HAPPY ACRES

Take a left on Memory Lane

2012-01-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town. Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years. Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth. ~Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses

There are certain smells that will transport me back in time. Oddly enough Liquid Gold is one of them. I grew up living in a trailer. Every Thanksgiving we went to a friends house but Christmas was when people came to ours and mom went to work cleaning. Since the walls were all paneling, everything got a coating of Liquid Gold. So in my mind Liquid Gold is forever connected to Christmas.

Well today it was not a smell but the sight of something that took me on a trip back in time. I have been trashing things left and right recently. Today I found a box of magazines which were my aunts. Inside of a 1972 Flower and Garden was a picture of Goats Beard.

So what you say…well my neighbors Lou Lou and Pop Pop, who were like grandparents to me promised me if I passed first grade they would take me on a cross country ride to Montana to see an Indian pow-wow. And I did. Now I was six at the time. I know it was a yearly celebration but don’t know why they decided to take the trip. I remember we were gone for weeks. I can remember coming down the mountain road and in the valley on the right was were the pow-wow was with the tee-pees all set up. I can remember the cabin we stayed in was on the left of the gravel “main” street and there was an unmowed hillside behind the cabin. We ate across the street in a building with saloon doors (and I have always loved them since). The proprietor gave me a watch when we left which I had until high school. I have a glass swan I bought my mom . I got to see the guy heat up an old glass bottle and make it. But one thing I don’t have any more is a flower. Lou Lou and I walked up the hillside and picked these giant dandelions and spray painted them.

Very carefully we toted them home where my mom displayed them until they were falling apart. I have never seen a dandelion that big since…. and today I find they were not dandelions but goats beard. Which explains a lot!

Mom, Lou Lou and Pop Pop are all long gone but finding that article “stalking the wild goats beard..an arranger’s prize” triggered a wonderful trip down memory lane. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Snow is in the forecast

2012-01-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

"A speculator is a man who observes the future, and acts before it occurs." Bernard Baruch

And since they are calling for 3-6 inches of snow the stores were busy with everyone going for milk and bread. I don’t like to shop on a normal day so you know I wasn’t there. It has been such an unbelievably warm and snow free winter that I am looking forward to it. It wont last long anyhow since it is suppose to be in the 40's on Monday.

I have been knitting. I finally finished the vest I started for Baby O. I hope it fits him.

Then I decided I needed a long pair of fingerless mitts. I wear Walmart gloves to the barn because I have more dexterity with them. However, they are short and my wrists get cold. I like a coat without the knit cuffs so after I raise my arms I don’t have to tug the sleeves down. This pair of fingerless mitts is just k2p2 so were done in no time with some old handspun dye experiment yarn.

Then I received an email stating my name was mentioned on Pinterest. I go to check it out and there is a leprechaun ski hat for Baby O with instructions from his mother to make it for him. There was no pattern so I just winged it and came up with this…

The “belt” should have been wider but it was done in a day.

Now to just finish this cowl…

It should have been done in a solid color to show the detail but I was watching a show with the man and that yarn was sitting close by. While the snow is falling and the kids are involved with their friends that are spending the weekend I will be knitting and spinning....and maybe a snowball fight if it is good packing snow.

And just to note...I sold my Ashford Traddy. She came east many years ago with her previous owner but will be heading to Arizona soon. I wish her and her new owner many hours of enjoyment.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2012-01-16T09:27:00.000-05:00

“Cold? I'm freezing my royal Rastafarian nay-nays off! “ ~ Sanka Coffie in Cool Runnings

This morning it was a brisk 2 degrees on the thermometer on the side of the house. It is cold but it isn’t going to last that long. In fact, midnight tonight we are suppose to be above freezing. So unlike last year which was such a nonstop damp cold that you felt like you would never be warm again.

During its brief visit the cold has taken the water and turned it into something beautiful…well in my eyes….

Stay warm

Anniversary

2012-01-12T15:57:00.000-05:00

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday and the hopes of tomorrow. ~ Author Unknown

While the man and I were married four years on New Year’s Eve, the blog and I have had a much longer relationship.

We have been going steady for seven years today!

Seven… as in seven days of the week, seven continents, seven colors in the rainbow, lucky number seven.

And what is a proper seventh anniversary gift?.... copper and WOOL!!!! Now to get the blog to pay to process all my wool! Oh well …seven and wool….it still seems like 2012 is going to be a really good year!

Even the sheep to shawl was awesome this year. The winning shawl was gorgeous. All of this years shawls were unbelievable. Pictures of the PA Farm Shows sheep to shawl and fleece to shawl can be found here. http://www.farmshow.state.pa.us/EventPhotos2012.aspx?AID=741 and

http://yarnymarni.com/

The man said I am going next year so monies are getting stashed away.

Mr. Bluebird

2012-01-10T10:56:00.001-05:00

Mr Bluebird's on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual
Everything is satisfactual

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah
Zip-a-dee-eh
Wonderful feeling
Wonderful day

Yes sir
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah
Zip-a-dee-eh
My oh my what a wonderful day
Oh plenty of sunshine in my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah
Zip-a-dee-eh ~ Disney

On the walk back from the barn what did I spy…yup! A bluebird. And how can you look at a bluebird and not be happy?

