Fri., Jul. 11 - Tue., Jul. 15

The quilt arrived safe and sound. :) :) :)



Here is a picture of our family row. :) I wish the picture would show it better....



The Westers' blocks are interesting!! They all did the 'coloring book' option with family photos! >>HUH!<< WHO THINKS OF THIS STUFF??? [Again, I should have taken close-ups, I guess. argh]



I was happy to see the way the Sheetses' block included Tyler. (sigh)



This is a 'filler' block.



Here is a picture of the female cardinal who is visiting our feeder regularly. You know how cardinals are my FAVES, right? I think they're so romantic b/c they mate for life. :) Well, this female cardinal always flies away, when spooked, right to the same spot in the tree that the male (below) flies to. She must rrrrrreally 'love her man', though, because he's UHH-gly! He has no feathers on his head or neck!! I found two other pictures like this online; it sounds like it's a case of MITES, apparently. Which is particularly interesting because we're thinking that Chewie's spots of hair loss are symptomatic of what might be his depressed immune system (common in puppies) not taking care of the mites that get on him. Blech. Mites. ickey ... argh! ... OF ALL THINGS!






You know how Jabba thinks he's so special that he can't just curl up on the couch, he has to curl up on the pillow on the couch...? Can't just curl up on the floor, but has to be on the car seat on the floor?? A couple days ago during a busy moment I tossed a newspaper ad toward the recycle box; it missed, and before I passed by again to pick it up, Jabba had come along looking for a place to nap (should have turned off the flash):



Justus asked if he could make lunch for us. And he DID! The only thing I did was get the plates down from the cabinet ... and take pictures.



(Funny - right when I took this picture Justus smashed his hand down on that poor sandwich! LOL BOYS!!)



For two years now we've been using, at the computer desk, this surprisingly comfortable garage sale chair Elaine bought for us when we arrived in AZ. Sadly, one of the arms broke off last week. 2-3" chunks of wood were still attached, by screws, to the body of the chair; the wood pieces were scratching us and had to be removed. Instead of doing that bit of work myself, I was proud of myself for realizing that it was a job Justus could do -- and would be happy and proud to do!






Here's what we've been up to.

For Folding Family Friday Fun Day we went to the SCI, the Science Center of Iowa, with our *family pass*!!! Since we had lots of yard work to catch up on later in the day, we just went for a few hours and did little more than a walk-through. It is a mass of mirrors, air, microbes, rocket creation and shooting (Jeremy totally won.), reptiles, water power generation, an egg drop test, galaxies/telescopes, a planetarium (though it didn't compare to Museum of the Rockies's planetarium), weather, bubbles, levers & pullies, sociology, weight, a ball wall, of course (drum roll please) LEGOS ... actually in TWO LOCATIONS!! LOL , and, as has been advertized, "Humongous Among Us" -- DINOSAURS ... which, of course, also can't hold a candle to Museum of the Rockies. We were there only two hours, but that gives a pretty good slice of what they have to offer. I think the children and Jeremy didn't get to spend as much time as they would have liked to at any station. Me? I would have had more fun if I'd gotten more sleep the night before, but due to a laundry malfunction the night before, I was mostly a zombie on remote. lol

We did yard work in the 'cooler' part of the day. HA. It was mid-to-high-90's today. Jeremy mowed; I edged in the front, sweating so much that when I would turn my head quickly to one side or the other, sweat would go flying off my nose. LOL [Sorry if that's TMI.] Jeremy trimmed hedges; N & J transferred trimmings to the compost bin. Jeremy spread grass clippings over the garden while I pulled some weeds. The tomato plants are doing GREAT!

My big, fun project on Saturday was making a double-recipe supper to share half of it with a family across town that has a new baby!! :) I would like to do that WAY more often. I like to cook, it's relatively little inconvenience ... since I'm cooking anyway, and it's a meaningful, homemade, useful gift of love. N & J took turns with the computer, and did a good amount of reading. Then, for supper there was an unexpected blessing. Elaine cared for N & J through the evening while Jeremy and I met with Mike & Teresa (whose girls were with their grandparents) to discuss military-related issues and all things spiritual ... 'til pretty late. :) It was a very enjoyable, relaxing, refreshing evening.

Sunday turned out super busy! I wore The Outfit. N took this picture of it. Sorry it's a little blurry; I should have had her take it from closer.



During the morning service we sat in front of Philip & Marnie (excellent singers) and Philip's sister and her husband (visiting, also excellent singers). Mmm! After lunch Jeremy returned to the building while the children, Elaine, and I came home to let the dogs out. Marge N. had given me a large amount of quality, lovely clothing which she wished me to try on and see what I could use. It took me every amount of 40 minutes to try on all those clothes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is a TON of stuff in there that I can use; this is by far the largest amount of usable clothes with which I have ever been gifted and I am still in shock about it!! Honestly, these clothes have been tailored to fit someone exactly my size & shape; the pieces are largely the colors, styles, and fabrics I would have chosen for myself, although there is a little bit of variety -- things a little bit outside my typical clothing genre ... in a good way. :) I FEEL SSSO BLESSED BY THIS GIFT!!! But, that's not the end of the gifts. Buckle up for this one....

