Wow..

The weekend is gone already! We had BEAUTIFUL weather and it was a good thing too.

Since today is BUBBLE day, which means laundry and it's due to rain all day, I did all my  laundry yesterday! (can't hang clothes in the rain ya know) Good thing too, it's raining already.
It was 74 here yesterday! Wow..what nice weather!
It's still one thing Mondays though, and today's one thing is..CLEANING THE COFFEE POT! Don't have a coffee pot? How about a tea maker? Or any item that you use on a daily basis that can get sediment in it and clogged up. Today's the day. It's the coffee maker for me. Oh yeah.

Tomorrow is the first of the month and there are certain things I do on the first of the month too..here's the list..
Change the air/heat unit filter
Check fire/smoke detector batteries
Give the dogs/cats heart worm medication
Dust ceiling fans

That's about it. Do I get it all done? Not always, but I make sure to try and get it done in the first couple of weeks.
I sure do hope you have a great day rain or shine.
KEEP THE VOW!

A Challenge for YOU!

I'm not sure how many readers are aware, but I have been a 'clothes line gal' for a while, was raised with one as a matter of fact, BUT. (confession time) .I've not use it to it's fullest extent. I know, bad girl, but with this years mantra and a great desire to reduce a few things, (namely my 'carbon footprint', and my electric bill), I have taken a vow of....uhmm what shall I call this..a vow of...poverty? no, chastity? oh heavens no, dependence?...well, I can't use that cuz I'm still dependent on electric for 'other' things.
Let's just say it's a vow to reduce! Yeah, that's the ticket.
I have vowed to not use my dishwasher or my dryer as long as possible.
I've been at this since Oct/Nov of last year and in that time, I can say I've used my dryer twice, for 20 minutes each time when it started raining and I had to grab my not quite dry clothes off the line. I now have an inside drying rack so hopefully that will not happen again.
Now, the dishwasher. Hmm how to explain this one? I use it everyday. Not electrically though. Instead of removing the electric vampire demon, I use it as my 'drainboard'. I wash dishes by-hand in the sink and use the dishwasher to drain them in. Now, because I do this it means that once every month and a 1/2 or so I do have to run it at least on hot a rinse cycle. If I don't what I get is, standing water in the bottom. Since we have well water with lots of natural minerals, leaving well water to 'sit' is not a good idea!

So since Jan 1 of this year, I have used neither the dishwasher or the dryer. Since I will have to run the dishwasher once every 6-8 weeks or so I'll make sure it's FULL of stuff of course but if I can stretch it to once every 2 months, that means only 6x's in a year. That's a good thing since reduction is the goal and last year, prior to Oct/Nov I ran it at least every other day. (sometimes more depending)

So the challenge is out there for all you Hedgewives. This year, for the year 2011, take a vow to not use your dryer or dishwasher. At least reduce the use of each as much as possible. Want to join the vow?

A funny thing I saw on the way to:

My TAXI for the day!

Ok, here's an adventure I never told you about.
One day a few months back, very late in the day my phone rings. I recognize the number as being Tony, my nephew (remember? the officer?) The first thing out of his mouth is "You wanna go drink tomorrow morning?" I'm a wee bit confused, dumbfounded and wondering what has gotten Tony on a kick to party! I asked him, with all seriousness, 'Uhmm..drink? HUH?"
After a few minutes of conversation and confusion I realized what he was talking about.
It's like this see.
Police officers in training have to learn how to determine if someone is possibly over the alcohol limit by looking for certain signs, then by those determinations they administer a breathalyzer test.


Well, just how are these trainees going to learn what to look for unless they encounter an 'over the limit' person? That's where I come in, and what the phone call was about.
In short: The Police academy conducts 'wet labs' where volunteers 'drink' a certain amount then go to the classroom and get tested by the officers in training. They are learning how to determine if someone may be over the limit. Once the officers looks at them and issue a few tests, they must give an educated guess on what they would 'blow' on the breathalyzer based on their observations.  The volunteers then 'blow' and the results are recorded, discussed and re-evaluated if needs be.
There are rules and regs and it's completely safe. For instance, you are never alone. If you have to go to the bathroom or outside to smoke you are escorted.  The officer pouring your drinks does so on a measurement basis so that each person gets the same amount of alcohol no matter the drink of choice.  You have to drink 'X' amount in 'X' amount of time. You blow 10 mins after each drink to see what your 'level' is. You are not allowed to leave the facility until you 'blow' a 000. And believe it or not, they even serve you lunch.

