The starting of a hot week

 I tried a new recipe today. Meatloaf in the crockpot. We shall see if the family will like it tonight.  I'm getting something different cooking for supper so that the rest of the week we can have hamburgers,  sausages,  sandwiches and cold salads.  Everyone thinks it is going to be a hot summer.  It is early in the year to be this dry.

https://crockpotladies.com/recipe/crockpot-bacon-cheddar-meatloaf/#wpurp-container-recipe-31184

March break in isolation

 Today is the last day of virtual school before March break.  It is April because March break got pushed back due to covid numbers.  We are way back up in numbers so the government called a stay at home order.

I just went to Kingston and got a huge load of groceries.  I bought the girls chromebooks which they had been saving up their chores money to buy. We are ready to buckle down for some more family time. 

I made a list of activities for us to do that are hopefully fun while we are staying home. Things to get them off the computers and being active.  They are too old for some crafts now but I think I have some good ideas 

I always encourage them to sew. I have more than enough sewing stuff for us. Also Grandma Mary Lou is coming over to make pie one day. I want to try making homemade perogies.  We are going to build a bench and corn hole boards plus rice bags for tossing. Break out some board games. I want to make up some gift packages to mail for other friends stuck at home too. I think the girls could get quite creative with what goes in them. Gardening with Nanny.

Make a first aid kit for the car. Make a time capsule.  Order some photos online and do some scrap booking. Online paint night tutorials. You tube guitar lessons. Walks at a Kingston trail with picnic.  I love picnics. 

Hopefully we all survive and make it a positive time with great memories. 

March 2021

 Crazy it's been a year.  One year since we started isolating due to covid 19. So many awful times but I'm taking note of the good times.   Our local school has 2 kids with covid so children will not be returning to in class learning until further notice. 

I'm thankful that Gary and I decided to keep the kids home from school this year.  It has been a huge amount of work for me. More than I can handle some days but so many great memories and new things we have tried. 

My kids have learned to be independent.  They have to be accountable to finish their own work in time. This often means school work on weekends.   They have learned to entertain themselves.  They ask me what crafts I have stored away for them to do as a project. These are great learning opportunities.  We have knitted, sewed, skated, built, painted, felted, walk dog, made picnics, play dice or cards. Mostly cribbage but we like rummy and countdown crazy eight. 

 Here is a picture of the beautiful quilt Emily made.  Her own design and fabric choices and sewing.  I am very proud of her. 

Ashley recently got into fimo. She made tiny clay foods and animals and glued them onto earrings pieces.

This is a lamp Gary made with the girls on Saturday night.  I ordered the lamp wires and pieces online at Lowes for a rainy day. Gary used an upside-down clay flower pot for the base that Ashley painted. 

Now that's its spring, the girls ride there bikes.  Last week they wanted to see how far they got towards Bath. 

Last May I downloaded audible.  We listen to a lot of audio books.  They are a great break from the girls being on the computer all the time.  I get to sew and they paint or sew or draw and we listen.  We just finished the fablehaven series.  It was 5 books. Now we are listening to dragonwatch. Yesterday I made the girls write a short book report on the fablehaven series and I submitted it as work for their virtual school. 

We Bake a lot. We try new things. For holidays we make cards for some members of our church especially ones who live alone.  That is what we are doing tonight because Easter is this weekend.  The girls often get mail back from the people too. Which is exciting. 

We are constantly arguing about chores and the house is a continuous mess.  We all work together and get on each others nerves.  The barn chores are a big part of the day but it is actually really good to work with animals and have a reason to get outside. 

Now we are starting our seeds for spring planting.  It will be a great garden this year. We still have homemade canned salsa and frozen pumpkin and apples and zucchini to cook with.

I hope the girls return to school in September.  I can't do another intense year like this but I'm glad we had this year. We all learned a lot. If I wanted to to summarize my biggest lesson, it is : Do fun life things with your kids and count it as school lessons.  

Another garden cooking day

Today I made a batch of salsa from the garden.  For supper tonight we will have roast chicken with carrots and baby potatoes from the garden.  I'm making chocolate zucchini muffins right now.  My garden still has lots of zucchini.  I also made a batch of molasses ginger cookies for mom and dad.

Garden 2020

This year has certainly been strange. As a family we spend LOTS of time together. We clean and divide up chores continually. Our projects have included, many many crafts like arm knitting, making friendship bracelets, shrinky dinks and painting.  Also many board games

We have been camping at our cottage lot and swimming most days. We work together on our farm. Our pets and cows are the center of these days. Bonfires and backyard visits with friends are a highlight.  I avoid public places and we don't travel but we visit grandparents almost every day.  In someways it's an opportunity to do the most important things in life.  Conversations and phone calls have less small talk and more of sharing our fears with each other and supporting one another.  I know where my kids have strengths and weaknesses are in school and in fitness and in socializing.  I have to be intentional about working on these areas of their lives because more than ever I am their main sounding board and friend. 

Since our home is where we spend almost all of our time. Our garden is more important than ever. We have had lettuce, basil, parsley, chives, tomatoes, beets, rhubarb, hot peppers. I planted a couple cauliflower but they don’t look to promising. I planted what I thought was cucumber but instead squash grew and also a white pumpkin.

My tomato plants are huge and I had a lot grow of volunteer plants come up from the seeds in the soil. I had some tomato bugs but not as bad as last year.  we’ve already had four tomatoes from my garden. The zucchini seeds I planted grew zucchinis out of control and we probably had 50 zucchinis. Luckily I found others to take them since Gary and girls have decided zucchini is an enemy. 

I have about 4 carrots that are sad. 

I planted 32 potato plants. They did surprisingly well. Gary thinks we should wait until the end of August to dig them up. They are not big yet.  I am looking forward to having some crab apples from our tree.  

This is zucchini pizza from the BBQ. I thought they were good. No one else tried them.  Other ways I have used zucchini is chocolate zucchini cake, in stew and soups, in butter chicken, on skewers for pork kabobs.  Also in spears with foil on the BBQ with butter. 

April self isolation

It is a crazy time we're living in. Who knew that when I left for Mexico March 9th, We would return to self isolation and quarantine that is still going on. It's been a real range of emotions for everyone to not be able to see family. Also to spend time with our immediate family all the time. There's a lot of pressure to homeschool and the kids spend a lot of time on electronics. I'm having to learn new things to keep up with what they're doing. I'm trying new recipes and try coming up with crafts for the afternoon. I find myself thankful for so many unexpected things. Having a farm so we can keep working and get out of the house. A large amount of craft supplies, that at times I've even felt guilty about, has truly been a blessing. We have made melted crayon crafts, Easter cards, we have planted seeds to start a garden in May. We have tried arm knitting, sewing triangle bags, we have even sewed clothes for the cat. The girls are good at coming up with thier own activities if it means avoiding school work or cleaning. Most days they bake something that we eat at lunch time like mini pizzas, tuna melts, muffins or cinnamon buns. I was very fortunate to have beautiful friends and family that got me groceries while we were on quarantine. Now that lots of time has passed I made a big grocery trip last weekend and hope to only go every two weeks. I make a list of things we need and a plan for what we will eat. I write the meal plan on the fridge so there is no surprises of not knowing what is for supper or not having the ingredients we need. This week, Sunday- ham and scalloped potatoes and salad. Monday - leftover with chicken fingers and fries. Tuesday - spaghetti, extra sauce to make a lasagna that I froze. Wednesday - tacos Thursday chicken kabobs and rice. Friday homemade fish and chips with salad. Saturday -sheppards pie. Sunday - venison roast cooked veggies and mashed potatoes, Monday - quiche and leftovers, Tuesday- lasagna, Wednesday- beef stroganoff. Thursday- chili or homemade pizza, Friday - hamburgers Before I go to the grocery store i make sure I have the ingredients on my list. I still get celery and carrots, bananas and apples. We eat alot of veggie trays tuna and grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade soups with our baking for lunch. Maybe this list will give you some ideas.

Chicken stew

https://www.theseasonedmom.com/healthy-slow-cooker-chicken-stew/ I made this chicken stew in the crockpot. Everyone in the family liked it. I used three big chicken breast. I chop them into bite-size pieces. Sautéed vegetables and chicken just for a few minutes. Put everything in the crockpot and left it on high for five hours. I did add some corn starch to thicken it just 30 minutes before serving but you don’t have to. I thought you might like to try it. I will be making it again. 2 medium sweet onions, diced into bite-sized pieces, 3 stalks celery, diced. 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds. 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into small bite-sized pieces. 1 bay leaf. 2 teaspoons salt. ½ teaspoon paprika. ½ teaspoon dried thyme. ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning like rosemary and thyme. 3-4 lbs. bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed. 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth or chicken stock. 1 tablespoon corn starch + 1 tablespoon cold water For garnish: chopped fresh parsley Instructions Place onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, bay leaf, salt, paprika, thyme, and poultry seasoning in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Stir to combine. Place chicken on top of vegetables. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Pour chicken broth over everything, cover, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. When there are about 30 minutes left in the cooking time, remove chicken from the slow cooker and chop or shred the meat. Return chicken meat to the slow cooker and discard bones. Discard bay leaf. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth. Stir into the stew and cook on HIGH without the lid for 30 minutes (or until broth thickens a little bit). Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, just before serving. Recipe Notes