HAPPY NEW YEAR

Sylvester (AKA Fluffy Muffy)

Sydney and Louis ( two crazy Aussies )

Shorty

Sambo

Dolly

A Happy New Year from some of the gang at Mapleview Farm and Olde

Crow Primitives.

A GREAT CHRISTMAS

Primitive Crow stitchery from my sister Karen in British Columbia
Another picture of the stitchery

Primitive table topper hand made by my sister Karen

I hope everyone had a great Christmas this year. Ours was pretty quiet, but we enjoyed it just the same. On Christmas day we went to visit my father-in-law where he is in long term care and had Christmas dinner in there with him. He enjoyed our visit, I'm sure. On boxing day I cooked a small turkey for DH and I and we had all the traditional "fixins" that we have every year. We have the stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, mashed turnip and carrots, turkey and gravy. Then for desert, I made my English trifle which is a family tradition. Can you tell my background is British :)?

I just had to post the pictures of a couple of gifts that my sister Karen from British Columbia sent me.

She made me this primitive pumpkin/crow table topper. She also sent me a primitive crow stitchery. I just love them. She knows my taste by now....LOL. I was out in B.C. visiting her in October and while shopping in my favorite store out there (The Weathered Rooster), I was drooling over the crow stitchery. My sister must have taken note of this, as it is mine now :)
I will be finding special places in my home for these for sure. Thank you Karen.  It would have been nice if we could have spent Christmas out there with all of my family, but we have way too many critters  and some of them are getting quite old and need lots of Love and Attention. Maybe some day we can enjoy Christmas together.

A GATHERING OF GURLFRENZ

On Monday night we had a Christmas Gathering at the Marsh Store

in Coldstream. Shirley put on a fantastic dinner for the five of us.

When we arrived, she had a table all set up in the classroom of the Quilt shop with her good Christmas china, candlelight and some great appetizers. We had a choice of red or white wine. For the main course, Shirley made a wonderful salad to compliment the spinach and onion pie that she made. We all enjoyed the meal tremendously! For desert, Shirley made a Chocolate truffle cake that was just awesome so we enjoyed that with some coffee. Thank you so much Shirley!

Shirley had planned a project for our night of sewing. She designed a Christmas placemat and we all made four placemats using the stack and wack method. Shirley brought out her stash of Christmas fabric and let us all choose which fabric we would like to make our placemats out of. There was something for everyone, as we all have unique tastes in fabrics. This was a super fast project.

Seeing we all had such a great time, we have decided to make this Christmas Gathering a yearly event.

Mary was the photographer, so she didn't make it into the picture, but there was five of us that got together to enjoy the evening.

Merry Christmas~Janet

CHRISTMAS BAKING

Hello everyone.

I thought I would share a picture of my Christmas baking. I got up early this morning and started making the shortbread recipes and made about 6 batches. I also made some icebox cookies and they are rolled in plastic wrap and in the refrigerator to be sliced and baked tomorrow. This is such a busy time of year but fun. Just have to watch that I don't eat too many of these myself!

IT IS FINISHED!!

Woodburning Cookstove
The Buck Saw table

Another shot of the Buck Saw table

The "Huge" Primitive cupboard

I even have a small freezer next to it.

1930 Findlay Oval woodburning Cookstove

and Look!!!

Deb's Hard Tack Candy is sitting up on the warming shelf.

I put it there so that I could get a shot of it.

Well after lots of hours of hard work, the summer kitchen is finished. There still needs to be some finishing up on the inside. I am planning on painting the legs of my buck saw table a barn red colour and the top will just be stained in Early American. The huge...and I mean huge primitive storage cupboard will be painted a barn red also. I will leave the painting for a later date. I took DH out for supper last night to thank him for all of his hard work. I helped out too, but he did most of the work. He finished around midnight Monday. He is glad that it is finished.

I am posting a picture of the outside that I took this morning. I will post pictures of the inside later when my camera is charged...LOL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Today I got a parcel in my mailbox and it was the hard tack candy that I won on Crow's Creek Primitives Blog give away. http://debsprimitivecountrykitchen.blogspot.com

Thank you so much Deb. DH and I will be sampling it tonight.

Deb also sent me in the package, a wonderful rusty bell tree ornament.

