so we will have to do without.  But I use the "inversion" method for sealing my jars.  After the lids are hand tightened, you literally flip the jam jar upside down so it is sitting on the lid part.  You let it sit this way for five minutes, then turn them back right side up.  As the jars cool, you will start hearing a "pop" sound, which is a VERY happy sound, as it is the sound of the jars sealing.  If for some reason a jar does not seal, you can either stick it in the fridge to use right away, or you can water bath can it to get it to seal.

And there you have it--my assorted sizes of jam jars!  I was scraping all around in my cupboards for more jam jars to fill--almost did not have enough, as this canning session filled 27 jars of jam!

Praise the Lord!  A gift from above.  Only He can make those berries grow, I cannot.  We sure are going to enjoy this jam through the next year!  If you have never tried canning before, jam is a great item to start with.  You can even make freezer jam, which is even easier as you get to skip all the boiling and sealing part.  Freezer jam is uncooked jam, and ends up with a fresher taste, though it will also be not as firm and a little on the runny side.  Great to use as a fruit syrup on waffles and pancakes though!

 If you don't have fruit growing in your yard, go check out some farmer's markets.  I was even able to purchase strawberries at a discount grocery store this year cheap enough to make some of it into jam.

Hope I helped give you some ideas for summer canning!  It is so nice to enjoy frozen fruit or jam during the rest of the year, when it is not in season.