Little House and Thankful Thursday

Some of the fondest memories I have of growing up are with my Grandma. She baked delicious breads and pies, soft cookies, homemade candy and sewed beautiful quilts. I spent countless hours with Grandma watching her do these things. While she was busy cooking and sewing we would watch her "stories" which consisted of The Little House series and The Young and the Restless. Each day after lunch we would cuddle on her bed and watch one. To this day I can not watch a Little House episode without hearing my grandma's voice saying "Lace... Shhhh! Let grandma watch her stories". I gave up the Young and the Restless years ago:)

Today the kids and I watched the Little House on the Prairie movie. We also began reading the book. Leanne wanted all of the kids to put their heads down on the table with their eyes closed as I read it to them. It was warm here today and I had the windows open. As the warm wind blew in and I read to the kids I was taken back to 3rd grade when my teacher did the same thing each day after lunch. I guess you could say today was a nostalgic kind of day for me.

As a treat for the kids as we read the Little House series this summer we will cook our way through it. I have been reading and enjoying the Little House cookbook. I have always enjoyed reading cookbooks so this is nothing new. However, this cookbook is filled with quotes from the book and interesting historical facts from the time period so I am enjoying it even more. We will not be able to duplicate many of the recipes because we do not have access to many of the main ingredients such as lard, salt pork (which seemed to be a daily staple, so I may look at a butcher shop for it)wild berries and wild game. We will do our best and just enjoy the time together in the kitchen after reading a few chapters each day. Today for dinner we roasted a whole chicken and made green beans and corn bread. For dessert we made peach crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream. It was a really nice dinner and the kids were proud they helped me.

My brother often stops by to say "HI" on his lunch break. I know he is really stopping by for a hot lunch and last nights dinner leftovers to take home. When he comes he often jokes that I am the modern day Laura Ingalls. Since the kids are normally at the table doing school work and I'm in the kitchen getting bread started for dinner and making lunch. However, Laura Ingalls I am not! It would take all day to do the things it takes me just a few hours to do with modern appliances. Which leads me to what I am Thankful for this Thankful Thursday:

My new Bosch Mixer that can make 6 loaves of bread in under 20 minutes.

Air Conditioning even if we don't have it on yet.

A stove that doesn't make my entire house hot when I bake

Running water

Electricity at the flip of a switch

and last but not least... I am thankful for time spent reading with my kids and the memories we are creating.

What are you thankful for today?


Since I am still unable to load new pictures I am adding pictures I already have on my computer. These are from two of the historical field trips we took with Lisa H. and her kids Jake, Seth and Sarah. As you can see the kids had a blast!