It is a horrible picture but my camera batteries did not like the cold so I was only able to get one shot of him/her before they died. But they served me well prior to that as I got some shots of the animals which have not made an appearance on here in some time…

Bozo says “ I hope you remembered the apples” Sure did!

Tomorrow will find me glued to the tv as the PA Farm Shows Sheep to Shawl is televised. Yearly enjoyment to which I had hoped to go but the truck decided the monies should be spent on it. As much as I hate the truck it really hasn’t cost much in up keep so I can’t complain because it needs new tires to pass inspection. There is always next year.

Useful or Beautiful

2012-01-09T20:31:00.000-05:00

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to beautiful. ~ William Morris

When I took the everyday things off the mantel for Christmas, it sat empty for two days until I put the Christmas things up. During this period I was talking to my daughter and said I was liking the minimalistic view…which brought a snort from my daughter who thinks I have too much stuff.

I do admit I have “stuff” which is not useful (even in my loose terms) and in some instances it isn’t even beautiful but it belonged to people who are no longer with us so I keep it.

But I have started to minimize my stuff. So far I have gone through the acrylic yarn which I have either bought or most of which I have inherited from one person or another. It has it’s uses but even after keeping some, I have a 50 gallon trash bag full of yarn to go to the Salvation Army. My handspun wool all stays period. I also decided to stop talking about it and try to sell two spinning wheels. I am going to sell my Ashford Traditional because my woolie winder doesn’t fit on it and my Babe Pinkie. My daughter would tell me I can sell more but I am going to keep the Babe electric, Traveler and CPW.

Obviously can’t take things out without bringing things in because a friend gifted me 6 cases of pint jars, 3 cases of quart jars and a bag of flats and rims -which means I need to get looking in the seed magazines to grow something to fill those jars. And oddly enough while walking back from the barn I stopped at one of my gardens and for shit and giggles I pushed some of the leaves that never got raked aside and there were daffodils coming up already!

2012 is still looking pretty good.

Home Life

2012-01-06T18:53:00.002-05:00

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." Edith Sitwell

And January is the bare bones of Winter. The ravelry of the holidays have past and the yearning for the gardening season has not begun. I am just enjoying the peace of the season.

Oh the difference between December and January is huge. It is like looking at a black and white photo vs a colored one. The black and white may be stark but it makes you pay more attention to the details. The colored one just amazes you with its color. Both are beautiful and both are appreciated for their differences.

December was fast, furious and loud…always busy making things, baking things, cooking, shopping, wrapping, parties, company visiting, music and a December 24 deadline. Very much like the colored photo, amazing you with it’s color.

January is much more sedate….no holiday, colder weather making people want to stay home, relax and appreciate the past holiday you had with family and friends.

The kids returned to school on the second and the man to work on the third. Christmas was packed away and normalcy (hahaha!) returned. Sometimes when I have to do things they feel like chores and I don’t enjoy them as much. Since I didn’t have to bake I made three loaves of white bread and two loaves of rhubarb bread. We worked in son's room. I started a batch of vanilla extract. I am dehydrating about 4 pounds of venison jerky. I organized my desk and filed everything. I sorted through fleece deciding on what I want to wash and what I want to send out. I spun some and started knitting the squares into the first row of an afghan.

I also enjoyed the time of just sitting as I watched the birds congregate by the feeder during the cold snap,

the turkeys walking the ridgeline and the dusting of snow falling by the light on the porch.

If all of 2012 goes as well as this first week it is going to be a very good year.

Another fresh new year

2012-01-01T15:34:00.000-05:00

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!
- William Arthur Ward

I actually made it to midnight and watched the ball drop, usually I am a sleep as we transition from one year to the next.

According to folklore one is suppose to enter the new year with full cupboards and all the bills paid. So we did that. Supposedly you are to eat pork on new years and the man wants BBQ pork ribs so we got that covered. Not that I am superstitious but hey you can’t take any chances can ya?

So what has filled the blank pages of my 2012 life’s book so far? Well I woke early and spun while the rest of the house slept. Then my nephew woke up crying because his stomach hurt. When his parents woke up I sent him and his brother home….and Lysol-ed the heck out the place!!! Scrubbed the bathroom, stripped the bed and threw the sheets in the washer. Unbelievably it is a gorgeous New Years Day so the sheets are line drying. Another load and the blanket was in the dryer, another load and the bedspread went in the dryer. I can handle getting the common cold but I have a phobia of stomach virus and vomiting.

Now, I have the ribs on to parboil and a nice pot roast cooking which I will use for roast beef sandwiches for the kids lunches this week. Yes they start back to school tomorrow. The man has the day off so we are moving son’s room around. He has a king size captains bed so it takes some doing…doing meaning man muscles.

Now I am going to spin a little more wool … check out the year long crazy quilt squares they are doing on Holiday Mystery Gift yahoo group…and I downloaded Steven Kings 11/22/63.

How has your new book started?

Christmas Hangover

2011-12-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Urban Dictionary describes a Christmas Hangover as “The day after Christmas, December 26th when you wake up realizing all the fun is over and you have to wait another 365 days until Christmas.”

I am a creature of habit. And as much as I love Christmas or any holiday for that matter, it throws a monkey wrench into my normal boring hermit-ish existence.

