Oatmeal for Breakfast

As I was preparing some oatmeal this morning,

I thought I'd treat the girls to a warm breakfast, too, 

since it was so chilly outside.

I took out a serving for them,

before I added the butter and sugar to ours.

At first they weren't too sure about it.

But as soon as they got a taste,

they gobbled it right up!

Before I could even blink,

it was gone!

Bible Quiz Day 64

Answer to question 63 - Paul (Romans 11:16)

Question 64 - Jesus was crucified between two __________ on the hill of __________.

"The best things in life are nearest:  Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.  Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

 ~Robert Louis Stevenson

260 in 260

The ladies of my congregation are starting a new Bible study "260 in 260".  I thought it was such a neat plan that I wanted to share the idea.

There are 260 chapters in  the New Testament and there just so happens to be 260 weekdays in a year...

So each weekday we'll be reading a chapter of the New Testament.  We are keeping notebooks  to take notes, summarize the chapter, and choose a favorite verse from each chapter.  Twice a month we get together to go over what we have read and share our notes.  

I thought I would share the reading plan on Monday each week throughout this year and also share the verse I choose each day.  Join in if you'd like to or, better yet, start a Bible study group of your own.  

We began last week.  To catch you up, here are the reading assignments through the end of this week.

January 31st - Matthew 1

February 1 - Matthew 2

February 2 - Matthew 3

February 3 - Matthew 4

February 4 - Matthew 5

February 7 - Matthew 6

February 8 - Matthew 7

February 9 - Matthew 8

February 10 - Matthew 9

February 11 - Matthew 10

Freedom!

I am happy to report that the wing clipping was successful.

The girls have their freedom and they are loving it!

They can't wait to get out of the coop yard each morning.

I've been letting them out pretty early,

and so far they've been very good about going into the hen house mid-morning to lay their eggs in the nesting boxes.  If they get lazy and start laying them in the yard, I'll have to keep them penned up a little longer each day.

They are just BUSY all-day-long. 

I think we're enjoying watching them as much as they are enjoying running around.

They are just too funny when I walk up to the gate.

They literally RUN to me to see what treat I've brought them!

Fenced In!

I helped Mr. H. hang the barnyard gate this evening!

And, with that, the barnyard is entirely fenced.

On tomorrow afternoon's agenda...wing clipping.

Wish us luck! ;-)

Jeremiah Johnson

Bible Quiz Day 63

Answer to question 62 - water, Spirit (John 3:1-3)

Question 63 - __________ is called the apostle to the Gentiles.

Snow Day 2011!

We got a little bit of the white stuff today,

and had more fun!

Hoosiers

"Use the talents you possess - 

for the woods would be a very silent place 

if no birds sang except for the best."  

~Henry Van Dyke

Sour Dough Update

Well it's been a week since I began my 

sour dough bread experiment.

The flour and water was making lots of "hootch" each day,

but not much else.  

I was starting to get a little frustrated,

when finally today I saw some bubbling!

I see a few bubbles on the side of the jar.

The starter is supposed to be full of bubbles throughout

and start to foam up on the top when it's ready.

I am hoping within the next day or so

I will be able to put the starter in the fridge,

make my first "sponge",

and then my first loaf of sour dough bread.

Stay tuned. :-)

Bible Quiz Day 62

Answer to question 61 - Jerusalem, Pentecost (Acts 2)

Question 62 - Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Except a man be born of __________ and of the __________ he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

The Pioneer Woman Does It Again!

No more jar salsas for this family!

This stuff is so very, very good.

It's what I have been trying to find in a jar at the grocery.

Just a few simple steps and you will have salsa that rivals your favorite restaurant's.  

Promise.

The Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa

Menu Plan Monday

Supper Menus
January 31st - February 5th

Monday
baked lemon chicken with new potatoes and vegetables
Tuesday
mexican lasagna, guacamole, homemade salsa, tortilla chips
Wednesday
venison texas chili, jalapeno cornbread
Thursday
spaghetti, rosemary bread
Friday
homemade pizza
Saturday
kung pao chicken

Opal Gold

Found a new variety of apple today at the grocery.

"Opal Gold"

You really can't tell from the picture,

but it was as yellow as a yellow bell pepper!

And so tasty.

Barnyard Progress

Over the past few days much progress has been made on the barnyard.

Mr. H. took down some lattice work that has been such an eyesore. 

Yay!  NOT sorry to see that go. :-)

And has completed the fencing around the yard.

 

All that's left is to put in a gate and clip the chicken's wings.

After that they'll have lots more room to roam!

Then it will be time to paint the shed and the storage building barn red!  Can't wait!

Light Lunches

I've recently found (thank you Kristi!) a wonderful resource for light recipes -

Gina's Skinny Recipes

It's full of lots of recipes I'd like to try.

For lunch today, Mr. H. and I had

Wilted Baby Arugula, Spinach and Pasta

Not only was it good, but Mr. H. ate whole wheat pasta without a complaint, and...after splitting an apple for an afternoon snack, neither one of us got hungry before supper!

Bible Quiz Day 61

Answer to question 60 - Paul (I Corinthians 15:8-9)

Question 61 - The Lord's church was established in the city of __________ on the day of __________.

Sour Dough Bread Starter

Sour Dough Bread Starter Experiment 

Day #1

After spending the better part of the past several days trying to find on-line instructions for sour dough bread starter, 
I finally stumbled upon these 

Sour Dough Baking, The Basics

There is A LOT of information out there about sour dough bread and most of it confused me.  At one point, I even googled "sour dough bread for dummies"!  ;-)

So here I go!  Hoping this works and we have our first loaf of sour dough bread sometime next week!