tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66945765213912529432011-11-27T18:48:25.984-06:00Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.comBlogger1721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-33215343105705019012011-01-01T13:37:00.001-06:002011-01-01T14:44:35.633-06:00

Well, it's official, I'm moving over to Rock Whisperer today.  Come on and join me!  Hugs! Here's the link:  Rock Whisperer

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-42052012307385693382010-12-27T16:24:00.002-06:002010-12-28T15:24:50.811-06:00

Well, we did get some rain during the night on Thursday, though not very much, and it misted most of Friday.  It's now Monday and we have a chance of rain Tuesday through Friday.  Later on I'll go out and check to see if we need to water a little bit out of the cistern.  Because a "chance of rain" is just that, with no guarantees.  Sorta like buying a lottery ticket. Glenda, thank you for

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-48439789749464580052010-12-22T16:44:00.001-06:002010-12-23T06:59:33.426-06:00

I started this blog entry while listening to the Green Country Christmas Giveaway.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, this was the morning that all of Bartlesville and the surrounding areas ground to a halt, their sorted ticket number list in hand, to listen to KWON Radio hoping to hear that they have a winning ticket.  For the past several weeks, every Friday's edition of The

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-63606051183633732002010-12-20T17:32:00.001-06:002010-12-21T06:29:16.598-06:00

Well, here I am with my boring little details of my boring little winter life.  It has been miserably cold here, but this is the 19th and the 7-day forecast promises several days in the 50's and nights in the 30's.  Much more realistic for us this time of year, and at least I can get out in this.  Even there is a chance of rain on Thursday.  We haven't had a toad strangler since the second week

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-27445943756608990742010-12-15T10:50:00.001-06:002010-12-15T11:06:53.203-06:00

On Sunday I dinked around on my computer for awhile.  There are lots of things I should be doing.  I'm just not in the mood.  I looked around for what things I could change on my Yahoo mail screen.  I have it set up as my "home page" so that I can see my mail as soon as I get on the Internet, but it just gives me a little window in which to see my messages and there are all those annoying ads on

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-65072325085062193182010-12-11T14:08:00.001-06:002010-12-11T14:10:30.634-06:00

Wednesday was almost warm.  I'd been holding the Munstead lavender in the garage till I made up my mind whether to plant it around the cellar.  Remembering how it thrived in the hottest weather we had last summer, I chose instead to plant it just outside my office door, up against the brick, where it will get the morning sun and I will see it every time I step out the door.  I started this plant

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-78363475025827169592010-12-07T16:28:00.002-06:002010-12-07T16:35:16.414-06:00

Here are some pictures I took of what was outside our living room french doors this morning. This is one of the things I love about Oklahoma.  When we lived in northern Indiana, the sky was always gray.  It made me so homesick not to ever see one of these gorgeous sunrises.  Sunday I dug into a pile of papers that had begun to get in my way and filed them and that got me thinking about how I

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-84298566813285239552010-12-04T10:16:00.000-06:002010-12-04T10:16:56.687-06:00

First off, to answer questions/comments people left on the last blog: Diane had a good idea about buying a big package of premade corn tortillas and baking them, whole, in the oven.  Here, huge stacks of the corn tortillas can be bought pretty cheaply.  It's the flour tortillas that are so dang expensive.  I don't understand this at all.  We love our salt, though.  I think I might paint them

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-90018606015593250412010-11-30T10:53:00.000-06:002010-11-30T10:53:16.262-06:00

First off, y'all HAVE to go HERE and click on that YouTube thing.  THIS, my dear ones, is what Christmas is about.  I took the post about FoodSaver off because I think they're done now.  I appreciate all the comments and I've received an e-mail from FoodSaver saying my purchase has shipped.  I watched part of the live demonstration they had and was disappointed because it would've been a lot

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-85713088070226277352010-11-27T08:50:00.001-06:002010-11-27T08:51:28.766-06:00

The day before Thanksgiving was a lovely warm day so I spent most of the day on the back patio hulling black walnuts.  In case you're not familiar with black walnuts, a green hull grows over the shell of the nut.  When the nuts fall from the tree, these hulls turn black.  If left on the ground they get kind of oozey and nasty.  Not to be confused with the shell of the nut, which then has to be

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-75457291818543258252010-11-24T16:42:00.000-06:002010-11-24T16:42:42.813-06:00

{{{shudder}}} Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!  Hugs

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-35294471121957849102010-11-23T17:15:00.000-06:002010-11-23T17:15:28.864-06:00

Thanks to those who commented on the last post.    Diane, I think you are right about those ladybugs.  But I did a little research on them and their diets are the same as the regular ladybugs, so I'm willing to put up with an invasion.  There's only an occasional one inside the house and I just usher it out in one way or another to live another day.  The only bad thing I could find about them

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-19474552531955871792010-11-22T16:46:00.000-06:002010-11-22T16:46:34.523-06:00

Today I remembered to put my apron on before I started puttering around in the kitchen.  I agree that putting one's apron on can be a comfortable ritual if one can remember to do it every day till it's become a habit.  Of course usually I'm wearing slacks or jeans and a t-shirt, and I have so many old t-shirts that I'd probably be more upset if I stained my apron than if I stained one of those. 

