Hanna’s Here

So Hanna’s just showed up at the door. As you can see, it’s a good thing we don’t live in Wilmington anymore. Although, I don’t think it’s really going to be that bad for them. Not this time around.

We’re just starting to get some rain. It will pick up tonight along with the wind. Apparently, we’re supposed to be concerned about the pine trees more than anything else. With the drought we’ve had for the last year, their roots aren’t too stable and high winds can send them toppling over.

Guess where we live?

Umm, yeah.

Well hey, I’ve been hoping for a fire to destroy the place so we could just start fresh, but maybe the winds will do it for us! Did I mention that I’m over renovating our house into a cute little cottage? Because I am.

So, while I’m waiting for that to happen, I plan to make these and this this weekend. I also want to work on more of these and learn how to do this.

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I meant to write sooner, but…

A member of my household has locked the keys in his truck two nights in a row and I was busy helping him get them out. Yes, two. The first night included tacking an hour round trip drive north onto my already 45-minute drive home from work. And $10 worth of gas. The second night included wandering around Wal-mart while waiting for the locksmith. Now there’s a good story. When it became apparent that the keys were in fact inside the truck cab along with the magnetic box that holds the spare key (which wasn’t placed under the truck the day before, the first time the keys were locked in the truck), we went into Wal-mart to see if they would let us use a phone (since neither of us brought our cell phones) to call the police or if they had a tool we could use to get the lock open (Matthew is very skilled in breaking into cars- he’s needed to be! ). When neither of those options panned out, we decided to hoof it the 3-miles back to the house (in the 100F heat), break into the house (since we didn’t have keys), get my set of keys, drive back to the Wal-mart parking lot and open his truck.

As we were rounding the corner to exit the store, I held my hands up in a furtive plea and said, “Here’s to hoping that someone we know walks in right now and can give us a lift!” Well low and behold, as soon as we made it to the doors, one of Matthew’s classmates walked right into us. Not only is he a friend of Matthew’s but get this, he’s also a LOCKSMITH! Get out of here! You’ve got to be kidding me! No way!

Long story short, after going home to get his tools and driving back to the store, he was able to get Matthew’s truck open in less than 10 seconds and after a too-long hiatus at Wal-mart, we finally made it home. I say all of this not to embarass my husband, but to show that yes, God does listen to us, even on the little things, and sometimes He even gives us what we ask for- and more! I did ask for a friend to rescue us, but didn’t expect that it would be a friend who was also a locksmith. I believe that part could have been due to the fact that I didn’t lose my cool and didn’t make Matthew feel bad for doing this two days in a row- I partnered with him in figuring out how to fix the problem, even if that meant a long walk in a heatwave in flip flops. And sometimes, when we do the right thing in trying circumstances, we’re rewarded.

More to come later on crafting, inexpensive groceries and a few new websites I’ve been checking out. And if you haven’t done so already, please check out my new blog ManMadeMarket. I’ve posted several profiles of Etsy shops that have items for men (and sometimes women) and it’s turning into a fun way to find handmade gifts and items for the guys in my life!

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Summer’s Here

We’ve had an unusually mild May for NC this year. But with June 1 right a mere few hours away, summer has finally arrived. It’s in the 90s right now. Blah. I told Matthew that summer’s in NC are my winter. I just want to stay inside in the air conditioning for the next four months. I love that there is so much going on around town right now with farmer’s markets, outdoor music concerts and garden growing, but it. is. so. hot. And it’s just going to get worse. And to think, there are some people who actually like this kind of weather.

We’ve seen two movies in the last week. First we saw the new Indiana Jones flick. Let me just make myself clear. I LOVED Indiana Jonesas a kid. I even took archaeology classes my freshman year of college so I could be like him. That was, until I realized that being an archaeologist meant being nothing like Indiana Jones. That’s when I switched to Public History (and then Professional Writing). Cest la vie.

I did like this addition to the IJ movies. Yeah, it was a bit too sci-fi, but I was thrilled that it was filmed to look like the original trilogy and they stayed pretty true to the main characters. I was even impressed that Harrison Ford did a pretty good job. For an old guy. I guess 60 really is the new 40.

We had some free vouchers from the movie theater, so we ended up going to see Prince Caspian with Mark and Jennifer last night. Again, another movie to go along with a favorite of mine. I haven’t read The Chronicles of Narnia for several years, so it was hard to remember how true to the story the movie is, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I did notice there was a lot more death in this one than the last and I was sadly missing more Aslan screen time though, even if it is true to the story that he is not seen for the most part. Overall, I would recommend it.

I’m working on a new blog right now. It was birthed out of an idea straight from my hubby. He’s always been way more creative than me. You can find out what it is at manmademarket.wordpress.com. I’d be intersted to hear your feedback on this one.

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Stormy Weather, Good Eats and a Whatsit

We had a good storm last night after a beautiful weekend. My tomato plants were loving it and they’re growing so quickly it’s dumbfounding us.

