cherry pie

A few years ago, Jeremy's stepmom, Barbara, gave him a dwarf cherry tree for his birthday. This year was the first full harvest, and we picked six pounds of cherries. The kids loved to help pick, because the lower branches were just at their height. They tasted a few, but the cherries were too tart to eat right off the tree. I spent an hour or so pitting them while the guys were pouring footers. I like to make at least one meal for any crew we have working, and I especially like to feed hard workers.

I knew a meal was out of the question right now, so I thought fresh cherries might work instead. I pitted and washed the cherries, added the ingredients, and put them in a large stock pot.....on the grill. The crew wasn't going to be around long enough to taste the cherry pie, so I took some of the warm cherry pie filling and poured it over vanilla bean ice cream. It was heavenly!!! Later that evening when the pie was finished, I shared it with my family; my dad even told me cherry pie was one of his dad's favorites. I love learning about family history....it always seems to happen while eating or working. How 'bout that!

Cooking cherries on the grill.

Cherries over ice cream.

Fresh from the oven.

Delicious!

Classic Cherry Pie

2 quarts cherries
2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup water
3 heaping Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
red food coloring (optional)
2 9-inch pie shells

Drain cherries and heat juice to boiling and add sugar and butter. Mix water and cornstarch; add to juice. Thicken. Add almond flavoring and food coloring. Put in pie shell and bake at 450 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

Note** I had to be adjust a little because I was cooking the whole batch of cherries at one time. This isn't hard to do if you keep the ratios the same. Typically, I would make a lattice top for the pie, but the full top with sugar sprinkled worked pretty well too.

remodel: a firm foundation

Things are moving right along here on the remodel. The Jamison crew has been here pouring footers and getting all the prep work done for the block layer. Jeremy spends most of the day in the excavator. He has some crazy hours lately, as he still has his other work to do on top of this remodel. He is our general contractor, because he can manage the entire scope of the project. (I think it is interesting, because I have my master's degree in project management, but he is the one who is really gifted in handling all the work.)

Starting the digging.

Claire bringing me a treasure: a corn cob.

Elauna & Frederick with new friend Brent.

Jamison crew. Great workers.

Further along. 

Pouring the cement. Blake, Robert, Roger, "Big Al".

Pouring base for garage walls.

One of Jeremy's first jobs was as foreman for his brother's cement company.

Apprentice.

Finding grade.

Jeremy clearing the grass off the garage soil.

Crawl-space with wall foundations around. 

remodel: phase one complete

Life this summer looks a little different for us. We are remodeling our 100-year-old farm house and making some necessary changes. The foundation in the South end was settling (actually not the original foundation, but the secondary put in during the 50s). We were having issues like doors not closing, huge cracks in the walls, leaks, etc., so we decided to pull that end of the house off and rebuild fresh. We wanted to preserve the heritage so I will do a post on the history of the house at a later date.

We are roughing it in the main house (no running water), while using a bathroom and kitchenette off the shop. Midnight bathroom runs are interesting - we keep the flashlight and umbrella by the door. No air conditioning has actually been really wonderful. The doors and windows are wide open with the breeze blowing through the house. We adjust to leaks in the office over the computer, and light coming through the cracks everywhere now that the aluminum siding is gone. It is an adventure. The kids are loving every minute.

Before:

North side (front) of house. 

west side

east side

back (south/east)

south side with a cute Frederick

The kids before the remodel.

Remodel Begins:

Down it comes. Jeremy in the excavator.

Frederick helping tear off siding.

Half-and-half.

The girls on the front porch. I love the vintage look of this.

No siding on the old house. (East side).

South side. Jamison crew in the trenches.

West side. 

grilled quesadilla

I am learning to be creative with the grill now that I am without a kitchen, and the gas has not been connected to my canning stove. So, alas, I am using the grill. Tonight I made grilled quesadillas with grilled chicken, onions, peppers, mozzarella cheese, and soft taco shells. I added fresh cilantro from my garden - which really made the flavors pop. Yum.

prairie princess

I was able to do a photoshoot for some friends this past weekend, and the little girls looked so darling in their little white dresses. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm - and we met at a nature reserve, so the sounds of the birds and the wind in the trees were so peaceful. Some of the photos looked like they walked right out of Victorian England and the freshness of the gardens within. Of course it makes it fun when your subjects are so adorable. Here are a few of my favorites of the little girls.

drive for the 100

Each month I have been featuring different ministries and people who are serving the Lord in various ways. This month I want to take a new twist to this and allow people to spotlight ministries that are close to their hearts. For the entire month of June, people can email me or post a comment below describing a ministry or person that inspires others to follow after Christ. Jeremy and I will choose one of the submitted ministries and donate $100.00 to their mission. I will do a special blog post at the end of the month with the stories and a special feature on the one we choose. I think this will be a very exciting way to become aware of how so many people live sacrificially for the Lord.

Here are the guidelines:
1) The person must be a Christian and/or the ministry must be Christian-based.
2) Submit a paragraph explaining how you know the person/ministry and how they are changing lives.
3) Include a way to donate to them. (address, Paypal, church, etc.)

new work

Summer time is upon us and at our house that means work is in full gear. And one thing I greatly admire about my husband is that he is an incredibly hard worker. He really embodies that verse in Colossians where it says to work at whatever you do with all your heart - like you are working for the Lord, not for men....it is the Lord you are serving. Sometimes I take for granted that he is a hard worker, and the Lord shows me again how rare a trait it is, and encourages me to appreciate what a great husband I have. (He really is pretty awesome).

His latest adventure is in asbestos abatement. (He saw a market for this line of work with the current green movement, but we still have our other two businesses keeping us busy as well.)  He and nephew Blake started an abatement-demolition company last year and they are now in full swing. They suit up and remove asbestos from buildings and homes, then many of the buildings get demolished, which they also do. This line of work doesn't really allow for the family to help, but the kids do get to ride along for site inspections and errands. I also get to rummage for vintage or antique items - and architectural salvage items. Very fun!

All the gray siding is asbestos. Blake on right suited up.

After asbestos removed.

And it's gone! There was less than a foot between buildings.