Making a gnome and wax on jellies

I have been seeing these gnomes all over the internet and I thought, I could try that. So I did. I had some leftover wool roving for the beard and to keep his hat lifted I took a toilet paper roll and snipped one end to a point and glued the point together before gluing to the top of the head and adding a sock. The buttons were from the leftover heart button project from last year.

The body is the regular way you see many sock creatures on line... stuffed with rice and tied with rubber bands, same with the nose. 

Put a half sock over his bottom and add the beard. I put the beard, aka the wool, glued onto a piece of leftover triangle batting from a quilt. 

I think he is kinda cute and will create more... so many ideas were swimming in my brain after I made this little magically guy. 

It has been warm the last two days.  We consider this the warm before the storm since it is suppose to snow tonight and this weekend. The birds were loving it. 

I learned something about making jam this week.  I love making jellies and jams and have gotten pretty good at it. My mom taught me. With six kids to raise, she had to find ways to save and making her own jams and jellies was one way. 

Look closely at the bottom right of my pantry and you will see a box of wax.  Growing up my mom would seal her jellies with a layer of wax on top instead of sealing with lids and rings.  I knew this method was pretty much discontinued but why? Here is what I found out - The temperature in a pantry can fluctuate causing the wax to expand and contract. This caused, at times - not always, mold.  It is a type of mold that even if scraped off has invisible vines climbing down into the jelly.  That's not the really bad part. The really bad part is they have found that this type of mold is a carcinogenetic.  To make jams and jellies we usually use large amounts of sugar. To me that make sense that this mold is a carcinogenetic,  sugar is something cancer feeds on. Learning this today was a big ah-ha moment for me and fascinating.

I still like to keep the box to think of those who tried a different method.

oh... and I survived those wax seal yummy jams and jellies Mom made without a single tummy ache. 

peace 

Young saplings and crockpot greenbeans

At the beginning of the month I trimmed some of these branches to try and make new trees. 

They were put in water and then we waited. 

Here is what they look like today.  Leaves are sprouting.

And look how beautiful the roots look!  Next week they will go into pots until the threat of snow and frost in the spring is over. 

Crockpot

This morning I put green beans in the crockpot. I got the idea here.  I thought the amount of maple syrup and brown sugar was way too much and halved both of the amounts. 

Dude loved this recipe so much he almost ate the whole thing! Give it a try and see what you think. 

Tomorrow I try overnight loaded oatmeal. 

peace

Fourth Sunday...mass ... what did I hear?

Gospel Mk 1:21-28

Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Mass today... seems like more and more are filling the pews. Everyone hoping to hear something more positive than what we might hear on the news or see on the internet. 

Here is what our Deacon conveyed to us today and what spoke to my heart: 

Words... words have power. Jesus said, " Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.  ...words... and what power. 

Do our words affirm Jesus? 

The words we speak on daily basis affect who we are and those around us.    

For me, growing up in the South we used to hear , "God bless you".   I used to smile when I moved to Denver in my 20's and the lady next to me would constantly say, "Well, God bless your pea-pickin' heart", to her customers.  We don't hear  "God bless you" near enough these days. 

Think about your own words.  Are they showing we are caring and compassionate?  What do people hear from us?

Deacon challenged us with the words... "Demonic possessions no longer happens today...or do they? What do you see or hear on television, the movies, bullies, books, and  yes, even our own language at times." What are your own words saying about you? Do they contradict the words of Christ that we say we believe? Jesus declared unto us to be a light of the world and the salt of the earth. 

Dear God, 

May we honor You with all our words and works. 

Amen

Thank you Deacon for your inspiring words to carry me through the new week. 

peace 

Soup, crockpot dip, making bread and thank you card.

Today I was a bit under the weather.  Good thing I took the day off. 

I cleaned the woodstove .  It was chilly despite how sunny it looked outside. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the wind but I needed heat. 

Cardboard egg cartons start a fire fast. 

Today I was hoping a bit of miso soup would help me feel better. My sister makes a lovely miso but a teammate at work, who just happens to be Japanese, told me her recipe.  So I gave it a try. It's just  chicken broth, nori (seaweed), soy sauce, green onion and miso. I added on one of our carrots. I didn't have tofu but she uses that too. I did add a few tablespoons of our canned Thai dipping sauce...ohmy. It was fabulous for the cold that has been lingering. A cup of tea and miso soup for the afternoon. 

