Baby update....

My friends at Nash Gas continued to ask around and get info about my stove.  Wednesday night, they got her going at 100%.  Turns out, there was a valve that needed to be opened.

Last Tuesday, I bid on an ebay auction and won--and today in the mail I received my prize.  It is the original installation manual and the cooking guide and care and operation booklet for my 1941 stove.  It would have been helpful to have had that at the time we installed the stove!

She did good.  She cooked for 41 people on Thanksgiving, and several more on Friday and today.  If today's appliances were made like this 1941 Roper, their would be a lot less repairmen out there....

Pretzel Wreaths

☆✻ღ✻☆ Pretzel Wreaths ☆✻ღ✻☆...

Ingredients
3/4 cup white vanilla chips or 5 oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating
72 miniature pretzels twists
6 (24-inch) pieces red string licorice

Instructions
1 Line 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. In small saucepan, melt vanilla chips over low heat, stirring constantly.
2 Using 6 pretzels, form a circle on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet, placing side of pretzel with 1 hole on outside of ring. Remove 1 pretzel from circle; dip inner section (side with 2 holes) halfway into melted vanilla chips. Place dipped pretzel back into circle formation. Continue with remaining pretzels in circle.
3 To form top layer of wreath, dip 6 additional pretzels, one at a time, in coating. Place over first circle so that coated holes overlap 2 pretzels.
4 Repeat to make 5 additional wreaths. Refrigerate wreaths 15 minutes or until coating is firm.
5 Weave 1 piece of string licorice through coated holes in each pretzel. Tie bow with licorice ends.
MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Line 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. Place vanilla chips in 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave on MEDIUM for 2 to 3 minutes or until melted, stirring once halfway through cooking. Stir until smooth. Continue as directed above.
By photo and recipe by http://www.pillsbury.com/

My New Baby

Not that kind......

But this kind.

A 1941 gas Roper, with 6 burners, 2 ovens and 2 broilers.  I still need to find a couple of parts (actually 2 of the same part) for the ovens and broilers to work correctly, but the top is working perfect.  Later, I am going to have the clock and light housing re-chromed.

I should be able to get 3 or 4 canners running on it at the same time next summer during canning season.  That will sure speed up the canning.  My stove that this replaced, was a glass top, and did not let me use a large canner.  It took 2 hours to heat the canner, then I could not do back to back batches or it could crack the glass as it would tend to over heat.

Now I am set.

I stole this post

I'll admit it--I stole this post from Betsy over at her blog, located at
 http://mrspriceisrighthomeschooling.blogspot.com/.  But, it was so good, I had to share.  To see the original post, go visit Betsy's blog by clicking on the link.  It contains a link from Laura Ingalls Wilder:

 “I believe it would be much better for everyone if children were given their start in education at home. No one understands a child as well as his mother, and children are so different that they need individual training and study. A teacher with a room full of pupils cannot do this. At home, too, they are in their mother’s care. She can keep them from learning immoral things from other children.” 
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

So true.  I wonder what she would think of today's schools and education system, and common core. Would she see it as an improvement or as a decline in the system?

Yum...

A friend had this posted on facebook.....I will be trying this one.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Preheat oven to 400

Divide asparagus into bundes of 3-4 spears. Wrap each in a slice of bacon.

In a saucepan, melt a stick of butter, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2tsp garlic salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper and bring to a boil.

Pour mix over bundles and bake until bacon looks done.

How my morning went.....

Today was my ONE AND ONLY day this week I could sleep in-until 8 ish this morning......

0640 doorbell rings--A guy tells me our white horse is out--but its not our horse-I tell him to go to 240th, 2nd house on the left or third--its theirs I think, .....I go back to bed

0715....ding dong...."we have your shed to deliver from Sutherlands". Where do you want it......well, we didn't order one, but if someone else got it for us (would be nice, huh?) you can put it... by the chicken coup. Darn, delivery tag says it for Gerkes, so go back down the road, to the brick  house.....and I go back to bed...

