What Does Not Irritate You To Death.....

What does not irritate you to death makes you stronger. My motto for the past weekend. :D A little background, we live in a drafty, old, uninsulated farmhouse. Possibly romantic in the abstract, but frustrating in the concrete. For the second time this winter the pipes froze in the barn leaving us waterless in the house, it still isn't back on. Cooking is well nigh impossible with no water, bathing doesn't happen and 10 people using a toilet that can't flush....well, just imagine the possibilities! We melted snow to wash hands and used that water to flush the toilet when it became a matter of public safety. Mr. G bought a couple of jugs of water to brush teeth with and we ate Domino's for lunch and soup and sandwiches for supper since we could do that without water. Still, all in all, it could be a lot worse. We had a big pile of beautiful, fragrant cherry firewood to burn, food and relatively warm beds to cuddle into. All of the important things. Mr. G hopes the water will be working soon (he's been messing with it all day) because he really needs a shower before he heads to work. :-) We spent the evening last night listening to Mr. G read The Hobbit to us, FYI Asa shares Bilbo and Frodo's birthday so how cool is that?

Then the Men cleaned their guns and oiled their boots, Asa is obsessed with Aleks and wanted to "help" with the gun cleaning. He rubbed that cloth up and down the barrel for ever!

We are counting down until the official arrival of Spring which could be in as little as 3 weeks! It begins for us when the sap commences to rise in the trees and sugaring begins.

All better!

After a tense day yesterday Asa woke up this morning feeling more like himself. It's amazing how his pain effected the whole house, his singing voice today brought the smiles out again! He was very feverish all day yesterday and very feverish all night long, though I gave him Tylenol it seemed to offer no relief at all. And I worried, oh how I worried about him. I don't currently have a thermometer, but I'm sure that I only would have worried more if I could have known what his body was really doing. I had to remind myself over and over that if he doesn't seem overly sick, then he isn't sick. I got some homeopathic stuff today so we'll see what that does, but he's had a good day so far. I have such a tendency toward self doubt, I long for a community of others to bolster my confidence in myself and our body's ability to heal itself. You guys are the closest thing I have. Thanks a lot to all of you for your suggestions and prayers. Mr. G and I both prayed for him last night and I think out of everything we tried, that offered the most help.

Poor, poor baby

My poor baby is teething hard! He has always been a hard teether, but I saw marked improvement when he began to wear his amber teething necklace. Today, however, it just isn't doing the trick. He's cutting 2 eye teeth plus a molar or two and he's feverish, drooly, and unhappy. Katie made him an allspice necklace this afternoon, he's chewed on a frozen carrot and had herbal tea. All with little effect. Does anybody have any other suggestions? I'm out of clove oil, have no rum in the house or real vanilla......

Pictures of haircuts

This picture was taken of Katie last week, she doesn't wear make-up every day but is here. I think she looks so beautiful (I'm admittedly prejudiced though) I can hardly believe that I'm old enough to have a daughter this old. Gulp!

I finally got Mr. G to agree that I could cut Asa's hair. It was down to his shoulders and he looked so girly, a lady asked what her name was in the store. Ugh. He looks so boyish now, I love it!

I got my hair trimmed up and offered to any of the girls that they could get their hair trimmed as well. Out of the 5 only Elisabethe and Abigail took me up on the offer. Here is Abigail, 5 years old.

And Elisabethe, 7 years old. Their hair is still below the shoulder, layered, with bangs. They can brush it themselves and it wears so much nicer now. I love long hair on girls but not when it's a ratty mess; I never seemed to manage to get it put up a lot of the time. A Mom has to know her limitations and when to concede that they can't do *everything*.

Elisabethe and Abigail got matching Middleton babies for their birthdays. A blond baby to match blond Elisabethe and a brunette baby to match brunette Abigail. Matching haircuts now too! :-) They practice their "mommy" skills daily, it's endearing to see.

