The Last Day Of Fall

(I love this song, but couldn't figure out how to get the wiget to install in the post.)
My Favorite Things

As I type the wind is blasting, slamming rain into the house. So the song is very suitable.

Fall has past by so fast. It has been such a wonderful break from the heat of summer.

I have been enjoying:

 The crisp, cool air. The crunch under my feet of fallen leaves. The frost at night that makes the leaves on the ground appear to be covered in diamond dust. Watching the thick fog roll in, and listening to it drip off the naked tree branches. Discovering a newly hatched nest of chicks in the haystack. Watching two of our goats we raised go to wonderful, new homes. Finishing the book Little Heathens. Then passing it to my mom, but not before telling her everything in the book. Sipping hot apple cider. The knock at the door from a neighbor bringing over a bag full of yummy tamales. Testing out my new Muck's and falling in the 4" mud. Then warming my numb, cold hands by the fire.

Releasing Bogart into the pasture, and knowing we will enjoy watching baby goats bouncing around in May. Watching the documentary Windfall with my parents on a cold, windy night. Picking the first ripe orange off the tree, and eating it while sharing with the goats. Playing with my new NOOK ( Thanks Dad), and downloading lots of free antique books I've been wanting to read from openlibrary , and googlebooks Yay! Swapping seeds, and dreaming about all of the plants I'm going to grow next year. And last but not least. Finding a new little quote that I love by Hans Christian Anderson "Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." That one is definitely getting painted on something : )

So what did you enjoy this Fall?

Kimberly

Happy Thanksgiving

An Autumn Blessing

Bless us, Lord, the fall wind blows;

The winter storms begin.

Bless this house in which we dwell

And keep us snug within.

Bless the walls, the chimney top,

Likewise the thumb-turned latch;

Bless the cat beside the hearth,

The mouse he tries to catch.

Bless the books that line the shelves,

The hands that gentle things,

That bake the loaves, make the beds,

And bless the heart that sings.

Let laughter live within this house;

Bless children as they play.

Bless all who knock upon the door

And loved ones far away.

Bless the teapot steaming hot,

The little cakes so fair.

Bless all who call this house a home

With peace and love to share.

Bless harvest hoards in cellar bins,

The rooftop firm and tall.

Give with these autumn blessings

A thankful heart to all.



The oven is fixed, after being out of service since July. Yay! Just in time for Thanksgiving.

My mom went straight to work making an apple pie. It made the house smell so good. Guess what I had for breakfast?

I think I'm the only person on the planet that doesn't care for turkey. My favorite thanksgiving dish actually comes from inside the turkey. Stuffing.

With the cool fall weather here, everyone enjoys relaxing in the living room by the fireplace. Including the dogs.

(The Vicky dog is on top, Petunia below, and her mother Amy to the left)

They really did arrange themselves that way. It's such hard work being a farm dog : )

I have taken so many picture, that I just haven't gotten around to posting. So I'm going to share some now.

My mom, preparing the grapes for jelly.

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving.

Kimberly

Liebster Award- Tag Your It.

{rules}

1. You must post eleven facts about yourself.

2. You must also answer the eleven questions the awarder has given you and make up eleven questions for your awardees to answer in turn.

3. Tag eleven fellow bloggers

4. Notify them that you've awarded them

5. No tagging back

6. And the eleven blogs you tag must have less than 200 followers.

{eleven facts about myself}

That's really tough. So I'm going to start with my biggest fact.

1. I have Grave's Disease. It's not fun.

2. I cringe, when I hear peaple use the words absolutely and amazing. They are extremely overused. It's like it's a fad right now to use them in everything. Be original.

3. Living in the same tiny house my whole life, I have learned to cram a lot of stuff into a tiny space. Especially books. Call it a gift or a sin. ; )

4. I love to garden. It is amazing (Yes, I used that word, because it is.) to watch a tiny seed germinate and grow into a mature plant. I hate weeding.

5. I love tomatoes in most everything, but eating a tomato by itself is totally disgusting.

6. I write with my right hand, but do everything else with my left.

7. I don't drive.

8. I love wearing skirts, but only get to wear them about 10% of the time. Jeans are a farm necessity here.

9. I bake when I'm alone.

10. I'm shy, but once I get to know you, I will talk your ear off.

11. I love tea, but my stomache will torture me if I drink it.

{Natasha Marie's Questions}

1. Which is your favorite season? (spring/summer/fall/winter)

Fall
2. Do you watch more British TV shows or American?

