Good evening my dear friends. I have been absent for a long time. far too long, I might add. I really have no excuse other than just not having a desire to post anything. I'm hoping that with Spring being here, that I can find more to actually post about. oh, there's been a lot going on, just not stuff that I really wanted share on my blog. it almost seems like I've lost whatever I had that made me want to do this in the first place. I used to do alot more crafting than I do now. as a matter of fact, I do no crafting as of the moment. oh, I have a desire to every once in a while, but that's as far as it gets. these days I cook a LOT and that's what takes most of my time and I do enjoy cooking, so maybe I should start sharing more of those pictures and stories. it seems like I may have already talked myself into sharing more of my cooking adventures. I do bake a lot of bread too, so that may be something too. anyway, I have missed coming on here and sharing, I just felt like I didn't have anything to share. but maybe I do.
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We've had some serious weather as of late here in my neck of the woods with hurricane force winds ripping thru here about 3 weeks ago and the neighbors pine trees fell on our little storage shed out back where the lawn mower and yard tools and the like were stored and flattened it. we are so thankful that they didn't fall on the house and garage. but we are very apprehensive about any upcoming weather now, simply because all the roots of those 80 foot tall trees have been damaged and will be easier to blow over now. so, at any given moment, we have 5, 80 foot pine trees just waiting to fall on house. let me tell ya, it's pretty terrifying. especially after seeing all the news about all the other places that have been devastated. there's a lot that I could say about this situation, but I'll hold my tongue. We'll try to be patient and let the Lord fight for us. He always does.
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ok, so I have a picture here to share with y'all. I cook a lot of dried beans. probably 3 or 4 pounds a week. we love dried beans and for all practical purposes, they're still a pretty cheap way to provide several good meals for us. beans and cornbread!!!!!! that's where it's at y'all!!! hahaha we really do love them. I swap it up all the time too. great northern, pinto, navy, red, black, kidney, you name it, I cook it. I grew up watching my Momma fix beans everyday of the week for more years than I can remember. I'll bet she has cooked at least 25 thousand pounds of beans in her 89 years on this planet. and after doing the number real quick, that is a very close guestimation. 2 lbs of beans a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 30 years, and then all the beans she cooked after all her children was gone from the nest. it would easily be 25 thousand pounds and then some!!! and there's no telling how many of those thousands of lbs that I have seen her cook. being in the kitchen with her, I learned a lot even when I didn't realize I was learning. I never had to have anyone tell me to sort and wash beans, because that is what I seen my Momma do on a daily basis for many many years.
when I got married, it was old hat to go to the kitchen and sort and wash beans. I've washed and cooked quite a few beans myself in the 43+ years that we've been married and I still do it the same way every time. I sort them, every bean is in my hand, every bean is seen by my eyes. once sorted thru, then I wash them. I run the water in the bowl and then I take a hand and go down in the bowl and handfull after handfull is squeezed thru my fingers. when you're doing that, you can see the dirt and grime come off the beans and the water turns murky and dirty. I drain the water off and run more over them and do the same thing at least 3 times. and then they are ready for my electriic pressure cooker. I dice a whole onion, put a 2.5 oz bag of bacon bits, some ham seasoning base that I get at the Amish store and I set the epc for 99 minutes and when the epc gets done, I release the lid and stir them well and put salt in them, to taste and they are done to perfection. the picture below is what you can find when you sort and wash them. some of these are insect eaten, some are rotten, some are floaters and the thing out front, by itself, is a rock as large as my pinky finger, not as long, but certainly as big around. you know, we could deal with the rotten, bug eaten, floater beans. but no one wants to get a mouth full of rock. I have eaten other peoples beans and gotten grit and rock before. that is not pleasant at all. sometimes when I sort and wash, I don't have anything. other times, it's like this and worse. I have gotten 3 or 4 rocks before. so, if you're not washing your dried beans, I hope this is encouragement for you to start washing them.
well, I started this post a little late in the evening and I'm tired, so I'll get off here for the time being. just know that if belong to the family of God that you are loved more than you could possibly ever know. this Sunday is Resurrection Day. we all have a lot to be thankful and grateful for. the tomb was just borrowed for the weekend and it's empty. Jesus just needed it for a few hours. and now we have full access to the throne of God because Jesus opened heavens gates for us when He borrowed the tomb. God provided a way for us to be in right relationship with Him thru the shed blood of Christ and the borrowed tomb. that is something that we should not take lightly. if you don't know Jesus, I pray that you will take the time to get to know Him. He will be the best friend you've ever had. don't let this night or this week pass by without Him in your life. He can and will change your life if you'll let Him. just know that God loved you that much and He wants to be in right relationship with you, but it all depends on you.
good night dear loved ones. till we meet again, may blessings of peace, joy, healing rest and sleep be yours tonight and every night. God loves you and so do I. hugs, patty
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