Little Cottage in the Country

Out And About Again

2012-02-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

Saturday was my first day out in over a week. My Dear Friend Michelle and I went down to East Kingston for a Gardening Seminar,put on in part by the UNH Cooperative Extension Service. We got there early,so after scouting out where the building ( an old one room schoolhouse) was,we went to a little antique shop down the road to pass the time. Once we went back to the school,it didn't take long for the gardening folk to start filtering in.There was not a lot of seating,which is why it was a pre sign up event.

The first speaker discussed soil,temperature,etc.,the rather clinical stuff that tends to make my eyes glaze over. We then took a break for some food and drink (sponsored by the local Grange). The second speaker was a woman who discussed permaculture and "lasagna" gardening. Michelle and I both found her more interesting. There was also a bit of discussion about GMO's. After the speakers,they had seeds and starter trays for folks who wanted to learn more about seed starting. Since we are familiar with that,we decided to check out another antique store before heading back home. We had a great afternoon,with lots of laughter.One thing that I found a bit ironic was that we discussed how so many talented people pass away early because of their demons. Then that night came the news that Whitney Houston passed away.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day,and Rick and I decided to go out for dinner this year. We went to a place called the Governors Inn in Rochester. The Governors Inn is the old home of former NH Governor Spaulding-it's a gorgeous old house. We sat in the parlor area next to the fireplace and had a fabulous meal-Rick had Chicken Florentine (which happened to be gluten free!) and I had Filet Mignon. The meal was delicious and the company lovely! :)

Rick is now getting used to this new meds,so he's starting to feel a bit better. The Depakote does not dull him as much as the Seroquil,so he is more aware of things around him,which in turn causes him a bit more stress,but he has been dealing with it well.

We heard from the med board,and Rick has two appts-one tomorrow in Gilford,NH for the physical part and one down in Boston next week for the mental part. Rick is on "temporary retirement"-anyone that has been diagnosed with PTSD is put on it to see if they will get better. Well, that is fine if the soldier actually gets intensive help right after they come out of combat,but pretty useless if the soldier not only has PTSD but TBI as well,and the soldier isn't even diagnosed with TBI until 2 years after he returns home,which is what Rick's circumstance is.These are issues that have to addressed ASAP,not a year or two down the road. The military can put you on temporary retirement for up to 5 years,and you have to keep going to these evaluations until they determine that 1)you can do your job in the military or 2)you have to be medically out. He is 100% disabled through the VA,so whatever the military decides really doesn't matter. He's still disabled and not reenlisting in the service. At any rate,I have a feeling that he will be officially retired after these appointments. At least, I hope so.

Time to make some crock pot chili. Have a fabulous day!!!

Ah,Shucks......

2012-02-13T10:42:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was very pleased to learn that my blogging bud Kymber nominated me for a blogging award! Kymber and her love,Jambaloney, live at the their "bug out" house,aka Framboise Manor, and are in the process of fixing it up,as well as learning how to be more self sufficient. Both have big hearts and are very caring folk!

The rules for the acceptance of this award are as follows:

1) Copy and paste the award on your blog

2)Link back to the blogger who gave you the award

3)Pick 5 favorite blogs with less than 200 followers and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they received the award.

4)Hope the 5 blogs will keep spreading the love and pass it to 5 more blogs

After much deliberation,I have decided on the following 5 blogs:

1)One of my fellow Laura Ingalls Wilder admirers,who happens to also be named Laura! Her blog,A Simple Happy Life is about her life over in Michigan.She also loves old photographs from antique stores!

2) I follow Prairie Harmony,which is a nice blog about life in the Midwest. It's a fairly new blog,with just a handful of followers,so I hope my readers will check her out and give her some follower love!

3)We now go international....Sue,my New Zealand blogging friend,has a great sense of humor which spills over at her blog, Living The Good Life. Farm animals,crafts,remodeling,daily life...all told with her great wit.

4) I couldn't find how many followers this particular blog has,but I had to nominate Mike,The Garden Rockstar,because I enjoy his blog,My Earth Garden, so much.His posts range from gardening to canning to his experiment with trying to see how hard it is spending only what one would get on food stamps for a month. I think many others would enjoy his blog.

5)And last, but certainly not least,my "neighbor" over in Maine,Pamela.Her blog,The Cheeky Seagull is a very pretty blog,with great craft ideas.

Please check out these great blogs! Have a great day!

Bear With Me

2012-02-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

My dear readers,please bear with me. My headbone is still very foggy and I really don't have the wherewithal to attempt to chat about what I want to...my thought process is pretty much null and void and I would not give it the justice I want to. More coherent ramblings are coming soon,I hope.

Zach has gone to school for the first time since Monday.He has a horrible cough,and we told him if he felt like he had to come home to call us.

I thought I would show you the dishcloth I made this week.It took me several attempts,and it still looks a bit rough,but I don't think it's too shabby.I changed up the colors at bit. The blue is suppose to be white and the white trim is suppose to be green.I discovered that loved creating flowers! This proves I haven't been completely useless this week!! :)

Hope all is well with you,and if not,I hope they get better soon!!!!

Yay For Farmington!!!!!

2012-02-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

This morning Patriots Nation is in mourning over the loss to the NY Giants.Better luck next year,boys.

There are days I find it hard to put words down on this blog,because,let's face it,there are days when nothing noteworthy happens or when nothing inspires me. There are only so many times I can tell folks that we cleaned house,fed the chickens, and the weather was great. Not very exciting to write,nor exciting to read.So is the dilemma of a blogger.

This past week was Garden Club,and we had a guest speaker from Dover,who helps run their community garden. Apparently,Farmington has a piece of land that is no longer in use that they are willing to let folks use as a community garden. The land has fencing around it,which will be good for keeping out animals. It will be cleaned up in the spring. One of the selectman in the town was at the meeting,and we all had a great discussion of whether is should be a communal garden,or should folks be able to rent/buy their own plot? Many questions were asked of the Dover lady,and it was very interesting.They have a communal plot,where everyone works it and shares in it. The last thought for the Farmington folks was maybe having a communal area,and an area for folks to have their own plots,depending on how big the response is. I think the fact that Farmington is willing to do this is fabulous,and kudos to the Farmington Democrats for bringing this up to the town for consideration.There are lots of folks who live in town with no land that could benefit from this endeavor,as well as low income families who could help themselves grow some fresh food.(Here in Middleton,there are no apartments,only single family homes that are owned or rented.The townsfolk do not want apartments,and any new homes must have a minimum of two acres,so a community garden is not necessary) Our next meeting should be very interesting as well. We have a lady who sells raw milk coming to discuss the raw milk issue. I think we have all heard the controversy over the selling of raw milk. Personally,I can see both sides of the argument:one hand,it's not processed,so who knows if someone could get sick,but on the other,if someone is willing to buy raw milk,and they are aware of risks (if any),then shouldn't they be allowed to do so? I really don't know enough about this subject either way,so the discussion should be very enlightening.

Saturday Rick and Zach went to the Boy Scout Klondike. The Klondike is a yearly winter event in which the boys drag a sled to various stations,and they have to complete each station (first aid,shelter building,etc). The boys received a 2nd and 3rd place in a couple stations,and won 3rd place overall. Both Rick and Zach came home quite pink faced and tired from being in the wind and cold for eight hours,but they both had a great time.

Yesterday was Green and Red (a yearly celebration of the birthday of Boy Scouts) but I wound up staying home.I woke with my head foggy,and I just thought that maybe I didn't sleep well and once I had my coffee and got moving it would clear up.( I think we have all been there before) Well, I was sitting here at the computer,and all at once, I had a massive head rush.I thought I was going to pass out! After that,my stomach started getting funky. Oh no! I thought maybe if I ate a bit of something that would help,but I couldn't finish my cereal. OK,maybe I can just work through it. I made my gluten free cocktail hot dogs for the Red and Green,and then took my shower. Maybe after that I would feel better.

Well,that was a bad call,because as soon as I stepped out of the shower,I proceeded to get sick. Twice. Lovely. So for the first time in all of Zach's scouting years (which started in first grade) I missed the yearly celebration,which also has the boys getting advancements. Sigh. I watched "Game of Thrones" (my new obsession) and took a nap,getting up in time for the Super Bowl. Looking back,I would've preferred sleeping through it!

Have a Fabulous Day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Happy 65th Anniversary

2012-01-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

On January 25,1947,my parents were married in Somersworth,NH. My Dad,Albert Martin Lessard,was born on September 27,1914 and passed away from complications due to Alzheimer's on September 4,1990.My Mom,Doris Louise Charrette,was born on December 11,1925.

My parents were born to French Canadian lineage. In fact,they are second generation Americans. All my great grandparents were born in Quebec. On my Dads' side,there is a bit of Native American and Irish thrown in. On my Mom's,some Scottish.

Both my parents only received an eighth grade education. My Dad quit school at age 14,after his mother died,to go to work at the bleachery to help support the family. My Mom did receive her eighth grade diploma,and went to work at Somersworth Shoe.Both went through the Great Depression. My Dad had it a bit harder than my Mom,because the family was much bigger. They received help from the church. My Dad's brother,Valmore,went into the Civilian Conservation Corp,and in fact,stayed up in Tamworth at the CCC camp were the Boy Scouts now have several events. It's strange to think my Uncle lived there at one point.

My Dad went into the service,and was sent to New Guinea during World War II. He was gone for three years.He came home,and met my Mom through her Uncle.My Dad and her Uncle served in the same unit overseas.

They courted and were married. My mother was actually engaged to someone else when they met,but apparently found my Dad more intriguing.

My parents were blue collar workers all their lives.I never knew what my parents earned. I know it wasn't much. I asked once what they made,and my father told me that "We don't ask what people make for a living." Fair enough.

We had a house,a car,plenty of food,and clothes on our backs. When we wanted something,we would get it on our birthdays or Christmas.My folks raised four children-Valmore,Linda,Dennis,and myself. My mother was,and still is,a very basic kind of lady. I suppose it's from being raised during the Depression.No frills. She has what she needs. Any extra is just something that she will have to dust. A true Yankee.

I miss my Dad. He was very jovial and loved to tell stories,at least until the Alzheimer's took that away from him. He loved quizzing me about history,and that instilled a love of history in me.

I still miss my Dad quite a bit. I wish he was here so I could wish him a Happy Anniversary.

Mulling Things Over

2012-01-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

Things around here have been pretty low key.Rick's meds continue to mess with him a bit. Saturday he went to his Asst Scoutmaster training,and the only down side was that it was in a small room with no windows. Rick has a hard time in rooms like that,but he made it through A-OK. He was wiped out when he got home,though,and he took a nap.

Sunday,the Menfolk,Zach,and our next door neighbor Kelly decided to go up the road to Shaw Pond (no relation!)to do some ice fishing.We actually have enough ice now on most lakes and ponds to walk on them,but there are still some areas where the ice is not thick enough yet. Fortunately, Shaw Pond has a good 4" or so of ice,so they were good to go. They tried to talk me into going,but I declined. I am not an outdoor winter person. I used to be in my youth,I loved sledding and being in the snow. Now, not so much. I prefer being warm in my house. The males were gone for at least four hours and had a great time!

Zach,Brother B,and Rick setting up traps

Pulling up a fish

Pickerel!

They used Kelly's equipment,but Zach enjoyed it so much that Rick bought a couple of traps for he and Zach so they don't have to keep using Kelly's.

Also on Sunday,like any good New Englander,we watched the Patriots and the Ravens,holding our breath until the very end when the Raven's missed the field goal. Now we look forward to beating the Giants in the Super Bowl (sorry,New York fans)!

As for me,my project of late was making some pot holders..

My potholders are in very sad shape. They are to the point where even washing them doesn't get them clean anymore. So instead of buying a pair,I made them. While I knitted,Rick and I started to mull over our plan for our garden this year. We need to order some new seeds-we have had some for three years now and it's time to get fresh ones. Instead of buying two types of lettuce,etc,we are only going to grow one kind. While we are going to cut back on variety,we are not going to cut back on quantity. We may forgo peas this year,too-to be honest,I am not a fan of fresh peas...maybe it's because I grew up with canned ones my whole life. I do love fresh green beans,though. I also need to be more on top of staggered planting this year. I hope that it doesn't take so long for the garden area to dry out this Spring.Last year we couldn't prep the area until late May.It was like a bog out back. Seeing such little snow this year,however,I assume that this spring will not be quite as wet. We also discussed whether or not we are going to make syrup this year,and we decided that we will give it shot yet again. We now know that we need to boil the syrup a bit longer, to get it a bit more full flavored,and it needs to be canned,otherwise it doesn't last that long and gets moldy.Lessons learned,my friends!

Have a Fabulous Day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Delving Into The Past

2012-01-21T08:26:00.000-05:00

Things have been pretty quiet here the last few days. We did get a few inches of snow this week. Old Man Winter is a bit behind schedule this year. Zach was on the Boy Scout shovel list for the second snowfall,so we went down to the Grange where we have our meetings to shovel the walkways. There is a church in the Grange building as well. It's our Troop's duty to keep the area clean in the winter so the church folk and the Grange and Odd Fellows can have a clear pathway to their services/meetings. We only have two shovels,so Zach shoveled the walkway,Rick chipped the ice and then he spread some sand that we had for our driveway. I had the hard job of playing solitaire on my Kindle in the warm truck. :)

This morning Rick has gone down to Farmington for the first part of the Asst.Scoutmaster training.He is a bit nervous because he is not familiar with who is going to be there,and he hasn't been to the school in which it's going to be held in a long time,so it's like being in a strange place all over again. His hyper vigilance goes up in situations like this,but he has to dive right in and not avoid them. He's a trooper.

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day on my Family Tree Maker. I discovered in my Ancestry.com account that someone had sent me an email regarding my great grandfather Lessard,and come to find out,this person is actually a cousin of mine. Of course,I rarely get into my Ancestry.com email account,so this email was rather old (Sept) and the info they were asking for they had already found and posted. This led me to delve into my side of the family,and I discovered that I had some wrong info,which I corrected,but the new info was amazing-I have 7th great grandfather who was abducted by Native Americans from ME and brought to Canada.His mother and six siblings were killed at their home,and his Dad,who was fisherman by trade,was gone at the time. Now that is quite a find!

This is pile of genealogy papers I have:

Remember my goal was do get all these papers into the file cabinet in folders so I can just pull things up quickly. I brought the pile (which was quite heavy) to the computer desk,plopped everything down,and stared at it:

Where do I start? I figured the loose papers would be the best bet,and,to be honest,the easiest. How to separate them though?.Many families had to merge to form the family of Albert Lessard and Doris Charrette or the Richard F Shaw Sr and Barbara McQuilkin family. I figured the easiest thing to do would be make folders with our grandparents last names,then any names that were in their lineage I would put into that folder. So I have (for my family) Lessard,Charrette,Magnan and Thompson and for Rick,Shaw,Batchelder,Pratt, and McQuilkin. It worked well for the loose papers,then I had a few notebooks that I could just tear the pages out of and put in those folders.

Then I hit a snag.

I have couple of notebooks which are packed full,and divided by family. And the binders are the same. Hmmm.Seems like ripping all the info out would be a waste of organization. At this point,my brain was on overload,so I put everything on top of the printer and stopped for the day. Then,like I mentioned, I spent a good part of yesterday working on info. So the pile is still on top of the printer.The filled notebooks I could fit into the file cabinet,and one of folders,but I have a big binder that won't fit.Maybe I can lay it down on bottom of the drawer.

Time also to start thinking about ordering new seeds for the garden. We have had ours for three years. Time to start fresh!

Ta-Da!

2012-01-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

Here is my finished dishtowel. I took this when it was drying after I blocked it:

Blocking,for those of you not familiar with the term,is when you put the item in soapy water,then rinse it several times in cold and then you dry it,making the stitches a bit tighter.I'm sure it does something else,but right now I can't remember. :)

Because the yarn wasn't solid colors,you can't really see the stripes I made ( I wasn't anticipating any special patterns when I bought the yarn) but...if you look close enough,you can see two areas where there is mostly yellow-those are the stripes.

The one thing I was wondering about-if it would be absorbent enough-was certainly answered when I placed it in my bathroom sink. Yep.It's plenty absorbent! So as I make new towels,I will take an old ratty one out of the rotation and put it with my rag bag.

This morning we all overslept-apparently I shut off my alarm without realizing it,and Rick's didn't go off. Zach's new alarm wasn't plugged in. So I drove The Boy to school today.

Yesterday we took a trip to the Manchester VA for an appt with Rick's medicine Dr,Dr Hunt. So far,everything Rick is experiencing is normal. The goal is in a few weeks to be completely off the Seroquil and be totally on the Depakote. The only downside is,since Seroquil is stronger than Depakote,he will wind taking more Depakote. It could be upward of over 1,500 mg a day.

Today my goal is reorganize my genealogy information. I have folders and binders that I keep in my bedroom closet that I really want to get moved into the file cabinet so when I am using my Family Tree Maker I can access info quickly. I will have to figure out exactly how to do it-I can't just put the binders into the file cabinet,as I don't think they will fit. Do I use a main name-such as Shaw-as a hanging folder and then have all the names associated with it in separate manila folders? Hmm. It's a mystery,Scooby Doo! I also want to put more info into my Tree Maker this winter. So far,I have several hundred names on Rick's side of the family (his is easier to find,since my relatives didn't come down from Canada until the 1870's at the earliest). I have also been considering a blog about our genealogy,but I'm sure about it yet.I'm still mulling that over.

Have a Beautiful Day on this Beautiful Planet wherever you might be!!!!

Knitted Dishtowel

2012-01-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

Good morning! As I posted yesterday,it was a snow day.Zach helped Rick clear out the snow,and besides doing some knitting,I made more laundry soap. Today I need to do laundry and I am in the process of boiling pinto beans for my crock pot chili. Gluten free cornbread will be served as well.

I received a couple of comments about the dishtowel I am making (hello Tango from VA and Julie from MI!) I am always excited to get responses to my posts,especially when they are new folks.

I was thinking a while back that since a dishcloth could be made,why couldn't a dishtowel? So I started to browse various knitting/crocheting sites to see if anyone had actually made such a towel,and if so,did it work properly? I came across a site,www.purlbee.com,and they confirmed that yes,dishtowels can be made,and not only that,but they work! Her patterns are for striped dishtowels,and they look lovely,with a beige body and red stripes.I am going for a more colorful look:

She also used circular needles,and I am using 8" straight ( I noticed that after the fact,but so far,it's working well). Finished product is approx 9" x 16". 100% cotton yarn is used.
Cast on 56 stitches,then knit all the rows for a simple towel. If you want to add stripes,her site has different patterns.....www.purlbee.com/soft-cotton-knit-dishtowels. I will share the one I am attempting:

Twin Stripe Dishtowel
(These instructions are in the colors she uses-you can use whatever you want,of course)

Cast on 56 stitches in a neutral color

Knit 20 rows in garter stitch,do not break the yarn

*Pick up red yarn for the stripe,knit two rows,do not break yarn

Pick up the neutral yarn,knit two rows,do not break yarn

Knit two rows red,break yarn**

Continue knitting all rows with the neutral for 12 rows

Pick up red and repeat from * to **

Continue knitting all rows with the neutral for 20 rows.

Bind off

Sew in ends and block

Give it a whirl! I will let you know how mine comes out.

Snow Day

2012-01-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

Today we were suppose to go to the Manchester VA for a medication appointment and an appointment with Rick's TBI Dr.However,yesterday Rick called and rescheduled because of a snow storm that was heading our way.We do have four wheel drive,but there is no point in driving an hour and 15 minutes in a mess when you don't have to,right?

