What Did She Do Today?

She Made House Slippers and Learned About Maple Sugaring January 26, 2010

I got the pattern for House Slippers by Amy over at Angry Chicken last year sometime...maybe even more than a year ago.  I tried making them, they didn't work out, I shelved them and decided to go back to them today.   I find my feet stay in much better condition if I don't go barefoot.  I love being barefoot, but my feet do get dry faster when I do, so I need some kind of slippers. 

They worked up quickly, and were much easier than the last time...I must have been in a mood when I tried them before.  I enjoyed using the fold over elastic, that was pretty fun. 

I'm a little underwhelmed at the finished product, though.  My hope was, that I could whip these up in an afternoon, and shelf my nagging, back of my mind, desire to knit slippers for myself.  That desire has not gone away, so maybe these will keep my feet moisturized and warm while I pick my knitting pattern...

Tonight Husband, Dad and I went to the Lee Public Library for a class on Maple Sugaring.  We have Sugar Maples in the property, and have talked about wanting to give it a try.  The class was our next step in figuring out if we are going to try it this year, or wait another year.  The class was taught by Steve Roberge of UNH Cooperative Extension.  He did a great job, the class was enough information that you felt like you could dive in, but not so detailed to make you feel overwhelmed. 

Fun fact that I learned about grades tonight...Grade A "Fancy" has always baffled me, because frankly it just tastes like sugar water to me.  Give me the rich fully bodied flavor of the Grade B, that's real syrup...well, it turns out sugar water is what they were aiming for back in the day.  Cane Sugar, though pretty cheap and plentiful now, was pricey and hard to get back then, so they found that if they used the Grade A Fancy it mimicked the flavor of cane sugar.  The Darker, richer syrup was too flavorful and would stand out too much in a recipe. 

I think we've decided to give it a shot, IF we can find the necessary equipment at a reasonable price.  We only want to make a couple gallons, just for fun and to get our feet wet.  It's something my dad has always wanted to try, and as you know, I'm up for just about anything.  I still have my Sugarmomma, but it would be fun to make some of my own, too.

While I was at the class I heard about the NH Farm and Forest Expo.  It is happening next Friday and Saturday (February 5-6).  It looks quite cool.

Another upcoming event in the area (well sort of in the area) is the first Winter Farmer's Market in Concord NH. If you want anymore information you can check out Virginia's Blog, where she lists each farm and what they will be offering.  It looks great!  I probably won't be there as my town is holding the  deliberative session for the school budget, so I will probably be doing the "responsible citizen" thing and heading over to that...we'll see.

She Got Herself Ready for the Farmer's Market, where she will not be buying eggs January 21, 2009

The next Seacoast Eat Local Farmer's Market is Saturday at Wentworth Greenhouse in Rollinsford.  I love the Rollinsford Market, and am excited to see what the farmer's have for us this week.

Since I started going to the Farmer's Markets I've wanted to make myself some reusable bags.  I use reusable bags, but they are the heavy plastic-like jobbies that you get at the supermarket, from back when we frequented the supermarket with enough vigor to receive free bags due to the amount spent...Organic is expensive in the store.  Well, I must admit to loving the durability of those bags, but I didn't like advertising for a Supermarket while walking around a Farmer's Market...  So today Mini and I got to work on a reusable bag that is designed like the plastic store bags.  I picked up the Pattern on Etsy.  It was easy enough to make, and fully reversible, making it more sturdy and more fun. I'd like a couple more, but between that one and 2 other random bags I already made a while back, it will probably do just fine for this week's trip.

Another little item on my list of things I'd like to have, to enhance my shopping experience, is produce bags.  I will throw a couple heads of broccoli into my larger bag, but a pound of shallots gets a little hard to manage, so a small bag that I can put the little things into, then into my larger bag, would be helpful.  I have always used the plastic bags the farmer's have available, but have never been happy about doing so.  Now I don't have to.  I have two made up, in simple unbleached muslin...with silly ribbon that says "handmade".  They even have french seams!  I didn't like how the fabric frayed so I decided to try the french seams, besides they are a lot more sturdy because of it.  Probably a silly addition, but that is the fun thing about making them yourself, if you don't want frayed fabric entangled with your veggies, you can stitch french seams...how fancy...oh and by the way, french seams are fancy, and quite clever, but VERY simple to do.  Honest.

