Monday News and a Heartfelt Thank You

Saturday evening we were about to BBQ and hubby popped his head out the door saying that he was called into work. I dropped what I was doing and got him ready to go. Well, I didn't dress him but prepared his lunch for overnight and coffee to help keep him awake.

I told the kids, bbq tomorrow, get and grab for dinner tonight and got some things done around the house. I lit a candle and decided to make the best of the evening off from cooking. I watched a funny movie and blogged a bit.

I also want to thank you all for such sweet comments on my Friday Post. You know how life is. So many things pulling you in different directions and you feel stretched thin. That is where I was and you all just lifted me up and wrapped me in the sweetest words. I was so thankful for such uplifting words and knowing that this too will pass. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family and especially my husband who keeps life in perspective. Love that guy!! 

I just loved this pic of Q. As soon as dinner is done she is ready for her nightly Popsicle. The chickens love it when a bit falls to the ground in the backyard and they get to eat it.

Life is good and when I watch her I am reminded of that.

I wanted to share some favorites from last weeks Sunny Simple Sunday party. This weeks party is still open so you can join here.

The most viewed post from last weeks party was Ravenhill Cottage on Living Gently. This blog is always an inspiration on the simple ways of life and contentment.

One other of the most viewed was Corn in My Coffee Pot on Beating the Heat.

Don't you just love this blanket she is making. I have never seen one like this before. She is also a fellow chicken momma.

Linking to:
Met Monday

Sunny Simple Sunday and a 1000 Posts

Welcome to Sunny Simple Sunday. I also noticed that I reached my 1000th post. Really how could I have that much to say. Well, I am a talker. Online or in person I like to chatter on. Thank you to all my friends out there that have left me such nice comments and visits over the last couple of years.

Found this Pyrex bowl while in Oregon. I just fell in love the the vintage Americana theme.

Look at all these darling images. Anyone know the name of this pattern?

Just for kicks below is the text of my first post. I had no idea how to put up pictures at that point. My first voice in blogging was more couponing and deal finding but has evolved over time to more of a "life" blogger.


When I first started to stockpile I got a great buy on Cheezits and thought wow we will have a supply for two months. Well, what did my kids do? They ate three boxes in a week. I was furious so I came up with an idea to make the supply last. When I come home with multiple packages of some snack I know they like, I take a Sharpie and mark each package across the front with a date one week apart. Now the kids know if that date hasn't arrived yet, they cannot open the package yet. My husband doesn't abide by the rule but he rarely snacks so we make an exception for him. Hope this helps some of you to preserve our precious stockpiles.

Since this is so long already I will share my faves from last week tomorrow. Now onto the party.

As always I try to make this simple with no rules other than it should be family friendly. Party on.

Mentally Fatigued

Do you ever just feel like your brain can't hold one more thing? One more demand on your thoughts. One more problem to deal with. Friends I am just mentally spent. Life just has so many demands on us and then it just keeps handing you more. Now, I am probably just whining and thankfully nothing major to worry about. Just always these constant pulls on our thoughts.

Aging inlaws, so much paperwork in life, letters telling you your financial identity may have been compromised due to one transaction I made like seven years ago. Really? So many forces and things just constantly demand so much thought and follow up. My mother never had to deal with day to day demands of paperwork and things constantly needed sorting out that we must face today and she ran my dad's business and books.

I truly think it causes mental fatigue. Physically I feel great. Have been eating healthy since vacation ended and getting some much needed deep cleaning done around here. Doing the daily tasks like caring for the chickens is a release to me. A time when I don't have to think about the other things. Sadly, we cannot just sweep them under the rug and calls must be made and copies must be sent and care taken with concerns that have to be dealt with.

When I was a kid I loved to run and get the mail. Many days we had none. Now you never have that. It is constant, the bombardment on our homes and lives. The number of sales calls has lead me to unplug my phone even. I cannot stand one more. What happen to the do not call list? Did they sell it too and now it is the call every ten minutes list?  So as I sip some coffee this morning planning my day, I just really wish a magic broom would come and take all these extra cares away. Of course that won't happen but I sure wish it would. Thankfully we have a place to ask these questions and share these concerns. You are all a source of encouragement and inspiration that I am so thankful for.

