Creative Homemaker

Here's the link to my neice's news update. They have now moved into their new apartment. I'm so thankful for organizations like Operation Homefront. Moving in and up!

The foodbank where I volunteer got in pallets of Crimson Heart Pluots. They are a cross between an apricot and a plum, with slick skin like a plum. They are sweet and juicy without the pithy taste you sometimes get from apricots. I adore them!! I canned them all, doing 33 pints of jam and 33 quarts of pluots in a light syrup just for eating. The jam turned out beautifully, the pluots alone? Not so much. They boiled over each time I removed them from the canner and the fruit rose to the top badly. While they won't win any blue ribons they will feed my family, and that is my ultimate goal. I spoke to my Mom and she said maybe I was boiling them too hard, so the last batch I turned down to just a simmer and left them in the canner to cool a bit before I pulled them out. They didn't boil over and spew forth like the first batches did, but they still rose to the top and looked like they had had the life boiled out of them. Any canners out there have any recommendations? I did a ...

Eighteen months ago my nephew-in-law was injured in Afghanistan. He has been recuperating at Walter Reed ever since and has undergone numerous, (like nearly 80!!) surgeries to repair his pelvic bones, spine and legs. He has a long road of recuperation ahead of him. His wife, my niece Stephanie and their daughter Maddie have been with him during this long process. They have been staying at the local Fisher House. It is very convenient for them, right down the street from Walter Reed but cramped, and when you have a rambunctious toddler, it can be very difficult. Operation Homefront has built an apartment complex in Maryland that will house recovering soldiers and their families while they transition back into the army or into civilian life. They are completely furnished and will be provided free of charge to the families. I’m just amazed! What a blessing to these families, not to have to worry about those expenses and can concentrate on getting their soldier better. It is good to see ou...

I'm involved with a company which helps people restore and preserve their memories. They might be called scrapbooks. The company might have two initials, which are the same as my daughter's. And the founder might have appeared recently in an interview with Donny Deutch on The Big Idea . I love this comany, I love what it stands for, I love taking photos and making them into "histories" of my family. I love creating special books that my kids enjoy perusing. I love it that a favorite past time of their's is to drag out "their books" and read the stories about themselves. I was surfing, (imagine that!) and came across a few you tube videos. (I haven't quite figured out how to imbed them here, but you can always click on the link and watch them on youtube. Another cool thing I just found, a movie about it! www.scrappedmovie.com !! Where was I when this came out? Man! How do I get a copy? Sold out, he says! Gotta have it, anybody have one collecting du...

Because my husband is only a Chaplain Candidate and hasn’t finished his seminary yet, he has a civilian job while he’s in school but gets to do some active duty work and “play army” periodically. He loves it, he’s a good soldier and really loves ministering to the troops with which he is working. I long to be full-time army, all the time. We are an army family, we have been for nearly 18 years, and our kids have grown up with secure gates, ID checks and the commissary. I feel at home in our army community, and my truck wants to turn in when we pass the gates to post. But in the meantime we are a family without a city; we straddle the fence, neither here nor there in a constant state of change. Transitions are hard, I hate the “limbo” feeling of not belonging and I had to deal with the effects of it yesterday. Well, rather, it started the day before at the pharmacy. I had tried to refill a prescription using our civilian insurance. Of course, since Bear has been on active duty our civ...

I don’t multitask very well. Brain malfunction, I guess, or maybe there’s just too much going on in my life. I’ve read that people who multitask are less productive in all areas of their life. I guess I should just stick to one thing at a time. I tried to stick a dirty diaper in the mailbox once, and I’ve been known to put milk away in the cupboard and not the fridge. Today was no different. I’ve been trying to cook better meals for my family and my crockpot is wonderful for getting things started early in the morning and forgetting. I fixed my coffee and just poured my favorite creamer, hadn’t even taken a sip, then got out the ingredients out for this sloppy joe recipe . I snipped off the end of the “sausage roll” wrapper of ground turkey, when plop, it flew right into my freshly poured brew. E. coli coffee, anyone? Sigh…

Thank you, dear readers for your prayers. Here is a quick update on my family members. My mother in law, Nana is still in the hospital and will undergo tests today to see where the blockage is exactly and what can be done about it. They may or may not operate pending the outcome of the testing. Pop may move her to a bigger hospital, (they live in a small town, with one small hospital.) My friend Larry from the food bank is home now and recovering from his 6-bypass surgery last Saturday. I'm going to volunteer today, and I better not see him there! He has a tendency to overwork and not recuperate enough. Last Thursday while he was supposed to be resting, he called 6 times to remind us of something he was sure we had forgotten. "Yes, Larry, we know." "Yes, Larry, you left us a list." "Yes, Larry, Fran will take care of that, she's already gotten it out of the freezer." "Yes, Larry! Quit calling! Go lie down!" "Goodbye, Larry!" Se...