After a chilly weekend, it is muggy and warm ahead of a storm front coming in late tonight. Then, we should cool off again for the rest of the week. We are really getting a nice and easy Spring here.
In our homeschool this week we are starting in on the Byzantine Empire, so Monday’s Morning Time was used to tie up loose ends from the Barbarians of last week. We have 3 chapters left in The Silver Branch, so I hope to have it finished by the end of the week so we can start Anna of Byzantium as our new read aloud next week.
Mercy and Aspen are doing well with the Simplex Spelling app I have used for the younger kids. Mercy blew through the CVC section is now on Simplex I with Aspen. We purchased the Bundle of 4 apps several years ago to supplement our homeschool and it has served us well.
For dinner on Monday night, the kids wanted to roast hot dogs over the campfire, but the wind had picked up quite a bit, so we changed the plan and had our 14 year old grill the hot dogs and polish sausages we had laid out for the occasion.
Our son and his family came over for the meal, bringing hot dog buns I had forgotten to pick up, and we had coleslaw, a new corn salad recipe, and I whipped up Ty’s Granny’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake in the cast iron. YUM!
For Tuesday’s dinner I made a double batch of Broccoli Cheese Soup and took some to my Titus 2 Women’s Bible Study. Our 20 year old daughter made Saltine Cracker Toffee and we also took along some artisan rolls we bought at Aldi during our grocery shopping excursion earlier in the day. They are REALLY good and remind me of the Costco rolls my sister brought to my mom’s 85th birthday party earlier in the month.
In our women’s group, we are currently studying Hebrews using the study guide Better by Jen Wilkin. It’s been really good and in-depth so far.
Wednesday’s dinner was a new recipe from my Youth Group leader when I was a kid. She is a farm wife who loves photography and cooking, and she’s had a blog for years called Kim’s County Line because she lives on the county line back near my old stomping ground. The recipe was for Chicken Chipulos, but I had browned ground beef that needed to be used up, so I used it and used 2 cans of cream of mushroom instead of a can of cream of mushroom and a can of cream of chicken. I also doubled the recipe because I’m feeding an army! Everyone RAVED over the recipe, so it is a definite keeper!
Ty also raved over my latest salsa trial and added it to the top of his casserole as well. If you get my newsletter, you’ve heard how I’m in search of a salsa EVERYONE likes – I don’t think I’ve got it yet, but this one is pretty good!
By the way, I discovered an app that I think I’m going to love and you might love it too! Recipe Keeper is the name of it and I ran across it when researching how to make copies of an old church cookbook to give to my daughters and daughters-in-law.
I decided to try it on my salsa recipe, so I snapped a picture from the cookbook and it transferred it lickety-split! It was AMAZING! AND the price isn’t crazy to be able to make endless collections and cookbooks!
Speaking of new things…on Wednesday night Ty and I had to run to Home Depot because we needed a new lawn mower. We brought it home and the boys (and Mercy!) got a lesson in how lawn mowers work.
I finished reading The Sabbath by Abraham Heschel this week. Such a great little book! Definitely recommend, but keep in mind he is a Jewish author. However, the Messiah is all over this book!
By the way, I’ve been following FLYlady again. I realized some things were getting out hand in the house and I was feeling overwhelmed by it, so I needed someone to tell me what to do and FLYlady is often my go-to when I don’t know where to start. Way back in December of 2001, I used her methods to get my homemaking in order, and while I don’t follow everything to a T, I have incorporated many of her methods into my homemaking routines. In fact, this is why our Friday house cleaning is called Home Blessing!
If there is a theme to this week it is THRIFT STORES! On Thursday, I drove with Ty to the city where he works because I had a laser procedure done on a broken blood vessel on my face. That only took a few minutes, so I ended up going to a couple of thrift stores to waste time while Ty was at work before we met friends for dinner. I mostly bought clothes, including a shirt for my mom and a couple of dresses for our 20 year old. Then on Friday, the 20 year old and I got up early and went to a charity sale that is entirely donation based. I got a chair and a shelf and a few other things. She also got some great finds!
When we got home, she and I headed up the house tidy we always do before we do our Home Blessing chores for the week. However, our 20 year old delayed her bathroom cleanings until she got back from spending time with friends. I also headed out with a friend for lunch and another thrift store outing! The thrift store we went to gives a 25% military discount on Fridays, and my friend found a couch that was in perfect condition and was able to use her discount!
While I was gone, the kids cleaned my canning jars off of the wire rack I had them on and replaced it with the shelf I got at the charity sale. Ty is going to use the wire rack to put HMMWV parts on in our storage unit. It will be nice to get some things out of our garage!
For dinner on Friday, I made Ham & Cheese Scones and Hot Artichoke Dip. Another hit with everyone!
This Saturday, our oldest daughter graduates with her Masters, so we will all be traveling to see her walk. This will be nice for Ty who missed her first college graduation due to deployment. He was able to watch the livestream, but this time he’ll be there in person!
All in all, super busy week! Hoping next week is a little slower.
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