An Hour in the Country

I had an opportunity to spend an hour in the country this past weekend.

Friends of mine had offered me their rhubarb patch to pick rhubarb from

and I jumped at the opportunity.

I live in town

in an apartment

above our local FOE

on Main Street 

in 

Brookville.

Oftentimes, it can be noisy during day/evening

Traffic, sirens, sounds of a helicopter up at the hospital.

Bands/karaoke downstairs on the weekend.

Bingo on Sunday evenings.

Late at night and early in the morning, 

I have to admit -

it gets quiet.

Stars come out.

Maybe the moon.

Birds sing in the early morning hours.

You can hear yourself think.

But nothing can compare

to the sounds 

of the country.

I went out to the home of some friends of mine on Friday 

to pick and harvest some rhubarb.

I chose to sit down on a ledge next to their shed, 

to cut off the leaves and the ends of the rhubarb.

I couldn't help but notice the quiet.

Even with the sound of someone mowing the lawn nearby, 

it was still much quieter than I'm used to, 

living in town.

When that mower stopped, 

it was really, really quiet

except for the sounds of nature.

As I took in this view

I was almost in tears at the peacefulness I felt here.

Overwhelmed by the sense that God was in this place.

I had been reading my Facebook Memories all week

and was reminded that seven years ago, 

I had been in the hospital with 

congestive heart failure 

and had been sent to Allegheny General in Pittsburgh

for a heart cath procedure.

Thankfully, 

they found no blockages 

and I was sent home.

As I sat outside this shed,

cutting up my harvested rhubarb, 

I was reminded of how much I was loved:

♥Loved by these friends who read of my love of rhubarb

and offered me their patch

♥Loved by people who have prayed for me when things have been rough

♥Loved by family and friends

and 

♥Loved by the one who loves me most -

My Heavenly Father

When I went to leave their house, I took that picture of their country setting.

(The picture doesn't do it justice, in my opinion.)

As I went to drive out of their driveway, 

color caught my attention and I backed up.

There along the side of their home, 

beautiful flowers.

I just had to get out and take some more pictures!

Beautiful, aren't they?

Early Sunday morning, I was at the laundromat drying my laundry.

I always take along a book to read.

(It helps to pass the time!)

As I did, I came across something I had marked in the book when I read it years ago:

(from Shenandoah Home by Sara Mitchell)

I was reminded yet again of 

God's faithfulness

to me.

In the middle of any trials, storms, adversities or ups and downs in life that

I have ever faced,

He has always been with me.

And 

everything

has been 

all right.

Another reminder came later in the morning on, 

of all things,

a bag of Vidalia onions.

Scripture verses from 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: 

A time to be born, and a time to die; 

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted."

To everything, there is a season.

That is so true.

No matter what, though, 

those seasons will come to an end,

just as they do in the physical world.

And the faithfulness of God, unlike the changing of the seasons,

is never changing, ever constant.

I can count on Him to always be the same -

yesterday, today, and forever.

Another thing that comes to mind:

When I awoke on Saturday morning, the lyrics to an old hymn came to mind.

I will close out this particular blog post with those lyrics and

pray that whatever you may be going through,

that you will allow God to meet you,

lead and guide you,

and bring you that

peace 

that passes

all 

understanding.

In doing so,

we will all be able to say,

"It Is Well With My Soul!"

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well, with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come

Let this blest assurance control

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin, not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul

** This is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. 

After suffering the loss of his children, 

Spafford wrote this beautiful hymn as a 

testament to the 

salvation 

he found in Jesus

through the 

good and bad times in life.

Blessed Beyond Measure

Love and prayers,

Sue

Recent Kitchen Happenings.....

What can I say?

I enjoy being in the kitchen, getting creative!

It's a part of "homemaking" that brings me joy, especially when they turn out delicious!!

And I don't mind sharing!!

This past week, I baked up a wonderfully moist Chocolate Banana Bread/Cake.

I had leftover bananas that were starting to turn that fun color of brown-heading-towards-black, so I knew I needed to either bake something with them or prep them for the freezer. 

Only thing is... I already had bananas in the freezer!

Seems I don't eat up my little "bunches" of bananas quick enough sometimes!!

So, using my go-to recipe for Banana Bread/Cake, 

(sometimes, I make bread, sometimes I make cake!)

I decided to step it up a notch and add cocoa to make it

CHOCOLATE!

I mean, who doesn't like chocolate?

Well, in my household, it's just me, and I do love me some good chocolate!

Turned out great!!! 

I also added walnuts and chocolate chips to the batter...

And I was even able to share with others and freeze some of the leftover cake as well!

And here's the recipe!

