Tea Tasting 101~

For $5.00 a local tea shoppe held a class on what the different kinds of teas are and how to steep them.

We got to taste 15 kinds of teas!

Many flavors of

White tea,Green tea,Black tea~

Oolong, Pu-reh, Mate~

Herbal and Rooibos~

We learned how tea leaves are processed and that White,Green and Black tea all comes from the same plant, just processed differently!

We learned the health benefits of the different teas~ 

 steep times and water temps that are best for the different kinds of loose leaf teas~

Fresh teas have a taste that nothing else can compare to.

We learned you should NEVER but dairy in your tea.

(it makes the good things in the tea not do its job)

Soy and Almond milk are fine to use.

After our tea class my friend and I shopped for some tea, ate lunch at my favorite cafe, then shopped for some vintage clothes at a antique shop.

Peace and Love

Georgiann

Its A Good Thing~

Whats a good thing you may ask?

Well for me it is fresh rolls with peanut sauce and bubble tea full coconut jelly from a Vietnamese place in town.
The taste of farm fresh raspberries......made into low sugar jam before they all go eaten!

My last picture is of the $15.00 treasure I found at last weekends Estate sale, that too is a good thing!
This bed frame is a double!
One of my boys has this same bed only in a twin size and I payed $75.00 for it! So this was quit a deal!
As I was leaving the sale, heading back to the car.....the bed frame jumped out at me! I was so excited!

Also.... today I was hoping to see a friend of mine one last time before she moved. With a card and a large jar of my homemade strawberry jam (made last week) in hand, I walked through the picket gate and down the sidewalk to what was my old friends house! I knocked on the door and the lady who answered said I had just missed her by a day! But being the friendly gal I am....her and I got to talking. It seemed natural to ask her if she would enjoy the jam? She was thrilled to except and invited me plus 5 of my 6 kiddos whom had with me to step inside! Her and I chatted it up for about 30 minutes or so.  She wanted my phone # and said she looks forward to having me over again....with all my kiddos! She wants them to meet her grand kids!
My new friend Linda said, she was glad my friend was not there.....because she gained a new friend!

God has really showed his blessing to me this week!
God is good and has blessed me with much, for that I am truly thankful!

Well I'm off to bed to read some new books I bought from church!

Peace and Love,
Georgiann

Farmers Market~

Saturday, while hubby was getting his boat washed and ready to launch come Sunday. Jackie and I slipped away to do some shoppin' down at the local farmers market! Going to the market seemed like a distant memory....doing back to the days of when I had only the boys (4 of them) and lived at our old house. Its been over 6 years since I've been!
I did go with a goal in mind though.......not to just spend money! I wanted to find out when Raspberry season is! I want to make some jam! Come to find out that Raspberry season started the day before. The farm I got my strawberries from also sells many other kinds of berries. The berry vendor told me they can sell the berries cheaper in their store and roadside stand than at the market plus they did not have any with them Saturday.

Jackie was so cute with her little purse flung over her shoulder. I gave her money to carry and pay for the things we decided to get! We bought some rhubarb for a strawberry rhubarb crisp, and a Gold Rush zucchini (yellow zucc) plant and bell pepper plant for the garden.

When Jackie and I first got to the market, I saw a cute little old man sitting in a chair in front of the large brick house. I quickly made friends with the 82 year old man that lives in the large brick house in the picture!
The little old man (Mr.P) was a pediatrician in the area since 1968! (now retired) He's the second owner of the brick house built in 1932! Mr.P had 5 kids of his own and invited us to come over some time and visit! I was on cloud nine! I can't wait to hear Mr. P's stories of the old days!

The weather was warm with a slight breeze. It was an awesome day browsing booths filled with scented candles and handcrafted soaps! Vender's with flowers,crafts, home sewn dresses and knitted wares lined the streets. The smell of food waifed though the park as folks sat in the grass....many eating their lunch. The sound of young girls singing from the stage floated though the crowds as people walked their dogs and browsed the outdoor street market! Some times the sound of the singer on stage was like nails on a chalk board....it made me smile BIG and warmed my heart!

I had a wonderful day strolling the streets with my daughter.......and was still floating on a cloud from meeting my new friend Mr.P!

