Grapefruit!

I got to see the house that my sister lives in. I got to see the pool they swim in. I got to see the citrus trees they have in their yard and got my first, good look at a grapefruit tree! It was heavy with fruit and I was more than a little disappointed that they weren't ready to pick and eat. Or so I thought. Sister grabbed one, cut it in half and behold! they're ready! We all gleefully picked grapefruit, even the girls were getting in on the fun and we filled up a small laundry basket with grapefruit. I was so excited with knowing I was going to take some home with us, and then Sister told me to take it all. All of it!? No, no, no. I don't need that many! "Make marmalade with it!" she said. Really? I can take it all? O-K. So I am drowning in grapefruit! Happy happy happy!

I looked up my canning cookbook on how to make grapefruit marmalade and it only takes 2 grapefruits to make 3 pints. So I'll probably make 3 or 4 batches. Then I saw a recipe for canning grapefruit sections! Oh yum! I will most definitely be doing that! I remember my mom and dad buying big jars of grapefruit sections and it never lasted long in our house. I know what I'll be doing these next few days...

Home Again!

Sometimes you need to leave home to appreciate what home is. We had a wonderful time visiting family in Florida and South Carolina and I'm so glad we went! 8 days away from home is a long time though, and by the 5th day, the girls were asking when we were going home. It's good to be home again, sleeping in our own beds and playing with our own toys. The last 30 miles to home seemed like it took forever to drive and we were all bouncing out of our seats by the time we pulled into our driveway.

We left at 8:30 Sunday night, putting the girls to bed in their car seats in the van. Our intention was to drive until we got sleepy, then pull over at a rest stop and snooze a little bit. We hoped to get to Florida by lunch time. Hubby started the first leg of the trip and Youngest and Middle promptly went to sleep. Two hours into the drive, Oldest was still awake! Oldest drifted in and out of sleep, but she was awake for most of the trip, which really surprised us! Hubby drove until 2 am while I napped a little, then we switched. I wanted to drive at least 150 miles, but I started to nod off a little and pulled over into a rest area somewhere in South Carolina. As soon as I pulled in, shut off the engine and tried to get comfortable in the driver's seat, all the girls woke up, Hubby perked up and I was wide awake. So I pulled back out of the rest area and kept on driving. We arrived in Florida at 9:00!!! Way ahead of schedule! We weren't expected until lunch time, so we pulled over for breakfast and then rolled into town around 10:30.

The actual drive down was pretty good and we feel encouraged to try and make the trip down at least twice a year. It had been 2 years since I saw my family and that is way too long when there are little children in the picture. Oldest was great with the baby and Youngest got along great with my Sister's oldest girl. I had such a feeling of satisfaction to see my Dad with all of his grandchildren on his lap. The smile on his face was so perfect and the look of love in his eyes was all I needed to see to know that we HAVE to get together more often. The older girls warmed up to Grandpa and Grammy but by the time we left, Youngest was still a little wary of them, she usually takes awhile to warm up to people.

While there, we went to the Zoo, celebrated Halloween, went thrifting, went to the Museum, took pictures and got to see where they lived. It all seemed to go by too fast, and soon it was time to leave. There was so much more we didn't do, go to the beach, visit St. Augustine, see local sights, but I know now that we will be back, and those things can be done later. The most important thing was we spent time with family, our girls got to know their cousins and we had fun. I'll be posting pictures later on this week and I'll leave you with a few from Halloween here...

Snow White, an Asian Princess and a bow-tied Mouse, trick-or-treating at a Family Fall Festival event in Florida.

I have a thing for turtles and I couldn't resist snapping this pumpkin at the Zoo.

The Zoo got into the Halloween spirit by dressing up the elephant statues in ghostly costumes, too!

Road Trip!