SUMMER KITCHEN

Well, DH and I have been working diligently on my summer kitchen. We worked last night until midnight and we got all of the insulation in and the vapor barrier and most of the ceiling installed. I am so glad that we installed the woodstove, at least we have some heat while we are working. It has been so cold lately. Now I have to tell you that the ceiling is a huge job. The whole inside of this summer kitchen is going to be pine, so the ceiling is 16 ft. lengths. We had ladders at each end, one for me and one for DH. I would go up my ladder and then he would hand me one of the ends, then he took the other end and went up with that. Then he had to start nailing the boards in place. I ordered pizza and caesar salad for supper and after we ate that, we got back to work. I will tell you, this morning my neck and shoulders are so sore from working above my head :( 

DH isn't up yet, but I'll bet he will be sore too, if not more sore from nailing the boards in place above his head. The walls will seem so easy after the ceiling. DH is also going to build me a huge primitive cupboard  and a Buck Saw table for the room. I designed both of these pieces and he is making them for me. The cupboard is going to be painted a Barn Red and I will do my distressing technique on it, same for the legs on the Buck saw table, the top of the table will be natural pine, stained and sealed with a mat varnish. I can't wait for the room to finished, it will be well worth all of the effort. I am so thankful to DH for all of his hard work on this.

Hopefully I will have some pictures to post of the finished project.

WOW! I HAVE BEEN SPOILED!

Last night, I picked up a parcel on my way up to Exeter to an evening of sewing, socializing, and a great Potluck supper at "Quilts and Calicos." When I got home last night, I was so tired that I didn't open the parcel, I thought I would leave it until morning. Well, it was a good job that I did that because if I had opened it before I went to bed, I would not have been able to sleep....LOL.

Nancy from stitchesnstrokes.blogspot.com and I were swap partners in the "Olde Fashioned Christmas" swap organized by Char. Funny enough, Nancy and I were also partners in the "Harvest Swap". We were actually excited that we were paired up again! In fact I almost feel like we are related now..LOL. Seeing I don't have a wide angle lense on my digital camera, I had to take several pictures to get it all in. Nancy sent me a beautiful handwritten Christmas Card, Christmas napkins, several tree ornaments, a handmade Santa ornie, a Candy Cane ornie, a beautiful handmade crow make-do and a Christmas Tree make-do. A Cardinal and snowmen lamp which is absolutely gorgeous and a handmade pincushion and a jar of her homemade Salsa.

Nancy......Thank You so much!! I just LOVE everything!! You can tell that you put a lot of thought into this package and I appreciate it so much.

Janet

You can check out Nancy's Blog at http://stitchesnstrokes.blogspot.com

Nancy's home made salsa, hand made pincushion, Crow Make-do,

Christmas Tree make-do and several tree ornaments!

Santa ornie, crow note pad and a beautiful handwritten
Christmas card from Nancy

Handmade pinchushion, Candy Cane ornie,

Nancy's homemade Salsa and Christmas Card

Cardinal and Snowmen Light (I just love this lamp) The picture does not do this justice, Apple Cinnamon Rosehips (smells wonderful)

Olde Black Crow Coffee Sign, ornaments and pincushion

A GREAT RECIPE

Here is a great recipe not just for the Christmas Season, but for all year round. I did a stitchery in this so I would like to share the recipe.

"Recipe for a Happy Home"

4 cups of Love

5 spoons of Hope

2 cups of  Loyalty

1 cup of Kindness

3 cups of Forgiveness

1 cup of Friendship

2 spoons of Tenderness

4 quarts of Faith

1 barrel of Laughter

Take hope and loyalty, mix thoroughly with faith.

Blend it with tenderness, kindness and understanding. Add friendship and hope. 

Sprinkle abundantly with laughter.

Bake it with sunshine.

Serve generously daily!

COMPUTER WITHDRAWL

Well I sure had a busy weekend. The Christmas show at a local Mennonite Church where I had my hand mades at went really well! I had a great time too. I met some really nice people. I couldn't believe that I didn't even get near my computer for two whole days. I wasn't feeling well when I got home last and I think it must have been computer withdrawl......LOL. I was so busy all last week getting things together for the show. I wanted my table to look just right. I did have a lot of compliments about it which was worth the effort. So this week it is back to normal. I was supposed to start school at a private College tomorrow, but for now that has fallen through. I was so looking forward to it. So the College has put me on the list for a March start date. I had also worked so hard to get accepted into the College. Months of studying to pass that entrance exam. Now it is just a matter of the Government. The second career program has made some changes. I have been told they have been having a high drop out rate so they are making you jump through a few hundred more hoops until you are approved now. That is ok......I can jump! I guess they have been funding people, they get into courses and if they find a job in the meantime, they drop out. Well I can sure suggest a solution to that. Make the people pay it all back if they drop out. That way, the people who really want the re-training can get it and not be hindered by the irresponsible people. It is funny, but there are always people who make it really hard for others just by their irresponsible actions. We all end up paying for it one way or another. So I am looking ahead to March.

