Well day

Our old bored well became progressively unreliable so yesterday our back yard was filled with strange noises, lots of mud and water as they drilled a new one. While we are thrilled to finally be able to both get a shower and not have the well putter out as soon as we turn on the dishwasher, I can't help but wonder how long it'll be before the rest of them recall that the septic drainage field is too slow to accomodate four loads of laundry in one day....

See that really tall part of the driller thingy? The young man cheerfully climbed to the top waving a running chainsaw in one hand, leaned way out and lopped off a few stray branches...I turned pale and went in to find some knitting to focus on. Apparently this is normal for the guys. If you've ever noticed you rarely if ever see women swimming with crocodiles and hippos in order to take cool wildlife shows. Guys do these things.

We who love the guys try to find the best coverage for grey hair.

After-School Stew! When our children were much younger and due home, noisy and hungry this was usually on the stove waiting. It quickly became a favorite. The original was made one day when I realized they would hit the door at any minute and all I had handy was a bit of leftover homemade spaghetti sauce and a freezer with a bit of anything and a lot of nothing.
Ground Beef, toss in pot and cook thoroughly, drain off any grease.
Add a can of Tomato Sauce (not paste! Homemade sauce is wonderful if you have it)
Cut up an onion, a couple of potatoes, and peek in freezer for a handful of various vegetables...corn, blackbeans, butterpeas, mixed vegetables, beans, hominy, anything goes! Add enough water to make it work. Season as you like best.
As a young family our financial status was rediculously nonexistant and I usually would drop a handful of whatever frozen veggies I was cooking into a ziploc bag. This way I "tithed" a small amount that was never missed until I had a good sized bag of stew goodies. I often make cornbread in one of my iron pans to go with the stew and I never have leftovers.
Now that the children are married and have their own children, they make this regularly. It warms the tummy and soul, it's inexpensive and healthy, it's fast and easy.