So ...I do not like to pick fights or anything but I think that definition is wrong. I think as an adult it could best be described as the exhaustion one feels from having…found or made the perfect gift for everyone on your list, wrapped it, labeled it, packed it, shipped it or delivered it, bought the tree, decorated the tree, decorated the house, made the nog, the dinner, the cookies/pies/stollen , cleaned the house from top to bottom for all the holiday guests….several times because the kids, husband and dogs thought you had too much time on your hands, prepared for family and their animals that stay over, tried to prepare for any “unforeseen” that usually happens, and after weeks of this the exciting finale of watching them open presents finally came and you are still going at mach speed…

All those later than usual nights, earlier than usual mornings, having all these people in and out of your usually quiet abode, the extra laundry, the excess food consumption (or alcohol) that your body is not use to finally takes its toll and you become mentally and physically exhausted. And yesterday when everyone left I could only sit. I could not concentrate enough to knit, I could not read, I just sat like a lump on a log and watched something on tv that I don’t even remember…and then more friends came over … and tonight we will have company … Wednesday night into Thursday #2 son is having three friends coming over that love to eat … Friday life will semi return to normal only to have the New Years activities. If I can make it until then, New Years day the tree and decorations will come down so that Tuesday when the kids return to school I can sit in my everything is back in it’s place, empty house and … take a nap! Actually this is when I will get to really enjoy my gifts. I have ebooks to buy and a kickass kitchenaid that was insulted when all I asked of it was to whip up a dozen eggs. Trying to redeem myself in the eyes of the mixer earlier I had it working on a batch of chocolate chip cookies. It was amused but is asking for a real job… I am thinking bread might make it happy. I know it will make the man happy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas that left you with a enough of a hangover to know that you had a good time with family and friends but not so bad that you don’t want to redo it for another 365 YEARS!!!

Each Christmas...

2011-12-19T10:04:00.000-05:00

Each Christmas I remember

The ones of long ago;

I see our mantelpiece adorned

With stockings in a row

Each Christmas finds me dreaming

Of days that used to be.

When we hid presents here and there,

For all the family.

Each Christmas I remember

The fragrance in the air,

Of roasting turkey and mince pie

And cookies everywhere.

Each Christmas finds me longing

For Christmases long past

And I am back in childhood

As long as memories last.

~ Carice Williams Christmas Past

We found a tree farm closer to home and on Saturday we got our tree. It is a blue spruce which quickly scented the house. I told the kids it would be very “pokey” and by the time I was done putting on the lights my arm looked like I had put on porcupine arm warmers.

Then we started to decorate. It is always a walk down memory lane.

This ceramic mouse ornament is from many moons ago. My nickname was Mouse because I loved cheese so my mom made me this ornament.

My mom also bought this ornament for #1 daughter’s first Christmas.

Years later we were given this one when she was deployed to Iraq.

In Montessori school #1 son made this and we use it to mark where his presents will be under the tree each year. It is my favorite school picture of his, so young and innocent.

After he graduated and got his first full time job as a carpenter. So we documented it with an ornament.

#2 daughter’s place is marked by her handprint done in pre-school.

Several years later we bought her a horse . As Christmas approached we bought an ornament to remember when this happened. We spent New Year’s Eve in the ER with a broken wrist from her falling off the horse.

#2 son felt very manly when he was allowed to skip school and go salmon fishing in Pulaski, NY. That was the first of many fishing trips. He still holds the nickname “Bob” because he kept falling in and “bobbing” up and down in the river.

Each ornament is dated and I try to commemorate some event in their life that year. I hope later they will decorate their tree and pull out these ornament and remember years long past.

And now that the tree has been procured, decorated and there is less than one week left where does it find me? Well the presents are bought or made and for the most part wrapped. I did encounter a small problem…the square afghan that I was knitting and that I thought was 6 feet wide turned out to be 4 feet. It must have been wishful thinking on my part. I had been measuring from the center to the corner. I wrapped it and will let them decide if they want it bigger, knit all the way around or added to on the top and bottom. It is just a throw for their sofa so I don’t know which way they will go.

In the baking department….I seem to have married and birthed hoover vacuum cleaners. As soon as I make something it is inhaled. I love that they love it but would like a little for company and baskets. So today while everyone is still occupied with work and school I will try to bake and hide it.

#2 and I still have bird seed ornaments to make to put on the outside tree on Winter Solstice. This is something she saw on Little Bear many years ago and we still do.

I think that is one of the best things about this time of year...the memories and traditions. Love it!

Uncritical Small Children...I hope

2011-12-12T10:34:00.005-05:00

“The best thing about doing needlepoint for very small children is that they are so uncritical. They don’t say things like, ‘I see you’ve missed some stitches over here on the leg, was that intentional?’ or ‘Was this creature blinded in a fight?’ They will clasp it in their little arms and love it besottedly, inseparably as the thing becomes more and more rancid.” ~ Carole Berman and Jennifer Lazarus.

Let’s hope that carries over to knitting also. I finally finished Baby O’s stocking.

I am so happy it is done. I know I should have done his name in white also. Trying to find graphs that would fit into the stitches cast on, trying to not make it too baby-ish so it will grow with him, trying to make it large enough that his mom would be happy, trying to knit stranded …was very trying! Size wise I over compensated and his parents will have a very happy child! And no I did not do that on purpose.

When I wasn’t able to work on that stocking I just did plain knitting on this one to keep my fingers busy and use up yarn. I did an afterthought heel for the first time. I like it but should have used more stitches.