I Won!!!

Well, I can't believe my luck..........I never win anything :(

I won the giveaway for the 1 pound of hard tack candy on Crow's Creek Crossing's Blog.

Thanks so much Deb. I told DH I would share :)

Deb's blog address is: debsprimitivecountrykitchen.blogspot.com

TART SWAP FROM ANNE

Yesterday I picked up a parcel from our Post Office and it was my Tart Swap package from Anne from Seasons of the Past. Her Blog id is seasonsofthepast.blogspot.com

Thank you Anne for everything. It was very kind of you. There is much more here than the 12 tarts we were supposed to receive. I especially LOVE the bowl fixins........I can't stop smelling them :)

CRANBERRY SALAD

This is a great recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas

9 oz rasberry flavored gelatin

3 cups boiling water

2 cups of cold water

20 oz can of crushed pineapple

12 oz cranberries

3 oranges peeled and seeded

1 orange peel

1 cup of sugar

4 to 5 apples, diced small

1 cup of nuts, chopped

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cold water. When partially set add undrained pineapple. Blend fresh or frozen cranberries in blender until fine. Add orange chunks and orange peel and blend until fine. Add sugar. Fold cranberry mixture into gelatin mixture, add apples and nuts. Pour into molds or 13x9 inch pan. Chill overnight.

MY KITCHEN SMELLS WONDERFUL!

You wouldn't believe the smell of my kitchen! I have been making batches of soap like crazy for Christmas orders. My whole table is covered in trays of soap that has to cure. It smells so good I could eat it. DH says he almost took a bite as he walked by..LOL.

I am thankful to my wonderful friends who have ordered soaps and candles from me for Christmas gift giving. I know there are lots of places to buy soap and candles, but my friends know that DH and I have been out of work since last March. The factory where we worked as Quality Assurance employees for 17 years closed down and moved to Mexico. Thank you ladies....you know who you are. It is so nice to have the support of  your friends :) I am looking forward to getting together with all of you tonight for dinner and sewing......and Linda, I am looking forward to your lasagna! I bet it will be wonderful. See you at 5:30......I am getting hungry already :)

Janet

MY NEW BUSINESS SIGN

Today, I made this sign for my business. I am doing a couple of Christmas shows at local churches with a friend of mine and we are selling our handmade goods. It is aged and antiqued, then hand rubbed with my special burnt umber/danish oil rub.

THE AIRPLANE HANGAR

DH has been working hard these past few weeks trying to get his airplane hangar finished before the snow flies! He is on the homeward stretch, working on putting the steel on the roof.

Last night, he finished the roof on the North side and today he is working on the South side.

I took some pictures of him hard at work. He should have the project finished up by the end of the week if all goes well. The weather has been perfect for him. After this, the corn has to be harvested and then he will be able to finish my summer kitchen :)

I can hardly wait!

This is Sydney, our Australian Shepherd

(He is supervising the building project)

SIMPLE GOODS SHOW-OHIO

Well, just one more day until my friends and I make the journey down to Ohio for the Simple Goods Show. I can't wait. I have never seen anything like this show. It is just fantastic! We will have to leave bright and early tomorrow morning, as it is about a 7 hour drive and of course we will have to make a few stops along the way. There are a few really nice shops that I always like to visit when I am down that way. After we get settled into our hotel, we will be going out to dinner at this wonderful Italian restaurant that is in walking distance........this is good just in case we have an extra glass of wine or two :) They really do have the best food. Snow is in the forecast for tonight, but hopefully it won't be enough to slow us down. I think they are calling for flurries.

We may be slowed down some, but we will get there.

A SPECTACULAR SIGHTING!

