Kitchen Remodel

We have about decided that we want a great room for sure. The plans have been made to remove the wall between the living room and dining room/kitchen area. I say "about decided" because until the wall actually comes down I can still change my mind. The only hesitation that I have is that whoever walks through the front door will be able to see my kitchen in all it's glory. Somedays that isn't a bad thing...other days I would be humiliated if my own mother saw it! I keep telling myself that it will be a good incentive to keep my kitchen cleaned at all times. Truth be told, we don't have many drop in people other than teenagers. I have learned one thing about the teenagers who stop by my house: they don't care what the kitchen looks like as long as I have some food and sweet tea for them to enjoy!

I am spending this afternoon taking all the dishes out of my kitchen hutch and cabinets that are on the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. I have decided to hide the dishes in the laundry room on a table. (See why I hate this type of process? It doesn't just affect the room that your working in, but it messes with the entire house)! The hutch will have to be moved from its current location when the remodel is complete. It sits on the counter top with base cabinets that are attached to our bar area. Michael will have to build a bottom part for the hutch and we will move it in the dining area. I will love it in its new home I am sure, but I really would like to have a time frame for it getting a base. I can only hide the china in the laundry room for so long you know!

grace and peace,
julie

Fall Garden Reminder

It is that time again to start thinking about planting your fall garden seeds. I planted my cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower seeds down in our makeshift greenhouse today. I didn't get my fill of squash this summer so I planted some more squash seeds too. It takes them 50 to 55 days to mature so they should be in before our first frost date (October 15). I also planted some small sugar pumpkins, but I really don't expect much from them. It takes them 108 days until maturity and that is well into our frost time. I thought I would give it a whirl and see what happened. I am also going to plant some okra seeds tomorrow. It takes them 55 days until maturity and I still haven't been able to grow okra this year. I thought anybody could grow okra!! My son will be tilling some new beds in the next few days. I want to get prepared to plant my peas and collards soon. I also will be planting a lettuce bed for fall salads. I may try another batch of beets too. They only take 58 days until maturity and I didn't get to can any of our beets this spring. Spinach will also be planted in our lettuce bed. I don't like cooked spinach, but we all love fresh baby spinach in our salads. It takes 45 days for that to be ready. Remember, that our growing zone may be very different from yours. Take a few minutes and do some reading to see what is the best time to plant in your area. I want to again see how long we can eat out of our garden this year. Last fall, the chickens ate all of my plants so I am hoping this time around will be better.

grace and peace,
julie

Great Room Thoughts

This is what we woke up to yesterday morning. Our dining room is well on its way to having the paneling removed.

Lots of messes were everywhere it seemed. Yesterday was spent cleaning up some of the mess and studying about removing the wall that separates the living room from the kitchen. Michael spent quite a bit of time consulting some experts about removing load bearing walls. If we can accomplish this, we will have a great room instead of two rooms. We will worry about the details of the great room later, but for now we just want to make sure our house doesn't cave in if we remove the wall! Michael will be going to Lowe's today and picking up the material to make false walls to hold the ceiling in place while he is installing a specialty manufactured beam that will help distribute the weight of the ceiling. There will have to be a column in the middle of the great room to support the weight. (I have learned so much about building the last several days)!

Our older kids were lamenting the state of the kitchen. I heard each one of them expressing that they wish the younger kids would hurry up and come back from Kentucky so we wouldn't keep tearing up the house! I really am attracted to houses that have great rooms. I like the big open feeling, but I am a bit worried that I will miss some of the privacy that the wall brings. If my kitchen is a mess, then I can go into the living room and pretend that there aren't any problems in the next room. After all, if I can't see it then it doesn't usually bother me. If we remove the wall, everybody will be able to see the kitchen all the time. I just think that I will love the feeling of openness that a great room provides. Any thoughts concerning great room verses separated rooms? At this point, before the wall comes down, all thoughts, ideas, and views will be taken with much consideration and appreciation!!!! I am afraid if Michael takes the wall down that he won't be inclined to have a redo and put it back just because I don't like it!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Kitchen Renovations Have Begun!

