Week ending 5-21-23 New job and camping

Monday-Wednesday: New job

This week I started a new job. There’s a lady near me who runs a bakery out of her house. She makes apple pies and peanut butter delights (nobakes) and sells them to the gas stations, country stores, and festivals around here. She needs me M-W from 8-2:30, which is a lot to leave my children and homestead, but I knew I needed to try it out. It only pays $9 an hour when minimum wage is $12 so I’m still looking for work. But they are a nice family, super easy to work with, working really hard to make each pie and cookie by hand, wrapped by hand, dropped off to gas stations themselves, etc. I’m happy to help them.

This is my corner of the kitchen where I’m making the nobakes. I have 4 pots going at the same time, with 6 bowls ready with ingredients in them to add to the pots when I finish those batches. Then I pour them into sheet cake pans to cool. Then cut and wrap and box to deliver them.

10 containers of oats ready for no bake cookies — Ten containers of oats ready to be added to each pot of nobakes. I also open all the jars of peanut butter and set them out so that they’re ready to be added.

3 griddles at a bakery — Three griddles where pies are fried. They are made on the long countertop and each pie is hand cut, filled, closed, crimped together, weighed, and then placed on the griddle for frying. It’s turned over a dozen times to be sure it’s perfectly golden. Then hand wrapped and boxed. Nothing factory about this place! Each pie is touched probably 30 times.

Tuesday: My birthday

I went to work, then came home and made enchilada casserole and cookies. Put them in the oven, worked in the garden, came in and ate dinner at 4:15. After dinner I talked to Spencer for an hour, then Madalyn, then Kylie. Love to talk to my older kids! We ate popcorn and cookies between the phone calls and hung out together. The kids were all great and it was a good day.

colorful plates full of a birthday dinner: enchilada casserole and fruit salad — This was Alexis’ plate of food: enchilada casserole, fruit salad, green salad, and chips.

Wednesday: Mary Poppins Auditions

Makenna Holladay playing the ukulele age 11

We thought of skipping Mary Poppins since the older kids have church camps but then Makenna really wanted to try out for Jane. And I wanted her to. She’s the perfect age, has the bangs, and would be great. She did a stellar audition, singing, “Edelweiss.” I wish I could have recorded it but we weren’t allowed in. So I recorded it afterward but it wasn’t as good. I’ll try to get it to post here. The other kids tried out also and did really well. Makenna and Samuel got callbacks for Jane and Michael but weren’t picked. A taller set of Jane and Michaels were picked. Oh well! So we won’t be in Mary Poppins but will have more free time to work, which we need to do.

Thursday-Saturday: Camping at Stony Fork Campground

I’ve been meaning to take the 5 little kids camping all of April but got so busy and excited with the projects around the farm that I never wanted to take time off. When I realized Memorial Day and crowds were upon us I made it a priority to go this weekend. Besides, my birthday was Tuesday so it was a nice birthday present for myself. I absolutely love camping. Especially in beautiful, quiet, serene places like the Thomas Jefferson National Forest we camped in. It’s first come, first served, so no reservations and only $10 a night. We got the same campsite we got last year, which we think is the best one, and had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect and although we forgot a dozen things (packing last minute), had a dead car battery, and things like that, it really was a perfect trip.