Another day on the farm

August 17, 2020

Nothing out of the ordinary... but another day filled with joy.  I love this place we call home and am so thankful that Jackson is making his way out here, too.  It is a good way to raise a family and a good place to live.  I wouldn't trade these days for anything.

having their 'farm meeting'  :) 

beauty!

I just snapped random photos on my walk back home from Mama & Daddy's house...

So many memories... when I was a little girl, Daddy built a little playhouse of sorts in that corner of the fence... he laid boards down for me to sit on and I could play there with my kitties and dream.  To see how much that tree has grown up is a stark reminder of how many years ago this truly was... :) 

the first barn

so yes... there is still a lot of fencing to do.  ;) 

even with the unfinished fence, this is a lovely view  

home

Sunday family lunch

August 16, 2020

We have been so thankful all summer long for good weather and the ability to gather under the trees in Mama and Daddy's front yard for family lunches.  I can't get over this August weather we have been having!  Spectacular!  

This particular day we enjoyed carryout from 1000 Hills Dining Lodge.  Delicious!  

I love my parents front yard.  So many good memories.  

Julie had a visitor appear on her porch and we had finally determined that he belonged to a neighbor up the road.  He had stayed at Julie's for a couple days so she thought maybe if she walked him toward his home he would recognize it and return.  It worked.  She walked him up toward their house then unleashed him and he took off into their back yard.  Poor little guy - I have a feeling he followed a jogger on the gravel road and then got turned around and ended up at Julie's house.  As we all noted, he is so short and small the world probably seems like a very huge place!  

getting ready to lead him back to his own home...

you may not see him but I took this photo of Jonathan carrying a table back to Julie's house

ahhhh...

when you forget to take a photo DURING lunch.  ;) 

pretty 

Random August, Part 1

Just random photos from the first half of August.  

Jonathan took these photos for me of a beautiful rainbow on August 2.  

5 minutes after the rainbow photos above, I took these photos of the sun shining brightly and a hard rain falling.  Can you see the raindrops?  It was crazy!  :) 

This was the first patio lunch with Jackson - out of quarantine.  

It has been SUCH a pretty summer!!

I love our church and am so thankful for the online services.  

This was our last Sunday lunch with Julie 'in the bubble'
before she had to return to work on campus.

love our morning walks

Was so glad to get to see this little fella...

We got to have some porch time with Brianna and Maverick.

he reminds me so much of his Dad...

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Okay, this is truly amazing and ridiculously easy.  And I have a feeling it is pretty on par with your basic diner version of this meal.  Which is to say, it was delicious.  :D  We will do this again because everyone liked it and I can whip it up in like 5 minutes!!!  (I use a lot of fake ingredients here, but sometimes, you've just gotta...)

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

You have to start with a piece of good white bread for a hot roast beef sandwich.  Nothing healthy will work for this meal.  :)  Then I made up one packet of brown gravy mix (water and the packet mixture heated in saucepan on the stove).  The real 'secret ingredient' and why this recipe was so simple to make is that I used potato flakes to make the mashed potatoes.  Yes... I did.  And if you can believe it, my potato loving and obsessed husband said they tasted great!!  I will say that I think the brand on this is very important.  Not just any potato flakes will do.  I used Idahoan Real Premium Mashed Potato Flakes (purchased from Sam's Club) and they truly do taste like what you get at most diners.  I'm betting they are...  I also used good quality deli roast beef and just heated it briefly in the microwave to warm a bit.  

But seriously, if I can always be 5 minutes away from a hot and tasty meal that everyone likes, I do believe I can keep these ingredients on hand.  :) 

White bread on bottom, then deli roast beef, then mashed potatoes, covered in brown gravy.  Yum!

Adding more specific info to clarify... 

I used 1 piece of white bread per person (Pepperidge Farms Honey White this time around)

Then heated 2-3 slices of deli roast beef (per person) for about 20 seconds in the microwave (this time I used Great Value Angus Seasoned Roast beef)

Then made the mashed potatoes using the potato flakes I specifically mentioned in the above paragraph. (used 1 cup potato flakes for a meal for 3)

Then made brown gravy using a plain old Aldi Brown Gravy Mix packet (mixed with water)  (used 1 packet for a meal for 3)

That is seriously is.  This isn't so much a recipe as a putting together of 4 ingredients.  :)  But it sure did taste good!

When your son drops by for a visit...

August 12, 2020

When your son drops by for a visit, you answer the door.  And sometimes you see your son and his horse - on your patio.  :)  ha!

Jackson and Shadow

A Stormy Day

August 10, 2020

Boy, this was quite a day for weather in the midwest.  We did not get the brunt of the storm, by any means.  Our poor neighbors to the north were pummeled for hours by a derecho that crossed the entire state from west to east, doing great damage all along the way.  :(  The derecho averaged 100 mph winds as it swept across Iowa.  So many people I know and love were in the path.  Thankfully none were hurt but many had damage to their homes and/or businesses and some were without power for over a week.  Seeing photos of the damage to homes, businesses, crops and etc throughout Iowa has been just heartbreaking.  I kept thinking about how if there had been an Iowa State Fair this year the fairgrounds would have been packed with campers - not to mention all the tents and vendors set up on the grounds.  That would have been disastrous as winds were clocked well over 100 mph going through Des Moines. 

We began to get alerts on our phone about impending bad weather and it really caught me off guard... I hadn't known we were expecting weather of any kind that day.  After looking at radars and seeing what was happening in Iowa, we went ahead and sent Jackson home for the day.  It doesn't do a lot of good to try to train a horse in a big storm.  :D 

The front rolling in was eerily beautiful and I was quite glad that 'the bark was much worse than the bite'.  I can't imagine what our good neighbors up north went through that day.  

I am so fascinated by weather!!

Eerily beautiful...

And here are a few more photos from that same day - not storm related.  :)

This first one just cracks me up.  The look on Maverick's face is priceless.  :)  They were having him try out his new exersaucer.  He is almost ready for it - once he can hold his head up a bit better.  I would love to know what he was thinking here.  :D  ha!

Hannah has a new job!  We are all so excited for her!  She is the teacher at the Kirksville Child Development Center - a perfect fit!  She was sorting through things and getting ready for the school year to begin when she ran across this sticker on a folder tucked away.  Boy, this brings back memories!!  ha!

And here she is!  Ready for her class!!

We had watched this crane lift a worker up to while we were walking that morning.   I assume they were changing out the lights on that pole?  Boy, glad they got that done in the morning considering the winds that came in the afternoon!!