Colorado Fire Update

The winds are starting to howl again for another long night of fires (see yesterday's post for details.)  Here are a few unimaginable photos from yesterday in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

A thousand firefighters are fighting this fire.  And this is only one of 10 in our state.

The news station are providing regularly updated lists of all the fires so we can keep track...in Boulder, Colorado there are 1500 people ready to evacuate.  Another huge fire is at 90,000 acres, 257 homes gone and 1 death - and it is only 65% contained - but luckily it is not in a heavily populated area as above.

Keep praying...

Edited: Not long after I posted, the winds calmed down and changed directions, so for tonight, at least, it's staying away from the city.  This is good news for tonight, but understand that in the best case scenario, this won't be out for a month, so it will be a daily waiting game for all of the home owners.

Colorado Springs in better days...

Sewing and summer

As I am sure many of you know, there are two times in the year that sewing tends to SLOW WAY DOWN for everyone. Summer is one and I thought I was going to be able to not have that happen THIS summer but you know what, it has.

I did work on this slipcover this weekend, one afternoon a few hours and this is what I have finished. I still have the cushion to do , which is now residing ready to cut out on my foyer floor  and the skirt but it is going to have to wait just a bit so I can enjoy my little people. It is not perfect but I did not want it super fitted, the one that was on there was harder to put on than actual childbirth so I wanted it to be SUPER easy when Adam gets his feet all over it to pop it on and off for the wash!

I also want to say that I LOVE comments!!!! I read them all and try to respond to each and every one!!!! I just realized that I am not, for some strange reason getting all of them in my email, so if I have not responded to a comment you have made, I apologize and it was not intentional!!!!!


Now for the summer photos and why I am a lazy clod!


Reading and Ed Emberley drawing!!!!!

It is no different from sledding right?

New color :o)

Katy's beautiful Zakka bag from Sara that she LOVES!!!!! I wish she hated it so I could snag it ;o)

Finally, this is Katy's way of curing the summertime blues! I love having the television off!

Welcome SUMMER!!!!!

Birthdays..

If you are anything like me I always leave it till the last minute to make my cards for family and friends. I whipped these two up recently each just took me ten minutes - they came together easily  because I used some fun fun birthday buttons from Greatest View. They both use some delish Core'dinations cardstock.

 If you want to win some birthday badges we're featuring  on the Greatest View blog all week as well as a sampler of small chevron bags and a couple of metres of co-ordinated  chevron ribbon, simply leave a comment on this post over at Greatest View  and tell us if YOU make your own birthday cards!


The giveaway will run all week so come back each day for more chances to win! The winner will be announced Monday July 1st.

Prayers for Colorado

This is not a card-related post, but I need to ask for all of your thoughts and prayers for the state of Colorado.  There isn't a day that goes by during which there isn't news of a new fire.  We currenly have 10 fires going on.  One has been burning for 2-3 weeks, it has burned almost 90,000 acres and is the most destructive fire in Colorado's history with around 200 homes burned.

Our church youth camp is near that fire.  In fact, the middle schoolers from our church were there and had to be evacuated.  Not in danger mode - but the firefighters needed the road into the camp as an emergency road.  Our campers were given less than an hour to pack and go.  The wonderful camp counselors made sure the campers were ready to go - but they, themselves, had to leave with nothing.  They still haven't been allowed to go back.

The fire that is prompting my plea is approaching a major city in Colorado - Colorado Springs with about a half million people.  The news is broadcasting 24/7 so we are watching it live as it gets nearer and nearer. They just showed a scene of a neighborhood on fire - you can literally see a wall of fire with faint outlines of homes in the middle of it all.  What we are seeing is almost unimaginable - but people are living it.  Right now, 32,000 people have been evacuated.  The major highway through the state is shut down in the town of Colorado Springs to give these people a way to get out.

I'm not near any of these fires - Colorado Springs is about 60 miles to the south of me.  I sit on a hill to the east of the Denver metro area and these particular fires are to the west.  I can see the smoke - I can regularly smell the smoke - my eyes are constantly burning.  I cannot imagine living closer. It's sad that I have learned how to "read" what I am seeing - white smoke is grass, small puffs of black smoke are trees, major boiling clouds of black are structures.

