Happy B'day Luv

Happy Birthday, you ol' Prospector.
From all the critters....and me too.
I love you.

Freak Accident

Will you look at this? Some days just have a mind of their own. This is the sliding door window after being hit by a rock. Thank goodness these are double panes windows because the window on the inside is still intact.

The Prospector was weed eating down the hill, a long way from this window, but somehow a small rock was thrown clear up to the house and it hit the window with the force of a torpedo. I was in the computer room and I heard the rock hit. It was like gun shot. As I ran into the living room to see what the heck was going on, Carl ran past me, in the other direction.

This is where I found him.
So today, not only do I have a stupid DENTIST APPOINTMENT, but we have to have a window replaced. Some days just seem to start on the wrong side of the bed, don't they?
I think I will join Carl....

A Prayer for my Aunt Reba.

My dear aunt, who lives in  Junction City, Oregon, near Eugene, sent me this beautiful postcard . She is going through Chemotherapy twice a month for 6 months. and I would like everyone out there to say a little prayer for her today. She is a wonderful person and doesn't complain about her circumstances, but those of us who have gone through Chemo know how it wears you down and makes you so very tired. Please think about her today and think good thoughts for her.

Dear Aunt Reba,
please remember to rest often, let others help you and always... ".. walk hand in hand with nature and draw upon it's energy, which is never-ending and as constant as the stars."


Click on the postcard to read the "Walk on the Beach.." by Peter Dueber

Water Thoughts

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, 1732

Do you ever think about how wonderful this is? How someone, a long time ago, dug a well and pumped water into the house so they didn't have to walk to the creek with a bucket anymore.

Isn't it beautiful? Aren't we lucky? Does anyone think that we need to be a bit more thankful for what we have instead of what we think we need? Sometimes I need to remind myself to think about making life better instead of complaining about what's wrong.
Just a thought.....

What feeds your soul?

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,

If a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you,

If the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive. ~Eleonora Duse


(Eleonora Duse was an Italian Actress who was born in 1858, in Vigevano, Italy. She died of pneumonia in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1924.)

The Other Woman; He bought... "her". !

"He did what?"

"Will we still get fed on time?"

"Yes, Brownie. Don't worry about your food. I think we can still afford some hay."
It's a done deal. We are now the proud (that's my new word for broke) owners of a 1938 Chevrolet two door Master Deluxe Town Sedan. It really is a cool old car and I have embraced her, because she is a grand old lady and once in a while you just have to say.."What the ..., heck." Live is short and if you don't take on something interesting and fun in your old age you might ... hum......, regret your "Golden years".
The Prospector and our son went over the river and through the woods Saturday and bought the car. Yesterday The Prospector pick it up and took it straight to his favorite car shop. The brakes need to be worked on. That's very important when you live on the side of a mountain with a VERY steep dirt road up to the house.
We have rented the lady a place of her own (in town) for a while , until we think she is able to drive up here.
FYI....You do understand that I would not allow any other woman to have this leeway in our relationship? I do have a level of propriety to maintain. But she better keep her cute little rear bumper brackets under control.

Childhood

"Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."
~William Wordsworth~

It's so quiet around here....

One more hug for the puppies...

One more leap onto Noni and Papa's bed.

And then goodbye... We'll miss you. Come back soon.
We love you....

Visitors

We have one single extra bed in our little house. My son called last night and said "Hi! Can we come up for the weekend?" We said. "Are you kidding? Of course. Drive carefully and we'll see you in a couple of hours.."
Then I looked around at the sleeping arrangements. When they got here, this is how it went...
The Bean , his parents and Little Bean arrived late last evening. My daughter-in-law got the twin bed and Little Bean went on the floor next to his Mommy. The Bean started out in our bed and ended up on the sofa in the living room. My son slept on an Aero Bed on the living room floor. Noni and Papa got to sleep in their own bed with the door shut. Cutter's crate went into our room and Carl slept in his crate, behind the sofa. IT ALL WORKED OUT JUST GREAT! Everyone slept through the night.
In the morning we piled all the bedding , toys, stuffed animals, shoes, socks and books on the single bed to avoid the Corgi patrol that was looking for things to chew on.
In the morning The Bean went out to investigate the farm...

He had a conversation with the goats, took his Dad to the vegetable garden, checked out the new chickens and looked for eggs. Then he came in and showed me a new game that he plays on his dads IPhone. Carl didn't seem too interested and Cutter just wanted to play.

The Bean brought his silly brother with him. Little Bean was in rare form. He inspected the garden, smelled the flowers and when he saw the tomato plant in the planter, he proceeded to explain to me in his 3 yr' old, animated, diction that his 'mato plants were bigger and had "liddol" tiny green 'matos on them. "Where are your 'matos Noni?" I explained that it was colder up here in the foothills and we planted later, etc, etc ,etc... but he was already off to look at something else. Back inside the house he found his "railroad man" hat and started to turn it around backwards. I said "Hey dude, where's the train?" and I started laughing....then he started laughing and being silly... and I got the best photos of the day.
We are having such a good time. These boys are so full of energy it's mind boggling. They are all over the place and into everything. They want to do this and try that. I have to sit on their enthusiasm once in a while. It's like having a couple of small tornadoes inside the house. Carl and Cutter love it. They are running around with the boys, sitting with them and watching them all the time. I thought that Corgis were not suppose to be good with children but these two are having a great time. They love having short little people to run around with.

The weekend is all about the Bambinos. Got to go.....

