Friends Don't Let Friends Wear Neon...

I saw that on a t-shirt once when neon colored clothing was all the rage, and frankly, getting out of hand. We ran our errands today and picked out a paint color for the school room. Why is it that when you pick it out on the color sample strip, it looks great! But then in the actual paint can, it looks frightening?? We picked out 4 colors, or rather, I picked out 4 colors and then debated with Hubby which color we should pick. He chose the pale yellow one and I kind of lobbied for the pale green one. I pictured in my head the stuff on the walls, the old cabinet I am going to use and thought they would look nicer with the green in the background. So he let me get the green. After the paint lady mixed the colors and opened the can, I kind of groaned internally and thought I shouldn't have picked the green. Hubby said it looked "kind of neon". *gulp* I am telling myself that it will dry lighter and will look great once we get it on the walls, but I am really kind of, sort of, just a little teensy-weensy bit, panicking and stressing over the color. Will paint one wall and see how it dries and I hope it won't be so bright that the girls will be distracted and everything I am teaching them bounces off the brain and slides to the floor in a puddle. Would you have picked this color? What color would you pick for your own school room?

Didn't get to do any painting today and will try to get it done over the weekend, I mean, it is Labor weekend isn't it? Doesn't that mean you have to labor?? We aren't going anywhere except for yard sale-ing so might as well get some stuff done around the house. I see a lot of listings in the local paper for yard sales starting Friday and lasting all the way til Monday! Whoo hoo! Hopefully, we find some good stuff and don't run out of money just when we find the most perfect thing. That's always in the back of my mind when I go yard sale-ing, not wanting to spend too much for something and having no cash at the next sale for something better than what I just bought. There have been moments when I had to drag myself away from something because I didn't have enough money and the sellers didn't want to take any less or hold it for me. Oh, well.. there's always the next sale! Have a GREAT weekend everybody!

Painting Fun!

After getting the corner all cleaned up and brushing the basement walls clean of dust and cobwebs, I spread out newspaper and put Youngest down for her nap. The older girls were nearly jumping out of their skin with excitement when they saw me stirring a big bucket of paint. We had bought a 5 gallon bucket of paint some time ago and it needed to be stirred. And stirred. And stirred some more. Thank goodness Youngest still takes 2 hour naps! Then the girls peppered me with these same lines over and over-- "Is it ready yet? Is it ready now? Now is it ready?" Squeals of delight when I told them, "It's ready."


Look at how Middle dressed herself for painting-- pretty top with a skirt. You never see her in anything but skirts and dresses!

Paintbrushes in hand, they happily slapped on paint, drip-dropping paint all over the newspapers. I should have put down more papers because the girls stepped in the drops of paint and then walked around where there were no newspapers. I have little trails of paint all over that corner of the basement now, but I am not making a big fuss about it, because we want to lay down some flooring. Not sure what yet, but we are playing with the idea of black and white checkered floors. It was a fun day and the girls did a really good job painting. I was surprised at how little paint they got on themselves (except for the bottoms of their feet) and they are now peppering me with lines like this-- "What color are we going to paint now? When are we going to get the paint? How about pink like our room? What about purple? Can we have yellow? When are we going to paint again?" We are running errands today, and will pick out some paint. Even I am not sure what color we will choose. I'm leaning towards a light and bright color, yellow or orange, or maybe a soft and light color like pale blue or green. I'll know when we see it.

It's Official!

It's official!! I'm a home schoolin' mama! This whole summer was spent going to yard sales looking for stuff to set up a classroom with. We found 4 school desks, just like the ones most of us grew up with, the attached desk top and the storage under the seat for books and papers, for only $5. (Hmm.. 3 kids, 4 desks. "Honey! Let's make another baby!" sounds of heavy footsteps running away) We spent lots of time looking for school books for the kindergarten and first grade levels, and for other educational items we can use to decorate the class room. I've been on the Internet looking up laws and qualifications needed for the State of West Virginia and thankfully, we meet the requirements. I sent away for a home schooling information packet with lists of support groups and different programs. I spent hours clearing away a mountain of empty boxes that got tossed in the corner of the basement and sorting through other unpacked boxes. I dragged a shelf across the room to clear away the wall for painting and I just informed Hubby that the girls and I were going to paint this week. I think we're ready!

