I Love Living in Small Town USA

    I live in a tiny farming community in the middle of the rolling hills of the Palouse.  This area produces some of the finest peas and lentils in the world.  It is an area rich in farming traditions where schools understand that sometimes farm kids, and those kids who are working for local farmers during harvest, may not make it to school for the first week if harvest is still going on.  The local Grange and the American Legion are still important social organizations.  Neighbors know one another and loan out tools to one another or watch each others homes when someone goes on vacation.  If your kids do something wrong, you will know about it before they even make it home.  On the other hand, if your kids do something good, you also will hear about it very quickly and people will be talking about it and praising your kids.  Win-Win! ;)
   There is a great sense of community and concern here.  When you walk into the bank or library you are greeted warmly and they ask how your vacation was or you chat with the teller about something cute their child did when you had them in class that day.  The local clinic goes out of their way to get you in the same day when you are not feeling well and will give you samples of medications that you need to save you a trip into the bigger town to go to the pharmacy or to help you budget wise when needed.  The nurses and doctors there really care and do not treat you like a file or just another patient to be pushed through so they can move onto the next room.  When someone is going through a rough patch, people will show up with meals, produce from their garden and offers to help with whatever is needed.  It is a town with a prayer chain and many volunteers who help distribute and deliver food to those in need.
   I am so thankful that my husband and I were able to move here when our boys were very young and that we have become part of such a wonderful community.  We have been here for 20 years as of yesterday and I can't imagine having lived in a better place.  We are so blessed!

Homemade Croutons

My husband and I love homemade croutons and they are so easy to make!  I tear up leftover bread (this is a mixture of homemade Sourdough and English Muffin Bread).  Put it in a large bowl and add some Olive Oil (not too much, about 2 Tablespoons for a large bowl full like this) and mix to coat.  Then sprinkle on Garlic Salt (Celery Salt  or Onion Salt are also really good) to taste and mix again.

Have your oven preheating to 400F while working on getting the bread mixture done.

Spread your bread out on a nonstick baking pan (I had to do this in 2 batches) leaving some room between the bread so it will cook better.

Cook for 10 minutes at 400F.  Check and see if the bread pieces are getting crisp.  You do not want them soft at all.

Stir your croutons and put them back in the oven for another 4 minutes (more or less).  Every oven is different so your time may be more or less.  Make sure to check on them so that they do not burn.

Here are what your croutons should look like when they are finished.  We enjoy them on salads, on soups and also eat them like chips.  Yummy and frugal!

Five Months Old!

Guess who is 5 months old today?

G-pa and Grammie love you Bradley James!

Bradley's New Ride!

Checking this thing out!

Hey G-pa, it makes noise!

You gotta try this!

Tastes good too!

Man am I ever going to be able to pick up the babes with this thing!

Hey Grammie, you should get G-pa one of these for his birthday!

This thing is awesome!

Click above for a movie of Bradley enjoying his new ride...thank you Auntie Christie, Uncle Eric, Cade and Kekoa!  Bradley loves his new ride! :)

Green Beans!

Our little guy Bradley is not so sure about green beans! :)  He has discovered that he loves his mommy's homemade mashed potatoes though.

Making Life Easier in the Morning

 It is a well known fact among friends and family that I am NOT a morning person at all.  It takes me a good hour and at least one cup of coffee to wake up most mornings.  I also like to be alone during that time so that my brain can
 S L O W L Y start processing things.


I am also a visual person and I like to be able to see things laid out in front of me.  Getting dressed and finding the right jewelry was getting to be a huge pain with everything jumbled together in baskets and on trays.  I needed a better system.

While out thrifting earlier this week I came across this double sided hanging jewelry organizer.    It is perfect for me because I can see right through the pockets, things are not getting all tangled up and it does not require a whole lots of thinking in the morning for me. ;)

 I quickly got to work putting my bracelets and necklaces in the pockets totally ignoring the labels on the pockets.  It felt so good to be able to see everything and I rediscovered things that I had forgotten I had.  Bonus and kind of like Christmas!

 I love that it is double sided.  It gives me lots and lots of room to get things organized and where I can see them easily.  The fact that it has bigger pockets on the bottom was one of the things that drew me to it in the first place.  I have some long beaded necklaces that would not fit in the smaller pockets but fit great in the big ones.

 I also repurposed a beautiful old china dish to keep some of the earrings that I wear the most out where I can see them and easily grab them.  Hoops tend to be my "go to" earrings when I am in a huge hurry to get out the door.

The rest of my daily use type earring are in this jewelry box along with a few other items that would not fit in the hanging organizer.  My DIL Heather makes beautiful earrings for me that match many of my outfits and I keep them in here.

I can already tell that this "new to me" system is going to make the school year so much easier to get ready for in the rushed mornings.  I love having everything I need right at my fingertips!

Beans From The Garden

The beans have started producing!  Yum!