FREE and Catch-up

All the summer activities that I volunteered for are over! Katie's wedding (which really doesn't count as a volunteer activity, but was still an activity on my list), Relay for Life, and the Bear Lake County Fair Quilt Show. All are done and behind us and have taught me a most valuable lesson. I've learned to say NO! Well, sort of. I won't, nor could I, say no to a daughter getting married and I had agreed to 2 years with the Relay so I will still do that next summer. However, since it will be the only volunteering I do next summer, it won't be so stressful. I hope!

My camera died so now I have to rely on Eugene for pictures. :( Maybe Santa will bring me one for Christmas. I didn't use it much, but loved having my own camera when I wanted, or needed, to take pictures.

Sarah was here for 4 days last week. She brought green beans and corn to bottle. It was fun doing it together. A mess with 3 (and sometimes 6) little people around, but fun just the same. I'd forgotten that I enjoy canning. It's lots of work, but is so rewarding when you hear those lids pop sealed.

Laura came on Friday. It was the county fair and the two girls, Sarah and Laura, love to bring their little ones to the fair. I must admit, it is more fun when you have little people to show the animals to.

Now it's time to move on to the next projects. I have 3 quilts to make. One needs to be sewn and hand quilted by Nov. 29th, one for Christmas and one within a year. The two latter will be machine quilted. They are a queen and a king size so too big to try and hand quilt in a hurry. My back is still trying to recover from hand quilting the Relay raffle quilt in 3 months.

Thursday thru Saturday we are going to Yellowstone for more than a day trip. We went with Charlie and Michelle when they were here on the 7th. Left at 5:30 a.m. and got home at 11:30 p.m. That's too hard when you have little ones with you. Sarah and Eric are coming and we are going with them. It's a short trip, but better than nothing or even better than one day. Hope it warms up so we don't freeze!

There's my summer in a nutshell. Nothing on my schedule now but Relief Society and sewing/quilting. Yay!

Crockpot Steak and Onions

Here is a recipe I kinda made up yesterday. I had a round steak that needed to be used. I didn't want Pepper Steak and Eugene doesn't care for tomato based dishes so Swiss Steak was out. I went on a search at Recipezaar and got the idea to use onion soup mix. Here's the recipe that turned out pretty darn good. Sorry, no pics. You'll just have to trust that it was yummy or try it yourself.

Crockpot Steak and Onions

1 round steak cut into serving size pieces
1 onion sliced
3 fresh mushrooms sliced
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream chicken soup
½ can water

Place half of sliced onions in the bottom of the crockpot. Place pieces of steak on top of onions. Top with remaining onion slices and sliced mushrooms. Mix soups and water. Pour over top of steak and vegies. Cook until steak is tender. I’m thinking 4-5 hours on high or all day on low.

Amish Friendship Bread

I found a piece of paper on the floor in the bedroom today. I picked it up and opened it. I don't know where it came from, but I was excited. It was a recipe for Amish Friendship Bread. I haven't even thought about this fabulous bread for years. The bread is made from a sweet sourdough start that comes with a loaf of bread from a friend. :) The sad part is that the recipe did not tell how to make the start, just how to make the bread from the start that was furnished by the friend. So, I went on a search of Recipezaar.com. I found the recipe for the start as well as the recipe for the bread. I started a start today. It takes 27 days to get the start furmented enough that it can turn into this fabulous, sweet sourdough bread. On March 17th, I will be making Amish Friendship Bread and sharing it with friends. Here is the link http://www.recipezaar.com/153 to the recipe for the start and the bread. If you decide to make it, Enjoy!!!