• BEST BANANA BREAD - EVER
•  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
•  
• Grease or spray a 9 inch loaf pan, set aside (I sometimes use an 8x8 square pan or a rectangular baking one - a 7 x 11).
•  
• In a large bowl whisk together:
• 1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
•  
•  Add:
• 2 eggs, one at a time
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
•  
• Whisk until smooth.
•  
• Sprinkle  over the butter mixture and stir to mix until just combined:
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
•  
•  Fold in:
• 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
•  
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
•  
• Cool until warm before serving.
•  
• You can also add in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, if you want. I also like to put in a handful or two of chopped nuts sometimes, like walnuts or pecans, depending on what I have on hand. 
•  
• Also… to make this a chocolate banana bread/cake, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cocoa to the dry ingredients that are listed.
•  
• If you do use a loaf pan, it will take about 60 minutes to bake; the 8x8 pan takes about 20-25 minutes, but could also take up to 45 minutes. Use the toothpick test!!. The 7x11 inch pan I use takes about 45 minutes to bake.
•  
• This is my "go to" recipe for banana bread. Comes out moist and is just so easy to make!!

This past weekend had it's share of stuff to do in the kitchen, 

but the first task took place on Friday,

 when I went in search of

♥RHUBARB♥

Friends of mine (one of them since elementary school) had contacted me to let me know that they had some ♥rhubarb♥ growing at the husband's family home here in the area.

(They live in NC, but have family ties here.)

Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to get some more ♥rhubarb♥ for my freezer!!

Now, to be honest...

I have NEVER ever harvested ♥rhubarb♥ myself from start to finish.

I've either found it in grocery stores

or 

had my mom give me some from her freezer.

So....

I researched it online and watched a couple of YouTube videos to gain 

the "how to" of it all!!

Very helpful!!

End result:

2 more quarts (8 cups) 

of

♥RHUBARB♥

for the freezer

Saturday, I was up early

 to take care of some 

fruits and veggies 

I had purchased at the grocery store on Friday.

2 pints (4 cups) blueberries 

for the freezer

Slices of watermelon cut up for snacking

along with some cantaloupe

While I was rummaging around in the fridge, 

I noticed that my jar of 

Mt Olive Simply Vidalia Pickled Onion Strips

was almost done for -

and I had an idea!

Use the pickling brine and another Vidalia onion

and make my own

pickled onions!

So that's what I did!

They've been "pickling" for about two days now 

and are beginning to taste

like the original.

Now.... to think about what I want to use them for!

(I will be doing this again - especially when I have Vidalia onions on hand!)

As I was doing all this, I had also pulled pork chops from the freezer for supper.

Into the slow cooker they went, along with a can of Bavarian sauerkraut.

I let them cook long and slow.

I had also prepped some veggies to make oven roasted veggies:

Baby Red Potatoes

Carrots

Sweet Potatoes

Vidalia Onion

When the time was right, I used a seasoning mix I had on hand:

McCormick's Toasted Onion and Garlic Potato Seasoning Mix

and followed the directions on the back of the packet.

These turned out great!

AND

I had leftovers!

Lunch and/or dinner on Saturday:

Pork chops w/Sauerkraut

Oven Roasted Mixed Veggies

Strawberry Rhubarb Applesauce

It was delicious!!

Sunday's meals were pretty much based around leftovers... sort of!

Brunch was some of the leftover oven roasted vegetables with bacon added in-

cooked up in my cast iron skillet.

Good the 2nd time around!

Supper was Chunky Chili

The "chunky" part of this came from some stir fry beef I had thawed out from the freezer

(to make room for the fruit I wanted to freeze).

I cut that up into smaller pieced,

added some leftover ground beef 

(that I'd already cooked up earlier in the week),

added a can of kidney beans,

a can of diced tomatoes that had sweet onions in it,

and a packet of mild chili seasoning.

When it was done,

I topped it with some shredded cheddar cheese

and 

some pickled onion strips (from a new jar).

Those onion strips really added to it!

Looking forward to leftovers!

Feeling very blessed

for the bounty 

of what I have

and for 

family and friends.

May you be

Blessed Beyond Measure

and 

thanks for stopping by!

Love and prayers,

Sue

Little Projects, Here and There!

Got up this morning and felt like tackling some "little" projects. 

First up, updating some globes with a nautical theme!

My sister, Melissa, gave me two of these globe/ candle holder things many moons ago for Christmas and they had been filled with a red seasonal potpourri.

I had discarded the potpourri a few months ago, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything further.

This morning, I cleaned all the glass parts and changed out the yellow votive candles for the white tea candles.

Next on the agenda was to change the batteries for the white sparkly lights.

Final step was to add a blue nautical scarf to the inside, intertwine the lights, and drape the edges over the sides.

These ended up on the very top of the bookcase in my living room.

(It was too dark when I attempted to take a pic!)

