Harvest Lane Cottage

I remember when I was in college, I often found myself up late into the night studying or finishing an assignment due the next morning. Well, I have heard that history repeats itself. Tonight it did. I finished helping Matthew with his college math at about 12:15! A.M.! This is the first assignment he's had to turn in. I do hope this won't be a trend. I am a little bit old for this! Blessings to You! Laura

Good morning! Yesterday was a rewarding day. Early in the morning, my husband went out to the garden to work, as he often does. After he picked tomatoes, he found the corn ready to pick! He called to me to bring him a basket and a knife. The sweetheart not only picked the corn, he shucked it too before he brought it in! While he was shucking, I picked our first green beans. Oh, how I've been looking forward to green beans. They're a close third behind garden tomatoes and corn for me. Lunch menu: fresh buttery corn on the cob green beans from the garden seasoned with ham and onions homemade cornbread made with fresh eggs from our young hens and with fresh corn and a can of green chiles mixed in Oh my, it was a feast! What satisfaction knowing that much of it came from our own back yard. Happy Summer Day! Laura

My beautiful little Amy is eight today.

"'But I'm getting old, Mother,' said the banker wistfully. 'It's not as if I could begin all over again.' 'So am I,' said Mother cheerfully, 'But Chris is young, and an old head and a young head together are more than twice as good as just a young head making young mistakes....'" ~Grace Livingston Hill The Patch of Blue We've made a lot of mistakes, Lowell and I. We both have master's degrees from the College of Hard Knocks. We've learned a lot. We're still learning a lot about life, business, and how debt can suck the life out of you. ~grin~ The question is, can we truly communicate what we've learned to our children? Will they listen? Will they insist on getting their own degrees? Our Matthew is starting college in another week. Will he finish without debt? The first semester will be paid for with a grant. Thank you God! He's working to get money together for a car. Will he be patient until h...

My what a busy week it's been. We've had doctor appointments, trips to two campuses for books, shopping, cleaning, a little studying, a little reading, cooking, and now I need to put up some things from the garden. Lowell's been doing some temporary work at night; so, evenings have been pretty low key with an early dinner. It looks like our computer will be up and running in a short while. It was a dead hard drive. I'll check in when it's all back in order. Blessings, Laura

You're not hearing much from me right now because our computer has taken what might possibly be its last breath. I hope not. Hubby is taking it to the shop today to have it diagnosed. So, I'm in the library today for an hour trying to do all that I need to do on-line. You know, you don't realize all that you do on-line until you don't have it readily available. I use the computer for: keeping records for the kids' school requirements, e-mail, blogging, recipes, reference, reading blogs, on-line phone book, and to watch movies since our television died a couple of weeks ago. Interestingly enough, my cd/radio/tape player is also about to bite the dust. We may be heading back to the early 20th century technologically in our house for a bit until we can get some extra money to replace some of our electronics. I've told my friends to let us know if something major happens in the news. We don't get the newspaper either. The phones are working; and, we do li...

Once upon a time, we had only little children. Four children ten and under to be exact. Date nights were far and few between. In fact, when Matthew was little, we only went out as a couple once or twice a year. Those were lean years for us, living on one income, and paying a babysitter and going out just wasn't possible. I do remember the excitement of getting to go out on a date when he was about 3. The excitement turned to concern and disappointment as he developed a fever that day. I was not about to leave him when he had a fever. So, we improvised. I set up a little table in our bedroom and set it with a pretty tablecloth and china and candles. After I got Matthew to bed early, Lowell went for Chinese take out. We ate our cashew chicken dinner by candle light, realizing we were really grown up and had responsibilities; but, our love could still be celebrated. Fast forward a few years. Grandma Judy would occassionally watch the children; but, as the family grew, ...

Hello, I've not much to say today. I'm going to work on laundry and lessons. I'm planning on starting "school" with the kids next week. Have a great weekend. I hope you find some great bargains at the rummage sales. Laura

My friend, Caitlynn and her mom and sister put together the Farmgirl Fest. This is their second year. Last year we had a great time. Rain threatened and some folks and vendors were scared away. It turned out to be a pretty day! We're expecting it to be bigger and better this year. Gayla commented about me being a farmgirl. Well, not exactly. I did just hear my rooster crow outside my window. I do have 7 hens. I don't have a farm, just a house on a big city lot with few close neighbors. When I got the chicks , I went next door to the only neighbor close enough to be bothered and talked with him about it. He was excited about it! He wants to buy eggs! Speaking of eggs, We've had 3 this week! The first 3! Unfortunately, two of the eggs had a hole pecked in the end. I hope we're not going to have troubles. Any advice you all can give me about laying hens will be appreciated. So, no, Gayla, I'm not a farmgirl per se. However, my Farmgirl Connectio...

I've really been enjoying eating from the garden more, my Lowell's and my friends'. Last week we were privileged to go pick corn at a friend's family farm. So, I made a wonderful succotash. I've never eaten succotash before; but, it sounded like a great quick meal. I got the sausage on sale the week before. Total $ spent for the meal was $1.50 for 6 people! Here's what I did. Please forgive me if I broke some succotash rules. I made it up as I went. Sausage Succotash 1 lb pork breakfast sausage, steamed then browned (or fried & drained) 2 quarts of corn fresh off the cob (or frozen) 1 chopped zucchini 2-3 small onions (or 1 large) 1 small green pepper, chopped 3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped This is a very forgiving recipe. I didn't actually measure. I just put in the quantities that I had and that looked good at the time. Steam and brown or fry 1 lb of bulk sausage, breaking it up as you go. Remove from pan. Since I steamed, I ...