Making Pierogi

 This week I made pierogi, a dish that I hadn't made for quite some time (in fact none of my family remembered it). It really tasted good to me so I thought I would share the recipe with you too.

I just checked and Pierogi is a polish dish. I think I found the recipe in some old magazine years ago. I of course always tweak recipes a bit to either make them healthier, cheaper, easier or to use what I have on hand. :-)

Making pierogi wasn't to labor intensive for me because I already had some leftover mashed potatoes and some leftover browned hamburger AND I found a little lumberjack to help me.

First step is making the dough. Here is the recipe:

3 cups of flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup of white flour)
1/2 teaspoon of salt.
1 egg (slightly beaten)
3/4 cup water (more or less)

Mix ingredients together to make a stiff dough, using only as much water as needed. Roll out to 1/8 -1/16 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch squares or circles (approximately).

Next you need to make the filling. There are different options available for that.

I used:
Mashed potatoes, cheese, onion, salt, pepper and hamburger (the hamburger is not traditional but my husband loves his meat.)

Another option:
Cottage cheese, egg and salt and pepper.

Third option:
Sauer Kraut, onion, mushrooms, sour cream, salt and pepper.

We put a spoonful of filling on each square of dough and then folded the square in half and sealed the edges.

 Next step is to put a few at a time in a pot of boiling water. When they come up and float really well then they are done and you remove them with a slotted spoon. (At this point they can be frozen if you like.)

Next step is to saute them in a pan with butter.

And then you get to eat them! Serve with sour cream or yogurt.

 We all ate them up pretty well at supper but I think I liked them best - the others didn't fight me for them when we had leftovers.

Have you ever made or eaten Pierogi? (or any other pasta?) I would love to hear about your experiences!

A Handmade Christmas- Week 8 {Camera Accessories}

 With photography being a pretty common hobby anymore I am finding more and more people will have nice cameras. My baby sister (who isn't so little now- she is 21) is one of the main photography buffs in my life (though I do have quite a few friends and family now that enjoy photography and do a good job at it) and so when I started seeing various camera accessory ideas online I had fun making some for her.

  Maybe you have a photographer in your life who would enjoy some handmade accessories for their camera.

Here are the idea that I found:

 

A camera strap cover. The idea behind this is that it makes it look a little cuter and it also pads it a bit to make it more comfortable. I was first inspired by this one on Etsy and then I found several tutorials as well: A pieced one at Moda Bake shop and a simple one by Lori Danelle.  Keren did mention that this slips around some and so if I make one again I plan on adding a button and at each end so that the loop can go around the end of the camera strap and make sure the cover stays in place. I have not seen this mentioned in any tutorials.

 

Another thing that I saw and thought was rather cute was little "animals" to go around your lens to help you keep the attention of little ones that you might be trying to photograph. I had fun making a bird  to match the camera strap. I simply made a fabric casing and put elastic inside and then glued on felt, feathers and google eyes to make it look bird like. I was inspired by all the fun things in this Etsy Shop.

Other ideas could be a camera bag. That might be challenging to make for the big cameras and all the lenses and such but a little camera bag for a point and shoot would be pretty simple. I need to make one of those for myself sometime very soon.

  Do you have idea for homemade gifts for a photographer?

I would love to hear about any gifts, decorations or other Christmas things that you might be making! Please leave your ideas in the comments and if you have a post written would you please leave a link? I would love to check it out!

My Friend Ula

Ula recently at church with our friend Xihao who we first got to know when he
came to this area as a university student from China- just another young person that Ula encouraged.

 This past week was a pretty emotional one for me. First my dear friend (who was like a grandma to me) went to be with the Lord. She was 98 so I suppose it was that time but it was hard to think about how much I would be missing her as she was still a big part of our lives. She came to church every Sunday (even though she couldn't hear very much) and we loved spending time with her there and then we would go visit her in her apartment where she always welcomed us with a big smile and enjoyed playing/visiting with the kids.

 A little over a day later we got the call that Ken's Grandmother from Nevada had gone home to be with the Lord as well. She was 95 years old and had a lived a full life and had spent the last few years in nursing homes and bad health so we were thankful that God took her home.