Believe me, I'm not much of a drinker and when I do drink it's wine. But it's even harder to start drinking wine at 9:30 in the morning, get snockered and then sober up in time to get home to cook dinner! WHEW!
I did it anyway!
The academy is very appreciative of the volunteers that do this, heck, I even got 'parting' gifts last time! LOL. We had a wonderful time and I learned a lot. I learned exactly how much I can drink before I blow over the limit and trust me it's not much. (you would be surprised!).
Now, I tell you all this so I could show you these pictures: Ready? Once we arrive at the academy and get out of the car, I'm in a parking lot full of police cars right? Walking up to the academy I just happened to notice THIS TAG:

 And then, realized it was on THIS car. I bout died laughing. Gotta love an officer with a sense of humor!!!

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

Christmas!

Yep, you read that right! Christmas! So tell me, what have you gotten ready, bought, made or prepared for this years upcoming Holiday?? There are only 330 days left until Christmas!! Go make, buy or find one Christmas gift this month, wrap it, label it and put it away! (hehehe) You'll be one step ahead of the game!  Heck, if you're feeling froggy, do TWO! And if you're like me with three grand-babies, 4 children (including in-laws) and one hubby (the most I can have..OR WANT) do one a month for each of them, ..wrap it, tag it and put it away!  If you do this I PROMISE you there will be no 'last minute' rush of shopping for you! :) Now, isn't that a GREAT idea? You have THREE days left in the month! GO ..GET..DO...MAKE..wrap, tag and put it away! I have faith in you!

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

Ohh the blueberries!

Blueberry Cake..yumm..what could be better or easier..so, following Georgia Farm Woman's recipe found here  over at "Life on a Southern Farm" (which I encourage you to visit for a load of cuteness) I commenced to baking. The only problem was, I didn't have any peaches, but I DID have blueberries! (and loads of them) Sooo I grabbed out a home canned jar of blueberries:

Home canned blueberries

And strained them, reserving the juice. (which was a light syrup)
Now, the reserved liquid is supposed to be used in the cake for the wetness, but I think to myself "self, if you do that you're going to have a purple cake..not that *I* would mind, but someone else might" So, I used water instead but sat aside the juice for another use.

Strained, reserving juice.

I followed her instructions about the butter, the brown sugar and nuts. (Oh, I didn't measure the nuts, just tossed in a large handful and broke them up in skillet)

YUMMMMM! Nuts, sugar and butter..what ELSE could you want? 

Added the blueberries

 Added in the blueberries, mixed up the batter remembering to use water instead of blueberry juice for the liquid in the recipe.and poured!

Blueberries float, did you know that? Popped into oven, timer set 35 mins.

 Here's what I did with the blueberry syrup. Pour it into a saucepan to heat on medium heat. Add 1/2 c. sugar (since this was a light syrup when I canned them). Bring to a boil and stir and boil 2 mins then removed from heat. Now, I have thickened blueberry syrup to drizzle on top. :)

Rolling boil..2 minutes

Thirty-five minutes later..LOOKY LOOKY what I've got! YUM.. so here comes the test, turning it OUT of the pan, intact not to mention being able to do it! Ready...?? HERE GOES!

Ohmygoodness!

First cut, still warm! Time for the syrup!

This calls for fresh coffee!

 Keeping it real!! Here's the mess!
.

Here it is again..

It's one thing Mondays!!

