Ever have so much to do?

Have you ever had so much to do you just do not know where to begin?  I've been that way since yesterday.  Yesterday was the first day since we lost Taboo that I wasn't crying most of the day.  I am a fanatical animal lover, and our dogs are furry family members.  Each one has it's own place in the family...from livestock guardian to lap companion.  I miss her terribly....

Grace has done her best to make me feel better.  She knows when I am sad and she just hovers.  Who couldn't smile when they see that big Scooby-Doo face and those lips so big you can wrap them around your head???

Kapu does a fantastic job keeping my lap warm.  We've been saying that she's a "princess in training"....

She loves to pose for the camera, and is so well behaved.....

and then we got her brother, Hank.

Kapu and Hank have the same mom & dad, but are from different litters.  Hank is 6 weeks old, 2# 7 oz of all boy.  Any sister that had a baby brother can identify I'm sure....

And now another try...

Here is a rare shot of all 4 inside dogs together....although you really can't see Joey in the pic...

I REALLY have to get things done tomorrow.  The house is a mess, I have herbs to dry, pork to grind, jerky to make, and I have several sewing projects to finish.  My kids have been a great help...although they have just mostly cleaned around the edges and let me mourn in my own way.

Here's Ben on his way out to help with something....

And Rebekah helping with something else....

Hmmmmm......people make comments that I have so many pictures of my dogs or other animals...not so many of my kids.  Do these pictures give you a clue?  At least the animals stay still!  My kids avoid the camera like the plague!

Dutch Oven Cooking

Now that cooler temps are upon us, we've started using the DO's for cooking again.  Last night we cooked our favorite chicken dinner and and apple pie.  It's all cooked in the dutch ovens in the fire pit....and only takes an hour or so to cook.  If you're "roughing it" camping, or just want an electricity free evening; this is a wonderful meal!

First you start with chicken leg quarters...I allow one leg per person, unless they are teenage boys...better go 3 each for them and add another dutch oven to the stack!

If your DO is well seasoned, just arrange the legs in the bottom.  If the DO needs something, rub the inside with a bit of lard.  Don't forget to season the chicken.  I use a salt-free poultry herb blend, then sprinkle with sea salt.  Next add 1 large sliced onion.

Then add about 3 pounds of scrubbed new potatoes.  Any potatoes will work, but the new potatoes have thinner skin.

Again, add seasoning and salt.  Then add 2 ribs of celery, cut into large chunks, 4 carrots (scrubbed & left unpeeled) cut into large chunks, some ears of corn....and whatever other veggies you'd like to toss in!

Again, add seasoning and salt.  We also added some smoked sausage on the very top.  Smoked sausage gives the meal a faint smoky flavor and besides that, we can't hardly eat a meal without it!

Then add a quart of water (try to add it in one spot so as not to rinse the seasoning off the vegetables)....

And then the most important part of the dinner assembly.....BUTTER!  Top it off with a few pats of butter before putting on the lid....(about 1 stick)

Next we start work on the apple pie.  I get the dinner and dessert assembled while Bob is building the fire. 

I cheat and use frozen pie crusts whenever possible.  When they go on a big sale, I try to buy at least a dozen boxes or the kind in the pan....because on sale they cost about 50 cents per crust....WAY worth the money to me since I can't make a decent crust!  That's a 1 pound hunk of butter....between the 2 dishes we use about 3/4 of it.  And 1 quart plus 1 pint of my home canned apple pie filling.  The last ingredient is cinnamon sugar.

First you cut slabs of butter and place them in the bottom of the DO.

Next you lay out one of the pie crusts along the bottom, pressing gently against the pan and poke a few holes in it with a knife....

Then you add a few more pats of butter, and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar....

Now the base is done and you add both jars of pie filling, then a few more slabs of butter....and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar....

Then just lay on your top crust, poke a few steam hole in it, more cinnamon sugar, and it's ready for the pit!

Here are both dishes before going to the fire....

Place the lids on, then set the larger oven in the fire first, covering the lid completely with red coals.  Then set the smaller oven on top, covering it's lid completely with red coals also.  Wait 15 minutes and then turn them 45º.

Every 15 minutes, they get another turn....

For a total of 4 turns.  That's 1 hour of cooking....and they're done!!

Pit cooking is so easy and FUN!  I'm thrilled that our evenings are cool again.

Busy day!

Our morning started with a frost prediction for the overnight temperatures.  Any time we've got a frost warning, there is a lot to be done!  I had peppers still growing, tomatoes, eggplant, lots of herbs...and then some cold tolerant plants.  I had to do something about the Basil, it does not tolerate freezing at all.  I dried a whole dryer full....

Gave a huge bag of it to a friend.....and STILL have at least another dryer full left to do.  Anyone need some Basil??

