Rose Prairie Quilts and Farm

I have kept lists of things to do, things to remember, just lists and more lists for a very long time. I would keep my first lists just on scraps of paper. Then when I started college it was on note pads. Then when I started teaching  that notepad got clipped onto a clipboard. I did that for years probably at least 15 years.   I bought a padded folding clipboard portfolio  And then would carry that around on occasion but mainly kept it at work or at home. I found it kind of big and cumbersome to haul around with me all the time. I would keep my sheets of lists for a while but then after sometime I would have the pile of tattered pages, what a mess. So I would just throw them away. I also during this time had a journal. I started keeping one when I was a teenager and continue this. I would do really well on keeping up with entries in my journal but of course there would be times I wouldn't have anything written. And that would be normal. But when I star

I thought I would show some of the farm chores I do on a daily basis. I tend to the chickens first thing in the morning to let the girls out, give a little scratch and check the nesting boxes.  Woo hoo another egg this morning.  This is the girl right there, in front.  She is the only one out of the eight that is laying eggs right now. She deserves extra scratch if I can figure out how to keep the others out of it.  Then I'll walk down to the barn to feed the heifers.  We have 10 young heifers separated, which I feed 4 buckets of cattle cubes to every day.  We have also 12 heifers who are going to give birth within the next couple of months in the pasture right next to the barn. That is also where the container that holds the cattle cubes is located.  And as you can see I have a group waiting for me to start dishing out the cubes. I have to fill 4 buckets up, but I can only carry two at a time into the barn. 

Three more days till Christmas.  Yesterday I needed to get more of that flannel fabric to finish the PJs and I had bought that fabric in Tulsa. Which meant I needed to go back to Tulsa. I can never just go to Tulsa and come right back home, it seems to always be an all day affair. So basically all I got done yesterday was a little cleaning and running errands I also went by whole foods to pick up some nitrate free salt pork. But they didn't have any at the time. So the butcher suggested just buy some pork belly and use that. Which salt pork is, just salt cured pork belly. But I thought I would try making my own. They were so nice at Whole Foods, for not having what I wanted they gave me a pound of pork belly for free. Went home and looked it up on Google.  Very simple as can be, has only 2 ingredients  You mix the non iodine salt and some brown sugar together and coated the pork liberally.  Then place it in a glass dish, cover with plastic wrap  and

Well here it is just a few days before Christmas and are you ready? I have a little extra time because my youngest daughter is unable to come home till next Sunday. And with the rest of my daughters are in California and gifts need to mailed or order before now, so shopping is pretty much done for me. I was working on one of the gifts for my youngest when I realized I did not purchase enough fabric. On the pattern it gave amounts for the top and bottom but I was only making the bottoms so I tired to guess how much would be needed. But I guessed wrong. Could of used another yard. Now I'll need to go get some more tomorrow. Earlier, I finally got around to doing something with the apple I picked up last month at Apple Hill. Made a pie and put the rest in the freezer for future pies. And to my surprise there was another egg. The girls stopped laying when we had the groundhog and raccoon invade their house...that was 3 months ago. I just about gave up on

My five will all start with the letter F 1. Fish chowder. When I was at my daughters this past year she made this dish hoping that "the little dudes" would like it. Now Grammy loved it but the boys they didn't care for it too much. I thought it was mighty tasty so I got a copy of the recipe and I have made it a couple times since I've been home. 2.  Fresh carrots. Now I needed some carrots to go in the chowder and I went out to the garden because I still have a 6 foot patch of carrots in the ground.  The really neat thing about these carrots is I did not sow the seeds myself. I had let a couple carrots from last year go to seed over the summer and this bed self seeded itself. Have to say it's been the best crop of carrots I've had in... I don't  know how long. 3. Flannel pajamas. Since my girls don't read my blog very often I don't have to worry about them finding out about getting flannel pajamas for Chri

This past couple years I have had to deal with pain in my right hand when knitting. So I have been doing very little. The slippers I just made was taxing and so disappointing cause knitting is something I love to do and here it is more pain than pleasure. Knitting is the first thing I learned and has been my go to handwork. even with that said, I will not give it totally up. I had started this when in California for my daughter and I'm back at it.  cat cocoon Mine is not in pretty colors like this. Mines are in earth tone colors. The cats will love it. Now for the books. I gave myself a goal this year of reading 25 books.  Well I'm a little short of this goal. Right now on number 23 and do not believe I can have 2 more books read in a couple weeks. But that's  OK. there is next year Presently reading  This is the second book in "The Mitford Years" series. and so loving it. Its a sweet read that makes me wished I was there

I have gone five days without posting again. Seems like this year I have been in a bad funk I hate it, I rather be consistent and have a set schedule to follow.  But it seems  like this year no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get into a rhythm.    I have to admit part of the reason is the past five days  I had been working outside very hard, and by the time I was be done, I would be too tired to think or move. Three of those five days I spent weeding and cleaning out some beds in the garden and mowing gathering and dumping tubs of clippings, 45 all together.  Very little sewing went on.  I did knit a pair of slippers for my sister which I will give her for Christmas And what little sewing I did, was when it rained Sunday. Started the snowman wall hanging. And cut out some circles for Quilty 365. Yesterday I wasn't able to get any sewing in because I had an eye appointment early in the morning and spent