Random July

Wrap up of July... all the things that didn't make their way to their own blog post.

The day after the potluck we always have leftovers for lunch together after church.  :)

Jackson, Brianna, Hannah, Matthew, Anna, Marvin, Julie, Daddy, Mama, Jonathan

Jackson, Brianna, Hannah, Matthew, Anna, Marvin, Laura, Julie, Daddy, Mama

We were so happy to get to FaceTime with James and Rojina after lunch.  I took this photo of them during our conversation.  :)  Miss them so much!

Our dishwasher went kaput.  Ordered a new one that was delivered mid-July.  

out with the old...

Hope I didn't make a mistake in choosing stainless.  I am always late to the game.  Oh well.  I have never been accused of being 'hip'.  :) 

in with the new...

I am pretty excited about this!  This was the first meeting of my new Wine Club.  Only about half of us could attend the first night, but it was great to get started.  We are going to study one varietal/grape per month and learn more about growing conditions, history of the growing region, foods to pair with the varietal, and more.  Each month we will try out different wines and foods that go with the specific wine.  Our goal is to come out of this Wine Club in one year knowing more about what we like (and don't like) and knowing better how to pair food with wine.  We are using this book at the basis for our study.

The Wine Club: A Month by Month Guide to Learning About Wine with Friends

It was pointed out to me that this is what 'retired homeschoolers' do... we create a unit study using a book as a spine.  ;)  hahahaha!!!

Lisa, Judy, Andrea, Laura, Julie, Barb

Anna and Matthew had a garage sale at Julie's house.  Bittersweet - as they were preparing for their move to another town in the southwest part of our state.  We are so excited for their new adventure, but we sure are going to miss having them (and Declan!) around all the time.

Declan 'helping' Anna set up for the garage sale.

You can't see him very well, but there is Marvin,
hard at work, like always.

I sure do love this man.

Mama has come to the pool to do therapy on her knee.  Always a treat for me!
I snapped this quick photo of Mama and Jonathan visiting as she left one day.

Daddy was rear-ended as he sat at a red light earlier in the month.  Thankfully, he is okay. This wonderful lady, Janet, took good care of Daddy at the insurance office.  :)

Hannah and Duretta sang the special music at church - it was lovely.

Jonathan ordered a laptop for college starting up in about a month.  Whew!  Hard to believe!  :)

It is always exciting to open up new electronics!!!  :) 

laptops sure are thin and lightweight nowadays!  

Working

Marvin and Jonathan have been hard at work all summer long taking care of chores and jobs on the farm.  There has been a lot of fencing work to be completed and they have battled super hard ground because of the heat and drought.  Sure proud of Jonathan and how he always steps up to help with whatever is needed.  He is a fine young man and we greatly appreciate him!

It is definitely easier to dig a posthole with the tractor than by hand...

Although, even when you use the tractor,
you still have to do some of it by hand no matter what.  :) 

This was disappointing... new lumber that was straight when it
was purchased, but warped horribly in just a week.  :( 

You can see the shape that many of the boards are in. Very unfortunate.

Rebekah's visit

Hannah's friend from Oklahoma, Rebekah, came to visit her here at Willis Creek Ranch.  She flew up but had a bit of difficulty with storms delaying flights.  She and Hannah finally arrived here a day late, but happy to have the time together.  Rebekah's luggage arrived a day after that.  :)

She meshed right into the everyday activities out here on the hill, arriving at the time of Anna's garage sale and helping prepare a Nepali dinner for the family.  It was fun to see her and I know that Hannah really enjoyed her visit.  Glad her flight home was uneventful!

Matthew, Anna, Mama, Daddy, Hannah, Rebekah, and Julie

Matthew, Anna, Mama, Laura, Hannah, Rebekah, and Julie

yummy Nepali dinner that Hannah and Rebekah made

Lunch after church at 1000 Hills Lake
Hannah, Marvin, Jonathan

Jackson and Brianna

Laura, Mama, Daddy, Rebekah
(Julie had already left before we took the photo)

Garlic Mushrooms

I could eat an entire bowl of these mushrooms all by themselves!!  But they were heavenly when paired with the Parmesan Crostini.  Just typing this up I want to make both recipes again!  :)

YUM!!!

Garlic Mushrooms
16 oz. mushrooms rinsed and quartered (white button, baby bella...)
3 Tbsp. butter
4-6 cloves garlic, minced (you determine your taste preference here)
¼ cup wine (white or marsala)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. smoky paprika
salt and black pepper to taste

Rinse and quarter the mushrooms.  Heat butter in a skillet and saute the mushrooms and garlic.  Add the wine and lemon juice and simmer on medium low heat for about 10 minutes.  Add the smoky paprika and the salt & pepper.  You could serve them now (or after about 15 minutes of cooking) but if you really want to make these delectable, put them in an oven safe dish and pop in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.  They will roast a bit and the flavors will be even better!

This is what they looked like after I cooked them in the skillet, but before I put them in the oven.

Parmesan Crostini

This was AMAZING!  And paired with the Garlic mushrooms... oh my!  I have no words!!

