CANDLE LIGHT

One of the things I love about fall and winter is the darkness of the evening. I know, this is something that most people dislike about these seasons (Right Kim?).

~I love that Doug often comes home earlier when the days are shorter.




~I love that our evenings seem longer and cozier.




~I love that we are all in the house together instead of all over the property doing our own things.




~I love having more time for quiet pursuits: sitting in front of the fire, watching a movie together, playing a game or cards, knitting, reading.




~My favorite thing, though, is eating dinner by candlelight!







We eat every meal with candles. It doesn't matter if it's an elaborate roast beef meal with all of the fixings, or just hot dogs and frozen fries. We even used candles at breakfast this morning because it was a cloudy, stormy morning. They made the kitchen seem warmer.










It all tastes better and seems more special with candle light.

Our family seems to take dinner more seriously when the candles are lit. The meal is not just something to get over with. It is a pleasant occasion to thoroughly enjoy.

We all tend to linger longer at the table in the darkness. There is no rushing off to get things done like there is in the summer.

Have I gone on and on enough? Can you tell that I am passionate about candles? Not just the decorative candles that make your house smell nice but the candles that have a real purpose, to give light to your beautiful home and family.

I'M BACK!!!!

I'm back from my unannounced vacation from blogging. I've not been finding time to blog lately. There have been various reasons for this. The main reason, though, is that I have been fighting off a perfectly horrible cold and cough. I'm better now, thanks! It really knocked me low for a week or so, and the computer was not really a priority for me. Life goes on though, so I have some pictures to share with you about what went on during my blog absence.

It was opening day for archery season deer hunting. Andrew and Billy went out bright and early to sit in the tree stands that they set up earlier in the week. They came home late morning...empty handed. It seemed like they enjoyed themselves anyway!

A couple of days later, they went out in the evening and Andrew shot a deer. They trailed it for a couple of minutes but it got too dark to see well, and Andrew decided to go back the next morning to find it. He found it right where he expected it to be. He brought it home to get a couple of pictures and then took it to the butcher's.

I baked Nana's favorite cake for her birthday dinner.

We all had a wonderful dinner celebrating. Nana blew out all of her candles on the first try! She loved the cake and took all the leftovers home to my mom and dad's house (sorry Mitch!)

We spent the next day shopping, sightseeing, and eating out with Nana. It was such a great day!

My mom, my sister and her kids, and Tommy. It was late September, but it was a really hot day! Doesn't Nana look like a model in a fall magazine sitting with the mums and pumpkin?

On our shopping trip, we went to our favorite bulk food store. Tommy picked out some autumn sprinkles and, later in the week, I made some sugar cookies to try them all out. You can't really see it in the picture, but the black ones are little black cats. How cute!!
Last Saturday, Billy, Tommy, and I took a long hike in our woods. Billy has been finding lots of new trails in our area with his new mountain bike so he was our trail leader. It was fun hiking on new trails after living here for almost 15 years! It was a terribly hot day AGAIN!!!! I will enjoy these hikes MUCH more when we finally get the fall weather that we are supposed to be having.

I was so excited to come upon this pond in the woods. If you look carefully in the background, you can see a house. They could kinda be called our neighbors, I guess, since we walked to their house from our house.

Isn't this tree amazing?!! It's my favorite tree in our forest. Doug, can you guess where it is?

Well, that brings you pretty much up to date.

I hope you all had a good week too.

Hopefully, I'll be back soon.

~~Goodnight~~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!!

Today is my grandmother's 90th birthday!

Nana is an amazing woman. I am so lucky to have her genes running around in my body!

She is a beautiful, funny, smart, loving, interested, devout woman.

I cherish the stories of her life that she shares with me. She has helped build so many, many wonderful memories in my life.

Nana and Poppop's marriage was the best testament to everlasting romantic love that I have ever witnessed. She is always full of advice for me, and her other grandchildren, about how to keep our marriages strong (always wear lipstick & always wear a pretty nightgown to bed are my favorites).

Nana has 2 children, 7 grandchildren, and 16 (soon to be 17) great-grandchildren. She is well loved!!

Nana is coming to my mom and dad's for a visit this week. I can't wait to see her and give her a huge birthday hug. She has requested her favorite cake from me - White cake with lemon filling and coconut icing. We'll spend a couple of days shopping, visiting, and of course eating really great food.









Nana with her 16 great-grandchildren:



Happy birthday Nana! I love you more than I could ever say!!!!!!!!

SOUP TIME AGAIN

I made one of my favorite soups for dinner tonight. I won't lie to you and say that it is everyone's favorite, but we all ate it, and some of us really enjoyed it. Many people who I've made this for before have asked for the recipe, so I know I am not the only one who thinks it's delicious. I made a double batch, but I'll give you the recipe for the single.

