Monday, July 14, 2014
Paring it Down
If you have visited this blog in the last year, you have noticed that there has been nothing new. Nothing new on either of my blogs actually. That is not because I've been dead in a ditch or anything like that, just jncredibly busy. Since my last post we have built a new house. WE have built a new house. That takes up a lot of your personal time and energy. Now that we are settled in (mostly), I thought it would be nice to get back to blogging a little. From this point I will only be keeping one blog though. If you are interested you can follow me at my Guarding the Garden blog. Starting today, you will get several new posts. Mostly about sand plums. Like, What is a Sand Plum?, Now What do I do with All These Sand Plums, and You Can Make Something Besides Jelly with A Sand Plums?! Then more on the garden and everything that goes along with it. Gotta go, camp laundry is beeping at me!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Big News!
It's been awhile, but life has been pretty normal as of late, so nothing much to write about. That is until this morning! My little girl is going to Jerusalem!!! We don't have much detail yet, other than the names of those going. We are so excited for all of them, but admittedly more so for her. She's ours after all. While this may put a kink in our family trip this summer, I wouldn't have it any other way. Barring a tsunami, Hawaii will be there next year. This Jerusalem trip may be a once in a lifetime event!
Never would have thought when I took this that she would be heading to Jerusalem in 20 years.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
So Much Blogging, So Little Time!
Wow! It has been a while since I've sat down to do this. There has been a lot going on since August. I guess a lot has happened here and around the world.. I'll assume you watch the new, so I won't bore you with headlines. I'll just bore you with the goings on around the Burks' household. :-)
August
Camping and hiking near Antonito, CO again this year. No "Death Hike" though. It was great fun, We camped at the opening of a very small cave. Probably really can't even be called a cave, but it did provide adequate shelter from the rain. We took the dog with us too. He even had his own pack. Mainly because I was not going to pack in enough food to feed a 100 pound dog for 4 days.
4th grade officially began and so did Tab's Junior year at AC. She's pretty excited about it with all that is going on. She applied for a job in the publishing department and got it and she was also made RA of her dorm. Along with all that is going on in Jerusalem, it is making for an exciting year.
September
Other than our usual busy time with Holy Days and heading off to the Feast, not much went on. That may be due to everyone we know it seems, including us, being in quarantine for whooping cough. We did hit Oktoberfest in Choctaw and that was about it. Oh, and Elijah began taking Hebrew lessons.
October
Elijah turned 10 on the 14th. He is no longer a single. Well, a single digit at least.
This was also when we actually went to the Feast. Where did we go? Tobago of course. Our 5th time for those of you who are counting. For a little bit of a change this year we spent one night in Trinidad and were introduced to Doubles. Mmm, Mmm, good!
When we got home we began converting Tabitha's room and the office/classroom into an apartment. It has turned out really cute. Full kitchen and bath and a single living/sleeping space. Just perfect for one person.
November
Tabitha turned 21 on the 5th, on the 6th she got her braces mostly off. On the 30th the rest came off.
We went to Elk City to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We also had family pictures made. We have not had professional portraits of our family (the 4 of us) since before, way before, Elijah was born. My parents and my sibling have not had them done since about 2 weeks before I got married. that was 1989. My 15 year-old niece was 2 the last time they had a family picture and that was with us and my brother. I think it was time. We will have grand kids before it happens again. And I am not rushing that!!
December
Not too much going on during the first part of the month. We did take a spur of the moment snowboarding trip. It was just for a couple of days, but lots of fun anyway. We wanted to make sure we got one final trip in just in case the world ended. That was a little anticlimactic! Towards the end of the month we had several friends from around the country and world (well western hemisphere at least) here for a fun dinner one evening. Perhaps the biggest two events this month, in order of occurrence, were Elijah falling out of the tree house and Tabitha being baptized. Really excited about one of them at least. still waiting to see if the other will need surgery.
