salsa-time!

First day of school...oh my, this is the longest day ever!!!  3:40 cannot come soon enough!  And, that may be all I can say right now about school, until I pick up my boys, go out for ice cream {as promised - we're easing our way off of vacation-mode}, and see how it went.  Then, I can share more.

For now, I'm trying to distract from this quiet house and share with you one of my favorite recipes for this time of year.  

homemade salsa for canning
16 c. tomatoes, peeled
2 c. green peppers
3 c. onions
8 yellow peppers (the small, banana kind)
3 T. salt
1 c. cider vinegar
4 buds garlic (buds, not cloves)
3 T. sugar
hot peppers (I like a mixture, like 3 jalapeno, 3 serrano, 1 poblano)
bunch of cilantro (add at the very end - the more, the better... I think)

Before you proceed any further, make sure you have tortilla chips on hand...

Peel the tomatoes by placing them in boiling water, then plunging them in cold water - the skins come right off. Chop veggies, or let the food processor do the chopping. Place in a large pan. Simmer for 1 hr. (If you can this, I simmer less, like 30 min.) Break out your best zumba moves. Taste and tweak to your liking (you can add chili powder, more salt, more peppers, etc...) Don't forget to add the cilantro! Can or freeze.

To peel the tomatoes, place them in a pan of boiling water, stir until the skins begin to crack, then plunge them in ice cold water.  The skins peel right off.

 After all these years, my motto for canning is: 
"A few twinges of regret (coupled with some "why do I do these things???") equals a whole year of gratitude."

1 batch down.  3 to go... 

Oh, and I'm the kind of person that has to do the math on to see if it's worth it, so I added up what we spent at the farmer's market:

Bucket of organic tomatoes: $5

Onions: 50 cents

Green pepper: 50 cents (it was huge, so 1 was enough)

Hot peppers: $1

Yellow peppers: $1

This made 15 pints of salsa (plus close to a pint we ate making it :)

$8 for 16 pints of salsa.

That's 50 cents a jar!

It's worth it, people!

Have fun salsa-ing :)

{Because, if it weren't for the little things like canning salsa, I may have been happy to just pause our life a week ago and never get on with the year...but today has come.  So, we see THIS is the day the Lord has made, to rejoice and be glad in it.}

stay-cation 2011

This is not very Roy of us at all.  We're adventure, travel, road-trip-type people to the core.  But life has been hectic, and my love will be boarding a plane to Mexico soon...so we opted to vacation at home, to look for beauty right outside our front door, with 50 bucks in our pocket.
Our first {of many} bike rides, I was remarking how special it is to have this time together, to ride down a hill and spot the lake, to get coffee and a cookie at the local bakery.  They were taking it in, and Jack exclaims "I can't believe we live here!"
We do live in a pretty phenomenal town, but the itch to explore nags me: large cities, third-world countries, Paris, beach, mountains...you name it, I'll go!  But what I value more than trying out a new cafe or riding a moto down a dusty road is a new perspective.  I love seeing the world in a new light.  Getting away does that.  So, part of my prayer for this week was that God would renew my mind, even here.  And would you know, He has!  He whispers to me to "take the gentle path." Shows me how meaningful putting together a Star Wars puzzle can be.  And what a refreshment a drive studying the clouds is.  And the faith of a child to climb up a 100 ft. fire tower with their dad, no hesitation.  Or, to go down their first waterslide in the lap of their mom.  And what a gem of a husband I have.  And how completely rewarding are spontaneous hugs.  And pure, lasting joy is not found in what we have or don't have, where we are or where we aren't.  Our God hears!  And He answers prayer.  And there is so much beauty that awaits, right beyond our front door.

Stay-cation 2011

Silver Beach. Parking: $5

Pike Lake. Bike Ride, Coffee and Cookies: $8

Ouabasche State Park.  Entry to Park: $5, Pool/Waterslide: $10, 5 Frosties: $5

Fort Wayne. Art Museum: Free (on Thursdays), Picnic Downtown, Starbucks: $4.50 (doubleshot on ice for mom and dad)

Our “backyard”. River-stomp, Bike Ride to Dairy Queen: $10

Family of 5 + 1 week + 1 tank of gas + $50 = a priceless amount of enjoyment

corners of our home

Thanks for all your kind comments.  We are overjoyed to see it come together!  Many projects are still to be done.  But with school starting in a week, we’re gonna soak in the rest of summer.  The to-do lists we will always have, but these boys I won’t {wipe tear from the corner of my eye}.

