Slowing Down--Sorta

I was scheduled to work all this week, but with the weather being whatever it is, the schools have been closed.  This causes me not to have to work, but also to have two VERY bored children in the house.  They have hit the ages of "We don't want to play together", and so now come to me individually to complain that there's nothing to do.  When I suggest that they play together, the suggestion is met with derision.  Forget mentioning things like cleaning out their closets or toyboxes no one plays with anymore.  HA!  So....I give up.  Instead, yesterday I did what any good mom would do--hid in the kitchen and made chicken stock.  Oh, and a cake.  Don't forget the cake.

This, my friends, is the ULTIMATE gingerbread cake.  Dark and chewy and spicy goodness.  Not for the faint of heart.  The house smelled amazing while it was baking.

Yep, it seems my little cherubs have hit the "difficult" stage.  Joy and happiness.  On Sunday we went to cut down our Christmas tree, like we do every year, only to have both children cry about it at one point or another as they could not agree on a tree.  My husband and I finally had to declare that this year my son would choose, as my daughter chose last year, and that we would alternate year to year.  This made my son happy, but not my daughter, who cried and cried and cried.  It made for a difficult day, and I declared more than once I was just going to go down to the Agway next year and pull one off the lot, instead of having everyone upset.

Yep, I handled THAT masterfully.

Oh well.  We brought the tree home, and put it in the stand, and then I proceeded to upset the whole turnip cart, because this year I put on clear lights.

Dum dum daDUM!!

We were a colored lights family, my friends--for years.  And I always liked them.  But a few years ago, I looked at the tree and thought "I betcha I would really like that tree with clear lights".  And then every year thereafter I thought the same thing, but did nothing about it.  This year I finally went for it. 

And the kids complained like it was going out of style.

.....At first.

I asked them to wait and see.  I was thinking if they really hated it, I could just unlight the dang thing and start all over again with the colored lights if necessary.  But then the ornaments started to be put on.  And all of a sudden, it was "Oh! The tree is glowing!" and "I can see all the ornaments!"  and "It's so pretty!" and "I'm glad you changed them, I like the clear lights better".  And mommy-o here did an inner smirk and passed out the glass balls.

And it is, indeed, pretty.

The tree was the last piece to be put on.  The rest of the decorating was done last week, and I have to say this for a small house: it may be very difficult to find places to put things, but it is much easier to decorate.

In our last house, which was considerably larger, decorating was a three day affair.  Here?  Ha!  One day, if that. 

 

A couple of surfaces....

 

Put some things in the open bookshelves....

Done!!

And it looks pretty.  The other nice thing about coming from a larger house is that I have SO many decorations, I can pick and choose what I want to use (heh, that rhymed).  It can be overwhelming, but it means I don't have to add anything, and it looks full nonetheless.  Yeay!!

Other than the decorating and work, things have been pretty slow.  The animals are all on "maintenance" right now, as it's too cold or crappy to do much, so it's been the routine of feeding, watering, milking, putting in, taking out, that sort of thing.  Most of my time is spent indoors, thinking of what to do.  I'll be honest--I'm not good at "slow".  Though I can sit with a cuppa and relax to some music (John Denver and the Muppets, anyone?  We are HUGE fans here), eventually I just want to do SOMETHING.  I'd rather be insanely busy than sitting around, that's the truth of it.  But it's the time of the year when we're meant to slow down--look at any cat, and you'll see this is the time of year to just do nothing.

 

Exhibit A--Phynn.
The incidence of cat "deaths" this time of year is particularly high.  Very sad.  :(

 

Exhibit B--Icky

I wish I could take a leaf from a cat's book and just do what they do, as I need to slow down, if only to recuperate for next year.  But UGH!  I'm not going quietly, that's for dang sure.  This year I am having a tough time.  I am trying to find things to keep myself busy, even if it's only a little busy, but it's not really working.  Last year I got so bored, I painted the kitchen cabinets.  This year there are no cabinets to paint.  This will not be an easy winter, I think.