My Mom,who is doing great with her shoulder and is all done with her physical therapy,commented to me the other day that in her 86 years,she has never seen such a lack of snow. We had a covering for Christmas,then a couple days later it disappeared.It has been warm for this time of year as well-yesterday I went grocery shopping in short sleeves and a sweatshirt. Usually here in NH we are bundled up,sometimes by November. This type of weather is extremely rare.

However, this AM the alarm when off at 5:30 AM and I went to the window to see if it had started snowing. It had barely started,and the school district called to tell us that there would be no school. I thought that was a very good decision,since the storm was suppose to get worse as the morning went on,in some areas dropping an inch or two an hour.

So now we finally have some snow. I admit I am happy at this point without it,but it's very pretty to watch. It makes me feel very warm and secure with the wood stove going and the storm swirling outside.

I have taken a break from organizing to do some knitting. I am inspired to knit some dishtowels. The inspiration came from the lovely handmade towels my Dear Friend Michelle gave me for Christmas. I am in need of new dishtowels. Mine are mostly stained,and in a couple of cases,ripped. They will make great rags. I was thinking of buying some new ones,but then I realized that I can just make them myself!Dishcloths,dishtowels,and potholders are on the agenda.

Enjoy your day!!!!

Organizing-File Cabinet

2012-01-10T13:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a down day for me.I woke with one of my headaches,and that had me down for the count for the day. Poor Zach,between me and my headache and Rick having a blah reaction to the med change,he didn't get to Scouts this week. Today I am feeling better,and am in the process of making Rick a gluten free Boston Cream Pie.Why they call this a pie when it's really a cake is one of those mysteries that I will have to look up,but it's his favorite,and what with his brain and body have been going through these last few weeks,he deserves a nice little treat made with much love :)

Friday night we got a knock on our door at 11:00 PM. One of our friends on the local police force stopped by to let us know that there was deer hit nearby. The Menfolk (and of course,Zach) went out to get the deer and gut it. Saturday morning,it was there,hanging in the tree. I didn't get a photo of it,because the Menfolk had taken the camera to Nephew Brody's ROTC promotion ceremony. Unfortunately,they only got two photos before the camera died,and they both came out blurry :(

Sunday I worked on the file cabinet.

As you can see, it's your basic file cabinet. I had to buy one because of all the paperwork we had for Rick.It was crazy. If any of have been in the military,you know that they are notorious for losing documentation,so it' s always beneficial to have several copies of everything,especially when you are in the throes of a med board. ( Rick is on temporary retirement for up to 5 years,which is the norm for soldiers with PTSD. He has to go for another evaluation in March).

I took out all the files and went through each and every one,and got rid of quite of few things. There are some things that I keep hearing different things about,such as account statements,tax returns,etc. How long do I keep these things? Who should I trust to guide me in the proper direction? None other than the Queen of Finance Herself,Suze Orman.If she says keep,I kept.If she said toss,I tossed. Here are a few of her guidelines:

Keep For One Year:
Paycheck stubs
Utility Bills ( unless using for home business -then retain for three years)
Cancelled checks( for tax purposes three years)
Bank Statements ( for tax purposes three years)

Three Years:
-Income tax returns

A more complete list can be found on her website,suzeorman.com

I also ran military things by Rick. There were quite a few things at this point we could toss,seeing as we have a printer and don't need to keep many copies of the same thing anymore. The whole project took me a few hours,and I got the cabinet down to mainly one drawer:

The bottom drawer stores manuals,warranties,computer paper,photo paper,etc.Part of the fun of organizing documents is creating hanging folders and sub folders for them. Thankfully,I did that a couple years ago. I have the dividers for Military,VA,Social Security,Home documents (mortgage,home insurance),Vehicles (titles,insurance),Zachary (report cards,certificates),Taxes,Personal Documents (birth certificates,divorce papers,immunization records,etc). I had to put all the paperwork in specific piles,such as military,then each of those piles were separated into a sub category-National Guard,Active Duty,Orders,etc.This year, I combined a few subcategories.

Now we have a lovely pile of papers to use as fire starter in the wood stove:

Have a Fabulous Day on this Fabulous Planet!!!!

Organizing-Computer Files

2012-01-06T10:28:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke to lightly falling snow.Though I admit that if I didn't see snow for the rest of the winter it wouldn't bother me,looking out the window at the gently falling flakes makes for a pretty picture. Little O seems to think so,too:

Yesterday I continued cleaning out my computer files. The old deleted email file,cleaned out. Spam,cleaned out. Sent,cleaned out. I also started my Favorites.

When I put something in my Favorite file,sometimes it's something that I stumble across that has info that I want to reference to quickly,sometimes it's a blog I find intriguing but don't have the time to fully examine at that time so I can go back to it,and lately it's been knitting and crocheting patterns that I get via email.There have also been assorted genealogy info. This year, I cleaned out quite a few favorites. A good portion of them are knitting and crocheting. Sometimes when I try to print them out it works,and sometimes it doesn't,which really stumped me. I guess it depends on what browser it is on,and I finally figured out how to print everything out. I still have a few to print and delete. Some patterns I just deleted. Then,of course, I will clean out my recycle bin to free up that space.

Yesterday I also did my monthly cleaning out of magazines. I saved the articles that had something I wanted to refer to later,and got rid of most the others,only keeping the current ones (January 2012).Yes, I could get these online,but I love getting magazines in the mail.It's like a present in the mailbox! I do think that there are a couple that I will stop subscribing to,though. When I get to the point where I skim through them for a few months and there is nothing that catches my eye,it's time to call it good. Right now I have Hobby Farm,Hobby Farm Home, (though I detest the term "Hobby Farm"),Mother Earth News,Backyard Poultry,Countryside,Herb Companion,Country Home Sampler,and Country Home. What do I do with the articles I keep? I put them in our Life Book,which I will also be cleaning out and revamping over the next few days.

Today,I finish printing out /deleting patterns,and I begin our file cabinet.That will be interesting!

Organizing-Cookbooks and Cooking Magazines

2012-01-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

Many thanks for the positive feedback on my last post! The support helps :)

This has been a hard week for Rick. He is in the midst of changing his meds,so while he is gradually getting Depakote into his system,he is also gradually getting the Seroquil out. He has had moments of irritability and moments where he breaks down.He has been very confused,and the other day asked me how I spell my name.He had "Dawna" in his head. We are going to hold off on moving forward with the kitchen remodel until he is on a more even keel. He could not even begin to try and do measurements,cutting, etc. It would frustrate him even more than he is now. So that will be on hold for a bit.

Tuesday I decided to work on my cookbook/cooking magazine storage area. I keep them on a shelf on an old vegetable dryer we bought at a barn sale.I keep my onions,potatoes,and garlic here:

Lovely,isn't it? In this conglomeration are cookbooks,loose recipes,many magazines,my digital food scale,and recipe box. I had this thing for years where each holiday season I would buy Christmas Cookie magazines ( I had some going back to 2003),Holiday Baking,Paula Deen Christmas mags,etc. I enjoyed looking at the pretty cookies,thinking that someday I may bake them.

I probably have used recipes in these magazines a handful of times,and most of that handful is actually one fabulous blueberry muffin recipe.The majority I have never used a single recipe from.

So, I pulled everything off the shelf,and sorted them into piles:books,magazines,and loose papers:

Going through the cookbooks and magazines,I asked myself:
-Have I ever cooked anything from this? If so,how long ago?

If the answer was yes and it wasn't too far back I would keep the book.If it was a magazine,I would take the recipe out of it and put it into my recipe box. I wound up getting rid of one book and all but two magazines. Some of the loose papers were gluten free information,which of course,we are now familiar with,so I really didn't need those anymore. My magazine pile was too heavy to plop all in one garbage bag,so I placed a neat little pile by the garbage bin. A few magazines get put in the trash anytime a new bag is put out.

I wiped down the veggie dryer and placed what I am keeping back:

Ah,that's more like it!!! It did take a bit to go through all the magazines,but it was so worth it.

Next:more magazines and computer favorites!

Organizing-Christmas Decorations

2012-01-03T11:23:00.000-05:00

Like I mentioned in my previous post,I am terrible about small details and follow through. I don't know why,it just is what it is. This year,I am determined to squash that habit. Now, our house is not horrible,but there are areas which could use some vast improvement,and I am not ashamed to admit it.Our mud room is horrendous,and it has become a catch all for garbage and assorted items. Not the best first impression one receives when they come to our house. Our attic is a mess,and our bedroom is where everything goes to die,apparently. You would think the bedroom would be one of the best rooms in the house,wouldn't you? Put it this way,My Dear Friend Michelle has never seen our bedroom,and it's right off the kitchen.The door is closed when company arrives. A bedroom should be some place nice,cozy,and romantic.Ours, not so much.One day I will bite the bullet and bare this room to the world,but today is not it! :) These are the big things that I am determined to change this upcoming year. I want my house to embrace not just visitors,but the family as well. I want it be a haven. I want the soul of my home to reflect my soul and how I feel about life. Unfortunately,what I feel on the inside is not being shown outwardly.

It's like having dirty little secrets..you put up an overly good front, and the public areas for the most part look great,but you know there's a pile of crap behind the closed door or stuffed under the bed.It's a good illusion,but I'm tired of trying to maintain an illusion. I want to maintain reality. One of these things behind the door is in the attic. And since it's time to put away Christmas decorations,that was area I decided to attack first-the decorations.It also cleans up a third of the attic.

Like many folks,when I first was on my own,I received old decorations from family. "I don't want this anymore,do you?" Even if it wasn't something I would purchase,I would accept it gratefully,since I didn't have a lot of money to go out and buy everything from scratch. At least I had things to make my home look festive. Over the years,as I bought things or made things,I used less and less of what I was given.There are things that I still treasure:ornaments made by Zach,"Baby's First Christmas type ornaments,old decorations that we used in my parents house growing up. But there are things I no longer use-garlands,glass decorations,etc. I never stored these things with rhyme or reason. Throw it in the box and get it out of here! The next Christmas,I'd have to pull all the boxes down to see what I had and where I had it.

New Years Day,I decided to go through all the decorations.In order to get up to the attic,I had to clear a path:

Yep.That's what our stairs looked like behind the closed door. We have no storage closet,so things get "placed" in the stairwell. This why I'm so happy that we will have a closet that we can put some of this stuff in. You can see at the top of the stairs some of the boxes we have the Christmas decorations in. To the right there were probably at least six more boxes.

I hauled all the boxes down from the attic and took down most of the decorations around the house,the exceptions being the tree,the garland around my window,and the outdoor decorations.This is what I had:

Now I have everything right in front of me so I can go through it.( I know what is on the tree I am going to keep.) As I pick up each item,I ask myself:

-Do I love it?
-Am I keeping this because someone gave it to me? Would I put it out otherwise?
-Does this reflect what I what?

Any glass ornaments I no longer wanted I put in a bag,which I will smash up and use for a frame project. Some things were past their prime,some things were broken,and some where just downright ugly. After two and a half garbage bags, I had this left:

Monday,I had to bring Zach clothes shopping and winter boot shopping.He has outgrown most of his jeans and his winter boots are too small.(Not that we have any snow,but it's still early in the winter).Before we left,I assessed what I had and what I needed to store them. I really wanted an ornament storage box,so all my ornaments could be in one place,and I wanted a wrapping paper storage box as well. After we took care of Zach,we hit Home Depot and I was able to find what I wanted. When I got home,I took down the tree,and put all the decorations in their new bins:

What a difference! From many many boxes to just 5 storage bins! They looked great up in the attic:

And we can't forget that hideous stairwell:

Now I have clear bins so I can see what is where,and so far I can still climb the stairs with no problems.

Today I am going to go through my magazines and cookbooks.

The Eve of a New Year

2011-12-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

Well, 2011 is about to draw to a close,and it's been a really good year overall. I have no complaints!

Tonight we are going to have a seafood dinner-lobster,scallops,shrimp and steamers-and it will be our last big blow out for quite a while.Any leftovers will be made into a nice seafood chowder-with potatoes. Apparently the Shaw boys just make a basic chowder. Considering that they grew up in Portsmouth,right on the ocean,you would think they would make a proper chowder! LOL!

We also have a bottle of bubbly,to ring in the New Year.Rick might have a sip,if that. The last few years I have been lucky to make it to midnight-as soon as the countdown is over, I head for bed! That's OK,though,I have enough New Years Eve parties under my belt. :) At this point,I am more than content to have a few drinks at home and not be out on the road with a bunch of drunken revelers!

People are making their resolutions,and I admit that I no longer make resolutions ( or perhaps,I no longer call them resolutions)because I usually give up on them by February (namely regarding my weight). I have,however, been thinking about what I can do to make myself a better person and to create the type of home I want-meaning,a house with feeling. One of my biggest problems is detail.Now, I am all about the big things. I like to make sure those things get done. However,it's the small things that tie everything together that I seem to let fall to the wayside. For example: a year or so ago,we repainted the living room,put up new trim,etc. I never put the pictures back on the walls. They are still on the floor in the bedroom. Why wouldn't I just put them back up? It's simple,and takes no time. Who knows? I just never did. Silly,isn't it? Another example is the kitchen chair cushions. Over a year ago,two of the cushions had their ties come off. They were here and there in the house,and a couple of months ago I was able to track them down and I put them in a drawer so they would all be together.I actually sewed (well,my definition of sewing) them back on. Sounds pathetic,but to me that was a big accomplishment! So I am determined that this year,all the loose ends in the house will be tied up.Here are a few:

-organizing the attic
-going through the Christmas ornaments...I have many I no longer want and am going to make some projects with the old glass ones
-make my computer corner an area of inspiration with photos and loved items
-finally frame the photos that have been waiting for years to be displayed

There are many more,but I don't want to bore you with the whole list.You will hear about them enough!

I hope you all have wonderful New Year,and that you are all blessed with much happiness!!!!! A toast to 2012! It's going to be fabulous!!!!!

Christmas Abundance

2011-12-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

While to me Christmas is about family,I do admit that I received some fabulous gifts. Much thought was put into all of them,and am very grateful for that,because it makes it mean more that way.

The first gift I received was from my Dear Friend Michelle:

Missing from the above photo is a can of Stonewall Kitchen gluten free pancake mix,and bottles of Butter Pecan Syrup and Maine Wild Blueberry Syrup (we used them Christmas morning!).The pouring bowl is gorgeous! There is nothing more annoying than trying to make pancakes and having the batter go all over the place when you pour it,or ladle it,or however you try and do it. I also love the color,it's a great compliment to the kitchen.The two towels are very special. They were made by Carl,an older gentleman in our Garden group.He and his wife Kay have a loom and they make all kinds of wonderful things. Fabulous!!!

Here is the group of the rest of the wonderful gifts I received:

Zach gave me the lovely photo album,the "Concert for George Harrison" DVD,and the hanging tea tin collection. Now I can have different teas for a while,and it looks great in the kitchen. Rick gave me The Tudors DVD set (not pictured) and the lab created ruby ring,earrings,and necklace. Brother B gave me the ear buds for my Kindle, the calculator(he bought a calculator for each of us,since we can never find the one calculator we own),and the dishcloth crocheting book. My Mom gave me money, and my sister Linda gave me the pretty blue green necklace with earrings to match. The necklace is made up of ribbon fabric.I love the color and the fact that it's different! (The I tunes gift card on the printer is Zach's-it was in his stocking).

As you can see, not only was I blessed with the nearness of loved ones,I was blessed by the generosity of family and friends!

Stuffed Mushrooms

2011-12-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe off the internet from "Annie's Eats."

Stuffed Mushrooms

24 whole fresh button mushrooms
2-4 cloves garlic,coarsely chopped
2 tsp.vegetable oil
8 oz cream cheese,softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp.pepper
1/4 tsp.onion powder
1/4 tsp.cayenne pepper
Bread crumbs and minced fresh herbs,for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel.Carefully remove the stems from the mushroom caps,setting the caps aside for later.Add the stems to the bowl of a food processor.Add the garlic to the food processor as well,and pulse in brief bursts until the mushroom stems and garlic are finely chopped.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.Add the chopped mushroom stems and garlic and cook until all the moisture has disappeared,about 5-7 minutes.Lower the heat to medium-low.Stir in the cream cheese,Parmesan cheese and spices.Stir together until the mixture is smooth and creamy;remove from the heat.Using a small spoon,fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of filling.Arrange the mushroom caps on the prepared baking sheet. Top with bread crumbs,if desired.Bake for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are hot and liquid starts to from under the caps.Transfer to a serving platter,garnish with fresh herbs if using ans serve immediately.

I pre made the mushrooms,and kept them the fridge until it was time to cook them,and it worked fine. The come out very light,with just a slight kick of cayenne at the end. Everyone loved them-there were none left!

Enjoy!!!

Another Christmas Gone By......

2011-12-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas. We certainly did!

Christmas Eve started with the most beautiful sunrise that I had to go on the deck and take a photo of it:

When your day begins with such a lovely start, how can it go wrong?

As we prepped for Christmas Eve dinner,I had put some greenery aside that I was going to use as part of my table centerpiece.Since we didn't use the wood stove,I placed them on top of it. Smokey found this spot very comfy and curled up in the greens for most of the afternoon:

I used the greens underneath the poinsettia,and surrounded that with votive candles and pine cones:

My stuffed mushrooms were pronounced delicious! I will post the recipe tomorrow:

Sasha even looked rather festive!

My Mom proclaimed my pork pie "the best yet." Since I didn't take a photo of it on Christmas Eve, I took a photo of it last night,when I had leftovers for supper. The only things missing are the stuffed celery and Garden mix pickles:

As you can see, Christmas Eve went very well. My Mom,sister,and brother in law all seemed to have a good time.

Christmas Day was very laid back. We had gluten free pancakes,gluten free bacon,and eggs for breakfast,with Pecan Butter Syrup and Wild Maine Blueberry Syrup (thanks to My Dear Friend Michelle). By 11:00 AM I couldn't keep my eyes open,so I took a little nap.Christmas evening we went to my sister's where we had a delicious supper of Rocky Mountain Brisket, rice,creamy broccoli,and gluten free brownies with ice cream for dessert.It was lovely.

It was a fabulous Christmas. Now...onto New Years!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-24T07:15:00.000-05:00

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!! May it be filled with joy,happiness,and the nearness of loved ones!!!

This is how our home looks all lit up at night......

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

My Favorite Holiday

2011-12-23T09:45:00.000-05:00

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It always has been,even when the youthful excitement of getting gifts faded the older I became. It's the feeling that it invokes in me...contentment,happiness,a certain coziness and love of mankind that seems quite special. I love the decorations,the snow on the trees (which we have,thankfully,due a snowfall that is still falling as I type this),the carols,and being with my loved ones.

I remember each year of what my Dad used to tell me about his Christmases growing up. My Dad was was born in 1914.He was the third child born (my Uncle Albert died at birth,my Uncle Richard lived.My Dad then took the name of Albert,which was also my Pepere's name) to a large family.(My Memere and Pepere Lessard were French Catholics who,apparently,did not use birth control)When my Aunt Rachel was born at the end of the 1920's,she was the 12th child born to my grandparents (besides Albert,a daughter,Elinore,and a set of twins had passed.When my Memere died of pneumonia in 1929,she was pregnant yet again). My Pepere worked in the mills,and then at the water pumping station.My Memere stayed home,and needless to say,they didn't have much money.

They did,however,have a large extended family on my Memere's side,the Magnans (pronounced Mahn-yah).Though Pepere Lessard's family was not small (about 10 kids),when they made the move from Bartlett NH to Somersworth NH,the older children had their own lives and had already moved on. Memere Lessard had around 9 children in her family,and they all still lived in Somersworth. Christmas was spent at the home of Memere and Pepere Magnan,singing Christmas songs around the family piano. There was lots of good food,too.

