Change is good

So I made some changes to Green Gates Farm blog. I changed the design. I'm not talented enough to design my own. I added three new blogs to follow. One is Magie's Meadow, she's my bestest friend (yes Mom, I know "bestest" isn't a real word but that's the word Magie and I use.) I also added Carpool Queen and 7000 feet, both pretty awesome blogs and 7000 feet takes place in Colorado, yeah for Colorado. Nothing against the other 49 states, but you have to admit Colorado is pretty awesome. And I wasn't born here, nope, I'm a native Kansas girl.
So there will be some changes going on at the real life Green Gates Farm. We are selling Lily, one of the Boer does at the auction today. She's been butting Heartlee, Baby and Sasha around and they don't have a momma to take care of them. Well, Sasha does but Sage isn't getting up and doesn't acknowledge Sasha as hers anyway.
This next week I'll be gone most of the time helping Magie move to the new farm. and then the following week I'll start redecorating the master bedroom--wallpaper and paint, flooring. Hope to finish it by Alex's birthday on July 10. He will be 7.

10 on the 10th

This is my first 10 on the 10th so bear with me. Thanks to Meredith at Live at 7000 feet for this list. Please see her blog to the right as I can't figure out how to do a link.
10 things I can't live without

1. Andy
2. Alex
3. Peter
Isn't that enough?
4. My parents
5. My best friend Magie
6. Magie's three girls
7. Grandma's pot roast recipe
8. open space - why we live in the country
9. the multitude of animals running around here
10. last but not least Pepsi-Cola.

There, I did it

Dinner time prayer

This evening Alex, almost 7 and will be in 1st grade this fall, was reading the dinner prayer. Bear in mind that Peter wrote it out and he has very bad penmanship skills. The word in parenthesis is what should actually be said.

Lord, we thank Lee (thee) for this food, and bless it to the nourishment of our bodies. Forgive our sons (sins) and sove us for food (for Christ's sake.) Amen.

I'm sorry I couldn't help but to start laughing. Alex left the table in a huff and only came back so that he could have dessert of icees.

Happy Birthday baby brother

It was 41 years ago today that my mom had my little brother. Ken was born with a black eye and a dent in his head because they induced as my dad was leaving in three days for Vietnam. He was a helicopter pilot in the US Army. Ken's 5 years, 6 months and 8 days younger than me and about a foot taller.
He was okay as a little brother, HE got away with a lot more than I did. He was pretty funny most of the time. There was the time that right before school pictures he not only hit his head on the radiator he also cut his bangs....he was three at the time so you know how his self barber job turned out.
I keep telling Alex that he's a little brother like his Uncle Ken and his dad. Andy prefers to be the older sibling like me.
But anyway - Happy birthday Kenny.

Wishes

If wishes were horses, I'd have a whole herd. Saw a shooting star tonight while I was filling the horse tank. I wished for another horse so Comet would have a buddy since Gypsy doesn't like him much and Sophie hangs out with her mom.
Wished the coyotes would be quiet.
Wished that the boys would get along better. But they are good kids. Mostly.
Wished that while the population of snakes is declining in Africa, the rattler population in Colorado could take a serious nosedive. I really, really don't like snakes.
Wished it wouldn't be hot tomorrow, I have peppers and tomatoes still to plant.
Wished the grasshoppers would find something else to eat besides my garden.
So, if wishes were horses.

Cereal

My boys love cereal. Especially Alex. He would live on cereal if I'd let him. He has cereal for breakfast, morning snack, lunch dessert, afternoon snack--you get the idea.
When I was a kid, we had healthy cereal or grits for breakfast. The boys don't like grits, (I didn't either back then). Having Alpha bits was a rare treat. I don't get a lot of sugary cereals. Mostly we get corn flakes or rice krispies. I do have a box of raisin bran crunch but the boys don't like it.
They keep asking for oatmeal but I just can't wrap my brain around oatmeal in the summer. I do have some blueberries to put on the cereal but we think Andy is allergic. Also have mixed berries and strawberries. But my fave is still captain crunch. The original.

Radio Pudding

Many year ago my Grandma Smith was listening to the radio and heard this recipe broadcast. She missed the name of the dessert so the family knows it as "Radio Pudding."

Make a syrup out of:
1 c. sugar
2 c. water
1/8 t. salt
Put into baking dish

Cream together 1/2 c. sugar and 1 T. butter. Add 1/2 c. milk alternately with mix of 1 c. flour, 2 t. baking powder, 1 T cocoa. Add 1/2 c. raisins and drop by spoonfuls into hot syrup.

Bake 350* for 25 minutes. Serve with whipped topping. Recipe makes 6-8 servings, in a 9x9 pan. Double for 9x13 pan.

We have had this for many family get togethers, mostly holidays. And there's never any leftovers.

Our church is celebrating it's Centennial. We are putting together a cookbook. This is one of the recipes that I'm submitting.