Urania's Inspiration

Oh Yeah, I Forgot!!!

2012-01-09T13:30:00.000-06:00

Oh well....

I forgot that... puppy + food = poop!

I forgot that... puppy + water = pee!

When the big dogs go out to do their business the little dog follows.

She sees what the other two are doing and does her business too.

She just has to do it more often!

Now if she could just get the hang of letting me

know when she needs to go out we would be set.

Anyway....

I spent the greater part of yesterday steam cleaning rugs and mopping floors.

Thank goodness we haven't put carpeting down yet.

After I cleaned the rugs, I rolled them up and put them on the deck.

Maybe by spring Fluffy will have the hang of things and I can bring them back in!

A little ammonia, mixed with orange essential oil in the mop pail had the place

clean and smelling great in no time.

I need to go finish making soap,

so....

Till next time,

I'll be watching where I step.

Bonjour

The Gifts Just Keep Coming!

2012-01-03T12:33:00.000-06:00

Welcome Fluffy!

So...

We found this little thing on our front porch New Years Eve morning.

A whining, crying, shivering, little fluffy ball of fur who stole our hearts.

We're guessing she's a Blue Heeler/Saint Bernard mix.

Big feet, big head, Blue Heeler markings on her snout.

Lots of straight fluffy fur.

Dang!

I was hoping the next dog that showed up would be short haired!

I think Fluffy wore Dad out!

Lady and Red are not so sure what they think about

this new little fur ball so Steve will be taking her to work with him for awhile.

Who abandons a barely weaned puppy out in the country

where Coyotes abound?

Are there brothers and sisters "out there" shivering in the night?

This is so sad!!!!

And how did she make it all the way down the drive to our house?

If you have opinions/suggestions

as to her breed /mix please feel free to share.

Till next time,

FIX YOUR PET!

Bonjour

My Special Christmas Gift!

2012-01-01T18:58:00.000-06:00

Jaelyn Grace Wheaton

Born - 12/29/11

6 lb. 2 oz.

18" long

I'm a great-grandma!

Glad I'm still young-ish enough to enjoy her!

Till next time,

Bonjour

The Indian In The Cupboard?

2011-12-24T20:48:00.000-06:00

SO...

Cupboard? Magic cabinet? Jukebox?

When I received this Christmas gift my mind went imideately to

The Indian In The Cupboard.

For those of you who don't know the story,

a young boy receives a magical cabinet for his birthday.

A magical cabinet that transforms plastic people into

real, living, mini-sized people!

It's a great movie that Nathan and I have enjoyed many times,

a kind of coming of age story.

Great cabinet/cupboard, I absolutely love it!

Is the front design a beetle?

Each section of the beetle(?) is divided with bent twigs.

What is the design on the top of the door?

So many questions.

But....

What to use it for?

Tarot card collection?

Bathroom items?

Spices & herbs?

What is it's purpose?

?????

31" tall X 15" wide X 6 3/4" deep

Cubbies are approximately 7" X 7"

The inside is unadorned,

thinking....

maybe adding postcard type photos/pictures to each cubby back

and maybe some sort of picture to the inside of the door?

Need to know what it's purpose is before adding anything though!

Also received,

one of The Hunger Games books, by Suzanne Collins,

I am so looking forward to reading this!

I've heard great things about this series.

Need your help on the cabinet!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Seeking, Searching - Finding

2011-12-17T19:44:00.000-06:00

Sorted & labeled

Well...

I've been searching for a good muffin recipe and google was not being very helpful.

I kept getting sweet muffin recipes, what I wanted was savory.

I guess it helps if you put savory in your search criteria.

Cheese, bacon, corn, all very good

but not what I wanted either.

It finally hit me, try herb.

Better, but not great.

Then I found a plain muffin recipe at all recipes.com with suggestions on fillings.

They were mostly sweet suggestions but at least I had a place to start.

They're called Best Ever Muffins, and I have to agree.

They baked up more like a biscuit than a cupcake or muffin,

but were still moist and light.

I did five variations, two with herbs and three with sweets. All mini muffins.

1. dill & red pepper flakes

2. rosemary, onion flakes & parmesan cheese

3. poppy seeds & raspberry jalapeño jam

4. nutmeg, cinnamon & carrot cake jam

5. nutmeg, cinnamon & quartered, large gumdrops

Numbers 3,4,5 - I put a small amount of batter into the cups first,

then the jam/gumdrop, then filled with more batter. I only used a scant

teaspoon of the jams, or at least tried to.

Here's the recipe if you're interested.

Best Ever Muffins

2 cups flour                                                                                                 1 egg
3 tsp. baking powder                                                                                1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                                                 1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar (I cut the sugar to 1/4 cup on all variations)

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt & sugar in a large mixing bowl (add herbs if using).

Make a well in the center. Set aside.

3. In a glass measuring cup add the milk, oil & egg. Blend together.

(I added the milk first to the 1 cup measurement, then the oil till the liquid was at 1 1/4 cups then the egg.

Saves washing so many utensils)!

4. Pour the wet into the dry & mix lightly, should be lumpy.

5. Spoon batter into oiled or paper lined muffin cups.

6. Bake for 25 minutes for regular size, 20 minutes for minis.

7. Remove pan from the oven onto a sturdy wire rack, let sit for 5 minutes,

then remove muffins from pan to a cooling rack.

In progress

The jams were made by my friend Loretta, (traded soap).

If you happen to be on my Christmas list....

I guess you know what you're gettingJTJTJ

Till next time,

Make some expresso and taste test!
Bonjour

P.S. Was meeting someone at What-A-Burger

to deliver soap & saw this in the backseat of a guys car.

Giant piñata?

He was from Michigan.

WHAT???

Can You Bake?

2011-12-10T20:01:00.000-06:00

SO....

In between product orders I've been making Christmas gifts.

Everyone loves food, especially easy to make food.

Pour into a bowl, add butter and eggs, what could be easier?

Brownie & Cookie Mixes

Sorted into families

Each row has a label at the end denoting which family it goes to.
The short rows will get sweet and savory breads, muffins, suckers,
chocolate confections ETC.

Cocoa Powder canister refashioned

Covered this canister with wallpaper from the thrift shop
and leftover ribbon. Just used Elmer's to adhere.
Perfect for the pretzels!

Don't tell anyone I spelled Biscotti wrong!

I made recipe cards using purchased postcard stock.
The software program for the cards/labels was free from Avery
and the clipart was in my Microsoft Works Program.

There's lots of chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter cups,
marshmallow treats, and haystacks waiting to be packaged.

Are you cooking/baking for Christmas?

Till next time,
Eat More Chocolate!
Bonjour

Handmade Christmas gifts

2011-12-04T20:53:00.000-06:00

Canned brisket, Mocha cafe, Orange marmalade, Pickled beets, Pickled okra, Mango preserves

Recipe mag, Melting milk chocolate, white chocolate, Butterscotch, Pink stuff, Finished peanut butter cups

Handmade product labels

I'm having fun!!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Need Some Warmth So I'm Making Biscotti

2011-11-30T22:52:00.000-06:00

Oh My....

It's cold in this house.
I noticed it late yesterday evening and wondered,
why isn't the heater kicking on.

I'm thinking,

maybe the hubby programmed the thermostat too low?
I checked, it was 65 degrees. It’s suppose to be 69 degrees.

Still thinking…

Ok, I’ll bypass the preset and take the chill off.
The heater does not click on at all.
Not good.
Hubby is already asleep, no help there.
So I throw another quilt on the bed,
get into some warm jammies, snuggle under
and decide to worry about it tomorrow.

Tomorrow is today.

I informed the hubby of the dilemma this morning.
His advice?
Let’s just wait and see if it gets any better this evening.
WHAT?
Like I said,

OH MY….

My advise?
Call someone today and set up an appointment for tomorrow.

Geez.
See if it gets better?
It doesn’t have the flu.

By the way, it didn’t get better.
It’s still 65 degrees and the Tech will be here in the morning.
So I turned the oven on and made some biscotti.

My first time, obviously I need more practice.
It tastes super yummy but ….
I ate too much.
Now I have a tummy ache.

Till next time,
Trust me, it won't get better!
Bonjour

No Turkey Day Just Yet!!

2011-11-25T06:31:00.000-06:00

Well...

Our family Thanksgiving will be on Sunday at Steve's Mom's house.

SO...

I took the free day to ready for our last show of the season,

get the newest Boutique order together

and also to work on handmade Christmas gifts.

I have a lot of ideas for cookie/ brownie/ biscotti mixes in a jar,

chocolate coated pretzels, handmade candy, flavored coffee creamer etc.

Also sewing up a few things.

First up,

for the show,

mini, reversible stockings, free with a $25.00 purchase.

To be used in place of a gift bag.

Drew the template on computer paper and got into my fabric stash.

Each stocking took about 1/4 yard of fabric per side,

In progress

finished size is 9 1/2" tall by 7 1/2" wide

Time to tuck one into the other.

Finished stockings.

Next up are the Christmas gifts.

Placemats & napkins.

Side 1

Other side.

Up-cycled jacket as a dish towel.

Ugly jacket, cool fabric.

Cool dish towel.

Wire basket.

Found this cool wire mesh basket in a thrift shop.

A little spray paint made it good as new!

I plan on putting a loaf of home made sweet bread in it.

Maybe put a cloth napkin first, then the bread, then tie with a ribbon or two?

Boutique order.

Mini soaps.

Half size bars that are encased in a cello bag.

I market these as stocking stuffers at Christmas.

In the spring they become camping/travel bars.

If you have any thoughts for handmade gift items

please share. I need more ideas!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Bustin Arse (AKA, making product)

2011-11-13T21:32:00.000-06:00

SO...

I know, I know, I've been absent in blog land!!!

The fall shows have taken over,

one more to go and I'm finished for the year!

The Texas Country reporter show was fantastic.

We sold mega amounts of product (good) .

Yesterday we had a smaller show

which depleted my inventory even more (bad).

So now I'm scrambling to replace said product

for the Christmas Market in December.

Today I made five - twenty bar batches of soap

and have plans on making four more batches

during the week.

I'ts doable, and I'll just squeak in

under the cure time allotment.

Nathan is due in on the 18th so I shall enlist his

help on making and packaging the other products.

He's pretty well versed on the workings of the soap co.

and has even told me that when I die he's taking over!

I guess he thinks he's Brad Pitt in - Fight Club!

Don't remember if I mentioned...

Got another wholesale account,

Maybe soon I can leave the surreal world of people-eaters

and concentrate on the homestead duties.

Maybe even get to bed at a decent hour?

There's always hope...

