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I want to thank you all for your good thoughts and heartfelt prayers concerning my brother in law, Bill. Today is his memorial service. Bill loved my sister fiercely and for that I will always be grateful. Once he and my sister moved to their farm, you would usually find him in the garden or with this blue beast cutting hay for the horses. Other times, he was dragging home stray cats and dogs to care for.
but he was happy to hang with the rest of the family too...especially if someone was telling a good joke.
We love you Bill, until we meet again...
I got spoiled yesterday....Jill from Life with Nature Girl mailed me this sweet package...for no reason at all.The thermos has been put to use and the cookies are GONE.....all that remains is for me to make something with that lovely ball of yarn.
Thank you Jill!!!
Last Friday night, Kaela went to her junior high "Who's Who" dance with some friends.
This is the dress we bought her for the dance LAST year but she had the flu that night and couldn't go. I'm so glad she got to go this year.
After the dance, everyone went out to eat...nothing like seeing 20 teenagers living it up at an IHOP while their parents sat across the room pretending not to know them!
The squirrels keep eating Guido's hair. Horrible. And with a name like Guido, you think he could defend himself.
Instead, he just sits on the fence and puts up with it. What is worse is that the squirrels actually sit on his head in order to eat his hair!I decided to help him out so I got some asparagus fern with those ouchy little thorns. Those furry little critters are going to get a surprise when they try to snack on THIS new 'do!
The best part is that I think he looks rather spiffy.
I love my crock pot, especially this time of year. Since it is such a time saver, I try to use it at least once a week.
Today I have a twofer for ya!
I love homemade tortilla soup but rarely have the time to do all the chopping, slicing and dicing. Instead, I pull out my crock pot and make it do all the work while I'm at work too. This has a little kick to it so if you have little kiddos, check the seasonings.Cheater tortilla soup:1 large can diced tomatoes (don't drain)1 can black beans (drained)1 can roteil (I use original, don't drain)1 can fiesta corn (or those whole baby corns in a can.)4 cups homemade chicken stock***see below1 tsp cumin (or thereabouts...I don't actually measure it!)2-3 tbls. chili powder (okay, so I use a palmful...not actually measuring it....just so you know.)2-3 frozen chicken breasts (2 is plenty if they are large) I trim the fat off the edges before placing into the pot.Put the chicken breasts on the bottom of the crock pot. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour on top. Turn the crock pot on low and let cook for 6-8 hours.Pull the chicken out, shred and return to crock pot. Turn crock pot OFF but put the lid back on so it will reheat through.Serve with saffron rice, shredded cheese and diced avocados when in season.***Since I make my own stock (see below) I do the taste test, it sometimes needs chicken bouillon or a bit of salt. When I want to make chicken stock, I let the crock pot do that for me too:Put 1 cup of water in the crock potAdd 1 large quartered onion, a couple rough chopped stalks of celery and 3 large rough chopped carrots in the bottom.
(You want at least 3!)Place cleaned and seasoned chicken on top of the veggies so it won't "sit" in the water.Cover and turn the crock pot on low 6-8 hoursRemove the chicken from the crock pot, strain the stock to use later (I freeze it if not using it right then.)Eat the carrots...they are yummy, but ditch the celery and onion...
Once the chicken is cooled, you can pull it off the bone and use it in other recipes or add it to the tortilla soup!
My Brother in law, Bill O'Connor is critically ill.....please put him in your prayers and thoughts as he is fighting for his life right now.
Bill is a brittle diabetic and has had numerous complications that began the latter part of the summer. He is now severely ill due to numerous complications including pneumonia and staph! He is in need of a miracle and I know no better way than to use my blog to reach out to you!
Please also put my sweet sister Page in your prayers. Thank you!
This is getting to be fun.....for me :-)Matt had to draw something again for his visual art's appreciation class. With a deep sigh he told me he doesn't like drawing because he sees too many things he has done wrong.
Personally, I love it when my kids do art....even if they do it because their teacher says they HAVE to!
When we lived in Forth Worth, I met an artistic lady named Adrienne. I couldn't believe someone crafty like me lived just down the block....and that I didn't meet her until we had lived there 4 years!
Adrienne is so talented. She does beautiful work...she paints, crochets and weaves rugs. Her work is so free spirited and fresh. I just love it.When we moved, the two of us were pretty good about staying in touch at first. But eventually, we lost touch. I was surprised when she commented on Kaela's art blog this week. I hadn't heard from her in 5 or 6 years!We emailed a bit back and forth and then I poked around her website to see what she has for sale (yummy stuff.)
I found photos of Kaela "modeling" for her website. She was just 6 years old. 
These photos brought back a flood of memories from our time in Fort Worth.
HERE is the link to this page from so long ago and here is the main website link in case you want to poke around.
Louisiana is big on appreciation of the arts and all students have to have a year of some type of art or music class before graduation.
Matt decided on Fine Art Appreciation but he didn't know he would actually have to DRAW anything.
Then he went to class on Monday and the teacher said they had to draw an animal and paint it.
Soooooo, he decided the easiest thing to draw would be a jellyfish:
I love it. My boy does art :-)
It was easy to make, even someone new to crochet could do this. 
