Pull up a chair, get yourself some coffee or get your ciggy lit and ash try ready because this one is pretty good if I do say so myself!
The pictures in brief:
The whole ham is just that. It barely fit in the cooler. At one end is (2) ham hocks and at the other end is a quarter of a pork shoulder.
The whole pig picture is my girl getting cleaned up and ready for quartering.
The ducks were hanging out at Daryl's dad's place - quacking and waddling all over.
The scalding is kind of hard to see in the picture but I didn't want to totally gross you out so I stayed back a little further.
The hog slayer is Daryl standing in the trailer after taking care of the business at hand.
The hog slayer in jail is Daryl again - posing for me while he was in the pig trailer. With the partition, it looks like he's in jail.
The rinsing picture is with Wally driving the tractor and Kurt rinsing off any dirt or debris from the trailer.
I just can't tell you how excited I was this entire weekend! Of course the fair was fun, and a story by itself, but then I found out we really were getting a hog - exciting in and of itself, but then I found out I would get to go to the hog pen while they loaded them and I could be there for the slaughtering and processing. For those of you with a squeamish stomach, you may want to skip the hog section. I'll save it until the end so you will easily know when to quit. I don't have a squeamish stomach and I will try to keep it as humane sounding as possible. Unfortunately there just aren't always words to replace the natural way things have to be done.
If you're asking yourself how I picked out the pig I wanted. "Eenie, meenie, minee moe.." worked for me :)
So off to the fair we went... it was not exactly what I expected but as it was, it was better than I expected. The demolition derby started an hour late so we missed that :( but we found out later that only four cars were in the pit at the same time. The pit is smaller than our swimmin hole so any more than 4 wouldn't really fit. They did have 4 different heats and from what we heard, it was a very loud and raucous event. While sitting there waiting for it to start we had the most fun just people watching. I told Wally I looked like a skinny minny compared to some of the fair-goers and you know I wouldn't normally say something like that unless it were incredibly true.
It seemed to be a sort of "meet and great" among the locals. They were visiting as if they hadn't seen each other in months when in reality, they probably see each other daily at work or weekly at the grocery store or church. LOL There were kids running around with dirty faces, no shoes, windblown hair and all manner of blow up toys like hammers, guitars, bats, etc. Their mammas were trailing behind, stopping to talk to neighbors, friends and relatives.
Since we were bored waiting for the derby to begin, we headed off to the mid-way. As you know, I had my heart set on a corndog and cotton candy. The corndog came first and it was everything I hoped it would be and then some. It was way bigger than any other corndog I'd ever seen and it was all I could do to eat the whole thing while washing it down with my Sprite (no beer at this fair folks!). I topped it with mustard (no vile ketchup for me) and bite by bite made my way to the end of that monster. I couldn't tell you how long it's been since I had a hotdog but I can tell you I'm probably good to go until the next fair comes along before I have another one. It was awesome!
Unfortunately, it was so awesome that I was too full for cotton candy. I saw it but I just couldn't do it.
We made our way over to the ferris wheel, which is my favorite ride of all. Well, this is just a little county fair and the ferris wheel isn't like the one at the Central FL Fair so don't go getting all worried or scared or whatever feeling the ferris wheel typically evokes from you. Not only was the ferris wheel small but the guy who was running it was new (the regular guy had quit that very day - my luck) and didn't know how to stagger riders so that the wheel would be balanced. Now, I have to mention that I didn't realize there was a technique to this but who am I to say, clearly I've never been in charge of a ferris wheel distribution process. ha ha ha
Enter me and Wally. Wally's kind of big in case you hadn't noticed. The new guy opened the gate for us to get into our carrier (?) but alas the seat belt wouldn't fit around us. He said he wouldn't tell if we didn't and he closed the gate. We were ready to set sail. Apparently he was never trained on how to make the ferris wheel go forward because the entire ride consisted of us wheeling backwards. LOL it was still fun y'all, don't mistake my words. As we rounded the top, I noticed some lights off in the distance, probably about 15 or 20. Wally pointed out that those lights represented the downtown area of Centerville. There was no "confusing the Disney lights with the Universal lights" up here on the Hickman County Fair Ferris Wheel but I was happy to be up there just the same.
We didn't get to ride very long. The new guy explained that since he could only seat two groups at a time, he had to limit the number of rounds we took but he did say if we came back later on, he would hook us up. Thanks man, but that's okay. I had my ride and I was good.
I figured I might as well ride the carousel while I was there since all the other rides were kiddie rides except for the fun house and I wasn't about to go in there. No thanks - someone might be in there touching people and I wouldn't be able to handle that at all.... aaaaccckkk So I go up to the gate to ride the carousel and the guy tells me I can only ride in the chariot. What? Why can't I ride on a horse? He said that no adults were allowed on the horses, adults are only allowed in the chariots. Well, so much for that. It's just not the same if you can't feel the wind in your hair while you ride your wild horse on the carousel... never heard of that before.
We wandered around a little bit and ended up giving away the rest of the tickets we bought to a lady Wally knew who had a couple kids that could use them. Then we made our way to the competitions; baskets, canning, photography, agriculture, etc. I'll be entering something next year but this year I used the time to assess the competition. There were definitely some good entries in the canning category but I'm telling you, I can win the basket category unless it turns out to be one of those things where everyone votes for their friends. I'll still enter though and give em a run for their money :) LOL
We stopped to see the mules in the mule pull competition and by then we had had our fair share of the fair (ha ha). We got back in the car and headed to Pee Wee's place. I had put together a dinner for Daryl since he was working and wasn't able to partake in the giant corndog feast and it was waiting in the cooler along with a couple cold beers. He got a slab of smoked picnic ham, some fresh green beans and carrots seasoned with bacon, a couple biscuits and a piece of chocolate fudge pie (I didn't make it, it came as a birthday present). I told him the rule - if you don't return my bowls, you don't get a refill. He said he didn't think I'd have to worry about that.
It seemed that even though the fair was small in size, it was big in its ability to spread friendship and make for a genuine small town community feel.All in all, we had a very delightful evening.
Here comes the part about the hog so if you want to skip to the bottom where I typed END OF HOG STORY in bold, you'll hear about the rest of my weekend. It's not really all that bad though...
Saturday morning couldn't come early enough for me just knowing I was going to the hog pen and picking out my very own hog. She's not for raising folks, she's for filling the freezer. We grabbed a sandwich at the Subway in Centerville and followed the guys to the pen. I thought it would stink and be really nasty but the hogs keep it pretty clean, all things considered.
It took a while to get them rounded up but Kurt knew just what he was doing. He went in there by himself and somehow managed to roust 3 of the biggest hogs I'd ever seen. Not that I've seen that many in my time but these were pretty darn big. The guys estimated them to be between 300-400 lbs. I didn't realize they would be light in color. I thought they would be dirty or black with slop but they weren't. Rather they were kind of a tan color while they still had hair on them.
We went back to Daryl's dad's place. Talk about the perfect set up for what we had ahead of us. After the hog is killed, it is hung up on an attachment to the tractor and rinsed off - you can see Wally and Kurt taking care of this step in one of the pictures I posted. Wally drove the tractor while Daryl and his dad checked the temperature of the water in the scalding vat. Some dirt got on the hog from being in the trailer and some of the blood gets splashed around too. So she gets a good rinsing before she goes into the scalding pot.
Another picture shows the pig as it looks when it comes out of the scalder. It took the three of them to lift her back out and onto the table where the scraping of the hair then begins in fast action. I learned that the temperature of the scalding water has to be just right otherwise the hair won't come off, somewhere between 154 and 157 if I remember correctly. The guys have been doing this for quite some time and made easy work of it - at least that's how it looked. When I tried my luck at scraping - ha! Not so much. I would have been at it all day if I ever even finished it then. Once a weenie always a weenie! As a side note - I was really surprised at how creamy white the skin was once it was cleaned. It looked like very soft, pillow-ey, white dough. As Kurt's wife said "The Other White Meat." lol
Well the hog was hooked back up to the trailer and using a skill saw, Daryl split it in half (see photos). There are some bone fragments created in this step but she gets rinsed at this phase too. This is also why you should always rinse your pork when you get ready to cook it. Even from the store, whether you've noticed or not, there are always tiny bits of bone fragments, especially on pork chops. The guts were removed very precisely so as not to taint the meat (that's how they explained it to me and I couldn't think of any other way to put it) and while Kurt got the liver, the heart was added to my boxes. Another rinse was given.
The pig was then delivered to the quartering area which is basically a blue tarp laid out on the ground and washed off by spraying water on it. Laid out in two pieces, skin side down, Daryl begins the process of cutting out the ribs and the tenderloin. He then produces the longest section of pork chops I've ever had the pleasure of eyeing. I probably drooled. I know for a fact that my mouth was watering. From bacon slabs and pork shoulders to chops and ham steaks - nothing was spared but the squeal (sorry - that's one of the jokes they tell during the process). The ears, tail and feet were boxed up for the dogs. The jowls and hocks come off too and if anyone wants them, the brains are saved in a little box of their own. There isn't much as brains go - literally, they didn't fill the palm of my hand. Daryl's dad likes them so we gave them to him. I can't say I don't like them because I've never had them. Not knowing how to cook them though, I didn't want to ruin them if someone else wanted them. I would try them - what the heck I like the rest of the pig.
Daryl's dad (Shorty) has a big cooler that he got a long, long time ago from a florist who was going out of business. It's perfect for storing the meat until it can cool over night. It has to cool before you go to slicing it up any further. I don't know why, it just does. After going through the paces of butchering two big hogs, we were all pretty tired. It took all day and we still had another half day ahead of us on Sunday. I wasn't much help but I did learn a lot and they said I could participate next time. I may have asked too many questions in my desire to know all there is about butchering but the guys were very patient with me. They even thought it was funny that I could eat my sub after watching the first pig go through the process. Well, I didn't get to eat it on the way to the pen and I was hungry - besides it was turkey ha ha ha ha ha!
Sunday we washed every cooler we owned and loaded them on the trailer. We got to Shorty's place around 8:30 or so. I had my trusty bottle of Clorox Clean-up and a scrubbing pad so I could clean the meat cutter trays, the wheels, the bins and the sausage grinder. I felt better knowing my meat would be on a newly bleached surface. The shoulders were cut into quarters - one being just big enough for about 4 people if we were having pulled pork unless Kain is invited, then we might need to cook two of them. One ham was sliced into ham steaks like you get from the store (unless you're lucky at MEAT bingo) and wow - it was much better having the choice of thicker or thinner in this step. I couldn't tell you how many steaks we got, maybe close to twenty.
The hocks were cut out and then came the chops. The slab is longer than Wally's arm and Daryl offered to cut them however thick I wanted them. I had him do about 6 of them really thick so I can stuff them and the others are about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. I don't like them real thick because they tend to dry out when you cook them. One cooler was filled almost to the top with just chops! They came home with mamma!
As the cutting went along, Daryl was stacking up the fat on the side table. This was where I came in. They gave me a sharp knife and I set to cutting the little pieces of meat from the fat so it could be ground into sausage (some fat was left in) and then the white, silky, smooth fat was boxed up for me to render my very own lard. In the process of the rendering, you get cracklins - if you have never had a cracklin, you haven't lived. I'll save that story for when I've finished the rendering. Kat, make sure Mike knows what the upcoming blog posting will include so he doesn't miss it. I found a technique for doing it on the stove top.
And so the butchering came to an end but this day was hardly over. To show our appreciation for all that they had done, we invited everyone back over to the cabin for a ribeye steak dinner. Naturally, pork chops would be served on the side :)
END OF HOG STORY
Well now, I had so much meat to get bagged up and into the freezer that I had to have some way of condensing it and I also wanted to be sure it kept long enough for us to be able to eat it before it goes bad. I went and picked up one of those Food Savers like they have at the club. It is a very handy, dandy piece of equipment when it works properly. I had problems with the right side not sealing every time but after a couple hours and with a helping hand, I finally had all the pork chops vacuum packed and in the freezer. I'm returning the Food Saver and going to the dreaded Wal-Mart to pick up another one. I'm told Wal-Mart has a bigger version that will be better for roasts, hams, etc. especially when deer season is upon us.
So the grill was lit and the steaks were seasoned and ready to go on. Then it proceeded to pour down rain for about 20-30 minutes. A slight delay that just gave us reason to sit and relax and talk about the day for a while.
The guys had already given Jimbo a much-needed manicure and the other horses were galloping across the front yard in all their gold and brindle glory. Surely they must know how beautiful they are when they put on a show like that!
We had our dinner inside and then I sent everyone outside while I cleaned up the kitchen. From where I stood, I had the pleasure of watching everyone relaxing and enjoying themselves under the deck while the hummingbirds ate their fill and the dogs gnawed their way through pig's feet, ears and tails. The sun was beginning to set on an otherwise breezy, cool, Tennessee evening and my head was just full to bursting with stories to tell you about all of it. I hope you enjoyed the reading of it as much as I enjoyed the telling of it.
Tonight I hope to get the bacon, ham and jowls salted, covered and in the outside refrigerator where they have to sit for at least 28 days. When the time comes, we'll be able to put it all on the smoker and then hang it for an indefinite amount of time until we're ready to eat it. It's called salt-curing and it's a time honored procedure that keeps meat fresh when refrigeration isn't an option. While the bacon doesn't have to be refrigerated, I'll likely bag and freeze it just the same. I wouldn't have a clue how to hang it. The ham is a little easier as the leg portion is left on for just this purpose. One day maybe we'll build our own smoke house and get into the profession of selling smoked hams :) oh, wouldn't that be just wonderful?
Yesterday I had to call in. During the night I had some sort of allergic reaction and woke up steaming hot with a bad case of hives on my left thigh. Hello, if I get hives on that hunk of fat, you know it's a bad case! lol I should consider rendering some of it... ha ha ha. I don't know if my lips were swollen but they felt like they were on fire when I closed my mouth. Anyway, I went from being very hot and almost unable to speak to being chilled to the bone and unable to get warm. I don't know how long it lasted but when I got up the next morning, I was covered with red dots and splotches all over. Nice and pretty wouldn't you say? LOL You should have seen me. We still don't know what happened but we figured I probably got bit by something. Part of life living on the farm. No complaints from me :)
For our supper last night, I heated up a couple of left over steaks while onions and peppers sauteed in the gently simmering fat. I had peeled and sliced some carrots that were getting tenderized in beef bouillon, water, a little butter and a little black pepper. We finished off the purple hull peas and had some white beans with fresh onion chopped up for a topping. Neither of us thought we were very hungry but we somehow managed to clean our plates. Wish you were here to join us :)
I cleaned out any and all the leftovers if they had been with us too long and gave them to the dogs. I cleaned out the vegetable bins in the refrigerator and condensed whatever was left that was still good. I had fresh beets (surprise, surprise) that needed the tops chopped off so they could be bagged up for later in the week and I had a cucumber that had seen better days. I took the carrot peels, the cucumber and the beet greens out for the horses while Wally filled their water bucket. I've learned that if Rebel doesn't come to me right away, all I have to do is call Smokey and Rebel will be right there. This time, to my delight and surprise, they both came up to me. Before Smokey could get his part of the cucumber though, Rebel ran him off. Not to be deterred for long, he came back and ran Rebel off. While they played their game, I dumped the bowl of goodies on the ground and we watched them move each other off in circles, each taking turns eating off the ground.
It was a nice night out but we were both tired and ready for bed. After the episode with the hives and all I was ready to catch up on my sleep. And I actually did sleep for a change. I think I fell asleep before 8:30 and didn't wake up until 3:30 this morning.... ahhhhhh nice! I was up and out the door by 5:05 am and was greeted by a big deer right alongside the driveway and just outside the gate. Sometimes leaving isn't so bad when you get to see something like that. Four more deer were in the meadow on the side of the road just as the sun was coming up. Rounding another corner I found myself just a mile or so from work and wishing I was still going to be driving so I could see more scenery like that.
If I had kept going, I wouldn't be able to share my stories with you so here I am. If your weekend even came close to being as great as mine, then aren't we the ones with much to be thankful for?
“Life isn't weird: it's just the people in it.” unknown author
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Trying to get you updated from the weekend!
It's been busy to say the least...
Wally's party was a blast! First thing in the morning, Daryl showed up with the present I had had made for Wally. One of the local guys welded a big chain in the shape of two Ws for "Wally World" and he painted it black. He then welded it to a stand so it can be moved easily around the farm, depending on where Wally wants it. I think he really liked it and he even seemed surprised when he saw it... I was so happy!
Party goers started showing up around noon time and by then, the guys had speakers hooked up so music was playing until the karaoke guy got there. The picnic table was moved into the shade and beer was iced down in coolers. The smoker was smoking away with two huge beef shoulders in it and a big pan of chicken leg quarters doused in bbq sauce and garlic powder. I had deviled eggs in the refrigerator and fresh salsa in the making. We were fortunate to have a nice breeze blowing throughout the day and after a brief rain shower, double rainbows appeared in the sky. That was a first for me and it was beautiful. Wally drove the black truck out in the yard so it looked like it was between the rainbows and everyone took pictures. The mountains in the background with the double rainbows and the black truck in the middle. In one of the pictures, it looks like the rainbow is almost touching the flames that are painted on the hood. Pretty cool!
I got to meet Claudia's hubby, Brian. He's a very nice man with a great sense of humor and a charming personality. When Daniel sang "American Soldier," we all thanked him for his service and did the chink-chink thing with our beers. I imagine he was feeling pretty good. All the way from Afghanistan to sitting at a picnic table on the farm, surrounded by friends (who he had only just met) and some family, a light breeze blowing and his son singing "American Soldier," I was touched. I think everyone was. I think everyone should be.
Claudia took some really good pictures and put them on a CD for me. If I can figure out how to get them on my work computer (if that's even allowed), then I'll share them with you. She made her delicious, German, potato salad and a big pot of white beans w/ham. She got to the cabin a little earlier than the others because she likes to help get things ready. She's very good at it too! She cleared the bar so we could use it for the food, she moved more beer into the big cooler and iced it down. She got all the plastic chairs together so people had a place to sit and she helped keep the kitchen clean as I worked on the salsa and all my other things that I had to get done when there's a party going on. She's very sweet and I know you'll like her when you come visit. She's quick like the little hummingbirds flying around everywhere! LOL
One guy brought his 3 wheeler and he went riding on the new trails, Daryl had to show him where they all were. He thought it was pretty cool when Daryl took him to the swimmin hole and back. He was telling me about hunting wild turkeys this season. I'm not sure I want to hunt turkeys - I'll have to talk to Uncle Dee about that. Not that we don't have enough of them on the property, that's for sure, it just seems like a lot of work dressing them (Kat - have someone explain this process to you, okay? lol).
