UpDate to Yesterday's Grilling

A friend of mine pointed out that our grill looks like a smoker, well, yes, but grilling also.  A lot depends on the temp you use and if you are using extra wood... But Jay explains it well... If you have questions I'll ask him!

Yesterday was our Tenderloin stuffed and bread... I didn't get a picture of the tenderloin done, but here is what we did!

Our Grill

Bread on top, meat on the bottom

 

 

 

 

cooked bread

Grilling Like a Beast

It is actually Jay that LOVES Grilling!  However I am really starting to enjoy it myself.  We can for sure taste a difference in the food.  For instance, I made bread in the oven and I have made bread on the grill, which one is better?? Jay likes the grill one better. 

You may be wondering, but we have a Vision Grill (if you are interested) which is amazing!  We also got a nice electric starter for it and heats the coals up in less than 10 minutes.  I use Cowboy Charcoal as well because the easy light stuff makes me very sick.  It also gives it a very good taste.  For the smoky flavor on meats, Jay likes to use different woods... Cherry, apple, hickory.  Apple is my favorite so far!

What can you make?  Shoot... You can make just about anything.  MEAT.. chicken, whole or in part, turkey, hole or in part, beef, pork, fish... Just with something like Ham, you need to have it in a pan so that it doesn't get dried out.  PIES! Yes! you can make pie in it.  I made cherry pie.  Next will be apple.  BREAD.  I plan on doing bread tonight if it isn't too late.  I have my bread rising now.  It does take a little longer, I can cook it in the oven for 25 min and it will be done, but on the grill it takes 35-40.  Not a huge difference.  VEGGIES... always! I did baked cauliflower and it was tasty! Jay did onion, peppers, corn (in the husk) and I don't remember what else.  But I'm not a huge cooked veggie lover, unless it is cauliflower or corn... It was all good none the less. PIZZA! mmmm, grilled pizza with homemade dough is divine! You can put any topping you wish on it!

My next project will be chicken potpie on the grill.  I think it will give it a good flavor while cooking the dough well.  I will let you know.  Tonight, however, Jay is going to be cooking a Stuffed Pork Tenderloin.  He will be putting in onion, broccoli, pineapple and cheddar cheese.  I think it will taste good, but time will tell!!

I guess that is all I have to say about grilling for now.  I haven't forgotten about the girls drawing project, Miss J didn't finish hers yet, so I am waiting on that, and Miss C sent me hers already, so I have it! I'll post them when I get Miss J's!!!

Camping the Jones Way!

We finally made it camping.  And it was FUN! We had to cut it short because the weatherman lied to us and it ended up being full on rain on Saturday. We stayed until about 5 on Saturday though.

Here are a few highlights in pictures....
Friday was a great day.  Saturday we all stayed in the tent mostly because of the weather.  For what it is worth, having electronic devises really were a saving grace.  I know we could have done something else, but for the girls, it was great.  I had a nice nap or 2 and was happy!! We left about 5:30 on Saturday, taking another 40 min to tear down the tent and all.  Not too bad. All prep for our trip out west!!!

Our Tent Site

Beans and Franks (no franks shown)

Jay and I

Hello!

My Girls!

Steak Dinner

Hello Moon

Delicious Steak

Playground Fun

More Playground Fun

Yes, Lets NOT feed the Ticks!

Fire and Toes!

Dog on the table... Bad Dog!

 So this was our Friday... We got there and got set up.  It took us about 40 minutes to get everything done.  That includes setting up the tent, blowing up the beds, getting the fire started and getting the dog set.  Really not that bad.  (I don't plan on taking the dog again on a short trip!)  The girls were able to walk to the playground, the fishing pier, and the bathrooms.  It was wonderful!

I love North Carolina

I just had to share this picture with you of our claim to fame! Tallest peaks east of the rockies!

Busy Jones Life

Good Morning!  It was a rough night last night.  For some reason Jay was up and tossing and turning at 2 am.  That means I was as well.  We had gone out for dinner last night and he had some spicy hamburger and that was probably the cause of it all.  So I got my sleep this morning between 7-9:30.  I did sleep in longer than I had wanted to, but it all worked out when I woke up and ate my oatmeal!

So we are going camping today.  Remember we had it planned for last month but got rained out.  It is cool here temp wise but that should be great!  And we normally would have had our Family Worship already this week, however we decided we wanted to have an outside family worship while we camp!  So much fun!! (I hope!)

Yesterday was a busy day for me.  The girls and I went in service from 8-11.  We would have been out longer, but we were done with the street the brother gave us in the territory.  Pauline (the sister we went with) ended up talking to many people and possibly got a new study from a gentleman that I was really unsure of!  It was her door anyway!! And we went to her study with another lady, but the lady wasn't home.  Her grown son was, and we had a great discussion with him.  It was a good morning.  After service the girls and I went shopping for a few more items we needed for camping.  Also got them new tablet covers and a paddle ball set for today and the rest of the summer.  We then came home and cleaned out the truck, which was a mess.  Then I went and helped Jay install a pool liner at the job which is less than 1 mile away from our house. The people love it!  After that, we went to go eat, check out the new Cabella's at the other end of town, come home and color my hair... Busy busy day!!  And in case you are wondering, my hair is red now, not brown and grey.