I’ve been eating some delicious food lately. With Matthew’s work schedule, I have the weekend and Monday nights to make whatever my little heart pleases. Believe it or not, being in the military did not break Matthew of pickiness when it comes to food. If anything, I’d say he’s even more selective. Must have been all those MREs. When it’s the two of us, I’m much more conservative/traditional in what I make for dinner, so I relish the three nights of the week I have all to myself.

Look at those mushrooms in all their juicy, buttery goodness. This is one of the prettiest pictures I’ve ever seen.

This was Saturday’s dinner. On the blue plate is avocado and garden tomatoes. On the green plate is herbed ricotta goat cheese with wheat crackers. In the red bowl on the left is tomato, cucumber and onion salad with a vinegar and oil dressing and in the red bowl at the top/middle are shiitake mushrooms and spring onions sauteed in butter. I eat like this most weekends. It’s a wonder that I don’t weigh 450 pounds.

I’ve discovered that when I’m alone, I tend to eat more like a vegetarian. I’m not one by choice (at least not anymore, but there was that one year in college…), but I guess I just like veggies, cheeses and other non-meat items better. That and I’m too lazy to cook meat just for myself. It takes way too long.

So, to go along with my non-meat theme, I also made a strawberry pie with some of the strawberries I picked on Saturday. I had five stinkin’ pounds to consume afterall.

I thought it was very good and was perfect with a little whipped cream. Okay, that’s a lie. I like A LOT of whipped cream. If you would have been in my house this morning at 5:15, you would have seen me squirting it into my mouth straight from the can. I have to have something to run on when I’m at the gym.

Believe it or not, Matthew doesn’t “prefer” (doesn’t that sound nice and diplomatic?) this pie. He says that the glaze tastes funny, but I think it’s really because it’s lacking in chocolate. Freak.

I also did something that would make my mother-in-law proud yesterday- I made freezer jam. When she visited us last year, we attempted to do this together, but ended up with strawberry syrup instead of jam. This time however the jam set up perfectly.

And that’s how you use five pounds of strawberries.

What with all of this pie making, fruit picking, and jam making going on around here I’m starting to feel like Martha Stewart. But, to keep me from getting too caught up in that, uh, dream (?), I have a domestic mystery to solve and I need your help. I picked this thing up for free this weekend and I have no idea what it’s used for. It says “The Creative Circle” on it and has a little needle and thread illustration on it. All of the circles are numbered 1-25. It’s about 8 inches long and the largest circle is the size of a quarter. A Google search was futile. Futile I say. 

I figured that even if I don’t figure out what it is, I can use it for my own devices, ranging from pasta making to highlighting my hair (not really, Dad). Any ideas?

Do any of you think it’s weird to write an entire post on food? I read a lot of blogs that do this and I find them interesting, but do you? I guess for most of us, it’s one of the more exciting parts of our workday. For some reason when I think of posts like this, I think of a little kid (or not) telling me to look at his “seafood” while he opens up his mouth full of food for me. Look at my food! Look at my food!

 

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OBX, here we come!

Sorry I haven’t posted much in the last two weeks. I spent last week catching up from my week in Wilmington and this week getting everything completed to go on vacation next week. We are heading with several of my family members to the Outer Banks. I love, love, love the Outer Banks. We are renting a big house on the ocean in Salvo, which is in the southern portion of the OBX, so it’s very non-touristy. As of this morning, the forecast is calling for high seventies to low eightes and partly sunny. Perfect!!

So, in the next week I plan to:

Walk on the beach as much as possible (our house border Hatteras National Seashore, which means there are ten miles of unspoiled beach out our back door)

• Take lots of pictures
• Sleep in every day
• Read books
• Do puzzles
• Eat lots of good food, including some freshly caught seafood
• Love on my family

I will not, however, go in the ocean. First off, it’s probably freezing this time of year. It’s also full of sharks. Not really, but I’m serious, yo. Just ask Jennifer. She knows sharks.

This will be a much needed rest for all of us, particularly my family from the North, who will get the chance to thaw out after a long, cold, snowy winter.

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Chainsaws and Wisteria

Matthew and I participated in Disaster Relief and Recovery training yesterday and today with the North Carolina Baptist Men (despite the name, you don’t have to be from North Carolina, be a Baptist, or be a man to participate). From their website:

The purpose of the North Carolina Baptist Men (NCBM) is to help Christians share the love of Jesus by praying, giving, going and becoming actively involved in missions with their time and talents. NCBM strives to make Christians aware of human needs and to provide opportunities to help meet those needs wherever they exist. 