Linking to:
Potpourri Friday
The Charm of Home

Keeping the Chickens Cool in This Heat

We are having a heat wave here. Our first triple digits. Heat can be deadly for chickens so of course being a new chicken momma I am being very careful with my girls. 

When the afternoon heat hits I let them out of the run and flood there favorite shady area under this bench which is completely shaded most of the day. They walk through the water and this helps cool them down.

I just let the hose trickle so they have plenty of water to cool off in.

I keep these trays near them with cold water and frozen bottles to keep water cool. I also freeze two liter soda bottles to put in their hen house and help keep it cooler at night. So far, besides some panting they seem to be faring well. By the late afternoon they dig a spot in the damp soil and stay pretty still until it cools off.

I am also giving them an electrolyte in their water that I found a recipe online from Fresh Egg's Daily. A couple times a day I give them ice and frozen fruit and veggies. Just anything that is getting old I toss in the freezer to put in their water tray. Normally of course they don't get this much attention but when it hits 102 I don't want to risk a chicken dying after all the raising I have been doing. I need some eggs soon so I am caring for my investment umm I mean chickens.

Linking to:
Masterpiece Monday

Some New Blue

Remember that wonderful antiques store I mentioned from a few days ago? Well the owner had these just sitting on the porch and when I asked how much he said $3 a piece and I said I will take them all please.
Not sure what they are priced where you live but around these parts that is a very good deal.

They all had various old lids. Brought them home and washed them up and thought plain and simple on the counter would be lovely. Maybe I will store stuff in them but I love the see the sun shine through the glass.

Don't ya just think all the old wives who canned in these would chuckle at how we all use them for decor nowadays?

Linking to:
Home and Garden Thursday
Met Monday
Tabletop Tuesday

Chicken Sitters

This is Flower Muffin. She is as big as her name. My Barred Rocks are huge. They grew so much while we were gone. 

Many of you asked who watched the girls while we were gone. I have to say it was a combined effort. My oldest daughter has a full time job and could not leave so she stayed here at the house. She had the early morning and late evening duties. She would open their house door and make sure they had food and water in the mornings.

I then hired the neighbor girl to take the mid-day chores. Because we use the two coops she would come and let them run around for a while and then put them in the big run with lots of water and food. I had frozen  ice blocks in case it was hot and she made a wading pool for them with ice and water to keep cool.

I also bought a flock block. This gigantic block of treats for them to peck at and keep boredom at bay.

They seemed to fare well. In the evenings the girls would be let out by my daughter to roam some more and then back into the small coop for the evening. I know it was sort of pain for my daughter as she is not as fond of them as I am but she did a great job and as she pulls out of the driveway in my car I remind her it pains me to pay for that car as well. Just kidding she did great but was glad to see the chicken mom come home. I have to day it was worth the money to hire the neighbor as she was able to cover when my daughter couldn't. Having pets takes care and planning and I felt better knowing she was around during the days to check on them.

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Ideas to Use All Those Tomatoes

These are just what my hubby picked yesterday. We also have a couple of bowls on the kitchen counter so today is going to be crockpot sauce day.

Every summer I make a pot of this and I am able to freeze it in batches plus we have spaghetti for dinner the night I make it. So fresh and wonderful tasting. It is easy and my instructions for making homemade spaghetti sauce are here.

I am also going to make a batch of homemade salsa. Just fresh ingredients chopped and mixed. So easy.

Here is the recipe for my homemade salsa.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Wow Us Wed.
Weekend Whatever

Sunny Simple Sunday

 Highlights of our fourth. We don't get to do our own fireworks usually so Q tried her first sparklers.

 The biggest kid of all was my 18 year old. She was very into the day. We actually had two days of fireworks, the 4th with my family and the 5th with hubby's family.

We had a wonderful time and made many memories. Oregon family I miss you all so much already!!

I hope you all had a nice weekend so far. Onto Sunny Simple Sunday.
The most viewed posts were A Spoonful of...

and Ash Tree Cottage

Two of beautiful blogs. You will enjoy a visit I am sure if you haven't been by yet.

Now onto the party. Just link up your posts on life, family, or anything you would like to share. Simple is my motto so here we go...

Vacation Ends

Spent some time viewing the Rogue Gorge. It is an amazingly beautiful place. They think it was created by a lava tube that collapsed over time. It is extremely powerful and dangerous. Sadly we saw a sign of a family looking for any signs of a boy that fell in taking a photo. There was a high fence but still folks take chances and I was so saddened to see the reminder.

