projects...

OK, just a quick one here, I don't really like to blog on Sunday. But I had a free minute and I just had to share the baby blanket I'm making. It's working up sooooooo nice! I hope the pictures can do it justice, and you can see the pattern. The color is the dark sage simply soft yarn, love it. It's almost done too. This is the sweater pattern I got from my grandmother and turned into a baby blanket! There are three pictures, so hopefully you can see the pattern!

sunshine hooray!!!!!

Abby decided to lay down and eat her grass out in her grass pasture this afternoon. She has done this since she was a filly. She'd always lay down in her pile of food and eat it. I like that she still does. I had to get her back to or she would have gotten up. I'm glad I have a pretty good zoom on my camera! Time Out was out with Maggie. The two have been together everyday for three days. Oh and notice the brightness and how lush the grass looks?!  That's due to about two weeks of rain, and humidity. We were finally able to get up fencing and put the horses out on grass. This picture with Abby is our back lawn, I no longer have to mow it, the horses do!! Not to mention get Maggie on some more pasture that was ready to be grazed. We noticed a huge increase in her milk. When it was time for milking her udder was full! She has gone up in milk 1.5 gallons a day! That is just putting her on fresh grass! She's on the end of her milk cycle too, we'll be drying her off in August, so she'll calve in October. Not really ideal for wanting a grass based dairy to dry her off in the peak grazing season, but considering all the trouble we had... anyways we are very excited to to see the increase in her milk, and are really encouraged to think how much more cows will give just getting them on spring grass! We have even cut back on her grain as well. We are not graining her for maximum production either, we give her half of what she was getting at the farm we bought her from, because we don't need as much milk as she can give.  But it is very exciting to see the increase and we look forward to having a more grass based herd in the future! This is the first spring that we have had a cow and milking! We have learned so much, and know we have so much more to learn, but it will come in time. Hard to believe that we have had Maggie for almost a year, we got her in June! Wow has that gone fast!
Kinda funny, only because everything turned out alright, don't think it would be so funny if it hadn't! Shortly after I took this picture I had to go get Time Out and lock her in her stall. She was chasing Maggie, and then she decided to take the fence down. She was a little confused and didn't like the shocking she was getting from the fence. She trotted all the way to her barn, then decided to scream for Abby. Abby couldn't care less and continued eating. Maggie was looking a little miffed when I went and had to get her in her stall. She really didn't want to come in yet, it wasn't time for miking, but a little bit of grain shaking near her head lock and she came in, after throwing her head around and pawing the ground to let me know she was not amused. Maybe Time Out was just practicing her team penning skills she really wants to have!! I got the fence back up, and put back together, and told Matthew when he got home we needed to make sure it was the way he had it set up, and we need to fix a few fence posts before putting Maggie back out.
Soooo now it's back to fixing fence and more walking! But when you have a grass operation I guess that's what you do, walk, and a lot of it!! Good thing I like to walk!!
Have a great night all!!

monday confessions

I'm tired of all this rain. Really. Seriously.

 I managed to get the lawn mowed, most of it, I just have a small patch that needs to be finished, in between the rain this weekend. We have a push mower, and I like it, I walk and walk and walk! Great time to think and get some exercise.

Saturday morning before the rain Matthew took the kiddos fishing! They were all excited to go! They were gone all morning, and I managed to get some house work done before I mowed.  Rachel was the only one that caught anything though.While it was pouring out I worked on one more project. I can't wait to show you how it's coming out too! It's a  sweater pattern that I turned into a blanket!! And I've never followed a " written pattern" or done this pattern before either!! Shocking right!? I went to visit my grandmother the other day and she gave me the pattern. We had a huge thunder storm too. It was right on top of us and BANG, BOOM!!! Thankfully they made it back BEFORE the rain and more importantly the thunder storm! Yikes! Here are some pictures of the fishing!!

our boy. he likes to fish! 

our baby, she likes to fish too! looks comfy sitting there!

shiner! she likes to fish as well!

our baby caught the only fish that day!! 

goose! she, you guessed it, likes to fish too!

Boy they sure are cute! I'm partial though! I love country life, and they do as well! Shiner and Goose got their own fishing poles for their birthdays this year. It's what they wanted. So cool! And Bug said she wants her own fishing pole too. Yup that's what she's getting too! Little Matt already has one!

