Crochet Me Crazy

Well, I tried and new recipe tonight and everyone liked it. Alison voted it her new favorite. It's really rich though but super easy to make.

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked boneless chicken breast, shredded
3/4 cups flours
1/2 cups butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups heavy cream
4.5 oz package wild rice

Combine broth, water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil, stire in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat. In small bowl, combine salt, pepper & flour. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning package until bubbly. Reduce heat to low, stir in flour by tablespoons to form a roux. Whisk in cream a little at a time until smooth. Cook until thickened (about 5 min) Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook until heated 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat.

It's 9 pm and I'm about to go nuts waiting for Jeff to get home and tell me how his day went. I haven't talked to him all day until he called me at about 7:00 pm to say he was on his way home but he won't be back for 3 more hours. Apparently, he didn't drive the truck today. Either way, I'm so spoiled and used to Jeff being home at night. I wonder if there's an abandoned wife club in the area somewhere I could join? LOL!

Alison's dance class went well. She did a wonderful job on following and catching on to what the other girls were doing. They do some things a bit differently than Alison has be trained to do. It's definately the right class for her. We saw the last few minutes of the lower class that the instructor was thinking about putting her in. Alison will enjoy the challenge of the higher class. The teacher worked them hard and the class is 1 1/2 hours 3 times a week. She's going to be getting into very good shape I tell ya! The girls in the class were nice to Alison too. Alison was saying that they didn't seem to have the "cliques" that they had in her old dance schoool. It was very different atmosphere. So anyway, we are encouraged after the first class and are praying it continues to go well for her!

I'm sitting here in this totally silent, empty visitor's center...except for me. There are not many people in the park. I expect this day to drag on. I hate being bored when there are so many things I could be getting done. Oh well, I am accomplishing one thing...and that is that I'm logging hours towards our park volunteering. I'm crocheting some....I'm on the internet some...lots of time to think...and pray too. I'm praying for some other people I am sad for. Lots of people have so much to deal with and going on in their lives. I always like to fix things or help...but I can't really fix anything or help.

Today is a day of "firsts"....It will be Alison's First class of ballet at her new ballet school this evening. I'm praying everything goes well for her today. It is also Jeff's first day to get in the truck and drive with his CDL permit. I'll be interested to hear about his day this evening.

Left Sunday for Houston and got back this evening. To make a long story short....We had a lot to get done while we were there. Monday we ran errands...got tires and registration for the pop-up...everyone got cheap hair cuts and other various odds and ends. Tuesday we rented the big U-Haul truck and started unloading the storage into it. Oh my goodness, I have WAY too much stuff! No time to worry about that right now though. Jeff and Michael loaded until closing and then got up the next morning and started it again. They finished by 6:30 pm or so and then we had dinner with our ex-neighbors. Alison got to squeeze in some time with one of her good friends while we were there. Next morning was time to leave already. We finally hit the road and I followed Jeff driving the big U-Haul pulling the pop-up. We are finally home and we had to pull into the park to unhook the pop-up from the U-Haul and then take the pop-up over to the stables with the truck. Then, I followed Jeff in the truck to the storage to drop off the U-Haul. Then, he brought me back to the RV and he and Michael are headed back to the storage unit to unload as much stuff as they can tonight until they drop. They have to get it all unloaded and we have to have that truck back by 4:00 pm tomorrow. We are all happy to be back.

It was almost eerie strange when we drove in this evening. The whole place was like a ghost-town. The corner store was closed, the park gate was deserted and closed....not a soul in site! I remember it was like this when we first moved here but it was a strange feeling after so much hubbub. There are just a a hand full of people in the park and it's so silent tonight. I love it.

Well, that's my abbreviated nut-shell of our trip. I'm thankful the good Lord got us there and back safely with no incidents.

Feeling stressed? Well, maybe these pictures will make you feel better.




I found these pictures on my camera that Michael apparently took while he was out walking last night.

Michael wants to start an online photo album to put the pictures of all the stuff he makes in. That's good because that means he'll be taking the pictures of his creations and I won't have to round him and his stuff up to get the pictures!

