The Mighty Hunter

I just had to share this. This is our mighty hunter Miko. Her prey...a fly. I find it amazing how spry and youthful she is in spite of her age. In kitty years she's about 70!!! I guess it goes to show that you are only as old as you think yourself to be. She does have her senior moments though. 

Here comes... the mighty hunter!

One ear....

Two ears...

One paw...

Two paws...

and LUNGE!!!!

miss.

In case you didn't see the fly... here is.

THE BROKEN CANNING JAR

Now this is a broken jar,

A very sad sight I would say,

It busted in the boiling water,

While I was canning tomatoes the other day.

It just couldn’t stand the pressure,

And simply couldn’t take the heat,

Although it was used for a noble cause,

It has sunk to the bottom in defeat.

Now the tomatoes are all wasted,

The fruit of my labor all lost,

The mess it made needs to be cleaned,

And the jar will have to be tossed.

But may I learn a valuable lesson,

From the jar that gave up the ghost,

When the pressure’s crushing and the heat’s hottest,

It’s in my weakest hour, that I need His strength the most.

~ jw

February 7, 2014

Castle Keepers October Meeting ~ Tamales!

Tamales are a Mexican tradition usually starting in the Fall. Grocery stores are extra stocked up with prepared masa in the meat department, husks and dry red chili pods and meat - especially pork roasts. My mother-in-law who lives in Mexico taught me how to make tamales when my husband and I were first married. Since Mexican cooks (especially the old-timers) don't usually use a recipe, it took me a while to figure out the unspoken secrets to making those moist, flavorful morsels. 

Since Fall has come once more, and I like to bring our tamales to our yearly October hunting camp, I decided this would be a great time to teach our Castle Keeper Ladies how to make them. 

Donned in their aprons and ready to make a mess (ready or not we certainly did make a delicious mess) the girls brought their choice of meat and I taught them how to make tamales.

Cleaning the soaked husks

The dry chili pods with their stems and seeds removed have to be....

... cooked till soft. Do you see my apron I made especially for the occasion?

Add the chili to the meat

I like to add some veggies to my meat.

Yours Truly caught candid

The coordinator of our club sets up a challenging goal for each girl to achieve by the next meeting. September’s challenge was for each girl to make a salsa they had never made before. Let me tell you… those girls came up with some really great salsas – some of which I had never thought of before till we started researching recipes. 

Proud salsa makers. Great job, ladies!

After the ladies were exhausted of their energy, and about half way through the tamale making process, I had prepared a Mexican themed lunch of spinach and cheese tamales, beans, rice, chips, horchata – a Mexican rice drink,  along with some complimentary items brought by the ladies as well as the salsas that the girls were challenged to make. Here's a few pics of my daughter making Spinach tamales.

I grabbed the wrong cheese and used Mozzarella instead of  Monterrey Jack cheese which I usually grate and just add to the masa. I like Monterrey Jack better. The Mozzarella was too chewy.

Approximately 5 dozen tamales!

Then, on the girls worked keeping those tamales rollin’. After everyone went home, I heard reports of lots of happy families eating their scrumptious Tamales.

The finished product ready to take home, steamed and quickly devoured by their families.

I gave each of our girls the recipe and made Shrinky Dink tags with Ephesians 9:10 written on them. I've always loved Shrinky Dinks since I was a little girl. So glad to still get to make them. 

Unfortunately, Tamales help one to expand especially when eaten in excess which one does tend to do because they’re so yummy! Sooo, October’s challenge from our coordinator is to exercise 4 days a week for 20 minutes to help work those extra calories back off! After all, we don't want to be wearing those tamales on our hips, now do we?

Castle Keepers September Meeting ~ Aprons

Meeting once a month, our first girls club of homemakers in training (now called Castle Keepers) was to learn how to make aprons using an existing apron as the pattern. 

One of the mothers of the 9 girls in the club taught us how to trace around the apron adding ½ to 1 inch bigger for the seam using a hem gauge. I’ve had this awesome little tool around for YEARS but never knew what it was for. So glad I know now, as this will come in handy. Don’t you just love tools and gadgets?

