Awww!

Awww......how ADORABLE! This is so cute I just HAD to post it! :> )

Friendship

People today, have lost sight of what a true friendship is. So, in the spirit of my good friends, real life and on-line, I thought I would try and explain what true friends are.

Friends don't have to be exactly the same. They can have similarities, but they have their differences. We need to accept each other they way they are, faults and all. Be a WYSIWYG person (what you see is what you get), it's the best kind to be!

Friends should be able to argue! You can't always agree on everything. I think if you do, then you really are not being true.

You have to be comfortable together. You should never feel nervous or uptight, or feel like you are walking on egg shells. If you do, something isn't quite right.

Friends love each other UNCONDITIONALLY! Sure, we have our liitle "tiffs", but when all is said and done, we forgive and forget.

Believe in love at first sight because there IS the equivalent in friendship. You don't have to know someone for a really long time or really well to become good friends. Nor do you have to have met someone in-real-life. Many life-time friendships have grown with the only communication coming from chatting on-line or on the telephone.

Friends are FOREVER but only if YOU keep it that way! . Don't diss your buds, love them instead. And when they drive you crazy, love them that much more for being just a little bit different and maybe just a little bit quirky!

Happy Thanksgiving

For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provisions, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.

--Mary Fairchild

Our Thanksgiving Menu

I just LOVE this time of year. The wonderful food, the decorating, and just being with family and friends. This year, we are having my friend G., her daughter, and her 2 nieces over for Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't want them to be alone nor have to cook a huge meal for them so we asked them to come here and celebrate with us since her husband will be out of town.

Today I will be baking an apple, a pumpkin pie, and some cookies. I need to find a good "sugar free" recipe for a pumpkin dessert for G. She is diabetic and I want to make sure she has some desserts she can pig out on too! :> )

I then need to chop the onions and celery to get it ready for the stuffing. Then it's getting the yams into their pretty little baking dishes and all brown sugared up. Everything else will be done tomorrow. It's certainly going to be an early morning, but I wouldn't have it any other way! :> )

Our Thanksgiving menu will be:

A BEAUTIFUL Butterball turkey, courtesy of my daughter Goose
Sage Sausage stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Candied yams w/marshmallow topping
Green bean casserole
Creamy Cauliflower
Scalloped Vadalia Onions
Fresh baked pepperoni rolls

Desserts:
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin Crunch
Sugar-free pumpkin pie
Amish Chocolate Chip Bars

Hmmm.....feels like I'm missing something! Well, if I figure it out, I'll just fill it in.

So, what's on YOUR Thanksgiving menu?

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

My walk today takes us back to Christmas 2004. My mom had just passed away in October so this was my first Christmas without her.

The next two years would prove to be very difficult for me, but PRAISE GOD, He is a loving and forgiving God and is always waiting there for us to return to Him, with outstretched arms.

THANK YOU, JESUS!

Homemade Bread Crumbs

Any time I can make something myself instead of store bought, I jump at the chance. One of the things Skippy and I have been making ourselves is bread crumbs. We use them a lot and the expense can add up quickly, so for this "frugal female" it was just a given.

Making our own things means we can adjust them to our own liking, our taste buds. We can add more of this or less of that, although in our house it's usually MORE OF THIS! lol

For the bread crumbs, you can use any kind of bread you like. I like to use stale baguettes because the work wonderfully in my grinder. I use other breads as well, but that's my favorite to use. You can check with your local supermarket or bakery and see if they will sell you their "day old" breads. There's nothing wrong with them and you can get them at a "fraction" of the cost.

If you are using regular bread, you can toast it in your toaster or even in your oven, whichever works best for you. And please remember.....these recipes can be altered to fit the tastes of your family. I like a LOT of flavor in my bread crumbs so I just keep adding. You make like less of flavor, so you may choose to add less. Make it your own!!

For our bread crumbs you will need:

4 cups of ground or crushed bread crumbs
3 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons course ground black pepper
5 tablespoons Italian seasoning
*****I usually use dried parsley and oregano from the garden but I ran out :(

Add all ingredients into a gallon zip-lock bag and shake. Store in an airtight container. Use at your convenience!

I made this batch yesterday and then used some in my meatballs for dinner! YUMMM!

Go Away, YOU!

ACK!!! The sniffles and cough germs have invaded our home. But have no fear...............I AM PREPARED!





We have tissues..........









a warm fire..........








Tylenol..........








cough drops.........







movies..........









homemade chicken soup..........









and the best medicine in the whole world.............MAMMA'S LOVE!!!






So don't get too comfortable Mr. Cold....YOU WON'T BE HERE LONG!

THIS IS INSANE!

Prince Georges County, MD

1,600 school children and their parents have been ordered to appear in circuit court this Saturday where health workers will immediately FORCE them to receive required shots. Parents who don't bring their children to court for the shots are to be jailed.

"We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way, but it's going to have to get done." said State Attorney Glenn Ivey.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The following video is from FOX News on a controversial new law in Massachusetts where the police can vaccinate adults against their will, jail people who refuse to get the shot, while the police can remove children from their parents in order to have the children vaccinated.

I don't have the words to describe how I am feeling about this! This is CRAZY!!!

The Famous St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Two weeks ago, my daughter surprised her mother-in-law and I with tickets to go see Paula Deen in Washington, DC. Paula was appearing at a food convention along with GUY FIERRI and a couple of others from The Food Network! She brought a few special guests with her; her husband Michael, and her sons Jamie and Bobbi. WOOT! WOOT!

