Fresh Salsa - Using Up Garden Goodies

As I mentioned before we have been blessed with all kinds of garden goodies from friends and now our own garden is producing like crazy so I thought I would share in a few posts some of the ways I use up all our produce before it goes bad.

One of the first things I do is make Fresh Salsa. It is so good and just tastes like summer. ~smile~

First I chop up some tomatoes in small pieces. This is a great use for all those cherry tomatoes and they taste so good in this. mmm.... This will be the bulk of the salsa so put in as many as you like to reach the batch size you need.
Then I add in some diced onion (red is best but any kind works). Depending on the size of the batch I will use half to a whole onion. Smaller the pieces the better.
I put in 2 diced jalapenos - pieces as small as possible. The jalapenos are why there are gloves in this picture. If I don't wear them I will inevitably touch my eye with jalapeno juice on my fingers. I don't like it too hot but if you do add more or leave in the seeds.
I also add in about 4 cloves of minced garlic.
That's it just stir and refrigerate for a bit for the flavors to blend and enjoy.
You can also and a bit of lime juice if you like.
 This keeps in the fridge for just about 2 days then it gets too soggy.

                            So fresh and so good - good for you too! It couldn't be easier!
                                   (The yellow in my salsa is yellow tomatoes ~smile~)

Happy Tuesday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Sermon Notes

This past Sunday we went with our son and his girlfriend to their church. It was a wonderful time and t was so nice to worship together. I thought I would share a couple of notes I took during the sermon as they were really encouraging to me.

The sermon was entitled A song of praise and was based on Pslam 145. He spoke about all the trials David went through and lamented about in the Pslams leading up to this one. He said it is OK to to say I don't understand what is going on and I don't like it but I trust in Your goodness Father. It may not always feel like God is for me but I know it. The feelings will catch up when I live that truth.

Love is evident in acts of restoration. He upholds, provides and lifts us up. He makes more allowance for fallen people than we do. We were on the bottom and He raised us up. He meets needs at the proper time. When we are waiting for Him to do something it may not be the proper time.

I will praise Him even though I do not always understand. We are the reflectors of the glory of God. God's greatness must be declared. Our God is far greater and far more worthy of our praise than any other. It is not enough to contemplate God's glory we must declare it with words and actions.

The very beat of my heart is because of His graciousness. The pastor then told a story of another pastor who preached a sermon and as soon as he said amen at the end his heart stopped and he dropped dead. He said when he listened to that sermon he could hear his chin hit the pulpit as he fell. He never forgot that and how quickly this life can be over.

I will extol you and praise You always - you cannot keep silent about God.

It was a great sermon - these are just a few of the notes that stood out to me. I suffer from chronic pain and have had many surgeries for issues I have and this sermon reminded me that though I may not understand why this is the case (which is ok)... God is always good and He loves me. I will give Him praise and extol Him because without Him I could not have made it through all I have and I certainly could not have done it with the joy in my heart that He gives me. He is everything to me and I love Him more everyday. Trials truly do cause you to lean heavier on Him and draw closer to Him everyday. There is joy in the journey in knowing you do not walk it alone He will never leave you or forsake you. Praise His glorious Name!

Blessings,
Liisa

Girls Day Out

 The other day my son's girlfriend and I went for a girls day out. Our first stop was to Your to Cover in Linwood Ontario about an hour or so from us. This is a skirt shop a lady named Colleen runs out of her home. She is so sweet and sells modest dresses, tops and head coverings as well. I really enjoy going there and I so needed a new skirt! I was blessed to find one with Colleen's help. ~smile~
Here is a link to her face book page - I do not have face book so I am not sure what all is on there but I know even without it you can view her what's new posts etc. and she does ship items now (it is way more fun to go there though *wink*) Note - Her page says Wellesley but she is in Linwood. I guess it wouldn't let her put that for some reason.

 Next we stopped in at Living Waters a Christian Store also in Linwood. They have such wonderful things!! It is so much more than a bookstore though they have alot of those as well. You can order from their catalogue as well as online. Their catalogue has kitchen items and much more as well. Here is the link if you are interested. When we were there I picked up some cards for the church and a goodbye gift for one of our ladies (more on that later) and a copy of Keepers at Home magazine! Yay! I so love this magazine. It is a magazine for ladies and is filled with wonderful articles, advice, recipes and more so much encouragement for us in our roles as women. If you are interested in more information about it here is a picture of their contact info.

From there we decided we better grab some lunch! Off to our favorite restaurant in that area called At the Crossroads which is just south of Elmira. It is a fantastic home cooking buffet. So many yummy things! It also has a huge gift shop with so many wonderful things I am sure I "need", so a dangerous spot for me haha! I made it out with just a really cute little distressed red metal maple leaf to hang on my pantry door for fall.