We're going on a trip! A trippy trippy trip! Ok, not a trippy trip, but a trip, none the less! What else do you call a 12-hour drive with 3 little ones and no dvd player in the car? It'll be a trip, that's for sure! I'd been afraid to say anything earlier, for fear I'd jinx it and we'd cancel because of some unforeseen event, but everything has been smooth leading up to today, so it's safe to say, we're going on a trip!

What? No dvd player in the car? Well, no. We have a 2001 Mazda MPV and this was before dvd players became standard for cars. Isn't that kind of sad?? That dvd players are standard for cars? What happened to all the games we played as kids going on long car trips with our families? Looking out the window and watching the scenery go by? Punch buggy? License plate bingo? C'mon!! Don't tell me that you pop that dvd in the car and everyone gets lost in their own little techno world? ipod players and cell phones and dvd movies?? Say it ain't so! Anyway, we don't have a dvd player and don't plan on getting one. The girls do great in the car, and they're pretty used to long drives since even going to the food store requires packing the diaperbag and bringing snacks and drinks. They amuse themselves by singing silly songs, poking each other, bringing a doll or 6 along, and reading the newspaper. Newspaper?? Well, sure! Look!
With 3 little ones, that 12-hour trip might become a 15-hour trip, so we are planning to leave when the girls go to bed. Only we will put them to bed in the car. We are heading to Florida (!) to see my Dad and his Wife, my Sister and her Hubby and kids! I haven't met my niece who is now 18 months and my nephew who will soon be 2 months. And they haven't met Youngest who is 22 months. It'll be a mini family reunion of sorts and we are all so excited! Plans have been made, routes have been mapped out, neighbors have been recruited to feed the cats, timers have been set for the lights, luggage is almost packed, the van is oiled and gassed... Let's go! We leave tonight and hope to get there by lunch time, Monday. By doing most of the driving while the girls are asleep, we hope to avoid most of the "Are we there yet?" and the "I gotta pee!" by the girls. See you next week, as I won't be posting while we are in Florida. I will be having too much fun catching up with everyone, taking pictures, and soaking up the warm sun. Have a great week!

Rainy, Chilly, Soupy Kind of Day

A couple of days ago, we had a crafty day. Daddy went out for the day and I told the girls they could make something while he was gone. The girls chose to make scarecrows. Really easy to make but some of the steps in the book were a little wonky. So I changed it up a little and we came up with these.
Get 2 sticks from the yard, one short for the arms and a long one for the body, the book said glue them together, but sorry, Elmer's glue doesn't have that strong of a hold and the girls couldn't wait until tomorrow til the glue dried. So, we tied the sticks together, criss-crossing the loops to make it sturdy. Cut the toe off some old socks and stuff a styrofoam ball inside for the head and then jam the stick up the head and tie the sock around the stick. Old ties that were cut up make the arms and the legs and scraps of felt make the shirt. The girls picked out buttons from my button stash and since the glue didn't dry fast enough, I used pins to stick the buttons on the face. I made little triangle hats from scrap fabric to cover the different color toe of the sock and viola! Scarecrows! They are all standing inside a heavy, empty vase near our Halloween decorations in the living room. We could have embellished them some more, but by the time we were finishing up, my patience was getting thin, with glue all over the place and Youngest getting cranky every time I took the glue, scissors, or pins away from her. The girls are happy with their creations, so I'm happy too!

Today was a rainy, chilly, kinda gloomy day. I like these kinds of days. These kinds of days always make me want to fire up the oven and make something warm and yummy! And that's just what I did! I made french baguette bread and yummy cheesy Broccoli soup for dinner. Mmmmm! Even the girls ate some and dipped torn pieces of bread in their soups. It's a good way to heat up the house with the oven going and I like knowing that pretty soon I'll have some yummy in my tummy!

Here's the recipe for the Cheesy Broccoli Soup if you want to try it yourself:

1 lb broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cups vegetable broth

4 tbsp butter

1 bunch (6 to 8) green onions, thinly sliced, including green ends

5 tbsp flour

1 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 cup milk

3 cups cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

In medium saucepan, bring broccoli and broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.