Anyway, Paula talked about her Ooooey, Goooey Cake and some of the different variations of it. Well, let me tell you.....that was all that has been on mind ever since.

I have read a couple of different ways you can make this, including using cream cheese or a butter cake mix. In this recipe I didn't use either one.

The legend about the cake's origin is included in Saint Louis Days...Saint Louis Nights , a cookbook published in the mid-1990s by the Junior League of St. Louis.

The cake was supposedly first made by accident in the 1930s by a St. Louis-area German American baker who was trying to make regular cake batter but reversed the proportions of sugar and flour. I don't know about you, but I am extremely THANKFUL for this mistake! :> )

For this SCRUMPDILLYICIOUS confection, you will need the following:

THE CRUST:

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used unbleached flour)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened

THE FILLING:

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used unbleached flour)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350*. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar to prepare the crust. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together. Pat into the bottom and sides of a greased 9 x 9 inch pan.

To prepare the filling, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in egg until combined. A bit at a time, alternately add the flour and evaporated milk, mixing after each addition. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until well blended.

Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cake is nearly set. Do not overcook. Let cool in pan.

ENJOY!

English Comp?

SENSITIVE POST - PLEASE BE AWARE

This morning Bean (my youngest daughter) instant messaged me and asked if I would help her summarize a paper for her for English Composition class. This normally, would NOT have been a problem, but this morning, it certainly was.

You see, the information the teacher had given them to summarize involved the torture of animals. What that has to do with English Comp, I will never understand. With everything else there is to write about, WHY THIS?

Bean was upset herself and knew that I would be too. She tried to prepare me for what I was about to read, but it did no good. I have sat here and balled my eyes out for the past 20 minutes over this. I am OUTRAGED! Outraged that these kinds of things are STILL being done to animals so that we me have make up and home cleaning products that they know won't hurt us. But what about the poor, defenseless animals that are being tortured each day? I guess I have been naive in thinking that in this day and age, we wouldn't have to do things like that anymore.......I guess I was wrong!

I know there are people who think that they are "just animals" but they are alive and feel pain, just like we do. WE ARE ALL GOD"S CREATURES!"

From now on, I will be an INFORMED CITIZEN! I will read the make up and cleaning product labels on each item BEFORE I make my purchase. All the more reason now to make more of my own cleaners! I will make sure that whatever items I choose, will NOT have been tested on animals. Won't you do the same?

(stepping down off my soap box now.......after I write a letter to the English Comp. professor)
:> (

Four Sisters Of Faith

Dear God......

What's On The Menu

Tonight's dinner on the farm:
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Fresh baked Grandmother Bread

Dessert:

Ice cream of choice

(This menu is subject to change at any given moment!)

Homemade Pop Tarts

I found this recipe for homemade Pop Tarts over at Suzanne's. I have to say, they are DELICIOUS! I made three different kinds last night; strawberry, grape, and........













my favorite, spiced ginger peach! Absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!



To get the recipe for these sweet treats, please visit Suzzanne McMinn at "Chickens In The Road" by clicking HERE!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!

And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

My walk today takes us back to Christmas, 2006. Our boys (left to right: Mopie, Simba, and Rascal) are just relaxing on the couch after a busy morning!

I LOVE my boys....they keep me SANE!!

Frontier House

How can to tell if you are a "Frontier House" mega fan?

1. Step 1
   

   When you watch the Frontier House collection every day, twice a day, for 6 months. You memorize catch phrases and use them often during conversation. Phrases such as "That's not gawn' work...is it?" and "What's the difference between you and Gordon Clune right now?" become everyday sayings around your house.

2. Step 2
   

   When you research the Boulder Valley in Montana to find land prices, research Lehman's catalogs to find out which cook stove is the best, find yourself looking in Log Homes Illustrated for floor plans, and start hand sewing your own prairie dresses.

3. Step 3
   

   When you contemplate canning all of your food, hand dipping your candles, making jerky form scratch, and having milk-goats...and then actually doing it!

Hmmmm......I guess I have a new name! ROFLOL!

LOL

When Kiddo and I realized that this actually played music and rolled it eyes, we laughed so hard.

I guess you just had to be there! :> )

A Quest

Yesterday after church, Skippy, Kiddo, and I, took a drive to Front Royal. We were on a quest for a tool box for Skippy's new job so we went to one of our favorite stores.........

On our way inside, I was stopped in my tracks. Is those Christmas decorations......... ALREADY?

Why yes, it is! WOW!

Skippy's new company provided him with a big rolling tool box, but he needed smaller ones to fit inside that he can take with him when he goes out on a call to fix the machinery. (insert gasp here when I realized I did NOT get a picture of the two boxes he found that fit perfectly inside the drawer :> 0 And that was the reason we even went to Lowe's! lol




Then it was off the "TOOL WORLD" section. lol
They had so many tools there, one could get lost for HOURS!











Look at them......ain't they PURDY? lol












SHWEET!





Next stop............the locks! Look at all of them. Who'd a thunk there could be so many different kinds?









WOW.........that's some level!









Am I the only one who didn't know that wing twists came in four different colors? :> o










WISH LIST ITEM FOR MOM! (hint, hint)














Even Kiddo found some things that he wanted! :>)











On our way out, Skippy found this amazing tool box.















It had a built in cd player...............











And a small fridge. Can you believe that?











This is me after we were done looking at all those tools and tool boxes! ROFLOL!

After that, we went to Wal-Mart and picked up a few things, then back home.

WHAT A DAY!