British
3. What's your everyday hairstyle?  A ponytail, a braid, a bun?

A ponytail, till I get it cut off the rest of the way. Then it won't fit in any.
4. Do you sew most of your own clothes or buy them?

Buy at thrift stores.
5. In what year did Columbus sail the ocean blue?

1492. I cheated (finger pointing at myself). I had to look that up.
6. Favorite screen/literary couple?

There are so many. Fancy Day and Dick Dewy from Under the Greenwood Tree, and Margaret Hale and John Thornton from North and South.
7. Which is your favorite/most read book of the Bible?  (not including Psalms and Proverbs;)

Genesis
8. Your favorite TV show when you were a child?

Full House, which I can't stand now.
9. Least favorite vegetable?

Okra. Yuck!
10. Do you watch the Marvel Superhero films?  If so, which is your favorite superhero and why?

no
11. Do you think bow ties are cool?

Very dashing.

{11 questions for my awardees to answer}

1. Which media form do you use the most to get your bonnet fix? (book, audio book, or video)

2. What is your favorite recipe book?

3. Have you ever smelled the ocean?

4. Do you shop at thrift stores?

5. What was your favorite book as a child?

6. How do you prefer your eggs cooked?

7. Have you ever heard of the Weston A. Price Foundation?

8. Tea or coffee?

9. Milk chocolate or dark chocolate?

10. Have you ever gotten lost, and called it an adventure?

11. How do you feel about frogs?

{eleven fellow bloggers i'm tagging}

I could only find 6 blogs to tag.

Jean @ Allotment adventures With Jean

Sarah @ Edna Earl Sew

Gracie @ Creations of Gracie

Amy @ Old Fashioned Girl

Rosie @ Rosie's Ramblings

Stephanie @ Hopeful Homemaker

National Heirloom Exposition

We (me, my mom, and nephew) attended the National Heirloom Exposition yesterday.

It was amazing. We planned to go last year, but just didn't end up making it. There were so many things to look at, it was almost overwhelming. 7500 people attended! It was the first day of the three day event.

I have learned to control my seed addiction : ) So I restrained myself, and only bought 1 packet of seeds while I was there. My selection was the Large Barred Boar tomato from Wild Boar Farm .They were sold out of the Indigo Apple tomato seeds : (
My mom bought a very informative cookbook called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon at the Weston A. Price Foundation Booth.

I enjoyed some coconut, and Mexican chocolate ice cream while walking around and looking at all the heritage breed animals they had on display.

We definitely will be going back next year, but I think we will be leaving my nephew at home. It just wasn't his cup of tea.

My mom with the creature.

 I loved how this picture turned out. They had placed the tomatoes on top of the picture, but it looks like it is joined.

 Apples.

The giant squash. Some of them were hooked up to water. Had to keep there water weight up.

 These little pigs were soooooo cute!

A really cool bee hive.

The Monsanto Man (the devil) at the dunk tank. Support Prop 37 to label GMO's

Kimberly

Busy August

How do you exercise without getting hot?

We have been so busy around here this past month. My dad was given a used above ground pool. So we have been clearing an area for our new-used 13'x25' pool. Spreading sand, making repairs, setting up, and filling.

After all our work we all enjoy a nice swim most evenings.

I don't know about you, but I think it's the most enjoyable form of exercise out there.

 This might not be a very good picture, but I had to crop the people out of it.

 ________________________________________________________________________________

My mom and I tackled the job of shearing Bogart.

For those of you that don't know, angora goats have to be sheared twice a year, because there fiber grows really fast and is really heavy.

 A few hours and several pairs of dull scissors later and here is our finished product.

We also had to pen him and his son up since we don't want babies in February.

Here is his son that we are keeping, because Bogart is getting old. He is 1/4 LaMancha and 3/4 Angora. I call the crosses llama goats because they look allot like a llama. This cross produces very soft fiber like the Pygora goats.

________________________________________________________________________________ 

 I finally got my first embroidery project complete. I saw in a craft movie, a lady who made embroidered portraits of famous people like Elvis. They looked pretty neat, so I decided to give it a try.