Recently I had to throw away about 5lbs of sugar. Well actually it's organic evaporated cane juice. Ouch. Yup had to toss it all in the trash. Why? Well I have glass containers on my counter of things I use very regularly, and it was an old jar that my mom gave me and the rubber ring had worn off, and well I went to close the top and it went CRASH! I found two large pieces of glass on the counter. I decided I didn't want to risk it and eat any glass shards, so out to the trash it went. Oh man! I still have glass containers of things on my counter, but now they are all in Ball Mason jars, the half gallon size, with a plastic food grade cover on it. So now it all matches!

Have a great Monday all, even if it's raining and it's Monday!! :-)

what on earth...

is that? Looks like yellow cheese in something. But I wouldn't recommend eating it. And a side note, I don't buy yellow cheese. Milk is white, not yellow. Don't want the dye!
I have kinda poo pooed this idea for some time now. Why? Because it's easier to get it already done at the grocery store. But then again a lot of things are easier to just buy at the store come to think of it. Well are you wondering what it is? It's my first attempt at making homemade laundry detergent. So I'll let you know how it went.

These are the ingredients. Cost all of about $8.12, that's with the tax. I found some recipes on line and thought why not!? I finally decided to bite the bullet and try it. So I grated the Fels Naptha bar with a cheese grater. Then added the rest. Then thought, well I have towels to wash, so I'll try it on them instead of clothes, just in case... Well I knew that the Fels Naptha bar won't dissolve in cold water, so I'll just turn on the hot water and throw it in and mix it around, then turn the water back to cold to finish filling up the washer. Yes I use cold water to do laundry. Well the Fels didn't dissolve in the hot water. At all. Great, now I have to clean it out of the washer, and melt it. But that means more work to wash clothes. Boil water, add the soap, let it dissolve, then put it in the wash, then, well you get the picture. A little bit inconvenient for me. Too many steps. And too much time. So I decided to try the liquid homemade laundry soap. It ended up being a double batch because the first batch of dry stuff made it be a liquid double batch. I hope I like it! I'll let you know!

Hot water, with the Nels Naptha to melt. Took about 10 minutes to melt it all down.

finished product. I had to put it two small buckets to fit it, for 24 hours. I have two store brand laundry containers that should fit some. I get the 96 loads size. I have yet to try it because it needs to sit for like I said 24 hours. 

Well there you have it. My latest project for making a homemade soap, for the wash! Happy laundry washing all!

projects

So I have found the time to sit and knit! It's been raining here a lot lately, days on end it seems, and some days it's been nice and I have taken my projects outside with me. I got stung by a hornet one day when I was out knitting. That was the end of that! I like to make baby blankets for friends and family that are having babies. I have had people say they want one that is big enough for them to warp up in! I take that as a complement. I don't make a ton of them and I think I like to try new patterns. Once in a while I get stuck on a certain pattern that I really like and I make a few blankets in that pattern. Maybe someday I'll be real ambitious and try even more... don't hold your breath! When I pick out a color I don't always pick the traditional "baby" colors, sometimes I base it on who the mother is, or if one of the kiddos really likes a certain color I'll go with that. I have been busy knitting. My mom taught me how to knit, and from that I have learned more stitches. I like to call my grandmother who is a wonderful knitter and ask her questions about knitting too. I have lots of baby blankets from her for the kiddos and she makes them sweaters too. She informs me that I'm doing it wrong and how to fix it, I appreciate her help. I've even looked on you tube for more things. I have yet to make socks or sweaters, but maybe someday. My kiddos want me to make them a sweater out of our sheep wool. We shall see. If I do DaLaney will get the first one. But here are pictures of the blanket, and blanket to come.

this is a close up of the pattern, it's a basket weave. I kinda made up the patten myself in how I made it. I love this color too!

