Sunday Night Chit-Chat

Hi! And welcome to my episode of the Sunday Night Chit-Chat started each week by the very talented Carla over at My 1/2 Dozen Daily! Carla's bonus question last week (which I missed) was what website do you check every day (or something like that). Well, mine would have to be Carla's! I gain so much inspiration from her blog. The second one is The Breast Cancer Site because I go there to "click" almost every day!

I have been baking my way through the homemade bread recipe book from the editors of Hobby Home Farm magazine. Friday I made Basil and Sundried Tomato Bread! I really liked it but it was not a winner with family and friends:( They really liked the Rosemary Bread and Double Dill Rye better. They all said their favorite so far is my 100% Whole Wheat Bread. 

So, on with the Chit-Chat!

I am...

Reading...Just finished all three books in the Annie's People series by Beverly Lewis. I am currently reading Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. Our read aloud is Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman! Wow! What a great book and I have Carla to thank for the great review on this book! We are loving it and I am itching to hike the Appalachian Trail! That being said by a non-hiker! 

Watching...Not sure. My son bought some new inspirational movies so we might watch one of those tonight. Maybe The Note 3.

Listening to...Flies buzzing around...nasty:( I have a fly strip up and slowly but surely they are getting stuck! Soon no buzzing:)

Cooking/baking...Cookies! Lots of cookies!!! Hubby will be working away this week, camping on the job so wanted Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies to take with. He also wanted homemade granola but already had that baked and ready to go:) We tasted our homemade sauerkraut the other day and it is super scrumptious! He will be taking some of that with him as well.

Happy you accomplished this week...I blogged more after several days off. I read three books last week plus got ready for stamping club! 

Looking forward to next week...I don't look forward to hubby being absent all week but am looking forward to the opportunity it presents! I have a LONG list of things I plan to accomplish while he is gone. When he's gone I get up early and go to bed late. So I am looking forward to seeing how much I can get done before he gets home on Friday. I will keep you posted during the week.

Thankful for today...I have to agree with Carla on this one...my sweet hubby! Without his hard work I would not have been able to quit working two years ago. I was able to be a SAHM to my kids for their growing up years and now am able to be retired early to reduce the stress in my life so I have better health! Plus he does health/nutrition research to find ways that I can live a "normal" life with fibromyalgia without medication. 

***BONUS QUESTION***

I receive an unexpected lump sum of money. It's a BIG number. What's the first thing you do with it? Okay, the first thing is easy. I would pay 10% tithe. Then I would get hubby the new motorcycle helmet he wants that's nearly $700. I would then get me an iPad. Next I would hire someone to come help me organize my office and craft room. Then the rest would go into savings!!! Boy! Did I over answer that question or what?!!!

Thank you for joining me for the Sunday Night Chit-Chat. I hope you will pop over to Carla's Sunday Night Chit-Chat to see how she and others answered the questions. Always fun:)

I will be back tomorrow with some more fun swap cards plus will be posting some of my own cards this week as well! Have a great Sunday evening!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday

Today it's time for Happy Homemaker Monday started each week by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I hope you are having a great day--for a Monday that is:) So, here we go...

Weather...Today it is only 82 degrees (F) at 3:00 in the afternoon! I LOVE this kind of weather!!! The garden is loving it too--not too hot; not too cold:)

On my reading pile...Just finishing Morning Comes Softly by Debbie Macomber. The book is good but I really like her more recent writing better. I have the Annie's People series by Beverly Lewis on my reading pile. The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and Shawls Two on the go! will be here this week!

On my TV...Working through the episodes of Numbers on Netflix.

On the menu this week...
Monday--Spaghetti with butter, garlic and basil; green salad; corn on the cob
Tuesday--Mizidra (finally cool enough to cook)
Wednesday--Tacos
Thursday--Garbanzo Oat Patties, Baked Potatoes, green salad
Friday--Veggie hot dogs and potato salad
Saturday--not sure

On my to do list...

• Clean apartment (for guests)
• Make tea for my Kombucha "mushroom"--gotta feed Scoby Do:)
• Exercise
• Make and can salsa
• Dry more peaches
• Straighten the house

What I am sewing, knitting, crocheting or creating...Nothing at the moment but the Shawls Two on the go! book should reignite my creativity!

Homemaking Tips...Freezing herbs: 

• Rinse
• Drain
• Chop
• Pack herbs into ice cube tray cups
• Slowly pour water into cups
• Freeze for 24 hours
• Put cubes into freezer bags
• To use just put a cube or two into whatever you're cooking and you will have the taste of fresh herbs year round:)

Looking around the house...A little cluttered:(

From the camera...

 

The Hydrangeas are starting to bloom:)

On my prayer list...

• 3 very special ladies each with various stages of cancer.
• My hubby and his work.
• My friends
• My children

Bible Verse; Devotional...

"...'I have called you friends.' It is a friendship based on the new life created in us which has no affinity with our old life, but only with the love of God. It is unutterably humble, unsulliedly pure, and absolutely devoted to God." 

--from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Thanks for stopping by for the Happy Homemaker Monday. 