I printed off a picture of Julie London (I like her music), used tracing paper and traced all the main lines in the photo with a hot iron transfer pencil. Then ironed the picture onto the fabric.

Then it was time to practice embroidering. Here is my finished project.

It's not great, but it's a start. There was a lot of stitches that I just didn't like and had to re-do, or I just couldn't get to look right, so I removed it all together. The shading on the neck I couldn't get to look right. It was definitely a good practice. I was thinking it would be nice to do family portraits.

 ________________________________________________________________________________

Seed saving.

Canary Melon, one of my most favorite melons.

Some lovely Rosa Bianca Eggplant. I got my seeds here.  I picked all the seeds out of the over ripe fruit with my fingers and it stain my fingers brown. Very Brown. It was also very time consuming. If you know of a better way of getting the seeds out of eggplant please let me know.

________________________________________________________________________________

My brother brought his twin boys over to visit a couple days ago. Of all the things on our place to play with the rope hanging from the tree seems to be the most entertaining thing of all.

As soon as they found out I was going to take there picture they started posing.

OK, I'll admit it.... I have some of the cutest nephews ever.

________________________________________________________________________________

I awoke this morning to the noise of hot air balloons flying over. I grabbed the camera and ran out the door.

I don't think I have seen so many fly over so close together before.

Well, that's just a little bit of whats been going on around here lately. Just to much to put in one post.

All for now.

Kimberly

Mistake

I made a boo boo in my previous post. I forgot the green onions in the recipe. The mistake has been corrected.

Kimberly

Recipe? What Recipe?

I think that the best recipes you will find, are the ones that are nothing but a list of ingredients.
My mom has never been big on cooking from recipes. Most meals are from memory or concoctions of her own creation. Most times her concoctions are loved, but occasionally one is loved by the dogs.
One of my moms best dishes is her potato salad. It's the only potato salad I will eat. Why? Because no other potato salad can compare. I am sad for the people that have been raised thinking that potato salad comes from a carton. Yuck!
The best thing of all. This recipe is not a recipe, just a list of ingredients and instructions. I was taught to make it many years back and have been making it for our holiday meals ever since. It is also not for those on a diet. It is very fattening, that's what makes it taste so good.

Maggi seasoning is the special ingredient in the recipe. It can be found in most grocery stores in a tiny little bottle that you will pay through the nose for. It's best to find it at your local Asian food market. They sell it in big bottles at a reasonable price. We buy the one that doesn't contain MSG. It is sold with and without MSG.

So lets get on to the recipe that's not.
What you need:
Bacon fried till very crisp then cooled and crumbled. Reserve the bacon drippings for later.
Potatoes of course. cooked cooled then diced.
mayo
milk
Maggi Seasoning
Vlasic Kosher Dill Pickles, diced
green olives with red pimentos, sliced
green onions, sliced, You can sub. sweet onion if you don't have any on hand
celery, diced (optional)

Instructions: Put all the diced potatoes in a bowl add the bacon, pickles, green olives, green onion, and celery.
In a jar or glass, add the amount of mayo you will need for the size of salad you are making. Add the reserved bacon dripping and mix well. That's right, I said it is fattening. Then add the milk to the right consistency. Add Maggi  to taste (you want to get it salty enough that you don't have to add salt). Mix it up and pour on salad. Stir salad, cover and refrigerate till ready to serve.

My warning to all, this salad is very addictive. You will not want to stick with that little portion on your plate. You will keep going back for more and more.

Kimberly

Happenings

"How dreadfully Old I am getting! "

Elizabeth Prentiss

It was my birthday last week.

My perents gave me this lovely pendant watch. I love it! It is so perfectly me.

It has a very long chain, which I love, but have to be very careful not to knock it into anything.

Pressing some flowers for future crafts.

Some new pictures from the garden.

The Armenian Cucumbers have really taken off. The are growing all the way up the back of the tree now. I think I am going to need a ladder pretty soon.

Im not the only one filling my baskets in the garden.

Flying Saucers Morning Glories

Picotee Cosmo

 Rosa Bianca Eggplant flower

Can anyone please identify this plant in the three following pictures?

It is a very pretty reed like plant that is growing wild in my neighbors pasture. I transplanted a piece into my garden and it has gotten this big.

My brother brought me over this present for my garden. He even welded the honeycomb into the center. Isn't he sweet?



Kimberly