In a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until tender. Stir in flour and mustard. Slowly add in milk. Cook, stirring, until thick and bubbly. Add Broccoli and broth. Add cheese and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can add 1 grated carrot to the broccoli and broth for extra flavor. Serves 6.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Facts

I have been tagged by the lovely Suffering Summer to list 8 random facts about my kitchen. Sounded like fun because most of the action in my house happens in the the kitchen!

1. When we bought this house more than 2 years ago, one of the more attractive points was the pantry in the kitchen. At the old place, all I had was a cabinet with slide out shelves and it was barely enough room for 4 people. Baby food took up one entire shelf and canned goods took up another, that left one shelf for boxed items, like cereal and spaghetti.. The new pantry is a lovely nook in the kitchen, not quite in the kitchen, not quite out of the kitchen. It is in the short foyer where the backdoor is and in the next step, you're in the kitchen. It has floor to ceiling shelves and the shelves are more than 6 feet long, stretching behind the wall where I keep items that aren't used as often. It's also a favorite of the girls to climb and give me a heart attack. So we added a latch to lock the sliding doors, but is only effective if we remember to keep the doors shut as you can see Youngest demonstrating here!
2. We have 2 refrigerators in our kitchen. One side-by-side that came with the house, and a normal fridge that we use to keep frozen items and extra milk. I like to buy my meat in bulk and then cook or separate into smaller containers. The blue containers are cooked ground beef, perfect for one meal of tacos or spaghetti, the pink containers hold 2 uncooked chicken breasts each, the orange containers hold portioned cubed steak. I also make large batches of meatballs for quick meals of meatball subs, or swedish meatball dinners. The two zippy bags on the top shelf hold the meatballs. The popsicles you see, those are actually Hubby's! He loves popsicles and will eat 7 or 8 in one sitting while watching TV. Behind the popsicles are frozen chopped peppers and pureed pumpkin from the garden.
   
3. I LOVE vintage glassware. I scour yardsales, flea markets, and thrift stores for them! I am especially fond of the flowered kind, but any vintage pattern will do. I've gotten Hubby hooked and he will bring home a glass or two when he goes to thrift stores without me. I love when company comes for dinner and I get to set the table with all the different glasses and I have fun explaining which glass used to have sour cream, peanut butter, or dried salted beef. The top row, middle red, white and blue flower glass and middle row orange flower glass were for sour cream and the middle row, small tulip glass used to hold pimento cheese.
   
4. I have an electric, flat top stove. I love my flat top stove! It makes for easy clean ups! I used to have one of those electric coil stoves and I hated that it was so hard to clean with the food falling in between the coils and becoming cooked-on globs of yuck! Then using foil to cover the "dish" under the coils was so unsightly. For those of you who swear by gas stoves, my electric flat top stove does just fine and I can even can my jams and pickles on it with no trouble!
5. I have a small, red, 50s dinette table in the kitchen. You'd never know it was there because it is covered with stuff. It has become the dumping grounds for anything that enters the house through the kitchen. I hate that it is covered and complain about it all the time. I clean it and within 2 hours, it is covered again with new stuff! The longest it stays clear is when we have a party and it becomes a buffet table.
6. We have a cool, vintage, turquoise clock on the kitchen wall. I don't know how vintage it is, since it runs on battery power, but it looks vintage anyway! Someday we'd like to re-model the kitchen into a 50's style kitchen, but that will have to wait. Meanwhile, who says we can't shop for vintage glasses and clocks?
   