Then I wanted to try something for our smaller crockpot. (yes, I wanted to defy all those folks that freaked out over last night's This is Us episode). I only heard about it since I work too late to actually watch it.  Anywhoo... back to the recipe... I put a block of cream cheese in the crockpot. Added chopped sun dried tomatoes, chopped up marinated artichokes and left over scallions. 

Put the crock on high and in 2 hours it was ready.  I did add a couple tablespoons of hot wing sauce and it was perfect.  It was great before the sauce and the hot sauce just put it over the top. 

I had to put it away before I ate it all. 

Next up ...the bread machine and pantry item. Last year I canned cinnamon applesauce. I made applesauce bread today in the bread machine. I add raisins. 

It balled up well. I wasn't sure how it would taste. 

It ended up dense but good. It was a lot like raisin bread.  It will be great as French toast. 

Speaking of French... I had to make some thank you cards today and came up with this one. (Yes, the next one will have the hearts going up and down...I blame it on my head cold)

It was date night with Dude and off to the city we went.  Variety is the spice of life but it was good to get back to the homestead at the end of the night. 

peace

Morning on the homestead - animals, bees, and food.

Our days end late around 1130pm or midnight but our morning begin early. We are outside by 7am. 

Looks like our horses are staying.  So mornings continue with taking care of the horses and the ram first.  Our guineas sound the alarm for everyone that I am coming !

Geese and hens are all running around see who will get the treats first. Our chickens are back laying eggs again and cluck happily in the yard.  There are no longer any roosters to stress them out. 

Summer wants to be feed first and give a low grumbling sound to say good morning while she paces back and forth. 

I went over to check on the bees again. They have sure been busy. This board was empty yesterday.

More dead bees have been brought out.  I cleared the landing and hope there will be enough bees to make a go of the hive this year.

Chores are done at home but we need to stop and see one of our farm friends for hay. 

We all hop in the truck and go for a ride. 

It's still a little chilly but not bitter cold. The snow will hang around for another day or so. 

The stock of hay at Bud's farm is beginning to get low and much is already bought by a friend of ours who is raising goats. 

But we get enough for us. 

And head back home. 

We stop for breakfast.  *smile* Burritos for the ride home. 

Dude will unload. 

And I need to get one of our chickens soaking in salt water for dinner. 

Good looking bird but for some reason this one has a few pin feathers I need to remove. It is cleaned and well rinsed.

Then out to the garden. Another salad needs to be made. 

Yep, round two of a spinach salad... spinach, hard boiled egg and crisp bacon.  I made a dressing of Dijon mustard, olive oil and garlic. 

Simple and perfect. 

Time to hit the road and the other half of my life.  While I am in the city I will be thinking of the homestead. 

peace 

Crockpot red beans and rice, greenhouse test and more

Last night as it snowed I went out to the greenhouse and put blankets over my greens and it worked. 

Spinach didn't freeze. 

Just a simple blanket over my beds. 

Snow piled up outside. 

But my plants stayed green.  I put the blankets over them again tonight. 

When it snows on the open plains it drifts. There are bare spots of ground and other parts have three foot drifts. Roads were snow packed and icy this morning but true to Colorado, it was all off the roads by noon. 

Pantry crockpot dinner - red beans and rice ... a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of the crock. Add one cup of rice and mix. Then add kidney beans, a small can of tomatoes, a can of water, tablespoon dried onions, a teaspoon of basil, oregano, and parsley.  Large pinch of salt and pepper.  Add hot sauce to your liking. Low and slow cook.

Turned on when I left for work it was ready for Dude when he got home...well, not. I forgot to plug it in ...hahaha. He plugged in, set on high and went to do chores. 3.5 hours later it was done.  Stuff doesn't always go as planned. Grin!

Turned out so good. 

For lunch I used my last jar of home canned chicken. (it's in a decorative green jar, trust me the chicken didn't turn green - smile)

When you can chicken it looks like this, not the mushy mess you buy in the can at the store. I won't go back to store bought. 

Made a rosemary chicken salad with a tablespoon of dried onions and one of chopped cherry tomatoes, add 2 tablespoons of yogurt and mayo, a squirt of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of crushed rosemary. 

Next:

Used a pantry staple of marinated artichoke hearts and my canned pickled beets. 

A half cup of chopped artichokes, beets and cucumber. Add salt and pepper and fresh squeeze of lemon juice. It may not sound great but it tasted wonderful. 

Pretty cool recycle idea from my sister-in-law.  It was spinning away in the breeze tonight. 

I love it. 

peace