New gloves and a snowy walk...

 My new gloves!

We went to the feed store for hen scratch on Monday and to my delight, I they had just got their shipment of size medium wool ragg gloves!  I saw them last time I was in, but all they had was large and X-large so I asked if they might get any mediums.  "Yes, we've had such a demand for them that we ordered some."  This was my lucky day.  I picked up two pair.  In case you have trouble, like I do, keeping your hands warm in gloves, this is the brand to look for:  Alyeska by Kinco.  They are lined, warm, and I love the grippy nubs on the palms.  Plus they dry out fairly quickly.

 I'm in Warm Hand Heaven!

 

 I took my gloves out on a test drive.  I walked to the mailbox with some cards.

 

And back home again.  It was pretty windy and cold.

My hands were warm so....

 I went for a walk in the frosty, snowy woods.  

Looks a little like Narnia, doesn't it?

(oops, warm glove in the pic)

 

More snow fell overnight.

We've probably got 6 or 7 " and some deeper drifts.

There's blue sky this morning, but it's cold.

Just 15 degrees.

Brrrrr.

The coffee tastes good.

..........................................................

Sunshine is delicious, 

rain is refreshing, 

 wind braces us up, 

snow is exhilarating; 

there is really no such thing as bad weather, 

only different kinds of good weather.

~John Ruskin

Louise and the Kindness Elf....

My grandgirl, Miss Bee, has a love affair with dolls and her baby.  Baby Jane is not a doll (Pssst, yes, she is, but Bee says no.).  Baby Jane is her baby and Miss Bee is the Mommy.  Period.  Dollies on the other hand, are dollies.  They're more like friends rather than children who need mothering.  Louise, one of Bee's dollies, needed a hair makeover.  The first hairstyle Louise had was my favorite, but the fluffy, soft hair shed all over everything and Mommy said we must do something else.  So in came the pink hairstyle.  I liked this one too, but it got  mangled, and so it was time for Louise to get a reasonable hairstyle that wouldn't pull out or shed.  I'm hoping this is it.  Brown, loopy pigtails.  I will admit to you, because you are my friends, that I will never make another dolly again.  I think they are fussy and difficult, and of all the sewing projects I've made, this is the most tedious -- from the body to the tiny seams in doll clothes.  I just don't want to do it anymore.  So although I love the Wee Wonderful dollies -- and you really should go see how cute they are -- I am done trying to create them.  Instead, I will buy them from Land of Nod.  I think they are reasonably priced there and well worth the money in comparison to my sanity.

Have you heard of the Kindness Elves?  They are the opposite of Elf on the Shelf.  Instead of naughty deeds, Kindness Elf does thoughtful, loving deeds.  Hillary Lang, from Wee Wonderfuls, made her adorable version of the Kindness Elf with one of her patterns.  I even thought of making one..........but no.  I want to have a kind, cheerful attitude for Thanksgiving.

Start where you are...

(Source) 
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." ~ Arthur Ashe
 (Don't you love this quote?  I'm writing it down.)

It's the fourth day of the new year.  I know this because I've got the calendar from the butcher shop covering up my beautiful 2012 Marjolein Bastin calendar.  The new calendar I ordered from Amazon is not here yet, so I'm improvising.  For now, the pages are blank minus a couple grandma days.  I rather like the feeling of blank space.  It's freeing, refreshing, and full of possibilities.

I'm not a resolution person.  I'm not a theme person or one who chooses a word for the year.  I wish I was, but that's just not me, really.  I do have some thoughts about what I'd like to do in the year to come.  I read the Susan Branch post, The Care and Feeding of Dreams, and I realize that I like her approach to living life fully whether that means treating yourself to the occasional bubble bath & book, breakfast in bed, daily walks, or by setting Big Dream Goals like writing a book, one little page at a time.   As a fifty year-old lady with grown children and four grandchildren, it has become easy to leave dreams behind and focus mainly on "the here and now."  For me, the here and now is very important, but having a few dreams to feed keeps the soul awake and energized and gives me something creative to look forward to.

