Animal Love

This is a little corner in my house that is all things dogs and cats. I am an animal lover to put it mildly. All kinds of animals; doesn't matter what kind. I think I must have been an animal in a previous life. My kids call me the animal whisperer. I just seem to know somehow what they are feeling and thinking. No kidding. I'm not afraid of anything, except maybe monster waves and large sharks. But animals I have no fear of. Maybe they sense that. I've noticed I smile the most around animals. Does this make me a misanthrope? I don't know. I just know that animals make me happy.

Olden Days

This old Mercury Flyer is from the 20's. It has a little box in the back to stack coal or a dolly. The tike sits astride the engine and steers from the handlbars on top as he scoots around the house. My grand daughter loves it.

This has got to be the oldest skateboard in existence. You should see the wheels - all metal. I don't know when the earliest skate board came into existence, but I think this must be from around 1960. It says Roller Derby on top.

Aren't these the cutest old skis? They couldn't be more than 14" long. Can't you just see the little child skiing in these? I can't imagine how they could do more than stand up let alone go down a little hill without tumbling. The little buckles and straps are all that would hold the skis on. Kind of like the old key roller skates we used to wear - not very dependable. The black skis in front are child-sized too and only have small leather straps and buckles.

Polly Want A Cracker?

Like a firecracker perhaps? I have always been a lover of birds; have feeders all over the place; summer and winter ( I even left the house during the ice storm to go to town to get more bird seed). I'm also ready when the hummingbirds return the first week of April with various vitamin and mineral potions. And then there is Birdie, the meanest red lored amazon around. I have always had pet parakeets and Bubba, the sweetest Love Bird in the entire world, but I also wanted a big bird: had envisioned one who could talk, snuggle, do tricks and just be a loving friend. Boy, was I wrong about this bird. Birdie would rather bite your nose off or have a knuckle or two while still attached to your hand. She can bite clear through. The first thing the books tell you is to teach them a command to step up onto your hand. Birdie's eyes just flash (look at picture number one) and she opens her mouth to dare you to try this on her. She squawks so loud your eardrums sound fuzzy for a while, like a bad speaker. I can't tell you how many times and places I've been bitten. And, to make matters worse, I couldn't do more for this bird. She has a huge expensive cage with costly toys aplenty. I even bought her her own goldfish once in a tiny little goldfish bowl, but she was afraid of it. How can a bird be afraid of a tiny goldfish and want to fight with a human? She'll fly in and come sit on the back of my chair when I am at the computer. In the second picture above, she's having popcorn (which she loves)while watching me compute. Birdie has also begun to bark like my dogs, as loud as she can, which again is ear splitting. But what galls me the most is when my son comes home and she puffs up like a teddy bear and just preens and calls to him over and over and does this little head bopping dance trying to regurgitate food to feed him. She loves him and he can't stand her. She'll scream out his name many times over; endlessly calls him from the crack of dawn until he gets up. "Why don't you get rid of her," he barks back at her. I could never do that. I'll just have to love the little meany that I got and know that she loves me in her own mean way.

As a postscript, Birdie saw her pics on this post and is talking to them and quite enamored of the pics. Should have named her Narcissus.

Scones

I had this Garvey's scone mix that I picked up from Williams Sonoma. So instead of a recipe, I'll give a product review. I added some lemon zest and blueberries to the mix. They were pretty tasty. I used a small biscuit cutter so they are dainty. I thought they would rise more than they did, but that could have been the way I rolled them out. So, I'd give them a B. I like my scones round with lots of soft center instead of triangular and crusty. I have a Scottish Oat Scones recipe I'll share another time that is to die for. The little basket container with the blue checkered paper contains a knob of butter. I bought it at the Dragonmoon Tea Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Isn't it the cutest?

Antiques and Collectibles

This is one of my best peep's antique and collectibles booth at Rivercity Trading Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She always has the best stuff; I love literally everything in her booth. Last week, I bought an old child's parasol with dogs on it. I thought it was for a doll at first but found out it was for the wee ones. I am going to take a picture of my little granddaughter with it, though I fear she will just slam it to the ground. Little devil! She still has three more in her booth (different designs). I think I am her best customer. Hurry over to see all the treasures. You can also check out her etsy store at sleepingporchstudio.etsy.com. Make sure and click on pics to see all the goodies.