We got a notice in the mail last week informing us of the date the local elementary school will register new students and I got all nervous and jittery. I fretted that maybe I wasn't making the right decision in home schooling Oldest and maybe I should send her off to school. Then Mom asked me my reasons, and after ticking off all the pros and cons, I calmed down and I just know that home schooling is the right thing to do, for us. Hubby went to the County School Board this morning with all the paperwork we needed, to let them know we intended to home school Oldest and copies of our high school diplomas. We're all set!

In a way, we have already been home schooling the girls. We take something that sparks their interest and run with it, expanding on the possibilities and looking up projects we can do to further understand the topic. Oldest loves to look at a big health book we have, and I used her interest in the human skeleton to watch a chipmunk the cats caught and killed, decompose back into the ground. When everything was gone and there was nothing left but a skull, I cleaned the skull and we compared a picture of a human skull and the chipmunk skull. It was inspiring to see Oldest absorb the information and only made me want to do more, more, more!

Almost every time we head outside, there is a lesson to be learned: empty cicada shells and a big cicada to marvel at, mushrooms, worms in the dirt and baby oak trees growing from acorns.

We are doing the right thing, and it is what is best for us and our family. So, here's to adventures in home schoolin' with 3 little ones! I'll be sharing our adventures from time to time, along with the usual postings of my life.

How to Make Sweet Relish

If you grow your own veggies, then march to your garden and pick what you need. If you need to buy them, try to buy from a farmer's market or other location that sells fresh vegetables. The vegetables at the store tend to have a coat of wax on them and you don't peel the skin on the cucumbers for the relish. Let's try to avoid wax in our relish, shall we?

Before you begin, be sure to have all the canning tools you'll need ready.You will need a jar funnel, jar tongs, clean jars, lids and bands, a ladle, colander and several cooking pots. (I recycled the picture above from the jam instructions cuz I forgot to take a picture of the supplies and I already put everything away! You won't need a spatula or a masher.)

Here is what you need to make Sweet Relish: At least 8 cucumbers, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 2 medium onions, pickling salt, celery seed, mustard seed, apple cider vinegar and sugar. This will make 6-7 pints of relish.

Rinse all vegetables. Chop ends off the cucumbers and discard ends.

I use a nifty mandolin to slice my cucumbers into thin strips. You could do it by hand, I did before I bought the mandolin. I was doing a lot of chopping and slicing and dicing and so I bought this and use it practically every day! The mandolin slices up the cukes in no time, just watch out for the sharp blades. I have nicked my fingers plenty!

This is the result of the cucumber after a visit with the mandolin!

After I slice up the cucumber, I go through and pick out the skinny bits, the thin strips that's all skin with no "meat" on it. I think it keeps the relish chunky and gets rid of the stringy look. You don't have to do that, but I'm picky that way.

Dice up the strips with a large knife,

then drop them into a large bowl, big enough to hold all the chopped cukes, peppers and onions. Put aside and start chopping the other stuff.

Chop the onions. Add to the bowl of chopped cukes.

Chop red pepper and green pepper. Add to bowl of cukes and onions.

Isn't this pretty to look at? Press it all down evenly because you are about to add salt and cover in water.

Measure out 1/2 cup of salt.
Sprinkle salt all over the chopped veggies.
Pour cold water all over the salt, dissolving it and pour enough water to cover veggies completely. Let sit for 2 hours. Go watch TV, read some blogs, play with the kids.

Drain and rinse the salt off the veggies. Leave veggies in colander for a bit and let water completely drain away.
Measure out 2 cups of apple cider vinegar and pour into a large pot, stainless steel preferred. Get the big water canner started on the stove.


Add 1 tablespoon of celery seed.


Add 1 tablespoon of mustard seed.

Add 3 1/2 cups of sugar to vinegar and spices. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves.

When vinegar / sugar mixture boils, add the drained chopped veggies. Stir and return to a boil. This will take about 10 minutes to boil and you don't need to constantly stir like you do with the jam. No tired arms here!

(Another recycled jam picture here) When veggie mixture begins to boil, turn off heat and ladle chopped veggies into hot jars with the funnel. Fill almost all the way to the top, wipe rim of jar clean, then top with hot lid, then tighten band over to seal.

Using the jar tongs, lift jar and put into the hot water canner. (yes, another recycled picture) Cover with lid and boil for 10 minutes.

