Monday Musings

So last week was a very busy week around our home.  We were preparing for our Band and Strings concert.  Our youngest son was supposed to have a tennis class.  Plus, my husband and I went on a partial weekend date to San Antonio – primarily so we could pick up a produce order from Bountiful Baskets on Saturday morning before we rushed home to play in the concerts.  Here are some pictures of our Bountiful Baskets produce.

But before I write more about the concert I have to talk about our date weekend.  This weekend we went someplace we had never been before – which is Wimberley, Texas.  This place amazed and astounded us.  Having moved to Texas from the mountains of Pennsylvania, the views and scenery around Wimberly took our breath away.  Even though it rained and was cloudy, we were still able to take a short walk to see the river/stream in Wimberley.  Here are some pictures.

 

The problem with all of our family members being in the band and strings groups is that it makes it difficult to take pictures.  Also, because I am one of the moms who helps coordinate things like the food for after the performances, it is even harder to get pictures of our whole family.  This time I failed completely at getting any pictures at all.  Here is one picture another mom took of us during the beginner strings performance.

 

So now the Homeschool Band and Strings program are both on break until after the first of the year, but Nathan, Dennis (my husband) and I still have two performances this coming Saturday with the Community Band.  So be watching for updates next week about how that goes.  This Thursday we have a Christmas party for the tennis group as long as the weather cooperates.  Then Dennis, Nathan and I will be heading to Austin/Round Rock to go to Ikea and more.

If you would like to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew are blogging about this week, click here or on the image below.

Thoughts for Tuesday, May 29, 2018

 

So last week was our first week with limited activities.  The Homeschool Band and Strings programs are out for two weeks before the summer program begins.  However,  that does not mean we do not have anything to do.  Right now, we are dealing with a Home Improvement Store’s Extended Warranty department to try and get our refrigerator fixed that is still under warranty.  However, we are not having too much success.  So far the repairmen (independent contractors) have been out twice and my refrigerator still does not work.  When they came last week, they told me it needed a new compressor, which the home improvement store would not pay for – instead the store should have contacted me about replacing the refrigerator with a new one (what the warranty stipulates).  However, when I called the home improvement store’s warranty deparment on Thursday, I was told the repairmen should be coming back out to replace the compressor.  But neither the repairmen or the warranty department decided it was worth their time to inform me of this development.  So, we are in week 3 of this situation with no end in sight.  I have turned this over to my husband to handle.

Last week also saw us beginning the process of putting up the apples and potatoes we bought from Bountiful Baskets.  My oldest son is the chief apple processor, while my husmband and I did the potatoes.  We also started the process for making our homemade sauerkraut.  The best part was having friends over keep us company while we worked.

Here are some pictures.

During the long weekend, we also put up seven pints of beets.  Here are some pictures of that and the potato process.  Because we were already working with the potatoes, I decided it was the perfect time to make a pot of homemade potato soup.  Between dinner Friday night and lunch on Saturday, the soup was devoured.

Yesterday was Memorial Day here in the United States where we remember those servicemembers who paid the ultimate price in service for our country.  So we decided it was a perfect day for a cookout.  We fixed Bratwursts, pita bread (for wrapping the bratwursts in), macaroni salad, deviled eggs, and homemade baked beans.  All in all the meal turned out fantastic.

Finally to cap of the day, our youngest son, my husband and I went to see our local community band perform.  The Crossroads Community Band performed at our city’s Warrior Weekend event which included a field of flags.  We enjoyed listening to the music and especially the finale of “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Phillips Sousa.  There is nothing like hearing the piccolo solo for that song.  We also enjoyed hearing the band perform a New Orleans style funeral march.  Another highlight of the evening  was hearing the tributes to the military branches.  Since my husband served in the United States Air Force (way before our time together) and has served in the United States Army Reserves as a reservist from 1997 to 2004 and then as active duty in the Army Reserves since 2005, my husband stood for both songs.

Following the band performance, the local Boy Scouts troops held a flag burning ceremony.  Because my husband was and is in the military, they asked him to carry one of the flags .  So here are some pictures.

So if you are in the Unitted States, how did you spend your Memorial Day weekend?  I pray your weekend was blessed.  If you are not in the United States, I would also love to hear how you spent your wekend.

If you would like to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew are posting about this week,  click here or on the graphci below.

A Weekend Full of Activity

So this past weekend was full of activity.  Saturday morning, Dennis (my husband) and I woke up at 5 am to drive to San Antonio. We went to pick up an order from Bountiful Baskets and do some other shopping including visiting Sprouts, Ccostco, Trader Joes and the commissary at Fort Sam Houston.  From Bountiful Baskets, we ordered 2 regular baskets, 50 pounds of potatoes and over 70 pounds of Gala apples.  The potatoes we are going to can.  The apples we are going to can after making applesauce.  Although this is only our second time going to Bountiful Baskets, I am thrilled with what we received.

