Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What can the average citizen do to honor a military veteran and/or those currently serving?

Something we all can do is keep them in our prayers.

2. Besides a flag what is something you own that is red, white and blue?

A tray that Sailor gave to me for my birthday when he was eight years old.

3. Does love really conquer all?

God's love conquers all.

4. Strawberry shortcake or blueberry pie?

I really like strawberries and if I want shortcake I like my Mom's recipe the best by far. I can't even make myself eat the bland store bought stuff.

5. Do you share personal stuff with your hairdresser?

The only person that ever does my hair is myself so I guess you could say my hairdresser knows all my personal stuff.
6. Does money lead to selfishness?

No.  It's not money that causes selfishness. It is a heart matter not a money matter.

7. What piece of furniture in your home most needs replacing or refinishing?

The bunkbeds in our girls' room. Daddy made this set when we moved into a tiny house when I was a little girl and built them to fit the room so they are shorter than average.

They are still in great condition after all these years so I'm thinking they will find a new home with one of my brothers and keep on being passed down to which ever family member needs them.

8. Insert your own random here.

Some of you may remember LV's attempt at home dentistry that I had blogged about here.  Almost exactly three years later he finally went to a dentist last week and got that tooth removed.

Little Lesson ~ Baking Pie

In our basement there is a wall covered with shelves to hold jars of canned goods. I always think it looks cheerful with rows and rows of an assortment of food and on the end of one shelf a lonely jar of blackberries have been waiting until I decide to use them. They were left untouched for quite a while since I knew as soon as I use them we will officially be out of blackberries.

Several weeks ago they made their way from the shelf in the basement to the refrigerator in the kitchen where I again waited a while before actually using them.

LV loves blackberry pie so last week I finally opened that jar of blackberries and poured them into a saucepan and proceeded to make pie filling. The children were all looking forward to having pie once again and while the filling was cooling I made the pie dough.

As I fitted the dough into a pie pan I was bombarded by all sorts of pie wishes from the children. Sailor thought I should go ahead and make his favorite savory pie and a pumpkin pie. Rosebud thought a peach pie or my cherry cheesecake pie would be great. While Sunbeam was sure nothing would be as good an oatmeal pie.

While all their requests were valid points I had only enough pie dough to make the blackberry pie and I took the opportunity to teach them a little life lesson.

If I would have started out with the blackberry pie and added other ingredients every time someone said what they think would be great I would have ended up with something no one would have liked.

Much like life. If we try to please everyone we will ultimately please no one. If we pattern our life after God's will we don't need to worry what anyone thinks. Though they might think we should be doing this or that, if we stay true to our calling the end results will be something everyone will recognize as a good thing.  Just like the blackberry pie. Though not every one's favorite at the end everyone could enjoy a beautiful piece of pie.

Giveaway Winner

It was so much fun reading all your comments and hearing what were your favorite childhood books. I have always enjoyed children's books and many of my favorites were mentioned.

After consulting my trusty friend, the random generator; here is the winner.

Comment # 40

Starsandsunshine said.....

Great assortment of items! I love anything by Dr. Seuss :)

Congratulations! I hope you will enjoy it, and happy crafting!

Blueberry Crumb Cupcakes

Rosebud has been dreaming of having a day when we do nothing except a variety of baking all day long. We agreed it would be a fun way to celebrate once I finish the book I was writing. Yesterday was the day we finally got to have our baking day.

Rosebud had a list of recipes she wanted to make after spending hours poring through cookbooks with a notepad and pen to jot down the things she wanted to try.

Our house is now filled with cupcakes, brownies, pie, and some other baked goodies as well. The freezer will be getting some of it but there's not a chance for these Blueberry Cupcakes to get to the freezer at the rate they are disappearing. 

Blueberry Crumb Cupcakes

½ cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 Cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1½ cup blueberries

Topping

1/3 cup flour
¼ cup butter (softened)
½ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl combine butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix. Add milk and water and mix well. Add remaining flour mixture. After mixing spoon into cupcake liners. Sprinkle blueberries on top.

In a bowl mix topping ingredients until crumbs are uniform and spread over berries. Bake at 350º for twenty minutes.

Yield 20 delicious moist cupcakes with a delightful sugary crunchy top.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's something you miss about the 1980's? If you're too young to miss the 80's how about the 90's?
Life was interesting for me back in the 80's. I was at the age when every day was an adventure. For me it isn't fashion, music, or anything along that line that I miss.

One thing I would love to be able to do again is stand in the front of the buggy with the storm front open while Daddy is driving the horse. I'll never be a little girl again so sadly that isn't possible.

2. Do you have a library card? If so, how often do you visit?

Yes, I do and our children do as well. We love books so we really enjoy the library.

3. What's the secret to success?

I had to think of Psalm 1  as soon as I read this question.  I find those first three verses very thought provoking.

4. This is National Backyard Games week...what's your favorite backyard game?

The games played in our yard are very simple children's games. Pitch and catch being Sailors favorite right now.

