NEW PHOTOS!

Seems I've been gone a long time, and well it has been. TWO WHOLE WEEKS!

For those two weeks, I was on vacation for a week in the mountains with some family and friends, and then upon returning, I had another week to spend with both my grandbabies, Brayden and Ciannon.
Ashley and Ciannon were in from New York to visit!! It was Ciannon's first road trip!
I have lots of pictures to post of my two weeks worth of adventures, but first, my pride and joys...the grandbabies, posted above. I was fooling around with my photo program to see what kind of crazy things I could do with the pics! ENJOY!

See ya next time......down on the farm!

Sage

It's THURSDAY! That's Thrift Store day!

ohhhh lala..wanna see the treasures I found today?? You're NOT going to believe this one!

Ready?? Here goes.

What does this look like?

..

If you said a sewing machine, you're correct!

Now, take a look at how much I paid for it..

Tha'ts NOT 200.99..that's $2.99. Uhuh..sure did. So when I saw the tag, I thought..well I gotta look at least.

SO I opened the case, and peeked to see exactly what type of machine this was. Here's what I found. ....

This little baby came home with me!

Wanna know what was wrong with it?? NOTHING!..OhhK..I lied..it needs a new belt. The original one was still on it and dry-rotted!!

Other then that, this little charmer purrs like a kitten in a 3 hour nap! OH YEAH!

Of course, you know I had to do some research right??

If you're interested, take a look at a few of the sites I stumbled upon.

http://www.geocities.com/possumjim/xhtml/collect_sewing_185.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/Singer-185K-Sewing-Machine--~Great-Original-Conditiion~_W0QQitemZ160327018532QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090408?IMSfp=TL090408152005r26626

185K- "modern" looking version of the 99-31. minty green, sleeker lines, mechanically identical to the 99-31The “K” in Model name indicates it was made in Kilbowie, Scotland

http://blog.sew-classic.com/2008/11/06/singer-99-sewing-machine-review.aspx

I'll post the rest of my 'prizes' later if I get the chance, I just had to tell you about this one!

Sage!

Pictures are up!

Ok..as per requested..Kitchen and Dinning room.

As promised, I've got decorated, finished, completed pictures below for you to see.
The dinning room slide show is first, the kitchen is second!

I still need my frame for around my kitchen window. Hubby has been working some long hours, so he has not had time to cut it for me yet.

That cabinet over the freezer has no door..why? I haven't decided if I'm going to put the door back on yet...I kinda like it open! I decided not to paint the shelves white, since we just put those up a few months back and taking them down and stripping them would be a PAIN!

Almost all my baskets have been hung on the wall above the fridge side of the kitchen and I've got room for PLENTY more..WOOHOO Thrift Store ..HERE I COME!

Much of what you'll see here is Thrift Store re-do's, Flea Market and Yard Sale finds. If it's not one of those, it's usually something I made myself. Nothing is perfect, but I like it that way!

And please remember..this is a home..it is not a magazine wannabe. We live here, so you will see magnets on the fridge and alphabet magnets on the freezer..I have small grandchildren and great nieces that come to visit. Mimi's house would not be a place of good memories if they couldn't touch anything now would it? You'll see dog food and cat food containers along with various other 'day to day' things. I USE my kitchen, I cook a lot and always keep things 'out and easy to reach and use. Like I said..we LIVE here. I hope you enjoy the slide show below!

See ya next time......down on the farm!

Sage

Wanna see that Pic?

Here's a series of pics of the mushroom and asparagus 'saute'..ENJOY!


Mushrooms first..







Let em cook down..and 5 mins later:





So here's the lovely Asparagus..popping off the bottoms







And here they are cut into about 1 inch pieces:







Let's toss those together and cover..for 5-6 mins






Isn't this LOVELY?? YUM YUM!! It was DELISH too!




ENJOY!

Seems like I've dissapeard huh?

I haven't..and I did have a haul at the thrift store last week, on Friday instead of Thursday.
It rained like the dickens here on Thursday of last week, so this ol' hedgewife didn't budge from the house!
On Friday, I did venture out, visited with the daughter and the grand child and of course, hit the Thrift Store. I unfortunately didn't get pictures, but here is a list of the things I did pick up.

