Deer Camp

Hi Dear Friends...

This weekend is the opening weekend of gun deer season here in western Wisconsin. It has been tradition in our family that all (or most of) the hunters stayed at my mom and dad's house the night before opening day. Then mom would get up and make them a huge breakfast at 5 AM for the first day of the hunt. She always had eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, toast, OJ, and coffee. Some years she even went for pancakes!

Since mom has been gone, my dad has tried to continue the tradition, however, between he and his new wife smoking in the house and the fact that she doesn't appreciate deer camp or the traditions associated with it, it didn't last long.

Last year my sister-in-law did it, but they have a very small house and it was pretty cramped. The hunting party consists of my dad, my three brothers, three nephews, two nieces and my son, so 10 in all.

This year, with us living in my folk's house, it was decided that deer camp would be here! I was so excited! Honey agreed to help with the cooking (he is much better at it than I am and an early riser). I am so thankful that he is so open and accepting of my family and encourages our traditions.

The family gathered Friday night for pizza, chips and soda. The hunting stories were flying and soon they were all singing the "Thurdy Point Buck" at the top of their lungs. If you haven't heard the song, check it out here!

My oldest brother and his two sons stayed here for the weekend. The rest came and went for lunch and dinner and then breakfast and lunch again today. It was great to feel the warmth and camradarie they all share and to have a hand in carrying on the tradition my wonderful Mama started many years ago! I was told many times over the weekend how much they all appreciated it!

Here are some pictures of the fun!

Looking at pictures from the deer cam on the computer

Cousins having fun

Silly Princess Pea!

Mapping out the strategy...so serious!
 

Hunting Stories

Princess Pea and her Bestie

Opening day breakfast!



Monkey Pile!

The Technology Generation!

The first two deer!

Cookie Monster's Doe - Meat in the Freezer

Teaching Grandpa to Text

 

Senior Year

So this is my sons Senior Year of high school. I must say, I am really having a hard time with this. he is my first born and now everything he is doing is his last - last Homecoming, last pep session, last parade, last band concert, last everything. I am so sad that his high school years are coming to an end. While I know he will be an incredible adult and go far in life, I am sad that he isn't a little boy any more and that I don't have more time with him!

Senior Picture

Homecoming

Best Buddies!

Last night we attended his Honor's Band Concert. Here in Western Wisconsin, a group of band directors got together about 25 years ago and formed a group called Western Wisconsin Honor's Band. The directors pick the best musicians from their band and send them for one day to a seminar/workshop given by college level conductors, musicians and composer. They they perform a concert for the public of the music they worked on. They get the music 2 weeks in advance of the workshop but only come together for the one day to work together on it.

Honor's Band

They have both a Middle School band and a High School band and it never ceases to amaze me at how GOOD they are at playing the music in such a short period of time! I am so proud of them all! They are such incredible kids! Some of them are nominated numerous times (Including my Cookie Monster!!) He was actually nominated in both 7th and 8th grade and again as both a Junior and Senior in High School! What an honor to be thought so highly of by his director!

Last Oktoberfest Parade

Anyway, the concert was wonderful and I will definitely miss seeing my son play! It will be so hard to see him move on to the next phase of his life. He will be taking the ASVAB test in December and then talking to a recruiter about joining the Air Force Reserve or the Air National Guard. Either, way, he will leave for basic training next summer. It will only be part time, but it is all he has talked about for the last 2 years. It will be difficult to let him go, but I am so proud of the choice he has made to serve his country!

In the meantime, I will enjoy every single thing he does, take lots of pictures, and make lots of memories. I am so very proud to be able to call him my son!

Making Lefse...

Today Princess Pea and I went with my 2nd brother's wife out to her mom's house to make lefse. We had such a GREAT time! Lefse is a Norwegian type of flatbread made from mashed potatoes. You roll it out and fry it on a griddle. It is delicious with butter and sugar, but we also put meatballs and gravy, or turkey, or ham, or whatever you have available on it! Delicious! But as you can see, it is a lot of work. You can only make one at a time (unless you have more than one griddle). And it makes a big mess! LOL But oh was it fun!!

Princess Pea preparing to do battle with the potatoes!

It was a rainy, gloomy, dreary, chilly day! The perfect day to be inside and spend time with family making delicious food!  

My Sis in Law Janet getting some potatoes ready to be rolled.

I had only made lefse one other time and was looking forward to re-learning and practicing my skills with the rolling pin and turner! 

 

Princess Pea working the griddle.

 Princess Pea had never made lefse before and had a good time trying all the steps!