I have decided, as part of the girls school work, that they are going to be blogging once in a while.  Miss J is on board! She loves the idea.  Miss C not so much, but she loves writing so it should right up her ally!!!  Oh, their drawing projects are coming along nicely.  They have until Sunday to finish them!

Hope I have some good pictures of our event this weekend and I will post them later!!

Earth Day (or Is THAT Why Time Warner Is So Slow)

I was MIA for a little while.  I was just so sick that doing any little thing and I was out of it for hours.  That flu kicked me!  I am better now.  Still a cough, sniffly nose and such, but I'll take it!

Some news, we are going back to our Lakeside Congregation starting in May!  We are going HOME! It's really good when you can call a congregation "Home".  We left because of proximity to another hall, but they have 20 elders 20 servants (The numbers are not exact, but they are in the 20's), as well as 20+ regular pioneers, and somewhere around 170 publishers.  We are NOT needed in this hall.  We ARE needed (and used) in Lakeside, especially with the public witnessing.  They are all so happy to have us back.  We even got a care package from one family bribing us to come back... I called her up and told her it worked!

Jay was a busy man last night at meeting.  The Service Meeting had 2 parts.  He was in the demo for the cart/public witnessing part and then he had the Convention part.  He did great!  I may be bias, but that is okay too.  The girls ended up studying the wrong part for the bible study, so Miss J was upset that she didn't have comments.  She did end up finding one, but I know it wasn't what she had planned.

So today is Earth Day.  I did this little Google Quiz, What animal are you?  I happen to be a Wolly Mammoth... Okay, I thought it was funny!!!  The description fit, since I am not a social person and I like quite. Not that I get it much.  But that wasn't my point.  Amazing that this system gives 1 day for the earth, much like 1 day to be thankful and 1 day to give gifts... Why is there a limit to 1 day?  It doesn't make sense.  I know that soon, when Jehovah and Jesus do away with Satan, (who we don't know his angelic name... we looked it up) then every day will be wonderful and beautiful!  And then maybe I won't have to deal with super slow Time Warner Internet... I blast them because I have no other choice for internet and they are super slow! Today seemed super slow... I guessed it was they are saying "Its Earth Day, Get Off The Computer!" HA!!

I am putting up a challenge to my girls today.  I hope to be able to post their work soon.  Miss C LOVES (understatement) to draw, and so I am going to have her draw a bible scene.  I hope to be able to post that soon.  Miss J isn't as much a drawer, but I know she can do it as well!!  So stay tuned for the results!

Interactive Convention Program

Wow!! Did you see the new Convention program from .jw.org?

 It Is a pretty amazing program.  They have created an interactive program that we can take notes in! Awesome!!! I tell ya, each and every time they do something like this, I have to say "Thank You Jehovah" because really, where else would it come from? Amazing!

So yes, I had to test it out.. That and I have a little keyboard for my tablet.. That was an accident, it was supposed to be a case for Miss J but I didn't fully read the description and it ended up being a little keyboard.  Which works well with my little kindle!  ANYWAY, I did try out the program and it worked pretty well... I can see it working nice, but I don't know that I would take my keyboard.  I don't want to be the "type type" sounding person in the building.  If you understand. Although I can take notes quite quickly!

I have also started to learn how to play guitar.  It is fun, but my fingers  hurt.  I know that is normal, so I can't (won't) complain about it.  I have learned "e", "a", "b", and "d" but the movement to and from each one is taking time.  It is funny how the brain works.  Or in my case, doesn't work!  I see chords and my brain says "NOPE" and my mouth says "NOPE" but my teacher (Jay) says "YEP".  hahahha! I'll get there!

April showers bring, less pollen?

Nasty Yellow Pollen

We are having some really high pollen counts this year.  Some of the worse according to local news. Just check out this picture (which I snatched from our news site).  I am having some allergy issues this year, along with the flu.  What gives?  It hasn't been a pleasant month for us.  Sadly, that also means that the girls field service is down... So much for pioneer hours this month.  Yikes! I feel bad.

I was also supposed to give Talk #2 tomorrow, that isn't going to happen... I contacted the brothers because I am not like most people, and I really do enjoy giving talks, so I was really sad when I couldn't.  But the flu prevailed.  I felt okay, until today, and now I feel like I'm crashing again.  UGH! Why????

On the upside, Jay got the garden all set up for me to plant my seeds!!!  I have carrots, broccoli, peppers, onions, peas, beans, tomatoes, brussels, cucumbers and probably more.  I'm super excited to get started.  I have to wait a few days to let the ground settle again after the tilling process, so hopefully I'll be better by the end of the week so I can get started!! Yum!! Fresh Food!!!!

I'm starting to get the girls new school year in order.  Each year we change it up finding the best possible method for each child.  I hope this year goes smooth!  I have their notebooks and are getting them set up.  That way, even when we are traveling, they will still be able to do work!

Well, I am off to the bed again, even though it isn't even lunch time... I need rest to feel better!

Fevers? In April? Naturally.

