What a crazy few months its been. We are glad 2012 is done and over. There has been so much life happening around here I haven’t been able to post since we finished up harvesting in South Dakota.
We came home short one dog. Our collie Sophie has been missing since October 6th from Harrold, SD. We’ve had several phone calls but it never ends up to be Sophie. Sophie was such a good girl we miss her so much.
We have taken in our daughters’ dog Chevy who is a black lab collie cross. Chevy is still a pup and will be 1 in March. Chevy likes to bark at any movement in the yard. Our other dog Peaches told Chevy she is the queen around here and that will not be changing. They get along pretty good however, I think Peaches gets annoyed by the playful puppy at times.
We are busy getting ready for the 2013 growing season. We are doing book-work and planning for the season. I started going through seeds, figuring out what needs to be ordered and mapping out the garden and beds. I will be starting some perennial flowers and strawberries this month. It’s always good to have something growing and watch the little seed come to life in the dead of winter.
I have been busy painting walls and trim and hope to tackle the kitchen cupboards soon. I have been working on the cure by Apartment Therapy. It is such a great motivational tool and wonderful community – this is my fourth time. Each day you receive a new email assignment to work on. I have tackled our bathroom closets, kitchen cupboards and kids rooms. I have many projects in the works I hope to share in the future.
January starts the birthday season around here with Brett turning 2. We each have a birthday every month until May.
We are expecting the birth of our first granddaughter in April which will definitely shake things up around here.
I will leave with one of my all-time favorite recipes – Shrimp Linguine. This isn’t very healthy but it makes a lot so its good to make for a potluck and not have it sitting around. I get to make it less than once a year since some of us around here have a strong dislike for peppers & onions.
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1 pint Cream
- 1/2 tsp chopped Garlic
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 3-4 Peppers, chopped (yellow, orange or red are best),
- 1/2 pound fresh Mushrooms
- 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 8 oz. Mayo
- 2-16 oz. boxes Linguine Noodles broken into 3″ pieces
- 1 small box Mexican Velveeta
- 1-1/2 pounds Large Shrimp, tails removed
- 1/2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning
- Salt & Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese for serving
Start boiling water for noodles. Melt butter, add garlic and onion. Chop up and add peppers and mushrooms. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add Soups, cream and mayo keep simmering over low heat while boiling noodles. Check for seasonings. You will need a large container or stockpot to combine everything. Drain noodles and add to sauce. Spread mixture into 2 pans or a large crock-pot insert works well also. Add shrimp and press into mixture. Cut Mexican Velveeta into small cubes and place on top. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. If you use pre-cooked shrimp, bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan when serving.
We moved all the equipment to the field last night and started harvesting corn today. There are so many pheasants and deer on the sides of the road around here. They are hard to see with all the dust on the roads. It has been such a dry summer a lot of the crops don’t look very good. The corn cobs fall of the stalks if you barely touch them.
Today it was very windy we had corn stalks flying at us in the campground. The kids were not able to play outside due to the wind so everyone is very rambunctious.