Time's a flying!

Gosh I don't know where the time is going. It seems like just yesterday it was deer season and we were eating every night at the cabin. 

 Lots of family time, lots of good food.

 There was a lot of card playing while consuming hot chocolate too.

 Alex always made sure the fire was stoked.

Lizzie and I had a Grandma and Lizzie day. We went downtown Jefferson City and did a little shopping. Enjoyed lunch out and even had dessert!

Connor didn't make it to deer camp. So his Mommy sent us a picture of his spider leggings. After all Florida is a long way to come for deer hunting.

Turn around and it's Thanksgiving. Lizzie was my kitchen helper the day before turkey day. She toasted 2 loaves of bread. Notice her stick, it was to keep from burning her fingers. 

For Thanksgiving we had a small group, only 8. So we all fit around one table. However out of those eight, we had 4 generations. Did I get a picture of them?  No.  (Bad blogger!)

Lori made the best peanut butter pie. What you don't see in this picture is a layer of chocolate under the whipped cream!

I made a new recipe for pumpkin bread with maple icing. It was so good!  Jeremy said his beer paired well with the pumpkin bread on his great-grandmother's antique Lord's Supper plate.

The boys played cards with their grandpa and great grand-mother. (So the Lord's Supper plate would have belonged to the boy's great-great- grandmother!)

It's now two days after Thanksgiving. I had leftover dough in the refrigerator so for breakfast today, I made home made cinnamon rolls for the blacksmith and me!  Yum-yum! 

What's next?  Somebody turns ONE!

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking sand and sun!

Deer update!

I was reminded by the son that I needed to update the blog. 

The blacksmith scored a big 8 pointer earlier this week. 

Deer season started out a little too warm weather wise, but then tonight it is making up for that. Sixteen degrees is the predicted low!

Deer camp has been fun with some great food being prepared, both by the men and the women. The first night a Cajun feast was made. That's where you make sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, and 8 pounds of shrimp all in one pot with lots of spices!

Sunday night, 8 pounds of hamburger was made into grilled burgers. We've also had Bernie's famous beef stew, served with hot corn bread, Gumbo with hot crusty garlic bread, and ham and beans.  

Tonight it's grilled beef steaks! Oh did I mention we've had a few desserts too? There was one huge pie that had four sections of different pie fillings, peach, cherry, apple, and blue berry. Then I saw pecan tarts, chocolate sheet cake, angel food cake and strawberries, and last night it was chocolate chip cheesecake.

I'd like to say the diet will start Monday, but we all know that's Thanksgiving week. 

There are still some without success in deer camp, but there is still a few more days, right Pat!

It's deer season in Mid-Missouri

 It's like a national holiday around here. Deer season!

It was youth season first. Alex the 9 year old grandson got an awesome 13 point buck!

Regular gun season opened this past Saturday. Brady, the 12 year old,  shot an eight pointer. I love this picture, it's hard to tell who is more proud, son or Dad!

So while the guys are away at deer camp (two miles from our house), I sew.  Our youngest grandson soon will turn 1 year old. My how time flies! So it was requested to make him a birthday shirt.

It my spare time I have been sewing miniatures. I mean TINY, these measure  one and one half inch square. Some have as many as 21 pieces of fabric. 

If you look in the bottom left hand corner, it has been made into a pendant. That is my goal!  My friend Tammy (Flat Creek Farm) and I, took a jewelry class in Columbia, Missouri. We both were so over whelmed with information overload that neither one of us took a single picture. I know that's sin for a blogger(s).  We will make it up when some day we start our jewelry production!  LOL

So there's a few more days in deer season, not sure what I will come up with next.

The end of deer camp . . .with success!

The end of deer camp is always bittersweet. It's good family time, good food, and always nice when the guys score on the hunt. 

Friday night in camp, Alex got cozy in Grandpa's cot for just a little while. 

Brady and his great aunt Larraine compare iPhone/iPod notes. 

This is the stove that keeps the cabin toasty warm, some times too warm!

Friday night the chief cook Pat, made chicken and dumplings.

Lizzie wanted to be the chief bottle washer!

Saturday night we were all tired. One little boy was sick. It was a fine meal of BBQ pork steaks, turnip greens, french fries and a short game of cards. The guys all went home to sleep. 

Sunday came . . . the day crawled by . . . not much activity, until about 4:15

Alex, the eight year old, scored his first deer! That face tells it all. 

Success, it's a good thing!

It's deer season

I know I've been a little slack in posting. You see I've been at deer camp every evening. The women go for the "food".

Hanging out inside our cozy little cabin with a fire going, has me slacking in the picture taking department. But I can tell you Friday night's menu was Ham and beans, fried potatoes with onions, and cornbread.  Saturday, Dan the man, did his killer BBQ ribs.  Along with them we had coleslaw, Lutz's fried potato chips (made fresh locally), and strawberry cheesecake. 

