Bananagrams!

It was one of the gifts opened at our recent big double birthday bash – and I think we’ve played it almost every day since!

It comes in a cool cloth banana pouch which is filled with little alphabet tiles. The goal is to take your tiles and use them all to make your own connecting words.

One niece described it as “speed Scrabble.” I would call it addicting!

You don’t take turns, so there’s no waiting for another player.

It’s fast.

It’s intense.

And it’s educational (but please don’t tell! )

A sure win in my book!

What? You’re not impressed?

My husband wasn’t either – until I told him they were free!

You still might question what possessed me to bring home some mostly dead plants – even if they are free.

I’m so glad you asked!

First of all – they’re perennials. That means that they will come back year after year from the roots.

These have already blossomed for the year and have died back – leaving behind seed pods full of seeds – which is the second reason I grabbed them.

So not only can I plant the roots, I can harvest those seed pods and plant them as well.

And plant them I will – all of them!

My plan is to plant some of them in my flower garden, and the rest of them – and all the seeds I can gather – will be planted and sprinkled into the deep ditch in the front of the house.

This ditch is too deep to be mowed safely, so I’ve been trying to get wildflowers started in it. Ideally – the plants will naturalize and I will have my own beautiful wildflower garden.

But for now – I am thrilled with my free plants!

Sometimes a little knowledge can  turn what others see as trash into a real treasure!

I’ve linked this post up with Works For Wednesday over at We Are That Family.

But this fresh raspberry vinaigrette is a winner!

My mom mixed some up and brought it to our family camping trip over the Fourth of July and it was a BIG hit.

She emailed us all the recipe – and I made a batch using the fresh blackberries that the girls picked.

We served it at Dagmar’s birthday supper and got rave reviews! My husband even poured it over his grilled pork loin and ate some on his ice cream!

It’s versatile – you can make it with fresh or frozen berries and you can use strawberries, raspberries, or even blackberries.

And it’s easy! Just a quick whirl in the blender and you are ready to impress!

Fresh Raspberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Original recipe from Terri Nordaker

Mix in blender (food processor works, too)
1/3 cup raspberry vinegar  or  1 cup raspberries + 1/3 cup white/wine/or regular vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon grated onion or dry onion flakes

Slowly add 1 cup oil (any kind will work – I used vegetable)  Note – if you use olive oil you will need warm to room temp before serving because olive oil thickens when refrigerated.

Stir in 1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds.

Pour into a pretty serving container and enjoy! Refrigerate any left-overs.

I have no idea how long it will keep in the fridge – we eat a batch as fast as I can mix it up!

I’ve linked this post up with Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale, Tuesdays at the Table over All the Small Stuff,  Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed With Grace.

Just what would make my daughters don long sleeves, jeans and boots in the 100 degree heat and tropical humidity of an Iowa summer?

What would make them venture out on the four-wheeler through hay fields, over trails and into the ravines where ticks and poison ivy are rampant?

In one word – blackberries!

Luscious, sweet wild blackberries.

Last year we found the mother lode patch at the edge of the hay field and down into the ravine.

We’ve been anxiously watching them all summer long.

They are finally starting to ripen and Dagmar and Angel Girl have ventured out every other evening to pick until they get so hot their glasses steam over.

Fresh blackberry scones, blackberry pie, blackberries on ice cream, blackberries syrup on pancakes … <happy sigh>

Some things are just worth the extra effort!

These nasty little buggers are hard to catch. You can’t swat them – they move too fast. Since I couldn’t get them with brawn – it was gonna take some brain.

So I googled fruit fly trap.

Oh my the things I learned! Did you know that fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at one time?! Yikes!

One site even told me hold to make my own fruit fly farm so I could watch the entire life cycle through a 2 liter pop bottle! Oh joys! I think I’ll pass on that one.

I did find several do-it-yourself type traps designed to catch the little varmints and decided to try a couple different designs.

Design one – an old canning jar with apple cider vinegar and some ripe bananas as bait and a cone made from paper inserted in the jar. The theory is the flies can get in, attracted to the smell, but can’t get back out.

(Please notice the beautiful scalloped edge on the top of the cone! Would you believe I planned it that way? I didn’t think so. Actually – the only scissors I could find were Angel Girl’s pretty edging ones.  Nothing’s too good for my fruit fly trap! Maybe I should add a decorative ribbon – say – a bright yellow?!)

The second model is also a canning jar with apple cider vinegar and bananas, but this one has a piece of plastic wrap stretched over it and secured by a rubber band. It also has small pin holes pricked in the plastic.

So far – they are both working.  When I get a few fruit flies, I throw the whole thing in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It kills those critters dead. <insert evil laughter>

Then I sit it back out on the counter and attract some more.

Take that you pesky varmints!

It’s hot and humid here at Windy Ridge.

So hot and humid that I don’t want to use the oven – even if the AC is on!

A search deep into the back of my recipe file yielded this recipe for Pink Lemonade Dessert that I had copied from an unknown source sometime ago.

It’s one of those recipes that has been in my recipe file for years and I’ve never tried it – until now.

What was I waiting for?

It was sweet and cold and creamy and easy!

And it was a big hit with all my kids and all the extra kids hanging around last weekend!

Pink Lemonade Dessert

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup pink lemonade concentrate
12 ounces Cool Whip
red food coloring

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and melted butter. Press into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Refrigerate for an hour.