August
Camping and hiking near Antonito, CO again this year. No "Death Hike" though. It was great fun, We camped at the opening of a very small cave. Probably really can't even be called a cave, but it did provide adequate shelter from the rain. We took the dog with us too. He even had his own pack. Mainly because I was not going to pack in enough food to feed a 100 pound dog for 4 days.
Drew and his pack (backpack)
Part of the Rio Grande-Antonito River
4th grade officially began and so did Tab's Junior year at AC. She's pretty excited about it with all that is going on. She applied for a job in the publishing department and got it and she was also made RA of her dorm. Along with all that is going on in Jerusalem, it is making for an exciting year.
September
Other than our usual busy time with Holy Days and heading off to the Feast, not much went on. That may be due to everyone we know it seems, including us, being in quarantine for whooping cough. We did hit Oktoberfest in Choctaw and that was about it. Oh, and Elijah began taking Hebrew lessons.
October
Elijah turned 10 on the 14th. He is no longer a single. Well, a single digit at least.
This was also when we actually went to the Feast. Where did we go? Tobago of course. Our 5th time for those of you who are counting. For a little bit of a change this year we spent one night in Trinidad and were introduced to Doubles. Mmm, Mmm, good!
 |
| Englishman's Bay, Tobago-from the beach |
 |
| Englishman's Bay, Tobago-from the water |
When we got home we began converting Tabitha's room and the office/classroom into an apartment. It has turned out really cute. Full kitchen and bath and a single living/sleeping space. Just perfect for one person.
November
Tabitha turned 21 on the 5th, on the 6th she got her braces mostly off. On the 30th the rest came off.
We went to Elk City to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We also had family pictures made. We have not had professional portraits of our family (the 4 of us) since before, way before, Elijah was born. My parents and my sibling have not had them done since about 2 weeks before I got married. that was 1989. My 15 year-old niece was 2 the last time they had a family picture and that was with us and my brother. I think it was time. We will have grand kids before it happens again. And I am not rushing that!!
 |
| Mi familia |
December
Not too much going on during the first part of the month. We did take a spur of the moment snowboarding trip. It was just for a couple of days, but lots of fun anyway. We wanted to make sure we got one final trip in just in case the world ended. That was a little anticlimactic! Towards the end of the month we had several friends from around the country and world (well western hemisphere at least) here for a fun dinner one evening. Perhaps the biggest two events this month, in order of occurrence, were Elijah falling out of the tree house and Tabitha being baptized. Really excited about one of them at least. still waiting to see if the other will need surgery.
 |
| Hopefully the first and only time this will happen to him |
Thursday, August 23, 2012
P.E.
"Physical fitness is not only one of the most keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."-JFK
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Jamming' With the Sophomores
For the past few years I have demonstrated how to make jams and jellies for the AC sophomore Home EC class. It is always a blast! I have had as many as 11 girls in my kitchen. This year it was just 4 in the Home EC trailer.
We have made a few tried and true jams and some new combinations. Today we made strawberry-peach and kiwi. The girls like to give them as gifts and these turned out looking very nice. The strawberry-peach tasted great! We didn't have any kiwi to taste test though I think there will be some very happy AC guys!
In two weeks we'll make some marshmallows. That's always fun too
We have made a few tried and true jams and some new combinations. Today we made strawberry-peach and kiwi. The girls like to give them as gifts and these turned out looking very nice. The strawberry-peach tasted great! We didn't have any kiwi to taste test though I think there will be some very happy AC guys!
In two weeks we'll make some marshmallows. That's always fun too
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Looking Forward to the Summer
With tomorrow being our last day of golf for the spring session, I realized that I hadn't gotten Elijah signed up for the summer session. Then I began to think about what we would be doing and wondered if we would even have time for it.
First of all, life is going on. Just the everyday activities are expanded in the summer. There is the extra added work of a garden and lawn care. The fruits of the garden (and hopefully there will be many this year) will have to be preserved in one form or another. This usually takes a great deal of time. School work does ease up a bit, but since we school year round, it never really stops. There will be summer reading programs, more field trips, and maybe an extra class or two. Doesn't sound much like a slowdown does it? We are cutting baseball but may add swimming. Not just the regular swim lessons, but we may look for an actual team as well. I think Elijah may be built for it, long and lean.
