Vacation House

Vacation is coming up this week, so we are off to the Outer Banks. Here's the view from last year as we were packing up to come home.

This year it will look pretty much the same. Same time, same house. I never thought I would enjoy predictability so much, but sometimes it can be useful.

The kids already know where to take things once we arrive, so unpacking the car goes pretty fast.

While the kids are looking forward to having a lot of fun, Bobbie and I look forward to a nice relaxing trip.

...and just look at that shine!

When you have kids of just about any age, the kitchen floor always seems to be sticky. So why not ask (tell) them to help?

Janine was a big help cleaning the kitchen Saturday. After I swept the floor, she got to mop it. Of course I also had to scrub the area where we were processing the tomatoes.

Naturally she had to strike a pose. With that shift style dress and the hair band, she looks as if she stepped out of a '60s floor wax commercial.

Perhaps this one, or this one, or here's one with a celebrity's real kids.

TomAHtoes

It all starts in the field. But since I don't have any photos of that, we will start in the sink.

Bobbie went to a local Farmer's market this past Friday and bought a bushel of tomatoes. As in past years, she puts them up as simple tomato puree. She then adds seasonings only when she actually opens a jar to make something.

Yesterday she started the canning process by washing them all. As you can see they filled the sink nicely. At this point I was off to a meeting and conference call only to return in the afternoon.
Then they all got to cook down on the stove. This photo was taken in the afternoon after I got back from my meeting so I am sure the tomatoes cooked down from the morning. With three burners on the stove cooking the tomatoes, I was glad it was a cool day.

Finally, here's John running the food mill. It's really quite a contraption. The cooked tomatoes go in the top skins, seeds and all. An auger device forces out the juice and pulp through a cylindrical screen on the side. The skins and seeds are then pushed out the end of the cylinder. It's all quite efficient and fun. All three kids took turns cranking the handle.

Sorry to miss getting photos of the canning process today, but I was in a meeting this afternoon as well. That's OK however, because I still get to enjoy the sauce for months to come.

First Anniversary!

September First was the first anni- versary of Little House in the Suburbs. Our very first post is here.

Sorry so slow to post and celebrate, but things have been quite busy with the new season of kid's activities, and lots of new business. So, I have no complaints whatsoever.

Except perhaps that we really didn't have a cake. Yes this is a clip art image "borrowed" from another blog. Looks good!

So, here's to another year of the Little House. In the coming weeks look for our annual trip to the Outer Banks as well as an update on the fall activities.