Now to finish the lap-ghan. I have 8 more rows, 4 lace 4 plain , before the seed stitch border so I know it will be done before Christmas.

I did some baking this weekend but #2 son had two friends over and they ate. Needless to say nothing is left for Christmas! But almost all the decorating (other than the tree) is done. Boys come in handy for high places and carrying things. Guess that is why they were soooo hungry!

And it has finally gotten cold and feels like December. Woke to 16 degrees this morning next to the house. No snow left to make it look like Christmas outside but it sure does feel like it.

Put a Little Holiday in your heart

2011-12-08T19:02:00.007-05:00

Feel the cold wind blowing-winter's coming on

'Tis the season, so they say

If you need help believing 'cause your spirit ain't

Too strong

Hold my hand - we'll push that cloud away

Put a little holiday in your heart

It'll put a little shuffle in your step

Give you a song that you can sing

With a melody you can't forget

And if you wanna join in a little harmony

To keep the world from tearin' apart

Well you know where to look

Yeah - you gotta put a little holiday in your heart

~ Lyrics Put a Little Holiday in your heart

Remember I said I didn’t like to bake but didn’t mind it during the holidays? Well I was on the phone with #1 daughter making two loaves of rhubarb bread. Later, I pulled them out of the oven and threw in two loaves of orange cranberry and when they came out I tossed in holiday bread (think cream cheese, cherries, almond extract deliciousness). When I pulled the holiday bread out I noticed they didn’t rise. I check the recipe and I didn’t add in the baking powder. I call it a day and clean up the kitchen. I opened the fridge to get lunch and there sits a measuring cup full of rhubarb….it never made it into thebread. The man and kids ate the no rhubarb rhubarb bread but I have officially quit baking until my bruised ego recovers from my stupidity. Definitely put me in a scroogey mood and I needed a little holiday in my heart.

And as if to answer my prayers it snowed. Now it was 40 degrees yesterday and raining all day but it cooled down, the snow started and the slush froze. Snow definitely means holidays tome. I sat up knitting and watching it snow until 11:30. Thank goodness the kids had a two hour delay.

Walked the dogs this morning and it seemed funny to see the forsythia blooming with snow on it.

The snow is almost gone but tonight the man brought up all the Christmas boxes. The washing machine is running with all the table runners, place mats, shower curtain, table clothes, mug rugs etc. Tomorrow we start to decorate. It is a slow process as I pack away whatever is currently occupying the space needed.

As this is the last weekend of deer season I figure we will hold off getting the tree until next weekend. We always get live trees. With the woodstove sucking the very life out of the tree and the dog’s tails attempting to knock it down I try to not have it up too far before Christmas.

The man found out today that his company is having a Christmas party after all. They originally said no but plans are on for the 16^th. He will have to work ½ a day on Saturday so we won’t be out long . When he gets home we can go chop a tree. The lady we went to for years closed and we have been buying a tree at Home Depot but I found a place in NY where you can cut your own. We will be going over the river and through the woods to get our tree!

Who knows if I watch a couple of more Christmas movies and keep listening to carols, I might even try baking again this weekend.

Gambling

2011-12-04T08:54:00.002-05:00

Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something.

We left early to arrive at the VFW. Surprisingly the place was already filling up. The table behind the caller was stacked with prizes and lots of certificates from local businesses.

By the time the games started every chair was full. The numbers were picked, Bingo was called, the prizes were distributed but for the first time in the history of my going I came home empty handed.

Took a friend with us for her first time and she won a sleeping bag and a really neat flashlight and the 50/50 drawing. She was ecstatic and said she is going with us next year!

She is another convert that didn’t really like bingo but found that this is not your regular bingo. It may be played the same but the cast of characters, both the players who don’t take it serious and like to rib other players to the members of the VFW who only do this once a year and make a ton of mistakes, make it worth it.

It was a great night. We laughed until it hurt and donated money to a really good cause so we were all winners and did get something out of it. Can’t wait for next year!

Let the stress begin...21 days and counting

2011-12-03T15:40:00.005-05:00

I can understand people simply fleeing the mountainous effort Christmas has become….but there are always a few saving graces and finally they make up for all the bother and distress. ~ May Sarton

I use to be such a Christmas nut…now sometimes sadly it is an effort. I love going to church on Christmas Eve. I love driving around and looking at the outside Christmas lights. I love walking, preferably in snow, to find the perfect tree. I love the wrapping of the presents. My mother was a master at disguising gifts so it has become somewhat of a game. The guys are downstairs now working on something…I love to make believe I am coming down and listen to them holler! I love the music…Bing, Frank, Dean, Nat. I love watching all the shows on TV. I love reading all the Christmas stories. I love turning off all the house lights and just watching the blinking tree lights dance on the ornaments and create shadows within the branches of the tree. I love going to bed on Christmas Eve with butterflies of anticipation. I love watching people open their presents. I love when the presents are all open and everyone is so absorbed in what they got. And even though I don’t particularly like to bake I don’t mind it at Christmas. I made two batches of cookies today. It is a start.

I don’t however, like to shop on a normal day. Add to that snarky people vying for the biggest, best or last gift to be had and I hate it even more. When forced to enter a store during the holidays I get nauseous and before I exit I have a headache. If I have someone with me and I have psyched myself into it I can laugh off their rude obnoxious behavior and after they have rammed their cart into me…again, I can smile at them and say “And a Merry Christmas to you too”. Only once was that followed by calling her a female dog. That being said you know that I was NOT shopping on Black Friday!

