Tis the Season!

It's that time of year! Time to transfer all the garden booty into jars or bags for the cupboard or freezer. The only thing that has been harvested from my garden is lettuce (so far!), but I have been canning and freezing for the last three days.


Hubby and I discovered a local produce auction. Amish farmers from far and near bring their horse-drawn wagons in, loaded with all kinds of produce. Our first purchase was 16 dozen ears of corn for $1/dozen! And the corn was deeeelicious! Hubby had the corn all husked for me, and helped me cut the corn off the cob. I was surprised at how quickly the job was done. My mother-in-law has the best recipe for freezer corn. Maybe it's a standard recipe, but it's the only one I have ever used, and we are totally spoiled. It is the only corn we can eat. Store bought corn--canned or frozen--tastes like garbage. 


Here's the recipe if you want to try it:


Delicious Freezer Corn
Cut the corn off the cob. Make sure to go back over the cob again to get the "milk" out.
In large pan, put 4 quarts of corn, 1 quart water, 4 teaspoons salt, 1 cup sugar (I don't add the sugar anymore)
Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes. Put in other pans to cool. Put in freezer bags.


Pretty simple. I've found that even if the corn is old, it makes great freezer corn.

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Home Sweet Home

Well, I am back from a whirlwind vacation out west.  We saw some awesome sights, and visited approximately 14 or so National Parks. Starting in Ohio, our travels took us through the states of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

We've been to the top of Pike's Peak, down to the bottom of canyons. We walked where presidents (Grant and Eisenhower) walked, and where thievin' bank robbers walked. (Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid).

We saw the awesomeness of God's creation at Yellowstone, Bryce canyon, Zion, and so many more. We saw the vastness of the United States, but were sad to see so much land not being productive, either in crops or pasture, or (dare I say) drilling for oil! There is no reason why this country should be in the mess it is in. If politicians would get out of our lives, and do what they are supposed to do, which is to protect us from our enemies, and not worry about our BMI, or carbon footprints (what a joke!) we would all be doing just fine, thank you very much. (Breathe deep!)

We also got to spend a little time with some dear friends who are now living in North Dakota.
We had a wonderful time, and we are still speaking to BIL and SIL, who planned the trip.

We got back last night, and I spent two hours today weeding out the garden. I picked my first tomato, and have quite a few more coming on. I'm really counting on having enough to make some salsa. The lettuce is growing like crazy, the cabbage is just starting to form heads. I'm not sure what's happening with the brussel sprouts and eggplants. I've never tried to grow them before, so I'll just watch and be surprised. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get to my flower garden!

It is good to be home.....even though we have to leave tomorrow for a few days of painting down in Cincinnati. I feel a bit like a gypsy!

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Go West, Old Foggies!

This will have to be a short blog because there is a 20 minute limit on the use of the computer here at the Days Inn. 

We did not get to see a great fireworks show as I had hoped. Partly due to the weather...it was stormy with lots of lightening. We watched a few fireworks through the window of the hotel. Not a great view,but, that's life. 

Today we are in the thriving metropolis of Turrey, Utah.  There are about two hotels, one restaurant, and one gas station here.  We spent most of the day at the Capital Reef National Park.  There are some amazing sights to see in this country of ours.  Every turn seems more spectacular than the last.  Okay, so a lot of the sights are of rock formations, but, they are spectacular just the same. 

We have made it to Pike's Peak (which is NOT the highest point of the Rockies).  Since my memory is so bad, I can't remember the name of the lady who wrote "America the Beautiful" , but, she was inspired to write it while at the top of Pike's Peak. The air is pretty thin at 14,000 feet, and I found myself feeling just a bit naucous, and starting to get a headache.

We've been at the top of canyons looking down, and today we were at the bottom of a canyon looking up. In case you might be wondering, we did not hike.  We were able to drive down.

I've only taken about 600 pictures, and this is day six of our vacation. I'll have to wait to get home to post some pictures.

Since my time on the computer is limited, I'm not sure how many blogs I'll be able to visit, but I'll do my best.
I hope you are enjoying your summer, and Jennee, if you are ready this, I hope you are tending to the raspberries and the garden! (Thanks!)

Till next time!

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Travelin' shoes

Tonight I find myself (along with Hubby, BIL and SIL) in Abilene, Kansas, the home of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was also President of the United States, but when he went  back into the private sector, he preferred to be called "General".  We visited the Eisenhower Museum, Library, and Home. It was quite interesting. Things have changed quite a bit from those times. Did you know that they had to pay for their food while at the White House? That was a surprising fact. That was before presidents were treated like royalty. They have forgotten that they work for us.

We then had supper at Brookville Hotel, and it was deeeelicious!!!!  They have one meal. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed corn (fabulous), biscuits, cole slaw, cottage cheese, and relish plate.

We are leaving in the morning for Colorado Springs, Colorado, and hoping to enjoy a fireworks show there. 
Pikes Peak is also on our list of things to see.

