Ralph Sr. got laid off today.
They laid off 90 people. Most had never been laid off before. I feel bad for them, right before the holidays and all.
I feel kinda funny not being more upset. I am a little, I guess. It just feels like, "here we go again," or "back to the drawing board".
I know God has plans that are far bigger than what I can see or imagine.
Praise God. ;)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
I went to Safeway to get more canning jars.
They didn't have any. They said canning season was OVER.
WHAT????
Our neighbor gave us three pumpkins. Here is one of them:
Here are the other two:
We've all been busy. It takes all day and then some to cook up that much pumpkin. I bought a huge tamale pot at the grocery store. It's rather like a double boiler in that it has a shelf with holes in it that rests on the bottom lip. We filled that part with water, brought it to a boil and then turned down to a gentle boil for several hours. It yields 3 or 4 large ziploc bags of pumpkin puree. We also baked some in the oven at 350 for a couple hours. We used all our lipped baking sheets and put a 9x13 dish on the bottom rack with water in it. All the kids have helped in this project. Kit, Mark, Ron and Keegan all helped cut, Sadie, Annie and Mae helped gut and while more was cooking. Then we scraped rinds, mashed and bagged it. We made 30 bags. Kit has made pumpkin soup twice now, Mmmmmm, it's good!
We found something strange in one pumpkin:
And we also found other uses for them before we cooked them:
Kit's Pumpkin Soup
serves 12 with leftovers for lunch
1 bag of pumpkin puree
3 onions, chopped
1 stick butter
1 quart milk
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 cups chicken broth
Sautee onion in one stick of butter.
Add pumpkin. Heat to a boil. Add milk.
Add salt and pepper. Realize we have no
chicken broth. Substitute another stick
of butter for the chicken broth.
They didn't have any. They said canning season was OVER.
WHAT????
Our neighbor gave us three pumpkins. Here is one of them:
Here are the other two:
We've all been busy. It takes all day and then some to cook up that much pumpkin. I bought a huge tamale pot at the grocery store. It's rather like a double boiler in that it has a shelf with holes in it that rests on the bottom lip. We filled that part with water, brought it to a boil and then turned down to a gentle boil for several hours. It yields 3 or 4 large ziploc bags of pumpkin puree. We also baked some in the oven at 350 for a couple hours. We used all our lipped baking sheets and put a 9x13 dish on the bottom rack with water in it. All the kids have helped in this project. Kit, Mark, Ron and Keegan all helped cut, Sadie, Annie and Mae helped gut and while more was cooking. Then we scraped rinds, mashed and bagged it. We made 30 bags. Kit has made pumpkin soup twice now, Mmmmmm, it's good!
We found something strange in one pumpkin:
And we also found other uses for them before we cooked them:
Kit's Pumpkin Soup
serves 12 with leftovers for lunch
1 bag of pumpkin puree
3 onions, chopped
1 stick butter
1 quart milk
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 cups chicken broth
Sautee onion in one stick of butter.
Add pumpkin. Heat to a boil. Add milk.
Add salt and pepper. Realize we have no
chicken broth. Substitute another stick
of butter for the chicken broth.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A Break-In
I've got a head cold. Sniffles. Achy. *sigh*
Today, two of the boys had orthodontist appointments. We go to one that's 45 minutes away, a lovely country drive, today, unfortunately, in the rain. I'm not quite thinking clearly, and didn't lock the house. Couldn't find my keys. But I did have one of the boys shut the gate. And with Toby, all 140 lbs of him, sprawled all over the front porch, I wasn't too worried about anyone getting into the house.
But when we got home several hours later, Toby was nowhere in sight.
Strange.
After getting caught in the electric fence, he has been kinda shy about getting out of the yard.
We all walked into the house, and there he was. Sprawled all over the living room floor.
Now, I need to explain something. I got up late. The boys made coffee cake for breakfast. Crumbs. All over. Then we had lunch, so we could get out the door at 1pm. Naturally, nobody vacuumed.
So here was Toby, in the house, and not a single crumb in sight. Toby sees big chunks of food, but he doesn't do too well with crumbs. But I'm telling you, it looked like someone had vacuumed.
Then I saw how Toby got in the house.