  With both of these women though it is hard to say goodbye right now it is very exciting to know that we can see them in heaven someday! They both lived faithful lives that impacted many people.

And now I want to tell you a little more about my friend Ula. This will not be the first time I have mentioned her here on my blog, her life impacted mine in many many ways. I have long said that it is my hope and prayer that when I am old that I live my life the way Ula lived hers.

Here are some of the ways she was an example to me:

Ula and Megan

• She put her relationship with God as front and center in her life. She spent much time in prayer. Even in her last days when laying in the hospital bed (she had suffered from a heart attack, pneumonia -with lungs filled with fluid and then a stroke) we had a conversation on the importance of prayer and she was telling me how she liked to keep a prayer journal and she would write in it every day. She also found church attendance very important and once she was no longer able to drive she willingly got rides from others from church.
• She studied and memorized God's word all the time. This woman was one of the greatest examples that I know of someone who studied to know God's word to the best of her ability. She read the Bible through twice a year (I am not sure how many years she did that but it was many and at the age of 98 I am thinking she has read through the Bible many, many times!) and she worked on memory verses daily. She rose very early in the morning to make sure that she had time to do those things. She had a Bible verse memorized from every book of the Bible plus many, many more that she found to be useful to her life. She didn't just memorize them and forget them either - she had a method for going over them regularly.
• She encouraged others. Even at the age of 98 and with various health difficulties she always worked at encouraging others. When we would see her at church she would give a big smile and a hug and would often tell us what she appreciated about us. She would also encourage us to study God's word and memorize it. If she wasn't going to be seeing you (and sometimes even if she was) she would send many many letters to encourage - always including some scripture that she thought would encourage you too and for the little ones the letters were usually decorated with some stickers. Even when her hands got to shaky to write very legibly in the last years she would still write letters -she simply started typing them on her computer.
• She loved young people. When I was a child (and she was already in her 70's - so not young) she loved having all of us church kids (maybe 15 or so at a time) over for camp outs. At those camp outs she would serve us Potato soup (with corn in it) and hip hugger bars as well as other treats. We would play baseball in the yard ( I think sometimes with a big plastic bat and a beach ball) with Ula playing right along with us kids and we would stay up late - Ula didn't mind - she stayed up late too. She also loved to create treasure hunts for us with all sorts of clues written out (often times involving bible verses) and had us work together in teams. She also liked to play games with us -Rummikub, Bible Trivia being some of the ones I remember playing the most.
  
  Another event the Ula hosted every year at her farm that was especially fun for young people was a Hay ride and hot dog roast. She invited everybody from church and whoever else she could think of and then she encouraged us to invite others as well. She would have hay put on the big hay wagon and it would be hooked up to the tractor (her son-in-law or some other man would usually do these chores) and then we would go on rides through the fields on her property. We loved riding and singing (and sometimes jumping off and trying to get back on again). We would also have fun eating hot dogs and marshmallows and all the other goodies that she and others would provide. We would also do things like play croquet and football and climb trees (Mara added that last one.)
  
  Another thing that she did many years with we young people was to have a pancake and sausage supper at church. She would buy the ingredients and then have all the young people dropped of where she would then direct us in making pancakes, frying sausage and also preparing a program (complete with much reading of poetry -which she loved) and then serving the adults when they came for supper. So many wonderful memories in that!
  
  Another prime example of her love for young people was the fact that she had foster children. She didn't have just a couple of them either - she hosted 142 foster children in her home. Some of them were very short term - just emergency situations where she had them overnight but some stayed over a year and a couple of them became her daughters for the rest of her life. (She also had 2 daughters by birth). 
  
  Examples of this trait could go on and on but I will just end with some quick mentions of how in her last years she still loved to reach out to my children. With the boys she loved to have them make faces for her (this is a tradition that they have had for years now and she still had them do it when we went to see her in the hospital) she would say "Give me a happy face!" and then "Now give me a mean face!" "Oh, that's not a very mean face, here's a mean face" and then she would demonstrate. Or she might ask for a sad, mad or glad face. Another thing that she did was to allow all the little kids to play with her walker (unlike many older people, basically nothing was off limits as far as Ula was concerned -she never seemed to worry about something getting broken or lost) - there was a seat on it so usually the youngest child would ride while the other children would push them around or often Ula would offer to give a young child a ride while she pushed.
  
