A much needed weekend getaway

The last few weeks have been CRAZY busy. I will hit the highlights.

First off, Momma had surgery. Apparently her last surgery left her tummy weakened and she had to have some repairs done. She is starting to finally recover well. Since she was starting to get better, Jason and I went to Texas on a long weekend getaway. Ahhhh...

We left on a Thursday right after I got off work. We drove to Sulphur Springs, Texas where we stayed at the quaint Trail Dust Inn and Suites. I loved this place. I have a special place in my heart for hotel waffles. You know the kind where they have the little cups of batter and you pout it into the waffle iron and wait for the beep? I LOVE those things. And this one was probably the best I ever had.

We spent all day Friday and Saturday at the Canton First Monday Trade days. If you haven't ever been then you are missing out. Imagine a whole city full of flea markets. And not the Hwy 270 Pine Bluff version either. It is awesome! We found all sorts of treasures. I will post later with pictures of my favorites!
At the end of Friday, Jason took me to the Tanger Outlet Mall in Terrell, Texas. He bought me some new clothes that I really needed but hadn't wanted to spend the money on. He was is so sweet and complimented me on my choices. I picked out a beautiful Easter dress and I love how his eyes lit up when I walked out of the dressing room. I will never forget his smile.  :)
Speaking of his smile, I have to share a few pictures of us:

On Saturday night we came back to the hotel from Canton, took a nap, got cleaned up, and went out to...wait for it...DANCE!  I am 31 years old and have only been out dancing once before. I was thought it was so romantic. We got to the little club that was located adjacent to our hotel and were one of only 3 people there. The DJ was playing some current music. Knowing my limited ability to dance, Jason asked the DJ to play some old country, Hank Williams, George Straight, etc... We slow danced on the old wooden dance floor and, even thought I thought it weren't possible, I fell even more in love with him. He snapped a few pictures that night. This was his favorite:

And since it was only a few hours until April Fools Day, we pulled the ultimate prank: We changed our Facebook statues to MARRIED. We only planned on leaving it that way until our Mommas saw it and we could then all have a good laugh. Well it turns out that everyone and their cousin saw it first. We had people ready to kill us by the time we came clean around noon on Sunday. Once Jason's mom called, it turns out she was more upset with the fact that we HADN'T eloped. Maybe one day...

Gracie seemed to enjoy the trip. She was able to go along with us and stay at the hotel during the day. Harley got to stay at PawPaw's K9 Resort. He played well with the other dogs and seemed to enjoy himself. He was very glad when Mommy came and got him though. He was ready to be home.
We all had a good time and look forward to going back again someday.

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits." - Thoreau, Wild Apples

I have had several people ask me about canning apple sauce and apple butter. This website gives the best directions I have ever seen. I could do a whole post about it, but why beat a dead horse? Go here. Learn something. Make yummy food for your family. :)

http://www.pickyourown.org/applebutter.htm

I learned that if you pester your wonderful, sweet, adoring, doting, and handsome boyfriend about bringing you apples, he might just bring you more than what you can reasonably deal with in a short amount of time. Especially if you have a pressing project at work and a sickly mother. Anyone need a few apples? ;) After putting up 35 jars of apple sauce and 45 jars of apple butter, I am nearly tired of looking at apples. And I still have enough to can some apple pie filling, dehydrate some apple chips, and make a few pies. After all, "Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." -- Jane Austen.

Tastes like Love

I made a cake tonight that reminded me VERY much of a chocolate cake that my Mamaw Mae and I used to make. It had to taste the batter and the first thought that came to my mind was "That tastes like love!" My Mamaw Mae showed her love in many ways. One of those ways was by letting me cook with her. I encourage you to try this recipe with the little ones in your life.