0732......ding dong.....I have your propane, but I can't find your tank.....that's because you are on the wrong road (and blind, cuz my tank is right there). This is 228 and your ticket says 222......I go back to bed (again).

0759....ding dong.....Sutherlands is back--thinking yee haw--maybe Gerke did buy us that shed???--nope-guess they are stuck in our yard while turning around and wanted to let me know.  I go back to bed...again. 

0810....ding dong....ok, we are unstuck now, but left some ruts--here is my card and you can call with any damage reports........really mister??? This is a FARM. As long as the ruts are not in the hayfield and you didn't take out a fence, I really DONT care.  I go back to bed  (AGAIN)

0813...FEDEX just came and delivered a box.....,,,wrong house.....why am I not surprised?  I am supposed to get a package today, but he knows nothing about it.  I climb back in bed...AGAIN.

0815....I get comfy in bed...Yep, my alarm just went off. Husband doesn't understand why I got up before the alarm.....BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IN THE HOUSE BOTHERED TO ANSWER THE DOOR!!!! I hit the snooze.

 0820..DING DONG...I refuse to get up and answer the door.  Husband doesn't understand why.  I hear a truck drive off.  He goes outside and checks--it is my expected package--so, I guess either 2 Fed Ex trucks were in our area, or the guy found it after all.  (Really don't know how he could miss it--its a huge red box)

0825 Snooze goes off--have to get up now for sure.  It is homeschool co-op day...

When I got back from co-op, I went and checked out the "ruts"....It is actually more like a mini grand canyon.  After it dries out, I will need to smooth it down with the tractor or bobcat, and reseed it.  But, Sutherlands says they will pay for the damages, which is good.

But, at least my package came!!  Its my new Hoover Steam Vac Carpet Shampooer that I got with my swagbucks!!

Common Core Meeting in Raymore MO

Momentum is growing to stop common core, but it can only continue to grow with your help. There will be a public meeting on the truth of Common Core next Monday in Raymore MO.

Date: Monday, November 4th
Time: 6:45pm
Location: Community Bank of Raymore, in Raymore MO
Sponsor: Jeremy & Tonya Long

cookie drama

Ugh.

Daughter #3 is baking cookies.  While that sounds like a good idea......

From the kitchen she yells "I need a fire extinguisher.  STAT."

Fire is out, and I quiz her as to what happened.  And, she tells me she set an onion on fire.  Really?  An onion?  What does an onion have to do with making cookies??

I don't even want to know.

Snakes!

This event is on the campus of the Missouri Western State University in St Joseph MO.....

"Good Morning All,

 

I will give a presentation, "Snakes Alive! It's the Year of the Snake"   in Agenstein Hall Room 224 on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 10:00 AM. This talk is free, open to all ages, and is being sponsored by the Pony Express Amphibian and Reptile Society, MWSU Dept. of Biology, and the Missouri Dept. of Conservation. We will have live snakes for people to view and touch. 

 

Notice the change in location.  Earlier announcements indicated that this talk would be at MDC.

 

Thanks,
--

Mark S. Mills

Department of Biology

Missouri Western State University

St. Joseph, MO 64507"

 

816-271-4384

mmills3@missouriwestern.edu

The garden that wouldn't quit

I keep thinking the garden is done....then, it grows some more...

So, this past week, 7 jars of hot peppers,  7 trays of bells dehydrated, and 1 tray of onions and tomatoes dehyrated.

Our main producer right now is the horticulture beans.  They have been slow, but steady.  I am drying those as well.

And, our little red headed adopted pride and joy is learning to pray at church.  So sweet.

Hay was cut for the final time this weekend, and they are raking it right now as I type.  Hopefully the rain will hold off until after it is baled and brought to a dry barn.  Our leaves are starting to turn.  Fall has arrived.

My daughter...the queen

Miss Emily did it....She was crowned Miss Plattsburg 2013 tonight.  

