Canning Homemade Tomato Soup

It's canning season. I've been busy and have canned lots of tomato soup, stewed tomatos, and applesauce. So, I thought since many people ask for my canned homemade tomato soup recipe, I'd share it with you all here. :)

8 quarts of tomatos - leave peeling on, core stem out, cut into quarters

6 small onions - dice

1 stalk celery - dice

Cook in a kettle on stovetop together until soft - then put through colandar.

Take about 3 cups or so of the juice and add 1 cup of flour to the tomato juice, beating with a mixer, then add to the rest of the tomato juice. Doing so this way prevents it from getting clumpy.

Add to the tomato juice:

1/4 Cup canning salt

1 Cup white sugar

1 stick of butter

Bring to a boil, then add to your sterilized canning jars.

It is sooooooooo good! Everyone who's tried this soup raves about how good it tastes.

Happy Birthday Abbie!!

My little girl turned 8 this week! Time sure flies.

~* Autumn Decor & Hustlerfest Fun *~

So I've begun my fall/halloween decorating. I should have moved my truck so it wasn't in the background before taking this photo - oh well . . . notice two of our kittens are peeking in through the window ~ hee hee.

Mike is always complaining that my decor is just too "cluttered" . . but ya know what? I don't care. I like how it comes together. Until I get a larger house, I want to have my favorite things on display, and since we don't have a lot of room to display my things right now, they'll have to be together as they are. If we had more space, I either would have things more spread out or . . just maybe . . who knows . . . I just might be compelled to buy more to fill up the space. LOL I love my prim goodies and I feel the more the merrier, the more homey the feel.

A couple of weeks ago was our local fest. Abbie was in the pie eating contest for the second year in a row, this year coming in third. She's in red in these photos. Next to her in the green top is her cousin, my niece, Kate. Good thing the pie is pumpkin; otherwise, Abbie would not have been in it, as that's the ONLY kind of pie she will eat.

And she also competed in the kids pedal pull. Last year she won her age group. This year, she couldn't really pedal the small tractor as she was too big for it. Imagine an adult trying to pedal a baby tricycle - it's pretty hard to do when it's simply too small for you. Sure enough, for the next age group they brought out a larger tractor that would have worked much better for her. I told her she'll have to try again next year and will probably have better luck.

Vintage Halloween Costume Image Freebies

Yes, it's been awhile. I really must get a bunch of photos uploaded so I can get posting more regularly ~ I have bunches in my camera ready to share of various things. Hopefully I can make the time to do so tonight after I get the kids tucked into bed. So much to do, never enough time! Have a great evening everyone :)

Vintage Children Images

I know they're a bit blurry . . sorry . . but they are still cute. Have a great day!

Daddy's Boots!

My "big boy" posing in daddy's boots. :)

Altered Art Swap!

I was in an altered art swap on a group I belong to, A Primitive Journey: http://aprimitivejourney.proboards.com/index.cgi I just have to share with you the wonderful altered art paper bag album I received from Robin of http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5232246 LOVE IT!! She does amazing work. :)

As has been the case for me lately, I'm still lacking energy; therefore, the reason I haven't been posting too frequently as of late. I had a bit of a scare in the middle of the night and due to it had an ultrasound this morning, but all is well :) The baby is growing, active, and has a good heartbeat.

Hope everyone's doing well!

Guess What?

Not only did I win the giveway posted below, I lucked out and was the lucky winner of my choice of an awesome Santa painted softball or baseball from "B" at http://www.wood-n-stitches.blogspot.com/ . I chose the softball and I absolutely love it! Thanks B!!! :)

What a Wonderful Surprise!!

I had the pleasure of receiving these wonderful goodies as I won the blog contest Cindy hosted on her blog: http://plumtreeantiques.blogspot.com/ I LOVE IT ALL!!! Thanks so much Cindy. She has a wonderful blog with photos of so many goodies she has in her store - I wish I lived closer so I could visit her wonderful antique store.

I haven't blogged for a bit as I've been really busy between work and home and spending time with my children that I just haven't found the time to get photos uploaded for my blog. And, add in the fact that I'm still quite tired and nauseous all the time - that certainly doesn't help.

I have several photos on my camera I need to take the time to download and share soon. Hope everyone's enjoying their summer . . . I can't believe it's nearing an end already!