There were people playing horseshoes, people on tour of the cabin (always!), people just enjoying the nice weather and socializing with each other. My new friend Mel made it to the party. She got lost coming out but actually was right at the driveway and didn't know it so she kept going. It is kind of tricky the first time you come out but once you've been here, you can get back. She loved the cabin and thought it was funny how everything is very tall. She's kinda short like Marcia - in fact she reminds me of Marcia quite a bit. She's a little sassy like that :)
One little guy named Cole was there with his parents, I think he's 4, anyway, his dad asked if he could play with my garden wagon. He was so cute. He would take the wagon to the driveway, load it up with rocks, go find a mud puddle and fill it in with the rocks! We have a couple of really good pictures of him but again with the cd thing I don't know how to get them on this computer. He has almost white hair and lots of it and the biggest, blue eyes you ever saw. He's just a little bit shy when he first comes around but he was very well behaved and seemed to be enjoying himself even with no other kids around. At one point, his dad had him in the wagon and was pulling it with the 4 wheeler - lol, he was the only one who got to take that ride! Too bad we didn't get the hay ride thing going, he would have loved that, heck, so would have I :)
The Karaoke was in full swing and it was pretty funny. It always is thought, right? I somehow managed to get out of it this time :) Beverly, Kurt's wife, who I usually sing with, had another friend there with her so they sang together instead - okay by me!
We took the food out of the smoker and while Brian pulled the beef apart, Claudia and I got the rest of the sides out and set them up on the bar so people could just go down the line and help themselves. I even broke down and put out a jar of my pickled okra for them. They ate it all... guess I should have expected that :)
The salsa I made was hotter than usual. I used some little peppers that were out of my CSA basket. I don't know what kind they were, I had never seen before - it may have been a little too much. The guys liked it and so did this one girl, Kayla. She said she likes spicy foods and that it was perfect. One guy, Allen, said I could give his buddy a run for his money on the salsa. It's funny to me because it's the easiest thing in the world to make but people just think it's out of this world. I remember when I first brought it to the club, Michelle Kline was trying to hide it from everyone else! lol - those were the days :)
The beef shoulders were injected with Dale's Seasoning (low sodium) and then sprinkled with Lipton onion soup mix and some garlic powder. We poured a can of beer and a can of water into the bottom of the pans, covered them with foil and smoked them with cedar wood for, oh, about 4-5 hours. Talk about falling apart tenderness - Brian had no trouble at all pulling that meat apart. It was a masterpiece for Daryl. I think even he was surprised at how tender it came out. He brought some to a friend of his who couldn't make the party and the guy said there was no way Daryl had cooked it! LOL Cheap hunks of meat, injected and seasoned and smoked for hours - that's cooking out people!
When the feasting was over, Claudia and I picked up most of the mess. You know the routine - transfer smaller portions to smaller bowls, find space in the refrigerator, wipe down the counter tops and bar area, take out the trash, blah, blah, blah. Thank goodness she was there to help with all that. As usual, I lost all my "get up and go" after eating but I did stay up longer than the past couple of parties. I think I actually made it to about 9:30-10:00 then I took a shower and went to bed. My feet hurt from being in flip flops all day - I should have changed into tennis shoes but oh well. I was just ready to be laying down :)
I have no idea what time Wally came to bed. Claudia and Brian slept on the fold out couch in the room under ours and I never heard them come in either. I guess I was pretty tired after all. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Claudia was up with the birds and picking up the trash that inevitably ends up in the yard. She had most of the rest of the kitchen cleaned up too by the time we came downstairs. I still had some work to do before making breakfast though. We had a whole beef shoulder left so I pulled it apart and put it into 3 separate baggies for another day. I poured the juice into a baggie to use for soup (beef-barley?) or beef stew when it gets cold outside. The juice alone was like gold to me - as you well know - I can see gravy thickening for biscuits and pot roast, nutritious broth simmering (full of CLA) for soup, barley swelling with flavor while rounds of carrots tenderize, mmmmmmmm
What day did you say you would be here? lol
What is CLA you ask? Not to be confused with CSA, which is my basket, Conjugated Linoleic Acid - it's very good for our bodies and is found in the highest concentrations in grass fed beef. I'll get an excerpt of the information I've been reading and post it at the bottom of the blog with all my other useful (maybe only to me), healthy, tips and tidbits.
For breakfast I had to feed those hungry, hung-over people something pretty substantial. They had sliced, pan fried (no breading, just olive oil), pork tenderloin that was lightly seasoned with adobo and black pepper, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy. I had a little bit leftover but not much! We were all full bellied by the time breakfast was done.
The CSA basket was loaded with goodies! I got another big bag of Purple Hull peas, which I shelled and we ate last night. I got more of the lettuce mix which went into my lunch salad for today with plenty left over for Thursday and Friday too. I got a bunch of carrots that I was so excited to see - I thought they were all done after the first few baskets. I got a handful of jalapenos and Serrano peppers, a couple green peppers and another unidentified, but surely hot, long, red, pepper. There were two butternut squashes that will be slowly roasting in my oven come Sunday and a bag of the red okra that was cut into rounds and put up in the freezer. I'll be making stew with that at a later date :)
The farmers are taking a break while they await their fall crops so there won't be a delivery for the next two weeks. They still deliver for the same number of weeks - it's just break time on the farm since the summer crops have come to an end. They will still be working as I'm told there are plenty of weeds to pull (no weed killer is used on an organic farm) and rows to hoe.
I hit my first deer driving home from Pee Wee's Place Monday night :( I should say the deer hit me. Indeed, I was driving down the road when it appeared in mid-flight right over my car. While it was going across the hood, it somehow kicked out the cover on my headlight. The light still works and there was no other damage to my car and even the deer kept running off into the woods on the other side. It just happened so fast that it didn't seem real. From what I've been hearing, I was very lucky because they have been known to do thousands of dollars worth of damage. Especially to a little car like mine. whew! I would be okay if I never hit another one...
Hold onto your hats folks because this weekend is the annual Hickman County Fair!!! Yee Ha!! You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there too! LOL They have bluegrass music on stage Friday night, a tractor pull and an antique tractor show. I'm having me a corndog and some cotton candy and a ride on the ferris wheel. I just can't wait! We're planning to go Friday night and Saturday. I forget the event listing for Saturday but there was something I wanted to see or do. I'll have to get the schedule back out and see what it was. The weather is supposed to be like 86 degrees and only a small chance of rain. Kurt and Beverly are supposed to go with us but even if it's just me and Wally, I'm fine with that.
I think I'd like to check out the livestock show too. Especially when the kids make their entries. They work so hard all year for this one event that I think they deserve to be recognized.
So that about catches me up I hope. There's always tomorrow if I remember something else - you know my memory :) I found two quotes for you today... :)
“I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.” E.B. White quotes (American writer 1899-1985)
"At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other." ~Ann Landers
Wally's party was a blast! First thing in the morning, Daryl showed up with the present I had had made for Wally. One of the local guys welded a big chain in the shape of two Ws for "Wally World" and he painted it black. He then welded it to a stand so it can be moved easily around the farm, depending on where Wally wants it. I think he really liked it and he even seemed surprised when he saw it... I was so happy!
Party goers started showing up around noon time and by then, the guys had speakers hooked up so music was playing until the karaoke guy got there. The picnic table was moved into the shade and beer was iced down in coolers. The smoker was smoking away with two huge beef shoulders in it and a big pan of chicken leg quarters doused in bbq sauce and garlic powder. I had deviled eggs in the refrigerator and fresh salsa in the making. We were fortunate to have a nice breeze blowing throughout the day and after a brief rain shower, double rainbows appeared in the sky. That was a first for me and it was beautiful. Wally drove the black truck out in the yard so it looked like it was between the rainbows and everyone took pictures. The mountains in the background with the double rainbows and the black truck in the middle. In one of the pictures, it looks like the rainbow is almost touching the flames that are painted on the hood. Pretty cool!
I got to meet Claudia's hubby, Brian. He's a very nice man with a great sense of humor and a charming personality. When Daniel sang "American Soldier," we all thanked him for his service and did the chink-chink thing with our beers. I imagine he was feeling pretty good. All the way from Afghanistan to sitting at a picnic table on the farm, surrounded by friends (who he had only just met) and some family, a light breeze blowing and his son singing "American Soldier," I was touched. I think everyone was. I think everyone should be.
Claudia took some really good pictures and put them on a CD for me. If I can figure out how to get them on my work computer (if that's even allowed), then I'll share them with you. She made her delicious, German, potato salad and a big pot of white beans w/ham. She got to the cabin a little earlier than the others because she likes to help get things ready. She's very good at it too! She cleared the bar so we could use it for the food, she moved more beer into the big cooler and iced it down. She got all the plastic chairs together so people had a place to sit and she helped keep the kitchen clean as I worked on the salsa and all my other things that I had to get done when there's a party going on. She's very sweet and I know you'll like her when you come visit. She's quick like the little hummingbirds flying around everywhere! LOL
One guy brought his 3 wheeler and he went riding on the new trails, Daryl had to show him where they all were. He thought it was pretty cool when Daryl took him to the swimmin hole and back. He was telling me about hunting wild turkeys this season. I'm not sure I want to hunt turkeys - I'll have to talk to Uncle Dee about that. Not that we don't have enough of them on the property, that's for sure, it just seems like a lot of work dressing them (Kat - have someone explain this process to you, okay? lol).
There were people playing horseshoes, people on tour of the cabin (always!), people just enjoying the nice weather and socializing with each other. My new friend Mel made it to the party. She got lost coming out but actually was right at the driveway and didn't know it so she kept going. It is kind of tricky the first time you come out but once you've been here, you can get back. She loved the cabin and thought it was funny how everything is very tall. She's kinda short like Marcia - in fact she reminds me of Marcia quite a bit. She's a little sassy like that :)
One little guy named Cole was there with his parents, I think he's 4, anyway, his dad asked if he could play with my garden wagon. He was so cute. He would take the wagon to the driveway, load it up with rocks, go find a mud puddle and fill it in with the rocks! We have a couple of really good pictures of him but again with the cd thing I don't know how to get them on this computer. He has almost white hair and lots of it and the biggest, blue eyes you ever saw. He's just a little bit shy when he first comes around but he was very well behaved and seemed to be enjoying himself even with no other kids around. At one point, his dad had him in the wagon and was pulling it with the 4 wheeler - lol, he was the only one who got to take that ride! Too bad we didn't get the hay ride thing going, he would have loved that, heck, so would have I :)
The Karaoke was in full swing and it was pretty funny. It always is thought, right? I somehow managed to get out of it this time :) Beverly, Kurt's wife, who I usually sing with, had another friend there with her so they sang together instead - okay by me!
We took the food out of the smoker and while Brian pulled the beef apart, Claudia and I got the rest of the sides out and set them up on the bar so people could just go down the line and help themselves. I even broke down and put out a jar of my pickled okra for them. They ate it all... guess I should have expected that :)
The salsa I made was hotter than usual. I used some little peppers that were out of my CSA basket. I don't know what kind they were, I had never seen before - it may have been a little too much. The guys liked it and so did this one girl, Kayla. She said she likes spicy foods and that it was perfect. One guy, Allen, said I could give his buddy a run for his money on the salsa. It's funny to me because it's the easiest thing in the world to make but people just think it's out of this world. I remember when I first brought it to the club, Michelle Kline was trying to hide it from everyone else! lol - those were the days :)
The beef shoulders were injected with Dale's Seasoning (low sodium) and then sprinkled with Lipton onion soup mix and some garlic powder. We poured a can of beer and a can of water into the bottom of the pans, covered them with foil and smoked them with cedar wood for, oh, about 4-5 hours. Talk about falling apart tenderness - Brian had no trouble at all pulling that meat apart. It was a masterpiece for Daryl. I think even he was surprised at how tender it came out. He brought some to a friend of his who couldn't make the party and the guy said there was no way Daryl had cooked it! LOL Cheap hunks of meat, injected and seasoned and smoked for hours - that's cooking out people!
When the feasting was over, Claudia and I picked up most of the mess. You know the routine - transfer smaller portions to smaller bowls, find space in the refrigerator, wipe down the counter tops and bar area, take out the trash, blah, blah, blah. Thank goodness she was there to help with all that. As usual, I lost all my "get up and go" after eating but I did stay up longer than the past couple of parties. I think I actually made it to about 9:30-10:00 then I took a shower and went to bed. My feet hurt from being in flip flops all day - I should have changed into tennis shoes but oh well. I was just ready to be laying down :)
I have no idea what time Wally came to bed. Claudia and Brian slept on the fold out couch in the room under ours and I never heard them come in either. I guess I was pretty tired after all. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Claudia was up with the birds and picking up the trash that inevitably ends up in the yard. She had most of the rest of the kitchen cleaned up too by the time we came downstairs. I still had some work to do before making breakfast though. We had a whole beef shoulder left so I pulled it apart and put it into 3 separate baggies for another day. I poured the juice into a baggie to use for soup (beef-barley?) or beef stew when it gets cold outside. The juice alone was like gold to me - as you well know - I can see gravy thickening for biscuits and pot roast, nutritious broth simmering (full of CLA) for soup, barley swelling with flavor while rounds of carrots tenderize, mmmmmmmm
What day did you say you would be here? lol
What is CLA you ask? Not to be confused with CSA, which is my basket, Conjugated Linoleic Acid - it's very good for our bodies and is found in the highest concentrations in grass fed beef. I'll get an excerpt of the information I've been reading and post it at the bottom of the blog with all my other useful (maybe only to me), healthy, tips and tidbits.
For breakfast I had to feed those hungry, hung-over people something pretty substantial. They had sliced, pan fried (no breading, just olive oil), pork tenderloin that was lightly seasoned with adobo and black pepper, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy. I had a little bit leftover but not much! We were all full bellied by the time breakfast was done.
The CSA basket was loaded with goodies! I got another big bag of Purple Hull peas, which I shelled and we ate last night. I got more of the lettuce mix which went into my lunch salad for today with plenty left over for Thursday and Friday too. I got a bunch of carrots that I was so excited to see - I thought they were all done after the first few baskets. I got a handful of jalapenos and Serrano peppers, a couple green peppers and another unidentified, but surely hot, long, red, pepper. There were two butternut squashes that will be slowly roasting in my oven come Sunday and a bag of the red okra that was cut into rounds and put up in the freezer. I'll be making stew with that at a later date :)
The farmers are taking a break while they await their fall crops so there won't be a delivery for the next two weeks. They still deliver for the same number of weeks - it's just break time on the farm since the summer crops have come to an end. They will still be working as I'm told there are plenty of weeds to pull (no weed killer is used on an organic farm) and rows to hoe.
I hit my first deer driving home from Pee Wee's Place Monday night :( I should say the deer hit me. Indeed, I was driving down the road when it appeared in mid-flight right over my car. While it was going across the hood, it somehow kicked out the cover on my headlight. The light still works and there was no other damage to my car and even the deer kept running off into the woods on the other side. It just happened so fast that it didn't seem real. From what I've been hearing, I was very lucky because they have been known to do thousands of dollars worth of damage. Especially to a little car like mine. whew! I would be okay if I never hit another one...
Hold onto your hats folks because this weekend is the annual Hickman County Fair!!! Yee Ha!! You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there too! LOL They have bluegrass music on stage Friday night, a tractor pull and an antique tractor show. I'm having me a corndog and some cotton candy and a ride on the ferris wheel. I just can't wait! We're planning to go Friday night and Saturday. I forget the event listing for Saturday but there was something I wanted to see or do. I'll have to get the schedule back out and see what it was. The weather is supposed to be like 86 degrees and only a small chance of rain. Kurt and Beverly are supposed to go with us but even if it's just me and Wally, I'm fine with that.
I think I'd like to check out the livestock show too. Especially when the kids make their entries. They work so hard all year for this one event that I think they deserve to be recognized.
So that about catches me up I hope. There's always tomorrow if I remember something else - you know my memory :) I found two quotes for you today... :)
“I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.” E.B. White quotes (American writer 1899-1985)
"At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other." ~Ann Landers
Thursday, August 19, 2010
It seems I've been neglecting the blog this week...
I have just been so busy at work that I haven't had time to enter new postings. Well, today I'll try to get caught up as tomorrow I'm working only a half day in order to be home getting things ready for the party. Naturally, you're all invited to join us!
I put some new pictures up for your viewing pleasure. The picture of my canned squash and canned Bloody Mary mix is kind of dark. If you really want to see it better, I can email it to you. The frying pan is cast iron and boy is it ever heavy! Wally does have to lift it for me even when there is no food in it :) It's great for pan frying company size portions of pork chops, steaks and, obviously, bacon. Pretty much anything you need to fry in large quantities, this would be the go-to skillet.
I guess you already figured out that Dizzy Debbie is up there on the blog. I just thought that this was such a great picture of her and with the picture on the blog, I get to see her every day even though she is hundreds of miles away from me in Arizona. :( :( sniff, sniff :( :(
Since I had such an abundance of tomatoes (thanks again to Daryl), I tried my hand at homemade tomato sauce. The ingredients were pretty simple when you think about it and don't worry - it didn't even come close to being as good as Hoops' sauce but it wasn't bad for a first try. I used onions, green peppers (my own preference) Italian Seasoning, a few cloves of fresh garlic (pressed through my Pampered Chef garlic press that I absolutely love), fresh basil (from the CSA basket) and a little bit of oregano (again, my own preference). The tomatoes were fresh so I had to core, boil and peel them before they went into the pot.
Speaking of "the pot," this one is very special to me. It was handed down to me from my Mom's cousin, Penny, and it really comes in handy when you need to make a big batch of soup or sauce and your heavy duty pot is in use making bone broth. Which mine was. This pot is non-stick so the tomato sauce just slid right out of it and into the freezer bag when all was said and done. The bag has been labeled and put into the freezer for spaghetti when the time comes that fresh tomatoes are no longer available. It was really pretty to see in person - the picture doesn't do it much justice.
When I first started talking to Wally about moving here, one of my biggest concerns was trying to figure out what furniture to keep and what to give away. It was obvious from the start that I would have to have my kitchen table with me. At the house in FL it was literally right beside the kitchen (you remember) and we spent almost all our time at it. Here, the kitchen is designed differently. I think it's called a galley style kitchen but I don't really know for sure. It's long, with all the appliances on one side and a bar on the other. At the end of the kitchen, it turns immediately to the right and you are in the hallway.
