Garden Strata

I made us a simple supper strata for dinner the other night. I used up some mushrooms in the fridge and zucchini from the yard.

Garden Strata
Line the bottom of a quiche pan with thinly sliced potatoes. First butter or grease the pain though. I then layer with thinly sliced veggies I have. I used zucchini from my garden, chives and fresh parsley along with sliced mushrooms. I then whipped up five eggs with a little heavy cream I had leftover. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Before pouring on the egg mix, I sprinkled some grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with the egg and baked about 30 minutes at 375 degrees until a knife inserted came out clean.

Linking to:
Coastal Charm
Bowl Full of Lemons
Wow Us Wed.
Frugally Sustainable
Weekend Whatever Party
The Mommy Club

Flowers

Picked a jug of sunflowers, hollyhocks and black eyes Susan. I love a from the garden bouquet.

In a crock with cold water and we are set.

Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday with the dads in your lives. Ours was super low key with left overs from Saturday. My poor guy had to work very early on Sunday morning. A freeway crossing with power lines can only be done early A.M. on Sundays. He came home around 7:30 am with donuts. Oh man do I need to take a walk for hours to burn off the calories from this weekend.

Linking to:
Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm
Cowgirl Up
Bowl Full of Lemons
BNOTP

share

tweet

This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Anheuser-Busch. It is intended for an adult (age 21 and over) audience only.

I had the chance to try the new Michelob Ultra Light Cider. Now I am not much of a drinker, never touch the hard stuff, dislike wine very much, but my hubby and I enjoy beer and cider very much. Nothing like enjoying a cold beverage on a summer evening.

So last weekend, at our ribfest barbecue, hubby and I tried some Michelob Ultra Light ice cold. You can drink it straight or over ice which is awesome as I usually savor my drink for a long time and having it iced will be great. It was very crisp, light and refreshing and let me tell you we were hot from a rough tournament of horseshoes. The flavor of apple is a nice change from the usual and adds a real crisp taste.

Michelob Ultra Light Hard Cider is naturally sweetened and made from hand picked apples which I love. Apples in anything is good to me. We love to make beer sausage where you cook smoked sausage in the crockpot for hours in beer, but I can see where this would be great for this recipe. The sausages would get a hint of apple. Cider sausages would be perfect for a fall gathering or tailgate party slathered with spicy mustard.

The cider was a wonderful treat and I could see us enjoying it whether at the beach camping or swimming with friends at a summer barbecue. I think I may bring this to the next barbecue we attend as a special surprise.

You can find out more at Michelob ULTRA Light Cider Page on BlogHer.com or visit the Sponsor's Site.

Sunny Simple Sunday #2

Welcome to Sunny Simple Sundays #2. We had another party here this weekend. Our daughters graduation and 21st birthday party combo. That is four parties in two months. We are exhausted. Lots of mile stones and celebrations but now we are done and the parties are over.

Here some shots of the chickens running amok in the yard before I guests arrived.

They love this old bench. It is a favorite resting spot.

My sister in law made this cute 21st birthday, graduation bucket for my daughter. She always makes the cutest things and wraps so creatively.

The graduate/birthday girl with her Star Trek cake. We are total nerds over here.

That blue frosting turned all of our teeth and lips blue.

Okay now it is time to join the simplest party in blog land. Just link up a post or whatever but make sure it is family friendly. Oh and I forgot. I will announce the winner from last weeks party tomorrow. I am so tired tonight that I need to get to bed.

Grow Chives

I have been growing chives for about 15 years and they are all from the same one plant I bought so long ago.

Here they survive all winter in the ground or a pot but I whack them back once a year in the winter. I rarely if ever buy green onions and just use fresh chives instead in recipes. You can use them by themselves or chopped up with a little minced onion. They divide easily and if you live in a cold region I am sure you could over winter them in a pot set in a sunny window.

They require just some water. I never feed them and they just keep going and growing. This year I have divided ones potted up away for Mother's day gifts.

Remember to join me tomorrow for Sunny Simple Sundays.

Linking to:
Sat. Night Special
Seasonal Sundays
Sunday's Best Party
BNOTP

A Night of Celebration

Here she is!! My girl has graduated and I was just so full of joy and emotion last night. We have had a couple of months of so many things to celebrate and my girls growing up and last night was the final celebration for our family. Our oldest is an R.N.

She has worked so hard and I have a lot of respect for these students. Their college experience is so much harder than mine was. You not only have to learn so much about medicine but you have to work so many hours in the hospital. I have a lot of respect for this girl of mine.

The ceremony was nice as a loved one was able to place the sash on each graduate. I loved being a part of her celebration.

Of course I was crying.

We are so proud. She wrote a touching tribute to all of us in the program and included the influence my parents had on her young life. That really choked me up. I know they were smiling down from Heaven.

