Beading

It has been for-EVER since I have made any jewelry. My fingers have been itching to have beads tumbling threw them. To get back into it w/o much time or committement (or brain power) I worked on this easy little bracelet. It is a birthday gift our niece Danni. Are my reading/beading glasses fun or what?

Tea for...Me

I love tea. Wally world, was out of Great Value decaf (I am a serious light weight when it comes to caffeine) black tea. So I looked for the next cheapest thing, and Tetly was it. I love the little round pillow. It doesn't hit my tea button, its a close 2nd (or 3rd- still searching for a good decaf black). Drinking tea for me is mostly about capturing a flavor memory. I have two that are my favorite. Black tea because my Grma Lois drank black tea, and raspberry tea because it reminds me of Grma Brown (here).

On to the mug. I love simple and pretty. I like old and worn (what my kids call dead people junk). The contemporary mug (Jon's Christmas gift from J.J.'s girlfriend) is not me. But I like it. I like the feel of it in my hands, on my lips, and the way it holds the heat. For now I will console myself with its color, black and raspberry.

Rag Rug

This rag rug, like the other one (here) had a direction all it's own. I may have it figured out, I'll keep you posted! The middle is an old green floral sheet that was my favorite. The creamy yellow was another sheet. And the cranberry was a thrifted-wonderfully-worn-soft-cotton table clothe that I paid $1 for.

It sets in front of my chair that is not far from the pellet stove (here). It feels so nice under my feet, I think it's the worn cotton that gives it that comfort feel. It's not perfect, but it has character. I love it!

Gift for His Mom

He puts a song in my heart this man-boy of mine. He called today. He lets me ramble about dr. apts. past and yet to come. Then he requests (its always like this), its not a hair cut he's coming home for, or to have a button sewed on or his pants patched. My mission is to locate Origami pattern for flowers for his girl friend. He's coming home to craft with his Mama (I can say that 'cuz he walks in the door and says "Hi Mama!")!!!!! I am going to officially choose to believe that this is my valentines gift from him! I love to do hands on with my kids no matter the age.

J.J. is our prodigal, much like his father before him. Our 2nd child, 1st son. He makes me crazy at times with his liberal views. He has made some choices that has brought tears to my eyes and prayers to my lips (and one of those prayers is that he will come full circle like his father before him). Even though I get frustrated and down right heart broken at times, I am so thankful that he calls, requests, comes home...

... and always brings me a rose.

Real Men Don't Wear Super Bowl Rings...But They Do Sew!

Avery had sewing class last term. He did really well, he's a wee bit of a perfectionist about his seams, and I must say I am very impressed. He sewed the manly Viking (there's always next year) pj pants and the hat that he has on. This is his official after school uniform! He also sewed a duffel bag and a pair of hot chili boxers for Grace, who, besides her shoe addiction she has a funky boxer thing goin' on!. Ave now has an opinion about sewing machines, and unfortunately he's not at all impressed with mine. I tell him it just showing its age -- 60, I kid you not!

Prayer Shawl

Sometimes when life is a struggle, it helps if you focus on someone else's struggle. My brother rents from a lady named Loni, (her and her husband were friends of our parents when we were younger) Loni has cancer and is in the last days of her life. I made her a Prayer Shawl, first to spend more time praying for someone other than myself, second to let her know that she is being prayed for.

Yarn balls all lined up to make sure I have enough.

I am finished with the shawl, but not with the prayers.

The inspiration came from here, Barb made me a comfort quilt to lay under while I recover from surgery. Since sewing is painful for me I crocheted the shawl. I have spent so many hours under my comfort quilt. When Randi and Jeremiah's baby boys were born silently, her and I both sat under the comfort quilt, sometimes alone, sometimes together. That kind of comfort is meant to be passed along.

Taste of Brasil

This dish is called Feijao, it was introduced to us by our foreign exchange student Denise. We actually think of her as our Brasilian daughter more than our exchange student. Any-whooo, Feijao is a black bean soup, served with rice and what Brasilians call vingrete. Denise told us that the way to eat it is to put a bit of each on your fork. It's a good combination of flavors and temperatures. Denise also taught me how to make rice -- the right way!! I miss that girl! We are expecting a visit, maybe in July from Denise, her mom, sister, and god parents. We are so excited to see her and meet her family. If you think I spelled Brasil wrong, I spelled it the way the people of Brasil spell it.

