Keeping busy

The Blacksmith Association of Missouri will be having their annual conference before long.  Since I play a big part in running the boutique, I thought I'd better get busy.  The ladies in the boutique sell donated items for our fund raiser. 

I have made more than 20 skull caps for the guys to buy.   I figure at $3.00 a piece they can afford several. 

I've also made 20 plus charms featuring things the blacksmiths and their wives should like. At $5.00 for a charm and $2.00 for a bead chain, hopefully they will go fast. 


I want to say a big thank you to Ms. Tammy of Flat Creek Farm for her help in teaching me just how to put these charms together.  She not only sent me free samples to work with, but she gave me telephone support on my walk through Lowe's for the sealer.  Of course that conversation ended with our blacksmiths talking to each other. 


10 dozen Cookies made - check
20+ Caps made - check
20+ charms made


What else can I make????

Stock the shelves

I've been a little under the weather the past two weeks.  But yesterday I got my butt in gear and got busy. The blacksmith and I canned soup.  I know it's summer and soup is good in the winter.  But it can also be  a quick meal when you're sitting in the AC. 

The neighbor son gave us two big beef roasts.  So we made vegetable barley soup.  We canned 7 quarts and 7 pints from two roasts. 

We picked up two fresh chickens at the butcher shop.  I saved a few pieces to fry for dinner and the rest went into chicken stock soup.  From those two chickens, that cost $14, we got one meal of fried chicken and 8 pints of soup. That's not bad at $1.56 a meal, plus a few carrots, celery and onions. 

Soup. It's what's for dinner

Before I sign off, I just have to show you what that redneck neighbor  son was up to last night.  He pulled our trailer home using his four wheeler. Not to mention it was loaded with chairs he was returning. 

My Fresh Garden salad

The lettuce, spinach, onions, and radishes are producing well. 

The peas are looking really good this year. 

You might remember back in January, I canned cuties.  If it were January now and they were that cheap, I'd buy cases and can more. 

Because they are excellent in this salad.  Sure you can use mandarins too, but I like getting them out of my own cabinet. 


Here's the recipe oddly enough called:  Lettuce and Mandarin Salad

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

2/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon salt.

Mix in one vintage green ball pint jar! (JK, any will do)

Use garden leaf lettuce, spinach too if you want, we like a variety.

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 red onion chopped (we use green onions out of the garden)

1 can mandarin oranges (drained)

*Note the dressing makes enough for 3 or 4 salads.

Well for dinner we had the above salad and really fresh wild turkey!  The blacksmith deboned it and cut it into strips.  We marinate it an hour or two in Italian salad dressing and cider vinegar.  Shortly before deep frying it, drain it well, then salt and pepper it. Flour it, let it set about 10 minutes, add more flour at the end if it's all soaked up. Deep fry and yum, yum!


P.S. Now that the DIL gave me a quick lesson on my new camera, maybe my next pictures won't be grainy!

Baking day

Monster cookies cooling and peanut butter cookies waiting to go in the oven.

Snicker doodles cooling.


Today was baking day.  Looks like I'm in charge of the boutique, at the Blacksmith Association of Missouri conference this year.  So I baked lots of cookies.  They are now in the freezer, 2 to a bag.  At fifty cents a bag, they will go quickly.  By keeping them in the freezer for a week, it takes the temptation away from me!  All 10 dozen.


I also made chocolate chews that are awesome.  I already had them in the freezer when I thought about a picture.  But go over to Mennonite Girls can cook.   You will find the recipe there.  Just don't leave the pecans out, they make the cookie!

A first communion

Today 7 year old Alex made his first communion. 

All eight of the kids had duties to perform during mass.  Here is our little man taking up the collection. 

After church we had a luncheon at the new neighbor's house.  Alex's mom, has 11 siblings. Most of them came with their spouse, their kids, and even some grand kids.  It was a big party!

Later in the day, it was gift opening time.  Alex was pretty pleased with the gift that Grandpa made for him.  He told us, "Now I have something to hang on those nails in our room".

Here's  close ups of the cross. 

My "red neck" lawn ornament is GONE!

For three weeks, three long weeks, I saw this out my  front window.  My son would say, "Mom it's your lawn ornament".  He'd also tell me that it saved me from having to cut the grass under it. 

However this week it was moved to it's new home. 

My son, (thank you very much) told his Dad, "I don't know what was more red neck, us moving the shed, or Mom hanging out of the jeep taking pictures".

Backing in . . . beep, beep, beep

Almost there.

The unloading.

It's beer time!

And if you really want to see how the rednecks worked, I captured it on video!


