Momma's Birthday Dinner

My momma had a birthday last week.  She is 79 years old and as mentally sharp and physically spry as ever.  And, even though she stands just 4 foot 11 inches tall, she has always ruled the roost!  None of her children, grandchildren or great grandchildren has EVER had the nerve to sass her more than one time!

She is such an inspiration to the entire family.  A God fearing woman, a loving wife and mother, a fantastic cook, skilled seamstress and dedicated gardener.  She is the standard by which I measure my own skills as a wife and mother.

The family got together for a birthday cookout to celebrate.  Lots of laughter, flowers, gifts and good food.  Pierce and a few cousins began "arguing" over which one of them is Grandma's favorite!  Unfortunately, no decision could be reached. The only thing the boys could agree on was that Grandma is definitely their favorite.

A Blue Jean Quilt

So I have had an ever growing stack of old blue jeans in my sewing room since Pierce was a small boy.  We have always routinely donated his outgrown clothing and toys to either a local women's and children's shelter or to the Salvation Army.  But some things are just not good enough (in my opinion) to be donated.  You know, jeans with the knee ripped out or with paint stains on them.  These went into my sewing room where I hoped to one day find a use for the "good" parts of the pants.

Last week I realized that the stack had become very large and burdensome - taking up too much valuable space that could be better utilized. So I carried them *all* downstairs and have been slowly working my way through the stack.  I trimmed off the hems and seams first.  Then cut the fabric into large (6 inch) squares, saving the smaller pieces of fabric as well as the pockets for another use.

A blue jean quilt is in my very near future!

Homemade Yogurt

I adore yogurt.  But what I don't love are the sugar, additives and cost of the yogurt available at my local grocery store. Years ago I purchased a yogurt maker - you know the kind I am talking about.  The one with all the little cups and lids.  Difficult to store, difficult to clean and I wasn't impressed with the amount of yogurt it made for all the time and effort necessary to produce approximatley 2 cups of yogurt!

So I was absolutely thrilled to find this recipe and couldn't wait to try it!  It does take time but there is very little actual work involved in the process.  Much of the time involved is just the culturing process - no actual effort, just waiting.  It is cheaper and tastes so much better than store bought yogurt.  And the best part is that you use a crock pot - so cleanup is a snap too! It is simple, easy and frugal.

The main ingredient, of course, is milk. Whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized) works best.  It gives you the thick  yogurt like you purchase at the store. After sitting in the refrigerator for a day, it becomes even thicker. Yogurt also requires an active culture starter. Yogurt cultures can be purchased but it’s easier to use yogurt from the store. You only need 1 cup so I purchased a small container when they were on sale.  The most important thing is to make sure the yogurt has "live cultures" listed on the carton - not all yogurt does

This recipe makes approximately 1/2 gallon of unsweetened yogurt.  To sweeten, stir in a little jam or honey.  You can also top it with granola or fresh fruit.

Easy Homemade Yogurt

1/2 gallon whole milk

1 cup plain yogurt with active cultures

1/2 cup powdered milk

Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into crockpot, cover and turn on HIGH.  Cook for approximately 2 hours, until the milk is almost boiling.  Turn the crockpot off, remove lid and let the milk cool a bit.  You should be able to stick your finger into the milk and keep it there for approximately 10 seconds or so (it takes my milk about 40 minutes to cool down enough).

Stir in powdered milk til dissolved.  Stir in yogurt and mix well.  Return lid to crock pot and wrap entire pot in a large beach towel.  Let sit for 8-12 hours.  Some people place the towel wrapped pot into an unheated oven to prevent drafts and keep the crock warmer for a longer period of time.  I don't and my yogurt turns out fine.

Remove towel and lid, stir yogurt and put it into containers.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Shea



We lost one of our cats last week.  We have many coyotes in the area and I am always careful to make certain that all my animals are safely inside at night.  Shea had been snuggling with me on the sofa until Pierce came into the room.  All animals have their favorite humans and Pierce belongs to Shea the same way I belong to Bear.  Shea jumped off the sofa and followed Pierce upstairs.



I awoke during the night when I heard a cat scream.  Thinking gratefully that all my animals were safe, I went back to sleep.  The next afternoon, Pierce came through the house to ask if I had seen Shea.  Not since he went upstairs with you last night I replied.  Pierce gave me a strange look.  He didn't follow me upstairs last night, he said, I only gave him some milk and he decided to lay in the window seat.  My heart sank - I knew then what had happened.

The only thing we can guess is that Shea ran out of the house when the Photographer took the dogs out before bed and didn't come back in with them.  He has run off before but has never been gone for more than 2 days.  

Pierce is beside himself with worry and has taken the dogs out every day to search for Shea.  He is convinced that what I heard was Shea fighting with a raccoon.  Shea is half Main Coon - a hulking 25 pound boy that has held his own while fighting racoons in the past.  Pierce insists that Shea is only lying low, nursing his wounds until he can return home. But I can see the desperation and the doubt in his eyes.