Our biggest adventure for the day was taking our little princess dog, Taboo to the vet.  She has not been well for a week or so now...and with her age and health I was fearing for the worst....

To help keep me pre-occupied and to keep the bill down (only 1 office call even though we brought 3 dogs)...we took the hoodlems to get their rabies shots since they were due....

All went well, except for the unnecessary drama in the car as Taboo cried the whole car trip!  She HATES car rides.

The good news is that he was able to give her some meds to make her more comfortable.  We'll know in another day or two if it's going to work.

For now I'm going to enjoy the time we have with her....and enjoy this crisp weather. 

By the way, here's a picture of my finished curtain on the back door....I'm working on a number of other sewing projects including my very first QUILT!

O How I love Jesus

Projects Finished!

I finally finished re-doing the rocking chair for my mudroom!  My goal was to make the worlds' most comfy rocker and I think I did it!  I know the seat is extra poofy....keep in mind it is a feather filled cushion!  It has a lot of squish factor.

I did a skirt with pleated corners, and recovered the seat base....then added 2 wonderfully floofy feather filled pillows that I recovered.....

And to bring in the Festive Fall season....I made this door hanger....actually curtain. 

Turning old to new...

I'm in the midst of giving this old rocking chair a facelift....

I wish I'd have taken before pictures....but here's what I took it down to.  The seat cushion (not shown) is pure cotton....and I mistakenly washed it.  Now I plan to hand card the batting....just like wool.  I figure if it doesn't work, I'll card some llama wool and use it as the cushion.  I'll post more pictures as we progress.

Next project:

My mother embroidered some dish towels as a teenage girl.  She did one for each day of the week, with a cute character on each.  I remember drying dishes with these as a kid.  We used them for years when I was growing up, and eventually they got pushed to the back of the drawer since they had so many holes in them.

Years passed, and one day mom gave me a pile of hand-me-down dishtowels.  Three of those embroidered towels were in that pile.  I have had them for years....in a box of "to do" fabrics and projects.  Today I pulled them out....I've been thinking that I would cut the sewn piece out and frame each one.....but I just can not bring myself to cut them up!

I know they are stained, they have holes in them......but by golly they SHOULD have holes in them!  They were well used for over 50 years!  Imagine the holiday meals that we enjoyed, and even as torn "rags" they would be pulled out of the drawer to dry dishes because all the other towels were soaked.  They are so precious to me now, thinking about the dishes they dried after family meals.

Now they need a special place.  I thought I would cut them up to frame them but I just can not bring myself to do it.  So for now they are not in a box....each one has it's own frame.  I'll be hanging them in my was*sewing room*now called the mudroom*...it's my room of creative thoughts and ambitions.  And where we leave the muck boots.  :)  This is the room where I put most of my precious things.

It took a lot of ironing and starch...but I got each full dishtowel in a frame!  Ignore the cutting mat in the background...that's for another project.  I squished each towel into a frame with no cutting!

Aren't they adorable???

Attitude

A friend sent this to me this week, and I like it so much I thought I'd post it here.

Attitude

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror,

and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today.'

So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror

and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today.'

So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed

that she had only one hair on her head.
'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.'

So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and

noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

'YAY!' she exclaimed. 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary,

for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly,

and Pray continually.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

'Stop telling God how big your storm is and

start telling the storm, how big your God is!!!'

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.

Mrs. Barbara Gooch

One of our oldest and dearest friends went on to be with the Lord this weekend.  I cannot say enough about this lovely Christian lady to express how much she meant to our family.  God gives us all talents, and hers were with children.  She grieved for children to her very soul.  She would sit and rock a crying or sick baby for hours and hours, or days if need be.. until it was comforted. 

She had the patience of Job on one hand, and quick justice on the other.  When you walked into her home you were instantly surrounded by the love of the Lord.  Her home was a place of peace and tranquity...you could walk in after a rough day and just lay down on a pallette in the living room and rest.  She always had a place of rest.      

She was there when I was a teenager going off to college in a new town.  Her daughter is the one that introduced me to Bob.  She was there for me as a new wife and mother.  She was there for me through 4 children and 3 cancer scares. 

I hope and pray that I was a blessing to her.  I loved her as a second mother.  Thank you, Mrs Gooch.    

Birthdays!

I am WAY behind on posting....but trying to catch up.  Mom's birthday was May 30....she says it was her 38th.  That's a neat trick since I keep celebrating my 35th!!

Mom's fireplace mantle was full of cards....

And she got a yummy cake....with the PERFECT candles!

I totally missed the shot of her blowing out the candles....but you can see how great she is anyway!

Next on the birthday roll was Rebekah.  My baby turned 16 this year...it's hard to grasp!!

Of course the cake was her favorite, triple chocolate chip with fudge frosting and chocolate ice cream!!

Mom!

Well, I had a stack of neat pictures to post with a lot of nostalgia attached....but since my scanner is being obstinate that is not going to happen.

