Friday, August 13, 2010
It's raining
See me doing a happy dance!!!!! Hubby might have to actually mow the grass...;) And it actually only was up to 99 today!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
An actual post...
Yeah it's hard to believe but I'm actually posting (typing) a new post. With help from my DH we canned peach preserves and peach pie filling today. He mostly just cut up the peaches but it did help believe me! I still have some more peaches and will be making some spiced peach jam with the rest of them. We even got some apples so I am planning on making some apple butter or apple sauce. I think I need a bigger pantry cause it is filling up fast! I even gave some of the items I canned away to a friend who visited us a couple of weeks ago. I will be posting pics from his visit and other things that have been going on as well.
The funniest thing happened today. DH was out changing the chicks water (we are doing this up to three times a day because of the heat) and of course Lucy wanted to be petted so he picked her up (I was watching out the kitchen window while I was stirring the preserves) and all of a sudden there was this gusher that came out of her...I was laughing so hard. DH put her down in the run and turned around. He was wet from his waist on the left side all the way down to his shoe! He was laughing too. He said that isnt the first time he has been pooped on. Lucy peed on me a couple of days ago but his was definitely poop. Too funny. He said she was laughing when he set her down on the ground...;)
Other than that not much going on around here.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
The funniest thing happened today. DH was out changing the chicks water (we are doing this up to three times a day because of the heat) and of course Lucy wanted to be petted so he picked her up (I was watching out the kitchen window while I was stirring the preserves) and all of a sudden there was this gusher that came out of her...I was laughing so hard. DH put her down in the run and turned around. He was wet from his waist on the left side all the way down to his shoe! He was laughing too. He said that isnt the first time he has been pooped on. Lucy peed on me a couple of days ago but his was definitely poop. Too funny. He said she was laughing when he set her down on the ground...;)
Other than that not much going on around here.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Sunday, August 8, 2010
GM plants show up in the wild
http://news.discovery.com/earth/gm-plant-canola-wild.html
Is this scary or what? It was bound to happen...
Is this scary or what? It was bound to happen...
Why housewives will save the world
I thought this was really true and although I am not a housewife per se my mom is and this really hit home for me. Enjoy!
Why housewives will save the world
_____
Once in a while a reader is astonished to learn that I am, quite literally,
nothing more than what I've always claimed to be: an opinionated north Idaho
housewife. I am not a journalist, or a
reporter, or anything loftier than a keeper of the home. I use the
denigrated term "housewife" deliberately because I am proud to be a member
of this elite group.
If you associate housewives with dull women too dumb to do anything but wipe
noses and clean toilets, I'm here to tell you otherwise. I will even make
the extraordinary declaration that it is housewives who will save the world.
Or at least, our nation.
The standard assumption about housewives (besides the obligatory doubts
about our intelligence and educational level) is that our husbands make so
much money that we can "afford" to stay home with the kids. This assumption
always sends us into peals of laughter because it is so seldom true. Let's
face it, the term "thrifty housewife" was coined for a reason.
Housewives spend years learning to be thrifty. We shop at Goodwill, not
Nordstrom. We mend holes and patch jeans. We purchase basic food items and
cook from scratch. Most of us don't do this because we are green and
environmentally conscious. We do it because it's cheap and it keeps us home
with the kids.
Many housewives supplement their husband's income with cottage industries. I
do freelance writing. I know a woman who makes brassiere holsters for
handguns (yes really . this is Idaho, remember). Yet another woman makes
reusable feminine hygiene products.Yet
another woman sells items on eBay.
None of us is sitting around watching soap operas and eating bonbons. We're
too busy making our home welcoming, too involved in looking for additional
ways to earn money, too occupied in finding yet more techniques to trim the
household budget so the bacon stretches further.
We praise our husbands for bringing home this bacon, however modest in size
it may be. It's our job to stretch that bacon so it lasts the whole month.
A housewife takes her marital vows seriously and does whatever it takes to
make her husband feel like a man by giving him respect, dedication, love,
faithfulness, a warm home and happy children. Housewives don't (or
shouldn't) speak disparagingly of their husbands. We praise them. Praised
men are happy men.