Looking For Signs Of Spring

I walked around today looking for signs of spring. The 60-70 degree days we've had, then a forty degree drop the next has the flora all mixed up around here. Nevertheless, the buds are swelling on the trees, the bulbs are peeking up from the ground (the deer haven't seen them yet) and the groundhog hasn't a clue. They say the same thing every year. So, I just know it is coming soon. The pic is of a Contorted Filbert aka Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. This one is only about 3 years old and started out just a slip so it has grown nicely.

My blog has received The Lemonade Award from a fellow blogger, Theresa at Garden_Antqs vintage (http://www.gardenantqs.blogspot.com/). She is a dear, sharing and caring person and I thank her for this nomination. Since I am so new to blogging, I barely have time to blog, much less the luxury of reading many blogs. I have to nominate at least 8 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude. So, this will be hard to choose for me. I do enjoy reading some, so here goes. The rules of the award are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post. 2. Nominate at least 8 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude. 3. Link to your nominees within you post. 4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. 5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

A few of the blogs I read fairly regularly that make me smile and/or entertain me (I hope that encompasses attitude/gratitude) that I would like to nominate are: A Brit In Tennessee (http://www.abritintn.blogspot.com/), Okie Sister(http://www.okiesister.com/), The Pioneer Woman(http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/), Cote de Texas(http://www.cotedetexas.blogspot.com/), Marie Xi (http://www.casazoo.blogspot.com/) Cedric (http://www.parisdeuxieme.com/)Chezlouloufrance.blogspot.com, and Elaine at http://www.okietravel.blogspot.com/.

Toile In A Days Work

The walls in this dining room had a very thick Japanese toile paper on it. The colors and design were terrible and it had glitter embedded in the paper. It also had a plastic feel to it. Really, it was a mess, probably circa 1960. I wasn't about to try and remove it so I painted over it with cream colored latex paint which worked swimmingly - much like a blank canvas. I then decided to paint my own toile mural with acrylic paints. I soon forgot about patterns and instead had fields, mountains, valleys, houses, a church and volcanoes. Ha! The volcano was for my son who thinks the Yellowstone super volcano is going to erupt any day now.

This is a built-in corner cabinet where I keep blue and white pottery and china. You can see it better if you click on it.


Of course, I got paint on the moulding so now, I have to repaint all of that, floor to ceiling. That will just have to wait until I finish painting three more wall murals. I think it would have been easier to buy a few rolls of wallpaper, don't you?

The Iceman Cometh

Looks like the geese are stuck in the center of the pond. They have kept a circle of water clear of ice, but would not walk on the ice to come for food. The wild ducks walked around on the icy surface of the pond without fear, but my geese are really chickens.


I counted 31 deer this morning, waiting for me to feed them corn. They wait for me in the morning and evening. I cannot fail them. The little yearlings just stare. My son says I am mother nature, but I am much kinder; I think I have to try and save the world. Up on our rooftop, it sounds like the deer are jumping around with all the ice melting and falling off.

Looks like fun? Not for me and the other states that are suffering from an ice storm. This is one of our Aristocrat Pear trees. Luckily, we received about 3/4 of an inch of ice and thankfully, did not lose our electricity. Last ice storm, it was out for 8 days. No heat, no TV or internet, the list is too long to write here. It is a nightmare, not to mention the millions of trees and branches that were down. To all those suffering with outages, I feel your pain.

Crows, Crowing, Crowed

I have a thing about crows.

Why, I do not know.

Crow, crowing, crowed.

