June 30, 2012

today is my niece's Hannah's birthday.....hope you had a great day sweetheart!!!

took a day off from the farm and went to the Battle Creek Air Show to see the Air Force Thunderbirds...
the temperature was mid 90's and Ross and I are burned to a crisp....we had a GREAT time though...

USAF Thunderbirds

Ross took over 1,200 pictures.....just an amazing sight to see...

pictured with 5 of the 6 pilots....



Lt. Col. Greg Moseley (#1)

 

Capt. Ryan Riley (#2)



Maj. Caroline Jensen (#3)



Capt. Nicholas Holmes (#4)

Maj. J.R. Williams (#5) inverted man (upside down) look at the #5 on his uniform

the Hot Air Balloons didn't take off because of the wind....so we left.....as we passed the bandstand, they were playing the Cupid Shuffle...so of course I had to stop and dance....

Pleasant Dreams!!!



June 29, 2012

worked on putting together a movie for VBS....on Sunday we have a program that the kids put on in front of their parents....then we have lunch afterward...very fun!!!

here is my office with 3 computers going to get the over

500 photos and 15 songs narrowed down to a 13 minute movie...

then off to work in the garden...I started giving the tomato plants a haircut (suckering)...

BEFORE...

AFTER...

leftovers for dinner....

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 28, 2012

Sissy and Brad left around lunchtime.....we had a blast!!!!  

The last task that I asked them to do last night before we went to bed was plant some more lettuce.....

we will typically have 3 LETTUCE plantings during the year......

this is round 2...these plants will come up in about 4-5 weeks and be planted in the same holes in the garden where we are taking lettuce out of now.

Vivian........Looseleaf.........Iceburg

it was over 100 degrees here in Michigan today.....with no rain and none in the forecast....we are in need of some serious rain....should be another hot one again tomorrow....Stay COOL everyone!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 27, 2012

had a busy day with Sissy and Brad....we made 5 different recipes today.....

FIRST was HOT DOG buns...because we are having Brats tonight for dinner.... recipe on March 12

SECOND we made some CROUTONS....for salads tonight...recipe on March 19

THIRD we made BAGELS for breakfast tomorrow.....recipe on April 1

FOURTH we made APPLE PIE for dessert....recipe on January 26

peeling the apples.....

mixing it all together....

made the crust.....recipe on January 26

FIFTH...we had to make WHIPPED TOPPING for on top of the pie.

then we were off to VBS....got back home and Ross had made Brats & Burgers on the grill.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 26, 2012

at 3:30 this morning we were awaken by the dogs....we knew that the coons must be in the food on the back porch....we let the 4 hounds out and soon after 2 coons were up in the apple tree.......at first we didn't see them....just as we were getting ready to go back to bed, ross caught a glimpse of them....so we got the 22 and took care of the situation......they are a really bad critter to have loose on the farm....they do a bunch of damage and getting these 2 young coons is a good thing!!!!

then Angela & Brad arrived around 3pm.....we got caught up and then the 3 of us went off to VBS.....Ross stayed home and got dinner going.....we returned home about 8pm and went to the garden to cut the first head of lettuce......Brad and Sissy did the honors......



then off to the kitchen.....now to clean it and put it in the salad spinner......

Dinner tonight.....Chicken breast (on the grill), corn and green beans from last years garden,

lettuce  from this years garden.....all the salad dressings made from scratch.....very soon....

all of the veggies will come from the garden.

and for dessert....ICE CREAM!!!!

at 10:28pm...the space station passed over the farm......Sissy is a science teacher and Brad is a math and technology teacher......they had never seen it before...so very cool!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 25, 2012

got an early start this morning...this is going to be a crazy week.....work every day and VBS (Vacation Bible School) every night at church....and Sissy and Brad arrive tuesday...so ready for FUN...FUN...FUN...

made a double batch of MAYO this morning....on the original recipe (April 21, 2012) I used the food processor.....I have been using my STICK BLENDER to make it the last couple times.....much easier

I made a double batch of RANCH dressing (recipe on June 15, 2012)...this way I have 3 kinds ready for Angela and Brad....I pulled some of the condiments out of the fridge.....all 7 are made with a MAYO base...

to make the RANCH dressing it requires 6 spices...this is our SPICE cupboard....this doesn't include the little jars of spices....we get most of these big ones from GFS (Gordon Food Services)...and amazingly enough.....we use them all!!!  Those are canned jellies on the top shelf in the picture.

Had fun at VBS.....

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 24, 2012

had a GREAT day at church today....Pastor Bob gave a wonderful message....

check it out at www.h-hcc.org

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busy getting ready for a visit from Sissy and Brad

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GARDEN has been in for 1 month today....

BEFORE

AFTER

another view....

BEFORE

AFTER

we are having to water the garden everyday...but it is right on track

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 23, 2012

another warm day here in Michigan.....got some projects done around the property...our niece Angela (Sissy) and her husband Brad will be coming for a visit in a couple days....we are very excited!!!

Back to the trees around the farm......

here is my Mom...she is a Maple Tree

here is the Joe tree (my stepdad)....he is a Maple Tree also

here is my brother Tim's family....

Tim is a Granny Smith Apple Tree

Alex and Jess are Blue Spruce

 Nick is a Spruce

here is my brother Dan's family...

Dan & Jill - Pine Trees by the old chicken coop

Hannah is a Spruce, Susan is a Blue Spruce...

these are by the ball diamond

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 22, 2012

started off the day by making some much needed sandwich bread....recipe on January 29, 2012

and while this was baking....Ross brought to my attention that the bananas had gone bad....so.....

Banana Nut Bread recipe on January 4, 2012

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noticed that the Daisy's are already in bloom....late July or early August normally....

and I love this flowering plant (not sure what it is called).....look at how GOD designed this amazing plant.....first the flower looks like a BOX...then the blue/purple petals open and make a beautiful flower

Pleasant Dreams!!!

June 21, 2012

another hot day here in Michigan.....a cold front is coming through and is supposed to be bringing some much needed rain and relief from the heat....the only problem with rain and the farm is that we seem to have this big bubble over us....most storms that come our way breakup right before they reach us.....it can be raining at  both ends of our road and not over us in the middle....CRAZY!!! (and that is exactly what happened today...so back to watering the garden again)

I thought I would go back to some of the PA trip....not all the parts of the visit has been blogged about yet....so tonight I will show you in pictures... the different homesteads.....

OTT's



EYER's

Elbert A MILLER's

picture of E.A. Miller home in 1908 - no longer standing

picture of E.A. Miller barn  - not sure when it was built  - still standing

this initial and date are burned into the wall of Elbert Millers barn....doesn't match any known family member.... was wondering if it might be the person who built the barn?

MILLER-VALENTINE's
our homestead

north side of the farmhouse

south side of the farmhouse

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having a sausage/potato casserole when I return from VBS setup...recipe on January 17, 2012

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little to no rain tonight....bummer.....but LOVE the rainbow over the farm

Pleasant Dreams!!!