Michael just got his Taxidermy DVD course in the mail yesterday and he's started watching. I do think Michael could be very good at this but it's not going to be a cheap thing to practice as you have to have supplies. He's already asked to order scalpels. Also, I can see what might be ahead for us. Does this mean we have to have ice chests of dead animals and stinky smells in our future. Where is he going to get his first practice animal? He's been making knives this week that have real frog skin on the handles this week. Lucikly, I think he's tired of the frog skins after two of them. The rest of the frogs in the pond can relax now.

We talked to the park superintendent yesreday and told him our intentions of possibly leaving the park within the next month. We could stay longer if we want to. We are feeling the stress of getting the volunteer hours in along with our other responsibilities. He practically offered Michael a job in the park. He said he could use him even if Michael doesn't have a driver's license he can ride with one of the other guys. Michael likes working at the gate but I don't think that's what he had in mind. Driving around sounds like custodial/maintenance stuff to me. Michael has been going to the gate in the evenings by himself and getting some of our hours in for us.

Alison is going to have to miss her first week of dance classes this week because we are going to Houston this week. The end of the month snuck up on us and we have to get our pop-up from our old friends and neighbor's back yard because they are selling their house and moving! I think we must be crazy going to Houston in mid-August to move all that stuff out of storage but it must be done! It's going to be a week of mad-crazy working trying to get everything we need to get done and get back here before Memorial Day weekend.

Well, here are a few more pictures of Michael's handy-work:

This is the knife with the frog skin on it...



This snake was previously a stick....


Handy-work from Cedar...

My son is always ALWAYS busy with his hands doing something...and I do mean that literally. This is what he is up to now. His creativity never ceases to amaze me.

He carved the handle for this knife blade. He burned the design on the handle with a wood burner.
He made a sheath for the knife as well.


This was an old knife blade that he carved the handle for. The sheath is made from the pig skin that he tanned and I posted pictures of a few weeks ago.




Another one

Alison had a fun day yesterday. She lead the first two rides and then went and spent the day with her friend and her friend's grandma. They went to the river, then had pizza and ice cream. Too bad the girl lives in Michigan and only comes once a year! They really had a lot in common. They are both christians, both do ballet, love horses and do lots of crafts.

Today, we went into town and registered Alison for ballet classes which start on Monday! Classes are 3 days a week! At least I don't have to drive 45 minutes to classes anymore like I used to. I paid for one semester to let us see how we like it. We're going to give it shot. We'll see....the instructor seemed a little bit defensive to me and maybe a little rough around the edges. We don't mind a "strict" teacher at all. Alison's dance school she came from was very strict. I'm keeping an open mind though. She'll have to get to know Alison. Sometimes people come across that way at first and then soften up later once they get to know you. Anyway, we'll just be nice and see what happens.

I am oh so close to finishing that baby blanket I'm working on! I worked on it quite a bit today in the visitor's center. It was very slow and boring in there today.

Well, we're about to eat dinner and then leave to feed the horses this evening.

I worked in the Visitor's Center today and then did 4 large loads of laundry for the rest of the day. The rest of the family was working at the stables. Then they all went to explore a cave. I was just too tired this evening and still working on laundry when they called to say they were going exploring.

We're trying to figure out how to let Alison off working tomorrow long enough to get together with a girl she met at the stables last week. She's here visiting her grandmother. I think Alison will be able to leave and go swimming at the river after the first two rides tomorrow.

I've got all the school work lined out now and just finished up ordering the last subject, Language Arts, today. We did extensive Grammar last year and the kids learned a lot. I've always wanted to try a literature approach to Language Arts so we're going to live Total Language Plus a try this year. It looks good online and it can be used with different age kids so I ordered one study and if we like it we'll order another study. I had it narrowed down between that at Quality Character Language Arts which we may still use next year. So, we've got Biology, American History, Civil War History, Pre-Algebra, Language Arts which includes our vocabulary, writing, grammar and literature in it. I think we've got the Agriculture, PE, Shop, and Art and even a little business covered just by working and being at the stables! LOL I'll be getting Alison registered for ballet in the next week or so. I feel pretty good about the school year and am starting to feel anxious to get started after things settle down around here.