A little nonsensical haiku for you. It is late, AND, a big ice storm cometh. I need to sleep and rest up for the days ahead as an impending ice storm makes me ill. We have had two major (they said 200 year) ice storms. One in 2001 and again in 2007. Anyone with the misfortune of living through these terrible acts of nature will know why I ramble on about this. I would rather have tornadoes around my house than ice storms. Now, the indians (I think the Cherokee), think of crows as a bad omen. I just like them. I have them all over the house in various forms; collect them for some reason and also paint them or sculpt them. Maybe I used to be a crow. The first pic is of a large oil painting I painted, The Crow's Picnic. Click on the pic to see them closer up. The second pic is a crow decoy; who would think of hunting crows? I have many decoys and was shocked that someone would hunt a crow. The third pic is a baby crow sitting on a yearling horse's mane, holding on for dear life. The horse is bucking to try and get it off its back. It is one of my life-sized paper sculptures I told you about. I'll show pics of the pony later. The fourth pic is a wool wall hanging by an artist named Earlene from Coweta, OK. Crows are very smart, except for one. Years ago, I saw a crow bothering an owl in a tree out in front of my house. Would not leave that owl alone. Next morning, the crow was on the ground, deader than a doornail. Another bad thing happened to a few more crows. The old meany that lives down the road (the original old crow) shoots them and hangs them around in her trees upside down. Guess it is supposed to scare more crows away. Oh, I guess enough said about crows. Love you guys. And I'm so happy to have you virtually in my life.

Indoor Planting

Well, I can't plant anything outside so I decided to plant some edibles inside. At least I can get something growing as the garden catalogs just don't seem to be exciting enough for me. Lowe's has the microgreen seeds and little planters with peat pellets. I think the packages contain radish, beet, broccoli, oh I don't know exactly. Anyway, they will be tasty atop salad soon. It is supposed to only take 10 days before they are ready to eat. Successive plantings will keep the greens coming. Okay! And only 70 more days until I can start planting outside. Maybe.

Garden House

This little house is made from old windows on all sides. You can prop them open in the summer or close them in the winter. The floor is flat rocks. One winter I had geranium plants and root cuttings from them and they were doing great until the propane tank ran out of propane. Lost them all. So, either build your little greenhouse close to an electrical outlet for a space heater or rig up a solar heating system to overwinter plants and don't forget to have water nearby. Learn from my mistakes. My little garden house is now filled with all my garden implements; tools, tiller, pots etc. It sits right behind my garden so it is handy. Jenny wrens also love to nest inside the boxes and pots that are stored inside. It's a way to recycle that is useful; a giant birdhouse.

PS - this doesn't really look as bad as it photographs. It actually looks pretty when you can see through all the windows and I guess when the crabapples are blooming and the garden is bountiful...

Butter Love

Just a tip for those of you not watching their cholesterol -

Run don't walk to your nearest Whole Foods Market and pick up a block of Meyenberg's Goat Butter. I know. At first I thought GOAT BUTTER! Almost sounds like camel butter or something like that. Not very appetizing was my first reaction. Then, I thought what the heck and bought it. It was love at first bite. Let me tell you, if you like real butter, you will never have any better. It ruined every other butter I have ever tasted for me. I haven't used margarine or the like in centuries and only cook with butter. Alas, this butter is too expensive for me to bake with. I heard Martha Stewart say on one of her shows that they only use goat butter for baking now so I guess she tasted Meyenberg's too. Anyway, it is wonderful to savor on a cracker or toast points. It's like, butta.

Sprouting Window Boxes

This is a picture of a window box on the north side of my house. I have tried impatiens, ivy and many other shade loving plants but to no avail and so, I have many many birdhouses, antique and new, clustered up telephone poles, hanging in trees, on fence posts.... Anyway, the two window boxes on this side of the house now sprout birdhouses and a few of my bird garden antiques too and the best thing is, I don't have to water them. Can you tell I just cannot stop thinking or wishing for spring and summer and I'll even water too! And as icing on the cake, little Jenny wrens go into these little cubbies to sleep at night. So cute.

Garden Ornament

Here is a piece of yard art at the side of the house by my goldfish pond. He has been watching over the place for 15 years now. Got him as an anniversary gift. He's made out of an old Ford truck and is so scary that birds roost on him and have even made nests in his lower jaw. The deer come right past him to feast on my bulbs and pansies.