But enough complaining.  While I've been trying to keep occupied, I have whittled away at my project list.  Coming in at number 5, I have that snowman pillow that you saw the beginning of here.  I admit, this one was a softball, compared to that cross stitch.  I simply sat one day for about an hour and did it.  Here he is, sitting with a friend:

 

This is a pattern from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine that comes out yearly, Holiday Crafts.  This one (I think) was from 2010.  I had seemingly cut out the snowman's head, nose, earmuffs, and part of the scarf, and then put it away, thinking I'd remember what the pieces were for.  Ha!  I gave myself too much credit.  I found the bits last month and had no idea what they were--that'll show me.  Only after digging through the magazines I have did I figure it out.  Since I am not leaving any projects hanging around this year, I put him together and here he is!  I've done a lot of those pillows from that magazine.  They are all designed by Bird Brain Designs, which I really like.  This is the first that she's done that's not on a light blue background, and I just love that.  It really pops the snowman, I think. 

Coming in at project number 6, another cross stitch piece:

And before you think that I'm a really fast cross-stitcher, let me just say that I had half finished this piece before I put it away, which is why it took me so little time to finish it.  I had stopped at the blue Santa line, so I had very little left to do.  When I found this buried in my closet, I wondered why I did not finish it.  But let's just say I remembered very quickly why when I started on it again.  What a pain in the rear this project was!  Not only is the linen very difficult to work on because of the color changes and thread blending in it, but the pattern itself was full of fiddly little bits of colors that were like putting three squares of color here, three squares of color there, and so on.  Super fiddly.  I did get through it, but I also cheated because the last line under the wreaths was supposed to be pine cones, and I just wasn't going to do it.  I put some stars in there instead and called it good.  Enough is enough is enough and I just wasn't enjoying myself. 

How old is that project?  Well.....I looked at the chart and the date on it is 2002.  I don't think that I got it then, I think it was a couple of years later.  Either way, this one has been sitting a while.  Oh...and if you love fiddly cross stitch and would like the chart to this, you can have it.  Just shoot me an email and I'll mail it to you.  It's in very good shape and there's no reason to not pass it along.

And last, but not least, project number 7, which was unplanned, but worked out ok anyway.

This one was not unfinished, so it probably should be 6A or something instead of project 7, but oh well.  The little choir ladies were a pattern from this year's Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts magazine.  I liked their little gnome outfits, but didn't want to make just little random people without a setting.  If the cats ever wake up, they'd steal them for sure.  So I dug through my stash and pulled out all these little wood pieces-the base, the house, the birdhouse, the lights, and put it all together.  I think it's cute, and happily it used up many wood pieces that I have been hanging onto for YEARS.  How many years?  Back before I got my first "adult" job in a bank, I worked retail, and one of those jobs was at a craft store called Creativity (now defunct).  They had the best wood department, hands down--I've never seen any other store have anything even remotely like it.  Just amazing little wooden shapes.  That's where this all came from, I just finally took it out of the box I had it stored in, painted it up, and put it together.  So...I want to say 15+ years or so, that's how long I've had those bits.  Not too bad, right?  HA!

Onto the next!  I hope you are all staying safe and warm and will talk to you all again soon!

Welcome to 2012!

Hello friends! 

Well, it's here, 2012, and I overslept.  That'll teach me to try to stay up until midnight.  I'm just not built for that anymore.  ugh.  Nonetheless, it's time to put down on "paper" what I'd like to get done next year.  Here goes...

Land Management

1.  Taking more lawn for food production.
-- Here I'd like to add plots for field corn, and two more plots for cut flowers and gourds/pumpkins.  I admit right off the bat that this is already begun, because I put down old pool covers on the areas I want to use to solarize during the winter. 
-- I am also considering finding an area to put in a lavender bed.  No, that's not food, but lavender is a favorite.  I'd love to have a field of it, that I could just walk through and roll in.  Barring that, a nice big bed will suffice.  I have to think about a location, though, so that's off in the future.
--I'd like to put in more orchard trees and berries.  I'm on my way here, since my beloved husband gave me three heirloom apple trees for Christmas.  They'll play nicely with the trees already planted.  But I'd also like to add some more blueberry bushes, to get them started. 

2.  Turning the backyard into pasture.
--Insert my father's voice here, saying "But WHERE are your kids going to play?".  They've got the front yard, pop, and they spend most of their time in the woods anyway, so no harm done.
We've got a patch in the back that's sort of sketchy grass.  It's really trampled and nasty and water is starting to just run off of it because the grass isn't doing nice things.  So, I'd like to convert it to pasture.  I'm thinking clover and ryegrass and something else.  It'll be a good area to feed the animals with.