A large barn red coat peg rack for the wall..for 1.99$
A 5 inch Lodge Cast Iron Skillet 1.99$
2 more frames for stitcheries .65cents each
another little brown crock with lid and metal snap .45cents
3 baskets for .50cents each

Was a good day!
I'll try to post pictures of these things 'in use' as I am using them already! (I don't buy stuff I can't use')

Fear not, another Thursday is coming up and I'm sure I'll be posting other stuff between now and then! Till then..have a great day.

Kitchen is done!

Well all, the kitchen is done! WHOOHOOOO! You have no idea how happy I am about that.

I'll be posting pictures on Wednesday (as right now, I'm preparing for overnight guests and just do not have the time to get them up here!)
BUT...Sage's Kitchen is OPEN again! (enjoy the site and the recipes if you get time to stop by)

I must say that this kitchen was a daunting task! I hate the paint I ended up using. Not to be 'mean' but I would never again buy Valspar paint to save me! Yes, you heard me correct..NEVER again! It promises one coat coverage..that's not true. These cabinets were sanded and painted twice with primer and it took me 3 and sometimes 4 coats to cover with the Valspar. NEVER AGAIN do you hear me..NEVER! Part of my delay in getting my kitchen done was fighting that paint for a week. Yep..A WEEK!

I will say this. Much as I hate Walmart, their Color Place and Kilz paints covered in TWO coats, and that was with only ONE coat of primer! I'm sold! Anything to make a 're-do' easier, I'm there!

Join me on Wednesday for the final pictures, with decorations even. I plan on putting pictures of the dinning room up as well so you can tell me if I combined a 'country/italian bistro' look well enough. (Dinning room is semi-italian bistro, kitchen is 'country')

See ya next time......down on the farm!

Sage

What's for dinner?

Hey ya'll! (said in her best Paula Dean imitation)

(cough, choke) Well, Paula Dean I'm not..but I AM in the kitchen..so join me!!

So, what's on the menu for dinner tonight? Can't you hear it now.."Honey, I'm home! What's cooking?"

So here ya go gals...a recipe to start your week with! I don't have pictures of this posted yet, but will try to get some on here mid week or so!

Here in the south, we are getting ready to experience our 'last cold snap of the season', (supposed to get to 32 tonight! ACK!) so in keeping with that I wanted a hearty, warm, reminds me of home item to add to my dinner menu.

Here's what's for dinner around here:
My Menu:
Artisan Bread (HA! See previous recipe)
Homemade French Onion Soup
Cheddar Brats (store bought..on sale no less)
Asparagus and mushroom saute'

Ready? Let's cook!
First off, the Artisan Bread. Click "HERE" to find the recipe. You'll need several (up to 3) hours for this, so get that bread a'risin' first!
*If you don't have time for homemade bread, use storebought. No one will be dissapointed!

Now, let's move on to the French Onion Soup (so, can anyone tell me why it's french?) And one more thing, this recipe is handwritten in 'grandma' script. Ever heard of grandma script? Well, if you haven't, it consists of a pinch of this and a dash of that. Read on my budding chefs, you'll see what I mean!

2 1/2 Cups thinly sliced yellow onions (or MORE..up to 4 Cups)
2 T. Butter
A pinch of salt
A pinch of sugar (to help the onions brown and glaze)
1 1/2 T. Flour
3 cans beef broth (or 4 Cups if you're using bouillon) heated to almost boiling
Dash of Worcestershire sauce (if you have it)
4-6 slices of crusty 'artisan' bread or french bread, toasted.
Swiss Cheese (or mozzarella if you don't have swiss)

Cook onions slowly in butter in a covered saucepan for about 15 mins. (till tender) Uncover, raise heat to medium high and add salt & sugar. Stir and cook till the onions have turned a deep golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir. Add beef broth, stir till smooth. Add Worcestershire sauce. Turn off the heat. Prepare the bread.
Toast the bread lightly on both sides. Cover with swiss cheese or mozzarella (shredded or sliced) and broil till bubbly and melted.
Ladle soup into large bowls, float a piece of bread on top of each one. Serve. How simple is that?? You can do it..I have faith!

