After Midnight and Mostly Quiet

It is 12:28 a.m. and so I guess I could say Good Morning to each of you, but I feel like saying Good Night since I really should be in bed right now. However, I have been so busy lately that I really needed to catch up on some work and so I decided that tonight was the correct time to do it. I truly felt that I needed to write after everyone was in bed and now it is fairly quiet here except for the dog snoring.

The grandbaby turns 9 months old on Wednesday and I can hardly believe how great she is. We took her for a checkup today and the doctor said that all looked great! She is doing well developmentally and her weight seems to be in line as well. He recommended that we start her on table food, which we have been doing. He also spoke to my daughter about the hidden dangers to watch for- small objects on the floor, her attempts to walk, etc. I am sure that we will see bumps and bruises in the next few months as she becomes more independent. She is getting taller each day it seems and attempting more and more each day. It is such a blessing to watch her discover new things each day. I am blessed to be able to take care of her for my daughter.

I have some dear friends that are struggling with parents that are ill and it reminded me of the months that my mom was not well and how scared we were that she might never be well again. However, I must say that she is doing well for what she went through and to be going on 81 years old. I am truly thankful that God allowed her to have a wonderful surgeon that was able to truly work a miracle on her. There is Power in the blood!

I hope each of you have a wonderful day! I am going to finish my work and join my husband for a few hours of sleep.

It's WHAT Month

I believe Mother Nature is really confused about what month it is. With temperatures in the upper 60's and lower 70's in February, I am finding that even I am confused about what month it is.

Today,  the sun has been shining and a nice breeze but an absolutely beautiful spring day!  Key word, "spring" , it is not  spring! I don't know if it's global warming or something else.

If it's a sign of early spring, that's wonderful!  If it's a teaser,  I am truly upset that we are going to be sitting in frozen temps again soon. We haven't had much snow,  hardly any ice,  and the cold has not been too bad.

Normally our Feb. is cold and snowy and we can count on some ice, but this year has been a really strange one.  We may have snow in July but if we do,  I don't think I will be surprised.

Farm wives are very aware of what time of the year it is because we seem to know when it is time to start planting.  I am considering buying a small green house this spring.  It seems that I get in a hurry to plant and then the plants are ready to go outside before the weather is ready for them.

I plan to plant cauliflower, cabbage,onions,tomatos,cucumbers,broccoli, lettuce, peas, and green beans. I hope they do well and that we can have a nice salad with our meals. Since we are a hobby farm,  we don't do  business from here so I am not planting for sales just what we will eat.

Now that I have talked about it,  I am more than ready for spring.

Gone Too Long

I must say that I have been gone from writing way too long this time. I just realized that it has been over a week since my last post here and I promised myself that I was going to do much better this week about writing here. I even began a calendar at the first of the year to keep track of what I was doing here and with my other blogs. It is in my file cabinet and has not been touched in the month of Feb. I will work on it during the weekend and get myself back on track.

Have things been busy? Yes. Is life always busy here? Yes, but I am attempting to slow things down and live a more normal and simpler lifestyle. This means that I need to only focus on what is important and this blog is important to me.

 The stomach bug hit our farmhouse early Wednesday morning. It was nasty! My husband and I were both sick and then yesterday, my mom was sick. His parents who live next door were sick on Tuesday. Luckily, the baby and my daughter stayed well. 24 hours of pure torture would be the only way I would describe it. I was so very sick and realized quickly that I was better in a horizontal position than being vertical, so I was in bed most of the day. My hubby did not suffer as much and managed to be outside moving around some.

Since we are having some company to the farm tonight, I must cur this short so that I can clean some before little one is in my care. She is in a stage where she does not want her to leave her alone even to walk into the other room. It makes doing things very difficult!

Take care of yourself and enjoy the day. Our temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 60's today and tomorrow. I am certainly ready for spring!!

This is a photo I took while we were in Savannah, GA last year. I thought a nice photo of the beach would put you in the mood for spring!

Country Apple Pie Recipe

A few days ago, a friend of my daughter's brought us a couple of sacks of apples that came from a local orchard. He gets the ones that are left at the end of the season to feed his horses and other livestock. Some of them are still really good apples and so he thought that I would enjoy them. I ate several of them and they were so tender and such delicious apples!

On Tuesday, I decided that I would make an apple pie. I decided that I would share my recipe and success here with each of you. Here is the results of that sharing:


COUNTRY APPLE PIE RECIPE
 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
dash of salt
8 med. apples
2 tblsp. butter



The first step is to prepare your crust. I am not great at making homemade crust so I go for a quick second place to that and use a Jiffy brand pie shell mix. It is simple to use as you add about 5 tblsp. of water to the mix and blend with a fork.

Once I get it mixed, then I always get my floured surface ready to roll the crust out. I prefer to use my portable kitchen island for that purpose.

 

Once your surface is ready, you split your pie crust mix into two equal size balls. One is for the bottom crust and the other is to be used for lattice strips for the top.

Roll crust to fit into your pie pan and once it is the thickness and size you want, place into pie plate.

My next step is to get out the ingredients that I need to make the filling for the pie.

  This next photo is just to show off the cute measuring cups that I was using.