I haven't officially written down any of my projects or any of my dreams either, but I'm thinking about lots of things.  Since October, Hubby and I have been eating better and we've both dropped quite a bit of weight.  We feel good and more ambitious and fit, even though we both have 50 year- old ranch-worn bodies that will never look like they once did at 30 years old.  Still, we are planning to press on with a lifestyle of healthy eating.  I've been researching Clean Eating which includes, in a nutshell, eating a variety of whole foods and eliminating most processed foods.  This is mainly what we've evolved into.  If you are what you eat, then we've gone from Mr. Pop & Candy and Mrs. Chip & Dip and transformed into Mr. Steak & Salad and Mrs.Veggie Omlet.  Food tastes better to us now, and our tastes in food have changed dramatically.  I'm looking at sourdough recipes and experimenting with those.  The summer garden will be fun as always.  I'm anticipating new ways to feed the dream of healthy bodies with new whole food recipes this year.  Check out these "clean" Budget Recipes.

Our newest grandbaby, Ruth., is such a good one!  She's nursing and pooping and sleeping just like newborns are supposed to do, and she's such a pretty lil thing.  I was at her house yesterday, and I got to talk to her and tell her how wonderful she is.  She was wide-eyed and alert as she tried to focus on her granny's voice and face.  Her big sister and I had lots of fun looking at the new Eye Spy book and singing songs before nap time.  The neighbor grandgirls spent the night with us a couple days ago and even though they were just recovering from a nasty cold/flu bug, we had a good time dancing to Elizabeth Mitchell songs and  singing Car Car, You are My Sunshine, and Little Sack of Sugar.  What I love about having my grandchildren nearby is that one of my biggest dreams of being a Grandma has come true, and the best part is that we are so close.  I feed the Grandma Dream often and much.

(Source)

I want to make a baby quilt for Ruth, and so I'm looking around for just the right quilt pattern with lots of color and interest for her.  Miss Bee had her baby quilt out when I was there and we had such fun pointing out all the butterflies, bees, circles and flowers that make up her own bright blankie.  I saw the niftiest idea for an Eye Spy Quilt where you fussy-cut some of the blocks or pieces to include images like dogs, bunnies, flowers and such things that would catch the eye.  I like that.

Because I really love to embroider, I'm planning to always have a project going, even if it is just tea towels.  This Christmas it was nice to have a stash of handmade tea towels at-the-ready to give as gifts, and I want to continue keeping a stash for gift-giving anytime.  I always feel like I give a little piece of myself when I give a handmade embroidery.  The time and joy I put into it is part of the gift.  Oh, that reminds me of the funniest little sew-on labels that I thought would be fun to sew on handmade gifts.  The one I especially like says:  THIS TOOK FOREVER.  How's that for funny and true?

Blogging will stay on my list of things I want to do.  I enjoy having a journal of my days, and I like having a place to share ideas and things that I like to do....like ranching.  We will be moving into Lambing Season very soon.  February 10th or so will be the starting date for new lambs to arrive, but before that we will get the sheep sheared and the shed set up for the big event.  It is the Kick-Off Event for the year because right after that, there are heifers to calve and then the cows, and the year is on a big roll because there's no stopping the rest of the events that follow.  That's the thing I love about ranching -- there's always something new coming up.  It's mostly the same stuff, but it's never dull.  There is a steady rhythm to it and yet there is anticipation and excitement.

I think I need to find a pretty notebook so that I can start writing down a few thoughts and ideas, some dreams and projects, and maybe add some encouraging words and pictures.  It's good place for me to start -- having a spot to at least write things down and begin.  I hope your year is beginning well, young as it is.

Laundry room blooms...

She's at it again!  The Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-Easter Cactus is coming into bloom.  I had really good intentions of repotting her this summer.  The old girl is enormous and ought to be potted into a larger container -- a washtub perhaps -- or else she ought to be split into smaller plants to share with my girls.  But.......I didn't do any of that.  I forgot to do the smallest thing -- give her a dose of spring tonic.  But here she is faithfully brightening the short-sun days with her goodness and beauty in my humble laundry room.  Miss Cactus is an especial gift given to the laundress herself, and I'm singing her praises!

Thank a chicken...

Because they are beautiful, 

Because the are delicious,

Because they are natural and nutritious.

Who can deny their health?

Protein, vitamins, minerals -- wealth!