When 10 minutes are up, carefully remove lid, then use jar tongs to lift each jar to an area where they can cool overnight. Cover jars with a towel to prevent them from cooling too fast. In the morning, press the top of each jar and make sure the vacuum seal worked. If the lid pops up and down, boil again in the hot water canner for another 10 minutes, or put in the fridge and eat it up!

Here are 2 of the many jars I canned. Don't they look lovely? They go quickly so make extra for your family and some for gifts.

The relish tastes great on hot dogs, mixed into tuna fish sandwiches, potato salads... Hubby likes it on his hot dogs with nothing else.


See? I had to tell him to slow down so I could snap a picture! It was gone in 2 bites!

More Canning Adventures

We have had a lovely week of cool weather and a visit from my Mom and Uncle & Auntie. Monday, Auntie and Uncle brought Mom up and all 3 stayed the night after I cooked Shepard's Pie for dinner. Breakfast was a yummy egg, sausage and potato casserole and then I made a batch of pickle relish, taking advantage of the cooler weather we had. Uncle and Auntie left and Mom stayed. I took full advantage of having Mom here and had her keep the girls out of the kitchen so I could concentrate on making more relish on Wednesday.

Mom thinks it's funny that I make relish but I don't eat it. I don't like pickles or relish, never have. I've tried it but I just don't like that pickled taste. One year, I had a whopper crop of cucumbers and thought I would try making pickles for the pickle-lovers in the family. I got all kinds of compliments and raves and requests for "More! More!" I happily obliged and made more! Then I tried making Sweet Relish and I can't make enough to keep everyone happy! Last year I made 12 jars of relish and 18 jars of assorted pickles, I still have 14 jars of pickles and the last jar of relish is in the fridge, nearly empty!

This year, sadly, no cukes from my garden, so I went to the local farm stand and bought a bushel of cukes for cheap and got red peppers and onions, too, and green peppers from my garden and set to work making 3 cases of relish!! Some for Hubby to eat, some for family members and others for gifts. Hubby and Mom happily sampled my latest batch (quality control, they tell me) and I am soaking up the compliments about how good the relish is. I still have a bunch of cukes left and I think I will make one more batch of relish and then use the rest in salads. We take Mom back home Saturday and we will miss her. Her next visit will be in October.

My next post will be a canning post-- How to make Sweet Relish! Come back and learn, it's easy-peasy!

The Courtship -part 2

Our first date was to the Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in DC. I lived right by the Metro (express trains for commuters around the Metropolitan area in DC, MD and VA), so he drove over to my place and we walked over to the Metro. On the walk over, he handed me a card that had fireballs taped all over it. We had talked about favorite candies once, and he remembered I liked fireballs, hot cinnamon jaw breakers, and bought a bunch and taped them on the card. Awww.. He scored some points for listening and remembering! I still have the card and I never ate any of the fireballs.

We spent the day walking around the museum and there was an old train there that he wanted to show me. It was a train that his Grandfather drove once and they retired it and donated it to the museum. We had the best time, ate at Union Station and then went to the Holocaust Museum. It was a moving experience seeing all the mementos and actual items from the concentration camps and it also opened a topic of conversation between us about racism and different things that different cultures practice. We both discovered we have the same views of people and life-- live and let live. What you do is your business and vice-versa.

After a long day, we headed back to my place. We held hands most of the day and didn't want the day to end, so we ordered pizza. A close friend of mine popped up and the only thing running through my head was for her to go! I didn't want to be rude, though, so I introduced them: Best Friend, meet Date. Date, meet Best Friend. It was such an awkward moment and thank goodness she finally got the hint and left us alone again. We moved up to kissing that night. Those beginning stages of a relationship where kissing alone is all you need to sustain yourself. We kissed. Kissed again. Kissed some more. Then I finally pushed him away and told him he had to go home. I could have easily dropped him and pounced on him, but I didn't want him to think I was easy, ya know, it was only our first date! A girl's gotta have some standards!

A few nights later, we were in the parking lot at work and we were kissing each other good-bye. The next day at work, a few co-workers that saw us kissing were making kissy-kissy faces at us as we walked by. So much for discreetness! He followed me home that night and we talked for a little bit outside. A little while turned into a long time and he pulled the gate of his truck down and put a towel on it so I didn't get my jeans dirty. We sat there and talked and talked and talked. When we finally decided we talked enough, we got up and realized it had rained. It rained and left puddles, but we were dry. The truck was wet, the ground was wet, the grass was wet, but the towel we sat on and the two of us were dry! Once again we had that feeling of being meant for each other.

