Mud Season



Our front yard

    One of the seasons we have up here is mud season, and we're in that season now. The snow has pretty much melted and we have been having rain just about every day. We also made it up to 60 degrees yesterday. People were out in shorts. Spring is definitely on the way.
   We've also had some pretty strong winds along with the rain. A couple of our trees have snapped because of the wind. We are seriously thinking about cutting down a tree at the end of our house. If it should fall, depending on the direction, we could have it in our living room, and we'd rather not have it there.
   Jake and Chip go out and sniff the air. I wonder what catches their interest? Jake is not impressed at all with mud season. He hates his feet getting yet and icky. We need to plant more grass this year to help control the mud and give Jake a bigger area to walk.
   Chip, on the other hand, isn't fazed by mud. He tromps through anything and doesn't seem to mind. Of course, once he's in the house again, he has to jump on something before I wipe his feet off. The last thing Chip jumped on after his excursion out was the Christening afghan I was working on. I was using #10 thread. Anyway, the Christening afghan is no longer. Besides getting little muddy Chip prints all over it, Chip got tangled in it. I had a lot of hours into that afghan.  Good thing I like Chip. Chip is also getting a haircut because the mud really stays in his curly poodle leg hair. I figure by the time I finish clipping him, it will be time to clip what I have already finished. On day, I have to get some electric dog clippers instead of the Scaredy Cuts I use now, only because they will be much quicker.
   The mud is slippery and you sink and slide in it when you walk in it. Tim is really going to have a fun time fixing the driveway when the mud dries. Good thing he has his tractor. The driveway is such a mess. We have a 4x4 truck and it has trouble going up and down the driveway. One day, when we win that elusive lottery that we seldom play, we'll get gravel for the driveway, among many other things.
   If all this isn't bad enough, Saturday I came down with a cold or something. I was just sick not too long ago. What's with this? I break bones, I don't get sick. I would be happy with out the broken bones or being sick, though. I guess I'll just have to sit around and crochet a new Christening afghan and read.

I Made Butter Yesterday

   I made butter yesterday. It was pretty easy to do. I would never have thought of doing it, if I didn't see how in an Organic Gardening magazine I got last year. Making butter is cheaper than buying butter.
   I used a quart of heavy whipping cream and my handy, dandy Kitchen Aid mixer. I poured the cream in the mixer bowl and turned it on medium  until the cream started to thicken, then I turned it on high. I stopped the mixer a few times and scraped the bowl. It took about 10 minutes before the cream/butter looked like fine scrambled eggs. I never would have guessed the white cream would turn, well, butter yellow. I always thought some coloring was added. I learn something everyday.
   Next, I poured out the buttermilk and got exactly 2 cups and 1 pound of butter. I rinsed the butter under the faucet using cold water, and our tap water is very cold. Then I put about 1/2 a cup of ice water in the bowl and squished the butter on the side of the bowl and poured off that water. I did this until the water ran clear. I used my hands, (yest, they were clean), to do this, since the butter was already hard.
   I have been looking for a butter bell to keep the butter in since butter turns into a brick, but since I don't have one, I looked on the internet to see how to make spreadable butter. A lot of the recipes called for oil and water mixed in. I didn't want to add water, so I just added Canola oil until it was the consistency I wanted. I mixed it up with the mixer and put the spreadable butter in a covered Rubbermaid container. I figure the butter is a tad bit healthier adding Canola oil to it. I would have used Olive Oil if I had any. I also didn't salt the butter.
   I made a loaf of bread with 1 cup of the homemade buttermilk. The other cup will go towards baking, too. I know, I could drink it. I wonder how chocolate butter milk is? I think I'll pass.
   Last night for supper we had homemade bread made with homemade buttermilk and homemade butter, homegrown corn, mashed potatoes made from homegrown potatoes, homemade gravy for our store bought eye of round roast. It was a very good meal. We had ice cream for dessert. It wasn't homemade, but I'm going to work on that. It's leftovers tonight. Hmm, I wonder why I'm not loosing any weight?
   I haven't decided if I'm going to make butter from now on for everything, like baking and such, or just for the non-baking uses.
   Between the baking, butter making, gardening, spinning, sewing, crocheting, wanna-be weaving, natural dyeing, canning, and all the other household chores I do, I should be busy. I used to be called Betty Crocker, now, I think it should be Polly Pioneer.
  

Weird Winter

   This winter is weird. We moved up here from Lancaster, CA, in the Mojave desert. We lived there for about 18 years and we only had snow a handful of times. This year, they have had snow a few times. Snow when we lived there would have been nice. It doesn't stick around long there, but still, it's a break from brown.