This last three days at the stables have been non-stop. Lots of rides. Alison has been tired this week too. Bless her heart...she's been riding every ride and it is hot and tiring when you have to go on 4 or 5 rides in a row without a break. Alison is such a little trooper though. She works hard all day and then stays late to help her daddy feed the horses and scoop the poop. This week they have been squeezing a bite to eat in when they can get a break in the rides. They haven't necessarily been a lot of people on the rides but its the same work for Jeff & Alison. They love it anyway though! Alison would be a lot happier this week if Princess was saddled though. She does get her out on a lead rope most days and work with her. I can't believe her and that horse. That horse is so relaxed when Alison is brushing her. She works on getting her to let her lift her feet. Princess will pretty much lift it herself for Alison. She works with her to get her to walk with her and stop at her shoulder. She works with her to get her to back up. I am just so amazed. Michael is running around making stuff. This week he's been making knife handles out of wood. When I can pin him down to get some pictures of those, I will. He's here and there and mostly up at Bev's using her tools.

Alison and I did the hayride together on Thursday. Alison took a picture of our little set-up. We only have one more hayride after this one and we're done for the season.


I'm about ready to get out of the park if we can. It's just so much extra work to try to get in. Working from morning until evening with the horses and then putting in park hours until 10:30 or 11:00 for Jeff is too much. It would be nice to be able to come home and relax or do things we need to do. It's going to get even harder to get the hours in when the visitor's center condenses its hours in a few weeks. Right now they are open 7 days a week. I get 12 of our 24 hours in every week just by working in there and then it gets us another 5 hours for doing the hayride. The rest Jeff gets at night.

Tomorrow we have a whole day off! Jeff hasn't had a whole day off since he started at the stables! We've been working 1/2 days on Sundays but tomorrow she said to shut the whole day down. Alison met a girl this week who came to ride and they made friends. They wanted to get together tomorrow so we're going to church in the morning and then try to let them do something before we head to town for groceries.

I like these pictures of Alison and Princess today. Princess came in with a bite on her back this morning so they didn't get to saddle her.


I saved up the money from working at the stables and it's almost time to register Alison for Ballet. We are about to need to get serious about school work soon. I told Alison she's going to have a hard time having time for the horses, ballet and school work. I asked her if she had to give one of them up, which would she choose....she said she guess it would be ballet! That's a huge change! We'll see if we can keep them all up though.

I've been struggling with my camper getting hot while I'm trying to cook dinner every night. When I turn that gas stove on, it heats up really quick in here. I decided to buy myself a electric skillet this weekend while we were in town. Tonight was my first dinner cooked in my new skillet. It solved my problem! Tonight I made, literally, a "no sweat" dinner! What a relief!
I tried a new recipe. It tastes good and I think everyone will like it but it just doesn't make enough for us. I would have to double this for it to be a meal for my family.

Oh! And I think I am finally developing a taste for celery! I usually leave celery out of recipes because I don't like it. I decided to use the celery this time and I love it! I don't think this recipe would be near as good without it. I usually try things I don't like occasionally because I know that our tastes change over time.
Chicken Jambalaya

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
2/3 cup white rice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken meat

1. Melt butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add celery, onion and
saute until tender. Stir in tomatoes, broth, rice, thyme or basil,
garlic salt, ground black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
2. Bring all to a boil; reduce heat, cover skillet and simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in chicken or turkey and cook until heated through.

Jeff & Michael took this picture when they came in last night. Mr. Porcupine was paying us a visit...



What was formerly a cedar branch....
Michael cut and sanded these beautiful cedar boards. They smell so good!



He made them to remake our steps outside the gift shop...



He made this display for this "Cedar Memory Chips" It is amazing! this was made from a cedar branch as well! That kid is so talented!



He and Bev (82 yrs old) are joined at the hip. She drives him to town when he needs something. She thinks he's just the best. She's super creative too and knows how to do everything and has all the tools to do it! It's all very sweet...she just lost her husband a few months back to Alzheimer's. Having the kids and us around is making her feel needed and loved. She's the sweetest, toughest, smartest old lady I know!

Michael latest edition to the gift shop. Today he was busy all day using Bev's saw making cedar planks. didn't see much of him today. I'm sure I'll have many more pictures to take of the creations he makes out of those. He's such a talented young man!



