Book Review- Sweetie-licious Pies: Eat Pie, Love Life

I have shared my recipe for my Old Fashioned Chocolate Pie before:

 

And I do love pies. I think pies are something that really epitomize hospitality and just old fashioned baking.

 

I am a member of Goodreads which is a great site for those of you that love books. There is an opportunity for giveaways for books that are newly released that you can enter, and then to share reviews with others, etc. It's a nifty little place. Recently I won a book about Pies!!

 

 

 Pies! A whole cookbook about Pies. This is a great cookbook that also talks about the people the recipes came from, stories about when the pie was served etc. There are great pictures and recipes of all kinds of pies as well as vintage photos from the authors family and friends. I read it through like a novel, not like a cookbook.

I like how it starts out with three options for crusts, ( including an original crust and a graham cracker crust, then also talks about different types of toppings like crumble. You can mix and match crusts and toppings and really have a lot of options for what your family likes. I'm looking forward to trying some of these recipes out this Fall and Holiday season with my family. I just wanted to share this super fun book, you can probably find it on Amazon, and I think it would make a great gift or even a coffee table type book.

Happy Homesteading Ya'll
(and Happy Pie making)!

Freeze your peppers to use later

 

I have posted before about my Pepper Relish. It's good stuff ya'll! People just love it. Me and the hubs just sit around thinking about what else it would be good on... Anyways, yesterday we picked some of the year end peppers. We have been slacking on picking them and I wanted to make sure I got them off the vines before they went bad. However I did not have time to make relish with them last night.

I use all kinds of peppers. Some are sweet, most are hot though. I love having different colors as well. The orange, red and yellows just really make beautiful relish.

 Then I just put them out on a dish towel and let them kind of air dry.

Then I package them up in gallon ziplock baggies and put in the freezer. I ended up with 5 of the large bags, then one little quart bag. Also I didn't notice, but the dishtowel I was using has little peppers on it .  How fun.  Then sometime this winter when it is getting dark early or we have some time to spend inside, I'll either can the relish myself or bring the frozen peppers to a canning party :) I'll probably end up with a few more bags before the the plants completly quit making....

we are still using many of the jalepenos ( they are our favorite) for cooking on a daily basis. I also will freeze a gallon or so of jalepeno pepper slices to use this winter in homeade salsas, pizzas, tacos etc.

Inspiration to be Godly from a Garth Brooks song??

Like my title??

Last night I was going for a run and had my iPod on shuffle. I have probably 10 years worth of songs on there, mostly Gospel and some bluegrass, but then Garth Brooks' song "The Change" came on.

To back up just a tiny bit it has been a hard few days. It seems like from every which direction I have getting slack if you will, for some of the decisions being made in MY family regarding the path we wish to take.

 Nothing too bad, but a few small things:
- I was made fun of at work when I declined an invitation to go out for "Happy Hour" when a collegue was leaving for a new job. We don't drink, I don't like to be around it, and I for sure wasn't going to waste 2 precious hours of my family time to go to a a bar to watch others get drunk. No thanks!
-When discussing back to school shopping with a few friends that have daughters my age I again was made fun of because of my decision to dress my children modestly and not allow certain items to be worn ( spaghetti straps in this instance) It just seemed a little hurtful to have to defend these actions.

So off for my run last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYYSUHxiIE8&feature=player_detailpage ( have a listen to this song if you would like)

And here comes this song:

It's not the world that I am changing
I do this so
This world will know
It will not change me

Wow Rachel! Duh! I just got reminded that the decisions my husband and I make for our family isn't to change the world. I was not trying to put manufacturers of spaghetti strapped tops out of business. We make decisions based on what we beleive to be the right choice for US. For OUR family and at the end of the day we do it kind of in defiance of the world.
No matter how many spaghetti strapped tops are on the racks, we aren't buying them for our girls. We aren't caving in to alcohol and the bar scene. We aren't changing just because the world is!

Happy Homesteading Ya'll!

My Dad's love for me shown through the dead blackberries............