Our last stop before heading home was to Picard's Peanuts between Elmira and St. Jacob's. We thought we'd grab the men some treats. If you have never been to Picard's you have to go. the make chip nuts in every imaginable flavor, nuts of all kinds and flavors and dried fruits chocolate of all kinds oh just an amazing place. We were glad we ate first and were full! they also have samples of all the nuts and chip nuts so you can try before you buy. Bus tours actually stop there. Here is a link to their site as well.

And that ended our day out as we had to dash back because Shaina had to work at 3. She works at a senior's home. She is a sweet heart and all the seniors love her.

Our only snag was we did not have as much time as we thought we would as they are doing road work all over our area and we kept running into closed roads and detours. Thankfully we only hit one on our way back and Shania was not late for work!

Just thought I would share our adventure.
Happy Saturday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Hoarding or Money Saving?

This is my collection of oven mitts. On first glance I know you are thinking hoarding but I have a reason for having so many pairs. Well it makes sense to me anyway hee hee!

I love to shop second hand for everything I can and save money. Oven mitts are one of the things that do not come up all that often in the shops so I buy a set whenever I come across them if they are in good shape. I have not had to buy oven mitts at the store in years. If mine have a little accident or get too bad I can just go to my linen closet and grab a new pair. I have a spare ironing board cover ready to go when I need it too  - those are even harder to find and my spare was a very expensive one new and was still in the package when I found it at a second hand store.

If I can buy things I know I will be needing even if I do not need it right now for a fraction of what they cost new I think it is a wise investment . I will do this if I find something on clearance as well and I just put it away until I need it.

A word to the wise though - this can get out of hand if you are a person with hoarding tendencies. I do not go overboard. For example I will not buy anymore oven mitts until I get through some of the ones I have. I wouldn't have 3 ironing board covers either, one is enough since you don't go through them like oven mitts. We have a big old house with lots of room but I don't feel the need to buy just because I have room to put it. Well books might be my one weakness that way!  I have two shelves of books in my "to read"  pile and more being stacked on top so I really need to stop buying books for a bit! It doesn't help that I am the church librarian and I keep thinking "Oooo this book will be good for the library and this one and this one. The only trouble is I need to read these books first to be sure they are ok and I am backed up in my reading. *yikes!*

So yes moderation is the key to being wise and frugal and stocking up for tomorrow. ~smile~

Happy Friday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Bible Study Buddies

I try my best to make time each morning to do some personal Bible study. I hop into my recliner grab my Bible and my notebook. Today I was in James 2 and 3 - what a blessed time with my Father! I love this quiet time alone after the men are off to work and before the business of the day starts.

Today I had some friends to "help" me....

There couldn't be any more lovey and cuddly Bible study buddies could there? These are our cats Timothy (the dark one) who we really call Shmoo and Piggy. She is my sweetie cat. If it were up to her I would spend all day in my chair with her on my lap. ~smile~
It was a good morning!

Blessings,
Liisa

Special Items

 This is one of my most prized possessions it is a hand crocheted doily that my Great Grandmother made. She passed away at 100 in 2000. I loved Nanny Stewart very much and I miss her still so I cherish this handiwork of hers. For awhile I had it hidden away in my hope chest but then I realized one day that I never look at it or enjoy it which is sad. So out it came and it has been on my dining room table almost everyday since. Yes spills happen and my heart stops for a moment but in the scheme of life it is only a thing. My memories are not tied all up in it. It brings me far more joy to look at it everyday and smile than to hoard it away. Stains come out and it survives. ~smile~

 Upstairs I have a china tea set my Mother in Law gave me just before we married. It is in the protective padded cases it came to me in. My Mother in Law got it for her wedding from her Mother in Law. The truly sad thing is her whole marriage it had never left it's cases except to show me and I have been married for 26 years now and it hasn't left the cases in all those years. I am not even sure I remember what it looks like except it is blue and white. How awful to have something so lovely and be so scared of ruining it that I never even look at it!

 What good are they if they just keep getting passed on and no one ever sees them? It is just a padded burden when you move! No more! I am planning a tea with friends this minute and breaking out the tea set and sharing the story of it's heritage as we enjoy it!

Can I encourage you to enjoy your treasures?

Happy Thursday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Parsnips and Parsimony

I so love watching Parsnips and Parsimony on You Tube. They are a wonderful Christian Family in New York State. Art and Janelle are currently expecting their 8th child. They have a vlog of day to day happenings in a large homeschooling family. Janelle does a lot of coking from scratch so there are recipes and tutorials as well. One thing I really appreciate is that they show real life. So it is not always perfect but it is reality.
I really enjoy their vlogs and am so encouraged by them,  so I had to share!
Happy Viewing!
Blessings,
Liisa