With her crown, comes a $1000 academic scholarship.   She plans to go into medicine.

She has been involved in Girl Scouts, 4H, and church.  She does volunteer work at church camp, has helped rebuild Joplin from the tornado damage and does some tutoring at the local schools.  She is a pretty talented young lady, having been a winner in spelling bees, science fairs, speech contests.  She is a very good volleyball player, avid reader, decent horseback rider, A student and the "middle" sister of the 5 girls (also the only one to not have a twin!)

She is a senior in highschool this year, and also 5 college classes.  And, she is mine!

Homeschool Co-op

I love our co-op.  We have classes on Tues and Thurs, but you don't have to sign up for both days.  You can pick one or the other, or both.  This semester we are doing both, as they meet just a few miles from our farm.

On Tuesdays, I am the lead teacher for Science Lab.  So far, the only thing the kids ALL share an interest in is to blow something up.  So, each week, we try to blow up something, then we do another lesson.

Today, we did the diet coke and Mento's thing.  We have already done it twice where it did not blow up (I am trying to get them to learn that experiments don't always come out the same, so each time we did the experiment we used different mints, and different sodas, and got different results.)  Today it blew--and, being kids, the messier it is, the more they liked it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbJELjLgZg

Then, we followed through on an experiment we started last week with eggs.  We soaked eggs for a week in different solutions.  the vinegar solution ate through the shells, leaving squishy eggs held together only by the membranes.  Of course they wanted to smash them, but I was mean and didn't let them, knowing I or my aides would have to be the ones to clean it up.

Our last lesson for the day was to start a unit on bacteria.  Each student got a petri dish with nutrient agar in it.  The dishes were made with 3 compartments, so, they each got to swab 3 items of their choice.  Next week, we will see what we are growing.  For health reasons, the dishes are now sealed shut, and we washed hands first and then made the rule of no swabbing in the bathrooms.  I'd rather we NOT grow a batch of e-coli.  We talked a little about good bacteria vs bad bacteria, and the 3 types shapes of bacteria.  Next week we will finish up on our bacteria unit, unless they really seem into it--if so, we will do another week of learning more about them (after we blow something up, of course).

More Peppers

This afternoon Elizabeth picked a peck of peppers (I just had to say that) from the pepper bed.  It yielded 4 trays of diced peppers for the dehydrator.

One of the red bell peppers had a green baby pepper inside it.  I thought that was rather weird.

She also picked several hot peppers.  The last time I tried to dry those in the dehydrator, it about killed me. They were so hot,  that it put off fumes that burned my eyes and made it hurt to breath--even after I tried to move the dehydrator to the garage.  So, I will have to come up with a different plan for the hot peppers.

5K to Support the Pregnancy Resource Center

5K Run and 1 mile Family Fun Walk 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Run for a Child is a benefit event for Rachel House Pregnancy Resource Centers. Rachel House has three locations in the Kansas City area: Lee’s Summit, Paseo Bvld. and the Northland. They are dedicated to helping meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those who seek assistance when dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. Their focus is to protect the unborn and provide spiritual guidance in a Christ-centered environment. They administer free pregnancy tests, perform many life-affirming ultrasounds and provide for material needs such as diapers.

• Event Details

Date:  Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 (rain or shine)

Location: Penguin Park, Kansas City, MO 64119 

• N.E. Vivion Road and North Norton
• Visit us at www.runforachild.com 

• Entry Fee
• Registration until 10/9 - $30
• After 10/9 & Race Day registration - $35
• Child 0-12 years old - $15

• Registration
• Online at www.runforachild.com until October 9, 2013
•     By mail, postmarked by October 5, 2013
•     On race day: registration is available 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. Race day registrants are not guaranteed a t-shirt, to be in the results or to receive a packet.