This morning while walking my dogs in the bush, I spotted two Great Horned Owls sitting up in a tree. When I first saw the one, I thought it was a cat because of the ears and the size. Actually the male was larger than a cat. The female was in the same tree a few branches over and she flew away when I got closer. The male sat there until I was almost underneath him and then he flew off. I just stood there, looking up and staring. It was such an amazing thing to see those owls. I wished that I had taken my camera. It is only the second time I have seen one back there in the bush. The last time it was only the male, but it was so nice to see the pair. I guess I am priveledged to have had that experience.
Boy..........I sure do love the simple things in life.
Janet

AMISH TOUR

     Yesterday, I went on this great Amish Tour with my friend Brenda Miller. We had a great time.

We got to enjoy learning some of ways of Amish life. We visited several Amish farms where they gave people tours of the different things they did for a living. One farm we visited was  a Goat Farm where they milked 140 head of goats daily. There were around 300 goats including babies and goats that were not in the milk production. It was so interesting to see all the different breeds of goats. The people who lived there, had their drive shed set up for selling all kinds of wonderful baked goods, jams, jellies and hot apple cider. You could go for a horse drawn buggy ride too, but the weather was just a little too wet and cool for us. Their buggies are not covered. Of course we had to buy some of those homemade goodies to take home. I got some cookies and butter tarts for D.H.

Our next stop was a farm where they made chairs and we learned all of the different steps involved in the process. You just couldn't imagine...very complicated. Just seeing the tools that are involved in the process is really amazing. It was also nice to see Amanda, the Amish lady who taught my friends and I how to make bread last November. She took us into her home and taught us how to make bread from scratch and then we baked it in her wood cook stove. Bread couldn't taste better. Each of us got to take home a loaf. She was there selling her bread and handmade greeting cards and soap. Her husband has the chair making business and he also builds chimneys for people.

Another farm we visited had all kinds of handmade Quilts, Cedar Chests, and baked goods.

We also had to stop at the General store where they sold all kinds of wonderful fabrics for quilting as Brenda and I do lots of Quilting ourselves.

I have to mention the wonderful lunch we had in a town called New Hamburg. There is a new Restaurant in town called Phidelphias and we had the most wonderful Butternut Squash soup with herbed scones......to die for!!!! They must have had 500 types of tea which was included with lunch. I couldn't decide so I told our waiter to just pick one for me. He brought me cherry green tea which was just perfect and Brenda had Chai tea. We will definitely go back there.

Anyway, we had an amazing time this year as well as last and we were sorry to hear that this may be last year they will have this tour. I am so glad that we had the privilege of experiencing this.

SELLING BLOG

http://oldecrowprimitives-sells.blogspot.com

I have just added a few pictures of items for my selling Blog.

I have made some new batches of soap that are curing and will be ready mid November. I will be adding more items as they become available. I am hoping to have some hand sewn items listed in November.

PUMPKIN PATCH PRIMITIVE QUILT SHOPPE GIVEAWAY

There is an awesome give away at the Pumpkin Patch Primitive Quilt Shoppe Blog
Check it out!!! http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com

The fabric is a selection of pumpkin spice fabrics from "Red Rooster" fabrics.

DH and "THE GREAT PUMPKIN"

Well today we finished harvesting what we could from our vegetable garden. I managed to get 2 large pails full of beets (one I took down to the neighbour) and I will pickle the rest for ourselves.

We got 2 bushels of onions and about 6 bushels of carrots. I picked out the good ones and the rest will go to the horses. We decided that the garden we put in this year was a little too big so next year it will be smaller. DH brought the rest of my pumpkins out of the field. The biggest one we call the "Great Pumpkin". I will carve that one for halloween and a few smaller ones too. It is nice to put the garden to rest for the winter. DH is out working it up now. He got his winter wheat planted yesterday so all there is left to do is combining the corn and then plowing. Then winter can come. The colours are beautiful right now so DH and I took the dogs for a walk through our bush this morning. It is also double digit temperatures this week, but rain is expected at the end of the week.

HARVEST APPLE PIE

I have had a special request for the recipe for my apple pie so here it is.

Pastry For One 2-Crust Pie

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening

5-6 Tablespoons cold water(or just enough to make dough hold together)

1. Cut shortening into flour and salt with knife or pastry blender until it is the size of peas.
2. Add the cold water, a little at a time, and mix thoroughly with a fork.
3. Shape into 2 balls.
4. Roll one on floured board and line the pie plate.
5. Roll out the other ball and use for the top.