Princess Pea with her cousin Becca working as a team!

 Becca and Pea are first cousins but more like sisters. They have spent a lot of time together over the years and adore each other!


Princess Pea working on a game with her cousin Jeff

Pea and Jeff played on my smart phone when she got tired of rolling and turning. They were playing a game where you try to figure out all the company logos.    







When you make lefse, you need lots of mashed potatoes. They get mixed with other ingredients, including flour, sugar, and even 7-UP (depending on what recipe you use!) Then they get shaped into a "log" and put in the refrigerator to chill and firm up. 



  

My sister in law Janet rolling

The potatoes then get rolled on a pastry cloth until they are very thin!


Tabitha rolling out the potatoes

The potatoes get very large after they are rolled (almost like a pie crust) and you need a turner to lift it too keep rolling until it is the size you need.

Rolling the potatoes out onto the griddle

You also need the turner to put the potatoes onto the griddle. The griddle is very hot (500° or so) and you need the turner to handle the large lefse piece.

Potatoes on the griddle cooking!

 The lefse is cooked until it starts to bubble and then turned over (again using the turner).



My sister in law Val manning the other griddle

We had two griddles going and 3 pastry boards.



The finished product

 You put the fresh lefse in a thick bath towel to keep the moisture in.

We really had a lot of fun learning how to make lefse and spending time with family. There were a lot of laughs and hugs and giggles. Flour flew, lefse broke (we use those as taste test samples) and lots of love!

Thanks to Grandma Kathy and Janet for including us in their day!



 

Canning

Hello! So, we are busy settling into our new house and it's finally looking more like a home. There are still boxes filling the basement and bits and pieces lying around, but for the most part, we are getting comfortable!

One of the things I was looking forward to most about having a house was being able to can, and put up food for the winter. In the trailer, I just didn't have the room to store anything. Here we have a basement and shelves to put things up.

So, last Saturday, I took a couple roasts I had and some potatoes a friend gave me and made two huge pots of beef vegetable soup. I ended up getting six quarts and four pints!  I am so excited with my first attempt!

 

Now tonight, Honey is busy making salsa. So far only 3 pints but it turned out fantastic!

 

 

 

 

I have 2 whole chickens in the freezer and 5lbs of hamburger just waiting in the freezer for this weekend. Chicken soup and Chili coming up! After that, we will have to see what the next experiment will be. Anyone have any good canning recipes to share???

 

Time to head off to get some other things done. I have a few projects up my sleeve that I will try to post soon!

 

God Bless!

 



 

Election Day

So today is Election Day. The day that our soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors have worked so hard to give us. They fight for our rights to elect our leaders.

I pray God's hand of blessing on each and every one of them!

I voted - #326 in my presinct. Did you vote? For those that didn't, you have no right to complain about the outcome!

Tonight I pray for our nation's future and for the leadership that will take us there.

Wishing you all a fabulous evening!

Time Flies!!!

First of a new month again already! The turning of a calendar and another month is gone, never to return. Why is it that the older we get, the faster time goes? It feels as though school just started and yet here we are past Halloween already! (OK, only by a couple days, but it IS over!) I am definitely not OK with how quickly my life is going by. It feels like it was just yesterday that my babies were mere toddlers and now here I am staring a graduation from high school in the face.

I want to take time with both hands and just stop it. I want t scream at it to slow down to shift into revers, let me stop spinning! I want to catch my breath before my baby girl gets married. I want to have more time with my babies before they start bringing home theirs. I want to savor every moment, to taste and sell and hear and touch every single thing that makes up life. I want to relish every God-given joy that comes my way. I want to dance and sing and laugh like no one's watching. And even if they are, WHO CARES!

I don't want to go to my grave regretting what I did, or even worse, what I DIDN'T do. When I am old and gray and sitting in my rocking chair, I want to have wonderful stories to tell my grandchildren. And better yet, I want to give my children and grandchildren stories of their own to share! "Remember the time we...." Fill in the blank with anything and everything you can imagine.

Time goes so fast! It flies, it speeds, it zings right past you and if you don't grab it, slow it down, take a breath, it will be gone before you have a chance to blink. And I don't want to miss a second of it. It's the only one I have!

 

So, my darling friends, my advice to you today, is to dance in the rain, jump in the leaves, bake cookies, tickle your children, cover your spouse and family with love, kisses, hugs, and prayers. Soak in every glorious moment and when you bow your head at night, thank Him for every love soaked, God-given treasure of the day! What a joyful way to live, and maybe, just maybe, if we are very lucky, time will slow for just a bit!