Rachel House – Run for a Child

4605 Paseo Blvd. Suite 200

Kansas City, MO 64110

816.921.5050

• Questions
• Contact us at runforachild@gmail.com

__._,_.___

State 4H contest

This past week has been busy.  Very busy.  I taught Tuesday, watched kiddos Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was also the state competition for 4H .22 for Rebecca, and speech contest for Emily.  (Rebecca also qualified for state speech, but for some reason this year 4H did both contest on the same day, so she had to pick and .22 won).  So, Friday night, Emily, Rebecca and the little one I am watching loaded up and went and spent the night at my parents .  By staying there, we are 1 1/2 closer to Columbia, which made the Saturday early morning drive more enjoyable.  My mom went with us, and went to the speech contest with Emily while Rebecca and I headed to the range.

The range is outside of town, and a long hike from where you park to where you shoot .22.  A very long walk, as in a mile hike through the woods on a gravel path.  Last year I learned a trick--many families take a wagon to pull their stuff in to the range (gun, lawn chairs, food, drinks, shooting mat, ammo, diaper bag and baby).  That worked well going downhill to the range.  Then, we had to come back uphill to the car.  Lets just say my thighs were screaming by the time we got back to the car.  I also am developing a bone spur on the bottom of my left heel.  I was feeling that too.  Of course the two year old loved it.  "I love wagon rides.  This is a long wagon ride".  Yeah, a real long wagon ride.  I tried to get her to pull me, but she told me I was too big.

I still managed to get a couple more jars of tomatoes canned, and some peppers dehydrated.  I still need to get some more onions dehydrated as well.  The garden is slowing down, and the fall beans and peas are getting closer to being ready to pick.  I also went in and volunteered a shift at my fire station as well.  Between the canning and poison ivy, I had not been in for quite some time and was missing it.  With the garden slowing down I will be getting back into my routine with that fairly soon.

Thursday, my aunt passed away.  She was 94 years old  Please keep my cousins (her children) in your prayers, as well as the rest of the family.

The OffGrid Homemaker: My First Post

She is back!  I know some of my followers also followed agodlyhomemaker blog.  The internet ate it....so, she is back, with a new blog and I just wanted to share her first post and her new link.  It is below. 


The OffGrid Homemaker: My First Post: Welcome to my blog. The name says it all- I live off grid, meaning no electricity, and I am a homemaker. I am married to a truck driver and ...

Missing girl from my home county in Missouri

Please check this out, and pass it on.
This young lady has been missing now for 4 days--since Sept 8, 2013.  She lived in the area where I grew up and lived for almost 40 years.

MISSING

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Roseberry
DOB 6 May 1997 Age Now 16 years
Missing 8 Sep 2013 Sex Female
Height 5' 4" Weight 102lbs...
Eyes Blue Hair Red
Missing from Centerview, MO
Elizabeth has taken a small, brown and cream mixed breed/daushaund dog with her. 

She has been known to dye her hair coal black. 

If you have seen or have any information about Elizabeth please call the Johnson County Sherriff's Office at 660-747-5511 or 1-800-THE-LOST.

Her friends and family are desperate for her return.

Lizzy, if you can see this-please call your family, or a friend, or the sherriffs department and let them know you are ok or go to a police department, fire department or hospital.,  If you can't get home by yourself, they will help you. 

Not quite....

Poison ivy is not quite gone, but its finally ALL off my face now, and most of the places where I scratched it open and raw in my sleep are starting to finally heal.  After almost 6 weeks of it, its about time.

And, the lima beans, not quite ready, but getting close.   (See I can where my rings again!!  My fingers were broken out and swollen to the point I went a couple weeks without wearing my wedding rings and that just felt strange).

They just need a little more rain, and little more sunshine and a little more time.  Most of the lima beans I will freeze.  My husband prefers his lima beans frozen over canned.  And, since he is the biggest lima bean consumer of the house, I will grant him that wish.

Any idea where the lima bean originated????

Probably not where you think.

Lima beans have a long history.  They have been grown commercially in the United States since around the 1800's.

But, the earliest record of them, has them being grown in what is now coastal Peru by the Moche people in 2000 BC.  There are pictures of lima beans in their pottery.