Whoever coined the phrase Man's best friend...

was NOT a liar.

If you love a dog with all your heart and treat him well, he will be your forever companion and unconditional best friend.
FOREVER.

Rudy was that, and we all LOVED him with our whole hearts.

Exactly 9 years ago this summer he came to us as a stray, and we took him in when no one claimed him.    He unfortunately left this earth a couple days ago.  He would've been 11. 

Sure, over the years, Rudy and I had our battles.

He would make a giant hole in my flower bed (s)...

I would scold him, he would look sheepish, I would fill the hole back in, only to discover a couple days later he had made another one quite close to the first one and he would look at me without any remorse.  Oh Rudy...

He would greet us in the driveway, EVERYTIME we came home.

It didn't matter if it was Brent or myself, or the kids coming home on the bus.

He did it EVERYDAY, and I miss that so much.  More than I thought I would.

He gave us so much love, and I can only hope he knew how much we loved him.

Every morning, any season, as I left for work, I would roll my window down and tell him I loved him, and I would see him later.  He would be sitting in the wicker chair on the porch, just keeping watch over the place till an amish buggy went by, or a red car drove by (he HATED the color red for some reason.)

He came to us when we needed him the most, when the kids needed to learn at ages 4 and 5, how to care for someone else and take responsibility.

He was the best dog we've ever had, and we will forever compare all others to him.

Grace found him in my garden, just like he had fallen asleep.  I think he was trying to get the last one over on me by laying in my garden. 

Goodbye dear friend.  We miss you so.

A little planning goes a long way!

Have you heard of the concept of group freezer meals?

I hadn't till about 8 or 9 years ago.

Once I heard, it sounded like the greatest invention ever!

I shared it with my women friends in Sunday School, and it became a project we did every 1 or 1 1/2 years.

First, you get a group of your friends (I guess they don't have to be your friends...) together, and decide on a recipe that you each want to do.  Then make sure no one is making duplicates.

Then, you can either do all the preparation together, or separately, and come together as a group.

So, for example...say there are 10 of us in my group.

I would make a recipe 9 times (unless I also want one for myself.)

I would totally prepare the recipe, except for cooking it, put it in a foil pan, or other container, and package it in freezer bags.

This is what I mean....

One year, I decided to make Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole.

If you have never had it, you must...if you have never made it...it's the easiest thing to make....

{Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole}

2 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded

1 can cream chicken soup

1 c sour cream

1 roll Ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick butter

1 1/2 T poppy seeds

 1/2 t salt

Shred chicken and place in greased 8x8 pan.  Mix sour cream and cream chicken soup, and spread over chicken.  Melt one stick butter in the skillet, add crushed crackers, poppy seeds, and salt.  Stir till coated.  Put on top of casserole and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 min.

There were 10 of us in my group, so I made 9 casseroles, packaged them in 8x8 foil pans, slid them in large freezer bags, and froze them until we all met.

When we met, we each brought a cooler, and we each took one one of everything from every person except ourselves.

I had 10 meals that I didn't make, to take home and put in my freezer.  

There were things like beef and noodles, soup, casseroles, chicken enchiladas, cooked spaghetti and meatballs, sweet and sour meatballs, etc.  

All I had to do on busy nights, was pull it out of the freezer in the morning so it could thaw, and then bake it when I got home and add a side dish to it.

Easy, and great.

I think we're doing it again this year with my Sunday School class.  We haven't done it since our kids were small, and that totally doesn't make since, cause when our kids were small...when did we find the time?

Anyway, here are some tried and true recipes I've used to freeze that are easy with only a few ingredients.

{Easy Chicken Enchiladas}

2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded

1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar

1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce

8 corn tortillas  (or more)

Combine chicken, 1 c cheese and chilies.  In bottom of 9x13 pan, spread 1/2 can enchilada sauce.  Fill enchiladas and roll up, and put in pan seam side down.  Pour rest of enchilada sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 min.

{Stuffed Shells}

20 jumbo shells (cook accord. to pkg.)

9 oz. cream cheese, soft

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 lb. hamburger, browned

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Combine the above ingredients, except the shells.  Stuff into cooked shells, and put in 8x8 pan. Mix spaghetti sauce and browned hamburger and pour over shells.  Bake at 375 for 30 min.

Any recipe for Chili would work, or...

{Taco Soup}

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

28 oz. stewed or crushed tomatoes

1 can corn (or 2 cups frozen sweet corn)

1 taco seasoning packet

1 packet hidden valley ranch.

Cook in crockpot on low 4-6 hours

**for freezer meal, just mix everything and have your recipient cook it.

Even things like green bean casserole would work.  Pretty much anything you can adapt to freeze would work, just don't cook it before you freeze it.