Nature is my favorite type of vacation destination. I live in a big city urban area so we never choose to visit other large cities for vacation. We always head out for some natural beauty.

I always feel most restored and at peace in settings like this. How is it that I am a city girl?

I kept seeing such lovely places and saying how I could see myself living there. I love the wide open spaces.

After the gorge we went to Eagle Point Mill which was a delight. The owner has extensive collections displayed throughout the mill and I loved this rooster. Someone must have loved this Barred Rock to stuff him.

His collection of red wing pottery was the largest I have ever seen. They went up to 24 gallons and more.

The mill is worked daily and they have every sort of grain and flour you could want.

This is the mill store. More extensive collections I was drooling over. I bought several wonderful finds in his antique shop.Very good buys compared to CA prices.

This is only a part of the stores offering of goods you could buy.

Cutest antique shop I have been to in a long time. Can't wait to share my gorgeous blue ball jars. All of these goods sit on his porch year long. He has never had a theft in seven years. He has had money slid under the door for things folks buy. I was happy to hear of this as it gave me a good feeling that there are still places you can trust folks. I love Oregon. To me it is God's country and I would move there in a heart beat if given the chance. We are however firmly planted here for now so I choose to be happy here too. I had to reconcile these feelings a long time ago when my husband's job kept us here. It is far better to have him employed and doing well than for me to chase a dream. We still have some of the best weather here which allows me to garden year round and our proximity to gorgeous beaches and mountains is such a blessing.  So where is vacation taking you this year? Anywhere I must see?

Linking to:
Seasonal Sundays
BNOTP

Quinoa Salad

I recently started cooking with Quinoa. It is a grain with the highest protein count of all the grains available.
The family loved this. I went to have some leftovers the next day and it was all gone.

Here is the recipe I followed for cooking it and then I added what I had available. Delish!

Quinoa Salad


Cooking the Quinoa:
Take one cup of quinoa and soak it in cold water for five minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly through a fine mesh strainer. Put in a saucepan and add 1 1/2 cups of water and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on very low for 15 minutes. When time is up leave the lid on and let sit at least five minutes. After than fluff with a fork.

To Make the Salad
I drizzled generously with olive oil and squeezed the juice of one large lemon and added salt and pepper. I then added some barely cooked chopped green beans, some toasted cashews I had on hand, crumbled feta, diced tomatoes and chopped fresh chives from the garden. I also chopped up some fresh parsley. Mixed well and put in the fridge for a few hours.
The options are endless for this salad. Any fresh veggies you have on hand you think might taste good. Enjoy!!

Linking to:
Tabletop Tuesday
BNOTP

Crater Lake

; ;

 We took a road trip today to see Crater Lake in Oregon. It is the deepest lake in the U.S. formed from the crater of a volcano. I did not edit the color of these photos. The water is so blue because of the depth.

My brother and I.

The white you see is snow. There was lots of it too. It was in the 50s.

The island in the lake is called Wizard Island.

 Is that blue or what?

This was Q's first time in the snow. She had to throw a few snow balls.

Cousins!

Really enjoying our time. It has been a great week so far. We also went to a few other wonderful places. I am going to share later. Tomorrow is the 4th so we are hanging out at my brother's for bbq, swimming and fireworks. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

News From the Road

We are having a wonderful time and spent the first part of the trip with my husband's family. I won't post pics of all of them as I am not sure how they feel about their pictures out there so I try to be sensitive to that.
Anyways other folks are with us but I will show you our family.

We have been staying at a beautiful home in the woods in Southern Oregon. Here's #3 enjoying the hammock by the pond. Our days are so full and we are all tired but something about vacation keeps you going. Daily trips to Dutch Bros. coffee up here is a must.

We are now with my brother's family and having a wonderful time with my kin. I don't see them often and this is such a treat to be with my family. My own blood. Love them. Tonight we went to buy our fireworks for the fourth and that was such fun. My daughter carried over one the size of a trash can laughing. $50 bucks blown in one shot. That must be some firework. We kept our choices more on the mild side.

Tomorrow it is off to gorgeous Crater Lake. Will share soon when the time is available. Just savoring my wonderful brother and his family that I love so much. They are the warmest folks and I am so lucky to be related to these folks.