Boehme

i read Nie Nie in a recent post she shared a tradition with the world that i just loved. every year before school starts she puts on a back to school feast. she makes a delicious meal, picks a theme to inspire her children for the school year and makes a crown to honor each of her children. Isn't she amazing? well i decided this was a tradition that I wanted to implement in my family. i really tried to make it my own. we had a wonderful feast on the menu: *pork baby back ribs *corn on the cob *twice baked potatoes *garden sauted vegetables *pomegranate raspberry beverage i tried to also decorate in primary colors, red, yellow(gold) and blue. we had a nice meal and talked about our theme for the school year and the children's goals. it was such a success . instead of crowns I made each child a ribbon to wear and personalized their place setting at the table. the flowers on the table are a very special arrangement. they are from the casket of my Grandpa Baker whose funera

i love this time of year the crisp cool air a time of harvest our garden has not done as well this year as last. i think that is because of the lack of sunshine we had this summer. yet we still have been enjoying many delicious fruits and veggies from our garden: beans peas carrots lettuce + arugula potatoes cucumbers broccoli + cauliflower strawberries raspberries soon to be corn and apples. apples from Grandma's trees. I thought these pictures were so fun, they captured our adventure the other day as we helped Grandma and Grandpa Boehme pick the most delicious apples. Then we turned them into tasty apple sauce. It was wonderful to have so many helpers turning the crank to push the cooked apples through the strainer. Each of the kids took a turn and felt so great knowing they had just made apple sauce. I love canning season, but because it is so much more than storing food. I know it is a labor of love and work that will teach much more than simply putting food in jars for t

so i've learned a few things now that i'm a country girl-- a dog is a good investment (preferably young puppies and those that are healthy and haven't been kicked to many times, ie Rocky... sorry old boy) when you live on a farm there are no guarantees. in 2 years my kids have had many experiences with life and death. freckles the cat was the first to go. sad but true. then daisy had kittens right before our eyes, and was tragically killed by our neighbors dog just 4 days after the kittens were born. oreo was the only kitten that survived of her litter, and the kids sure loved that cat. this summer oreo disappeared . . .and then some chickens . . . and then we saw it. a fox (a very cunning fox) this fox would appear in broad daylight just lounging around the farm, grandpa found it one afternoon in the barn eating the cat food. grandpa set traps and it always seemed to find the bate and never get caught. 2 days ago we caught the fox ! ! ding dong the Fox is dead, the