It was a better day at the stables today. Let's hope tomorrow we fair even better. We'll be wrapping up the tourist season around here in a few weeks. Things will slow down considerably. It looks like we might move out the Stables in the fall. They have told us we can move into the extra little house they have on the property. It will make doing caring for the horses and doing all the jobs around there a lot easier to take care of with us being on site. It's a tiny little house with a kitchen/dining, 1 bedroom, and a large living room but there's 2 twins and a double bed. As tiny as it is, it will seem huge compared to the RV!

Well, I'm tired and going to bed!

It was a really quiet day at the stables today. We only had 4 riders all day...really sad. I sat down with the kids and helped them concentrate through some school work. It's hard to concentrate on school when there is so many exciting things to do around you! Michael got busy with Old Bev's Band saw and made some nice cedar strips and sanded them. One of them he used to mount one of his snake skins on. It is now proudly hanging in my RV.

Nothing very exciting happened today. Jeff is recovered from his first rodeo he had yesterday while out on a ride. He took out a ride and a little girl started getting motion sick. He stopped and her and her dad got off the horses. They were going to wait for Jeff to go back and get them on the trail in his truck. Well, the horse Jeff was riding was Stormy. She is a young horse that came back from a trainer messed up because they mistreated the horses. They have been trying to work them through it and get them to trust again. Jeff has been working on Stormy since we got there. Well, when Jeff got back on her, she started bucking up and down like crazy! Jeff stayed on her but he was sore from getting banged around like that! We think that when Jeff tied her up, she panicked when she put her head up from grazing and found her head come up in a tree branch with a bunch of moss hanging in it. She wasn't completely calmed down when Jeff got on her. She wasn't convinced the "bugars" were gone! It's funny, that's what we call them to the horses....bugers. When we're trying to comfort them, we tell them "No Bugers". For horses, there are boogers everywhere!!
So Jeff rode her today to see how she was...she was perfectly fine today. There were no bugars today.

I brought my yarn to the visitor's center today and I made this coozie. We had been talking yesterday about stuff we could put in the gift shop at the stables. They like to put western or horse stuff in there. I was thinking how popular coozies are in the area. I finished the main part but I'm thinking of crocheting the top with a trim of leather or putting some type of cowboy/western concho or something hanging from it. I haven't even decides yet....maybe even some twine or bailing string! I started on another one out of plastic trash. This would work good with the bailing string as trim because it is sorta pink in color. Anyway, I post pictures of what I come up with.

Mrs. Stable is happy with how well Alison is working with Princess in the line. She gave Alison some other assignments on how to work with her. Today, she wanted Alison to get a bridle and lead rope to work with Princess with. Alison wants her OWN horse! She wants to be able to go ride off when she wants. She's not to that point yet but Mrs. Stable said that she would leave Princess to her in her will! LOL

Alison got to drive a tractor last week! She wasn't really dressed for it but hey, you can't pass up the opportunity.

Just a few pictures I took a few days ago....

Today was Jeff and the kids first day on their own at the stables. They got home late tonight at about 8:00 pm. I worked in the visitor's center and then came home and started the very large mountain of laundry. I cooked dinner and they ate and told me their horse and rider stories of the day. Jeff and Michael left for the front gate to get some park hours in. Jeff has to start getting up a lot earlier now to get in to feed the horses. Ryan has been doing that up until now. I'm not sure what time he's planning on getting started in the mornings now but I know the horses eat for an hour once you throw the hay and they have to start saddling at 7:30 am. I told Alison she could go in early and help daddy feed and then go over to the little house and take a nap until it's time to start saddling. Well, this won't go on a whole lot longer because the summer will be over before we know it! They will only take out rides by reservation in the fall.

I'm not setting my alarm in the morning...though I know I won't be able to sleep late, I'm sure gonna try! I don't technically HAVE to go into the stables tomorrow but the rest of my family will be there so I'll probably end up there anyway.

I may never have time to crochet again it feels like! I'm pretty sure I feel a hat phase coming on though. I saw some yarn in Wal-Mart this weekend and found myself thinking what a nice hat it would make. Well, I didn't buy the yarn but I definately need to go look at my yarn soon! At least I have it here with me storage now. I need to finish this blanket I've got started and then move on to those quicker, smaller projects. Fall and winter will slow the pace around here considerably.

Hope everyone has a great week!

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All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. -- Arthur Schopenhauer