I pray for those living in the area.  I pray for those who have lost homes.  I pray for those sitting in evacuation centers wondering whether they still have homes.  I pray for the firefighters.  They are fighting these fires in the midst of the longest streak of temperatures over 100 degrees in Colorado history.  It must be close to hell.

Cookbook Review: The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook {and Upside-Down Salsa Cornbread}

The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook

A Treasury of Timeless Delicious Recipes

Softcover 

288 pages

Eight Chapters:  Lodge Cast Iron: A Song for a Cook's Soul; Breakfast; Soup, Stew, Gumbo & Chili; The Main Course; Cooking Outdoors; Sides; Nothin' But Cornbread; Desserts, Biscuits, & Bread; and great features on the history of cast iron as well as caring for your cast iron. 

I am absolutely in love with cast iron.  I love the rustic and homey look of cast iron, but more important than that, I love the functionality and superior results from cooking with cast iron.  Cast iron goes from the stovetop to the oven and from the oven to the table. 

I had a chance to go to The Lodge Factory Store in Sevierville, TN this past winter.  It was a total dream come true.  There are four factory stores in the southeastern United States and I highly recommend stopping by one if you get the chance.  They have so many cast iron pieces to chose from.  I especially like the table in the back where you can buy "less than perfect" pieces for a fraction of the price.  After I stocked up on cast iron I spied this cookbook at the checkout and vowed that I would buy it when I got the chance. 

This is a beautiful softcover cookbook with lots of gorgeous pictures, both of the recipes and also the cast iron.  There are so many recipes that I'd like to make from this book, but I've been all about cornbread lately so I chose this Upside-Down Salsa Cornbread from the Nothin' But Cornbread chapter. We loved being able to cut a wedge of this and top it with additional salsa, sour cream, and a little bit of chopped green onion.  It was very pleasing to the eyes and the palate!

Upside-Down Salsa Cornbread

Adapted from The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook

Serves 6-8

Filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound lean ground beef (I used 95% lean)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 medium green or red bell pepper, seeded and cut into rings

Topping:

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk Self-Rising Corn Meal Mix

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 tablespoon sugar

1 (16-ounce) jar chunky-style salsa

1-1/4 cups milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 425F.  

Make the filling:  Heat the oil in a 10-1/2 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot.  Add the ground beef, onion, chili powder, salt and garlic salt; cook until the beef is no longer pink, stirring frequently and breaking up any clumps of meat.  Remove the beef mixture from the skillet to a bowl.  Place the bell pepper rings in a single layer in the bottom of the skillet.  Spoon the mixture over the rings.

Make the topping:  Stir together the corn meal mix, cheese, sugar, salsa, milk, oil, and egg in a medium bowl; stir until well blended.  Spread the batter evenly over the beef mixture in the skillet.  Bake until golden brown, 32 to 38 minutes.

Place a serving plate over the skillet; carefully invert and remove the skillet.  Cut into wedges.  If desired, this can be served from the skillet:  Cut into wedges and carefully turn each wedge upside down onto a serving plate.

Vacation Bible School

Just wanted to tell you that it's gong to be quiet on my blog during the week (but fun stuff on Saturday!!) and I won't be doing much to any commenting on your blogs.

My entire family is involved in Vacation Bible School at church.  My husband and youngest are the science guys.  I'm the photographer and A/V gal.  And my teen is controlling a group of elementary kids plus playing the part of Flash SkyRunner in the daily skits...

I'm quite proud of my teenager who is willing to look totally foolish!!

See you soon!

two...

This was my last month as part of Elle's Studio DT, it had been a wonderful 6 months and I want to thank Elle for this amazing experience. I have two gallery projects to share today using the new Summer collection of tags!

 OH that moustache button from Greatest View is my favourite ATM.

 ...and you can't go past the original chevron button from Greatest View either!