This morning...

We went to Lowes and built skeletons...



Joel Sent from my iPhone

Natalie's Haircut, Part II: Now you see it...now you don't

Natalie's Haircut, Part I (try again): Now you see it...

Natalie, the apple of her Daddy's eye, got her first haircut last week. (written by her Daddy)

Nattie Kate's Haircut, part 1: Now you see it...

Natalie got her first haircut this week.



Sent from my iPhone

a quick addition to the recent beer cheese soup recipe: (I noticed my notes in the margin after I'd posted it...)
1- you really only need to add one bottle or can of beer
2- to thicken it (I thought it was a bit thin) and to add protein, I added 2 cans white beans (you could probably use any kind).

I think that's it for food, now for books:

In the last five weeks I've read 5 books, as follows:

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult--not her best, I thought; about a little girl who begins to manifest the wounds of Jesus after her father leaves her and her mother. It's more of an exploration of the topic of stigmata and faith than anything, but doesn't come to any conclusions, rather unsatisfactorily so, I thought.

The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen--again, not one of her best books either. It's really a spoof on Orthodox Judaism (written by someone who I assume is Jewish, which makes it more acceptable, I thought) and the hypocrisy of those who "strain at gnats" (keeping scrupuously kosher) while "swallowing camels" by being shallow, materialistic and just generally snotty.

Steve and Me by Terri Irwin--the story of Steve and Terri Irwin (he was the crocodile hunter on Animal Planet-guy with a great Aussie accent). An excellent and sadly moving book! I replayed it in my mind dozens of times after I read it. Definitely worth reading.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer--the story of the young man who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness, never to be heard of again. Jon researched what actually happened to the guy, and it makes a fascinating, if sad, story. Worth reading.

A Safe Haven by Dave Hunt--I'd like to read more by this guy. A good read, exciting and God-honoring story line and just enough facts and present-day info to make it credible. A modern, atheistic revolutionary is kicked out of his home country and ends up in Israel, and nearly perishes there.

Now I'm reading Joe's Law--a book by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County in AZ who is notoriously tough on illegal immigration. So far it's fascinating and is a real eye-opener to the whole issue of illegal immigration.

What have you ladies read? THis has been a bit of an unusual time in my life- feels like a rewind back twenty years, only I'm not trying to homeschool as well as run a house and raise kids so it's a bit more peaceful. (And I probably have more time to read than I normally do...) I'm actually enjoying being a "mom" of little kids again for a while.

OK, so here's the famous Best Beer Cheese Soup Duke was looking for. We made this for Dan; personally I thought it was a bit salty, but that could have been because while it called for two bottles of beer (yuk!) I actually used one normal beer and one extra strength by mistake. Dan, however, liked it and that was the important thing at that time...

5 slices bacon
2 tbl butter or marg
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tbs flour
2 c chick broth
2 12 fl oz cans or bottles beer
1 lb processed cheese, cubed
1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp garlic pwdr

Cook bacon in a large deep skillet; drain on paper towels; crumble.
Melt butter over med heat, cook onion, carrot and celery until soft, 7-10 min. Add bacon, basil, oregano and green onions; cook and stir for 2 min. Stir the flour into the mixture until completely dissolved; pour in the chicken broth and beer; cook until heated through. Melt the cheeses in the mixture in small batches; season with the garlic powder and serve.

Hope you all enjoy it; it's a good, hearty soup. Today we're trying a creamy chicken and wild rice since Dan had some from BreadCo and loved it. (Oh, to be so spoiled!) It's from allrecipes.com and it's called cream of chicken soup with wild rice. We'll let you know how it goes; it got rave reviews. (Pretty good, hunh, looking up recipes on allrecipes.com and all?)

Just a funny note: Sarah reported on her blog that she and Anna and I ran a 5k race the other day. She mentioned that Anna did quite well, actually winning 3rd place in the 15-19 year old category. What she didn't mention was that she and I also medaled; she in first for the 20-29 year olds and me in 2nd for the 50-59 year olds. And this despite our 40:30 time! (There were no others in the 20-29 year olds and only two of us in the 50-59s...) Anyway, it was fun! We were pretty stiff the next day though!

Miriam's Shrimp Bisque

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (1.25 ounce) envelope hollandaise sauce mix
• 4 cups half-and-half, divided
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning TM
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 pound fresh Shrimp
• -->We bought a pound of fresh shrimp at the seafood counter and had them steam it for us. We refrigerated it when we got home, and then de-shelled it when we were ready to make it. I think you could definitely use frozen shrimp too.
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, blend flour and hollandaise sauce mix with 2 cups half-and-half.
2. Melt butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add hollandaise mixture, stirring constantly until thickened. Add remaining half-and-half, Old Bay and whipping cream. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Add shrimp, stirring gently until warmed through. Serve immediately. Blend in blender if desired for bisque.

The Old Bay Seasoning we found in the spice section and it is a seafood and chicken seasoning. It really adds great flavor to the soup and can be used for other recipes later. Let me know what you think.