We hugged each other good-night, we kissed and then I couldn't help myself. It bubbled out of me and I couldn't stop it in time. I blurted out, "I love you!" The moment it came out, I cringed, afraid that it would scare him off as a woman moving too fast. My heart swelled so much it hurt, I had never felt this way before and I prayed that he wouldn't turn and run as far away from me as he could get. He pulled away from me and lifted my chin with his hand, my teeth biting my lips because they were trembling and I was barely holding back a flood of tears, and he said, "I love you, too." I started crying and then he started to cry and we both stood there in a trance, watching the other cry, realizing the magnitude of the moment. We have only been seeing each other for about 2 weeks and here we are, saying we love each other, before we ever did anything more than just kiss. It was one of the happiest moments in my life, knowing that I found him, my true love, my soul mate, the man I would grow old with.

The Courtship

Hubby was talking to the girls this morning about the time when he and I were dating. It made me think back to those early days when all my emotions were on an uphill roller coaster and when it seemed I could go no higher, I found myself feeling higher than the day before. We would spend our breaks together. He would walk me to my car after work and we would spend hours talking in the parking lot, smoking cigarettes, talking about the things we've done, what we'd like to do and whatever else you talk about when you are getting to know someone. This was all in the chilly month of November. One night after an hour of shivering, I suggested we drive over to the IHOP (International House of Pancakes, a 24 hour breakfast house) to get warm and maybe something to eat.

We drove in separate cars and parked next to each other, because well, our cars needed to get to know each other, too! Once seated in a warm booth, I ordered a hot chocolate and he ordered a coffee. I can't remember if we had anything to eat, but I do remember the other details. We had not had any physical contact other than the pat on the shoulder or a brief touch of hands to pass something along. I wanted to hold his hand so badly, that I reached across the table and played with his napkin, willing him to get the hint and grab my hand. After what seemed like forever, he finally took my hand in his and I felt electric shocks shoot up my arm and down through my spine! I had never felt that before and it took me by surprise. I looked him in the eyes and all I could see was the most bluest eyes I had ever seen, and they were looking right back at me! Later, he told me that he felt those same electric shocks when he grabbed my hand.

It was getting late and it was time to part ways and go home. He walked me to my car and held open the door for me. I was not used to such treatment! I never had a man hold the doors for me, or let me through first, or hold me by the elbow to make sure I didn't fall. We hugged for the first time that night and I remember the smell of his neck and coat, a mixture of his cologne, cigarette smoke and a spray he would use to make his car smell good-- 'New Car Scented Spray'. All combined, it was a wonderful smell. His truck still smells like it did 10 years ago (minus the cigarette smoke) and all I have to do is sit inside and I am instantly transported to those early days. He gave me such a nice hug and I didn't want to let go! It was a hug that enveloped me and made me feel safe and secure, the kind of hug that you want over and over. Before I got into my car, he held my hand then bent down to kiss it! I was all giddy and giggly and I didn't know what to do or say, I never had a man kiss me on my hand before. We drove along, his car behind mine and then at the light, I turned left and he went right. He waved at me before he turned and I watched his truck's tail-lights in the mirror grow smaller as we drove farther apart. I turned on the radio and "Red Red Wine" by UB40 came on and I remember thinking it was the perfect song to finish off the night. [ I don't know the lyrics to the song, I can't hear the singing, I just like the beat and the feeling it gives me, so don't tell me it is a song about death or something negative, cause I don't want to know.]

When I got home, I lived only 5 miles from IHOP, I changed into my pjs and laid down to sleep. I couldn't sleep and kept thinking about what had happened tonight. The electric shocks, the feel of his hand holding mine, the smell of his neck and coat, his lips on my hand... it was all so exciting! I looked at the clock and it was nearly 4 in the morning. I suddenly had this feeling come over me that told me he got home safely and I could go to sleep now. The next day at work, I asked him what time he got home and when he told me, I couldn't believe it! It was the same time that I saw on the clock and felt he was home. I told him so and we were just awed by this feeling of being connected some how, that maybe this was meant to be, he and I.

More to come in the next post...