Deciding where the table would go was pretty important to me. I like to see outside if at all possible so what used to be called "the bar" is now my dining room and my kitchen table fits perfectly. I'm so happy about that. We still have the bar stools in there and there's plenty of room to sit at them, we just haven't had enough people inside to need them yet. I suppose as the weather cools off, we'll be inside much more than out and those bar stools will really come in handy! LOL
I picked up my basket on Monday and it was generously overflowing this week. I got some really cool little peppers, there are green ones which aren't really "hot" and there are red ones which are really "hot!" I'll use them for my salsa this weekend. I got another cantaloupe which never lasts long in my house. We eat the fruit and the horses (usually only Rebel) get the rinds. I got two different kinds of basil and maybe you can help me out here. One bunch is regular green basil which I'll be turning into pesto tonight. The other is red basil. I've never seen it before so I tried a little bite of it. It's very strong but not in a bad way. What I'm wondering is if I can use it just like I would regular basil or if it should be used in a different way. Anyone have any suggestions? Kat, I'm sure you're just brimming with suggestions ha ha ha!
I also got a bunch of big, fat, juicy, ripe tomatoes and some smaller, green, striped, heirloom tomatoes. They are all gone too since I used them in my weekday salads. I got a bag of the specialty lettuces - also used in my lunches and another big bunch of purple hull peas. They can just keep those peas a comin because I LOVE them! They taste is mildly reminiscent of a boiled peanut if that helps. As big as the bunch looks when I get it, by the time I've shelled the peas, there's really only enough for maybe two meals. It's all dependent upon how big of a P.I.G. hog I make of myself! ha ha ha
All in all I was very happy with everything in the basket and, as is typical of my memory, I totally forgot to take a picture of it for you. Maybe this next Monday my memory will serve me better :) Don't be getting your hopes up though...
We have finally been getting some very much needed rain here in west Tennessee. The garden was having to be watered by the sprinkler but that's over for now. It rained pretty consistently from Tuesday through to this morning. What a relief for our grass and all manner of vegetation. Coming home from Pee Wee's everything was a bright, shiny, green again and looked just like a postcard. The mama cows were laying in their soft, damp, pastures while the calf's wandered aimlessly around them. Mind you, none of this is going on at our house - we still have no cows but they haven't been forgotten. We've just had so much else to do lately.
Remember the green, glass, hummingbird feeder that the birds left virtually alone? Well, I moved it to the back porch and after a day or so they converged on it! There's no way to tell if I have two birds, three birds, or four or more birds. I can't look at all three feeders at the same time so I'm really just guessing that there are at least two. That's how many I typically see trying to get at the feeder at the same time. One usually relents while the other eats and then they swap out. As for coloring - they just look dark to me. They're so fast that I catch only a glimpse before they fly off again.
A GREAT, BIG, FAT, CONGRATULATIONS Goes out to NECCY on her new job!!!! She's still within Transportation Services but she has moved to the new and exciting position of Routing Secretary. Woo Hoo!! Way to go Neccy, way to go!
So the party plans continue as we have taken the beef shoulders from the freezer and put them in the refrigerator to thaw. I don't know what they weigh except to say that they are very heavy whether frozen or thawed so we shouldn't have a shortage of meet. The plan is to leave it in the smoker for hours until it is tender and loaded with cedar smoke flavor - the red ring along the inside of the meat is the best indication of perfection. You can bet I'll be looking for it. Daryl was able to come up with a meat slicer so we'll slice it really thin and serve it up with rolls, horseradish, mustard and the pan juices for dipping. Gosh, for once I'm making myself hungry! LOL
We'll have some leg quarters in the smoker too for those who don't care for beef - it amazes me there are actually people who don't but whatever - more for me :) and I'm sure Rebecca and Jarrett would agree! LOL
Kurt and his wife, Beverly, plan to pitch their tent down where Wally made those new trails with the bull-dozer. They love being outside and with the nighttime temps getting in the lower 70's, it will probably be a pretty nice evening for them.
Claudia, her husband and her son, Daniel, will all be in attendance along with a new lady I met not too long ago, named Melanie. She's pretty cool. She moved here from Michigan and doesn't know too many people other than those of us who hang out at Pee Wee's. Since most of the Pee Wee's crowd will be there, we insisted that she come too. As for who else will show, who knows? I do know that I'll have to dig out the coffee pot again - it seems everyone requires that vile liquid just to get themselves going in the mornings. I know my Colombian friends in the Orlando office can even drink it at night without it bothering their sleep. Now that's pretty tough. I love the smell but have never acquired a taste for it. At least I've tried it, unlike Neccy who has never tried beets... ha ha!
I hope your plans for the weekend include some relaxation time - we all need that every now and then :) I suppose mine will come sometime Sunday afternoon when the party has come to a close and the guests have bid their farewells. I think I'm actually looking forward to that time - lol!
"Go often to the house of a friend, for weeds choke the unused path." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I put some new pictures up for your viewing pleasure. The picture of my canned squash and canned Bloody Mary mix is kind of dark. If you really want to see it better, I can email it to you. The frying pan is cast iron and boy is it ever heavy! Wally does have to lift it for me even when there is no food in it :) It's great for pan frying company size portions of pork chops, steaks and, obviously, bacon. Pretty much anything you need to fry in large quantities, this would be the go-to skillet.
I guess you already figured out that Dizzy Debbie is up there on the blog. I just thought that this was such a great picture of her and with the picture on the blog, I get to see her every day even though she is hundreds of miles away from me in Arizona. :( :( sniff, sniff :( :(
Since I had such an abundance of tomatoes (thanks again to Daryl), I tried my hand at homemade tomato sauce. The ingredients were pretty simple when you think about it and don't worry - it didn't even come close to being as good as Hoops' sauce but it wasn't bad for a first try. I used onions, green peppers (my own preference) Italian Seasoning, a few cloves of fresh garlic (pressed through my Pampered Chef garlic press that I absolutely love), fresh basil (from the CSA basket) and a little bit of oregano (again, my own preference). The tomatoes were fresh so I had to core, boil and peel them before they went into the pot.
Speaking of "the pot," this one is very special to me. It was handed down to me from my Mom's cousin, Penny, and it really comes in handy when you need to make a big batch of soup or sauce and your heavy duty pot is in use making bone broth. Which mine was. This pot is non-stick so the tomato sauce just slid right out of it and into the freezer bag when all was said and done. The bag has been labeled and put into the freezer for spaghetti when the time comes that fresh tomatoes are no longer available. It was really pretty to see in person - the picture doesn't do it much justice.
When I first started talking to Wally about moving here, one of my biggest concerns was trying to figure out what furniture to keep and what to give away. It was obvious from the start that I would have to have my kitchen table with me. At the house in FL it was literally right beside the kitchen (you remember) and we spent almost all our time at it. Here, the kitchen is designed differently. I think it's called a galley style kitchen but I don't really know for sure. It's long, with all the appliances on one side and a bar on the other. At the end of the kitchen, it turns immediately to the right and you are in the hallway.
Deciding where the table would go was pretty important to me. I like to see outside if at all possible so what used to be called "the bar" is now my dining room and my kitchen table fits perfectly. I'm so happy about that. We still have the bar stools in there and there's plenty of room to sit at them, we just haven't had enough people inside to need them yet. I suppose as the weather cools off, we'll be inside much more than out and those bar stools will really come in handy! LOL
I picked up my basket on Monday and it was generously overflowing this week. I got some really cool little peppers, there are green ones which aren't really "hot" and there are red ones which are really "hot!" I'll use them for my salsa this weekend. I got another cantaloupe which never lasts long in my house. We eat the fruit and the horses (usually only Rebel) get the rinds. I got two different kinds of basil and maybe you can help me out here. One bunch is regular green basil which I'll be turning into pesto tonight. The other is red basil. I've never seen it before so I tried a little bite of it. It's very strong but not in a bad way. What I'm wondering is if I can use it just like I would regular basil or if it should be used in a different way. Anyone have any suggestions? Kat, I'm sure you're just brimming with suggestions ha ha ha!
I also got a bunch of big, fat, juicy, ripe tomatoes and some smaller, green, striped, heirloom tomatoes. They are all gone too since I used them in my weekday salads. I got a bag of the specialty lettuces - also used in my lunches and another big bunch of purple hull peas. They can just keep those peas a comin because I LOVE them! They taste is mildly reminiscent of a boiled peanut if that helps. As big as the bunch looks when I get it, by the time I've shelled the peas, there's really only enough for maybe two meals. It's all dependent upon how big of a P.I.G. hog I make of myself! ha ha ha
All in all I was very happy with everything in the basket and, as is typical of my memory, I totally forgot to take a picture of it for you. Maybe this next Monday my memory will serve me better :) Don't be getting your hopes up though...
We have finally been getting some very much needed rain here in west Tennessee. The garden was having to be watered by the sprinkler but that's over for now. It rained pretty consistently from Tuesday through to this morning. What a relief for our grass and all manner of vegetation. Coming home from Pee Wee's everything was a bright, shiny, green again and looked just like a postcard. The mama cows were laying in their soft, damp, pastures while the calf's wandered aimlessly around them. Mind you, none of this is going on at our house - we still have no cows but they haven't been forgotten. We've just had so much else to do lately.
Remember the green, glass, hummingbird feeder that the birds left virtually alone? Well, I moved it to the back porch and after a day or so they converged on it! There's no way to tell if I have two birds, three birds, or four or more birds. I can't look at all three feeders at the same time so I'm really just guessing that there are at least two. That's how many I typically see trying to get at the feeder at the same time. One usually relents while the other eats and then they swap out. As for coloring - they just look dark to me. They're so fast that I catch only a glimpse before they fly off again.
A GREAT, BIG, FAT, CONGRATULATIONS Goes out to NECCY on her new job!!!! She's still within Transportation Services but she has moved to the new and exciting position of Routing Secretary. Woo Hoo!! Way to go Neccy, way to go!
So the party plans continue as we have taken the beef shoulders from the freezer and put them in the refrigerator to thaw. I don't know what they weigh except to say that they are very heavy whether frozen or thawed so we shouldn't have a shortage of meet. The plan is to leave it in the smoker for hours until it is tender and loaded with cedar smoke flavor - the red ring along the inside of the meat is the best indication of perfection. You can bet I'll be looking for it. Daryl was able to come up with a meat slicer so we'll slice it really thin and serve it up with rolls, horseradish, mustard and the pan juices for dipping. Gosh, for once I'm making myself hungry! LOL
We'll have some leg quarters in the smoker too for those who don't care for beef - it amazes me there are actually people who don't but whatever - more for me :) and I'm sure Rebecca and Jarrett would agree! LOL
Kurt and his wife, Beverly, plan to pitch their tent down where Wally made those new trails with the bull-dozer. They love being outside and with the nighttime temps getting in the lower 70's, it will probably be a pretty nice evening for them.
Claudia, her husband and her son, Daniel, will all be in attendance along with a new lady I met not too long ago, named Melanie. She's pretty cool. She moved here from Michigan and doesn't know too many people other than those of us who hang out at Pee Wee's. Since most of the Pee Wee's crowd will be there, we insisted that she come too. As for who else will show, who knows? I do know that I'll have to dig out the coffee pot again - it seems everyone requires that vile liquid just to get themselves going in the mornings. I know my Colombian friends in the Orlando office can even drink it at night without it bothering their sleep. Now that's pretty tough. I love the smell but have never acquired a taste for it. At least I've tried it, unlike Neccy who has never tried beets... ha ha!
I hope your plans for the weekend include some relaxation time - we all need that every now and then :) I suppose mine will come sometime Sunday afternoon when the party has come to a close and the guests have bid their farewells. I think I'm actually looking forward to that time - lol!
"Go often to the house of a friend, for weeds choke the unused path." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Monday, August 16, 2010
Inside instead of outside this weekend...
Friday's drive home was very relaxing. I headed out on my usual route and even though I did end up in the school zone, it wasn't anything like the school zone when I had to drop Rebecca off at the 7-11 right there by Lake Brantley High School. What a pain in the patooty that was! This school zone is directed very efficiently by Brentwood's finest.
In less than 2 or 3 minutes, I had passed all the parents in the pick-up line and was on may way through the hilly, gently curving, streets of Brentwood that lead to my new home in the woods. I had no stops to make and plenty of daylight ahead of me. I was out of work by 2:30. It was so nice! There was a very light sun shower as I drove through Fairview but other than that, just rolling hillsides, pastures and farmland. There is a McDonald's in Fairview - just so you know.
Daryl and Kurt (I've been spelling it wrong all this time) were at the house when I got there. They were just finishing up for the day and packing their tools to leave. I think they were fencing for the better part of the day. There's just a little bit more to go before the whole property is fenced. It's been a lot of hot, dirty, work for them but it sure will be nice to be able to let the horses go. They'll be able to eat all the grass up the driveway pretty soon.
We gave the horses their baths Friday evening. Wally had already caught them and tied them up to eat some sweet feed so we gathered up the "Main and Tail" shampoo and got to work. Wally showed me how to get them wet by using the spray nozzle. They are not real happy about the beginning of it. They shy away from the sound of the spraying water and are not even fond of the coolness of it hitting their backsides.
We got Jimbo wet and I washed him while Wally went to get Smokey. I think Jimbo liked his bath the best. At one point he appeared to be resting his head on the hitching post railing! It was pretty cute. With Smokey getting wet next, Jimbo's nap came to an end.
Smokey was snorting and pulling back and generally acting like he was being sorely mistreated. The whole ordeal for him consisted of being a) tied to a hitching post, b) sprayed with cool, refreshing spring water, c) rubbed all over with a soothing shampoo and d) rinsed with the same gentle spray and rubbing off of the shampoo. Jeez, I'd have traded places! I was working up a sweat just trying to cover all that ground. He's a big horse! I have to admit I was a little leery of scrubbing down his backside and his hoofs but he let me take care of him without issue. He really only hated it when his face and ears were getting wet but from the sound of him you would have thought we were torturing him. Wally had to get the very top of his head and his neck because I just can't reach that high and he was keeping his head up as high as it would go to avoid that water.
Well, while I scrubbed and rubbed Smokey until the lather was coming off orange (from the dirt he rolls in), Wally went to get Rebel. Rebel was liking it even less than Smokey but he wasn't grunting or snorting like Smokey was. Once he was wet, he settled right down and let me scrub him too. He's such a beautiful copper color when he's clean and he shines with a gold tint to him when he's in the sun. Just a truly magnificent piece of horseflesh (as they say lol). He did have his eyes all bugged out when Wally started rinsing off Smokey. I guess he knew he was next. I rubbed his nose and he let me give him a kiss on it.
We left them tied up so they could dry and we went to Pee Wee's for a little while. I finally got to see Claudia again for the first time in about a month. She didn't have her hubby with her but promised to bring him to Wally's birthday party. It was good to catch up with her, she was very funny in her storytelling of the neglect her garden suffered as a result of her husband and son both being home at the same time :)
The next morning we were sitting on the couch deciding what all needed to be done when Rebel walked up between the hitching posts, stared into the front door glass, lifted his tail and dropped poo right there in the walkway... His way of thanking us for the bath I guess.
Speaking of gardens... I did get out there Saturday and I discovered that something is eating my plants again. It has eaten the tops off all but 1 and I dont' know why it left that one alone. There is also something (possibly the same thing) eating the new tomatoes. It doesn't eat the ones that have turned yellow (yellow is ripe for this variety) only the green ones. It doesn't eat the tomatoes that are on lower branches either, only the tops. We have fishing line strung from one side to the other at varying levels so it would be difficult for a bird to get at them... possibly more of those big, fat, green worms!
I picked probably 20-25 tomatoes, including one of the German Queen tomatoes. I had three on that vine but come Saturday only two were left. I have no idea what happened to the third one but there is a lot of new growth that looks promising. I hope if new fruit is coming that it will be ripe before it gets too cool outside. I took the yellow ones and sliced them in half long-ways (they are shaped like a gourd but really small) and sprinkled them with salt & pepper and drizzled a little bit of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing on them. Yellow tomato heaven :)
Two of my squashes turned black and fell off the vine. I have no idea why other than the incessant heat...? I still have 4 coming along very well. Only 3 cucumbers are surviving the heat, I had to toss two of them as they got mushy. Again, I don't know why but I assume it has something to do with getting them in so late and having to survive the hottest part of the summer. I should remember this next year and plant the peppers late since they can take the heat :)
I started the organizing of the upstairs loft. What a chore that was. It's not done but I made a big dent in it. I'm trying to get all the boxes on one side so I can go through each one and put like items together. I already took care of all the extra sheets and blankets and I sorted through some old pictures and paperwork. I have all the empty boxes from when I unpacked so once they're labeled and set up in rows, I can just drop things into them as I go. I'll be just like that one show on tv... keep, donate, trash... LOL Anyone care to join me? I'll cook for you... and get beer :) takers???
Well, while I was up there I decided to go ahead and sweep the top deck area. It had all kinds of stuff piled up on it. I moved the patio furniture back out there too. We had moved it inside when the storms came so it wouldn't blow off the porch. It was very breezy up there despite the 98 degree temperatures outside.
When I came back downstairs, Wally noticed there were 5 deer in the side yard just beyond the outdoor kitchen. They were grazing away like there was no tomorrow. I don't know how many constitutes a heard but I would think 5 would be close :) It's still not hunting season but I'm not ready for that yet. I have to get some practice shooting otherwise it'll be a waste of time for me to even be out there. I guess I can't hardly add those 5 to my daily count since the count has only been for those deer that I see on my way to or from work. Today I saw two on my way in. I think I was up to 15 so that makes 17 now in one week. Pretty good!
Sunday, Steven and Joe came and got the bull-dozer. That meant Wally was off duty for the day. It was so hot I can't imagine him being out there anyway. I headed back upstairs to work on my organizing while he watched some tv. We had to go into town but not all the way to Dickson. The Value Plus Food Store had ribeyes on sale and we just couldn't pass that up. We had to cut these ourselves though because the meat manager was already gone for the day. It was no big deal. I have a pretty sharp knife and Wally did the cutting while I did the bagging and tagging.