I like how it looks!!

Next project:

I traded out the Easter themed things that were in these little glass globes.

In went some white stones and sea shells that I got at Dollar Tree a few weeks ago.

For approximately $2, I have a new look in my one living room window:

Before I forget, let me show you another little project I did a few month ago for about $3:

Sea glass in whites, blues, and greens

in a lidded jar with a flickering battery-operated tea light

Another Dollar Tree project! 

This one is really pretty when the tea light is on!

Another project I did last weekend was to re-purpose an old Coke pop bottle crate for my sewing nook:

I cleaned it up (it had been in storage and was dusty and cobwebby) and it is now occupying the space behind my sewing machine.

Love having all my thread in one place!!!

I did work a little bit last weekend on the Grammy quilt, taking off some things that were falling apart. 

I'm discovering that there may be some revamping in the future as some of the materials in the middle are in worse shape than I thought.

I'm still thinking about how I want to adapt it if I have to take those parts out and put in new ones.

I did use my seam ripper a bit to remove the falling apart ones. 

Sad, but at least now I have an idea of what kind of material to look for to replace the things I have to let go.

This is not a quick project, but I'm OK with that.

And excited to see what comes next!

Last project of the day:

Turning this 

into 

this:

Strawberry ♥RHUBARB♥ Applesauce

I had about a cup of rhubarb left from a cake I made today and had some leftover strawberries from yesterday's fruit salad.

Combine those with 3 Gala apples and 3 Granny Smith apples that needed to be used up and what do you get?

At my house, homemade applesauce done in the crockpot!!

Turned out to be really good.

Not real sweet, either!!

I feel good about what I accomplished today and am truly feeling

BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!

Until next time, 

with love and prayers,

Sue

Hello, June!!!

Hello, June!!!!

Been a couple of weeks and I haven't posted anything, so I think today would be a good day to get caught up!!

Yesterday was a relatively laid-back day for me.

Went to bed late and got up late, but was happy that my lunch (also late) was ready to go.

I did toss together a very delightful dish of fruit:

Peaches, red grapes, green grapes, cherries, pineapple, and strawberries

Main dish was a Ham and Bean Soup done in the crockpot:

I added quartered baby red potatoes to use up the potatoes before they went either to seed or just went bad, period. 

Turned out rather tasty!!!

I used 2 ham hocks and several ham neck bones to get the "ham" meat for the soup.

I find that using ham hocks and neck bones adds a lot of flavor to my ham and bean soup, so I use them a lot.

And seeing as I didn't have any ham to add to the soup, I was happy to have the meat off those bones yesterday!!!

Have been cleaning out the fridge and freezer in preparation for some rhubarb I'll be harvesting next weekend.

I had friends offer me the rhubarb they have at their second home nearby and I gladly took them up on the offer. 

The rhubarb should be ready for picking next weekend!! 

YEA!!!

I did do some grocery shopping on Friday after work and was a little excited about the 6 for $19.99 sale that Giant Eagle was having in the meat section.

Normally, the promo is a 5 for $19.99, so I wanted to take advantage of what they had to offer!!

I got 2 pkgs of the Sugardale Bacon, 3  (1 lb) pkgs of ground beef, and a package of beef stir fry (3/4 lb). 

Two of the packages of ground beef were divided into 1/2 lb packages, flattened and put in the freezer (I usually only use 1/2 lb at a time and it thaws much faster flattening it out, not to mention taking up less space!).

The other pound of ground beef (the one you see in the picture) was cooked up today:

This was divided and will be used three different ways:

 1. Beef Teriyaki Noodles (today's lunch)

And then for 2 other meals:

Pork and Beans with Beef

and

Red Beans and Rice with Beef

Easy Peasy!!!

As for my baking, I did bake last weekend:

Brownies - with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, dried cherries, and walnuts

Today, I attempted a *NEW* recipe:

Old Fashioned ♥RHUBARB♥ Pudding Cake

Can I just say "Deliciousness!!!"

I wasn't really sure about the recipe because it said to pour hot water over it before you baked and I wasn't sure about how that would work!

But it did!!!!

Here's the recipe!!

OLD FASHIONED RHUBARB PUDDING CAKE

Cover the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch square pan with:

2 cups chopped rhubarb

Mix together in a bowl:

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 cup sifted flour

*** Add a little more milk if it is too thick to pour (that's what I had to do)

Pour over fruit.

Mix together and sprinkle over mixture in the pan:

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Pour over the top of everything:

2/3 cup boiling water

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

I was very happy with how it turned out and the recipe will now be going into my recipe binder book!!!!! 

It's a definite keeper!

I was also working on some other "little" projects today and will share those in my next blog post!!!

In the meantime, I pray that you are

BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!

Love and prayers,

Sue