Oh yeah,

I rolled out a new product this last week.

Brown Sugar Body Polish!!!

(Think sugar scrub with a fancy name).

YUMMY!

Brown Sugar Body Polish

Well it's after nine here in Texas

and I do have to work tomorrow...

I'll try to catch up on everyone's doings at lunch

during the week, can't wait to see what you' all

have been up to!!!

Till next time,

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!

Oh wait,

no trouble, just toil and bubbles!

Bonjour

Le Pumpkin Genie

2011-10-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

It's that time again....

The company's annual pumpkin decorating contest.
Yoo-hoo!

Steve and I did decorate a pumpkin.....

Just don't think I'll be taking it to work.

I think I would rather debut him at my soap show on Saturday.

I googled decorating ideas, and BHG had pumpkins decorated
with old, rusty, junk, hardware components.
Right up my alley as I have old,
rusty junk, hardware components in my stuff stash.

Le Pumpkin Genie...

The old, rusty, junk, hardware components, from top to bottom.

The hair swirl:

I don't know where it came from or what the hair swirl is.

(Although I did use it's sister's on the Alien Room Divider).

Eyes:
I think these might be decoration for behind a drawer knob.
Old, painted screws.
Nose:
Glass drawer pull from Steve's grandpa's stash.
Old painted screws.
Mouth/Mustache:
Bent, rusty cabinet hinge.
Also from Steve's grandpa's stash.
Old, painted screws.
Ears:
Rusty handles from screen door, AKA/Alien Room Divider.
Old, painted screws.
Genie Lamp:
Tea Pot, I think I got this at First Monday
Spotted Plate:
McNutts, purchased at Bygones, a locall antique store.

What do you think?

What's Your Wish?

Gotta go,
I'm getting the last minute stuff together
for Saturday's craft show.
Wish me luck.

Till next time,
Boo!!!

MOO, First attempt!

2011-10-22T19:41:00.000-05:00

Well….

Today I needed to make soap and other products for our upcoming shows,

but I really wanted to cook some of that cow….

What to do, what to do?

Both of course!

I started by getting some of the said cow ready for the slow cooker.

I had the pikes peak roast defrosting in the fridge,

along with some Chicken thighs.

I had googled recipes for this cut, aka heel of round,

and they were all pretty much the same.

Steve and I aren’t big beef eaters because of the cost,

so I’m counting on google and you guys to help me on my way

through cooking this cow.

With help from The Texas Beef Council and

Recipes from a Kansas City Cook

I was ready to go.

Picture from Culinary Arts

I deviated from the original recipe due to not having the proper ingredients.

Here’s what I did and it turned out super tender and flavorful.

Ingredients:
4 lbs. Pikes Peak Roast

Liquid:
1 cup canned tomato juice
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. prepared brown mustard

Dry:
2 tsp. dry mustard (I didn’t have dried mustard, so I used mustard seeds. I ground the seeds with the salt and sage with my mortar and pestle)
2 tsp. dried sage
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. Super Nate spice (I think this batch was rosemary, lemon balm, thyme & oregano)

Small hand full of dried ground garlic
Small hand full of dried ground onion
2 beef bullion cubes

Olive oil for browning roast

Method:
Preheat slow cooker on high.
In a large skillet, heat three turns of the pan of olive oil on medium heat.
Add first five dry ingredients. Using tongs, brown roast on all sides in olive oil/herb mixture.
Transfer roast to slow cooker and cover.

Add last three dry ingredients along with all the liquid ingredients to the skillet.
Bring to a simmer stirring constantly.
Transfer liquid to the slow cooker.
Cover the slow cooker, reduce temperature to low and cook for about 6 or 7 hours.

YUMMO!!!

I cooked the chicken thighs in my electric roaster with

lemon balm, lemon pepper, canned bean sprouts and a little water.

Also
YUMMO!!!

I wanted some cookies too so
I made up some brown sugar drop cookie dough.

I split the dough,

half a batch with grated white chocolate and dried coconut,

the other half with raisins and dried cranberries.

Between making the roast, chicken,
soap and the other Blue Moon products

I ran out of time on the cookies.

(It’s still too hot during the day to turn on the oven).
I just saran wrapped the cookie dough bowls, refridgerated and I will

bake them in the morning when it's cooler.

I just love cookies for breakfast!!!

You' all probably have way more experience cooking beef than I have

so feel fee to Email me with any recipes/suggestions or posts.

Can't wait for the burn ban to be lifted

so I can try my hand at grilling a steak!

(We don't have a normal bbq grill).

Don't even ask!

Till next time,

Beef, it's "what's for dinner"!
Bonjour

The Cow

2011-10-19T21:19:00.000-05:00

SO...

Steve and I have been wanting to raise our own beef .
Not just any beef either.

Yummy, hormone free, grass fed beef!

Steaks, roasts, ribs, that’s what I’m talking about!

That requires a fence to keep said beef, aka cow in

and the cattle rustlers out.

The fence is about ¼ done.

Seems the most important thing at the time was to

make the property unappealing to would be crooks.

Phase one,

the fence down the driveway with a gate.

If you want in bad enough, you’ll have to go cross country.

We now need to complete phases two through

four to actually keep a cow or two.

Go figure!

Opportunity knocks…

Friend of a friend has cows, hormone free, grass fed.

Brangus? (Brahma, Angus mix)

We are now the proud owners of ½ a Brangus.

Or were,

it’s now resting quite comfortably in my freezer.

All 156 pounds of it!

(Other ½ split with a friend).

What can I say?

I’ve had a steak or two at the restaurant on special occasions

but,

in my entire adult life, I don’t ever recall purchasing

a steak at the market.

Is that sad or what?

The rundown.

15 ½ lbs-hamburger, 1 pack-brisket, 3 packs-chuck roast, 2 packs-arm roast,

1 pack-pikes peak roast, 1 pack-rump roast,

7 packs-round steak, 3 packs-short ribs,

4 packs-rib eye steaks, 5 packs-t-bone steaks, 7 packs-sirloin steaks,

1 pack-soup bones, aka dog bones.

Price?

$381.25 or $2.44 average, per pound.

The Cow!!!!

It's our first time,
did we do good?
Till next time, moo...I mean,

Bonjour

P.S.

Hope we don't experience any

power outages this winter...

Life & Soap Shows

2011-10-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

Nathan's pomegranate tree

SO.....

It's soap show time!!!

You never know what is going to sell.

For the last several years, our dominant category in all products was floral

and that's where I concentrated my efforts.

The trend this past spring was fruits and spices, seems that trend is continuing.

Our demographic is widening, we're all over the page now.

Customers that were hard sells previously are now purchasing our products.

Not just the soaps either, all our products are selling better.

Personally, I've been feeling the earthy vibe for awhile.

Something I have noticed is,

when I'm formulating a new scent, and purchasing

the scents for it from my local supplier,

a few months later they are selling "that" scent pre-blended.

I've even noticed them naming the scent pretty close to, or the same as mine.

I order under my Co. name, pretty easy

to go to my site and see what I'm up to.

Whatever...

My husband says I should be flattered.

Again, whatever!!

Yesterday's show was great with lots of sales and today was spent

making more soap, etc.

I have four more shows for the year and I foresee my immediate future

filled with soap bubbles.

Oh yea,

I was contacted yesterday by a local B&B for soap.

We shall see where that goes.

My morning view from the surreal world (work)

Till next time,

Bonjour

Jesus H Christ!

2011-10-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

Please excuse my language!

Just when I'm thinking things are settling down

around here all hell breaks loose.

We haven't had any wildfires as of late so I thought,

OK, back to normal....

Wrong!

Ellis County...

Ennis has been all over the news.

Seems a teacher at the high school has TB.

Every student is being tested along with their parents and siblings.

They're even testing last years graduating class.

How scary is that?

Next on the list....

A massive fire broke out in Waxahachie today at a chemical plant

across the street from where my husband Steve works.

My daughter works at Target in Waxahachie,

five miles away from where the fire was.

Everyone in about a ten mile radius was evacuated.

Fire departments from all over were called in.

Something I thought was interesting...

The water runoff from the fire was contained and collected.

I didn't know such a thing was possible.

Best to be contained and treated rather than be in the creeks and lakes.

Geez,

the EPA is out there conducting tests.

How safe is it to breathe?

What about the flora and fauna?

Lots of livestock and crops in this area!

I could see the fire from my deck and I live twenty miles away.

Crap!!!!

Imagine the job loss...

How was your day?

What Have I Been Up To?

2011-09-28T19:59:00.000-05:00

This!!!

Product

Well let me just say, I've been a very busy bee.

The last few months I've been ramping up soap production

in anticipation of our fall shows. That done, next on the list

was all the of the other products.

I've finished the bath oils, lip balms and bath teas

now all I need are the body butters.

The jars came in yesterday so I'll be tackling those on Saturday.

I try to time everything out so that when I go to the shows

everything is as fresh as possible.

Our first show is October 8th which is just around the corner!

We've been doing a bit of canning too.

Darn dial up, kicked me off, where was I?

Oh yeah, canning.

Sunday we pressure canned about 8 -1/2 pints of cooked beef

and at least that much or more of corn.

When the sweet potatoes go on sale at thanksgiving

I plan on making sweet potato butter.

Beverly, at Beverly's back porch posted a recipe

that really sounds yummy!

Here's her link.

http://beverlysbackporch.blogspot.com/2011/09/sweet-potato-butter.html

Time to make more business cards and all the other paperwork

that goes with doing shows.

Till next time,

Bonjour

I killed The Mailbox

2011-09-18T21:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday my local market was advertising

chicken thighs and legs for .69 a pound and pork roast for $1.68 a pound,

both great prices so I was all over it.

Steve and I headed into town to take advantage.

We made it to the store, loaded up on the deals and

proceded to the checkout.

OOPSIE!!!

No checkbook, no ATM card, no cash.

Crap!

I explain the circumstances to the clerk and ask,

"can you wheel our cart into the cooler till we get back"?

"No problem she says".

Well....

We get back home and hubby says

"just pull in the drive and I'll walk to the house so we don't have to open the gate".

10 minutes later...

Checkbook in hand, he hops back into the truck and I back out.

Let me just say,

I've never backed out of the driveway before.

Seems there's a mailbox right behind the driveway!

I know it only brings bills but let's have a little respect!

So what we ended up with was,

what should have been a 24 mile drive turned into

a 48 mile drive and one dead mailbox!

I guess we paid a little more for the "deals" than we expected.

Till next time, be kind to your mailbox,

Bonjour

Pattypan Squash Bread

2011-09-18T19:43:00.001-05:00

Well...