"The Other Woman"

I think my husband is in love with another woman. Even though she is older than me I'm beginning to worry.
He took me to meet her yesterday. I've known about her for weeks, but I finally got to see her in person and I have to say....I think I'm in trouble.
SHE is a 1938 Chevrolet Master Deluxe and I think she is in better shape than I am. Other than some rusty places (I have several myself) and a few minor age related injuries she's in very good condition.
I was so against this whole relationship. I was not being very accepting of this usurper, this lovely blond vision of long ago . But... she's beautiful and I was kind of taken by her myself.

We went across the highway and had breakfast for lunch at Frank's Cafe. I could feel the thoughts of her floating across the road. The Prospector talked about her with a lilt in his voice... how beautiful she would look after he spent some money on her. But I'm seeing thousands and thousands of dollars floating through the sky like the big vultures that look for road kill along our roads and I start thinking of all the things we need to do around the farm. More gravel for the road, the house painting before Fall, new rug for the living room..., the potting shed I've always wanted.... GULP!

All is lost if someone else doesn't come along and take this woman before my husband does. The blatant disregard for our relationship is evident when he lies down and checks her brakes and shocks. Oh lord! What I'm I going to do?
I may have to get down and dirty. I may have to pull her spark plugs.

Try Adding Some Orange Peel (grated).

I think I have told you before that my mother added grated orange peel to everything. If you enlarge this first photo you will see that I have provided proof, in her own handwriting, that she loved to add orange zest to just about every recipe.
So, I have this one orange sitting on my counter. It's the last orange, of a bag of oranges, that I brought back from my sister's house. She has a very productive Orange tree that I lust for. This is a very important orange because I won't be going down to her home for a while and I want to do something special with it. It's juicy, sweet and the rind smells heavenly. I do not want to waste any of it.
I have finally decided to make Mom's Orange Buttermilk Sherbet. I was into making ice cream anyway this week, so I thought that this recipe would be a good one and I could fully utilize this beautiful and last remaining orange.

ORANGE BUTTERMILK SHERBET
Combine in a bowl: ( or a sauce pan if you're heating it. )
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1 1/2 C. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Stir well....
Then add the juice of one lg. orange (no need to strain the juice.) and 2 tsp. of lemon juice.
I like to heat this whole mixture in a small sauce pan until the sugar is totally dissolved (maybe 1 or 2 mins.). Do not let it boil. Then let it cool a bit. (You don't have to heat the mixture but I think it makes the sugar blend better.)
Gradually add: 2 C. Buttermilk and 2 C. Low fat milk. ( I used 2 C. of store bought GOAT milk in place of the low fat milk...of course. I happened to have some handy and wanted to see what it would taste like.)

Then stir well and pour into a flat pan, cover and put it in the freezer.

Periodically lift with a fork and stir. I use a potato masher to beat the mixture and mix it around well. Do this every 1/2 hour or so until the sherbet is frozen. Be relentless. You can't hurt it. When completely frozen, sort of fluffy, and it looks like something you could eat... beat again and spoon into a bowl or ice cream container (like the old Tupperware ice cream holder that keeps ice cream really fresh) or anything with a lid. Don't pack it down too much.
It doesn't take long. I started around lunchtime and we ate it after dinner with a slice of Nut torte. Oh my, it was good.

This is Orange Buttermilk Sherbet made with goat milk and it's delicious. Great texture, wonderful flavor and it's beautiful with it's little flecks of orange rind smiling at you as you consume this delectable dessert. It's smooth, cold and delights the palate. ( How's that for a food review Chef E?) My mom would be proud.

Wordless Wednesday: My Sister's Dogs

Cutter Report and Goat Milk Ice Cream

Cutter baby is doing just fine. He took his first big walk with us down the hill and back (well, half way down...). His area of operation is healing well and he has an older and wiser look about him. We are still keeping him in the pen a lot because he and Carl want to play roughhouse too much and get really carried away with the wrestling and tackling. So "Cutterbutt"( I love making nicknames for him) is on light duty for a few more days. Just wanted all of you to know that the baby dude is OK.

Guess what I made this weekend? GOAT MILK ICE CREAM. It's so easy it's mind boggling. I haven't gone to the goat farm for fresh goat milk yet. I don't want to until I get the cheese making supplies I sent away for. So, I went to the store and bought a quart of pasteurized goat milk and proceeded to make honey vanilla ice cream that, I believe, rivals Haagen Dazs Honey-Vanilla Bee ice cream. I think that's the name of it. This Haagen Dazs ice cream is and will be my friend C's very favorite "store bought".... until she tries my version. Yes, C., it's every bit as good as Haagen Dazs and is , if I figured the finances of it right, half the cost.
All you do is mix a quart of goats milk( I used regular, not low fat.) and a cup of honey and 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract together.
I don't have an ice cream maker, but you could use one. I poured the mixture into a 9x12 cake pan and covered it with some press and seal wrap and popped it into the freezer.
Every hour or so I would pulled it out and break it up with a fork and a potato masher until it was mixed well and then I would return it to the freezer. .., and by dinnertime we had the best ice cream ever. I think you could use less honey and vanilla. The combination of this amount was very strong... but delicious. I think I would try smaller amounts next time. Try these amounts first and decide for yourselves.
The next day I added some fresh strawberries mashed up and mixed into the ice cream. OMG! It's so good.

This is a small helping of the Goat Milk ice cream for you. Help yourself. Enjoy! Bon Appetit!!

P.S. Goat milk has an aftertaste that I really notice when I drink the milk by itself. I don't really care for this thick, residual taste.. but this ice cream doesn't.

Loner Goat

Morning Hike to the Ridge

Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment… - Thich Nhat Hanh