2013 Ratings

Most polite state…….South Carolina, followed by North Carolina.
Rudest State………Wisconsin……Mandy, guess you will agree with that!

People in Washington state curse the least, and Ohio the most.
North Carolina is in the middle.

Where's Tristen?

Tristen left Kat's house around Nov 20th to report to Provo, UT to the Mission Training Center (where Chris went). She left behind here email address, and street address, but didn't include her room number.
Now, Tristen turned 24 on her birthday on Nov 23rd. She tries to be a responsible adult, previously working as a clinician with pediatric cancer patients at Kings Daughters Hospital in Norfolk, Va.

Well, no one has heard from her since she left. No one had an accurate email address, and there have been no responses. After finally contacting her brother, he tracked her down and found out that she is now in Portland, Oregon!

Her address there is
Sister Tristen Evans
Oregon Portland Mission
1400 NW Compton Drive
Ste 250
Beaverton, OR  97006

Target Sales

I heard from a reliable source that starting Sunday Dec 8 certain brand toys will be buy one, get one half off. I can remember the names like Fisher Price, Nerf, but I can't remember all the others. 

So, gather up your pennies, and head on out!

More of Farm Life……...

The snow is coming in…..
Guess I might need a little more heat……
Think I'll go cut down a tree!
You go Kurt. Way to keep the home front warm and toasty!

What's for Lunch?

So, what are you having for lunch?
I have been quite the ambitious old lady! I got up this morning at 4:00 am to start a beef roast in the crock pot. Yes, there I was, knife in hand chopping onions, carrots, celery and getting things started so the meal would be done by lunchtime. We have already eaten, and can sit back and smell the aroma of
the apple crisp baking in the oven. Sherrill McKeel has really had a bellyful of food all week. He ate the meats, I ate the sweets!
Today while eating lunch he told me he was going to quit eating meat and sugar! Do you really believe that one? I just told him he needed to stay OUT of his chair, and out in the yard……in the barn…..somewhere. Yesterday he even went and cranked up the van and sat in it for awhile. When he came in I asked him what was he doing, just trying to enjoy the "smell" of the van. He agreed that yes, he did miss it! We still haven't found him a truck. I think he's waiting for Santa to bring him one!
Have a good day everyone, and stay safe!

After Thanksgiving Pics

Thanks Christy!

Any other pictures out there?

First Christmas Present for the Year……...

And it's all mine!
Mandy and Woody were out shopping Wednesday, and came across Walmart's clearance aisle. There was an employee there marking down items, which of course is what Mandy likes to do best. Mandy talks to her and realizes she is marking everything down half price. So, Mandy calls to tell us they are marking down Sharks to $50.00. Sherrill doesn't have a clue what she is talking about, but I had bought one for my mom a few years back.

This one the handle comes off so you can use it as a garment steamer, or any type of steamer. 

Sherrill goes off to Walmart, and after much confusion, he finally finds the Shark, but the employee had gone to lunch. Mandy tells him to go find ANY employee, and explain the situation, and they could get a manager to mark down the price. So, Sherrill goes to the paint department, where he feels most at home (there or the food aisle), and talks the lady into marking it down for him. 

I just pulled it out of the box, and let me tell you, after years of squeezing out that big old mop in the kitchen sink, this is a breeze. It is the PERFECT thing for the day after Thanksgiving! I still have to figure out how I can put ammonia on the floor to really clean everything. 

so, what started out as a $129.00 item, was marked down to $100., then down to $75, then all the way to $50. Yes! It is worth $50.00. And by the way, Grandma Cat keeps hers in her room so no one can use it. She doesn't even let the maid use it!

So………… how's your Black Friday going? 

Sherrill is out putting the shingles on the barn. He came in complaining how hard it was carrying them up the ladder. I offered to help, but he told me all I would be able to do was supervise, so I could stay inside! So, I'm in here just steaming away!

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving one and and all.
Hope everyone has a belly full by now, and is propped back on the couch or recliner with your feet propped up.
You remember I had the day's events all planned out a week ago. Menu was made, food was purchased, and everything divided up making a few special things every day until the week was up.
Well, as usual, not everything goes as planned.
I went to Walmart to purchase the bulk of the items, but still had Sherrill to pick me up a few things.
Well, you can't blame a guy for getting regular pie crust instead of deep dish. It just ended up two pies instead of one. But then I had this great idea to cook the turkey breast on  the la Caja China grill……

We LOVE this grill, and it will cook anything. You have to start out with 12-16 pounds of charcoal though. So, I had the bright idea to cook TWO turkey breast instead of one. I could just freeze the other, or give it away. So, I send Sherrill off to the store to purchase the chicken breast. He had put them in the back of the refrigerator to unthaw. Well, this morning after he got the charcoal started, he pulled out the turkey breast for me. Oopps! No TURKEY BREAST! Instead he had picked up two
16 pound turkeys! Thirty two pounds of meat……that is even too much for "fat boy"!