Matthew and I have been really seeking God out on how to serve Him in missions work. We were seriously contemplating a trip to Zambia this summer, but after reflection, felt that, while it was a good trip, it wasn’t the best fit for us. When the opportunity came for us to get involved with the NCBM, we pounced. While the organization offers a lot of different opportunities to serve in a variety of ways, we focused on relief and recovery operations after a disaster happens, such as Hurricane Katrina. In fact, the NCBM has spent the last two years in Gulfport, Mississippi rebuilding over 700 homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. And while they did that, they shared the love of Christ with disaster victims. NCBM is active all over the world, from just around the block to the other side of the world in Sri Lanka. Matthew and I can’t imagine a better fit for us- combining humanitarian work with missions.

So, for the last twenty-four hours, we’ve been learning about proper chainsaw operations (trees tend to fall down in hurricanes), conducting a “mud out” (when it floods, a lot of mud, grime, sewage and the odd snake tend to run right into homes), and roof wrapping (high winds = roof damage). We also got to see how the NCBM does a mass feeding (they have the capability to serve 30,000 hot meals a day) as well as their laundry, shower and command trailers. And this ain’t no small operation. Matthew was floored at how well set up and gigantic it all was.

We did have to sleep on the floor of a church (Matthew sweated it out on the guys wing while I slept nice and toasty in my sleeping bag in the icy ladies wing) and eat food prepared in bulk. Although we did sneak down to Chik-fil-A late last night. And to Starbucks this morning. And to Panera for lunch. Hey man, they were all within walking distance. We had a great time, met lots of cool people and walked away with a certification in disaster recovery. We even got nifty photo id badges! So when the next disaster strikes, we’ll be ready to roll.

The weather around here has been crazy. I think somebody forgot to tell North Carolina that spring is here. Yesterday it was 80F and today it is 45F and rainy- we even had to cut our chainsaw activity short due to some hail. But, that was a-o-kay with me. I plan on leaving the chainsaw work up to Matthew anyway.  I plan to just look pretty and wipe the sweat from his brow while serving him an ice cold sweet tea  (blech!) in my pretty apron. I’m KID-ding.

When I came home this afternoon, I was greeted by a riot of color from the wisteria vine “growing” (aka killing) on the trees in front of our house. I couldn’t resist getting a few photos:

 

I know, photos of flowers, lame, but they’re so pretty!

Alrighty, off to watch this movie, eat some avocado and salad and catch some rest. I’m feeling a little beat after sharing a room with a couple of octogenarian chics last night!  It must be true that you need less sleep as you age- those ladies went to bed late and got up earrr-llly! And they go on mission trips to Africa. And shower in cold water. And laugh at bugs in their bedrooms. Tough old ladies…

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Stepping into Spring

It was beautiful here today, warm seventies and sunny. The great weather combined with an extra hour of light made me want to prowl around in the yard. So, while my Anniversary Chicken (which was excellent and oh so easy) was cooking, I took my digital SLR and Kodak Duaflex to try out some more TTV shots. Most were no good, but I liked the one above enough to post. Those little purple flowers (name, anyone? Periwinkle? Thanks Aunt Susie and Jayne!) are all over our side yard under the trees. It’s the only color we have right now, but I’ll take it as a sure sign that spring is on the way.

Now, I’m going to go park myself on the coach to enjoy the bliss that is LOST. I’m going to start working on the 15 ATCs I have to make for a swap I signed up for on Swap-bot, too. Sounds like a good night to me!

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Tulips and Tomato Soup

I’m finding it difficult to write about anything of significance lately. It seems like it’s just an “in between” time right now. Not many new projects going on around the house, not much new in the way of travel- not much new of anything.

We did have beautiful weather today, sunny and 70F. As we were driving to lunch, I wondered aloud, “Why haven’t our families moved down here yet? What is it today in Michigan, 16F and snowing?” To which Matthew replied, “No kidding. What’s holding them back?” Now, we love our Wolverine state home. It’s a wonderful, beautiful, magical place. Most of the year. But, right now is about the time that people begin going stir crazy because they’ve been cooped up inside since November and have had to shovel several hundred feet of snow. And me? Well, I’m wearing flip flops and enjoying the sunshine.

Despite the gorgeous weather, I did make this soup today:

It’s another Pioneer Woman recipe, Sherried Tomato Soup. Click on the name for the recipe. I really like her recipes because they are very simple, contain just a handful of ingredients and she puts all of the steps in photo form on her blog. Although, I must admit that they aren’t healthy. But they are homemade!

I also laid my tulip plant to rest today. It was really nice having live flowers in the house, but it started to look like this by the end of the week:

  

Even dead I think the colors are so vibrant and beautiful. The stems are now in my compost bin, but I pulled the bulbs out. I’m gonna see if I can plant them and get them to come back again. It’s worth a shot.

And just to make sure you’re not confused, it is technically still winter here (again, despite the B-E-A-UTIFUL weather today) and the grass in the pic above is our only patch of green grass. The rest is a dormant brown. I guess the deer must still find it appetizing though. There were six of them in our side yard tonight chomping away. Even though I see them all the time, the sight of them still makes me stop and watch until they wander off into the woods. They are a magnificent work of God’s hands.

 

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