7. We have a larger red, 50s dinette table in the dining room off the kitchen. It used to belong to Hubby's grandmother. My Mother-in-law told me she changed Hubby's diaper on that table! I loved when we had his family over for dinner once and his Aunt said the table looked familiar. Father-in-law said, "It should, it was Mama's." Aunt got all misty-eyed and said, "there were lots of good meals and conversations around this table!"
8. I have a window above my sink, which normally would be great, except previous owners added a sun room. So now my kitchen window looks right into the sun room. Perfect when the kids are in there playing and I can keep an eye on them, but usually there is no one in there except the cats doing their business in the litterbox.

That was fun! Makes me appreciate my kitchen even more, knowing I am making memories for my children to look back on! Feel free to participate in this meme, and let me know if you do it so I can check out your post.

Back on Track!

I'm all done with the store and now I can refocus back onto our family life and home again. I worked 21 out of 36 days and averaged 7 hours plus 3 hour round trip driving. I'm thankful that this is only a part-time gig for me and I know I couldn't hack it if it was a full-time job. I did my "free" shopping and got lots of nice clothing, shoes, books and toys for the girls. I tallied up the prices on the tags, cuz I like to see how much I would've paid if I didn't get them for free, and the total came to over $700!! (insert whistle sound effect here) I piled up everything on the bed and sorted through them, separating by sizes for the girls and they are set for the winter. Plenty of books to read, movies to watch, games and puzzles to play. Several pairs of nice shoes, sneakers and snow boots for each kid. Sweaters, jeans, dresses, sweatshirts and winter coats for each girl. I will be sharing some of the booty with my nieces and nephews.

In the beginning of October, we went to visit and stay the night at Hubby's Parent's house. After a lunch at the Ranch House restaurant, we said our good byes to his folks and went our separate ways. Since we used to live in the area, we knew the back roads and avoided all the high traffic areas. On our way through a residential street, I spotted a bunch of stuff on the curb waiting to be picked up by the trash truck. An antique couch!! Drat! We were using the van and not the truck. We kept going and I couldn't get the couch out of my head and I told Hubby how wasteful people were, tossing out a perfectly good antique couch that probably only needed to be re-upholstered. Why couldn't people donate it or ask around to see if someone wanted it?? Maybe we could put it on the roof of the van, isn't that what the roof racks are for?? How many times have we seen an antique couch at the store and we couldn't afford it and now here is one for FREE and we have the van! We could stop at the store for bungee cords and rope. Puh-leeeeeeeze????? The problem was, we had limited amount of cash on hand and we needed to buy gas to get back home which was still a 2 hour drive away. I told Hubby to give me all his cash and I got all my cash and together we had $27. I told him if he would take me to the local Wal-mart and if I could get a bungee cord and rope for $7 or less, the $20 would be more than enough gas to get us home. Hubby knew better than to argue with a determined woman and promptly took us to Wal-mart. I ran in and scored 2 bungee cords and rope for less than $5, Thanks Wal-mart!, and we drove back to the street where we saw the couch.

Much to my satisfaction, and Hubby's relief, the couch was still there. There was a family working on a car in the driveway and I hollered through the window ( in true hillbilly fashion) if we could have the couch? The guy said "sure!" and we got out to secure our prize! Thank the gods the girls were sleeping the whole time and never knew we had a couch on the roof of the van until we got home! The whole drive home, I would look out the window and check out the shadow of the van and see the shadow of the couch that was still up there. What a nightmare that would be if the couch flew off and onto the car behind us. I have my dad to thank for teaching me how to strap and tie things down on the back of the truck or car. Hubby helps me hold the rope tight, but I'm the main 'tie-er upper'!

Here's the couch we brought home. Lucy the cat promptly claimed it, as if to say, "about time you gave me a bed worthy of my queenliness!" There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, except for the back needing to be tightened up a little. The fabric is a little dirty and I bet a steam cleaner would take care of that, but I will re-upholster it and give it a snazzier look. It screams for more than plain old beige and I already have some fabric that would do the job nicely. Can you believe those people threw it away??? I hope to have it done before the end of the year as it needs to take it's place in line behind all the other projects I have lined up: The table I need to finish sanding down and put extensions on the legs to make it higher and turn it into an island for the kitchen, the metal cabinet that needs to be sanded and repainted for my craft room... Lots of ideas and projects, so little time to do them!