And that's why I believe the housewives of America will save this nation.
When the chips are down, the housewives rise up. We work harder, stretch the
dollars further and discover creative ways to do even more things from
scratch. We become cleverer and more resourceful at "making do."
These may seem like such small, trivial things. How will baking our own
bread or making our own laundry detergent save the nation? It may not . but
it could save the family. And if a family is saved, then bit by bit, family
by family, the nation is saved. See the logic?
What I mean is this. On a massive scale, our nation's problems are far
beyond our individual ability to do anything about them. Housewives cannot
stop the insane spending spree our government has embarked on during the
last 50 years. We cannot keep the economy from its free fall.
But we can help ourselves. Inch by inch, foot by foot, we can keep our
family afloat. If our husband loses his job, we tell him he's still manly
and sexy. We give him the confidence to look for work. We tighten an already
tight belt even more. We pick up part-time employment. We write more
columns, make more holsters, sew more feminine hygiene products and clinch
another eBay sale. We stroke our husband's fevered brow and whisper that it
will be OK, we'll weather this together, we'll stumble along doing whatever
it takes to keep our family whole. We don't let the cruel winds of financial
hardship rip our family apart. We are the glue that binds it.
You see, the role of a housewife is so much more than wiping noses and
cleaning toilets. Feminists have looked with contempt at housewives for
decades and have tried to convince our daughters that only lofty careers and
hefty paychecks can fulfill a woman. But housewives know better.
Men work hard at jobs they often dislike to provide for their families. For
a man, it is not his job that grants him identity, fulfillment and meaning;
it is his wife's praise and admiration. The wise housewife honors her man
for his dedication and sacrifice. The smart housewife becomes the kind of
woman her man wants to come home to. This is the glue.
A glued-together family stays together no matter where they are. If they are
evicted from their home because they can't afford the mortgage, then they
rent a cheap single-wide. The housewife will then turn it into a beautiful
haven because she knows it is not furnishings but love that makes a home.
When the hurricane roars during an economic storm, it will be the thrifty
housewife who will bear her family aloft through hard times. Her frugality,
common sense and familial glue will keep the boat afloat until it lands on a
more fruitful shore. As the waves settle, she will continue to bind, weave
and mesh her family into a seamless harmonious whole. In return, she is
blessed a thousandfold for her actions.
On the surface, it may not seem like wiping noses and cleaning toilets can
have any significant impact on saving our nation. After all, these acts are
not spectacular achievements like winning a court case, negotiating a
contract or curing someone of cancer. But the foundation of a nation is a
solid family unit. It is the humble, collective efforts of housewives that
build those solid, happy families. Nation upon nation is built on this
foundation. Without housewives, such a foundation would not - could not -
exist.
Don't thank us. We're just doing our job. But please, remember to put the
toilet seat down.
Bill and Tina Kroshl
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Why housewives will save the world
_____
Once in a while a reader is astonished to learn that I am, quite literally,
nothing more than what I've always claimed to be: an opinionated north Idaho
housewife
reporter, or anything loftier than a keeper of the home. I use the
denigrated term "housewife" deliberately because I am proud to be a member
of this elite group.
If you associate housewives with dull women too dumb to do anything but wipe
noses and clean toilets, I'm here to tell you otherwise. I will even make
the extraordinary declaration that it is housewives who will save the world.
Or at least, our nation.
The standard assumption about housewives (besides the obligatory doubts
about our intelligence and educational level) is that our husbands make so
much money that we can "afford" to stay home with the kids. This assumption
always sends us into peals of laughter because it is so seldom true. Let's
face it, the term "thrifty housewife" was coined for a reason.
Housewives spend years learning to be thrifty. We shop at Goodwill, not
Nordstrom. We mend holes and patch jeans. We purchase basic food items and
cook from scratch. Most of us don't do this because we are green and
environmentally conscious. We do it because it's cheap and it keeps us home
with the kids.
Many housewives supplement their husband's income with cottage industries. I
do freelance writing. I know a woman who makes brassiere holsters for
handguns (yes really . this is Idaho, remember). Yet another woman makes
reusable feminine hygiene products.
another woman sells items on eBay.