I got most of what I wanted before Thanksgiving. However,some people don’t give you ideas early enough to make this happen….and those I try to cover by shopping on line or I’ll grab the man and psych myself up.

Thankfully it is early enough that when I had to go into town on Thursday it wasn't all that bad. There were more people but they were still pleasant. Now the best part of shopping is when I come home, stoke up the wood stove, make a cup of tea and sit down to work on my grandson’s stocking…and all the tension of shopping just slips away with the stitches off the needles. I have finished three presents ...these are another pair of fingerless mitts for #2 daughter as she looses them all the time and the dead fish hat for Baby O.....

Besides the stocking I have two more projects in various stages of completion. If time allows there are some other gifts I could work on but if it doesn't happen it is not a big deal.

I only have a couple of things left to pick up including the duck for dinner. Oh yeah and the tree. But that can all wait a while because tonight is another one of my favorites of the season….VFW yearly prize bingo. My mom and I went every year and now my kids are all going. The proceeds go to the children’s Christmas party. My kids use to love going to the party but now they are all way over the cut off age. It is by no means a serious bingo game. The men buy or get donations of prizes so a lot of them include booze in some form. If you are not lucky enough to win something you want, most people are willing to swap for something you won! I have won dinner at a local restaurant, money off my phone bill, free hair cut, free oil change, $25 gift certificate at grocery store, bird feeders and a whole lot more over the years. Cheap fun for a good cause and one of those saving graces that makes up for the downside of the holidays. Now when I was outside earlier a bird flew over and pooped on my shoulder....that's good luck right?! Oh well if it isn't please send me some!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life…a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year – and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God. ~ Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson)

On New Year’s Eve most people reminisce on what the year has brought to them. I find myself doing so at Thanksgiving. My mind skims over the good, the bad and the ugly of everyday life. I could take up pages of what I wanted to accomplish that didn’t get done or I can be thankful for what we were able to get done. I can bemoan the plants that didn’t grow or serve up those that did. I can cry over those that won’t be with us or welcome the new ones to the table. Sometimes in the daily grind it is hard to always realize the upside of things.

And because others can say things so much more eloquently than I...

For flowers that bloom about our feet,

For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,

For the song of bird and hum of bee,

For all things fair we hear or see,

For blue of stream and blue of sky,

For pleasant shade of branches high,

For fragrant air and cooling breeze,

For beauty of the blooming trees,

For this new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing all a very Happy Thanksgiving

Preparing for the holiday

2011-11-23T11:24:00.003-05:00

Music with dinner is an insult to both the cook and the violinist. ~G.K. Chesterton

Now music while preparing the dinner is perfect. My mother and I always started listening to Christmas carols while preparing the meal for Thanksgiving.

Today finds #2 daughter and I making pies and listening to Christmas carols. That is something I love about the holidays and that I try to keep alive…the little family traditions which you later realize are so meaningful even to those that you thought were oblivious to them.

Now to get her to wash the china without breaking any…maybe I will do it myself!

Gleam in your eye

2011-11-17T13:15:00.005-05:00

"You know you are getting old when the gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals."

After putting it off for as long as possible, I now have joined the ranks of those that need to wear bifocals. I walked into the optometrist’s office and read a sign that said… "If you don't seewhat you're looking for, you've come to the right place" Ya think?!

I updated my information and sat down in the waiting area. I pulled out my knitting, raised my glasses and started to knit. I have been nearsighted since I was a teen but the raising of the glasses to knit or read has been a more recent development. Last time I was there my vision was acceptable enough to not

warrant bifocals but since I haven’t been there in ….well let us just say some time….it has deteriorated.

I hate doctors of any kind and though I make sure my children get their physicals, shots, dental exams and eye exams, I tend to procrastinate until I have to go. This Spring #1 made me get a whooping cough vaccine because of Baby O and since I was

there I got all my medical tests run. The reason for finally going back to the eye doctor was because I broke the arm off my glasses and was now wearing an older pair…and headaches from the fore mentioned older pair.

I got the progressive lens. They should make life easier so long as I don’t have a problem with them. I get to pick them up next Wednesday. Just in time to make or break Thanksgiving dinner!

But the eye sight or more accurately lack there of has not stopped me from getting Christmas started. I am actually about 80% done. The other 20% is either knitting or waiting on the paycheck to hit the buy button.

Last year we did clues for #2 daughter and son to find their big present. They want them again this year so I have come up with how to word the clues and where to hide them.

Other than that I started some homemade kahlua and cranberry cordial to brewing. I also have mustard seeds soaking for homemade mustard. I took a day to help #2 with her senior class project. She is a junior but it is now out of the way and next year she can concentrate on getting scholarships and grants…and figuring out what she wants to go to college for.

I got the garden pulled, blackberry canes cut and everything piled up to burn. The log splitter is splitting more wood for

whatever the winter holds - so far so good. I let the fire go out during the day as it has not been that bad but at night Mr. Woodstove has quite the appetite and enjoys his supper of oak and hickory.

I found my ball winder. I emptied some bobbins and spun a little. My needles have been clicking away for Christmas but I can’t show anything until after. Nosy people you know!