As you already know, today is my BUBBLE day, the last of the laundry is washing now, the other loads are washed and stacked in the basket waiting for the weather to warm up a bit and the sun to peak over the edge so I can go hang them out. It's supposed to be in the 50's by noon.
I still have to put clean sheets on the bed,  but bathroom and bedroom cleaning are done for the week/day.
So what's our 'One Thing? It's the silverware drawer!
I'm sure everyone has some way in which they divide their silverware up, little holders or one that's shape fit to the utensils. Either way, it's time to clean it! While you're at it, go through your silverware and take out what you don't need. Re-purpose it where you can (use them for garden tools!), donate the rest or even make a 'kitchen' wind chime for outside the window. Once the drawer is empty and the containers or dividers are clean, clean the drawer and re-organize it as best you can!
So what's on your agenda today?I'll try to post some pics this afternoon of the finished apron. I may have to make a few adjustments to the pattern, but it's exactly what I was looking for! :)

For my no 'techy' Wednesday this week, I think I'll be sitting in the dentists office. Good way to get some hand work done, or even a book read. It'll also make 'no techy Wednesday' easy to accomplish! LOL

We'll be getting 10 more chickens today. A little while back a young man (who lives on the next street down) came to my door asking if I had fertile eggs..of which I replied "yes, I do." He wanted to buy some so I sold him the first 2 dozen, but then he told me he'd like to get about 10 dozen total in the long run. Apparently something got all their stock, 30 of them, killed and or ate them all. I've been there.
So I made a deal with him. "You take all the eggs you need, hatch them out, I'll charge you nothing but 10 chickens 'feathered' out in return". He agreed. All told, he probably got about 20 dozen fertile eggs from me and he's bringing me my 10 chickens today. Eventually, and very soon I think I'll be getting a rooster from him if he has one available.
The current roo we have is MEAN as a rattlesnake! So, bringing in another roo may cause fights sure, but the second roo will be much more docile with not being the 'lead roo'. Once he's here, subdued, established and easy to get along with, the mean as a rattlesnake roo#1 will see the bottom of the stew pot! I carry a big stick with me every time I go outside because of that roo.
He's so onery I'll have to cook him extra long just to tenderize him!
Well, I'm off to find something to bake to finish up my 'BUBBLE'..I think some blueberry 'something' is calling!
Matter of fact, I think I'll follow the "Georgia Farm Woman' and make 'this' except I'll replace the peaches with blueberries! Visit "Life on a Southern Farm" to get the recipe and see her new babies!!

Have a great day!!!

TWO DAYS!

Did you hear that?? Two days I decided to go techy-less (well, close) it was a no techy Wednesday, check, but I decided to repeat on Thursday as well. I did watch TV on Thursday but didn't get online at all.
Here's what I did for those two days! Remember that apron I wanted to make? Well, it's 99% finished and I've sewn it all by hand! I'm down to adding the tie and a few pockets, but I have a gimp finger..and will have to hold off for a day or two before I finish it up. It's a mock up from a pattern I made to see if it will work, problems I'll have with it, adjustments, etc so I can modify the pattern and do it again!
I'll be visiting today, since today is my 'visit' day. Heading out to 'the city'  to visit with the daughter and will probably have two of the Grands with me for the night! WOOHOO..that means it's pizza night!

I'll have to stop by the store and get all the stuff I'll need to make some homemade pizza..yum! (I actually have everything, just don't think I'll have enough!)
Anyway, will posts pics hopefully by Sunday of the finished apron..and what adjustments I plan on making to it. :) Hope you enjoyed you're 'no techy' Wednesday, I know I did!

Just so you'll know..

My plans for tomorrow being a no techy day is to make an apron. I think they are probably the greatest idea! I ruin more clothes getting grease splatters and coffee spills then anyone I know! I figure an old fashioned apron would certainly help protect my clothing while choring about the house! (Isn't that what they were made for anyway?) I've made several for gifts, but have yet to make one for me! (isn't that always the case).

I want an apron yes, but I want a specific type. A 1/2 apron will not serve the purpose I'm looking for, so those are out. It has to be a full bib apron..remember..coffee and grease. I'm just frugal enough and sewing savy enough not to want to buy a pattern for it, even though after many hours of searching I found something as close as I'm gonna get. You can view it here.
If you've ever watched Dr. Quinn Medicine Women, she wears something very similar to this one, only it doesn't have the extra gathers in the top. That's what I'm looking for. So tomorrow, I'll be creating my own pattern and trying to put one together. I'll let you know on Thursday how it goes. In the meantime, enjoy the Apron Memory below..

