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. 

The Mountains of New Mexico

 

take my breath away.

Sunrise, sunset it is amazing from morn til evening!

 

Birthday, Music and the Best of Neighbors

 

The other day our neighbor celebrated his 50th birthday with his friends and neighbors. 

It was a wonderful time as Bill and I had a mini date night at the party. 

The mariachi singer made the evening a success. 

 

For our neighbor, he has been amazing from the very first day we moved in. Our well pump needed priming and he came over and helped without even a thought. 

 

It has been that way back and forth ever since. 

 

Neighbors.

Something vital to a successful life as they are there when you need something, and vise versa. 

I cannot imagine a world where we did not know who our neighbors were and I am so thankful that we live in a place where neighbors are still important.  

 

Grand #7

I had an opportunity to spend some time with grand #7 this week.  He is just shy of 3 by a month and is full of energy that makes my heart melt. When I get a chance I try and do some sort of a project with my goofs kiddos and this time I was going to make some salsa. 

#7's Dad loves salsa but he loves super spicy salsa and so #7 and his brother grand #4 won't eat it. I thought I will make a very flavorful salsa with #7 and with each ingredient taste it, so that he will understand that Gigi's salsa is delish and not spicy. 

We began with cilantro, just pulling out any leaves that weren't the best and then #7 just decided that all the rest was perfect and tossed it in the bowl! We added tomatoes, garlic, lime, salt, pepper, and onions. This round I did not add any peppers because #7 thinks all peppers are spicy!

 

Here he is mixing the bowl of salsa ingredients. Oh boy did he have a great time!

 My mission was a success because #7 ended up drinking the bowls after I had put the rest in jars. When his big brother got home from school, #7 raced to the cupboard to grab the chips to have brother eat the salsa too. Both boys ended up eating the salsa like soup! They are so cute and I was so thankful that I was able to spend this time with the grandcutie pies!

 

Window to the Double Nickel

 

Views from the front porch.

 

Beyond the garden the views continue on.

 

From the porch we have real feel weather reports.

 

And the kitties have their very own patio catio!

 

Last summer's pup sleeping on the table...

 

is this year's bandit still resting on the table!

 

This concludes the window to the Double Nickel for today!

 

Camp Double Nickel 2023

 

We hosted several grandsons for our first (to become annual) Camp Double Nickel. Due to school schedules etc, as well as the youngest 4 all under 2, we were pretty pleased with the turnout!

I made some decorations to ensure the campers were excited about the night!

 

We had a pizza/movie party planned for the evening with many activities hosted by Papa and Gigi (me).

 

I made some tee-shirts to memorialize Camp Double Nickel and even though they are handmade, I used fabric paint and they will last!

 

We did chores and this pen was feeding a hen that hatched three chicks. She arrived at the main coop with the little group and we were overjoyed. The campers had a great time as well. They named the chicks JJ jr, Yellow Belly, and Papa boPapa!

 

The campers swam at night as well as early the next morn. Nothing like being over 100F all summer to make a small pool a camp fav!

 

The campers set up this mock tent as outside camping was ruled out. This summer we have had the most rattlesnakes in one season since we moved to the farm. The campers did not mind and found this partitioned off play room pretty awesome!      

 

The four boys that came to the camp. 

Oh and the final activity that we did was to have a scavenger hunt with their mamas and dads. It was fun because the list had farm appropriate items like chicken feather, an egg and the likes. 

 

I confess that living near the grandchildren has been such an incredible blessing. To share in their lives and be able to host a camp night won't only be a memory that they carry, but one Bill and I carry as well!!

 

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