No, they aren't burnt. It's the spices and olive oil on top that darkened the skin. So, here we have it…32 pounds of Butterball turkey, just waiting to be Gobbled, Gobbled! Sherrill ate one leg, thigh, wing, and the "little leg" attached to the wing/breast for lunch. I guess he will eat the same at dinner. I think I will chop up the breast for chicken salad, after I get a turkey sandwich for dinner.
Oh, the bacon wrapped asparagus turned out pretty good. The asparagus was a little stringy though. The sauce I put over it was great. It was made with butter, brown sugar, and soy sauce. It would go great with chicken strips or balls. The bacon took forever to "crisp up" in the oven, but it had a real good flavor. I don't know if I will try it again.
The dressing and gravy were just perfect, as well as the mashed potatoes and corn. We went the easy way out with Hawaiian rolls. After the meal was over and done, I reminded Sherrill that we are just too old for all of this. I should have had Christa to come over and cook for us!
Reminder for Christmas……. I liked the ham dinner better than the turkey dinner.

What are you doing with your life?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Luke's letter to his mom

Dear Mom,
Thank you for doing everything! buying lots of stuff. do not get more toys for Jacob he is very loud with them.
Love:Luke

Sorry parts are cut off the edge. But you get the message.
Jacob is a "loud child"!

Name this cow

Remember Chloe the cow……..the white one.
Well, now Chloe has a friend, a little black calf. Christy and Kurt just got her today.
Life on the farm!

Sweet Potato Pie

1 pound sweet potatoes ( I used about 4 1/2 sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup white sugar    (I used about 3/4 white and about a half brown)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg   (I used more)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used more)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9inch) unbaked pie crust (I ended up with 2 pies)

Boil or bake sweet potatoes until done 40-50 minutes. Remove the skin.
Mash potato in a bowl. Add butter and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Pie will puff up like a soufflé, and then will sink down as it cools.

Because I used more potatoes than I should, it did't puff up so much.
Next time I will use the same potatoes, but might add another egg, and I wish I had used evaporated milk instead of regular milk. I did like the change up with the sugar. I just LOVE my brown sugar.

The pies turned out great! I wish I had my sister's recipe for her sweet potato pie.

Sunday dinner done

Sunday dinner is finally done. No pumpkin pie though. I baked enough sweet potatoes, so I went ahead and made 2 sweet potato pies. They are in the oven as I write this.
Sherrill's belly is full, and he is sitting back in his chair with Jack watching a movie.
They should both be asleep very soon, and I can finish up the last tree.
Life is great!

Sherrill and the Dodge Ram

Sherrill was so excited last night. He found a Dodge Ram extended cab that he really liked. He went and drove it. One owner, a little 75 year old man. He had me go with him today to take it for a ride, and we did. He drove into a church parking lot so I could get behind the wheel, an as soon as he drove in,
I felt a shake, rattle and roll under my butt!
Instead of changing drivers, I told him to go ahead and drive, so I could pay attention to what was going on underneath that truck! Every little bump the entire steering wheel would shake. I told him something was wrong with the axle, or the whole chassis. So, now we are back to the beginning, looking online and riding around to car lots.
I was really hoping that he would have found something by now. I don't know how he drove it yesterday without realizing something was wrong.

Thanksgiving more that one day

So, why do people celebrate Thanksgiving for just one day. Why spend all that work cooking, just to overfill your belly and be miserable. I have decided to do something a little different this year.
For us, Thanksgiving will start on Sunday and go through the entire week!
Sunday: Baked ham, sweet potato casserole, succotash, and pumpkin pie.
Monday: left over ham, mac and cheese, and peas, and baked apples.
Tuesday: Big pot of soup, or beans (freezing the rest of the ham)
Wednesday: Fried chicken & BBQ (McCall's)  dessert apple cake (new recipe)
Thursday: Turkey breast, dressing, mashed potatoes, bacon wrapped asparagus (I've never cooked it before), and fruit salad
Friday: Turkey fricassee on toast with whatever veggies are left. Homemade cookies for dessert.
Saturday: Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers! ! !

I haven't told Sherrrill what my plans are. I just don't like cooking so much in one day. I'm getting old….. I had rather spread it out throughout the entire week.

The Little Barn's Facelift

Sherrill is home most of this week, so it's time to put him to work. We ran into Aunt Ann the other day, and she said since Uncle Douglas has retired all he does all day is sit in the chair and watch TV. I reminded her this is what their dad did, but he was an OLD man. So, it was time to get Sherrill up and moving. He invited a friend over to help him, and they tore the roof off, and have gone for supplies.
This is the "little barn". After it gets re-roofed, it gets a new coat of paint. I'll try to sneak in a picture of them working if I can!

Happy Birthday Kenny

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

This was Kenny's video from last with a few more pictures added!
Happy Happy Birthday!

Life on the farm…...

Here piggy, piggy, piggy

Kurt's barn……just the right size for him and the  boys!

Nice fire. It's gonna be cold this year!

Smile Kenny!

Come on folks, who else has pictures?

Kelli…. what's up with you and Blake?

Tristen, what's going on in South Dakota?

Catherine

Look at those curls!
Sweet little baby!
I can hear her now……."I'm NOT a baby, I'm CaFerine!"

Dresser anyone???

So this morning Kathy Joe got a wake up call.  While I was setting the Target ad we realized that a 4 drawer dresser regular priced at $117 was ringing up for $10!!   Yes people, $10!!!!   So I waited a few hours and sent Kathy a text message asking if she was awake.  After a few minutes she replied no, why.  Lol she let me call the house so I could explain why. Later I called mom and ended up getting her one, me one, Woodys mom one and his aunt one.  So I guess for now on when I find crazy deals I'll just start texting everyone early so they can be at the stores when they open before corporate fixes the prices.  :)