GRANDMA'S APRON The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven; it was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken-coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those old aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids; and when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling-wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, it was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out on the porch and waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner. It will be a long time before anyone invents something that will replace that old-time apron that served so many purposes.

~ Author Unknown 

Morning!

Happy day to all you Hedgewives!

As normal, up at 5 and all the morning chores done and out of the way. Today is my DOLL day.
DOLL stands for
Dinning Room
Office
Living Room
Laundry (Ironing only)

I always do my laundry on Monday's but as the old ways said "wash on Monday", Iron on Tuesday I save the ironing for Tuesdays. So if there were anything I washed and dried the day before, today is the day I iron it. :)

How did you 'One thing Monday" go??  There will be another listed for next Monday..one thing at a time, it's the way a Hedgewife takes life. :)
Remember Wednesday's are 'non techy' days. No computer and no TV specifically, so there will be no post for tomorrow.
I sure do hope each one of you join me on No techy Wednesdays, you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish!

I'll check back in with you on Thursday and maybe I'll list all the things I got done. How about you?
ENJOY your DAY!

GOOD MORNING!

And how is everyone out there in blog land today? I hope this post finds you all FINE AND GOOD!

I'm not sure how many of you know this, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Well, it may not be a secret to everyone, but I'm sure not everyone knows about it, so I'm here to share!
Are you a reader? Like books? Classic novels??
Ever had anyone read to you?
Trust me when I tell you this, you can get a lot of work done while being read to! Shhh ..don't tell everyone, it's a secret!
No..audio books are not for 'old people' or people who can't see..they are a true gift to the worker of the home. We all have so much to do in a day, and we all enjoy doing pleasurable things as well, but sometimes one has to give over to the other. I'm here to tell you, you can do both. Let someone read to you while you dust, organize, sew, polish the silver or wash the dishes! Take a dull and boring job and turn it into"can't wait pleasure' by using audio books.

Visit your local library, they will have loads of them. Just ask your helpful library assistant where the audio books are located and plan on spending an hour or two browsing!

OR

You can download many to your computer for free as well! 
Here are a few sites that have download-able audio books. Enjoy
Project Gutenburg
Libravox
Open Culture
Audio Books for free
Most of these places also do written e-books for you to download as well. Here's a few more.
Free e-Books
e-book directory

And that's just a start, do a simple search for 'free e-books' and free audio e-books and you'll find tons.

So, take the opportunity to 'hear' a good book while you do your housework! You may find you can't wait to fold clothes!
See ya next time......down on the farm! Sage

Thought I'd show you this

Here is the current quilt I'm working on. The DIL helps me with it when she can, it's her first time quilting and I'm loving that she's giving it a try, maybe I can recruit another quilter!

The frame of course, is not store bought, but one the hubby and I made. It doesn't work as good as some I've used before, but it does get the job done, with some fussing, screaming and yelling and lots of patients. I've made 4 quilts on it so far, so it's not awful!

I'm sure we'll eventually improve on the design or break down and buy one. (not in my plans at the moment). 
And if you know Sage the Hedgewife, you know I like to do quilts by hand. Takes me longer sure, but I like it that way. This quilt is about a twin size, my plans are to use it in the living room for a 'toss over'. Ya know what I mean by a toss over right? One that you keep on the back of the couch or close at hand in the living room and toss it over you while you sip tea or hot chocolate (or for me coffee) on those cool or rainy or gloomy days while cherishing and old movie or even a new one. Yep, a toss over.

My next quilt I'm going to try my hand at using a lap frame. I have one (a round one), and I'm hoping to get it going before winter ends so I can use it to cover me while I quilt!

That's a warm memory. My mother was not a quilter, she loved to crochet. She made beautiful afghans. I remember every year just as summer was ending she would begin a new afghan. By the time the weather started to cool, she had the afghan big enough to cover her lap, and then when full blustery winter cold set in, she had it big enough to cover her feet. She finished it just as season ended. Smart women my mother, I think I'll try to be like her, except in quilts of course.