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-87237352598839929762010-11-21T15:29:00.001-06:002010-11-21T15:31:27.969-06:00

I cannot BELIEVE this month has gone by so fast.  I was so thrilled to see Mandy's Sweet Tea and the Breeze post about little Shannon having made it into the world.  Sandy also had a difficult pregnancy and delivered a beautiful baby girl several weeks ago.  I've lost track esactly when, haven't heard from her in several weeks and I lost her e-mail address in the computer crash.  So Sandy, if

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-42237081936050180592010-11-19T18:43:00.001-06:002010-11-19T18:47:12.156-06:00

The crew of three arrived this morning at about 9.  Oh, Glenda, bless your heart, no, we haven't been without plumbing.  The old septic tank remained hooked up until the new one was set in place.  We had a short period of time today while they dug out the old sewer tiles and replaced them with PVC sewer line, and then connected them to the new septic tank.  But it was not an inconvenience. 

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-10547081332532145172010-11-19T06:40:00.000-06:002010-11-19T06:40:04.441-06:00

They got here about 9:00.  Spent a little time figuring where the line came from the house.  It's red clay sewer tile, so he'll be replacing that.  They didn't get very far down before they hit solid rock.  They all got in the big truck and drove all the way to Ramona (about 30 miles away) for the jackhammer bit that fits on the backhoe.  It's not like he didn't know this place was going

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-1915023729298742482010-11-18T10:14:00.000-06:002010-11-18T10:14:56.995-06:00

Let's face it, folks.  Plastic is hard to recycle.  Depending on the code on the bottom, some plastics aren't even recyclable in some areas.  If you throw a non-recyclable plastic in the recycling bin, do you know where it ends up?  Why, in the landfill, of course.  Maybe even the same landfill it would've gone to if you had just thrown the thing in your trash in the first place.  And you've cost

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-85274044926855248412010-11-17T15:43:00.000-06:002010-11-17T15:43:36.665-06:00

I've been digging around in my old photographs so that I can frame a bunch of Hubs' ancestors' pictures and put them on the wall over his new headboard.  I pick up frames at garage sales when I see some pretty ones, or some antique ones.  It's kind of funny about people's attitudes, though.  One place where I worked and had my own office, we were allowed to decorate our walls however we wanted. 

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-88026763270235992652010-11-16T11:43:00.000-06:002010-11-16T11:43:33.021-06:00

Every now and then, someone on some forum or other starts a thread about the ways in which people save money.  I always find these interesting and sometimes I even come away with some ideas that I hadn't thought of before.  Being frugal, or thrifty, or whatever you want to call it, is a lifestyle.  It makes you look at things you do and examine whether you could do it cheaper or faster or better.

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-90993474028950290172010-11-15T17:47:00.000-06:002010-11-15T17:47:04.774-06:00

Today was the day Dave the septic tank guy was supposed to come out and get started putting in the septic tank and the storm cellar.  It was almost noon when I called to find out why they weren't here.  The office girl said, "Oh, they're not?  Well.... I thought they would be!  They had a pump they said they wanted to get out of the way this morning so maybe it took a little longer than they

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-49967066296500411252010-11-14T18:17:00.000-06:002010-11-14T18:17:45.575-06:00

Here are better pictures of those berries I picked off the tree at the curb near a garage sale I was at a couple of Saturdays ago.  Jo, my friend from Scotland, guessed that it might be a Rowans tree.  I'd never heard of that kind of tree before, but its history was sure interesting.  The leaves are different though, and I'm not sure we have them here??  Research on that took me to someone's

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-52219110058836578802010-11-14T10:24:00.000-06:002010-11-14T10:24:09.583-06:00

Every now and then I'll try something that's new to me in an effort to stretch the allmighty dollar.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes I end up spending a dollar to save a dime.  And that got me thinking about how different we all are, how we have different resources available to us, and how creativity and money-saving go hand-in-hand.  There is a woman in Kansas who

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-57752586598795892982010-11-13T14:28:00.000-06:002010-11-13T14:28:41.508-06:00

Not having a computer for a week made me pick up a book.  I have ordered several that I planned to give undivided attention to during the winter, when there's nothing to be done outside except for a little wintersowing. Of course you all know how agitated I get when I have seen one too many stupid commercials on TV, and when I watch the news.  The news has been particularly heart-breaking.  So

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-81310985320343499192010-11-12T15:06:00.000-06:002010-11-12T15:06:41.794-06:00

Well, it has been a long, frustrating adventure. The good news is that, after I placed all my "How much longer?" phone calls first thing Monday morning, we got a call from Mayco saying the men would be out to replace the three bad windows on Tuesday.  They showed up first thing, got the job done before noon, and so that's one thing off my to-do list. The septic tank folks called and said they'd

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-22780636392096382922010-11-08T10:23:00.000-06:002010-11-08T10:23:31.024-06:00

Just wanted to let y'all know, I'm still waiting.  Only one of the three things I had listed on eBay sold, and I'm actually relieved about that.  At least that's over.  I'm at the library now and I'll go to the post office when I leave here and get the one thing sent off.  I'm missing all my internet buddies and feeling intensely grouchy because of everything.  Before I left home I called

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-42097541352613465982010-11-05T11:07:00.000-05:002010-11-05T11:07:04.493-05:00

My computer crashed in the middle of a long comment I was writing to Glenda on her blog.  That was Thursday morning.  I took it right to the computer tech because I need my computer to order A MACINTOSH on the Internet.  Hope he can fix it and save all my stuff, but I have most of it copied onto my memory stick, it's just I don't have anything to plug it into now.  Today I'm at the library

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-41186890995576985972010-10-31T17:58:00.000-05:002010-10-31T17:58:37.109-05:00