This is my dining room. Technically, it isn't a room, but a continuation of my kitchen. Our house was built in the 70's when big kitchen and dining room combos where all the rage. This weekend we started the next phase of our kitchen renovation. First, I was going to leave the paneling and remove the wall paper so we could paint. Again, our house was built in the 70's when dark paneling was all the rage. We have chosen to paint all the paneling in our house. As I was trying to remove the wallpaper, I mouthed something about it would be easier to just remove the paneling and put up dry wall. Have you ever opened your mouth and knew instantly is just got you in a world of trouble? Yeah...me too. Michael was just waiting for me to say the word dry wall. He has wanted to rip all the paneling off the walls and dry wall ever since we have moved into this house. I on the other hand did not want to do that because I KNEW what that would require. Well, last night he started removing paneling and now my dining room is without any thing. Today I am suppose to remove everything out of our kitchen cabinets so he can take them off the wall in order to remove the paneling. Please tell me where am I suppose to put all of my dishes and kitchen things and cabinets? Oh, did I mention that I also have 14 more quarts of green beans to can? You would think I would learn my lesson about my whole mouth thing. Apparently, I am slow. We have a wall that separates our living room from our kitchen and dining room. Around 10:00 p.m. last night, I had loose lips and said something about removing that wall and just having a great room. Michael's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he climbed down off his ladder. He immediately went to the computer and started looking up information on removing load bearing walls! I promptly went to bed before I could say anything else to get me in trouble!

grace and peace,
julie

Sunday Scripture

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9

After a nice hot breakfast here this morning, we will be dropping off several of our children to visit their grandparents in Kentucky. They have plenty of fun planned for the next few days. I will be left with only my two older boys who will also be gone a lot with work, college classes, and football. What is a momma to do without her little ones? Well, this momma is going to put down the iron skillet and pick up the paint brush. I am actually leaving the green beans for a few days and painting and redoing my kitchen. We have only been working on this kitchen for the last 4 and a half years!!!! With the help of my graphic artist sister-in-law, I have chosen some new colors. She is good at this whole decorating thing, and she even offered to travel back here to help me paint if need be! Of course I will keep you updated on all the happenings around the kitchen over the next few days. I may even hog tie my husband and keep him home from work a day or two so he can finish my cabinets! Just kidding about that because no work means no money to pay for the new paint!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Preserving the Harvest

If you want to talk to me the next few days, you will find me down in the green beans. I have been busy every day picking green beans, breaking green beans, and canning green beans. Did I mention that we have also been eating green beans? My goal is to have 70 quarts of green beans in our pantry waiting for winter. Our bean plants are not even producing at their max capacity yet so I am sure I will be able to meet and exceed my goal. I don't mind to can green beans, but I do need to have the beans broken the night before I start canning. This just makes it all go much faster. If you are interested in canning green beans, I recommend picking up a Ball Blue Book. It a wonderful reference for just about any canning need. You can buy them at Walmart in the canning section. You'll be glad you did!

grace and peace,

julie

Best Friends

Seth and Missy decided to curl up together and watch a movie. Apparently the movie was geared more to Seth's liking because Missy went straight to sleep. They stayed together for the entire movie.

He takes great comfort having her close to him. He will go outside by himself if she is with him. This is the great side of an English Mastiff. They love their people and they do become best friends with the little people. This is the reason that I am willing to clean up dog hair by the bucket full in the summer time. There is something very special between a boy and his dog especially when the dog is an English Mastiff.

grace and peace,

julie

Stop and Smell the Flowers

This last week has brought family to our home and we have had the best time just visiting. My brother and his family have come and played with us the last few days. My 9 year old niece got to stay for another week. I asked her today if she really likes coming to my home. (I know the answer, but I like hearing it from her). I expected her to say a polite "Yes, Aunt Julie, I like being at your home." Instead she replied, "Yes, it is delicious!" You know that I cook a lot when that is the way a child describes being at our home! She has also expressed that she likes all the activity of our home. She never has any trouble finding somebody to play with around here. I am thankful to get to spend extra time with her. I know it will make good memories for her as well as for my own kids. I always wanted an aunt when I was a child. My parents were both only children so I never had the opportunity to enjoy having an aunt, uncle, or cousin. At least I can enjoy being an aunt! I wonder if my niece enjoys picking green beans?

grace and peace,
julie

Sunday Evening Fun and a Scary Story

People often ask me what do we do for fun living so far from town. I have to remind them that it only takes 25 minutes to get to town so it isn't like we can't go if when we want to. Truth be told, I would rather stay at home and play here. Sunday evening we decided to set up a gun range in our backyard. Michael brought out the clay pigeon thrower and we each had a turn. Michael taught a friend how to aim and shoot. (We asked permission from her parents first). She was a little intimidated, but she was willing to try none the less.