My Dad said since they didn't have a lot of money when he was young,they would get perhaps one gift a piece.The tree was a gift for everyone.When the children were asleep,Pepere and Memere Lessard would set up the tree,and when the children came down stairs in the morning,there it would be,in all it's beauty. Part of the excitement was just seeing the tree. My Dad told me,"We didn't have alot of money,so we didn't have much for presents,but we always had a tree and lots of food.And we always went to Memere and Pepere Magnan's where there was more food and singing." My Dad was never mentioned being disappointed about the lack of presents. It was being with the family and having simple treats as pies,cakes,cookies,and pork pies that he always mentioned with great fondness. Christmas was always his favorite holiday,one of the many things he passed down to me.

I remember growing up we always had plenty of gifts,and some of Dad's brothers and sisters would visit on Christmas Eve. Sometimes Mom's brother Dickie or sister Gert and their families would stop in for a visit.That was always fun. We would stay up late,sometimes unwrapping the gifts around 11:30,sometimes waiting until morning. And of course,we would always have our pork pies on Christmas Eve.

I find myself now at 44 being more nostalgic about my Christmases growing up. It helps bring on that wonderful feeling I get. I can see my Dad, now 21 years passed,and all of my aunts and uncles,who have mostly passed on as well. They are wonderful memories,and I try to incorporated what I feel into the atmosphere in our home. I use lots of candles,pretty decorations,and oil lamps,and I happily admit that I love the vibe it all gives off. I do hope that when Zach is my age,he too will look back at his Christmases with the same type of love and fondness I do -the Christmases where he was completely spoiled,and the one where we had so little money that we could only afford two gifts for him-because,like my Dad told me,it's not about the gifts,it's about family and love.

Kitchen Redo-Walls Painted and Trim Work Begins

2011-12-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

I know,it's been a while since I've posted. Our remodel has been chugging along,a bit at a time. Now that Christmas is on our doorstep,the work is grinding to a temporary halt.

The last photos I showed you was of the new insulation in the wall,I believe.Here are how things look now:

Drywall on the ceiling and the wall waiting to be painted:

Last Friday-Sunday,we painted the walls and the ceiling:

Once that was painted,we brought in the new cabinet,which went where the oven once was.You can see the white bead board under the cabinet. We didn't paint it,as the tin back splash is going there. We decided to just leave the bead board on this wall and around the door to the living room.We placed a couple of boards on the cabinet as a temporary counter top:

The fridge looks like it's sticking out into the walk way,but it's just the angle of the photo. Where the butcher block is will be a closet.It will store our coats,etc,until the mud room is weatherproofed,and then it will be used for storage-brooms,ironing board,etc:

Another view of the new cabinet.It makes such a difference. The room actually looks longer with a whole row of bottom cabinets,without the stove stopping the flow:

The finished ceiling.We will be getting new light,and this one will go into the mudroom:

Yesterday,Rick worked on putting the molding back up. He cleaned it all up first. There is a small space in between the ceiling and the molding,since the ceiling is now a tad higher than it was. We are considering using a half round stained the proper color to fill in the little space.I'm not sure why it shows blue in the photo:

After the cabinet molding was put back up,Rick and Brother B started putting up the rest of the old molding. We just decided to keep it,at least for now. You can see it to the left of the photo. The door frame either had to be completely taken down and redone so the new door molding would fit properly,or shaved down.Rick decided to shave it down:

I took this photo before the top was put on the door molding. The ceiling molding is going to ripped,making it smaller so it will fit,because the width of the door molding will not allow it to be put back up in it's current width:

The boys took the window molding down. All the moldings in the kitchen (throughout the house,actually)were just regular boards put up.Now the moldings that we put in the living room will be put throughout the whole house:

The new molding is just temporarily tacked up,for aesthetics.It will have to come back down for when the new counter top is put in.The molding makes the window look so much bigger than those old wide boards:

The window next to the stove will also have molding "tacked" on so it can be easily removed. The new cabinet still needs to be attached to the other cabinet,and the trim will have to come down for the new counter top,anyway.

Yesterday,while Rick and Brother B were working in the kitchen,I did some little jobs that needed doing for Christmas Eve. I polished my oil lamp chimneys,got old useless wax out of votive candle holders,washed them and put fresh candles in them. I also planned my table centerpiece:my poinsettia on top of greenery,with candles here and there. Monday,I made two pork pies,one for our neighbor,and one for Brother Dale. Our neighbor,Jean,and her husband,Ron,are an older couple who are good folks.Their son and granddaughter live with them.Jean asked me one year to make her a pork pie and it's now our gift to them at Christmas time. It was still hot when I gave it to her son at the bus stop,and an hour later Jean called me and thanked me for the pie.She claimed it was the best I had made so far. It also was appreciated because her other son had knee replacement surgery that day,and she and Ron had spent most of the day at the hospital. Those of you who have been at the hospital for a day know how exhausting it is. This way,neither of them had to cook!!!

Today I am making a pecan pie for Dad (Rick's Dad),which is also an annual tradition.It's his favorite. I am also making Nephew Brody a pumpkin pie from my homemade pumpkin puree. Last year,I didn't have enough puree to make him one,and he has been reminding me ever since :) I made sure that I had enough puree this year.

Friday I am going to make our pork pies for Christmas Eve,so all I have to do is reheat them.I am going to make stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer on Christmas Eve afternoon,though. My Mom,sister Linda,and Linda's hubby Tom will be coming up to spend Christmas Eve with us. When Mom got to the point where Christmas Eve was too much work for her,I gladly took over the tradition of having pork pies at my house.

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends! I hope it's fabulous!

Orange Slice Ornaments

2011-12-15T12:04:00.001-05:00

Here is a repost from last year about how I made my orange slice ornaments:

One of the things that was new to me this year was making ornaments from orange slices. I will be doing this again next year.I love the way the look on the tree,they add a lovely primitive look. When a tree light is right behind a slice,it looks like stained glass. Unfortunately,I couldn't capture that on film.

If you would like to try this next year for your tree,here is how I did it. I used an oven.Never having used a food dehydrator before,I wasn't sure what temp or length of time I should use,so I didn't go that route.I didn't want to shrivel the slices,just dry them.However,it does take a good bit of time:5-6 hours,depending on how much juice you can get out of the slices before you put them in the oven. It's a good project for a day when you are doing other things in the house.

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees (this was the lowest temp my oven would allow).Cut oranges into 1/4" slices. Put the slices in between paper towels,and press down on each slice. I had to use several pieces of paper towel,and there was still a good bit of juice in the slices. Do what you can. I burned the paper towels in the wood stove,so there was no trash.

When you feel the slices are as dry as they are going to get,place them on a baking sheet. As you can see in the photo below,I had two going at once. Leave the oven door ajar. Each hour,turn the slices over so they dry out evenly. When they are ready,you will be able to tell-they will be dry to the touch.

Once the oranges are dried,I cooled them down on a plate,then took ornament hooks and pushed the hooks through the slices,right below the white part of the rind.

Voila! Orange slice ornaments! They will have no scent,but once Christmas is over you can make a pretty potpourri with cinnamon sticks,whole cloves,and the orange slices.

Enjoy!

Rick Update-Meds Change Up

2011-12-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

Those of you who have been following this blog for a long time know that I started it about Rick and our family's journey with his PTSD and TBI from Iraq,with a bit of other things thrown in.Over time,the main focus of the blog changed,as Rick's issues leveled off.

Today is mostly a Rick update.His knees are doing great.Of course, there are things that he can never do again-jump from a few feet,jog,kneel down without proper knee padding,etc. However, he can walk without pain,and that is the main thing.

One problem that Rick has had is his weight (me too,but that's for different reasons!). He has a few things against him :Celiac's Disease can make your stomach bloat; his pituitary gland was messed up when he received his brain injury,so his thyroid is quite slow(he is on meds) and he body has almost no testosterone anymore,which all help with weight loss (he is now on testosterone shots,which he gives himself every two weeks);and he is on Seroquil (mood inhibitor and antidepressant)which can cause weight gain and possibly diabetes. The second problem is that Rick's blood sugar is high,just below diabetic. Besides the Seroquil being against him in this respect,his mother was also a diabetic. Rick has been on Seroquil now for about four years. It took a while to find the right medication to help,and it was frustrating during the process. However, we understood that the VA was not going to just put him on some heavy duty stuff to start,if something less would work. We didn't want him over medicated,nor did the VA. Finally,the Seroquil was tried,and it seemed to work,so the question then was the dosage per day. He takes 675 mgs a day.

Since his blood sugar is so high,Rick and I began discussing trying another medication.We have batted the idea around in the past,but Rick has always been concerned about trying something else,because the Seroquil works so well,and he was worried about "becoming an asshole again." However,being mindful of his family's history,we figured we would give it try. We made an appt with Dr Hunt,Rick's meds Dr. She suggested Depakote,which is still a mood inhibitor/anti depressant,but it does not have the same side effects as Seroquil does. The only bad thing is they will have to monitor his liver or his kidneys while he is on it. I guess if it's not one thing,it's another when you are dealing with medications.

Yesterday was his first day on the Depakote. He has to take a certain amount for one week,including his regular Seroquil doses.Next week,he ups his Depakote,keeping his Seroquil doses,then the third week,he again ups the Depakote,but starts reducing the Seroquil,and so it goes until he is off the Seroquil completely. This will be a smoother transition than gradually weaning off the Seroquil,then starting up with the Depakote,which will take at least two weeks to get into his system and work effectively. He felt sick yesterday,we think from the new med,so he was not able to work in the kitchen.He spent a good portion of the day in bed,sleeping. While the medication helps with depression and anger,he still gets nightmares,and can get flashbacks,especially when a helicopter flies overhead.He is also still hyper vigilant,though not as bad as he was before he was on the meds. He will have to deal with these issues indefinitely,but he has learned some tools to help when these issues arise so they aren't quite as bad as they could be. Having a dialogue in his head is one,recognizing what he is feeling and why,and how he is not in danger like he was in Iraq.

It was such a lovely day I went to the end of the road and gathered my greens for the window boxes and the wagon out front. I am so very far behind this year,normally everything would be done by now. Since the kitchen was free,I was able to make my orange slice ornaments for the tree. It takes a while,since the oven has to be at low temp. Brother B brought our tree in,so today it will be decorated. Apparently my wreaths,which were in a garbage bag to protect them from dust in the garage,got accidentally thrown out,so I need to buy three wreaths today.I also need to pick up some money cards.I need to do my Christmas cards as well.

Have a fabulous day on this fabulous Planet,where ever you might be!!!!

Kitchen Redo-Appliances Arrive!

2011-12-12T12:10:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was fairly busy. Friday evening,Rick and I went to the premiere of "Besting The Bullies",a movie starring Zach and some of his fellow students. They helped write it,and the cameraman,Mr. Chagnon,runs the Farmington local access channel.It's part of an Enrichment program that they have at school.The premise is art students are being bullied by a fellow classmate,and he winds up stealing their field trip money.He will only give it back if the art students beat his basketball team in a game.The art students practice hard,and the game is close,but they wind up losing.However,the bully sees the error of his ways,and he gives them the money back in the end.

While we were at the premiere, our neighbor Kelly came over and helped install our new water heater. He had to put in a 240 outlet. We now have hotter water than we ever had before,and our electric meter is not spinning like a whirling dervish. I am curious to see how our low our electric bill goes.

Saturday I started putting out my Christmas decorations in the living room. (the photos on the main page of the blog are from last year). Rick sanded the ceiling.He looked like one of those Snow Cap candies,he was so covered with dust. I took a photo of him vacuuming the dust off the ceiling:

He and Brother B also took down the old dry wall from the wall where the stove is going. Kelly came over yet again,and moved the stove outlet to the proper wall. They didn't have the right size wiring at our local hardware store,so Rick and Zach made a trek down to Rochester to Home Depot. While they were there,they also picked up the dry wall for this space. It took them a while,so by the time Kelly moved the outlet,it was too late to do anything else but put in the new insulation.

Photo of the old insulation:

Photo of the new insulation:

Sunday morning we went to pick Zach up at his friend Jake's house. He spent the night and practiced for the talent show at school. Zach is playing electric guitar and I believe Jake is going to play keyboard.They are going to sing/play "Beth," by KISS. After we picked him up,we went to Torr's Tree Farm and got our Christmas tree. I then went down to my Mom's for her 86th birthday lunch. My sister Linda and I started a new tradition last year-take Mom out to lunch,then go to Wentworth's Greenhouse to buy our poinstettas.(sp?) My brother Valmore sends money each year to buy them as our Christmas present. We then went to a couple small shops in Somersworth. It was a lovely afternoon.

While I was gone,Brother B brought Zach down to the Fox Run Mall in Newington so Zach could do his Christmas shopping.Rick put up the drywall,taped,and mudded the stove area.

Today,our new appliances arrived!! The guys from Lowes set the stove and fridge up,and took our old appliances away.They were very nice.

Photo of the wall with new drywall,and the old stove:

Photo of the new stove:

Photo of the old fridge and the wall that needs to be painted:

Our new fridge:

It felt like Christmas Day when they were bringing in the appliances!

Next,the wall needs to be sanded,and the second coat on the ceiling (which was really more of a skim coat) as well. Of course,the appliances will be covered up. Then we can paint,and get the molding up.

We decided to wait until after Christmas to get our new sink cabinet and counter top installed.It's just a wee bit too close to the holiday for my taste to try and get it all in before Christmas Eve.

Have a fabulous day on this fabulous planet!!!!

When It Rains,It Pours...

2011-12-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

Well, things have certainly been interesting around here the last few days.The ceiling is just about done. We got set back a day because we spent it buying a car. My car was a 2002 Impala (which I call the Oompaloompa) and she was very faithful to me. When I bought her in 2006 she had about 50,000 miles. When we parted she had 149,000 miles.Last year to pass inspection,we had to sink about $3,000 into her. Tuesday,we brought her to the local garage for inspection. Well,she needed a new rear bumper,and new rocker panels,which were apparently rusting out from behind,so you couldn't see it. In other words,she needed more work than she was worth. So I looked on online to see what I could find. Happily,I found a 2009 Impala LS (I love Impalas...I mean,Ooompaloompas) that only had 13,000 miles on it,and one owner. It was a great deal.She's a beautiful car,and drives like a dream. So that meant spending money we weren't planning on spending,but instead of getting a loan and paying interest,we are going to pay our savings account back each month.

Then,we needed to fill our oil tank,which,because it's outside,requires a mix so it doesn't freeze up,so that is more than than regular oil and it ran us over $800. Though we don't use the furnace much,we like to have it for really cold nights as a back up.Up until yesterday,the weather has been pretty mild,so our use of wood or furnace had been next to nothing.The last time we filled the tank was January.

Then.....

Yesterday,our water heater died. Apparently,the folks we bought the house from just plugged it in to a 120V outlet,even though the heater was a 240V,which we never noticed.So our electricity has been working doubly hard for 8 years. Thankfully,our neighbor who is going to move our oven outlet knows how to add the proper voltage for the new heater. It has been a mighty expensive week. On top of remodeling!!! I am just thankful that we had enough to take care of everything. It will take awhile to put it all back,but we are determined to build our savings back up.

They say everything happens in threes,right? Hopefully we are all set on that for awhile!!!

Have you had anything like that happen to you? Things are going along smoothly,then all of a sudden,everything around you starts falling apart all at once? I'm good with that for a while,I tell you!

Have a fabulous day on this fabulous planet where ever you are,my friends!!!

New Ceiling Is Up And The Verdict Is In On The Kindle Fire

2011-12-05T09:41:00.000-05:00

The old strapping was taken down,new ones up put up,and the drywall installed. It's almost completely done in this photo.....

.....all up in this one!

Rick tightened up the screws and Zach helped fill the screw holes with mud.Today Rick is going to tape and mud the seams. If it dries fast enough,he will sand and maybe get to put another layer of mud on today. You can see in the above photo that the white beam looks like it's sagging.That's because,like much of house,nothing is plumb. The drywall was laid straight,as it should be,which made the white beam looks more off.You can see the space on the left side of the beam where the drywall meets it,or,should I say,where it's suppose to meet!Rick is going to cut a small piece of dry wall and insert it so the gap is filled. It's always interesting what one will find when doing demo.

Yesterday I was in bed all day with a migraine,which was a bother in itself,but it also meant I had to miss marching in the Rochester Christmas Parade with the Boy Scout Troop.Rick and Zach went,so at least we were represented. I spent the day watching Movies On Demand,as well as some Tudors on my
Kindle Fire. I really like the Kindle Fire. The video quality is fabulous,and the sound is great for a 7" product. The only thing is getting used to using the keyboard. Since I have never texted,or used this type of board before it takes some getting used to . I make a lot of mistakes because my fingers hit the wrong keys!! Otherwise,it's great.The battery life is good, too- I can get about 6 hours before it needs to be charged. If you are considering a Kindle,and want more than just book reading,I highly suggest the Fire.

The Girls haven't been laying at all for the last couple of weeks. We don't have electricity in the garage,so we don't have it in the coop. The shadows in the backyard are longer now,and the sun doesn't rise above the red pines anymore. Even at noon time,the sun is still about a quarter down from the top of the trees,whereas in the summer it is high above them and it 's sunny until about 4:00 around the coop. Now the shade is fairly constant by the coop,and sun sets at 4:30.

Have a fabulous day on this fabulous planet!!!

Kitchen Redo-Demo Begins

2011-12-01T09:02:00.000-05:00

The kitchen demo has begun!!! The Menfolk have been taking down ceiling tiles and pulling off beadboard from the walls. Right now they are measuring for drywall. I hate the mess that drywall makes when it's sanded,but we block off the doorways to the other rooms with blankets so the dust is kept as much to the room that 's being worked on as possible. Yesterday I ordered a new fridge and oven from Lowe's. The fridge was on sale,and we also received a military discount on top of that. I also bought a new cord for the oven,and a water line for the fridge for the ice maker that is in the freezer (it does not have a water dispenser...I didn't see the need for one). The new fridge has the freezer on the bottom. Looking at new fridges,it seems like they all have ice makers in them now. At least,the ones I looked at. I wanted the the freezer on the bottom,so the fridge part could be more eye level. I hate not seeing some leftover food that gets pushed to the back of the bottom shelf. The new fridge is a basic one door,not the french door style. For some reason,I felt crowded in when I opened it. Not sure why,but I didn't like it. Our new stove is an electric,with coil burners.I was considering a flat top stove,but you can't use cast iron cookware on them,and you have to make sure you use cookware with specific bottoms. The only thing we are debating about now is whether or not to buy an over the stove microwave. I want one,but I don't know if we will have enough space. It seems like we need cabinets to attach it to,and the space will be tight. I did see on TV such a microwave just attached to the wall. We would use a carbon filter,no regular vent. I will have to do some more investing.

Before I get into the redo photos,I remembered that I took a photo of the table at Thanksgiving:

I was going to make a centerpiece,but Rick surprised me by bringing one home. I used left over fresh herbs for a little decoration above the plates.

Now some redo photos.......

The horrible tile ceiling that came with the house.......

Looks like this now,minus the strapping.New strapping is going up.The previous owners,who flipped the house,ran this strapping opposite to how it's suppose to be. You can also see where we put a sample of tin back splash to the right of the stove to see how it would look. It's a keeper.

Here is the discolored "beadboard." I put that in quotations because it's basically pressed wood with some sort of white plastic coating. They come in sheets,and you use some sort of seam cover where the sheets meet.You can also see on the tile ceiling where I attempted to clean it,once. No luck. Tile ceilings and wood stoves do not mix well.

Here is what the wall looks like now. All the trim is gone.That will be replaced as well. The area between the door and window is where the stove will go. Rick is going to build a little shelf under the window that can be raised and lowered as needed,so there is a bit of work space right next to the stove.To the right you can see the stove where it is now.We have ordered a cabinet to go in that spot.

