Everyone Is Suffering From Sticker Shock

   We do our major grocery shopping once a month with small trips for milk and eggs in between. I know prices have really gone up on everything, but prices are just getting way out of hand.
   It's not just the food prices, but the fuel prices. For $4.40 a gallon, we get 1/3 tank of diesel. I do know that the increase in fuel prices are contributing to the higher food prices, but something has to change.
   With the big push on eating healthy and more fresh fruit and produce, wouldn't it be nice if people could actually afford those things? Has it dawned on the powers that be, that a very large portion of the population can't afford the healthier food? Processed foods are not really good for you, but when that's all someone can afford to feed their families, what are they suppose to do?
   Even with the so called healthy foods, people are getting sick form eating them form contaminants of one kind or another.
   I'm really looking forward to the bounties from our garden. Yes, it's a lot of work, but we know exactly what we are eating.
   The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if the government said we can't grow our own foods, we can only eat what they tell us to eat for approved growers and suppliers.

Recipe Section Is Back Up

   Due to a "technical glitch", the recipe section of my blog disappeared. I didn't know why. So, what does a computer unsavvy person do. They call their tech savvy kid, of course. Alyssa figured out the problem.
   It seems some how the recipe button got unchecked in the design portion of this blog. I have no idea haw it happened, because I didn't do it and I am the only one who has access to things like that.
   I didn't even know about the missing recipe section until my mother told me it was missing. Weird, since I published recipes on the page and after I did that I could view them, but not when I went to my actual blog.
   Oh well. This new fangled technology is a stumper sometimes. Good thing I have kids to figure it out for me.

Where Did My Recipe Section Go??

   I really did post the Easy Drop Biscuit recipe yesterday. It shows up in my edit pages section, but not on the actual blog. I'll have to luck into this.

I Thought I'd Share Another Recipe With You

   I thought I'd share another recipe with you. I make these quite often in a variety of ways. The recipe is for Easy Drop Biscuits.
   Last night when I fixed them, I added a lot of cheddar cheese to the mix. Other times, I have added a crumbly mixture of butter, flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. The possibilities for these are pretty much endless. The biscutits come out light anf fluffy and just about melt in your mouth.
   I got the basic recipe off of the internet, and I'm sorry to say, I can't tell you from where.

Another Sunny Day In Paradise

   Last night, the rain came down in sheets and the winds blew fairly hard just for kicks.
   At 3:20AM, the rain was still coming down. At 3:30 AM, it turned to snow. With strong winds still. The flakes were so big and wet, they just went "splat" against anything they hit.
   We had 4 inches of snow and then it decided to drizzle all day long after the snow stopped about noon. The news is calling this winter part 2.
   To be very honest, I'd much rather have our rain and snow instead of tornadoes and flooding.
   Poor Jake hates getting his feet wet and muddy and there is no place for him to walk.

    Chip comes in frozen from playing in the snow, even though the temperatures never got down to freezing. I know snow is cold.
   Our poor new trees were covered in snow. I hope this doesn't kill them. I don't think it will. It's a good thing they didn't have any blossoms yet.
   Chris, the llama, was having a high old time running in the snow. He probably ran back and forth along the fence just to drive Jake and Chip crazy.
   I do feel sorry for him and the sheep since they were sheared last week. It never fails, shear your critter and the weather turns cold.
   I remember many times after I sheared my angora goats, the weather would turn cold again. One goat,

Q-Tip wore a green sweat shirt because she got so

cold.

   The birds are out in mass today, too. Probably a good time for finding worms.

   More rain is expected for most of this week. Still, it could be worse.