  

Ula and some of the young men that she influenced.

•  She was hospitable. Not only did she open her home to foster children and would she hold big parties but she was absolutely loved it when we would just drop by to visit. She would always figure out something for the kids to do and find cookies or candy for them to eat and she loved to visit. When she still lived out on the farm (before she moved to an apartment a couple of years ago) she would try to have homemade cookies or cookie dough on hand and she could whip up potato soup or sloppy joes or something else pretty fast if you were willing to stay for a meal. Things weren't fancy but they were certainly served with love! (And they did taste yummy too!) She also was quite willing to host overnight company when we would have church rallies or other times.
• She was always trying to learn more. Not only did she love to learn the Bible but she loved to read in general. She loved history (and knew a ton - though it would help that she had lived through a bunch of it too!) and enjoy sharing that passion with others. She shared books with us regularly - loaning them too us and then giving us many as well especially in her later years.
• She was generous.  It was rather rare to go to her place and not go away with something. When I started my wedding flower business she started saving and finding vases for me to use. When she still lived out at the farm she loved to share starts of plants (I have chives, lilac bushes and other things thanks to Ula) or apples or plums from her trees. She also loved to share Rhubarb from her patch. She would also find little odds and ends that she thought the kids might enjoy and they did. When I was a child we got a card from Ula at every birthday and many times it contained a 2 dollar bill or a couple of 1 dollar coins. When I was pretty small I would also get homemade underwear that was made all fancy with ribbon or lace.

Ula visiting at church.

•  She liked gardening. She had planted all sorts of trees on her property with a lot of them being fruit trees. She also had a big rhubarb patch and lots of gorgeous flowers (Lupine, Lilacs, Peonies, Marigolds and Morning Glories being the ones I most associate with Ula) and when I was still a child she had a large vegetable garden. In later years she gave up the big garden but still grew pots of tomatoes and lettuce on her porch. We enjoyed talking about gardening together and I learned a lot from her. I also saw the rewards you reap later in life by planting fruit trees and other perennials.

Ula on her farm.

•  She liked to sew. She was great at making quilts, panties and other things as well. She loved to share tips on quilt making and I enjoyed learning from her. She also gave me many books that she had used but thought I would now make better use of them.

Ula helping us make quilts for some babies.

• She liked to bake and was experienced in the kitchen. There are many of us that have had fun baking (quite likely making her type of thin cinnamon rolls) with Ula. I have also been inspired when she had told me how she used to can around 500 quarts of garden produce each year. I have a long way to go before I achieve that sort of canning success!
• She was very self disciplined. Rising early, working hard, memorizing verses, exercising and much more attest to how disciplined she was.
• She took care of her health. She was very careful to eat right to the best of her knowledge and ability, she exercised every morning - even lifting weights up until very recently to make sure and keep her muscles strong. When she lived at the farm she had a self imposed exercise schedule that included many trips up and down her stairs. When she moved she no longer had the stairs so when she would come to church each Sunday she would enlist one of the young men to walk with her and she would go down to the basement and come back up just to keep in practice. When she gave that up a few months ago we realized that she was not feeling as strong as she used to. She always stayed just as active as she could.
• She loved her country and did what she could to help it. She was always careful to vote and always careful to be an informed voter. Several of our last conversations included visiting about the election. When I was a child she helped to foster my interest in politics by inviting our family over to watch the election night returns as we did not have a TV in our home.

I guess I probably could go on and on but this is long and I need to go make supper but I wanted to share with you a little from the life of my friend Ula. She impacted my life in a very big (and good!) way and I hope she might encourage you as well.

This post is also just to celebrate how wonderful it is to have elderly people in your life - you can learn so much from them (though I think it might be pretty hard to find another Ula!) and hopefully you can bless them a little too.

I am linking this up to the Homestead Barn Hop because of how much Ula encouraged me in my attempts at homesteading and how much I learned from her in this area.

