Not Enough Noise?

A little humor for the day! Kyle came into our room during a wind storm the other night and said, "Mom, it was real loud outside and all of the sudden it got really quiet! I could hear the wind chimes and then they quit!" I thought Wayne was still sleeping, but all of the sudden he sits up and says, "If you want NOISE, just come listen to your Mom sleeping and you'll have all the noise you want!!!!" He then lays down and is asleep again! I'm finally getting over the bug now and I think I'm sleeping quieter--hopefully!

Soda Cracker Pie

We were going through some old recipes tonight that were from Wayne's Grandma. He came across one called Soda Cracker Pie. He and the boys made it and it turned out pretty interesting. It has a meringue mixed in with it and it turned out almost cake like inside with the meringue on the top and bottom. I'll add the recipe--It's pretty simple.

Soda Cracker Pie
11 soda crackers rolled fine
1/2 c. nuts chopped fine
1 tsp. Baking Power
Mix together
(1st mixture)
3 egg whites stiffly beaten
1 c. sugar - beat into egg whites as meringue
1 tsp. vanilla
(2nd mixture)
Combine two mixtures. Turn into greased pan and bake for 1 hour at 275.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Here...And There

I took Wayne to the airport today--my fifth trip there in one week! He was counting up 13 landings and take off in the last week. He flew to AL last Monday--only to find out another machine was down--in Mexico. The only problem was, his passport was here at home! To send it would add another couple of days before he could leave for Mexico so he came home to get it! He arrived home at 1a.m. and I took him back to the airport at 7a.m. The bad part for him was that he had a sinus cold. Landings were pretty miserable. This last time he got home on Saturday night and left this morning. We enjoyed having him home for the one day!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

What a fun weekend that went WAY TOO FAST!!! We loved having everyone here! Hopefully they won't wait another 18 years to come see us--but after their fun trip home on icy roads they may not come in the winter!

What Lurks Under The Bed?

Years ago a roommate and I used to have a joke that we were saving the "dust bunnies" under our bed! Since man was made from dust--you know--the age of looking for "Mr. Right".
The past few days I've been working on getting Deidre's room presentable for company. Her room is always full of unknown surprises. I find a sock or two in about every drawer (not matching), candy wrappers, about a dozen cheese stick wrappers, rocks, acorns and, of course, her normal stash of books!
I was using a broom stick to pull the layers from under the bed when I reached under to pull something out--and I pulled out two arms!!!!?! Time for major dust bunny removal!!! At least they were only wood! She must have got them from some project at school!

Kyle's 1st Orchestra Program

This is the DAD song.
Now for a little humor....I'm not sure that's how
she intended for it to come out!

No. 2?!

Our neighbors have mentioned several times that they wished our outhouse (trash can shed) was in their yard! She has always wanted one for her gardening tools. We had enough wood left over from the old shed so Wayne built one for them. In the pictures the floor and storage bench all look the same. There is a bench that lifts up for storage underneath. We cut a hole in it to make it look authentic--and then put a black painted board under it so it looks like a black hole!

Hint For The Day

If you wear glasses, you probably shouldn't wear them while you are on the trampoline!
If you wear glasses, you probably shouldn't leave them in your shoes beside the trampoline!! Especially when your older brother is mowing the lawn!!! If he tosses your shoes aside, don't forget to check to see where your glasses landed! Better yet......don't wear them to the trampoline!!!

Orchestra / Marching Band

Last Thursday night was Carlin's first High School orchestra concert. I love seeing how much they change from year to year. The marching band performed, too. It was in the auditorium so that was quite interesting! (deafening) They were pretty good, though! And they all look great wearing tuxedo shirts with bow ties and red cummerbunds! I just got a video of the drummers for the marching band!

Lantern Tours 2008

Carlin played in the Lantern Tours again this year. The theme was set in the 1800's and the event was for a wedding. The tour is at night time and they lead the groups around with lanterns. There are torches set around, too. They have several bonfires in the area so you can stop and warm up. Afterwards is apple cider and donuts. (I didn't know they had Tim Horton's in the 1800's!) Each evening there is a pot luck and food is cooked in pots over the fire. The costumes are borrowed from the museum.

What's For Dinner? BEETS ME!

(above) Borscht soup--I like to make it with sausage and chicken broth
instead of beef and beef broth. A great way to clean all the vegetables
out of your refrigerator!

Beet salad--vinegars, seasoning and of course, feta cheese!

Beet cake! Actually, very good! Tastes a lot like carrot cake!
The batter is very red when mixing it, but the cake comes out brown!

Wayne planted lots of beets this year! Usually they don't do too well so we don't have too many left over. This year they did very well so we are trying to be creative with ways to use them up! We could end up with a three course meal of beets! Not really!!

Eleven Years Old!

Happy Birthday, Kyle! He was just a little excited to start his day today! When the other two got up at 5:30, he was up too! I spent last night making "Frankenstein" cupcakes! I love all the fun creations I can make with his birthday so close to Halloween, but I don't think I'll continue such detail for very many more years!!!!! Probably just through elementary school!

A New Look

Carlin is the one sporting a new look around here. He has never complained about not being able to see, but I thought I would take him with the rest of us for our eye exams--and he needed glasses! It's fun seeing him see a whole new world out there!

Enjoying Fall Colors!

Country Views

We have been trying to do quite a bit of biking before winter sets in. The colors have been beautiful. I love life in the country--seeing all the field work--and the smell of fall. Sounds weird, but I love fall--except it is too short and winter follows it!
This past Sunday we went on a nine mile bike ride--down past a quarry and over through a little village and back home. It was a perfect day for biking! Some of the pictures are a little blurry since I was trying to ride and take them at the same time!

Latest Weekend Project

This past weekend Wayne and Carlin took out an old Herb Garden. (minus the herbs) We inherited it when we moved here years ago. When we took out some bushes we had placed them in the garden, but over the years the bushes have grown so much that we could no longer see across the yard. Surrounding the garden were old railroad ties. I love having it all out of here. It will be fun come springtime to see how many old bulbs come up in the yard!

How Time Flies!

It's Happy Anniversary to us today! It's hard to believe that 18 years have already flown (is that a word?) by! I was going to scan some pictures to post, but they weren't turning out. Oh well--It's probably for the best! To think it has been 21 years since we met!! (And 15 since we moved to MI!)

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Peppers

(above)
Sea creatures hiding in our garden?!

About the end of the garden season. We had our first frost last night so we picked lots of peppers today. They actually didn't get hurt too bad, but it was time to clean them out. I still need to pick the Habeneros, but had enough for today. Maybe I'll try to get some Jalapeno Poppers made! Had an interesting bunch of carrots. Tonight we had Borscht soup. You can probably almost hear the kids groaning. It uses beets, onions, carrots, etc... I like adding sausage and use chicken broth instead of beef broth. We still have loads of beets and carrots in the garden, but they will last a while there.

Next stage

(above) supervisor!

Helpers?!

One happy kid! Finally getting to drive!

This past weekend we (Wayne) got to put in the next stage of our new flower bed area. I love how open it is with the old shed gone and the outhouse added. The dirt pile looks much better now!