He had nosed the back sliding glass door open, just enough to get through.
Smart dog.
And then guess who came in and vacuumed? And left a calling card under the table?
I wish I could harness this kind of help.
I'm going to name her "Emilene".
;)
Today, two of the boys had orthodontist appointments. We go to one that's 45 minutes away, a lovely country drive, today, unfortunately, in the rain. I'm not quite thinking clearly, and didn't lock the house. Couldn't find my keys. But I did have one of the boys shut the gate. And with Toby, all 140 lbs of him, sprawled all over the front porch, I wasn't too worried about anyone getting into the house.
But when we got home several hours later, Toby was nowhere in sight.
Strange.
After getting caught in the electric fence, he has been kinda shy about getting out of the yard.
We all walked into the house, and there he was. Sprawled all over the living room floor.
Now, I need to explain something. I got up late. The boys made coffee cake for breakfast. Crumbs. All over. Then we had lunch, so we could get out the door at 1pm. Naturally, nobody vacuumed.
So here was Toby, in the house, and not a single crumb in sight. Toby sees big chunks of food, but he doesn't do too well with crumbs. But I'm telling you, it looked like someone had vacuumed.
Then I saw how Toby got in the house.
He had nosed the back sliding glass door open, just enough to get through.
Smart dog.
And then guess who came in and vacuumed? And left a calling card under the table?
I wish I could harness this kind of help.
I'm going to name her "Emilene".
;)
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The County Fair
This is Kit with her goat, Emerald, which got Grand Champion in the 4H Dairy Goat Competition. Next is Snowman the Alpaca.
Here's our rag-tag 4H club, below. Ron, 13, is wearing a green shirt, Kit, 16, is the tall blonde, Keegan, 11, is wearing a blue shirt, and Ralph Sr. (aka Dad) is in the background. The lady in the pink shirt is our 4H leader and model for the grandmother in my illustration. The short animals are alpacas, and the tall one is a llama.
(I'm trying to figure out how these pics work)
Sounds Fishy To Me Aug 4, 2008
So I've been sick.
What's new, right?
The problem with being chronically ill (well, one of them, anyway) is that since you always feel bad, you don't always listen to your body and slow down if it's trying to tell you something. Because it's just saying the same thing over and over that it's been saying for the last 2 1/2 years...
So after a family camp out, a cross-country trip to Salt Lake City, going to the Fair for 4 days the morning after we got back, and then doing laundry and cleaning house for a week, I wiped myself out. (Do the math. 11 people, farm life, camping trip & fair, no laundry done for 10 days.)
I found out later a couple of the older kids and dh said they fought off a cold bug...
But I got pneumonia.
Well, that explains why I've had a bad headache for the last three weeks. Now that the fever broke, the headache is going away. Praise God. I'm so tired of being SICK!
So dh and I pulled up in the driveway, home from the doctor (MD) and the naturopath (ND). I have pills for my lungs, pills for my spleen, and colloidial silver for the infection. Kit and Mark met us before we got out of the car.
"We've been elected to tell you what happened before you go inside and see it for yourself."
We brace ourselves.
"Don't worry," (ha. Too late. I'm envisioning blood, guts and mayhem, but they don't seem *that* concerned. This means that something of *mine* got destroyed...) "We saved the fish."
SAVED THE FISH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
My fish tank.
30 gallons.
My antique dresser.
My carpeted dining room floor.
*sigh*
The guilty party met me at the door, sobbing. He offered to pay for it. He only has about $20. His brother, who was the accomplice in the fracas in which a toy metal ladder was thrown, offered to pay half. We had a little chat about why rough-housing is not allowed. Why listening to older brothers who are in charge is wise.
Ralph, Kit, and Mark did an awesome job cleaning it up. Shop vac. Towels. Dried off the dresser--it didn't seem to suffer any damage.
The fish are in the 10 gallon aquarium previously owned by the deceased hermit crab. The snails were all lost. The plants (which were actually worth more than the fish at this point) all survived. The dining room is all cattywampus with the fan going. Good thing the weather has been hot and dry.
My best towels smell slightly like pond water.
And I'm feeling better.
What's new, right?
