Try this App if You're a Homeschooling Mom

I used to work in the technology field. Even so, I have never been one to appreciate technology just for technology's sake, i.e., "just because you can do it." I guess that sums up why I have never considered myself an early adopter.

I like to wait and see how useful a new application is going to be for my life before I jump on the bandwagon and purchase it.

I discovered an app for the ipad/iphone that I recently downloaded. It has been valuable in our homeschooling experience.

TurboScan is an app for scanning pages and saving them as PDFs or jpegs. I have found it most helpful during the homeschool day because it serves as a copier in a pinch. I'll explain.

I am without a copier in my home office right now. On the fritz. In the trash. These things happen.

The other day, I forgot to make a copy of my son's grammar test. With TurboScan, I took a quick photo of the test page from the book, tweaked it, emailed it to myself, and then printed it from my office printer. Very cool. And quick. Problem solved.

TurboScan costs $1.99 in the app store.

Hope this helps you. Let me know other creative ways you use apps in your homeschooling or work day.

TCB

As a Pet Ages

I wrote before about all the challenges that come with a pet as it gets older, especially larger pets like dogs. And although our beloved golden retriever, Molly, has some vision, hearing and arthritis issues now (she's pushing 17 years old), our vet and groomer both say she is alert and healthy and we do not need to consider euthanasia. Thank goodness. It's a decision some people have to make, and I have been hoping I am not one of them.

But she is to the point of wearing doggie diapers. Saves my floor from pee-pee misadventures.

Sorry, old girl. It had to be done.

But my story today is really about the crazy world of manufacturing and retailing. If you think of an outlandish product, it's probably out there somewhere in our e-commerced, frenzied world.

My husband orders the doggie diapers online. Buying in bulk saves money. I surely thought diapers were one of the expenses I had eliminated from our household budget, but apparently not. Who ever thought our dog would live long enough to become incontinent?

Here's the crazy part of this story: Mr. Country Belle inadvertently ordered the wrong product and had to ship it back. What was it? WASHABLE dog diapers.

Say what???

I'm economically minded and eco-friendly, but I have my limits. In the words of a true Southerner: "I ain't never gonna wash a dog's poo and pee out of a cloth diaper."

Enough said.

TCB

Mouthwatering Meatloaf: Best Church Cookbook Recipes

I adore using cookbooks printed by the ladies of Southern churches. The recipes are timeworn and tested, with families all over the South - at home and at after-church potlucks - having a chance to give them the "thumbs up" they need to make it into the cookbook.

I have adapted this meatloaf recipe from one such cookbook, "Blessings from Our Table," and it is loved by the meat-eaters in my family. I've tweaked it by using lean venison instead of beef and increasing the amount of flavorful topping, but if you have beef, that works fine.

Here goes.

Minnesota Meatloaf

2 lbs. ground venison (or beef)
1 1/2 c. bread crumbs (I often use Panko bread crumbs)
1 c. milk (I successfully use unsweetened original almond milk)
1 small finely diced onion
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp. sage (I make mine heaping teaspoons because I love the taste of sage)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and pat into an 8x8 casserole dish.

Topping:
6 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. ketchup
2 tsp. dry mustard

Mix all topping ingredients well and spread over the meatloaf in the dish.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for one hour.

It's not a dish that's beautiful to the eye, but beautiful to the palette.

Enjoy! We scarfed down mashed potatoes and green beans with it.

TCB

Quick-for-Mom Penne Pasta & Roasted Vegetable Dish

I'm a busy mom - a freelance writer from my home office, tackling an occasional PR consulting assignment, homeschooling my son, handling the books for my husband's consulting business, and general cook/housekeeper/chauffeur (you know the mom-drill).