  

No More Ram

   Well, we don't have a visiting ram anymore, and no, we didn't eat him. We wouldn't do that to someone else's animal anyway.
   The ram, I found out his name is RB and he is a Shetland sheep, came too close to our berry plants, so Tim called his people to let them know about the escaping ram.
   They felt really bad and had no idea he was getting out. She thought it was funny when I told her how RB was over here more than over there, and how he'd run home at a certain time of day and then come back over here.
   I also found out she sells the fleece for $35.00. I think I'll ask her for the lambs nice fleece. The lambs name is Anna. The woman is interested in learning how to spin and also in my sheep shears and other supplies I no longer have a use for. Maybe we can work out an I'll teach you how to spin for the lambs fleece.
   I also found out the guard llama's name is Chris. He used to be much nicer, but he has an attitude problem this year. Windy (the animals owner) still has the llamas fleece, but, since I'm sort of allergic to llama fleece, that's out.
   As predicted, our nice weather is a thing of the past. A tine teaser of weather we might actually have more of one day. No one is holding their breath anymore for nicer weather, just complaining this weather is never going to end. Soggy weather does make for nice colors.
  

Wow, Two Nice days In A Row

  We had 2 nice days in a row, but alas, all good things must come to an end. More rain and temperatures in the upper 40's to 50's for highs. At least the night are suppose to be above freezing with lows in the mid to upper 30's.
   There is a birdhouse disagreement going on. The nutcatchers had it first, yesterday, the bluebirds had it, and the nutcathcers have it again today. I guess we definitely need more birdhouses. I wonder if the birds would sit on the others' eggs?
   Tim has been very busy clearing up downed trees where the constructions workers put them when they were making our house. The cherry trees and the peach tree will go in that area.
   It's probably wishful thinking, but I put the hummingbird feeders out today. I need to get more hummingbird feeders, too.
   Tim and I have decided both dogs would rather look at the world through the big picture windows we have than go outside to look at the world. They know it's safer in the house. Hopefully this summer, we can have a nice, fenced in yard for them.
   So much to do and so much rotten weather makes it hard to get it all done. I have so much to do in the house, too. I think I need more hours in the day.

Finally! A Spring Day

   Even though we started the day out at a nippy 26 degrees, we made it up to a nice, slightly breezy 66. A very nice day, indeed.
   People were out working on getting their gardens ready for planting in late May.Kids out playing,having a good old time.
   We went and bought 6 1/2 foot high deer fencing to put around the garden, as well as some veggie plants and more seeds. I'm pretty sure we've cornered the market on veggie seeds. There were flower seeds, too. I now have a wide variety of sunflower seeds, along with several other kinds of flower seeds. I did finally get my daisy seeds. Daisies and daisy like flowers are my favorite. Knowing my luck, they are also a favorite of deer, too.
   We were at a nursery and I saw a Creeping Charlie plant. I haven't seen one of those in years. These were green and white variegated and I have never seen one like that before, so of course, it had to come home with me.
   The blueberry plants weren't in yet, so we were out of luck there. I think we need 3 or 4 more, once the nursery has them in. I also need to get some garlic and I would really like to plant sweet potatoes or yams. I think, since I can't find any seep potatoes for the sweet potatoes, I will just try planting some from the grocery store.
   We still need another apple and pear, along with a couple apricot trees for Tim. Hopefully, this will be a much better season than last year.
   Tomorrow is suppose to be nice than today, so I bought bread and cookies, so I can play outside and not bake.
   We lived it up and had McDonalds on the way home. Tomorrow, I think it's homemade pizza time, since our local pizza place closed down.
   We could always have ram. I know just where to find one. He does seem to be a friendly fellow, but it would be nice if he stayed in his own yard.

Another Bright Sunny Spring In Elk, Washington, With Pictures To Prove It



Snow yesterday

    Here it is, spring time in Elk, WA. We had snow all day yesterday, but little stuck. he most on the ground yesterday was an inch.
   Last night it was snowing,again, still and we had about 2 -3  inches fall at that time.
   This morning, on our nice, bright spring morning, we had fog and just a tad bit of snow left.
   Everywhere you go, people are talking about how they would love to see some sun and see the end of the rain and snow.
   We have had about 8 inches of precipitation so far this year. Last year, about this time, we had almost 6 inches.
   All this moisture does make nice green fields and tons of wildflowers. Just a little sun would be nice to go out and enjoy them. Once again, rumor has it, that this weekend is suppose to be nice. Almost up to 60. Woo hoo!!