Surprisingly enough, as the day wore on after our first frost and I went out to inspect the damage, I found that a lot of things are living on.  Hubs said he could see a layer of frost on things in town that morning, and normally we are cooler out here than they are in town, because we don't have all that concrete.  It looks like the only things that really took a hit were the pumpkin vines and

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-37382847326738393932010-10-29T08:17:00.000-05:002010-10-29T08:17:47.005-05:00

Diane (Speedkin) tried Glenda's french bread recipe and made all kinds of things out of the dough -- including sandwich buns.  I'm gonna have to give that a try....  I think when you make rolls out of french bread dough, it's called "hard rolls".  But I don't know why, they're not hard.    Last Friday night I got the loaf that I had been saving in the freezer, sliced about half of it and

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-48409149497399566392010-10-24T16:49:00.000-05:002010-10-24T16:49:42.651-05:00

Every now and then I see those shows where the "experts" go into the home of a hoarder and I'm always struck by how easy it looks.  I mean, here this person just has a pathway, if that, through every room in their house.  They pick up stuff and look at it and then lay it right back down.  I know that feeling.  It's called "overload".  So the "experts" go in there with a team and they just

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-44951274697738390782010-10-22T08:13:00.000-05:002010-10-22T08:13:22.128-05:00

The weather has been wonderfully beautiful here.  Good sleepin' weather at night, sweater weather in the mornings and late evenings.  We had a little rain a couple days ago but not even enough to wet our whistle.  There's a 60% chance of rain today and an 80% chance of rain tonight so I've been out planting things.  If it goes around us I'm going to be in a world of hurt and seriously hacked off.

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-22124186423353456332010-10-21T14:57:00.000-05:002010-10-21T14:57:31.893-05:00

49 quarts of canned pears. 6 pints of pear honey with lime and ginger. 6 pints of pear honey with lime only (I forgot to put the crystallized ginger in at the end). 8 pints of pear honey with strawberry and rhubarb. 7 pints of pear honey with cranberry and cinnamon. 7 pints of pear honey with pineapple and orange. 5 pints of pear honey with pineapple and banana.  Mine, all

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-86483779125679178542010-10-20T08:22:00.000-05:002010-10-20T08:22:22.621-05:00

I keep thinking how disorganized my blogs are.  I see other people's blogs and they manage to have just one subject per blog entry.  Everything fits nicely into categories.  Oh, I wish I could do that!  My blogs are long and in them I talk about everything from baking to septic tanks.  It's OK, I guess, but if, for instance, somebody wants a recipe I've posted, it makes it really hard for them to

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-62574883899818672032010-10-19T11:11:00.000-05:002010-10-19T11:11:49.949-05:00

Oh, I am sooooo looking forward to spring! Someone once told me I should not look forward to future time, that I should enjoy the days I'm in.  Well, there's merit to that, and I think I do enjoy the present.  Without the things we do in the present, there wouldn't be any point in looking forward to the future, sometimes!  But I believe in looking forward to things.  It's called PLANNING. 

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-23819332067497168322010-10-18T16:31:00.000-05:002010-10-18T16:31:55.752-05:00

I'm so brain-dead from all these pears, I sat down at the computer to catch up on everybody's blogs and I don't remember what I read!  I ended up trying to accidentally win at Solitaire.  I couldn't even do THAT.  The good news is that by the time I totally ran out of steam today, I had all the pears cored and peeled.  I was in the middle of a batch of pear-pineapple-banana jam when I just

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-11422641672116939092010-10-15T07:07:00.000-05:002010-10-15T07:07:18.577-05:00

I'm off the radar for a little while.... Making pear juice to use as the liquid in canning pears. The empties. Still more to go! Cooking Pear Jam With Orange and Pineapple in my new Maslin pan.  Spattered like crazy!  I mentioned that to Glenda and she said, "Why didn't you use the lid?"  Well, duh...  Guess I must be brain dead. I haven't heard anything from the septic guy, so I called

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-75734305927265981642010-10-12T07:51:00.000-05:002010-10-12T07:51:25.782-05:00

First off, my apologies to FlowerLady, whose blog I thought I put on my sidebar long ago and apparently didn't.  FlowerLady lives in Florida, I started looking at her blog through Glenda's blog, and I still do it that way, go to Living and Gardening in the Ozarks and then to FlowerLady's Musings from there.  The pictures on this blog are wonderful.  FlowerLady adds some nice poems and shows us

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-15705119232278670012010-10-11T10:56:00.000-05:002010-10-11T10:56:52.655-05:00

I've added a couple of blogs to my sidebar list.  Every now and then I'll see something that interests me on the sidebars of blogs that I visit regularly.  The writer of this blog called Down To Earth lives in Australia and the post that grabbed me was "Make Your Own Dog Food".  I've been thinking about doing this for awhile.  Our dog, Sonny, just LOVES people food.  When we eat, he stands in

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-21606025305203198702010-10-10T09:04:00.000-05:002010-10-10T09:04:08.747-05:00

I think it's working out ok to answer any questions posed on a blog entry, at the next blog.  I'm never sure if anybody actually goes back to see if a question they asked in the comments has been answered, so I hesitate to answer there.  Sometimes, on other people's blogs, if I ask a question in the comments, I'll go back and look and usually I don't get an answer.  Makes you kinda feel like

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-75741366287907261452010-10-07T18:24:00.000-05:002010-10-07T18:24:35.361-05:00

