Winter is Here

Weather is still pretty cold here and there is a very heavy frost on everything.  Some sun is peaking through the clouds.

Christmas is over and we had a good visit and dinner and now  all is quiet on the home front......not a bad thing for this old girl!  We still have to dismantle the tree but DH will do that.

We had a near slight emergency before Christmas.  We decided to  finally buy new living room furniture after 30 some years and my requisite with the sales person was that there were to be no special orders.....I wanted  it delivered asap in time for the holidays (we had already given away our old pieces and the living room was bare).  I was promised delivery the very next week before the 25th." no problem" was his exact statement.  Cutting to the chase:  The following week, I called and was told  the chair and ottoman and new cocktail (coffee table to me) table  would be delivered but the sofa would be delayed for over a week from Christmas Day!  I shared my opinion of the sales man telling me differently and suggested that they better train staff if they wanted repeat customers or good word of mouth advertising.  He called me back within minutes and said they would bring me the floor sample to use until the new one was delivered (this Friday).  They did and we were very pleased with that arrangement.

Surprisingly, we both liked it very much in our living room.  I am always so worried about that.  Usually I wish I had picked another style......this time, I was happy.  I think it fits our style in that room nicely.

The pictures were taken before any finishing touches.  The delivery people had just left and I took some quick shots.


 It is now December 31, maybe I can finally finish this post.....

I am still getting my kitchen back to normal and emptying out the refrigerator of leftovers. 

Farm

DH is in winter mode of hay feeding and has moved the cows to another section of the farm.  Sometimes if it is very cold, he uses the truck to check cattle.  All is well so far.

Dogs

Some changes have been  made (after chasing puppies two and three times a day when they escaped their building).  We now have Sugar loose.  She is currently laying by the heater in the kitchen.  She is huge, makes me  think of a Great Dane.  The puppies and their mama now reside in Sugars large pen. They are growing rapidly and are almost impossible to catch once they get out. 

Chickens

They are keeping us in eggs but not laying heavily.  They still haven't lost all their feathers....maybe these hybrids don't. 

To Do

Make a batch of mincemeat for my Sis and me.

Clean the back porch (got to get ready for using the plant light stand for seed starting).  This will include getting rid of the tall file  cabinet that is filled  with papers that should just be burned. 

Organize and list all my seeds. 

Mundane Daily Life

Sunday 1/19/14

Up way too early again.

Made breakfast, eggs, bacon and frozen biscuits.  I have changed my recipe a little and they are raising better and the frozen ones bake up high exactly like the fresh ones.  I just dropped  the fat to 1/3 cup.  A nice benefit is the reduced calorie content.

Mopped kitchen and part of bedroom where the new cable comes through. Hands and Knees mopping, my favorite.

Folded two loads of laundry.  (Remember DH does the laundry; I do the folding and putting away).

Made a new recipe of potato soup for lunch. I got it from Chickens in the Road.  Here it is. 

Morgan’s Favorite Soup


How to make Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup:
4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced
10 ounces chopped broccoli
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
ground black pepper (LOTS)
6 cups milk
8 – 12 ounces Velveeta (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic salt (or to taste)
1 – 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Boil the diced potatoes till soft, drain. While boiling the potatoes, I go ahead and put the frozen chopped broccoli in a medium-size slow cooker on High and start defrosting it right in the crock.
In a large skillet, melt butter. Add flour and stir to make a roux. I start adding pepper now. Probably altogether, I use about a tablespoon of pepper, but I add it as I go, testing. Start adding the milk, a cup at a time, and stirring to make a smooth sauce. I add the first four cups in the skillet and bring it to a simmer to thicken, adding the cheese to melt. (I go with 12 ounces. You can use 8 ounces. Or 4. Or none. This soup is good without cheese at all, but Morgan wants it cheesy.) Once the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened, remove the skillet from the heat.

Add the potatoes to the slow cooker along with the sauce. Add two more cups of milk along with the garlic salt and crushed red pepper. (We like spicy. You can leave this out or reduce it if you don’t.) Season to taste. Slow cook on High until everything is piping hot then keep on Low until ready to serve.

You can serve this straight as a soup, but I always serve it over rice. It could also be served over pasta. For a heartier soup, you can add sliced kielbasa, chicken, shrimp, or whatever you like! This is a very versatile soup, and delicious!

Note from me: I used white American Cheese and not quite as much, also cut back on red pepper. Also I will use frozen chopped asparagus instead of broccoli next time.