I made watergate salad for us. I haven't had it in years but it was really good all over again. I bought the sugar free pistachio pudding and sugar free cool whip. The pineapples were sweet but they didn't have any added sugar so we were okay there too. I left out the marshmallows, not because of the sugar though - I don't really care for them unless they are roasted over a fire to a golden brown color and smashed between dark chocolate and graham crackers :) lol
I made my oxtail and barley stew over the weekend. Oh, it was such a delight after going almost all summer without making any soup at all... I was seriously hurting for that rich, smooth, beef broth and it lived up to all my expectations. It was probably too hearty a meal for summertime but I don't care about that. Soon the soup pot will be filled with all sorts of healthy, hearty, nutrient rich vegetables, beef, chicken and barley. There are so many I can't even list them here. As I make them, I'll share them with you. Some take more time than others but all are worth it when your body is hydrated and nourished by the bone broth (that I know you've been saving up all summer whenever you had a roasted chicken) for condroiton and the added fiber from the vegetables and barley. I'm looking forward to making them if only so the house will be scented with thyme, fennel, celery, onion, etc.
It's basket day!! I hope I get a watermelon so we have it for the party. Some more jalapenos would be good too so I can make my salsa! I'll let you know soon enough...
"Worries go down better with soup." ~Jewish Proverb
In less than 2 or 3 minutes, I had passed all the parents in the pick-up line and was on may way through the hilly, gently curving, streets of Brentwood that lead to my new home in the woods. I had no stops to make and plenty of daylight ahead of me. I was out of work by 2:30. It was so nice! There was a very light sun shower as I drove through Fairview but other than that, just rolling hillsides, pastures and farmland. There is a McDonald's in Fairview - just so you know.
Daryl and Kurt (I've been spelling it wrong all this time) were at the house when I got there. They were just finishing up for the day and packing their tools to leave. I think they were fencing for the better part of the day. There's just a little bit more to go before the whole property is fenced. It's been a lot of hot, dirty, work for them but it sure will be nice to be able to let the horses go. They'll be able to eat all the grass up the driveway pretty soon.
We gave the horses their baths Friday evening. Wally had already caught them and tied them up to eat some sweet feed so we gathered up the "Main and Tail" shampoo and got to work. Wally showed me how to get them wet by using the spray nozzle. They are not real happy about the beginning of it. They shy away from the sound of the spraying water and are not even fond of the coolness of it hitting their backsides.
We got Jimbo wet and I washed him while Wally went to get Smokey. I think Jimbo liked his bath the best. At one point he appeared to be resting his head on the hitching post railing! It was pretty cute. With Smokey getting wet next, Jimbo's nap came to an end.
Smokey was snorting and pulling back and generally acting like he was being sorely mistreated. The whole ordeal for him consisted of being a) tied to a hitching post, b) sprayed with cool, refreshing spring water, c) rubbed all over with a soothing shampoo and d) rinsed with the same gentle spray and rubbing off of the shampoo. Jeez, I'd have traded places! I was working up a sweat just trying to cover all that ground. He's a big horse! I have to admit I was a little leery of scrubbing down his backside and his hoofs but he let me take care of him without issue. He really only hated it when his face and ears were getting wet but from the sound of him you would have thought we were torturing him. Wally had to get the very top of his head and his neck because I just can't reach that high and he was keeping his head up as high as it would go to avoid that water.
Well, while I scrubbed and rubbed Smokey until the lather was coming off orange (from the dirt he rolls in), Wally went to get Rebel. Rebel was liking it even less than Smokey but he wasn't grunting or snorting like Smokey was. Once he was wet, he settled right down and let me scrub him too. He's such a beautiful copper color when he's clean and he shines with a gold tint to him when he's in the sun. Just a truly magnificent piece of horseflesh (as they say lol). He did have his eyes all bugged out when Wally started rinsing off Smokey. I guess he knew he was next. I rubbed his nose and he let me give him a kiss on it.
We left them tied up so they could dry and we went to Pee Wee's for a little while. I finally got to see Claudia again for the first time in about a month. She didn't have her hubby with her but promised to bring him to Wally's birthday party. It was good to catch up with her, she was very funny in her storytelling of the neglect her garden suffered as a result of her husband and son both being home at the same time :)
The next morning we were sitting on the couch deciding what all needed to be done when Rebel walked up between the hitching posts, stared into the front door glass, lifted his tail and dropped poo right there in the walkway... His way of thanking us for the bath I guess.
Speaking of gardens... I did get out there Saturday and I discovered that something is eating my plants again. It has eaten the tops off all but 1 and I dont' know why it left that one alone. There is also something (possibly the same thing) eating the new tomatoes. It doesn't eat the ones that have turned yellow (yellow is ripe for this variety) only the green ones. It doesn't eat the tomatoes that are on lower branches either, only the tops. We have fishing line strung from one side to the other at varying levels so it would be difficult for a bird to get at them... possibly more of those big, fat, green worms!
I picked probably 20-25 tomatoes, including one of the German Queen tomatoes. I had three on that vine but come Saturday only two were left. I have no idea what happened to the third one but there is a lot of new growth that looks promising. I hope if new fruit is coming that it will be ripe before it gets too cool outside. I took the yellow ones and sliced them in half long-ways (they are shaped like a gourd but really small) and sprinkled them with salt & pepper and drizzled a little bit of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing on them. Yellow tomato heaven :)
Two of my squashes turned black and fell off the vine. I have no idea why other than the incessant heat...? I still have 4 coming along very well. Only 3 cucumbers are surviving the heat, I had to toss two of them as they got mushy. Again, I don't know why but I assume it has something to do with getting them in so late and having to survive the hottest part of the summer. I should remember this next year and plant the peppers late since they can take the heat :)
I started the organizing of the upstairs loft. What a chore that was. It's not done but I made a big dent in it. I'm trying to get all the boxes on one side so I can go through each one and put like items together. I already took care of all the extra sheets and blankets and I sorted through some old pictures and paperwork. I have all the empty boxes from when I unpacked so once they're labeled and set up in rows, I can just drop things into them as I go. I'll be just like that one show on tv... keep, donate, trash... LOL Anyone care to join me? I'll cook for you... and get beer :) takers???
Well, while I was up there I decided to go ahead and sweep the top deck area. It had all kinds of stuff piled up on it. I moved the patio furniture back out there too. We had moved it inside when the storms came so it wouldn't blow off the porch. It was very breezy up there despite the 98 degree temperatures outside.
When I came back downstairs, Wally noticed there were 5 deer in the side yard just beyond the outdoor kitchen. They were grazing away like there was no tomorrow. I don't know how many constitutes a heard but I would think 5 would be close :) It's still not hunting season but I'm not ready for that yet. I have to get some practice shooting otherwise it'll be a waste of time for me to even be out there. I guess I can't hardly add those 5 to my daily count since the count has only been for those deer that I see on my way to or from work. Today I saw two on my way in. I think I was up to 15 so that makes 17 now in one week. Pretty good!
Sunday, Steven and Joe came and got the bull-dozer. That meant Wally was off duty for the day. It was so hot I can't imagine him being out there anyway. I headed back upstairs to work on my organizing while he watched some tv. We had to go into town but not all the way to Dickson. The Value Plus Food Store had ribeyes on sale and we just couldn't pass that up. We had to cut these ourselves though because the meat manager was already gone for the day. It was no big deal. I have a pretty sharp knife and Wally did the cutting while I did the bagging and tagging.
I made watergate salad for us. I haven't had it in years but it was really good all over again. I bought the sugar free pistachio pudding and sugar free cool whip. The pineapples were sweet but they didn't have any added sugar so we were okay there too. I left out the marshmallows, not because of the sugar though - I don't really care for them unless they are roasted over a fire to a golden brown color and smashed between dark chocolate and graham crackers :) lol
I made my oxtail and barley stew over the weekend. Oh, it was such a delight after going almost all summer without making any soup at all... I was seriously hurting for that rich, smooth, beef broth and it lived up to all my expectations. It was probably too hearty a meal for summertime but I don't care about that. Soon the soup pot will be filled with all sorts of healthy, hearty, nutrient rich vegetables, beef, chicken and barley. There are so many I can't even list them here. As I make them, I'll share them with you. Some take more time than others but all are worth it when your body is hydrated and nourished by the bone broth (that I know you've been saving up all summer whenever you had a roasted chicken) for condroiton and the added fiber from the vegetables and barley. I'm looking forward to making them if only so the house will be scented with thyme, fennel, celery, onion, etc.
It's basket day!! I hope I get a watermelon so we have it for the party. Some more jalapenos would be good too so I can make my salsa! I'll let you know soon enough...
"Worries go down better with soup." ~Jewish Proverb
Friday, August 13, 2010
Another party? Yep, here we go again...
We are definitely making use of that outdoor kitchen! A week from tomorrow we're having a little birthday party for Wally. We're going to smoke a beef shoulder that we got on sale at Kroger. Neither of us have ever cooked one before but all recipes point toward low and slow for the directions. That works for us since we have that smoker out there. Daryl will probably do the cooking of the meat and I'll make the side dishes. He's going to bring a meat slicer so we can slice it real thin, like deli roast beef. Oh yeah!
Curt has already put his order in for squash squares and my fresh salsa. I'll probably make both of those and then some. I talked to Claudia yesterday and she said her and her husband will both be there. I haven't met him yet so I'm looking forward to that. She says he will love the place and she's probably right. It is really nice - I must say. I'm going to see if she'll bring her German potato salad - pretty darn good stuff!!
If we start getting ready now, maybe we'll have everything done by next weekend :) You know how that goes when you're trying to plan a party, the list never ends... clean the outhouse (I know that's first on y'alls list), get the paper products together, plan and purchase the food, clean off the porch in case it rains and to make room for the karaoke stuff, spray the dust and dirt off the plastic chairs, empty the ashtrays and refill with sand/dirt, put bags in the extra garbage cans and on and on. I'm sure I left out a bunch of stuff :)
You're welcome to come for the party, just let me know so I can arrange sleeping quarters :)
The swimmin hole Wally dug with the bull dozer still doesn't have water in it. He's getting three more billboard vinyls that have to be laid in before the water can be pumped to it. I can't wait to see it again, it's been 4 days since I was down there and from what I hear, much has changed. I think he said it is 104 x 55. Not bad, huh? LOL There's even a tree hanging over so you can swing off a rope into the water. I don't see me doing that, but it's there if YOU want to...ha ha ha
We have dubbed it the North Pole Swimmin Hole because, like I mentioned in an earlier post, that water is ccccccooooolllldddd coming out of that creek and the swimmin hole is right near the natural spring. It will be a little warmer than the creek just because most of it is out in the sun but still...It's been so many years since I put on a bathing suit I'm not even sure I have one... well, an old pair of shorts and a tank top might have to suffice. I do need to get a pair of those water shoes though - anyone know where to find them other than the dreaded W? lol
We were at Pee Wee's the other night when Jr. and his wife, Chrissy, invited us over to dinner. Jr. was cooking omelette's and Chrissy said he knows what he's doing in the kitchen. Well, you know me, I heard a little challenge in there and just had to see whether it was true or not. Ha! Yeah, it was true alright. That was the best omelet I've ever had. Of course the eggs were fresh - I'm not sure anyone around here buys them from the store... and the ingredients were chopped perfectly (in my opinion) and seasoned just right. I don't know how he did it but the eggs were cooked very thin, the other stuff was heavily loaded in there and yet the eggs didn't tear at all. I think if I tried that, there were be a big old mess on the plate!
Their house is pretty cool. It's built into the side of the hill. They say this cuts down on the electric bill in summer and winter because the ground provides insulation. I don't know about all that but it was pretty cool. They have some absolutely beautiful cabinets in their kitchen. I think Wally said Jr. built them himself. They are cedar wood and go from floor to ceiling covering one whole wall. There are all different sizes but it doesn't look messy at all. He did a really good job because it looks just right to my eyes and you know how I'm not picky about stuff like that...
All in all we had a good night but we were ready to be home, sitting in our chairs, watching our shows, winding down for the day. It was nice not to have to do dishes either. I offered to do them for Chrissy but she refused quite adamantly. I don't know her that well so I didn't push it... lol Gosh, that kind of makes me look forward to the kids coming up - I'll have twerps to do the dishes for me... ha ha ha ha ha
It finally rained a little bit when I got home last night. It wasn't pouring down rain but it was steady for about and hour or so. It started out as a sun shower, I love those, then the clouds moved in and darkened the sky. It was really pretty looking out the front door where the mist was rising on the mountains. It looks so peaceful and serene that you just don't want to stop staring out at it. Unfortunately there's always work to be done so I got at it.
I started a load of clothes and then cleaned the sink and toilet in the downstairs bathroom. I had to leave the tub and floor for the weekend - they just take too long for a weeknight chore, ya know? I shook out the kitchen rug (yes, we have one now) and swept the back porch steps. They really need sweeping every day but I really don't always have time to do it every day so at least a few times a week it gets done. I need to get out there and sweep both porches but there's no point in doing that if Wally's going to pressure wash them. Maybe now that the bull dozer work is coming to a close, he'll be able to do the pressure washing.
I bleached all the counter tops and the stove top, wiped down the cupboard doors on the bottom level and then started making dinner. It was one of those nights when I didn't have anything thawed out and didn't really have anything specific in mind. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's annoying trying to come up with something. Tuna sandwiches, grilled cheese, Salmon patties, you know the routine - anything that doesn't require thawing... lol.
I decided on spaghetti. The meat wasn't thawed but we've all been there - just put it in the skillet on low and let it come apart. I used the jar sauce so I could save mine for when fall and winter come and we're wanting a really fresh tasting tomato sauce. Of course we used whole wheat noodles - thank you very much. I don't know about you but I have to add seasonings to the jar sauces. They just don't seem to have the taste I'm looking for. I usually add Italian Seasoning (it's like a combo of everything Italian), green peppers and onions, fresh minced garlic and sometimes crushed red peppers if it's too sweet. I had some of the fresh basil from the CSA basket so I chopped up a few leaves of that and added it too.
The German Queen tomatoes are turning red!!! woo hoo!! As big as they are, they'll be perfect for some super tasty tomato sandwiches in the next day or so. I can't wait to go pick them but you know it has to be the exact right time. They have to be as red as they can get without going so far that they begin to rot. If you have ever grown tomatoes, you know there's a very fine line. I'm ever so watchful to keep this from happening :)
I'm not sure if I updated you on my pickles or not. I wasn't really too pleased with them the first time I tried one. I opened another jar to have one with our roast beef sandwiches and it was awesome! I guess a few more days in the refrigerator is all they needed. They were kind of sweet when you first take a bite and then the full flavor hits all at once - tangy, dilly, salty, everything a pickle should be including the crunch. Now I wish I had made more when I had all those cucumbers available! I only have two more jars left and Neccy has already claimed one of them. I doubt she'll share with you but you're welcome to ask her... LOL now that's funny!
I'll be getting a surplus of jalapeno peppers in the next week or so. One of the guys from Pee Wee's has 10 plants and no idea what he's going to do with all those peppers. I know what to do with them, I'm going to pickle them... LOL It's not the same recipe as the pickles, don't worry. This is just pickled jalapenos like you see in jars at the store. I don't even think vinegar is in the recipe. I've never made them before but like everything else I've said that about, there's a first for everything. I'll let you know how they come out. The recipe doesn't call for slicing them but I'm thinking they'll be easier to use if they're already sliced up in the jar.
I put them in soups, chili, deviled eggs, ham salad, taco meat, beans, pulled pork sandwiches, my gruel, etc. If you like jalapenos, you'll find many, many ways to use them. They keep for months in the refrigerator. Of course, I'll have to give a jar to the guy who is giving me the peppers :) Lucky guy.
I found a recipe for an onion pie that I might try this weekend. What are you cooking? If you're cooking Lizzard's meatloaf, you won't be disappointed :) If you're cooking the Cottage Pie, you won't be disappointed either. Other than that - no guarantees ha ha!
I do guarantee it's Friday though and I will be cruising towards the cabin and my honey in the next hour. No chores tonight other than making supper and filling the bird feeders but those aren't really chores since I enjoy them so much. The little birds hang there in the air, wings just a flappin, waiting for me to give them their nectar. I'll sure be missing them when they make their trip south for the winter. Much like I miss all y'all only you didn't leave - I did :)
Kat, I hope you and Mike are doing well. I'm sure he's cooked up some yummy recipes for you (or maybe not for you but for him...lol). Please tell him hi for me and y'all take care.
If anyone happens to see Randy Davis, Bobby G., Shawna and Chris, please tell them all hi for me and let them know I'm doing just fine and loving every minute of being here.
Enjoy your weekend!!
"Nothing helps scenery like ham and eggs.” Mark Twain
Curt has already put his order in for squash squares and my fresh salsa. I'll probably make both of those and then some. I talked to Claudia yesterday and she said her and her husband will both be there. I haven't met him yet so I'm looking forward to that. She says he will love the place and she's probably right. It is really nice - I must say. I'm going to see if she'll bring her German potato salad - pretty darn good stuff!!
If we start getting ready now, maybe we'll have everything done by next weekend :) You know how that goes when you're trying to plan a party, the list never ends... clean the outhouse (I know that's first on y'alls list), get the paper products together, plan and purchase the food, clean off the porch in case it rains and to make room for the karaoke stuff, spray the dust and dirt off the plastic chairs, empty the ashtrays and refill with sand/dirt, put bags in the extra garbage cans and on and on. I'm sure I left out a bunch of stuff :)
You're welcome to come for the party, just let me know so I can arrange sleeping quarters :)
The swimmin hole Wally dug with the bull dozer still doesn't have water in it. He's getting three more billboard vinyls that have to be laid in before the water can be pumped to it. I can't wait to see it again, it's been 4 days since I was down there and from what I hear, much has changed. I think he said it is 104 x 55. Not bad, huh? LOL There's even a tree hanging over so you can swing off a rope into the water. I don't see me doing that, but it's there if YOU want to...ha ha ha
We have dubbed it the North Pole Swimmin Hole because, like I mentioned in an earlier post, that water is ccccccooooolllldddd coming out of that creek and the swimmin hole is right near the natural spring. It will be a little warmer than the creek just because most of it is out in the sun but still...It's been so many years since I put on a bathing suit I'm not even sure I have one... well, an old pair of shorts and a tank top might have to suffice. I do need to get a pair of those water shoes though - anyone know where to find them other than the dreaded W? lol
We were at Pee Wee's the other night when Jr. and his wife, Chrissy, invited us over to dinner. Jr. was cooking omelette's and Chrissy said he knows what he's doing in the kitchen. Well, you know me, I heard a little challenge in there and just had to see whether it was true or not. Ha! Yeah, it was true alright. That was the best omelet I've ever had. Of course the eggs were fresh - I'm not sure anyone around here buys them from the store... and the ingredients were chopped perfectly (in my opinion) and seasoned just right. I don't know how he did it but the eggs were cooked very thin, the other stuff was heavily loaded in there and yet the eggs didn't tear at all. I think if I tried that, there were be a big old mess on the plate!