Next we are looking forward to our new tradition of heading off to the mountains to camp. We had such a great time last year when we went. I expect to be in much better shape this year as well, so it should be more fun. I don't think we will be able to get in two trips again, but we are thinking that hitting Angel Fire and their new zip line will be a great addition to our trip!
Then there is PYC. I don't have a camper going and haven't for a few years. What I have done for the last several years is laundry. That may not sound all that exciting, but it is always a nice time with the ladies and since most of us seem to have little boys, I think they have a lot of fun too. This year there may be a shortage of regular camp workers because there are many (at least we are hoping) heading off to Jerusalem. So, I applied to be a regular camp worker. I am still waiting to hear about that. If accepted, that will make things a bit busier. At least Elijah is old enough to help Jeff out and go with him if necessary. Depending on where I would be needed, he may also be able to come with me. If I end up with laundry again, he'll just go with me as usual.
Then at some point during the summer there is the trip to Elk City to see my mom. I would also love to head down to Possum Kingdom where my family spent a several cummer trips. I haven't been there in years and would love to go camping and fishing down there. Maybe even get is some time with my cousins who still live in the area.
In spite of the busyness (spell check says it is correct at least) of summer, I think we can work in First Tee and only miss one lesson. They don't begin until June 13th, and since May seems to be busiest on Sundays with Mother's Day, a wedding, Tabitha's graduation, our anniversary and a holy day. Oh, and NBA playoffs and Memorial Day. Now, how many would he miss in the fall session?
First of all, life is going on. Just the everyday activities are expanded in the summer. There is the extra added work of a garden and lawn care. The fruits of the garden (and hopefully there will be many this year) will have to be preserved in one form or another. This usually takes a great deal of time. School work does ease up a bit, but since we school year round, it never really stops. There will be summer reading programs, more field trips, and maybe an extra class or two. Doesn't sound much like a slowdown does it? We are cutting baseball but may add swimming. Not just the regular swim lessons, but we may look for an actual team as well. I think Elijah may be built for it, long and lean.
Next we are looking forward to our new tradition of heading off to the mountains to camp. We had such a great time last year when we went. I expect to be in much better shape this year as well, so it should be more fun. I don't think we will be able to get in two trips again, but we are thinking that hitting Angel Fire and their new zip line will be a great addition to our trip!
Then there is PYC. I don't have a camper going and haven't for a few years. What I have done for the last several years is laundry. That may not sound all that exciting, but it is always a nice time with the ladies and since most of us seem to have little boys, I think they have a lot of fun too. This year there may be a shortage of regular camp workers because there are many (at least we are hoping) heading off to Jerusalem. So, I applied to be a regular camp worker. I am still waiting to hear about that. If accepted, that will make things a bit busier. At least Elijah is old enough to help Jeff out and go with him if necessary. Depending on where I would be needed, he may also be able to come with me. If I end up with laundry again, he'll just go with me as usual.
Then at some point during the summer there is the trip to Elk City to see my mom. I would also love to head down to Possum Kingdom where my family spent a several cummer trips. I haven't been there in years and would love to go camping and fishing down there. Maybe even get is some time with my cousins who still live in the area.
In spite of the busyness (spell check says it is correct at least) of summer, I think we can work in First Tee and only miss one lesson. They don't begin until June 13th, and since May seems to be busiest on Sundays with Mother's Day, a wedding, Tabitha's graduation, our anniversary and a holy day. Oh, and NBA playoffs and Memorial Day. Now, how many would he miss in the fall session?
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Pomegranate Deseeder
It really worked. It may be better than the mango splitter. Why can’t I think these things up? And yes, I had pomegranates still in the fridge. They are waaaay out of season right now, but they keep surprsingly well. I am making grenadine as we speak.
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