Susan Tuesday

I had hoped to save this Susan recipe for a colder Tuesday, but since it seems like that will never come, we will have to settle for a 70-something degree evening as "cold."

Enjoy!

Pray for the Parkers

Reece's Rainbow is an overseas adoption ministry that aids families in adopting children with Down Syndrome.  The children who are not adopted will face an institution when they reach 4-5 years old. 

The Parker family wished to spare a child from this horrible fate, and they spent this year attempting to adopt two girls from Ukraine.  Bethany is three and Hannah is one.  After an arduous and grueling journey that led them through countless hours of fundraising, paperwork, and prayer, they seemed about to achieve their goal of returning home to Oregon with their sweet new daughters.  They travelled overseas and prepared to take the final few steps.  However, a last-minute protest by a legal prosecutor has blocked the completion of the adoption process. 

Kate Parker, who with her husband Charley has a family that already includes seven children, has chronicled their family's efforts to adopt at her blog, "Room for More." 

Please visit their site to read their story and offer support and prayers to them as well as to all the children waiting for a home on Reece's Rainbow.

Susan Tuesday

Britt has two very sweet and fun aunts.  Several years ago, one of them took pity on poor ol' bachelor Britt and made him a nice recipe notebook full of family favorites and her own personal dishes. 

A few weeks ago, we created "Susan Tuesday" in order not only to enjoy a great meal from the notebook but to celebrate Aunt Susan for being so thoughtful!

Heat oven to 350.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour.  In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.  Fry chicken until golden brown on each side.  Transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish.  Discard all but 1 T. butter from skillet.  Return to heat and add lemon juice.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in cream, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer until sauce beins to thicken.  Pour evenly over chicken.  Sprinkle with cheese to taste and bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Do you have any food traditions in your house?

A New Ritual

Night...

after night...

after night....

It has become an evening ritual for these two to rest together after Britt gets home from work.  I love the man that Britt is becoming....a cat lover.

I Dream Domestic

I am that girl who revels in all things domestic (though that doesn't necessarily mean I'm good at all things domestic, but that doesn't stop my heart from longing for them).  Clean sheets, a full oven, and a garden of flowers make my heart beat a little faster.  Now that we have been in our Mississippi home for over three weeks, I have gotten settled enough to finally be able to do some of those "little things" that to me, feel like really big things.

For instance:

Arranging fresh-cut zinnias that I grew myself back in my garden in Georgia, that were so graciously picked and delivered to me by my cousin when she visited over the weekend.  What a nice "hello" from home!

Crocheting.  Thank you, Grandmother, for teaching me this wonderful skill! Hopefully this blanket, which I started in Iowa, won't take too much longer to complete and can be enjoyed in the upcoming cooler months.

Baking. We have enjoyed these wonderful (and puffy!) moon-shaped teacakes (in honor of Halloween, one of my favorite holidays!) for dessert the past few days. 

We had these fantastic garlic cheese biscuits last night.

This last picture is my favorite.  Coffee, candles, and cats.  Could that be the ultimate summation of my domestic bliss?

What's your idea of domestic heaven?



Teacakes

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sald

Beat butter until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.  Add vanilla.  Combine flour, sad, and salt; gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended after each addition.  Chill dough until firm.  Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on floured surface. Cut out cookies to desired shape and size, and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, and let cool.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

1 1/4 c. Bisquick baking mix

1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 c. melted butter (1/2 stick)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. dried parley flakes

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper.  Combine the Bisquick and cheese in a small bowl.  Ad 1/3 cup water and stir just until combined.  The dough will be slightly moist.  Drop the dough by spoonfulls onto the baking sheet.  Bake for about ten minutes until firm and beginning to brown.

While biscuits are baking, make the garlic butter.  In a small bowl, combine melted butter, garlic, salt, and parlsey flakes. Mix well.  As soon as you bring biscuits from oven, brush then with the garlic butter, and serve.

South Dakota

During our sojourn in Iowa, Britt and I decided to take a weekend and visit somewhere new, somewhere we might never have the chance to see again.

We chose South Dakota.

Seeing as how we made a wrong turns, we're not 100% sure how long of a drive it is, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 hours.  We had to travel west across almost the entire state of Iowa.  We arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning and weren't able to truly assess our surroundings till the next morning.

Keystone, South Dakota is a quirky tourist town that we both loved instantly.

This part was especially nice for two Deep South natives...noon in July, and not even 80 degrees!

We headed straight for Mount Rushmore.

The carvings were so much more impressive in person than I ever imagined.  We were also surprised yet pleased to learn at the museum that Georgia's beloved Stone Mountain actually preceeded Rushmore, which was carved in response to the southern wonder.

The walkway up to the monument contains a tribute to all the states and territories of the U.S.

Georgia's pillar.

Next stop: Custer, South Dakota.  A great place to get that "western" feel, a history lesson, and a cold drink.

Leaving Custer, we were on to the Black Hills.

South Dakota made me want to saddle up a horse, and sleep under the open sky.  Till we meet again....

A Weekend in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

This past weekend was actually our second here in Hattiesburg, but since it was spent searching through boxes for food and clothes, I consider this our first "real weekend" at our new home, which caused me to pose the following question:

What does one do on a weekend in Hattiesburg?

Well, anyway, here's what we did.

Friday night, we joined the home-team crowd at the University of Southern Mississippi football game.

Britt made friends with the group next to us.  I was glad of this because that meant he had someone to talk football with besides me.

Lots of people in attendance, great atmosphere, and a victory for the Golden Eages over the University of Kansas Jayhawks!

On Saturday morning, we visited the Longleaf Trace Nature Trail, which is about half a mile from our house.

There are various biking and jogging trails through the dense woods.  We did a quick three-miler.



It was quite a popular area, and hopefully we'll return again soon and be regulars on the trails.

What else do you have for us, Hattiesburg?