None of us is sitting around watching soap operas and eating bonbons. We're
too busy making our home welcoming, too involved in looking for additional
ways to earn money, too occupied in finding yet more techniques to trim the
household budget so the bacon stretches further.
We praise our husbands for bringing home this bacon, however modest in size
it may be. It's our job to stretch that bacon so it lasts the whole month.
A housewife takes her marital vows seriously and does whatever it takes to
make her husband feel like a man by giving him respect, dedication, love,
faithfulness, a warm home and happy children. Housewives don't (or
shouldn't) speak disparagingly of their husbands. We praise them. Praised
men are happy men.
And that's why I believe the housewives of America will save this nation.
When the chips are down, the housewives rise up. We work harder, stretch the
dollars further and discover creative ways to do even more things from
scratch. We become cleverer and more resourceful at "making do."
These may seem like such small, trivial things. How will baking our own
bread or making our own laundry detergent save the nation? It may not . but
it could save the family. And if a family is saved, then bit by bit, family
by family, the nation is saved. See the logic?
What I mean is this. On a massive scale, our nation's problems are far
beyond our individual ability to do anything about them. Housewives cannot
stop the insane spending spree our government has embarked on during the
last 50 years. We cannot keep the economy from its free fall.
But we can help ourselves. Inch by inch, foot by foot, we can keep our
family afloat. If our husband loses his job, we tell him he's still manly
and sexy. We give him the confidence to look for work. We tighten an already
tight belt even more. We pick up part-time employment. We write more
columns, make more holsters, sew more feminine hygiene products and clinch
another eBay sale. We stroke our husband's fevered brow and whisper that it
will be OK, we'll weather this together, we'll stumble along doing whatever
it takes to keep our family whole. We don't let the cruel winds of financial
hardship rip our family apart. We are the glue that binds it.
You see, the role of a housewife is so much more than wiping noses and
cleaning toilets. Feminists have looked with contempt at housewives for
decades and have tried to convince our daughters that only lofty careers and
hefty paychecks can fulfill a woman. But housewives know better.
Men work hard at jobs they often dislike to provide for their families. For
a man, it is not his job that grants him identity, fulfillment and meaning;
it is his wife's praise and admiration. The wise housewife honors her man
for his dedication and sacrifice. The smart housewife becomes the kind of
woman her man wants to come home to. This is the glue.
A glued-together family stays together no matter where they are. If they are
evicted from their home because they can't afford the mortgage, then they
rent a cheap single-wide. The housewife will then turn it into a beautiful
haven because she knows it is not furnishings but love that makes a home.
When the hurricane roars during an economic storm, it will be the thrifty
housewife who will bear her family aloft through hard times. Her frugality,
common sense and familial glue will keep the boat afloat until it lands on a
more fruitful shore. As the waves settle, she will continue to bind, weave
and mesh her family into a seamless harmonious whole. In return, she is
blessed a thousandfold for her actions.
On the surface, it may not seem like wiping noses and cleaning toilets can
have any significant impact on saving our nation. After all, these acts are
not spectacular achievements like winning a court case, negotiating a
contract or curing someone of cancer. But the foundation of a nation is a
solid family unit. It is the humble, collective efforts of housewives that
build those solid, happy families. Nation upon nation is built on this
foundation. Without housewives, such a foundation would not - could not -
exist.
Don't thank us. We're just doing our job. But please, remember to put the
toilet seat down.
Bill and Tina Kroshl
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Friday, August 6, 2010
Sew Mama Sew
They are giving away a new Husqvarna Viking serger at Sew Mama Sew. What I wouldnt give for a serger. They are perfect for sewing any kind of seam making the seam more durable. Serging curtains and other home items is great. Much better than messing around sewing the hems and such by hand or regular sewing machine.
If you are interested in entering the contest for the serger head on over there to sewmamasew.com to find out all the particulars. If I dont win, I hope someone who reads my blog does!!! Good luck everybody!