Snow last night

Fog and a little snow this morning

Fog and what's left of the snow

The Ultimate Blog Challenge Is Harder Than I Thought

   Maybe, for those people who don't lead boring, dull lives, the Ultimate Blog Challenge is easy, but it's not for me. Nothing ever happens up here, except for weird weather and animals passing through.
   As for the weird weather, yes, it's snowing again. We really do have 6 months of winter, even if technically, it is spring.
   I have been going through my canning supplies this week to see what I have and what I need. I thought I had plenty of jars, but I guess I need a lot more.
   I found a 16 quart pressure canner at Walmart for $65.00 I will probably be buying this month. I debated about getting a bigger one, but decided this size will due, because I have to be able to pick it up and move it with jars in it while it's hot. I'm a weakling in my old age.Walmart also had the rack for the bottom of my water bath canner. I have one, but the jars tip because the bottom doesn't have much jar support on it. The new one has more rings on the bottom, so I shouldn't have the tipping problem.
   I think this year, I will use 1/2 pint jars for canning the veggies, since there are only 2 of us here to eat. Pints are a little too big for somethings for just the 2 of us.
   I still haven't finished all the crocheting for Myrna yet. I have finished the important ones, though, so I guess that's ok. It seems someone has been reading their Nook Color instead.
   I'm making butter today and the usual wash clothes. I do have a truely bad movie to watch from Netflix. Plan 9 From Outer Space. For dinner, it's homemade chicken pot pie.
  
 

Another Kitchen Experiment

   With nothing better to do today, (well, really, I could have done a lot of other things), I tried making home made Wheat Thins. I love Wheat Thins. I can eat a whole box in no time flat.
   What I really made was Wheat Thins and Thicks, due to uneven rolling. The thins tasted pretty much just like store bought Wheat Thins. The thicker ones tasted alright, but softer. I have weak wrists and rolling uncooperative dough made them both hurt. Even though I have a very nice rolling pin, I think I "need" one of those marble kinds without the handles. I never use the handles on the rolling pin I have now. Also, I think I could use some of those thickness guides that fit on the ends of rolling pins. I'm pretty bad at getting an even thickness.
   I will try to make Wheat Thins again. Since I already had the ingredients for them at home, they were much, much cheaper than buying a box. Our son, Daniel, wanted to know if I had a yellow box to put them in. I told him no, but I do have a Wheat Thin tin.
   Sometime in the near future, I am going to try making graham crackers. I'll need to find some place that sells graham flour. I don't think it will be too hard to find.
   At least the majority of my kitchen experiments are edible. I will continue to experiment as the mood strikes. Now, I need to fing a recipe for Nilla Wafers.

I Want To Go, Too

   Our visiting ram has made a llama jealous. Seems the llama wants to come over for a visit, too, but can't quite figure out how to get here.
   Tim has seen the ram come over the fence and I have seen him go back home under the fence. The poor llama just can't decide. Of course, the shock wire running along the top of the fence might have something to do with it, too.
   When Tim came home from work yesterday, the ram was here visiting. He stopped munching on those wonderful weeds, looked at Tim, decided he was no threat and continued eating. When the ram's people came home from work, he went under the fence and ran to see them. Not even half an hour later, he was back here again.
   The llama was really watching Tim and the dogs when they were out last evening. He really perked up and pranced, (if llamas prance), back and forth along the fence. We really don't need a llama. I'm allergic to llamas. Now, if it were an alpaca, it could come on over. The people don't have any alpacas, so I guess I'm out of luck. I'd like an alpaca for the fiber. Besides that, I think They are cute. I can't seem to convince Tim I really need one, though. Also, I think they are very expensive. I know the going rate for their hair/fur, is about $2.50 an ounce.
   I guess it's much cheaper and easier on the body if I just have visiting livestock. Do you think they would miss him if he ended up in our freezer?
 

