Merry Christmas to All

For Unto us a Child is Born. . .

Wishing you a blessed and joyous Christmas.

Red

Being Fat is NOT Against the Law

I am so upset about the child that was taken from his family because of his weight.  I can assure you he is not the first child that is "obese", he is just the first that has been targeted. I think the people that did this should be ripped from their families and forced into a situation with strangers where they have no control over their lives.  Let's see how they like it.  This is just the beginning folks.  I have been saying for years that as soon as they wipe out the smokers they will go after the people with weight problems.  The government wants complete control of our lives.  They believe they have the power to tell us what we can eat.  Did you know that the USDA is pushing a full scale deregulation of  Monsanto's genetically engineered "Round Up Ready Sugar Beets"? They have no regard for the wishes of the people.  Monsanto has the money.  Money is power.
It absolutely sickens me. (The USDA is accepting public comment right now if you are interested in telling them what you think).

I don't have any children left at home, and it's probably a good thing.  I imagine I could raise all kinds of hell just trying to protect them from the idiots that work for the government.  When is this going to stop?  When are we, as the citizens of this country, going to say enough is enough and take back our rights?  Who do these people think they are?  Why are we letting them do this to us?????????
It needs to stop RIGHT NOW!

God help us.

Another Trip to Bob's Red Mill

Today I planned a trip into the city, or close to it, to get a bunch of errands done.  We were out of Oat Groats which we can only get at Bob's Red Mill.  That being the furthest destination, I headed there first.  I love going there and I really wasn't in a hurry so I did a little Christmas shopping in their kitchen gadget section.  I bought some spatula's and pot scrapers to use as stocking stuffers (for adult kids). They are bright and colorful and useful.  I bought four sets and tossed them into my cart on top of the 25 lb bag of Oat Groats.

When I loaded everything into my car I noticed that one of the little pot scrapers had fallen underneath the bag of oats. Sure enough, when I pulled out my receipt there was one missing.  I grabbed my purse, hit the door lock button, slammed the door and turned to go back inside the store. Instinctively I reached into my coat pocket for my car keys and - you guessed it - my pocket was empty. A quick look through the window confirmed my worst fears.  My keys were laying on the passenger seat and the doors were all securely locked.  What to do?  In all my years of driving I cannot recall ever locking my keys in the car.  Fortunately we bought a roadside assistance policy for our 5th wheel and it covers the cars as well.  Also, luckily, I had my cell phone and it was actually fully charged! 

I called the 800 number, got everything settled and went back into the store to pay for my 99 cent pot scraper.  It was a cold day but dry, thank the good Lord, so I decided to have some hot coffee while I waited for the Pop-A-Lock tech to arrive.  I paid for my scraper and told the gal at the register about my keys and she gave me the coffee for free :) 

I went outside where there were some tables and chairs, thinking I would sip my coffee and write all of this down. (I keep a small spiral notebook in my purse).  Of course, the pen I keep in my purse was nowhere to be found.  As I contemplated the ice cold chair I was sitting on imagine my surprise and delight when Mr. Bob himself walked up the entryway.  You would know him anywhere.  He looks exactly like his picture on all of his products.  I watched as he escorted a woman to the door and then he turned to me and smiled.  He said I must be freezing sitting where I was, and he pointed to the other side of the entry where the Espresso cart was, and said there was a heater over there and it would be much warmer.  What a friendly guy.  And if I hadn't locked my keys in the car I would have missed that.  Made my day.

Blessings,

Red

Back To Work

Today was was first day back at work after a weeks's furlough.  I am truly grateful to have my job, but it's dang hard to go back after lollygagging around for 9 days.  Yes I was canning, cooking, cleaning, baking, and all that stuff, but that's where my heart is. I guess it's good to know that my heart is in the right place. Right?

Have a blessed week everyone.

Red

Gotta Love Those Bikers

My brother rides a Harley.

These signs are on a restaurant near by.

They were put there for a biker charity and were never removed.

I love them.  I think they are quite charming!