Their house is pretty cool. It's built into the side of the hill. They say this cuts down on the electric bill in summer and winter because the ground provides insulation. I don't know about all that but it was pretty cool. They have some absolutely beautiful cabinets in their kitchen. I think Wally said Jr. built them himself. They are cedar wood and go from floor to ceiling covering one whole wall. There are all different sizes but it doesn't look messy at all. He did a really good job because it looks just right to my eyes and you know how I'm not picky about stuff like that...
All in all we had a good night but we were ready to be home, sitting in our chairs, watching our shows, winding down for the day. It was nice not to have to do dishes either. I offered to do them for Chrissy but she refused quite adamantly. I don't know her that well so I didn't push it... lol Gosh, that kind of makes me look forward to the kids coming up - I'll have twerps to do the dishes for me... ha ha ha ha ha
It finally rained a little bit when I got home last night. It wasn't pouring down rain but it was steady for about and hour or so. It started out as a sun shower, I love those, then the clouds moved in and darkened the sky. It was really pretty looking out the front door where the mist was rising on the mountains. It looks so peaceful and serene that you just don't want to stop staring out at it. Unfortunately there's always work to be done so I got at it.
I started a load of clothes and then cleaned the sink and toilet in the downstairs bathroom. I had to leave the tub and floor for the weekend - they just take too long for a weeknight chore, ya know? I shook out the kitchen rug (yes, we have one now) and swept the back porch steps. They really need sweeping every day but I really don't always have time to do it every day so at least a few times a week it gets done. I need to get out there and sweep both porches but there's no point in doing that if Wally's going to pressure wash them. Maybe now that the bull dozer work is coming to a close, he'll be able to do the pressure washing.
I bleached all the counter tops and the stove top, wiped down the cupboard doors on the bottom level and then started making dinner. It was one of those nights when I didn't have anything thawed out and didn't really have anything specific in mind. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's annoying trying to come up with something. Tuna sandwiches, grilled cheese, Salmon patties, you know the routine - anything that doesn't require thawing... lol.
I decided on spaghetti. The meat wasn't thawed but we've all been there - just put it in the skillet on low and let it come apart. I used the jar sauce so I could save mine for when fall and winter come and we're wanting a really fresh tasting tomato sauce. Of course we used whole wheat noodles - thank you very much. I don't know about you but I have to add seasonings to the jar sauces. They just don't seem to have the taste I'm looking for. I usually add Italian Seasoning (it's like a combo of everything Italian), green peppers and onions, fresh minced garlic and sometimes crushed red peppers if it's too sweet. I had some of the fresh basil from the CSA basket so I chopped up a few leaves of that and added it too.
The German Queen tomatoes are turning red!!! woo hoo!! As big as they are, they'll be perfect for some super tasty tomato sandwiches in the next day or so. I can't wait to go pick them but you know it has to be the exact right time. They have to be as red as they can get without going so far that they begin to rot. If you have ever grown tomatoes, you know there's a very fine line. I'm ever so watchful to keep this from happening :)
I'm not sure if I updated you on my pickles or not. I wasn't really too pleased with them the first time I tried one. I opened another jar to have one with our roast beef sandwiches and it was awesome! I guess a few more days in the refrigerator is all they needed. They were kind of sweet when you first take a bite and then the full flavor hits all at once - tangy, dilly, salty, everything a pickle should be including the crunch. Now I wish I had made more when I had all those cucumbers available! I only have two more jars left and Neccy has already claimed one of them. I doubt she'll share with you but you're welcome to ask her... LOL now that's funny!
I'll be getting a surplus of jalapeno peppers in the next week or so. One of the guys from Pee Wee's has 10 plants and no idea what he's going to do with all those peppers. I know what to do with them, I'm going to pickle them... LOL It's not the same recipe as the pickles, don't worry. This is just pickled jalapenos like you see in jars at the store. I don't even think vinegar is in the recipe. I've never made them before but like everything else I've said that about, there's a first for everything. I'll let you know how they come out. The recipe doesn't call for slicing them but I'm thinking they'll be easier to use if they're already sliced up in the jar.
I put them in soups, chili, deviled eggs, ham salad, taco meat, beans, pulled pork sandwiches, my gruel, etc. If you like jalapenos, you'll find many, many ways to use them. They keep for months in the refrigerator. Of course, I'll have to give a jar to the guy who is giving me the peppers :) Lucky guy.
I found a recipe for an onion pie that I might try this weekend. What are you cooking? If you're cooking Lizzard's meatloaf, you won't be disappointed :) If you're cooking the Cottage Pie, you won't be disappointed either. Other than that - no guarantees ha ha!
I do guarantee it's Friday though and I will be cruising towards the cabin and my honey in the next hour. No chores tonight other than making supper and filling the bird feeders but those aren't really chores since I enjoy them so much. The little birds hang there in the air, wings just a flappin, waiting for me to give them their nectar. I'll sure be missing them when they make their trip south for the winter. Much like I miss all y'all only you didn't leave - I did :)
Kat, I hope you and Mike are doing well. I'm sure he's cooked up some yummy recipes for you (or maybe not for you but for him...lol). Please tell him hi for me and y'all take care.
If anyone happens to see Randy Davis, Bobby G., Shawna and Chris, please tell them all hi for me and let them know I'm doing just fine and loving every minute of being here.
Enjoy your weekend!!
"Nothing helps scenery like ham and eggs.” Mark Twain
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
School is back in session - up here anyway...
I forgot what it was like not having to worry about the school zones on my way home. Well, yesterday was a little slap in the face reminder... lol! I left work at 2:30, glad to be on the road knowing I would have some daylight hours when I got home. As I rounded the bend on Murray Lane (where I took the pictures of the deer), I came upon a huge line of cars parked on either side of the road. There were kids galore, dads and moms with strollers, little brothers and sisters, older brothers and sisters, grandmas, you name it. I guess it was orientation or meet the teacher, or who knows. It was mayhem I tell ya! The little twerps were everywhere. You would think their parents would hold their hands or at the very least keep them on the inside away from the moving vehicles on the road. But noooooooooo - that was not the case.
None of them actually ran out in front of me but you know how it is, you expect one to at any given time.
The parents were acting like it was meet your neighbor day, chatting with each other while on their way up to the school driveway and the kids were pretty much doing whatever the heck they wanted to. It didn't take me long to get past the social hour but it was a little stressful, especially when I'm now used to a totally stress-free zone :)
The rest of the ride was nice and peaceful. I didn't see any deer on the way home but I rarely do. I always see them on my way in and now I'm keeping a daily count. Monday there were 5 in one spot alone and 9 total. There were two more on Sneed Road and two more further down by where I first come into Brentwood. Of those last two, one was going poo... just thought I'd throw that in there since was kind of funny. Not that you know where any of these areas are but I'm learning where the deer typically hang out.
This morning I had come so far with no sightings that I thought there wouldn't be one. I was kind of bummed out because I just started my daily count on Monday and now I was looking at having nothing to add to it. Well, as it turned out, you'll be happy to know, I did finally come upon some deer. It was very foggy and I had just rolled down my driver side window when I saw them. They were in the valley of a large grassy knoll and it was two does with their little fawns. The spots had already faded but they were still quite young - standing only a little higher their mamma's knees. I saw that and I said "oh, hello little babies, you are sooooooo cute!" They didn't reply. ha ha ha.
So Monday was 9, Tuesday was 2 and today was 4. Not bad for 3 days driving.
My CSA basket was overloaded with goodies! I have a huge bag of Pink Eye Purple Hull Peas that are just dying to go in a pot with a thick slab of that smoked picnic ham we bought a couple weeks back. I bagged it up into "ham for dinner" and "ham for beans" bags so I can easily find what I need. The basket also had okra, green peppers, summer squash (it never ends! lol), cantaloupe, lots and lots of heirloom tomatoes in all shapes, sizes and colors (some of which get eaten before the basket even gets home), climbing cucumbers and an Encore Lettuce Mix. This lettuce is like the spring mix you see in the stores. YUMMY for my tummy! Not bad for the old waistline either :)
In her newsletter, Trish wrote that upcoming will be watermelon and beets (woo hoo!) and other tasty surprises! I had heard that a second crop of beets could be forthcoming so this is really good news unless you're Neccy. Even though I do plan to grow my own, just in case I don't do it right, at least I can count on the farmers! One of the tomatoes from the basket is so big it doesn't fit in the palm of my hand. I think we'll have it with supper tonight.
I took a picture of last night's supper and my lunch salad but I have to wait for Wally to send them so I can post them on the blog. If we go to Pee Wee's tonight, I'll get his phone and send them while were on the road. I know you've been biting your nails in anticipation of what my lunch salads look like, LOL. Hey it might inspire you to make a salad for your own lunch tomorrow - you just never know...
Daryl gave me another bag of tomatoes. I'm hoping there will be enough to make another batch of Bloody Mary mix :) Those jars just look so pretty up on my bookshelf. I know that's a strange place to store them but the pantry is full to overflowing so the jars had to go somewhere. I put the jars on either side of the frame that holds the pictures of my dad in his garden. Between the squash and the Bloody Mary mix, you almost don't see the cookbooks. If I do too much more canning, I'll be storing the jars in my closet...lol!
Speaking of the picnic ham, we had a couple slices of it for supper last night. I cooked some field peas with snaps and some corn that I had scraped from the cobs. The peas had to cook for a while so I put my lunch salad together while that went on. When the peas were softened enough, I chopped up a slice of white onion to go on top and served up the corn with some cilantro bouillon and black pepper. The ham, it just speaks for itself. Even though it's smoked, it doesn't have the smoked flavor you would immediately think of. Instead it's more of a preserving method than a cooking method. I added just a little water to the skillet, slid the ham slices into it and let it heat up. Since this type of ham isn't fully cooked, it does have to simmer for a few minutes. We had it cut pretty thin so the cooking time would be quicker.
It was very good with some sliced homegrown tomatoes on the side. As I sit there at our table, eating whatever meal it happens to be, I'm reminded of when I was younger. Our house was always filled with people and for whatever reason, they seemed to always congregate at the kitchen table. It wasn't a big table, in fact there were probably only 2 or 3 chairs at any given time. It was always cluttered with mail, newspapers, ashtrays, whatever. That didn't matter. People would just stand in the kitchen or in the back porch area (it was open to the kitchen) and hang out. It seems there was always someone over for dinner and especially on Thursday nights. Thursday nights were the best because it was left-over night! Mom would either have me drag out all the left-overs or she would do it when she got home from work. Glenn Morse was rarely missing on a Thursday night and he was a great guy and a very good friend to my parents and all of us kids. He let me drive his car when I first got my permit. Brave, wasn't he?
Every now and then he would bring over a huge bag of Krystal burgers and fries - man, that was the biggest treat in the world for us kids. We never ate at fast food restaurants so we thought we were really missing out. Hey, we were kids. We know better now. We would literally attack that bag when Glenn showed up. I think he got a kick out of bringing the 4 of us a surprise.
I remember the first time Mom and Dad took us to McDonald's. I ordered a cheeseburger but to my disappointment, I couldn't eat it. I didn't know they put ketchup on them and more than anything else, I cannot tolerate ketchup. I'm like Neccy with the beets, except I've actually tried ketchup and I've re-tried it on several occasions. No can do. My taste buds never developed a liking to it. I'll tear up some tomatoes but if you squirt that messy goo on my burger - you can keep it. I'm pretty sure Davey ate that first burger of mine and I'm very well sure that I was happy to give it to him. YUCK... I did enjoy the fries though :) and have ever since. McDonald's rules when it comes to fast food french fries. Hands down.
These days I couldn't eat fast food "anything" without it upsetting my stomach. My system just isn't built like that anymore. I crave the flavor but avoid it at all costs. To those of you who can handle it, have a quarter pounder with cheese for me one of these days, please leave off the ketchup - I'll take the fries though! ha ha ha.
My dear, sweet, friend, Gabby called me today. She was sent the link to the blog and just had to call. She didn't know I had moved to TN. Some friend I turned out to be, huh? lol Well it was just wonderful to do some catching up with Gabby. She's a darling lady and one I'm very happy to be back in touch with. She's the type of person you meet and know immediately that you'll be friends and friends for life.
Folks I gotta go for the day. It's quitting time - can you hear the bell? I hope you had a good hump day and remember, as Kathy always says, tomorrow is Friday Eve! Nothing wrong with that :)
"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” Mark Twain
None of them actually ran out in front of me but you know how it is, you expect one to at any given time.
The parents were acting like it was meet your neighbor day, chatting with each other while on their way up to the school driveway and the kids were pretty much doing whatever the heck they wanted to. It didn't take me long to get past the social hour but it was a little stressful, especially when I'm now used to a totally stress-free zone :)
The rest of the ride was nice and peaceful. I didn't see any deer on the way home but I rarely do. I always see them on my way in and now I'm keeping a daily count. Monday there were 5 in one spot alone and 9 total. There were two more on Sneed Road and two more further down by where I first come into Brentwood. Of those last two, one was going poo... just thought I'd throw that in there since was kind of funny. Not that you know where any of these areas are but I'm learning where the deer typically hang out.
This morning I had come so far with no sightings that I thought there wouldn't be one. I was kind of bummed out because I just started my daily count on Monday and now I was looking at having nothing to add to it. Well, as it turned out, you'll be happy to know, I did finally come upon some deer. It was very foggy and I had just rolled down my driver side window when I saw them. They were in the valley of a large grassy knoll and it was two does with their little fawns. The spots had already faded but they were still quite young - standing only a little higher their mamma's knees. I saw that and I said "oh, hello little babies, you are sooooooo cute!" They didn't reply. ha ha ha.
So Monday was 9, Tuesday was 2 and today was 4. Not bad for 3 days driving.
My CSA basket was overloaded with goodies! I have a huge bag of Pink Eye Purple Hull Peas that are just dying to go in a pot with a thick slab of that smoked picnic ham we bought a couple weeks back. I bagged it up into "ham for dinner" and "ham for beans" bags so I can easily find what I need. The basket also had okra, green peppers, summer squash (it never ends! lol), cantaloupe, lots and lots of heirloom tomatoes in all shapes, sizes and colors (some of which get eaten before the basket even gets home), climbing cucumbers and an Encore Lettuce Mix. This lettuce is like the spring mix you see in the stores. YUMMY for my tummy! Not bad for the old waistline either :)
In her newsletter, Trish wrote that upcoming will be watermelon and beets (woo hoo!) and other tasty surprises! I had heard that a second crop of beets could be forthcoming so this is really good news unless you're Neccy. Even though I do plan to grow my own, just in case I don't do it right, at least I can count on the farmers! One of the tomatoes from the basket is so big it doesn't fit in the palm of my hand. I think we'll have it with supper tonight.
I took a picture of last night's supper and my lunch salad but I have to wait for Wally to send them so I can post them on the blog. If we go to Pee Wee's tonight, I'll get his phone and send them while were on the road. I know you've been biting your nails in anticipation of what my lunch salads look like, LOL. Hey it might inspire you to make a salad for your own lunch tomorrow - you just never know...
Daryl gave me another bag of tomatoes. I'm hoping there will be enough to make another batch of Bloody Mary mix :) Those jars just look so pretty up on my bookshelf. I know that's a strange place to store them but the pantry is full to overflowing so the jars had to go somewhere. I put the jars on either side of the frame that holds the pictures of my dad in his garden. Between the squash and the Bloody Mary mix, you almost don't see the cookbooks. If I do too much more canning, I'll be storing the jars in my closet...lol!
Speaking of the picnic ham, we had a couple slices of it for supper last night. I cooked some field peas with snaps and some corn that I had scraped from the cobs. The peas had to cook for a while so I put my lunch salad together while that went on. When the peas were softened enough, I chopped up a slice of white onion to go on top and served up the corn with some cilantro bouillon and black pepper. The ham, it just speaks for itself. Even though it's smoked, it doesn't have the smoked flavor you would immediately think of. Instead it's more of a preserving method than a cooking method. I added just a little water to the skillet, slid the ham slices into it and let it heat up. Since this type of ham isn't fully cooked, it does have to simmer for a few minutes. We had it cut pretty thin so the cooking time would be quicker.
It was very good with some sliced homegrown tomatoes on the side. As I sit there at our table, eating whatever meal it happens to be, I'm reminded of when I was younger. Our house was always filled with people and for whatever reason, they seemed to always congregate at the kitchen table. It wasn't a big table, in fact there were probably only 2 or 3 chairs at any given time. It was always cluttered with mail, newspapers, ashtrays, whatever. That didn't matter. People would just stand in the kitchen or in the back porch area (it was open to the kitchen) and hang out. It seems there was always someone over for dinner and especially on Thursday nights. Thursday nights were the best because it was left-over night! Mom would either have me drag out all the left-overs or she would do it when she got home from work. Glenn Morse was rarely missing on a Thursday night and he was a great guy and a very good friend to my parents and all of us kids. He let me drive his car when I first got my permit. Brave, wasn't he?
Every now and then he would bring over a huge bag of Krystal burgers and fries - man, that was the biggest treat in the world for us kids. We never ate at fast food restaurants so we thought we were really missing out. Hey, we were kids. We know better now. We would literally attack that bag when Glenn showed up. I think he got a kick out of bringing the 4 of us a surprise.
I remember the first time Mom and Dad took us to McDonald's. I ordered a cheeseburger but to my disappointment, I couldn't eat it. I didn't know they put ketchup on them and more than anything else, I cannot tolerate ketchup. I'm like Neccy with the beets, except I've actually tried ketchup and I've re-tried it on several occasions. No can do. My taste buds never developed a liking to it. I'll tear up some tomatoes but if you squirt that messy goo on my burger - you can keep it. I'm pretty sure Davey ate that first burger of mine and I'm very well sure that I was happy to give it to him. YUCK... I did enjoy the fries though :) and have ever since. McDonald's rules when it comes to fast food french fries. Hands down.
These days I couldn't eat fast food "anything" without it upsetting my stomach. My system just isn't built like that anymore. I crave the flavor but avoid it at all costs. To those of you who can handle it, have a quarter pounder with cheese for me one of these days, please leave off the ketchup - I'll take the fries though! ha ha ha.