Here father and son are taking aim at the clay pigeons. We spend time with our children and guns so that they are not something mysterious to our kids. Michael teaches the kids about gun safety each and every time he gets them out to shoot. Our kids feel comfortable around the guns, but they also have a high respect for them.

I too enjoy shooting. I haven't done it as much as I would like these last few years. Perhaps I can change that in the next year. My dad taught me gun safety and how to shoot when I was around 12. I was thankful for this education because I knew if I needed it I would at least be familiar with a gun.

When Michael and I had been married just a few years, he was stationed in upstate New York. He worked nights and I was home alone often. One night around 8:00p.m. I was on the phone long distance with my dad. During our conversation, our cocker spaniel kept barking and barking. I usually would have just let him out the door, but we had a skunk in the neighborhood earlier that week so I kept telling the dog to be quiet. After about an hour, I hung up the phone and picked the dog up to sit down to watch t.v. We were sitting on the couch and out of the corner of my eye I saw a man. My dog knew this man had been there the whole time. He was waiting for me to open the door and let the dog out of the house. He had been there waiting for at least an hour. My heart sank and I immediately walked upstairs. I didn't want the man to know that I had seen him so I tried to act casual. As soon as I hit the bedroom door, I quickly found Michael's shot gun. I prayed that I was loading it correctly because I had never shot this particular gun. I knew I had to go downstairs to call 911 because we didn't have a phone upstairs. As I was walking down the stairs I was prepared to defend myself if need be. I saw the man, but more importantly he saw that I had the gun. I crawled under my kitchen table grasping the gun praying that this man would just leave, and I spent almost 30 minutes on the phone with the 911 operator. Do you know what that man could have done in 30 minutes time? When the police officer arrived, the man was gone. I don't know what would have happened that night had I not had my husband's gun there. I will never know, but I do know one thing. I will always have a way to protect myself if need be. I also want to give that same gift to each and every one of our kids.

grace and peace,

julie

Green Beans and Canning

We ran out of canned green beans last April. I have missed those wonderful jars of garden goodness when it comes time to make dinner. I didn't realize just how much we eat green beans. Our beans are now ready to be picked each and every day. I will spend some time today finding the canner so it can take its permanent spot on my kitchen stove until the garden has finished producing. My goal this year is to can 70 quarts of green beans. I think that will be enough, but if I have extra to can I won't be disappointed.

Last night I was finally able to get my first taste of fresh green beans cooked with our red norland potatoes. I remember my grandmother serving this dish. Heavenly. I also went down the road to a local farm and purchased some organic corn. This was the first time this year we had fresh corn on the cob, and we were not disappointed. I made some fried apples and cucumbers and vinegar and we feasted. Only the males of our family complained about the lack of meat, but I didn't care. No, I was in veggie heaven!!!

grace and peace,
julie

Homemade Breakfast Bowls

Have you ever eaten the Breakfast Bowls at a local Denny's? Me neither, but I did steal their idea and come up with my own. I take potatoes and wash them, cube them, and fry them up in an iron skillet. Before I cook them, I fry up some bacon in that iron skillet. I then fry my potatoes in the bacon drippings. (Shhh...don't tell my resident health nut). I also add an onion to the potatoes and salt and pepper. Once the potatoes are done I take them out and drain them on some paper towels. I then start to work on my eggs. I use another clean skillet and scramble enough eggs to feed who ever may be gathered around my breakfast table for that morning. I then take the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. I layer the scrambled eggs on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and then crumble the bacon and place it on the top of the cheese. This dish has many different options that is limited only by your imagination.

To make a hot version add jalapenos and monetary jack cheese instead of the cheddar. You could also add salsa.

Sauteed green peppers and mushrooms could also be added to give it a burst of flavor. Don't like bacon, use sausage instead.

This meal is great as leftovers. Just reheat and serve, and pray nobody remembers that they saw it yesterday! My kids don't like leftovers.

grace and peace,
julie

Flowers Make Me Happy

I spent about an hour this morning picking green beans. While I was picking, I was drinking in the beauty of the flowers. They sure are pretty this year or maybe I just am taking more time to enjoy them this year than I did last year.

The Bachelor Button's are cute as buttons. I just love them sprinkled throughout my flower beds.