Our Grass Is Greener Than Your Grass

   The ram that lives behind us has decided our grass is greener than his grass, and, it really is, too. We'll let him visit and eat our weeds since we haven't planted the garden yet, but once we do plant, he's out of here.
   This year, it looks like the sheep population is way down from the last couple of years. Then again, it could be that the other sheep haven't lambed yet and are still closer to the barn. I only see 4 ewes, 1 lamb and 1 ram.
   The ram jumps over the fence, and the ewes and lamb stare after him. So far, he's stayed away from the garden area.
   Tim went and put fencing around the berries to keep deer out. I hope it works with sheep. The ram doesn't seem really interested in them at the moment.
   It's snowing today, but not really sticking, which is fine with me. Some spring, so far. Soon, I will be taking pictures of our wildflowers again. They are growing so fast, you can almost see them grow.
   The veggie seeds I started in yogurt cups last week have sprouted. I thought it was pretty quick. I still need to plant more.
   Today, as I putter around, I'll be watching the old Charlie Chan movies that are on the TV. Perry Mason will be so jealous since I won't be watching him at noon. I'm pretty sure I've seen them all anyway, but that doesn't usually stop me unless something better comes along. Talk about fickle.

Wouldn't You Know It?!

   Yup, it started out to be a half way decent day, so Tim thought he'd till up the garden. It was a good idea but wouldn't you know it, the rototiller won't start. Tim says the carburetor needs rebuilt again. He did try to deer proof our rhubarb. I guess rhubarb leaves aren't poisonous to deer.
   Now, we are having snow flurries. Punxsutawney Phil sure was wrong about spring here. Oh well.
   I did get this weeks cookies made and the bread dough is rising for this weeks bread. This week, it's wheat bran bread and oatmeal cookies. I think it's spaghetti and sausage and garlic bread for supper.

Still Waiting For The Sun

   We are still waiting for the sun. Every once in a while, the sun will pop out for a few minutes just to let us know it's still there. Somewhere.
   It rained all day yesterday, and it's rained most of today so far. Of course, snow is in the forecast, too. We have had snow as late as June and as early as July. Me, personally, I'd like summer to last longer than a month.
  Chip sure does like watching the rain and snow falling, from the warm vantage point of the ottoman in a warm house.
   The many shades of green are very pretty, and soon there will be wildflowers of different colors thrown in. When we first moved up here in 2006, we couldn't believe all the water and the green. So different from the Mojave desert. With all the snow and rain, we'd still rather be up here than down there.
  

I Am A Chocolate Milk Addict

   Yes, it's true. I'm a chocolate milk addict. I have to have my tall class of Nesquick Chocolate milk first thing in the morning. If I don't, just have a terrible day.
   I don't drink coffee. I don't even like the smell of coffee. I'll drink tea after I have my chocolate milk. I drink ice tea all day long. Sometimes, I'll have a few cups of hot tea.
   If I run out of milk or Nesquick, I'm in trouble. I've tried hot chocolate (the just add water kind), and it's just not the same.
   I should buy stock in Nesquick since I go through so much of it. Sometimes, I'll have chocolate milk before I go to bed, too. Is there a chocolate milk anonymous? I don't eat a lot of chocolate candy and if there is a piece of chocolate cake and a piece of some other flavor cake, I will pick the other flavor over the chocolate.
   I guess as far as vices go, I Gould have much worse ones than chocolate milk.