My dear, sweet, friend, Gabby called me today. She was sent the link to the blog and just had to call. She didn't know I had moved to TN. Some friend I turned out to be, huh? lol Well it was just wonderful to do some catching up with Gabby. She's a darling lady and one I'm very happy to be back in touch with. She's the type of person you meet and know immediately that you'll be friends and friends for life.
Folks I gotta go for the day. It's quitting time - can you hear the bell? I hope you had a good hump day and remember, as Kathy always says, tomorrow is Friday Eve! Nothing wrong with that :)
"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” Mark Twain
Monday, August 9, 2010
New Pictures Added...
I had to put up the picture of Neccy's new hair-do. It is just so super pretty!! I didn't recognize her when the picture came through and had to scroll to see who sent it. LOL She's heard that from several people.
The pictures of my ride to work are of 5 deer in these people's yard. I couldn't believe it! You can see where I am at the mailbox and they are only about 50 feet away. My phone takes terrible pictures but you can still see them up there grazing. Maybe I'll bring Wally's phone tomorrow...
Rebecca Lightyear... what can I say?
The butterfly pictures were taken Saturday and the bush had 3 or 4 in it. I couldn't get close enough before they flew off but I got a couple of shots for y'all to see. It's the same bush/tree as the beautiful sky picture from last week.
I don't know about y'all but I was busy, busy, busy this weekend! I was off work Friday and the day went by so quickly that before I knew it, it was 4:30 and I still hadn't been to the grocery store. Leaving the farm at 4:30 is almost unheard of, especially on a Friday. I needed to get a few things so I went anyway. Took me two hours between driving to the store, getting my groceries and getting back. Food Lion is about 25 minutes out, maybe more, who really knows? I'll try to time it next time... LOL
Wally was out bush-hogging the pasture so I unloaded the groceries and headed off on the 4 wheeler to see if I could find him. The trails are a little more worn now so I'm able to navigate my way around a few of them without any assistance - took me a while, huh? Hey, woods all look the same when you're right there in the middle of them! I made it all the way to the horse pasture and there he was! He was just finishing up so we left the tractor and rode through the holler to the cabin.
It's really nice down through there. The trees are so tall and they make for great shade. The path is easier to navigate now that he's got it all leveled out from the flood damage. There are blackberry bushes, ferns, wildflowers, a multitude of trees and who knows what sort of critters. It seems like it would be a haven for medicinal herbs. I don't have a clue how to identify them but I'm sure I could get a book on the subject. Maybe that thought will keep until colder weather sets in. I'll need something to occupy my mind when that happens.
For supper we had ribeye steaks with a sweet pea-summer squash medley. It was quick and easy and very filling. I'm finding all sorts of ways to use up that squash and there's still more to come. I poured the peas into the skillet and added some black pepper. I cut the squash into rounds and then in half so they were more bite-sized. I added them to the skillet along with about a 1/2 tablespoon of chicken bouillon. They cooked together in the juice from the peas until the squash was tender but still identifiable.
We were kind of bummed out because stupid TVLand changed their programming from All in the Family (which we love) to The Nanny. Ew, ew, ew - I can't stand that show!!!! I think we ended up watching Memphis Beat. I'm starting to like that show pretty well. It's funny because it's actually filmed in New Orleans and the whole time I kept thinking, man that looks like New Orleans... Maybe Beal Street resembles New Orleans? I've never been to Memphis so I couldn't tell ya.
Saturday was bull-dozier day for Wally. I ran to the Dollar General to get oil for it and then I had to go to town (yuck!) and buy some bras (even yuckier!). There's a store called Karen's (had to give them my business just because of the name) and they were having a buy 2, get 2 free sale. I like the lady who helped me, her name was Peggy. She reminded me of Ellen from the Orioles. I swear they could have been sisters. Same hair, same little tiny figure, same voice - I almost called her Ellen twice... lol!
After however many hours of torture (in reality, probably not even a whole hour) it took, I finally decided on the bras I wanted. I was ready to leave when Peggy/Ellen asked me if I wanted to look at the clearance rack. Y'all know I hate shopping so I was already pegging the meter on patience. Of course I went to look! I found a cute blue top and a killer greenish/brown jacket. I like the top but it's pretty standard issue - I wear the same styles all the time so you can imagine what it looks like. The jacket, on the other hand, is really cool looking. It zips up the front and has those pockets that you don't use. It'll be light enough for when the temperatures start to drop and perfect for horseback riding. I can put a red turtleneck under it and it'll be quite fetching! ha ha ha ha ha Still need to shop winter coats, this little jacket won't be nearly enough.
I stopped at the Dickson Food Lion (as opposed to Fairview where I normally shop) and picked up some roast beef and provolone cheese. I was in the mood for a sandwich and I really can't do fast food. I tried to fuel up at the Pilot station but they had a sign up that said I had to go inside to pay. This Pilot station is huge and there were so many cars pumping gas that I knew I'd be forever if I had to go in. I left there and went to the Shell station instead. Fuel was the same price - back up to $2.55 a gallon. Last week - $2.47. What's up with that?
I had picked up two more rolls of barbed wire and some staples so the guys can finish fencing and while I was there (Tractor Supply) I checked out the bird feeders. I decided to get the one that has the squirrel deterrent perches. If the squirrel lands on the perch, his weight will pull down the hatch and close off his food source. Nothing against squirrels but they don't need to be eating my bird seed.
Well, the joke was on me. I filled the feeder, found a tree with a branch that I could reach with just a little effort and got it hung up. Wally and I got on the 4 wheelers to take a ride and turned back around at the gate. We came back so I could get some goggles and low and behold, just who do you think was eating out of my new feeder?
Rebel!!!! Wally saw him first and showed me. My goodness that horse will get to the food no matter what it takes. He was pushing the feeder forward with his nose so the food would fall out. When it came back to him, he would just open his mouth and in it would pour!! We have to get this on video. It was so funny! He did spill a little bit but not much considering. Goodness who'da thunk it???
So now I have to find a new place for my feeder. If I even think about carrying it around with me, Rebel is right there behind me the whole way. He's just waiting for me to leave it alone again so he can raid it! We had to store it in the outhouse until we can figure out where to put it that he either can't reach it or won't go to the trouble of trying.
Wally had just gotten back to the cabin when I got home. We were both pretty worn out. Shopping just gets to me mentally and all that running around didn't help either. I made us both a roast beef sandwich and he told me about all the work he had done. I did manage to get my floors done and three loads of laundry along with the time it took for my outing. We went for a little ride on the 4 wheelers but neither of us felt like going anywhere so we called it a day and hung out in the air conditioning. We watched the race and I folded clothes while the hummingbirds cleaned out their little feeder :)
Supper was traditional goodness - venison steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, pattypan squash cooked together with rattlesnake green beans, potato salad and marinated cucumbers with white onions. It sounds like a lot but we didn't have all that much on our plates. The steaks were marinated in Dales (Low Sodium), beer and garlic powder. They were nice and tender and cooked up really fast. I was afraid I'd get them too done so I took them out after about 5 minutes on each side. The onions and mushrooms cooked in the juice that was left in the steak pan.
You know what happens once we eat...LOL yep, I cleaned up the kitchen, Wally fed the dogs and we hit the sack! The evening air was hot and humid (sultry) and we had a long day ahead of us on Sunday so it was easy to justify an early bedtime.
For breakfast Sunday, I made gravy from the leftover pan juices and served it over biscuits (I know, I know but we only had one a piece...) some scrambled, fresh from the hen, eggs, bacon and sliced peaches. I started on my last load of laundry, pulled weeds in the garden and counted squash and cucumbers. Six squash with more to come and 4 cucumbers. The tomatoes are turning yellow - but it looks like this is normal. Teri? Could it be that you gave me all heirloom tomato plants? If they are supposed to be ripe at this point, please let me know because there are probably 10 that are ready to come off if so. Woo hoo!! I can just see the tomato salsa coming up in the next day or so. I have some jalapenos from the CSA basket but I'll have to pick up some cilantro. My little cilantro plants are nowhere near ready to eat... lol
Yellow tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and scallions - put a spoonful or two on your grilled chicken breast and you have the start of a very healthy meal. It's good on a piece of french bread drizzled with olive oil, layered with mozzarella cheese and set under the broiler too - set the timer though, this one heats up quick! Trust me, I've set off the smoke detector many a time when bread is in the oven.
I've been wanting to put in a flower bed around the flag pole and I was finally able to get to it this weekend. It's just a little space but it sure did take a lot of work. First I had to hook up the little red trailer to the 4 wheeler - not really hard to do but I'm a beginner so it takes me a minute or two. I rode over to the rock pile they've been using for the outdoor grill and picked out the rocks I wanted to use to define my space. Then I rode around to the vegetable garden and got my shovel, a couple small claw tools and a big rake. I got my seeds and bulbs and water jar and took off down the driveway.
First things first, I had to get the weeds and grass out of the way. Dig, dig, dig, not much accomplished! lol I'm telling you, it's rocky. I got a little trench dug so I could start placing the rocks and got about half way through when Wally stopped by. He told me about the topsoil he had down where he was working on the bull-dozier so rather than me digging (or not so much) for hours, I figured I'd use what was already dug up. I took the trailer down through the trails with a piece of screen, my shovel and a couple rocks. We found some garbage bags and Wally got on the dozier and pushed a big old scoop of moist, brown, topsoil into a pile for me. I had to shovel it onto the screen and then filter out the rocks and stems. I had to stop twice and go get cooled off in the creek. It's called the North Pole Swimmin Hole because it's incredibly freezing cold when the weather is so stinking hot out. One toe in that water and you're like, ahhhhhhh.
I scooped up a couple handfuls and poured it over my head and all over my face and arms. Relief! It was short lived however because I didn't have nearly enough soil, even for my little space, and I had been at it for about 1/2 hour. I finally went down to the creek and took off my t-shirt and soaked it in the water. When I put that thing back on man oh man was I ever chilled!! LOL from stinking hot to super chilled...
Wally took a break from bull-dozing and came and shoveled the soil into the bag for me. I was just done for at that point and I still had to take it back up to the garden. He shoveled it like it was nothing and I was on my way. I got back to the garden and shoveled out the soil then made some rows for the seeds. I planted the hollyhock and delphinium seeds and finally the remaining allium bulbs went in. My t-shirt had dried in no time at all and I went through about a gallon and a half of water. Come springtime, I'll be glad I did it.
I want to try and put a row of beets in my vegetable garden - the packet says I can plant them through October in this region. I read the radish packet and it says they should be ready within 25 days of planting. I'll have to look back on the postings and see when it was I put them in the ground, unless any of y'all remember...? lol Not so much, huh?
Well, last night's supper was the Cottage Pie you see in the pictures. It's another recipe from Jenny at The Nourished Kitchen. It was delightful to say the least. It has ground beef, onions, peas, squash (I was out of carrots and like I said, I need to use up this squash...lol) a little tomato paste, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, sweet potatoes (mashed with butter and cream) and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. This was very easy to fix as you can assemble the ingredients while the sweet potatoes cook in the oven. It cooks for about 30-45 minutes or until it is bubbly and the cheese has stared to brown on top. We didn't have anything else with it but it didn't need anything else. It was warm, cheesy, filling and, of course, nutritious. Jenny wouldn't have it any other way... lol Yes, there is some fat from the ground beef but you drain it off and there is some fat from the cream (only a 1/4 cup in the whole recipe) and butter (REAL butter) but these are monounsaturated fats which are the good ones! In fact, our bodies need a daily average amount of these fats in order to keep our skin smooth, our hair shiny and our nails strong just to name a few.
Trust me. I read this stuff all the time. I could start quoting my resources if you would like to read about it too...?
So the workday was strenuous but even that felt good. The food was full of flavor and healthy vegetables (are you sick of squash yet? lol). The night was balmy and calling us to rest. We listened :)
"I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to plant some."
Herbert Rappaport
The pictures of my ride to work are of 5 deer in these people's yard. I couldn't believe it! You can see where I am at the mailbox and they are only about 50 feet away. My phone takes terrible pictures but you can still see them up there grazing. Maybe I'll bring Wally's phone tomorrow...
Rebecca Lightyear... what can I say?
The butterfly pictures were taken Saturday and the bush had 3 or 4 in it. I couldn't get close enough before they flew off but I got a couple of shots for y'all to see. It's the same bush/tree as the beautiful sky picture from last week.
I don't know about y'all but I was busy, busy, busy this weekend! I was off work Friday and the day went by so quickly that before I knew it, it was 4:30 and I still hadn't been to the grocery store. Leaving the farm at 4:30 is almost unheard of, especially on a Friday. I needed to get a few things so I went anyway. Took me two hours between driving to the store, getting my groceries and getting back. Food Lion is about 25 minutes out, maybe more, who really knows? I'll try to time it next time... LOL
Wally was out bush-hogging the pasture so I unloaded the groceries and headed off on the 4 wheeler to see if I could find him. The trails are a little more worn now so I'm able to navigate my way around a few of them without any assistance - took me a while, huh? Hey, woods all look the same when you're right there in the middle of them! I made it all the way to the horse pasture and there he was! He was just finishing up so we left the tractor and rode through the holler to the cabin.
It's really nice down through there. The trees are so tall and they make for great shade. The path is easier to navigate now that he's got it all leveled out from the flood damage. There are blackberry bushes, ferns, wildflowers, a multitude of trees and who knows what sort of critters. It seems like it would be a haven for medicinal herbs. I don't have a clue how to identify them but I'm sure I could get a book on the subject. Maybe that thought will keep until colder weather sets in. I'll need something to occupy my mind when that happens.
For supper we had ribeye steaks with a sweet pea-summer squash medley. It was quick and easy and very filling. I'm finding all sorts of ways to use up that squash and there's still more to come. I poured the peas into the skillet and added some black pepper. I cut the squash into rounds and then in half so they were more bite-sized. I added them to the skillet along with about a 1/2 tablespoon of chicken bouillon. They cooked together in the juice from the peas until the squash was tender but still identifiable.
We were kind of bummed out because stupid TVLand changed their programming from All in the Family (which we love) to The Nanny. Ew, ew, ew - I can't stand that show!!!! I think we ended up watching Memphis Beat. I'm starting to like that show pretty well. It's funny because it's actually filmed in New Orleans and the whole time I kept thinking, man that looks like New Orleans... Maybe Beal Street resembles New Orleans? I've never been to Memphis so I couldn't tell ya.
Saturday was bull-dozier day for Wally. I ran to the Dollar General to get oil for it and then I had to go to town (yuck!) and buy some bras (even yuckier!). There's a store called Karen's (had to give them my business just because of the name) and they were having a buy 2, get 2 free sale. I like the lady who helped me, her name was Peggy. She reminded me of Ellen from the Orioles. I swear they could have been sisters. Same hair, same little tiny figure, same voice - I almost called her Ellen twice... lol!
After however many hours of torture (in reality, probably not even a whole hour) it took, I finally decided on the bras I wanted. I was ready to leave when Peggy/Ellen asked me if I wanted to look at the clearance rack. Y'all know I hate shopping so I was already pegging the meter on patience. Of course I went to look! I found a cute blue top and a killer greenish/brown jacket. I like the top but it's pretty standard issue - I wear the same styles all the time so you can imagine what it looks like. The jacket, on the other hand, is really cool looking. It zips up the front and has those pockets that you don't use. It'll be light enough for when the temperatures start to drop and perfect for horseback riding. I can put a red turtleneck under it and it'll be quite fetching! ha ha ha ha ha Still need to shop winter coats, this little jacket won't be nearly enough.
I stopped at the Dickson Food Lion (as opposed to Fairview where I normally shop) and picked up some roast beef and provolone cheese. I was in the mood for a sandwich and I really can't do fast food. I tried to fuel up at the Pilot station but they had a sign up that said I had to go inside to pay. This Pilot station is huge and there were so many cars pumping gas that I knew I'd be forever if I had to go in. I left there and went to the Shell station instead. Fuel was the same price - back up to $2.55 a gallon. Last week - $2.47. What's up with that?
I had picked up two more rolls of barbed wire and some staples so the guys can finish fencing and while I was there (Tractor Supply) I checked out the bird feeders. I decided to get the one that has the squirrel deterrent perches. If the squirrel lands on the perch, his weight will pull down the hatch and close off his food source. Nothing against squirrels but they don't need to be eating my bird seed.
Well, the joke was on me. I filled the feeder, found a tree with a branch that I could reach with just a little effort and got it hung up. Wally and I got on the 4 wheelers to take a ride and turned back around at the gate. We came back so I could get some goggles and low and behold, just who do you think was eating out of my new feeder?
Rebel!!!! Wally saw him first and showed me. My goodness that horse will get to the food no matter what it takes. He was pushing the feeder forward with his nose so the food would fall out. When it came back to him, he would just open his mouth and in it would pour!! We have to get this on video. It was so funny! He did spill a little bit but not much considering. Goodness who'da thunk it???
So now I have to find a new place for my feeder. If I even think about carrying it around with me, Rebel is right there behind me the whole way. He's just waiting for me to leave it alone again so he can raid it! We had to store it in the outhouse until we can figure out where to put it that he either can't reach it or won't go to the trouble of trying.
Wally had just gotten back to the cabin when I got home. We were both pretty worn out. Shopping just gets to me mentally and all that running around didn't help either. I made us both a roast beef sandwich and he told me about all the work he had done. I did manage to get my floors done and three loads of laundry along with the time it took for my outing. We went for a little ride on the 4 wheelers but neither of us felt like going anywhere so we called it a day and hung out in the air conditioning. We watched the race and I folded clothes while the hummingbirds cleaned out their little feeder :)
Supper was traditional goodness - venison steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, pattypan squash cooked together with rattlesnake green beans, potato salad and marinated cucumbers with white onions. It sounds like a lot but we didn't have all that much on our plates. The steaks were marinated in Dales (Low Sodium), beer and garlic powder. They were nice and tender and cooked up really fast. I was afraid I'd get them too done so I took them out after about 5 minutes on each side. The onions and mushrooms cooked in the juice that was left in the steak pan.
You know what happens once we eat...LOL yep, I cleaned up the kitchen, Wally fed the dogs and we hit the sack! The evening air was hot and humid (sultry) and we had a long day ahead of us on Sunday so it was easy to justify an early bedtime.