Sunday as the cold set in it was homemade potato soup and my iron skillet pineapple upside cake. Monday, since it was a day off for me, I did the cooking at home and hauled it all down there. It was Pork tacos, slow cooked all day in the crock pot. Along with those I made pinto beans and spanish rice. Monday night we were served turnip kraut cooked with polish sausage and potatoes. 

Now you see why us women go for the "food"!

 Some days are tiring at deer camp. 

 Here he's wide awake and staying out of the strong winds to hunt from inside the barn.

Just a few years ago there were no phones or I Pods at deer camp. This night there were seven iPhone/ipods clicking away.  I was even able to connect to the internet with my new iPod using a "hot spot".

After playing on the iphone, someone gave Lizzie an iPad.  With big eyes, she said "that's a big one". Away she played.

 There is some quality  time too.

 Of course there have been some deer harvested. Here Pat shows off his big one, an eight pointer. 

Only to be out done by big brother, here the blacksmith shows off his 10 pointer. 

Hopefully soon the son and 2 grand sons will have some to show off too. Good luck guys!

Deer Camp 2011, the first weekend report.

Deer camp, to some it's all about the kill. To us wives, it's all about the food. To the little ones, it's all about the fun!

This first weekend we had all of the above and more.

The grandsons not only got to target practice with their pellet guns, they got to spend the night, and even deer hunt.

This year we have a new player. This grandpa is 92 years young.  Here's the last two left in the card game called Blitz, the youngest and the oldest, out of 8 players. He was constantly telling jokes. He loved the food and couldn't believe all that we had to eat.

After the card game on Saturday night, Grandpa (as we all called him) pulled out his zip lock bag of tricks.

This was a piece of wood with two holes drilled in it. Running through it was a tied string with a large wooden ball that would no way fit through the holes. The trick was to figure out how to get the string off.

Here an exchange student from Chile, tried her hand at assembling a pyramid with some wooden balls. Grandpa told her the game came from Chile, before he knew that is where she was from. She never mastered the assembly of it.

Some how the 10 year old figured it out. His grandpa might have had a hand in it.

Grandpa then gave the boys 7 or 8 nails and told them to fit them all on one. Grandpa finally had to show us all how to do it.

Sunday night before dinner, Grandpa pulled out his hand written joke book!

 He even pulled out his prescription. (I'm sorry it's blurry).  It says please give love, hugs and kisses daily, unlimited refills!  When he gave it to the pharmacist, she told him in 30 years it's the first time she's seen this one.

When he left Sunday night, he called the boys over. He told them before he left he had to empty his pockets of quarters as they were weighing him down. He split all of his card winnings with them.

This Grandpa belongs to a niece's boyfriend. Grandpa was a deer hunter too. Unfortunately he didn't bag a big one, but then neither did anyone else at camp.

Deer Camp Pie

One of the most important things in deer camp is the "food". At least that is what us women think!

So the menus so far have been something like this:

Friday night - Fried fish, fried potatoes, hush puppies and Ramen cole slaw and homemade fruit slaw (Your recipe Delphine*).

Saturday night - Dan, the connoisseur BBQ man, made dry rubbed smoked ribs. Larraine brought Lutz's homemade potato chips in 3 flavors. I brought Romaine lettuce salad with dried cherries, sun flowers seeds, provolone cheese and raspberry/red wine vinegar dressing. Lori added sugar cookies and chocolate chips cookies for dessert.

Tonight - It was fried wild turkey, french fries, 7 layer salad, broccoli rice casserole and Larraine's PEAR pie! She also made two cream puff pies.

(This picture is for you Delphine*, just to see your DIL with her pie!)

Here the blacksmith hands out pie to the grand kids.

Ya gotta love deer camp food!

* Delphine is my MIL who resides in Texas and reads my blog every night!

Young success!

Brady did it again!

He shot a 6 point buck.

He beat the other 6 hunters in camp, who came home empty handed!

Congratulations Brady!!

Dinner at Deer camp

Let me introduce you to the two queens. Queen Lisha and Queen Larraine. You ask why were they wearing tiaras? Because they could. I don't know. It was something about a bus trip last week, to local bars, you had a theme and had to dress the theme. I don't know, too much information for me. Anyway here they are.




Appetizers . . . pickled eggs, made by Jeremy.










Vegetable . . . turnip kraut cooked with potatoes.









Main course . . . well one of two, is 17 lbs of pulled pork. The Smokin' was done by Queen Lisha's husband Dan. He's the man. He loves to smoke meats. We love to eat Dan's smoked meats. He's not a deer hunter, just the best smoker. So good in fact that he is invited back next week to smoke chickens.




Here are just part of the smoked ribs and rib tips he made. They are to die for, fall off the bone tender, and even different rubs.


Wish you all had been there, needless to say we had enough for all of you all.

First Deer Taken this season

At 9:30 AM this morning I got a call from Brady, who was still in the woods. "Grandma I got an 8 pointer."


Off I went with my camera.

Here he shows the one bullet that took it down. He is so proud!

There is a tradition that a snickers miniature brings you good luck. It worked!

Dad and Grandpa go to tackle the dirty work!

Congratulations Grandson on your second deer.