We have a busy weekend planned. The man has to work Saturday to make up for Thursday's day off (says the boss), #2 daughter turns 17 and is having friends for a sleepover and viewing of the newest Twilight movie, the school is having a juried craft fair which is usually a good one, my brother needs help ripping up his kitchen floor and we told a friend we would come help hang some shelving. Most people look forward to weekends, I look forward to Mondays when quiet reigns down once again!

So since there is not much I can show I will entertain you with shots of what is entertaining me at the moment....

Canning for the Zombie Invasion

2011-11-07T22:07:00.010-05:00

My daughter found that picture on Pinterest. She has a board named “Can this Mom” where she collects various canning recipes for me to make her! Can't wait for them to be able to move closer so I can teach her and she can do it herself!

I have almost finished canning. The sauerkraut is still fermenting and I need to can some soups for the man’s lunch but the bulk of the garden is in various size jars on my shelves.

Whenever I can I write it down and then tally everything at the end of the canning season. For the past couple of years I have tallied here so I could refer back.

This years totals look like this…..

Quart Pint 1/2Pt

Rhubarb Relish 5 9

Canned Rhubarb 4 3 2

Baked Beans 11 1

Green beans (blogger keeps moving) 25 1

Bread & Butter Pickles 18

Dill Pickles 1 8

Hot Pepper Mustard 26 6

Crushed Tomatoes 37 8

Watermelon Jelly 9

Yellow Mustard 5

Brown Mustard 5

Salsa 41

Salsa “juice” 4 1

Garlic Tomato Sauce 9 17 2

V8 13 19

Tomato Sauce 15 5

Tomato Soup 17 9

Cowboy Candy 4 16

Cowboy Candy Syrup for glaze 2 1

Lemon balm syrup 7

Choco Mint Syrup 7

Maple Walnut Syrup 4

Green Tomato Relish 11 3

Apple Juice 139 3

Apple sauce 24

Apple Pie filling 20

Apple Butter 7 5

Christmas Jam 7

Hot Peppers 1 2

Grape Juice 16 3

Pear Sauce 2

S & S Red cabbage 8

Potatoes 28

Froze

6 quarts brussel sprouts

13 pints of pumpkin

6 ½ gallons of apple cider

7 pounds of zucchini cubed and shredded

2 pounds cubed yellow squash

9 ½ pounds rhubarb

27 bags with 3 cups of corn in each

chestnuts

Stored

9 heads cabbage

75 pounds potatoes

12 butternut squash

15 pounds sweet potatoes

2 rutabegas

Hickory nuts

Black walnuts

No typos… we got A LOT of apples this year! #2 son & daughter take apple juice in their lunches and #1 will give some to Baby O. I saw all the jars but didn’t realize just how many until I added everything up from the list.

Each year is basically a crapshoot as to what the garden is going to be able to produce with that years weather. Where the apples and nuts were abundant this year the birds got a lot of the berries I would normally have used for jelly.

All in all not a bad year….So let the zombies come.

The first snow

2011-10-30T11:25:00.006-04:00

Lo. sifted through the winds that blow, Down comes the soft and silent snow, ~George W. Bungay

Yesterday, it looked odd to see the bright yellow of the leaves in the drab grey and white world of the snow storm.

Even though the lights went off several times they always came back on. I woke this morning to see some residual damage…

a tree I had wanted down anyhow succumbed to the weight of the snow. If only the tree had gone through the shed as I want that taken down also. The tree is now cut up and stacked for later use…guess I would be pushing my luck asking for the shed to be taken down today too!

I went out about 6 am and measured. Down in the valley we are somewhat protected from the worst but we still got a fair amount.

Slowly daylight comes. It starts with a slight lightening of the sky above the ridge.

Then the sunlight touches just the tips of the trees on the top of the mountain.

On zoom they look like they are on fire.

Eventually the sun gets high enough in the sky to shine over the mountain on the other side of the river. The sunlight works it way down the hillside until it finally shines on the house. It happens every day yet I never tire of it and with the snow it was spectacular.

The kids did some small snowmen, had snowball fights and went riding down the mountain on a tube with friends and nephews. We had our taste of winter and enjoyed it but we are not sad that the snow is melting pretty fast. We can wait for more until later in the year!

Visit from Jack

2011-10-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

The door was shut, as doors should be,

Before you went to bed last night;

Yet Jack Frost has got in you see,

And left your window silver white.

He must have waited till you slept;

And not a single word he spoke ,

But pencilled o'er the panes and crept

Away again before you woke,

And now you cannot see the hills

Nor fields that stretch beyond the lane;

But there are fairer things than these

His fingers traced on every pane.

Gabriel Setoun

I do remember waking up, looking at and tracing the designs in the frost on the window panes. With today’s windows that is something we no longer have to deal with yet I miss it. I now have to get dressed and traverse outside to see the magical designs of Jack Frost on the hood of my car.

Yesterday we awoke to 42 degrees and the temperatures went down from there. We had rain and then our first snow flurries.

This morning the temperature was 27 and we received our first frost/freeze.

Turning on the TV I find that Old Man Winter doesn’t want to ease us in but wants to give us a rude awakening as this is our forecast for tomorrow…

LOCATIONS...NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA AND SULLIVAN AND DELAWARE COUNTIES OF NEW YORK.

* HAZARDS...HEAVY WET SNOW COULD DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES RESULTING IN POWER OUTAGES ALONG WITH SNOW COVERED SLIPPERY ROADS.