UFO's

   Have you ever seen clouds that look like UFO's? Sometimes, there are groups of them. Is one the mother ship? What if they really were space ships? Can you imagine what would happen if aliens landed on earth. First, being the peace loving people that we are, we'd probably shoot them, and ask questions later.
   Then, we'd point fingers to see who didn't see them coming and who let them slip in.
   One of my favorite movies is War Of The Worlds. Oddly enough, I even like the remake with Tom Cruise in it. I wonder why aliens are always portraited as evil. Is it fear of the unknown? Maybe, aliens from outer space already walk among us.
   I also like horror movies from the '50's. The '50's had a terrible alien problem. I'm surprised the world still exists. You can always tell when the aliens were about to show up because it sounded like someone was playing a saw. I guess if we ever hear that kind of noise, we'd better expect alien trouble.
   If there is life on other planets, do they hold there breath every time a space shuttle was launched? Do they fear us like we fear them?

Arbor Day Trees

   I planted our Arbor Day twigs yesterday. They are suppose to be color coded so you know which is which, but it was really hard to tell since all the twigs had the same colors on them. There is a chart with leaf identification, so, if the twigs sprout, that might be useful.
   I also started planting some of our veggie seeds inside. It's still way too early to plant outside. We have a chance of snow today and tomorrow and then more rain. Now, I like rain, but I'm getting really tired of it. I know, April showers and all that, but it's been raining for months. It is better than having a drought, so I guess I should stop complaining.

My Favorite Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

   I like oatmeal cookies. They are my favorite cookie. I can eat them all the time and not get tired of them. Sometimes I add raisins in them. I have also added Caramel bits in them and they are good that way too. It's really hard to mess up an oatmeal cookie. I thought I would share my favorite Oatmeal Cookie recipe with you.

Banning Homemade Lunches At School?

   I just read that a school in Chicago is banning homemade lunches unless you have food allergies. That's just plain ridiculous. If you don't qualify for free lunches, then you have to pay $2.25 a day for the lunches. I know we wouldn't have been able to pay that amount for lunches, especially for 3 kids. I'm sure many others can't pay that, either. If they don't buy lunch, the article says, then the kids go hungry.
   The school says they are doing this for better nutrition. They seem to think that you can't have a nutritious lunch if you make one at home. We always had nutritious lunches and I packed nutritious lunches for our kids.
   Yes, I know there is an obesity problem in the United States, but I think this is going way too far and our government is turning into a dictatorship. Maybe, if the more nutritious foods were more affordable, people would be buying them instead of the less nutritious foods that fill the belly and stop their hunger.
   When our kids where in high school, they had a Taco Bell on campus. I didn't like that idea because it was like selling your soul to Taco Bell to get extra funding for the school.
   There has to be a better way. What happened to good old common sense in this country? Did it go out the window along with taking responsibility for our own actions?

Peeping Llama

   Behind us, with all the sheep, are 3 llamas. One is out to drive Chip crazy. He stands at the fence and stares in the house. He's a peeping llama. If starring weren't bad enough, he paces back and forth along the fence where Chip can see him. I do tell Chip that it would eat him if Chip were to see him up close instead of through a window. I do know llamas don't really eat pesty poodles, but Chip doesn't.
   It's getting so green and pretty outside. More buttercups are popping up. No blossoms yet. I need to get out and do something with are 10 tiny trees from the Arbor Day Society, but it's a miserable day outside. Maybe tomorrow. I also need to start some of our veggie seeds.
   I am making progress with my weight loss. I don't have a scale, so I don't know how much I've lost, but my pants are getting looser. Once I can get outside and do more, it will help. It's really hard loosing weight when someone keeps making cookies. I am getting much better at not eating so many. Speaking of cookies, I have no idea what kind to make this week.
   Friday, we bought a #10 can of butter powder and a #10 can of honey powder. The honey says you can use it the same as sugar, using equal amounts, besides reconstitute it into honey. It sounded interesting. The butter powder sounds good for baking besides using it for butter, either as sprinkles or reconstituted. I'm trying to have things on hand that I run out of during the winter. My #10 can of powdered eggs is back ordered, so who knows when they will come. I've used powdered eggs before.
   Soon, I will be done with my crocheting I'm being paid to do. Hopefully, I will get some sewing done, as well as spinning and weaving. I'm falling down on my ceramics painting, too. So much to do, and so lazy. I still think some more sun would help in the lazy department. All this gray weather is great for sleeping.
   Oddly enough, I have been folding towels when they are done in the dryer.

