First thing this morning it was a bit drizzly. Boys milked. Checking cows, Jacob reported another big healthy black heifer calf sucking good! Mother is #89. Another calm morning; this time I got a good start on school planning. I have a ways to go, but at least I have a start made. Now all I have to do is finish [smile]. After milking, I took 3 littles with me to take Jesse to Uncle Randy’s. Actually, Jesse drove while I made lists, which worked out well. Sometimes my mind just whirls with thoughts/responsibilities/planning and I must write them down to settle my mind…then I know I won’t forget. “The weakest ink is stronger than the strongest memory” (incidentally, which I do not have). Various jobs, lunch, swam at Uncle Jerry’s, home to nap for Joshua and chores, supper prep, supper, and most of us to church. Milking got started late so Levi and Jesse didn’t make it home before we left; we missed them but thankfully this doesn’t happen often. At church we read in II Timothy 2; we were exhorted to study the Word of God. Tom also pointed out that we need to shun profane and vain babblings. In red (Jesus’ words), my Bible says, “That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). Lord, help me to be more thoughtful, to think before I speak, to pray before I write. “For by [my] words [I] shalt be justified, and by [my] words [I] shalt be condemned” (v. 37). Written words can later be deleted, but spoken words cannot be erased. We all (me especially, with my trigger-tongue) need God’s help and grace in controlling that unruly member; praise God that He WILL help and guide us. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). Enjoyed fellowship, then home to catch up with our boys before beds for all.
A few pictures:
New pet enjoying a meal (????yuk).
Ben’s truck – quite impressive creativity, I think.
Home grown fried chicken, sweet corn, potatoes, gravy (made from boiled home-grown chicken broth), cucumber salad. We also had applesauce, home grown and home made. We all kind of get a kick out of 100% home grown meals like this one. (Well, someone always points out that the mayo, milk, and sugar of the salad dressing, the sugar in the applesauce, the flour and spices in the chicken coating, butter on sweet corn, etc. aren’t home grown; I contend we could eat it all - and thrive - without those things, but it certainly is better with them.) And it was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!
“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him” (Psalm 67: 5-7).
We do praise our God, and He does bless us, and so we do continue to praise Him…He ALONE is worthy!
We love cucumber salad in the summer – so tasty, cool, and refreshing.
Cucumber Salad
4-5 (?) cucumbers, about 3-4(?) cups (we don’t measure, just kind of guess), peeled and sliced thin
Whisk ingredients for dressing: 1/4 cup mayonnaise (we use Aldi salad dressing)
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
Mix dressing and cucumbers. Enjoy!
A short tutorial on cucumbers:
The first time we made this (Monday?), we could not eat it because some of the cucumbers were so bitter. They were AWFUL. After a bit of research, we learned that cucumbers contain cucurbitacin,a bitter compound naturally found in the leaves and stems. Under stress, such as low moisture or high temperatures, it can be found in the fruit as well; we certainly discovered that! It concentrates near the stem and in the skin; I’ve been taste-testing each one before we use it. Most smaller cucumbers are fine; we’ve found that the larger ones are bitter near the stem end, but the opposite half is ok to use. We’re trying to pick them smaller…it’s NOT fun to taste-test a bitter one.
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