5. If I dropped by today what would I find on your coffee table?

I don't have a coffee table but if you were to look at the end table beside my rocking chair you would find a lamp, a book or two, as well as a little basket of diapers for Buddy.

6. Do you own a bicycle? When was the last time you rode a bicycle? Is that something you enjoy?

I have never attempted to ride a bicycle. LV and the children do and with a lovely biking trail near by it would be almost tempting to learn to ride so I can join them on Sunday afternoon bike rides.  Maybe someday.

7. What's your favorite cheese?

I really, really like cheese and any given day you will find at least four different kinds in our refrigerator.  It's hard to pick a favorite but I never turn down fresh mozzarella.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm counting down the days until Life with Lily releases on October 1st.  Right now it is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Giveaway Day!

Giveaway is now closed and a winner has been announced.

Sew Mama, Sew  hosts a fun giveaway day every May. I have enjoyed them for several years already and this year I decided to join the fun.

Today I'm giving away a fun little assortment of sewing supplies.

There's 2¼ yard lace. Seven fat quarters. A dozen Hello Kitty buttons as well as three cards of other buttons and two packs of iron on denim patches.

I'll keep it short and sweet since I know you have hundreds of other giveaways to enter.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me one of your favorite childhood books.

Winner will be chosen and notified on May 26th. 

This giveaway is open to everyone.

Our Week in Pictures

Getting ready for our weekly grocery run on Saturday we discovered this snapping turtle in our garage. When ever a turtle stops by we have a tendency of dropping everything until it leaves. Fascinating creatures!

Sailor presented me with a hand picked bouquet from one of his walks.

The Canada geese are busy parading their little family back and forth to make that their babies can enjoy the creek on both sides of the road.  They seem to take for granted that traffic will stop for them and so far it has. I always breathe a sigh of relief when they reach the other side safely.

Buddy keeps growing so fast. His two new favorite things to do are reading books and squealing. Happy ear piercing squeals.

~~~~~

Thank-you all so much for your patience with me as I spent my writing hours working on the Lily series instead of blogging every day.

Liqua-4

Does anyone still remember Liqua-4 soap? It used to come in ivory colored, soap bar shaped bottles. My parents used to buy it by the case from an elderly man that had a store on wheels and made monthly stops at all the Amish homes in our community.

We children always looked forward to hearing him pull up in front of the house and since we had to take turns accompanying Mom inside this fascinating truck filled with shelves stocked with everything we could imagine there always seemed to be a disagreement about whose turn it was.

Once inside it was much more fun looking at everything on the shelves than at the pile of things Mom purchased. She wasn't nearly as tempted with all the great options and stuck to the basic bulk foods that we used and several times a year a case of Liqua-4.

The fun we had with those empty soap bottles encouraged us children to use plenty of soap when washing our hands and as soon as a bottle became empty we washed it out and stashed it away until summer. Once it was warm enough we used those bottles for water fights. They worked better than anything else we had with their ability to squirt water farther and the ease of refilling them.

For Grandma, on Mother's Day

I still have one Grandma and this year I want to dedicate my Mother's Day post to her.

My first memory of her is when I was only two years old and we went to visit her in the hospital. Some careless teens had crashed into the back of the buggy she had been driving and both of her legs had been badly broken. She invited me to sit in the bed next to her where we had our little chat and I remained there until Mom and Daddy were ready to leave. She gave me a flower from the bouquet on her night stand to take home. I loved that flower and carried it around until it had turned brown and was quite tattered.

After we had moved I didn't get to see her more than once a year but every visit was always packed with laughter, good food, and great conversations. She always made a point of teaching me how to cook or bake something new often we would scour her collection of recipe books for something we had never tried before.

She was the queen of making do with what she had and improvising. She was the perfect balance of being thrifty and yet generous.

Today I want to thank her for being a wonderful mother to my Daddy, and being the sweetest grandmother any granddaughter could wish for.

Sheer Terror

 Some of the shenanigans that LV and his brothers pulled off while they were growing up is almost enough to curl my hair. I'm amazed they managed to survive to become adults and that there were no broken bones or other injuries in the process.

Imagine for a moment if you will that you are lying on your back on top of a stack of hay. You are being pushed head first towards the edge and there is a sheer drop of twelve or more feet to the next stack of hay bales. No amount of trying will keep your brothers from pushing you over the edge. There is a moment of sheer terror as you fall but then you manage to turn in order to land on your feet.

Your brothers cheer as you climb back up the stack and now help push one of them over the edge.

This is only one example that has me wondering why no one got hurt and why their parents never found out what they were up to.

Left Handed

We have been noticing how Buddy seems to favor his left hand when ever he wants to get something and are wondering if he will be left handed or if it's too soon to be able to tell.

If he is indeed left handed I am glad he won't have to go through the same things my Grandpa did. Being left handed when he was a little boy was not something that was accepted and he was never allowed to use his left hand in school.

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