3.  Woodlot management.
--I'd be a fool if I said we had near enough acres to provide with all of our wood needs to heat the house.  But I'd also be remiss in saying that we couldn't at least do part.  Right now, we've got a nice pile of wood in the yard that's doing nothing.  I'd like to see that split this year, and a system put in place so the oldest goes first for burning, and the newest gets a chance to season and dry.  Though we'll always rely on bought wood to heat the house, I'd like us to contribute part as well.  Having a system in place will help with that. 

Soil Management

1.  Compost
-- It's no secret that the dirt here is um, less than wonderful.  Many, many people have raised beds for that reason.  Though I can build a raised bed or two, the whole garden is not an option for us, because it's just too big, and the money involved would be ponderous.  So I look to compost.  This year I will work the two heaps I have already going, as well as find a way to utilize the rabbit manure better. 

2.  Slimy wormies.
-- I'm starting vermiculture this year as well.  Their boxy home is bought, I'm waiting for their slimy-nesses to arrive. 

I'm employing every trick I can think of here, and I'll probably add some I haven't thought of yet, as well.  Gotta get that soil in better shape.

Gardens

1.  The vegetable garden
-- I'm instituting companion planting in some beds this year-for example, pumpkins and corn will be grown together to save space.
-- I will grow much more this year as well.  My biggest problem last year was that there was not enough planted and the weeds took over in all the little spaces-not to mention the harvest was pretty pathetic.  Not this year.  The plants will be more and spaced correctly, so hopefully the weeds will not have as much chance to grow (ha!).
--I will clean up and manage the herb bed better this year.  It didn't need my attention, so I didn't pay any attention to it.  I'll do better with that next year.

2.  Front garden
-- Perennials have become too expensive for me to buy, so I will be starting them from seed this year. 
-- I will also need to find a way to protect the plants from the geese, who can be very destructive.

Livestock

1.  Chickens
-- I've  already admitted to having an addiction problem, so this should come as no surprise.  I'll be adding this year.  Not many, mind you, and not really egg-layers.  I am adding some fancy feathered ones to the flock.  Chiefly because the little coop sits empty, and that's just sad.

I don't like leaving precious real estate unused, so I'll put in some fancy-schmancy chickens so they can be glamorous and have their own special coop, away from the working girls.  :)  They should arrive in May.  Yeay!
-- I may also breed Peter to his girls and have him become Peter PotPie.  He is aggressive and he's attacked me once or twice.  I may just have him produce an heir and then be gone with him, hoping that his son will be tamer.  This is a tough decision, though, as Peter is completely gorgeous and has all the right characteristics for a Copper Maran.  I'll have to decide this as time goes on.  Dispatching an animal is never a light decision for me.

2.  Goats
-- Here's the biggie for the year.  We will be adding goats.  So far, I've got feathers as far as the eye can see and a couple of bunnies.  But it's time to put more working animals on the farm, and goats are where it's at.  It will require housing, fencing, equipment and food, but I'm really hoping we can pull it off.

3.  Turkeys
-- I'm considering turkeys this year, but I haven't decided yet. 

Other Food Production

1.  Maple Syrup
-- The trees are marked, the sap buckets/milk jugs are ready, the splines are bought.  The fire pit's been dug.  All I need now is a large pan to put the sap into over the fire and a couple of cinderblocks to hold it up.  The great experiment of 2012 will begin when the sap runs.  I'll keep you posted.

2.  Bees
-- Since the bees were abducted by aliens, the question in my head lately has been to bee or not to bee.  I've decided not to bee for this year.  The bees aren't cheap, and I really should have started two hives instead of just one this year-I think that was part of my problem.  Though I have most of the equipment I would need, I don't have enough for two hives.  That, and the cost of two packages of bees means that this has to wait a year.  I need what limited funds we have to go elsewhere, so they're a no go.  It's disappointing, but there's always 2013.

