What is your favorite soup or stew?

It's really really cold here in northern Wyoming... a bone chilling 7 degrees Fahrenheit.  I'm thinking that this we would an excellent day for fresh bread and some kind of soup or stew...

I need some inspiration!  What are your favorites?  Would you share your recipe?

Perspective changes everything...

It's Saturday morning on a snowy, frigid morning in northern Wyoming....

I'm sitting at the kitchen island sipping on my fruity green smoothie enjoying a few quiet moments before the kids come home.  They spent the night at their grandmother's just down the street.

I'm thinking about my business... and fondly reminiscing over the past 17 years of my life!

I'm at that age where I have "perspective."  I mean... I have had some experience with different things and have learned lesson that I can now reflect upon...

I've decided that... Perspective changes everything!  It totally shades what we think and how we interpret things that happen in our lives!

I mean... I thought I new about this one thing (sorry for being vague...) but come to find out... I didn't know beans!  Well maybe I did know a few beans... but I didn't understand how it all fit together.... you know... like the big picture!

So, 17 years isn't a lot of time really... but I've gone from babies to teenagers... wow!

Life is such a grand adventure!

Just thinking... and sipping on my fruity green smoothie...

Parent Teacher Conference

Parent Teacher Conference
Over 2 hours later... I have emerged... Wow...

I love talking to the teachers, but standing in line for a really really loooong time... I don't know about that part!  I was having flash backs of sitting on the bridge going into Boston... car after car after car... just moving an inch or so at a time...

But that's done so moving on!

House Stuff
I primed the 1st floor bathroom this afternoon!  Yeah!  Sure felt good to get going on the bathroom again.  I so want to have that bathroom finished for Thanksgiving!!!  More details on my house blog... here.

Well got to run and get boy2 to get his reading done.

Canning 30#s of Green Beans

I belong to a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  Every week I get a basket of fresh vegetables and fresh fruit!  It's like Christmas every Saturday... waiting to see what goodies we'll have to pick up!!!

Sometimes my co-op has case lots... like last week, I got 30#s of green beans!!!

So this afternoon, my mom, aunt, and I cut up a big box full of green beans in preparation for canning!

I got my pressure canner out... had to find it first!  I'm on my second batch now... My canner holds 7 quarts at a time.  This batch will be a bit zippy... I added a garlic glove and slice of jalepeno pepper!

Green Smoothie adventures...

Green Smoothie adventures...
I love smoothies!  I've been drinking them for 13 years now!  I have them for breakfast and sometimes for lunch too!

Typically my smoothies include a cup of water, frozen fruit and ESP and/or Cinch.

But recently, I began hearing about the health benefits of adding greens to smoothies.... so... during the summer I started adding my garden greens too!

Apple, Pear, Banana green smoothie...
Today I made THE MOST delicious green smoothie yet!!!

Into my Vita Mix (high powered blender), I added:

• 1 cup  of water
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 red delicious apple
• 1 pear
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup of spinach
• 3 sprigs of kale
• a little ice
• 1 serving ESP  

Yum!

I love FREECYCLE!

I joined our local FREECYCLE group recently.

It's such a great idea!  You OFFER want is still good and usable... and ASK for what you need!

A treadmill...
A few weeks ago I connected with a woman who had an older version treadmill to give away.  She had gotten a new one... and this one had to go.  So... I got it!  It works great for me!!!

Yarn...
I had a box of yarn that was just sitting around... so I OFFERED it!  It's gone!

Artist's Easel...
A water color artist had a homemade easel to give away.  I've been wanting one for my mother-in-law who is a newish oil painter!  Going to get it this week!

What a great way to recycle our good stuff!!!!

Want to trade?

Christine posted a comment on my garden blog... so I wandered over to her site and discovered a video all about the new economy of Swap Trading!  It's fascinating!



Wow!

I currently belong to FREECYCLE and have scored an older "works great for me" treadmill and... I have given away a box of yarn that was sitting around the house.

So... do you utilize any of the swap trade sites?  Do you have a favorite?  Could you share an experience?

whoa... I just got a call from one of Aaron's teachers...

You know, when the teachers call... I brace myself...

But I just a good call!  A call to tell me that son #2 is "getting it!"

So now... I pause and sigh with deep gratitude to that wonderful teacher for taking the time to make my heart sing!

getting back to work on the house...

I just finished up in the garden.  Picked some more tomatoes and pulled my royal burgundy beans.  More details on my garden blog.