For breakfast Sunday, I made gravy from the leftover pan juices and served it over biscuits (I know, I know but we only had one a piece...) some scrambled, fresh from the hen, eggs, bacon and sliced peaches. I started on my last load of laundry, pulled weeds in the garden and counted squash and cucumbers. Six squash with more to come and 4 cucumbers. The tomatoes are turning yellow - but it looks like this is normal. Teri? Could it be that you gave me all heirloom tomato plants? If they are supposed to be ripe at this point, please let me know because there are probably 10 that are ready to come off if so. Woo hoo!! I can just see the tomato salsa coming up in the next day or so. I have some jalapenos from the CSA basket but I'll have to pick up some cilantro. My little cilantro plants are nowhere near ready to eat... lol
Yellow tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and scallions - put a spoonful or two on your grilled chicken breast and you have the start of a very healthy meal. It's good on a piece of french bread drizzled with olive oil, layered with mozzarella cheese and set under the broiler too - set the timer though, this one heats up quick! Trust me, I've set off the smoke detector many a time when bread is in the oven.
I've been wanting to put in a flower bed around the flag pole and I was finally able to get to it this weekend. It's just a little space but it sure did take a lot of work. First I had to hook up the little red trailer to the 4 wheeler - not really hard to do but I'm a beginner so it takes me a minute or two. I rode over to the rock pile they've been using for the outdoor grill and picked out the rocks I wanted to use to define my space. Then I rode around to the vegetable garden and got my shovel, a couple small claw tools and a big rake. I got my seeds and bulbs and water jar and took off down the driveway.
First things first, I had to get the weeds and grass out of the way. Dig, dig, dig, not much accomplished! lol I'm telling you, it's rocky. I got a little trench dug so I could start placing the rocks and got about half way through when Wally stopped by. He told me about the topsoil he had down where he was working on the bull-dozier so rather than me digging (or not so much) for hours, I figured I'd use what was already dug up. I took the trailer down through the trails with a piece of screen, my shovel and a couple rocks. We found some garbage bags and Wally got on the dozier and pushed a big old scoop of moist, brown, topsoil into a pile for me. I had to shovel it onto the screen and then filter out the rocks and stems. I had to stop twice and go get cooled off in the creek. It's called the North Pole Swimmin Hole because it's incredibly freezing cold when the weather is so stinking hot out. One toe in that water and you're like, ahhhhhhh.
I scooped up a couple handfuls and poured it over my head and all over my face and arms. Relief! It was short lived however because I didn't have nearly enough soil, even for my little space, and I had been at it for about 1/2 hour. I finally went down to the creek and took off my t-shirt and soaked it in the water. When I put that thing back on man oh man was I ever chilled!! LOL from stinking hot to super chilled...
Wally took a break from bull-dozing and came and shoveled the soil into the bag for me. I was just done for at that point and I still had to take it back up to the garden. He shoveled it like it was nothing and I was on my way. I got back to the garden and shoveled out the soil then made some rows for the seeds. I planted the hollyhock and delphinium seeds and finally the remaining allium bulbs went in. My t-shirt had dried in no time at all and I went through about a gallon and a half of water. Come springtime, I'll be glad I did it.
I want to try and put a row of beets in my vegetable garden - the packet says I can plant them through October in this region. I read the radish packet and it says they should be ready within 25 days of planting. I'll have to look back on the postings and see when it was I put them in the ground, unless any of y'all remember...? lol Not so much, huh?
Well, last night's supper was the Cottage Pie you see in the pictures. It's another recipe from Jenny at The Nourished Kitchen. It was delightful to say the least. It has ground beef, onions, peas, squash (I was out of carrots and like I said, I need to use up this squash...lol) a little tomato paste, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, sweet potatoes (mashed with butter and cream) and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. This was very easy to fix as you can assemble the ingredients while the sweet potatoes cook in the oven. It cooks for about 30-45 minutes or until it is bubbly and the cheese has stared to brown on top. We didn't have anything else with it but it didn't need anything else. It was warm, cheesy, filling and, of course, nutritious. Jenny wouldn't have it any other way... lol Yes, there is some fat from the ground beef but you drain it off and there is some fat from the cream (only a 1/4 cup in the whole recipe) and butter (REAL butter) but these are monounsaturated fats which are the good ones! In fact, our bodies need a daily average amount of these fats in order to keep our skin smooth, our hair shiny and our nails strong just to name a few.
Trust me. I read this stuff all the time. I could start quoting my resources if you would like to read about it too...?
So the workday was strenuous but even that felt good. The food was full of flavor and healthy vegetables (are you sick of squash yet? lol). The night was balmy and calling us to rest. We listened :)
"I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to plant some."
Herbert Rappaport
Thursday, August 5, 2010
So many tomatoes, so little time and new pics added to the blog!
Daryl brought me a box of tomatoes that he got from a farmer friend of his. There is a promise of more to come since everyone's tomatoes are abundant right now. Remember, everyone had to re-plant after the flood because all the initial plantings got washed away. Fortunately for me, mine haven't started to ripen yet so I can feast on the ones from other gardens and still look forward to my own in the near future. Well, anyway, the box was so full I knew we wouldn't be able to eat them all before they perished so we decided to make Bloody Mary mix for those Saturday or Sunday mornings when it seems appropriate to have a breakfast drink.
The cool thing about this recipe is that it only has to process for 20 minutes in the canner and it's done. Pop, pop, pop, pop and viola! Four full jars of Bloody Mary mix for the pantry :) We made up our own recipe by adding some garlic, some vinegar, a little hot sauce and some cayenne pepper. We added a little black pepper, some celery seed and some Worcestershire Sauce. It won't need anything added to it when we go to mix it with some vodka except maybe some olives and celery!
I put a picture up on the blog so you can see just how pretty tomatoes look when they are canned. These were blended up so they just look like juice but whole tomatoes retain their color just as well. I'm hoping to get twice this many in the next few days so I can get to canning them either cut into quarters or left whole. I still have the contest open for anyone who wants to take a guess at how many jars will ultimately be filled.
Trish, from the CSA farm, sent me an email. Her daughter was in a car accident while on her way to the delivery site. She is okay and so are the other people who were involved but they were all quite shook up.
I picked up my basket last night and it was so pretty! It had fresh basil (I already have mozzarella cheese and tomatoes!), cherry and plum tomatoes, cantaloupe, jalapeno peppers, sweet green peppers, yellow squash, cucumbers, green beans and some green tomatoes. I know you know what I plan to do with those green tomatoes!
I ended up with Wally's phone in my purse this morning so I was finally able to send some new pictures for the blog. The one of Jimbo shows how he kind of cocks that left front leg - well, he doesn't do that anymore. He's able to support himself fully and is getting fatter every day. You can still see his bones but he's definitely come a long way. It's so hot outside that the dogs and horses are going through a 50 gallon bucket of water and a 20 gallon bucket of water twice daily. Wally added a big cooler to the mix this morning - it's one that the lid is broken off of so we don't use it anymore. They are all good at letting us know when their water buckets are dry even though we know to check them throughout the day. They stand over there by the buckets and whinny until you do something about the situation.
The two basket pictures are obviously from earlier in the season but they're still pretty pictures and it gives you a good idea of how full they are. I stay busy trying to use up everything! I only bought a half share, imagine how busy I'd be if I had bought a whole share... lol I miss those spring lettuces, that's for sure. It was nice having a little variety for my lunch salads.
The wild flowers are from springtime too but again, they're so pretty I thought you would enjoy seeing them. I had forgotten all about that picture being on Wally's phone so as I was scrolling through deciding what to post, I thought well, that picture will brighten anyone's day! Not much can hold up to this heat we're having now, shoot, even the weeds are faltering... LOL
That blooming shrub is outside the front door and to the right just a bit. It really needed to be trimmed up but I didn't get here in time for that. Once it stops blooming I'll trim it up for next year. The blooms are these tiny, little, white, papery petals and there are a whole bunch of them in one cluster. Of course I don't know what the plant is because Wally's grandma planted it many years ago. He bought one for the other end of the porch and the guy told him it was an oak leaf hydrangea. I'm just not going for that. For starters, the leaves look nothing like an oak leaf. It could be some form of hydrangea but I'll have to search the internet to confirm that. Another thing that throws me off is that it doesn't bloom until August - the hottest month of the year. It'll keep blooming until sometime around the end of September - I thought hydrangeas bloomed in late spring? Don't worry, I'll figure it out. In the meantime, isn't that a beautiful sky in the background? Amazing.
There's a gold and brown colored butterfly in the bush but you can't really see it in the picture. It was almost as big as my hand so I don't know why it looks so little. It was the whole reason for taking the picture in the first place. Oh well - turned out pretty even if you can't see the butterfly.
I'm planting some of the hollyhock seeds that Claudia gave me down by the flag pole and the rest over by this tree stump in the back yard. If you haven't been here in a while, the flag pole isn't in the front yard anymore, it's down where the driveway splits. I have some allium (aka mystery plant) bulbs and an iris that I'm going to plant down at the flag pole too. Teri gave me some delphinium seeds and those are going in around the hitching post. By next spring, there will be plenty of color to enjoy as you come up to the cabin! Hopefully, the horses won't eat any of them... lol.
Turns out we can't get U-verse at the house. When I checked the availability the first time, it led me through up to scheduling an installation. When I went to do the same thing the other day, it said "Sorry, U-Verse is not available in your area." Boooooooooo. I guess I'll have to check into other options - I know AT&T has dsl service out there but I don't know how well it works.
Dizzy Debbie rolled into AZ around midnight her time (3 hours behind FL, 2 hours behind TN) Tuesday. They got some much needed rest and then they were off to unload the truck and get their apartment all set up. I'm sure she'll be on FB as soon as her internet is hooked up. I think that's today but don't quote me :) Knowing her, she probably got everything unloaded, unpacked and set up in one day whilst I still have boxes in the living room ha ha ha! In my own defense, they are too heavy for me to carry and they need to go upstairs so it's really not my fault :)
Ernie is going to NC this weekend for some white-water rafting with her son, Shane, and her daughter, Britney. Brave souls they are! She checked to make sure she wasn't going to be in the rapids...I'd have done the same thing...lol!
Still the heat wave continues... the lowest daytime temperature we can expect is 93 degrees and that's on Sunday. We're looking at only a 30% chance of rain between now and then. Come Monday, it's supposed to be up to 99 degrees again and stay that way all throughout next week. Whew man I seem to have timed my arrival for the year of strange weather in Tennessee. January was the heaviest snowfall in years (I was here for 10 days of it), May had the worst flooding in centuries and now we're at 47 days of 90+ temperatures and counting. Autumn sure is starting to sound nice, isn't it?
I don't know about y'all but I am ready for the weekend to get here! I have so much I want to get done at the cabin and yet here I sit at work. Granted writing the post isn't the same as actually working, ha ha ha, but still...some weeks it just seems to take forever. I have weeds to pull in the garden, fishing line to string across the top so the crows can't get in, seeds to plant, trails to learn on the 4 wheeler and at some point, I'd really like to get my hair colored or highlighted or something to get rid of this gray!! Not to mention the usual chores of laundry, floors, bathrooms and kitchen cleaning. ha ha ha Now really, how much of that do you think I'll really get around to? LOL
The quote doesn't really relate to anything I've written today...did you even know that I try to match it up? I just thought it was kind of funny... As Kathy would say, "Happy Friday Eve!"
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” Mark Twain
The cool thing about this recipe is that it only has to process for 20 minutes in the canner and it's done. Pop, pop, pop, pop and viola! Four full jars of Bloody Mary mix for the pantry :) We made up our own recipe by adding some garlic, some vinegar, a little hot sauce and some cayenne pepper. We added a little black pepper, some celery seed and some Worcestershire Sauce. It won't need anything added to it when we go to mix it with some vodka except maybe some olives and celery!
I put a picture up on the blog so you can see just how pretty tomatoes look when they are canned. These were blended up so they just look like juice but whole tomatoes retain their color just as well. I'm hoping to get twice this many in the next few days so I can get to canning them either cut into quarters or left whole. I still have the contest open for anyone who wants to take a guess at how many jars will ultimately be filled.
Trish, from the CSA farm, sent me an email. Her daughter was in a car accident while on her way to the delivery site. She is okay and so are the other people who were involved but they were all quite shook up.
I picked up my basket last night and it was so pretty! It had fresh basil (I already have mozzarella cheese and tomatoes!), cherry and plum tomatoes, cantaloupe, jalapeno peppers, sweet green peppers, yellow squash, cucumbers, green beans and some green tomatoes. I know you know what I plan to do with those green tomatoes!
I ended up with Wally's phone in my purse this morning so I was finally able to send some new pictures for the blog. The one of Jimbo shows how he kind of cocks that left front leg - well, he doesn't do that anymore. He's able to support himself fully and is getting fatter every day. You can still see his bones but he's definitely come a long way. It's so hot outside that the dogs and horses are going through a 50 gallon bucket of water and a 20 gallon bucket of water twice daily. Wally added a big cooler to the mix this morning - it's one that the lid is broken off of so we don't use it anymore. They are all good at letting us know when their water buckets are dry even though we know to check them throughout the day. They stand over there by the buckets and whinny until you do something about the situation.
The two basket pictures are obviously from earlier in the season but they're still pretty pictures and it gives you a good idea of how full they are. I stay busy trying to use up everything! I only bought a half share, imagine how busy I'd be if I had bought a whole share... lol I miss those spring lettuces, that's for sure. It was nice having a little variety for my lunch salads.
The wild flowers are from springtime too but again, they're so pretty I thought you would enjoy seeing them. I had forgotten all about that picture being on Wally's phone so as I was scrolling through deciding what to post, I thought well, that picture will brighten anyone's day! Not much can hold up to this heat we're having now, shoot, even the weeds are faltering... LOL
That blooming shrub is outside the front door and to the right just a bit. It really needed to be trimmed up but I didn't get here in time for that. Once it stops blooming I'll trim it up for next year. The blooms are these tiny, little, white, papery petals and there are a whole bunch of them in one cluster. Of course I don't know what the plant is because Wally's grandma planted it many years ago. He bought one for the other end of the porch and the guy told him it was an oak leaf hydrangea. I'm just not going for that. For starters, the leaves look nothing like an oak leaf. It could be some form of hydrangea but I'll have to search the internet to confirm that. Another thing that throws me off is that it doesn't bloom until August - the hottest month of the year. It'll keep blooming until sometime around the end of September - I thought hydrangeas bloomed in late spring? Don't worry, I'll figure it out. In the meantime, isn't that a beautiful sky in the background? Amazing.
There's a gold and brown colored butterfly in the bush but you can't really see it in the picture. It was almost as big as my hand so I don't know why it looks so little. It was the whole reason for taking the picture in the first place. Oh well - turned out pretty even if you can't see the butterfly.
I'm planting some of the hollyhock seeds that Claudia gave me down by the flag pole and the rest over by this tree stump in the back yard. If you haven't been here in a while, the flag pole isn't in the front yard anymore, it's down where the driveway splits. I have some allium (aka mystery plant) bulbs and an iris that I'm going to plant down at the flag pole too. Teri gave me some delphinium seeds and those are going in around the hitching post. By next spring, there will be plenty of color to enjoy as you come up to the cabin! Hopefully, the horses won't eat any of them... lol.
Turns out we can't get U-verse at the house. When I checked the availability the first time, it led me through up to scheduling an installation. When I went to do the same thing the other day, it said "Sorry, U-Verse is not available in your area." Boooooooooo. I guess I'll have to check into other options - I know AT&T has dsl service out there but I don't know how well it works.
Dizzy Debbie rolled into AZ around midnight her time (3 hours behind FL, 2 hours behind TN) Tuesday. They got some much needed rest and then they were off to unload the truck and get their apartment all set up. I'm sure she'll be on FB as soon as her internet is hooked up. I think that's today but don't quote me :) Knowing her, she probably got everything unloaded, unpacked and set up in one day whilst I still have boxes in the living room ha ha ha! In my own defense, they are too heavy for me to carry and they need to go upstairs so it's really not my fault :)
Ernie is going to NC this weekend for some white-water rafting with her son, Shane, and her daughter, Britney. Brave souls they are! She checked to make sure she wasn't going to be in the rapids...I'd have done the same thing...lol!
Still the heat wave continues... the lowest daytime temperature we can expect is 93 degrees and that's on Sunday. We're looking at only a 30% chance of rain between now and then. Come Monday, it's supposed to be up to 99 degrees again and stay that way all throughout next week. Whew man I seem to have timed my arrival for the year of strange weather in Tennessee. January was the heaviest snowfall in years (I was here for 10 days of it), May had the worst flooding in centuries and now we're at 47 days of 90+ temperatures and counting. Autumn sure is starting to sound nice, isn't it?
I don't know about y'all but I am ready for the weekend to get here! I have so much I want to get done at the cabin and yet here I sit at work. Granted writing the post isn't the same as actually working, ha ha ha, but still...some weeks it just seems to take forever. I have weeds to pull in the garden, fishing line to string across the top so the crows can't get in, seeds to plant, trails to learn on the 4 wheeler and at some point, I'd really like to get my hair colored or highlighted or something to get rid of this gray!! Not to mention the usual chores of laundry, floors, bathrooms and kitchen cleaning. ha ha ha Now really, how much of that do you think I'll really get around to? LOL
The quote doesn't really relate to anything I've written today...did you even know that I try to match it up? I just thought it was kind of funny... As Kathy would say, "Happy Friday Eve!"
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” Mark Twain
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
My baby is turning into her mother and my sister refuses to eat beets...
After all these years, Rebecca has finally begun to recognize filth! LOL You had to be there when she was growing up (not that she's all done growing up, but progress is definitely being made) and lived in a true pig sty. I'm talking about a room so messy I couldn't even walk through it without stepping on "who knows what." I'm talking about a room so messy that when I hid her Christmas presents in a box and put the box on her desk chair - IN HER ROOM - she never even noticed it being there. It was there for months! It was a good thing I knew right where to look and I was quite confident she wouldn't even think twice about it being in there. Come Christmas, I went to get the box and it had been covered up with clothes, papers, markers, folders, books, etc. Typical teenage girl's room from what I hear but it was a place I didn't care to venture into - ever.
I used to let it bother me and I would rant and rave (I know - hard to imagine, huh? ha ha) and insist that she clean it. She would half-ass shove everything under the bed or into the already, stuffed to the brim, closet. After a while I decided to let it go. If she wanted to live in that mess, so be it. I refused to do anything with it. Since she wouldn't clean her room, I also refused to do her laundry. If she wanted to live in a clean room she would have to clean it and if she wanted to wear clean clothes, she would have to wash them. I think she was maybe in the 6th grade when all these life changing events took place. Too bad Chelsea wasn't raised like that...