Roasted Winter Squash/Apple Soup:

1 large butternut squash (about 2 1/2 lbs)
2 onions
2 firm, tart apples
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbls olive oil
salt, pepper, chili powder
4 - 5 cups chicken broth

peel and seed the squash and cut it into chunks

peel and quarter the onions (I only had one very large onion tonight so that's all I used. It was fine. I think 2 per batch is a little much for our tastes)

peel the garlic

peel, core, and quarter the apples

toss all in a roasting pan with the olive oil and spices to taste



roast in a 400* oven for 45 minutes or until all veggies are very soft.
stir every 15 minutes

Cool slightly - put into blender or food processor to puree in batches - add some broth to make pureeing easier

Pour into a large pot. Add enough broth to make it the consistency you like.

Heat, serve, and enjoy!

This soup keeps really well in a crock pot so it's great for a party or holiday buffet. It also freezes great so go ahead and make a double batch to enjoy later.

~Goodnight~

DESSERT

Tommy and I made one of our favorite desserts this afternoon.

It is really easy to make and tastes amazingly delicious.

Give it a try!

It needs to be made ahead of time and makes a lot of servings, so it's a great choice for when you're having company over. You don't need to wait for company though, because it keeps fine in the fridge for a couple of days and the leftovers are wonderful.


CHOCOLATE ECLAIR PUDDING:

2 3oz pkgs instant vanilla pudding (I buy this in bulk and I think I use 1 cup dry mix)

3 cups milk

8oz cool whip (I use homemade whipped cream that I sweeten slightly with powdered sugar and vanilla)

1 box graham crackers

mix pudding mix and milk
when it starts to thicken, fold in whipped cream/cool whip

lay graham crackers out in a 9x13 pan (I break some up to get them to all fit in a single layer)

top with 1/2 pudding mix

make another layer of crackers

top with second 1/2 of pudding

make a last layer of crackers


icing:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 Tbls milk or cream

mix butter with sugar and cocoa until well combined
stir in milk until it is the right consistency (it needs to be a little softer than regular icing)

spread on top of the crackers

cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before you dig in to give the crackers time to soften

This is pretty rich and you can get by on serving small portions to make it last. It packs great in lunches too.







ENJOY!!!!

MENU TIME

Our weekly menu:

Monday: Tacos and Caramel Apple Salad

I have been using the recipe for taco filling from the Hillbilly Housewife website. It is really delicious! Much better than the taco meat I used to make.

Tuesday: Texas Style Breakfast Casserole - Homemade wholewheat toast - fruit plate

Wednesday: Beef and Noodles - Tossed Salad with ranch dressing - steamed cauliflower

Thursday: Roasted Squash/Apple Soup - Homemade wheat rolls - Cheese and Fruit

Friday: Homemade pizzas

Saturday: Stuffed Shells - Tossed Salad - Homemade Italian Bread

Sunday: Roasted Chicken - Mashed Potatoes - Corn - Green Beans - Dinner Rolls

It's not gourmet food, but it's yummy & satisfying, and it's homemade!!

~Goodnight~

FIRST DAY OF FALL!!

I am so excited that fall is finally here!

It doesn't necessarily feel like fall right now. We had to put our air conditioning on yesterday it got so hot and humid. The nights are getting much cooler though, so I know the heat is not going to last for too much longer.

We only have a couple of trees in our yard showing any signs of fall, but of course I went out and took a couple of pictures to share. There will be many more to post in the coming weeks. I think it is the prettiest time around here.

I planned out my weekly menu this afternoon while I was watching the football game (I'll post the menu tomorrow). One of the desserts that I am planning on making sometime this week is called "Frost on the Pumpkin Pie". Isn't that an awesome name? How could I not try it!
In honor of the first day of fall, I thought I'd post the recipe tonight. I promise to post a picture of it later when I actually make it.
The recipe comes from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook called "Fall, Family, & Friends"

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup gingersnap cookies, crushed
15-oz can pumpkin
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
8-oz container of cool whip:thawed

mix butter and cookie crumbs together and press into an ungreased 9" pie plate
refrigerate
combine pumpkin, ice cream, sugar and spice
blend until smooth
fold in whipped topping
pour into crust
freeze for several hours
let stand at room temp for 20-25 minutes before serving

I imagine that I'll reduce or leave out the powdered sugar and I'll probably make fresh whipped cream instead of using cool whip. A topping of some more crushed cookies will probably be called for too. I'll be sure to post how it works. It sure sounds good!

Happy Autumn!!

DRIVING!!!!

Billy's driving! He went and took the written test for his permit last week and passed on the first try. Now he gets 6 months to drive around with Doug and I.

This is our 3rd teenager learning how to drive. It really is getting easier! When I got in the car for the first time with Sarah, I thought for sure that I would never make it out alive. No offense Sarah!! It was just my first experience driving with one of my precious babies.