In a blender, combine the sweetened condensed milk, and pink lemonade concentrate. Add red food coloring to achieve the pink color you like.

Pour the lemonade mixture into a bowl and fold in the Cool Whip.

Carefully spread the mixture evenly over the crust. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm.

This disappeared really fast over the weekend! One niece said, “It’s like  drinking pink lemonade, you don’t want to stop – and I don’t want to stop eating this!” 

Score for Aunt Melinda!

I’ve linked this post up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed With Grace, Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, and Tuesdays at the Table over at All the Small Stuff.

This year is extra special with Dagmar turning sweet 16 on the 16th – making it her golden birthday.

We couldn’t let this special day go by without something special – so we cooked up a little surprise – 3 of her favorite cousins!

It was logistical feat of genius to get these gals here – one lives 4 hours away, one 3 hours and one 2 hours – and none of them drive.  But the look on my daughter’s face said that all the phone calls and secret conversations were worth it!

Oh the craziness that is happening in my house right now!

One niece brought her vuvuzela (or stadium horn – just like those they played at the World Cup Soccer Games). It’s been heard now in every corner of my house and all over the property. I wonder what the Amish neighbor’s think?!

I dropped the girls off at the local thrift store this morning while I got groceries (yes – we’ve gone through a lot of food!).

They had a blast at the “Fill a bag for 50 cents” sale! I picked them up one hour and $2 later.

They’ve filmed a movie, ate bunches of food, played frisbee, had a water fight, cartwheeled across the yard, picked blackberries, and celebrated 2 birthdays.

I think they even slept – at least a little!

Happy birthday Sweet Sixteen! May all your birthdays be this golden!

My sweet friend Cinnamon trusted me to watch her children again (you may remember the Toxic Slumber Party of a few weeks ago!) while she and her husband had a much needed weekend away before he is deployed to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks.

I can’t believe she actually shared this adorable little guy with me for 2 days and expected me to give him back!

Let me tell you – that belly was made for “bubbling”!

The weather was great – sunny but not too hot and humid. Perfect for popsicles and playing outside!

You may notice that Angel Girl and Grace are quite dressed up.  The older kids worked together and filmed 2 hilarious videos over the weekend.

All of our dress up clothes were brought out and used – we like to pick up odd and random items at thrift stores and garage sales to make our movies more interesting!

This child shall remain anonymous although I will tell you that his name begins with a “G”.

Oh wait – all the kids have names that start with a “G”! And they have more nicknames than any other family I have ever known! Bob, Nubby, Lolli, Figgy, Gigi…the list goes on and on.

Trust me – it could get really confusing to an outsider!

Didn’t I tell you this little guy is adorable? He’s also a little parrot – repeating whatever you say.

Sunday morning in church he was sitting on my lap when his sister asked to be excused. He looked at me and said “Where go?”

I whispered, “She had to go potty.”

“Ohh”, he answered quite loudly, “Potty. Potty. Potty. Potty.”

There were definitely some chuckles around us!

Yep. It was a pretty crazy weekend! Lots of laughter, lots of food and too little sleep!

And no stomach flu!

Success!

Every year we rent the group camp area at a State Park – complete with a kitchen/dining hall, small cabins, and our own bathhouse.

We heard about a little worried this year when we heard several reports about flooding at the park. They were true. The only road through the park was still covered with flood water. The week before they had to evacuate the campground in the middle of the night as the river started to rise. But the our group camp area was on high ground and still open – so we had the entire park to ourselves!

The first day we took a hike to see the high water – it had receded quite a bit, and left behind amazing sights – like a picnic table 6 foot up in a tree – and a deep gumbo -like mud.

It also left behind mosquitoes! Lots of mosquitoes. Big mosquitoes. Bug spray was our friend. I lost count of many bottles we used up. By the time we came home some of my kids looked like they had chicken pox!

But we still had fun hiking the trails that were open and spending time playing in the creek. What is it about water and rocks that makes guys want to build a dam? And mud that makes kids want to cover themselves with it?

We even squeezed a hot dog roast and sparklers in the first day – which was a good thing – since the second day was a total wash! It rained all day.

But that didn’t stop us! We had a special church service, played lots of games and even had an “Improv Night”!  Each family brought a bag of random props, we exchanged them and had about 10 minutes to come up with a skit using them. It was hilarious!

But then the whole weekend was filled with laughter and fun. That’s what happens when you spend time with people you love.

Memories happen.

A special thanks to my niece Faith for the pictures!

The very words put fear and trembling into the hearts of 4H moms.

It’s marked in red on my calendar.

D -Day.

This year we have all five children in 4H. That means a grand total of 19 projects and all of those projects are due at the same time on the same day.

In a perfect world my diligent children would have been working on projects all year – on their own – with little assistance.

My world isn’t perfect.

We worked on projects the week before the fair like our lives depended on it.  (For some of my children – it did!)

Despite the stress and the rush, each child was completed on time even if we did had to use duct tape.

Judging went very well. Very, very well.

Six projects were chosen for the State Fair.

One was an Outstanding Junior exhibit.

And all the rest were blue ribbons – except Buddy’s – he still a Clover Kid and only gets a rainbow participation ribbon.

And now it’s over for another year.

We’ll take a couple of days to rest up and savor the moment.

Maybe by then I will have all my brain cells back…