* ACCUMULATIONS...HEAVY WET SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 7 INCHES WITH THE GREATEST AMOUNTS CONFINED TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

* TIMING...EARLY SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH EVENING.

* TEMPERATURES...LOWER TO MIDDLE 30S.

* WINDS...NORTHEAST WINDS AT 5 TO 15 MPH.

* IMPACTS...HEAVY WET SNOW MAY CAUSE POWER OUTAGES ALONG WITH HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS.

I am actually excited about this! Sounds like it will be a great day for soup and homemade bread!

And as I was carrying more firewood I realized I never bought bird seed for the winter. Of course the stores will be a zoo today with that forecast so I think they will have to make do until next week!

Hope everyone has a great, safe weekend. Stay warm.

Eventually

2011-10-27T08:31:00.004-04:00

“Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know everything happens for a reason.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

As the weather changes there is so much to do and like when the holidays are looming I start to get antsy. Everything falls into place eventually so why all the drama? I don’t know! It is as traditional as pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving table.

So when I was babysitting I was thinking of all the things that still had to be done. Coming home there was catch up. Then a sick kid, diagnosed with strep and given horse pills to swallow which always makes me just shake my head.

But I am calmer because amidst all the chaos things are falling into place. On the farm…the pigs go to the butcher on Saturday, the turkeys and broiler chickens are in the freezer, we have enough hay to get the animals through the winter and we have been stocking up on feed so we don’t have to make runs when the roads are bad.

In the garden/yard…the potatoes are dug and most of the leaves are off the yard. The trees still have to be wrapped , the garden completely cleaned and blackberry canes cut. One days work and it will be done so I have calmed down there.

The Vehicles…are as winter ready as they can be barring any unforeseen mechanical problems. The registrations have to be renewed before December so will be done with the next paycheck.

The house…my brother delivered more firewood, I had broken the glass in the woodstove and I got that replaced, I have stocked up on sugar and flour for holiday baking, the screens are off the windows but there is a whole lot of cleaning that needs to go on. But I am still canning…#2 and I started sauerkraut this weekend and that will take a couple of weeks to ferment. I did sweet and sour red cabbage and 28 quarts of potatoes (for quick dinners) this week. Someone posted a recipe for summer sausage and I made that and it is pretty good. Two pounds went into the freezer.

Yesterday I put most of the canning stuff away and will only pull out what is needed until my canning list is complete. I have started cleaning out which will not make the trashman happy! Now I have to turn my attention to cleaning up!

So for the most part I am ready for the flurries we are suppose to get today. I can’t say I am ready for Christmas but my Christmas club monies are in my account waiting for when I am. My Christmas cactus is in full bloom….

It seems the cactus is just like the stores, thinking Christmas and forgetting about Halloween and Thanksgiving! There is still 58 days until Christmas.

Hooked for life

2011-10-18T11:02:00.005-04:00

"I've learned that when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his fist, that you're hooked for life." ~ Andy Rooney

I spent the week with my grandson and if I thought I was hooked before , I have now swallowed the hook, line and sinker.

#1 and Sir T went away for their one year anniversary and I got the honor of babysitting. When they returned #1 fell right into a new job and instead of Baby O going to the babysitter for a day or two I continued to watch him. Yesterday was his first day at the sitters and I wish they lived closer so he could come here.

What a difference from only seeing him once a month from late Friday evening until Sunday morning to seeing him for a week in his own home. When they come for the weekend they have the long drive, his schedule is messed up, family, friends and dogs wanting to play with him ...its enough to make a baby cranky. When home at age five months he is rolling all over and just starting to realize he can crawl. And baby giggles are always infectious! Not that the precious little angel was all giggles…nope. He already possesses quite the temper when he is over tired. Hopefully he gets a rein on it before the terrible twos!

Although I could play with him or just hold him and watch him sleep I did lay him down occasionally and knit him things. For some reason I am on a hat kick and he does have a beautiful shaped head for hats. On outings he is donned in his pumpkin hat as the month dictates. Next month he will be wearing the turkey hat I pictured previously.

While there I knit him a Rudolph hat,

a snowman hat,

a Santa hat with ear flaps

and a Christmas tree hat.

It is un-decorated because #1 wants to see if we can get a small battery powered strand of lights to push through the knitting and add a pouch to hold the batteries on the inside of the hat. I have to see how much they weigh....not that he would be wearing it for long. #1 told me I have started a precedence and that I will have to make new hats for the next children if these don't fit. She said if I don't Baby O will be telling them "Grandma loves me best. First grandbaby #1 grandbaby"! She is truly horrible to me! And it gets worse!

After a week, they threw my things in their car and drove me home. Oh wait they did stop at Micky D's for some food where we got to see a rainbow

which was nice because after that it was nothing but tail lights.

Although glad to be home I do miss them. So much so that yesterday when I went to the farmers market I saw concord grapes, which I bought and came home to can grape juice for Baby O. Now I have to go pull pumpkins from the oven so I can freeze it for later use. Maybe if I catch up on all the chores I can go visit again.

Nutty Weather

2011-10-05T17:55:00.010-04:00

“And close at hand, the basket stood

With nuts from brown October’s wood.”