This is the new color I'm going to start on next. It's Dark Sage, I love the Simply Soft yarn! I  My  friend is having a boy, so I am going to make another baby blanket. All this rain I'm having plenty of time to knit! 

the same blanket on my lap, just wanna snuggle a baby in it! this is not the whole thing, it's just to show you what it looks like!  Stupid computer wouldn't let me change the pictures around, I tried three times. That is why the green one is in the middle. The friend I gave this blanket to had a boy.

blueberries...

in Maine in May? Sure why not?! Actually they were frozen from last year. We bought a bunch of them frozen and cleaned from a local man that owns lots of blueberry fields. I won't tell you how many pounds we bought, but it was a lot. Heck of a deal too!!  I just love blueberries. Pancakes, muffins, pie...
Anyways I make all the jelly /jam we eat, and am almost out. So I dug out lots of blueberries and made some jelly. Emma LOVES blueberry jelly, it's her favorite. They kept coming to the kitchen and smelling the aroma of the blueberries cooking down. Yes I made jelly, I strained them. I couldn't help but take a few pictures and now I want to share them!
Not much has been going on farm wise, too much rain, again. Now we need to dry out, again.

Cooking down the blueberries

adding sugar/pectin

isn't that perr-ty? a nice mixture of jars too! I made a double batch.

this is what I use for making jelly/jam. Then I can use however much sugar I want to. I used 3 C sugar and 8 C blueberries. 

 I like to use this pectin, because I can use as much or as little sugar I want, or honey. I like to taste the berries in my jelly/jam and not all sugar! Besides I think it's healthier! I've never used honey in my jelly/jam...
So until next time!

yard work rambling...

I like yard work. I certainly like it better then house work and cleaning the toilet! There is always more things to do then time allows.
My lawn was in need of mowing and I got it done, and the rain hasn't started yet! Matthew was gone this morning so I got busy. The kiddos cleaned up their plither of toys all over the yard while I mowed. I only hit a few rocks that got thrown onto the lawn by the plow man plowing the neighbors driveway with that last snow storm we got on April Fool's day. Oops. Hope I didn't damage the blade...
 Last year we fenced in the what we call the "back lawn" for the cow, but well that didn't work out so we put the horses on it. Cuts down on the hay in the summer for them, and that cuts down a lot of mowing on my part, the horses do it! Takes me about an hour to mow the lawn. After I got the lawn mowed Matthew came home, I had just literally stopped the mower when he pulled into the driveway. We had lunch and he was off to plow the neighbors garden, so I cleaned the horses stalls, then raked up the rocks on the front lawn and cleaned it up. The kiddos raked the rocks on the side lawn. They did a really good job at it too!
We were able to put the cow out on fresh grass the other day. It's finally ready and dry enough! She's really happy about that, now the butter will be a darker yellow! Changed real pale yellow once she wasn't on grass anymore.
I'm done rambling. I was just pleased to get so much work done this morning before it rained. Oh I also made a cake to take to my in laws for supper tonight for our monthly meal together!
 I also have a picture to share with you!

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here, but it just feels right!"

says the little Partridge Rock hen. She was just sitting there happy as you please this morning. So we had to take her picture! She's got a ways to go before she'll lay her first egg, but it looks like she'll do just fine!
Have a great weekend!

happy dance!!!!

Errrrrr. Yup. I had a post about being excited, but blogger went down and deleted it. Also the comments from my other post country beauty. But thanks for all the comments. So to Mary that asked about seeing the Northern Lights, Yes we do get to see them. I don't know if I could get a picture that would do it justice.I think I'll try! I know that Renee posted something too, but don't remember what. To FTCF a little bit of perspective, your in my prayers. So thank you to those who posted. If I forgot someone who did post I'm sorry. Maybe they'll get put back on. But if it doesn't then I wanted to respond to those who said something that made me want to say something back to them!!

Anyways back to my excitement! We are almost done home school for the summer!! WWhhhhhoooooooo! (computers don't know what that word is, they never have a suggestion)! Yup I'm totally doing the happy dance right now! All the kiddos books are just about done and we only have a few more things to finish up and then we have the summer off. Well, in real life, which is what I live, they are learning all year. Not all book stuff but life, farm, and garden stuff! I'm so very proud of my kiddos and all the hard work that we have done this school year. It's a full time job.