You happy son?  It's now on the blog!  Love you Jeremy!

A bloggers lunch

I have been blogging since July 2007.  In the five years, it's always exciting when I get a call or an email from a fellow blogger who wants to meet up. 


In   May 2009  it was Tammy from Flat Creek Farm. 


Next month,  June 2009 it was lunch with Betsy from Giggle & bits. 


Almost a year later, March 2010 Becky from Sewing4him  and I had lunch. 


A week later, March 2010 Nicole at Missouri Gal and I went with some friends to a quilt show.


In June 2010 Deanna at My loves, my live and I met quite by accident. 


Just last month I met Nancy  and Gerry. That is after Claire took me to her quilt guild.


Last night I got an email from Marlene at Stitching by the lake.  She was going to be in town for a few days.  I quickly fired an email back to her and we made plans for lunch today. 


I was only waiting a for minute or two at Panera's when Marlene and her sister Sherry walked in.  We all exchanged hugs and ordered our food as if someone was starving.  Okay, the two sisters were starving!


Gosh did we bond quickly.  From canning, to cooking, quilting, antiques, kids. . . the conversation was non-stop. 

Sherry snapped this picture before we walked out. 

It took a  92 minute lunch to get this shot!


Thanks girls, we must do lunch again!

Great Great

It always makes you feel good to go see my Mom and her friends at the assisted living home.  Today was one of those feel good days.  I only wish I had taken my camera with me.

The minute that we walk in with 3 year old Lizzie, she takes over.  She knows the way to her Great Grandma's room.  She talks to those we meet in the hallway.  It makes no difference if they are residents or employees.  A lot of them  know Ms. Lizzie. 

The look on Mom's face when Lizzie pushes the door open is always heart warming.

Today she took her baby doll, Meghan.  Meghan was sporting the new clothes that she got for Easter.  After visiting Mom, Lizzie went next door to her great great Aunt Georgia's room.  (Yes my Mom and her sister in law, born 20 days apart, are now next door neighbors.)  Almost immediately, she saw an Easter basket and started looking in it.  Aunt Georgia wanted her to have the entire basket.  Lizzie claimed just two things out of it, a little Easter bunny and an Easter chick.  It peeps!  Yes it peeped all the way home!!!

How wonderful is it that Lizzie gets to know her great great aunt!!

Aunt Georgia's husband Bud was my mother's brother.  Sadly, we lost him last fall.  Here is a picture of uncle Bud holding me.  Also in the picture is my brother Wesley and my Dad. This would have been taken in 1953. 

Before we left the home, Lizzie found Martha.  Until just a few months ago, Lizzie's mother was an in house caregiver for Martha 2 days a week.  Lizzie spent many hours playing with play doh with Martha.  Alzheimer's robs so many precious memories, but it seemed that Martha remembered her. She just kept telling Lizzie, I missed you.  Martha continued to hug Lizzie, look at her, and then started all over with the hugs. 

As we left, many were waving good bye to Lizzie.  Such a good feeling day it was!

The "neighbor's" fish fry

The 2nd annual Tappel fish fry was held Good Friday at the neighbor's new house. 

Cousin Nick helped to fry some catfish.

The kids eagerly await all 42 of their cousins, great aunts and uncles, and even their Great Grandma!

Jeremy breads fish.

Let the eating begin!

The blacksmith helped fry fish too. I believe 7 gallons of fish was fried.

The work continues and the eating proceeds.

After the sun set and the evening chill set in, a bon fire was enjoyed.


The 2nd annual fish fry was just as successful as the first!

Easter 2012

We attended Easter morning Mass at Osage Bend church.  Father Kremer just happened to be celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest.  He said from his original class there were 12 left and some of them still knew what they were doing. 

Danish twist has long been a tradition at our house on Easter.  That is when I remember to use blackberry jelly, right Sarah?

Grandpa and Lizzie start the hunt for eggs. 

Brady quickly gets in on the game. 

Soon the boys are becoming very competitive.

Lizzie pauses for a picture for her Mom and I took one too.

Brady and Alex help Lizzie go though her presents.  I made pillow cases for the kids and put their loot in them!

I thought this was sweet. 

The boys took over the TV, so grandpa put Lizzie's DVD in his computer. 


It was a nice Easter.  Beautiful weather.  It would have been nicer if Sarah and Rusty could have come home from Oklahoma, but we did visit using the web cam. 


The guys fried two chickens, and two extra packages of legs.  I served mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli and cauliflower salad, jello salad, corn, danish twist, and Easter eggs.  Our dessert was blackberry cheesecake.


Beautiful weather in the 70's!