This moment...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining with Amanda over at http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ this moment.

My oldest quizzing my youngest on her spelling words....she got them all right! LOL I love homeschooling! ~Sue~

Thrifty Thursdays....

I love this idea! Today is Thrifty Thursday over at Saved By Love Creations blog...and since I so enjoy the creativity and challenge of simple, beautiful frugality, I thought I would join in this weekly blog hop.

Since I am using my pressure cookers 3 times today, that is what immediately came to mind for thrifty cooking today!

For lunch, I pressure cooked potato soup...made more nutritious by leaving the skins on for fiber and nutrients, homemade chicken broth, lots of garlic...and done in 40 minutes. Tender chunks of potatoes....and using much less energy by using the stove for a fraction of the time.

For dinner tonight, I will cook brown basmati rice in one pressure cooker and pepper steak with tons of mushrooms and peppers, onions and garlic in another. Being able to use inexpensive cuts of meat and have them just melt in your mouth and stretch to feed our family is such a blessing to us!

There are many books on pressure cooking out there, especially by my favorite pressure cooking expert, Lorna Sass. Also, in the new issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine that I mentioned yesterday, they have a huge article on pressure cooking....from the history of it, to safety issue and delicious recipes. Just another way to be creatively thrifty! ~Sue~

Yarn Along...

I am joining Ginny over at SmallThings blog for the weekly Yarn Along! Oh, how I LOVE yarn...the feel, the colors the different textures. I also love reading and books just as much! After 12 years of homeschooling...I've collected so many books that the challenge is finding adequate storage for all of them!

This is a picture of the afghan that I FINALLY finished for my niece's wedding gift. This was such a soft yarn to work with. I first learned to crochet and last winter during our 36+ inches of snow and 2 little ones with whooping cough, I taught myself to knit...and am now addicted. Will post next week a couple of finished projects along with one almost finished shawl and one started hat. (I have found that crocheting is so much faster for me...but ends up being very painful with my RA and Fibro...knitting is so much kinder and gentler to me)

The picture above also shows one of my youngest daughters favorite books at the moment, "The Spinner's Gift"...what a warm, beautiful book!

I am reading my 2 favorite magazines....curled up in my comfy queen anne chair with the beautiful, warm wool sweater that my husband blessed me with for Christmas. I just discovered Hobby Farm Home and love it! The above issue has features on making homemade yogurt , and cooking with the pressure cooker, which I have been loving lately and will be using tomorrow.

Maryjane's Farm magazine has been a favorite of mine for years and the new issue just arrived in the mail today! Wonderful reading for a cold winter's day!

For more inspiring "yarn alongs", go visit Ginny's blog at the link above. What is inspiring you in the afterglow of the holiday season? ~Sue~

Giveaway: Solar powered radio & light

A wonderful blog Homestead Revival is hosting a generous giveaway for a USA solar powered radio/lantern. This is a wonderful radio that has so many features...a light, can be powered 5 different ways and will charge a cell phone as well....follow the link above to enter and for more information! ~Sue~

Finally...Success!

One of my 'resolutions' this year is to eat healthier and to save money. My family LOVES vanilla yogurt....and I use plain yogurt for everything. I've tried many times with many different methods to make my own yogurt and the results have been very disappointing (runny, taste a bit off...) until now!

Last night (after much research of different methods) I tried a simple oven method. First, I brought 1/2 gallon of milk plus 1 cup of dried milk powder to 185 degrees, then lowered the temp. to 100, added the starter, poured 1/2 into a quart jar, mixed vanilla and stevia with the rest and poured that into a quart jar and put them into the oven that I had heated to 200 degrees and then shut off. I kept the oven light on all night and this morning...perfect, delicious yogurt! I had to laugh as my children all had bowls of it this morning...at this rate I'll be making it frequently!

