mmmMonday! Tea for Two?

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by Kelli in Simply...living, Yum for the Tum

Hey Dirt Roaders! It’s Monday! Yeah…I can hear your shouts of jubilee. Okay maybe not. I felt like a slug when I got out of bed this morning. (Should one admit that?) The rest of my family did too. One of my big clues was when I went into my son’s room to boost him along and found him back in bed “sawing logs.” Crazy little man. You are here to talk tea though…not our sluggish morning routine…right? Okay…so today’s mmmMonday! is all about tea for just two? I think not.

I know that we usually do a food post on mmmMonday! but today as I was browsing though photos…I thought “We never talk about tea.” Tea is a staple where I live. When you sit down to a good ol’ home-cooked meal…it’s usually flanked by a glass of sweet iced tea. When we have friends or family over…there are usually two pitchers of tea freshly made and waiting. (Are you thirsty yet?) I actually have a glass sitting right here beside me now.

A couple of years ago when I started trying to be a little more picky about calories…I had to sweeten my own brew with something other that regular sugar. I know that we aren’t hip on artificial sweeteners…so I will leave that part out. 😉 Just know that it took me a bit to get used to it with something other than the real deal!

So how do I make my sweet tea? I thought that you would never ask.

Kelli’s Sweet Tea

1 gallon sized tea bag (I LOVE…lovity…love those!)

2 cups of sugar

water

Directions:

You can make this in the microwave…but I love making it on the stove. I like to smell it “cooking.” I just fill a big sauce pan with water and pop the tea bag in there. Turn your burner on medium and let it simmer until it starts to come to a boil. (A lady once told me that her mother said that “Boiled tea is spoiled tea.” I do let mine come to a slight boil. Sorry.) When it’s done then pour it in your pitcher with your sugar. I then add water to fill the pitcher. I also run more water over the tea bags in the sauce pan to get all of that tea out of there…and dump it in the pitcher. (A trick that I learned from the MIL.) Stir it up and pour it over ice. Can. You. Say. Heaven?

Well Dirt Roaders…that’s it. Very simple. I’m sure that you all have your own way of making tea…and I would LOVE to hear about it. If you stop out here, along the dirt road though…you are probably going to be offered a glass of mine. Have a wonderful day! Don’t just make enough tea for two…make a whole pitcher! 😉

Does the big W. ever surprise you?

24 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by Kelli in everyday stuff, fluffin' the nest, Simply...living

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Hey friends. How are you? I know…I know…I usually don’t post on the weekend. I happened to take one of those old lady naps in the evening…and now I am having trouble sleeping. Plus…I happened upon some amazingly cool stuff at Wal-Mart today…and I couldn’t wait to share it with you. Does the big W. ever surprise you like that? You know, not just your basics, but some pretty nifty stuff!

The whole reason that we even went to Wal-Mart was to get a new welcome mat. My Mr. has been painting our exterior doors and we wanted a new mat for the front. I am totally in love with the color that we have chosen for our doors. It’s called Slate Tile. I love the depth that it adds. Anyway…..we decided to park back by the automotive entrance…and head to the rugs. Two perks in this. One…you usually don’t meet up with tons of people who you know…just in case you didn’t dress like you were going to an inaugural ball and two…you get to go right past the CRAFT department. Yes…I can hear your *sigh*! 😉

So…I picked up a lone cart that was left back there, (Hey…at least I didn’t jump on the motorized one.) and zipped right down a craft aisle. What to my wondering eyes did appear….but a little shelf full of wondermous things! Rolls of burlap ribbon and cute little grapevine wreaths. They even had a little chicken wire basket. What chicken farmer’s wife could turn that down?

I figured it up on the way home and my little shopping spree cost us about thirteen dollars. (As far as my sashay through the craft department goes.) How fun is that? I actually had two rolls of burlap ribbon…but I could live without the original color. The apple green had to come home with me.

and……

Thanks for coming along on our Wal-Mart trip, Dirt Roaders. Sometimes the big W. surprises me. What a fun little trip! By the way…I was sweet and let the Mr. pick out the rug. He did great. I love it when we do this. It may or may not be exactly what I would have picked…but I love it even more…because he picked it. He is my sweetheart. 😉

Simplicity….lovely.

21 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by Kelli in heart and soul, Simply...living

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By now…if you read my posts very often…I’m sure that you have figured something out about me. Simplicity, to me, is lovely. I find beauty and peace in the simple things in life. Too often I find myself overwhelmed by…too much. I find delight in open spaces and beautiful old trees. I love the smell of freshly plowed dirt and delight in a new sprout coming up from the earth. Those things just seem especially close to the Father…you know? Of course you do.

Sometimes in blogging…I feel a little pressured to join the status quo. Then I realize that it just wouldn’t be me. Don’t get me wrong. I am in love with the blogs of others. Plus…they too all have their own personal stamp. I think that I just feel, at times,that I need to go above and beyond what I really love, and that would be a shame. If anything…I want your experience here at Along the Dirt Road to be real. Being real…is very important to me. Ask anyone who knows me, whatcha see…is whatcha get. 😉 Sometimes …simplicity.

My very favorite of all of these pictures. Notice the beautiful color and the wonderful curtains in the windows.

During Spring Break…we were on our way home and I asked my husband if we could take a little detour. He was fine with that…good man that he is. This little detour…tugged at my heart in an amazing way. The lovely simplicity of it all is beautiful. Maybe I just have an old soul. ( I do seem to really hit it off with the elderly.)

Have a wonderful evening, sweet Dirt Roaders. It’s supposed to snow here…so I have a big pot of beans bubbling on the stove. Cornbread and fried potatoes to be made later. I’m going to enjoy the lovely simplicity of it all. I hope that you find a way to do the same.