I don't think I'm going to look at the weather forecast anymore. It's too depressing. It's calling for rain, rain, rain, oh and did I mention more rain? I need to get the lawn mowed, finally. It's all green and in need of a mowing, but I don't think it will get done before the rain comes. Such a cold spring. Hope that this is not an indicator to our summer. I like it hot!! I would be a happy girl if it was 75 all year round! I think I live in the wrong state for that though! :::::sigh::::

Oh and one more thing... I made an apple danish. I'll share pictures too. I read the directions wrong, imagine. I used an egg white in the crust instead of the yolk. So it came out a little different, but I got great reviews from my family. So next time I'll pay better attention to the directions. Oh well at least it was edible! This is a recipe that I got from my MIL. For a bridal shower gift she gave me a bunch of Matthew's favorite and family favorite recipe book. If your thinking horrors, don't. She had Matthew ask me if I would be interested in some of his favorite meals growing up. I was. I thought that was a cool idea. There are also pictures of his family in the cookbook and who the recipe came from. That way when I would see family I would be able to put a face and name together. I thought and still do think what a cool, and useful gift. It's broken and dirty and duck taped together now! Some of the pages are falling out of it, just to let you know, it's very much used, and I love it!! So if my MIL ever reads this post thank you for such a great gift!!!

Mmmmmmm. Yummy!! Interested? Did I spark some interest? Hehehehe OK, so here is the recipe if ya want it!

Apple Danish with Icing

2.5 C flour                                    1 C shortening
1 tsp salt                                       1 egg yolk, and enough milk to make 2/3 C (save the white)

Mix together to form dough, don't over mix or it will be tough, like dough gets!! Divide in half and roll out each to fit a 10 by 15 inch pan

1 C cornflakes                               8 C apples
3/4 C sugar mixed w/ 1 tes cinnamon
1 egg white

Put cornflakes on dough in pan. Layer apples on cornflakes. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Place other crust on top. Then smoosh the ends together. Then brush egg white on top.
Bake 375 for 50 minutes
While it's baking make the icing. 1/2 C powdered sugar, 2-3 tes milk. When the danish is done drizzle on top! Enjoy!!!

country beauty...

Alright, so I'm a huge sucker for not only homemade doughnuts, and cinnamon rolls, but also sunsets! When Matthew and I were first married he worked at a dairy farm, milking nights, as well as his sawmill/woodworking shop, at that time we didn't have all our farm critters! I had a part time job. But anyways he would be at the barn, and I would sit outside or take a nice long walk down our quiet, country road, forcing myself not to jump every time I heard a peeper or cricket. I grew up in a small town, but in town, and listened to 18 wheelers and jake brakes slowing as they flew down the hill to a stop, not the crickets and wind blowing through the hay fields. I would torture my husband as I would keep the radio on for some "noise" at night. I wasn't used to the peaceful, quietness of  country living. I now cherish the quiet, and peacefulness of the country. I have the pleasure of open areas and the view is spectacular! So I have over the many years sat and watched and taken many pictures of what I call my sunsets! I never tire of seeing them either. The sky lights up as if on fire as the sun settles down below the mountains and another long day comes to an end. OK so I'm not always sitting and enjoying them, sometimes we are out and about doing farm work or garden stuff... !
That said I have a couple pictures of my sunset the other night, and wanted to share them with ya'll! These were taken about 10 minutes apart. Just to show the difference 10 minutes can make!

Enjoy, and thanks for stopping our plot of land we call home!

what's cooking in my kitchen?

As you all know by now, I cook. A lot. Besides that I have a family that likes to eat! I have to admit I do too! I do like to put up some pictures and share what I have cooked and hope you enjoy reading it, and maybe trying some. Maybe when I have a complete flop I'll share that too, like fried zucchini, I haven't decided, but like I said, laugh everyday, even if it's at yourself. I think that is so very true of me. I find laughing at myself makes my life easier. I try not to take myself too seriously, really.  I like to check others who blog about food and get inspired to try new things. Who doesn't get tired of the same old things, and the same old grocery list? I know I do. And I do need to make a new shopping list and menu for the next week, soooooo.
 Well here are some things that I have tried. Some I've never tried before, or just a new twist on something I already make. So scroll on down and get hungry!!

bacon wrapped meat loaf! Yummy! Of course I got it  from Pioneer Woman!

pie crust, my grandmothers pie crust recipe

apple pie, my grand mothers recipe. she made the best apple pie.

I knew if I could make an apple pie and make my mom cry, that I had arrived as a pie maker. And one day I did! Thanks Mom! Sorry to make you cry!

my crazy kiddos, and a wedding cake. Part of a history lesson. We read about Pocahontas getting married, so we celebrated by making a cake! 

