A Corny Day

 I can't believe my luck today!  Blogspot let me put several pictures on at once!  Now I can get caught up on old news!  A few weeks ago, this is what it looked like in our living room.  After such crazy summer weather, we still got a great harvest of corn.  Hurrah for short-season corn.

 The ears were plump and extremely sweet!

 We saved some of the silk and air dried it for tea.  Corn silk tea is thought help bedwetting.  It is yummy, too.

We froze the rest of it.  Here, Mr. Blueberry Eyes is helping take the corn off of the cob. - Nanette

Three Cheers for Zoe

Blogspot finally let me get one picture posted.  It won't let me do more than one at a time, though, so I can't show you any series of pictures. 

A couple of weeks ago, we visited the farm of some friends.  We got to meet Zoe, a beautiful, gentle Jersey cow.  I bought a share in her and received a 1/2 gallon of cream.  We brought it home and  poured it into quart jars and began to shake them.  We shook them until a bright yellow, creamy butter formed.  If we decide to do this on an ongoing basis, we'll have to get some paddles for my Bosch.  That would make it easier.  We've had a lot of fun eating the results of our labor, though!

I'm feeling crabby tonight, so I probably better not post any more, lest I ruin your night, too!  Just a bunch of small stuff.  I spent a lot of time at the vet with The Mighty Hunting Hound again.  It seems that she has an infected salivary gland.  That set me behind for the day. That meant that a reading lesson with Mr. Blueberry Eyes happened late - when he was less than cooperative.  I was steaming mad when I discovered that Laughing Water left me stranded in my classroom without my shoes and I had to walk to my house in my stocking feet.  I came stomping into the house and decided to iron, only to find that Mr. Blueberry Eyes had lain on my ironing board and bent it so it wouldn't rise to my height.  Then I had to leave dinner out while waiting for The Wood Artist.  Now it is  almost eight p.m. and I have to get up and clean the kitchen.  Oooo!  I better stop!  Sorry!TTFN - Nanette

Sabbath Celebrations

I'm so ready for a Sabbath rest tonight! Its been quite a week! Last weekend I went with 7 of the girls from my family to a women's retreat. It was an inspiring time and it was so fun to be with my grandmother, mother, aunt and several cousins. My grandmother went down a 350 ft. waterslide. The lifeguards said that she was the first 80 yr. old to go down it!

I was fighting some sort of a virus and felt unwell for a couple of days. I'm still tired, but am thankful to be feeling better.



Today, I took Mr. Blueberry Eyes out to celebrate the completion of his polite chart. He worked hard on manners for a long time and as a reward got to go on a "date" with Mommy. We went to his pick of a restaurant and then ran errands in town.

These are a few pictures of my garden as of about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Frost has since visited and some things are pretty much gone. Blogspot still won't let me upload very many pictures at a time, but I'm thankful to be able to do even a couple! Happy weekend! - Nanette

Another Try

I'm just trying pictures again. I seem to still having trouble. Will try to post more later. - Nanette

A Drama Unfolds

I've been obsessed with the Chilean miners.  I canceled history today and we were glued to the computer for most of the rescues.  What amazing courage and fortitude!  I found myself incredibly drawn to physical expression that the rescued, rescuers, politicians alike.  The Chilean president seemed so genuine and caring.  He was there with hugs, handshakes, pets and pats for everyone in a way that didn't come across as condescending or fake.  I was impressed.

I felt drawn into the human drama of each story - except for the man who invited his mistress and his wife to the occassion.  Apparently they had each discovered the other through this drama.  Not cool.  I could have gone without being enlightened!

I appreciated that most of them were obviously aware that there is a God who was present with them.  Of course that raises the difficult question of hundreds of miners in other countries who have gone to there death in mines.  I don't pretend to know the answers.  I only know that I was thankful for a feel-good drama to lose myself in for a while!

Now that I have the pictures working, I'll post more soon!  - Nanette

Trying Out the Pictures - Bear With Me!

Here's one of my latest delights - raddichio from the garden!

Technical Diffictulties

I have been trying for several days to upload pictures to my blog. I downloaded a new and improved something for my photos and, well, it got me into trouble. Since I'm really not savvy at the computer, this could be a real problem. I'll keep working on it! - Nanette

Harvest Frenzy

These pictures are a couple of weeks old. We were making spicy pickles. Unfortunately, I forgot the garlic. Peeling garlic is not high on my list of favorite things to do. So, the day before, I had peeled a large bowl full of garlic so that I wouldn't have to do it on pickle making day. Alas, it remained in the fridge!

I wish the pickles would stay this lovely color! It certainly is inviting! I am having trouble with my pickles sealing properly. Several of my jars didn't seal, so, rather than processing them again and making them mushy, they are taking up room in my refridgerator until they cure.

Mr. Blueberry Eyes was a big help that day. I've been pretty excited to see his maturity level rising lately. He actually fell asleep with his reader next to him tonight. He was really excited about his new book. - Nanette

Bears and Bling

I was going to go to bed early tonight. I'm so very tired. But, The Wood Artist was just informed that my parents have three grizzly bears in their yard. He was off like a streak with the camera. It is 9:30 p.m., so I doubt he will get any really good shots, but you never know. I would have enjoyed going with him, but the children are in bed. Its hard to go to sleep without him, so I thought I would share some recent snippets of our life on here.
Mr. Blueberry Eyes has been practicing his violin faithfully. And I have been faithfully trying to ensure that he has the correct posture - for obvious reasons.

No, these are not rats. They are a recent experiment with baked, stuffed aneheim peppers. They were yummy! I stuffed them with a vegetarian burger, cream cheese and spices. Then I coated them with a garbanzo sauce and bread crumbs and baked them.

This week we picked the sweet corn from our garden. There was an abundance for fresh eating, plus, we froze 25 quarts. I have found that Sugar Buns corn from Territorial Seed works very well for our part of the country.

Girls will be girls. Laughing Water had a great deal of fun glittering herself up this week.

Our weather has been spectacular. I so love Indian Summer and this year it is making a blockbuster appearance. We've had warm, glorious days and even warm nights. My garden hasn't frosted yet, which is amazing since many of the gardens around have. I heard the rumors confirmed by the weatherman lastnight that La Nina is strong this year and is expected to cause much snow in our part of the country. Now that I feel like I've had a little summer, I say, bring it on! - TTFN - Nanette