   We have had over 60 inches so far this winter, but it doesn't seem like that much because it has melted and snowed again. Several times. I haven't been keeping track of the snow fall amounts too much this year, like I have past winters. It's snowing now and we are suppose to have more snow for the next couple of weeks. I thought that groundhog said we weren't having 6 more weeks of winter. I know, it's only February. A week ago, or so, we made it up to 52. I saw kids in shorts and barefooted playing outside. That is about shorts weather up here.

   Last week was so cold, the dogs froze when they went out. I put socks on Chip's feet so his poor little feet would be a little warmer. Both Jake and Chip don't like what is called champagne snow, the fine powdery snow that is good for skiers. They like the fluffy, big, wet flakes, which also seem warmer. Putting socks on Chip reminded me of putting socks an babies, except by the time I thought I had socks on all 4 of Chip's feet, he managed to have 2 of them off. They did make a difference, though. Jake's foot with the 3 toes is the only one that seemed to bother him. We really do need to find the do boots. Jake has a pair and the other pair is way too big for either dog, since we bought them for Dixie, who weighed 150 pounds.

   We are trying to decide how much bigger to make the garden and what to plant. Doing that. just makes us wish it was May or June already. The rule of thumb up here, is, you plant after Mother's Day. Sometimes, that is still too early.

   Today, I'm working on the Christening afghan, washing clothes and making french bread to go with our spaghetti, and watching the snow fall. Life sure is rough.

What's With The Weird Real Feel Weather?

   I have noticed on the Accuweather thing I put on my blog, that sometimes it has the real feel as being warmer than the actual temperature. I can honestly tell you, I don't agree with it. If it's 29 outside and it says the real feel is 34, to me, it really feels like 29 and sometimes colder. I live here, I should know how the temperature really feels.
   Right now, as I write this, it says the temperature is 20 with a real feel of -3. Yes, the wind makes it feel at least -3, if not colder. I'm sure the blowing snow in the wind as it hits your face is much colder. That's why my face isn't out in it. Now, if I could only convince the dogs to go out quicker, it would be really nice, since we don't have a fenced in section for them and we hang out the door waiting for them. We don't want Jake and Chip to be predator food.
   Hanging out the open door lets in some real feel cold air, too. What? The thermometer says it's 68 in here? I don't think so. It really feels like 63. We never have the door open long enough for the inside temperature to drop that much. It just really feels like it.
   In the summer, should we feel cooler if the real feel is 89 when it's really 92? To me, 89 or 92, is still hot.Or if the temperature and real feel are the same, are we supposed to feel hotter or colder?
   I'll tell you how the weather really works. If my mother is cold you have to put on a sweater or coat. That's just how it is and always has been. Luckily, if she's hot, we don't have to take any clothes off. That would be a truly scary sight. I guess some mothers have real feel settings built in. As a kid, we'd leave the house with our coats on and take them off as soon as we were far enough away from the house so she wouldn't see us, and if we froze, we sure weren't going to admit it.
   So, what does all this prove? If you really want to know what the real feel temperature is, go outside. If you're hit with a blast of cold, icy wind, it's cold, and if you're hit with a blast of hot air, it's hot.
   In case no one guessed, this is not to be taken seriously. I do know about why real feel temps feel different than actual temps.

New Toys Update

   Well, I've had my new toys for a week and thought I'd let you know what I think of them.    The new Verizon wifi hot spot works so much better than the broadband we had. Some of us have a hard time remembering to turn it on and off. It really does work so much better if we turn it on. I guess we should check into upgrades more often.
   I really like the Nook Color. The more I play with it, the more I like it. By reading one of the 3 owner's manuals last night, I discovered I can change the color of the screen from white, to gray, black, butter sepia and mocha. The black says it's for night reading and it really made a difference for me having white letters on a black background last nigh. Right now, I have the screen set to butter, which is an off white.
   I have downloaded several epub books from different sites. Today, I think I will download a library book to read. I downloaded a Mahjong game that said it work on the Nook Color, gut it doesn't, and now, I can't figure out how to get it off. I also haven't come across how to but the epup books into the book file. I do know how to add them to my bookshelf and archive them when I'm done reading them.
   Going on the internet is easy. It's nice you can turn the Nook Color and have the screen landscape. You can also make the images much larger.
   All in all, I think both were good investments, especially living out in the sticks. Ok, they'd be good even if we lived in town, but for me, I can get books and not have to drive to town to buy one or check some out at the library.
   Last weekend, when we went to Barnes and Noble, I ask about their membership card, and the very chirpy, chipper, girl working there explained that they are $25.00 a year and the whole family can use them. I almost told her I just got a Nook Color and didn't need to go there anymore. I wonder what she would have done if I did say that?
   There is a down side to the Nook Color. I had to get a bigger purse. For years, I've been trying to carry less and use much smaller purses. All of mine are too small, so I just had to go and get a bigger one. I ordered it from Amazon and I should get it in a week. Mail ordering is more convenient, too. I like purses made by Baggallini because most of them have really nice built in wallets. I ordered one called the Everything Bag, and it actually looks like it might be. Tim has finally come to realize, I will probably find the perfect purse. Looking at the pictures of this one, it just might be the perfect purse. I guess I'll know soon enough. This will be my third Baggallini.
   Today for excitement, we are going to get the oil in the truck changed and I'll bring the Nook Color to read. Now the question of the day is, what do I want to read?
   The cracks in my fingers are healed again, so what I should do when we get home from or really exciting weekend outing, is crochet again. Times going by fast, and I don't have that much done.