John Greenleaf Whittier; Snow-Bound

Now that we are almost done with the apples, we have been picking up nuts around here. I have hickory, butternut and black walnut on the property. Needless to say if you hear leaves moving you better get out from under the

tree…quick or get ice for the bump on your head! I also found a source of edible sweet chestnuts so have been grabbing some of them also. Well grabbing would be a bad idea as theyare painful.

The natives are in a race with me to see who can get to the nuts first. The deer have been coming down in groups to eat their way through the day’s droppings.

The squirrels which have been nearly invisible all summer now number 7 seen in one spot.

I have to keep Cooper out of the woods as archery deer season has started. If they can shoot a cow by mistake then they can shoot a 150 red dog.

Yesterday we had a day without rain! I know you are as shocked as we

were! I ventured out into the garden and picked some lettuce which with literally the last cherry tomatoes became my lunch.

I picked the one neck pumpkin the garden produced, the one Long Island Cheese the garden produced and one of the "can't remember what I planted and too lazy to go find the garden chart" squash. There are five more CRWIPATLTGFC squash left in the garden which are bigger.

Remarkably this squash that did almost nothing all summer is covered in blossom. Tonight I will have to cover them because the forecast states..."Temperature...lows as low as the mid 20's are possible in colder rural valleys. Lows of 30-35 are expected at higher elevations and in more urbanized areas." But during the day for the next week it will be sunny (read no rain) and in the 70's. You have to take the good with the bad so I ain't complainin'!

I have been trying to clear up lose ends as next week I will be busy. Hopefully I will be able to get a lot of knitting done too. We shall see.

Anyone selling sunshine?

2011-09-30T12:49:00.007-04:00

Human beings will line up for miles to buy a bucket of catastrophes, but don’t try selling sunshine and light – you ‘ll go broke ~Chuck Jones

I think most people in PA would pay good money for some sunshine. It has been a while since we have seen any for any length of time. As I look out the window it is playing games of hide and go seek. It will disappear behind a cloud only to reappear for a few seconds before it disappears again. Happily the clouds are not dropping buckets of rain. Supposedly this reprieve is only going to last for today then rain is due until next Tuesday. Back in 1948 we set a rainfall record of 53 ¾ inches and we now stand at 49 ½ inches so I think we will break that record before the year is out. The electric company loves me since I have to use the drier to get any clothes to dry.

I have been wanting to get into the garden. Last weekend we were able to dig 1/3 of the potatoes. The harvest was dismally small so far but better than my neighbors, his never grew and the seed potatoes were found rotten in the ground.

Now I don’t know what changed…maybe it is the weather, maybe it is the kids going back to school but after going to the Endless Mountain Fiber Festival I seem to have gotten my knitting enthusiasm back. I came home and started knitting the Icelandic socks. Finishing them, I moved on to the Karen Shawl

and then I knit another pair of socks which #2 claimed even though it was not with her yarn. I then proceeded to finish Baby O’s turkey hat

for Thanksgiving and I crocheted a cover for a cup

which I modified to fit #2’s juice box. She has a thing for sock monkeys so when I saw this I had to make it. And I finished stuffing some knitted pumpkins and sewing them shut.

While reading Linda’s blog I saw a poncho with a collar and thought of some girls that would love it. She gave me the info and I ordered the pattern. On Tuesday the new KnitPicks magazine was in the mailbox and I feel in love with the Woodland Winter Mittens…and subsequently ordered the pattern.

While waiting on them to come in the mail I saw Lady Lovelace . I am not going to do the sweater but I did start working on the shawl as sometimes you just want a little something around your shoulders. Something that isn’t too long and allows your arms to move freely. Bulky yarn makes it a quick knit and we are ½ way thru it.

#1, Sir T and Baby O are coming up for the weekend. They have to decide on a stocking design for Baby O’s stocking so I will have it done in time….you do realize there are only 85 days until Christmas right?

And since it is going to rain all weekend I know where I will be. Now I just have to get working on the spinning mojo.

Fall & Apples = Falling Apples

2011-09-23T11:45:00.007-04:00

"When the apple is ripe it will fall." -- Irish proverb

We got the calls to come pick the apples. One friend called as her trees are in the horse pastures and they have been taking wheel barrow loads out and thought I might want to come pick. The other call was from our yearly source. Although we have not received our first frost the apples are dropping by the bushel full. As the trees are so heavily laden this year, I wonder if the branches just got tired of holding them all up!

The apples we get are not sprayed and are definitely not something you would find in any store since they are not perfect and shiny.

They take a little work to get from apple to cider, jelly, pie filling, butter and sauce. But it is all worth it in the end.

We got ten different kinds. I don’t know what they are except one which is a banana apple and does have a faint banana smell. Most of the trees I pick from are 50+ years old and those that knew are no longer around.

While waiting on a batch of canning to finish processing, I have been sneaking in some knitting time. I am almost done with the Karen shawl. I have only to finish the edging on the left side and then we can block her.The edging is 12 rows repeated 18 times with only 4- 10 stitches per row - - very easy! Hopefully I will be able to finish it today but first I had to go finish the tomatoes in the garden. I got enough for several more quarts of sauce which is cooking down now.

It might have been because of the rain that started as I was carrying in the tomatoes, but it was eerily quiet out. I have spotted the bear twice and he has left signs of his handiwork

so maybe it was paranoia. But there was almost no bird song, no wind and only the occasional sound of a hickory nut or black walnut hitting the metal shed roof. Usually I embrace the quiet but today I am happy to be inside!