It never ceases to amaze me the things that seem to happen to this family.  I told Jay last night that I wasn't feeling good.  By 2:30 am I am dreaming that I'm holding a hot pizza stone and shivering.  Naturally I wake up, go check my temp and it's 100.8. That's really high for me since my normal temp runs low (96 usually).  I crawl back to bed and 6ish take it again, only to see it had gone up to 101. Not a great day. 

I have my tea, courtesy of Miss J, and I look at my cup and it appears to weigh 10 pounds.  What to do?

Jay said he's pretty sure it's allergies.  My body fighting with them.  I've never had allergies like this,  so I can only hope that is what it is. 

Ok,  let me put my big girl pants on and drink my now 2 hour old tea.  Don't judge me, I fell asleep earlier!

Allergies and a clean fridge

Really those two things have nothing in common.  Except that I have them both.  Allergies... this is the first year that I have had them bad.  I am sitting here coughing like crazy.  Almost makes me feel sick.  I hope it's just allergies anyway.  Yes, and my clean fridge.  I was supposed to be taking it easy (Yeah right) but my fridge was smelly.  Now I am not proud of that, but I am the first to admit it.

I was really too embarrassed to take a picture of the "before" because it was bad. You know the deal,  left overs get shoved in, more left overs get put on top, the lid doesn't stay on, the veggies leak, the milk lid isn't on all the way and gets put on its side, the strawberries get dumped, a hotdog falls in some crack... Okay so you get the picture.  It was BAD!  But not any more!!! Now it is just empty! I did take a picture of it, but for some reason I cannot access it..  Oh well, you didn't need to see it anyway! Even though I really am proud of it now!

I get my guitar tomorrow.  I am excited.  Jay and I will be able to play together now, or, once I learn something.  I look forward to sitting on the deck (when it is cool enough to do so) and playing guitar with my husband! I hope that this summer isn't going to be too bad.  It is already so humid and hot that I had to turn on the A/C.  IT'S ONLY APRIL!! What in the world?

 
Just a couple pictures from this morning that I took! I hope you enjoy them!!!

Monday, Monday...

Now that I have that song firmly in my head (In case you are interested) I am all set to get busy with today.  Okay, so it is almost afternoon, but we gotta start sometime right?!

The day actually started out pretty good today.  We finished the Memorial Bible Reading.  We also did our Yearbook.  I couldn't stop, I wanted to keep going!  It grips you and you know what our brothers and sisters are going through and then how much they did to keep going.  I wanted to hear more, read more!  I did have to stop for tomorrow because, well, there is only so much you can suck in in one day.  Or one sitting.  After that Miss J and I went for a little jog.  We are trying to do that daily, or almost daily.

Large Wasp

Before going to meeting, Jay called me out to the porch because he saw this wasp.  We think it is a Goliath Wasp.  Anyway, it was HUGE! No, I didn't touch it.. which is a first since I touch everything! This was just one thing I figured would be better left untouched.

We were also invited (kind of a farewell) to hospitality at our old service group in the other congregation we left about 6 months ago.  It was so good seeing everyone again.  And there were some new faces as well.  A lot changes in 6 months.

Of course, not everyone got in on the pictures but that is okay.  You can never get everyone in!  But it was fun and good food as always!

It appears that our weather has taken a turn for the HOT.  Saw that there was a forecast saying we were going to be hotter and more humid than normal.  This does not go over well with me!  Give me no humidity and I should be okay! Eh... but there isn't much I can do about it.  It does mean, though, that I can start my garden very soon!!

It seems that I might be on one of my downward spirals for a bit.  My health doesn't allow me to keep on upswings often. I noticed it a few days ago when I started getting dizzy in service, and now my eyes are getting fuzzy and words are not working for me... I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but at least I was okay for Memorial and the service we did for that!!!  The girls are still pioneering for the next 2 months, so I am going to have to get creative and probably get others to help out as well.

Here are some pretty flowers that Jay got me the other day!! I share them with you and say to you all, "Have a GREAT Day!"

2015 Memorial of Christ's Death

This year's memorial was on Friday. We met at the Clayton Center and had 2 congregations meet.  We didn't get to hear the count but it was so full we had people standing. 

It was a beautiful talk and a great evening.  I'm glad that we were able to all attend and be there. 

After, we had dinner with another couple and joked and had more fun.  It's great when you can do things and have the same common bond of being a witness.

I'll post another soon,  I have to show you my new purse.  It's very unique! But that'll be later.  I'm about to read while Jay plays guitar and the girls play outside. 

Strawberry juice on my hands!

Maybe I'm a little too excited about that! I love strawberry anything.  So just the thought of it makes me happy and it means spring.  We all have had crazy winter weather this year.  Some of us had ice storms,  others had many feet of snow, while others got nothing.  This had thrown the crops into confusion and some states are still having winter.  Go figure.

For us in the south,  seeing the farms opening up their stalls and getting ready for "you pick" strawberries it means spring.  It also means allergies.  But you take the hand you're dealt.

This month hopefully will be a good month.  Work,  service,  family,  memorial.  Yes, I would say a good month.  I guess we just wait and see.