While remodeling is a pain,it's wonderful,too.I am so excited to have the kitchen I want!!!

Back To Normal

2011-11-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving went off very well. I was in such a hurry to get all the food out and served while it was hot that I didn't take any photos (sorry,Kymber). Most of the dishes were a success,though I was not fond of the green beans. Everyone else liked them,though. I also think I put too many cranberries in the stuffing,but again,everyone else liked it. I told Rick not to bother making my cake on Thanksgiving,and to wait until Friday,since the few days leading up to Turkey Day were so hectic. My pumpkin pie was delicious,if I do say so myself,and it was gone the next day.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Friday morning I wound up taking Rick to the emergency room.He has a tick bite that is horribly red and has a hard bump under his skin. Since he has had a hole in his heart fixed,has two knee replacements,and an auto immune deficiency (Celiac Disease) he has to be very very careful about infection.They did some blood work to test for Lyme disease,which we should hear about by Weds. They put him on some antibiotics that they give to Lyme disease patients,just in case.He is also taking a probiotic pill to help combat any stomach upset.Thankfully,we were not there very long.

This week we should be starting our kitchen. We need to get strapping,drywall,and mud today or tomorrow.

The Girls have pretty much stopped laying,at least for now. The sun does not get above our tall red pine trees in the back anymore,and the shadows are longer.The change in weather is also a factor,I think. In the last week they have only laid 6 eggs. The last three days they haven't laid any. We have some nice hay in their coop,and we keep the main door closed now because it's chilly. I hated to buy eggs at the supermarket last week. :( It's always such a great feeling to be able to walk by something because we can make it or have an animal who can create it.

Rick finally cleaned up his half of the bedroom yesterday.Now I can walk on his side of the bed. I got sick of the closet in the bathroom,and organized it. We'll see how long it lasts. I am in the mode of tying loose ends-photos that should've been rehung long ago,Rick's flags,etc. He has a shadow box that we bought last year for his military ribbons,etc. He doesn't have all of them. Somewhere in between the sands of time and moving he lost many of his military things (this was before I met him).We have a magazine where what he earned can be ordered,so I told him to circle whatever ribbons/awards he should have,and I will order them.

Most of the snow we got last Wednesday is gone,which is good,because I need to put the cornstalks and pumpkins that are outside into the compost pile,and on a good day I am going to go out back and gather my greenery for decoration. We should be getting our tree in a couple of weeks.

So far I am enjoying my Kindle Fire. It's great!! Yesterday I ordered a case for it and some screen protectors. That's the downside to touch screen-finger prints!!

Have a great day on this fabulous planet!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Besides Christmas,Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It's a wonderful day for spending with family and counting your blessings.

I have many blessings:
-A wonderful husband,who came back to me alive
-A fabulous son
-Wonderful family and friends
-A warm home
-Clothes on my back
-Food on my plate

That's the most that anyone could ask,isn't it? I am mindful that there are many right now who are not so fortunate. Yesterday we donated three turkeys and food baskets to local families who are having a real tough time. We have been there before,and it's not fun. We are keeping those folks and many more like them in our thoughts today,as well as our military who are far from home.Bless them all!

In a little bit I am going to make my stuffing,then put the bird in the oven.My Mom is coming up today for dinner.She is doing great,driving now and therapy is coming along real well.

Thanksgiving Menu

Citrus stuffed turkey with Herbs De Provence (homegrown turkey!)
Venison sausage stuffing (homemade sausage and gluten free bread)
Orange Honey Green Beans (homegrown green beans)
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Olive and cream cheese stuffed celery
Gravy

Pumpkin pie (home made pumpkin and gluten free crust)

Tonight Rick and Zach are going to make me a birthday cake. This year,my birthday happens to fall on Thanksgiving. Great way to begin my 44th year......the Fierce and Forty decade continues!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends out there...where ever you may be!!!!!!!

Making Pumpkin Puree

2011-11-23T08:52:00.000-05:00

Last year was my first year at making homemade pumpkin pie,by which I mean making the pie with pumpkin grown here and not from a can. :)

Pumpkin puree is pretty easy,though it can take a while to make,depending on how many pumpkins you are trying to process at once. I had two Sugar Pumpkins.

1) Wash the pumpkins.Cut the pumpkin into quarters. If you cannot do this yourself(like me) you can enlist the help of a strong man (like me).Then,cut the quarters in half so the sections are smaller.

2)Scoop out the seeds and guts.

3)Fill a microwaveable bowl with about 2" of water,and place as many pumpkin slices as will fit into the bowl.The less you fill it,the quicker the pieces will soften up.

4)Cover the bowl,and put in the microwave on high for about 20 minutes or so.The rind should come off fairly easily. I peeled it off ,or you can use a fork to scrape the flesh away from the rind. Cut the pieces up so they will fit into a food processor.

My food processor suggested level 10,and in no time it was a puree.

It took me about an hour and half to nuke,peel,and puree all the pumpkin pieces I had. As each batch was pureeing,I would weigh out 15 oz batches,since 15 oz is the standard pumpkin pie can size. In all,I made 5 batches,each in their own freezer bag,which I immediately put in the freezer for future use.

Enjoy!

Super Easy Venison Sausage

2011-11-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

Right now the Menfolk are in the middle of the turkey fest. Zach did the dirty deed ("Mumma,you are going to have to use Oxyclean on my clothes,I hit the jugular.")Two are hanging out back,and Rick is plucking one in the garage. I braved the masses and went grocery shopping today,thankfully I went a bit earlier than normal so it wasn't so bad.I got a few small things ready today-cooked my cranberries for the stuffing (actually dressing,but we always call it stuffing),made my cream cheese/olive filling for celery sticks,and made my venison sausage.This was my first attempt at venison sausage,and I must say it came out AWESOME. It's very easy. I got the recipe from Cooks.com.

Deer Breakfast Sausage
1 lb ground venison (no suet)
1 lb ground pork
2 tsp ground sage
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Put venison and pork in a large bowl. Mix the spices together and pour sprinkle over meat. Using your hands,work the meat and spices together until thoroughly combined.Shape into roll,wrap in plastic or foil,and chill overnight in the fridge.Slice and fry as regular sausage.

The only thing I did not do was make the meat into a roll. I cooked some up right away and brought it outside so the Menfolk and The Boy could try it,and they all loved it.Our neighbor,Kelly,was chatting with Brother B,and he loved it as well.He told me to give his wife the recipe. I put the pound of sausage I need for the stuffing in the freezer in a separate freezer bag,and froze the rest together.I wasn't sure how long fresh venison lasts in the fridge,since it had been in our fridge since Saturday. I figured an overnight freeze wouldn't hurt,and tomorrow I will cook up what I need for the stuffing so it will be all set for Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow I will make pumpkin pie with homemade pumpkin puree,iron the tablecloth,wash the glasses and china,dry out the Gluten Free bread for the stuffing,and fill the celery sticks with the cream cheese and olive mixture. Less things to do on Thanksgiving!

Have a lovely day!!!

Let The Harvest Begin (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

2011-11-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

WARNING...GRAPHIC PHOTOS OF DEER BEING SKINNED

Like I mentioned in my earlier post,we got a deer that was hit by a car.He hung over night in our tree in the backyard. Saturday morning,The Menfolk,Zach,and nephew Brody went out hunting,but were not out long.They didn't see any deer,but they did see a mink.

This past weekend was mighty busy,as we planned on having Brody up to hunt,then harvest the turkey that we had sold. Then we got the call about the deer,so that was added to the mix.Saturday-out early hunting,then home to harvest the deer. Some photos of the skinning:

*GRAPHIC PHOTOS*

He let Nephew Brody try his hand at skinning as well,under his guidance:

*END GRAPHIC PHOTOS*

After the deer had been skinned,then the real processing began. We have a food vacuum sealer and that keeps the meat nice and fresh.Thankfully,most of the meat was good and not ruined from the accident. The whole process of skinning,butchering,and processing took about four hours or so. We have medallions,roasts,and steaks. I have meat in the fridge that I am going to make into burger today.

The Men were exhausted by Saturday night.Sunday they harvested the turkey that we sold. We let Nephew Brody harvest the turkey,since it's not something he normally does. Zach,who is our turkey harvester,was fine with it because he knows that he will be helping with the rest this week (he has the whole week off from school).

We don't have any fancy scales,so our method of weighing turkeys is to stand on a regular scale,take note of the persons weight,then put the person on the scale with the turkey.The difference in weight is the weight of the turkey. The one we sold was 19 lbs and a Tom. We did sell it for incredibly cheap,on par with frozen at the supermarket.(a mere .75 cents per lb) We had not been keeping track of feed costs,so we really had nothing to gauge it on. Selling one was last minute decision. Our customer,Stephanie,told me she would like to get one from us next year,and I told her that the price would be much more. She seemed pretty pleased at any rate,which was a good thing.

The rest of the turkeys will be taken care of over the next couple of days. We have one for our neighbor,one for Rick's Dad,one for Brother Dale,one that we are trading for some pig meat,one for us,and three that we are donating with food baskets. We only sold the one.No money making venture this year,which is fine.Next year,we plan on keeping track of costs,buying more and selling some at what the price should be. I don't like the thought of charging people I know,though.It's just who I am.

Our neighbor,Kelly got a call about a hit deer.The Menfolk are going to help him harvest it,and he is going to give us some meat in exchange for the help.So we are going to get more venison!!

There won't be much hunting up until Thanksgiving Day. Everyone is going to be busy.

Today: Menfolk-process Kelly's deer

Me:make fresh pumpkin puree from two Sugar Pumpkins;finish shopping list and food basket list. Make venison burger.Begin cleaning house.

Tuesday:Menfolk/Zach:some hunting in the AM.Begin turkey processing.Shop for food basket items.

Me:Shop for week and Thanksgiving.Make venison sausage.

Zach :Make up the food baskets

Wednesday: Menfolk/Zach:Process more turkeys. Deliver food baskets.Make my Birthday cake(Rick and Zach insist on it)

Me:Iron table cloth,wash china and special glasses/dishes,make gluten free pumpkin pie,stuff turkey with citrus,make venison sausage stuffing,and celery stuffed w/cream cheese and olives.

Plus,there always other goodies that pop up.How do you prepare for Thanksgiving,if you celebrate it?

It's 3:10 AM ....Do You Know Where Your Deer Is?

2011-11-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

Very early this AM at 3:10 (or is it very late at night??)I woke to the sound of our phone ringing. Lately,we have been receiving "Private Caller" calls around 3:00 AM,which have been nothing but beeping noises,much to our annoyance. Usually,when a phone rings in the dead of night (or is it dead of morning??) one assumes it's not good news-something terrible has usually happened,which is why these annoying beeping calls are even more frustrating. I heard Rick answer it,and heard him say," Rt 16? Where?" When I heard this,I knew it wasn't bad news.None of our loved ones would be out and about up here,since none of them live near us.Especially that time of night ( or is it morning???)

A deer had been hit,and we are on a call list for any deer or moose. We have friends in the Middleton Police Dept who have let it be known to other Police Depts in the local area that they can call us any time of the day (or night) when they get a call about dead deer or moose,so we are on their call lists. We don't get them often,but we have a couple of times.

This deer was not far from the house-maybe about 10 minutes down the highway.It was a buck,weighing about 140 lbs.

When Zach woke up,Rick told him we got a deer,and he thought Rick had gone out and shot it. He wasn't fully awake yet,and didn't stop to think that it was still dark out. :)

At first,when Rick and I were first married and he got the same kind of call,I thought it was rather...well...weird getting roadkill. I won't lie. The thought of getting something from the side of the road conjured up images of hillbillies scrounging for food,scraping up possums with a shovel (which I actually saw many years later on "My Big Redneck Wedding"-YUCK!) We weren't hillbillies,and we weren't starving. I mentioned this to Rick,and he replied that we weren't getting an animal that had been there for days.It was fresh,just like he had shot it. Better to get it,and at least not have it's death be in vain,than to just have it rot by the side of the road. Well,that made sense. When I saw the deer,it looked just like it would've looked if it had been hunted. It wasn't gross,and it was fresh. It took a bit,but I got over that mentality.

It's funny that this happened this morning (or is it last night??)because Nephew Brody is coming up after school to spend the night and go hunting with Rick,Brother B,and Zach tomorrow. After Brody gets here,then the deer cutting process will begin. We will vacuum seal the portions. I will actually get to try out my my meat grinder on My Precious (aka the Cuisinart),as well as my sausage maker. They have been lying in their virginal state in a drawer since I got them last year. We are fortunate that they The Menfolk can process and cut up their own deer,and we don't have to bring it to a butcher. I'm not sure if they will cure the pelt or not (another thing that they know how to do).

It's a good thing we invested in a new freezer this past week.

An Early Birthday Present

2011-11-16T09:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday did not begin well. I woke up and the whole house smelled like cat pee. I knew that the litter box needed to be changed,but I couldn't remember if Rick had bought litter on Tuesday.There wasn't any in the house.If he had,no one had changed the box. Rick was snoozing in the living room,but woke when I came in.My first words were,"Phew! The house stinks from the litter box!" To which my not yet awake hubby replied,"Well,why didn't you change it yesterday?" Of course, my mind (which wasn't awake it's self yet) immediately goes on the defensive and my imaginary hackles go up. "Do we have litter? Where is it?" "It's on the porch," he replies. "Fine," I grumble.Now I am completely annoyed.Why didn't he just change the damn litter yesterday? What am I,a mind reader? I look out on the porch,and it's the 35 lb container,which yes, I can lift,but it's still heavy and awkward. So of course, I make a great show of carrying this monstrosity into the house,and I drop it rather loudly on the bathroom floor. "I'll get it,"Rick calls,just as annoyed. "Oh, no,it's apparently my job," I said,snidely. And I so I proceeded to change the litter. I was completely annoyed with Rick for a while afterwards,and he he apologized later. I guess he felt I was blaming him,but I wasn't,I was just commented on what I smelled.I guess it wasn't the best thing to come out of my mouth first thing in the morning. Even we can get snotty with each other once in a while,though it doesn't happen very often.Especially before our first cup of coffee!

That seemed to set the tone for the day-I wound up with a headache,which made me feel real tired and just down in general.

Rick and Brother B went to their Dad's yesterday,then went to do some Christmas shopping in Newington,then went grocery shopping.They were gone quite awhile,which I knew they would be,but they didn't get back until almost 3:00,having left before 9:00. After they unloaded the groceries,Rick told me to put down my crocheting,close my eyes,and hold out my hands. He had Zach put something in my hands,which,I discovered was a Kindle $50 gift card.Rick then gave me something wrapped in his coat."This is an early birthday present,because if you don't like it,it would have to be returned the weekend after Thanksgiving,and since your birthday is on Thanksgiving,it wouldn't give you much time to use it and decide." I took it out of the coat wrapper,and this is what it was:

I had discussed e-readers with Rick on several occasions,and whether or not I would like one. I love reading,always have.I am not as voracious of a reader as I used to be,since life gets in the way,but I still love books.There is nothing like curling up with a good book. E readers would certainly save on storage space,and since we only have so much space,I don't have room for a lot of books.However,I was not sure if I would like the "feel"of an e-reader.

Rick had been thinking about buying one for me for a while,and stopped into Barnes and Noble to check them out. He picked the day that the Kindle Fire came out,(which he had no clue about) so there was a line at the bookstore when they showed up. Rick liked the look of the Fire,and it's capability (music,books,magazines,web browsing) and he liked the touch screen as opposed to the older models. Barnes and Noble had just received the shipment,and they said they were the first store to get them in the state. It came with a free $50 card,which is cool. The only thing was,they were told that we could download books through a USB cord connected to the computer,which we can't.We need WI FI. So they are now down at Staples,getting a WI FI router. In all honesty,we needed one,anyway. Our old computer is in Zach's room,and since we now have high speed and no longer have dial up,we would need a router for him to use his computer. We can also now use Rick's old lap top.

So I have now entered the 21st century regarding reading. I am anxious to begin my e-library! It was a nice early present.

Many Thanks

2011-11-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

I want to send a heartfelt thank you to all my friends who posted such wonderful comments on my Veterans Day post,especially Kymber,who posted a link to my post from hers.(Hope you feel better soon!) I had tears in my eyes as I read them....

One thing that was very exciting was that on Friday our local TV station,WMUR out of Manchester,had a special episode honoring our veterans on their "Chronicle" show. (It's a show all about NH,events,people,history,etc).I entered a photo,and out of the 1,300 + photos they received, one of the ones they chose to air was mine:

Those who have been following me for a while may recognize this photo.It's one of my favorites. This was taken when Rick came home for good. At this point,Rick had been gone a year,and had only been able to come home twice,once in August 2005,and in Dec 2005. This photo was taken in April 2006. Zach insisted on wearing his little desert camo uniform to honor his Dad. I tried to link the Chronicle episode,but for some reason,it wouldn't work. If anyone is so inclined to check it out,it's at WMUR.com,under "Chronicle". It's the Veterans Day Tribute. Rick and Zach are at the 4:04 mark in the second part. The whole episode was nothing but photos...it was very moving,and of course,I cried.

I am still under the weather (going on two weeks,now). My main compliant is a cough,heavy chest,and my head feels fuzzy. Saturday, I had no temp,yesterday it was 99.6,today it's back to normal,go figure! At any rate,it makes me not feel like doing much of anything,and this time of year,it's not a good thing. I have soap to make for gifts,crocheting to do,and laundry soap to make. And I don't feel like doing any of them,but I still try. Yesterday I did cut up my soap that I made last month,did the dishes,and swept. I did do some crocheting,and while I crocheted I watched "The Tudors" marathon on BBC America. Nothing like a little sex and court intrigue when one is not up to snuff!

The Menfolk are out on the mountain,still not having any luck at getting deer. It's amazing,considering the time and effort they put into scouting,etc. The deer are out there,but any time they see one,the trees are too dense to get a good shot off.I'm just glad to see that Rick enjoys the woods again. It took a long while before he could do anything but check to see where snipers might be hiding,and his anxiety would make it impossible for him to enjoy himself. Same with fishing.He would come home frustrated and angry that he could no longer enjoy what he loves to do the most. Now,he still gets some anxiety,but he has the tools to talk himself out of it so he is aware that he is not in danger,and no insurgents are hiding to try and take him out. It took a few years,though.

Our kitchen has not moved forward because of hunting season and because I haven't been up to snuff to keep bugging Rick :) I need to make a decision on appliances,and I haven't been up to deciding. Sigh.

Zach is doing great in school,made the Honor Roll again.He just finished participating in an anti-bullying film in school.

I suppose I should go try and do something. Laundry is calling. I hope you all have a fabulous day on this fabulous Planet!

Happy Veterans Day

2011-11-11T10:21:00.001-05:00

Today we honor those who have protected our freedom. Where Memorial Day honors those who gave the ultimate sacrifice,Veterans Day honors all those who were willing to put their life on the line for us.

As for my family,I have had many who have served: My Dad ( Army, New Guinea,WWII),my brother Valmore (Army, Vietnam),my brother in law,Tom ( Air Force,Vietnam),my brother Dennis ( Sea Bees,Gulf War),my niece Tara (Air Force,OIF),and her hubby Scott (Air Force,OIF), my Uncle Bobby (Army,Korea),and my Uncle Valmore (Army,WW II-killed in Hawaii by someone in his tent cleaning his rifle).Brother B was in the Army National Guard. My father in law,Dick,was in the Coast Guard during the Bay of Pigs. Rick's uncle was a POW in Vietnam.