The problem with being chronically ill (well, one of them, anyway) is that since you always feel bad, you don't always listen to your body and slow down if it's trying to tell you something. Because it's just saying the same thing over and over that it's been saying for the last 2 1/2 years...
So after a family camp out, a cross-country trip to Salt Lake City, going to the Fair for 4 days the morning after we got back, and then doing laundry and cleaning house for a week, I wiped myself out. (Do the math. 11 people, farm life, camping trip & fair, no laundry done for 10 days.)
I found out later a couple of the older kids and dh said they fought off a cold bug...
But I got pneumonia.
Well, that explains why I've had a bad headache for the last three weeks. Now that the fever broke, the headache is going away. Praise God. I'm so tired of being SICK!
So dh and I pulled up in the driveway, home from the doctor (MD) and the naturopath (ND). I have pills for my lungs, pills for my spleen, and colloidial silver for the infection. Kit and Mark met us before we got out of the car.
"We've been elected to tell you what happened before you go inside and see it for yourself."
We brace ourselves.
"Don't worry," (ha. Too late. I'm envisioning blood, guts and mayhem, but they don't seem *that* concerned. This means that something of *mine* got destroyed...) "We saved the fish."
SAVED THE FISH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
My fish tank.
30 gallons.
My antique dresser.
My carpeted dining room floor.
*sigh*
The guilty party met me at the door, sobbing. He offered to pay for it. He only has about $20. His brother, who was the accomplice in the fracas in which a toy metal ladder was thrown, offered to pay half. We had a little chat about why rough-housing is not allowed. Why listening to older brothers who are in charge is wise.
Ralph, Kit, and Mark did an awesome job cleaning it up. Shop vac. Towels. Dried off the dresser--it didn't seem to suffer any damage.
The fish are in the 10 gallon aquarium previously owned by the deceased hermit crab. The snails were all lost. The plants (which were actually worth more than the fish at this point) all survived. The dining room is all cattywampus with the fan going. Good thing the weather has been hot and dry.
My best towels smell slightly like pond water.
And I'm feeling better.
He Got The Job!!! August 1, 2008
Yay! Yahoo! Yipee!
It's computer support for a trucking company. It's a contract for 6 months. He starts on August 13, which is within two days of when he got laid off 7 years ago. It's in a town over an hour away, so he's going to stay with my parents during the week and come home on weekends. I am so thankful he got it!!
PRAISE GOD!!!
I have my own news, too. I just sent off the illustrations for a magazine article! I feel like Beatrix Potter in the movie, "Miss Potter", after she is accepted by the publisher and she gets in the carriage and says, "Drive through the park. Drive through ALL the parks! ....Faster, Saunders, faster!"
My illustrations will be in the Fall issue.
The magazine is "The Old School House Magazine", and can be seen online at: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/
It's computer support for a trucking company. It's a contract for 6 months. He starts on August 13, which is within two days of when he got laid off 7 years ago. It's in a town over an hour away, so he's going to stay with my parents during the week and come home on weekends. I am so thankful he got it!!
PRAISE GOD!!!
I have my own news, too. I just sent off the illustrations for a magazine article! I feel like Beatrix Potter in the movie, "Miss Potter", after she is accepted by the publisher and she gets in the carriage and says, "Drive through the park. Drive through ALL the parks! ....Faster, Saunders, faster!" My illustrations will be in the Fall issue.
The magazine is "The Old School House Magazine", and can be seen online at: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/
Job Interview! July 25, 2008
Dh had a job interview yesterday.
The position is for computer support for a large trucking company.
He came home from the interview with hives. I know he was stressed out.
They called today, and said he was on the top of their list, that they were considering canceling their remaining interviewees. They said to expect a job offer on Monday or Tuesday.
I cried. It's been almost 7 years.
I am afraid to hope... yet I don't want to go back into the dark nightmare of unemployment.
Unemployment.
It's such a short, simple word.
The position is for computer support for a large trucking company.
He came home from the interview with hives. I know he was stressed out.
They called today, and said he was on the top of their list, that they were considering canceling their remaining interviewees. They said to expect a job offer on Monday or Tuesday.
I cried. It's been almost 7 years.
I am afraid to hope... yet I don't want to go back into the dark nightmare of unemployment.
Unemployment.
It's such a short, simple word.
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