Monday 1/20/14

Up very early, 3 AM. Today is supposed to be warm...then down again tomorrow. We need to run some errands this morning:

List of errands:

Deliver a set of dishes to The Kitchen (I bought a end of year bargain from Macy's) These are the new ones:

 

I must admit to having a dish fetish.  If I had space I would have several different sets, just for 4, maybe with the new shelves I can indulge a little.

Stop by MIL's. She was having a problem installing a printer cartridge. I am pretty sure she wasn’t successful but she won't tell me Note:.She had successfully installed the cartridge. I am so proud of her.

Pick up a lighter foundation at Merle Norman's (I fade during the winter)I(We forgot this one!)

Shop for a standing tool chest for all our scattered tools and see if this will help DH put things where they belong! (this has been an outstanding bone of contention between us for a few years now!)WE got one at Harbor Freight but it is been to darned cold to gather up all the tools and store them.

Errands completed.

We replaced the trim in the bedroom....now need to install the faceplates (will do that when new tool arrives tomorrow).  Note: Tool arrived but still to cold to search for anything related to the job.

I spent more of my Christmas gift certificate at Amazon....bought a deep Lodge cast iron chicken fryer with a glass lid. I do love the glass lids and save all for use on my All Clads. Some from some cheap WM pans that have deceased fit them!

I also ordered a wireless fence system for Sugar.  I found  that it will not work at all with our steel siding.  I should have realized this but didn't.  The description of the item on Amazon also did not mention this, I have called that to their attention!  Now I have the aggravation of packing it and returning it.  I may fight them on the return fee.  Sugar has now started running to a couple of the neighbor's when we let her out.  She stays for several hours.  One of them who is so nice and an obvious dog lover has returned her twice on his ATV with her trotting along side on a lead.  We have two options....leave her loose and see if she will stay home; maybe she doesn't want put back into the pen or (this has been suggested by two neighbors, get her a playmate)

I wanted to thank the neighbor for being to nice so I baked bread again.  This time, I made 4 loaves of honey, whole wheat (light on the whole wheat) and DH took a loaf to him.

This was probably at capacity of my mixer.  It made a very large amount of dough.
 
This time I let it go an extra raise before making loaves.
You can see where I punched it down the first time.
I do think it gives the bread a finer texture.
and the finished product,


Yesterday was spent opening boxes from Amazon (dog fence, and new chicken fryer).  I was also on the phone most of the day.....that seems to happen once in a while, usually my Sis and my daughter.  I don't mind  at all.

I had planned  a banana  cake for us.  When I finally was off the phone, it was late in the day....I made the cake anyway.

I do like this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens old cookbook:

Banana Cake BH&G Page 80 (old issue )

2 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup mashed ripe banana (usually two)

½ cup buttermilk or sour milk

½ cup shortening

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all dry ingredients and ½ teaspoons salt. Add bananas, buttermilk, shortening, eggs and vanilla

Beat on low until mixed then on medium for three minutes.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 or 9 inch cake pans. Bake 350°for 30 to 35 minutes. Test with toothpick .Cool for l0 minutes before removing from pan.

Note: I ice with cream cheese icing and freeze one in pan for later.

A Few Days Ago

Daylight savings time has ended . I  am not loving it! I hate feeling by 5 PM that it is bedtime  and that is how I feel.  You would think by now my body would adjust readily to these annoying time changes....

It has rained for the last two days;  not heavily but too wet to be outside.  I think another 1/2 inch.  I am glad I got my garlic and onions planted before this round hit.  I found enough turnips to cook for me today.  Several didn't make bulbs....I don't know what causes that.  I thinned them heavily.  I will leave all of them in the ground and see if they every make anything.

The maintenance for the all-farm generator got canceled because of the rain....they will try again Friday when it is supposed to be dry.  We have already had an hour outage since the battery went down on it.  What are the odds of that!!  It was no big thing, but I am nervous now.  I got very complacent about power outages since we have had it.

Today's plans are errands.  I need to return a library book and we need  to pick up coffee (this is our most critical commodity!).  I also need to go to my King Arthur flour source (a Kroger store, Dillon's) for bread flour and regular flour.  I am also low on sugar; I should have picked that up at Sam's.  I wish I could find a good local source for real lard, not the Armour product with additives and partially hydrogenated lard in it.  Walmart used to carry one but then switched to Armour! 

Note:  I missed posting this one so will just to keep my journal in order.

Random dog Picture

Sugar has been a bad girl lately; she has discovered the neighbors have dogs and she runs off to visit after going to the field with DH.  I am checking into buying the wireless fencing for around the house.