The eggs in the background are just a running gag at this point, around here.  Everywhere you look there are eggs.  In the basket from outside, in the bowl in the sink waiting to be washed, on the counter waiting to be used, in the fridge being stored.  Eggs are everywhere, so I had to include them in the picture. 

She Finished a Dress and Had a Yummy Dark Days Dinner January 13, 2009

Work has been busy, so I've been crashing early before blogging.  I can't believe I haven't been on here since before the last Eat local Market!

The Seacoast Eat Local Sponsored Winter Market took place in Exeter, at the High School on Saturday (I can't believe I haven't written anything since then).  Busy is an understatement, in describing the Market.  That place was hopping.  I got there about 10 minutes after it opened, made a bee line to Brookford Farm to unload all my return bottles, only to find a line about 10 people long.  Wow!  They had a continually moving line for over an hour.  Many other vendors had lines or little mobs of folks standing around, gathering goodies and chatting with fellow patrons.  It appeared that most farmers were selling much of what they brought and people were all a buzz with what the were finding, and sharing all kinds of great information with each other.  Don't miss the next one, if you can in any way help it, at Wentworth Greenhouse, in Rollinsford.  Great Stuff!

I picked up much less than usual, but that's not a reflection on the selection, rather a reflection on all my great efforts to put food by when it was in season.  I have lots of veggies in the freezer, jars and dried storage.  I have lots of meat from all my harvesting this fall, so my haul was a bit light, but I'm still excited with my finds.

Salt pork and Rendered lard from New Roots, Red Onions, Milk, Cream and Yogurt from Brookford Farm, Shallots from Meadow's Mirth, Maple Butter from Sugarmomma, Wine from Jewel House Winery.

I finally broke out the sewing machine.  No matter how fast one can knit, and I'm not too bad in that area, it's just not possible to knit as fast as one can sew.  Besides, fabric feels so nice, that to only have yarn, is to miss half of the world, for a textileophile...Yes, one who loves textiles. I found some great flannel, and am making dresses for Mini and rompers for The Baby.  Mini helped me finish off this dress for her.  She likes to push the pressure foot while I steer...she's pretty good about not going too fast, but it does still work out to be a great exercise in hand eye coordination for me. 

The pattern is from the fabulous book, Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life) I love so many items in this book.  I have a couple more cut out, that I'll hopefully have time to stitch up soon.

It is a play dress, and the photo shoot put that to the test...She can definitely wiggle in this one!

Tonight Dark Day Meal was a long time in the coming.  I made the Brioche last Thursday, and have wanted to make this every day since then, but things have got in the way.  I finally did make the Roasted Parsnip Bread Pudding.  I roasted Parsnips and Rutabaga in Duck Fat...oh the glories of cooking with duck, the fat left over...mmm.  So I roasted them, used the brioche I made.

 

This was on the way in the oven...my battery died before it got out...

I cooked up some Spiced Apple Sausage for protein, Green Beans just for something green, and served it with cranberry juice.

Roll Call:

My Yard: eggs (5 of them!  That is great, since I have over 100 in my refrigerator right now...I need to get set up to start selling, because this is Winter...by Spring I'll be drowning in eggs!)

Local: Rutabaga (Farmer Dave's), Parsnip, Cream (Brookford), Shallots (Meadow's Mirth), Spiced Apple Sausage (Popper's Sausage Kitchen), thyme (friend's garden), Salt (Maine Salt Co), White Wine (Jewel House Winery), Cranberry Juice (made from cranberries that were foraged by me), Green Beans (Heron Pond)

Localish: Brioche made by me with some local, some not local ingredients (Flour and Sugar, not local), Egg, butter, cream (local)

Not local: Parmesan Cheese, Pepper

She Dared Show Her Face Around Here December 17, 2009

What a bad blogger I've been.  I haven't posted since the 13th, and frankly the posts before that have been a smidge rushed.  Life is getting a bit crazy around here.  Nothing major, just life...before Christmas, for a Mama who wants to make all the gifts, and all the food, and run the homestead...My camera has finally made nice with me and my computer, so I put pictures up again!  