I'll have to wait to get back to post pictures.

Have a happy 4th of July, and remember, freedom is not free.

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My Garden

Yeah, I have got to work on my titles. But, it's kind of late tonight, and I'm not feeling very creative. Hubby and I are leaving on vacation at the butt crack of dawn on Friday morning. YAWN!

This is my first year for a garden. This is also the first year we have taken a summer vacation. What are the odds? Much to my surprise, everything that I planted is now growing. I've even remembered that the purpose of a garden is to harvest it, and we have enjoyed several salads made with our fresh garden lettuce.

My garden has actually progressed much farther than the pictures show, but, you get the idea.  I put in lettuce, spring garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, red cabbage, white cabbage, broccoli, peas, eggplant, beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, radishes, and onions. I'm also trying strawberries and asparagus.  This morning, I added a row of green beans.

Here are a few pictures.

My tomatoes! Okay, these are not the ones I started from seed, BUT, the plants I did start from seed, are also growing quite nicely. It's very exciting! I'm hoping to make plenty of salsa this fall!

My blueberry plants. They are supposed to have blueberries the first year, but, I'm not so sure.

My little herb garden. (Actually, it still looks about like this, sadly.) My cilantro has greatly disappointed me.

My raspberry plants.

Well, there you have it. I hope to be busy this fall, harvesting, canning and freezing.

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Our Infamous Camping Trip Part 3

This is the third and final installment. And also, FYI, I'm going to gone for about 3 weeks. Hubby and I are traveling west with our SIL and BIL. We're gong to Missouri, Utah, SD, ND, and MN. I'm looking forward to having a vacation. Not sure if I'll be able to blog, so just in case....

Now, back to our camping trip!

On Sunday morning, after our little church service, we decided to take the boys swimming.  We took the five-mile drive to the beach, but when we got there, J.T. and B.D. were not interested in going into the water. They would not even let their feet get wet! Hubby played with J.T. in the sand, while I held B.D. while he took a nap. B.D. had not been sleeping for very long, when it started raining again, so we grabbed the boys and headed to the truck. It just sprinkled for just a little while, so when it finished, we tried swimming again. This time the boys were more willing to go into the water. They wouldn't go very deep, so hubby and I sat in about six inches of water and played with the boys. The wind was blowing and the sun kept hiding behind the clouds, so we finally left because we were freezing!  We drove the five miles back to camp, and got dressed into warmer clothes. But, then, we didn't have anything to do, and Hubby was going crazy with boredom, (this was before he learned how to relax)so we got back into the truck and drove five miles back to the beach and got ice cream cones! After a while, Hubby thought it was going to rain again. I thought he was crazy. There was no way it was going to rain again. We got back to the campsite just before a down-pour! It rained for quite a while, and when it finally quit, Hubby got a beautiful camp fire going. (He had suspected that it might rain, so we wisely put some wood where it would stay dry.)

I was the "veteran camper". We always camped when I was growing up, and I told Hubby that the best part of camping was sitting around the campfire at night, enjoying the fire and watching the stars. That was our goal, to have a campfire.

So, Hubby got a beautiful fire going. We finally had a campfire. But, we barely had time to enjoy it when it started raining again! When  the rain finally quit the second time, we had no more fire, and some damp wood. Hubby tried to get a fire started with damp wood, but finally gave up. Then he tried using charcoal. That took longer yet. The fire finally smolderred enough that it eventually started itself, but it was never really a true campfire.

After supper, Hubby wanted to fish a little. So, we all piled into the truck and went looking for a fishing spot. We finally found a place where he could cast out a few lines.  He started fishing. He cast out a line, waited, reeled it in.  Cast out a line, waited, reeled it in. No nibbles. No bites. Then, J.T. wanted to fish, too. So hubby cast out a line, then J.T. reeled it in. On the third cast out, J.T. reeled in not one, but two fish! (He was using a double hook.) That made the whole trip worthwhile! Little J.T. was so excited. However, Hubby did not like the fact that J.T. had caught two fish, while he hadn't even gotten a nibble, so we packed up the fishing gear and went back to camp to get the boys ready for bed.

Hubby and I played another game of Scrabble, which he won. Grrrrrr.  We never did get to have a campfire. Everything was too wet. And, that night, J.T. managed to wet the bed and fall out of bed, again! End of third day. (Sunday)

Hubby probably made 100 trips to get water in the three days we were there. Every time he got water, J.T. would get into it before I finished washing the dishes. He washed the camper, the truck, the camper again, and anything else he thought needed washing.

We originally had planned to stay until Wednesday, but on Monday morning, we packed up camp at record speed and took off. We didn't even eat breakfast! We stopped along the way and got some rolls and juice.

To top it all off, on the way home, I got sick. I didn't get the truck door opened in time and barfed all over the door! I was trying to clean up the mess while Hubby sat in the truck with the boys, with his ears plugged, trying to sing to drowned out the barfing noises, and dry heaving.