A Bunch of Stuff

Things have been super busy around here.  It seems like everything in the garden ripened at the same time and needed to be canned.  I have been wanting to learn how to string onions since last year and this year I planted onions with that in mind.  This is my first attempt at stringing.  Not too bad! Once I got the hang of it  (no pun intended) it was really fun.  Next year I'd like to try braiding garlic.

These are some of the ones that were too small for stringing.

Still quite tasty though!

As you may remember, this is my first official year of canning.

I was very intimidated by the tomatoes.  But in the end I did it!

Ta Da! Canned tomatoes.

Harriet the Hen helping herself to a drink of water from the dogs bowl.

A head of cauliflower is enough to bring  them all together.

Yikes!  Wipe your feet!

 

I have really loved using my new/old stove.  It's awesome.

I have decided if we move it is going with me.

Last year I wanted to can Apple Pie filling but was too worried about the Clear Jel vs. Corn Starch dilema.  I finally found Clear Jel for sale at a Cash & Carry store not too far away.  When I got there I found out they only carry it in 25 pound bags for $47.00.  I passed.  Actually I almost passed out!  If the USDA says that Clear Jel is the only safe way to can pie filling  then it should be for sale at Wal Mart and everywhere else that sells canning supplies.  I am opposed to being forced to order the stuff online in a baggie.  So, I did what any red blooded woman would do - I used the corn starch and canned my pie filling.  Guess what?  It turned out awesome.  AND, we tested one jar and it cooked up wonderful.  So what is all the fuss about?

Pears and applesauce. Yum.

Green beans. More important than air.

Just a nice shot of the back yard looking toward the garden, orchard, and hen house.

That crazy Border Collie face.

Last weekend Tim went deer hunting with the neighbors. In two different locations they were bombarded with these giant HEAVY pinecones.  The squirrels were actually dropping  them on the hunters.  Two of the guys were so freaked out they got back to the truck in a hurry!  LOL.  Evidently they make a huge bang when they hit the ground.

And finally, the painted bathroom.  Yes the sinks are 1950's Aqua.  So is the tub which is around the corner on the right. The toilet is white, so it has been replaced.  Someday they will all match.  Maybe even in my lifetime. :)  Let's hope. . .

Finally Out of the Woods!

Okay, okay, that title was a bit dramatic, but we spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday cutting, hauling, and splitting that free firewood.

Two chainsaws and a loader is all it took.  Well, two strong men with chainsaws and a Redheaded loader with a camera!  That's a 6' fence in the background.

The weather was so hot we could only work about two hours each morning.  We thought we would have it in two days, but it didn't happen.  However, we got it all :)

 Well worth the screaming muscles :)  Now we get to stack it. This picture shows our half of the wood.  The other "strong man with a chainsaw", my boss, took home roughly the same amount.




Tuesday bright and early, Tim went back to work and I started working on the Master bathroom.  I have been waiting for years to remodel this bathroom but it's not going to happen.  At least not in the foreseeable future. (IS there a foreseeable future in this country?)  Anyway, as I mentioned in an earlier post, this is my furlough week for September (yes, I said week, as in 25% of my income lost for over a year now thanks to BO.)  Sorry - got off track there -  The bathroom is emptied.  That was crazy - who knew I had all that stuff?  Ceiling, walls and cabinets, all scrubbed - ugh.  Then I primed the ceiling, walls, and cabinets, along with a healthy portion of my hair.

Today is hopefully the day the walls change color.  This project was really more than I should have taken on.  I have something painful going on in my feet and a ladder is not my friend.  However, something inside just snapped and I was off to Home Depot buying paint.*sigh*

Needless to say, I am hurting pretty good.  But it's gonna be sooooooo worth it!  Even if it still has a 50 year old turquoise bathtub, at least it will be clean and new - sort of.


Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Red

Welcome, Welcome!