Deer

Nothing new for me to talk about really. Due to the pregnancy I have been extra tired and a bit nauseous, and between work and housework upon arriving home I haven't found time to work on any new projects. I've been feeling lazy so to say, but I really am doing a lot, just not as much as I'm accustomed to doing. We're planning to go camping this weekend with family and friends. Hopefully it's more relaxing than feeling like it's work as it seemed to be more than it should the last time we went. And, hopefully, it doesn't rain as is forecast for Saturday!

My Favorite Places

We visited my parents farm yesterday, and took the kids for a walk to explore and pick berries. I always LOVE to do this, as I love the beauty of the outdoors on their farm and pastures. Abbie, Jacob, & Taylor. Looking for tadpoles - found some too!

A view of my parents farm.

Neat old barn and the interior view of it.

Tinted Sweet Vintage Children

It's unseasonably cold here in Wisconsin, with temps. today not even yet reaching 60! So unusual mid summer! I hope this weather changes for the warmer - much warmer - soon so we can make more use of our outdoor pool.

I rented a movie to settle down and watch later on tonight after Jacob is tucked into bed. The girls will enjoy it with me as it's a "scary" new release. I love realistic scary movies.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)

I Have a Secret . . . Oh Baby!!

. . . but now I'm telling :) Some of you may know already . . some not. I have been soooo tired lately. Recently I started crying upon getting to work for no apparant reason, then a few times throughout that day. I started to think perhaps I was depressed. I had felt a bit stressed for a couple of months, so figured it was getting to me to the point of depression. Well, I am not depressed! :) Happy, happy, joy, joy! I was shocked, as this was so unexpected and not planned, but this is good news. My children are going to have a baby brother or sister in about 7 months. Maybe I'm breaking the news early, but I am not one who can keep this to myself for too long. No wonder I have been so tired lately! No wonder I was overly emotional that day. LOL. I think my emotions are in check now . . but who knows with pregnancy hormones. I'm feeling good . . just tired . . but good :)

We had planned to be done having children, but God has blessed us with this pleasant surprise. Here I was planning to go out last Friday with friends and socialize a bit ~ have a few drinks perhaps . . as it was my birthday. But since we just found this news out a week prior, our plans changed and we stayed home. Mike made a wonderful birthday supper for me and we settled in and watched a good movie. Oh gosh, don't ask how old . . . I felt so much older when Jacob was born than Abbie, I can only imagine how "old" I'll feel upon the birth of this child. I was just used to finally getting to sleep through the night once again . . and now I'll have many interrupted nights of sleep again soon. But anyway, I did just turn 37! Oh my! I only feel my actual age when I'm so tired, mostly due to lack of sleep, but now due to pregnancy hormones . . and when I see the gray hairs starting to pop through at my temples and at the tops of my bang line . . then it's time to quickly color my hair again! Otherwise, I feel as though I'm maybe 28 or so . . maybe 30. Remember ~ You're only as old as you feel!! :) Have a wonderful week everyone :)

My Mind Wide Open Challenge Entry

So here's my latest Mind Wide Open entry. What do you think? (You can click to enlarge for details). I really enjoyed putting this piece together. If you'd like to see the other entries and cast your vote, take a look here: http://mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/2009/07/come-on-lets-vote.html

Happy Independance Day Weekend!

Happy 4th of July (almost)!! We have a few things planned for the weekend, including a get together at my aunt & uncle's lakeside home on Saturday afternoon, then visting with relatives camping nearby and watching a lighted boat show on the lake from the beach. Mike and the kids plan to camp with them - I however plan to visit for awhile but then return home that night to sleep so I can spend some time to myself the following day to work on some artwork. Hopefully my plan works . . time will tell. LOL. If I end up bringing Jacob home with me I will not be able to do as I wish as it's impossible to work on artwork when I'm home alone with my baby boy. He wants momma's full attention to play with him.

Tonight I am thinking of going to to visit my parents on the farm. Jacob loves going there to see the cows, tractors, and all the other sights. I may take some food to cookout on the grill and surprise my parents with supper too.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I know it's only Thursday, but with tomorrow being a holiday day off from work, it's now the start of my holiday weekend!!!

My Baby Boy is 2!!!

Jacob's 2nd birthday was yesterday. He had a great time with his cake and presents. He LOVES his caterpillar front end loader/backhoe toy and can't get enough of it! Spaghetti for supper on his 2nd birthday! Oooohhhh - blowing out the candles . . and I see a bit of drool! LOL

Abbie, Jacob, & Mommy!

Playing with his favorite new toy!And having more fun with his new toys!This past weekend we spent a day at the lake with Abbie & Jacob's cousins. It was a beautiful day!