Crossing my fingers and toes
Denise
If you are interested in entering the contest for the serger head on over there to sewmamasew.com to find out all the particulars. If I dont win, I hope someone who reads my blog does!!! Good luck everybody!
Crossing my fingers and toes
Denise
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Ooops there goes another one
another egg that is. Seems one of the girls has decided to lay her eggs up by the waterer. hmmm. It might be the smallest one, Lettie. The others pick on her so she is kind of a loner. I sure do wish she would lay it in the nest box though. We are up to six eggs a day. They are really noisy when they are going to do it too lol. I told my husband that it probably freaks them out the first time they lay. Minding their own business and then ooohh have to go to the bathroom and ouch out pops an egg. Anyway we need to eat some eggs cause they are piling up ;)
Talk to ya later
Denise
Talk to ya later
Denise
Sunday, July 18, 2010
More eggs please
The girls are up to 5 eggs today so only 3 more have to start laying. I guess our talk a week ago got through to them lol. My lavender jelly did actually set up! I'm so proud of myself, I actually got jelly to work. I had it on toast this morning (homemade wheat bread) and it tasted so good. DH got out the papaya salsa last night and really liked it. He ate 1/2 pint of it. ;)
We got our dehydrator the other day. It's an Excaliber. Cant wait to try it. You can even do yogurt in it. Need to try that out. I was going to buy a yogurt maker but if I can use the dehydrator that will not only save me money but also space in my kitchen.
I started our first batch of kombucha today. Will have to let you know how it turns out.
It's all good!
Denise
We got our dehydrator the other day. It's an Excaliber. Cant wait to try it. You can even do yogurt in it. Need to try that out. I was going to buy a yogurt maker but if I can use the dehydrator that will not only save me money but also space in my kitchen.
I started our first batch of kombucha today. Will have to let you know how it turns out.
It's all good!
Denise
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Canning, canning over the ocean blue...
Sorry I'm feeling a little silly today. I canned cucumber relish today. Got 5 1/2 pints. Smelled pretty good. Still have some pepper relish that I did last year that we havent eaten yet though. Got some pears and apples and will be making some good things with them.
I still have some cukes and green and red peppers left...we wont go there
Talk to ya later!
Denise
I still have some cukes and green and red peppers left...we wont go there
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wanted chicken escapee...reward
Just kidding about the reward although we did have one of the ladies make a run for it this morning. Hubby woke me up and said one of them is loose and I need your help catching her. So I whipped on some clothes and went outside. He was talking to her trying to get her to come closer, no deal so I kind of herded her towards him and he caught her. This is the second time one of the ladies decided to take a little take off ;) The first time she went out the coop door and landed on the top of the run wire. She was looking down at all the others "how did I get up here and how do I get back to you guys?" Hubby was freaking out. He was afraid that she would fly over the fence. I dont think that any of them would. They just want to be closer to us and dont have a problem going back in the run or anything. Today the one that escaped (Matilda I believe but I was only half awake) flew out the egg box as hubby was trying to put in new bedding. She was just doing her little chicken dance around the outside of the run like she belonged there.
We have been getting one egg a day. 7 total so far. The shells are pretty hard so I guess we are giving them enough calcium.
Our blueberries are doing fine. I am collecting them every other morning. They are slowing down in production. The pieces of garden hose are working really well to keep the birds away from the berries but dont seem to make a difference to the bugs which nibble on some of the berries. I suppose they were thirsty since we hadnt gotten any rain for a while but they should stop because we did get rain yesterday and today. I hung out clothes today thinking to get them dry before the rain started...WRONG...it poured on them but I just left them out in the rain since according to the radar the rain was supposed to stop before afternoon and it did. Boy did the rain get them soft!
