Perspective

ANTARES IS THE 15TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY

IT IS MORE THAN 1000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

NOW TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS


THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF

COUNTLESS 'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

BELOW IS A CLOSE UP OF ONE OF THE DARKEST REGIONS OF THE PHOTO ABOVE.

HUMBLING, ISN'T IT?

They are NOT clones! LOL

Okay... someone (several someones...) said, upon seeing my new header, that my children are clones.  LOL  I just don't see that so I set out to prove my point, or prove theirs (whichever way it works out).  I tried to find pictures that look just like the child, a regular smile, etc.. for them.  Now you all get to vote.  Clones or no? 

Caleb

Molly

Sam

Luke

MaryVance

Elijah (he really doesn't have a double chin...lol)

Isaac

Joseph

Nehemiah (who loves to give his Mama a foot squeeze!)

So, please vote, Clones or No?

I definitely think some of them favor... do you?

Which ones?

Thanks!

Frying Chicken

Honey would be proud of me!


Look Mama... fried chicken :)

That's my old trusty cast iron skillet my Mama gave to me.

Boneless strips.
What do you think Mama?

And, look what I made *just for you*... the children enjoyed them in your honor...

Crunchies!

And this picture is for my friend Carol. We were discussing the mertis of single dipping vs. double dipping...

On the left is double dipped, on the right is single dipped.

I used to fry chicken strips years ago... but they were never very crunchy (and I love crunchy) so I gave up.
Enter: Matt (lovingly called Matt Poo by the children and MattyCakes by me - lol)
Matt loves to cook. He taught me his way to fry chicken. Basically everything I had always done except for One Thing.

The One Thing?

Egg.

Yep, egg.

The drench should be made of egg and milk, not just milk. Egg is the secret. Lots of egg and just a splash of milk. Now you know. When you fry chicken you can think of Matt and me :)
No, I, of course, do not have a recipe - lol.
I seasoned flour with seasoning salt. Taste to see that it's well seasoned and not too salty.
Then I beat three eggs with a splash of milk.

I used five boneless breasts and cut into strips.
Then I heated about 1/2 inch of oil in my cast iron skillet.
Drench strip in wet, dredge lightly in dry, drench in wet and then dredge in dry. This time really press firmly to get the flour into all the little nooks and crannies and make sure it sticks well. Shake off excess flour.

Fry.
Drain on paper towels.
Enjoy.

Winter in Florida

photo by Samuel

The Barn Gets A Facelift... and more!

Barns have so much character... I just love them!

This is our old barn... our home was built in 1976 so we are guessing the barn is of a similar age.  It's bones are very sturdy but it has some boo-boos that needed fixing!  A storm some unknown years ago pulled up the roof on the left side at the front and back.  The top floor in the back left corner, having no roof, has rotted.  The bottom right half of the barn was floored (but the flooring was mostly rotten) and the bottom left had no flooring at all.  Other than that, it was in great shape -- considering...

After many hours and much sweat the barn has a new floor on both sides and the roof is mostly repaired.  One more section and it will be all done.  The barn has a new front and new doors that are just awaitin' to be hung! 

New floor!

And painted to seal it.

The outside wall being built.

The interior wall separating the two halves.  The lower half of the wall was already there.

All ready for doors.  And the door up top needs to be fixed too. 

Isn't it pretty?! 

Today, if it doesn't rain, the plan is to finish the top front left of the roof overhang, repair the loft door (and we will probably close in the other door opening) and hang the doors on the ground floor.

Then we'll be all ready to move the storage stuff into the right side and the workshop stuff into the left side.  We'll add electricity later.