 3.  Meat chickens
-- It's time for us, and we will be adding meat chickens to our repertoire this year.  The pen is marked out and fenced, the house will be easily and cheaply constructed, and my husband bought me the proper knives.  I even have traffic cones to convert for the usage.  My plan (which I'm still ironing out) is to have three batches come through, so I don't have to do 50 at once (I have no plucker, so that means it'll take a long time to get through a batch).  I'm planning on starting in March and working three batches to finish out in September or October. 

4.  Cheese
-- The goats are a big part of this, obviously, but I have a book that I got for Christmas, and I am eager to try my hand at this.  I just need a good source for milk and off I go!

Other Homesteading Goals

1.  Soap
-- I took a class back in November on this.  I had read a lot about it, but it was good to do it in a class environment.  I have almost everything I need, and then I'm ready.  We will use homemade soap this year and never look back.

2.  Things to Continue
-- We have been using cloth napkins exclusively for some time.  I will make more so we can keep going with this.
-- I make the yogurt and bread, cookies, granola bars, laundry soap and granola.  We no longer buy these things.  I'll continue this this year and see what other things I can also make to add.
-- I like making pasta, and would like us to eat just homemade.  This one is tough, because my son, the chief pasta eater, is fairly prejudiced against "mommy macaroni".  I'm working on it.

Home Improvement

1.  Doors
-- I'd like to get the front/back/garage doors painted this year.  It's a lot, but really just a gallon of paint--I just have to pick the color.  I'm going to try to work this into my schedule.

2.  Sewing Room
-- I'd love to paint my sewing room.  Again, it's just a can of paint.  If I do it, I know I'll want to spend more time in it.  I should get my butt moving on this one.

3.  Pantry
-- The shelves are up, and it works beautifully.  But it needs to be sheet rocked.  I'd love to see that happen.

4.  Outdoor Light
-- We need a light at the end of our long driveway, because it's pitch black.  We have the light, the conduit and the wire.  Now I just need the husband to dig the trench (hint!).

5.  Main Bathroom
-- This one is a stretch, because of the money involved.  But even if we do it slowly, I would LOVE to see the main bathroom get a facelift.  Nothing major, but it would make such a difference.  This is a project that is on my wish list, rather than my to-do list.

Personal Goals

1.  Fitness
-- I should put here that my goal is to lose weight, but I'm not going to.  I'm never going to commit to a diet plan, because I just can't be bothered and I cook too well.  :)  The best shot I have would be a Nutri-System type deal, and I can't afford that, so it's not going to happen.  Instead, I will make the goal of becoming more fit, because I really need to be to do everything that's required around here.  Last year, I got fit while I tilled that garden and dug that pond.  I have neither of those things to do this year, and I don't want to become fit "on the job".  So, I will try to get myself ready ahead of time.  I think it's time to pull out my old yoga DVDs.

2.  Handwork
-- Another confession; I can't just sit in front of the TV at night.  It's boring.  I will put it on for the background noise (and occasionally something interesting might be on), but I always sit with something to do.  I cross-stitch, embroider and crochet.  This year I will learn needle tatting.  That's my goal.

3.  Fiddling
-- This year, I took up the fiddle.  I am proud to say that with all the practicing I have done, I have developed fiddler's callouses on my left fingertips.  I'm not so proud to admit, however, that fiddling is not a natural thing for me.  I can do it, but I don't think I'm that good.  Therefore, I resolve to continue fiddling this year, and to restart my schedule of daily practices to the best of my ability.  Hopefully I will get better.

Oh my gosh.  Do you think that's enough?  I think I'm thankful I have a year to do all of this.  Whew. 

I guess we'll see how it goes as the year progresses.  I hope all of you have a healthy and happy new year.  Enjoy your holidays!

Sour-did!!

To start this little tale, I should first say that I've struggled with sourdough for a couple of years now.  I know, you'd think after you'd fought with something for that long, you'd just give up.  But after a number of failures, it became a mission to get it right. 

Easier said than done.  I produced a number of bricks from my oven, and a number of mushy blobs.  I can't tell you how many pounds of breadcrumbs it all made.  So, so many.  But, I am pleased to announce that I finally have got it right!

YEAY!  I have been nurturing a starter now since mid-July.  It's still alive!  It's a miracle!  Not only that, but I can actually make a really nice loaf (or two) of bread from it.  There's a secret to it, do you want to know what it is?  Don't knead it!