The guineas are gone.  We have been having to corral them in at night, and at least a couple have stayed outside to roost a couple nights, and my guinea raising friends tell me that means they will keep roosting outside until a predator finds them.  That is not going to happen, for a couple reasons.  No matter what your view on killing animals, humans are the most humane of all the options.  Being eaten alive in the wild, is no way to go.  Then there is the matter of having fed and cared for these birds for months,so letting some wild animal come along and dine on my hard word seems counter productive.  With all that in mind, Tuesday the guineas were harvested. 

They are missed more than any of the other animals who have found their way to the freezer.  In part because there are no more like them.  We still have chickens, rabbits and ducks, but all the guineas went at once.  Also, the homestead is much quieter.  There is no guinea sqwacking, as they make their way around the property letting all who will listen know what they are finding.  Yes, the guineas were a very entertaining bird to have, and are missed.

I've done some sewing lately.  I made a dress for Mini from the book Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life).  I want to make another one in red cotton velvet, for Christmas, so I needed to make a test dress.  I don't like to make any pattern, for the first time, with special fabric.  I prefer make one with good fabric, but fabric that can be replaced easily.  This pattern was new to me, and it didn't have the seam allowance on the pattern, I had to add that, so I really needed to make a test.  It came out great, and fits her wonderfully.  I need to add buttons down the back of the bodice and on the front, but otherwise it's done.  The fabric is a cotton flannel, and oh, so, soft!  A great winter frock.  There are a lot of garments in the book I'm looking forward to making, it's a great book, with decent directions.  I do wish they included the seam allowance in the pattern and am never sure why patterns don't, but what I did worked well, and I now have the pattern, with the allowance, for the next dress.

The baby needed a snow suit.  I didn't like the store options, so I decided to give it a try, on my own.  I used a pattern by Burda,  .  It worked up very easily.  I used a wool/cashmere blend for the outside and lined it with the same flannel I used for Mini's dress.  It's so cozy.  When we take her out she's nice a warm, so I'd say it is doing a good job, in addition to being adorable.  I'm trying to figure out a way to "girl it up" a little, as the neutral colors, and predominantly red lining makes it look a bit boyish.  Not a big deal, and for now, I think it's going to be the way it is, but after Christmas crafting is done, I'm going to try something like what I have in this pic, for the front.

To go with the little snow suit I whipped up a pair of thumbless mittens.  They are together for the picture, but have not been together since.  I wanted to put a cord to attach them, and when I went to grab them to do so, only one remained.  I'm looking at possibly needing to make a third...happily I still have the yarn, but now is not the time of year that I really want to remake something!  Here is the pattern I used...I made it up, it's pretty basic, and simple.

Baby Mittens

Sport weight yarn

Needles: 40" Size 6 (knitting top down, in the round on one needle)

• Cast on 16 stitches, 8 on each needle, using a "toe up" technique.
• Round 1 and each alternating row: Knit
• Round 2, 4, 6, 8: K1, M1, knit to last stitch on needle, M1, K last stitch on needle, K1, repeat for next needle. (Increase of 4 stitches) Note:  keep increasing until you have enough stitches to accommodate the width of the wearer's hand, for my baby, that was 16 on each needle, or 32 stitches total.)
• Once you have 16 stitches on each needle, work even, knitting each row, until it's the length of the baby's hands, for my little one (9 months) that was 23 rounds.
• Switch to 2x2 rib, and work to desired cuff length.  I went long in the hopes it would help keep them on her little hands.  It should also help to keep her arms warm, too.  I went for 26 rounds, then bind off.
• Make another.
• I have a cord to attach them, inside her snow suit, hoping to keep from losing them...like when she does pull them off, in the car.
• Note, you can really make mittens for any size baby or toddler, using this method, simply keep increasing until it's wide enough for the wearer, and then knit without increasing until they are long enough for the hand.  Since there is no thumb, this is really best for a little person, but if your baby is not the size of my baby, this will still get you there.

Advent Catchup:

Day 16

Luke 1:39-45

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

Day 17

Luke 1:57-66

When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.