 
Even though the pictures make some of the squares in the 9 patch blocks look different colors, the rose color is all the same on the 9 patch and the bigger plain squares. Silly picture taker camera.

It's ONE THING MONDAY!

Today is "ONE thing Mondays"...so here's the one thing to accomplish for the day:
You know that drawer under the oven. You know..the one you put all your lids in. Maybe you store pots in it? Heck, you may not even have an oven that has one, and it's a broiler down there instead. Either way today is the day for that one item. If it's a drawer, take everything out, wash them off and give the drawer a good cleaning. If it's a broiler, clean the broiler pan and the slides under it.
It's ONE THING and I know you can do it!

Monday is BUBBLE day for me
BUBBLE day is what I call it anyway. It stands for
BATH
BEDROOM
BAKING & LAUNDRY
in short, BBBL..pronounced BUBBLE! :)
Bathroom cleaned, Bedroom cleaned and Laundry done, Baking is the only thing left on my chore list for today.
I say that, knowing that I still have other things to do of course. I'm currently in the process of going through all my craft items. Yesterday I refolded and re-organized almost all my material. (I'll finish up the rest today)
I felt like a miser counting out his gold! I love material. Believe it or not, the small stuff is what gets me giddy. I think of patchwork quilts and some of the beautiful blocks I could make with the plethora of little bits and pieces that can be matched up...I'm drunk with glee about it. Now if I could just make more time in a day to do it!

The hubby and I cleaned out the deep freeze and re-organized it yesterday. (ohh I found treasure in there too!)  Now, match that with the fact that two days prior to that I went through all my 'home canned' goods and I can see what our dinners will consist of for the next week!
I've got to put my brain to work and come up with something that will use 'home canned' blueberries.  I try to use the FIFO method of food storage and usage ..in case you don't know FIFO means First in First out. It keeps the food rotation and storage up to date.
Well, my canned blueberries are the one thing on the shelves that I need to use up before this summer comes and I add more to the mix! These are blueberries in a syrup/juice.
I've recently made blueberry cobbler, so I'm not wanting to do that again. I can always make blueberry muffins, but would rather find SOMETHING different or unique. So all you Hedgewives out there, got any ideas? Great recipes using blueberries in syrup/juice?
I'm off now to accomplish my 'One Thing' and then back to my gold counting  material folding. I may even pull out some block patterns and whip up a few to start a sampler quilt!

What's on your agenda?

Today is the 17th day of the New year and we have 62 more days till spring..this according the Almanac of course. The Almanac doesn't list today  a 'best' day for anything. Does this mean I can goof off today?
It's supposed to rain today. Our high, 55..not bad but still with those higher temps comes the rain. So rain it is and well, it's already a wee bit gloomy looking outside.

I'm in the process of cleaning out and re-organizing the craft area. I refolded material all day yesterday! LOL.  Sounds like a good thing to finish up on a rainy day huh?

Chickens have been fed, coffee is made and I'm ready to take on the rest of the day. How about you?

TODAY IS:
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday (observed)
Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been a federal holiday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and civil rights leader dedicated to nonviolence. It was the first new federal holiday created since 1948, when Memorial Day became a national holiday, and only the third in this century (the other was Armistice, or Veterans, Day). To read the rest, go here.



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

Wanna see some canned chicken?

I've canned chicken and chicken soup as well as extra broth for several days now. Check out HERE to see pics!
Maybe this year I'll get a jump start on some garden canning since I'll be HOME!! :)  For now, the chicken, carrots and celery were on sale, I could not resist packing the larder just a wee bit!

Some canning pics for ya!

Start boiling the chicken.

Jars ready and sterilized

Chicken done, time to strain the broth

A lot of lovely golden broth...YUMM

Fill canner with prepared jars and process!

Prepare the veggies

Veggies and broth added

 NOW..time for SOUP!









I add carrots and celery first, then parsley and a t. salt and fill to to the top of the veggies with broth, then add chicken and finish filling with broth.

Filled with chicken and topped with broth, ready to process!

Five qrt. jars of soup, 6 qrt. jars of  chicken and 4 qrt. jars of broth later..WHEW! I'm done (for now at least!)