I guess I must've jinxed us with all my talk about the septic tank.  *sigh* I did two loads of laundry and Hubs was out there by the septic tank while the second load was spinning out.  Water gurgled up out of the tank.  We happened to notice that the grass around the septic tank cover was really green.  Lots more green than what there is out there in the lateral field.  I don't know a lot about

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-58947232628488329592010-10-07T09:24:00.000-05:002010-10-07T09:24:03.977-05:00

Glenda made me order a Maslin jelly-making pan.  Go to Glenda's blog to see hers HERE.  And no, that's not our travel trailer in the background of one of those pictures in the last blog.  That property across the road belongs to our neighbors, Claire and Jay.  The ones who brought us an apple pie. Thank you, Tammy and Kris, for that quick advice.  That makes sense, about the roots being as far

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-19037392664706148652010-10-05T18:03:00.000-05:002010-10-05T18:03:21.518-05:00

Yesterday Hubs asked me if I'd go online and see how much it costs to get an electric jackhammer.  It's funny how, when you get a man to do something that has usually been your task, they figure out just the perfect tool for it.  I think we women should all take a lesson from this.  Might make our jobs a lot easier.  Heh.  There are electric jackhammers and pneumatic ones.  The pneumatic ones

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-299862782947696252010-10-04T12:17:00.000-05:002010-10-04T12:17:34.389-05:00

Well, we thought we were gonna get it last night.  ....An early frost, that is.  I kinda ranted about it, to myself and to Hubs, poor guy, about how we had such a terrible, TERRIBLE summer what with all the heat and dry, the LEAST Mother Nature could do to make up for it would be to give us a late frost!  And then when I was through fuming about it, I realized I was burning my daylight and I had

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-10634264310584139462010-10-02T21:30:00.002-05:002010-10-03T06:53:55.357-05:00

I have so many things to talk about today! Yesterday I put on a pot of Great Northern beans to make my Cuban Soup.  But I never got any further than getting the beans cooked.  Ran out of time.  Oh, and Glenda, you know you might very well be right that the picture in the blog previous to this was that of a beet and not a turnip.  I forgot I had a few beet seeds in the mix!  Hubs doesn't like

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-32840311599146645762010-10-01T08:54:00.000-05:002010-10-01T08:54:51.046-05:00

Hubs met June at his workout center.  The thing about Hubs is that he never meets a stranger.  And he's really comfortable around women because he had eight sisters, growing up.  When we were younger, that bothered me a lot, because the women he was so friendly to often thought he was flirting with them.  Some of them could even get a little carried away with it.  And I didn't appreciate that

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-67888349926556697672010-09-28T09:10:00.000-05:002010-09-28T09:10:50.186-05:00

As a post-script to the canning post I did on 9/27, I just wanted to say that I've been talking to people and of course, surfing the internet for answers.  I found some really helpful sites for anyone wanting to learn how to can foods, and I even learned a thing or two, myself!  And this is for you, Diane, because I know you are in the same situation as me right now, home-wise... What I have

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-52949666448529526872010-09-26T14:10:00.000-05:002010-09-26T14:10:07.650-05:00

During the summer months, I just hate to can.  It heats up the kitchen.  And that heats up the rest of the house.  And, since we like to be cool, that overworks the Central Air, and makes our electric bill higher.  And that adds to the cost of canning.  You see the evolution of this.  We are always so proud when we save a few pennies, but add the energy costs of canning to the ever-rising costs

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-34590761935604515772010-09-25T13:25:00.000-05:002010-09-25T13:25:41.771-05:00

I hate being slowed down with this dang cane.  I hate that I can't go to very many sales before I'm just too pooped to pop. We went out on Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday.  But to only three to six sales a day.  But we will probably not do it this way again.  This was, you might say, an experiment.  And it's just too time-consuming to go out three days straight. On Thursday there was an estate

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-60527183936504103892010-09-22T17:11:00.000-05:002010-09-22T17:11:07.154-05:00

I hobbled out to the area that will someday be a proper herb, or kitchen, garden to see how things are going.  I noticed yesterday that I have some tiny lettuce plants coming up where I broadcast seed of romaine, Little Gem, and Rosalita.  I'm not sure the romaine and Rosalita seed are still viable.  Been trying to start some of all three and nothing comes up in the little peat disk.  So, using

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-60980771956326651922010-09-21T17:07:00.000-05:002010-09-21T17:07:05.521-05:00

This is Beth, our realtor. Let me start out by saying that I haven't had much faith or admiration for realtors up until now.  I've seen some of them make big money by buying up property that the owners have under-priced, without even putting it on the market, and then re-selling for a profit.  Or living on it themselves.  I've seen them list something for the first time and when you call about

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-19380470876730012152010-09-19T16:36:00.000-05:002010-09-19T16:36:37.129-05:00

I have graduated from Hubs' walker to a four-footed cane.  A lot of people don't know how to properly use a cane.  I didn't, before Hubs had his knee surgery.  You put the cane on your good side.  That seems backwards to me somehow, till I think about it.  When you take a step with your bad foot, though, you're supporting your body weight with your good foot.  It's when you take a step with

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-68398222453394024782010-09-18T08:34:00.000-05:002010-09-18T08:34:38.607-05:00

On Thursday morning, after surveying the place for storm damage (a cabinet on the patio tipped over, some things blown around in the back, and the bench under the tree tipped over and pushed a little ways across the yard in the front), I missed the last step going down to the lower level of the house where my office is, and hurt myself.  I'm lucky that it's only my foot, because I wrenched my arm