  

Hmm, What To Do Today?

   After yesterdays nice day, I'm ready to do something today, too, but what to do is the question. It's cool and breezy and not nearly as nice as yesterday. We could go shopping and not get anything because we are broke and use up $4.40 a gallon diesel in the process. We could just go for a drive, but there is that expensive diesel thing again.
   There is always stay home and do exciting things like wash clothes, clean and cook, but who wants to do that?
   There is so much to do and see up here and we can't even make up our minds what to do. By the time we do decide, it will be too late because they roll up the sidewalks early up here. We really aren't the stay out late type of people in our old age anyway. We used to be, but now, we are old boring people.
   What's a body to do when they only get out on the weekends but can't think of anything to do?
  

We Had A Sunny Day Today

   Finally, at long last, we had a sunny day. It was so nice, Tim and I went target shooting. I am so out of practice, I couldn't hit the side of a barn, not that I was aiming for a barn. I did manage to hit the target a few times. Towards the end, the shell casings from my little Beretta .22 were flying back and hitting me. A couple of them even went down the neck of my hooded sweatshirt. We'll just have to go practice more.
   After that, we took my mother-in-law and niece, Vicky for a short hike to the Bowl and Pitcher. The Spokane river is really full this year. They were impressed. We thought they would be, since we were when we went.
   Next, it was out to dinner, which was also nice.
   Last weekend, I ordered 41 years of Mother Earth on DVD along with 5 or 6 books and they came today. UPS even made it up our driveway.
   It was a good thing we had an enjoyable day today, because we aren't done with snow and rain yet.

Potato Bud Cookies

   Today, I thought I'd give you another cookie recipe that I make fairly often. I thought it was an unusual recipe, but it's good. The cookies are made with potato buds. The cookies taste like macaroons. The cookies are kind of greasy, but not overly. There will be a butter spot on a napkin if you set the cookie on one.

Tired Of The Same Old Cookies

   I make cookies every week. I have been making cookies weekly for years. I did take 4 years off from making cookies when we were living in our travel trailer after Tim and I ran away from home. I can honestly say that I am tired of the same old cookies.
   Yesterday, as I was looking through my numerous cookie cookbooks I came across one that had "try" written next to it. It sounded good, so I did. They are called Mint Frosted Chocolate Drop Cookies. They are pretty good, so I'm going to share the recipe with you on my recipe page. As usual, scroll down 'til you get to it. I'm pretty sure I will be making these again.
 