Next combine the dry ingredients and stir together in a bowl . Once that is done, set aside. Peel and cut the apples. It is best to cut into thin slices, but since these were a little softer than I normally use, I just cut into pieces with a few slices mixed in. I always add the apples into the pie pan just to see how full my pie shell needs to be.

 

 

 

 Now pour those apples into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir together well. Then pour apples back into the pie shell.

 

 

 My next step is to make my lattice strips by rolling other ball of dough out and cutting into strips. I use a pizza cutter to cut mine. I think the lattice strips just make a prettier pie.

Before I add the strips to the top. I use the 2 tblsp. of butter to cut into small squares that I place on top of the pie filling to add some liquid to the pie while it is baking.

Once the butter is on. I place the strips of crust onto the top and pinch the edges to help seal them as the pie bakes. Some people cover the edges with aluminum foil when they make two crust pies so that the edge does not get dark, but we don't mind the dark edges so I do not.

 

 Now bake for 50 minutes at 425 degrees. The result will be a delicious pie!

I usually place a little milk and sugar mix onto the top of the lattice with a pastry brush just to make the pie a golden brown.

Now, if I had a friend to come sip coffee and chit chat with me I would be set. My family will enjoy the end results though. Vanilla ice cream on top certainly makes the perfect dessert for the cold evenings we are having.

 

 

Tired Grandma

This morning as I sit here looking out the window, I see gray skies that match the mood I am in. It seems as clouds of doubt, frustration, and heartache have billowed in today. As many of you are aware, I now care for my 8 month old granddaughter and sell Pink Zebra. However, many of you may not be aware that my daughter and granddaughter still live at home.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I love my family! I would do anything it took to protect them and I would not trade them for anything in the world as I can't imagine life without them. Here's come the big word - BUT!!! There are 4 generations living in a home with three bedrooms, one bathroom, and only about 975 sq. feet. We are busting at the seams! Last night my daughter was invited to an overnight event with some friends, so my husband thought it was a good idea for us to keep the grandbaby home with us. Now, my daughter does good with the baby and has taken her to this home before, but he wanted to keep her. I agreed under the condition that he would be home to help with her as I was already very tired from not sleeping but a few hours the night before, grocery shopping yesterday, stacking some firewood, and the multitude of other chores that I do in day.

He is always busy with something outside and does some many jobs for others. He is always late getting in and so I made sure he knew I needed the help last night. My daughter left about 4:30 and of course, he was still outside. He came in to tell me he needed to tow a car but that he would be home shortly. He finally arrived back home around 6 and then had someone here that needed some help. Well, the baby was fussy and so the entire time I was here and he wasn't, she was a handful. When he walked in around 7:15, he asked if dinner was ready. I politely said, "No, I have been busy". He stated that he had not eaten any lunch to which I informed him that I had not either. He asked me if I had anything fast to fix and he agreed to smoked sausage, which he eats in sandwich form so easy enough. The baby was asleep in the high chair by the time he came in so he began doing something for himself, while I cooked and done dishes. Once she woke up, he attempted to play with her but she did not want to play. I believe that she had a stomach ache or her teeth were bothering her, but whatever the problem was, she was not happy.

Once dinner dishes were done, I began getting her ready for bed and she quickly went to sleep. I was genuinely too tired to do anything else, so I read a few chapters of my book while he was mounting a scope on his gun. By the time we went to bed, it was after 10. I was done for and knew I needed a good nights' sleep. WRONG!!!

By midnight, the baby was awake and remained awake except for a few short minutes of sleep at a time until around 5 a.m. I get up between 6 and 7 on Saturday mornings especially if it is a day my daughter works, which it is. Needless to say, these grandparents are extremely tired and I am emotionally and physically drained. Just a few minutes ago, I came around the corner of the laundry area and did not see the baby on the floor and almost stepped on her. When I realized where she was, I tried to stop myself from stepping on her, but immediately tripped over the chair she was sitting by and fell almost on top of her. She screamed and I cried! My emotions are getting the best of me. I can't nap as I have many things that must be done today and I have a funeral to go to later. The day is really going to be rough and this is one tired grandma!

Thanks for listening! I hope you all have a better day than I will!

Sunshine

Sunshine is such a blessing today for me! I hate winter due to the long grey days that we have, but due to the weather being rather pleasant for the most part this year, it has not been such a struggle to stay positive. It is a little cooler today, but I am happy to say that the sun is shining nicely and for that I am blessed.

My morning has been spent attempting to follow up on some of the blogs that I follow and commenting to let the owners know that their work is being read. I am also very aware that I need to write a couple of posts and I need to work on my Pink Zebra business. I also have swept and mopped my floors, dusted my living room, and cleaned glass in there as well. I would like to pack up the remaining snowmen that I have out today and put some other items in my curio cabinet now that I have had to move some items to keep them out of reach of my grandchild.

The afternoon will consist of cooking lunch for my husband, running the vacuum, and hopefully listing a few items for sale on Ebay. I need to get those things accomplished before I fry chicken for dinner. I will get those things done whatever it takes. I hope to have time to read for a bit as well. I would like to finish the book I have started and I would like to start reading a new one soon.

I hope each of you have a productive day. Here is a photo from the farm that I have taken at some time.