I'd just like to send  a big welcome out to my new followers.  Thank you for visiting and I look forward to getting to know you.  I have a hard time getting to the computer some days, so my posting is somewhat spotty.  Today was a busy day.  Again we were offered free firewood.  This time it was on a job site and they needed the pile to be removed as soon as possible.  Well, in my house, no matter what you have planned or what you are in the middle of, if someone offers free firewood you drop everything and grab a chainsaw.  

So off we went to cut wood again. We met at 9am - much too late to beat the 90+ degree heat today.  We got a trailer load and my boss got a trailer load, and half the pile is gone.  So tomorrow we are meeting at 7:30am to finish the job.  I really love free wood.  I think it burns hotter :)

While we were gone the wind picked up to a frenzied pace and flattened all of the corn in our garden.  And if that wasn't bad enough, it knocked out the power too.  So rather than sit in the house, which was getting warmer by the minute, we took off for a 2 hour shopping spree at Home Depot.  I'm on furlough next week and my "project" this month is to clean, fill, sand, prime and paint the master bathroom.  But first Tim needs to replace the exhaust fan.  So, after the big shopping trip I think we have everything we need.  Or, everything I need, to be more precise. And, fortunately, the power was back on when we got home!

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Red

The Cat and the Firewood

My boss asked me last week if we'd be interested in the three logs that were over in the yard.  He said they would make a nice pile of firewood, and of course I said yes, thank you very much!  The problem was finding a way to get the logs on the trailer so we didn't have to cut and split the wood on site.  It was way too hot out for that kind of activity.

Hmmmm.  I think that will do the trick!  Meet Miss Cat.

One in the cab, and one on the ground, and one behind the camera.  That's my kind of hard work!

We brought chains. . .

They offered to let me do this part and I politely declined.

And off she goes into the sunset (ok, it was still morning) after a job well done.  Good girl!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Red

My New Stove!



First off, let me welcome the new followers!  It's great to have you here.  I am humbled and pleased, so do make yourselves at home.  I am not very good at responding to comments.  I am working on that, so please bear with me.

Now for the news we've all been waiting for. . .

Ta da!!  We bought the stove.  The guy said he was told it worked but had not tested it.  We decided to take a chance when he said to bring it back for a refund  if it didn't work.  Win win!  Besides that, he was only asking $100 for it.  The stove weighs hundreds of pounds but luckily we have a great neighbor that is always willing to help.   After the guys got it out of the truck and into the garage, we (meaning Tim, not me) spent some time checking all the wiring out, switching the pigtail, and cleaning off all the spiders and "spooky stuff."  I did help clean the drawers :)

For those of you who are new here, our house has a daylight basement, and in the basement are two single car garages and a one bedroom apartment which I call my studio.  That is where my "canning kitchen" is. When we got the stove into the kitchen it fit beautifully.  I was totally smitten. I can't believe I could get so excited about an old stove!  It looks great and guess what - IT WORKS!  The rear burner on the left is not working but Tim thinks he can fix it.  Everything else works.  I spent all day Sunday canning plums on it and it was awesome.  There is room for two or three canners at one time. 

The big surprise was the broiler pans - original - were still in the ovens.  I was stunned.

The next three pictures are from the seller.  This shows the griddle in the center.

When you remove the griddle you have a very large burner underneath.

You can raise this burner to the proper height to use for CANNING!

Be still my heart.....

Oh, and believe it or not. . .

The clock still works.

And so does the light :)

I have no excuses now.  I best get busy filling up my pantry.

Next post will be all about firewood and big excavators, just so you know I don't always go on and on about kitchen stuff!

Thanks for stopping by,

Red

My Computer is Back!

I have had some rather miserable computer problems for awhile now and finally it's fixed! 
We took our annual camping trip with our ten year old granddaughter, which was very pleasant. The weather was great and we had a fun time with her as always. We have a 5th wheel RV and take all of the dogs too.  It's a wonderful get-away.  Next year we will start the tradition with our grandson who will be six by then. 