Then we went to Sprouts where we bought cabbages, lemons, limes, watermelons,  cous cous, wild rice, red lentils and more.  All in all, I am really pleased with what we found there.  We plan on making sauerkraut with the cabbages.

From there we went to Costco, where we purchased, bottled water, sugar, a 10 pound bag of carrots chicken thighs and chicken drumsticks, rotel tomatoes.

Then we went to Trader Joes where we bought several plants including dill, thyme, mint, and cilantro along with some cookies for our children and more.

From there we went to the commissary at Fort Sam Houston where our main purchase was blocks of Kraft chedder and colby jack cheese because we save money buying it there.  Also, it is lactose-free which is terrific.

Once we were done at the commissary, we drove the two-hours back to Victoria and unloaded the van with the help of our children.  Here is what our table looked like:

Of course, this represents only a fraction of what we actually brought home.  Once we had everything unloaded and somewhat situated, we proceeded to fix the necessary items for our band concert.  Once the food was finished, we dressed and loaded everything that needed to go with us – food, instruments, music stands and of course – us.

Here are some pictures from the concert:

And here are some more pictures:

And some final pictures from the concert and of the reception afterwards.  All in all it was a great evening.

Then on Sunday we had graduation festivities at the church for our second son.  Stay tuned on Wednesday to read more about that.

So what has been going on in your world?  I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew are writing about this week, click here or on the graphic below.

Tasty Tuesday’s – March 20, 2018

This past week, I discovered an amazing place to buy fresh produce. It is called Bountiful Baskets. Unfortunately, it is not available everywhere, in fact, we had to drive two hours to San Antonio, which is the closest site to us. Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op where people pay a contribution fee for a basket or can pay more for certified organic.

We decided to purchase one regular basket along with several of the additional offerings, We purchased 50 pounds of potatoes, an herb basket, and a St, Patrick’s Day basket. With those, we received carrots, celery, potatoes, kale, a butternut squash, cabbage, pears, and even two grapefruits,

 

I wish I had taken pictures of everything, but that did not happen. However, I know we will participate again and I will be sure to take pictures and share with you all.  Here is one picture of some of the produce we got including the box of potatoes, the herb basket and the St. Patrick’s Day basket.

Here is a picture of the potatoes. We were very pleased with the quality of our food.

Also, this weekend, my husband and I discovered a new place to eat called Zoe’s Kitchen that serves a blend of Mediterranean and Southern food combined. I had their steak stack sandwich with a Greek salad. Dennis, my husband, had the steak stack and their marinated slaw. The food was fresh, flavorful and very satisfying.

So what have you been eating?  I would love to hear from you.

If you would like to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew have to say this week, click here or on the graphic below.

 

The Week of 4th of July

For those of us here in the United States, this week brought the 4th of July – Independence Day.  And one of our family’s favorite things to do at this time of the year used to be putting up corn each year.  When we lived in North Carolina, it was a family and friends event.  We typically put up around 5 bushels for just our family.  So this week, it was rather bittersweet to see my sister-in-law post pictures on Facebook of them putting up corn.

However, since we moved to Texas in March 2016, putting up food has become a wishful occupation.  We so want to put up food because we really enjoy it, but we have neither space or places to find produce to buy in bulk.

When we lived in the central part of Pennsylvania from summer of 2012 until March of 2016, we were blessed to have Amish farms to buy produce from in bulk.  The quality was amazing and the prices were extremely affordable.

Here are some pictures of us putting up corn in Pennsylvania.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing the rows of jars on the shelves or bags full of produce in our freezer ready for us to eat in the future.

Here are some pictures of our shelves in Pennsylvania with items we were getting ready to put up or had already put up.

I think one of my favorite things to put up know is homemade sauerkraut.  The flavors are just so amazing.

So what does summer bring for your family?

A New Discovery

  So it is summertime here, which means it is time to put up fresh produce for the upcoming year.  When Dennis and I were first married, we lived where we could have our own garden.  Dennis has an amazing green thumb.  He is able to grow anything he set his mind to, so we had all kinds of fresh vegetables.  This included green beans, corn, garden peas, peppers, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, crowder peas and more.

Then he went full time in the Army Reserves, so we moved into military housing and couldn’t have a garden.  From there we moved into two other homes that we could not have a garden really.  Then we moved to a home where we could have had a garden, but didn’t really have the time for it.  Plus the growing season was a lot shorter.  Then we moved again and we no longer could have a garden.  Now we live in a different home in the same area and having our own garden is not an option again.  But we are tremendously blessed to live in an area where we can buy fresh produce from local Amish farms.

So this year we have made an investment in a pressure cooker so we can put up corn, green beans and other things that have a low acidity.  So today for the first time, we used the new toy to put up green beans.  There is such a sense of satisfaction that comes from hearing the jar lids “pop”.  So we put up 7 quarts of green beans this morning.  We still have corn to put up.  We bought about 4 bushels of corn.

I love being able to simply go to my shelves or freezer and pick out fresh vegetables or fruit that we have put up ourselves.  Plus when buying from the Amish farmers, we save money at the same time that we support their families.