While my family has had many serve,Rick's family has a long line of military service.His family has been here in the US since the 1620's. They came over from England with the wave of Puritans fleeing for their religious freedom.In fact,he has family members that arrived in Plymouth,MA in the boat after the Mayflower,which was called the Anne.He has had family members who fought in every war since the French and Indian Wars.Some died in war,one at Valley Forge,and a great great grandfather who died in the Civil war at Fredricksburg and is buried in Virginia.

A down time moment at Camp Shelby,MS

When I met Rick,he was already a veteran.He had been in Airborne in the 1980's,stationed in Italy and had been in many "quick" combat missions (which of course,he can't tell me about). I refer to them as "Reagan's Secret Little Wars." He did serve in Nicaragua,which is not a place he remembers with great fondness.

In 2000,he wanted to get back into service,so he joined the National Guard. Then of course, 9/11 happened,and he went to Iraq after doing two tours on Homeland Security at the Air National Guard base down in Newington(Former Pease Air Force Base,now the Pease International Tradeport)

Ready to meet whatever comes his way

Rick was sent to Ramadi,which at the time was the worst place in Iraq. It is located in the Sunni Triangle,or,"The Triangle of Death." It is on a main highway from Syria,where many of the insurgents came from. To quote one solider, "In 2004-2005,Ramadi was the shit." Reporters were rarely allowed into the city because it was so dangerous. Rick became a Scout,which meant he could sneak around gathering intel,or kick in doors and take prisoners. He also called in air support,and was a "long distance problem solver." They were attacked daily,several times a day.He saw combat each day.He took lives. He also helped train the Iraqis,which on more than one occasion, fled when they were attacked,leaving Rick by himself. When they went on patrol in town,he was either on point or in the rear. He did not have the luxury of staying at Forward Operating Base (FOB).He stayed in Outposts in outside of town.They were wooden shacks,no shower,etc. There were those who were at the base who never left it. They were referred to as FOBBITS by those who actually engaged in combat,and it was not a compliment. When there would be hot water at the FOB,it would be gone by the time Rick and his fellow Scouts went to shower,because the officers used it all (who never left the base).

One of the outposts

One of my favorite phots

Before Rick was in the Scouts,he was in a squad that patrolled in Bradleys. He was in the turret quite often.

He was wounded on July 28,2005 in an RPG attack. He spent two weeks at Landstahl in Germany,before being sent to Fort Gordon,GA ( Walter Reed was full) where he was in medhold until April 2006.

Rick home for good!

Of course,that is where our struggle as a family really began-living with PTSD and TBI and dealing with it. It has made us stronger,but it took a toll on our marriage for a few years. His emotional walls were up so high,I could tell as soon as I held him for the first time since he was wounded that he wasn't the same.I could feel it. It took a few years for those walls to come down,thanks to medication and therapy (which he still does) and he is more like his old self. Our connection finally returned three years ago,and it still took a while to get back to where we were even then.

So,while this day is about Veterans and their sacrifices,I want to give a shout out to the families of veterans as well. They cried tears of sorrow,tears of joy,and tears of frustration. There are some whose loved ones are no longer here,and there are those who lost their loved ones due to mental issues and who have seen their marriages crumble. There are those who are caregivers to the physically and mentally disabled,and there are those who are blessed with no issues.Whatever their circumstances,they also deserve to be thought of today.

A couple years ago,we went to Malone,NY to visit the boyhood home of Almanzo Wilder(Laura Ingalls Wilder's hubby). Our tour group consisted of the three of us and a couple from Ontario. The gentleman was a retired member of the Canadian Air Force. Rick thanked him for his service to his country and shook his hand. The gentleman looked taken aback at first,thanked Rick as well,then commented,"It took me 19 years and to have to come to the US before anyone ever thanked me." So...thank you. Thank you to our wonderful Canadian friends up North (hello,Kymber),thank you to all those countries who have sacrificed for the greater good and who have supported the US with your blood,sweat,and tears throughout our history,and of course,thank you to My Fellow Americans. You continue to keep us free. I am humbled and grateful.

Where's My Deer?

2011-11-10T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Menfolk had no luck yesterday,though Brother B did get a shot off at one.However,there were some trees in the way,so the deer was unharmed.They came back to the house a couple of times,and each time I heard them come in the door,I would call out,"Where's my deer?" "Out in the woods,"they would reply. So far, NH has had one hunter killed,and another wounded. We don't have many hunting accidents here in NH,thankfully. What causes these accidents are hunters who shoot at movement.They hear something,get a glimpse of what they think is a deer and they shoot.They don't make sure that it IS a deer.

Today it's foggy and there is a light mist coming down.It is suppose to rain this afternoon,so no hunting today.Rick has had a small fever for a couple of days,which he thanks me for (you're welcome,honey!).Rick will hunt even if he isn't feeling well...he tries to plod right through any illness. I,on the other hand,am down for the count when I am not up to snuff. I have a chest cold,and have been gacking and hacking. My head still feels weird,but my fever is pretty much non existent at 99 degrees.Apparently,this plague stays with folks for a while. People say the start to feel better,then they get set back. Lovely. Hopefully that won't happen to me.

Aside from the basic chores,there hasn't been much else going on. Zach is now the Assistant Patrol leader of his Boy Scout Patrol,so he had his first patrol leader meeting last night.Tonight,he has an Order of the Arrow meeting (OA is like the Honor Society for Boy Scouts). Saturday is our Scouting For Food pick up.

Since Zach has Veterans' Day off tomorrow,he is going hunting with the Menfolk. We would love it if Zach could get a deer.It would be his first one. He also needs to start brushing up on his Scout rank information,since Monday night he has his Scoutmaster Conference for his Star Rank.He will be quizzed on all info he has learned for his Scout,Tenderfoot,Second Class and First Class Ranks.If he passes that,then he will have his Board Of Review,which consists of members of the Troop Committee (Rick and I are not allowed to participate in that,of course).If he passes that, he will get his Star Rank.

I suppose I should get motivated.I hope you all have a lovely day!

Hunting Season Is Nigh....and Those Forgotten Halloween Pics

2011-11-08T09:22:00.000-05:00

Today my fever is down to 99.5,which is good,because tomorrow,come hell or high water,plagues,the sun falling out of the sky,the oceans drying up,or all the volcanoes in the world erupting at once,I am to get up with Zach ,because Rick will not be around.He will be in the woods at O Dark Thirty for the first day of deer hunting season(rifle-muzzleloader season already started,as well as bow season) In our section of NH,it is the only day for either sex. I am hopeful that one of the Menfolk will get a deer. We want to make some sausage,and some venison burger. Brother B was the last to get a deer,three years ago. Last year, they found a great area with good signs,and told a good friend about it. This good friend in turn told his son,who went to this spot,and nabbed a deer.Needless to say,this angered my hubby just a wee bit :) This year,after much scouting and good signs,they are going to keep the info to themselves. Two tree stands are up,and 6 deer trails are visible from the stands. The problem is finding good trails without lots of heavy foliage. We have some areas where the forest is quite thick. The Menfolk have been very vigilant in scouting areas,looking at their their game camera footage,and have actually jumped a few deer. Hopefully they will have good luck this year.

I forgot to post our Halloween photos from out Troop party,so here they are:

I went as a worn out whoopie cushion

Zach went as the "Scream" villian

Rick was the hit of the party,with his gilly suit and glowing eyes...he made a great swamp monster

Hope you have a lovely day on this fabulous Planet!

The Plague Part 2

2011-11-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

Thank you old friends (and new!) for wishing that I get better soon. Saturday I slept most of the day. Yesterday I slept half the day and I had a fever of 100.2. This AM it's down to 100,so I guess I am getting there.I still have aches,scratchy throat,cough,and my headbone feels like it's on another planet. I had a horrible time sleeping last night,and I think it was a combo of the caffeine in the Excedrin Migraine I took around 7:00 PM ( had a horrible,shooting pain from my neck to my temples) and the body aches I was having.Finally, around 2:30 AM,I fell asleep,but it was a rather fitful sleep.

Today I am at trying to sit up for a while (hence,blogging). I am enjoying English muffins with homemade strawberry jam and a nice cup of coffee.(We have to drink 1/2 decaf because of Rick)Yesterday my appetite was not very good,so I wound up nibbling a few times throughout the day. Last night I did enjoy some fresh scrambled eggs and a couple pieces of toast with ginger ale. Needless to say, I did miss my Breakfast Date with My Dear Friend Michelle :(

Our cat Moxie kept me company for most of the day yesterday,and Little O enjoyed sleeping on the cable box because it's nice and warm. Sasha,our little chocolate lab,curled up with me for a while. Zach, bless his heart,came in last night to wish me good night,but he kept his distance "I would give you a hug and a kiss Mumma,but I don't want to get sick." So he gave the air a hug and blew me a good night kiss.

Rick does not like it when I am sick. He says he feels helpless,since there is nothing he can do. It stinks when loved ones are sick,because all you can is wait it out.

It looks like a beautiful day out there today.Hopefully in a few days I will be up to snuff and will be able to get my Halloween decorations down,and I can make my pumpkin puree from our sugar pumpkins.

Enjoy your day!

The Plague

2011-11-05T08:52:00.000-04:00

Well, after a week of my body fighting something,it has finally succumbed. I just didn't feel right,but nothing full blown came out of it,until yesterday.

I have the plague.

Headache,sore throat,achy body,stomach feeling rather on the funky side,cough...yep,I have it.I am suppose to meet My Dear Friend Michelle for breakfast tomorrow. I hope I will feel better by then. I enjoy our girl time. She,like me,lives in a house of testosterone.The only difference is,where I have two adult males and one young'un,she has two young'uns and one adult male.

Today is the day for nighttime cold medicine and bed to try and shake it off. I don't like not feeling well.I always feel like I let my family down. The house is still in somewhat of a messy state from all the work this past week. I guess it will have to sit yet another day.

I will be a good dobee and wash the dishes,at least. Then I am going to guzzle some nighttime cold medicine and call it a day.

Enjoy your day on this lovely planet,where ever you may be!!!

Kitchen Redo-The Floor

2011-11-04T10:01:00.000-04:00

It's been a few days since I have posted,and some of that is due to Zach using my camera for some Computer class thing he was doing,so he had to bring my camera to school. Yes,he does have his own $20 cheapy digital-but apparently it is missing in the mess of his room. I would forget to get it back from him,so....days have gone by. Also,the floor did take some time to prep. The floor leveler would take overnight to dry,then he had to lay down another layer of leveler,then some quick skim in areas.The day the floor was being laid,his helper was sick,so it took a bit longer. Then we decided to put this new flooring in our hallway as well,so there was more continuity,which meant a small area needed to be leveled yet again. At any rate,the project which was started on Saturday finally ended yesterday,Thursday.

Since I didn't have my camera during the day,I couldn't take photos of the actual floor laying,I could only take after photos. We did have to take up the mopboards,but we are going to replace them anyway.They are quite wide. We will put the same size as the ones we put in the living room.

To recap:

Our sad looking floor as she was

Scrape up those tiles!

Getting rid of the slope required two layers of leveler-still a bit of slope,but no where near as bad

Leveler drying and skim areas

Looks like a big piece of cement!

Little Smokey is lost and has no clue as to what it is going on

New floor! View from by the woodstove......

....and view from the sink area

Now we have the fun of putting our appliances back. You can see the stove is back.Rick does not want to move the fridge until we get our new one because he wants to keep moving heavy objects onto the floor at a minimum.(Our fridge is in the living room behind his recliner-convenient for him!)

We are going to invest in stainless steel appliances. If you look to the photo above,you see our stove is not in the ideal position-right under the cabinets. There is nowhere for steam to go except on the under side of the cabinet,which then drips down. Yuck. We are going to put the stove on the wall where our coats are hung,and put a cabinet in the space where the stove is now. Our fridge will go in the spot across from that area,on the other side of the brick chimney (the spot we had it). We are going to build a small closet for our coats,etc next to the fridge,and when our mud room is done next year,we can keep our coats,etc our there,and the closet will be used for mops,ironing board,etc. One of my goals is to have the trash kept out of the way,maybe in an under the counter cabinet...you know,one of those pull out trash bins thingymabobbies. I would also like an over the stove microwave to help save counter space.Did I mention new countertops possibly?

This what needs to be done:
-Pull down ceiling tiles and put up dry wall
-Take down any remaining mopboards and replace
-Take down fake beadboard and replace with drywall
-Take out window where the stove is going? ( Depends on space)
-New appliances (stove,fridge,microwave)
-Possible new counter tops
-New sink with new hardware (pot filler faucet!)
-New closet
-New back splash
-New trim around the windows and doors ( we have some left over from our living room redo)
-New ceiling fan to help disperse the woodstove heat
-New light over the sink
-Paint the kitchen are the same color as the dining area

That's it. :)

Hope your day is going well!!!!!

Halloween Nor'Easter

2011-10-31T08:45:00.000-04:00

Well, this weekend certainly was interesting. Between our flooring getting started to a Halloween snowstorm to my having a migraine for a couple of days,it was different!

Saturday as I mentioned,our friend Brian was here to begin our flooring.He had to lay down a primer then a floor leveler to help smooth out a slope we have.After he left,we kept the wood stove cranking to help dry it out,because we couldn't walk on it until it was whitish gray looking.So,while I could shower,I couldn't change my clothes,because I couldn't get into the bedroom,so I spent the day in my PJ's,which wasn't such a bad deal since I woke up with a headache.So I chilled in my recliner,and crocheted for a while.I had to stop because my eyes got tired,even with my bifocals,and it made my head feel real bad.So I curled up with a pillow.

You can see in the below photo the spots that started drying.It took over 12 hours to dry fully. Brian is coming back today to put some more down.It won't fully take out the slope but it will make it much better.

Saturday Rick was busy getting the snow blower ready,getting gas,making sure we had water,and putting things in the yard away.The snow started around 5:00 PM.By the time I awoke at 8:00 AM on Sunday,the storm was over.We were fortunate that we did not lose power,as many of my fellow NHer's did. We wound up getting over a foot of snow,which was a heavy,wet,snow. Because many of the trees still have leaves,it created more weight,causing many branches to break,which led to the power outages. Our yard was OK,though.

I snapped a few shots on Sunday Morning...through the kitchen window.....

....and off the deck...

It was amazing to see snow on leaves,and some are still green! I have never seen such a snow fall this early. I have seen flurries in early Sept,and maybe quick squall in Oct,but nothing like this.Hello,Climate Change! You may go now :)

I tried to eat breakfast,and did succeed,but my stomach felt funky all day because of my stupid achy head bone. I watched my "John Adams" DVD until noon,then I finally fell asleep until 7:00 PM. I felt better then.Stupid hormones.

I felt bad for Zach last night. Rick brought Zach down to Somersworth for Trick or Treat,but it had been changed to tonight.Tonight is our Boy Scout Troop party,so he won't be able to go,and this was going to be his last year,poor thing.Zach,Rick,and myself are all dressing up,so I will post of photo of us in the next couple of days.

Hope all is well with you where ever you are...hope everyone in New England without power gets it soon!!!

The Kitchen Redo Begins

2011-10-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

We have finally started our kitchen redo. Our friend Brian,who owns Brian's Flooring,is here right now,putting down floor leveler.( We have a prominent slope in one area of the floor). This redo has been two years in the making,mainly because we have either had other things that had to be done,or because Rick's health was not cooperating. However,we are finally putting things into motion.

Our floor is in sad shape. The folks we bought the house from laid down stick tiles,and while it looked nice at first,eight years of wear and tear,heat from the wood stove,boots animals,etc., took their toll:

Lovely,isn't it? Time to go. We are replacing it with a heavy duty laminate wood,which has sticky tabs on each side so the boards are basically stuck together. Normally,we could lay it down ourselves,but since we have never used this type of laminate before,Brian is installing it for us. It costs a bit more than regular laminate wood,but we figure it's worth the investment. We picked a laminate that has the appearance of worn wood. I will take photos of it when it's laid down.

The tiles weren't too bad to scrape off. Don't you love the spot on the door where the paint has been scraped off?That is where Moxie scratches at the door.That is one more spot we will need to repaint :)

Zach was a big help scraping up the tiles. Samson and Smokey made sure that he was doing a good job!

Being in a small house makes renovations more of a challenge. There is not alot of space to put things. We have some things in our bedroom and in our living room. Just part of the fun!!!!

P.U! That floor primer stinks!

My fellow New Englanders are gearing up for a snowstorm tonight. 6"-10" are on it's way. Yikes! Be careful driving,my friends!

Soap and Snow

2011-10-28T09:31:00.000-04:00

Wow,it's already been a week since I posted! Whoops. Some of that was me,some of it was due to the fact that we lost phone and Internet service for a couple of days because the AC adapter that we plug in for the phone/Internet box had exposed wire and stopped working. Our friendly cable guy came and replaced it yesterday. :)

My strawberries,garlic,and carrots have a nice layer of straw on them,which is a good thing,because a few days ago,things looked like this:

This morning,they looked like this:

A bit of snow fell last night,but now that the sun is out,it's already melting. While snow at this time of year is not completely uncommon,it is unusual. It's too early for me!

Earlier this week,I made some hand soap. I wanted to try something different this time around. I did use the same basic ingredients:

You can't see the coconut oil container behind the canola oil,but it's there. The day before I made my soap,I took cinnamon sticks and whole cloves,heated them in the canola oil for while,then put the pan (covered) into the fridge overnight so the cinnamon and clove scent would seep into the oil.

It didn't make an overpowering scent,just a few light one,which was fine,since this was a first attempt. I heated the Crisco and coconut oil over low heat until melted,then strained the canola oil so the cinnamon and cloves were removed. I then poured the canola oil into the Crisco/coconut oil and heated it. I added a few drops of Patchouli oil ( AKA "Dirty Hippie Scent"). The lye was dissolved in water in a separate bowl. When the temperatures of both the oil combo and the lye were around 80-100 degrees,I poured the lye into the oil,then using an old hand held mixer,mixed it until it came to trace,then poured it into my silicone 8x8 pan.

It has been resting now for a few days,so today I will cut it into squares,and let it cure in our bedroom,which is the coolest room in the house. It will cure for a few weeks.

I have the recipe in my Sept 2009 post,Homemade Lye Soap. I tried to put the link in,but it doesn't like me for some reason.

I have been working on my shawl,and it's getting there.Rick's truck is in the shop. He and Zach were out hunting last weekend on Youth Weekend (no adults are allowed to hunt,only kids under 16 with a licensed hunter) and he heard a CLUNK in the back of the truck. Come to find out,the U joints need to be replaced. Bummer. They didn't get anything either all weekend. Double bummer.Tonight Zach has a Halloween dance and he is going as the slasher from the Scream movies. Monday is our Troop Halloween party,and Rick and I have our costumes,but we aren't telling what we are going as yet. :)

Have a fabulous day where ever you might be!

Garlic and Onions Learning Curve

2011-10-21T12:05:00.000-04:00

Today is overcast and chilly,the kind of Fall day when one looks at the gray clouds and thinks,"Hmm...looks like rain or snow flurries." You know it's not quite cold enough for snow,but man..those clouds make you think it.

Today was garlic planting day. This is our first attempt at garlic. We have been given bulbs in the past to plant. We have never actually done it,but we have enjoyed them in our meals! This year,our neighbor gave us quite a few bulbs and cloves,and I was determined that I was going to plant at least some of them. I decided to plant about 10 cloves in a couple of places. I have an eco box that I planted 5 in after I moved it a nice sunny spot.

One does not plant the whole bulb,but plants the separate cloves that form the bulb.The pointy side of the clove must be facing up,though this photo doesn't show it..

Since we live in zone 5A,we have to plant the cloves at least 3"-5" into the soil,and if you are making rows,they need to be about 18" apart.I only planted a single row.I then planted 5 more in the box I had the beets and peas in. I need to water them for the next three days,and will have to cover them with mulch before too long.We haven't had a frost yet here,which is amazing!We usually have had one by now,though other parts of the state have seen one.