I insist on cooking a homemade meal (or "semi-homemade" in the words of Sandra Lee) most nights, but sometimes I have little time for preparation of ingredients. And sometimes I haven't had a chance to even go to the grocery store (it's not super close to my country home), so I must cook creatively. Unsurprisingly, I needed a healthy dose of creativity the other evening when pantry staples were running a little scarce. I had plenty of variety on hand; it's just that there was only a little of this and a little of that. Hard to feed BIG BOY appetites with the pickins'.

I created this recipe on the fly, and everyone in the household loved it. It will make our meal rotation. I thought you busy moms out there may like to give it a try.

Penne Pasta & Roasted Vegetables

For this one-dish wonder, you will need:

assorted vegetables (whatever you have on hand) - button mushrooms, zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, edamame, bell peppers, etc. Note: the sweet potatoes taste especially good in this recipe.
sea salt
ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
dried rosemary or thyme (or both)
a box of penne pasta
grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

First, make my Roasted Vegetables recipe. During the last half hour of cooking the vegetables, boil the pasta per package instructions. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain off the water and lightly pour a little olive oil over it (to keep it from clumping together). Toss well. Next, season the pasta with a little sea salt and black pepper. Stir together and add the grated cheese (as much as you like). Stir the pasta once more and then add the cooked roasted vegetables to the pasta mixture. Mix all well and serve with grilled chicken (if you want meat) and/or crusty garlic bread.

Hope you enjoy!
Love,
TCB

Big Bass is Big Fun

My son is enamored with fishing. Which is interesting because I generally think you need to STOP TALKING while fishing. And he really likes talking.

But apparently, he stopped talking long enough to catch a string of bream and one big bass this weekend in the river behind our home.

He is so proud of the bass. I heard the whole story.

He found a "honey hole." Don't know how he learned the fishing lingo, but he appears to have learned it.

He's already planning this weekend's fishing trip with his Cub Scout group.

I hope it's not a tale about the one that got away. I've heard that one before.

I hope it's another honey hole story. Those kinds of stories are what little boys' childhoods are made of, and I want him to remember these events. And there's a bonus - they're free memories (unless you count my husband's task of cleaning the fish. He doesn't think that's free or fun).

I cook 'em, but I don't clean 'em. I'm not THAT country.

Have a happy day.

Love,
TCB

When I wanted to be Captain's Tennille

I recently celebrated another birthday, which always puts me in a pensive mood. By now, I've learned to stop wishing I had thinner thighs or straighter hair or any of those nonsense things God didn't designate for me.

But I do remember when....

I wanted to be Captain's Tennille. Don't laugh. It was 1976, and that hair was cool. I wanted to make mine turn under all the way around my head like that. Alas, I have always had curly and wavy hair, and the job proved very hard for my young hands and round brush.

I wanted to be Farah Fawcett. The wings. Oh, it was all about the wings.

I thought Suzanne Somers would be nice to be like. Nice hair. Nice smile. I like her now, too, just for different reasons (bioidentical hormones, anyone?). And she's a survivor and has reinvented herself many times. I like that a lot.

Now, at this seasoned (ahem) age, I am happy to be me. Although it wouldn't hurt to have a dose of Lucille Ball's feistiness and perseverance thrown in for good measure.

Love who you are.

TCB

Try Reading a Chronological Bible

I'm reading my way through a new version of the Bible I recently purchased - a Chronological Study Bible. I can't imagine the feat of taking each part of the Scripture and putting it in historical order, but I think it brings a new level of perspective to the words. Although I believe there is some debate about sections of the Bible where time references are obscure, it's an interesting - and for me, an entirely different - way to read the Bible.

This particular book is also a study Bible so there are lots of footnotes and summary pages to create a frame of reference. It's particularly handy to have the date marked at the top of every page. The entire book is divided into 9 "epochs" beginning with creation, of course, and moving to the final epoch focused on the church age/the gospel/apocalyptic writings.

I always have at least two books going at once, and I will share others later this month. If you haven't tried this version of the Bible, I say it is well worth the money.

Happy reading,
TCB