Funny title eh? You may know from reading my blog that we live on family land. When my husband and I got married my Dad gave us some of his land. It' really quite magical where we live.... anyways my dad has several huge garden, always has. We help with them and of course have somethings of our own planted, but we all share the fruits ( literally) of each other's labours. When my husband and I firt started living down the road from my childhood home, I thought it was important for me to prove myself as an independent green thumb by planting my OWN garden. Instead of just getting an extra row in the main garden, I was ademant about proving that I could infact grow things myself. My Dad obliged me by tilling up a small plot to the east of my home. I planted tomatoes, and peppers, and cabbages and all kinds of yummy stuff. But what I really hoped to grow was blackberries. At the end of each row I plant beautiful blackberry bushes. I could almost taste the sweetness... Well I was starting a new job, and had family responsibilities and this and this and this and as much as I hate to admit it, I didn't take care of the blackberries like I should have. They died. All of them. One day I was sitting out underneath the tree with my family and my Dad asked me how the blackberrie were doing. I had to confess to my green thumb hero that I had killed all the blackberries by lack of nurture ( and more specifically water). He just smiled , patted me on the back and said " There's always next year". A few days later I was taking a walk by the failure of blackberry plants and there at the end of each row, were new, freshly planted, freshly watered blackberries. My Dad had snuck in and planted them without me knowing. You better beleive I took extreme care to make sure these grew and to this day they give the sweetest, biggest berries EVER.

Tuesday Archived Link up!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

TALU- Tuesdays Archived Link up

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

Homecoming at our church this weekend

Ah Homecoming! I'm not sure if this is a Southern thing, or what, but around here we have "Homecoming" at our churches. It is really just a way for people to come back and visit a church they may have attended as a child, then they moved away, got married, or just went to a different church. Today is our church's homecoming celebration and get this - we are celebrating 142 YEARS!. Our little church has some great history and wow if it could talk. It's more of a family reunion and it's always such fun. I'm excited as my children are getting old enough to start really appreciating how important this day is. There have been some hard times, they went through the Great Depression, several wars, and even now we are seeing shifts in what some churchs beleive in do. But our church is still standing and just as on fire for the Lord as I can remember. I love to hear the older generation talk about revivials that were held under an old Oak tree, with benches made from logs, that would bring in hundreds of people to our tiny community and have revivals that would last for 14-20 days, each night bringing a 4-5 HOUR service. How remarkable. We still sing songs of Zion that have been passed down through the years, Rock of Ages, Amazing Grace, I'll Fly Away are some of my favorites. Then we have "dinner on the grounds". Everyone brings in their favorite dishes to share and we eat and fellowship on long tables underneath the same oak tree that is so notable for those revivals of yesterday. I love it. I'm exciting just typing this. I have some food that was prepared last night, and some that I am just beginning to smell it's wonderful aroma wafting from the oven. I know the service will be a blessing and I just wanted to share this tradition with my readers ( few as there may be). Happy Homesteading Ya'll!

Wordless Wednesdays

 

TALU Tuesday Link Up Party

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

Swiss Chard Quiche

Swiss Chard Quiche

 

I posted a recipe last week for Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard. I have more Chard in my garden, ( plus we always have tons of eggs) so I thought I would make this Quiche.

Start out by washing and taking out the stalks of the chard, then chopping it up. About 10-12 big leaves is what is below. I also added 2 small green onoins and a clove of garlic. And about a tablespoon of butter to sautee it in. Let it cook for maybe 4-5 minutes, until everthing is soft.

Then you have 6 eggs and 1/2 cup whole milk and add to a bowl. ( I had chopped my onions into that bowl before I sauteed them, which is why there looks to be a few green onions left, no worries). Then you add the Cheese! I shredded 10 oz of Swiss cheese, and about 2 Tablespoons of grated Parmasan cheese. Not the kind in the big green tubs, but the hard kind that you actually have to grate yourself. That gives it a nice little something extra. Stir really well.

Prepare a 10 inch pie crust. Store bought or homeade. Poke holes in it and bake for just a few minutes, about 5-6.

