It must run in the family...

Doug had a photo shoot in Austin a while back and took Kyle along for the trip. While Doug was shooting a bridal session on the steps of the Texas state capitol, Kyle was shooting a few pictures of his own...

I think he has a great eye for an eleven year old.

These weren't taken with Doug's professional camera, they were taken with my tiny little Kodak Easy Share!

I think we'll enter some of these in next year's Wharton county fair.
Kyle got a blue ribbon last year for one of his entries!

Who knows, in a couple of years he may be giving the old man a run for his money....or at least a little help with his photography business!

By the way, nice legs, Dougie!

The Heavens parted and we heard Angels singing...

...And on the eighth day, God created Buc-ees.
And He saw that it was good.

Can I get an AMEN?


A few weeks ago the world's largest Buc-ees opened right here in our little town of Wharton, and what a day it was! Doug and the boys are ginormous fans of the store and were literally counting down the days until it opened. Since then, it's almost daily that we need something from the most happiest place on earth!

If you've never heard of Buc-ees, let me tell you a little about it.
It takes the concept of convinience store to a whole other level. Not only can you buy gas or a bag of chips, but this place has it's own deli, bakery, sandwich shop, coffee bar, gift shop, and an incredible selection of dozens of homemade treats.
The store is so clean, the employees are friendly, and the bathrooms - well, in their words, "you have to pee it to believe it!"

The gift area has everything Texas!
Souvenirs, shirts, art, lotions & potions, you name it.
Danny was mesmerized by this display of John Wayne products. He gazed upon these images of The Duke like an archaeologist would gaze upon Stonehenge...it was a little scary.

It may take professional help to get us off the Beaver Nuggets...

When Doug encountered the jerky bar, I thought he suffered a brief stroke.
He was speechless and motionless for several minutes. I may have even seen a little drool hit the floor...either that, or he peed his pants.

The neighboring Outdoor store has everything you need for hunting and home decor (two words I never thought I'd use in the same sentence!) I also highly covet their HUGE selection of cast iron cookware.

You know, if Ryan had on a red cap he'd kinda look like Buc-ee...

And there's nothing better on the planet than a Dr. Pepper Icee on a hot Texas summer day!
...and don't ask for a sip, we don't share!

Yes, Buc-ees supplies us with all three vital food groups:
Icee, jerky, and Beaver Nuggets
What more do we need?

This just in...Sarah Palin Apparently Killed Michael Jackson

Words fail me but "nutjob" comes to mind:

What I did today and a tale of things to come...

Frenzy...that's what you would call my day today. I'm in a frenzy to get things done around the home to prepare for some big changes headed our way.

I got up at ridiculous o'clock and used up every zucchini I could find
to make loaves of lemon zucchini bread for the freezer.

Then I moved on to making gallons of tomato sauce to put up for pastas, pizzas, and soups...

Sent the kids to pick figs for homemade fig newtons and preserves...

Started another gallon of cukes lactofermenting for pickles. Stripped the beds and made new household schedules, lesson plans, and copied work books for the boys. Thankfully, Doug took the boys to the library for a wonderful (hour long!) program and then they hunted for books to keep them occupied at home. While they were gone I did a quick tidy up and thorough vacuuming (sure to be undone about five minutes after they get back home!)

And then I proceeded to wash all 158 loads of laundry scattered throughout the house...

WHY do you ask did I do this?

Well, this old girl starts a new job! I'll be working full time hours, PLUS some. I was hired as the Nursery shift supervisor at our local hospital. For the next few months I'll be out of the home quite a bit each week (four days from 7am-7pm to be exact) so I really feel this need to get my household in order. My plan is to make this transition as easy as possible for the kids, who have grown quite accustomed to me being home. Also, to help Doug take over the job as household manager while running a full time business himself from home.

Quick, easy meals and snacks for the freezer, some scheduling to keep our time management in order, and jobs for every member of the family should help us find our way during this adjustment.

Say a prayer for us if you will.

You know, after looking over all of this, maybe working forty hours a week will be more like a vacation!

They just couldn't resist!

We were supposed to be watering the garden
but Danny and JP had other plans...

Does this mean I don't have to give them a bath tonight?

Random cuteness...

Baseball season may be over in Wharton,
but it is still alive and well in the Creamer living room!

Summer salsa!

You knew I'd make this post eventually, didn't you?

There is nothing like the taste of fresh salsa! My kids have been waiting for enough ripe tomatoes to make our first batch all year long. Thankfully I planted enough tomato plants this year to keep us in salsa until next spring! Besides freezing our surplus, I'm also lactofermenting several quarts. I was a bit skeptical to do this initially thinking that it would affect the taste and the kids wouldn't eat it...boy was I wrong! Lactofermented salsa has absolutely NO taste difference once so ever. It is so full of probiotics, not to mention all the health benefits of the fresh, organic vegetables that go into it. Plus, by lactofermenting the salsa, it will keep for six months (maybe more) and still be as fresh as the day we bottled it! The probiotics and vegetable nutrients will not be destroyed like they would had I traditionally canned it.