 

Plans for the weekend!

What a busy weekend we have! Again! I love that my kids and family are involved in so many activites; however, I wish there were times I could just be home and didn't have to run them everywhere. Ooooo, that sound's a lot like whining! Better knock that off right now and add a few more things to my Gift List.....

- for the ability to participate in my kids lives and activities...
- for my kids choosing activities rather than drugs, alcohol, partying, or crime.
- for warm sweaters
- for helping me set a positive example for my daughter
- for giving me people to look up to
- for a healthy and safe pregnancy for a co-worker's wife.

There, that sure helps! Adding joy gifts to my list always make me see things in a different perspective! now, looking at the calendar, I see it will be another busy weekend! Tonight Cookie Monster plays in the pit band for the musical at the high school and we are all going to see it, including my Dad and his wife and my Sister-in-Law and niece. I need time to go grocery shopping too so I can do some massive baking/cooking for the freezer and canning. We still have ti organize and put away so many boxes and items in the new house....It's like they are EVERYWHERE!! Oh wait....they are! And Honey brought home more furniture from his storage locker last night that we need to find room for! On Sunday we have church and a birthday party for my niece turning 17. Cookie Monster plays pit band all weekend too! Whew...Calgon take me away!!!!

After all the activity of this fall, I am kind of looking forward to the quiet cozy homebound-ness of winter. When the snow falls and drifts over and everyone huddles together at home and the crazy chaos stops for a little while and the world becomes quiet. I know that once the kids are gone, the craziness will be gone too and I will miss them and ache for this season of my life. But right now, I just want to rest and to spend time enjoying my new home ***SIGH*** I guess that is not in the "Plan" right now, so Lord, give me strength and lead me on.

Happy Halloween!!!

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween! We spent the night on the front yard with a bon fire handing out candy. Princess Pea went trick or treating with a couple of her girlfriends and Cookie Monster had pit band practice for the musical. Honey and I sat and drank hot cocoa and chatted with the neighbors! Now I am off to bed...3:30 AM was a little too early to be up this morning and I still haven't warmed up.

 

Tonight I am so thankful...

 

...for warm blankets

 

...for beautiful, thoughtful neighbors

 

...for Grace

 

...for kisses good bye

 

...for purring kitties

 

Good night dear friends.....Sending thoughts and prayers to all those affected by Hurricane Sandy. So many friends and family out there....

 

God Bless...

 

Sheila

 

Rushing Rushing

Sorry I had to rush off so quickly earlier. I was hoping to have time to publish a proper post, unfortunately one of my many commitments called me away. I hope you enjoyed the pictures of Autumn here in our little valley. It was absolutely stunning this year. The leaves were glorious and the sun kept shining. We have only had a few days of rain making it easier for the farmers to get in all the crops before the snow flies.

The farmer behind our house was out on a Saturday, combining the soy beans and his big red combine looked so pretty against the colorful hills I couldn't help but take some pictures.

 

It seems that I didn't even really have time to enjoy the autumn this year, which makes me really sad because it is my absolutely favorite time of year! Things have been so busy here that I feel like I can't keep up some days. We are finally moved into our house (well we have a few things left in storage yet). We have also been enjoying our very large yard!

 

 

Isn't it beautiful????
The kids have been busy too! Cookie Monster is a Senior this year (where did THAT time go????) So of course everything is his last and Mama won't miss a thing. We have had football pepband, concerts and parades. I really will miss going to watch him.  And of course there are Senior Pictures too!

 

And let's not forget about Princess Pea with all her friends and activities - dance classes, girl scouts, Middle School Mentors, and gymnastics. Like I said, I can barely keep up!

 

Mama is also busy. I am Secretary of the Board for our local festival (Syttende Mai) this year and and Co-Chair of the Art and Craft Show! That means I have to visit other Craft Shows....Oh Darn!! Tee Hee!

We also took a family trip to Minneapolis over Labor Day weekend and took in the Renessaince Festival and Sea Life at the Mall of America

 

And my little brother got married in September!!!

 

 

Whew!!!!  As you can see, we have had a very busy Autumn here in our little valley. I am hoping to add more pictures of all these activities in the near future!  But for now my friends, I must head for bed.

 

I will close with a few things from my Gifts List for today...

 

- for keeping friends and family on the East Coast safe through the storm

 

- for letting me wake another day

 

- for frost on the windshield

 

- for allowing my daughter to feel like she can come tell me anything

 

- for letting me miss the deer on the road this evening.

 

- for snuggle time in the morning

 

Good night dear friends....God Bless