I'm sure this idea is as old as time, but it seems revolutionary!

Try it.  Get a group of women together and make a night of it.

It'll be a blast!

Tradition

I'm not quite sure how it all started, but about 4 or 5 years ago it did.

Brent and I had a Sunday School fall party at our house.

Word got around that Brent had a tractor, and there would be a hayride.  And for those of you who know my husband...well, him and tractors, they go hand in hand.  There is nothing that gives him quite as much excitement as a tractor.

The hayride the first year, was, well, a LITTLE LONG.  It was absolutely ridiculous, but everyone rolled with it, and Brent's smile covered his whole face from ear to ear.

So, each year we've hosted this little party, it's gotten more and more over the top.  Last year we had a "strongman" competition, farmer style.  There was tractor tire flipping, and pulling of the hay wagons with all the kids inside.

This year, there will be a little chicken and sheep catching/chasing.

I took the day off today to clean my house top to bottom.

This is a big deal.  We're taking about 50-60 people show up each year.

We provide soup and sandwiches, and everyone else brings food to share.  You know the Mennonites, any reason to have a carry-in...

After the hayride, there is a fire and smores and hot chocolate.

It's a blast.

It really is.  The kids play volleyball/football/basketball, and the adults actually get to carry on a conversation.

God is providing us with weather in the upper 50's tomorrow, with lots of sun.

It should be good.

Even Rudy is ready.  He doesn't know what to do with himself with all the attention he gets from all the kids.  He takes a nap the whole next day!

So while the rest of you are enjoying your Saturday, we'll be livin' it up down on the farm.

I'm already thinkin' about the nap I'll have to take Sunday afternoon!

A Friendly Project

About a month ago, I posted some links to crafts I hoped to finish over my summer break from school.

I got comments from some of you that you also liked what I picked, and were thinking of doing the same kind of things.

Stacey at a sort of fairy tale also commented. Except her comment was something like this..."How about if we both find the supplies for this project, and do it, and then link up to each other's blogs when we're done."

Hearing from another blogger that I have a lot in common with, and whom I admire a great deal, was exciting in itself, but to do a tandem project...well...

I LOVED IT!

We decided on these lovelies...

I found it on Pinterest.com with no link. HOWEVER, I've seen something like this in Pottery Barn before (only they were super expensive, and I didn't want to pay that price.)

So, I started looking around Goodwill for the perfect brass candlesticks. At first, they were hard to find, but then I found some. They were all different, and I didn't pay more than $.50 for any one of them.



There were many designs...so I bought them all.

I used some of my favorite spray paint colors. They were colors I already had in the cupboard....Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze, Krylon's Cherry Red, and Valspar's Pistachio.

Then, since the ones in the picture I found were a little distressed, I took some sandpaper to mine.

I have them in my living room now with a piece of brown checkered oilcloth under them, and white candles in them that don't quite fit, so that will have to be changed.

It was an easy project. I picked the colors I did because I want to incorporate these into my living room this summer for a more lighter, fun, vintage, and shabby feel.

It felt good to check this project off my list. Head on over to Stacey's blog at asortoffairytale and check out her candlesticks too. Also, don't forget to stop by her cute etsy shop (link on her blog)and tell her I said hello!

Dinner and a Book

So tonight I went with my book club buddies to eat at Peterson's Steak and Seafood, and to celebrate Christmas with a book exchange. You see, us girls have been meeting for I would say a year and a half, maybe, and we read a different book every month, and then get together and discuss it. I love it, but my husband just thinks it's ridiculous! "Who would want to talk about a book after you read it?!" he says with exasperation. (This coming from the man, who thinks fine reading is the farmers exchange every Thursday when it comes in the mail).

I have read so many books that I never would have read on my own, and it's lead to even more "favorite authors" for me. You see, I'm a book junkie. I think it stems from the fact that my father loves to read just as much as I do, and he's constantly passing me books. I mean, the thought of going to Barnes and Noble for a day, could quite literally put me in a swoon. Seriously.

So, back to the book club, and tonight's supper. We decided this year, to exchange books instead of exchanging gifts like we have in the past. It was very exciting getting a book and wrapping it beautifully, like this one here. Seriously, I'm in love with this wrapping paper. Just look at the loveliness!

The anticipation of seeing what the others were opening was enthralling. Some books people opened, I have already read, and agreed that they were very good. Others, like the one I received, were new to me, and I eagerly anticipate reading this over Christmas vacation.


I had a great time tonight, and the food was good. I got a great gift from a great friend, and I'm excited to meet these girls again next month for our January 2010 book club meeting.