More Signs of spring on the Farm

It was another very cool morning here,  28° and today will be in the 40's.  We are waiting for another storm to move in tomorrow bringing  a possibility of 3 to 6 inches of snow.  As warm as our temperatures will be during the day I don't think much will accumulate.

Yesterday we took Sugar to the vet to have her stitches removed.  She actually got up in the truck with some nudging from us, on her own and jumped  down when we got her home.  We were very happy we didn't have to lift her 55 lbs both times.  I bought her some rawhide chews as a treat.  She chewed it all afternoon and even kept it in her mouth while she snoozed.  I caught her just as she looked up.



I managed to 'trim' my grasses before we went to the vet yesterday morning.  I used my BIL's method and it works great.  I got it  done this year before the iris got too big.  I should have done it last month though.



The day before I made the rounds of the yard looking for signs of spring and was surprised to see so many.

The bulbs in the tub are up and I can see color on a hyacinth.  I  need to plant more bulbs in there this fall.



My poor single hellebore is getting ready to bloom
I just can't get excited over this flower; maybe because there aren't enough or I need a different variety?

This is the same planter that has brunnera 'Jack Frost' coming up and a variegated Solomon's Seal.  There should be some yellow tulips but I don't see any.

These are blooms on the Korean Boxwood by the back porch.  They are very fragrant and even have a scent before all the blooms open.  I love this shrub.  It stays evergreen and seems to do very well here.



This is October Glory red maple in the west yard.  I love the brilliant red buds and new twigs.



Now I have moved into the garden proper.  This is a branch on my little plum tree; it is covered with these little ball-like bloom buds.



The groundcover is Henbit!  I need to accept it as such and appreciate it.  It will be early food for the bees.

Now I am in the berry patch and I see it needs some more pruning.



This is the year I hope to move some blackberry and raspberry starts back to the orchard.

I think this is a bud on the broken peach tree,



Now I have almost completed the circle from the back porch area, west into the garden and now back through the garden gate to the house again.

This is the Endless Summer hydrangea in front of the kitchen window.  Last year it finally did rather well, except lots of the blooms were hidden behind  the large leaves....I still prefer Annabelle,



This is a bed of vinca minor I have tried to eradicate.....I guess I will give up.  The negative is if the plant is too small the vinca can overwhelm it and you never see it.  



I  did notice I lost all my golden agastache from Kris.  They never last past a couple of years here.  I did see at last foxgloves have reseeded for me!

Pending job:

Dormant oil spray.  I worry about the pending precipitation so will research that before  I waste the spray.  I think it is the most important spray in the orchard.

Back from my Winter Break

I  stayed away so long, I almost didn't return to the land of blogging.......

There have  been no big events on the farm.  We both are semi-well from our bronchitis but still have occasional coughing bouts .

I have been milking about three times a week.  Getting my usual 3 half gallons and l quart.
 


We have had some very unusual weather.  We broke a record high at 74° two days ago.  Then a front moved in and we got a wonderful 1.75 inches of rain during the evening and night.  We didn't get any severe weather like some did.  It is much colder today and with very strong winds.  It is in the mid-30's now.  I was sure glad I was milking inside a barn this morning.

I have just been doing my normal cooking, made Annie's Honey and Wheat 4-loaf recipe one time and yesterday made DH's favorite white bread, 3 loaves.  The only unusual thing I made was Harvard beets.  I didn't know if DH would eat them or not.  I have had them canned a long time, but the color was still very good.   He cleaned his plate!



I  made one of my favorite cookies.

Cinnamon Cookies (like a ginger snap)

Source: Sis

¾ cup shortening (don't use butter)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup honey

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

Sugar and cinnamon mixture to roll cookies in

Cream shortening and sugar well. Beat in egg and honey. Add sifted dry ingredients. Mix well.

Make a one inch ball of dough and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place 2 or so inches apart because they will spread out. Used ungreased baking sheet. Bake 375° for 12-15 minutes.

Random Pictures

I tried all morning to get a good one of Sugar but it was almost impossible.  This is the best I could manage.
This is her favorite spot, especially if I am sitting in my chair.  Note: the chewed  rug.  I decided it was worth sacrificing it to save my ankles....

We had an invasion of Grackles a few days ago.  It was unbelievable how many.  They would fly up and light and fly down again and moved from one side of the yard to the other.  Thankfully. they didn't stay long. They are right up there with Starlings and house sparrows as my least favorites feathered friends.


Note:  I see the gremlins have invaded blogger again.  Please ignore the strange orange highlighted words; they lead to advertising....not of my doing.   They have magically disappeared now!