Join The Barn Hop!

Jill @ The Prairie Homestead

Kendra @ New Life on a Homestead

and Amy @ Homestead Revival

Handmade Mittens Giveaway

 Good morning! How are you doing today?

I thought it would be fun to participate in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway day today. That just means that I am holding a giveaway on my blog of a handmade item and then I will link it up over at Sew Mama Sew along with a whole bunch of other giveaways that other bloggers are hosting.

 I have decided to give away a pair of handmade Mittens. The winner will get to choose from either a pair for a girl child (will probably best fit a 5-10 year old)

or a Boy child (again 5-10 year old). Both of these pairs of mittens are made with a wool outer layer and fleece lining.

 Or you may choose a pair of ladies mittens. These are made with wool outer and inner layers.

 So which mittens would you choose? Please leave a comment telling me something you enjoy doing in the snow (or wearing mittens) - also be sure to tell me which mittens you would want if you win and leave me an e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win.

This giveaway will end on December 7th at 5 pm. Anyone may try to win.

If you are visiting my blog for the first time from Sew Mama Sew I would love it if you would take the time to look around. I am a christian homeschooling Mama who loves to makes things and be creative. This year I have been making a different kind of rag rug each month and right now I have a Handmade Christmas Series going on every Tuesday.

WE HAVE A WINNER! CONGRATULATIONS TO JULIE (COMMENT #18)

The High Calling {E-mail newsletter review}

  I was recently asked to do a review of "The High Calling" a weekly e-mail newsletter. I had never heard of it before but as it said it was a christian newsletter I thought it would be worth checking out.

Here is what the website says about their mission:

"TheHighCalling.org seeks to create opportunities for Christian leaders to encounter God through new media tools for the transformation of daily life, work, and our world. Christian leaders are in all aspects and activities of daily life—including home, community, leisure, as well as occupation."

 

I had fun checking out their newsletter (reading several weeks worth that were in the archives). In each newsletter there is a short audio clip, a short video and several articles all of the ones I read being pretty brief and easy to read and enjoy.

 

  I read various articles on various biblical principles like gratitude, helpfulness, using our gifts, enjoying work and loving and caring for your family. Whenever I review something I am always on the lookout for possibilities of the writer(s) presenting something that doesn't go along with scripture but in the articles that I read (but bear in mind that I have not read every article of this newsletter) seemed to go along very well with the truth of scripture.

  I guess what I liked best about the newsletter was that it was encouraging for my christian walk but it was also very brief and easy to read - it didn't take a large time commitment in order to get something out of it.

   They also have many beautiful graphics to enjoy as well. The ones in this post came from their site.

 

I found the newsletter to be encouraging so I subscribed to it. Perhaps you would like to as well (it is free).

 

Disclaimer- I am to receive a $10 Amazon gift card for reviewing this newsletter - the views of it are however my own and completely true.

Jesus loves Children

 

Something that Jesus certainly did was to reach out and show love to children. He didn't turn them away or think of them as less important. He had some pretty strong messages concerning children. Let's look at some verses on this subject....

 

  "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And He called a child to himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

 

 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

 

 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If you eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

 

 See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 18:1-10



Beautiful Children from Sudan - Help them by helping Sudan African Mission

  "Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After laying His hands on them, He departed from there." Matthew 19:13-15

 

 Jesus saw the beauty in the innocence of children and how we need to see things from a childlike perspective.

He sure makes you stop and think about how careful we need to be with children so that we don't cause them to stumble. There is some pressure in His words but I think that is a good thing. I think to often we have become comfortable with letting children see or hear evil things through television, movies and even books. Is what you are allowing your children to watch going to cause them to stumble? How about my bad attitudes and poor example some of the time- Is that going to cause a child to stumble? Am I being careful that everything that I teach is perfectly in line with the truth of God's word?

 I know that we have a God that is full of grace and mercy which is a very good thing because I know I certainly make mistakes from time to time. That grace however is not a license to not be careful - to not try to the very best of our ability.

 Jesus tells us not to cause a child to stumble - we need to listen to what He said and observe what He did!

I want to walk in His steps.... I hope you do too!