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Today was one of those perfect spring days - coffee & conversation with a great friend this morning, a wonderful afternoon working in the yard, and a supper date with some dear friends for our favorite mexican food this evening. Does life get much better than that?!?!?!

The weather was glorious today in Kansas. Dare we hope that winter has finally bowed out, giving way to spring? The sun was shining, birds were singing and a gentle breeze blowing. The symphony of lawn mowers (and other assorted yard equipment) filled the air in my neighborhood. Our front yard got it's first mowing today and then I started attacking one of the long neglected garden beds in the front yard.

Here's some before photos of the garden area I worked on today:

What a mess! (But, note the freshly mowed lawn in the background.)

Here are some after shots:

I cleaned out all of the leaves and pulled a bunch of weeds. The three bushes also got a little haircut. Much better! This coming weekend those dreadful black planters are going to be relocated to the dump. We will replace them with one new, more attractive model and plant some colorful annuals. Hopefully Saturday will be a still day so I can spray the remaining weeds and stray grass. If the space looks too empty when we only have one planter, I may have to search the backyard to find a low growing ornamental grass to fill up a little space.

Fun Day!!

Yeah, it's Friday. Usually if I am not working on Friday, it is a catch up day at home - cleaning, laundry, yard work - whatever needs done. But not today, no-sir-eee!! Today was:

Rivers and Grandma's Day of Fun!!!!

We decided for our outing today to go over to Wichita.

First stop - Taco Bell for some crunchy meat and cheese tacos!

And then . . . . .

Off to the Warren Theatre to see the new movie . . .

"How To Train Your Dragon"

In 3D!!!!!

First - a little popcorn . . . .

Along with a cool, refreshing Root Beer . . .

And we are ready for the show.

It was awesome!

We can't wait for our next day of fun!

Fellowship

"What a fellowship, what a joy divine . . . "

Spending time in God's Word is always a wonderful thing, but there is just something special about studying the Bible with other women, especially in a small group setting. When a small group of women meet together on a regular basis and they have a deep desire in their hearts to know God and to glorify Him by studying His word - a feeling of trust and support ensues. The blessing that comes is the encouragement you receive and the knowledge that you can trust these women with open and honest discussions about what we struggle with on a daily basis. What a wonderful fellowship!

For the past 7 weeks we have been studying a book by Patricia Shirer, He Speaks To Me.

I think in the following statement she summed up a lot of what happens when women study together:

"Intimacy with God requires the same time, energy, and effort we put into human friendship. The closer we become to friends the more detailed information we receive from them about their lives. The more they can trust us, the more apt they are to reveal specific and detailed information. In the same way, intimacy with the Father brings increased communication. The closer we are to God the more readily we will hear His voice."

So to my Wednesday morning girls - Karmen, Michele, Allison, Joan, Shiloh, and Julie -I have treasured our time together. I have been honored to study with you and share in pieces of your lives. My heartfelt prayer for all of you would be that you will continually experience God's mighty and powerful presence and that you will clearly hear His voice. Blessings to all of you; I hope our paths will cross again!

Recipe #5 - Crunchy Beef Bake

I got home from work early today so thought I would try a new recipe. I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine.

CRUNCHY BEEF BAKE

Table of Contents:
2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 pound ground beef
¾ cup chopped green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14 ½ ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (1 ¾ ounces) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (2.8 ounces) French-fried onions

(Forgot to take pictures before I whipped this up!)

How To:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown beef, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and green pepper is tender; drain fat. Drain pasta; add to the beef mixture with tomatoes, soup, cheese and salt. Transfer to a greased 2qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with onions and bake 5 minutes longer.

The Result:
I have been searching for a “knock your socks off, wow, this is so good" recipe. This was not it. It was very easy to make but I’m glad I did not expend a lot on energy on it. Mark’s comment: “Well, it’s edible.”

The search continues.

(It wasn't a total bust. The low-fat package mix blueberry muffins were delicious!)

Hope

"To everything there is a season . . . . "Ecclesiastes 3:1

Every year about this time, hope sets in. Hope that maybe this will be the year I finally claim victory over the battle of the weeds and Bermuda grass in my garden. I don't know if I will ever win, but Spring has a way of creating optimism - even after I look around the yard and see all of the obstacles.

Now I'm a save the earth type of gal. I recycle, I compost. But I know that if I am going to have any hope of conquering the jungle out there that I call a garden, it is going to require chemicals - lots of chemicals. Most of my meager garden budget for this year is probably going towards the purchase of Round-up, Kilz, and Over-the-Top Weed and Grass spray.

So shovel in one hand and sprayer in the other, here I go. Here's what I got done on Thursday, a beautiful day before it started snowing again on Friday! (Ah, Kansas!)

