Monday, August 6, 2012

Celebrating 10 Years!

On a very hot, 3rd day in August of 2002 we said "I do".  As newly weds 10 years looked like it was way out there somewhere in old fogey land.  Well would you know we have reached that mile stone and we are no where near old fogey. haha  My husband might think otherwise on my part since I'm older then him but that's beside the point. 

To celebrate this special moment, we took our 4 kids to their Aunt Gina's house.  After killing, skinning, cleaning, & packaging 11 chickens in the morning for Gina we went on our merry way.  

We had the rest of the day just the 2 of us like it was 10 years ago :)  Talk about relaxing and exciting!  Reuben & I aren't into a lot of shopping.  Nor are we into crowded places.  We LOVE nature and that is always were we seem to head.  So to Emlenton, PA we went.  Twas a wild, goose chase down dirt roads through forest and meadows in search of some waterfalls.  Going down those country roads in the mountains of PA one never knows what beauty they shall behold.

Our camera zoom did not do this horse farm justice.

An old rickety barn.


Wild life!  Always exciting to see.

After driving up and down steep mountains we did find the fall.  But we decided it wasn't to our liking due to other people being there.  So we traveled down to the end of the road the falls were on and found a mysterious tunnel.  We had the spookiest time of our lives for the next while. As we ventured the entire way through the tunnel on foot without a flash light :)


This pictured turned out weird.  This is just inside the tunnel entrance.

The darkness sums up our walk.  You can see that they have reflectors through the whole thing. However you almost don't notice the reflectors after awhile because you are too focused on the sliver of light coming from the other end which is around a slight bend.

Upon exiting the tunnel this was what we found. The Allegheny River! We had to walk down a steep bank to get to it. 

Wild flowers growing along the steep bank.

Upon leaving the tunnel and traveling back through the forest. We stopped here at the bottom of the mountain.  It was so relaxing. There was no one around.  And all was quiet except for the water going over the rocks.  The cold water also created a cool oasis from the heat of the sun that was shining brightly.

And thus ended our little get-away or so I thought :)

While traveling on I-80 heading back towards Ohio. Reuben asks if I'd be interested in doing something unplanned like going and seeing if we could find the B&B we spent the first 2 nights of our honeymoon. To see if we could remember what it looked like and get a picture.  Sure I was all for that.  So he looks it up on the GPS.  What do you know, the place is listed. So he hits the navigation button and off we go on a little detour.  

We get off at the Grove City exit and wind our way through the country till we come to the small town. Modern technology is wonderful because we hadn't been there in 10 years so it was great to have a GPS guide us smoothly through town until we came to "Snow Goose Inn".  I was getting disappointed that we weren't slowing down and pulling off so I could snap a picture. Instead the crazy guy says "I wonder if I can remember how to get in this place". As he pulls onto the side road next to the Inn. I mentioned that the parking was behind.  So he maneuvers the vehicle down the lane and into their parking place and proceeds to turn the ignition off.  I'm thinking the whole time this is ridiculous.  Why are we doing this now we have to walk around to the front and get that picture.  The owners are gonna wonder what we are doing.  He grins real big and says "I have reservations for tonight".  You better believe it, it took me several minutes to pick my jaw back up off my lap and adjust my eyes back into their sockets. haha  

The lady gave us the same room we stayed in 10 years ago. What can I say but that it was "the icing on the cake" to a perfectly, happy day.  

These roses and a box of chocolates from Proflowers waited for me in our room.  10 years later and he still makes my heart beat a little faster :) Even if he wouldn't have done all this he'd still be my very best friend and I love him more today!!  From the depths of my heart, THANK YOU Reuben Romain for this weekend and all that you did to make me truly feel loved and special. ♥♥♥









Friday, July 20, 2012

Crispy, Crunchy, Homemade Pickles

One of my favorite things to make in the canning season is pickles. Not sure why, but I love it.  I've never come across a store bought pickle that tastes as good. Unless you make kerosene pickles like Aunt Bea :)

The method that I have found to work best for me is to use Mrs. Wages mixes. Thankfully, the bent-n-dent store had a bunch of them for .50 ea. Yep, I bought every single one!! I was getting concerned that maybe I wouldn't have enough when it came time make the pickles. Pulled out all the packages and learned I had enough for 65 quarts of pickles. I think I'm safe for this year at least :P

Our 1st big picking. Don't look like many but they added up to 9 pints. YEAH!!

