One Star for Every 100 Soldiers Who died in WWII

The Start to Meat Eating Grilling Season!

Thought I'd post a recipe to start off the summer grilling season. It's a version of Big Mac Sauce for all those burgers you are grilling this weekend.
http://http//www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Big-Mac-Sauce-Copycat-Dairy-Free-106882
Every once in a while I crave a Big Mac, and this is just perfect since it's 40 minutes to the nearest MickeyD's. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

The 6 o'clock News

I could go for days, maybe even weeks without watching the news, except I really like to watch the weather reports. So while I am waiting for the weather to come on, we usually end up watching the news highlights that come on before the weatherman. This always ends up in some kind of discussion between the kids. The older kids complain how stupid the news is, how someone did something dumb and ended up on the news. I try to use these stories as a teaching moment. "See! no matter how mad you are, you just can't do (whatever it was). You will end up in jail." "See! they didn't use their brains! Now he/she is in trouble." Sometimes the kids actually argue with the tv and tell the reporters how dull that last story was or how they should dress better. FL on the otherhand, gets quite upset. One time she heard that the local amusement park was closing, and no matter what we told her, she just didn't believe us that the park was just closing for the winter, and not permanently. Last summer there was an arsonist setting barns on fire in our area. FL would ask every night if there had been any more fires and would list all the barns she could think of that she didn't want to burn down. There are a lot of barns in our area and she has a really good memory, so this list could go on for hours it seemed. Tonight she was upset when she heard that the Atlantis space shuttle was on it's last voyage. "Awwhhh! I really wanted to go into space! Well, I guess that won't ever happen now!"

FL also commented on all the recent advertisements for the upcoming election. She wanted to know what all the "pot-additions*" were talking about. Hmmmm.



p.s. *politicians

Please Excuse Me While I Rant

Went to a new Wally World yesterday. Was scoping out the camping section and then decided to get some cereal. Most stores have a list-type sign hanging at the aisle ends, like: "cereal, juice, baby food." Or "bread, coffee, tea." This store listed one item on each sign. "Breakfast foods." Another sign"Dairy." Another sign "Frozen Foods." Another sign "Hispanic Foods."


Wait. WHAT? "Hispanic Foods?" what happened to "International Foods" or "Speciality Foods" Now don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less what race people are, I really don't care. But I live in the United States of AMERICA. Where was the sign for AMERICAN foods? Maybe the Asian-Americans should be upset also. There was no sign for "Oriental /Asian Foods" either. I am so tired of picking up a box of whatever and after 2 minutes of trying to read the ingredients or directions, I finally find the ENGLISH version. I don't think I should have to learn another language if I don't EVER plan on leaving the United States of AMERICA.


Now, some people do have a gift in learning languages, and that is wonderful! Teachers who teach English to those who have just moved here from another country, those who are translators for our government, etc. I have nothing but admiration for them. They speak English FIRST (because they are AMERICANS!) and the other languages SECOND. I do not have this gift. So I speak ENGLISH, read ENGLISH, hear ENGLISH. Now I will get down off my soapbox. Thank you for listening in ENGLISH.

Lost: Please Help

After one very frusterating day, it dawned on me that "somebody" must have moved into our house without telling me they were coming. You know that "somebody," they must come to your house occasionally also, the kind of "somebody" that loses things, or takes things or non-chalantly borrows things without asking and then returns the items, but leaves them in very odd spots. If you see this person, could you ask him/her to please return the following items:

• Flashlight batteries. not the whole flashlight mind you, just the batteries I put in there yesterday.


• a large terracotta planter, you know, the size that could hold a small tree.


• the old hot water heater, left in the driveway only one day after we installed a new one.(I really don't want it back, I just wonder who came on my property and took it)


• the real, but very dead Christmas tree we left on the front porch (wait, I don't want that back either)


• one out of a pair of very nice coffee mugs( blue and white striped if anyone wants to know)


• about a dozen bags of chocolate chips, most of which went missing at the same time


• numerous socks without their mates


• whole clump of purple echinacea from the garden (see photo above)


• a blue and grey striped lawn chair


• homework that was "done" but "someone" must have stolen it


• pens, pencils, backpacks, school shoes, also "stolen" by "somebody" (I am beginning to think this "somebody" really likes school)

Also, if you come across "somebody," you could tell him/her that I have found the following items and don't have a clue where they came from and need them removed from the premises immediately:

• a small film camera found under the living room couch


• a small molar-sized tooth found in the ceramic bowl I keep my car keys in


• numerous PAIRS of socks found in the washer that don't fit any of my kids


• miles of computer power cords found in a dresser drawer, file cabinet, closets, and hallways (and the attic??!!)


• large pile of what looked like chewed up peanut butter bagel on the kitchen floor at 7 in the morning, that the kids just HAD to wake me up for.



• teenaged bad attitudes



• not just one, but two bikes. Did someone ride them here and then just walk home?


• a whole bowl of cereal dumped into the sink on top of dirty dishes. hmmm. guess who has to clean that up? I vote for "somebody"

Forest Greenery

Quotes from FL

If your grossed out easily, don't read today's funny.