What can I say about my mom?  Well first of all she's the greatest person I know!  She has taught me from birth how to love the Lord, how to be respectful, she showed me how to work hard, and how to have fun .

My mom has been my best friend, my mentor, and teacher.  I adore the fact that she lives just across the road and we can visit over coffee each morning.  My mom is there for me day and night....as she has been since before I was born!

I Love You Mom......HAPPY MOTHER'S Day!

New Babies

We have added two new members to our family this week.  Both are puppies but they are at different ends of the scales for more than just their body weight.  Puppy #1 is the daughter of our Livestock Guardian Dog, Aegis.  If you do not know anything about Anatolian Shepherd Dogs....well, they are just the greatest dog breed on the planet if you want a dog that will keep you, your home, your family, and your livestock safe. 

I have been a fan of the German Shepherd for years, having several 'Old World' Shepherds during my life they were without a doubt the best breed for our family for a long time.  But German Shepherds have been....for lack of a better term...."Americanized"....bred for a certain look rather than breed character, courage, and performance.  And German Shepherds are herding dogs...not something that you need with pampered dairy goats or a yard full of poultry!

Since we lost our GSD Morgan a few years ago, we have pondered several guardian breeds.  We needed a dog with instinct, intelligence, independence...that we can trust with day old chicks or goat kids on one hand....but fight to the death to protect life, home, and property on the other. 

Then on April 6, 2009 we were given the answer to our prayers....an Anatolian Shepherd Dog we named "Aegis".  At the time he was only 4 months old.  He is from generations of guardian dogs, including his parents, and had been born and raised to be a guardian dog.  Thousands of years of breeding shines through with this boy, and I know that he was sent to us as a gift from the Father.  Now at 18 months old he is doing every day exactly what he was bred to do....and he is very good at it.

Back in Jan of this year, we were contacted by someone that owns a female Anatolian and wanted to know if we would consider breeding Aegis.  We agreed and decided to take the pick of the litter puppy in exchange for the breeding.   Here is a picture of Aegis and his mate, Buffy.

Last weekend we were able to pick our puppy from the litter.  Her name is Koruma (Born 3-23-10), and she has been learning her job since birth.  Here is Koruma meeting her daddy, Aegis.  Aegis is well over 100 pounds, but he is very gentle when it comes to babies.  Koruma weighs 11# 11oz at 6 1/2 weeks old. 

On the other end of the scale is our companion animals.  I love the "micro" dogs!....I never even liked these dogs until I was totally won over by our little princess Taboo.  She has captivated me for years, and she was able to convince me that chihuahuas were not just rats in a dog suit.  Just as the big dogs have a job, these tiny dogs have their job to do as well....they are companions. 

Our second addition to our family is little Kapu....she is a whopping 1# 13 oz...

Rough Week!

Of course you never appreciate the good times enough until you have bad times....but this has been a very rough week.
I was feeling like an "empty nester" with both Ben and Steph moving out the same day last week; so I got busy with some much needed remodelling projects in the house. We are converting the girls old room to a pantry and guest room, and there is a lot of work to get this done. Remember this poor room endured 8 years of teenage girlhood (2 girls). There are millions of staple holes in the walls, plus a wall of panelling that had to be pulled out, carpet had to be removed from the walk-in closet, and under the carpet was the original 1948 linoleum tiles that had to be pulled up.
Then late Monday night our little dog Ty got out of the back yard and was hit by a car and killed. Needless to say, I've been depressed all week.
It is times like these that make me take a deep prayerful breath and realize the need to be thankful for what I do have. Yes, the kids have moved out...but all 4 of my children are healthy young adults (including the teenager). Both of my boys have been in serious car accidents this year...yet walked away from them with very minor injuries. My oldest son is a student at Le Cordon Bleu in Dallas and is maintaining a B average. My youngest son is getting his life together after nearly becoming permenantly disabled from a car accident last Feb. He and my oldest daughter have gotten an apartment together and are finding their own way in life. My youngest daughter (15 yo) is still at home and I am looking forward to having time with her as an "only child". I've spent the last 23 years of my life doing the best I could to raise my children to love the Lord and be responsible hard-working adults. I thank God for providing me with a wonderful husband that provided us with the income and fortitude that made it possible for me to stay home with my children and raise them. My family is the most important thing in my life, and now that I'm making the transition I'm taking a deep breath and looking forward.

In the meantime....I still miss these days...

Counting our Blessings!

Ben had a serious car accident this morning, and now we are counting our blessings since he walked away from it relatively unscathed.  No other cars were involved, he simply missed a curve in the road and hit a tree.  It's a reminder of how quickly things can change and that we should never take our life for granted.

Here's the tree, that's a part of the door frame still stuck in it...

It is nothing short of a miracle that he was not seriously injured or killed.