Kids! You Gotta Love 'em

   Well, here it is, day 4 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, and I actually had an idea about what to write about today. Kids. This thinking, which can be hazardous to my health and the health of others, started when our daughter, Alyssa, said that Micheal used crayon and drew out a hopscotch in the grout of their tiled floor. Micheal is 5, and it probably made perfect sense to him, because he could probably see a hopscotch with the tiles and grout. Needless to say, Alyssa was not happy.
   Anyway, we have 3 kids. Amy is 29, Daniel is 27, and Alyssa is 24. We also have 5 grandkids, with another possible 3 in the near future, through adoption and marriage.
   When Alyssa was about 3 and Daniel was about 5, and Amy was about 7, I let them go out and paint water color pictures on paper, on the front porch. I was sitting on the bench reading. Next thing I see is Alyssa painting tiny ants as they walked by. Even after squirting the concrete porch off right away, the paint stayed. We had nice colorful splotches for decorations.
   Another time, I walk into the kitchen and see Alyssa on her hands and knees, spitting great gobs of spit on the floor. The ants had moved in doors to the kitchen and Alyssa said Daniel told her if she spit on them, it would kill the ants, so that's what she was doing.
   When Daniel was about 5 or 6 years old, he was playing with a friend that lived across the street. Next thing I know, Daniel is home, crying, saying the mother sent him home and about that time I get a phone call from the mother saying Daniel had written the f word in the dust of her car. She hadn't gone out to see it yet, but that's what her son had told her. I was shocked. I didn't know Daniel knew that word, much less how to spell it. I got another phone call about 2 minutes later from the mother, laughing and apologizing and saying Daniel could go back over and play. On the side of her Blazer, written in big letters was the letter F and the word, word. I'm also surprised he could spell word. He wrote the F word alright. He and his friend did a fine job washing the Blazer as high as they could reach.
   When Daniel was about that same age, I'm walking down the hall, past his room and I hear "oh s**t". He'd picked up all this nice language at school and he'd been saying it a lot, so I told him to get in the bathroom. His dad had said if we caught him , he'd have to lick the bar of soap.
   I'm holding the bar of soap in my right hand and tell Daniel to lick it. (It was a dry bar of soap and it just had to be a quick swipe of the tongue.) Daniel looks up and me and says " I don't wanna lick the d***n bar of soap." I sung my left arm, ready to back hand him on his rear and I missed and hit the door frame. I broke my little finger, and as I'm holding it in my right hand I'm telling Daniel to "get out, get out now". He ran to his room. I never went to the Dr. for the broken little finger because I thought they'd get me for hitting my kid, even though I had missed him. Besides that, I'd go there and say what, "You see, Doc, it's like this. I was gonna hit my kid and I missed and hit the door frame instead?" So now my left little finger is a little crookeder than the right little finger. To this day, Daniel doesn't cuss in front of me. Of course, he lives in California and we live in Washington.
   I used to babysit the little girl next door. She was at our house so much, I called her my part time child. One day, I packed her and our kids up and went to the grocery store. When we were in the produce department, a woman drops a head of lettuce, and this little girl, who was 3 years old at the time, says clearly and loudly, "s**t happens". The woman looked shocked and I told her the little girl wasn't mine, I just babysat her. Right after this, the little girl points and says,"look, Mommy", to me. The woman glared at me and hurried away. The little girl thought Mommy was my name, because our kids called me that.
   Art Linkletter was right when he said kids say the darnedest things.

Another Bright Sunny Day. Not!

   Well, here it is, another bright sunny day, with a breeze. Note the sarcasm. It's been so long since it's been a bright sunny day. Even when we've had sun, it hasn't been without clouds and for a whole day. We even have snow in the forecast. Some spring, so far.
   I have notices wildflowers starting to pop out of the ground and then trees are starting to bud out. It figures, because we are suppose to be below freezing for a couple of nights this week.
   I do like watching the sheep behind us. Two brown sheep are pretty entertaining. For some reason, they jump straight into the air, like they have been goosed, and then they continue as if nothing happened. So far, there is still only one little lamb, and they have all stayed out of our yard. Chip isn't used to them so close, so it's his duty to bark at them all day when he sees movement.
   I used to raise angora goats, and I miss having goats around. I do admit, my poor old body isn't in any shape to care for them anymore, so I'll just enjoy the sheep behind us.
   The kids behind us have lost their play area since it's been taken over by farm animals. They are really interested in the stick house the kids made. I hope no animals fall in, since the kids dug a really deep hole under the stick house.
   I think after this last freeze, it will be time to put out the hummingbird feeders. We found a good spot for the bluebird house and Tim says he'll build me more. We've scoped out where we are going to enlarge the garden to.
   The pear and apple tree aren't doing very well. We are thinking the guy at the nursery told us wrong when he said they were the variety that didn't need other trees to cross pollinate with. We'll be getting more apple and pear trees. Tim also wants a couple apricots and plum trees. I think part of our tree's problem is the moles. Maybe, since the trees haven't done much, we will have to move our orchard. That is the royal "we". Someone needs to supervise, so it might as well be me.