Cowboy Calzone. Again Pioneer Woman. These were a huge hit

OK, so the meatloaf was really good. I mean it's wrapped in bacon! Need I say more!!??
And if you were wondering why I made my mom cry and am pleased... My mother's mother was an excellent pie maker, and cook. She lived with us (back when I was in high school), and she would cook for us and with us. She also made doughnuts that were just out of this world too. I mean come home from school and see a pile of fresh doughnuts on the counter, and being a ravenously hungry teen I would devour some of them. She would take that time and ask about my day. Guess she really knew how to get a stubborn teen to talk. Just give me a doughnut! I would happily sit and chat with her over milk and doughnuts. Oh how I wish I had more of those times. She died of Alzheimer, I miss her and her wisdom. I know that there will be a day when I can visit with her again.
Anyways I would try and often fail at making pies. I made a raspberry one for Thanksgiving one year, and my friends brother was so excited to eat it, well one bite and that was it. He thought it was a cruel joke to offer raspberry pie and not put the sugar in it! Oops! He still reminds me of that from time to time when we chat!! Mom always told me that if I ever made a pie that tasted like her moms she would probably cry. So that was my goal. Sounds mean I know.
 So after getting married and making pie after pie after pie I got better. Then I made an apple pie and took it to my mom's. She took one bite and burst into tears. I had arrived! I hugged my mom and we laughed, and were both a little teary eyed. Mom, if you read this hope you don't mind me sharing that.
The wedding cake was just something fun to do and the kiddos like to help me cook. And yes we did read about Pocahontas getting married. They thought that was cool too, they LOVE history! The cake was even more fun to eat! It's a white cake with white frosting. Nothing fancy, but yummy!
The Cowboy Calzone was, like I said a huge hit. They have asked for me to make them again. I must have forgotten to take a picture of the finished product. It was great because it made a great quick breakfast the next morning!
So there you have it. A few more yummy things to try if you choose or just to look at, or just make you hungry!! I've made more things I just haven't thought to take a picture of it! I'll keep you posted on my cooking, and maybe throw in a story about my life as I go. Funny how food can jog a memory you have tucked away in your brain, and then share it as you blog about life! But food is such a personal thing and often shared with people you love, or like!

monday confessions

I love a good Hallmark movie! Don't you? No, my life is not a Hallmark movie. I just thought I'd share that!

I like Blake Sheldon's new song "Honey bee".

Yes I had a nice Mother's Day. And I hope all you moms did too.

So things are going well here on the farm. It's not real warm here. Still. Only had a few real warm days. I did take one of my projects (that I finished) outside, but it was short lived. I got stung by a hornet, and the wind picked up so I came back in. I decided that one sting a day was plenty.

The horses are taking forever to shed out. I can brush them, but it's just not coming off. Guess that means it's not warm enough. Currently they look like they have the mange! They don't, they just look like they do.

So far our indoor plants are doing well. The kiddos like to water them. I've noticed in the last few days that they have really shot right up, and getting a nice strong main stem.

The broilers are getting big too. On Thursday they will be 5 weeks old. Almost time for their harvest. I haven't seen that little one escape lately either. Not sure if it's too big now or just had enough adventure!

They are not cute. But they sure do taste good! They will jump out of the tractor when Little Matt feeds them. He'll grab them and put them back in. Thankfully they are so wide they just waddle along. Kinda make me think of myself when I was great with child! Hahahah! The waddling part that is! Maybe when they are all grown I'll post a picture of them from day one, to the last day! Then you can see how big they get in just 7.5 weeks.

moms...