We got home before noon with no desire to ever go camping again!  And, 30 years later, we still have no desire to go camping!

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Our Infamous Camping Trip Part 2

I just have to say as a side note, that this story cracks me up! I'm so glad I brought it out of the archives. I'm just sitting here typing away and laughing at the memories. I hope you enjoy it! If you missed Part I, you can

just keep scrolling down a story or two.

During the first night, J.T. , our 2-year old, wet the  sleeping bag, and he fell out of the bed. In the morning, Hubby just about died when he found out that he had to drink DRY MILK for breakfast! So, he took the boys with him to find a grocery store where he could get some real milk.  Meanwhile, I cleaned up the camper, and pulled out the wet sleeping bag to air dry. When they all got back with real milk. we ate breakfast. Then, Hubby, who hasn't mastered the fine art of relaxing, was bored because there was nothing to do. So, we all loaded into the pickup to take a look around the campsite and find the lake. We couldn't find the lake, so we had to ask the rangers. They told us it was a five-mile drive, so we took it, and did indeed, find the lake. Then, we headed back to the campsite for lunch. After we got to the campsite, some friends had stopped by to see us, so we invited them for lunch. Hubby barbecued some hamburgers, and just as we started to eat, it started to rain. So, we ate quickly, then dashed into the camper. Imagine the fun of four adults, two active toddlers, and one very talkative pre-teen boy, all crammed together into a small, sweaty, steamy, humid camper.  The rain continued for half an hour. When it finished raining, our friends left. 

We then decided to drive to the mall (yes, I know we were camping), to see the movie, "Annie", then go to a Mexican restaurant our friends had told us about. We got to the movie too late to see the 1:30 show, so we walked around the mall until the next show.  Both boys were sleeping when we got to the mall, and we should've gone ahead and gone to the movie. (You know what they say about hindsight!) But, we waited until our sweet boys were WIDE AWAKE. Talk about disaster!

J.T.  wanted to sing "Power in the Blood" again, and B.D. (age 14 mos.)spent the entire movie saying da-da-da-da-da as loud as he could. (Usually, it's so sweet when they say da-da.) He was louder than the movie. Hubby finally gave in and bought some popcorn, hoping that would calm them down. He originally didn't want to get anything, because we planned to eat right after the move, and we didn't want to spoil their appetites. As Hubby was handing the box of popcorn to J.T., J.T. knocked it out of Hubby's hands (accidently), and popcorn went flying all over the floor. There was half a box left, so them kept them quiet for awhile. Hubby figured it was worth the investment, so he bought another box of popcorn when that was emptied. When Hubby brought the popcorn back, he put half of it in the original box and gave it to B.D., then he gave the other box to J.T.  J.T. took his box, and very calmly poured it right out onto the floor! By this time, Hubby was about ready to be committed! Between the two of us, we probably made about ten trips out and back into the theater. (I know, I know. We probably ruined the movie for those sitting around us. But, we just wanted to do something special for our boys. Don't judge us too harshly.) I was out with B.D. during the last 10 minutes of the movie, so I never did see how it ended. We were never so glad for a movie to be over. We hurried out and loaded ourselves into the truck and headed off to fill our tummies with Mexican food. The boys were real good on the drive over to the restaurant, but it ended when we walked through the restaurant doors!

We thought the movie was disastrous! We had no idea how bad it would get. The first thing J.T did was to head straight for the lady who was sitting next to us, to grab for her sunglasses and keys. Then we had to play musical chairs because J.T. wanted to sit by his Daddy. We ordered our food, and that went O.K., and we waited for our food to arrive. Then, B.D. our quiet little boy, started in for a crying fit. He cried and cried and couldn't be consoled for anything. The waiter was superb. He brought  B.D. a balloon; that didn't work. Then he brought him a dish of fruit. That helped, but as soon as the fruit was gone, the crying started again. The waiter even tried to hold him so I could eat, but that didn't help either. Hubby inhaled his food, took the boys and left me to finish my dinner and pay the bill. We were so embarrassed. B.D. had never done anything like that before. When I got out to the truck, Hubby was holding B.D. who was now, just as calm as could be. Hubby had taken off B.D.'s shoes, and it seemed to solve the whole problem. He was an angel the rest of the night.

On the way back to camp, we decided we would not attempt to go to church in the morning. We decided it would be less nerve wracking if we just had a nice, quiet service at camp. so Hubby stopped at the store and got some things for communion . The boys went to bed at a fairly decent time, although J.T. had to be coaxed to sleep. They were sleeping by 10:00. It was too wet outside from the rain to have a campfire, so we sat in the camper and played Scrabble. It was a lot of fun even though Hubby beat me at every game. That night it was B.D. who soaked the sleeping bag, and fell out of bed as well.  End of Second Day.  (Saturday)

What could possibly happen next???

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