Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A Cool November Day

Yesterday it was raining and foggy all day.  Yuk!   And I baked a delicious Sourdough Chocolate Cake with chocolate frosting.  It's very tasty!

Today is cool, cloudy, and damp.  Another "yuk".  I made a double batch of jalapeno pepper jelly this morning.  It looks like there's still enough peppers to make another single batch, but I have to buy more jelly jars and liquid pectin first.  Later in this afternoon I'm going to make Sourdough Pecan Sticky Buns.  The sourdough "sponge" is doing it's thing  right now....sitting and bubbling away.  I haven't used my sourdough in a while, so I decided to make several sourdough recipes over several days.   When the cake has been eaten, I'm going to bake a Friendship Cake.  It's easy and I haven't made it in quite a while. 

I ordered 2 Christmas Dulcimer songbooks, but sent one back.  It wasn't in the same tuning as I play my dulcimer.  Since I'm a new player, I don't know yet how to rewrite the music, nor do I want to retune my dulcimer.  But hey, the company shouldn't mind that I sent the book back because I ordered another book, more expensive than the first one.  Anyway, the second songbook arrived yesterday and I can play most of the songs.  Just need lots of practice to play smoothly.  I had to laugh because on the front cover it says something to effect of "small hand friendly".  Ha! Ha!  I have small hands and I can't play a couple of the chords.  I have no idea how I'm supposed to reach them.  Luckily the author had a new tip for me:  If you can't reach the bass string in any chord, don't.  The music still sounds like it's supposed to.  That makes it easy and still enjoyable for me to play.

I have a new soap to wrap this afternoon:  Citrus Sage.  This coming weekend is one of the "Big" craft shows of the year.  My younger daughter and I are looking forward to it.  We meet LOTS of people and, of course, sell soaps.

So it's off with me to practice my dulcimer, bake the sticky buns, and wrap soap!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

CATS

Last Saturday my younger daughter and I were vendors most of the day at a local church bazaar.  It was late and dark when we got home.  After the evening chores were finished and since it was still warm outside, Hubby and I decided to sit on the front porch and play with our 4 House cats.  (They are called House cats because they hang around our house, as opposed to the Barn cats, who hang out at the barn.)   Earlier when I was unloading the soaps from the vehicle and carrying them into the house, the cats were meowing at me, trying to rub on my legs and walking between my feet---whatever they could do to get my attention.  However, when I sat down and wanted to hold one of them, any of them, they had other things to do!  The barn cats had come up to the house to see if they were missing any fun.  All of the cats were either wrestling with other, chasing a spider or a moth, or chasing each other.   No one wanted to sit on Mama's lap to be petted!  Not a single cat!  And I kept fussing to my husband that my kitties didn't love me anymore.  Finally I got a hold of Bandit, a pretty black and white cat (one of 3 black and white cats), and set him on my lap and started petting.  He decided it was lap time and he stayed right there, purring contentedly, until I was ready to go in for the night.  That's all I wanted, to hold one of my kitties for a little while.  But they were fun to watch while they were playing.  

Monday, November 2, 2009

What's up at Patchwork Acres?

Well, we've had quite a lot of rain last week, actually a lot for the month of October.  It caused several accidents last week, one of which included my husband and his motorcycle.  Thank God, he's okay!  He didn't get a scratch, but his bike is out of commission for the time being.  He's waiting to get a repair estimate from the shop so he can turn it in  to the insurance and then decide what he's going to do.  Either repair the bike himself, which is most likely what he'll do, or buy another used bike or buy a new bike.  Because of his accident, I was unable to do the spinning demonstration at an area elementary school last week.  We only have one other vehicle and hubby needed that to get to work.  

The new baby goats are doing well.  Since it's stopped raining, the goats are going outside to the fields or the woods.  They don't particularly like getting wet; so if it's raining, they're hanging out in the barn.  

One of my younger daughter's friends has taken some of the barn kitties to his house.  That will help out on the cat food bill.  I like cats, but we had too many.  Now I only have 2 more females to get spayed before this next spring.  

I washed and hung a load of clothes outside on the "solar dryer" this morning.  I had to use the electric dryer last week because of the rain.  I prefer to hang the laundry outside as often as I can because I'd don't like using the electric dryer.  I keep seeing the dollars adding up on the utility bill.   I even hang the laundry out when it gets cold, as long as it's not below freezing or raining or snowing outside.  I have to hang it out first thing in the morning to give it plenty of time to dry before dark.  

All of the regular farmers' markets are over now until next spring.  The winter market we joined that's located  St. Louis will open next week, but I won't be able to go because I'm already committed to craft show that weekend.   And I'm still busy making soaps for the craft shows that are coming up.  This morning I made a batch of Green Irish Tweed Goat Milk Soap.  MMMmmm, smells good in my house!

Some really exciting news about my younger daughter.  She received an invitation to apply for admission at the Missouri Academy of Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science.  If she's accepted (of which I have no doubt she will be since she's an almost straight A student), she'll be attending the last 2 years of high school there.  She'll receive a high school diploma and a 2-year Associate's degree and have a head start on her regular college career.  We are already familiar with this program since my older daughter graduated from this school several years ago.

I've been busy knitting baby socks from leftover sock yarn.  I'll have them for sale along with my soaps at the craft shows.  I've almost finished a 2nd pair this week.  I'm using a wonderful bamboo, wool, and nylon yarn.  It's very soft and comfy on the feet!  I'm still working on the lacy, red cotton cardigan for my younger daughter.  I had hoped to have it finished already, but now my goal is to finish it by this spring.  I have too many irons in the fire right now.

I really need/want to finish sewing a skirt that I started quite a while ago because my daughter is ready to learn to sew.  She's been checking out patterns for dresses that she wants to make.  I think she'll first sew a few aprons for her older sister and for me.  Then she can tackle a dress.

My dulcimer lessons are going well, when I can find the time to practice.  I can play the melody fine, just have to work on moving my fingers faster on the chords on the faster songs.  I'm sure that will come with lots of practice and time.

Well, it's time for Y&R, so I'll go watch that and finish that pair of baby socks.