Apples!

Photo courtesy of my sister.

Our apples on our trees are starting to become pick-able, and picked they have been! We have two trees, and we're waiting on the other tree as the apples are smaller. These are green, those are red and green. We don't spray our trees (or at least we haven't yet so far) so lots of them have bad spots but you can always cut out bad spots. :-)

And then, this morning, Mom whipped up this WONDERFUL breakfast with our freshly picked apples:

A German apple pancake, baked in a cast iron skillet... OH. YUM. Wish you could have been here to enjoy it with me! (On second thought, maybe not, more for me! :-) ).

Anyway... just a little snippet from our daily life... I have some more serious posts mulling around in my head - I realize it has been quite I while since I did one of that nature. Thanks for stopping by!

Refreshing Summer Cooler

I'm sorry for not posting in so long... things have been busy around here. The weather has been unseasonably cool this summer, though yesterday and today are warmer. On those very hot days, it's always nice to have a little pick-me-up.

Something we have enjoyed lately are watermelon slushies. These are super easy to make and very co-o-o-ld to cool you down on a hot day. This is a recipe we really just make up as we go, so there are no real measurements.

Cut up watermelon into cubes. Most watermelons are seedless nowadays but if you have one with seeds, make sure you get those out. Put your watermelon in your blender. If you are looking for amounts, probably 1/3 full is good. Then add some ice. We start with a bit less than the amount of watermelon we put in. Blend that together. Continue to add more ice until you have reached a thick slushie consistency (no longer runny). Spoon into glasses and enjoy! Oh, and a word of caution - it's a good idea to scoop instead of pour the slushi into the glasses... take it from me, you will end up with a mess on your counter if you don't. :-)

Though we haven't tried it this way yet, you could experiment with flavors too - add a little lemon or orange juice to give it some zing, or maybe mint?

Happy Independence Day!

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity."
- John Adams

Book Review: Stay in the Castle

I have been meaning to review this book for some time now but hadn't gotten around to it till now. My dear friend sent me this little booklet, called "Stay in the Castle." It is a short story - I think only 24 pages and easily read in one sitting. For those of you familiar with "The Princess and the Kiss," this is similar.

The book begins with a true story, about the author and a young 16 year old Mexican girl, whom he encourages to stay pure till marriage and in addition, pure for a Christian man, not just anyone. She is struggling with this, so he tells her a tale of a princess who has lived in the castle all her life. Her father, the King, tells her that someday, a young prince that he has already met and chosen, will come to marry her. She believes him for a while, but she begins to yearn to leave the castle and visit what appears to be the merry, glad village below. Her father warns her against this...

And here I will leave you hanging to find out what happens. :-) Isn't that sweet of me? I enjoyed this little book very much. You can order it HERE for only $2.50. It is the first book on the page (I have not read any of the other books listed there and do not recommend them in providing the link).

An Update

I apologize for not posting in a while. I have been busy with life in general! This is a very short post just to let you know about a couple of things:

1. My new graphic design business is now open! I make website/blog headers as well as banners and buttons. Right now I am having a grand opening SALE, 20% off all normal prices including my already-marked-down package deals. The sale goes through July 10th, 2009. Visit www.PrairieRoseDesigns.com if you are interested.

2. And for all you seamstresses out there who like Sense & Sensibility patterns, all S&S e-patterns are 15% off through midnight of July 5th! Click HERE.

Thanks!

Next Year's Contest

I figured I would start a poll going now so more people will vote on it. :-) *Update: Poll results are below.*

What should next year's (2010) Maidens of Virtue contest be?

• Poetry Contest (35.0%, 14 Votes)
• Essay Contest (35.0%, 14 Votes)
• Either one! (10.0%, 4 Votes)
• I don't like writing poetry OR essays (20.0%, 8 Votes)

Total Voters: 40

The Hope Chest Record Book eBook

We have a new product over at Maidens of Virtue - an eBook version of The Hope Chest Record Book! Our runners up in the essay contest all received this as their prize (I hope you all are enjoying it! :-) ).

Anyway, it's now available for sale HERE. It's only $3.00 and includes two files; one to print a full page size and the other to print a half page size book. And with an eBook, you can print as many pages as you need!

Click HERE to buy this book or the original print book!