Simple tools of the process.

Don't ya just love progress :)

Those cukes will never be the same.

The result - crispy, crunchy, bread & butter pickles. YUM!

Interesting little note - I don't remember all the details but I was reminded today of when I was a little girl in Greene County PA. My mom and dad always had several large gardens and one year the local paper must of caught wind of mom's pickle making.  She still has the pictured article of her pickles :)


Blessings to ya!

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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Gardening For a Family of 6

Growing enough to feed a family of 6 for a whole year requires a big garden.  For us it means 2 large gardens totaling 13,000 square feet.  Below are some pictures that I took today.  They look nice this time of year.
This is garden #2

Some tomatoes and cucumbers

 2nd Pea Patch

2nd Bean Patch

13 Rows of Corn



Garden #1

Roma Tomatoes

"Big Boy" Tomato

1st Bean Patch

Onions

Beets

My little herb garden.  Not much in it, only my 2nd year.

Heirloom tomatoes

Some fruits of our labor



Blessings to ya!!

Linking up with:













Monday, July 2, 2012

Pepperoni Bundles

Thought I'd share these tasty tidbits I made for the kid's and my supper.  Since my sweetheart is driving truck meal times when he is on the road have become more relaxed and kid friendly. :)

As most of us know by now, refrigerated biscuits and croissants in a can are no longer supposed to be eaten  as is. Well you can, but don't limit yourself to just that.  Below I will show you how I took 1 can of each and turned them into what I'm calling "pepperoni bundles".

*Unroll the croissants from the can.  Place about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese and 2 pepperoni at the widest part.

*Fold them into bundles.

*Remove biscuits from the can.  Split each one in half.

*Sprinkle the cheese and about 4 pepperoni.

*Pinch closed with a fork.
Bake in a 375* oven for 16-17 minutes.

I served these with spaghetti sauce sprinkled with sugar. Yes, I'm one of those people who like my sauce to have a sweet taste to it :)  My boys loved them!!

Blessings to ya!!

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Goodwill Bargains

I love reading blogs where people share their bargains.  It's inspiring to see how others decorate their home for a little bit of nothing.  There was a time when brand new items from Home Interiors was the only way I decorated.  Well that is not possible for me to do when I want a home that is beautiful and cozy while on a tight budget.  So I go to yard sales and thrift stores for all my decorating.  Trust me you can decorate you home to look like you have $$$ with these bargains.

So I'm sharing the few things I found this Friday from Goodwill during their 1/2 off everything sale.

I couldn't get a picture that did this little, sun catcher justice.  I have found that bright blue pops in my "burnt gingerbread" painted kitchen.  I got this for $1.00.  It is very cherry and my little kids just love it.

I got these delightful little pots for $.25 a piece.  I have them sitting on the back of the stove.  Love how the paint has some "chips" in it.

This copper tone lantern cost $1.00, came with the bright blue candle. I have it sitting on the back of the stove as well.  I love lanterns and won't think twice to snatch it up for that price. :)

Those two collections together.  I love my kitchen.  

The sweet, ceramic jug cost $1.00.  It is being used to hold hand lotion.  The candle holder came from my "Secret Sister" from church.  Just love the punched tin.  It goes perfect in my outhouse bathroom.  The candle is a $.10 Goodwill bargain.

This is NOT a Goodwill bargain.  But I wanted to share it, because my sweet husband made it for me this weekend.  And I just had to share it with my blog friends.  He is very artistic with a scroll saw.  I love this!!

Blessings to ya!!

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