Another highlight of my weekend was an Estate Sales down the street from my house!
I found many cool things but only bought a few......come back tomorrow and I will show you what I got for only $15.00!
We also went to see Toy Story 3. It was playing at a one room theater in a small town, 15 minutes drive up into the mountains!

I pray everyone had a terrific weekend!


Peace and Love~
Georgiann

Blood Work Update~

           
I wanted to post the results of my blood test.
The test was taken to check my iron,thyroid and ovlatory function. Dr. E said, all was great! :) 
For those that don't know....we have been trying for about a year to have another little one!
We have always left birth control up to the Lord.
(so the possibility to conceive was there even before we started "trying")

Dr. E said, that my nursing my tot (Olivia is 2 3/4yrs.) might have some to do with why we are not pregnant yet! He said, he would pray for us and to be patient.... and that maybe God has BIG plans for me?

Last night I took a pregnancy test and it was negative! :(  Then this morning I was greeted by Aunt Flo!

So, like waiting for yummy raspberries to ripen on the vine......patience is needed. The fruit needs time to sweeten....and though there are painful thorns that might get you from time to time, it is worth the wait! As my Dr. reminded me.......God has a plan for ME. 
(I love my DR....he's a good Christian man)

I need to trust Gods plan for ME and be patient!

If you could....would you keep me in your prayers?

Thanks you ssssoooo much!

On another note: My weekend has been awesome!
(aside from Aunt Flo showing up, Jackie having a fever and me a chest cold)

Over the upcoming week I will post about the good things my weekend did have to offer!

Peace and Love~
Georgiann

Making Mini-Green Houses~

We all grabbed some cool iced tea and started in......

The other night I hosted a make and take clinic over at my place~

A few folks from the Self Reliant Club came over to make mini-green houses to cover their garden beds! I made 2 of these cute little houses! I plan to use them this winter! My goal is to have a winter garden....! My daughters aka mommas lil' garden helpers were out back helping piece together the cut PVC parts!

(Cut from (3) 10 foot sticks)

Wayne the leader/founder of the Self Reliant group brought the plans and materials.

The cost was $15.00 for each one we built!

We cut and pieced every thing together!

After we were through with construction, I severed up some tofu,garlic,cilantro dip with wheat thins and some homemade tomato basil bisque!

Rhonda brought her little dog.....it was nice to have a dog in the yard again! We miss our dog,Benson!

My son Jacob followed Rhonda's dog all around the yard......boy wants a dog again!

(the dog is part wiener dog and something else)

I think we will wait a year! That's the plan anyways! lol

Hubby wants a Beagle again....I want a border collie (black and white)!

Tomorrow I will post the results of my blood test.....so stay tuned!

Peace and Love~

Georgiann

Homemade Strawberry Jam~

The other night I stayed up late and made homemade jam. I have only made jam a few times before and was thrilled when BOTH batches turned out! yipee!

I was inspired to make my own jam after reading and watching a DVD about how bad high fructose corn syrup is for our bodies.
(Dr. Andrew something or other I'm to lazy to go look.)
I'm not all for feeding my kids a bunch of sugar but I would rather use sugar though than any thing else.

I would love to make a few batches of raspberry jam some time soon!
Not sure when raspberry season is here?

My morning routine consists of getting up about 7:30 am making my Chia tea with Organic Vanilla Soy Silk, 2 pieces of nutty whole grain toast(or homemade bread) with jam and sitting down to the computer to see if anyone said "Hi"! Then I read my favorite blogs in google reader and will pop over and say hi if I have time! Every few days I try to blog about something fun we have been doing around the house!
( I have been really busy the past few days to follow my nornal routine!)

~Peace and Love~

Georgiann

Strawberry Farm and Cutest Lil' Gift Shoppe!

Yesterday while out driving my oldest son over to a friends house with the girls in tow, I decided to stop in at a local farm and pick up a few flats of strawberries to make some jam! Last night I burned the midnight oil and made two batches of strawberry jam!  (I will post about that tomorrow!)

The farm were I purchased my berries has the sweetest gift shoppe!

I just love a good gift shop! Don't you?
My heart goes pitter patter as my eyes feast on all the clever displays!
I was a good girl and left my money in my orange swade purse!