Normally this isn't something I would necessarily blog about; it is a little more 'private' than I necessarily care to share with the whole wide world. However, it is certainly public knowledge in the congregation, and there's no other way to explain why we are able to have the Subaru back sooner-rather-than-later. The elders were approached by some church members who wanted to know (lol -- so precious) why the church hadn't already helped us financially with our car pickle. It was explained, basically, that the Foldings haven't asked for help, so it must not be an emergency. Well, that answer just didn't satisfy these generous, caring people. Sssssssssso, Jeremy was asked, "If you're willing to accept the gift, which we pray you are, then please tell us how much it is going to cost to rebuild the engine in your Subaru." *Someone/s* must have done a bunch of calling around because ... >>tsk<< we get to move forward with this now!! (blink, blink) (tears in the eyes, lump in the throat, big sigh) I don't know what else to say about it in this moment, just that the amount of self-sacrificial love exhibited toward us by so many, and our depth of almost-unbelieving appreciation take me beyond words.

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Grandview hosted the semi-monthly Area-Wide Singing; of course we always enjoy singings. It was fun to get to meet some new people! Since the VBS meeting started at 5:30, by the time we got the snacks cleaned up there was little sense in going home. We stayed and visited with about a dozen others who also chose to stay; N & J continued absorbing books from the two plastic crates' worth that sit under the table in the Commons. [This is one of the BEST ideas I've seen -ever- for providing a quiet, controllable, dependable, long-term-effective pastime for one chid or more who might otherwise be tempted to be running and squealing. AND, let me clarify >> there is still plenty of play!! However, commonly at least two or three children are seen silently reading books. We also often see one of the older children, or even teenagers, reading to younger ones. AWESOME. AWESOME. Currently, I know not if someone rotates those books every month or two, but I would not be at all surprised to learn that one or more of at least six or eight ladies who immediately come to mind is/are doing so.]

After the evening service we shared supper with three of the Morts, since they were 'stuck in town' until the teens' monthly devotional was over. It was another full and wonderful Sunday.

On Monday a few errands were accomplished, and Jeremy & Justus napped. The children did much reading, much computing, and (gasp!) I've not yet really figured out how to fit their piano practice into the schedule!! We did practice, though, on Monday. It's fun!! Practice, as everyone knows, is where it's **at**. Music is something that, if it should ever do so for any given person, becomes fun and rewarding only with practice ... like most everything else! :) I HAVE to fit their piano practice into our schedule if this is going to be a good thing for anyone!! lol Monday was the day to get that going. After supper we gardened (We have two tomato blossoms now!) while Jeremy attended an elders/ministers meeting. This was a day I did four loads of laundry, what with the wardrobe additions I received on Sunday!

Today has been Tuesday. Two out-of-the-ordinary meals were served today. Blueberry Pancakes was one. Then, while Elaine and I attended Ladies' Bible Class at Ann's across town, Jeremy changed my supper menu item of "Breakfast Burritos" into ... "Breakfast Nachos"! Instead of serving the sausage, egg, cheese, and salsa in a tortilla, he served it over chips. >>HUH!<< Sounds good, actually! I kinda wish I'd been here to try it! lol However, it was very nice to be where we were. :) I have felt bad all day, due to some health issues yesterday that have carried over into today, so I'm thankful that the majority of this post I had done, little-by-little, during past days. Yay.

I am the proud new owner of Southern Living's Slow-Cooker Cookbook, which my friend Jo gifted me from her Southern Living at Home show!! I want to use our Crock-Pot much more than I do because it really simplifies afternoons. A suggestion in the book is to look for a bew Reynold's product: Slow Cooker Liners, which greatly simplifies clean-up. No joke!!! My friend Donna and I had previously discussed the "Baked" Potato Soup recipe, which is similar to the Baked Potato Soup recipe I have been making for a few years - one of Jeremy's FAVES. I typed up the recipe for Donna, and decided that since it's a matter of a simple cut/paste, I should post it here for anyone who wants to try it ... come fall/winter; it doesn't sounds so appetizing right now, in the 100-degree July heat! lol

Southern Living's Slow-Cooker "Baked" Potato Soup
Prep: 21 min.
Cook: 4 hrs. or 8 hrs.
Makes 12 cups

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (about 3 3/4 lbs.)
1 lg. onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 c.)
3 (14-oz.) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
1/4 c. butter
2 1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5-qt. slow cooker.
Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hrs. or on LOW 8 hrs. or until potato is tender.
Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened.

1 c. whipping cream or half-and-half
1 c. (4 oz.) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
3 T chopped fresh chives
Stir in cream, cheese, and chives.

1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Top each serving with sour cream, and sprinkle with bacon and
shredded Cheddar cheese before serving.