APPLE PIE

Line pie plate with pastry

Sprinkle 1 rounded Tablespoon of flour on the botton

Fill with thinly sliced peeled apples, heaping more in the centre

Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice over the apples

Pour 3/4 cup of sugar over the apples and shake down so it goes through the slices

Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg

Top with upper crust. Brush with milk or cream and sprinkle on a little sugar.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes until apples are tender.

ENJOY!

A GREAT SOUP RECIPE

This is a soup recipe of my own. Mercantile Gatherings (my favorite magazine) published my recipe for this in the 2007 Christmas Issue. I was so proud! Brenda did such a nice job on the layout....she used a whole page! My friends that have tried this just love it. I thought I would share this on my Blog seeing all of the ingredients are in season right now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

OLDE CROW CURRIED PARSNIP, PEAR AND APPLE SOUP

2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 celery stalk sliced into small pieces
1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced ( I used macintosh)
4 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of apple cider
1 cup of milk or cream
1 bay leaf
8 parsnips peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon pepper

In large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir In the onion, pear, apple and the celery. Cook until they are softened-approximately 7 minutes.
Stir in the chicken stock, cider, parsnips, salt, curry, bay leaf, nutmeg and pepper.
Cook on medium high heat until vegetables are soft, approximately 25 minutes.
Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and puree” with stick blender or food processor until smooth. Add the milk or cream near the end .
ENJOY !

HARVEST THYME

Well harvest time is upon us at our little farm. DH and I spent this morning walking through the soybean field getting all of the volunteer corn out of the field. What a job!! We sure got our exercise today. The combine is ready, the gravity wagons are beside the field, all we need is some good weather to finish the drying that our beans need. They are calling for showers on Friday, but the beans are not ready to go tomorrow so it is just a waiting game now. I tell you, this farming is so unpredictable, you think you can do something, then the weather changes. It is so frustrating.

I am home from BC. and it was so nice to see all of my family again. We all got to go out for dinner and several breakfasts together at the White Spot (my favorite). It was nice to see my Dad and my sisters who I hadn't seen for 2 years, and my brother-in-laws and my niece and nephew. It was really nice that I got to spend at least part of Thanksgiving with them. I even got to visit my favorite store, The Weathered Rooster. The store looked fabulous, it was full of autumn items. Judy does such a wonderful job of selecting such wonderful things for her customers. She just celebrated her 25th year in business. I just love it there. I even got an awesome witch. I have her in my kitchen on an old chair. She is perched on top of a pumpkin from my garden. My sisters took me to some really nice Quilt Shops in the area too, and of course I had to get some fabric for my stash. I just wish we all lived a little closer together.

HARVEST BAKING

I made some "Harvest Trail Mix" to take to my family in B.C. when I go out there to visit next week, after all they have to put up with me :) LOL and course a bag for DH to eat when I am away.

Well, I decided I wasn't going to the Fair today. DH said that he would like to go, but not today, tomorrow. He is working on his hangar and it is coming along great. I baked him an apple pie as he is working so hard. He just loves homemade apple pie. He can tell if I cheat on the crust too :)

He knows when I buy the store bought pie shells. This one was all from scratch.

HARVEST TIME

Well Harvest Time is finally here. This is a picture of one my displays on my side porch. Our fall Fair is on this weekend and the weather is cool and rainy. I might go over this afternoon and have a wander around for a couple of hours. It is a small fair, but they always get a huge turn out. I love looking at all of the gourds and pumpkins.

My pumpkin patch turned out really well this year. I even got 5 giants and about 20 jack-o-lantern sized pumpkins and even a couple that grew in my manure pile behind the barn:) It is the beige coloured one in the picture.

We have been working on DH's airplane hangar. We got the roof trusses up on Thursday. He is out there today finalizing the placement of them and then he needs to add some more braces then he will be ready for the steel. He is also working on my summer kitchen at the back of my house. He framed the window and the door opening. We got a pine door and a pine screen door the other day and I got them stained last Thursday morning. The findlay oval cookstove was picked up last Monday, so we have that home now.

I am off to British Columbia next Tuesday bright and early to visit my family. I am looking forward to it. I will get to visit my favorite store, the "Weathered Rooster". I just love that store.