This is an area on the north side of the house in the front yard. It hasn't had any attention for a couple of years. Lovely! The shrub on the left is a red twig dogwood that I raised from a bare root. I was so proud that I got it to grow, but it has always been unruly and blocked the sunlight from reaching the barberry bushes in front of it. It's outta here!

Over in the shadow on the right is a barrel planter. The Bermuda grass was even growing out of there. I'm sure the landscaper that did some work in our back yard last year was really impressed as he walked by it every day!

Dogwood gone! I'll finish it off with the chainsaw next week. Now maybe those shrubs will have a fighting chance.

After raking and pulling lots of grass - gorgeous! I will "shop" in the backyard to fill in those bare spots.

No more Bermuda grass in the barrel. As soon as some place is having a "fill a flat" sale, I will plant some cheery, colorful annuals in there.

Project #1 finished - I am exhausted, but happy with even a little bit of progress. As soon as the snow melts I'll be on to project #2 (of a gazillion!)

I am linking up this week with Susan @ Southern Daydreamer. Check out the wonderful outdoors!

Recipe #4 - Red Beans with Andouille Sausage

I haven't had much time to cook lately, at least not new stuff. It seems like we have been gone a lot over the past few weeks. But I have been diligently searching for new recipes. I have several picked out to try and Mark thought this one sounded good for a cold, snowy, wintery day (which, by the way, is the first day of Spring!)

You may recall in my list of criteria for recipes, I have to be able to pronounce the ingredients. Believe it or not, I actually can pronounce Andouille! Finding it was harder. I had almost decided that I would have to figure out some different type of sausage, when I spotted a man working in the meat department at the grocery store. So I asked him and he said that they had just started carrying it. He found it for me, and I was on my way! So here it is:

RED BEANS WITH ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE

Table of Contents:
-2 tsp. EVOO
-1 pound Andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
-1 medium onion, diced
-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I used the minced stuff in a jar!)
-1 pound dried, small red beans, soaked per pkg instructions and drained
-Salt, pepper

How To:
In large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage; cook until fat is released and sausage is slightly golden in spots, approx 10 minutes. (This sausage smells fantastic cooking!)

Remove sausage from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add beans and 4 ½ cups water; bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until beans are tender; 1-1 ½ hours, adding more water if necessary. Stir in sausage and heat through. Season to taste.

The Result:
Yum!!! This was spicy and fantastic. It was sooooo good served up with a little cornbread on the side. This recipe is a keeper. Or, if nothing else, the sausage will make another appearance. But we can't eat it too often - 19 gms of fat in a serving of Andouille sausage. Ouch!!

(I just noticed as I was posting this - all of my new recipes that I have made so far have been served up in a bowl!)

Shelter

. . . Let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Psalm 61:4

Wishing you a blessed week!

Recipe #3

Today was a hot time in the ol’ kitchen for me. Did some bulk cooking and it was also new recipe day!! I decided to cook up a 5 lb package of ground chuck and a 3 lb package of chicken and bag it up in meal-sized packages. One hour and 15 minutes later I had 6 packets of chicken and 8 packets of hamburger (kept some hamburger out for the new recipe) and into the freezer it all went.

This will be so great for those days I’m too busy (lazy) to thaw, cut, and cook. And it looks so great up there in the freezer nestled up next to the Skinny Cows!

Next, I started on Recipe #3:

TACO SOUP

Table of Contents:
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans corn
1 can tomatoes with diced chiles (I used Rotel – Original)
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning (I used Taco Bell brand)
1 packed ranch dressing mix (this sounded weird, but tossed it in)
1 lb hamburger
Topping: shredded cheese, sour cream, corn chips (optional)

How To:
Brown hamburger, drain fat and place in crock-pot. Sprinkle seasoning packets on top of meat. Drain and rinse beans and add to pot. Add corn and tomatoes (don't drain). Stir all together; cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

The Result:
This recipe was a little disappointing. I was expecting to taste something more taco-y, but it really just tasted like chili. But, at least it was very good chili. Another thing, looking back, what was I thinking making a recipe that used 8 cans for just Mark and me??? We’re going to be eating this stuff forever!

The Road

Mark and I recently made a difficult decision. It started with a feeling that God was leading in a different direction than the path we were currently traveling. The current road was not without bumps, but still, it was comfortable. There were good memories along the road and the landscape was dotted with people we treasure. Following God’s roadmap would require us to merge onto an unfamiliar road that was not without an emotional toll.

We still are not sure where we will end up on this journey. But following, by faith, where ever God leads is worth the cost.

Down any road at any cost, wherever You lead we will follow;

Because we know that You've called us to take up our cross;

Down any road at any cost.

(Lyrics by Scott Krippayne & Tony Wood from the song “Any Road, Any Cost”)