Things have cooled off a bit here, and last night we finally got some rain.

Everything still looks fried but one can hope!

I've been wanting to bake,

anything,

cookies, bread, enchiladas, whatever!

Squash bread and jalapeno cornbread

Brendie over at Bregle Estate has been tempting me

with her baked Maori bread,

which sounds super yummy, and I'm dying to give it a try.

I've only turned my oven on once or twice since about June,

and I'm thinking, it's about time.

I can't do the Maori bread just yet (needs to ferment) but I can do a some quick breads.
I made a squash bread for our breakfast's during the week and
a jalapeno cornbread to go with our ham and beans.

So here goes.

Squash Bread

Ingredients:
Dry
2 cups flour/divided use
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon.
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground ginger or ground cloves

Wet
1 cup canned pumpkin*
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening

Goodies
1/2 cup chopped walnuts*
1/2 cup raisins*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices.

Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and shortening.
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till blended, then on high speed for 2 minutes.
Add remaining 1 cup flour and beat well.
Stir in nuts and raisins with a spatula.

Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
(Only grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides,
lets the bread rise straight up, not out and over the edges, trust me).
Bake @ 350° for about 1 hour.
Cool (in loaf pan) on wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool thoroughly.
Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

*I didn't have canned pumpkin, but I did have cooked, frozen patty pan squash that I thawed, drained, then pureed in the food processor. You can use any cooked squash or sweet potato.
*You can use any chopped nuts.
*I used 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup currants.
I have also done this recipe with dried, chopped apricots.

Squash bread

While I was in the freezer I spotted mixed, cooked greens.

I'm thinking,

pureed greens to replace the squash

dried rosemary, thyme, lemon balm or basil to replace the spices

diced, drained, canned pineapple or dried, diced apricots to replace the fruit

and diced ham or chicken to replace the nuts.

What do you think, Yucky or yummy?

Till next time, eat your veggies,
Bonjour

Can Texas Be Saved From Stupid People?

2011-09-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

So...

There’s a little town named Reagor Springs,

that I pass through everyday on my way to and from work .

It has a couple of beer stores and that’s about it.

This was the go to place back in the day if you wanted beer.

Just a little town situated between two bigger, dry towns.

The bigger towns are wet now, so Reagor doesn’t have much going on anymore.

But, if you look at it from another perspective, it really has quite a bit going on.

In the early spring this town is a beehive of activity.

Farmers are in the fields, riding in giant, cab enclosed tractors.

They’re tilling under the winter’s green cover

in preparation for the summer’s cash crops, corn, maize and cotton.

Round about late July, early August, they started harvesting

the corn and maize. Even with the drought, I still saw

18 wheelers in the fields loading up for the trip to the gain mill.

Cotton field, May I think.

Now it’s cotton harvest time.

Cotton strippers are in the fields along with huge rectangle shaped boxes.

The boxes are like trash compactors.

The cotton strippers feed the cotton into the box and the box squishes it.

Pretty cool!

So now the fields are filled with these huge bales of cotton.

Future blue jeans and t shirts I suspect!

Anyway..

Yesterday, 250 acres of these fields were caught up in a wild fire.

Nothing you could see from the highway, it was back in, on the FM road.

My oldest grandson’s dad, uncles and papa farm some of these fields.

I don’t know if it was their’s or not, or even if there were crops on the land.

Today I was driving to work looking at all those bales, and thinking.

I hope they get them out soon, before anything else happens!

The farmers are depending on the money these bales are going to bring in.

What the hell...

“Did you see that“, I asked my husband?

Before he could answer I said,

“I don’t believe it, whoever is driving that car just threw out a lit cigarette”!

OMG…

I’m thinking, are you stupid? Don’t you know there was a fire here yesterday?

I sped up enough to get a plate number, and then passed to see who was driving.

Just some random lady, 40ish, no one I know.

But then again, she could live in my area.

She might even be driving down my road on a daily basis.

Her lit cigarette butts flying out her car window toward my house!

````````

Steve and I both have a bug-out-bag in the cab of the truck,

clothes, toiletries, passports, etc.

I pack the laptop in the briefcase and take it with me to work everyday.

We’ve even packed a medium size cooler

with about 2 weeks worth of non-perishable food,

that’s locked and chained in the pickup bed.

You never know!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

P.S.

Just heard thunder, went outside to see,

there's a big black cloud over the house and I felt raindrops!

Could it really be?

The Excellent Adventure...Part 1

2011-09-12T19:52:00.000-05:00

Lovey Puppy and Friends were getting

bored with going to Grandma's house.

Bored with making soap, bored with cooking, bored with sewing.

They had more fun when Grandma played....

They loved to watch The Little Boy and Grandma shoot the bow and arrows,

sword fight with their sticks and skip rocks at the creek.

Grandma wasn't very good at any of these things...

But there was one thing she was good at.

Story telling.

Magic wands, far away places, evil kings, flying dragons, enchanted forests...

Grandma knew about these things!

Lovey Puppy and Friends would listen when Grandma read to the Little Boy.

They imagined themselves riding the dragons,

fighting the evil kings and camping in the enchanted forests.

They wanted an adventure like the ones Grandma told about in the stories!

But how to make it happen?

The Little Boy did have a magic wand.....

And a flying dragon!!!

Lovey Puppy and friends started making plans!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Lovey Puppy...

2011-09-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

There once was a little boy who couldn’t hear very well.

Since the little boy couldn’t hear very well,

that meant he couldn’t speak very well either.

His mother could understand him but not anyone else.

This made the little boy very frustrated and angry.

Puzzled, the mother took the little boy to the doctor.

Oh my, said the doctor….

The little boy had to go to the hospital several times.

Hospitals can be very scary, especially to a little boy.

The little boy’s grandma Jackie brought him a little stuffed puppy.

She told him, this is a Lovey Puppy, whenever you’re scared,

just hug her and she’ll make you feel better.

Through the years, the little boy has taken his lovey Puppy everywhere.

Movies, both grandma’s house's, dads…

Where ever the little boy is, Lovey Puppy is.

Lovey Puppy likes video games, movies, cooking, sword fighting,

whatever the little boy likes, Lovey Puppy Likes.

Along the way Lovey Puppy has made several friends,

Felix The Cat, Mr. Peanut, Casper The Friendly Ghost,

Mr. Pony, Robo Man, Purr Other Puppy and several Knights.

Lovey Puppy can be mischievous though….

Imagine the little boy’s surprise when he got to grandma’s house

and Lovey Puppy and friends weren’t in the suitcase!

They were on an adventure, an Excellent Adventure!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Wildfires

2011-09-06T11:52:00.001-05:00

My landscape

Really...

The dogs were acting crazy yesterday,

there was no bad weather, just wind.

I went out with them several times to "check on things"

but didn't see anything, Lady just kept pacing.

I just figured the tropical storms were blowing in rain.

So I went about my day, making soap, blogging ETC.

When Steve got home from work he asked me,

"have you been outside"?

"Well, yes I said, sort of, why"?

I followed him out back.

Oh crap!

Fire towards Ennis, about five miles away,

fire towards Alma same distance away.

I had been going out the front door.

The wind was blowing the smoke and smell away from our house.

I never even heard sirens!

Sunday there were wild fires in Corsicana, about twenty miles south of us.

Our area is all open land, no farming going on up here,

lots of cattle, some mesquite and cedar trees and brush, lots of brush!

Pretty dry up here.

This is how dry we are!

I went outside this morning. (I'm On a vacation day).

Hazy, smoky smelling. I don't hear any sirens.....YET!

Steve just called from work,

said they got an automated call from the Sheriff's office stating,

yes,

all of Ellis Co. is smoky, hazy, don't call unless you see flames!

Wildfires are everywhere, Fort Worth, Austin, Oklahoma!

On my drive to and from work, (Ennis to Waxahachie to Red Oak)

I see patch after patch of burnt grass on the side of the highway.

What?

Are people throwing lit cigarettes out their car windows?

There was a roadside fire on Thursday,

about a quarter mile from where Steve works. (Waxahachie)

The nursery is surrounded by about a five acre mini forest, so you

can imagine how ugly that could have been!

The fire department put it out before it hit the trees.

Anyway...

Lady's not acting crazy so I guess we're ok?

But, I do have a bug-out-bag sitting by the front door!

Till next time, stay safe,

Bonjour

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The Lion , The Witch and The Wardrobe

2011-09-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

OK...

So I lied, there is no Lion or Witch, just "The Wardrobe"!

*** :) ***

I found this lovely piece in an antique store about five years ago.

$1oo.oo

We had "house guests" at the time and needed more closet space.

It still has the original hanging rod,

with weird hook things that slide across the rod,

kind of like bathroom robe hooks.

(wasn't sure how to use those)

We just slid them to the side and used wire hangers.

There wasn't enough clearance between the rod

and upper shelf for plastic hangers.

Anyway...

"House guests" are gone, so now it's a pantry.

I didn't want to alter the piece so we just put a shelving unit inside.

When things are on sale at the market I buy extra and store in "The Wardrobe".

Those cans of tomatoes, tuna, and such were really a good price!

I've had these forever, cheap, Wally World bookshelves.

There's one on either side of the kitchen island.
I don't know if you can see but,

I had to put a piece of wood between each shelf for support.

Still room for a few more jars!

(Ignore the 5 gal. buckets in the background, that's just my soap oils).

This is the only closet in the house, although it is pretty big.
No, we don't have that much coffee,
I save coffee cans for food storage silly:)
More on sale food items in here also.
Bulk purchases are divided up into smaller containers.
Beans, rice, sugar, flour.....
I scored a large, laundry basket full of jars, canisters
and popcorn tins for $5.00 at the thrift store a few months back.
Plastic shoe boxes also come in handy.
YES!!!

Weird...
Something I have noticed at the market as of late.
Staple food items?
Not really being put on sale.
It's mostly, what I like to call, "the garbage food".
Pre-seasoned, pre-cooked fast food, just heat and eat.
Then there's the plastic packages of meat swimming in marinades,
and the plastic tubs of pre-sliced veggies and fruits.

I don't know, I guess if you work, have three kids with after school activities,
get home late, ETC, ETC, ETC,
maybe this is your only option besides Mickey Dees?
But...
Seems to me, for the price of the fast food stuff,
you could probably hire a sweet, grandma type, retired person
to come over and cook wholesome food for your family.
I'm just saying....

Please, don't tell "The People Eater" or "The Food Police"
about my food stash!!

Oh yeah, weird again,
have the check- out clerks at your market been
commenting/asking about your bulk purchases?
They have at mine!

Need to go make soap, shows start in October.

Till next time, happy hoarding,
Bonjour

The Attack Of The Vacuum Cleaner

2011-09-04T08:50:00.000-05:00

Lady, being mad at me. Red, after the alien abduction, they made her eyes aqua!

Well....

Let me just start this with,

yes, I did get around to vacuuming the rugs and floor.

That said, next would be.

The only reason to have dogs in the house is,

you live in a Igloo and it's a three dog night!

OMG!!!!

I had to empty the canister three times,

yes,

I said three times.

So much dog hair, under the beds, on the sofas,

every nook and cranny, crammed with dog hair.

No wonder I have allergies.

I'm vacuuming, shooting the evil eye at the dogs,

the minute Steve opened the door to go outside they were gone.

They understood the look!

I'm thinking to myself, just wait until you come back in,

I have a surprise for the two of you.

Evil laugh here.

I finished vacuuming the house and then,

ever so sweetly, called the dogs to come back in.

Evil laugh again.

First I caught Lady,

(those collars are good for more than a few things).

I proceeded to vacuum her.

I'm using the hose attachment with the bristle thingy,

not actually running the vacuum over her,

Please, give me some credit!

Only thing was, her hair kept clogging the bristles.

I'd have to stop and clean it out, at which point she would run and hide.

After about three or four times of cleaning, catching, I was done with her.

During all this, Red was investigating the goings on.

I'm thinking, you just wait, you're next!

Red, look at yourself,

Love those aqua eyes Red!

have you been rolling in that dead grass?

Geez!!!

Caught Red too.

Oh wait,

that makes four times emptying the canister.

Really Lady? Get over it!

Let's just say,

there was a reason Mom never let dogs come into the house!

And please don't call PETA on me.

Till next time, happy vacuuming!

Bonjour

More Canning? More Cooking? Why Yes, I Beleive So!

2011-09-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

skins be gone - pizza, pasta, stew starter - turkey roaster waiting station

OK....

Remember those tomatoes from last week?

The ones I had to put in the freezer?
The ones from the farmers market? ($7.00 for about 20 lbs).

Well yesterday we had time.

Let's get them canned up, I said!

We left them whole, more or less, and used the pressure canner.

I was running short on jars so we used a combo of quarts and pints.

Would have preferred to use all wide mouth, but....

We used the hot pack method,

keeping them between warm and hot in the turkey roaster.

Everything went well and we ended up with,

3 quarts, 8 pints and 3 juice.

The juice was the left over liquid in the roaster.

I'd say, we have quite enough tomatoes now!
(Remember, I canned some in January)...

Anyone needing some of the "said tomatoes"

is welcome to come over and help themselves!

Let me back up!
Before we started on the tomatoes, I put a brisket in the electric roaster,
(about 10 1/2 lbs. for $1.49 a lb.)
and some dry (soaked overnight), beans in the slow cooker.

OK, moving on....

Brisket waiting to be trimmed - all packaged up - meal size

The Brisket
Typically, we don't do meat as a main course,
use it for soups, stews, casseroles, tacos ETC.
I guess I get that trait from my mom, she was
trying to feed 9 people on a limited budget!
She did some wonderful recipes with very little to work with.
(Wish I would have told her, I love you, more often).

So, we packaged the brisket into meal size portions and popped them into the freezer.
(When I say meal size, I mean, big meal, several servings).
I would have rather canned it but I was low on jars, and by this time it was 5pm.

The Beans
My grand-daughter Lauren was over last weekend and
she was watching Nate and I make the crispy breakfast tacos.
(Not that Nathan was really helping, more like,
in and out of the kitchen while playing video games and watching a movie.
I guess he gets his multi tasking from me).

We were tossing around ideas for different fillings and she suggested
using re-fried beans as the binder, chorizo as the meat, and adding scrambled eggs.
Sounded good, might be ugly though, I'm not sure how the eggs will look.

And, as soon as I get my butt away from this laptop,
I'm going to smash some beans and give her idea a try.
I'll let you know how they turn out!

OH, and Sue,
I did at least manage to get the laundry done.
I might even get the dog hair swept up!!!

Yes, my grass is indeed that brown!

What are you guys going to do with your long weekend?

Till next time,
Bonjour

New Apron For The Soap Class!

2011-09-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

Well...

Of course I needed a new bib apron for the soap class!

Couldn't be seen in the old one.

It's 2 years old at least!

Way too many times wiping/drying my hands on it.

(yes, I did wash it occasionally)

This should do nicely!!

Anyway... On to the class!

The first time, I let a lady come and watch me,

gave a little advice, and that was that.

My daughters about had a cow!!!

MOM,

they said,

"you've done all the research, spent the time testing,

worked through all the bugs,

why are you giving your knowledge away for free"?

And you know what?

They were right!

So now I charge.

I talked to a mother and daughter at my last show who were interested

in learning and willing to pay,

I always knew, eventually, someone would come along.

So I was ready with my price and what they would receive.

~~~

hands on class

3- different soap recipes

1- 10 bar soap mold

10 bars of soap, any scent

essential oil info

oil, sap value chart

carrier oil info

mask

resources

and info on how to develop their own recipes

you bring, 1 towel and an apron

I developed and tested, 3 recipes/formulas using everyday market ingredients.

(Not everyone wants to go online and purchase specialty ingredients).

Next up was to compile a notebook with all the necessary info.

I bought really cute binders, made a table of contents, dividers

and filled it with info.

A soapers manual so to speak!

Cute notebook

BTW, I made the dividers and table
myself, using postcard stock and
DIY tabs.

I made 3 notebooks, 1 for each of us.
My hubby, Steve, made the molds.

I wish I could say everything went according to plan,

but alas, it didn't!

I forgot to print their recipes,

I had mine in my notebook,

but their recipe section had nothing.

OOPSIE....

The recipes were on the downed computer,

crap!

OK,

I have my copies, the other desktop has a scanner,

I know how to use it,

sort of.

(This is turning out to be the Keystone Cops)!!!

I was so proud of myself, I figured it out!

They choose a recipe.

Now we're on to the actual weighing of ingredients,

choosing essential oils etc.

So far so good.

Lye is mixed, oils are being heated.

Now let me remind you,

I'm working with 2 ladies, 2 measuring cups of lye and 2 pots of oil!

Thermometers are thurming,

oils are heating, and they are asking!

They're suppose to be watching their thermometers!

My husband warned me,

one of the burners seems to be hotter than the others.

He just didn't say which.

Mom is watching hers,

just doesn't mention that the oil is registering

over 200 degrees, I just happened to look!

Oh crap, again!!
Daughters' is doing OK.

We had discussed this scenario, I was ready for it,

just didn't want it to happen on my watch.

I pulled the blue ice out from the freezer and set the pot on it.

Checked the lye temp.

Oh man, the lye is cooling way down but the oil isn't.

What to do, what to do?

I grabbed another soap pot from the rack,

cold pot has got to be better than a hot pot, right?

Right!

We're good.

Now to combine the oil and lye.

We did good here, only they were a little hesitent to really stir it up.

We were using a stick blender and a rubber spatula.
Circle 8's I was saying.

Hum, let me show you.

We did manage.

We passed trace a bit for traveling purposes and everything turned out OK

All in all, they were great students and

forgave me my OOPSIES.

It was fortunate that we did have a few problems.

I've been making soap for quite awhile now but it seems,

everything has a learning curve,

and I don't know it all.

Go figure!

Till next time, happy soaping.

Bonjour

Soap, Lots Of Soap!

2011-09-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

Well....

When I'm out doing my soap shows,

I always get a few people asking about soap classes.

Sure I say, I teach,

then I give them the rundown.

For this price you will receive, this, this, that, that, etc.

Plan on spending this amount of time.

Most people think they want to learn, but generally they really don't.

It takes time and effort, it can be messy and costly.

It takes forethought, organization and research.

Lots and lots of research!

For me at least.

I did a lot of research,

downloading info on carrier oil properties,

learning about essential oils, botanical additions etc.

And the formula testing,

right amount of lather, long lasting, hard bar, moisturizing, gentleness....

I have a 3" notebook, full of info,

all neatly arranged in alphabetized categories, separated by labeled, index dividers.

My soap recipe/formula book is divided into sections also,

fruits, floral, spices and each section is also alphabetized.

Each scent has it's own recipe page and I keep detailed notes

every time I make a batch.

Super soap trolly

What can I say?

I'm extreme.

My daughters call it O.C.D.

I say, it's not a dis-order, it's order!!!

Should be called OCO instead.

Anyway

I make about 24 different soaps and they need a place to cure.

I tried a shelving unit and that was ok but I knew I needed something more. Like this!!

I found this bread rack at Canton First Monday Trade Days

For $35.00. I had researched these online, cheapest was about

$200.00.

I knew I wanted one, just didn't want to spend so much.

$35.00, I was willing to do!

Makes a handy, dandy soap drying rack don't you think? I can wheel it where ever I need it to be, there's plenty of shelves, and it can hold about 28, 20 bar batches of soap. Super!

The reason I'm telling you all of this is because,

I actually did get to teach a class.

But, it's late, so that story will have to wait.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Pancake Zingers

2011-08-29T20:14:00.024-05:00

Pancake Zingers

?????

You might be asking,

what are Pancake Zingers?

Well, I'll be glad to tell you!

They're a full meal deal.
Meat, veggies and sometimes cheese,

all combined to make a yummy disk shaped treat!

No syrup needed!

I'm always searching for food to go.

I have to leave for work early in the AM

so on the road food is my only choice.

I try not to do the fast food places,

not good for my health or my pocketbook.

So here goes.

These are delicious.

Pancake Zingers

Ingridents for the filling:

1 small onion, minced

2 ribs celery plus some leaves, minced

1 small bell pepper, minced (any color)

1 small roma tomato, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cooked ham, minced

oil for sautéing

Ingredients for the batter:
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. cooking oil

Directions for the filling:

Heat oil in a sauté pan, (about two turns of the pan)

add onion, celery, bell pepper and tomato.
Sauté till limp, then add the garlic clove and ham.
Warm through.
Remove from the heat.

Directions for the batter:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
In a large measuring cup, measure milk first, then add the egg, then the oil. Blend.

Add the liquid to the dry, lightly mixing. Now add your sautéed veggie/meat mixture.
At this point you can add any grated cheese of your choice, about 1/4 cup.
Use a light hand to incorporate.
Let the mixture sit a few while you're heating your griddle.

When a few drops of water dance on the griddle you're ready to go.
I use a small gravy ladle to spoon out my batter, and I can fit three cakes on my griddle.
(I have a seasoned cast iron griddle so there's really no need to grease the pan).
When bubbles form on the top of the cakes, flip and cook for another a minute or so.
Remove to a platter and continue on.
Makes about fifteen cakes.

You could sub cooked ground pork, diced cooked chicken or any meat of your choice.

I package these up three to a baggie and eat them cold.

Sweet and savory!

If you have any suggestions for one handed, on the road food, let me know.

I'm always looking for something different!

I mean it!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

A little Of This, A Little Of That!!!

2011-08-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

OK,

I got up early, 5:30ish.

We had plans to can up the tomatoes today.

Plans change, weather you want them to or not!

Nathan was in town and needed a ride back to East Texas.

A five hour ride,

sure....

I put the tomatoes in the freezer,

maybe next weekend?

So off we went!

Nathan likes me to read to him, he says I have "the voice",

so I took along our current book in progress,

Aragon.

A story about a dragon rider, evil kings, magic and such.

Steve drove over so I could read.

Nathan

I do love to read to him,
making the story come alive with the emotions of the characters!

Loud voice here, whispered voice there,

trying to read the story like it was a movie.

He says I should read to the kids at the library.

I think I might scare them.

Anyway....
We did manage to get the green bean/new potato
mix canned before we left.
I made the fried okra when we got back,
and also put some chicken breasts in the electric roaster.
(still not using the oven)
By this time I'm about tuckered out.
I fell asleep at the computer trying to write this post.
So you're getting yesterday's post today.

It's time to clock in so....

Till next time,
Bonjour

No Rain, No Problem! Farmer's Market To The Rescue!!!

2011-08-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

So....

Since we had to quit the garden
due to the no rain issues/fines for using too much water,

a trip to the farmer's market on Friday was in order.

There was no arm twisting involved, I love to go,

only,
I would rather not have to buy my produce.

Oh well,

the bright side is,

I'm helping out a south or East Texas farmer.

(Gotta take the positive notes where you can)!

Anyway...

We scored about 20 lbs of roma tomatoes for $8.00

4 giant, red bell peppers for $1.00

okra @ $3.oo a pint (got 2)

green beans @ $3.00 a pint ( got 2 also)

new potatoes @ $2.00 for 2 pints

and, 2 fairly large cantaloupe for $5.00

Some of the goodies

Not too bad, especially compared to the supermarket!

We canned some of the okra yesterday for Steve's mom

and saved the rest to fry.
We'll do that on Sunday.

My Steve does enjoy his fried okra!

He also enjoys green beans and new potatoes,

Sunday on that one also.

Today I got started on or meals for the week.

First up was spinach/lasagna roll ups from Rachel Ray's kid cookbook.

Rachel Ray's cookbook

Naturally, I put my own spin on the recipe using ingredients I already had on hand.

Here's my take!!

Mince, mince, chop!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, minced

3 ribs celery, with some leaves, minced

1 red bell pepper, minced
1 roma tomato, seeded and minced

1 package spinach, drained and chopped (about one lb.)

(I had a package of blanched mixed greens in the freezer, swiss chard, spinach and beet greens)

about a 3/4 lb. of queso fresco, divided use (fetta or ricotta would work)

medium thick rue, about 1 and 1/2 cups divided use (made with turkey broth)

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

6 lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained

olive oil for sautéing

Directions:

Sautee first 3 ingredients in heated olive oil about 7 minutes.

Add spinach/greens, 1/4 lb. queso fresco, 1/2 cup rue and nutmeg.

Stay with the skillet at this point.

Cook, stirring until queso fresco starts to melt.

Remove from heat.

Lay out your cooked lasagna noodles on a cutting board.

With a rubber spatula coat the noodles with your spinach/queso fresco mixture.
I added extra, crumbled, queso fresco at this stage, a little for each roll up.

Fill and roll up all noodles and place seam side down in a casserole dish.

Time To Roll!!!

Spoon extra rue over the rolled noodles, sprinkle with extra queso fresco or parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven till cheese melts and noodles heat through. About 15 minutes.

When I make these in the summer I stop at the baking step. I just cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge. When ready to eat just spoon out a noodle or two and microwave.

Great for gourmet, lunch box treats !!!

Yummo!!!

I'm curious...

Have you been restricted on your water usage,

fined for using too much?

Do you recycle your water when possible?

Tomorrow we'll be canning the tomatoes,

frying okra and making the green beans and new potatoes.

Till next time,

Bonjour

.....God Blessed Texas!

2011-08-24T22:19:00.000-05:00

Oh my, we've experienced rain!

I've quit keeping track of the 100 degree plus days,

the long string of no rain days,

just too depressing to think about!

We've had to quit the garden,

concentrating only on keeping the trees and herbs alive.

Today?

God truly blessed us with rain.

AMEN!

I can see a difference,

really.

My herbs?

I may lose some.

Sage

The sage is hanging in there along with the rosemary,
but the lemon balm, lemon verbena, mints,
oregano, basil and thyme are not doing as well.
Grasshoppers are also wreaking havoc!
The fruit and nut trees?
They'll make it by the grace of God.

Young Mulberry Tree, Happy

Notice the icky brown grass?

Mature Mulberry Tree Lookig way Sad!

Walnut Tree

More icky brown grass, cow food?
Where's that combine?

The Mesquite Tree, Protecting my wild blackberries!

Don't bother me now Grandma!

Till next time,
Bonjour

Crispy Breakfast Tacos To Go

2011-08-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

Have some leftovers?

Need a good breakfast meal?

Good, because I have one!

I was watching PBS a few weeks ago

and they were featuring Pati's Mexican Table.

If it's Mexican, I'm in!!!

This is the original recipe,

POTATO, SCALLION, & CHORIZO CRISPY TACOS

Naturally, I only had a few of the ingredients,

but hey, I can improvise!

OK, here goes...

Filling Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes, boiled. Cool, and cut into cubes (skins on or off, your choice)

about 1/2 pound cooked pork roast, minced

1 small onion, minced

3 or 4 ribs of celery, minced (use some leaves too)

2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and minced

(after mincing I put them into a strainer to drain off the liquid)

oil for sautéing (3 turns of the pan)

oil for frying ( about 1")

about 12 corn tortillas

Seasonings, I used salt, lemon pepper, mexican oregano and cumin

Directions:

Sautee onions, celery and tomatoes in oil about 5 minutes.

Add pork roast.

Heat roast/veggie mixture about 4 minutes.

Add potatoes.

Mash everything together with your potato masher or a large spoon.

You now have something that resembles hash.

Remove from heat.

Fan your tortillas on a plate, dome with another plate and warm in microwave for about 4 minutes.

Now we're ready to roll!!!

Spread a few tablespoons of the potato, veggie, meat mixture on the tortilla and roll up cigar style.

Secure end with a toothpick.

Securing, safety pin style

Patti suggested picking 2 together. I tried that the first time.

Second time I ran a tooth pick through them each individually.

This time I used the toothpick like a safety pin, worked much better!

Frying, cast iron style

Fry them up in about 1' of hot oil, (about 350 degrees), turning once, until they're lightly browned.

Use tongs to remove from pan.

When you're removing them from the pan, tilt slightly to drain off the excess oil.

Place on a paper towel lined platter.

Draining on vintage platter

You can also bake these.
Temps here are still in the 100's plus, so baking is not an option right now.

These are yummy hot or cold.

I package them up 3 to a zip baggie, makes 4 breakfast meals.

If you are eating these at home, try dipping in some sour cream and salsa, even better!

Tomorrow I'm off to get this hair cut.

17" of ponytail is more than enough for Locks of Love!

New do in the works!!!

Nathan says "hi" to everyone, he's missing our cooking together!

The next Iron Chef?

Till next time,
Bonjour

Grinding Pork, Making Breakfast Sausage

2011-08-15T22:22:00.001-05:00

Well....

Ground Pork

I'm experimenting again.

I haven't used my meat grinder in quite some time

but a great deal on some "pork roast"

made me pull it out again.

This meat was labeled "for Carnitas", (a Mexican dish).

Heavily marbled, it seemed the right type of meat for breakfast sausage.

I ground it up, sort of,

the fat keep clogging the grinder,

added herbs and seasonings, then fried it.

It was ok, not great, dry tasting,

I guess I need to experiment some more.

Round Two!

I decided to grind some more to use as taco meat.

I trimmed away some of the fat this time and that helped getting it through the grinder.

I sautéed the meat with some onion,

garlic and jalapeno peppers,

then added chili powder, cumin, diced

tomatoes and tomato sauce.

I cooked until the liquid had reduced a bit,

then served in taco shells with grated cheese on top.

That turned out really good.

So the first batch, with the fat, turned out dry,

and the second batch with the reduced fat turned out great.

Maybe I cooked the first batch too long?

Maybe the acidity of the tomatoes in the second batch helped to tenderize it?

Anyone have any opinions/suggestions?

Till next time,

Bonjour

Hacking, Canning & Fun

2011-08-14T22:49:00.002-05:00

OK...

So we finally had the time to can up

all those wild blackberries we picked in the spring.

We also pulled out the flat of strawberries from first monday,

and the surplus tomatoes from the garden.

They've all been patiently waiting in the freezer,

anticipating being turned into yummy pantry shelf goodies.

Also pulled a couple packages of

cooked pork roast to defrost.

Later I'll be making it into something for our work lunches.

For the berries we decided to

can them whole instead of making jam or jelly.

This way they can be utilized for

smoothies, cobblers, pancakes, muffins etc.

I used the instructions in Jackie Clay's canning book.

(A backwoods Home publication).

The process was to pour sugar over the berries,

1/2 cup sugar to each quart of berries, (same amount of sugar for both types of berries)

gently mix, then cover. Let the strawberries sit for 6 hours and the blackberries for 2 hours.

Free blackberries

While we were waiting for the blackberry two hour window, we moved on to the tomatoes.

Squashing TO-MATERS

We blanched the tomatoes to remove the skins,

then quartered them.

Into the pot they went.

We squashed them with the potato masher,

simmered for a bit,

then ladled into hot, sterilized jars,

adding 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar.

Released the air bubbles, wiped the rims, capped, and

processed pint jars for 35 minutes in the water bath canner.

To can the blackberries,

we heated them up in the turkey roaster,

(I like to use the roaster because

the product has a chance to spread out.

I straddle it between two burners,

making sure the middle gets stirred to the ends).

When it starts to bubble,

ladle into hot, sterilized jars 1/2" from the top.

I use a chopstick to release the air bubbles,

wipe the rims, cap, and boil in the water bath canner.

Strawberries process for 10 minutes,

blackberries for 15 minutes, (same method)

The process timing was for pints,

we did 1/2 pints but used the pint timing.

After that we were on to making our lunches for the week.

I diced one package of the pork roast and set it aside.

The other went in the fridge for ham salad.

In a large skillet, I heated some olive oil,

added chopped onion and garlic,

sautéed for a bit,

added 1 cup brown rice,

and sautéed a bit more.

Next I added the diced pork roast,

1 can of cream of potato soup, 1 1/2 cups water,

and some frozen mixed veggies.

I brought the mixture to a boil,

reduced the heat to low and cooked for 20 minutes.

Forgot to add any herbs or seasonings,

but I guess the canned soup had some.

Oh yeah, I did cook the roast with herbs, forgot!

By this time my brain was sort of fried,

(we started at about 9am, finished about 5pm.)

The ham salad will just have to wait till tomorrow.

In the middle of all this, I get an automated call from Citi Bank.

Hello, your credit card has been used for an online purchase,

suspected fraudulent.
Call us at bla, bla, bla number.

Being the wary, suspicious,

know that crooks call and Email

you to get your info,

person that I am, I don't call the number they leave.

I call the number on my statement!

Sure enough, my info has been hijacked!

Seems Citi Bank has been hacked.

The credit card I haven't used in about 3 years,

the same card I haven't even

activated in that same amount of time,

has been used to purchase something,

or some service online, at the cost of about $100.00.

They even tried to use it again at Cabala's.

(hope I spelled that right)

Declined!

DUH!!!

Seems to me,

an inactivated card should be

declined the first time!!!

But what do I know?

OK,

one long, excuse me, could you repeat that again,

conversation later, I'm to be sent an Email that I have to E-sign,

stating, I have no knowledge of this.

Never get the email.

(By the way, I'm the one saying, can you repeat that again).

Call again 2 hours later,

same excuse me, could you repeat that again, conversation!

(I'm thinking, trying to can food here, it's your fault you got hacked, you fix it).

Thankfully my brain didn't let me voice those words.

EXPLAIN EVERYTHING AGAIN!!!

Got the Email this time. Hope my E-sign went through.

GEEZ!

I was assured that I would not be responsible for the charge,

but you know what,

in the end, the charge has to be covered by someone.

Guess who that is?

Never even got make soap today, oh well!

At least I had fun canning, got to make some bread

and even had time to call Nathan.

Now it's 10:34pm,

I work tomorrow, goodnight!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Free, Yes, I Said Free....

2011-08-13T22:25:00.000-05:00

Well...

I've mentioned before that my husband Steve
works at a nursery

When the guys go out to do a landscape,

they invariably come back with rocks,
lots of rocks.

Texas specific rocks.... Shale, chalk rock,
whatever you choose to call it.

You can't dig three feet without encountering it!

They usually dump it along the creek bed sides
at the nursery property or....

put it in the dumpster.

What... Dumpster, are you kidding me?

No way!!!!!

Well...

Steve talked to the guys and they agreed to offload

said rock in a pile for Steve to take home.

Yeah, decent driveway in the works!

Steve's boss, Roland, let him use the
F550 to bring the rock home.

Borrowed truck

Even has a dump bed!!
Way cool!!!

Dust cloud on it's way!

After I took this pic I made a beeline for upwind!

Big rocks, little rocks, rock dust,
once it gets dumped, Steve drives over it to crush the biggies!
Eventually we will have a non mud driveway.
Not that it's muddy now, but in the spring,
let's just say, cars beware!

The lean, mean, working machine, AKA the hard working hubby!

Yes, it would be nice to have a non dusty,
concrete drive like we had in the city
but for a driveway as long as ours,
that just isn't in the budget.

Crushed rock is just dandy!
(And washing my truck is useless)

Can't beat free!

I'm canning tomatoes and making soap tomorrow,
should be fun!

Till next time,
Bonjour

The Silver Lining!

2011-08-11T21:49:00.000-05:00

SO....
My beautiful Grand-daughter, Lauren,
is having a little baby girl!!!!

The little girl I used to push around in the wheelbarrow.

The same little girl who used to help me in the garden.

She liked to make collages from magazines,

she would make me pictures to hang on the fridge.

(Which I still have)

She's all grown up now.

I'm going to be a great-grandma!!!!!

How cool is that?

Till next time,
Bonjour

Nathan

2011-08-09T22:11:00.000-05:00

So....

My grandson Nathan has gone to live with his Dad,

2 1/2 hours away.

Doesn't sound very far except,

2 1/2 hours equals $75.00 in fuel one way.

This is the boy that has spent every weekend

with us since about 1998.

The boy I sometimes pick up after

work just to hang out.

We cook, we fight, we create, we love.

We were working our way through

Rachel Ray's kid's cook book.

He has plants here, projects here.

He was learning here.

Other people are influencing his life now.

I have no say in this.

I am very sad.

I miss him.

White Elephant You Say?

2011-07-30T11:17:00.002-05:00

So....

At Christmas,

my mother-in law's bible study group exchange white elephant gifts.

Guess, who's the load off receipt of all these white elephants?

You're correct,

me!

About five years worth!!!

Ironically, I don't consider these as white elephants,

to me they are treasures, lovely, pretty treasures!

Tea cups with matching saucers,

some with petite porcelain spoons,

coffee cups and saucers, all in near mint condition.

What to do, what to do?

I needed another shelf.

I had a board, I had some wallpaper from the thrift store.

I covered the board with the wallpaper.
(stapled it onto the board)

and placed it atop the two cabinets

between one of the kitchen windows.

I had to take down the curtain mounting brackets for the board to fit.

Now I have nowhere to re-mount the brackets.

Ok, I have a tension rod somewhere, I'm thinking.

I can put it between the cabinets.

Found it.

Drat the curtain is too long now!

I don't feel like hemming it.

Wait a sec,

I have all those thrifted shawl type things,

let's see if we can use one as a curtain.

Many shawls, scarves and saris later I came up with this.

It's a very long, fringed scarf that I folded in half

and safety pinned close to the rod.

I gathered the front half into a ponytail with a ponytail holder,

pulled it up a bit to create a little puff, then pinned it to the back portion.

I used one of my many, many brooches as a center accent,

then topped it off with my dragonfly wind chimes.

The thrifted red shelf holds a Texas State Fair
Dr Pepper bottle that I use for dish soap.
(Dated October 13, 1973 Texas VS Oklahoma)
I have no idea when or where I got it.

Above the Dr Pepper sign is a bracket

that used to suspend a light, but now holds a lidless, black teapot.

Looks like it's pouring for all the cups below!

Do I really have this much stuff?

Yes, I do seem to have alot of stuff!!!

Do you have as much stuff as I do?

As you can see I love advertising art, especially region specific.

Most everything you see in these photos was thrifted or given to me.

That's my kitchen and I'm sticking with it!!!
Do you like?

Till next time,
Bonjour

Lets Cool Things Off A Bit, Shall We?

2011-07-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

 SO...
ANYONE UP FOR SOME SNOW PICS?

Our Mesquite & Maple Trees

The Girls, Miss Lady & Little Red

Pond From The Deck

Pond View From The Dam

We are now at day 25 of triple digits.

I was doing a little research and

found this little tidbit about the 1980 heat wave.

I had only been in Texas about three years when this happened.

By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News/2010

It was 30 years ago that a 42-day string

of 100 degree days –

the longest heat wave by far

in the region's history – was broken.

For one day.

More triple digits followed,

and when autumn mercifully arrived,

temperatures had hit the century mark 69 times.

Some people had theories

about what was causing the heat wave.

One letter writer to the mayor's office said

the Soviet Union had installed space platforms

with lasers beamed at North Texas.

Another said the heat was God's wrath

at people who were gambling

on the outcome of the television show

Dallas' who-shot-JR episode.

Other people had remedies.

On July 20, people performed a rain dance

near the Turtle Creek fountain across from Lee Park in Dallas,

asking those who couldn't attend to

"concentrate their thoughts

on thundershowers to provide enough

energy to manifest a rainfall."

For the record, it rained the next day –

though not enough to break the heat wave.

Feeling cooler now?

I know I am.

A positive note,
the laundry only takes about 30 minutes on the line!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Thrifty Threads Features Moi!!!

2011-07-24T17:17:00.000-05:00

SO....

I know I've been lax on the blogging but really,

this laptop is a royal pain.

I know it's not actually the laptops fault,

it only does what I tell it to do.

Apparently I am not giving the right commands, or,

my fingers are touching what they shouldn't!

The desktop is at the repair shop getting a makeover,

and I can't wait to get her back!!!!

Anyway....

I sent a photo of myself in a thrifted outfit to

Angela Barton.com AKA Thrifty Threads.

Her blog is about non consumerism, recycling and generally being thrifty.

I hope you will click on over to her site and explore a bit, she is really an inspiration.

And as a bonus you'll get to see my thrifted outfit!!!

Ha Ha!!

Angela Barton's Thrifty Threads

Till next time,

Bonjour

I'm Laptop Challenged

2011-07-14T22:07:00.000-05:00

OK....

I admit it, I have no skill with this laptop!

I'm typing away, I look up at the screen and

my text is all jumbled up or completely gone.

It took me 30 minutes to write a simple Email last night.

My, oh my, very frustrating..

Things have been very weird around here of late but I'm

embracing the changes and trying to go with the flow!

NOT!!!

Read,

Terry is a control freak and does not

like change unless it is initiated by her!!!

Anyway....

My shower curtain of 8 years really needed to go

but me being the frugal (cheapo) person I am

wanted something really cool at little to no cost.

I was browsing the recycle box at work

and found a catalogue from Garnet Hill.

(Pricy clothing and home decor).

Spied this shower curtain ($78.00) and knew

I could replicate it at less than a third of the cost.

Pricy Catalogue Curtain!

I already had the fabric,

the pink fabric was from a secondhand store score

and the peace sign fabric was purchased a few months ago at

Wally World for $1.50 a yard.

The floral top and bottom fabric
are leftovers from I don't know what!

That thing hanging in the middle is a lei

from my sister's b-day party!

My Version

Close Up

I found a liner at Ross for $3.99 so now I'm good to go.

Ivy and Spike like it,

but....

No Face, Jamaica and Voodoo Girl are noncommittal.

What do you think?

Till next time,

Bonjour

PC Crashed

2011-07-10T20:41:00.001-05:00

Well...

As you can tell from my title the PC has crashed.

I'm trying to work it out via the Laptop.

Wish me luck....

Till next time,
Bonjour

Time, Time, Got No Time.....

2011-07-02T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well...

Nathan, my grandson is going to his Dad's

for a couple of weeks, so guess what?