It is "Primitive Heaven". LOL. My sisters are going to take me around to some nice Quilt Shops too, and of course lunch at the "White Spot". Another favorite of mine. I'll be flying home the following Saturday on the Red Eye flight and will get back to my town at 6 am. next Sunday. It won't be a long visit, be at least it will be a visit. I will be back to help DH with the Harvest. I am wondering if he will surprise me when I get back. He loves to surprise me. He might just do some work on my summer kitchen while I am away :)

HARVEST SWAP

"HARVEST SWAP"

from Nancy

Picture of all of my swap goodies

Autumn candle, tea towels and wooden pumpkin

The "Harvest" stitchery

Here is the picture of the Pumpkin and Crow make-do

Well today I received my "Harvest Swap" parcel from Nancy my swap partner. Her Blog is http://stitchesnstrokes.blogspot.com I just loved everything!!! She does awesome work. Great quality. Nancy made me a beautiful harvest stitchery that I just love and a gorgeous pumpkin make-do with a crow....how did she know that I LOVE crows!!! There was a really nice wooden pumpkin that I am going to hang on the door of my summer kitchen, a great smelling harvest candle with an autumn candle ring and a star candle plate. Nancy also sent me 3 beautiful tea towels in harvest colours...they look great in my kitchen! Now I feel spoiled. I had better not forget to mention the nice letter she included in the package with autumn graphics on it. Thank you so much Nancy. Everything was lovely. I will treasure these.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAKE

This is a recipe for Butternut Squash Cake with cream cheese icing :)
It is so good. I am making this for our Autumn "Ladies of The Evening" at Quilts and Calicos in Exeter. This is a potluck supper and sewing night. There is usually around 12 ladies who come and we have a nice dinner and sew a project and just have a good time and a lot of laughs. Funny, when I drink a glass of wine, I sew better....go figure!!! :)

Here is the Recipe

Butternut Squash Cake

2 cups of Sugar

2 Tablespoons of cinnamon

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil of your choice

2 cups of butternut squash (cooked)...you may use frozen

Cook and mash the butternut squash. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Put into a greased and floured 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool.

Makes 12-14 servings.

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 lb. confectioners sugar

Mix the ingredients together, adding the sugar in stages until the desired consistency.

Cover cake generously.

I mailed off my "Harvest Swap" package today for my swap partner Nancy. She should get it in about a week. They say 8 business days, but it usually gets to British Columbia from here a little sooner. I sure hope she likes everything.

COUNT DOWN TO SIMPLE GOODS SHOW

The countdown is on!!! I just realized that today is exactly 2 months away from the Simple Goods show in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. If you have never been to this you are really missing out. It is the BEST Primitive show around. This will be my third time going to it, and I don't think that I would ever want to miss it. They have the best primitive antiques and artisans around.
You can check out their website at http://simplegoods.net

FINDLAY OVAL CIRCA 1930

Well my little trip North paid off yesterday. I purchased a Circa 1930 Findlay Oval woodburning cookstove. The place had some beautiful stoves. DH and I will have to take a trip up there one of these days to bring it home. I had a great time yesterday. Stopped at a few Antique shops on the way home, stopped for lunch and got some groceries. I will post a picture when I get it home and have it installed.
I have spent all morning blanching sweet corn, taking off the kernels and putting them into freezer bags for the freezer. We are going to have enough corn to last through the winter. I can use it to make my chicken and corn chowder soup. I still have lots more beets to process. Then there is the carrots. The chilli sauce and jams are all done for this year. It will nice to get all of this freezing and canning out of the way. DH and I are both doing about 10 different things at once.
He is building his hangar for his airplane and I am renovating my porch into a summer kitchen. We both have other stuff on the go also, like the canning, lawn cutting, chopping firewood for the winter and then DH will have to harvest his crops for the season. You don't have to look far for a job on this farm.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Well today I went in to write my entrance exam for College. I was so nervous about it, I never slept at all last night. They gave me 4 hours to complete the test, but I had it finished in just under 2. They called me this afternoon and told me that I had passed with flying colours so I was VERY happy! I never thought I would be going back to school at 53. Oh well, I guess it is never too late. I will be taking Internet Graphic Design. I have taken a few night courses and I really like it, so starting in November I will be going full time for 1 full year.
I am going North tomorrow to look at Woodburning Cookstoves for my summer kitchen. Hopefully I can find one at a reasonable price. I plan on hitting the road around 7 a.m. as it is almost a two hour drive. I think I will stop at a Tim Horton's on the way up and grab one of those sausage breakfast sandwiches :) I just love them!
On the way home, I'll be able to Stop at Quilts and Calicos Quilt shop in Exeter and pick up some fabric for Ladies of The Evening next Friday night. It is potluck supper, wine drinking and sewing from 5 p.m. until midnight (if you can last that long...LOL). Last year, my sister was visiting me from B.C. and she got to come with me. She had a great time, lots to eat and a lot of nice ladies to sew with. We do this in the spring and fall and I don't think I have missed one yet.
Well I had better get off of this computer, I have to get up early.