Week In Feminine Dress, Day 5

"Nine and Co." skirt, "International Concepts" grey wool turtleneck, and a borrowed from Katie denim jacket. I *love* this skirt but it needs tall black boots before I can wear it out, so for right now I just wear it at home. In the first picture I'm wearing a tanktop under the jacket, but I think it looks better with the turtleneck.
5

Week In Feminine Dress, Day 4

"Jones New York Sportswear" brown corduroy skirt, black "Cherokee" turtleneck, tan plaid "Streetwear" jacket, black leather boots. All thrifted. :-)

Week In Feminine Dress, Day 3

Brown linen "Newport News" skirt, pink striped "Arizona Jean Company" shirt and brown tank top. Skirt was eBay but shirts were purchased at MCC (local thrift store).

Week In Feminine Dress, Day 2

Green "Faded Glory" sweater from Goodwill, "Angels Jeanwear" skirt from eBay. I like the skirt but I can't get used to wearing skirts slung around my hips, I like them better to be at my waist.

Week In Feminine Dress, Day 1

I have wanted to do a "week in feminine dress" forever but never got around to it. This week I'm determined to post an outfit a day! I really enjoy when other ladies/girls post their clothes, I get so many cute ideas. I could also tag this as "week in thrift store clothes" because that's where almost everything that I own came from.

"SO" Steampunk army green jacket (I have to think of Lauren when I wear this :D ), black "Cherokee" turtleneck, "Jeanology" denim skirt, black leather boots. All thrift store buys except the skirt was an eBay find.

A haircut gone awry

I got a haircut today, my first honest-to-goodness professional haircut in a long time. I have had long hair for decades, I *like* long hair. But, what started as a homegrown "just trim the ends off" spun wildly out of control, when I saw it I felt like throwing up. :-) So, first thing this morning I called and got an appointment to try to fix the damage. The result is this.

It barely skims my shoulders and I feel somewhat like a shorn sheep. Mr. G loves it and said all kinds of nice things about it but I feel so.....so.......modern. So like this isn't me. I needed the catharsis of a blog post, the need to throw it out into cyberspace to see what the consensus is.

Wassail Apples

Today we are canning Wassail Apples. This is a recipe that I came up with as a healthier alternative to Spiced Apple Rings which I like, but not the corn syrup content. They cause one problem (diluting the appley-ness by using water) and then "fix" the problem by adding lots of corn syrup. Yuck! My recipe is healthier and yummy besides.
Wassail Apples
*Bring to a boil 2 quarts of water, 1.5 cups white sugar, 1.5 cups brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon and a pinch of cloves (optional)
*Fill quart canning jars with apples (I like Empires) cut in eighths or twelths (apple rings waste space and so require more cider to fill the jars)
*Add cider to apples, leaving 1/2" head space
*Can for 30 minutes in a boiling water bath canner
These are a tasty compliment to ham or sausage and are delectable atop pancakes or waffles with whipped cream!

We are making pulled pork sandwiches for supper tonight and the whole house smells good. It's chilly today so the fire is going in the living room, adding the wood smoke smell to the sweet scent of the spiced apples and spicy smell of the pork. Mmm!

Of commanding generals and tasty cakes

Just a couple of quick things on this brisk Saturday evening. After a few years of being dogless we amended that situation and brought this



home today. Our neighbors raise Black Labs to sell but have a few from a recent litter that didn't sell due to the economy. We bartered a grassfed Tamworth ham for him, a good deal I think! The boys now have a hunting dog and the girls have a pet. He is fairly calm and easy going, even when Asa bit him. :-) I have to protect the dog from the baby, ha ha. We haven't settled on a name just yet, but I think it will be either Ashby or Patton.



In other news we are celebrating Tabitha's birthday this weekend. No pictures other than her cake which is *so* good. It tastes like Autumn should taste.




