Spring Break Sweetness....

For our kids, spring break comes the last week of March, first week of April, which gives us a chance to hopefully enjoy a break that feels more like spring than winter!  And thankfully, this year has been a remarkable year because spring started back in January, and while winter has had its days here and there... spring really is prevailing!

This week has been exciting for us with the arrival of well digging equipment on our property! We have been waiting for many months for a well driller to come drill our well.  Finally, after waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more - we called another well driller who was able to come out and begin digging for a well within a few weeks of us talking to him.

The reason we did not call him first was because he is a "one man show", and does not advertise his business.  After waiting and waiting for the "other" well driller to arrive, I happened to meet this man at the bank, after seeing his logo on his truck.

He uses older equipment, has no employees, and has no dollars for advertising, but has been in business for 30 years.  He has no need to advertise, he says, because of word of mouth.  This is one case where I wish the "word of mouth" had gotten to us sooner!

He is a one-man show, but the show also includes his trusty companion, Scooby.  Scooby is the perfect companion for well drilling, as he shows me just how well he digs for rocks! He is a well rock digger, lol... (how's that for a nonintended pun!)

This little guy could dig a hole quicker than you can blink, and come up with a rock - apparently the rock he was looking for... and then he throws the rock around, and chases after it and barks... so funny!

He reminded me a lot of our dog Roger with the same excited bark, and crazy habit of digging! Needless to say, we are very excited to finally be getting water at the property where we intend to build eventually.  So far, we have not hit water.  He is using a cable pounder, which actually pounds its way down into the ground.  So far we are at 80 feet, and still no water.  Our neighbors' wells are typically around 180 feet to 400 feet, so it could be a while yet before we get to the water, although we are hoping that we find water sooner than later!

Changing topics a bit ... since we will have water at our property - I plan to plant a huge garden there this summer.  I planted some seeds a couple of weeks ago, and soon they began popping their heads up, and begging for a bigger home.  So yesterday I transplanted all the little seedlings into bigger containers. This mini-greenhouse was a Christmas gift from my husband, and it is really coming in handy this time of year with all my little seedlings.

I am able to contain all my seedlings in one warm sunny place.  In time, this greenhouse could even be placed outside when my plants get big enough to get sun during the day, and then protection at night.  I am really loving having such a convenient way this year to start my seeds!

And another lovely spot of beauty showed up in the last couple of days!  My amaryllis has bloomed! Last year it only had two blooms, and this year it will have four - wow!

I love the beautiful happy red of this amaryllis!

The bright beautiful colors add such a spark of beauty to my window.

Unlike the rest of this mess... lol!  I have a bit too much green ... doncha think? LOL!

And... finally... since strawberries are in abundance now in the grocery stores, I made my husband his favorite treat - homemade strawberry ice cream.  It is a very simple recipe, that makes a whole gallon of ice cream - and making it is far cheaper - and better - than any you can buy in the store (except maybe for Blue Bell ice cream!)... lol!  (those of you from Texas will know what Blue Bell ice cream is... the rest of you, if you don't know, need to find out... heehee!)

Homemade Ice Cream

6 whole eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 gallon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

Beat eggs in ice cream freezer container.  Stir in sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla.  Pour in milk and freeze according to your ice cream freezer directions.  I like to make mine a few hours ahead so that I can go ahead and stick it in the freezer after it has thickened before serving.

Note: You can add whatever flavors you like to this basic recipe.  My husband's favorite is strawberries, so I cut up about 1 cup of strawberries and added these to the milk mixture before freezing.

When I eat homemade strawberry ice cream, I like to serve fresh cut up strawberries sweetened with a bit of sugar topped with a scoop of the homemade ice cream ... homemade sweetness just can't get any better than this!!

And so that is a bit of this and that from our "spring break week" so far...  we are enjoying the lovely sunny days and warm weather, and sleeping in.  We don't have plans to go far and spend big on our spring break, but we are just enjoying being with our kids, doing some family projects, and well.... eating homemade strawberry ice cream...!

Until next time, may the Lord bless you richly with an abundance of His presence!