I was reminded of the classic children's book "The Little Engine that Could"...I hope my children will see that yes, their mother has many failed attempts, but keeps persevering...and occasionally has success...now, if I can learn to ferment veggies....and knit something other than a scarf....and finish the quilt I started and......so many things to learn, so little time! I hope I never lose the desire to learn! Have a blessed day! ~Sue~

New Year! New Goals...Menu Plan Monday

I'm back in 'blog land'...and find that I've missed journaling my thoughts and a little about our lives. I also am finding that menu planning is now ESSENTIAL...especially as my wonderful husband gets paid twice a month now instead of every week...so, if I can stretch menus out to 2 weeks worth at a time and only go grocery shopping once...I think we can save a lot of money, and always be prepared with whatever we need on hand. So...here is this weeks "Menu Plan Monday" for 1-3-11 thru 1-15-11 (we have kefir smoothies everymorning as a snack between breakfast & lunch...so I won't list them repeatedly)


Monday 1-3-11

Breakfast- oatmeal & apples
Lunch- leftover ham/potato casserole, greenbeans, tangerine
Dinner -Black beans & Rice, salad with homemade dressing

(to do: make hardboiled eggs, granola, gluten free bread and yogurt)

Tuesday 1-4-11

Breakfast-Granola & yogurt
Lunch -bean & cheese quesadillas and salad
Dinner-SmokedTurkey leg paprikash in crockpot with gf pasta and steamed carrots

Wedneday 1-5-11

Breakfast -GF pancakes with homemade jam , tangerines
Lunch - Homemade tomato soup, cheese, nut crackers & apples
Dinner- Crispy chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, salad

Thursday 1-6-11

Breakfast- eggs and gf toast, pineapple
Lunch -potato soup, cheese & nut crackers, homemade pickled veggies
Dinner -Pepper steak with mushrooms and brown rice

Friday 1-7-11

Breakfast -GF apple muffins
Lunch -chicken lettuce wraps, tangerines
Dinner -Crockpot orange chicken, jasmine rice and steamed broccoli

Saturday 1-8-11 (9AM basketball game)

Breakfast-muffins and yogurt
Lunch - Leftovers, fruit
Dinner .-Homemade gluten free veggie pizza and salad


Thru out the week, we eat fruit everyday, fruit kefir smoothies everyday, so I don't list every snack. But this is our plan for the week. I've been loving my crockpots...sometimes the main course is in one and rice is in another....I've also been loving my pressure cookers...yes, plural...a huge one for large meals and the smaller on for main courses or for rice.

You can link up for menu plan Mondays by going to http://orgjunkie.com/ or just to glean some great ideas from others who have benefited from menu planning!

Now to TRY for an earlier night and earlier wakeup tomorrow! Due to a lot of health issues that I've had this year, and especially this past 2 weeks, we are seriously in need of some organizing and getting into workable routines for our family....and God is so faithful to lay them out for us......back to schoolwork tomorrow! Have a blessed week! ~Sue~

In Thanksgiving and Gratitude....

~May you all have a very, very blessed Thanksgiving! May we all praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for his love, provision and many blessings! I cannot express it as well as my daughter can, so please ....go to my daughter's blog and read a special Thanksgiving blessing!

www.justasiam-meghan.blogspot.com

~Sue~

Simple imaginative fun....

It is a very dark, chilly, gray day here today...but inside...it is warm and wonderful!

My ALMOST(on Monday!) 6 year old littlest daughter, Anna, was playing in her room with her 2 year old cousin, when she came to the kitchen like this.....to tell me her play was about to start! She had spent tons of time patiently teaching her little cousin and coaxing him to say the right words and BE "Joseph" to her "Mary"...
Scene one....take one....in Bethlehem praying over baby Jesus...

Ty (Joseph)....looking more like "Linus" clutching his blankie!

This was a 'scene' from Tinkerbell (guess who is Tink?)...she dressed Ty up as the boy tinker fairy, Terrance...he plays along with whatever she wants so well!

And of course....the ever-present 'Star Wars'....these things and Legos are very present thru-out our days....Anna LOVES to color and spends a lot of her time doing that and playing with her dolls....and she loves it when her big brother or little cousin plays along with her.

Now....rest time for everyone! Have a warm, wonderful day! ~Sue~