When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”

“What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”  Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.

Isaiah 40:3-4

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.

The Isaiah verse talks about John the Baptist and his role in preparing the hearts of men and women to be ready for the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.

Day 18

Luke 2:1-5

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

She Finished Leg Warmers and a Project Bag November 1, 2009

I'm still fighting with the Calvert Sweater, but I did manage to finish another pair of leg warmers for the girls.  This pattern is so simple, fast and easy.  It has become my go to "carry around" project of choice.  Soon to be interrupted by socks for Dad for Christmas.  Eeeek...did I admit to attempting Christmas Knitting starting at this late date?  I guess I did. 

The socks will be carried around in a fabulous little project bag, that I also finished today. The pattern is free!  The bag is adorable, fast, easy and would make a great gift.  I'm definitely making more of them.

I cooked our first home grown chicken tonight.  I put it in a brine yesterday...1 gallon water, 1 cup salt, 1 cup sugar.  Today I removed the bird, coated in olive oil, using a combo of salt, pepper, sage (Yellow House Farm) and rosemary (Nippo Brook Farm) for a rub, I covered the bird.  Then I poured about 1 1/2 cups of red wine in my Dutch oven, place the bird (my yard), surrounded it with potatoes (Meadows Mirth and Nippo Brook Farm) and mushrooms (David O'Connor).  The potatoes and mushrooms were sprinkled with remaining rub.  Covered and placed in the 325 degree oven, for 25 minutes per pound of bird, which worked out to be about 1.5 hours.  He weighed in a 4 pounds, not bad for a small egg laying breed.  I served the above with buttercup squash (Nippo Brook Farm).

Eating heritage poultry is definitely different than a supermarket bird, or even a "broiler" from a farm.  I'm amazed at how much more character and flavor the bird has.  Husband said the leg meat was more like eating steak than any chicken he's ever had before.  The bird was pretty good, but a bit too salty.  So foodie friends, did I brine too long (almost 24 hours)?  Should I have just used the pepper and herbs and no salt on the skin?  Are you supposed to rinse the brine off before putting it in the pan? I was just following directions from a foodie friend, so I'm not sure what I did wrong.  It was still good, but I'd like it less salty next time.

Day 2 of the Sprouting experiment:

She Finally Did Some Sewing! October 27, 2009

I did it.  I finally did some sewing.  I have been cutting out Car Catchall parts, and will be sewing those soon, too, but the project that got me to the machine, was the adorable little baby booties, in the book I got a couple weeks back, Making Children's Clothes: 25 Stylish Step-by-step Sewing Projects for 0-5 Years.  

I used brown linen for the outside, with a very soft, dense, cashmere and wool blend for the lining.  I trimmed it with a couple antique buttons that have a ring of leaves around the edge. They are only for looks, as snaps are the actual fasteners.  The project was fun, but I was not enjoying doing it on the machine, so half of each shoe was done on the machine, and then I just moved to hand sewing.  I enjoyed hand stitching and felt very "Little House on the Prairie" as I was making little shoes by hand.

The baby likes them.  When I put them on her little bare baby feet she giggled.  I love that she often giggles when I put a new handmade goodie on her sweet little self.  Nothing could warm the heart of a hand making mama than that.

The real test, of course, is do they stay on...

I was the very grateful recipient of some free rabbit cages.  A friend of a friend has gotten out of the raising of rabbits, and needs to get rid of all his cages.  He charged me nothing for the handful I picked out.  What would fit in the care are home, but I'm going back with a truck, for a few more tomorrow.  I'm very excited!  The newest babies are going to need their own cages soon, and now I will have them!

Wow, a food free post...was it a nice break?

She Received More Incentive to Sew October 16, 2009

Another adorable sewing book has reached my hands.  I have the incentive, I have the fabric, I have the drive...I need to make the time.  Mini has out grown most of her handmade clothes, and that will simply not do!

Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life) is an lovely book, filled with things I want to make.  It's so simple, rustic, yet romantically charming in it's style. The patterns look straight forward, clear directions and basic construction.  I'm itching to pull out some linen and get started.