I have finished enough to forgive the boxes that will go unpacked until these boys are away for {gulp} 7 hours a day…

So, I bring you corners of our home:

  

 {the above bathmat will not be white for long, but that's a whole other post 

about re-purposing what we've got}

 {can you believe we found that desk and chair (I recovered the chair) 

in the trash alongside the road?}

 {this has been my dresser for as long as I can remember - used to be pink, then lavender, then my dad stripped and refinished it.  looks like it belongs.}

 {note the new game table:  yay for church garage sales!}

 {Miles is pretty pumped to have his own space, which may be the theme of his room 

if we get around to it:  space.}

 {our pet fish, "sushi" is diggin' the sea life mirror, an original "brett gregory" work of art}

 {the barn + chair (an original "T-pa" masterpiece) = hours of fun for Jude}

Of course, boys still make "bug playgrounds" {which involves lots of mud, and bugs}, walls get ketchup-y hand-prints, clifford's trip to silver beach leaves our floors with enough sand to sweep into a mini-beach.  This could all drive me crazy {and it has a time or two}.  It is a conscious decision I have to make to not let it get to me.  I am known to say "This is not the time of my life to have a clean house".  We teach our boys to pick up after themselves and I clean what I can.  But at the end of the day...frankly, there are things that matter more to me than extra smudges on the window.  'Cuz I have a feeling that someday I'll miss those grubby little paw-prints and wish back the days of legos scattered, supper needing made, and being beckoned to play.  Why wish away the playing, the enjoying, the living?  And there you have confessions of a recovering perfectionist, learning to seize the day.   

Carpe diem, friends!

moved.

We have lots of catching up to do, don’t we?  First, we have internet!  Second, we moved!!!  It has been a full, fast, fun week of moving and settling, arranging and rearranging, scavenger-hunting for random items. 

Here’s a sneak peak…

 {above: slowly deciding what goes on our walls}

{below: loving the little things, like another peach tree in our backyard}

I made my first GF zucchini bread and zucchini lasagna this week to break in my oven.  I think we'll get along just fine. 

 Many projects on the list still to do...

Paint the brick brotha is probably not one of them, but it makes me smile :)

Found this on the phone - didn’t know Jack had taken it, not even sure what we're laughing about, but I love it – many good times to be had here!

One week ago, sitting down to a french press at 8.30 am, a wave of vulnerability came over me (ok, maybe it was more like panic), thinking how this would all get done.  Next thing I knew it was 10.30 am, and the truck was pulling out of our drive.   Friends and family had gathered, with a smile and a hug, sleeves rolled up, ready to get to work.  The truck was unloaded, we ate lunch, the guys went back for some odds and ends, the girls helped me get beds set up and the kitchen unpacked.  We were done by dinner.  Unbelievable.

I have pondered for days how to say thank you to all…  All those who labored on this house with such diligence and skill: laying kitchen tile on your vacation, asking the garbage truck guys if you can throw in some extra trash, building closets in 100+ degree days before the central air was hooked up, painting into the wee hours of the night.  All those who so cheerfully moved us, scraping your car with a tool box in the process, playing “musical mugs” - switching them to 3 different cupboards ‘cuz I couldn’t make up my mind, driving all the way from Ohio to help out a sister/daughter, sitting with our boys so they would have a constant in the chaos of people and things in and out.  All those who made meals for us – not any ole’ meal, but a gluten-free meal – that takes patience and love!  {This feels a little bit like I just won a Grammy and don't want to leave anyone out, because you all are so kind!}  All those who dropped off thoughtful gifts, like: a box of 1000 Park coffee at just the perfect time, sharing their harvest (zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, corn), Udi’s bread and stuff to make sandwiches, flowers for our porch, antique beds for our boys.  

We are moved, by your care and generosity.

I really don’t know how to say thank you...

But I do know how to say you are welcome. 

Welcome, all!