The next thing I did was clean out my onion bed.I left my onions right where they were,in the soil,even after their stalks had dried up and turned brown. Some of the onions didn't reach this stage,so I think my thought process was just to leave everything be until they all were ready. That was my bad,because some of the onions started to regrow green stalks! I wound up having some that were not good-if I could smush the onion in between my fingers,forget it. My red onions turned out to be much hardier than the white ones. I placed them on our drying screen/compost sifter,and put this in our mudroom.Now it smells like "Eau de Onion" out there!

One thing I did learn was that I need to space my onions more,or build a bigger box for them. Most of the onions came out rather small,but they are still good!

Tonight we are having spaghetti and homemade sauce,which hopefully will come out fabulous with homegrown ingredients (tomatoes,herbs).I am going to make enough so I can freeze some for future spaghetti nights. Last night we enjoyed homemade crock pot chili,gluten free cornbread,and homemade chocolate fudge for dessert. Rick took one bite of the chili,and said,"You have done me proud yet again,Woman." :)

Our AC's have finally been taken out of the windows....our list is getting smaller and smaller....finally!

Ahhhhh......

2011-10-20T13:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday,as I mentioned,it was quite a raw,dreary day. It rained off and on a bit,but the boys were able to put more wood on the porch,and put our flagpole back up.(It had been knocked down during Irene by a branch). When it was time to get Zach off the bus,the rain became steady. Now,the bus stop is right in front of our house,and technically,we don't need to get Zach on or off the bus,but we have been doing it since he was in First grade.I imagine at some point he will tell us to stop,but until then,we like standing there,waiting for him to arrive. Even if it means standing in the rain. Now that's love! ;)

When the rain came,the air became even more raw and chilly. Even the inside of the house felt that way. I voiced my opinion as such:"I think we need to start the wood stove and get the chill out." Now,we always try to hold off as long as can we when starting the heat,and I figured we were pretty good this year. Last year it was started at the end of September. Of course, the men gave me a hard time about it (kidding,of course),but it was started.

Rick cleaning the glass of the wood stove so we had a great view of the flames

Stocking the stove with kindling and newspapers

It's starting...come on,you can do it........

Ahhhh.....Heaven!!!

It was wonderful to feel the wood heat.There is nothing like it in the world! Anyone else start their wood stoves yet,or are you all being good? :)

Fall Decorating

2011-10-19T11:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday after I went grocery shopping,I went out for some pumpkins and mums. Since I was in the vicinity, I went to WalMart,and that was my mistake. I should've gone to the garden center up the road.Though I did get three nice pumpkins,their mums were all quite sad looking,except for one that was decent. I was going to go to the garden center today to get a couple hanging mums for my hangers by the road and for the ones on either side of our door. And maybe a couple small ones for random placement. I decorated in the afternoon,and was going to wait to take pics until my mums were in place.This morning,however,it began to rain.Since I have a spiders web outside,I know what happens when it rains. It sags and looks horrible...and if it it's windy,it will be bogged with leaves. I figured I better get outside and take photos...mums or not.

Our old Cub Scout chuck wagon filled with corn stalks..with a headless passenger!

View from the street

Spider web

View from the street

Molly Bruce checking out the front steps

I have my Pumpkin candle burning,and it smells sooo nice. Pandora is playing my Glenn Miller station ( I LOVE 1940's swing music),and the house is nice and cozy.There is a roaster chicken,potatoes,and carrots in the crockpot for supper...yep,life is Good!Hope life is as equally good for you where ever on this lovely Planet you are!!!

A Bit of Touch Up

2011-10-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

One of the projects that we are putting off until next year is our screen porch,or what we call the mud room.We would like to weatherproof it so we can hang our coats,keep our shoes,etc,out there. It is not attached to the house,meaning that there is a space between the wall of the house and the roof of the mudroom,so when it rains and snows...it rains and snows in the mud room. We have no glass in the windows,only screens (hence,screen porch,right?!)so when the weather gets colder we put plastic up over the windows so blowing snow doesn't get in. Our goal is to attach it properly to the house,jack it up so it's level (it's starting to lean),insulate it,put in dry wall,and regular windows. The whole kit and kaboodle. With this will come new stairs.

Since we just decided a month or so ago that we will have to wait on this endeavor,I decided to at least give our sad looking stairs a coat of paint. All the paint had pretty much worn off,and because they are in the shade about 99% of the time,a lovely green growth had starting growing on them (Actually,we have this issue with other parts of the house as well). I like to decorate around my steps in the fall,and in the winter too,but with such sad looking steps...well,I had had it. We bought a gallon of porch paint,put some paint sand in it so there is a bit of grit,and went to work.

Sad looking,huh?

Ah....much better!

The only thing now about having a painted porch is that our house,which also needs painting,looks like it needs painting even more! :)

. Maybe I will get my mums today.....

Sunday Doings

2011-10-17T09:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a great day to work outside.It was cool enough to put on a sweatshirt,but once you got working and warmed up,you had to take the sweatshirt off...until you stopped working long enough to cool down,then you had to put it back on again. Perfect! I love when all of us are working outside.Even if we are working on different chores,it's all for the same goal... in this case,getting ready for winter.

Zach was a big help.He cleaned out the bed of Rick's truck,then helped me in the garden. He pulled the tomato plants while I pulled up the nubbins left from the corn stalks getting cut down.My green beans also went bye bye. I did leave my carrots and onions,though. The carrots I will grow through the winter and I will just cover them the hay (though I don't have enough to last through winter). While Zach was pulling up the tomatoes,he stopped,and asked me,"Doesn't it suck to have all your hard work just yanked up?" "Yes," I replied. What we didn't give to the chickens and turkeys,we dumped into the compost pile. At least it will give back in the form of black gold!

After Zach helped me,he helped Rick make some kindling and he emptied out the water barrels. They need to be given a good cleaning and put away for the winter.

Making kindling

Bringing the kindling into the mudroom

Our poor garden.You can see the carrots and onions nice and green in the back.Corn stalks are drying out from all the rain we had this week so I can bundle them to make more decorations

Our water barrels being drained

Sugar pumpkin

Our wagon waiting for mums,hay,and pumpkins amid fallen leaves

The turkeys were watching us clean the garden beds.......

.......The girls were not as interested,however

Rick resting with his little buddy,Smokey

Moxie and Little O taking a snooze.It's tiring being a cat! :)

Girl Time

2011-10-16T10:26:00.001-04:00

I have finally started to feel better.Whatever it is is still lingering,but I have felt up to snuff enough to visit my Mom and take her to her Dr appt. They removed her staples and were very impressed with her progress. I imagine most 85 year olds do not do as well,but they are not my Mom! Now they want her to take off her sling,starting with a few moments a day,and work her elbow,because she can't straighten her arm yet.Being in the sling for over a month,that happens. Her visiting nurses and therapists will no longer go to the house,and she will be going to therapy in Rochester.

Yesterday was a lovely day.My Dear Friend Michelle and I were able to share some real girl time-with pedicures.Last year we decided that our birthday gift to each other would be pedicures and either breakfast or lunch,depending on what time the appt was,or what our schedules were. We decided this would be our annual gift,and we would work it in between our birthdays-she is in July,and I am coming up in November. She is a very busy lady,with two boys,one whom she homeschools (soon to be two)and a hubby who leaves for periods of time for the Air National Guard,so this year our pedicure was closer to my birthday than hers.There is also soccer,Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts,and volunteering one day a week at the library.... how she does it all, I don't know.Plus she gets up and goes to work out at the gym at 5:00 AM! Bless her heart,she is a far better woman than I,and quite an inspiration! :) (Hi,Dear Friend!)

Anyhoo,we had a great hearty breakfast at The Farmer's Kitchen on Rt 11. We relaxed and enjoyed our omelets,toast,homefries,and tea.It was a busy Saturday morning,but we had some time to kill after we finished our meal,so we just sat,drank tea,and chatted. We then went to Studio 359 on Main St in Farmington for our pedicures. I wanted something to go with the time of the year,so I picked a pretty orange/copper polish:

I love pedicures,and this birthday treat is the only one I get. It's a great way to be pampered.

Yesterday,the boys went hunting for the day. They planned on bringing nephew Brody up and spending the day in the woods. I felt bad,because Wednesday we were told that our Troop would be selling popcorn at the mall on Saturday,but this had been planned long before,and both Zach and Brody were quite excited.(Brody is Brother Dale's son.He's 14,about a year and half older than Zach). They didn't see much,though.It was quite windy outside,and though Zach did get a shot off at a red squirrel,he missed. Wiley little suckers! When they came back at 3:00 PM,both the boys were tired. Brother B reported that when he dropped Brody back off at home,he laid down on the couch,exhausted. Zach was sleeping when supper was ready.Lots of fresh air will do that...it's good for them! Better than sitting in front of a computer or playing video games.There will be plenty of time for that when the snow flies.

Last year,we threw some gourds into our compost pile,and this year,we found these:

No buying gourds! I still haven't been out to buy Mums.It rained for a good part of the week,plus with me not feeling up to par,it didn't get done. It should be done soon,hopefully this week,as long as the weather holds.I love decorating for Fall.

Chilly and Gray

2011-10-12T10:00:00.001-04:00

This morning is very gray and a bit chilly.Rain is on it's way. The leaves are falling from the trees,though you can't see it in this photo I took from our deck this morning. You can see the gray ribbon of our road through the trees.Kings Highway is misleading,as our road is a basic country road.It meanders from Middleton,through New Durham,and ends in Wolfboro,which is the oldest summer resort town in America.It's very pretty year round.

Yesterday Rick discovered another dead turkey. This one had an obvious beak sized hole in it's head all the way to it's skull. Apparently our Toms have been having duels to the death.

Brother B cut down my corn stalks,so yesterday I gathered some up and used them to decorate the front yard.Tomorrow I am going to get some mums,and when it's all finished I will post some pics. The photos I have on my home page are from last year.

Apparently,our septic was not full. There was a baffle that got messed up which caused some nastiness to get caught up by the lid and not flow like it should. The septic guy pumped the tank,and told us to just bang the baffle back. Which we did. Now things flush like they should,and there is nothing nasty coming up into the tub anymore.

I was going to paint our steps and door today,but the weather is too damp and rain may fall at anytime. This weekend is going to be nice,so I will do it then. Rick started making kindling yesterday.I have a thing about having kindling. It's a pain to start up a woodstove first thing in the morning when there are no coals left in it,and I wind up using waaay too many pieces of newspaper.Rick teases me about my insistence on kindling,but I think it's a big help.The mud room needs to be cleaned out and some of the wood needs to be stacked on it.This way,we are not running out to the woodpile that often.We do have a woodring that we can stack about 10 pieces of wood in near the stove.When we need more,we can just walk onto the porch. It's quite handy. I reminded him that this all should be done soon.The weather has been so glorious that we haven't had to start the woodstove yet,and have only had to turn on the furnace once briefly to get the chill out.However,we are heading into the middle of October,so the temperatures will start to be in the 50's-60's on average pretty soon.

Rick and Brother B have gone hunting out in our neighbors' back 40. Rick likes to begin his day hunting,and it's good for him to be out in the woods. It took a long time for him to feel comfortable in the woods again,and of course,with his knees being bad for so long,he was always in pain so he couldn't enjoy it. I do admit that hearing about hunting,weapons,and seeing hunting shows get a wee bit old for me.I had to remind him the other day that he does have priorities here,and hunting,while it can put food on our table that we don't have to go to the store and buy,is not a priority. The month is moving along quickly,and there are things that need to get done before we can start on our kitchen.He understood and only goes hunting early morning now and early evening. He could spend all day in the woods if there was nothing else going on! :)

That's it from Middleton NH. I hope all is well in your neck of this beautiful planet we call Home!

If It's Not One Thing,It's More Things

2011-10-11T08:26:00.000-04:00

Our lawn mower has been giving us issues.First,we thought the carburetor needed cleaning. Then,it needed a gear in the starter. Now it's the starter. We had to borrow a mower to get our grass mowed,though it will probably be the last time it gets done this year. Hopefully our neighbor can rebuild our starter for us,otherwise it will be a new mower for us next year.

Rick went out to the turkey cage a couple days ago to feed and water them,when he noticed one of the turkeys dead by the door of the cage. There was no sign of predators making their way into the cage,so we are mystified as to why one would just drop dead. Hmmm.

This morning I was awoken by these words :"Our toilet is backed up and it's backed up into the tub." Ugh. Lovely. Brother B and Rick went outside to check the septic and it is full. When we had it pumped last year,the septic company told us that it looked like water was leaking into the septic from the leach field,and that we would have to have our septic pumped each year. Of course,it was one of those things that you know you have to do,but keep forgetting...until nastiness starts coming out of your tub.Fortunately,our neighbor Kelly is licensed to fix leach fields,so we will have to have him check it out for us. We called the septic pumping company and left a message for them.

It always seems like when one thing goes wrong,there is a ripple effect,doesn't it? However,that is the way life is.Some things you can control,some you can't. You have ups and downs,and the downs make you appreciate the ups that much more. Life is rarely on an even keel. We have learned to accept that it's just the way it is. Lawn mower not working? Annoying,but not the end of the world. Turkey dying? Mystifying,but that's the way nature works sometimes. Toilet back up? Our own damn fault for not getting the septic pumped earlier.

I am glad that I am feeling better. Yesterday I went out and pulled my dead tomato plants,though I still have couple that have green tomatoes on them.I didn't have the energy to chop down my cornstalks,so Brother B did that for me. Today I will use them for fall decoration. We didn't get much corn (barely any),but at least I don't have to buy stalks this year. My pumpkins weren't as fruitful as last year,so I will have to go to one of our local farms for some big boys for carving,and for some Sugar pumpkins so I can make pumpkin puree. Last year I made my first pumpkin pie from our pumpkins,and it was great. I will never buy canned pumpkin again. As Ma Ingalls said,"There's no great loss without some small gain."

What's On My Needles

2011-10-09T10:37:00.000-04:00

Day Two of The Plague...today I am not quite so achy,but my headbone in feeling rather fuzzy.Looks like it's another day to lay low. Since I wasn't up to snuff to do much yesterday ( a pattern that apparently will be continued into today) I spent the day curled up in my recliner with a blanket,a pillow,and my crocheting.

I started teaching myself how to crochet a few weeks ago,and I must admit that so far I enjoy it more than knitting.My first project is a Friendship Shawl:

Of late I am fascinated with shawls. I started loving them watching my "Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman" DVD's. I noticed the wonderful patterns on the shawls,and thought they were gorgeous.How wonderful to be able to create something like that! I went on line and looked up various patterns on various sites,and put the ones I liked the best under My Favorites file. Some of the instructions aren't the best,and thankfully I have my sister Linda to help guide me through some tough spots. Others were just trial,error,and redo. I have started and restarted this shawl about eight times.Videos on line have also helped,especially when figuring out shell stitches. Shell 5 in three ch space was confusing until I saw it online.

The second thing on my needles is the second sock in the pair I am making for Brother B:

As you can see, I haven't gotten too far with the second sock because I am all into the shawl,but I have assured Brother B that he will get his sock before there is too much snow on the ground! :)

Today is another lovely day,and I am not happy that I am still under the weather. Days like this will be few and far between pretty soon. Why couldn't I get this when it's zero outside and there is snow on the ground? Sigh.

Blah

2011-10-08T09:46:00.000-04:00

Today is blah. I am coming down with something that has been going around.I am achy,my head hurts,my nose has started to run and I have a small cough. Of course, it would have to be on the loveliest weekend we have had in a long time,and when I need to clean out my garden. Tomorrow we were planning on going up to Sandwich for the fair. If the boys want to go,they can,but they will have to go without me,I'm afraid. Boooooooooo :(

This year our foliage is s-l-o-w. Last year, in late September,it was glorious!

This year,this tree is still mostly green,with only a handful of leaves turned. We think it's because it was such a wet Spring.Usually by now peak foliage has passed. This year,they are saying that peak will be in mid October. There is nothing I like better than walking in the woods during foliage season (wearing blaze orange,of course).The sunlight shining through the trees,making the yellow,red,and oranges bright against a blue Fall sky can make anyone smile and be content.

We made a Fall list of to-do's-
1)Clean out the garden beds
2)Fix the mower and give the yard one final good mow
3)Winterize the pool
4)Clean off the mud room and stack wood there
5)Chop kindling
6)Clean up the yard of tools,woodsplitters,etc
7)Drain and clean the rain barrels
8)Prune the apple tree
9)Paint the front door and steps
10)Put away the AC's
11)Begin kitchen redo

There were other things on our list that we wanted to do this year,but decided to put off until next Spring:
1)New deck
2)Weatherize the mud room. It's not fully attached to the house,so when it rains,it drips into the room in between the house and the mudroom walls. We only have screens,no glass windows. I'd like to make this an actual room so we can keep our coats,etc out there without them getting wet.We do put plastic up over the windows and door in the winter time.
3)New front porch and door
4)New roof (metal)
5)Paint the house

It never seems to end,does it? I am not complaining,though.I am very thankful that we have a house!

My Mom is doing very well. She is glad to be at home and is now able to shower. I was suppose to go to her house to bring her to the bank and a bit of grocery shopping today,but I can't,so Rick and Zach are going to help her out. He is going to fix the starter on the riding mower when he gets home. Brother B is out helping a friend of his with some beam work.

I can't believe how gorgeous it is today! I hope all is well in your neck of the world :)

Meeting The Author Of Mini Farming: Self Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre

2011-10-06T09:20:00.000-04:00

Last night was our monthly Gardeners Roundtable. I have mentioned it here once or twice. We discuss a myriad of subjects:gardening (obviously),composting,canning,chickens,and other self sufficiency topics.

Sometimes we have guest speakers,and last night our speaker was Brett Markham,who with his wife own Markham Farm in New Ipswich,NH. New Ipswich is south west of us,near the MA border.Stephanie Piro,who organizes the meetings (and who is a cartoonist who does some pics for the "Chicken Soup For the"..... series)mentioned his book "Mini Farming Self Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre" at our Sept meeting. It sounded intriguing,as we only have .68 acres,and that he is a fellow Granite Stater. I ordered the book on Amazon a couple days after that meeting.

It was nice to read a book by an author who is in the same state,let alone the same hardiness zone (5a).
He discusses raised beds,soil composition,composting,seed starting,extending seasons,raising chickens,and other related topics.

Last night,he discusses how growing your own helps save money and creates healthier people. He used the example of large agri-business.They are in it for profit,so they use various non organic things such as certain weed killers,fertilizers,etc.This is cost efficient for them,but not necessarily in the best interest of people. By growing our own food,we control what we use in our gardens, what goes into our bodies,and we know it will be healthy. Cost effective,and health effective.

Most of the meeting was question and answer . A good portion of it was regarding his compost system. He uses what he describes as "fairly controversial"- thermophilic composting,or hot composting. He composts everything-chicken guts, chicken feet,things from his garden,etc.He says that by the compost reaching 140 degrees,this kills off anything nasty,because nothing can bad can survive in 140 degrees. He says this has worked great for him. We compost as well,but we don't compost animal parts.

He talked about how he grew up on a farm in southwestern Virginia. His grandfather didn't have a drivers license,and they were waaaaayyy out in the middle of nowhere,so they ate what they grew. Family members all shared one big piece of land,each with their own house. It was like that with their neighbors as well. It was a community. If one had something,they all had it. People worked together. It reminded me of what Shannon Hayes wrote in "Radical Homemakers."( If you haven't read it,you should.It really opened my eyes) The function of the family was as producers,not consumers. They produced what they needed,and shared it with each other,either by bartering,selling,or just giving.They helped each other out. Someone needed food,and folks helped. There was no need for welfare.Times have changed. Too many folks are self centered and don't care about who their neighbor is or what plight they may be suffering.Today it's "what can I buy and how much of it" and "screw everyone else."