The Zinnias are doing well. I was beginning to wonder if they were going to display much beauty this year, but they have finally gotten into the show. I think this is my prettiest bed of zinnias yet. The spacing is just right to make them stand out and look radiant.

Even with all the craziness that life can throw my way, I still love to walk and take in the beauty of the flowers. They always bring a smile to my face every time I walk down their way. I encourage you to pick up some flower seeds and grow some happiness. You won't be sorry!

grace and peace,

julie

Monday Morning Messes and Thoughts on Homemaking

We spent yesterday evening playing instead of cleaning up anything. I slept in late this morning neglecting the fact that I was suppose to be at the YMCA. When I did finally crawl out of bed, I realized what was ahead of me for the day: Dishes, laundry, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning, more dishes, breakfast, lunch, and supper... The list continues, and I wonder sometimes what made me want to choose this lifestyle. I know that it wasn't because of the glamour factor. The reality of life is that we all have to work at something, and I am glad that my work makes for a place that my family enjoys being. The pay isn't lucrative if you are counting dollars, but the rewards in the end are well worth the effort put into the day.

Often times I feel like I am in a rut doing the same thing day in and day out never getting beyond the above list. After all, how much creativity does it take to clean a toilet? However, I know that God made us to be creative people and I get much pleasure creating things for my family and myself to enjoy. I think this is one reason I love to bake breads and desserts. I also love to play in the flowers and bring the beauty of the outdoors into our home. In the midst of the mundane chores of daily living, I try to find the time to create something beautiful. It may be nothing more than taking our cluttered bedroom and putting it back into the beautiful sanctuary that it is designed to be. It may be creating a sitting area on our carport that beckons everybody to gather there as the evening light dims. It may be cutting some fresh flowers from the garden for our kitchen table.

The hard part of being a homemaker is watching everybody undo the work of my hands. Let me explain myself. I spent the whole day putting everything together so we can all enjoy a clean house in the evening. When everyone returns home for the evening, the floor gets tracked. The English Mastiff is excited to see the returning workers so she wags her tail and the dog hair goes flying all over the living room. The carport sanctuary is now full of people laughing and eating and the once beautiful place now has the remnants of 7 people spending the evening there. It has also become home to the frog gigs, fishing poles, and tackle boxes that boys dragged back from the pond. The empty laundry hamper is now full of the dirty clothes of the day. Dishes are now used and sitting by the sink to be washed. Tomorrow will start just as today started. Here is my choice to make: I can choose to enjoy my family or I can choose to resent every chore that comes with having them all together at our home. My family is pretty good about picking up after themselves, but people bring messes. It is a fact of life. Do I want to spend my life alone in a clean house or do I want to share my life with people and deal with the messes that they bring? I know my choice so I am off to make our house a sanctuary that everybody can enjoy being at again this evening including me!

grace and peace,

julie

Sunday Scripture

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Homemade French Fries (Farm Style)

You may be wondering how in the world are we going to eat all the potatoes that we have stashed in our coat closet, but don't worry I have a plan. I have used the Yukon Gold potatoes to make wonderful mashed potatoes. (One of my kids wanted to know why I added eggs to the mashed potatoes because of the yellow color of the potatoes). I have cut the Red Norlands up in quarters, added some olive oil, ranch dressing mix or seasonings, and roasted them in the oven. Last night we were having grilled hamburgers and my hubby requested homemade fries. I pulled out the largest Yukon Gold potatoes out of my basket and started to work. First, I wash them and then cut them into uniform size pieces. I leave the skins on my fries, but if you would rather you are welcome to peel your fries. The above picture shows you the potatoes waiting to be cooked. Aren't they a beautiful color?

I then heat some oil on the stove in a large pot. When the oil is hot, drop the potatoes in carefully. Let them cook until golden brown. You will need to swirl them around with a slotted spoon every now and again. Just use caution because of the hot oil. I use quite a bit of oil...enough to cover the fries. When they are cooked to your desire, spoon them out into a bowl lined with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with Kosher Salt and enjoy! Oh, I almost forgot the most important part of all...use lots of ketchup for dipping!!!!

You know you want some!

If I didn't have a coat closet full of potatoes, I would not purchase Yukon Golds for this dish. I would purchase a cheaper potato at the grocery store. For me, the only thing that cost any money here was the oil. It does take a lot of oil to make good fries. However, I save my oil and reuse it for several more uses. To save my oil, I will wait until it is cool and pour it into quart jars. This way I get more bang for my buck!!

grace and peace,

julie

Flower Power

To me, there is nothing more beautifully simplistic than fresh cut flowers from the garden. I love having them in our home to bring simple everyday joy. I use many different containers for my flowers, but my favorite is my old camping coffee pot. Today it sits on our fireplace full of pale yellow tiny sunflowers. I wish I knew what variety they are because I would love to plant them again next year.