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-21518305270017389802010-09-15T17:14:00.000-05:002010-09-15T17:14:58.345-05:00

Before we bought this place, I checked the ground to see whether it was clay or sand.  What I didn't think to check, however, was the rock content.  Oh. My. GOSH!  There are a few spots where grass will not grow because there's a rock right under the surface.  That might've been my first clue.  That is, if I weren't walking around clueless most of the time.  (Don't worry, I still love it out here

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-20605968620809924832010-09-15T08:18:00.001-05:002010-09-15T14:27:10.188-05:00

A week or two ago, I was watching Big Brother and Brittany was complaining about being the only girl in the house because all the guys were such slobs.  When it got to the part where she cleaned out the kitchen and threw away stuff I just shook my head.  For sure she'd want to throw out jars of picante sauce if the contents were spoiled or contaminated with someone's saliva (since they didn't

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-71650838080215580022010-09-12T09:56:00.000-05:002010-09-12T09:56:44.097-05:00

I had a visit from Paula this weekend. It was something we'd planned for quite a long time.  Because Paula and I met through GardenWeb, and though we'd had many e-mail conversations, we had never met face-to-face.  Last spring, she opened up her home to the Oklahoma Gardening forum readers and contributors for their annual seed and plant swap and potluck lunch.  She got quite a crowd.  In fact,

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-25752472869129271132010-09-07T11:40:00.001-05:002010-09-07T12:12:33.533-05:00

I bought this framed "picture" in an antique store many years ago.  In each house we have lived since then, I've had it hanging on the wall nearest the front door.  The antique dealer sold it for the frame and the fact that the black is painted on the glass, not on the paper behind it.  I, however, bought it for the "picture".  The inscription at the bottom says, "As sung by Gladys Swarthout on

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-90520636686214886182010-09-04T19:58:00.000-05:002010-09-04T19:58:14.027-05:00

This will just be a quick one.  I wanted to share with you the pics I took of the zinnia bed at the Ponca house.  Funny thing about these zinnias.  I started with just a few colors last year, and I had two peppermint stick varieties, one white with red and one yellow with red.  They must've all cross-pollinated, because I have so many different colors, sizes and shapes this year.  Truly they are

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-75852493619726281742010-09-03T10:29:00.001-05:002011-07-22T08:13:48.504-05:00

In this part of our country, when someone dies, the ladies of the church where the family attends, or of the church where the funeral is held, bring food to the home for the family to eat after the funeral.  Everyone who goes to the funeral is invited to the home, and what follows is a friendly and happy event, with people who hardly ever see each other getting to visit in a casual atmosphere. 

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-40914092197972871172010-09-01T14:31:00.002-05:002010-09-01T16:43:35.362-05:00

Yesterday I anxiously watched the weather only to see that there were no rain cells around us.  I thought about hooking up the hose to the hydrant and using the water that we pay for to give everything a good drink.  Everything was so dry.  But I decided those things that hadn't died already would probably hang on overnight and I'd water in the morning before the sun came up.  About dark,

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-86328113195307771942010-08-29T15:46:00.003-05:002010-08-30T15:43:34.456-05:00

First off, I'd like to say that I do appreciate those who take the time to leave a comment on my blog.    I read every one of them.  Tigerdawn, I'm glad to have a botany expert around!  I think you're right that my tree is probably one of those hackberry trees.  Those berries ARE just a little bee-bee sized hard seed with an extremely thin brown-orange skin over it.  I tasted the skin, and it's

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-21446184232283936172010-08-22T09:19:00.001-05:002010-08-22T11:05:34.771-05:00

One annoying thing about moving is that you break or lose things.  Hubs broke the glass top to my bird feeder.  JC dropped my paper shredder on concrete and it won't work now.  The brass cap off one of the posts of my bed flew off during the move and couldn't be found.  Another is that you misplace things.  I just recently found my hair-cutting scissors, and I'm still looking for my pizza cutter.

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-54796444637262834582010-08-19T17:41:00.001-05:002010-08-20T05:44:23.016-05:00

Spike was over last night.  He brought eight of the railroad tyes from the Ponca house.  I begged him not to do it alone, when he called from the driveway over there and said he was going to bring them.  I told him we'd just push them around to the sides of the yard and make it look like they belonged there.  It wasn't worth him hurting himself.  But he did it anyway.  He said he couldn't get the

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-70253477482007817812010-08-17T13:49:00.001-05:002010-08-17T13:52:58.939-05:00

What kind of tree is this?  The leaves are shiny because it's raining (whoopee!), and the leaves are wet.  Normally they're kind of rough.  Seems to be a "volunteer" tree because they're growing in the fence line.  I posted this pic on the GardenWeb Trees forum and already someone has identified it, I think.  He says it's a Hackberry.  The only thing is, is that I went to Wikipedia and looked at

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-90555343931584692202010-08-16T17:33:00.000-05:002010-08-16T17:33:16.058-05:00

We got a little rain yesterday.  Not a lot.  Not enough even to heal the cracks in the earth.  But some.  And it brought with it cooler temps.  Not a lot cooler.  Not enough to allow me to frolic outside all day without sweat running down my back.  But some.  At this point, we're all at the point where we'll rejoice about ANY change we can get.  And so I am. Mesonet says it's 89 degrees out

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-87186633549642685282010-08-12T13:24:00.000-05:002010-08-12T13:24:09.858-05:00