I know, I'm crazy.  Almost every recipe that I have ever read says "knead the dough until it windowpanes", meaning you knead it for like 10 minutes straight until you can stretch it thin enough to see light through it.  That has only ever produced either a brick of bread so hard you couldn't cut it, or a blob of mush that overproofed.  So I stopped that.  And I do this instead:

First, take your mushy dough out of the mixer when it's ready, and only when it's fully incorporated.  How do you know when that is?  It sticks to everything in sight, but then it peels off the things  really easily when you go to move it.  It's an odd thing it does, but it's alive, so just go with it.  I almost want to say it's got a texture like that green goo stuff they used to sell for kids.  My brothers used to have it, back in the day.  Sticky, but you can scrape it up and move it without leaving residual bits.  Weird.

Anyway, take out the dough, put it on a WELL floured mat, and knead it for a minute or two, just so it feels cohesive and looks a little smoother.  It will NOT pass the "windowpane test", but that's good.  Then flatten the dough out.

Then here's the tricky part.  Stretch it and fold it.

Fold one side:

Then the opposite side:

Then another side:

 (make sure you stretch it each time, that's important)

Then the last side:

Then stop touching it, and cover it up and put it to bed for an hour:

After your hour is over, do it again.  Flatten it out, stretch and fold, stretch and fold, stretch and fold.  Put it back to sleep for a second hour.

I will add here, that I do this all at room temperature.  I don't put it anywhere near a warm surface to rise.  I have found that putting it somewhere warm speeds up the proofing process and I get a flat, gooey mess.  So it just sits on the counter and does it's thing.

After hour two, uncover it and poke your finger in it, kind of hard, but not very hard.  If the indentation disappears, you can do this process a third time.  If the indentation is very deep, you've overproofed and the bread will come out weird.  Next time try just one folding and then do the finger test to see.  Either the starter was very active, or the room was very warm, so it got happy.  What you're really looking for here is for the indentation your finger left to slowly receed, but you can still see it in the dough, shallowly.  When you do, it means your baby is ready to bake. 

At this point, I split my dough into two loaves, because that's just the kind of girl I am, and I score the top, because it's nice.

It's still alive here, and somewhat active, so the slashes you make will grow.  Do it right before you put it into the oven so they don't grow too much. 

Bake the bread at 400F with a pan of water in the bottom, and in 30 minutes (that's what works for me, it may be different for you), pull a loaf out and knock on the bottom.  If it's hollow, it's done.

So pretty!!

This is fabulous bread and totally worth the time and effort it takes.  If you've ever had trouble with sourdough (like I have), try this technique.  I was surprised, but it really does work.  Try it and see!

Baking Day--A Good Change

With this summer come and gone (let's just be honest--it's over, folks) and the first year of vegetable gardening under my belt here, I've started to look around and see what else can we do to make ourselves more of a producer, rather than a consumer family.  How can we expand?  What else can we produce?  I have my own ideas, and plenty of them.  But in my house that can meet with some resistance, so I have to start off slowly.  For example, the homemade laundry detergent I made earlier this year is only used by me, because my husband "doesn't trust it".  Sigh.  But I started making yogurt about 4 months ago and that was a hit, so I went on to making granola bars.  Not too hard either, and yeay!  Everyone liked them. Then that sort of evolved into other baked things as well, and now there is a day for baking at our house.

I've done three Sunday baking days now, and I have to say I really enjoy them.  I usually need a recharge day every week, and instead of sitting around, I bake.  I always did enjoy baking, and have made cookies and pies for the kids (and us) for years.  I now make from-scratch birthday cakes for birthdays.  But I only made bread on occasion, and threw in other things here and there.  I am starting to become more regular in my baking now, and bread is a regular arrival at the party.  I just didn't want the kids eating that air-fluffy corn-syrup laden stuff anymore, not to mention that I didn't want us to pay for it.  Baking our own bread is cheaper, better for us, and more delicious.  And the variety!  So far I've done only white, wheat, and sourdough, but remember, I have to go slowly.  I don't want a rebellion.