 

Pour everything into the pie crust, and then grate about 2 more ounces of Swiss Cheese on top. It looks like it has a lot of chard in it, but beleive me it will cook up nicely.

 And it did! You have to cook it for about 45-50 minutes or until a fork can peirce it and it's not all runny.

 

Even my 5 and 7 year olds like this. It's a great way to use up eggs and chard and it's a fun dinner that's a bit difference. Hope you guys enjoy!

Wordless Wednesdays

TALU Link Up Tuesday #42

Welcome to the TALU Tuesday!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest
 

Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard- Yum

We have Rainbow Swiss chard in our garden right now, as well as green onions ( I think other folks may call them "spring onions") .

My girls have always loved Rainbow Swiss Chard because of their beautiful colors. I've always loved the flavor as well as knowing how much wonderful nutrition is packed in each little leaf.

This is "spicy oregano". It's great to use as a little extra flavor in cooking. My kids don't complain that they are spicy at all.

 

 

A picture of one of our garden plots, you can see the muscadine and grape arbors around the back perimeter.

The green onions about to be harvested for supper.

 Our poor snow peas. We can't get more than a few before they get picked. My kids eat them as fast as they can grow....

 

My super cute helper. I love that he has a smudge of dirt on his face....

The rainbow chard and onions harvested for supper.

 

So below you will see the Rainbow swiss chard, a tiny bit of they spicy oregano and the green onions. Wash and chop those into very small pieces.

Chop up about 2-3 garlic cloves and get them sautee'ing in a hot skillet. I use olive oil, you could use flavored olive oil for a different flavor.

When they have cooked for about 1 minute, add the chard, oregano and onions. Add a pinch of salt and pepper .  Sautee for about 4-5 minutes, then serve warm. I'm telling you my kids love this. It's like a really nice fancy little treat. The colors are the most fun.

 

I have another recipe for the Rainbow Swiss Chard I hope to get up in the next day or two. Since that is in season for most folks, it would be great to get a few more ideas on how to best cook them up.

 

 

Until Next time- Happy Homesteading!!!

TALU Tuesday Archived Link Up #41

Welcome to the TALU Tuesday!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

Update- Year Without New Clothes

I have had a few folks email me and ask me about how my year without new clothes is going. You can read about it here and also my second update about it can be found here.



So it is May and I haven't updated. That's because I haven't bought anything new!!
It's actually a very successful feeling. I have never been a "high end " shopper, I never cared for expensive jeans or anything like that. I was frugal even as a kid.

I do have to admit though that it took me a little bit of time to realize that there was such a thing as too many garage sales, too many thrift store finds etc. for a few reasons.

1. Time- it takes time to run all over town to go to garage sales. It takes time to pop into thrift stores. And when you have PLENTY, like we do, I just saw that time that was being spent as precious time that could be spent with my family, at home , around the yard et.

2. Money- Even spending only $20-$30 a week at yard sales adds up to $80-$120 a month. That's a lot of money for items that aren't NEEDED. If you have something specific you want to look for, or something needed it's not a bad deal. But if you are content with what you have that extra money can be saved for something else.

3. Space- This wasn't such an issue with just my husband and I, but now with 3 little ones and a 3 bedroom home all of their stuff is getting to be too much to handle. We have small closets, we have little to no storage, and just trying to keep up with everything became  time consuming. Really scaling down what we have makes us feel neater, more organized and gives us a sense of tranquility in the house. Less laundry helps as well.

So with school about over, all the kids really are wearing are flip flops, shorts, summer dresses and big tshirts for night gowns. We have enough of those. And last week I hemmed up two dresses whose hems were falling out, giving us 2 more nice Sunday dresses. I think we are good for now.

We will certainly have to buy more clothes for next school season and into Fall. I'll do that at Rhea Lana's and thrift stores closer to time, but for now we are good.

Hubby and I are good as well. I got an early Mother's Day present ( a beautiful locket) I've been wearing to work that makes me feel like I've updated my outfits.....

Blessed

This morning was a peculiar morning. There actually wasn't anything different about this morning, but it made me realized how blessed we really are.

