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Doing the Happy Dance

We are all doing the happy dance here on the farm. (this is suppose to be chicken impersonating Elvis). We have gotten some rain and I mean a significant amount too. Check it out. Look 2 inches of rain fell in about 8 hours. It was quite the storm. We have been in a very bad drought here in Oklahoma and the cattle have been suffering because of it. So this is a blessing. What a relief to see rain clouds over these very dry pasture. Unfortunatly not far from here an elderly lady died when very strong wing blew her mobile home some distance with her in it. This was about 4:00 am. I did not know her but my prayers go out to her family.

Old Southern Style Lime Pickles

I am finally able to can something out of the garden. I was starting to think that it just was not going to happen with the attack from Mr Groundhog, rabbits, the heat and now the tomato horn worms. But here are some pickles I canned this past weekend. It took about a week to collect enough cucumbers to make a batch. Now "the man of the place" just loves these pickles. I make Lime Pickles. Now if you have never tried these they are a lot like a sweet pickle but with a little more tartness to them. They have a nice crisp crunch to them. So if you refrigerate your pickles they are very refreshing. The recipe is the one that the company puts on the back of their package. Here where I lives the brand of Pickling Lime is Mrs. Wages. According to their recipe you have to soak the cucumbers in the lime solution overnight. Then you have to rinse the cucumbers 3 times and soak them in ice water for 3 hours. Then you make the brine of vinegar, sugar and spices. After the solution b

Yogurt making

There is nothing as good as fresh yogurt made at home. I know there are various methods of making yogurt and I make it with a yogurt maker. So I thought I would share how I make mine. There are starters out there you can use and I have in the past.  But now I basically make it using a plain, organic, Greek style yogurt I buy at the store. I use to use a regular type of yogurt but when I use Greek style I get a thicker finished product. I also use organic milk. Now you need some fat in your milk to make it thick and smooth, non-fat will work but it's not to my liking. They add a thickener to store bought non-fat yogurt to make it thick.  The yogurt maker I have holds 7 - 6oz glass jars. I have had this one for about 10 years now. And it has worked pretty good for me all these years. I did learn from making this mistake,  is that when you clean the maker do not use an antibacterial soap. When I did that the bacteria in the yogurt did not multiply like it should of, and so next cou

Love to applique

I wanted to share some of the quilts tops that I have completed this year. The pictures are not the best The designer of this Sunflower quilt in Marilyn McSpadden. The same designer who design the Snowman Quilt. I have someone special in mind to quilt this one. This is a pattern I found in a McCalls magazine. I'm going to have this one quilted by my aunt.   This one is from a book titled Ruby Red Dots from Kansas City Star Publishers  Unfortunately I did not get all the quilt in the picture and this is the only picture I have of it. Because right now and has been hanging in a friends quilt shop.  It has applique border that is really a nice touch. This one is going to be hand quilted. Do you notice a common theme, I love to applique, whether it is by hand or on the machine. I am working on a couple others also. Till next time Kat =^..^=

Cool Flash Back

This was the view from my sewing room window. To think this was only a 6 months ago. I think I'm going to get this blown up and paste it on my window now. This is what I see now Besides the total change in landscape, there is a difference in 100F degree temperature Today at this moment 2:00 pm it is 109.2 out there. At least it is not humid. Reminds me of being back in  Sacramento, California. It was not uncommon to be 90's-100's and dry like this, make me reminisce But California enviroment has evolved to deal with this heat and drought, not the plants here. I'm just staying in and checking often on the livestock.  You stay cool. Kat =^..^=

A Day of Firsts

Do you remember what it was like as a child and seeing or doing something for the first time. How exciting it could be. I think sometimes as adults we have become numb or to busy to look at things that way But today I had my eyes open to those feelings. Here are some firsts I had happen today. In the garden and in the sewing room. The first ripe tomatoes out of the garden. It's been a long time wait. The kid in me is so excited I could pee my pants, but the adult in me waited until I made to the bathroom. As you can see there is more. OK one more  So red And then I finished my first block to Scandinavian Christmas. I just can't seem make them fast enough for my liking. The impatient child in me now. Just love this design  Now here are a few more firsts out of the garden.  First dug potatoes  Then I picked a couple of the eggplants, green peppers and unfortunately okra that I did not know was there. It's just a little too big to fry, maybe I'll

Hooray

Yeppy !!!! I finished the top I started, from oh,  just a couple of years ago. But if you were around a month ago you know that I decided to finish this. I was making it my 4th of July project.  I did well but then it came to a halt because I didn't have enough fabric for the border. I was able to find border fabric at a local quilt shop. What do you think? So now I have another one checked off my list of WIP.  I really need to make a list of all the projects I have in various stages. I know I'll be shocked when I do. Till next time Kat =^..^=