I really enjoyed seeing the diversity of each girl’s creativity. The variety of colors, the different shaped aprons, some lined and some not, some with bias edges etc.

To keep our energy (and patience) fueled up, our hostesses served us a simple but delicious lunch and gave each girl a sewn bag filled with dried apples and a little book mark. 

I had suggested that the girls then go home and make another apron on their own to help cement the skill they had just learned. Here are some of the beautiful creations they we came up with and brought to October's meeting:

Aren't they just darling?

Pecan Turtles

After working on a questionnaire from a friend that included asking what my favorite candy was, I got a big hankerin for some CHOCOLATE!!! Soooo I made this chocolate turtle recipe up myself. They need a little perfecting, but they still tasted good. 

Arrange pecans on some foil so you have a head, tail, and four feet. 

















Cut a caramel almost in half and place over pecans.
Toast in toaster oven just till caramel is soft.

Put a dab of melted chocolate chips on top and carefully spread.
Allow chocolate to cool till hardened.

Enjoy!

I had also made some of what I called Rocky Road candies. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of those and they were so pretty. 

I cut a marshmallow in half, placed a walnut on top and again, put a dab of melted chocolate chips on top using a toothpick to spread down over the sides and slightly shaping into round balls that kind of resembled cherry cordials. Then, I sprinkled a little colored candy sprinkles on top and let it cool till chocolate hardened. YUM!

Castle Keepers and Defenders

For years I had been thinking about starting a club similar to that of Keepers of the Faith. Then, when I read this blog at Young Foundations announcing a new project that they were starting up for their young people, teaching the girls how to sew and the boys some woodshop skills, it really inspired me! However, since I seem to take forever to get something like this started, I was very pleased that my friend had had the same idea and materialized our little club. It’s rather scary amazing how much we think alike sometimes. My only regret is, that we didn’t get this going years ago when our boys who are now working young men were still… little boys. I am still blessed, though to have my three daughters that can still enjoy the blessings of our club.

The goal of the club is to teach our young ones to learn useful skills, from tangible things they can make with their hands to valuable character and servitude lessons; tools to help them become Godly ladies and gentlemen keeping and defending their little castles that they may some day be blessed with, should the Lord tarry.  The name of our club for the girls was suggested and voted upon by our future homemakers and their mothers and became…. Castle Keepers. And the boys’ club is now known as: Castle Defenders; a slight variation from Keepers of the Home and Defenders of the Faith.

~ Titus chapter 2 ~

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

House Painting Tip

Last evening, my family and I started painting the trim of our house. We painted all the trim except for around the windows in the back. So, this morning, I painted the back. The weather is so beautiful especially in the morning! There was a cool breeze gently blowing, the grass smelled so sweet and the birds kept me serenaded while I worked.

Painting a house takes time, patience and a steady hand if you want your house to look nice. I am, by no means, professional and so I like to use whatever helpful tool I can find to help me especially when doing the details. Well, I didn't have the right tool, so i made one! J

If you are painting small detail areas like this...

...but don't want it to turn out like this...

...then, unless you have the skill and steady hand, you need some kind of tool to help out. They do sell different things that would probably work better, but all I had were brushes and rollers. So, I got to thinking and this is what I came up with:

All it is, is one piece of cardstock folded over twice lengthwise. Then, I put a strip of duct tape at the edge, folding the tape over to the other side. This way, they paint won't soak through the paper and you can wipe it clean (especially helpful because you'll need to wipe the back side to keep it clean. 

Just line the tape side of the tool up against the surface you are painting covering the area you don't want painted like this:

Here I used my homemade edger tool. Much better! Except, I see that I missed a couple spots. But, don't you just love that clean edge?

I had used a piece of cardboard wrapped in plastic wrap. Although the cardboard was sturdy, it was too thick preventing the brush from getting all the way to the very edge. 

Here's a final before and after picture: