I just found this fabulous recipe at The Pioneer Woman Cooks and had to share. In addition, The Pioneer Woman cracks me up; she is a hoot.
Until next time, God bless.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Straight Out of the Camera Sunday
Murrieta 365 does a Straight Out of the Camera meme where the photo is so perfect that it requires no tweaking. See more photos here.
I've been trying to get a photo of Luc smiling for a year. Well, while not the sharpest photo, I got it.Until next time, God bless.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Country Life
We had an interesting week. Hubby started having vertigo a week ago Tuesday; and after much ado, i.e., doctor visits and many phone calls, the doctor prescribed antibiotics which put hubby on the road to recovery. So, yesterday, Friday, he was ready to go into Austin to do some personal training. It started raining about the time he got up at 5 AM; and as he was ready to leave, the rain was in a downpour. Since it was dark, he decided to not leave until light. A friend was coming over to help me with some things as he was leaving about 8:30 AM. He drove out into the pasture to give her more room when he ran into a small problem: mud, rock, and stuck. We all decided that God was telling him not to go. He stayed home.
But, I have to tell you that this is what I see whenever I look out my kitchen window, white truck on the left. And, cruel or not, I break out in laughter.
At least hubby waited until I had two cups of coffee this morning before deciding to try to get his truck out without firing up the tractor and dragging out a chain. To tug at your heart a bit, hubby is wearing my dad's sweater.
The rock that would not move until after much wheel spinning and an occasional bump from the front tire.
Ground still has water on the surface. BTW, we got 2 inches of rain Friday morning, making a total of 10-1/2 inches since September 10.
Hubby ready to do battle with the elements.
Success. Already, I kind of miss looking out the kitchen window to get a good laugh. :D
Oh, yeah, my yellow boots came in handy.
Until next time, God bless.
PS: In case anyone is wondering how the bath redo is going, I've finally gotten around to sanding the cabinets and put the first coat of paint on the inside yesterday. Soon, the finished room will be photographed.
But, I have to tell you that this is what I see whenever I look out my kitchen window, white truck on the left. And, cruel or not, I break out in laughter.
At least hubby waited until I had two cups of coffee this morning before deciding to try to get his truck out without firing up the tractor and dragging out a chain. To tug at your heart a bit, hubby is wearing my dad's sweater.
The rock that would not move until after much wheel spinning and an occasional bump from the front tire.
Ground still has water on the surface. BTW, we got 2 inches of rain Friday morning, making a total of 10-1/2 inches since September 10.
Hubby ready to do battle with the elements.
Success. Already, I kind of miss looking out the kitchen window to get a good laugh. :D
Oh, yeah, my yellow boots came in handy.Until next time, God bless.
PS: In case anyone is wondering how the bath redo is going, I've finally gotten around to sanding the cabinets and put the first coat of paint on the inside yesterday. Soon, the finished room will be photographed.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Weaving and Christmas Gifts
I always look for someway to do something a little different for Christmas gifts and running into this half-grown alpaca from The Old Oaks Ranch and seeing the weaving demonstration at the Pound House Fall Festival gave me the idea of doing handwoven scarves.
These animals have the sweetest face and are so soft.
Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center just happened to be on the way to the Wimberley Market Day, subject of Straight Out of the Camera Sunday, October 3. The shop is so inviting.
Take a look at this fabulously colored fiber. I think it is silk; I'll ask when I go back for the scarf session.
I chose these two colors because my youngest son and his wife wear black leather when riding motorcycles. Both are members of a motorcycle club and he rides his bike to work quite often to save on gas. Jennifer, my son's wife, has trained two dogs to do search and rescue. The weather is not always very nice when she gets a call. This is Peruvian alpaca; and while using the same fiber, I'll do different designs. The weaver sets up the loom and it will probably take about 16 hours to weave two 7" x 60"scarves.
If I really like weaving, hubby will get one for Christmas too. And, then, I may give myself one.
More alpaca in such rich and vibrant colors.
This piece is being done on a hardwood triangle with nails about 1/8 of an inch apart.
The loom studio.
Old Oaks will set up the loom. I really haven't the foggiest idea how to weave but woven fabrics and rugs have always fascinated me.
I think this is a rug in progress.
The rug is incredible.
This is an example of needle felting on a silk scarf.
The finished scarf is an exquisite piece of wearable art.
Fabric wall hangings.
Since I retired, I've taken silversmithing, lost wax casting, and art welding classes at the local community college, jewelry design, wire wrapping classes, hand-formed pottery classes, glass fusing classes, scrap booking and stamping classes, and gad, I may fall in love with a new craft, weaving. However, we'll see after two scarves. I'm doing everything I've always wanted to do whereas before making a living seemed to get in the way. Retirement has been a gift.
Last week I made jars of apple butter for little gifts and have been searching out unusual recipes for a variety. I bought some pears Saturday to make an orange-pear butter with ginger. And, I have a plum butter or jam recipe which I may try. I've never canned so this too is a new experience.
Life is so good. Are you doing anything special for Christmas gifts? If so, please tell us.
Until next time, God bless.
These animals have the sweetest face and are so soft.
Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center just happened to be on the way to the Wimberley Market Day, subject of Straight Out of the Camera Sunday, October 3. The shop is so inviting.
Take a look at this fabulously colored fiber. I think it is silk; I'll ask when I go back for the scarf session.
I chose these two colors because my youngest son and his wife wear black leather when riding motorcycles. Both are members of a motorcycle club and he rides his bike to work quite often to save on gas. Jennifer, my son's wife, has trained two dogs to do search and rescue. The weather is not always very nice when she gets a call. This is Peruvian alpaca; and while using the same fiber, I'll do different designs. The weaver sets up the loom and it will probably take about 16 hours to weave two 7" x 60"scarves.If I really like weaving, hubby will get one for Christmas too. And, then, I may give myself one.
More alpaca in such rich and vibrant colors.
This piece is being done on a hardwood triangle with nails about 1/8 of an inch apart.
The loom studio.
Old Oaks will set up the loom. I really haven't the foggiest idea how to weave but woven fabrics and rugs have always fascinated me.
I think this is a rug in progress.
The rug is incredible.
This is an example of needle felting on a silk scarf.
The finished scarf is an exquisite piece of wearable art.
Fabric wall hangings.Since I retired, I've taken silversmithing, lost wax casting, and art welding classes at the local community college, jewelry design, wire wrapping classes, hand-formed pottery classes, glass fusing classes, scrap booking and stamping classes, and gad, I may fall in love with a new craft, weaving. However, we'll see after two scarves. I'm doing everything I've always wanted to do whereas before making a living seemed to get in the way. Retirement has been a gift.
Last week I made jars of apple butter for little gifts and have been searching out unusual recipes for a variety. I bought some pears Saturday to make an orange-pear butter with ginger. And, I have a plum butter or jam recipe which I may try. I've never canned so this too is a new experience.
Life is so good. Are you doing anything special for Christmas gifts? If so, please tell us.
Until next time, God bless.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Straight Out of the Camera Sunday
Wimberley Market Days - October 2009Straight Out of the Camera Sunday is the brain child of Murrieta's 365. This meme is for those photos that are perfect and require no tweaking except a crop.
The photos are from my October Wimberley Market Days outing. Wimberley is a favorite get-away-for-the-weekend-spot for many Texans and holds a market day on the first Saturday of each month except January - March. You'll find just about any and every craft on display as well as those trash-to-treasure items. Today, though, here are some beautiful flowers offered.
Bougavillia
Bromoliads
Pear blossoms. The recent weather has confused the tree to bloom again.
I bought 14 pears, small because of the drought, but ever so tasty. Pears are the only fruit that is picked before it is ripe. I have to wait about a week before these are ripe at which time I shall do an Orange-Pear Butter with Ginger recipe. I'm working on Christmas gifts.Brenda's Photo Challenge - Pets
Brenda's Photo Challenge has given us a delightful subject for this week's challenge: Pets! There are no limits on what or whose pets which fits in just perfect since I took these photos at The Pound House Fall Festival.
Isn't this the sweetest face?
This baby alpaca was a little shy and I had a terrible time getting it to stay still long enough for me to snap a photo with my ever-so-slow camera.
After seeing the other two, I had time not wanting to buy this one which is wearing a for sale scarf.
This is the sweetest angora goat. She was very hot and had just been moved to the shade.