I am mourning him as well.  When we first moved here, the Photographer gave me a kitten for my birthday and Shea was her first born.  Call me silly or call me stupid but I think of Shea as my "grandbaby".  He was all I had left of his mother - who had a stroke and needed to be put down several years ago.  I have taken the dogs out myself every day and scoured our property from one end to the other looking for him. But there is no doubt, I know he is gone and I am heartbroken.

A Blessed Day

The Tomb Is Empty!

He Is Risen!

My Redeemer Lives!

A Potato Trio in the Garden

We planted the potatoes today.  A bit late for our area but sometimes life gets in the way.  We haven't grown potatoes for several years and I am not sure why I have such an urge to grow them this year.  Unless its just the novelty of growing blue potatoes.

Potatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow.  Turn the dirt over, amend it if necessary and dig a trench.  Place potatoes in the trench "eyes up" and cover with straw.  As the plants grow, add more straw as necessary to keep them covered.  Once the tops die, pull back the straw and harvest.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been "researching" homemade laundry soap for quite a while.  Most of the recipes I have come across are for liquid and I prefer to use a powder.  I made a batch a while back using the instructions from a website I found but I wasn't happy with the way it worked.  It seemed that the laundry just didn't get very clean.

I have determined that the problem was the soap itself.  The "recipe" I used called for ivory soap - which might be nice for bodies but not for my laundry.  Last week I noticed that my local grocery store had Fels Naptha in stock.  I purchased 4 bars (99 cents each) and made another batch of laundry soap. 

I was a little concerned because I don't care for the smell of the Fels Naptha but decided to just go with it and see what happened.  After all, the worst that could happen was that I would need to re-wash one load of clothes.

It works!  Very well in fact.  Much better than the laundry detergent I have been buying at a much higher cost.  Much cheaper too.  And the smell of the Fels Naptha disappears once the clothes are dry.  The clothes only smell "clean".  I am completely sold.  This is the only recipe I will use from now on.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated

1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

Place all in food processor and process until finely ground. Put soap in container and store in laundry room.  Use 2 tablespoons per large load of laundry.

The End of The Rainbow

After The Storm

We had a small storm blow through last week.  It didn't last very long but it got very dark, very quickly and the rain lashed down like gangbusters.  It was over in a matter of minutes.

I just happened to look out the front window on my way to the kitchen and saw a rainbow.  Closer inspection proved that the end of the rainbow is indeed located in my front yard!  No pot of gold to be found but lots of love, laughter and happiness everywhere!  A consolation prize I am definitely content with. 

Crocheted Doily

A few months ago, the Photographer was working on a project and happened to meet a fabulous elderly couple.  Not one for portrait photography, the Photographer seldom snaps a shot of a person.  But he said something about the man's face just captivated him.  So while I was "distracting" the couple with friendly conversation (the Photographer's words, not mine - I was involved in a genuinely interesting discussion about gardening) a picture was taken.

The Photographer mailed the portrait to the man's wife as a thank you for the kindness she showed him while he was working in the wet, cold weather.  End of story - or so we thought.

This crocheted doily arrived via the postal service yesterday along with a note from the man's wife.  The man passed away recently and his wife wanted my husband to know how much the portrait means to her.  It is currently hanging in her bedroom.  Needless to say, I immediately responded with a note of my own informing her that her family was in our prayers and that if there was anything she needed to please pick up the phone and call us.  I also profusely thanked her for the doily. 

Isn't it exquisite?  I can't imagine how long it would take to make something this intricate.  And it is huge - approximately 20 inches in diameter.  I plan to have it framed next week and will hang it in my bedroom.

Anna's Fig Cake

I found this advertisement, which contains a recipe for "Anna's Fig Cake" in a 1918 edition of Good Housekeeping magazine.  I haven'the made the cake yet, but I fully intend to do so this week.  Although I believe I will use another type of frosting.

Anna's Fig Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 egg yolks

3 teaspoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

2 eggs whites beaten stiff with 4 tablespoons powdered sugar

Filling

1 pound of figs, finely chopped

1 "teacup" of water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

All cooked to smoothness

An Unhappy Plant

Very Sad Gardenia

I purchased this gardenia a few months ago and have had no luck with it whatsoever.  See all the new green growth?  I promise you it will be dead in two weeks! (Note the top right of the plant). It is a vicious cycle with this plant - put out new growth, new growth dies, repeat, repeat, repeat. No flowers anywhere in sight!

I have the plant in a fairly large terra cotta planter in the family room.  Indirect sunlight.  No temperature flucuations to speak of.  I placed small pebbles in the saucer and set the planter on top of the pebbles.  I keep the pebbles barely covered with water because I read somewhere that gardenias like humidity but not "wet feet".  I water only when dry and fertilize once a month.  And still this plant just isn't happy.

I can't plant it outside - we live in the wrong planting zone and it would surely die if left outside over the winter.  Any suggestions?

Gifts From My Sister

My sister gives the best gifts.  Her gifts are always given from the heart.  And she knows me so very well.  I would much rather receive something small and full of meaning than something show stopping and expensive. 