If I could only grow one kind of flower each year, I would choose to grow zinnias. They are easy and beautiful. There are many different varieties of these garden treasures. There are huge zinnias (Giant Zinnias) and small ones (Lilliput), and there are even ruffled zinnias. They are all beautiful and make great cut flowers. The bigger the flower the fewer you need to make a nice full arrangement, but I like to mix and match.

Cosmos are another garden beauty. I don't always bring them in the house to make arrangements because they are a bit more trouble. The green part is beautiful for foliage in the vase, but the flowers don't last very long so you are left with a bunch of greenery. I will use the them for greenery in lots of my other arrangements if needed.

One very important thing to remember when cutting fresh flowers from the garden is to strip the leaves that will be at the bottom of the vase. (Don't take all of the upper leaves off of your flowers because it will make a prettier arrangement if they have some leaves). Removing the leaves helps them stay fresh longer. I always take a large plastic pitcher filled with water to the garden with me. I put my fresh cut flowers with their bottom leaves removed immediately into the water. In times past, I have had flowers wilt before I could even get them to the house so I started bringing down the water to help prevent this. I also try to cut my flowers first thing in the morning or later in the evening.

grace and peace,

julie

A Potato Party

Our potatoes were full of weeds. I think it happened during our vacation to the beach. I didn't find the time to hoe them as well as I should have. I have learned that weeds are ugly, but the plants will usually still produce even if there are weeds in the garden. Due to the amount of weeds, I chose to put on my husband's work boots just in case a slithery snake might decide to show up for the party. I took our pitch fork and began to dig the first row of potatoes. The Red Norlands were beautiful. I intended to dig all three rows of potatoes up in one day, but as the morning went on I decided to let the others grow a bit longer.

At the end of my morning, I had beautiful piles of Red Norlands and Yukon Golds just waiting to be put in bags. I still have two more rows to dig, but this time I think I will include my kids. I intended to have them come out and help me, but it was such a cool morning and I was enjoying some quiet time with the Lord. I never called the kids. Instead, I just kept praying and digging. It was a nice time in the garden with Him.

I let my potatoes sit outside to dry out for a little while. I would have left them all afternoon, but I knew the English Mastiff would assume that I planted cool balls for her and eat each and every one of them. I would not have been happy so I chose to pick the potatoes up quicker than normal. The next problem I encountered was storage. We don't have a root cellar, and the basement is cold but it also has lots of light. I decided to store some of my red potatoes in an old basement refrigerator. I have stored another bushel of potatoes in our coat closet. It is cool and for the most part dark. Problem solved.

Today we are tackling killing some of our meat chickens. Please be aware that I use the term "we" very loosely. My husband and son and daughter are at a baseball tournament. I am heating water (that is my part), and our 15 year old is doing the meat chickens. I promised him that I would server potato soup tonight for dinner. I did think a big pot of chicken and dumplings might be good, but then I decided against that! I best hurry and get my water on to heat... I know it is a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

grace and peace,

julie

I am My Beloved's and He is Mine

We left the beauty of our farm...

for this view. Michael and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary this past weekend. We have never left our kids to celebrate our anniversary, but this year we decided to celebrate in a very unusual way for us. He chose to take me to a resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We had an entire 3 days of rest and relaxation complete with NO agenda. The only thing we had to do for those three days was to show up for our deluxe couple's massage. Let me just say, "OH, MY GOODNESS!" We sat on the front porch of our cabin in our jammies to watch the fireworks show. It was beautiful. We were close enough to home to get there in case of an emergency, but far enough away to feel like we were on vacation. We laughed and talked a lot. We slept in late and lounged about the cabin. We went to photography galleries and out to dinner. We even did a bit of shopping, but mostly we just enjoyed being together. I pray that we don't take 22 more years before we go away again...I am thinking more like this year's winter break. Our kids did great which made me feel even better about the whole experience. The worst thing that happened while we were gone was the Border Collie broke into the house and spent an evening with the English Mastiff on our bed. Don't worry...I washed the sheets!!

grace and peace,

julie