I Ain't no Pioneer

So what's the worst thing that can happen on a Saturday night?
You get a water leak under your sink.
At 9:30 pm.
Tomorrow is Sunday.
We are gone all day Sunday.
We don't know any cheap plumbers that work on Sunday.

So TL jerry-rigged the faucet so I wouldn't absentmindedly turn on the faucet and create a flood.
(oh I wouldn't do that would I?)
Then later Sunday night he realized he could have turned off the water underneath the sink.
(I think our minds work exactly the same way)

So the pitcher to my right is my water source, which I have to collect on a very regular basis out of the bathtub.
And I sit and wait all day for the plumber to arrive, to fix the broken pipe and install the new faucet.
(at least I got a new faucet out of this-the old one was on its last legs)
I don't like hauling water.
It's a pain.
I am spoiled rotten.
I think of the African ladies who walk for miles with gallons of water on their heads.
And be grateful for my sink in the middle of my kitchen.

But I will repeat, I ain't no pioneer......

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my first born.
She grew up to be an amazing woman and mother.
Despite my lack of parent skilz.
Her being the guinea pig.
And my complete and utter failure in the photography department.
I ♥ you!

Put on Yer food storage Hat

Okay, we had the most delish soup last night! So run, don't walk and go get your pencil and paper so you can write the recipe down. It's so easy, it's ridiculous. Go ahead, I'll wait.......

So first off, I'll give you the recipe. The original that I typed was for an insanely huge amount. I cut it in half. I can't remember where I got this recipe, so if anyone reading this knows who it came from, please give them the credit.  First, the recipe, then I'll tell you how I tweaked it and I think made it better, and also the boo-boos that I made......

Pinto Bean Soup

3 cups dried pinto beans
6 cups chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes with the liquid
1 can diced green chilis with liquid
1 can tomato soup
1 large onion
1 t. garlic powder
1 T balsalmic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste.

Put all the ingredients into a stock pot. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to simmer. Cover and cook for four hours or until beans are tender. Garnish with cilantro, avocado and serve with chips.

#1 boo-boo.  I only read to the part where it said cook for four hours. So in working backwards in my mind, so dinner would be ready at six-ish, I think, "self, why don't you soak the beans all morning and then they will cook faster."  Uh-yea.  So I did soak the beans, but 4 hours was not long enough to tenderize the beans. My beans may be older, but they were not tender after four hours. I chose not to cook this in the pressure cooker because I wanted the slow, simmer flavor of the stove top cooked beans.  Even after the branch president and Relief Society president ran to the hospital to check on a member, the beans were still a tiny tad tough.  But trust me, the flavor was fab!

This is how I also tweaked it.  I cut the onion up and sauted it in a little olive oil before I added the rest of the ingredients. To me that is a sacred cow of cooking, you must always saute your onion.

Second, you MUST try Muir Glen Fire Roasted organic tomatoes. MUST. I am running low and I plan to buy a couple of cases for my food storage. They have an incredible flavor and will change your mind forever about plain ol' diced tomatoes. (P.S. for the local yokels, Sprouts will give you a 10% discount on cases!)

So I added two of the 15 ounce-ish size cans to my stock pot. Finally I only added 1/2 can of tomato soup to the mix.

Boo-boo #2. I didn't have an avocado to put on top. 
We added fresh cilantro, a little guac that I had in the fridge and shredded cheese.  Yummmmmm.

Boo-boo #3:  I am breaking the cardinal rule of a recipe on a blog. No photo of the final product. No photos of the process.

But, you gotta try this! Reasons this is awesome:

It's vegetarian if you are that.
It's food storage if you are that.
It's super easy.
And it's delish!

The Official Unveiling of the Legs......

In honor of the first 90 degree temperatures the last few days.....
The first day of wearing shorts......actually last week......

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4.....

Aww fuggedaboutit.....

The post should be entitled, "How to take an unsuccessful photo of little children milling about."

Suffice to say, it's very warm here.

Growing Green!

Warning:
This post contains photos that definitely do not represent a good hair day.

We are in the midst of soil preparations for the spring/summer garden! I've neglected my garden dreadfully this past winter due to not feeling well and being dang busy with other obligations. It's time to plant tomatoes!

It's a carrot!!! Somehow nature just plugs away, even though I ignore it occasionally. This bed doesn't get much sun in the winter and so things grow slowly, or not at all. So I was so surprised and delighted to see the results.

Better than roses???

TL and I went to a local organic gardening class on Sat. afternoon and learned about how soil is a living thing and in order to get better veggies, we need to nourish the soil (we knew all this before, just a good reinforcement-and it always helps when hubby is on board-right girls?)

If we feed the soil, we get better veggies, better veggies contain more vitamins, they are stronger, withstand the stresses they are sometimes placed under (weather, weeds, bugs) and in turn they nourish us and we feel better!

I'm so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who planned this all out. It is an absolutely amazing process, how everything works together to produce nourishment for our bodies. Our earth has all the "stuff" we need to prosper physically and spiritually.

"Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to aexcess, neither by extortion."        D&C 59:16-20

Grow something green and be grateful!

In Which I have one Good Hair Day and Before my Eyeball turned Red

Jessica sent me some photos she had taken and to my surprise, there was one of me I actually liked! Untouched, un-Photoshopped and having a good hair day...This was taken on Valentine's Day while I was out giving treats and kisses to my grandkids.

I realized that it has been two weeks since I blogged and while I have had many post ideas percolating in my fevered brain, it hasn't translated into getting them written down.

Just busy living life.

And to explain the eyeball part, I woke up Sunday morning with broken blood vessel in my right eye. It's enough to scare away anyone, including grandkids! As of today, it is slowly going away. I went to the keeper of all information, Google, and found out that mostly this happens for unknown reasons and I promise I'll go to the eye doctor if it doesn't go away.

No, I'm not posting a photo. Besides the fact that it is technically difficult to take a picture of oneself, especially a closeup of your own eyeball, it is quite creepy-looking and I wouldn't want to scare my mother.

Although my best line was last Sunday when one of the brothers in the branch asked me what was wrong with my eye.  To which I replied, "demasiado frijoles."  (too many beans)  By the look on his face, I think he went home and told his wife, no more beans!   (I did tell him I was kidding)

Scenes from the Frozen North Part Deux.....O Tres?......O whatever...

I've tried to cull out the most ridiculous and left only the most sublime......

You can add your own captions.

Words fail me.

Can't wait to read the responses.