days of our day care

The soap opera version, minus the drama, of views of daily life here on our farm. 

I tell ya, this place sure keeps me busy.  Between the day care and life in general on our farm I am one busy girl.  Last Sunday afternoon, I put up 48 jars of green beans.  Whew.  Shaun picked five grocery sacks full of beans, my sister and I broke them up and I canned all afternoon.  My big pressure canner holds nine pint jars, which is what I prefer to can beans in.  I wound up breaking the other canner out around 9:00, which holds seven jars, to avoid being up until 10:30 canning.  It was quite a job.  Last year I put up 43 jars of green beans in four canning sessions.  We have one more picking and canning to go. 

We put out an extra row this year for the day care.  Yeah, I know, green beans are cheap at the grocery, blah blah.  I saved about 45.00 alone in green beans with that afternoon of canning on Sunday.  Plus they just taste better and I know no pesticides were used on them. 

And they are beautiful!

Giggle Box Garden Goodies

 Green beans from our garden at the house.

 Quite a job.  I don't know if I am still tired from that day or my new hours. 

 Good times in the sand box.  This was their bakery goods on display.

 Craft room junk.

 Artists

 Playing school.

Back To School Notebooks

This is a really easy way to dress up plain ole spiral notebooks.  I am extremely fond of Mod Podge, as you know, but this time we used simple glue sticks and magazine cut outs.  The cut out were from previously looked at magazines and consisted of patterns, cakes, interior stuff and colors.  We also hunted for letters to spell out the name of the carrier of the notebook to make a just a tad more special. 

They turned out super cute, don't you think?!?!

 one of my dc helpers... aka my niece.

ain't she purdy?

A Moment Like This

All Winter long.  We can go ahead and include Spring and Fall.  My mouth waits a long time for a moment like this... a taste like this. 

It doesn't need fancy bread or cheese shop cheese.  Good ole white bread, lightly toasted, and sandwich cheese, preferably "processed cheese food."  I like the Nice and Cheesy from the K-Rogers.  And let's not forget the bacon.  Good, greasy bacon.  I fried three extra pieces for this meal alone! 

Now, there's something special about a tomato grown in Tennessee.  Some say it is the red clay, some say it's the acid in the soil.  Whatever it is... it does it just right.  You just cannot buy this at the store, not ANY time of the year.  And those "hot house" guys, well they can keep on trying.  They'll do in February but not in July!

lightly toasted bread

           bacon

                        cheese

                                                              TN homegrown tomato

NOW, you're speakin' my language.

If y'all could only hear me singing "Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this,"

well....you'd probably tell me to hush!

Lighter for the Mister.

 Oscar Mayer.... it's the best.

Although sometimes expensive, I have always been happy with the results.

 cheese food

 THAT'S A MONSTER!

is what i said

 Wish you were here.

But then there'd be no bacon for you.

Unless you brought your own.
p.s. All food groups are properly represented here.
fat, processed, cheap and homegrown!

 Now this is how Shaun likes his. 

Adding lettuce, mayo and the pickles I make for him.

Good boy.

I just could not resist sharing supper with you.  That's supper, not dinner.  Dinner is lunch.

Produce Coming Out of My Ears

Dear blog readers, it's been four days since my last confession... of blogging.  And I promise I will never say the phrase "coming out of my ears again."  It's become a habit and even I cringe when I say it because it just comes right out.  "I have got squash coming out of my ears."  I am not however tired of actually having that much squash, or cukes, or zuc, although the zucchini is playing out.  But the cucumbers are not!

We have two cucumber plants and thanks to the recent rain last week, amidst the terrific lightening storm that almost wiped out our corn, I have picked enough cucumbers over the last week that I am now on my fourth batch of Shaun's favorite pickles. 

I had a thought and in checking my canning journal.  It shows that in 2009 I canned nine batches of 3 day lime pickles.  In 2010, two batches.  In 2011, two batches.  The supply in the basement is beginning to get low.  The lack of canning in 2010 and 2011 was not because we had so many still in stock.  Well maybe partially, because I could have gotten the cukes from somewhere, but, I do recall in 2010 our crop of cucumbers was not so good.  It was dry and we had a lot of hollow cucumbers.  Then last year the crop again was not so good.  So my thought is, can all I can.  You never know what the next couple of year's garden may prove.  If I only put up two or three batches, housing five or six pints each, we will run out.  Not a huge big deal, but he eats these pickles on every sandwich he makes.  I don't want him to not have something he treasures so much.  So I will can all that these two plants will produce.  There's just no sense in not doing so in my eyes.  We planted it, the Lord is providing a good crop, I should do my best with it.  What is that called?

I don't even waste the bigger ones.  They would almost cover the whole hamburger.

 Cuckes soaking in lime.

 One batch down and one in the pot to go.

 A feat of beauty.... fair worthy.

 This is what the kitchen looks like after picking the garden.

And the tomatoes are on the porch.