It is an awesome responsibility teaching someone to drive. I am so happy that it is Doug and I teaching the kids and not some random driving instructor! We get a minimum of 50 hours of our teenagers undivided attention. It is such a great opportunity to talk to them about being safe, considerate, respectful, and patient. Values that we think are important in a driver, and are missing in so many who are on the roads today.

Billy is really having a blast driving! He's been looking forward to it for a long time. He is pretty relaxed behind the wheel. Maybe it has something to do with the countless hours he has spent behind the wheel of our riding lawn mower!







While we were driving over the weekend I saw this beautiful view and just had to have Billy pull over so that I could take some pictures. It is in the parking lot of a local shopping mall. You never know where you'll find amazing beauty!!

Finally, I have been given a "You Make Me Smile Award" by a blogging friend Bren . Thank you Bren! I love reading other people's blogs and am inspired by so many of them. Bren has such a friendly way about her in her posts. I feel like I've known her for a long time.

I never would have believed it if someone told me a couple of years ago that I would be making friends on the internet. It always seemed like such a shady thing. A thing to warn your children against doing. Well, I have met so many wonderful friends lately on the internet, who I feel like I know better than some of my "in real life" friends. I am thankful for the opportunity to widen my horizons without having to leave my wonderful home to travel all over the country!

Who knows, maybe some day, I'll take a road trip and meet a few of my new friends.

CATCHING UP

Boy time flies! I can't believe it's been 4 days since I posted.

We're all recovering from the weekend of parties celebrating Billy's 16th birthday. Our gift to him was a new mountain bike. He didn't even ask for one so it was a complete surprise. He loves to go on really long bike rides on the trails around our farm. His old bike has been broken for a long time. He's been using a bike that someone trash picked for me a couple of years ago. My bike is a street bike so it's not particularly suited to the kind of riding that Billy likes to do. He was SO excited when we gave him the bike. It has gotten a ton of use already. On Tuesday he had fun taking a long ride in the rain. Imagine my happy surprise when he came home and washed and dried the bike!!







Billy had 2 parties over the weekend. The first one Friday night was with his friends. He had 16 kids over for pizza, chips, fruit, veggies and dip, lots of candy, and this amazing birthday cake.

I got the recipe here . It is a chocolate torte. It was sinfully delicious. I made two because we had quite a crowd. We only ended up eating one at the party, so we have thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd one all week. The blog that I found the recipe on is my favorite blog I have ever read. If you enjoy reading blogs, it is one you should definitely check out if you haven't already. You can find it here .

Billy's second party was on Sunday and it was with my family. We had a wonderful time visiting and eating as usual.

Billy picked the menu:

Oven-fried chicken, roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, steamed broccoli, candied carrots, and dinner rolls. DELICIOUS!!

Instead of a cake, he requested pies.

My mom made pumpkin and shoo-fly and I made apple. I have eaten a little of each and would have a very hard time picking a favorite!

Finally, I want to share with you the newest member of our motorized vehicle family. A new (to us) Ford 9N tractor. Doug bid on it on EBay and won on Sunday night. He and a friend drove 2 1/2 hours each way last night to pick it up (and only got pulled over by the police once).

We've been without a tractor for many years. The old one died a long time ago and we've never been able to replace it until now. Needless to say, Doug is out in the driveway working on it now. It has a couple of problems, but with parts from our old one, I'm sure Doug will make it as good as new in no time.

Okay, now for the most exciting news yet...............I am wearing a sweatshirt! It's actually chilly tonight! Yeah!!!!

Goodnight...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILLY!!!!

Wow! Where do the years go? My 3rd child is 16 years old! We'll be going sometime this week for Billy to take the written test for a driving permit. Wow!






In honor of Billy's 16th birthday, I present to you 16 interesting, cool things about Billy.

1. He is really tall and really skinny.

2. He is known as "Billy" "Bill" "Willy" "B" "Biddy" "William" and sometimes when I really want to get his attention "William James"

3. He had a blankie that he called an iggy. I think it is still in his dresser drawer. It no longer holds any resemblance to a blanket.

4. He "drove" my van when he was 2 years old and crashed into a car and a truck in our driveway. Thank the Lord, no one was hurt except the cars.

5. He can juggle.

6. He was the first person in our family to be able to solve the rubik's cube.

7. He is a lacrosse goalie and used to be an ice hockey goalie.

8. He likes to ride our horse Jasper.

9. He has bright red hair.

10. He LOVES to golf.

11. He LOVES to sleep.

12. He still eats like an infant (a little bit every hour and a half)

13. He can do amazing flips on our trampoline (see picture above)

14. He plays the guitar.

15. He's twitchy!

16. He is a wonderful, friendly, fun, funny, loving son. We love you Billy!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!