I have the next few weekends to myself.

I get to have some me time!!!

YAHOO!!!!

Blogging, sewing, whatever.

No Grandma I'm hungry,

no Grandma are you finished on the computer,

no Grandma are you still blogging,

no Grandma play a game with me,

no Grandma let's watch a movie.

No Grandma nothing,

I love him to death but sometimes...

Grandma needs a break!

So....

Ankle length skirt.

A few weeks ago I found this skirt at the SPCA thrift shop,

not my cup of tea,

but it had possibilities, and for $3.00 it was a steal.

Pure Irish linen in a soft, subtle green.

What to do, what to do?

It hit me at work on Friday

so the minute I got home I started my redo.

I took off about 8" to make it a little above the knee,

then dug through my fabric stash for a suitable accent fabric.

Yep,

found a light fabric with green flowers that was left over

from a pillow case project.

Perfect!

I cut 2 rectangles 6" deep by 2 1/2" longer than the skirt hemline.

(1 for the front and 1 for the back)

Hemmed the bottom long edges and gathered the top edges.

After pinning the ruffles in place

I stitched the ruffle side seams,

then sewed the ruffle to the skirt.

Added a little yellow grosgrain ribbon and,

Finished skirt.

VIOLA.

Cute skirt for Terry at very little cost.

Tote

I even had enough fabric left over to create this tote.

There's something to be said for ME time don't you think?

Til next time,

Bonjour

Downed Tree Turned Sculpture

2011-06-28T22:31:00.000-05:00

OK...

Remember that huge tree that

was downed in the park a few months ago?

Someone was very creative!!!
Till next time,
Bonjour

Rural Texas, Is It Disappearing?

2011-06-24T20:38:00.001-05:00

SO....

I've been playing Taxi to my youngest daughter Ginger.

Her 1995 Honda is on the fritz and since she's on the way to my day job

I've been transporting her to and from her employment at Target.

Cotton

I noticed this scene several days ago and thought it was photo worthy,

just didn't have the time to stop, (I also drop my husband Steve at his job).

Anyway,

This stretch of highway is mostly farmland but I have noticed,

FOR SALE SIGNS!!!

Seems highway frontage is more valuable than farmland.

Glad I can grow some of my own stuff!!!!

Notice the neighborhood in the background, the movie theater sign?

Soon my ride to work will be nothing but neighborhoods and businesses.

I'm sad!

All I can do is preserve my little 10!

Do you notice subtle changes in your landscape?

Is modern society creeping up on you also?

Till next time,

Bonjour

Garden Goodies

2011-06-21T22:17:00.001-05:00

The Plum Tree

Cayenne

Hurry Up...Turn Red

Freesia or Lilly?

Peppers and Tomatoes

Pickled Beets and Green Tomatoes

So...

The computer crashed on Sunday,

just now got it up and running.

We were out in the yard tonight and

I thought I would share the view.

We canned the beets and tomatoes on Sunday,

unfortunatelywe didn't plant very many

so we only got two jars canned.

They're for Steve's Mom and

she will appreciate whatever we give her.

The green tomatoes were a gift from

Steve's workmate Rollo and

he's promised some okra so

I'll pickle that for Steve's Mom also.

The garage sale-ing went well and

I found a bike for Nathan....

photos to follow (hopefully).

Sorry this post is so terse

but I'm expecting the computer to crash at any moment.

I know, positive thinking.....

Happy first day of summer!!!

Till next time,
Bonjour

P.S.
It rained this morning and it's raining tonight. I can hear thunder outside...
SUPER!!!!!
I'm gonna check it out.
We're in a drought you know....TEXAS

Sue's Cabbage Slaw And Thievery!!!

2011-06-16T22:47:00.001-05:00

So.....

I'm hearing Rambo First Blood in my background,

(Steve)

while I'm thinking about tomorrow's agenda.

My daughter Ginger, her son Nathan and I have plans

to garage- sail tomorrow.

We need to replace his bicycle that was stolen.

Hopefully we can find one that's not to expensive.

I also need to school him on the proper security of said bike!!!

Where and when I grew up this was not an issue, times have sadly changed.

Anyway...

Sue, here's the recipe.....

Jerry's Ramen Salad

Ingredients:

1 small head cabbage

1 diced bell pepper (any color)

3 stalks diced celery

4 chopped green onions

1 cup toasted nuts (any variety)

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

2 packages ramen noodles, lightly smashed

4 Tbsp. sugar

6 Tbsp vinegar (any variety)

1 cup oil (any variety)

salt and pepper to taste

2 ramen spice packets

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Sometimes I add grated carrots, raisins, chopped apricots ETC... Use your imagination.

Till next time,

Bonjour

My Morning View Today

2011-06-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

Sunrise/ The Sage/Oregano Bed

Sunrise Almost Over The Mesquite Tree

Wild Sunflowers Shading The Herb Bed

Smile

These views put a smile on my face

as I was leaving for work this morning.

Made going in a little less......Well you know!

I didn't plant the sunflowers, I think the birds did.

They come up every spring, lots and lots of them!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Karma

2011-06-13T21:43:00.000-05:00

After the break in down the road

we've been trying to

better secure the property.

Steve had been buying T posts here and there in preparation for the fence,

but it's time to step things up a bit!!

SO...

Today after work I was in my local Home Depot

purchasing a few more T posts.

I was in the line waiting my turn when the man behind me said,

"I have about six of those in the back of my truck if you want them".

"No way I say", "way" he says. "Awesome" I say.

"Funny how Karma works out" I say.

He just laughed.

I purchased three and got nine total.

At $3.89 per post I was in the positive at

$23.34!!!

How cool is that?

Turns out he's a rancher from Avalon who raises Black Angus.

Thank you Randall, I'll be talking about you for quite some time!!!

People can be, and, are generous.

I wasn't even going to stop at the Depot because of time issues,

I wanted to check out at the complete opposite end of the store,

Karma had other ideas!!!

Got to go,

Steve got the new lawn tractor stuck and I have to

try and pull him out!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Time For Me?

2011-06-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

Oh My, Busy, Busy Bee....

Soap shows are over till fall, no more late night product making....

I'm out of, or near out of several soaps but that can be rectified in a day or two!

(Like Tomorrow and Sunday).

Time to concentrate my energies on other endeavors!!!

Cooking, painting, redoing?

Let's start with cooking.

Nathan holding his cookbook

As I've had time Nathan and I have been working our way

through the cookbook

Rachel Ray 30- Minute Meals For Kids.

A gift from his Aunt Heather.

We've done several recipes in the book but Nate keeps going back

to the Shrimp Scampi recipe.

Nathan, shrimp is $6.99 a pound, let's try it with chicken!

OK then!

Today we tried altering the recipe to use chicken.

The original recipe goes like this.

RECIPE

1 pound angel hair pasta/ we used thin, whole wheat spaghetti

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsps EVOO

3 tbsps butter/ we just used more EVOO

1 lb. shrimp/ we used 1 lb. cubed chicken breast

1 cup chicken stock/ we had canned turkey stock

4-5 blades fresh chives, snipped/ we used dried, ground rosemary, dill, lemon balm and chocolate mint

A hand full of fresh parsley/ we used fresh lemon balm

tablespoon or two of flour, (not in the original recipe)

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Bring a pot of water to boil, add pasta.

Cook pasta aldente. Drain.

Heat oil in saucepan and add dried herbs.

Sautee herbs about 2 minutes then add cubed chicken.

Cook chicken until almost done then add chopped garlic.

Sautee about 2 minutes.

Add flour and cook for another 2 or so minutes.

Add the stock and raise heat up to a boil.

( May need to add some water to mixture depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce to be).

Remove the pan from the heat and add the drained pasta.

Stir/toss to incorporate.

Garnish with fresh snipped/chopped lemon balm.

Serve with toasted, buttered herb bread.

YUMMO!!!!!

Chicken was $1.97 lb., boneless, skinless.

Pasta was $1.00 lb.

Surprisingly inexpensive for several gourmet lunch box treats.

What do you think, would you make this recipe?

Would you change anything?

I think we'll make chicken toes next!

Till next time...

Bonjour

Trouble With Blogger

2011-06-08T07:50:00.000-05:00

Seems blogger is having issues.

I've lost my recent comments and my followers.

Drat....

The Pitfalls Of Verbal Communication

2011-06-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

OH MY!!!

It's not just a potato, patato dilemma.

It involves tone, accent, inflection, body language......

You're saying one thing and the recipient is hearing something completely different.

I've lived in Texas since the late 1970's

BUT,

I still have a definite Midwestern accent and style of speaking.

No amount of ya'lls and fixin have

fooled anyone here as to my origins.

I try to speak this language,

I say the correct words, it's that vocal style I have

that gets me into trouble on occasion.

Example:

Steve & Ginger

My girl Ginger helps me with the soap shows, she's a Texan

so I let her do most of the talking.

She's a great little salesperson,

friendly, outgoing and speaks the language correctly.

Today she was helping a lady pick out soaps,

explaining the different scent categories, botanical additions etc....

The lady had several soaps in her hands and Ginger said,

'I can put those up here for you while you choose more".

The lady was good with that but then said, "let me see those".

I said to Ginger, "she doesn't remember what she has".

I've seen it happen time and time again,

they smell so many, pick out some,

and then forget what they chose.

However I said it, my tone my accent,

my body language, I don't know,

pissed her off. She put down the soap,

mumbled something and walked off!

It's never my intent to hurt anyone with my words,

I really think before I put any words to print lest I offend someone.

I would never overtly intend to make anyone feel bad.

What it all boils down to is,

REGIONAL LANGUAGE AND INFLECTION MISHAPS....

If I have offended anyone with my style of speaking,

I am truly sorry, and be assured it was not done in malice.

That being said,

how about we all lighten up just a bit and give each other a break!

I'm out here in 96 degrees plus heat trying to sell soap, why would I piss you off on purpose?

Oh well, nothing I can do now,

maybe some Duct Tape across my lips is in order?

We had a great show,

sold lots of soaps etc. so apparently I said a few things correctly!

Round two tomorrow,

where did I put that Duct Tape?

Till next time.

Bonjour

Scarborough Faire Renaissance Festival

2011-06-03T21:48:00.001-05:00

The Gnomes' Place

Steve

Nathan

We do like our Renaissance Festivals.

These photos were taken last weekend at Scarborough Faire.

We used to purchase season passes, but since we bought this property there's no time to be lolling about. There's work to be done!!!!

Now, once a year has to be good enough!

The venue is quite pretty, with a creek, pecan trees and plenty of shade all situated on about 33 acres.