Mark was very open and friendly. He spoke in terms we could understand. We have had speakers that get so clinical that my eyes glaze over and after a few minutes it's all gibberish.His book is very easy to understand as well. He had his books for sale and we could have him autograph them if we wished. I had him sign mine,and thanked him for joining us. He has three more books coming out next year.I am sure they will just as informative.

Surprise,Surprise!!!!

2011-10-03T09:05:00.000-04:00

Friday was the day of our mystery date,and it was gorgeous! The sun was shining,and temps were in the 70's. We had rain the day before,so I figured this was a good omen.

Rick informed me that I may want to wear something somewhat nice for lunch.Hmm. Well,considering none of my dress pants fit anymore (cough) I wore a nice blouse,my best jeans,and some brown loafers. What about dinner? He was pretty dismissive. Aren't we going to eat somewhere? "We might get room service,"he replied. "Make sure you have comfortable shoes." I packed my sneakers.

I am not used to being kept in the dark about ANYTHING. It's not in my nature to have no clue about what's going on around me.However,it seemed like I was the only person in the whole world who didn't know what was going on.( of course, that's just a slight exaggeration :) ) My friends knew. Zach and Brother B knew. Everyone did a great job keeping things quiet,I must say.

I had a feeling I knew what it was. I thought he was going to bring me to Portsmouth,to the Holiday Inn,to the room where I was staying when we had our first date. I thought he would bring me to tour Strawberry Banke (one of the oldest sections of Portsmouth),and have lunch at the River House.

I was waaay off.

At first,I thought I was right,because we were heading south on the Spaulding Turnpike. "We are going to Portsmouth!" I announced. Rick looked at me with a small,sly smile and said,"Are you sure?" "Yes,"I said. "Where else would it be?" Well, when he turned like we were going to his Dad's,I started getting confused. Maybe he's taking an alternate route to throw me off,I thought. His Dad lives in North Hampton,south of Portsmouth. We drove past his Dad's. Now I am really messed up. Where is bringing me? I wondered. We go through Hampton,and wind up at Hampton Beach,where Rick had proposed to me. Hmmm.

We pull up in front of Ashworth By The Sea,which is the nicest hotel in Hampton,and probably the oldest. "We are staying here," Rick informed me."Maybe they will let us check in early." Happily,the room was ready and we could,indeed,check in early,which was nice. We went up to the room,and we had a balcony view.

The statue is a tribute to all the New Hampshire sailors who died at sea in service of our country. The side facing this way has all their names engraved on it.It was a lovely view.

It was a nice,clean room. I loved the fact that we could hear the ocean. After we got settled in,Rick handed me a card. He had given me a funny one for our Anniversary,saying that he had a more serious one that he was going to give me on our trip.It felt thick. I opened it up,and read it. It was a lovely card,saying how happy and proud he was that I am his wife. However,there was something taped underneath the paper with the verse on it. I opened it,and lo and behold,there were two tickets for The B-52's at Club Casino! It had been so long since we had seen a concert. I was excited. How can one not have a good time at a B-52's concert? "We can have supper there,"he told me."That's why I didn't say too much about supper."

We went downstairs for lunch in the lovely dining room. Rick had shrimp cocktail and broiled seafood.I had chicken quesadillas (sp?) and iceberg wedge salad.I even had a glass of wine. After lunch,we changed our clothes,and went for a walk.Many of the shops were closed,but the best part was walking on the beach.It was high tide,and there was one person in the water. A few folks were just soaking up the rays,but it wasn't busy by any means.

Club Casino has been in operation since the early 1900's. The name is misleading,because there is no casino.It uses the old term of casino,roughly translated as entertainment. When it opened,it was used for Vaudeville acts. In the forties,Big Band acts such as Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman performed there. Later,it became a haven for rock and roll-The Doors,The Grateful Dead,Led Zeppelin,Jethro Tull,U2,etc played there. Comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld and George Carlin also graced it's stage. It's a smallish venue,with a max of about 1,000 people. I like it,because though it's long,it's not that wide. The back of the room is maybe 30 yards from the stage,so you can get a great view no matter where you are.The last time we were there (2003) they had reserved seating on the floor in front of the stage,then the back area was general admission. I don't know whether this had been changed for all bands,but the floor was clear,and the only tables and chairs were in the back. The doors opened at 6:00 (show started at 8:00).We walked from the hotel and got there at 6:30. There were no tables left,so we sat along the back wall where they had a bar running the length of the seating area.

One of the fun things about concerts is the people watching. I was pleased to see the majority of the audience was middle aged,like us.Some ladies were dressed,shall we say,a bit young for their age. Rick and I kept saying about these ladies"Your too old,let go,it's over." (to borrow a phrase from Eminem).We even saw Elvis (yes someone was dressed like white jumpsuit era Elvis)

The opening act was a band called Sidewalk Driver. The singer had on a white cape ,bald head,and a tiny top hot,which shot glitter and streamers out of it later in the evening. They were from Boston,and they were quite good. Rick bought their CD later that evening. They reminded us of a cross between The Knack and April Wine.

Then,The B-52's took the stage,and they rocked!!!

This is a clip that Zach found on You Tube.The sound quality is poor,and I'm not sure if it will work.It was taken from the floor of the Casino.

They put on a great show. Anyone who hears Fred Schneider singing and doesn't get a smile on their face doesn't know how to have fun! It was great to see a mob of middle age people crouching down during "Rock Lobster" and jump back up ( 'Rock Lobster...down....down....). I didn't see any fish out of water flopping on the floor like in high school,though.Then again,there wasn't enough room to do that,even if one wanted to. I haven't danced that much in years!!!! They played for about an hour,and we were back at the hotel around 10:30.

The next morning,after breakfast,we were getting ready to check out,and tour buses showed up. The band must've stayed there overnight. I had to take a photo as we were getting into the truck to leave:

It was a rainy,gray day,but the day before had been perfect.Zach loved his B-52's T shirt we bought him( cost a wee bit more than when I bought concert shirts in high school!) and he wants to go to a concert. Maybe next summer.

It was a great time,and a fabulous surprise. Rick did a great job pulling it off!!!!

Mystery Date

2011-09-30T07:35:00.000-04:00

( I apologize for the way the photo was scanned-I can't figure out how to scan it so it fills the proper space!)

Rick and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on Sept 27. The day of our wedding was gorgeous. It would've been my Dad's 83rd birthday as well,but he had passed away in 1990,7 years earlier. I knew the blue sky and brilliant sun was his way of sending his approval.He would've loved Rick. Rick and I had both been married before,so we both agreed we just wanted a small ceremony.It was held at my Mom 's house.Actually,the ceremony was in her next door neighbors yard,because we loved the tree.Her daughter,a justice of the peace,married us.

Those of you who have been following this blog know that Rick and I have been through alot since he was wounded in Iraq in 2005. Our marriage took quite a hit for awhile,but together we worked through it,and it has made us stronger.

My darling hubby decided that he wanted to do something special for this anniversary. He informed me that he was taking me somewhere overnight,but couldn't do so until Sept 30th (today). All I know is that he told me to "pack casual and wear sneakers." Hmmm. He has been teasing me all week-" Are you thinking about where we might go?" "We are going to have so much fun!" Last night,though,he voiced some concern," I hope you are not disappointed."

First of all,I am not expecting an overnight in a penthouse.I do have some thoughts about where he may take me,but I have no set expectations. In all honesty,even if it was tenting somewhere and doing some walking the woods I would be quite happy. The point is that he has done this,all by himself,for me. If this was a few years ago,he would not have been able to do it. His emotional walls were too far up,and I don't think he would've considered doing this.I am not saying he didn't love me,but being in war makes you shut down emotionally,because there is no place in combat for emotion.You see horrible things,you have to take life,and if you stop and absorb it,you could be putting your fellow soldiers and yourself in danger.

He made sure I didn't get the mail until he recieved some form of confirmation from where ever we are going. He hid the envelope from me. If he was on certain websites he would tell me not to come in the room,or to let him know I was coming in the room so he could block the screen. Sneaky little devil!!!

So today, I am going on an overnight mystery date. It could be down to Portsmouth,on the ocean,with a nice tour of Strawberry Banke and some window shopping. Maybe he will take me to lunch at the Rusty Hammer,where we had our first date. It could be up north to the White Mountains for some foliage hiking.Whatever it is,it's going to be wonderful!

How I Saved Over $200

2011-09-29T09:46:00.001-04:00

I began making my own laundry soap on Sept 5,2009.Why I remember this is because I have kept track of when I make the soap,and how much I have spent on the ingredients so I could see how much I saved.

When I purchased my items,though,I failed to mark down how much they were. Last week when I was shopping I wrote down the prices to use a guide.

My first initial purchase:
2 bars Fels Naptha soap @ .99 cents apiece= $1.98
One box Arm and Hammer Washing Soda= $2.69
One box of Borax= $3.69
-----------------------------------------------
Total spent= $8.36

Until then I had been buying Purex,which costs $4.49 for 2 qt,8 oz (I averaged it to 2 qts to make it easier to figure out).

Each batch I make is 2 gallons,which means I would have to purchase four Purex to equal 2 gallons (remember,I'm rounding down,here).

I have made 12 batches of soap since 9/09,and have only had to purchase two more bars of Fels Naptha since then,making my investment to date at $10.34,which averages to $.86 cents for every two gallon batch.

Now, if I had continued to use the Purex,I would've had to buy 48 jugs to equal 24 gallons,which would cost $215.52
Purex-$215.52
- My soap-$10.34
-----------------------
=$205.18
That'a a great savings! It also lessens the amount of plastic jugs hitting the landfill.

Homemade Apple Cider

2011-09-28T14:12:00.001-04:00

First,thanks to all of you who sent good wishes and warm thoughts for my Mom.Her surgery went great and she should be going home tomorrow. She will have visiting nurses and a physical therapist go to the house. She refused to go to rehab,preferring to be in her own home,in her own surroundings. I think it helps heal faster.

Now that we have 28 lbs of apples,the first thing we said was,"OK,now what do we do with them?" Rick made a couple of wonderful pies with Gluten Free crust. I wanted to try apple cider, but we don't own a press. Could I make it without the press? I wondered. Surely I could find something on the internet.

I sure did!Several variations,in fact.

Homemade Apple Cider

I used about 25 apples. The norm seems to be 36 large apples for one gallon of cider.Our apples all came out rather small,so I knew I wouldn't get anywhere near that amount. Plus,if it came out horrible, I would have all this cider that no one would want to touch. 25 apples made 1 qt of cider.

First,you core the apples. I don't have an apple corer,so I just cut out the center of the apples.Don't peel them. Cut them into quarters.

After you cut them,put them in a food processor and puree them. The more the apples are pureed,the more juice you can get out of them. I have a food processor attachment for My Precious ( the Cuisinart),and it's not big,so I could only puree a few cups at a time.

I put a big bowl in the sink,and put a strainer in the bowl. I lined the strainer with cheesecloth,and put the pureed apple goop in the cheesecloth.I twisted the cheesecloth and squeezed it as much as I could. I then realized that by keeping the strainer in the bowl,all I was doing was making the apple goop absorb the juice I had already strained,so I put the strainer across the sink,with the bowl underneath. I would chop apples,and while they were pureeing,I would work on getting the juice out of the previous pureed batch.

Once I had purred all the apples I wanted,I then pasteurized the cider by heating it to 160 degrees. The cider was sour (remember,the apples were quite small) so after it reached 160 degrees,I took it off the heat,and added sugar,stirring until dissolved. I used about an 1/8 of a cup of sugar.

I wound up with one quart of apple cider. By pasteurizing the cider,one can keep it refrigerated for three weeks. If you don't wish to pasteurize it,it will only last about four days.

Rick and Brother B pronounced it delicious!!!!!

Quiet Time

2011-09-24T09:59:00.000-04:00

This morning, I am here with the dogs and the cats,all of whom are sound asleep.

Moxie taking a snooze curled up with Little O

It rained all night,and just stopped around 8:30. I dropped Rick and Zach off up in Tamworth last evening at the Webelo Fall Overnight.Our Boy Scout Troop helps run the various stations for the Webelos each year. Brother B has gone somewhere with Brother Dale,so I have the whole house to myself,which is a rarity. Well, me and three cats and two dogs!

I slept in this AM,til 8:15. I am enjoying the silence and my cup of coffee. This past week has been busier than usual. Last Thursday,my Mom, who is 85,needed to get something out of her cabinet. She didn't want to go to the closet to get the step stool,so she grabbed one of the kitchen chairs to stand on.

You might be able to see where this is going.

She had stocking feet,and the chair had no cushion. She got on the chair,opened the cabinet,went to grab whatever she was after,and...slipped,falling onto the floor,in which she landed on her shoulder. After laying on the floor in pain for half an hour because she couldn't get up,she finally made it to the phone where she called my sister and the ambulance.

My sister called from the emergency room. We were at Zach's open house at school,so by the time we got home and received the message,my Mom had been released. She broke her shoulder in four places,and the arm bone was snapped out of her shoulder.

Friday I went down and spent the day and night with her. The pain meds made her sick (even though they gave her some anti nausea pills),but I also think it was the shock to her system. Her neck was sore,and her back. She broke her right shoulder,which really annoyed her,because she is right handed. My Mom is a very independent woman (my Dad passed from complications due to Alzheimer's in 1990) and she doesn't like asking for help.I went back home on Saturday afternoon. She was feeling much better by then,and started being able to wash dishes,etc,with her left hand.The nausea had finally gone away,so she was able to at least be somewhat back to normal,as best as she could.

Monday night we went to park cars at the Rochester Fair as a fundraiser for the Troop. Tuesday after I went grocery shopping I went back to Mom's and brought her to the orthopedic surgeon. He felt that the best course of action was a reverse shoulder replacement.This way,the arm would not have to rely on the rotator cuff if it didn't heal properly.Plus,given my Mom's age and bone density,(or lack thereof)it would be the best bet.

Wednesday night we parked cars,and Thursday I brought Rick to the VA in Manchester to see his TBI Dr. Rick wanted to be put on Ritalin three times a day like before,instead of once a day time release. For some reason,the once a day did nothing for his motivation. Three times a day had him motivated,he kept lists,he knew what had to be done and did it. The Dr was surprised that the once a day dose didn't work out,so he put Rick back on three times a day. Thursday night we parked cars again.

Yesterday,Mom had blood work and an EKG as a pre-op procedure. We sat with the anesthesiologist,and the nurse who was in charge of going over pre -op paperwork,etc. The folks were very nice,which I think gave Mom some comfort. She needs to be at the hospital on Monday for 8:50 AM for prep,then the surgery will commence. After our appt,we went to the store so she could pick up a few groceries,then she bought us some take out lunch which we ate at her house.There was a knock on the door,and a gentleman we had never seen before was there. Come to find out,he works with my brother Valmore in Wisconsin. His wife came up to the door as well. They were on their way to Unity,ME for an antique snowmobile show.In his spare time,he buys old snowmobile parts and sells them,as well as redoing old machines. He thought since he was in our neck of the woods that he would stop by and say hi to Mom,which I thought was very nice. They chatted with us for about an hour,then headed off to ME. After they left, I went home,then drove Rick and Zach up to Tamworth (about 45 minutes north of us,give or take) then came back home. I think the whole week caught up with me. I sat down,totally wiped out. I am not used to being on the go quite that much.

Now I am sitting in silence and just being. It's good to just be every once in awhile,isn't it?

Hope all is wonderful where ever on this lovely planet you are!

Apple Harvest

2011-09-22T13:46:00.002-04:00

This time of year is for harvesting apples. The last few years,we have gone to Butternut Farm over in Farmington to pick apples. The have a fabulous variety. I don't know if we will do that this year,though,because.......

We have our own harvest this year! We had approx.60 apples on our Jonathon apple tree. We planted it before Rick left for Iraq in May,2005. We finally saw the first apple three years ago. Each year, we would see maybe one or two more apples. Last year we had 8. My,how times have changed!

We promised Zach that we wouldn't pick the apples until he got home from school. He enjoys picking apples as much as we do. So as soon as he got off the bus and put his backpack on the kitchen table we went to the side yard to do some serious picking.Most of the apples had some small brown blemishes on them,but they did not hurt the apples. They still tasted great!

We had a couple of apples that were high up,so Rick with his 6 ft.stature (more like 6'1" with his knee replacements!) picked those for us. We did not prune our tree last year,so that is on the agenda for this Fall.It's way too tall and the branches are too low to the ground.

All told,we picked 28.42 lbs of apples. Not too shabby for a first big harvest. Gluten free apple pies will be on the agenda. Not sure about cider or jelly.I'll have to check into how much and what it takes to make those!

Doings

2011-09-15T08:38:00.000-04:00

Fall is nipping at our heels, and I for one am glad. Fall is my favorite time of the year.I have far more motivation in the Fall.I am not sure what it is...maybe the cooler air? The gorgeous foliage? The feeling that winter is coming and I need to get things done? Perhaps it's a combination.

Fall also brings hunting season,which is a focal point of the menfolk. They have been out almost every morning,scouting areas,putting out their tree stands,and checking the photos daily from their game cameras to see where the animals are.Today is opening season of bow hunting for deer and turkey,I believe,and they have spent the last two weeks perfecting their aim. One thing that they have been hunting recent weeks is squirrel. I have tried squirrel,and if I had nothing else to eat,I could live with having it as a source of nutrition (it's actually not that bad). Brother B was quite pleased with himself a couple days ago-he made himself squirrel soup. Squirrel,carrots,potatoes,and onion,with some beef bouillon thrown in,plus some seasoning. The veggies were from our garden,and the squirrel from our neighbors back 40. He kept saying as he ate it,"You can't get much fresher than this!"

Monday I cleaned out some of my garden beds.Next year I will have to make new trellises. I pulled the sad looking cuke vines out (which I deposited into the compost pile),cut off some tired tomato branches,and did some weeding(the chickens loved it!) I picked some carrots,tomatoes,and pumpkins. My green beans are going through another growth period- I have some white blossoms and new beans on the bushes.My corn never recovered from Irene,but the stalks will be great for decoration.There is no great loss without some small gain,as Ma Ingalls used to say.

There are some things that we wanted to get accomplished this year that will wait until Spring. The deck and the screen porch will have to look sad one more year,I'm afraid. Rick has had a problem with motivation,which I think stems from his new prescription of Ritalin.He was on it 3x a day,and now he is on a once day extended release. It doesn't give him the drive like before.He is going to talk to his TBI Dr about it when we see him next week.Rick hopes he can go back on the 3x a day prescription. Of course, we have had a bit of rain recently,so that doesn't help,and when it's really humid or hot out he can only stand to be outside so long.So we are going to concentrate on the kitchen and the bathroom,both of which are sorely in need of remodel. I am going to slap a coat of paint on our front door and steps,though.Both are looking quite worn out.

The other day we were driving home from the store,and we saw a few folks in the middle of splitting wood for the winter. Rick commented how lucky we were not to have to worry about that this winter. We have 4-5 cord of wood from the tree length that we got last year and finally got cut up this spring. We shouldn't have to get more wood for a couple of years,and even then it wouldn't be because we were running out,it would be just to season it for when we needed it.That is a great feeling,to know we are a few years ahead of the game.

I am hearing thunder outside,so I should probably sign off. I hope your day is wonderful!