Well on a different note......yesterday was the hottest and dryest day we have had ALL spring or summer!  After a quick stroll through my lil' ole garden I discovered, my poor garden is not as grown as it should be. I think my String beans and Cranberry beans stopped growning after just sprouting because of lack of sun and way to much rain! :( So I will go out today and poke a few more seeds in the ground! My zucchini plant is the same size as it was when I put it in the ground  5 weeks ago! (about 8 inches long) I had to buy zucchini at the store yesterday! How sad is that?
My broccoli on the other hand was harvested  for a second time yesterday! An awesome yield!

Today the Self Reliant club is coming over to my place to make mini-green house frames (4x5).
I will be making 2.....in the hopes of a small winter garden! So I'm off to mop my kitchen floor and clear off my dining table......its a real mess from last nights Jam making session!

Did I mention yesterday was one of the hottest days we have had this season?
So as you can imagine the house got a bit warm.....a normal thing to have happen right?
The upstairs of my house can stay really warm making it hard to sleep. I look forward to coming down stairs in the morning to a house that has cooled to 63 degrees or less. Then I close every thing up and it stays fairly cool in the house for most of the day!

I was shocked last night to awake at 2:20 am to the sound of the heater going! Upstairs I was sweating like a pig at Luau!
All my kids slept down stairs were it is always cooler! The windows were wide open and the heater was cranked. The thermostat read 70 degrees! eeekkkk! My kids WILL be plumed up on leaving the heater alone!

Well I'm off to make my morning tea and toast with
 Homemade Strawberry Jam!

I pray everyone is having a beautiful day!

~Peace and Love~
Georgiann

Fetching Eggs For Fathers Day Breakfast

As a momma of many, I just love to watch my girls cookin' in the kitchen! Its always a pleasure to see Jackie and Olivia work so well together. I stand back and direct them as to what to do! Sadly many times I see parents not wanting/willing to let the kids in the kitchen. Cooking with Little's can be a bit messy but sssooo worth it!
I can't wait to see how my girls blossom in the kitchen over the next 10 years!
My 5 year old has already much experience under her belt!

If you ask any of my kiddos "What does a good cook always do?" they will say
"WASH THEIR HANDS!!!!"

~Peace and Love~
Georgiann

Tis The Season~

for the over priced ice-cream truck to come down our block......all summer long!

Buying from the ice-cream guy can be fun and a treat every once in a while......but not 5 days a week!
The cheapest frozen pop is $1.00 add that x 6 kids each for 5 days (which will never happen) = $30.00 a week! eekkk!
Sometimes we get a few ice-cream vendors down our street! As many a 3 in a day!
The music sends my kids into a trance like state! They all run to fetch their money.....or ask to borrow money before the truck drives off playing his music!

Its like me on garbage day!.......I hear the truck behind the house and go running out there to see if the can got put out! I get anixious about it! Most days when I look and the can is out......hubby remembered on his way out to work! (I am OCD about having to look that the can is out when I hear the truck that one time I decided NOT to look to see if the can was out!) I was soooo proud of myself! But guess what???
The can had not been put out by hubby so we had to wait another week for a pick up!!!!!

Peace and Love~
Georgiann

Pondering Thoughts~

I had an awesome weekend! The new Self Reliant Club I just joined had a wonderful
 "tour of gardens" the group leader organized! What was ssssoooo cool about the tour was it was a progressive tour of 7 gardens, all from members of the club that live right in my back yard!.......I hope to post soon of my days adventure.

So this Monday I have pondering thoughts..........

Will God bless our family with another child?
If so how long do I have to wait?

Today is the last day of school for my teenagers......what do I want my summer with them to look like?
Meal planning,chores,TV,computer and video game time allowance for them.
The rhythm the house will change after today!

Will my garden have a chance with ALL the rain we have had?
I can't wait to make the mini-green houses (2). They will be helpful in starting my winter garden!

Will I have my house clean before the group comes at the end of the week to make the green houses?
Its a make and take workshop the Self Reliant Group leader is holding at my house!

Well, I go to the lab for my blood test today.
The farm supply store just called to let me know my 2 little Indian Runner ducks are in!
(I got 2 females ducks a few months ago......it was supposed to be a male and female.......the male finally has arrived...so I had to get a fourth duck so he's not lonely while in the house for about 6 weeks!)

Peace and Love,
Georgiann