Beautiful Sunrise Today

Sunday sunrise! Beautiful!

Stocking up for winter - Susan G. Komen for the Cure Journal

Winter is on the way and we are stocking up on fire wood. I am also taking inventory on working flashlights and batteries. And it doing so, I found that energizer has printable coupons on their Web site and if you are a supporter of Breast Cancer Research, you'll like the free journal you can mail in for. You just have to send 3 UPC's and the dated receipts.

For the link go to: Energizer Promotions (there is a separate icon for the coupons and one for the printable order form for the Susan G. Komen for the cure journal). Why not get a freebie and save money on something you need? There are expiration dates on the coupon and on the free journal, so be sure to order it soon. Last year they gave away really nice back pack bags.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread Made in the Crock-Pot!

I have never baked a dessert in the crock-pot, so today was the day to try it. I found several recipes on-line, but this one sparked my interest more. It used less eggs and look pretty good.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread - Crock-Pot Recipe

This was delicious! By placing the paper towel in under the lid the bread was very moist! It did not stick to the crock-pot either. I didn't have non-stick spray so I put a light coat of olive oil in the crock-pot.

If you like pumpkin and easy desserts, you have to try this. Next time I will split the flour 1/2 and 1/2 with whole wheat and use applesauce in place of oil. YUM! It passed our test.

Freeze Dried Clothes

Winter is approaching and the cool air is nippy from the wind. I, however, am still putting my clothes on the clothesline to dry. It made a huge difference on the electric bill here. Even though it's cold out, the wind is drying them nicely. I'll have to remember next time to wear gloves to keep my fingers from freezing.

I used my special wire egg basket to retrieve the chicken eggs yesterday. The kids laugh at me because I looked like someone from Little House on the Prairie. Yesterday I had braided ponytails too. It will give them something to talk about with their own kids someday.

The kittens are often found sleeping on the fireproof rug in front of the wood stove. At first they were curious about it, but now they are discovered it's very warm in front of it.

Hopefully, after next week, the girls and I will start our first project with Farmgirl Sisterhood. I can't wait to get started. In a way, we already have.

While at the library, I found a delicious and easy recipe for Black Bean and Avocado Chicken Wraps. I'll have to double check on the name of the magazine, but they will be added to our recipe box. And of course, we substituted baked dry beans for canned beans. There no better way to cook.

Family Games and Fall Food

My 15 year-old daughter won yesterday when we played our family Apples to Apples game. It's seems to be our new winter tradition for Sunday afternoons and evenings. The weather is cooler out and it's nice to sit in front of the wood burning stove to play. The game cards are a bit out of date considering Michael Jackson has passed away. It would be nice for this company to actually sell new card sets every so often, and offer more that are family friendly for kids under 12. Although it's geared toward kids 12 and up, we still play the game together.

We are roasting pumpkin seeds for a snack tonight and I can't wait to eat some. We haven't roasted pumpkin seeds in a few years. It was nice to grow all of our own pumpkins this year and not have to buy them at the store or market.

Christmas Joys ~ Splitting Wood Day

We are already getting excited about the upcoming holidays! Last year we could not find enough blue lights to wrap around our large evergreen tree. Hopefully this year we will. Blue seems to be people's favorite, or maybe the stores are not stocking that color as much. The kids are already asking to put up the artificial tree, but I am standing my ground on that one - no trees until after Thanksgiving. We put the tree up too early one year and it didn't have good results. We actually have 2 trees. I found one at Goodwill for $4.00 during the off season and it's a good size tree.

This year I would like us to visit a tree farm and cut a fresh tree. I'd like to support locally owned businesses and we can mulch our tree after the holidays. I haven't had a "real" tree in a long time. Actually, I have never purchased a real tree since I moved out of my parents and was out on my own. Every year we looked forward to the fragrant evergreen smell coming from our fresh cut tree.

With 2 six month old kittens in the house this holiday, it could be very interesting. I can remember when the kids were very young. I'd have to put my artificial tree into a play pen to keep them out of it. It worked great.

Today, as a family, we are splitting wood in preparation for the up coming cold winter. So far we have not turned on any heat or used the wood stove. It's cold here today too.

We are singing Christmas songs and drawing and writing about the holidays. I am so excited we are planning a traditional holiday, with as much of it as homemade as possible, and keeping the focus on the real meaning.

Jump and sing today! Enjoy your family today!

Afternoon Dancing

"Honey you didn't throw a hip out did you?" asked my husband.

With my beat red face, and harbored breathing I plopped onto the bed to recuperate.

The kids and I have certain times of the day, usually after everyone is home from school, where we turn up the music and just dance like wild people in the kitchen.

I think I am still suffering from hip swinging yet this morning. Have you turned up your music and danced today?

I'm surprised the police didn't show up yesterday, when my 15 year old and I were dancing in our porch chairs during "tea time" (our time of the day to rejuvenate) with headphones plugged in our ears. The farmers across the road probably thought we were on drugs, as we bobbed our heads up and down for all to see.

My lifetime motto is "Dare to be Different".