Nathan & I

Jousting, belly dancers, knife throwing,
comedy shows, camel rides,
what more could you ask for?

As I was standing in line to purchase our tickets
this woman came up to me and gave me a comp ticket.
Three for the price of two!
How cool is that?

Got a soap show for the next two days, so.....
Till next time..
Bonjour

What Little Red Found In The Road!!!

2011-05-28T23:04:00.000-05:00

OMG.....

Poor Little Guy

Nathan and I were out flying his kite this evening and we decided to check the mail.

The dogs followed us to the mail box and

Little Red (Black Lab mix) found this Cardinal lying in the road.

Little Red

She had it in her mouth and I think she had plans to eat it!

I told her to bring it to me and

surprisingly, she dropped it in front of me.

Nathan was freaking out!

To be honest, so was I.

The poor little thing looked dead.

Miss Lady (German Sheppard) came over to see

what all the fuss was about

and pushed it with her nose as if to say "get up".

Miss Lady

I picked him up and he chirped, cried, I don't know,

but I did know he was still alive.

Nathan and I brought him into the house and placed him

in the old bird cage along with some dead grass,

water and some johnson grass seeds.

One of his eyes is not so good and

I figured he wouldn't make it past the night.

An hour or so later he is hopping

around the cage looking for an escape.

I had to clip mesh around the watering bowl holes

lest he get stuck trying to get out.

Poor Little Guy Looking Much Better

Steve thinks he might be blinded in that one eye, it does look bad

but, he does seem to be feeling better.

I've turned down the lights and

now he's resting more comfortably.

What should I do?

Let him loose in the morning into the trees where they hang out?

Keep him a few days to see how he's doing?

I'm afraid he'll hurt himself more trying to escape!

He does look better than when we found him!

HELP!!!

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What You Gonna Do.......

2011-05-26T20:39:00.001-05:00

Whoa!

This happened Tuesday May 24 less than a mile from my house.

Ellis County

2 suspected burglars shot inside home

An Ellis County man shot two burglary suspects in his son's

house in the 2800 block of FM85 near Ennis

shortly after noon Tuesday, officials said.

One of the suspects was dead at the scene

and the other was in surgery hours later at a Dallas hospital.

His condition was unavailable.

Ellis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. James Saulter

said a neighbor saw the two men knock on the front door

of the single-family home, then drive around back.

Suspicious, the neighbor called the homeowner's

father, who lives next door to his son and was on his way home.

The homeowner's father, who Saulter said has a concealed handgun license,

confronted the two men inside his son's home, where they were in the process

of carrying some of his son's guns toward the back door.

The homeowner's father called 911 after the shooting.

Saulter did not identify any of the men involved in the incident, pending
notification of next of kin.

Story written by Richard Abshire, for the Dallas Morning News.

This happens all too often in our neck of the woods,
it's remote and criminals know you're most likely at work.
I've been burgled at two different residences and let me tell you, it feels awful!

We do have the Castle Law but...

I don't know about killing someone over possessions.
Then again, I wasn't there, maybe the criminals had their own guns!
These Texans do seem to love their guns.
What would you do?

Till next time,
Bonjour

Spooky Weather In Texas Tonight

2011-05-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

Kinda looks like a funnel cloud to me!

I'm headed to the closet!

Till next time, (God willing)

Bonjour

Sofa Completed And I'm Still Here

2011-05-22T00:38:00.000-05:00

Recovered Sofa

I guess I'm a heathen, cause I'm still here!

I was a little concerned today,

I knew I would be LEFT BEHIND

but,

what about my loved ones?

Would they be gone?

Everyone I know is still on Planet Earth,

so,

I guess the nut doesn't fall far from the tree!

Really!!!

On to the sofa.

I purchased a total of 13 yards of fabric for this project,

1 bolt of each print. ($22.50 plus tax)
I like to purchase more than I need just in case I screw something up!

Happens, believe me...

I did all the cushions and pillows in the sham method to eliminate zippers,

and still had enough fabric to make throw pillows
and cushions for the park bench.

In a previous life the seat cushions for the park bench

were the back cushions on a second hand love seat .

Park Bench

Even had enough fabric left to cover one of the chairs on the front porch!

The pillows on the park bench and the front porch chair

were 50 cents each at the thrifty shop.

Free front porch Chair

What to do about the other chair on the front porch?

The cushion for this chair was purchased from Wally World

about five years ago....

Really bad shape but the top half was savable.

Snip, snip....

Another fifty cent pillow combined with the savable top half and,

VIOLA!

Other free chair

The covers for this chair were pillow shams given to me by my mother- in- law.

(Yeah, I know, I need to paint the front porch ....again).

So here we have it,
the deck is in useable condition,
(AKA entertainment worthy)
complete with seating for twelve,
dining area for six, bath for one, and dominoes for two.
Nathan always kicks my a.. at dominoes!!!

Lower half of deck

You're welcome to come over for some B-B-Que and dominoes,

just get here before July!!!

Till next time,
Bonjour

Neglect

2011-05-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

I know....

I've been neglecting my blog!

That doesn't mean I've been lolling about doing nothing though.

I do have a few projects in the works!

Really, I do!

Like this wrought iron sofa.

A guy I used to work with needed some trash hauled away and this sofa

and a matching chair were in the trash pile!

SCORE!!!

(Why we were hauling trash is a whole other blog post)!

Anyway,

Steve cut boards for the seats and I got busy with the paint.

I covered some bed pillows for the back cushions

and just used an old quilt for the seat cushions.

Well...

A few weeks ago I was at my local thrifty shop

and spotted these cushions in their trash.

Hum...

They were mine for the asking,

and now I have comfy seat cushions for the sofa.

All I need to do is cover them.

One has a broken zipper but, I think I will cover them in the pillow sham style.

A little more fabric is required but the need for zippers is eliminated.

The back pillows will also receive a redo.

I'll post the results as soon as I finish.

Till next time,

Bonjour.

Bye Bye State Troopers!

2011-05-17T19:25:00.001-05:00

Well...

I'm back from my Louisiana trip.

I had a great time visiting with the family and enjoyed some really yummy food.

My niece Trisha did a super job on the Mexican Fiesta food,

fajitas with all the trimmings, and instead of a cake, my other niece Kim

made a really cool arrangement with cupcakes, hydrangeas and ivy.

They are so talented!!!

The drive over there and back was pretty uneventful.

It could have gotten ugly though

as I tend to have a lead foot.

I usually rely on the cruise control but it was acting funny/shorting out.

I found myself doing 85mph several times

and had to reel myself back in to a legal 70mph.

Luckily, the State Troopers were busy with other drivers and left me alone.

I know I said I would take lots of pictures.....

BUT...

I got the camera out,

ready to capture a few life moments,

and wouldn't you know...

The camera needed charging...

Charger is three hours away...

DANG!

Got out the back up camera...

No batteries.

HECK!

Note to self...

Keep charger and batteries in the camera case!

DUH!!!

Luna Moth

I found this Luna Moth hanging out at work a few months ago,

interesting life cycle.

I hope you' all had a super weekend.

Till next time,

Bonjour

It's A Family Thing

2011-05-14T08:18:00.000-05:00

Oh Boy!!!

I'm off to Louisiana for the day.

I'm going to my sister Kathy's birthday party.

Mom and Dad had a system,

3 kids born in May, 3 born in November.

Save on cake!

(I don't know what happened with my brother Mike, he's a groundhog's day baby.)

Anyway,

I didn't think I would be able to go.

We only have one vehicle, so the logistics of getting Steve to and from work

and me to Louisiana just wasn't going to work out.

That is until the vehicle fairy showed up!!!

It's a long involved story but the bottom line is....

I have a sweet ride for my little jaunt to Louisiana.

(Thank you Heather).

My beautiful daughter, Heather

It's about a 3 hour drive,

the party's at 3,

so if I leave at noon I should be ok.

I'll take lots of pics.

Do you think it's significant that there's a lot of 3's

in this post?

Till next time,

Bonjour

P.S. Sue- you're right...

blogger is acting up.

It erased the comments from my last post,

is doing weird stuff with my labels

and it's not formatting correctly!

Soap, Ear Infection And Tornadoes

2011-05-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

So....

Running out of soap.
The last two shows have been great,
but,
the soap supply is running short.
Odd.
We have been doing the soap scene for about seven years now
and the most popular scents have always been the floral.
Now?
Mostly the earthy, spicy scents with the fruity not far behind.
I was caught off guard, so now I'm scrambling to catch up.
What used to be a predominately female demographic (floral)
is now evolving into a unique mix of both the sexes.

Gotta love it.

Anyway....
I won't trouble you too much with my recurring ear infection..
BUT...
I've about had enough.
You would think,
one GP, one ENT and one emergency room visit (ruptured eardrum)
should have fixed this five or so year problem.
NOT...

I'm not kidding!
I have been told I have allergies.
I had about given up.
As a last resort I went to the local clinic and guess what?
I have a fungal infection.
Diagnosed by a PA!

The GP, the ENT and the emergency room blew me off.
I could have had a seizure, lost my hearing, even died....

This PA was appalled, O.M.G. she said.
Needless to say I'm pretty drugged up, and hopefully, on the road to recovery
without too much damage done to my hearing.

OK,

THE TORNADOES!
GEEZ...

Being that I couldn't sleep Monday night due to the storms
I took a vacation day on Tuesday.
I'm laying in the lounger on the deck reading, napping,
when I was awakened by the sound of dog nails clicking on the wooden deck around me.

Lady was circling me, trying to wake me up.
Seems there was a possible tornado about five miles away.
(We call Lady the weather dog because she knows when there's bad weather approaching).
OK Lady, I'm awake now, what's up?
I spent a few hours in the closet with her and Red.
The storms moved off to the east towards my mother-in- law's house in Canton,
passing her but hitting Edam and Ben Wheeler.

Today Sunday, AM started out cloudy with signs of rain that never materialized.
I went out to pick wild blackberries and discovered several more berry patches on the property.
WooHoo, I do love free food.
Later the temps turned cold so we spent the day making soap, canning meat, berries,
and also doing a little baking.
Also made some ham beans and cornbread.
YUM!

Believe it or not I had to get the winter quilt out of the blanket chest
cause it's cold in this house tonight!

Disclaimer
Any awry statements, typos or incorrect sentences will be blamed on the blog and not the drugs!!!

OK, there's the rain, darn. I have laundry on the line!
OH well....
Till next time.
Bonjour

P.S. For some reason the "blog" decided to bold almost everything, align things incorrectly and not
print most of my text! I swear, it's not the drugs!!! I give up. I'm going to bed!