Summer Dreams and Gumbo

Today, in my neck of the woods, it was 73 degrees. Tomorrow, the high will be in the 30s. It just about kills me. I know some people love the cold and snow; I'm not one of them. Oh, I do like to see it snowing, but that's about it. Give me the snowy mountains or beach side in Barbados and I'll choose the beach every time. So, I'll just have to be content thinking about summer - gardening, warmth and the like.

This is my bay laurel tree. I've tended it since it was a 6" slip. It is now over 8' tall and still growing. I repotted it this past summer into the largest pot I could find and it seems to be happy. It is now residing in my barn until late April or the first of May.

I have a recipe for Gumbo that a friend from New Orleans gave me years ago that uses bay leaves. It is very very good and freezes well.

Gumbo

Make a roux with bacon grease and flour. Add 2 lbs. of sliced okra. Cook down about 20 minutes. Add 2 cups of chopped onions and also a bunch of green onions chopped. Next, add 1 cup of fresh chopped parsley, 1/2 cup of chopped green pepper and 1 TB. of minced garlic. Cook about 10 minutes more. Next, add 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes. Add 1 lb. of smoked sausage and mix thoroughly. Now, add 2 quarts of cold water and 1 cooked chicken that has been pulled from the bones and the following seasonings: 3 whole bay leaves, 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, 5 tsp. salt, 1 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. cayenne, 4 tsp. lemon juice, 10 whole allspice, 1 tsp. mace and 8 whole cloves. Raise heat slightly and bring mixture to a boil., then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir from time to time and scrape across the bottom of pan to prevent scorching. While still simmering, add 1/2 quart of water and stir. Remove pot from heat and let stand a few minutes before serving.
This recipe will turn out perfectly delicious. I must add here that I rarely measure anything, meaning, don't be afraid to put your own spin on this dish. Oh yes, and you can add shrimp toward the very end of cooking; crab too. I serve it in a bowl over jasmine or brown rice. I guarantee you are going to love this soup.

Collecting Stuff

I began collecting chintz many years ago. It wasn't cheap when I started. Nevertheless, I loved it, so I was willing to spend what I could afford. I'm told that when it first came out, it could be found at Woolsworths and in cartons of laundry soap. Very cheap in its time. It comes in many patterns and colors and well as varieties of flowers. I have some with black backgrounds, deep blue backgrounds and russet colored backgrounds. I think I am partial to the pastel backgrounds with my favorite piece being a Shelley cup and saucer. The saucer is the palest pink as is the outside of the cup. The inside of the cup is a stunning full floral pattern. It is visible in the second pic; the cup behind the little ram on the bridge and the saucer on the shelf above it. I think they show up if you click on the pic. The mint green pottery at the bottom of the cabinet is a California pottery (Weilware) that my mother had when I was young. After she died, my father used it and broke it, so I found pieces on ebay and started my own collection. I only use it for special holidays, etc. When I started collecting chintz, I looked at majolica, but thought it very ugly. Then I started seeing it in a different light and thought it rather endearing. It has usually been much more expensive than chintz, thus I have fewer pieces, but I keep looking anyway. I saw a pitcher once with a rooster protecting a hen and her chicks from a hawk flying overhead which I have seen many times on my farm. I think it was only $175. so I didn't get it which I now regret. I must also mention Japanese chintz which is very affordable and I am not above collecting it when I see a piece I like. I'm not a real girly girl; I don't like to put on makeup and usually just pull my hair on top of my head in a clip rather than spend the time styling it (I'd die if I had to spend the time on my hair and makeup that my sister does). I also don't wear much jewelry, which is funny because I make it. Nonetheless, I think my chintz collection is the closest to the feminine I'll get. Besides, the animals at my Peaceable Hill Farm don't care how I look anyway, except oddly, they notice the difference when I have a hat on.