Ten Years Have Come And Gone

2011-09-10T10:17:00.000-04:00

   I would be remiss if I did not mention that tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
   It's a day to reflect on those who died at the Twin Towers,Pentagon,and a quiet field in PA. It's also a day to honor the first responders who survived,who died,and who are living with illness as a result of their bravery. Tributes are everywhere this weekend. NY,DC,PA,and many,many smaller events are going on throughout the country.
   I have two different minds about this weekend. My first mind is all for remembrance. Those who died and survived that day deserve a day of reflection.
    My other mind says it's like any other day  since 9/11. You see, I think about it everyday. There is not one day that has gone by since that beautiful eleventh day in September of 2001 where I don't think about it. That day shook me to the core. It changed my life and the way I view things. I used to work over 40 hours a week in retail,managing a store. In fact,I was at work when 9/11 happened. All I wanted to do was be home with my family,but I couldn't. I was afraid,angry,and my sense of security was destroyed. I was scared my husband would have to go to war.I was afraid for my little boy-he would not grow up in the same world I did. We were having a new register system installed,so we couldn't close until after they were done,which wasn't until 5:00 PM-and only because the mall manager came around and said the mall would allow us to close early. Why,thank you for allowing that. We actually had customers that day! Really? Our country is under attack and you care about buying underwear? I was completely disgusted and furious. Once again,the almighty dollar trumps everything.
   On the 30 minute drive home,I had the radio on to the news and just cried all the way.It wasn't just the senseless tragedy,it was because I knew life would never be the same. Nor would I. When I got home,Rick informed me that one of the planes flew over our apartment. We lived in Western MA,in Dalton,and we never saw jets. When Rick heard one outside,he brought then three year old Zach to see the plane fly overhead because it was such a rarity. Later on the news, he saw the flight path one of the hijacked planes took....which went right over western MA. That freaked me out. Just the fact that Rick and Zach saw the plane threw me for a loop.I was afraid of bridges, plain white box trucks,and anything unusual for weeks. I would literally be thrown into a state of high anxiety.My stomach would get into knots. My heart would pound.We had many customers from NYC,and we would hear stories from customers about their friends who died,or who were missing. One story that stuck was relayed to me from an older woman,whose son was walking near the Twin Towers after they were attacked.He was hit in the head with a woman's high heeled shoe when it got blown out of one of the towers.
   9/11 is a constant presence in our home. There is no other choice when your spouse is a wounded vet,or if your solider died in the line of duty. Many people just go about their day,and don't think twice. That happens when only 1% of Americans are bearing the burden of war.
     When I see the TV footage of the planes going into the Towers,it still conjures up the same feelings as it did on that day in 2001,so I have tried to avoid the whole anniversary countdown hype on TV. I saw enough of it for days after it happened. I also feel sad for Zach. He has not known anything but war. He barely remembers when his Dad was not wounded. For a long time,Rick could not do things that Dads normally do. How sad that Zach's generation will grow up thinking war is a normal thing in life! It shouldn't be.
      Tomorrow I will watch President Obama,Bush,and Clinton make their speeches. I will watch the ceremony at "Ground Zero." Do I want to? Not really. It will make me a mess. But I will do it out of respect for those lost ten years ago.Monday,we will continue living under the shadow of that horrible day. However,we will not let it defeat us.It made us stronger. In that respect,the terrorists failed.

Tomatoes!

2011-09-04T09:37:00.000-04:00

This year,we have had a good turn out with our Rutgers Heirloom tomatoes.We have 12 plants,which have given us about 12 lbs or so of tomatoes. According to Ball Blue Book,I need 45 lbs to can sauce,so obviously that wasn't going to happen this year. I didn't want to waste all the tomatoes I had laying on the window sill,or in the bowl,or on my table,so I decided to just can them in water and use them later.This was my first attempt at canning tomatoes,and I had heard that it was a lot of work (though I suspect those folks had far more tomatoes to can than I did!). I found it rather easy.Here is the recipe for raw pack tomatoes in water,whole,halved,or quartered in quart jars:

2 1/2-3 1/2 lbs tomatoes per quart
Bottled lemon juice
Salt (optional)

Make sure your jars are clean. Heat jars and lids in a sauce pot of simmering water ( 180 degrees).Do not boil the lids! Keep jars and lids in hot water until ready to use.Elevate rack in canner,and put the lid on the canner.Heat water to 180 degrees and keep hot.Make sure you have enough water in the canner so that the jars are covered by 1"-2" of water.

Use tomatoes at the peak of their quality,firm,and free of cracks,growths,and spots. Wash and drain. (My tomatoes did have some cracks,etc.,and I think they were a bit on the soft side,but I did it anyway).

Place tomatoes in a wire basket (I used a metal strainer) and lower into a large sauce pot of boiling water;blanch for 30-60 seconds,or until the skins start to crack.Remove from the boiling water and dip into cold water ( I filled one side of my sink with cold water).

Slip off the skins,trim away any green area,and cut out core. Cut tomatoes into quarters,halves,or leave whole. (I found it very easy to remove the skins;some tomatoes were small enough to leave whole,other I cut into halves).

Once the tomatoes are prepared, add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice to quart jars,pack tomatoes into hot jars,leaving 1/2" head space.Ladle hot water into jars,leaving 1/2" head space. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each jar,if desired. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. Place jars in canning rack and lower into water. Cover, bring to boil,and process for 45 minutes. When finished,remove lid to canner and let canner sit for 5 minutes. Remove jars and place on towel to cool.

One thing I noticed about the tomatoes is that they lost volume once they were canned. I stuffed those jars as tight as I could,and they wound up only half full,and mostly water at the end.Perhaps I didn't use enough? Has anyone who has canned tomatoes come out with the same result?

Irene's Calling Card

2011-08-31T09:35:00.001-04:00

Well,I'm back! I have had most interesting week. The best place to start is at the beginning,I guess.

Last week,as I posted,we were keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene.Here at home,there was a hurricane of sorts going on...and I brought it all on myself. I have posted in the past that I have depression and terrible anxiety. I have had this since childhood.I am on medication and that has helped greatly,though I still get bad anxiety sometimes; I just don't wake up everyday with a knot of dread in my stomach. At any rate,I didn't realize that I was almost out of pills until...well...I was almost out.I had 5 days left. I didn't think that would be a problem,I called the refill line and figured I would get it mailed to me in about four days,since it was coming from Portland,ME,and that has been the usual time frame from reordering to appearing in the mailbox. I called on a Thursday. I ran out on Monday. Now,you know how they say to never just stop taking medication? You have to ease out of it. I figured,what's one day,folks forget to take their meds all the time. It would probably show up on Tuesday,anyway,right? I wouldn't even miss a day. Tuesday comes....then Wednesday....

By now, I am in full blown withdrawal.Nausea,vertigo feelings,the works. I felt miserable. I can't sleep. My brain starts doing funky things,I start crying for no reason whatsoever at various times. I did manage on Thursday to keep a visit with My Dear Friend Michelle,and we had a nice chat. However, as soon as I got home,I went right to bed.I knew you could get such withdrawals symptoms from pain meds,but not from depression type medication. Finally,Friday afternoon,my meds showed up and I took one right away. By Saturday night,I was fine.

However,Friday, I pulled my sciatic nerve. I first pulled it 18 years ago lifting a TV and not using my legs to lift. Ever since then,if I move a certain way,it flares up again. It hasn't happened in a long time,and I wish I could say that I did it moving debris from the storm,or something as equally dramatic,but...I didn't. I did by shaving the back of my right leg in the shower.

Yep. Shaving my legs. I turned my left hip just right and bang! I felt it,and I knew. I could barely lift my legs over the tub to get out. Since then,I have been moving slowly,taking Aleeve,laying down,and sitting with pillows to help with support. It's a bit better,but even sitting here with a pillow behind me is very uncomfortable,and painful. Sigh.

Now for our Irene adventure......

We started getting rain on Saturday night,and by Sunday PM we had winds gusts of up to 60 miles an hour. The boys had a front row seat on our screen porch:

I took the photo through the screen,as you can see. Our neighbor Walter has some pine trees that looked like they might go,and we could hear them cracking when the winds were the strongest. At noon,we lost power. Rick and Brother B went outside to speak with our neighbor Mike,and as soon as they climbed the stairs and closed the door to the screen porch,this sucker fell:

As you can see,the 30-40 ft limb crashed next to the house,taking the cable,electric,and phone wires with it,and just missed the boys. If they had chatted with Mike just a few seconds longer,it would've landed on them. Mike and his girlfriend came running over to make sure they were OK. I heard a big crash from where I was laying in bed,and the boys telling Zach to stay in the back of the house until they could see where the wires were.The power had already gone off,but they wanted to be sure.All was well. The bad thing was our big generator got damaged,and our flag pole got bent to the ground,but at least no one was hurt,and our house just missed being hit. We do have another smaller generator,so we could at least keep our fridge going,and we could run the TV and DVD player if we wanted.

In all honesty,we didn't watch too many DVDs.We didn't really even listen to the radio.Zach read,and I knitted during the day and read by lamplight at night. We did have cell phones so we could call folks to let them know we were OK and to check the time,but I rarely looked at a clock. We had our gas grill,and we moved our camp stove and a propane tank into the house. We had rain barrel water for the birds,pool water to fill the toilet tank (if it's yellow,let it mellow;if it's brown,flush it down),and we did have bottled water and Crystal Light to drink. We also have water in our dug well,now that we no longer use it. We used to that bathe,wash our hair,and the dishes. It was actually no problem. We had plenty of food as well. Zach didn't complain once. He said he liked not having electricity.He was quite glad to see that our outdoor cat,Molly Bruce,came through unscathed:

I wish I could say the same about our corn. The rest of the garden was fine,though:

Yesterday,some workers from TN showed up to reattach our lines. They came up to help our Public Service of NH electric company.Crews from OH and TX were on their way as well.Canadian crews had to turn around and help back in Canada. By late afternoon,we had electricity,and by 8:00 PM we had cable and the phone.In all honesty,I didn't miss the TV or the computer.

Right now,the menfolk are grocery shopping,since I can't,then they are going to cut up that limb and get it out of the yard. And I am going to take my first shower since Saturday....hopefully I can shave my legs without ruining my back further! That is....if I can bend to shave them at all.

I hope any of my blog friends out there who had Irene zip through are all OK and are getting back to normal.Today is a lovely,bright day.....hope you all enjoy it.

Battening Down The Hatches

2011-08-25T08:29:00.000-04:00

As I type this,Hurricane Irene is still down in the islands. One track looks like the eye will come right over us when it hits NH,another has the eye going right over Portsmouth,about 25-30 miles away. Of course, there are other tracks that are possible,but we are not taking any chances. When it hits,at the most,it will be a Category 1,but that can still cause some damage with sustained winds of 60-90 miles an hour. If it's down graded to a tropical storm,it can still cause some damage.

Boats are being taken out of Rye Harbor. NH only has 13 miles of coastline,but Rye Harbor is the most exposed. People are not taking chances.

Living here in NH,hurricanes are a rarity.We live too far north,and the ocean water is not that warm to sustain a high wind hurricane. The last hurricane that we had hit was back in 1991,which I believe was Hurricane Bob.

We are preparing.If the power goes out,we have plenty of batteries for flashlights,candles,and parafin oil for the lamps. We have plenty of water-now that we no longer use our dug well,it's full. We can use that for cooking,bathing,or flushing the toilet. We can also fill the large canner and pressure canner with water,or use the filled water jugs for drinking.We still have our water barrels outside for the stock or if we need it. Our generator is fine,and we are going to fill our gas cans up. We have plenty of food. We have our propane grill,as well as camp stoves and plenty of propane on hand. Anything in the yard that can fly around will be put in the garage. The turkeys and chickens will be A-OK.

Hurricane Irene will be in our neck of the woods on Sunday. Rain is suppose to begin on Saturday. They are predicting upwards of 6" of rain. Thankfully,we have a subpump in the basement. Rick's Dad lives in a trailer park down in North Hampton,only a few miles from Hampton Beach,so we told him that if he doesn't feel safe down there he and Brother Spencer are more than welcome to come up here.

We can only wait and see what Irene decides to do.

The Bartering System

2011-08-20T10:37:00.001-04:00

One of the things that we have had the benefit of since we moved to the country is the bartering system. This harkens back to the day when folks knew they could depend on friends and neighbors to help them on their farms,and they could return the favor. No money was expected.

We have had great luck with our neighbors. When we had problems initially with our dug well,our neighbor Kelly had access to the equipment to dig down to the pipes (which,we discovered,was "fixed"with duct tape). He spent several hours at our house,helping us replace this pipe. Imagine what that would've cost us to hire someone! He had also dug out massive rocks from our backyard...all he required was coffee. The boys helped by watching his then bait store ,and by working on various small engine jobs that he took in.

Another neighbor had a few trees taken down,so there was nice pile of mulch an dirt in his yard.He let us take it,and we used it around our garden,in our walkway,and to expand our driveway. Our neighbor Kelly came by with equipment to compact it.Then,our neighbor down the road,Bob (who has since passed on) came driving down the road with his big front end loader,and helped move the piles and push them down,so it took less time. We offered him some money for gas,since this was not a small piece of equipment.He refused.

Kelly also wanted a pig,and wanted to know if we wanted one,too. He would keep it up at his house. In exchange for letting us use his property,we shared the restaurant scraps that Brother Dale would bring up from his job. The pork was delicious,by the way.

Last Thanksgiving,we donated a couple of turkeys and food baskets to some families in town. We wanted it to be a secret,but the person (not a family member) who delivered the turkeys and food baskets let it slip.One of the families was another neighbor,who was having a rough time. This morning,as Brother B was taking a walk,he walked past this neighbors house,and they started to chat. He told Brother B that he wanted to thank us for the food last Thanksgiving.He had a pig this year,and might we trade one of our delicious turkeys for some fresh pork? The meat would not be ready until Dec. No problem! So now we have some fresh pork coming our way.

There are other ways neighbors can help,more simple ways. Out of butter,or sugar, or coffee? No problem. If there wasn't something we needed,we knew the neighbors would give it back when they could.

Growing up in Somersworth,we never bartered with our neighbors. In fact, we rarely ever spoke with them,and our houses were closer to each other than the area where I live now. There was no dislike. Everybody just led their own lives.

I am very grateful for my neighbors. They have saved us thousands of dollars,and I know that they are grateful for what we could provide for them.It has also created a great sense of community. I wish everyone could have that experience.

A New Game

2011-08-19T14:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was in the garden,pulling up my broccoli and lettuce that had bolted. As I walked past my green pepper plants,I saw a good sized pepper. It was the biggest I had ever grown,so I called Rick over to take a look and then I saw something I had never seen before clinging to a stalk:

Sorry this photo is so blurry.This was actually taken today on a tomato plant.

Yep,our first horn worm,or hookworm,or whatever you call it. Then I found our second one. The Girls found them delicious. I checked our tomato plants,but didn't see anymore.

Today I went out to plant some fall veggies. I don't know if they will grow or not, since I am late in doing so,but I figured I would give it shot. I planted spinach,lettuce,green beans,and butternut squash. My tomatoes needed to be staked further,so I grabbed some string and did some old Florida Weave (going behind and in front of the plants with the string to the left,then opposite on the way back). Lo and behold,there was another worm:

And another. And another. And another. I would look for these little suckers and one would be right in front of my face for 5 minutes before I saw it. How clever they are to blend right in with the tomato stalks!And how frustrating for me and Brother B. He was helping me look and every once in a while one of us would exclaim,"You little bastard! You were right in front of me!"Sneaky little suckers. I called Zach outside to take a look,and to take the photo above. He thought they were gross.

16 worms later,all looked OK in the tomato world. The Girls loved their noontime treat.

Now we have a new game-Find the Worm. He who finds the most wins tons of gratitude from the tomatoes and the chickens. :)

Adventures In Pressure Canning

2011-08-14T16:57:00.000-04:00

Today I finally attempted to pressure can my green beans. I admit,with all the horror stories I heard about pressure canning,I was a bit nervous,but I figured if I followed the directions,I should be OK.Some of my nerves were just from attempting something new,not knowing what to expect, and not having the rhythm down.

Well,folks,I am here to tell you that pressure canning is EASY. Yes,that's right,E-A-S-Y. The hardest part is reading through the instructions,getting used to the equipment,and realizing that if your pressure regulator is not rocking like it is suppose to,and steam is pouring out of the air vent, it's normal. It doesn't mean that the canner is going to explode.

I bought my Presto pressure canner/cooker ( as well as my water canner) last year when I was wide eyed with the typical canning virgin excitement.I did not have enough veggies to warrant canning them,so I made friends with my water canner and made relish,pickles,and strawberry jam.This year,however,we picked about 4 lbs of green beans,so I knew I could at least break into the pressure canning world with a batch of that.

The first thing you want to do is read the instructions,check out the canner, it's parts,and read the recipe. Then do it all over again.Pressure regulator?Vent pipe? Overpressure plug? Good to know what they are and what they are for. Then you have to decide if you want to hot pack or raw pack the beans. Raw pack has no precooking,and that is what I did (after checking with Rick to see what he would prefer).I did not add salt,which is optional.

I washed out the canner per the instructions, the green beans the jars,lids,and rings.

I needed to boil water to keep in the jars until I was ready to fill them. I also boiled the lids and rings.

When I was ready to fill the jars,I poured out the water,packed the jars tightly with the green beans,then filled the jars with water to allow 1" of head space,using my head space measure.I used a rubber spatula in each jar to get rid of air bubbles.I wiped the rims of the jar,then put on the hot lids and rings.

I had to boil 3 qts of water to put in the pressure canner. I poured in the water,then placed the jars on the canning rack.I made sure the cover and the body of the canner closed correctly.I turned the burner on high,and waited for steam to start coming out of the vent pipe on the top of the canner. I lowered the heat so that the steam still came out steady;the steam had to come out for 10 minutes.I was then ready to put the pressure regulator which was set to 10 lbs, on the vent pipe.

Now was the part that I was nervous about. At 10 lbs of pressure,the quart jars needed to be processed for 25 minutes. However,you could not start counting the process time until the pressure regulator started rocking back and forth. That was the signal that the canner was ready with the proper 10 lbs of pressure.

I figured it wouldn't take long. Well, you know the expression "a pot never boils?" That also applies to pressure regulators.They don't rock if you watch them. In the photo above,you can see on the left hand side of the lid a little flat head button.This is the air vent/cover lock.(it had already popped up in this photo)To the right,in the back,you see a black button.This is the overpressure plug. The overpressure plug was popped up,and the air vent had steam pouring out of it-I thought something was going to blow for a couple of minutes. I kept watching the regulator,waiting for it rock.Then the air vent popped up and I kept waiting and wondering what I did wrong.Finally,about10 minutes later,it started rocking.I put the heat on medium so it would still rock,but not hard,and turned the timer to 25 minutes. After it processed,I had to wait until the pressure had gone down-the air vent and the overpressure plug had to both drop back down . That took about half an hour. I opened the lid,and took out my first batch of canned green beans.

So....I used a pressure canner and lived to tell the tale! If I can do it,trust me,so can you!!!!

A Litte Visitor

2011-08-10T08:25:00.000-04:00

Little O and Moxie love to sit on the windowsill in the kitchen that looks into our screen porch. The last week,we noticed that more often than not,something would hold their attention for a while. These cats would not move one inch-except for the swishing of their tails.We did finally see what holds their interest.

I took this photo of Little O this AM.She was sitting,staring up towards my egg basket which I hang on hook in the window by the door.I walked quietly to where she was sitting,peered out the window,and saw our little visitor-I was even finally able to snap a photo:

Our little chipmunk friend has been enjoying the bag of bird seed we keep on the porch.Sometimes the door does not close properly,which makes it easy for such a small creature to slip in. Sometimes it hides in our pot belly stove (which is not hooked up,it's for decoration).It's funny to see it's little cheeks puffed out with seed.

Brother B went onto the porch and opened the door. It literally flew out of the basket,under the bench,and finally,bolted as fast as I've ever seen a chipmunk bolt,to his home in the stone wall.