You may have noticed I've added another blog to my sidebar, Melissa Majora.  Its author, Kris, commented on my blog yesterday, and I always try to find out who it is when I get a comment from someone I haven't seen on the blog before, pay them the courtesy of visiting their blog and pass it on if I think it's interesting.  Kris has, in fact, several blogs, each one as interesting as the one

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-49062956446481251942010-08-11T11:20:00.000-05:002010-08-11T11:20:03.470-05:00

I saw a piece on TV the other day about how recent studies have revealed calcium supplements are not good for you to take because they can cause you to have a heart attack.  Since the study came out, doctors have begun telling people it's better to get their calcium from natural substances rather than from supplements.  Well, Duuuuuhhhhhhh.  It's a little late now for lots of people who have been

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-12762146511229318572010-08-10T18:27:00.000-05:002010-08-10T18:27:20.517-05:00

Today I got my computer back from the shop.  I've missed it, and all of you.  Not having a working computer combined with triple-digit temperatures outside meant that I was, at least for part of each day, a captive audience for the TV.  I find television to be both incredibly interesting and incredibly stupid, depending on what you watch.  I guess it's the same as for anything.  We have DVR,

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-88464316021881371282010-08-05T14:37:00.000-05:002010-08-05T14:37:00.136-05:00

1.21 inches of rain fell this morning.  Actual rain.  It made my day! After we had the installers connect the downspout to the pipe that came up out of the ground that the previous owners had told us led to the cistern, I began to wonder if that was still so.  Hopefully no one had decided to fill it?  Not to worry though.  It was such a thrill to hear the water splashing down the downspout and 

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-85326361632726126162010-08-03T14:40:00.000-05:002010-08-03T14:40:09.357-05:00

It's THAT hot.  105 in Bartlesville yesterday.  Higher in Tulsa.  And that's not the heat index, folks.  That's the temperature.  It doesn't help that our cistern is dry and we've had no rain, not even pop-up storms, to fill it up.  It doesn't help that half my plants are still at the Ponca house, waiting for the time to be right and gagging for water while they wait.  It doesn't help that the

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-57794244041318775482010-07-29T15:43:00.000-05:002010-07-29T15:43:58.538-05:00

Yet another early morning spent at the Ponca house, digging up raised-bed dirt.  I'm into the railroad tye bed now, and the dirt is not so deep there.  So I was able to get about half the bed loaded in my buckets.  I picked about a peck of apples.  They were all the ones with spots on them.  Big, dark brown spots, rimmed in red.  I suspect Cedar Apple Rust.  But maybe it's something else.  There

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-52470968830501252652010-07-27T13:23:00.000-05:002010-07-27T13:23:10.816-05:00

I have never been so consistently dirty and sweaty since I was a kid. We continue to make our morning forays into town to work at the Ponca house.  Hubs has his workout at the fitness center on MWF's, so on those days he drops me off, I work till he gets there and then he loads while I finish up.  Lots of times he skips the fitness center because a workout AND loading is a bit much.  I suspect

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-48453938387599691952010-07-23T13:16:00.001-05:002010-07-23T17:03:32.788-05:00

We have to open the hatch of the cistern every time we want to pump from it.  It's not a perfect solution, but a work-around, and we seem to be doing a lot of that right now.  Not enough hours in the day.  Not enough stamina in the old bod.  We've really been getting a lot of good out of that cistern.  When we moved in, we had no idea how deep it was.  Now that we've watered from it multiple

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-18454325755603213102010-07-22T13:31:00.001-05:002010-08-30T14:50:30.251-05:00

Just got internet access today and I'm really pressed for time.  Been keeping a sort of a journal so I'll paste it in here so as to get you all up-to-date.  Here 'tis: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Today marks the first day I’ve been able to sit down at the computer and that’s only because we’re waiting on the AT&T installer. I can’t say I’m all that impressed with AT&T. We have waited a week to be

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-4936838917152204622010-06-23T19:12:00.000-05:002010-06-23T19:12:37.721-05:00

This is a 4-bedroom split level country home with 2 and 1/2 baths, 3 living areas, a "bonus room", a kitchen and a dining room.  Not to mention that both attics, the one over the upstairs and the one over the south wing, are floored.  It's on 1.67 acres, and the front yard is eighty feet deep.  There is a small yard area directly behind the house that is fenced, for a pet.  There's a big cistern

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-6283478917361451252010-06-20T16:10:00.000-05:002010-06-20T16:10:56.677-05:00

Many years ago, I gave Skeeter a box of peaches from the peach tree in the back yard.  I observed as she took each one in her hand, turned it as she studied it and then tossed each in the trash.  "Nope.  Bad spot...... Nope.  Worm hole.....  Nope.  Too Ripe....  Nope.  Too green."  I have to admit, I was shocked.  Had she observed nothing, over the years?  After she left, I retrieved those

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-80024914282540463822010-06-14T16:07:00.001-05:002010-06-14T16:12:26.944-05:00

It's been raining hard all morning but we are fine here.  The yard's full of water where there are low spots.  All the plants I worried so about keeping watered just one week ago are thoroughly, completely soaked.  But after watching what those in Arkansas and those around Oklahoma City have endured, I send up a prayer for them and a thank you from us.  I haven't heard from Paula yet, who lives

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-44093802621645418982010-06-03T19:28:00.000-05:002010-06-03T19:28:23.075-05:00

