My Hands are Always

Busy! If I am not doing actual housework, farmwork, or helping Bill in one of our many side hustles, I am creating. I cannot seem to stop.

 

We love pistachios and of course that means a good deal of shells are left. It bothers me to waste the shells so I often come up with some art piece using them. Here is a heart. 

 

And a simple menorah.

 

I love horses. I had an entire year where I had a long-legged season of artwork. I think it is because I love my Bill and he is one good lookin' long-legged fella!

 

One of my oil paintings. If you ask me which football team I like, I always say The Bill's. I like the Buffalo Bill's because I am a cheesy kid at heart and I love Bill. Why not love a team that is Bill's?

 

Here is a small corner of pieces that are filled with salvaged wood, chicken feathers and bristles from a paint brush!

 

An earlier piece. 

 

This is a mobile I made for one of the grands, and that cutie will soon turn 8! 

 

This piece is made of a piece of a business sign that was destined for the dumpster. 

 

Another piece from the repurposed business sign.

 

I also designed the summer 2019 NMSU-A catalog. This was my prototype!

 

I also had a giraffe season. The long legs of those critters amazes me!

 

I am a rockhound as well and I painted a good deal to hide about for the children to discover, 100 for the local museum to give out, as well as this box, which was raffled off for $200.00 for a local fundraiser.

 

Here is Mr. and Mrs. Double Nickel made with dried gourds for the head, and old pieces of Bill's and my clothes. The wire is the form which is something we use often out and about on the farm. 

 

Here is a hummingbird that I painted one afternoon on a rock. In the past several years, I think I have painted over 300 rocks and placed them about the community to be discovered by someone. It is kind of a place of happiness I create when I paint the rocks, and then knowing someone may have a moment of joy finding the rock makes my day. 

 

This is just a teeny tiny window of my world and it is the part where my brain must create. I am thankful that I can and hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

 

 

Three Month Stock Up

On our anniversary, Bill and I drove 5.5 hours to Odessa/Midland Texas for a three month grocery haul. The day is long and usually is a 14 hour day, depending on our stops, picnic time, and overall traffic. 

We put money away for the HEB grocery trips as they proved themselves to be loyal, even during the tested times that the past three years have presented. The prices are very reasonable with not as much increases as we see in New Mexico. I thought I would share what a 3 to 4 month grocery stock up looks like for us.

Here is the haul:

 

Laundry soap mix (Borax, Washing Soda and Zote soap), dish soap, a scrub brush, freezer bags, a pack of plastic food containers, wooden utensils, witch hazel, straws, 4 jars of castor oil, and a few flower seed packs, and water colors for projects with the grands!

 

The snack aisle. Bill is a sweets guy and I am a crispy chips gal. I will supplement this with homemade desserts and popcorn! By the way HEB brands are superb!!!

 

 

I found a few extra produce items I missed in the produce pic(coming up), and added them here. Garlic, a red onion, 2 cans of baked beans, tortillas, fideo, elbow noodles, 2 ranch dressings, 2 lbs of butter, and basmati rice. 

 

The luxury drinks. Some mineral water, orange juice, coffee and a cute addition, the little storage containers. 

 

The meat. Only one pack of chicken-boneless skinless thighs, as well we have those itty bitty critters about the property to fill that need. 7 roasts, a brisket, stew meat and ten lbs of ground chuck.

 

For context, each roast is about 4 to 5 meals for us. I use a portion to make machaca con huevos for breakfast burritos as well. The roasts are a massive meal possibility for us, with so many ways to prepare it and enjoy! The ground chuck I used to make beef chorizo as we do not eat pork. I also made up several already seasoned hamburger patties to just take out and put on the grill. I canned 7 pints of albondigas soup with the ground chuck as well. I divided the brisket into 3 portions and we will enjoy each portion for a few meals! The chicken thighs are going to be grilled in some fashion.  

 

The fruits, avocados- a morning staple, limes for pico and salsa, lemon for tea, Bill loves cantaloupe, and bananas well for a quick snack! 

 

The produce: cabbage as it keeps so long in fridge, corn on cob for grilling, soups, and sides, celery for bases of almost all, Brussels Sprouts as they are my second favorite food of all(onions #1), cilantro which we use on everything, tomatoes again in everything, poblanos, zucchini, cucumbers, serranos, jalapenos, sweet peppers and broccoli. I freeze snack size baggies of the peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes to toss in breakfast burritos. I  boiled the broccoli with carrots and onions that I already had to freeze a creamy sauce to use in a recipe for later this month. We eat the cucumbers daily with lime juice salt and NM chili powder on them. They are a refreshing snack in these hot burning oven days.

 

The onions are an addition to most meals in the prep stage. I love onions and incorporate them into almost everything. I only got 5 lbs of Idaho potatoes because I had an Azure pickup, and the itty potatoes I already cooked for us with Brussels Sprouts...yum!

Not pictured was my Azure standard haul of wheat berries as I use them to make bread, tortillas and sweets, 50 lbs of potatoes to store as it is getting cooler (well kind of not really), yogurt, cottage cheese, 

and a pickup from Sams and Costco of toilet paper, dog food, 4 lbs of butter, v-8, foil, and famous Amos cookies. 

This is an interesting post as it wove in and out of the times we are in.  I cannot express enough thanks to those in this great country that still believe in the Constitution. Seriously, the value Bill and I place on that is why we are willing to drive so far, deep in Texas for this commonality. A simple grocery haul becomes so much more.

So a post sharing the food and junk an old couple will live off for the next few months resonates in an entirely different fashion. 