Well tomorrow is another Mother's Day! I wish all you moms out there a very happy one too!
Being a mom is a great job, and a hard one, one that brings all ranges of emotion at all different times and all that can be in one day. From being a first time mom and holding that new little bundle in my arms. Being over taken with love and fear, for this gift that has been entrusted to me. ME! WOW! I now have four of them that have been given to me. I cherish each and every one of them too. They are all different, and bring so much adventure to my life! They make me see the world, and life, through their eyes at times. I can't imagine my life with out them. I wonder at times what did I do before I had kiddos. (Yes I can remember). I know I didn't have nearly as much laundry to do!! But I do love all that laundry, the cereal dried on the floor and needing a pick ax to get it off, stepping on spilt cereal and getting it squished between my toes before I get my flip flops on, tripping over toys in the hall, the crayons and various other surprises I find in the wash, and the millions of dandelions I get all summer long! Why? Because my life is so full of the blessings we have, and I'm so thankful for it!
I have grown to really appreciate my mom. I have learned many things from her and find her words coming out of my mouth at times too. I stop and think "did I just say that?!" And yup, I did just say that. I'll call her up sometimes and tell her a funny story about something one of the kiddos have done and she'll laugh and say "now I wonder where they got that from..." in a sarcastic, humorous way. I'll just laugh and say "I have no idea..."
 My life revolves around my kiddos, and my man. Oh yeah and the farm! ha!

So here is one farm mom wishing all you a great Mother's Day!

my life!

soap making...

OK, so I have finally done it! I made cows milk soap! May sound a little weird, but then again who was the first one to say they made goats milk soap?! Now it sounds normal?!  So we'll see! This is the first time I have ever done this with cows milk. And this was the second time I've ever made soap too, so I'm very excited to see how it comes out. I managed to get a lye burn on my arm somehow. I was so careful, but still got a little one right where my glove ended. Hurt. I put lemon essential oil in it, the soap, not my burn, so my kitchen now smells like lemon, not a bad thing, and a bit like stinky lye! I only had to sacrifice a wooden spoon, a 9 by 13 pan, and my submersion blender. I had all the other things that I needed. But I can get a new blender this fall before I make spaghetti sauce! I have to wait about 24 hours for it to cure and then cut it and let it sit for 4 weeks before we can use it, so it will be June. I'll be sure to let you know how it comes out. I think I might get a few family guinea pigs to try it out too and see what they think of it! I have some pictures to share!

the oils to be melted

milk, lye mixture with the oils, and starting to blend it

this is at trace with all the ingredients in it

this is in my pan I sacrificed, I have 3 of them so I figured I could! Now it cures  for about 24 hrs!

So happy soap making all!! Go ahead and try it!

monday confessions...

Welcome Monday! I can't believe I said that, but it was a good Monday! I think the weather had something to do with it! What an absolutely beautiful day it was too! The sun was out in full force with very few clouds and a light breeze! I decided not do the house work today, but to sit outside and enjoy the sun! It will still be there tomorrow (the house work) and it's supposed to rain. But I did get some laundry done and hung out on the line. I had to, I just couldn't let all that free, wonderful, solar power go to waste! I worked on a project while the kiddos played! Now that said, I did get some cooking done, and home school too . Let's see I made bread, cherry pie (Matthew was wanting one), peanut butter cookies, butter and supper! I have lots of pictures to show you!
After supper tonight we went out and Matthew got to work shearing Minty. She's our Finn sheep. (We have the hand clippers, not the electric ones, for now). A few years ago Matthew took a class on shearing sheep, with a friend from church. He was glad he took the course and has proved to make his job of shearing the sheep easier. The kiddos and I all stand around and watch him work, and take pictures of course! I have yet to try my hand at shearing... maybe someday I will... I will get a before and after picture up of both the sheep when they are done! And a picture of the wool! Looks real good this year too!
  Let the picture show begin!

my pie right out of the oven, I dropped a bowl on it, that is why it's gooshing out and broken. But it tasted good!

I've had a hankering for these, peanut butter  cookies!

I needed to make lunch, and needed some bread, so I made some!

This is the beautiful sky that I got to enjoy this afternoon! That's the hay field that we hay. It's really greening up too!

Matthew and the kiddos out shearing the sheep

Time Out decided she wanted to see what was going on, and nibble on some grass.

Minty being shorn. Her fleece is beautiful! I've spun some of it before and oh man it works up so nice! Smells good too, the sheep that is and the wool!

Our kiddos and the sheep. It wasn't that dark out, but it looks real dark when he was done. Daisy will be next, but ran out of time, and she was happy to have her buddy back, even if she looked different! 

My man's hands after shearing, all covered in lanolin. Not sure if you can see the shine on his hands, but it's there. Makes a great moisturizer! Nice hands honey! 

 That was my day! A good one at that! Hope ya'll had a good day too!