I'm such a wimp.  I hate hot weather.  I hate cold weather.  We've been turning on the central air every day for probably a couple of weeks now.  Normally I do not turn on the A/C till the first of June.  We have a couple of really warm days before that, but we wait till evening and then run the attic fan to get all the heat out of the house.  Shut it off and go to bed with our windows open.  Get

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-60431168051554307392010-05-30T13:01:00.000-05:002010-05-30T13:01:54.682-05:00

I sure hope Jay comes to the blog today.  Jay is a young fella I met on the Oklahoma Gardening forum.  I'm really fond of him though I've never met him.  Through the forum, I've seen pictures of his garden, of him, and I think one of his little boy.  Through a few gardening-related e-mails that have passed between me and Jay, I've learned that he is a true gentleman, and it's refreshing to find a

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-19124307858845086602010-05-27T10:28:00.000-05:002010-05-27T10:28:20.278-05:00

When I was growing up in Copan, OK, we had to take music in grade school.  We didn't learn about half notes, whole notes, and what all those little symbols meant.  I guess our teacher just thought that was too much above our learning level.  But I've had times since then when I wish I had a better feel for printed music.  I sang in the church choir for years just by "ear" and they put up with

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-30481590239387372652010-05-25T13:59:00.000-05:002010-05-25T13:59:10.916-05:00

Today Hubs cut down the Crimson Clover.  Looks kind of bare now.  I wanted to collect the seed, so Hubs waited patiently.  Which I appreciated, since he got himself in hot water with me just last week for using the weed-eater too close to some seedlings just coming up.  He never informs me what he's doing.  I kind of understand that, I wouldn't want to tell him first before I did stuff.  But in

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-24501975633263563662010-05-18T07:51:00.000-05:002010-05-18T07:51:48.154-05:00

Have you ever heard of "sauerreuben"?  Well, I never had.  Turns out it's shredded turnips, processed like sauerkraut.  Now, surely I'm not the only one to think of doing the same thing using broccoli leaves and stems???  If I am, and it works out, let's don't call it sauerilene, OK?  Heh. My broccoli is just beginning to head up.  I've picked two heads but they are not big and round like you get

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-26222443496800629212010-05-16T16:54:00.002-05:002010-05-25T14:01:26.265-05:00

First off, I want to mention that I have added two blogs to my bloglist.  One is Mimi's "In The Middle of Nowhere".  Mimi comments frequently on my blog and I have been meaning to add her to my list for awhile and just haven't gotten around to it.  Mimi has a lot of really pretty china and glassware and her table settings are just beautiful -- and she loves cats.  That's enough for me.  Heh.  The

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-30485226604572947142010-05-15T17:51:00.002-05:002010-05-16T06:23:12.624-05:00

I wanted to say that I enjoy your comments on the blog, even though sometimes it looks like I don't answer.  I tend to answer personally in an e-mail to people whose e-mails I have, and that makes it look like I'm not seeing the comments, or being a snob, neither of which is true.  Your comments on the blog make my day.  When someone blogs, if no one comments you don't really know if anyone's

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-47160391371480055632010-05-14T15:31:00.002-05:002010-06-08T06:22:55.528-05:00

The last several days have been a roller-coaster in Oklahoma.  I'm torn between being grateful we have been spared once again and feeling guilty and selfish for feeling that way.  I feel so terrible for those who have lost their homes and their loved ones.  Mother Nature can be as cruel as she can be wondrous and beautiful.  I talked to a friend of ours today to get advice about who to see about

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-46825692957302388742010-05-11T10:02:00.000-05:002010-05-11T10:02:04.339-05:00

So many of you, I don't have your e-mail addresses, and I haven't figured out a way to personally respond to you sometimes when I'd like to.  But I just wanted you all to know that though we were directly in the path of the tornadic storm last night, being only 5 minutes north of Bartlesville, the storm hit the cooler temperatures we were blessed with yesterday and dissipated long before it got

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-61845858540010652462010-05-09T17:42:00.000-05:002010-05-09T17:42:19.709-05:00

I'm feeling discombobulated now.  Apparently, from this picture, it's been a problem of mine.  But OMG, look at that HUGE diaper!  It's a wonder I'm not bow-legged. We went to WMT, thinking that, since it's Mother's Day, everybody else would be doing stuff with their families and we'd have the store pretty much to ourselves.  Apparently everyone else thought that too.  It was a freakin' zoo.  

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-3869503482511285442010-05-08T15:52:00.000-05:002010-05-08T15:52:20.235-05:00

This has been a pretty good weekend.  The paper announced estate sales on Thursday, City-Wide sales in Wann, starting on Friday, and Copan starting on Saturday, and several estate and garage sales opening for the first time on Saturday.  Boy, did I have fun!  Hubs ran into a lot of people in Wann that he knew.  We didn't make it to Copan today.  We were too tired.  And probably we spent enough

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-28274250365396126622010-05-07T21:46:00.001-05:002010-06-14T14:43:22.474-05:00

I just love to make jam. I don't know, there's just something all Suzy Homemaker about it.  And you can make flavor combinations you just can't buy in the store.  Plus there are those things like Tomato Preserves and Watermelon Rind Preserves that harken back to my childhood but that you have to pay gourmet prices for if you can even find them.  They don't make good gifts unless you know your

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-57448804043291053372010-04-30T19:21:00.007-05:002011-07-30T18:32:06.718-05:00

Glenda asked for my 100% whole wheat bread recipe and actually it's very much like the Grandmother Bread recipe that's posted on Suzanne McMinn's Chickens in the Road blog.  My recipe came down in my family from my dad's German grandmother, Martha Elizabeth Hufferd Dalton Stimpson, of Iola, KS.  She probably got it from HER mother, but I don't know that for sure.  It's a very simple recipe