Me: Stop picking your nose!

FL: You never let me do anything!

Me: Stop picking your nose!

FL: But you never feed me!

New Zealand Rabbits

Finally got a New Zealand rabbit to keep her babies, they are three weeks old today. There are 7 of them, little fat buggers who don't even want to come out of their nest box. The runt is the only one who ventures out, I think because he can feed off momma without the others interfering. Momma seems to be taking care of this litter, unlike the last litter of 9 she abandoned. Momma's sister has lost two litters, a total of 20 babies. I am not very happy with her. I think I will move her to a new pen and give her a different next box and see what happens. The mixed breed bunnies I have had for the past couple of years are such better mommas and they eat so much less.
It is another rainy day here, which is fine with me since my rain barrel was half empty. I planted some tomatoes over the weekend, it is a bit early but the plants were half off, costing me a grand total of 12.5 cents apiece. I put tomato cages covered with white garbage bags over some of them, creating a greenhouse for them. Sunflowers, zucchini, and pumpkins were also planted. For some reason, I have a hard time with zucchini, which makes me feel like a poor gardener. I mean really, who can't get zucchini to grow? The rhubarb is ready to be picked but I need to get last year's rhubarb out of the freezer. I just didn't use it all up. But it won't go to waste, the chickens love it. Or maybe I will put it in the composter.
Speaking of chickens, I had one hen who seemed to be doing poorly all last week. I spent 2 days hand watering her, and she wasn't eating. She lost weight quickly but still wandered around with her sisters. All I could think of was to add cider vinegar to the chickens' drinking water. I hadn't done that all winter for some reason. And it must have worked because the hen was eating like crazy last night.

I Need Caffine!

I don't drink coffee that much, but sometimes I just NEED this!
http://http//www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Starbucks-Frappuccino-Blended-New-and-Improved-Recipe-102775
I've never had anything from Starbucks, but I do love Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccinos when I am in Michigan!

Farm Work

More Sickness than Health

Haven't written much lately, we have been busy being ill. With only about a month of school left for the year, everyone but me (or is it "I?") has been to see the doctor. One came down with a viral infection, which has been passed to two others. One had a bug bite that looked like a bulls eye, which could mean lyme's disease. One decided to take a header down the stairs. All in all, multiple doctors have seen us 9 times in 6 days. 10 days of school has been missed. Numerous bottles of Gatorade, ginger ale, bandaids, loads of laundry, trips to the grocery store and gas station. Guess there is not much more to say about this.

Life Rules

If you have ever seen the tv show "NCIS," you know that the main character has a list of life rules. Here are a list of life rules our household has learned lately, although not in any particular order mind you.

1. never hide behind a door at the top of the stairs during a game of hide and seek. this leads to multiple xrays and hide and seek being banned for 6 months.
2. don't camp out on opening day of trout season because no matter how exciting it seems, it's only the beginning of April and it will downpour or snow for 3 days.
3. don't let your family camp out on opening day of trout season because no matter how exciting it seems, it's only the beginning of April and it will downpour or snow for 3 days, and all the wet camping equipment will be left in the living room for ???? days.
4. don't listen to people who say rabbits mulitiply like rabbits. they don't
5. spring fever usually comes with alot of puking
6. people who never stop by your house usually drop in during a bout of spring fever.
7. if you don't get spring fever, watch out for ticks, who will make an early appearance in record numbers when you haven't even thought of buying bug spray yet
8. after a month of NCIS re-runs, a new NCIS will air when you are on a run to the ER for #1
9. don't take more than 1 kid with you grocery shopping unless you like going back to get what you missed the first time
10. don't start the kindergarten pep talk 5 months before school actually starts. You will spend 5 months hearing "How many more days? How many more days? How many more days? How many more days? How many more days? How many more days?"
11. ER trips come in groups of 2. (unless it's summer, then expect more)
12. boy rabbits make better pets than girl rabbits
13. more girl rabbits (meaning less boy rabbits) are needed for a successful rabbitry
14. one usually ends up with more boy rabbits than girl rabbits

to be continued. . . . . .

More Food

Have to make this post quick because it is too hard to resist and I must go make some cookies right now. http://http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Large-Batch-Chocolate-Chunk-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-Oamc-187879
feel free to mix and match the amounts of choc and nuts to your personal taste, it is a perfectly perfect cookie. I usually make half the batch to make mixing it up easier, but believe me, they don't last long and you might have to make another batch.

Trout Season

Food I love

Thought maybe I would share some recipes once in a while. Nothing Martha Stewart worthy, just what makes it on our plates more often than not. I use the recipe site http://www.recipezarr.com/
for most of my recipes. My favorite bread is

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Bread-Machine-Whole-Wheat-Bread-2-195057
It is a semi-whole wheat bread that I mix up in the bread maker and then bake in the oven. I give all recipe credits to their original authors, I am not that creative, I just love creating food from their recipes.

Eggs in the Window