Breakfast was homemade biscuits with homemade strawberry jam. The oldest daughter prefers honey, which was of course local and was purchased last year from a local farm. Then we had fresh eggs our hens had laid and wild boar sausage we had processed ourselves last fall.

We ate breakfast around our table together, no tv this morning, no computer. Just family.

Then we all got ready to go to church. No new clothes, nothing fancy or expensive. In fact I think most things we wore this morning was from either a yard sale or thrift store. I see no need in purchasing overly priced new items, when used is just as good.

We got to church and got to visit with our church friends and family. We sang, we worshipped, we shared one another's burdens. And it was a great time.


We don't have a huge house, a huge car, we aren't famous. But we have a beautiful, blessed little life and I wouldn't change it for anything......

TALU Link up #40

TALU Link up #40

Welcome to the TALU Tuesday!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

Review of Garden Birch box and a GIVEAWAY

I recently jumped on the Subscription Box bandwagon and my first box I got was the Birchbox Home box with a Garden theme. Of course that is for me.
It has since sold out, but I wanted to share it with you guys, and offer you a giveaway!
I love to do giveaways on my site, I don't have too many followers so your chances aren't bad :)

An amazing fig candle that has a little box of matches on the lid. I thought that was pretty smart. Tocca Hand Cream in Cleapatra ( again, this is full sized, not a tiny little sample) and it's flavor is grapefruit and cucumber! Yum!! Jasmin and Bergamote Eau De Toilette from L'Occitane, all I can say about this is AMAZING.


The cutest little notepad I have ever seen with fruits and veggies on it. 2 containers of preserves, all natural



This adorable little bag from Baggo, that will be great for the Farmer's Market







This Super Chef Grow me Kit. I got Basil.

And also the most fun little thing, this amazing little paring knife with a sleeve that has ( get this) RADISH Prints all over it. The cutest thing ever. I'm buying several more for gifts. So fun.

 

You can buy any of the above items from Birchbox individually now, you just can't get the full box. They have other beauty subscription boxes as well you can sign up for only $10 a month.

 

 

So now, on to the giveaway:

Winner will receive the Super Chef Basil Kit and one of the cute little jams. I'll pay shipping to winner, US lower 48 states only please.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TALU Link up #39

Welcome to the TALU Tuesday!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

Gardening to combat Hunger

I work with school gardens.I love my job. It's amazing. I went visiting a few schools in my state yesterday that won a school garden award in order to get a school garden up and running. I realized something yesterday.

 

I think that most of the time when we think of school gardens ( or just gardens in general really) we think of getting back to nature, learning to be sustainable, the joy of being outdoors, we think that gardening can help us teach kids about photosynthesis and natural resources. I think though one of the most important things about school gardens though, is that at the end of the day, the food that has been grown can be sent home with hungry children.

 

There are still hungry kids in this country, in my state in particular I saw that yesterday as I visited two very poor rural schools. Those principals weren't excited about kids being able to do science fairs, or learning about soil profiles, they mentioned that kids would be able to go to bed with food in their stomach. Hungry kids could learn and possibly teach their families how to grow food that they can use as substinance. It hit me yesterday folks, we have to grow food for hungry people to EAT!!

There are lots of programs out there that already to this, you can grow an extra row and donate to your food pantry, you can participate in gleaning programs that donate to the hungry, food pantries are planting community gardens across the country. It's out there, I just feel burdened to put it MORE out there.

 

So this post was a bit different than most of mine, but I hope you will think about ways to get involved and get food into the mouths of those kids that need it most. Talk about ways to get a garden at your school, see if you can donate produce or fruit to the backpack program at your local school, if they don't have one, see if you can start one.

 

No matter what your political views are, it isn't the child's fault, and we need to realize that we can't educate a child, unless we nourish the WHOLE child, including their health.

 

Happy Homesteading ya'll!

Linked up with Monday Barn Hop

Tuesday's TALU Link Up #38

Welcome to the TALU Tuesday!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest.
Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?
Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.
Have fun! Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....
Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

<---- --="" linkytools="" me="" script="" start="">

Tuesday's Archive Link Up

Welcome to the TALU Tuesday!

