Processing Life

     Some day I may turn my thoughts and feeling into writing, but right now life feels too full to be able to do that.
    Baby T is doing well, and has brought so much joy into all our lives. We are so very thankful to God for his gift of life.
    There have been weddings, events, and extended family to spend time with.
    But ...
    Our world was rocked when my Mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I still believe in the power of prayer, having seen and experienced first hand how God still performs miracles. If you care to join me in prayer for healing for my much beloved mother, we would be most grateful.

Blueberry Ice Cream

     LV gave me a lovely ice cream machine for Christmas. I have enjoyed trying different recipes for ice cream and gelatos, but this week I decided I want to try my hand at creating my own recipe. I'm so glad I did. It just happened to become our favorite ice cream yet. 

    I jotted everything down as I did it, so I won't forget if I ever want to make it again. I 'm glad I did, because I already have requests to make it again. Since it was such a hit I decided to share it with you as well.

Blueberry Ice Cream

1¼ c wild blueberries (frozen is fine)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ c. sugar
Pinch of salt

Combine and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly. Boil for about a minute or so. Remove from heat and cool. Pour into a blender and blend.

In a medium size bowl beat:

1 egg

Add 
½ c sugar
½ Tbsp cornstarch

Mix well then add:

¾ c. whole milk
½ heavy cream
blended blueberries 

Heat in top of double boiler until thickened.

Cool and freeze according to your ice cream freezer instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes. Scoop into a container and tuck it in the freezer until ready to eat. 

Currently

 Reading ... In the Bible I'm in the Psalms again. I love them so much. 

In fiction I'm not engrossed in any book for my own reading pleasure at the moment. Instead I'm in the middle of another read aloud with Steven. He's a voracious reader on his own, but he still enjoys our story times. So do I, even if the chapters I read are long enough to make my mouth dry by the time I'm done.

Watching ... the cats. They have have claimed a spot behind the house next to the entrance of a mouse hole. They stare at it watching for any activity and then try their best to catch it. So far they have not been successful.

Listening ... to the beautiful sound of a variety of birds singing in the trees here around the house.

Wearing ... a mint green dress. Not my favorite, but it's comfortable so that balances out the color for me.

Baking ... bread and cookies. Neither of which I'm pleased with the results. I used my mother-in-law's recipe for Cheesy Garlic Bread. I've made it many times already, but this time it didn't rise well at all, and now that it's cooling it feels super heavy. I'm almost afraid it may be doughy in the center. I guess we'll find out tonight.

The cookies were a new recipe from a fancy cookbook. I followed the instructions precisely but the first cookie sheet full turned out lacey. I added more flour to the rest of the dough and they're better, but I'm still not impressed. The flavors are good though so at least they have that going for them.

Cooking ... for supper I'm making mashed potatoes, fried beans, hamburgers, and a salad. 

Playing ... most recently Apples to Apples. It's always a fun time when we pull that game out to play.

Cleaning ... the lazy susans in the kitchen. I have four of them, and it seems they need regular maintenance.

Loving ... sharp knives. Rosie Mae knows a guy who sharpens knives so I sent most of my chef knives off to be professionally sharpened by him. They came back yesterday, super sharp. Today I wanted to cut up potatoes and grabbed one of the newly sharpened paring knives to use. Only I forgot it was newly sharpened. The knife went flying through the potato and came to a stop inside my thumb. Ouch! But what a dream to use. I'm really happy with them.

Yesterday ... was a sleepy somewhat unproductive day. LV and I had spent all night out on the road, only getting home in time to hear the alarm go off signaling time to get up. We ignored it and went to bed anyway. I ended up with two hours of sleep, as a result I kind of stumbled through my day.

Later today ... I am hoping to get some Baby T snuggles in.

W ~ Water Witching

     School work was laid aside for a while as the teacher allowed all of us to gather at the window and watch the man who was walking around the schoolyard carrying a forked stick.
    He held the ends of the forks in his hands and walked with slow measured steps back and forth across the schoolyard. Finally about ten feet from the west side of the schoolhouse the stick started turning in his hands. He stopped and counted the revolutions until it became still again.
    Taking a stake he had tucked in the side pocket of his pants, he pounded it into the ground. Water would be found at around 300 feet he said.
    The next week well drillers moved in and started drilling. The teacher wasn't nearly as excited about it as we were and pulled the blinds to keep us from being distracted from our work.
    Strangely enough water was struck at the depth the water witcher had said it would be found. 
    I don't understand how it worked, and haven't really delved into trying to understand either. I do have some opinions about the whole thing, but I'll save them for another day.

V ~ Vacuum

     Having a vacuum cleaner was a thing of immense interest to our children when we first got one.
    Kenneth really wanted to use it too, so I let him try. He did a great job on the living room. Nearly every day he would ask if he could run the vacuum.  Often more than once a day. He liked the lines it made on the carpet for his fields as he played with his farm toys.
    I didn't mind have a nice clean floor, until one day I noticed some smoke coming from the vacuum cleaner when he was done. I grabbed it and threw it out the door where it lay in the grass smoldering away.
    Kenneth watched me wide eyed, "I guess I shouldn't have vacuumed the ashes from the fireplace," he said.
    Somehow during our fire safety lessons, I had never thought it would be necessary to add the caution of never using a vacuum cleaner to remove ashes from a burning fireplace.
    We got a new one to replace the one that was ruined. Kenneth still enjoyed running it, but now only in the way it was meant to be used.