Rebecca will be 20 on December 4th (took me a while to figure that out!) and she completely made my day :) She was responding to an email I sent her asking about her high school friend, Chelsea. Here is a clip of her response:
"Her house is a pigsty so I'm going to go over there the next day I have off and force her to get up and clean it because her version of cleaning it right now is keeping the kitchen light off. Which I told her is unacceptable."
Be still my beating heart!!
She also informed me that she is the only person at the Swain's house who is allowed to fold the towels because none of them know the proper way to perform this task. She even cleans the bathroom!! Those Swains actually leave globs of toothpaste on the cap and this annoys her. Oh! She is becoming me... :) before you know it, she'll be vacuuming her vacuum cleaner... ha ha ha!
Now, as far as Neccy goes with this whole "I'm never eating beets, ever!" thing, well, that's just not acceptable. There is nothing wrong with beets if you are buying the right kind and cooking them in the most natural way. Besides, she said she was never eating rabbit either and she did! Odds are, she probably hasn't ever tried beets to know whether or not she even likes them. Of course it would be better if you could get them from a Farmer's Market but if there isn't one near you, you can always buy them fresh from the grocery store. If they have the golden beets - get them by all means! Otherwise the red beets will do just fine.
They will store in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks so you don't have to worry about cooking them right away. When you get them home, trim the leaves down to about 2 inches. Leaving the 2 inches on them will keep the red color from leaching out while they are being stored. Leave the root on as well. Put them in a plastic bag (unsealed) and into the refrigerator to store. When you do get ready to eat them, cover them with water and bring it to a boil. let it boil for a minute or so and then turn them down to simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Depending on how big they are, it may take longer than this. Try to buy the smaller to medium sized beets because they are naturally sweeter and naturally more tender.
After testing for doneness by sticking a fork in them, take them from the pot of water and set them aside to cool. Whatever you set them on will be at risk for turning red so choose the vessel thoughtfully. However, I have found that the red comes out with a good washing. I had it on my wonderful, bamboo cutting board and it came clean with no problem. When they have cooled to the point where you can touch them without hurting yourself, cut the top part off with what is left of the leaf stem and cut the little root end off. Then just gently pull down on the skin. It should slip right off for you. You can use a paper towel if you're worried about your fingers turning red but again, the red comes off when you wash your hands. From here all you need to do is slice them up and eat them. They are good warm or cold. Make sure you bring some to Neccy so she can see how good they are! LOL!! I'm just too funny sometimes.
Folks, it's 101 degrees here today and it's expected to be the same tomorrow. In Phoenix, Arizona, it's 103. Orlando is 98 degrees... what the heck is up with that???? I went out at lunchtime to drop off some plastic grocery bags to the recycle bins at Kroger and whew was it ever HOT. My steering wheel was so hot I had to use a pair of socks (a.k.a. my winter gloves in FL) to hold it. There was a slight breeze blowing all the hot air around but all it did was mess up my hair... lol Even though it is freezing in this building, it's by far better than being outside right now.
So, after my posting yesterday where I wrote about the okra, Neccy commented that she wouldn't eat anything pickled - ever! Jeez, first the beets now the pickled okra... Now come on. If you eat pickles (and she does), you would like the pickled okra. The ingredients vary only slightly in that the okra is a little bit sweet. I can see not wanting to eat pickled pig's feet but okra? It's a good thing :) Those pig's feet are just slippery chunks of gristle with very little meat on them - honestly, it must be an acquired taste. I'm told that I just didn't have the right kind but I can't imagine what the choices would be. They were pigs feet and they were pickled... not a favorite of mine.
I went to pick up my CSA basket yesterday but my lady never showed up. Or if she did, she was later than the half hour I waited. I thought I would have an email from her this morning but that didn't happen either. She told me last week that her son had been sick for awhile so I'm just hoping they didn't have to hospitalize him yesterday. There were 6 or 7 other people waiting like me and we were all very surprised that she was a no-show. She's usually early or right on time. Keep your fingers crossed that all is well for them.
This farming family lives in a motor home on the farm. They only just recently got electricity hooked up out there so in the interim they were staying in Trish's parents motor home which is generator equipped. Imagine, two adults, two teenage kids and a dog living in a motor home. Gosh, it sure would be tough. On Mondays, Trish brings her laundry in when she comes to make the basket delivery. The back of her truck has anywhere from 5 to 6 garbage bags full of dirty clothes that she's taking to the laundromat. They work together on the farm, all day, every day, and then spend their evenings together in the motor home... now that's a close knit family. No room at all for teenage pig stys ha ha ha.
My white beans and ham came out perfect! I met Wally at Pee Wees after the disappointing basket debacle and we had a few beers and listened to all the typical b-s'ing that goes on. The whole time I kept thinking about those beans and how good they were gonna be. They lived up to my expectations. Of course the ham was from the whole picnic we bought last week. It's kind of sweet and salty at the same time - just the way my nephew, Kain, likes it. Maybe he'll come up and have some with us. Sans the beans of course... lol Well, who knows maybe he likes beans by now? He didn't used to like anything (he's Neccy's son, what do you expect?) but he's coming around now that he's tried my ham, the beef heart and chicken and dumplins. I think his favorite is still pulled pork though.
I saw a 6 point buck on my way to work this morning. He was eating along side a driveway but stopped and looked up when I drove by. I'll tell you what, I was going so slow I was practically stopped. I would have taken a picture but my phone is still not sending them in the right format so it would have been a waste of time. I'll have to figure out some other way of getting pictures on the blog until I can get that corrected.
Claudia's husband came home from Iraq after being there for 6 months. I haven't met him yet because they were doing the family thing for the first couple of days and then they decided to head up to the Smokey Mountains for some alone time. She sent me a text saying they'll be back this weekend and she'll let me know their plans so we can meet up. I know she's happy to have him home for what little time he'll be here. Imagine having your husband and your son both in Iraq at the same time... I'm sure having them both home is a big relief for her - and them too!
I'm in search of raw honey. I had a jug of it that Sandy gave me but we have just about gone through all that. It was some good stuff too! I checked out what was available in the grocery store but it just didn't seem right to get it there when surely someone around here has it on their farm. So the search is on...lol hmmm maybe I'll start raising honey bees myself someday. It'll have to go on the list because right now we're just too busy with everything else going on.
Still no word on the cows but we did see Curt yesterday, we just forgot to ask him about them. I told him how much we enjoyed the venison jerky and cube steaks. He said he gets two deer given to him every year and that we're welcome to one of them. It's hard to imagine getting bored with it. There are so many different ways to cook it. Tonight we're having it in our tacos instead of hamburger meat and I'll probably slow roast the roast (ha ha) over the weekend. One internet recipe calls for sprinkling a packet of onion soup mix on it and then cooking it in cream of mushroom soup. I've never had it that way but it sounds good to me :)
We're getting close to football season...woo hoo!! Everyone here is, of course, a Titans fan. I just don't know who my team will be since the great Favre is likely to retire, or not, or so, or not, or so... lol I'll probably keep the Packers since I've had them as my favorite for so long. I can't believe Donovan McNabb went to the Redskins. I like the Redskins but I don't care for his style at all. Maybe he'll be different with them. In any event, when the people on the radio and tv start talking football, it's only about a month away and you know what that means... when football season starts, the weather cools off. ahhhhhhhhh
Hey, if anyone gets a football pool going, let me know. I'll send the money and my picks.
The kids are getting ready to go back to school around here so that means I'll be back in the 15 mile per hour school zones on my way home. By my work, they go back on the 12th and by the house they go back on the 6th. Seems strange to me to start school on a Thursday or a Friday. Are they just trying to ruin those days? lol Why not have them go back on a Monday - Monday's are already famous for not being liked.
Everyone is very much into the school spirit. There are signs all along the roads and flags are being hung up along the fences; "Welcome back Brentwood Vikings" and "Fairview Middle School Welcomes rising 6th Graders." High school football is everything. They will stop at nothing to get those games in. Those first few days of school are fun when you get to see all your friends again and, if you're lucky, you might get some new school clothes. I always liked going to school. It was no fun staying home because everyone was in school.
I don't know when they go back in FL but I know I owe Jarrett $11.00 for his final grades. He got four A's and three B's. Not bad, not bad at all :) WAY TO GO SON!! Your money will be in the mail in the next day or so. If he keeps doing so well, I may just have to give him a raise. I'm very proud of him.
Rebecca never said what her grades were so I figure they must not be too good otherwise I'd have heard about them by now... ha ha ha She actually has to study now that she's in college. That high school stuff was a breeze but college is a whole different ballgame. Hang in there kiddo - you can do it!
I'll be making my venison tacos tonight while my little red-headed nurse is driving the moving truck to Arizona. She was this side of San Antonio, TX when she called me this morning. They overslept a little bit but they all needed the rest. They had been on the go for two days with very little sleep. "You'll be in me thoughts me Diz."
Stay out of the heat, keep drinking lots of water, try to consume fresh fruits and vegetables so your body will be healthy and remember...
"If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague." unknown author
I used to let it bother me and I would rant and rave (I know - hard to imagine, huh? ha ha) and insist that she clean it. She would half-ass shove everything under the bed or into the already, stuffed to the brim, closet. After a while I decided to let it go. If she wanted to live in that mess, so be it. I refused to do anything with it. Since she wouldn't clean her room, I also refused to do her laundry. If she wanted to live in a clean room she would have to clean it and if she wanted to wear clean clothes, she would have to wash them. I think she was maybe in the 6th grade when all these life changing events took place. Too bad Chelsea wasn't raised like that...
Rebecca will be 20 on December 4th (took me a while to figure that out!) and she completely made my day :) She was responding to an email I sent her asking about her high school friend, Chelsea. Here is a clip of her response:
"Her house is a pigsty so I'm going to go over there the next day I have off and force her to get up and clean it because her version of cleaning it right now is keeping the kitchen light off. Which I told her is unacceptable."
Be still my beating heart!!
She also informed me that she is the only person at the Swain's house who is allowed to fold the towels because none of them know the proper way to perform this task. She even cleans the bathroom!! Those Swains actually leave globs of toothpaste on the cap and this annoys her. Oh! She is becoming me... :) before you know it, she'll be vacuuming her vacuum cleaner... ha ha ha!
Now, as far as Neccy goes with this whole "I'm never eating beets, ever!" thing, well, that's just not acceptable. There is nothing wrong with beets if you are buying the right kind and cooking them in the most natural way. Besides, she said she was never eating rabbit either and she did! Odds are, she probably hasn't ever tried beets to know whether or not she even likes them. Of course it would be better if you could get them from a Farmer's Market but if there isn't one near you, you can always buy them fresh from the grocery store. If they have the golden beets - get them by all means! Otherwise the red beets will do just fine.
They will store in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks so you don't have to worry about cooking them right away. When you get them home, trim the leaves down to about 2 inches. Leaving the 2 inches on them will keep the red color from leaching out while they are being stored. Leave the root on as well. Put them in a plastic bag (unsealed) and into the refrigerator to store. When you do get ready to eat them, cover them with water and bring it to a boil. let it boil for a minute or so and then turn them down to simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Depending on how big they are, it may take longer than this. Try to buy the smaller to medium sized beets because they are naturally sweeter and naturally more tender.
After testing for doneness by sticking a fork in them, take them from the pot of water and set them aside to cool. Whatever you set them on will be at risk for turning red so choose the vessel thoughtfully. However, I have found that the red comes out with a good washing. I had it on my wonderful, bamboo cutting board and it came clean with no problem. When they have cooled to the point where you can touch them without hurting yourself, cut the top part off with what is left of the leaf stem and cut the little root end off. Then just gently pull down on the skin. It should slip right off for you. You can use a paper towel if you're worried about your fingers turning red but again, the red comes off when you wash your hands. From here all you need to do is slice them up and eat them. They are good warm or cold. Make sure you bring some to Neccy so she can see how good they are! LOL!! I'm just too funny sometimes.
Folks, it's 101 degrees here today and it's expected to be the same tomorrow. In Phoenix, Arizona, it's 103. Orlando is 98 degrees... what the heck is up with that???? I went out at lunchtime to drop off some plastic grocery bags to the recycle bins at Kroger and whew was it ever HOT. My steering wheel was so hot I had to use a pair of socks (a.k.a. my winter gloves in FL) to hold it. There was a slight breeze blowing all the hot air around but all it did was mess up my hair... lol Even though it is freezing in this building, it's by far better than being outside right now.
So, after my posting yesterday where I wrote about the okra, Neccy commented that she wouldn't eat anything pickled - ever! Jeez, first the beets now the pickled okra... Now come on. If you eat pickles (and she does), you would like the pickled okra. The ingredients vary only slightly in that the okra is a little bit sweet. I can see not wanting to eat pickled pig's feet but okra? It's a good thing :) Those pig's feet are just slippery chunks of gristle with very little meat on them - honestly, it must be an acquired taste. I'm told that I just didn't have the right kind but I can't imagine what the choices would be. They were pigs feet and they were pickled... not a favorite of mine.
I went to pick up my CSA basket yesterday but my lady never showed up. Or if she did, she was later than the half hour I waited. I thought I would have an email from her this morning but that didn't happen either. She told me last week that her son had been sick for awhile so I'm just hoping they didn't have to hospitalize him yesterday. There were 6 or 7 other people waiting like me and we were all very surprised that she was a no-show. She's usually early or right on time. Keep your fingers crossed that all is well for them.
This farming family lives in a motor home on the farm. They only just recently got electricity hooked up out there so in the interim they were staying in Trish's parents motor home which is generator equipped. Imagine, two adults, two teenage kids and a dog living in a motor home. Gosh, it sure would be tough. On Mondays, Trish brings her laundry in when she comes to make the basket delivery. The back of her truck has anywhere from 5 to 6 garbage bags full of dirty clothes that she's taking to the laundromat. They work together on the farm, all day, every day, and then spend their evenings together in the motor home... now that's a close knit family. No room at all for teenage pig stys ha ha ha.
My white beans and ham came out perfect! I met Wally at Pee Wees after the disappointing basket debacle and we had a few beers and listened to all the typical b-s'ing that goes on. The whole time I kept thinking about those beans and how good they were gonna be. They lived up to my expectations. Of course the ham was from the whole picnic we bought last week. It's kind of sweet and salty at the same time - just the way my nephew, Kain, likes it. Maybe he'll come up and have some with us. Sans the beans of course... lol Well, who knows maybe he likes beans by now? He didn't used to like anything (he's Neccy's son, what do you expect?) but he's coming around now that he's tried my ham, the beef heart and chicken and dumplins. I think his favorite is still pulled pork though.
I saw a 6 point buck on my way to work this morning. He was eating along side a driveway but stopped and looked up when I drove by. I'll tell you what, I was going so slow I was practically stopped. I would have taken a picture but my phone is still not sending them in the right format so it would have been a waste of time. I'll have to figure out some other way of getting pictures on the blog until I can get that corrected.
Claudia's husband came home from Iraq after being there for 6 months. I haven't met him yet because they were doing the family thing for the first couple of days and then they decided to head up to the Smokey Mountains for some alone time. She sent me a text saying they'll be back this weekend and she'll let me know their plans so we can meet up. I know she's happy to have him home for what little time he'll be here. Imagine having your husband and your son both in Iraq at the same time... I'm sure having them both home is a big relief for her - and them too!
I'm in search of raw honey. I had a jug of it that Sandy gave me but we have just about gone through all that. It was some good stuff too! I checked out what was available in the grocery store but it just didn't seem right to get it there when surely someone around here has it on their farm. So the search is on...lol hmmm maybe I'll start raising honey bees myself someday. It'll have to go on the list because right now we're just too busy with everything else going on.
Still no word on the cows but we did see Curt yesterday, we just forgot to ask him about them. I told him how much we enjoyed the venison jerky and cube steaks. He said he gets two deer given to him every year and that we're welcome to one of them. It's hard to imagine getting bored with it. There are so many different ways to cook it. Tonight we're having it in our tacos instead of hamburger meat and I'll probably slow roast the roast (ha ha) over the weekend. One internet recipe calls for sprinkling a packet of onion soup mix on it and then cooking it in cream of mushroom soup. I've never had it that way but it sounds good to me :)
We're getting close to football season...woo hoo!! Everyone here is, of course, a Titans fan. I just don't know who my team will be since the great Favre is likely to retire, or not, or so, or not, or so... lol I'll probably keep the Packers since I've had them as my favorite for so long. I can't believe Donovan McNabb went to the Redskins. I like the Redskins but I don't care for his style at all. Maybe he'll be different with them. In any event, when the people on the radio and tv start talking football, it's only about a month away and you know what that means... when football season starts, the weather cools off. ahhhhhhhhh
Hey, if anyone gets a football pool going, let me know. I'll send the money and my picks.
The kids are getting ready to go back to school around here so that means I'll be back in the 15 mile per hour school zones on my way home. By my work, they go back on the 12th and by the house they go back on the 6th. Seems strange to me to start school on a Thursday or a Friday. Are they just trying to ruin those days? lol Why not have them go back on a Monday - Monday's are already famous for not being liked.
Everyone is very much into the school spirit. There are signs all along the roads and flags are being hung up along the fences; "Welcome back Brentwood Vikings" and "Fairview Middle School Welcomes rising 6th Graders." High school football is everything. They will stop at nothing to get those games in. Those first few days of school are fun when you get to see all your friends again and, if you're lucky, you might get some new school clothes. I always liked going to school. It was no fun staying home because everyone was in school.
I don't know when they go back in FL but I know I owe Jarrett $11.00 for his final grades. He got four A's and three B's. Not bad, not bad at all :) WAY TO GO SON!! Your money will be in the mail in the next day or so. If he keeps doing so well, I may just have to give him a raise. I'm very proud of him.
Rebecca never said what her grades were so I figure they must not be too good otherwise I'd have heard about them by now... ha ha ha She actually has to study now that she's in college. That high school stuff was a breeze but college is a whole different ballgame. Hang in there kiddo - you can do it!
I'll be making my venison tacos tonight while my little red-headed nurse is driving the moving truck to Arizona. She was this side of San Antonio, TX when she called me this morning. They overslept a little bit but they all needed the rest. They had been on the go for two days with very little sleep. "You'll be in me thoughts me Diz."
Stay out of the heat, keep drinking lots of water, try to consume fresh fruits and vegetables so your body will be healthy and remember...
"If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague." unknown author
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