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-61483837539107397882010-04-30T12:54:00.000-05:002010-04-30T12:54:01.634-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that BlogSpot's picture uploading issue appears to have been solved.  I'm so glad.  But I'm not so pleased to report that the wind that blew in gusts of up to the high 30 and low 40 MPH for the last two days and for the early part of today has done it's damage. It's like this about twelve to fifteen feet every direction from the trunk of the tree.  Are there any plums

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-47307239361443672712010-04-28T17:17:00.000-05:002010-04-28T17:17:55.499-05:00

Well, I've gotta tell ya, I'm just pretty dang-tootin' annoyed today. First BlogSpot has messed up the photo upload and even though I've figured out now how to get some pictures in here now, it isn't the easy way it was before and it's a slow process.  It hacks me off, big-time.  I sure hope it doesn't stay this way.  Maybe I'll get used to it, after I'm finished being grumpy.  It does, at least

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-71633131128485232862010-04-28T09:00:00.000-05:002010-04-28T09:00:06.001-05:00

I've tried to blog for the last two days and BlogSpot won't let me upload pictures.  I did not know all pictures posted were being also entered into Picasa. Some of the wording indicated you can actually run out of image space on these blogs and have to PURCHASE more.  But it appears everyone has a gig of space for photos and I have only used 5% of my gig.  I looked on the "issues" part of

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-90681598625045635612010-04-25T09:18:00.000-05:002010-04-25T09:18:39.358-05:00

I know that several of you have been wondering why I've not been posting and this is why.  It's a LOT of work to put on a yard/garage/rummage sale.  Especially when it involves plants that need to be dug up, or plants in cups that need to be labeled and sorted.  Not to mention the dragging out of the attic all those boxes of accumulated unwanted stuff.  Usually, I set up the sale under our

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-76814254328053682702010-04-15T16:02:00.000-05:002010-04-15T16:02:00.107-05:00

This has been a busy time for me and it has been complicated by the fact that my back is threatening to go out.  Having sharp pains certain ways that I move and stiffening up when I sit still for too long.  Spondylolisthesis is a long word for "pain in the ass".  Heh.  So, though it's best to keep moving so as not to stiffen up, I get tired and have to rest several times a day.  I'm really happy

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-43857556293022606302010-04-11T09:53:00.000-05:002010-04-11T09:53:41.714-05:00

This weekend was Dewey's "City-Wide Garage Sale".  Last weekend was Ochelata's.  If you're not from around here, then you wouldn't know that Ochelata is a very small community.  But we had gone to a few garage sales in Bartlesville and it wasn't far to drive to Ochelata.  That weekend was a real bomb as far as finding anything useful to me went.  For the entire morning, I spent the huge sum of

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-32632827160575654652010-04-08T09:51:00.001-05:002010-04-09T08:40:34.633-05:00

Time to thin out the winter onions (aka Walking Onions, Egyptian Onions).  They're strong and hot.  They were cooked with cubed potatoes and coarsly diced bell peppers.  Mmmmm. I started a blog entry on things I buy in bulk and why, and what I did with them and that kind of evolved into this topic.  So I decided to set that entry aside and talk first about the popular practice of buying only

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-24086659129459258912010-04-06T14:19:00.000-05:002010-04-06T14:19:40.341-05:00

Actually, his name is "Sonny".  He was named at the Humane Society after they rescued him and his sister on a country road, at about the age of two.  They named them, "Sonny and Cher", and we decided, in honor of Sonny's sister and considering all the other things that had gone on in his life up to then, not to confuse him by giving him yet another name.  Cher had already been adopted by the

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-60790603889062053472010-04-05T09:46:00.000-05:002010-04-05T09:46:14.504-05:00

The early 1800's family homestead of Abraham Hufford, my great-great-great grandfather, built without credit, in Fairfield County, OH How you manage credit will determine how you live your life, whether you own your own home, how you raise your children, the kinds of friends that you have, and how you will spend your retirement.  Period. My parents were just starting their family during the

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-76087795557518658132010-03-31T08:32:00.000-05:002010-03-31T08:32:45.042-05:00

The Promise of Plums.  Will Mother Nature keep her promise? No one will be happier to see March turn into April than I. No one. March saw us laboriously carrying out dish-pans and plastic tubs of tomato plants in foam drink cups in the mornings as soon as the temps reached 40 degrees, and then carrying them all back in for the night, if it was expected to dip to 32 or below.  And that, for this

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-78761232770389288542010-03-29T08:09:00.000-05:002010-03-29T08:09:13.661-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, most people don't start thinking about learning how to be frugal till they've gotten themselves into financial trouble or they've noticed they never have any money. I can't say this enough: if you don't already have children, don't have any until you are financially and emotionally mature enough to carry it off.  Make sure you're BOTH on board with whether it's

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694576521391252943.post-87980674071405288052010-03-23T10:48:00.000-05:002010-03-23T10:48:53.909-05:00

The first day of spring in many parts of Oklahoma brought snow.  We received about 5 or 6 inches.  And I wasn't a very happy camper because I've got some garden started.  You just never know what's going to happen here from one day to the next.  This pic looks all hazy because the air was full of snowflakes. One of the good things about Oklahoma, though not so much this winter, is that the

Ilenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865266104293281921noreply@blogger.com2