She Learned from Her Mistake October 6, 2009

I found another source for Autumn Olives, so I picked a bucket of them.  I love Autumn Olives.  They are so easy to pick.  I literally picked for less than 15 minutes, and in that time I was able to pick 4 cups, enough for a batch of fruit leather.  I followed the recipe I found online, and instead of stevia I used 2 Tbs. of sugar.  I also added some mint that a friend gave me, and I just finished drying.  It made enough to fill one tray in my dehydrator, and took about 9 hours to process in there.

My recent travels have revealed that this area is loaded with Autumn Olive bushes. I see the trees everywhere! I'm excited, as I was so disappointed when the last batch molded.  I gave no time for that, this time, I processed these within a few hours of picking.

The finished fruit leather, 2 have been rolled up, and the third is ready to be rolled.  I rolled them in parchment paper for easier storing.  The author of the recipe recommended cutting it in slices for use on salads, instead of craisins.  What a great idea for a fall salad, with some local cheddar cheese, mixed greens, and chopped apples...ooh, and some warm goat kabobs, and a yogurt dressing...I might need to try that!

I picked up a super sweet book at BN, Making Children's Clothes: 25 Stylish Step-by-step Sewing Projects for 0-5 Years .  There are some great patterns for making kids clothes, and it's getting me inspired to spend some time at the ol' machine.

She Shared Some Sneak Peeks August 24, 2009

I got some crafting time today.  I am almost done the sweater I started a while back.  Just need to do a few rows on each sleeve!  Here is a peek...

 

The baby needs some clothes, she's between sizes and needs something else before Fall clothes.  So I am putting the finishing touches on a couple.

 

Check this out!

 

My friend moved into a new house, which is a great old farmhouse.  The owners specialize in restoratoring old homes.  While living there they made this fabulous Wardrobe, that looks like it was made decades ago.  I LOVE it.  My friend didn't have need for it, so had moved it to the barn, and was happy to let it dwell in my home.  I was over the moon!  She dropped it off today.  I'm figureing out what needs to go on the shelves, but for now it's housing an antique doll from My Great Grammy, A fabulous  handmade quilt, and some crafting and homesteading books.

She Started a Need for Vintage Bed Sheets August 11, 2009

It hit my local book store today...Handmade Home, the newest book by Amanda Blake-Soule, Soule Mama.  I wanted to see it before I bought it so I didn't go the "pre-order on Amazon route", which made it so I had to wait until it hit stores, but I did decide it needed to come home. 

There are adorable ideas, some things that while nice to look it I'll likely not make, but there were far fewer of those projects than you find in most crafting books.  No, this book is very cool, and worth the price.  My favorite project, at least the one I'm most jazzed about starting, is the blanket made out of old bed sheets.  I have one set of sheets already, but I need a few more to get the nice variety that she has...which made me fall in love with it.

Quite a few of the projects jumped out at me, so hopefully this will get me to spend some time at the old sewing machine.  I'm so easily distracted by other things.  I told my friend I need a life coach...not the kind like on Oprah, or something, where they get your emotional/spiritual path in order, but I need a buddy to just spend all day doing stuff with me.  I'd be far more focussed if I had a pal to garden, sew and do home improvement/cleaning projects with. But since I'm not in a position to pay for a friend...hehehe, I guess I'll have to find another way to be less distracted...but a life coach is such a brilliant idea.

So does anyone know where, in NH (or Southern Maine, I guess) that I may procure some vintage bed sheets, with big beautful floral prints?  Goodwill never seems to have much for that.  I'm going to check in of the Antique shops on Route 4, but any other good ideas?  I can't handle yard sales, I'm looking for someplace that "usually has that sort of thing"...you know anywhere?

Oh, so I tried to go the bank today, and couldn't...why?  My bank had been robbed, only half an hour to 45 mintues before I arrived.  I had to go the ATM and pay a fee to get my money out.  Isn't that all just crazy!?

 

Also crazy, is when the sun is shining and it's raining. I love when that happens.  It's a nice reminder that even when it's raining the sun is still there, just not so visible, but it is still there.  I thought of that when I looked out my rain streaked window to see the sun blazing through the clouds, which brought me on a little spiritual, mental journey.  

 

 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
         And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1