Charity Helps Us All

My time at the consignment shop is soon up. Tuesday and Wednesday was spent sorting through the unsold items and separating them by consignor numbers, pulling out the donated items and then bagging them so consignors can come in on Thursday and Friday to pick up their unsold items. Hubby and I both worked nearly 10 hours on Tues and Wed, and by the time we left Wed night, there were still 2 rows of unsorted clothing left on the racks, which translates into 3,000 items or thereabouts.

Poor Bosslady is having a tough time with staffers and volunteers this year. Normally she has a staff of about 10 of us, and volunteers are banging down the door to work in order to shop first before opening to the public. This year, however, 4 of the staffers are getting ready to relocate to another state and haven't been with us as much as in previous sales. One of the staffers has been an absolute no-show and has never called to explain why. Another staffer started her own business and can only come 2 days a week, and yet another now helps out at her child's private school and cannot come daily as she used to. That leaves pretty much Bosslady, 2 others and me. Add in one staffer's wife and my hubby and that makes 6. 6 people sorting through roughly 15,000 items in 2 days is no laughing matter! The volunteers that were banging down the door to get in BEFORE the sale, want no part in helping AFTER the sale. Because you know they just want to check out the goodies and make a mental check-list on what to buy and where it was put.

Saturday morning, staffers, what few of us there are, will go through the items that the consignors didn't come back for, open up the bags and we go through and pick out what we want for free. Then, at 2 pm, the doors open to the public and the leftovers will be sold at 75% off. Believe me when I say there is so much stuff left and lots of lovely items to be had. Out of 300 consignors, only about 50 actually come back for their items. I made a mental check-list of my own as I was sorting through the items and hoping that if consignor number five hundred and something doesn't come back for their stuff, I'm gonna get it for my kid! There will be a 75% off sale for 2 days, and whatever is left (which is still plenty of good stuff) will be left for the charities. I'm not talking Goodwill or Salvation Army, I'm talking local charities here, the county family shelters or battered women's shelters. They come in and "shop" for free. I was there one year when the family shelter sent people over to shop. There was a woman with 2 kids, a young toddler and an older boy, maybe 6 or 7. It was like Christmas to them, I asked her what she needed and she said shoes for her kids. So I looked for some shoes and helped her toddler try them on. When I took his old shoes off and saw his toe peeking though a hole in his sock, I was so choked up, I had to bite back the tears. I asked her what size clothing she was looking for and helped her find a whole pile of them to take with her. Her older boy saw some toys and he looked torn, like maybe he thought mama had to pay for it and knew she'd say no. I told him he could have it and the look on his face, I'll never forget. He looked at his mama and she said it was ok and he was just so thrilled. He took that big toy, sat on the floor with it and played until mama said it was time to go.

I used to bring home my unsold items and save them for another sale, but after that, seeing how much those "leftovers" helped other people, I leave most of my unsold items. I'll pick out a few that are just too good for me to give away and then leave the rest. Most of my items have sold, so there isn't much left for me, and from what I have seen so far, I think there are only 3 or 4 items I will take back. This is one of those years that I am grateful for the free shopping because I wasn't able to buy much this sale with Hubby out of work. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Bosslady and her store in my life. I have been able to help support my family by selling things at her store and working for her and clothing my children through her. All the money I made will be used to pay the car insurance and other bills and hopefully, before the next round of bills come in, Hubby will have found some work somewhere.

Well, on that note, I have a few more days left at the store, and then it will be back to my almost daily postings again. Thanks for hanging around and leaving comments. I have read every single comment but have not had the time to answer them. I know I have lots of catching up to do on reading other's blogs and will probably send the kids outside, hubby too, lock myself in the office with a glass of wine and read!