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up. Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers.

So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.
All you've got to do is:
1) link up your post using the linky tool below,
2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi, if you'd like,
3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment.
4) Please keep it Family Friendly Ya'll!

They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest. Bring your own flowers. Oh and when you comment?

Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about. Have fun!
Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....

Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman
Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm
Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy
Kenya, author of Here's The Thing...
Shanna, author of Motherhood On The Rocks.
Rachel, author of Homesteading Quest

Our Spring Break Getaway to Oklahoma City

We went on a small getaway while the kids were out of school to Oklahoma City. It was about a 5-6 hour drive for us and the kids had never been to Oklahoma. We want to visit all 50 states with the kids, by the time the oldest one graduates. So off to Oklahoma we went.

First stop- The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

They had a great little kid's area. Here is a place that had a little cabin for the kids to play in, a pretend campfire that had dutch oven cooking stuff, a stage coach they could play in etc. It was very hands on and the kids had a blast.

This is a picture of the city that is set up inside the musuem. It's amazing. You feel like you literally step back in town. They have US Marshall's walking around in costume, they have jail cells you can get into. They also have a saloon, bank, church, school house, general store, post office and more.Super fun.

They had a bunk house where the kids could dress up in cowboy type clothes. The kids enjoyed dressing up. They had a lot of stuff for adults as well. Beautiful artwork from Western artists as well as Native Americans. Sculptures, paintings, weavings, jewelry and clothing.

 

Another place we visited was the Musuem of Osteology.Oh My Word!It was amazing. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but our family loved it.Such a learning experience for our little Scientists. They had complete skeletons from mice and fish all the way up to giraffes, whales and elephants. We looked for hours. Even little guy.

The flamingo above was fascinating. Their legs are just super awesome.

This was a little rabbit. We had a great discussion about the shape of the thighs and the legs and how that made them be able to hop.

Here is my biggest Science lover with a skeleton as big as she was.

 

It's important for us to travel, but we try to make it a learning experience and something the kids will remember. If you are close enough to OK City, it's a fascinating city and we could have stayed there several more days.

 

 

Happy Homesteading Ya'll!!

Linked up with Monday Homestead Blog Hop I heart Naptime

Updates from around the homestead

Well we are finally seeing a tiny bit of Spring around here. We didn't have a crazy snowy winter, but it just seemed to stay cold and rainy here for a lot longer than usual.

The cilantro is doing pretty well. It looks  a little discolored in this photo but I can almost taste the fresh salsa now....

The basil is just getting planted, last year I made and froze several batches of pesto. I hope to do more this year as it was so good.

Clifford is enjoying the nice weather as well. Goats are such playful little creatures. I love to watch them run and jump.

One of our very favorite spots during the spring- fall. We sit out here on the swing, you can see one garden plot behind us. It is in the shade of a giant oak and it's just so peaceful and serene.

 Before mentioned giant oak tree. It's huge. I don't really even know how to get a picture of it. I thought this was an interesting angle. It was taken close to twilight. Such a massive beautiful site.

Sugar snap peas. These puppies need to be staked soon with some kind of trellis, but are doing well for now. We love snap peas.

Rainbow swiss chard.....

Beautiful green onions. These are such a refreshing little treat with a salad .

Lettuce mix. Going to get some tasty salads from these little babies.

 

Below you will see two projects we have been working on. We are blessed to live in the country and have several ponds and streams on our property. This one is closest to the house and we have been clearing it so the kids can play in it. I have many fond memories of summers long ago playing in the creek, looking for crawdads, finding turtles and frogs, making dams, splashing and just enjoying it. We made a small dam ( below) and let the baby ducks get out in them. It was such fun.

Here is a little bit more of the creek, it snakes around to the right there at the back of the phone and has several semi deep hole s( like maybe thigh deep). We are excited about the opportunity for the kids to play in it now that it is cleaned up a bit.

 

Busy time of year around the homestead. Hope you all are doing well.

 

 

Linked up with Monday Homestead Barn Hop