A Daughters Blessing

A lovely quote from "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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"I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and respected; to have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives, with as little care and sorrow to try them as God sees fit to send. To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman; and I sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience...

My dear girls, I am ambitious for you, but not to have you make a dash in the world--marry rich men merely because they are rich, or have splendid houses, which are not homes because love is wanting. Money is a needful and precious thing--and, when well used, a noble thing--but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace."

Ruth: A Virtuous Woman

'Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman." ' Ruth 3:10-11

SecondHand Treasures: Furniture!!

While shopping at the thrift store today, I thought I'd look through the furniture, just to BROWSE of course!! :)

Well, when I came across this simple (very well made) wooden dresser, I loved it! The price tag was $64...but surprisingly, I was able to barter it down to $44! I'm so excited about the great deal!Plus, this hutch is so versatile and in mint condition!( I wish you could see the brackets/hinges..they're beautiful!) From vanity table/changing table/kitchen hutch/storage etc..

I then saw a sweet, old fashioned rocking chair...a comfortable one! It looks like it will clean up easily, and the tears and stains can be fixed. It had been reduced to a little over $20...How could I refuse!? :)

This is all a blessing--I've had savings set aside for special purchases such as this. These are basically hope chest additions that I will be using in my room! :)

Homemade Salsa!

We've had an abundance of Tomatoes (better boy, cherry, and beefsteak)So now is the perfect time for salsa! This was an all-day process, at a steady pace it took me a little under 3 hours :)

1. Bring pot of water to a rolling boil !

2. Here are all our Tomatoes; Out of these I picked out a total of 21 tomatoes to Blanch. They must be ripe & firm, or they'll end up mushy!

3. I dropped in 5 at a time, then after 30 seconds I removed them, then put in a new batch.

4. Place the hot tomatoes into a "cool bath" which is a bowl of ice water--this helps remove the skins.

5. Start Multitasking! Blanch, Cool, then Peel!

6. This is what the tomatoes should look like after peeling them--it took a while, about 30 minutes.

Chop...

Dice...

(I did large chunks for "chunky salsa". You can dice small, but prepare for it to be a smoother, restaurant style salsa :)

Drain!

(Make sure you measure approx. 8 cups of Diced Tomatoes.)

7. Chop 2.5 cups of Onion (about 2 Large yellow/sweet onions)

tip: To cut down on tears, try wearing sunglasses! Make sure they fit securely, and it will cut down on the "running outside blinking" episodes~! lol plus, you'll look quite fashionable in the kitchen! :)

8. Add Onion to the diced Tomatoes!

9. Chop 1 cup of Green Pepper (I used 3 small peppers) and 1 Jalapeno!

(Let's add some Green to the mixture!)

10. Mince 6 cloves of Garlic, then add it to the mixture !

11. Mix all ingredients together

12. Add 2 tsp of Cumin, 2 tsp Black Pepper, 2 TBsp Sugar and 1/4 tsp Salt

13. Mix 2 (6 oz.) cans of tomato paste with 1 cup water {a little bit at a time} Then add to Salsa!

14. Last but not least, add in 1/3 cup vinegar, and (optional) 1/3 cup ketchup

15. Enjoy!

It makes a HUGE batch, around 10 cups or maybe a little more. The cumin adds the "mexican" flavor, and that Jalapeno puts in a little zing! It isn't too spicy though! :) I put 3/4 of the Salsa into bags and into the freezer for later! Yum, I'll have to make this again!!

Garden and Home Pictures

I thought I'd take a few pictures today--

I loved the clear weather; perfect for snapshots! :)

A southern must-have...Wide-Brimmed Hats!


Butterfly & Lantana bush

"Jessie" gazing out the picture window

Grasshopper on Ivy blossoms!

Flowers of Monkey Grass plant

A curious Georgia squirrel!

"Perfume Delight" hybrid rose

Another butterfly picture... :)

Tennis

Lately, my sister and I have been practicing tennis a few days a week. I'm now in love with the sport, and hope to take official lessons soon. Anyway, I came across this picture and thought it was lovely! I must admit, I cannot imagine playing in a long dress and 3/4 sleeves or longer. Mom mentioned that the dresses were probably light material, which makes sense. Just thought I'd share!

Senior year of Homeschooling!

Today I started my school year! Our family has been in the process of applying the new Fall schedule for a few weeks, so I got up bright and early in celebration of a new school year of learning and growing spiritually :)

I thought I'd share about what I'm doing for a curriculum--We're going to be reading, researching, and doing practical lessons. My goal is to graduate academically and spiritually by covering the basics of church history, homemaking, financial management, and godly womanhood.

"Far Above Rubies: A unit study based on Proverbs 31:10-31 for High School Girls" by Linda Coats, Revised by Robin Scarlata

Far above rubies is a wonderful bible-based curriculum on godly womanhood! Each verse is a unit topic, and it covers 9 subjects (Bible, Cultural Studies, Reading&Literature, Composition, Math, Science, Health, Practical Arts, Creative&Performing Arts).

I have enjoyed it immensely, and love the flexibility along with excellent book reccomendations. I did this as a two year plan, and will be finishing the last half of the book this school year.