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

Guess where we're going today?

THE THRIFT STORE!! Woohooo!
I love the Thrift store!
I'm on the lookout for 'non' electric items, such as a coffee grinder, a grain grinder, a pasta machine, a wood burning cook stove,  and of course, just the various good 'treasures' that one can find at Thrift stores. I always look for quilts, good baby clothes for the grans, kitchen gadgets and just the right furniture pieces. I'll grant you, the list above is really 'dreaming', but one never knows what one will find!  I can always hope!
We may even hit the Flea Market before the day is over! They usually have a HUGE farmers area where fresh fruits and veggies are always available! I can see more canning days ahead! :)


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

Homemade Granola

Can't stand the price of the granola cereals out there? I know I can't and refuse to buy them, even though I LOVE granola.
Since I love granola so much, I started years ago making it on occasion. Being in the mood for some granola and NOT going to pay nearly 5$ a box for it, I pulled out my classic stand by recipe and began.
So here's the simple granola recipe that I use. This is a base. You can add extra items to kick it up a notch (see list at the bottom). You can always add fresh fruit when you serve it too. It doesn't take much for a serving, so start small, it will fill you up! Enjoy and reap the benefits of your own granola..laugh maniacally at the grocery isle granola as you pass it up!

3/4 C brown sugar
1/3 C Veggie oil (you fav. brand)
1/3 C honey (use a local honey if you can to help prevent allergies)
5 C whole oats. (oatmeal, NOT INSTANT and NOT ONE MINUTE)
3/4 t. cinnamon
pinch of salt
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Grease a large cookie sheet and heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix brown sugar, oil and honey in saucepan. Heat and stir till sugar dissolves. Pour sugar mixture over dry mix a little at a time and mix thoroughly. Continue till all sugar mix is used. You may have to use your hands for the final mix, be careful it could be hot. Spread granola onto cookie sheet and bake in oven for 10-15 minutes. Stir once about 1/2 way through cooking. Let cool in pan completely. Store in airtight container.

Extras that you can add (all items BUT raisins/crasins should be added pre cooking)
up to 1 C nuts, raisins, cut up prunes or craisins
up to 1/2 flax seed, sesame seed, wheat germ..get creative!
Play with these measurements, you may like more or less of any one item.
I usually mix about 1 C of nuts, then after baking about 1/2 C raisins
You can also add vanilla into the sugar mix if you like. Use 1/2-1 t. vanilla.
*One hint, do not add the raisins till after you bake in oven.
This granola has a longer storage life then the other recipe I've posted here made with butter. You can store this one in an airtight container for about a month.
Enjoy your homemade granola!

Whew, what a day

Did someone say busy?? Wow..I was busy.
I ended up not being able to go shopping yesterday, so at 5 am this morning I was up and at it. First things first ya know, coffee to be made! Gotta have my go juice! With the coffee brewing I grabbed the laundry from the bathroom, gave the bathroom a wipe down, swished the toilet and straightened the bed on my way out. First load of laundry in ..whites, hot wash. Then I grabbed the vacuum, cleaned out the filters and such on the vacuum and began the vacuuming chore.
I hate to vacuum, just so you know. My house is entirely carpet (except for the kitchen & baths) and right now, there are 4 dogs and 2 cats living here. Now you understand why I vacuum EVERY day and probably get a drift on why I hate it. Especially since my carpet is.....hmmm, well as my DIL put it she said "it's like a velvet that catches and holds on to EVERYTHING' and she's right. Vacuuming done and machine put away I started breakfast. Oatmeal today with some home canned warmed cinnamon pears and toast on the side.
Breakfast complete and grocery sale list in hand, out the door we go. Three stops, sale items only.
Ok ok ok..I confess, I picked up a FEW extra things (not many) but got those on sale too.
Just so happens one of the stores had one of my favorite wines on sale, (about 2$ less then normal) PLUS they had $1.00 coupons on the top. Sooo I paid about 7$ per bottle and bought 2! (normally about 10-12$ per bottle depending on where you buy it!)
I got various other items between 2 more stores, all on sale. Total cost today, about 70$.
Back home, cabinets re-organized with the new purchases and dinner pulled out (red beans and rice plus hamburger with cornbread from scratch) Clothes from the washer hung and drying the Chicken soup canning to begin! I did snap some pics, so I'll post those up tomorrow.
Let me warn all those who are interested in canning. I encourage anyone to give it a try, but be forewarned, it is not a lazy job. TIME INTENSIVE! Be prepared.
I made some homemade granola cereal today too. Good stuff.
Tomorrow is Saturday right? I'm ready for bed! Whew..it's been a busy day.

