Free Bananas

Being a baker, my mother is on the lookout for ripe bananas which can be used for banana bread. (Try typing "banana". It's fun.) So last week she appeared with two banana boxes full of ripe bananas that were free!

She allowed us to have one box. The boys in this house can eat bananas like nobody's business. They pile on the peanut butter and happily munch away. 

Most of them (bananas, not boys) disappeared in this manner but a few were getting overripe. I peeled them and cut some into chunks for the freezer. 

The ones that were super ripe got turned into a mash and I made a cake. Here's the recipe I used. It's called Banana Bread but I doubled the recipe and made a sheet cake. Baked it a little too long I think.

Raw batter

Baked cake

I used coconut flour from Walmart.

The recipe calls for chocolate chunks but I used this recipe instead to make a chocolate frosting. Exceptions I made- I used dark chocolate and unsweetened baker's chocolate instead of chocolate chips and I used real milk instead of almond milk.

Frosted cake

And here's an embarrassing moment. I made banana muffins for breakfast yesterday morning. When they came out of the oven they looked so stunted. After thinking a bit, I realized I'd forgotten the baking powder. (I don't use a cookbook- the recipe's in my head.)

They weren't too bad, actually.

And here is a picture of the daffodils in the snow. We received a couple squalls that turned the landscape white for a few hours.

Words for today-
Citadel
Hippocampus
Narcolepsy

Reading and Thinking

The wind is blowing; rain drops are spattering the glass doors. This morning the snow was falling. Later there was rain. Then the clouds parted and blue sky shone through. You never know what will happen next.

And isn't it that way with all of life? I awoke feeling fairly chipper but after everyone had their breakfasts and were on their way, I felt weary. These smoothies are making me feel a bit rough. Must be working out toxins. 

After a couple smoothies-turned-salads, the ingredients have normalized into very palatable drinks. There has been no noticeable change in my eyesight yet but I didn't really expect that there would be, this soon in the game.

We spent time reading from the Bible about Israel's change in leadership from Moses to Joshua. Have you ever wondered how Moses and Aaron died? Moses, yes. God buried him and no one knew where his grave was. But we're told he would die "as Aaron did".

...thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. Numbers 27:13

Of Aaron's death it is recorded that he climbed a mountain where his priestly garments were given to his son. And he died there. He had strength to climb a mountain. But then he died? How was it? A heart attack? God just took his spirit from him? How was it for those watching? Many unanswered questions. 

The conversation yesterday turned to wolverines. Which reminded me of the story of a boy who lived with a badger. The younger ones had never read the story (Incident at Hawk's Hill) so I introduced it to them by reading the introduction and first chapter. Christopher took it from there and finished it.

Matthew and Melvin spent time planting food plots for the deer. They report sprouting peach seeds in their plots. (They dumped food scraps there throughout last summer.) They plan to plant them - in the plot and in the orchard.

Both Melvin and Christopher are in books that they keep gravitating to whenever they have a half chance.

These books occupied my reading time today. Skimming the first (Constructing the Universe), reading the first few chapters of the second- War Torn Valley (about Mennonites during the Civil War) and starting the intro of the third (The Canterbury Tales) before I finally succumbed to sleep.

From the intro of Joe Montana (which I read on Monday)- 
"A Winning Attitude
In math class, I learned that the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. Sports has taught me that the whole is either greater than or less than the sum of its parts. Teamwork is seldom, if ever, a fifty-fifty proposition. Teamwork is whatever it takes to get the job done. 

There is no time for the measurement of contributions, no time for anything but concentrating on your job. Believing in doing whatever it takes to get the job done is what separates a successful person from someone who is not as successful." -Chuck Knoll

So true!

Interesting fact- The small town of Ismay, Montana changed its name to Joe in honor of this "greatest quarterback of all time".

We recently finished Mathematicians Are People, Too (as a read-aloud). Real people took an interest in math and wrote the books we can read today that explain the hard-to-understand concepts. They were boys and girls once upon a time, as well.

March has come in like a lion. Banished are all thoughts of gardening for awhile. Although I do plan to do some transplanting again tomorrow. Seedlings. Indoors.

The sky yesterday morning-

Other places received much snow yesterday but it only sleeted a bit here.

And one parting shot-

I had said the wind didn't do much here but it demolished the boys' basketball hoop! They have spent hours playing there. Now they'll need to find some other means of letting off steam.

New words-
Incipient
Argosy
Assiduity

Saturday, Sunday

Here are a few things that happen on a Saturday at our house. Not every Saturday though, mind you. Just on March 3, 2018.

Melvin put 20 lbs of chicken in a pot and cooked it. (The local grocery store had chicken leg quarters for $0.48 @ lb, so I stocked up.)

Stephen made a plane from foam board because there were mighty winds around here he wanted to make use of. The plane is now in pieces. You'll have to ask him why.

Matthew tried to fix a sink drain but couldn't get it open. It remains clogged, much to my dismay.

 Christopher swept the kitchen floor.

 Melvin also helped me make laundry soap.

 And I used it to do piles of laundry.