Picasso Redux

Here are some pics of one of my paper art sculptures titled Picasso Redux. It is stored in a back room of my barn and being a big girl (she's over 8 feet tall), I couldn't photograph her in one shot without hauling her out of the barn which I wasn't going to do. Anyway, here are a few views of her. These sculptures start with a roll of chicken wire and sometimes a tomato cage. Also, I use newsprint, Elmer's glue, roofing paper, paper towels, foil, styrofoam, wooden dowels, paper clay and acrylic paint with a satin varnish to finish it. Other times, I am at the plumbing section of Lowe's, gesturing and trying to explain to the help that I need a little thingy that goes into another little thingy... Believe it or not, these large sculptures take longer to make than clay sculptures. I really do like Picasso, though historically I have been into realism. She was fun to make and after trying to photograph her, I am thinking I might chop her up and add some more angles, a new base, maybe use a pallet knife to load on some more paint for texture...It never ends.

To see some other paper sculptures of mine, hit the arts and crafts index to the right. I hope this post doesn't put me in the naughty category or anything like that.

New Sign

Look what I found for Christmas. I found it in the Sundance catalog and just had to have it. I have always liked signage and collect it, and this serendipitous find had my name all over it.

Peanut Brittle

Here's a recipe I wanted to share with you for Christmas. It is the crunchiest and best peanut brittle I've had - and it is made in the microwave. No gummy brittle here. This stays crisp to the last morsel. You use raw peanuts with this, but I have even used salted cashews and it was wonderful. So imagine it made with almonds, macadamia nuts...

Peanut Brittle

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light Karo syrup

1 1/2 cup raw peanuts

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. soda

Combine sugar, Karo, salt and peanuts in a microwaveable bowl. Stir well. Put in microwave for 5 minutes (this is in a more powerful microwave; in a less powerful one cook it for 8 minutes), with waxed paper loosely covering it. Remove. Mixture will be bubbly. Add butter and vanilla and stir. Cover and cook 2 more minutes. Remove, add soda. Stir; mixture will be foamy. Pour on lightly buttered cookie sheet and spread around. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Some of my friends

Thought I'd share some of the deer and other animals on our Peaceable Hill Farm this year. Currently, I'm feeding whole corn to about 27 deer as there aren't many acorns this year. I think a late hard freeze this spring hurt the oaks. The doe standing on her hind legs is snap kicking or boxing the others to get them to go away from the corn. They do this a lot; must be some kind of hierarchy. The kitty is one of our barn cats that followed me from the barn to the pond where I was taking pics of the deer. He is so sweet. More about the barn cats later. The geese at the pond just wanted bread. They ran honking and hissing after the deer and the cat shortly after the photo.

Almond Toffee Grahams

Almond Toffee Grahams

This recipe is really better than toffee. I don't think you'll find an easier recipe. It is rich and buttery and if you like it even more decadent than it already is, you can sprinkle some milk chocolate chips atop the hot finished squares and swirl the melted morsels with a knife; gilding the lily is good right?

1 package graham crackers
1 package slivered almonds
2 sticks butter
1/2 c. sugar

Break graham crackers up into fourths. I saw mine with a serrated knife for perfect edges. Lay onto a cookie sheet with sides. In a saucepan, bring the sugar and butter to a boil over medium heat. Boil 3 minutes, stirring until thickened. Pour over graham crackers and sprinkle with almonds. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool and break cookies apart.

This recipe is also known as poor man's toffee and I guarantee, rich or poor, you, your friends and family are gonna love these.

Peanut Butter Truffles

I thought I would do some recipes for the holidays. If you like peanut butter cups, this recipe is for you. These are probably my most oft requested candy for Christmas.

Peanut Butter Truffles

1 box confectioners sugar

1 12oz. jar creamy peanut butter

2 sticks butter

1 pkg. milk chocolate chips

Combine sugar, butter and peanut butter with a mixer. Roll mixture into bite sized balls and place onto waxed paper. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Dip balls into chocolate and lift out with a fork or slotted spoon and let cool on waxed paper.

Now how easy is that?