We are so blessed and I am very thankful for this family. God has made our lives so full and rich and these moments we savor deeply. It is often chaotic here with the busyness of life but that is what it is all about.

Here she is with her grandparents. They have been there for every milestone in her life, the first born grand daughter.

Friends came to share in her special night.

All the young ones headed out to celebrate and Hubby and I headed home with Q. We put on your jammies and toasted one another. Life is good. I am full up today and so happy she made it through so well and has a bright future. Now she must study hard for her state boards. Congrats #1. You made it so.

The "make it so #1" reference comes from the Star Trek Next Generation series and we always watched the show when she was a tot and adopted that line for our oldest. Bunch of nerds over here.

Linking to:
Weekend Whatever

Graduation Day

My oldest has her graduation from nursing school tonight. Just hours after the stressed out thing takes her last final. Why is it when you have something special coming up and all that there has to be a power outage somewhere and my husband doesn't even get to come home at all last night. It is 6:00 am and he is still not home and I have no idea when he will get home if they will release him. I swear this happens before every vacation or big day we have planned.

So I am up at 4:30 am realizing he is not here still and always just a little worried about him. I am used to this sort of thing after 23 years of it but I will be tired today and he will be in a walking coma. I pray he gets sent home to have a nap and be able to somewhat enjoy what we have waited 21 years for. A child to be raised and done. I know she is not done but she has met a huge goal and I feel so very pleases as punch inside for her and for us so I just want him here and rested so we can savor that small moment when they call her name  and I get to place that pin on her scrubs. Thanking God for this special day in our lives. I am a bit weepy. Wish my folks were here. I miss them for the big things. She is named after my mom you know. There will always be a bond there between them. Okay lack of sleep is making me emotional. I will post pics tomorrow. We will be the family with the bags under our eyes.

Finally he came home and is tucked into bed for a little shut eye before the ceremony tonight. Thank God. I think I was a little emotional earlier. I am always worried when he is out for long hours on no sleep. Thanks for listening to me.

Homemade Laundry Stain Remover

I was so thrilled to find this recipe on ehow. I use a lot and I mean a lot of stain remover and the coupon deals have just not been there so I went in search of a recipe for one I could easily make. Now I try to keep things as natural in the house as I can but when it comes to laundry stains, I have to use the big guns with a lineman husband and a four year old.

This stain remover works GREAT!! I just cannot imagine buying premade again. It takes out blood from my daughter's scrubs and all manner of stains from the lineman. I even got chocolate milk out of a shirt today that Q managed to spill right after I told her to please not spill anything on her good shirt. Isn't that always the way?

So here it is:
Homemade Laundry Stain Remover
1 part Ammonia
1 part dish soap ( It called for Dawn but I had Joy, worked fine)
1 part water.

I just mixed in an old stain remover bottle.
Edit to add that I spray on and toss in on mild stains but I bring out the big scrub brush for tough stains. And a WARNING do not mix with bleach. Ammonia and bleach make a reaction that is very bad so I do not use this in a bleach load. Thanks to a reader for reminding me of this. I knew this but wanted to make sure you all do to. I have never had a problem but wanted to share this.


Linking to:
Katherine's Corner
Somewhat Simple
Delightful Order
Home Sweet Home
Show and Tell Friday
Frugal Friday
Weekend Whatever
Sat. Night Special
BNOTP
Raising Homemakers
Handy Man Crafty Woman

Frugal Challenge - You Know It's Summer When...

We break out the snow cone machine.

I bought this about ten years ago and it was a terrific purchase. I usually only buy one or two syrups and they last all summer. Ice of course is pretty cheap. Just open the ice maker.

This is a super low cost treat the kids can share when friends come over. I don't know if you have noticed but ice cream, even popsicles are outrageously priced these days.

A pack of colorful straws from the dollar store make slirpping fun.

We also make a lot of iced tea and lemonade. It is so much cheaper than store bought drinks. If I happen to grab some on sale the kids and their friends suck them down so fast. I always keep a jug of iced tea in the fridge and make lemonade if I know they are going to have friends over. We get free lemons from the inlaws.

You know it is summer when the cute hair styles start showing up. This is my 18 year old heading to school. Last day!!

Linking to:
The Mommy Club
Seven Thirty Three
Open House Party
Share Your Cup Thursday
Weekend Whatever

My Chicken Coop

I have received several e-mails about my new coop and where I bought it so I thought I would do a post so that I can answer questions about it all in one place.
I ordered this coop from Amazon.com. I also saw it on Ebay. The box said it was an Aosom Chicken Coop and I think it was made in China. It seems to hold the four girls fine but they do roam the yard twice a day and have the other coop and run they spend mid day in. As for quality, some say you should only build your own but my hubby was over it and just wanted something simple to put together. Took him less than an hour.