Austin did some sweeping and then the men (minus Stephen) cut a few truckloads of wood after which they cleaned the church house (upstairs).

Besides washing laundry, I typed up cleaning lists for the church house, swept floors, folded laundry, orchestrated work for the boys, made meals and got the preschool Sunday school lesson ready.

Yes, we had the strong winds here that many in the east were experiencing. We lost power for about ten minutes or so. Not long enough to get creative. Nothing major happened at our house. Just high heart rates. (That's what happens to me when I hear high winds.)

Our pastor's shed was carried to his neighbor's property. It was a carport, enclosed on three sides. A client of Thomas' had the roof leave a small structure. What happened in your community? As I read the news I saw that a lot of people were far worse off than we were.

We had a visiting preacher today who spoke to us of city mission work. Tuesday is the beginning of a new term of Kid's Club so it was in preparation for that. 

When we arrived home from church today, my heart sank. The meal I had put in the oven before we left for church was still raw. I knew it before I even got out of the car. I usually don't think about lunch while I'm at church but as we got home the realization hit me that I had never turned the oven on. Ouch!

All that cooked chicken from yesterday came in handy. I cooked some rice and made chicken gravy to serve over top. Canned green beans, heated and a lettuce salad rounded out the meal. The other meal will come in handy for lunches tomorrow. 

We have our quarterly hymn singing at church this evening. I need to get something ready to serve for the snack afterward. And I would really like a nap so I'll catch ya later.

Words to learn-

Avaricious 

Asseverates

Inveterate

Fried Cheese

Recently we had an overabundance of milk and no cheese. So I made some! 

We made cheese at home when I was a girl. My father made a "cheese box" where a thermostat and a light bulb kept the cheese at a certain temperature for a designated amount of time. He also made a cheese press.

After I left home, I didn't know how to make cheese without these things. Some years later I learned from a friend who grew up in Costa Rica how to make a simple cheese, skipping the "cheese box" stage. And she showed me how to fry it. (I figured out how to press it with simple kitchen and rec room articles.)

We all really enjoy fried cheese. It is so simple. Just cut a slice of homemade cheese, lay it in a lightly greased skillet over medium heat and fry until it is browned on one side. Flip it over and do the same on the other side. (I don't know of a store bought equivalent. Sorry.)

This got a little extra brown. But it is still delicious.

Words to enjoy-
Pattens
Myrmidons
Excrescence

Sunshine, Green, Comforters

Sunshine. Oh, the beauty of sunshine, warm, bright and invigorating. You know, by now, how I love sunshine. 

We have also had beautiful rain in the last week. Both of our rain gauges are broken so I can't tell you how much it rained except that it was a lot. Streams came down the hills, the creeks swelled and the rivers rose. 

Daffodils and lilies

All of creation responded with joy and the meadows are turning a verdant green. I never cease to be excited by the return of green. 

Toad's bellies

Or the sprouting of seeds. It makes me feel like I could dance to the moon and back. Or burst.

Thomas removed these "Christmas roses" (below) from a landscape job he did. They were not faring well in that location so he brought them here. Hellebore is their sophisticated name. They missed Christmas but they are the only blooming thing I've seen outdoors this winter.

I've completed two more comfort tops in the last week for relief work. This blue one (below) took me many days to complete. All the pale blue blocks (every other one) are a fuzzy type of fabric that slipped and slid and crawled all over the place as I sewed. It was a miserable thing to work with.

The one below with bigger blocks was a sight easier. I picked up a bag of blocks (that someone else had already sewn in rows) and sewed the eleven rows together. The outcome is always rewarding.

February ends tomorrow. It feels like we haven't had much winter. Even the couple weeks of extreme cold seem like a dim thing of the past. Spring is showing her (spring can't be a "he", can it?) welcome face.

Can you believe I heard spring peepers early last week? I almost couldn't believe it. But there they were, very loud and very real.

What are you doing today? I would love to peek into your house or wherever you are and see what life is dishing up to you. I pray you find God's grace sufficient for your needs.

More words to enjoy-
Erudition
Cornchandler
Ophthalmic

Planting

Exciting things happening these days! There are many seeds in the dirt and I am eager to see the faces they will portray as they die and then come to life in a new way. 

On Tuesday Melvin, Christopher and I went to our friends' place in Delray. This family shares our milk cow and gets half of the milk. She had offered to give me seeds for the garden and even start some seeds for me.

They have a building they call "the conservatory" which is made of panels that allow light to come in. Like a large/tall greenhouse. They raise bananas, oranges, lemons and olives in there. There are lots of aloe vera plants and cacti, a small fish pond (5'x10'?) and a pet tortoise in the building. 

I planted the seeds in trays in this building and then when we transplant the seedlings into cell packs we will probably put them in one of their hoop houses. They have two hoop houses which serve multiple purposes. They will raise meat chickens and then plant in the rich environment they leave behind. 

This is an ongoing cycle where the chickens benefit from what is left of the plants and then the plants benefit from the chickens. The Mrs is determined to help me find a way to get a hoop house up. It is a good way to keep fresh food for the family through the winter. 