Grace eats hers in two piles. One with vinagrete on rice, the other feijao on rice.
Grace in keeping with the spirit of the meal eats hers like Denise did, with a fork and knife. The rest of us use a fork, but that knife thing is a little tricky. The rice helps absorb the juice from the bean soup.

This recipe for Feijoada-here is from cookbrazil.com. It is a little different than the recipe we use and also a different spelling. We tweaked our recipe according to what Denise explained as far as taste and meat cuts.

Feijao -- The Denise way

10-12 cups water

2 bags black beans (need 2 to make it thick enough)

1 ham bone with a good amount of ham still on

1 lb beef tenderloin (I have used left over roast beef)

2 lg onions cut up

salt

pepper

bay leaf

Beef bullion (optional - if ham bone isn't flavorful enough, it bugs me when that happens!)

Wash beans and soak overnight. Rinse beans. Put water, beans, bay leaf, and ham bone in large kettle, bring to boil, reduce to simmer until beans are tender. Here I take out the ham bone and pull off any ham still attatched (I also remove anything that will yuck me out). Add beef, onions, salt, pepper, and here I go with the Lawry's again! Simmer until onions are soft and flavors all incorporated. If you have a small ham bone just half everything.

Vinagrete

1 lg green pepper diced (seeds removed)

3-4 med. tomatoes diced

1 bunch spring onions sliced thin

3/4 cup olive oil

Cilantro - is optional, we don't use it

3/4 cup vinegar (can use less if not a fan of vinegar)

salt

pepper

-we also use Lawry's

The dicing needs to be done pretty small.

Mix all ingredients together.

Rice

4 cups water

2 cups rice

2 tbs butter

1 rounded tbs salt

1 small onion diced (I prefer) or 1 clove minced garlic

Heat water until boiling. Add rice, butter, salt, & onion. Stir.

Cover and reduced to simmer. Let simmer without lifting lid.

Check after 20 or so minuets. Rice is done when tender.

Dressed for Success

As a new term begins, A & W start dragging home text books to be covered. I think I do a half way decent job at it. We did try those stretchy book cover things but my kids were not impressed. Whoever shops next will have request paper to replenish my stash of brown paper bags, they come in so handy!! I started using duck tape a few years ago, it was more for the look, we also found that I had to recover less often. Once again duck tape has played an important role in the educational process.

My My

This is "My Randi" our oldest, the child I have loved the longest. She loves to laugh and has a contagious love of life about her. She has had to pack a life time of hurt into the last few months of her young life. She is growing and learning from that hurt in a way that is graceful. Her days are filled with keeping up with the child she will love the longest, the little chap upon her lap. Her and her husband live in central Missouri, they have taken us to some really fun places when we visit them.

This is "My Tami" I say My Tami because there are other Tammy's out there, and when talking about her I say "My Tami" so whoever I'm having a conversation with knows which one I speak of. Tami is my only sister. She is a military wife and mom of three amazing children that she is homeschooling. They have lived all over this nation, top, bottom, both coasts, and a number of places in between. They travel quite alot and do some really fun stuff. Tami is very energetic, she always has a few irons in the fire. She is so photogenic, I'm jealous. I love my sister, we chat a few times a week, ok we have been know to chat a few times a day.

Both "My's" have now joined the wide world of blogging!!
I am so excited to get to peak into their lives on a regular basis. I have linked them so just click on their web address.


Randi's family blog will be about "the boy" that keeps them busy! http://helveyhappenings.blogspot.com/


Tami's blog will take us on adventures and chat our ears off!!
http://fivenomads-tami.blogspot.com/

I Know My Rights

#6 on The Midwestern Bill of Rights states that we reserve the right to...Consume a meal that is entirely composed of pale food, including but not limited to mashed potatoes, apple sauce, boiled fish, rice, pork chops, gravy, scrambled eggs, white bread, and lemon Jell-O or vanilla ice cream for desert.

Our supper falls well into the color scheme, Swedish meatballs, egg noodles, corn, milk, and for desert, left over Christmas baking, Russian Tea Cakes, and Lace roll-ups. We did break away a bit with the sweet gherkin pickles. This was to pay honor to our pioneer ancestors, the only green on their tables from October to May was in the pickles they put up. I read that in my Little House Cookbook. Willy made most of the supper. No one guessed that the secret ingredient in the Swedish Meatballs was nutmeg.