In Texas, people eat salsa like most folks drink water.
We eat it on everything from scrambled eggs to pasta.

There is really no recipe to salsa, just make it to suit your taste.
I also have no measurements for this recipe as our tomato harvest varies by day.

LACTOFERMENTED SALSA

Core tomatoes and blanche in boiling water for a minute or two. Quickly place blanched tomatoes in ice water. This will make the skins easy to remove. Squeeze out seeds and excess water and puree in the food processor. Also puree/chop one red onion, at least two bell peppers, 3-4 cloves of garlic, and several jalapeno peppers (depending on how spicy you like your salsa to be!)
Add sea salt, pepper, cumin, lime juice, and a handful of fresh chopped cilantro to taste.

To lactoferment your salsa:

Ladle salsa into quart sized jars. Put 2-3 tablespoons of whey into each quart (to get whey, drain a good organic yogurt in cheesecloth) and stir to combine. Also, be sure to add a bit more sea salt (non-iodized) than usual. It helps to prevent decay until the good bacteria can take over.
Cap your jars and set on the counter for 2-3 days. Unscrew lids once a day to allow any gas to escape. Put your jars in the fridge, they will keep up to six months!

Eggplant

Our Listada de Gandia heirloom eggplants are LOVING this hot Texas summer and are beginning to produce quite a crop of fruits. It sent me scampering for recipes so they wouldn't go to waste. I found some really nice recipes and thought I'd share:

Eggplant snack sticks
Eggplant pepper relish
Baked ziti and eggplant

True Grit

Once a week, Doug and Danny snuggle up on the couch
for a late night John Wayne movie.

Heroes on horses, gun battles against the bad guys, and dogs named Dog
are what it's all about these days.

There's a new sheriff in town, Pilgrim...

...just call him Dirty Dan.

Summer sewing on the cheap

I put some of my stash of vintage sheets to good use after coming across
THIS TUTORIAL.
Vintage sheets at thrift stores or garage/estate sales are usually a buck. Figure in the 15-20 minutes it takes to sew and you've got a great bargain and an awfully cute summer skirt!

No hemming, no fuss, no muss! If you can sew a straight line, you can sew this skirt!

Couple with a tank top and some cute flip flops and you're good to go.....they're good for twirling in, too!

Midnight

Meet the newest member of the family.

First figs of the season

Doug surprised me the other morning by finding some ripe figs on the tree. I thought it would be a few more weeks before we had any, but there they were! I picked a bunch and decided to make some orange fig preserves.

Orange Fig Preserves

(Makes one quart)

4 cups of fresh figs, cleaned and diced
2 cups of sugar

(you can reduce sugar if you want, but the preserves will not set properly.)
Zest of one large orange
1 cup of seeded and peeled orange slices
(Cut both ends off the orange, stand upright and cut down the sides of the orange taking away all of the white pith. Hold the skinned orange in your hand and cut between the membranes for perfect orange slices with no skin!)

Place ingredients in a large bowl and allow to sit for 30 minutes to macerate.
Put everything in a large saucepan and begin to boil over medium heat. Cook for about 30-45 minutes. If you spoon out a bit on to a small plate that has been in the freezer, you can push the mixture around a bit with your finger tip to see how thick it is. If it is runny, cook it a couple minutes more. You can also check by seeing how the jam runs off of a spoon. If it seems to firm up a bit as it drips, it's done.

Pour out the jam into jars, leaving 1/4-inch of headroom from the top of the jars. If you want to keep your jam in a cupboard, then use sterilized jars. If you plan to eat up quickly and will keep them in the refrigerator, regular clean jars will do.

I'm a complete basket case!

I have a horrible addiction to buying thrift store baskets, I just love them!
New baskets in the store will run you quite a few bucks, but thrift store baskets are usually fifty cents to a dollar and

I use them for EVERYTHING!

Their use is mainly corraling the clutter around here! I have baskets for just about everything: blankets, books, school supplies, mail, you name it. I think they look pretty and rustic and it's much easier to access the things I need from a basket rather than a storage bin or closet.

I also use them for gifts. I hate spending money on those little gift bags with the tissue paper, they can be quite expensive! I try to keep several on hand and if I need to send a gift I'll just use a fifty cent basket and line it with a fifty cent vintage dish towel. I think it makes a gift look so much more pretty and personal. Even simple gifts that are beautifully arranged in a basket are more inviting. I think they take homemade gifts to a whole other level!

I only spent less than a dollar on this welcome basket for a new neighbor.
A casserole or homemade bread and jam would look just as nice.
It just goes to show you that you don't have to spend a lot to make someone feel special!