While we were choosing seeds from her vast supply (I told her it was like looking through the seed catalog, only it was all in my hand!) and getting them into dirt, the boys took to fishing. Melvin landed a large 3 lb (+/-) bass which we enjoyed for supper last evening. It was a really exciting moment for him, bringing that beauty out of the water.

My wonderful friend also told me how I could grow ginger and gave me a rhizome to start. Now patience needs to do its work in me for a couple of weeks while I wait to see the results. (The pics show a few of the seeds she gave me to plant in the garden.)

We had a couple of days where the temperature was around 80 degrees. I couldn't resist the temptation to put a few pea seeds in the ground yesterday as well as some Mesclun mix (salad greens). The weather has turned rainy now which is awesome. These seeds were planted within the privacy fenced garden so they should have some protection from cold.

The egg-laying chickens worked up that part of the garden this winter and the soil is rich and fine. We are also trying the Back to Eden gardening method so it isn't a whole lot of work to just scratch a row in the dirt and put the seeds in. 

The men are working a couple of construction jobs. With two trucks and four drivers, they can be at different places as necessary. 

Today Thomas started out at a job where he's finishing some drywall and then met up with the three boys at another job. Austin remains frustrated with a weak wrist.

Tomorrow Stephen is scheduled to help another contractor and Matthew will be at home and school, Lord willing. I find it interesting that things are turning around and instead of me, it's Thomas who needs to employ most of the boys.

Reading books continues to take up my time, which tends to imperil the housework but increases my knowledge. I'll give you a few more words. If you like words, you're welcome.

Meer-schaum
Contumacious
Purblind

Have a wonder-filled day!

P.S. Billy Graham died this week at the ripe old age of 99.

Adventures

Today is opposite from yesterday, beginning with sunshine and becoming cloudy. Not as warm. Actually rather cold. It's all relative though, you know. If yesterday was 14 degrees, today would be warm at 38.

Our trip to PA ended at 2 AM today. When the 6 AM alarm went, well, let's just say I ignored it. My, oh my! Droopy eyelids are a thing today. My husband has a better constitution and also sleeps while traveling so he's faring better than I. 

Thomas and Matthew went to work on a drywall job this forenoon. This afternoon Thomas is doing inventory with the door guy. Austin and Matthew are staining some doors for another job. Melvin likes to work outdoors every chance he has so today he tackled an unwanted rose bush. Don't worry, it really is not beautiful and is only a nuisance.

After reading aloud to the boys, listening to them read and reading to myself, I took a nap and awoke around 2 PM with no clue how long I slept. I found these guys scrounging around the kitchen, wondering what to eat. I'm a horrible cook these last couple days. 

We got in on a spa night for the teen girls in inner city Lancaster last evening. The guys were playing games and doing their own thing in another part of the building. It was so awesome to witness the love poured out on these girls. And so peaceful compared to the Kid's Club we're used to.

They didn't have a normal evening because their regular teacher was away on a trip. Normally they will split the group in two and have a lesson half the time, then switch it up and do a hands-on activity. Alternating, so one group does the lesson while the other "plays". It would have been nice to see that happening as well.

Oh, and by the way, we could only observe the spa and help a wee bit. Like, we didn't get the foot soaks, massages and facials. Just itched all over to be on the receiving end. He-he. (I would have loved to help out with treating them, too.)

We made an interesting connection with the group leader, James Beachy. He disclosed the fact that he sang in a group with my cousin Merry (yes, that is spelled correctly) a number of years ago. I had never met her singing companions so that was nice to know.

A never-before experience was an 11 PM meal at Denny's. I am not a night owl but neither can I sleep well while traveling. Especially in a van that rides like a ship at sea in a storm. I did a lot of reading (Bible, Kindle). A shout-out to lighted books! 

Obviously the storm at sea wasn't really bad because I do get motion sick and didn't suffer too much in that department. It was worse on the way up with another driver. 

We got a welcome text message around noon from Stephen, saying they are at the San Pedro Sula airport. He will come into Dulles around 9 PM, Lord willing. It's been a toss-up who will go get the travelers- Stephen and my sister's daughter Sylvia- from the airport. It's a 1 1/2 -2 hour drive.

We moms didn't really want to go alone in the dark. We didn't want to send the young boys out there in the dark when they've never driven there period. One father is not at home and the other needs to work tomorrow so we didn't want to make him do another late night stunt.

My sister and I concluded that a couple of young boys would go and I would go along to hopefully guide them in the right way. Well, with that decided, Thomas said he'll go with them. So it looks like Sylvia will land in a boys' party.

The trip home from the airport is a good time to hear travel stories so I feel like I'll be missing out. But I won't complain. I am really tired from yesterday's adventure.

A couple words that may be new to you...
...tome.
...bole.

What do they mean?

Want a good laugh? Click here.

Why do boys do silly things? One put a hat on the cow and another called her to make her get up, filming all the while. Google Photo Assistant made an animation of it. You may see it here, if you wish.