Vinegar Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 Tbs cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 cups water
2 Tbs vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Shift dry ingredients together. Stir liquids into dry ingredients and mix well. Hand mix is better than using a mixer for this cake.
Pour into a greased and floured 13x9 pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Notice that this cake doesn't use egg. You can let your kiddlets lick the bowl and not freak about raw egg :)

And what is a good chocolate cake without a good icing?? Here is how I make mine:
Soften 1 stick of butter or margarine. Add 4 Tbs cocoa. Add powdered sugar and a dab of milk and vanilla until it looks right. I can't tell you exactly how much because I don't really measure. Just eyeball it. And maybe test now and then to see if it tastes right.

My apologies to Norm Abrams

But it worked!

Fence building: Part 1

We (Jason is a part of this now! haha) are trying to finish enclosing the backyard with fencing. Enjoy our efforts:
First, a disclaimer video:

So here is how I set my post:


First you need to dig a whole that is three times the width of your posts. Since I was using 4x4 posts, I dug the hole 12 inches wide. You should go deeper than the frost line for your area. Little Rock Arkansas building code lists the frost line at 15 inches. I dug my holes 18 inches for good measure.

Next you need to position your post in the hole and ensure it is level. The easiest tool for doing this is a post level. See the yellow thing in the picture? Now, I have done posts using a standard level and it is a pain! Make it easy on yourself and get a post level. They are approximately $5 at Lowe's.

You will need to brace the post so that it doesn't move while you are working with the concrete. I used the two stick method for my free standing post. Basically I took a 1x2 and sharpened one end. Then I attached a smaller 1x2 with a wood screw. I used a drill to torque the screw enough that it had some resistance but loose enough so that the second stick could still move.I hammered the pointed end into the ground and used a drill to screw the free arm into the post, making sure that everything was still level. I repeated this on the adjacent side of the post.

Now the fun part: Cooking with concrete!

The link below is to a good video on how to mix the concrete. http://www.quikrete.com/athome/video-mixing-concrete-hand.asp

Use a shovel to add your concerete to your hole. Be sure to pack it around and try to get any air voids out. You want to slope the concerete so that water will run down and away from your post instead of pooling next to the wood. Standing water could cause premaure post failure.

Leave the braces in place until the concrete has cured. Do not put any load on the post for at least 24 hours.

Once I get all of my posts set, I will do another tutorial on how to build the fence!

Remember, I am not an expert. But I do want to encourage everyone to get out and try to do something you have never done before. You might surprise yourself! :) Happy building!

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
6 cups beef broth
1 pkg (1.35 oz) hot and sour soup mix*
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quick cook barley
4 eggs**

Brown ground beef, celery, and onion in dutch oven (or large pot) over medium heat until meat is brown and veggies are tender (6-8 min) Drain if neccessary.
Add broth, soup mix, tomatoes, beans, and barley. Cook covered over low heat stirring occasionally until barley thickens (11-13 min).
** optional addition: Break eggs, one at a time into saucer. Holding dish close to surface, slip egg into simmering soup. Cook until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard (3-5 min). Do not stir.
Laden into bowls and top each with poached egg. Serve immediately.

I didn't do the poached egg step because I was cooking ahead to pack for lunches for myself and Jason. This soup is incredible either way!!

*hot and sour soup mix is found by the Asain food at your grocery.

Potato Soup

6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb cubed ham
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
2 cups milk
1/2 box Velvetta or shredded cheese*
1/3 cup flour**
3/4 stick of butter

Place potatoes in large pot and cover with cool water. Season to taste. Bring to a boil and add ham cubes. Cook until potatoes are almost done. Stir in milk, butter, and cheese. Mix flour with a little water to make a thickening agent. Stir into pot and cook for 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serve with chives, bacon pieces, sour cream, onions, shredded cheese, or any other garnishes you like.

*I use shredded cheddar (mild and sharp) instead of Velvetta because Jason doesn't like Velvetta.
**Adjust the amount of flour to give you a viscosity you like.
You can also cream the soup with a stick blender if you want, but we like ours chunky.