Blackberry Sauce in Framboise

In this part of the country, wild blackberries grow in abundance. The only drawback are billions of 1/4" thorns curved backward in an arc. Because of these killer arcing thorns, one can go in for the biggest and plumpest berries then not be able to pull your arm back out. It has happened to me too many times to count. When we first moved to the farm, I'd go berry picking in the summertime in my white cotton dresses that billowed out in the wind and immediately become impaled. I never learned - just kept sticking my arm in with my summer dresses plastered to the bushes wondering how long it would take for someone to find me.
A few years ago, we fenced in an acre or two and planted thornless blackberries and grapes. Why hadn't we done this long ago? I wouldn't have permanently embedded thorns and scars aplenty. Nevertheless, we now get gallons of big, juicy berries. What to do with so many said berries? We eat lots of them fresh. The rest we freeze for cobblers. We also eat them in a bowl with sugar and cream; when you pour the cream on the frozen berries they look like little snowballs. I also juice them and store the nectar in the freezer and sometimes make jam though we don't often eat toast etc. I also make a blackberry liqueur which is very good and potent. This year I tried something new. I canned a blackberry sauce(syrup really) with Framboise in it. The sauce is a sweet/tart topping for ice cream and is very good. It is a delicious way to remember the abundance of summer on those long winter nights.

Blackberry Sauce in Framboise

4 c. blackberries
1/2 c. Framboise
3/4 c. sugar
1 TBS. very fine lemon zest
1 TBS. lemon juice
1 pouch liquid pectin

Wash blackberries; drain. Combine berries, Framboise and sugar in a saucepan; let stand 2 hours; stirring occasionally. Add zest and juice and bring to a boil. Stir in liquid pectin then return mixture to a rolling boil (this is a boil that cannot be stirred down). Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from heat. Ladle hot sauce into jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process ten minutes in a boiling water bath.

This recipe is easy to make and even better to eat. If you want to skip the canning, just invite friends over and there won't be any left. Or, hide it in the frig and have it all to yourself. Serve it puddled under a scoop of vanilla ice cream or drizzled atop puddings, pies, cheesecakes...

chicken and dumplings

Grandma Merriott's Chicken and Dumplings

Grandma Merriott lived a long life. She reared four kids by herself. They were very poor. At one time, they lived in a chicken house (those of us who have raised chickens can only shudder). Some summers she had to go west to California and pick produce as a migrant worker. Supposedly the soil in Arkansas where she lived was so poor and full of rocks, it was a miracle she could even feed her family. When her garden had produced enough, she would take her baskets full of produce and along with her children , walk miles to a cannery where her vegetables would be canned for her. Her family would wait outside in the hot summer heat all day under a shade tree then carry their jars back home. I once asked her why she didn't just can her own produce and she said she couldn't afford the jars.

Because of her lean times, she became very thrifty. She saved tin foil, pieces of thread, bread bags, made rubber band balls, etc. She drank powdered milk and had a cup of hot water in the morning instead of coffee. Up until the age of 89, she still tended a huge garden until she was finally too bent to stand. Did I tell you Grandma Merriott was a good cook? She cooked most of her life on a wood cookstove. I've heard she could make sausage that didn't have a scrap of meat in it and yet it tasted like the real thing. I'm putting Grandma Merriott's recipe for chicken and dumplings out there - I've never had any better. Of course our eyes would pop when we saw the backs and necks floating in it, but her broth was rich and sumptuous. Add the stewed chicken and dumplings, and it is to die for.

She's gone now but her recipes live on. Bless Grandma Merriott wherever she is.


Chicken and Dumplings

Cook chicken pieces in 2 quarts water. Add 1/2 stick (she called it a knob) of butter and 1 small can evaporated milk. Salt and pepper to taste. (I also add 1-2 tbs. of chicken bouillion, but be careful adding any more salt).

Dumplings

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 slightly beaten egg

3/4 c. water

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Add enough flour to make a stiff dough (start with 2 cups, then another...). Roll out dough on heavily floured board to about 1/16th in. thick (they need to be thin). Slice into strips about 1" x 3" and add to boiling mixture. The flour from the dumplings will thicken the broth but if you want it thicker add a tbs. or so of cornstarch to 1/4c. water to make a slurry and add to broth. It will only take a minute to thicken.

To get my kids to eat some vegetables, I always added carrot pennies, corn and peas, but Grandma Merriott's dumplings never had anything in it but chicken and dumplings. Also, you can use deboned chicken pieces, but the bones add flavor so cut your own up then pull it from the bones. Also, make sure and use evaporated milk instead of regular milk because it makes the broth so much richer.