Yesterday, being Sunday, was baking day.  I made

Banana bars, packed and ready to be added to lunches.  Snacks are a struggle at my house.  The kids want stuff I don't want them to have.  I am still looking for good alternatives to "the usual".  This one is a trial run.  If anyone has a recipe for a snack for kids that is a hit at their house, I'm open to suggestions.

Granola.  I haven't done this one before, either.  What an easy thing to do, though!

Bread.  Really the whole point of the day.  Two loaves gets us through one week.  My kids LOVE bread.  Now they eat it for anytime!

Pie!!  Didn't think I'd forget, did you?  I love pie.  Ahhhh, pie.  This one is pumpkin custard.  The pumpkin is from last year's pie pumpkins from a local farm. 

And every Sunday includes a cookie of some sort, usually.  This time, gingerbread.  I just really wanted them and I'm SO bored with making chocolate chip.  Probably it's the change in the weather.  They are outrageous!

I am hoping this will become a habit with me.  It shouldn't be a problem all fall and winter, when it's colder, but I know I'll have to curb myself to still do this in the Spring and Summer.  It's so hard to keep myself inside when it's so nice out.  Maybe by the time I have some months under my belt it'll just be second nature.

What other changes to I have in store?  Cloth napkins are up next.  I'm still sewing them and dreading the reception they'll get, but I've got to try.  After that, making maple syrup.  Yep, that's a new one for us, and I have found some spiles and buckets on ebay (LOVE ebay) at a great price, so we'll be trying that one this winter.  Then dairy goats, meat chickens, growing oats or wheat, field corn...the possibilities are endless!


Linking to:

And Now, A Recipe

Spring means I don't come inside too often, and any large scale cooking is not right on the menu.  However, yesterday we got a new stove, so I wanted to make something nice to christen it.  I decided on strawberry pie, which is fantastic.  I thought I'd share the recipe with you. 

Strawberry Pie

1 recipe for a 9-inch single crust pie

Find yourself a nice crust recipe. It makes all the difference, and it's so easy to make!

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

6 tablespoons butter

1 pinch ground nutmeg

4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp cornstarch





1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2.  Make the topping:  In a bowl, mix until fluffy 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup flour, 6 tbsp butter, and nutmeg.
3.  Place strawberries in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and cornstarch.  Pour this on top of the strawberries and mix gently to coat them.

4.  Pour berries into pie crust, mounding them in the center.  Cover berries with crumb topping and top the crumbs with some pea sized blobs of butter.  Wrap edges of pie crust to prevent burning.

5.  Put a pan in under the pie to catch the drips.  Bake pie in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, and then reduce heat to 375 and bake for an additional 40 minutes.
6.  Take out and let cool.

The new oven did a lovely job!!

This pie is best eaten cold, to tell the truth.  If you let it set, the flavors all gel together, and it is FABULOUS!!!

Drippy, gooey, strawberry yumminess!!

I love pie.  There's another confession for you.  I have a chicken addiction, I love and eat too much bread, and I love, love, love, pie.  This one is one of my favorites. 

Strawberry deliciousness! 

Sour-DOH!!!

Dear Sourdough bread,

Why do you hate me???  I have tried and tried to make you successfully, and you continually elude me.  Look, I gave your starter a view outside.  Was that not good enough??

See the chickens, starter?  See them?  They are happy.  Why aren't you?

Do I not feed you enough?

Do I not keep you warm?

Do I not speak nicely to you?

I think I do.  Yet, when I turn you into bread you insist on either spreading out into a mushy mass of goo, or perform your new trick, laying in the bowl like a lump.

Why, Sourdough bread, why???

I have tried so many recipes, Sourdough bread.  So, so many.  I have tried 3 different starters.  Still, you elude me.  What is it about me you don't like??  Do you not like my kitchen?  Do you not like my oven?  I do I knead you too roughly?  Not roughly enough?

You know what, Sourdough?  I don't have to take this from you.  You're nothing but bacteria after all.  There are plenty of other breads in the cookbook.  PLENTY.  We'll see how you feel when I make them instead of you.  I don't need you.  HA!  After I'm through making those others, maybe I'll come back to you.  Maybe.  Then we'll se how you feel about me.  Bet you'll have changed your mind then!

Yeah, we'll see.  'Till then, Sourdough, 'till then.

Sincerely,
Me