Now..onto the asparagus and mushroom saute'

1 Bundle of Asparagus
8 oz of sliced mushrooms (fresh)
Salt
2-3 Tablespoons Butter
dash basil

Melt butter in a saute pan on medium heat. Toss in sliced mushrooms and stir, cover with lid for 5 mins. Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces, (dont' use the tough/stringy bottom part). After mushrooms have cooked for 5 mins, toss in asparagus, cover and cook for another 5 mins for crisp asparagus or longer if you prefer a softer asparagus. Dash of basil at the last minute. Salt and pepper to taste.
That's it..you're done! Easy huh? Serve with some of that crusty bread and a 'banger' as they say in England (sausage) and you're ready to go!

So hey..I figure it this way, we've covered 3 countries in this dish.
If you made "FRENCH onion soup, that's France
If you used SWISS Cheese..that's Switzerland (Mozzarella, that's Italy)
And if you're serving sausage, (banger) that's England!

Wow..I should have labeled this post, 'eating around the world in one trip!"

Want to learn about Asparagus
Go here : http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Asparagus/index.htm
Don't forget to read the facts of asparagus too!

Kitchen to RE-OPEN

HI all!

Well, refurbishments are near completion and this means the kitchen will be re-opening soon! Matter of fact..come Monday!

Welcome back!

If you want to see pictures of the mostly completed project, just head on over to the Sagewood Farm home page and take a gander!

NOW..let's get back to cooking!

Welcome to APRIL!!

HOWDY! (this is how my best friend Lightfoot greets everyone..thought I'd give it a try!)
Nothing much new to share down on the farm. Cept..
Let me tell you of the 'escapee'!

His name is Baxter. I know you've heard me speak of him before, matter of fact, he's had his pictures posted here! He's our found Great Pyrenees. Remember the fence? Yeah..well that sure does keep him in...no problems, however, we failed to recognize the windows in the house! Yep, you read that right, the windows in the house!

On Wednesday, the rain clouds threatened., so ol' Baxter was 'inside', sleeping away, or so I thought. In all actuality he was plotting his escape! (secretly, with his eyes closed!)

I just happened to have our bedroom window open, not even THINKING he would try to go out of one. I'm sitting at the computer playing "Sims' (yes, I'm a simmer) and I hear this 'rumble, rumble, thump, thud!" in the bedroom. See.., Baxter has a habit of laying between my bed and the wall, and with his size, he will on occasion, get 'stuck' and have to wiggle and jiggle till he gets 'unstuck', making a racket that would scare most ghosts! Again, I hear the 'rumble, rumble, thump, thud!" So I begin to think, he's stuck and can't get unstuck! I must go help!

I wander into the bedroom, check between the bed and the wall expecting to see a very stuck Baxter....no Baxter. I check the bathroom...no Baxter. Heck, I even checked the closet and no Baxter! Now, I'm starting to wonder about my sanity or if I have rowdy ghosts! I KNEW I heard what I heard. I didn't glance up at the window..I mean...gee, who'd have thought right??
I searched the house over, I searched outside..no Baxter.
I go BACK to where the noise came from..(bygeorgeImnotcrazy) and this time, I just happened to glance up at the window and notice..the screen gone! I popped my head out and there on the ground, broken and in shambles is.......the screen. Baxter was gone with the wind!

I called (hoping against hope cuz he's like a legless wonder and NEVER comes when called!), I whistled, I called some more...no Baxter. I figured it was a lost cause, so came back in and gave up. He has tags and if someone finds him they'll call the number.

Hours pass..No Baxter yet.
Finally, dusk is coming and it's time to go close the chickens up for the night. You know chickens, to bed with the sun, up with the sun..so out I go, and there on the "OTHER" side of the fence is my wandering giant, looking happy as a lark, soaked to the bone and muddy as the Mississippi river in a flood! I opened the gate and let him in. I could hear the snicker in his snout..and see the joy in his eyes and ears as he told of his 'swimming' in the creek adventures!

BAXTER PULLED AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE ON ME!!!
Needless to say, all the windows now are lowered to a level in which Baxter cannot get more then a snout under them.
Gawd, what we won't do for our furkids!

See ya next time......down on the farm!

Sage