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

A Hedgewife Challenge

I have a Challenge for all you Hedgewives out there!
Are you ready for this? I do believe we have all become accustomed to WAY too much technology. I'm guilty of it. I have satellite tv with well over 200 channels, I have a cell phone, I have internet connection, I'm a blogger, and yes, I own a microwave even though I rarely use it, along with many other whizzy gizzy objects that I can't think of right now. Do you have these things? Do you think you can't live without them?
Here's the challenge. Pick ONE DAY to go without these things. No, I'm not telling you to pull the plug on your electric, but for ONE DAY, don't turn on the tv, don't use your cell phone, don't use your microwave, don't use your computer. Turn them off, unplug them, shut them down. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, but for ONE DAY, have a non techno day.

 So here it is Hedgewives:
WEDNESDAY is NO TECHY DAY
Can you do it?
No TV
No Computer
No Cell phone
No Microwave
?????? Join me in this challenge, and see how much we can get accomplished. I DARE YA!

According to Farmers Almanac

 Today is January 13, there are 66 more days until spring (hmm with it being in the 20's here this morning that's something to look forward to!) Anyway in Sweden today is known as St. Knuts Day. Here's the info:

St. Knut's Day

In Sweden, January 13 is the traditional day to discard the Christmas tree and end the season’s festivities. A children’s party is the favored way to strip the tree of its decorations, after which the children are free to “plunder” the edible treats and small gifts placed on the tree especially for the occasion. Finally, everyone “dances” the tree out the door. Singing special songs, they pick up the tree and toss it out into the snow.

Almanac Calendar

I think I'd go crazy if I had to keep my tree up that long. I do like the idea of the day though, but let's move it back to ....ohhh Dec 30?
My decorations have long been down.

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

Thinking ahead

As we should of course. Always think ahead. Tomorrow is my shopping day. So today, two things, clean out the fridge and have leftovers for dinner! (sad thing is, I don't have many leftovers cuz we ate them Monday when I got on a lazy streak!)
(checking sale papers)
Last week one of our grocery stores had chicken on sale, 40 lbs for 17.00$ Of course I took advantage of the sale and bought 40lbs. I put it in the freezer temporarily till I could can it. I canned 4 quarts a few days ago, and the next batch is on the stove now (should be about 4-6 qrts).
I checked the sale papers today and they have carrots and celery on sale. Hmm, makes me think 'chicken soup'. So I'll save the last 6 jars for canning tomorrow after shopping. I'll buy the carrots and the celery and can up some chicken soup sans the noodles. How easy is that?
I'm still stuck for dinner ideas, but there's always eggs! One good thing about having chickens and an over abundance of eggs is, "It's what's for dinner!" anytime you're in a fix!
So I'm off to finish pre-boiling chicken and cook up some bacon and eggs for dinner.

Updating again..or should I say Still

Well, the Kitchen blog and the garden blog has been imported here to the Hedgewife. Maybe now it won't be so difficult to post since they are now one!

I'll be doing more dusting and cleaning in here and getting things more to my liking again. Stay tuned for recipes, pics of the harvest and preserving said harvest along with things of a Hedgewife!


The Hedgewife

One Year

A break of one year and a break that I told no one about. Bad thing of me wasn't it.