In addition to showing the alpacas and goats, there was a display of angora/alpaca woven products along with looms and schedule of classes. There is a Saturday scarf class with the looms being set up in order to complete the project in a day. Hmmm, can you say Christmas gifts?
Now this handsome devil is my 'Marley,' and is named Luc. I took this photo and the one below the same day both had all their annual shots including a rattlesnake vaccine.
This is my drama queen. Give Luc treats at the vet and no problem; Maggie on the other hand refuses treats and screams, howls, and cries. The vet's assistant put Maggie between her legs so the other assistant could give the shots without being bit. It took about 24 hours for Maggie to get over the trauma.
Don't forget to click over to Brenda's to see more pets.
Until next time, God bless.
Isn't this the sweetest face?
This baby alpaca was a little shy and I had a terrible time getting it to stay still long enough for me to snap a photo with my ever-so-slow camera.
After seeing the other two, I had time not wanting to buy this one which is wearing a for sale scarf.
This is the sweetest angora goat. She was very hot and had just been moved to the shade. In addition to showing the alpacas and goats, there was a display of angora/alpaca woven products along with looms and schedule of classes. There is a Saturday scarf class with the looms being set up in order to complete the project in a day. Hmmm, can you say Christmas gifts?
Now this handsome devil is my 'Marley,' and is named Luc. I took this photo and the one below the same day both had all their annual shots including a rattlesnake vaccine.
This is my drama queen. Give Luc treats at the vet and no problem; Maggie on the other hand refuses treats and screams, howls, and cries. The vet's assistant put Maggie between her legs so the other assistant could give the shots without being bit. It took about 24 hours for Maggie to get over the trauma.
Don't forget to click over to Brenda's to see more pets.
Until next time, God bless.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Rain, Rain and More Rain
Amazing what a little rain will do. A month ago this pasture was brown, dead, and with top soil blowing away. We had a little over 8 inches of rain in September. Everything is so green; we also sowed winter rye near the house in the rain. Praise God, it rained again and again after we threw it out!
We have tomatoes! I have two out of five tomato plants left and this one is growing tomatoes. I understand if temperatures go over 92 degrees, the blooms will not mature. Our temperatures have been in the nineties some but not much over 95. The other tomato plant never produced a tomato but have found at least one. I was so disgusted with the other plants that I pulled them up. . .kept thinking how much water was used to keep them alive without tomatoes.
If there is one thing that has flourished in my garden, it is gourds. I planted some seeds on a whim and the plants went wild. This is just the first harvest. A gourd is ready when the stem turns brown. I am using cement blocks to stack some wooden pallets for shelving on which to dry the gourds. I understand it takes up to a year for the gourd to dry. When completely dry, I'll drill a hole, get the seeds out, and probably drill a hole at the top to run some leather cord through for a bird house. There is even a chart somewhere that tells the hole size for which bird species.
Here are two gourd plants and couldn't get the entire spread in one photo. Next year, I am going to plant gourds along the fence line. You actually see green in the background! We no longer look like we are on the edge of Death Valley. That's my white shadow, Luc, on the left; Maggie is investigating something.
We have tomatoes! I have two out of five tomato plants left and this one is growing tomatoes. I understand if temperatures go over 92 degrees, the blooms will not mature. Our temperatures have been in the nineties some but not much over 95. The other tomato plant never produced a tomato but have found at least one. I was so disgusted with the other plants that I pulled them up. . .kept thinking how much water was used to keep them alive without tomatoes.
If there is one thing that has flourished in my garden, it is gourds. I planted some seeds on a whim and the plants went wild. This is just the first harvest. A gourd is ready when the stem turns brown. I am using cement blocks to stack some wooden pallets for shelving on which to dry the gourds. I understand it takes up to a year for the gourd to dry. When completely dry, I'll drill a hole, get the seeds out, and probably drill a hole at the top to run some leather cord through for a bird house. There is even a chart somewhere that tells the hole size for which bird species.
Here are two gourd plants and couldn't get the entire spread in one photo. Next year, I am going to plant gourds along the fence line. You actually see green in the background! We no longer look like we are on the edge of Death Valley. That's my white shadow, Luc, on the left; Maggie is investigating something.
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