On my counter are 4 baskets of tomatoes.  Looks like I'll be putting on some sauce today.

We continued working on the kitchen this past weekend.  And I'm happy to report that we now have our fridge installed!

I'm back to painting the 1st floor bathroom.  Over a month ago, I did the first coat of paint... a pretty earthy green color called Willow Tree by Olympic paints.  Never got to the brush work... but now... I'm ready to get it done!

So... I'll sign off now as precious time is passing me by!  Bye for now!

puttering around the kitchen...

It's a beautiful fall day here in northern Wyoming!

I'm just back from walking Missy, our dog, all around town.

I have about an hour and a half before church starts... I'm thinking about getting a beef stew started and some homemade bread!  Don't you just love the fall?

Puttering around the kitchen...

I love puttering around the kitchen, don't you?

I just finished steam juicing some PLUMS that my Mom gave me... and now I'm thinking about making Plum Jelly!

Then I was looking at my basket of tomatoes from the garden.. and decided to go find my food dehydrator that's just fresh out of storage (since 2003!).

What a mess!  My dehydrator was so dirty... well... 7 years of yuck!  So, I took it all apart, and got it all washed up using the same cleaner stuff that  I wash my veggies with!

So now I have my little cherry tomatoes drying away... to be enjoyed in stir fries and soups in the dead of winter!!!!

And then I decided to slice up some of my Viva Italias... and get them dried up too!

And continuing with that line of thought.... why not some apples too?

OK... now to search for my Blue Ball canning book!  I've got to make Plum Jelly!

Something to think about...

Here's something I'm thinking about...

"If you keep doing the same things....

you will keep getting the same results."   Dave Ramsey

Free Gift to my blog readers!

Back in 1997 a friend introduced me to a non-toxic, organic cleaner. She used it to clean her floors, her counters, all over her kitchen... and even to clean her vegetables and fruit!

It is my favorite green cleaner! I use it on just about anything that needs cleaning. It has no odor and doesn't give me headaches when I use it!

Just a few drops cleans up my garden veggies. It's amazing to see all the grit and dirt that comes off my veggies and fruit... even the store bought produce!

Here's a video that I made recently about washing up my veggies.

   

I want to send you a FREE sample!

I think that you'll love it too!

Email me directly (put FREE SAMPLE in the subject line!) and tell me where to send it by clicking here!

From Garden to Table...

I've got tomato sauce simmering on the stove today!

Between what I gathered last week and today for tomatoes, I had enough to make a batch of sauce!

I took my bucket of tomatoes and washed them up in my favorite organic cleaner then piled them high into my VitaMix container for processing.

My VitaMix grinds everything up... skins, seeds, and all!  Then I dump the tomato stuff into my heavy pot, add spices like garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper... and simmer... simmer... simmer...

Tonight we're going to have meatball subs using my homemade garden tomato sauce!

Getting Healthy with Alton Brown

My life is all about....

I have become a drywall finisher.

My life is all about THIS NEW HOUSE right now.

I have a full-time (and then some) job finishing walls/ceilings.  But I have to say... it sure is looking good!

So... if you're wondering what's going on in my life.... come on over to my house blog.

An afternoon ride to the foothills of the Pryor Mountains

For my birthday, my husband & I took a drive up to the foothills of the Pryor Mountains.

The views are just beautiful!

The Pryor Mountains are to the north of our new home.  They are just a few miles away!

Vision Board

Do you have a vision board?

This is such a fun thing to do!

John Assaraf shares how it worked in his life.  John's Vision Board

Tomato, Roasted Red Pepper, and Swiss Cheese soup!

Today for lunch I made a delicious soup on my Vita Mix!

Here's the ingredients:
-2 fresh tomatoes
-few pieces of celery
-1/4 Cup or so of Roasted Red peppers
-dash of oregano & basil
-some Swiss cheese
-1 serving of Shaklee Energizing Soy Protein, vanilla

I put all the ingredients in my Vita Mix using the tamper to push everything down.  Then ran it for a few minutes until steamy hot!  Oh my gosh... so yummy... and filling... and so totally HEALTHY!

My yard sale find...

Yesterday on the other side of town there was a yard sale to benefit our High School FBLA.

There was this George Jr. Rotisserie with a bag of attachments...  I've been wanting one of these!  So I scarfed it up!

This morning twirling around in my rotisserie are 5 chicken breasts!  They smell wonderful!!!