Now we live in Southern California. Our yard is wind protected and we don't have freezing temps. I do think we will build a little cover for the rainy season but we don't have summer rains and that can wait.

As for quality, it arrived all in good shape. No broken pieces. The one metal latch on the door seems a little cheaply made but that is an easy change out when needed. I was not looking for Fort Knox and don't have to keep coyotes or bears out at night. We did make one modification and that was the little screened door up on the house. It was solid and hubby just slid the slats out and replaced with screening for more ventilation. The coop has two laying boxes in the back and you can lift the little lid to collect eggs. This seems to be a great fit for our situation. So far I am very happy with it. Just wanted to pass on the info for those that have been asking me about the coop and where I bought it.

Linking to:
Savvy Southern Style
Cowgirl Up
Frugal Days
Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Fishtail Cottage
Sat. Night Special

Morning

I absolutely love being at home. Getting up everyday and tending the animals is a chore I enjoy. I am an early riser and usually am up around 6:00. I make myself some coffee and sit down and turn the computer on and watch my Stu Varney.

Thought I would take you on a tour of my morning chores. Promptly at 7:00 am I head out so let the chickens out of their house so they can eat and drink. They greet me with soft clucks and I love it.

They all noisily head down the ramp to the food and water.

I sit down for more pc time and coffee and wait for the dogs to rise. They are more lazy and sleep in.

They go out for a wee and then come in and beg for a cookie. Here is the biggest beggar you have ever seen. Already licking her chops.

My big girl Sandy is more patient. Lola is a blur until she gets her cookie.

 At the feed store I buy them in bulk. Little ones for Lola and bid ones for Sandy.

The kitties are even more lazy and sleep in much later. I finally shew them out to go potty. But of course my favorite morning greeting comes from lil' Miss Sunshine. Always the biggest snuggle and kiss when she gets up except for the other morning when she told me that when I breathed on her it was "terrifying." 

Stinker.

Love to watch the girls while I have my coffee and computer time.

Linking to:
Return to Loveliness

Sunflowers and a Thank You

These are some of my sunflowers from the front yard. The horrid offenders my neighbor hates. But rather than have her scoff and them leaning over the fence, I cut a bunch of them to enjoyed by us. I think they are my favorite summer cut flower.

In the morning with the sun shining brightly.

In the afternoon. What could be prettier. Some of the already developed seed heads went to the chickens.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to join the party yesterday. It meant so much to see so many of my friends join and to meet some new ones. Thank you so very much!! Also the party is still open here if you'd like to join in. I will do the drawing at the end of the week.

Linking:
Heart and Home
BNOTP
Making the World Cuter
Coastal Charm
TableTop Tuesday
Cozy Home Scenes
Wow Us Wed.

Welcome to Sunny Simple Sundays

Welcome to Sunny Simple Sundays. 

First remember that hanging basket that I could not figure out what to put in? If you leave something empty for a while in this house a certain someone decorates it for you. This is what Mr. Sunny has gathered in there.

Okay now for the party. I am keeping this simple. Just join up your blog post, giveaway or whatever. Just keep if family friendly. You can be a follower of this blog if you'd like. No worries.

If you haven't joined one before then just go to the post on your blog you want to use and click on the title. It will give you the URL of it and copy that. When you click on the box to join the party it will give you the prompt and just enter that URL and it will guide you through the rest. That's it. E-mail me if you have any other questions about linking up.

Thank you so much and have a wonderful SUNDAY!! 

 I will choose one person from the party and send them something cute I picked up at the bookstore yesterday. That's it. Can't wait to see what you all have to share.

Okay I can see I did something wrong and it is linking just the name of your blog and not a picture so I will have to work on that for next week. Thanks so much for joining though. I really appreciate it.

Linking to:

Met Monday

Barnyard

What are you up to this Saturday? Hubby and I are heading to breakfast ALONE at our favorite restaurant for breakfast food of course.

Then it is off to Home Depot for a few things to finish up the new coop.

Noticed a farm theme growing in the house. Mr. Sunny decorator gathered up some farmy things in my little cabinet. The cow bell on top was from my dad's farm when he was a boy.

Chickens of course.

Here are the girls right now. As I am having coffee at my new computer space, the chickens always come up and peck my window.

Crazy animal antics. This cat loves to lay upon my sleeping daughter. He is the king of his castle.

This is a favorite breakfast lately. Eggs in a basket or something like that. I cut a whole in the bread, butter the pan well and drop the bread in and crack an egg in the center. Cook for a few minutes and then turn over with a little more butter. Mmm morning sunshine.

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to join me tomorrow morning for Sunny Simple Sundays. Let's hope this newb can get the party started without a hitch. If you haven't joined a blog link party I will put some simple directions up for you. Fewest steps as possible is what I am after.

Linking to:

Sunday Blog Love