We are getting about 6 eggs a day now from "the Girls".  I have enjoyed these little gals so much.  They are quite friendly and they seem to enjoy my company too.  When I get home from work they all rush to the fence to say hello.  Actually I think they are saying "Let us out!"  We only let them out on the weekends.  The rest of the time they have to stay in their yard.

We have been concentrating on our food storage the past couple of weeks.  The "pantry" is in need of more shelving so that is next on the list of things to do.  We have the shelving unit, we just don't have the time to get it set up.  Elk season is just around the corner and I'm hoping Tim gets one this year.  It would be very comforting to fill the freezer up with meat.

I found a vintage stove on Craig's List that I would love to have for canning.  We are going to look at it on Saturday.  Do any of you have experience with vintage stoves?  This one is a 1954 RCA Estate electric range and oven.  Actually it has three ovens.  The range top has two large burners and two small ones, and in the center it has a griddle with a super large burner beneath it.  It's 40" wide so there is much more room for canners and pots.  And I have plenty of room for it in my canning kitchen.  I'll let you know if we buy it.
Regardless, I will be canning plums on Saturday.  One of our neighbors has two golden plum trees that are loaded with fruit and she said "come and get 'em"!  Wow.  You don't have to tell me twice, I'm on it!
After that I'll be harvesting apples in our little orchard and putting up some pie filling and applesauce.  (Man I could sure use that stove!)

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll get around to visit as soon as I can.

Blessings,

Red

Tree Falling

We had a large Fir tree on the side of our property that was leaning towards our neighbors new pole barn.  Our neighbor on the other side is an Axe Man Logger. I say that with tongue in cheek because although he really is a logger, he was only on the TV show for about 3 minutes.  Anyway, my husband keeps Axe Man's lawn mower running and as payment Axe Man takes care of our little forest. We are by far on the winning end of that deal!  We enjoy our trees and try to respect and care for them, HOWEVER, trees are not for hugging.  God gave us trees for many reasons and they are a renewable resource.  This tree will keep us warm in the cold winter months ahead.  We don't normally take our trees down for firewood, but this tree had become a liability and had to go, so we will not waste it.  But let it be known I am not an environmentalist, nor will I ever be.  Nuff said.




See the tall skinny tree way out there?  That used to be a very full Fir tree.  Axe Man limbed it about a month ago.  I've never seen such a pile of limbs.  And of course we had to move them all.

Here he is making his way up the tree to take the top off. He climbs like a monkey!  It is amazing :)  Now you can get an idea of how tall that tree is.  He is a full grown man, probably around 5'7" or so.

 He's got a fun sense of humor too.  All the time he's climbing that tree he's singing the blues about having had too much Jack Daniels the night before! 

His chain saw is tied to his waist, you can see it hanging down below him as he climbs.

He's up there somewhere at the end of that rope!

And "timberrrrrrr"!

He took off two more sections totalling 14' and then fell the rest of the tree.

The top measured out at 37', the two sections that came next were 14', and the rest  of the tree measured 62" long, for a total of 113'.  (And 10' 7" around at the base).  Good sized tree. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Red

Proud New Member

Oregon Firearms Federation

I love these guys.

These are the guys that haunt the "anti-gun" politicians. 

Nothing gets past them - State or federal - they're on it.

Then they share it with the rest of us.

If we want to preserve our gun rights we have to stand up.

I'm standing and I'm pretty darn sure you are too.



Thanks for stopping by!

Red

Yesterday Was a Day of Firsts

Yesterday, for the first time. . . . .

 I went to a gun store.

I bought my first shotgun ( used, 20 ga. Mossberg)

I bought my first soft sided gun case.

I bought my own ammo.

I know, I know.  It's about damn time.  My friends and family are thrilled.

It's a start.

Today I signed up for a pistol class "for ladies".  The classes are full until Feb. 2012.  I may find something sooner at another location.  Tim and I also want  to take the concealed carry class that is offered in the city.  Next weekend I will have my first real shooting experience/lesson with my new shotgun.  I'll let you know how it turns out.



Thanks for stopping by!

Red


Note: Edited for spelling correction & re-posted.