Well, I'm back.
I hope to resurrect this blog in a big way. It will be combined with my garden blog. I've had lots of stuff going on in the last year, and hopefully they are over now and I can come back full circle here.  Not necessarily that my life will be slowing down, on the contrary, it will be just as busy, the difference being, busy at home and not away from home for 12 hours a day. (yep, 12 hours a day, 5 & 6 days week..couldn't stand it, gave it up)
I'm back to baking bread, back to quilting, back to crafting and already making my garden plans for this upcoming season. I've acquired a new pressure canner (Xmas present) and will be a busy little bee come this summer.
I'm already canning chicken that I got on sale, and have more to do.
So hang with me, give me some time to get some pics taken of what's new here in the Housewife's life and we'll start again.
Still doing it the old fashioned way, with old fashioned style!

The Hedgewife

Updating

Well, I had not updated my 'grands' blogs in almost 5 months. Tonight, two of them are done. The last one will be finished tomorrow. WHEW!
Come to think of it, I only recently updated this blog, once in Nov. and once again in Jan.
Wonder why that is?
Did you ever just get 'burned' out of blogging? Well, I did in a big way.
Last year while I was working nearly 60 hrs per week for the longest time, I did my best to keep up with the blogs and did a decent job. Then, I quit my job (couldn't stand it anymore) and it seems I quit everything else too, except my house. That was when I went into 'the great transformation' of the house. My craft room demolished and a 'kids room' implanted in it's place and the 'guest' room transformed into a very usable guest room. Dinning room and living room rearranged as well as the kitchen. WHEW..it was a lot of work followed directly by a yard sale, Thanksgiving and Christmas and of course, the New year which we find ourselves in now. Blogging? Who the hell had time to blog, or the energy left to do it with? Not me. 

My house is still not how I would like it. Most of it is mind you, the kiddo's room, the guest room and the living room are about as good as they are going to get. I can't say  much more for the dinning room except that I wish it were about 10ft bigger. Since I can't 'SIM" my house and stretch out a wall, I'll have to live with it. (oh, if you don't play SIMS you may not understand that reference, so let me just say in "SIMS" you build houses and if you need a room bigger you just move a wall..and presto, bigger room. If only I could "SIM build" my house!)
My kitchen is not as workable as I would like it, but I am at a loss as to how to make it better. (but I'm working on it, much to the bemoaning of my other half).
Things are starting to come back to a schedule around here. Hubby just went to 3rd shift, so I'm dealing with that and trying to work my schedule around it. I get most of the 'noisy' work done in the mornings before he gets home (that means pre 6:30 am people!) and save the quieter activities for when he's sleeping. It's working, but still needs refinement. I'm working on that too.
Life, it's a work in progress always. Never stops.
There has been garden planning and quilt tops put on the frames, crocheting done and various other odds and ends like bread baking and winterizing. I thought winter time was the time you were supposed to rest???
Whoever said that, needs to come stay here for a month so I can show them the error of their ways (or shoot them! especially if they don't lend a hand to help!).

I made a list before Christmas, a 100 things list, at the dare of my son. In conversation one night I made the remark "I've got a 100 things to do before yadda yadda yadda.... His reply "I bet you really don't have 100 things to do, if you sat down and wrote it all down, I guarantee you could NOT come up with 100 things." So with the task at hand I sat down and started typing up the list titled 'The 100 things list" of course.
I came up with over 70 that day and I'm sure I could finish up enough to make that 100, but haven't had the time to get back to it!!
Of that list of over 70, I'm down 13 but could easily add 20+ more with finding things doing those 13!!
Does this ever end??

I always thought I'd be able to slow down a little, relax some in my 'later years' or 'grandma years'. Someone lied to me! Again, Whoever said that needs to be shot.

Of course, it could be because of the 'country' lifestyle I have chosen huh? Shhhhh..forget I said that.
See ya next time......down on the farm! Sage

It's surely winter!

Well here we go. Covered in ice, electric has flicked a few times. Won't last long I'm sure, maybe for a day. Wish it was snow!

I've got a new quilt on the frame that keeps looking at me to work on, not to mention a bunch of chicken in the freezer to can up. I guess I should get busy huh?

but you see..this is one of those days that I just want to sleep. The sun never really came up, temp is about 30, it's raining sleet and ice and well it's just a grand day to snuggle under the blanket and sleep watch movies.

Maybe it's time to make some coffee and get to quilting!
What are YOU doing on this fine chilly winters day?

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