Pumpkin Spice and Pecan Cake

1. 1 box of yellow cake mix


2. 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have this so I used cinnamon, ginger and cloves until it tasted good)


3. 2/3 cup pureed pumpkin


4. 1/4 soft butter


5. 3 large eggs


6. 1 cup ground pecans


7. 2/3 cup water

Mix ingredients and bake at 350 in a buttered and floured bundt pan until done. When cool frost with:

Honey and Spice Buttercream

1. 1/2 teaspoon unflavored knox gelatin


2. 1/4 cup honey


3. 1/4 cup sugar


4. 1/4 teaspoon salt


5. 1 teaspoon cinnamon


6. 14 soft tablespoons butter

Combine gelatin with 1 tablespoon of water and let set for 10 minutes. Bring honey, sugar and 1 tablespoon water to boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and then stir a tablespoon or so of honey mix into the gelatin water, mix well and then dump back into the rest of the honey mixture. Add salt and cinnamon and beat until fluffy, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time while beating, stir in vanilla and use immediately.

Perry Cider

We reached another Fall milestone last week when we pressed apples for the first and only time. Actually, we have "perry cider" not just plain cider this year. Our neighbor brought over 4 bushels of pears which we pressed along with the apples (pressed pears being perry) and the yield was 67 gallons! We use the community press here in our community and the cost for the 67 gallons was $43, over half of that charge was the plastic gallon jugs that we brought it home in, the actual pressing charge is a pittance. I was very pleased with such abundance and as of Sunday evening we have it all canned. A few jugs got a bit of a "nip" to them, the children love this stuff, it fizzes like pop and Sunday morning they were drinking it for breakfast. :-D I have so many half gallon jars full and it makes a very striking sight, but our camera isn't feeling up to par and doesn't want to take any pictures. A have a few of the jugs set aside for vinegar making; hopefully the camera will straighten up before then so I can take pictures step by step. Making vinegar is an important part of homestead life and being able to home manufacture it will be a boon for food preservation should very hard economic times become a reality.

Saturday was my 40th birthday and we spent it rearranging the living room and moving chicken fence in anticipation of getting 30 more layers. In the Winter we bring the dining room table and benches into the living room so that we can eat where it's warmer, it makes a snug fit but it is also nice to have all evening activities center in one room, I like being all together. Our neighbor is giving us their 30 laying hens as they no longer want them so I will be raiding the recipe books for recipes heavy on eggs!

Sewing and knitting are carrying on as usual, but I don't really want to write about something that I can't take pictures of. I hope that situation will rectify itself before long.

So!

So, today is my birthday, the big four-oh. 40 in the abstract seems, oh I don't know, old, but I don't feel the least bit decrepit. We are "celebrating" by rearranging the living room to try to accommodate the living room furniture and the dining room table. We eat and live in the same room throughout the winter, it's much warmer in here by the stove. :-) We got apples pressed at the community press on Thursday and got 67 gallons of Perry Cider, that's pear cider and apple cider in case you've never experienced the sweet deliciousness that is the combination of these 2 fruits pressed together. It is *so* good! We are trying to get it into half gallon jars before it turns, I don't like nipping cider but the canning is d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g so slowly. Mr. G spent the day trying to fix the hot water tank so that we can enjoy the privilege of hot running water in the house. Our neighbor is giving us 30 laying hens on Monday so we're making shift to have a suitable place for them. I have been sewing and knitting and really want to get a post finished about that aspect of my life, but Autumn is unraveling quickly and there is so much to do before the snow really flies. It's at moments like this when I think that if I really got my act together for once I might not find myself continually swamped. (For those deluded souls that think that I really have my ducks in a row, well, I won't laugh in your face but I will snicker about it). I am the Queen of "fly by the seat of your pants", I like orderliness but it eludes me, though I confess that I don't stalk it very earnestly either. So, for all of you "management" types out there, my hat's off to you. I think it's easy on blogger to read about somebody's life and get a skewed picture of how wonderful or how whatever they are but really, my life is nothing special. I have, like, 4 nifty subjects in my life that are blog worthy. I just don't write about the 96 mundane/crappy/depressing subjects that are part and parcel of my life.