Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day

What a dreary day it is.  Yesterday was nice  and sunny; today is it drizzling rain.  It is warmer and I am not complaining about the moisture. I always think of Ian Tyson's  song  Moisture.  How true this is for farmers!

Most of the snow is gone!  We are much warmer these  days.




This was taken from the west side of the house.  looking northwest.

The wood pile is going down,



Yesterday was a very busy day for us.  My computer was not staying hooked up to the internet.  I determined  it was the router since when I plugged the rooftop connection into the tower  without going through the router, I got connection.  We drove to a small nearby town where I was told to go by the company we use (Total Highspeed).  He tested and said the router was good.  He finally came up with the idea the tower connection cable me be  going bad....new one for free (they are connected with Highspeed).

I am now connected.....but why did I get connected using the old  cable?  I am still a little nervous about that.

Before we left the town, Republic, Mo., I told DH if he needed anything from Walmart he better stop and we always need cat food!  He came out with the food and a box of chocolates for me! First time in many, many years....bless his heart.  I forgot to mention that while at the computer store, I spied a used laptop for $199.  I have been wanting one for kitchen used (recipes online and my recipes) and I went back to the truck and asked DH what he thought and he said get it; Happy Valentine's Day!.  What has happened to my husband of 53 years and who is the strange man in my house.



The day before we had picked up the two hogs we had ordered and I had thawed two package of ground fat.  I decided to set up the computer; make bread and buns and let the fat be rendering while doing all of the  above.......and I did.

Bread was white this time.  I made two loaves and a pan of 8  buns.  It turned out great (thank you KA flour).  Periodically I just stirred the rendering lard.  I used my trusty maslin pan on top of the gas range.

By the hunt and peck method (no manuals) I added  my WiFi info to the laptop and copied my recipes to it.
I am now connected but I don't like the touch thing and will pick up a mouse for it, assuming it will  accept it.
It is a 4-year old Lenovo Thinkpad, office type (he said  it means it is more heavy duty).  It is certainly heavy in weight.

I did have quite a mess in the kitchen!  I got a full coffee can, part of a  pint  jar and about a quart I just poured into my remaining lard container.  This morning I am doing a secondary rendering of the cracklings since I knew there was more left.  It made me thing of virgin olive oil and whatever they call that second squeezing of the mash.

I wish I knew  what to do with the cracklings.  We weren't impressed with them in cornbread but I may try it again. If you have any ideas please share.

The second rendering is being done in  my new Lodge chicken fryer.




Wow!  This is enough  for one day.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

17 comments:

  1. We must have had more snow up here in central MO. Ours is melting, but still quite a bit left. Where did the nice sunshine go?? Hopefully the snow will be gone this weekend with the warmer temps.
    I'm laughing about your hubby because mine is about the same. Any time I ask about getting something, he says go ahead. They must be mellowing after all these years! LOL!
    Happy Valentine's Day and have a good weekend, too!

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    1. Cheryl, maybe it's because the kids are raised and we have a little more money......

      We got a small cold front this afternoon and it will be down in the teens tonight. Drat! Maybe warmer tomorrow.

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  2. Your rendered fat looks so pure and white. I bet it is a joy to use.

    Your husband's gifts to you make me want to cry. Bless both of your hearts. Love is wonderful and the more years you are blessed with, the better. Congrats on your 53 years.

    Enjoy your lap top. Mark talked me into getting one the beginning of 2012, and I'm glad he did. I bring it to work as the old clunker here is not worth anything, slow and cantankerous. Every time I use it, I am thankful to my GEEK and sure do miss him.

    I got out a stack of past Valentine's Day cards to look at after I get home from work today. I read a couple before leaving for work and they blessed my heart. Mark sure knew how to pick them. I miss that. SIGH!

    We are having perfectly beautiful weather today. Yesterday was very windy, gray and grew colder as the day got later. It was in the 40's when I got up this morning.

    May you and your husband have a very nice day together.

    Love and hugs dear Glenda ~ FlowerLady

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    1. My husband is not the romantic Mark was! But he is mine and I am happy with him. When I get annoyed, I always think of his good qualities and the others that have bothered me melt away. He is still the kindest, best man I have ever known. OK, enough Valentine's Day talk from me.

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  3. You have been far busier that I have today.

    A wireless mouse may work. They have a little piece that plugs into a usb and the mouse works.

    Have a great day.

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    Replies
    1. Gail, I have a wireless mouse that I quit using because it used up batteries so fast. If I can find the disk to load, I can try it. I never throw anything electrical away....I have a box of various cables,wires and mouses.

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  4. You are far more computer saavy than I am! Good thing we have our daughter living close by to do all our computer stuff for us.

    Is that a Christmas cactus plant I see in the picture of your box of chocolates?

    Happy Valentine's Day to you! My Valentine's present from my husband is that he is doing dishes for me all day yesterday and today! (That's about the nicest gift for me because I HATE dish doing!)

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    1. That does look like one! It is the foliage on a silk centerpiece. I can't do houseplants and have given up trying. I do have one ivy and a miniature palm tree that do great but that is it. I can even kill a philodendron!

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  5. Glenda,

    Happy Valentine's Day!!!! There is nothing better than sweet surprises from your husband.

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    1. Usually I tell him not to get me candy because I sure don't need the calories....this time he didn't listen and I am enjoying them immensely!

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  6. Surprises are always fun especially on Valentine's day! Glenda...:)JP

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    1. Usually we ignore Valentine's so this was especially nice.

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  7. I have 3 old Lenova (ThinkPad) laptops up in the cupboard. I've never used them since I got the MacBook. I will recycle them this Spring. Russell Stover is wonderful. It was fave back in the day. What a wonderful surprise from DH! Enjoy your holiday. Still under lots of snow here - at least 6-7" on the ground. Brrr.

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    1. This one weighs a lot. I sure wouldn't want to carry it around much. I wanted to see how much I would use one before dropping a lot of money. I suspect I won't use it that much.

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  8. I laughed right out loud reading your post today! Once in awhile I ask Hubs "Who are you and what have you done with my husband?" Heh.

    Glad you got your internet issues solved. If it's working ok, don't worry about what went wrong. Sometimes I think these computer geeks make things up as they go along because they know we'll believe whatever they tell us. Heh. But bottom line, it's working. Run with it. Hugs XOXOXO

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  9. You're going to love the laptop and the freedom it gives. I've been using laptops exclusively for 11 years and will never go back to a tower style, they take up too much space and keep you in the same spot every time you need to use it. I can now go out into the garage or screenroom and enjoy the outdoors while doing my research.
    Enjoy it!

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  10. totally unrelated to this post, but I was wondering if you could email me? CarolynRenee at centurytel dot net. I'm having an udder problem and was wondering if you had any experience with them in your cows.

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