A Work and Play Weekend

One thing I love is company!  And we were so excited to host friends of ours from up north here last weekend.  They're not new to Environs- through their parents friendships our kids have chummed around quite a bit.  Since my only camera these days is the smart phone- and that usually sits on the counter at home I was so excited to be sent pictures from our visit to post here. 

There aren't any pictures of the work that was accomplished in their extended weekend stay so I'll just mention that first.  Here are the things I know of-- I'm sure there are things I'm missing that were on the 'guys' list.

-Trimmed Pine Grove

-Processed produce- a batch of marinara

-Worked on refurbishing the cider press

-Put up ceiling fan, and two can lights in the living room (and completed electrical)

-Weed whipped

-Ran to Menard's

-Rearranged master bedroom to accommodate baby's arrival

And now for the FUN!

-Played for numerous hours- toys, playdoh, swimming, scooters, 'mom and dad', flashlights etc.

-Went on a date (just the adults!) to the Potosi Brewery and Red Top

- Cooked and ate like royalty!

We wrapped up their stay with a little touring for the kiddos-

1- Put our feet in the Mississippi!  Visited O'Leary's Landing and Lock and Dam 11.  We saw a dead snake, a dead fish, a heron, a family of ducks and of course, put our toes in the muddy Miss!

JuJu and I at the Lock and Dam

Our friends getting their feet wet!

Climbing rocks to get to the water!

The kids and I- you can almost see our house in this picture!

2- Checked out John Deere though next time we'll have to stop at the construction dealer for some backhoe pictures.  The guide messed up but the kids didn't seem to mind!

 3-Learned a bit about Dubuque's history and the nature of the area.  Made a stop at the Mines of Spain and the newly remodeled Nature Center.  Took a hike on the trails and had a little picnic, too!

Interactive bird calls for local birds!

The Fox tribe were the native settlers of this area.

Finding 'treasure' in a lead mine exhibit!  You had to crawl through a cave to get in here- that was a laugh for me anyway!

Listening to animal sounds- our favorite, the badger.  It kinda sounded like a mutant pig.  Katie thought it was hilarious!

More sounds and JuJu bird watching. 

It was a wonderful weekend!  We're already looking forward to more company in August- are you on our calendar yet?!?!

Portland Marinara

Portland Marinara
20 pounds of tomatoes
3 pounds of onions
3-4 bulbs of garlic
1 bottle of red wine (Cabernet)
1/4 c. Sea salt
black pepper
1/4 c. dried oregano
3 c. fresh herbs (oregano, basil, cilantro,  parsley)
1 1/2 c. bottled lemon juice
Roast tomatoes (halved), onions (quartered), and peeled garlic cloves for 40 minutes @ 375° on a cookie sheets.  Puree in pot and add wine, salt, pepper (to taste), and dried oregano.  Simmer to desired thickness (3-4 hrs.).
Meanwhile prepare hot water bath canner (jars, rims, and lids) on stove. 
To marinara add lemon juice, and chopped fresh herbs. Simmer 5 more minutes.  Transfer to hot jars, wipe rims, lid and cover finger tight. Process for 35 minutes (quarts).  Makes 9 quarts.
Christine in Portland's recipe is slightly different but my recipe is based off of her's.  I discovered it last year and loved it personally but a thicker sauce was definitely more to my families liking.   It is definitely worth the read for other tips and its entertainment value! If I wasn't 6 months pregnant gin and tonic would definitely be on the ingredients list!
Happy Canning!

High Point Salsa

So, a nurse at our clinic for my last appointment not only gushed over those previously posted ultrasound pictures but shared her newest favorite recipe for salsa out of the garden.  She's a GEM!  I'm dubbing it High Point Salsa (named after our clinic) to give it distiction from what has been my normal salsa recipe the past 5 years with 'chunks' in it that the kiddos (and Kurt) don't eat as well.  High Point Salsa is what I'd call a 'kid friendly' recipe with those veggies hidden in there.  I've yet to figure out if I can can it.  If you're a home canner any suggestions would be appreciated!

High Point Salsa- from Nurse Ally

10 roma tomatoes, cut in half (face up)
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 peppers (she's written in 1 pubbelano and 1 sorleno, I've used whatever came out of our garden and varied depending on how spicy I want it)
2 onions quartered
Roast @ 375 degrees F for 40 minutes on a cookie sheet.

Add
1 T of sea salt
2 T of fresh cilantro
Juice of one lime

Blend (in your blender or use a handy immersion blender and save on dishes!!).

Enjoy!

Baby #3 Photo Shoot

I think I mentioned the baby pictures in my last post...I've finally scanned them but didn't crop them  so excuse the extra gray spots, please. 

There will probably be more pictures in August as I got called back to get another ultrasound (they didn't get a good picture of the heart).   Next week I'll have my 'third trimester' appointment- time is going too quickly.  Hopefully come November I'll be a bit more ready for baby to make his/her debut...right now it scares me!  My to do list is LONG and I feel out of practice with babies.  I am, much to my surprise, feeling great- better than I was my last pregnancy at this time.  I am so grateful as Julia continues to be a bit of a challenge some days.

Things, obviously from lack of posts, have been BUSY here.  The girls and I spent a WONDERFUL week up north at the lake with my family.  The garden has been bringing forth much fruit.  Thus far I've done two batches of fresh salsa (I need to post that recipe) 4 quarts each.  And this weekend I processed 9 quarts of  Portland Marinara Sauce (I need to post that recipe, too).  YUM!  We've also had homemade french fries, onion rings, Chinese cabbage salad...you get the picture.  We've also had company and are getting ready for more!   

The Week of the Fourth of July

Along with swimming lessons, this past week was a full one at our home.  Kurt's immediate family (his five siblings and most of their kids) was all here for the air show fireworks over the river on the 3rd along with quite a few other friends who came down to watch in our yard, on our deck and in our house with the a/c on.  We had company from the 2nd until just this morning.  It was a great time for the girls- cousins, cousins, cousins and Kurt and I appreciated all the help in the kitchen, working on the basement, in the garden and with other projects.  Here are a few pictures--wish I'd have taken more but oh well.

Cutting up smoked pork for the fireworks party! Yum!

Corn on the cob!!

Playing with cousins!!

Waiting for the fireworks- Julia asked to go to bed shortly after this picture.

Daddy's little baker

Homemade pretzels!

Playing with water balloons and swimming in the stock tank pool.

This week we'll wrap up swimming lessons (so far she's only had one day we went where it wasn't 90 degrees already at 9 a.m.) and work on processing some foods from the garden.  I've already got some peppers in the freezer (waiting for the tomatoes to ripen for salsa) and one batch of green beans to freeze.  Sounds like we'll be processing corn and some potatoes before the week is out for sure.  I'll have to get a picture of all the work Kurt and his brothers did in the basement this weekend! WOW!  And I've also got baby pictures to post from this week as I had an ultrasound and OB appointment, too. 

Swimming Lessons

This week Kate is taking swimming lessons! She is excited about it and JuJu wishes that little sisters could take them too (next year).  As you can see from an earlier visit to a pool this summer they are like fish in the water!  I hope to take some pictures as the lessons progress.  I am excited for Kate to learn and have fun but am not excited for the schedule and planning around an activity that comes with the territory.  I'll offer it up. ;-)

JuJu jumping in!

The swimmers.

Using the ladder

Swimming without help. JuJu insisted, "Swim MYSELF!"

Katie jumps in the pool!

‎You learn to speak by speaking,
to study by studying,
to run by running,
to work by working,
and just so,
you learn to love by loving.
All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.

St. Francis de Sales