Kat

Sunday Night Chit-Chat

My picture tonight is of a new cookbook I just ordered today from Amazon! I can hardly wait to get it! If you are one of my faithful readers you know we are in the process of becoming Vegan. We are just about there--just have the eggs to go. We do purchase organic, free-range eggs but those will be going soon too. One of the hardest things to give up is cheese--LOVE cheese! This cookbook was recommended to me by a friend so thought I would give it a go. I don't expect these recipes to taste like cheese, just give some substitutes that will be acceptable. I will share more as I try the recipes:)

With Amazon you get free shipping if you purchase $25 or more (unless the purchase is from a third party) so had to add a few more books to my order. I am very excited about the Shawls Two on the go! book I added. These will be fun projects to work on this winter. I think I would like to get some green yarn like in the picture to make that shawl--yummy!

Okay, so enough about my purchases:) It is time for the Sunday Night Chit-Chat started each week by Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily. Check out her blog for the rules and what she has been up to.

I am...

Reading...Still nothing at the moment but ordered book two and three of the Annie's People series by Beverly Lewis. I already have The Preacher's Daughter (book one) so now that I have the others on their way I can start reading it:)

Watching...The guys are watching The Three Muskateers.

Listening to...The wind blowing outside, our English Bulldog snoring beside me and the movie playing in the background.

Cooking/baking...We had spaghetti, salad (fresh from the garden) and corn on the cob. I think it's the first real meal I have cooked in two weeks! Need to bake some bread but think I will put it off till tomorrow.

Happy I accomplished this week... It took 10 days for my swap cards to get from Oregon to Vancouver, BC but I was sooo relieved when they finally got there! That's not really an accomplishment but I did feel good about it:) I got the house clean on Friday and that felt really good. Also reconnected with an old friend which I had been meaning to do but kept procrastinating. Have you ever noticed that the longer you put something off the harder it is to do? Well, I just happened to see her in town, visited and set a lunch date. Felt good to reconnect:)

Looking forward to next week...

• Having lunch on Tuesday with friend I reconnected with:)
• Going to Oregon State Fair with Hubby and Son next Sunday--brunch first at Sweet Tomatoes then off to the Fair!!! We don't do the carnival rides but love the exhibits and vendors!
• Getting my Amazon order! Love new books...especially cookbooks!
• Picking lots of raspberries! Yes, we have Fall raspberries:)

Thankful for today...My health! Even though I have Fibromyalgia and have pain and other annoying issues, it is not life threatening and I can function like a normal person (whatever that is) about 85% of the time. I am also thankful for friends who keep me sane and feed my soul! Carla said she is thankful for her husband who works so hard for their family and I want to second that with my hubby! He works hard and manages our money so well! I appreciate all he does for our family:)

Well, that's it for this week's Sunday Night Chit-Chat! Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will come back to visit tomorrow!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday

Whoo Hoo! I made it for Happy Homemaker Monday! I'm not sure how happy a homemaker I am this morning but participating seems to get my week off to a good start! 

Happy Homemaker Monday is launched each by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Check out the cool "pantry" they made to go beside their refrigerator! WOW! Makes me wish I had a bigger space beside mine!

Sooo, let's get started...

The weather...69 degrees (F) as of 9:00 a.m. That is about 6 degrees cooler than it has been at this time of the morning for the last week. So hoping for a little cooler day. Maybe 95 instead of 100?!!!

On my reading pile...Need to start No Eye Can See by Jane Kirkpatrick--2nd book in the Kinship and Courage Series. But just got The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis. Hmmm...which to start first?!!!

On my TV...Might try to find a good family film on Netflix today to watch with my favorite 10 year old who will be visiting me today:)

On the menu this week...
Anything that requires little or no cooking until the weather cools off a little bit. I'm thinkin' lots of sandwiches and tacos! We are not used to heat in this part of the country so only have a very small room air conditioner that can't keep up when I'm cooking and baking.

On my to do list...

• Make and can applesauce
• Make and can salsa
• Make and send 3 encouragement cards
• Send cards to hubby's clients
• Catch up on office work (hubby's files) 
• Laundry

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating...

• Crocheting another pineapple doily
• Getting ready to start some Doily Potholders to use as Christmas gifts
• Always making cards--sent off swap cards last week and making encouragement and thank you cards today

Homemaking Tips...Here's a tip I just learned from Creative Homemaking--Did you know you can use plain white vinegar in the Jet Dry compartment of your dishwasher and have spotless dishes? What! I don't need to buy Jet Dry anymore??? Amazing!!! White vinegar is sooo much cheaper!

Looking around the house...Dog toys everywhere! They do love their toys:) Books and magazine piled on hubby's side table. A fine layer of dust on everything--we open our windows at night to cool the house off so dust gets on everything:(

From the camera...

I always seem to have pictures of my son's very spoiled and much loved English Bulldog Rocky on the camera! How could I not take pictures of his cute little mug?!!! He provides lots of laughs for us!

On my prayer list...Two friends with Cancer:(

Bible Verse; Devotional...

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33 (marked in my hubby's grandmother's Bible)

Thank you for stopping by for Happy Homemaker Monday! I will be crafting with my favorite 10 year old today so will show you some of our projects tomorrow! Have a great day!

Kat