I had casually mentioned during one of our conversations that I was searching for the "perfect" frames for Momma and Daddy's high school senior portraits.  She gifted me with ones that were exactly what I had in mind for my birthday.  The frames sit in my family room on either end of the sofa.

This past Christmas she made me cry.  I opened the wrapped box to find this tea light candle holder.  Although in the photo it is hard to read, the inscription says "In Loving Memory . . . of A Life So Beautifully Lived . . . A Heart So Deeply Loved"

A Growing Puppy

Buck

Buck is the newest addition to our family.  He will be 8 months old next week and, boy, is he a handful!  Thankfully, Bear is ever ready to help with the training.  I noticed when we first brought Buck home that his legs seemed awfully long and his feet were very large for his age.  The vet immediately noticed as well, proclaiming that he would be an exceptionally large adult.  How big exactly? I tentatively asked.  Much larger than Bear was the response I received!

Bear is a huge dog - weighing in at 130 pounds of pure muscle and sweetness.  Buck is expected to top out at approximately 150 pounds!  I realized yesterday evening that Buck is already "taller" than Bear - thankfully, he realizes that Bear is the alpha male and doesn't push his luck too often. 

Training is going fairly well.  German Shepherds are notorious for their intelligence and my dogs are no exception.  As I said, Bear is a tremendous help with training but Buck, for all his hugeness, is still a puppy.  Yesterday, he came through the house with one of the Photographer's shoes.  I gently scolded him and told him to find something else to play with.  He obediently dropped the shoe and trotted through the house - only to return with one of the Photographer's camera lenses!  There is never a dull moment in this house lately!

A New Orchid

My local grocery store florist has orchids on sale this week.  Only $10 each - less than half the normal price.  I stood there much longer than I am comfortable admitting trying to decide which one to purchase.  I finally decided on this pink beauty - but if the price is right, another one will be coming home with me next week too!

Another Blog

Although I will continue to post here, I have started another blog as well. 

I collect recipes/cookbooks and wanted a place to store my collection.  Each day I post a different recipe.  Some I have tried, some I hope to try someday.  Check it out here and if you try a recipe, please let me know what you think!

Bathroom Mud

Bathroom Disaster

I am still working on Pierce's bathroom.  The marks left from pulling down the wallpaper needed to be dealt with but I was unsure how to proceed.  A trip to my local Lowes ensued and I arrived home with a jar of spackling/mud and other necessary supplies.

The process is fairly simple but was rather overwhelming considering I have never undertaken a project like this before.  I mixed the mud thoroughly and spread it over the wall's pockmacks thinly.  The problem is - the wall now looks like it has the measles and I am nowhere close to covering all the marks.  Upon closer inspection, large sections towards the top of the walls need to be covered.

 

Another trip to Lowes followed.  It seems that I have two choices.  Use a textured paint on the walls to hide imperfections or skimcoat all the walls.  I was advised that using textured paint can be tricky to do and a huge hassle to "undo" if I mess it up.  I chose to go with the skimcoat option. I am hoping to begin skimcoating this week.  I know Pierce is hoping to getting his bathroom back before the end of spring!

 

On another note, I am trying to decide on a paint color for the room.  I am leaning towards the lighter color - what do you think?

 

Apothecary Jars

Recycled Jars

I recently purchased these vintage apothecary jars from a lovely Etsy seller.  At first, I intended to use them in the sewing room but decided instead to place them in the bathroom.  They are just the right size for holding cotton balls and Q-tips.

I purchased polka dot ribbon and tied their necks with a bow to give them just the right amount of "pop".   They make me smile every time I look at them.

A Blanket for Gabriel

Gabriel's Blanket

Pierce's godson, Gabriel, has a birthday coming up in a few weeks.  He will be a year old and loves all things Winnie The Pooh.  After searching for the "perfect Pooh" gift, Pierce asked if I would be willing to make him a blanket.  Of course I would.

We purchased the materials at Joann Fabrics and it sewed up fairly quickly.  I layered the fabrics and batting, secured it with ties and added a blanket binding. 

I considered making a couple of bibs with the excess fabric but think I will sew up a pillowcase instead.  I can just image that sweet boy snuggled up on the sofa peacefully napping, his head resting on a Pooh pillow - covered by the blanket and his godfather's adoration.

Starting Seeds

Broccoli Seedlings

Although the weather has been unseasonably cool and wet this month, warmer days are finally on the horizon.  Pierce and I have prepared the vegetable beds and sewed seeds for plants that don't mind the cooler weather. 

So far we have started seeds for the warmer weather vegetables.  114 total plants.  Eggplant, tomatoes, bell pepper, jalepeno peppers, broccoli, etc.

We are planning to install six more raised beds in a few weeks and will then plant seeds that need to be direct sewed - sweet corn, pumpkins, okra, colored beans, swiss chard, butternut squash, etc.

Of course, will be also be growing potatoes various berries.  I hope to be doing lots of freezing and canning this summer!

All Eyes On You



Courtesy of The Photographer