New Toys

   I got 2 new toys this weekend. Well, ok, one is mine and the other is ours. Mine is a NookColor. I really like it. I was beginning to have my doubts about using it up here in the sticks.
   To start with, it had to be registered and you can only do that through wifi. We don't have any wifi out here, so we were going to town to go to Barnes and Noble and use theirs.
   On the way there, we stopped by Best Buy to look for a TV antenna, since we don't have cable or a dish or anything, since we're cheap. We found one, and then we stopped to look at their ereaders. One of there continuous, overly helpful  until you need them, staff came over and I told him about no wifi and not being able to register the Nook. He mentioned being able to get our own wifi for home and sent us over to the computer department. When the man helping us found out we were using broadband, he sent us over to the cell phone department. The employee we had there was very helpful and told us if we just got a new broadband thing, we still wouldn't get any wifi, but he showed us this little thing that was wifi.
   Verizon,  and probably other companies, make a portable wifi hot spot. We looked at Verizon because our broadband is through them. This neat little gadget is the size of a cell phone, plugs into the wall and we can run up to 5 computers on it at the same time. You can use it unplugged for as long as the battery lasts, as well. Now, my Nook works and the old computer is faster than it has ever been. You can even get a car charger for it and use it in your car. It's range is 54 feet, so you don't need to really worry about anyone getting your signal. I have since discovered we can get the signal for more than 50 feet. I hope no one is using our signal and using up our allotted air time, or what ever it it.
   Another thing we were going to do yesterday, was get an upgraded broadband device at the Verizon store. Now, we didn't need to. The guy at Best Buy told use were were eligible for an upgrade 3 years ago. So, we're a little slow. Anyway, this little gizmo is our upgrade. We did have to sign a new 2 year contract to get this thing free, and our bill is $10.00 a month cheaper. If we didn't sign the 2 year contract, the gizmo was $249.99 plus tax and whatever other fees they could dream up.
   One of the most important things I did get yesterday, is some more O'Keefe's Working Hands. It works great on my poor cracked fingers. Now, in a few days, I will be able to crochet again.
   The NookColor is great. I can get the internet, gazillions of free books, play internet radio on it, download Mp3's and play them on it.  I read that eventually Barnes and Noble is going to make it so you can get apps and download programs for it. It is the only ereader out there, besides an iPad or some such, that has color. It's kind of like an iPad. I can also read at night if the power goes of since it is back lit. I'm going to have to play with it a lot to figure it out. It's a good thing we bought cookies yesterday, too, so I'm not baking today.
   The antenna is great also. It makes everything look high def, like our converter box was suppose to, but now, it really does, and the picture is so much clearer. There is still nothing to watch on TV, but at least it comes in clearer.
   Also, yesterday we made it up to 52. A heat wave. It is so muddy here. You sink and slide in the mud and then you manage to track it all over the house even after taking off your shoes. The wind really blew hard last night. At least there was no snow. There is rain and more snow in the forecast, just so we don't get too excited about the heatwave.