By the way: Be ready. Call upon His Name. The time is now. 

All Because Two People Fell in Love

 On August 27, 1988 a young couple married. The man proposed two days after they met. The woman wondered why it took so long for him to propose. They married weeks after he proposed.

They did not marry so they could be travelers or explorers, yet they ended up spending over 1,100 days in Europe. They visited incredible sights and walked where others have walked for thousands of years. Their travels allowed for them to cross the expanse of the United States, Mexico and also to swim in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico and far too numerous of bodies of waters in between.

They did not marry so they could become historians, yet, every place they traveled/lived, history unfolded before their eyes. From the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, The Civil War, the Spanish American War to both WW1 and WW11. The couple learned that the more they study and learn from history, the better the chance that they won't repeat the pitfalls of previous generations.

They did not marry to advance their education, yet both ended up with over an hundred hours of higher  learning, a Bachelors, and far too numerous training certifications as well as hours upon hours of hands on training. 

They did not marry to become better citizens, yet their love for each other allowed for this to happen, as  they translated the possibilities they created in their own home to their community, county, state and nation. This all began at home. They signed up as volunteers in their community and amassed hundreds upon hundreds of volunteer hours. They put their names upon a ballot-to put up or shut up, as the cliche goes. Neither won, yet they put themselves forward in an understanding in what one can and should be as a candidate-all learned while going door to door. 

They did not marry to become Jack-of-all-trades, yet 35 years of moves to single wide trailers, campers,  military housing, houses, German apartments, a firehall, and two homes that were mirror images of each other afforded-nay, required hands on skills in plumbing, woodworking, electrical work, and simple to not so simple repairs, all side by side learning together.

They did not marry even considering that one day they would lose all their parents, yet they did. The    realization of how important their parents were, deeply changed this couple, and then challenged them. While this couple is still alive, they realized that they could be more, be better in their lives, spend more time with their children and grandchildren.

They did not marry to become roommates. No, they married because they realized that they were          incomplete without the other.  

They did not marry to be brave/bold/or to make a difference, yet in 2021, when the tyranny of the         government swooped in and took all, this couple stood together as they always have, hand in hand in Truth. The government cannot wedge in Truth, it only thinks it can. This couple learned that even though it was very hard for the breadwinner to be fired, standing on the Rights we all have thanks to God, our Founding Fathers, and the Constitution they did not comply with Tyranny and Unconstitutional mandates. It was not easy these past few years, but this couple understood one must NEVER bow down to tyranny and they also understand that they may have to stand against tyranny in the future and will do so hand in hand.

They did not marry because God commanded it. They did not even know Him-then. Now they are       grateful to have followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, even when they did not understand. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6) 

They did not marry to become devoted Bible believers. Neither had ever read more than a few verses of the Bible. Their walk to God was divinely led because He is always waiting. They understood as a young couple that they needed more in their lives than what the world offered and sought God without knowing God had been moving them to Him.

They did not marry to become parents, even though God says to be fruitful and multiply. They married  to be with each other and discovered that the children made their lives better. They learned to be parents and had many missteps and many sleepless nights filled with worries and fears. They see today, 35 years later, that their efforts were not in vain.(Genesis1:28)

They did not marry to become anything. The young man worked for his father and wasn't receiving a   paycheck. The young woman's thoughts were only of him. Together the young man was able to seek more and the young woman became support in the home to lift him up as well as the family and God gave them both a home, not of mortar, bricks, or wood, but of two becoming one.

Many mark their anniversaries with some dramatic measure-a once in a lifetime trip, or an expensive      piece of jewelry. This couple will  not do that on the 27th. They will instead have a simple day trip to the grocery with a packed lunch and time together. You see, this couple simply in life, learned that they have given 100% nearly every single day, and that has afforded them to see what marriage could be daily-only if, and truly only if, they put the other first. 

Gifts came and still come in all shapes and sizes from changing a diaper, to never having to fill the gas    tank. Some are as incredible as time to take a hot bath, to going out on the Mesa with friends (co-workers). They also ended up gifting their children 24 years of home education, allowing for the input and knowledge that the little brains absorb were their values thus creating a solid foundation. Proverbs 22:6

This couple lives a life that many dream of, especially since 2020.They live on a small piece of property  raising a few critters, growing a wee bit of food, and preserving it all the while enjoying the incredible views of a mountain range to the east and the White Sands to the west. 

So the simplicity of marking this day isn't as important as the incredible journey this couple has taken to arrive at August 27, 2023...all because they fell in love.

They have been married 35 years, 420 months, 12,783 days.

They have 4 amazing children

They have 9 grandchildren and one on the way.

Don't place unrealistic expectations on one single day, instead like this couple place as much energy and love in to each and every day and it will make all the difference.

Signed, 

Jen, the young woman who did not marry for anything but love. 

Bill and Jen

Finding Joy in Everything

It has been super hot here on the farm. Over 100F plus for the past few days. We are not running the ac as it is just not feasible in this season of our lives thanks to the state of New Mexico and the Executive Order (mandates) that some lost their jobs over (Bill).

Watermelon has been my late afternoon refresher that has alleviated the heat.

My lovely, delicious watermelon sent me some love which made my day.

Can you see the heart? I got some watermelon love and this is an example of how I look for joy in everything. Of course the watermelon snack made this an easy task!

We are ending the June birthdays this weekend and then my blogity time can increase. It seems only appropriate that I had half my children and 1/4 of my grands celebrating birthdays this month as it is my birthday month as well. By Monday  I will graduate to the next year! Woohoo!