RENOVATING THE BACK PORCH

I have started doing renovations on my back porch. I will be turning it into a summer kitchen. DH will be helping of course, I am not that handy LOL. Right now the porch is mostly glass, but I will end up with only three windows. We will be putting board and batten pine on the outside and pine on the inside walls and the ceiling. A wood burning cookstove will be going in for heat and baking bread and doing my canning. There will be a huge primitive cupboard about 6 feet tall against one wall to keep all of my pots and pans and canning equipment. The cupboard will be painted a dark cranberry colour (my favorite) and aged of course. The floor is cement and I will be painting it a caramel colour to match the inside of the house. I have to find an antique door that will fit too. Of course there will be a screen door also. I already have 3 old windows in the basement that we can use. We also have to replace the roof as it leaks like crazy, so it will be brown steel. I just can't wait for this.

I have been pickling beets all day today and I will probably be going until late tonight. I can't believe how many beets that we grew this year. The pumpkins are coming along too. I think I will have to put a sign out at the road....Pumpkins for sale! I even planted some of those Giant ones!! :)

DH had all of his recreational aircraft association members (RAA) over last night for a meeting in his shop. He got to show off the airplane that he has been working on for the past eight years. I think they were all very impressed. I couldn't believe there were around 50 men in his workshop. I spent all morning yesterday baking banana bread, cookies and squares for their coffee break.

I have also finished the items for the "Harvest Swap" I am very pleased. Just some finishing up then I can mail off the package. I liked the main item so much that I had to make one just like it for myself.

I have to go on Friday to write the entrance exam for College :( I have been trying to study math, but it has been 35 years since I was in school. I am not looking forward to it.

Well back to pickle some more beets!

WHAT A DAY!

What a day today was. First off, with the humidex it was like 45 degrees celsius. It was so hot!
This morning, I harvested all of my green beans from the garden, cleaned, cut, blanched and put them in ziplocks and froze them. This afternoon DH and I baled hay and then we put it up into the loft. That is the hay done for this year. Yesterday, DH combined our oats and spread them all out on a huge tarp to dry. After supper, we bagged them all up. That is old fashioned farming for sure! I think we both lost about 5 pounds today.

Yesterday, I judged a horseshow in Ingersoll. It was so hot that it was unbearable. The horses were pretty hot too, so myself and the other judge did not work them very hard. We just worked them long enough to see what we needed to see. At the lunch break, an Amish horse and buggy pulled in to the show grounds and set up a table and sold eggs, homemade bread, pies, tarts and fresh vegetables. Of course I couldn't resist. I had to buy some of that homemade bread and some pecan tarts. I was joking with the competitors, telling them that the show won't resume until I have done my shopping.....LOL. Hopefully the weather will cool down soon. Can't wait for fall.

Breakfast Smoothie

DH and I were on the road before 8 a.m. this morning and off to Park's Blueberries. We arrived just after 9 a.m. and I am so glad that we got there early. It was sooooo hot today. By 10:45 we had almost 20 lbs. of blueberries picked. Some of those berries were as big as grapes. We got weighed in and paid for them, then we went into their restaurant where they also sell all kinds of cookbooks, giftware and frozen pies, berries etc. We had some lunch and it was so good. I had the cream of cauliflower soup with a scone and DH had the blueberry french toast. We both had to have a piece of homemade blueberry pie for desert too. Couldn't pass on that!!!
I ended up buying some blueberry scones to take home and some blueberry buttertarts (to die for).
I just finished washing and freezing all of those blueberries and I will now have a supply over the winter for our breakfast smoothies. Blueberries are so good for you, I use them in our smoothies every day. I thought I would share the recipe, as it is very healthy and it gives you lots of energy, even at my age....LOL.

Breakfast Smoothie

1 banana

2 pineapple spears

1/2 cup of blueberries

1/2 cup of strawberries

4 Tablespoons of plain yogurt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 Tablespoons of protein powder ( I use hemp)

3/4 cup of orange juice

3/4 cup of apple cider

put all of this in a blender, first chop, then puree until smooth.