My Mom's Cookie Recipes



Christening Afghan

    I know, I said in the last post I'd put my mom's cookie recipe on here, but I've been busy. I thought I'd put a picture of what I've been busy with.
   Here it is. The Christening afghan for my sister-in-law's brother. It's crocheted with thread, and I have 5 whole inches done. Now, I have 31 more inches to do, and then the border.
   Now for the information on the cookies. My mom got this recipe in 1955 from a Wesson Oil cookbook, that she sent for and paid a quarter for. It has a lot of good recipes in it.
   I don't remember having cookies often as a child, and that could be because it was a loooong time ago, but I remember watching my mom dipping the bottom of a glass in oil, then sugar and stamping the cookies.
   I've made these a lot lately for Tim's lunch. I don't know if the Canola oil I use is healthier for you than the butter or margarine in other cookies, but, that's my reasoning, and I'm sticking to it.
   I never did dip the glass in oil and then sugar, since I have an official Ryecraft cookie stamp. I think they are sweet enough with out the extra sugar on top, also, so I've been leaving it off, as well. I figure it saves us a few calories.
   For some reason, one of the recipes comes out with too much oil, even though you use the same amount for all three recipes. The only thing different is, one has all brown sugar in it, and the other one has all white sugar in it. The one with all the white sugar is the one that comes out too oily, so I use less. I couldn't tell you how much less. Also, I always double the recipes, since the recipe doesn't make many.
   I hope you like the recipe and give the cookies a try. You'll find the recipe in the recipe section. Just scroll down to the end of the recipes. Once again, I really wish I could put the newer recipes on top instead of at the end. Oh, well.

Fog Season

   I see by not seeing far, that it's fog season up here. I've never really paid much attention to fog until we moved up here, not even when we lived close to the ocean in CA. I don't like the fog down by the ocean, because I wear glasses. What, you may ask, does wearing glasses have to do with fog? As a fog non expert, I've found fog by the ocean messes up your glasses with salt or something. You go to wipe the fog off of your glasses, and it smears and makes a bigger mess than the fog was. I also don't like the smell of ocean fog.
   Up here in the sticks, I like watching the fog roll in. I can see the fog quite a way in the distance, and it creeps in, covering the world in a swirling, white mist. Have you ever seen the movie "The Fog"? That's what it reminds me of, the way it rolls in, surrounding the house so I can see nothing and then rolling out again. Yeah, I know, I have waaay too much time on my hands and I watch weird movies.
   I open the door to let the dogs out and I can actually see the fog swirling around as tiny drops of water. I've decided I like to watch the fog from the comfort of the house. I decided years ago, that I don't like driving in it. There is always some idiot going way too fast for the conditions, and some other idiot in on coming traffic with their high beams on making a really nice glare. I also just know there is going to be some animal standing in the road that I can't see through the fog.
   We have freezing fog up here. I like the look of the world covered in the aftermath of the freezing fog. Everything has a nice frosted look. Great for taking pictures. Freezing fog changes the way the snow looks on the ground. It makes the snow look like different shaped crystals. Some of the crystals remind me of the stuff you used to be able to get, (still might be able to get, for all I know) to paint on the back of aquariums and it gets that crystal fan look.
   The fog is rolling away right now. I guess I'm safe from what ever hides in it for now. At our place, what hides in it are wild turkeys and deer.

Nothing New Happening Here

   It's sad to say, life up here is so quiet, nothing is going on. The turkeys visiting for their bread is about the high light of my day.
   I've been crocheting the Christening set and now have the bonnet finished. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. I had to take a break from the booties because the pattern was making no sense what so ever. I've been looking on the net for another bootie pattern using no. 10 cotton crochet thread and can't find any I like, so I guess I'll have to figure out the pattern I have. That's tomorrows project.
   This weekend was pretty nice. Yesterday was kind of foggy, but not bad. We did our monthly shopping. Today was so nice, Tim went and cut down some dead trees and trimmed others up. I stayed in because it's icy and made cookies and bread. Yesterday, when we were in Wal-Mart, I ran across some Nestles dark chocolate and mint chips. The bag says limited edition. That's too bad, they made good cookies.
   I guess since nothing is going on, it's time to waste time playing Mahjong on the computer. Later this week, I'm going to put some cookie recipes on here that my mom made when we were kids, and I have been making lately.

Busy Crocheting Lately

   I've been busy crocheting lately. I just finished these pig slippers for a friend of a friend. Maybe, one day, I will manage to get eyes the same size and evenly spaced.
   I was once a docent at the Antelope Valley Indian Museum in Lancaster, Ca, and was told that Native Americans left a small flaw in all their work so the evil spirits don't get trapped in their work. I have no evil spirits in any of my work. I know where all the imperfections are, but I don't make any that detract from the finished product.
   Now, I am ready to start a Christening afghan, bonnet and booties out of no. 10 crochet thread. They will take me quite a while to make and will not have any noticeable flaws in them.
   Our snow has pretty much melted due to lots of rain and a heat wave in the 40's. I'm sure more snow is to be expected. The ground is so soft and squishy, the trailer hitch on our travel trailer has sunk just about as far as it can go and Tim has to wait for the ground to get hard again to get it out, which will, I'm told, take some doing.
   We had about 40 turkeys in our yard Saturday. They come to "here turkey, turkey" which, I think, is funny. I guess I have to get my laughs where I can.