We're Ready For The Garden, But The Weather Isn't

   Friday, Tim and I bought a peach tree and 3 cherry trees and great gobs of seeds. We probably have way too many pea and green bean seeds, but since the deer really liked peas and green beans last year, we figured we should buy more than we need. Besides, I can always can and freeze them, if we get any to harvest.
   Yesterday, Mother Nature let us know that it wasn't time to plant yet. We knew this already, since Mother's Day or after is when we usually have the last frost. Yesterday, we had rain, snow and pea size gropel. I'm sure I've probably spelled gropel wrong, but I couldn't find any place that listed it as a word, but I also must admit, I didn't look too hard. Gropel is soft hail. We learned this from the weather forecaster on the local news.

   Tim was out working in the yard when this storm rolled in. It may have been soft hail, but he said it still hurt as it pelted down on his head.
   Now of yesterday's several storms lasted long and it cleared up briefly before the next phase rolled in.
   I like watching the storms come rolling in over the hill we can see out the back/side windows, and I'm getting to be a pretty good judge as to when they will hit us.
   Behind us, the sheep are lambing. There is a really cute black sheep that could come and live over here. The guard llamas are trying to convince the horses next door to come to the fence and be friends.

   I have finally been able to go outside again, and because I can go outside again, Chip can go for walks again. He gets so excited about seeing me gather up the trash to take out because he knows he gets to go to. Unfortunately, the 2 dogs across the street still look like they'll come flying over the fence to attack us as we get closer to the street. They do have electric horse ribbon across the top of the fence, so maybe they are smart enough to not try.
   I have finished the booties for the christening set, but I still can't find a bonnet pattern I like. Crocheting isn't as much fun if I'm getting paid to do it, but it's extra money.

Carrot-Walnut Bread

   Many, many years ago, I cut a recipe for Carrot-Walnut Bread out of some newspaper. I have no idea when, but I think it was from The Enterprise when we lived in Simi Valley, CA. We moved from there in 1987, and I know I've been making this bread longer than that.
   The recipes calls for cooking this bread in the microwave, which is nice. The recipe is old enough to have microwaves without turn tables in them, because you have to rotate the bread.
   The bread oozed over the tops of my glass bread pans and made a nice mess in the microwave. I've since cooked it in the oven. One day, I think I'm going to add pineapple to the recipe and have sort of carrot cake bread.
   This is about the only way I could get the kids to eat carrots. As usual, I put more in than the recipe calls for. You can find the recipe on my recipe page. I hope you enjoy it.

April Fools Day

   Here it is April Fools Day. As kids, we thought it was really funny to switch the lids on the salt and pepper shakers. It would have been good if the bottoms of the shakers weren't clear. I don't remember doing too much else. We were an unimaginative bunch, but we also knew the pranks wouldn't really go over well.
   Our kids tried the switching of the salt and pepper shaker lids, but we always had clear shakers. I don't remember them doing much, either.
   Mother Nature is still fooling us with the promise of warmer, dryer weather, but soon changes her mind. It's been so long since I've seen any real sunshine, I'm not sure what it looks like any more. March was the 3rd rainiest March since the early 1900's. I like rain, but it's getting old. I'd like to go outside and not slip, slide and sink in mud. Green is finally popping through the ground. Yesterday, I saw a few buttercups popping up. There is hope.
   I think for fun and excitement this weekend, we will go and buy seeds for this years vegetable garden. The seeds are 50% off at one store and the seeds we got there last year grew well.
   I am finally finished with the new Christening afghan and 1 bootie. The other bootie will go quick. Now, if I could only find a bonnet pattern I like.
   I talked myself out of buying summer clothes. I have material and patterns already, I should just make them. What's a few more projects?
   I haven't but any recipes up here for a while, so I guess I'll do that, too. I think I will put a recipe for Carrot bread up. That's a project for tomorrow.
   I have been reading  a lot lately. I really like my Nook Color, but it would be nice if it wasn't quite as heavy as it is. Sometime this month, an app will be out to turn it into a tablet type thing like the iPad, only much cheaper. I'm assuming the app is free, but if it isn't, I'll get it anyway. Just what I need, more ways to waste time.