Parmesan Crostini
French Baguette, cut into ¼ inch slices
½ cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp. butter, room temperature (spreadable)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onion tops (green parts mainly)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the parmesan, butter, and onions in a small bowl.  Spread evenly on each slice of bread.  Place on a baking sheet on center rack of oven.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges of the bread are crispy/brown and the cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and serve.    (You may need to increase the ingredients for the spread depending on how big your baguette is.  Just adjust as needed.)

before it went into the oven

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich

Marvin and I used to love to go to Backyard Burgers when we lived in Nashville.  Often, I would get their Hawaiian Chicken sandwich.  I began to think about this sandwich out of the blue and decided to make my own version.  They were SO tasty!

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich

Marinade
1 Tbsp. real lemon juice
1 Tbsp. real lime juice
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
juice from a 20 oz. can of pineapple slices (real pineapple juice only)
2 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce
salt and black pepper to taste

Spread
½ Tbsp. dijon mustard
½ Tbsp. mayonaiise
1 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce

1 ½ to 2 pound chicken tenders
buns (we used Brioche buns this time around)
lettuce leaves
onion, red or white slices
slices of pineapple from the drained 20 oz. can

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a ziplock and add the chicken.  Toss to coat then let it marinate for 1 hour (or more if you like).

Mix the ingredients to make the spread and set aside.

We grilled our chicken on the outside grill, but I will still make this in the winter when I have to use a skillet.  :)  I also grilled the pineapple.  The reason it is dark in the photos is because this time I saved a bit of marinade out and added it to the pineapple.  I don't really think you need to do that.

Build your sandwich by spreading the bun with the spread mixture, then adding your chicken, lettuce, pineapple slice(s),  and onion slices on the bun of your choice.  Delicious!!!   (Note - we like our buns toasted.)

Potluck

The summer potluck is always a big event that takes a lot of prep.  Each year we wonder if we really can do it again... but so far we have managed it.  I do feel very strongly that it is an important event.  I believe in the power of connecting people and the potluck offers an opportunity for folks who don't know each other (or don't each other well) to meet and form new bonds across our community.  One of the nicest things people can say to me is that they met someone new and wonderful at our house.

This year we had to laugh at some of the prep issues... at 9:30 pm the night before the potluck, the main hallway toilet broke.  oh my.  Thankfully, Marvin and Jonathan were able to get it fixed the next morning.  At midnight that same night I was laying in bed half asleep when I realized I was hearing water somewhere.  At first my mind told me it was the dishwasher running.  Then I remembered that our dishwasher had also broken and was not functional... my mind then thought maybe it was the washing machine.  But then I remembered that we had finished all our loads of laundry.  At that point my mind told me to get up and investigate!  ;)  So thankful, because when I walked into the kitchen our refrigerator was spewing water all over the floor!  And it wasn't a trickle!  I grabbed a full load of freshly dried and folded towels from the utility room, threw them on the floor, then ran to wake up Marvin and Jonathan.  All hands on deck!  :)  Long story short, we had quite a mess to clean up but after Marvin and Jonathan got the water line to the fridge shut off, we were okay.  However, we used two full loads of freshly dried and folded towels to mop up the mess, plus another load full from the linen closet.  So the laundry began again at 1:30 am.  :)  It is always an adventure!!

I love potluck food!  :) 

We were able to celebrate 'my 2nd favorite Marvins' birthday. :)

Not every potluck gets buzzed by a friendly helicopter!  ;)

Dear Jill brought this stunning arrangement she made - You should definitely check out her business - Titus Creek Flower Farm.

such lovely flowers!

The beginning of every potluck starts with introductions around the circle of wonderful people.

Then it is time to eat!  :)

Yum, Yum!!

And I haven't even shown you any photos of the dessert tables set up in the mud room!  :)

Mama, Daddy, and Laura

The weather was absolutely perfect - incredible for July!

Greg, Craig, Susie, Rebekah

Marvin, Laura, Scott, and Anne

Nancy and Debbie

Bryan, Deb, Carol, Joe

Brian getting in the photo with Duretta, Hannah, and Anna  :) 

Daddy tellling Brianna how wonderful she is (we all agree with him 100%!)  :)

Mama with her physical therapy doctor, Kelly, and her family.  So glad they came!

Adrian, Jonathan, and Jackson

Mama, Daddy and Amy

two great fellas right there...

Marvin and Brian

I thought this looked like a picture from Little Women  :)
Anna, Chiara, Nancy, Hannah, Elizabeth

Daddy and Nate

Chamberlin, Matthew, and Christy playing frisbee

I had to laugh.. these three were still talking...

while Shonda and Carolyn were waiting patiently to head home.  :D  hahahah!

We will have to continue the evening at Keith's Cafe sometime!
Shonda, Jeremy, Carolyn, Chester, Marvin, Laura

I had to choose just a few photos from the evening to put in this blog post.  But there are 182 wonderful photos in this album if you would like to take a look...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/williscreekranch/albums/72157693836131460