Enjoy!!

HARVEST SWAP

I received an email from Char from the PICKLED PEPPER PATCH on Tuesday with the name of my swapping partner. I have started making the things that I will be sending to her. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she is also from Canada. British Columbia to be exact. That is so funny.....all of my family is out there, and so is my favorite store, "The Weathered Rooster". I am really looking forward to this as Autumn is my favorite time of year. I really enjoy creating things for this season. I just hope she will like everything. I know it is something that I would like :)

I finally finished the Website that I was doing for the Quilters Guild that I belong to. It took a lot of time, but I think it looks awesome!! http://huronperthquiltersguild.webs.com/
DH says that I am turning into a real computer Geek....not! I am afraid I have a long way to go before you can call me that. I really love working with computers.

I have been working in my flower beds all week. The hollyhocks are coming to an end :(
I just love the garden when everything is in full bloom. Now I can think of fall mums and pumpkins....I just love those things! I guess unemployment isn't that bad, it gives you time to do the things that you really like.

DH and I are getting up really early tomorrow morning and going blueberry picking. I will be freezing some for use over the winter. I told him I would buy him lunch as they have a really nice little restaurant there. Lots of things made with blueberries.

Fanshawe Pioneer Village

London Brewery

Replica of 1828 London Pioneer Brewery purchased

by

John Labatt in 1847.

Fanshawe School.

Built circa 1871. Fanshawe Hamlet

Purple Hill Loyal Orange Lodge No. 817

Built in West Nissouri Township circa 1880

Antique Cookstove

Antique Cookstove

Trinity Church. Built in circa 1887 in Sebringville, Perth County.

Below is the Denfield General Store. This was built in circa 1877 in Denfield, Middlesex County.

Yesterday I visited a great place called Fanshawe Pioneer Village. It consists of buildings that date between 1820 and 1920. They have all been moved from their original locations and restored as close to original as possible. It was just wonderful seeing all of these buildings and all the contents in them. Even the people that work there are dressed in vintage clothing. They had vintage furniture, cookstoves, antique cookware, etc. etc. in all of the buildings. They had a great little cafe' too that I just had to check out. Everything they serve is made from fresh produce that they grow in their 2 acre garden. They even bake their own bread. On special weekends, they serve buffet dinners, eg. for Thanksgiving you can get a Turkey dinner with all of the fixins. I ended up having their homemade potato leak soup with homemade bread and their house made lemonade. I really enjoyed it. I got a few nice pictures of some of the buildings. This is a must see if you ever visit London, Ontario.

Glad to be home...

I am so glad to be home. My little Jack Russell (Shorty) really missed me. DH says that she is never the same when I am away judging. Our animals are our family. Shorty hasn't left my side since I arrived home this afternoon.

Sunflowers, Sunflowers, and more Sunflowers

I just got home from Brandon, Manitoba. I was there for 5 days to Judge the Appaloosa National Horse Show. I had a wonderful time and worked with some wonderful people. There were so many great quality horses to Judge. I am glad to be back home to my husband and all of our animals. I am sure they missed me as much as I missed all of them. My garden grew like crazy while I was away. I have beets as big as grapefruits so I know what I will be doing all next week

:(....canning beets. DH planted a ton of sunflowers this year and of course I had to cut a few to put in a mason jar in the kitchen. I just love them and I like to enjoy them inside and outside.

Studying like Crazy!!!!

I have been studying like crazy....that is between the batches of jam I have been making. I went to the St. Jacobs Farmers Market on Thursday and got some organic blueberries, strawberries, and GooseBerries. So needless to say I have been making batches of jam ever since.
Now back to the studying part. I will be going to Brandon Manitoba in a few days to Judge the Canadian Appaloosa National Horse Show. This is the largest yearly show the Canadian Appaloosa Association puts on. The Judges must be very well versed on all of the rules, so I have been doing a lot of refreshing you might say. I am really looking forward to this show. I imagine I will be pretty tired after it is finished, as it is 5 consecutive days of judging. So back to the rule book for now!

Homemade Gooseberry Jam

I spent this morning making a batch of GooseBerry Jam. It turned out wonderful.

I plan on making a couple more batches before the GooseBerries go out of season.

Finally!!! My Blog

Finally.....I have a blog!!! Thanks to Amy from Amybugs Primitive Attic for the awsome graphics.