I made some wheat bread today from the wheat that we ground yesterday. I should say that hubby ground it and ground it and ground it. It takes a while to get fine flour. As I said I made bread but and here it comes...it didnt rise as much as it should have. I was so discouraged. Hubby said that he would eat it though anyway. I cut it up a little while ago and tried a piece. It actually is pretty good even though it is really heavy. I think I might have had my water a little too hot for the yeast. I said that I would make more but didnt have enough flour to make another two loaves...hubby gave me this look, you know, the look. I guess he didnt want to grind any more wheat...guess I'll wait another couple of days before I mention it again. I would have ground some more today but my wrists are kind of sore from the kneading. You had to knead for 15 minutes and then let it rest and then knead for another 10 minutes. I'll toughen up though and be making bread out the yazoo in no time ;)
Hubby's co-worker brought him some more cukes along with some green bell peppers yesterday. I went through my cookbooks and have found a cucumber relish that I am going to try. Got some red bell peppers tonight at the farmer's market so maybe tomorrow I will make up the relish. I had done relish a year ago but it was my grandma's recipe for green pepper relish. Really good! And very useful in other recipes. You can make your own tarter sauce with it, use it in sandwich spread (Grandma used to use a can of deviled ham and add relish and mayo to it) and of course use it on hotdogs and hamburgers. Yesterday I made up 5 pints of mild papaya salsa. I had a can of papaya in my pantry that had been there for a while. Dont know why I had it just did so used it up. I have a couple of cans of crushed pineapple and found a canning recipe using that so will be making up some other "stuff"...
Hope everyone has a great week!
Talk to ya later,
Denise
We have been getting one egg a day. 7 total so far. The shells are pretty hard so I guess we are giving them enough calcium.
Our blueberries are doing fine. I am collecting them every other morning. They are slowing down in production. The pieces of garden hose are working really well to keep the birds away from the berries but dont seem to make a difference to the bugs which nibble on some of the berries. I suppose they were thirsty since we hadnt gotten any rain for a while but they should stop because we did get rain yesterday and today. I hung out clothes today thinking to get them dry before the rain started...WRONG...it poured on them but I just left them out in the rain since according to the radar the rain was supposed to stop before afternoon and it did. Boy did the rain get them soft!
I made some wheat bread today from the wheat that we ground yesterday. I should say that hubby ground it and ground it and ground it. It takes a while to get fine flour. As I said I made bread but and here it comes...it didnt rise as much as it should have. I was so discouraged. Hubby said that he would eat it though anyway. I cut it up a little while ago and tried a piece. It actually is pretty good even though it is really heavy. I think I might have had my water a little too hot for the yeast. I said that I would make more but didnt have enough flour to make another two loaves...hubby gave me this look, you know, the look. I guess he didnt want to grind any more wheat...guess I'll wait another couple of days before I mention it again. I would have ground some more today but my wrists are kind of sore from the kneading. You had to knead for 15 minutes and then let it rest and then knead for another 10 minutes. I'll toughen up though and be making bread out the yazoo in no time ;)
Hubby's co-worker brought him some more cukes along with some green bell peppers yesterday. I went through my cookbooks and have found a cucumber relish that I am going to try. Got some red bell peppers tonight at the farmer's market so maybe tomorrow I will make up the relish. I had done relish a year ago but it was my grandma's recipe for green pepper relish. Really good! And very useful in other recipes. You can make your own tarter sauce with it, use it in sandwich spread (Grandma used to use a can of deviled ham and add relish and mayo to it) and of course use it on hotdogs and hamburgers. Yesterday I made up 5 pints of mild papaya salsa. I had a can of papaya in my pantry that had been there for a while. Dont know why I had it just did so used it up. I have a couple of cans of crushed pineapple and found a canning recipe using that so will be making up some other "stuff"...
Hope everyone has a great week!
Talk to ya later,
Denise
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Found another egg
Yes there was one hidden in the nesting box in the corner that I didnt see when I went out the first time. No wonder they were so loud this morning. There must have been two laying at the same time. They didnt want me messing with the eggs, they wanted me to pet them, silly girls.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Talk to ya later!
Denise
First Egg!!!
I'm doing a happy dance today. One of the chickens laid the first ever egg for us this morning. I even called my hubby at work to tell him. I know, nuts right?
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fireworks
Last night (the fourth) and the night before (the third) we had neighbors shooting off fireworks. I must say when you live in a subdivision you really really dont need those loud things going off. The houses are pretty close and everyone ends up with bits and pieces of firework stuff in their backyard. It was one of the reasons we put up a fence. Needless to say the girls did NOT like the loudness. And hubby did not appreciate the fact that they shot off fireworks until 1:30 a.m. on the third and 11:30 on the fourth cause of course he had to work in the next day. I went out last night to check on the chicks and they were out of the coop piled up in a corner of their run and were very upset. They stayed out all night as far as we can figure and I sure do hope that they will be roosting in their own little coop tonight. I dont think it is good for them to be out like that laying on the ground. I was so happy when I got up this morning and they were none the worse for wear. I was so afraid that one or more would have kicked the bucket from the stress of those fireworks. What really gets you is that the ones setting off fireworks dont work their on welfare. The neighbors that work could not afford so many. Ticks me off! Spending my hard earned pay for fireworks...any way I'm just glad the girls made it through the night.
Since I had off over the holiday (I have such nice bosses ;) and no they dont read my blog) I canned some pickles. Hubby's co-worker was nice enough to bring in cukes and banana peppers for him. A whole shopping bag full that his neighbor gave him well actually left on his porch (sneaky gardener lol) So I found an old recipe that used onions, peppers and cukes for pickles. I got 11 pints. Now ask yourselves what are two people going to do with 11 pints of pickles, why give some away of course. Cause there is no way we would eat that many pickles. We just dont eat pickles all that often. Today I canned some lavender jelly. Cant wait to taste that. I got 9 4oz jars of that. I think I'm going to have to buy more canning jars. Now if I can just find more space....
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Since I had off over the holiday (I have such nice bosses ;) and no they dont read my blog) I canned some pickles. Hubby's co-worker was nice enough to bring in cukes and banana peppers for him. A whole shopping bag full that his neighbor gave him well actually left on his porch (sneaky gardener lol) So I found an old recipe that used onions, peppers and cukes for pickles. I got 11 pints. Now ask yourselves what are two people going to do with 11 pints of pickles, why give some away of course. Cause there is no way we would eat that many pickles. We just dont eat pickles all that often. Today I canned some lavender jelly. Cant wait to taste that. I got 9 4oz jars of that. I think I'm going to have to buy more canning jars. Now if I can just find more space....
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
OK so now I'm a mental case
Check this out:
http://kellesneverdonefarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/that-confirms-it-im-nuts.html
Geez why dont they find a cure for cancer instead of making up new diseases!
Talk to ya later!
Denise
http://kellesneverdonefarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/that-confirms-it-im-nuts.html
Geez why dont they find a cure for cancer instead of making up new diseases!
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Garden pics from May
marigolds
baby blueberries which I have already picked almost one gallon in three days...whew
the lovely clover that our chicks love so much
My little Japanese Maple, she's getting so big almost 2 feet tall... hee hee....
blueberry bushes
little bitty grapesWarning! dog bite pics
If you have a bad stomach please do not look at these pics! These are of my husband's leg. He got bit by a 60 lb dog while bike riding not once but twice last week. I had to take him to the doctor. A couple of the punctures were very deep and did not stop bleeding until that evening. He got his tetanus shot but was kind of freaked out about going back out on his bike. He did go back out the next day and only saw one dog which did not come out to the road. He's afraid of big dogs and dislikes them intensely. I love dogs and never have a problem with them. Like I said if you have a weak stomach DO NOT look at the below pics.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Darnit/dammit doll swap on MaryJane's Farm
http://theswappingcrafter.blogspot.com/2010/06/lifes-not-perfect-nor-am-i.html Here is a link to the farmgirl I swapped a darnit/dammit doll with. I posted pics below. Enjoy.
I used a paisley fabric for her body and then just started adding hair, button eyes, embroidered mouth and a little apron. We had to make up our own pattern as well. She also has a poem that I stuck into her apron and in her other hand she is holding some silvery beads. Since she is supposed to be a gardening darnit/dammit doll and the beads are supposed to be frost...Went a little wild on the hair but Robin said that she liked it and that's all that matters.
This is the darnit doll Robin sent to me. She did a lot more embroidery than I did and the beaded hair is so cute and on the his back he has a sign that says kick me! Too cute.Talk to ya later!
Denise
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