 

Do yourself a favor

And eat an egg today.

Thank a farmer,

Thank a chicken

For all the eggs she lays.

For nutritional info: The incredible edible egg

Healing Salve...

 Infused herb oil

Since I've been dabbling in making homemade balms, I figured today I would make a Healing Salve out of the  infused herb oil I made a week ago.  This ointment will be good to use on cuts, scrapes, burns, diaper rash and on itchy skin as well as for everyday use on rough, chapped skin.  I added in a few drops of lavender and rosemary essential oil for their healing properties.
.............................................................

Healing Salve

2 oz. infused herb oil (or add any liquid oil of choice)

1/2 oz. beeswax

12 drops grapefruit seed extract or 2-3 vitamin E capsules

10-16 drops of essential oil of choice (opt.)

Combine oil and beeswax in a pint mason jar.  Place it into a pot of hot water on the stove.  I add a jar ring in the bottom of the pot to keep the jar off the bottom of the pan.  Heat beeswax and oil together on low heat until melted. Remove from heat and add grapefruit seed extract OR vitamin E oil OR both.   The two are a natural preservatives and antibacterial.  Add optional essential oils.  Mix with a whisk until combined but pourable.  It will start to harden fairly fast.  Pour into tins or glass jars.  Cool.  Add lids.

Makes 1/4 cup.
.................................................................

Tips: 

To clean out greasy jars, tins, and other items used in making salves, sprinkle them generously with baking soda and wipe out with a paper towel.  Then use hot soapy water to finish cleaning them.  I find that a final swipe with an alcohol-soaked paper towel takes the last of the oily film off containers.

Medicinal Herb Chart:  uses for plants and herbs.  You can use drops of essential oils instead of an infused oil for making healing salve.

Why I sunbathe and other good things...

I hope you didn't come here expecting to see my oil slathered skin in a bikini lounging on a grass mat on the beach.  It would be a highly unlikely photo to find and I promise, you won't ever see that here.  Instead, how about looking at the necessary sunbathing things on the crate beside me?  A mug of Yorkshire Gold Tea, a Country Living magazine, and some homemade cream that I rubbed into my legs and arms.

You remember last week I was telling you about the snow flurries?  Well now we are enjoying some 70 degree days with sunshine.  My goodness, the pendulum swings when it comes to weather on the northern prairies.  On days like this, I really try to get out in the sun and sunbathe for a good half hour.   I bare as much skin as I possibly can because honestly, you can't soak up enough vitamin D without some skin showing.  And just like we did back in the 70s, I like to grease up!  D is produced in the oils in your skin.  I don't know about you, but this old hide of mine can use all the grease it can get.  Anyway, why sunbathe?  Because first, it feels good to soak up the warm sun, doesn't it?  Secondly, my body gets to soak in some much-needed vitamin D.  Did you know that most Americans (about 70%)  are deficient in D?  We need it to keep our immune systems strong to fight everyday colds and flu, to ward off seasonal depression,  to keep pregnant moms and babies healthy,  and also to fight diseases like cancer.  A study was presented to the Swedish Society of Medicine that showed women who sunbathe tend to live longer.  Sounds good to me!   It's not that we need to be out in the sun for hours on end, but we do need about 10-20 minutes a day without sunscreen in full sun with as much skin exposed as possible.  If the skin starts to flush pink, you've had enough.

Speaking of skin and oil...I made a batch of my Bee Balm, but this time I made it harder in consistency -- similar to a lotion bar or to Burt's Bees Lip Balm.  I used coconut oil, mango butter, and a little bit of grapeseed oil and honey.  I didn't add any extra scents because I am an unscented-type-person.  The balm smells a little like honey and nothing else.  I use it on dry, chapped skin, on lips, as well as hands and feet.  It works well anywhere the skin needs a little extra TLC.  If you want to make it yourself, here's the simple recipe.
.........................................................................
Bee Balm Bar (or Lip Balm)
1/4 c. oil (your choice of oil:  olive, coconut, mango, almond, grapeseed or any combination)
1/4 c. beeswax (grated or in pellet form)
1 tsp. honey or glycerin (humectant)
2-3 vitamin E capsules (pierced and squeezed in)
Melt beeswax in oil in a double boiler.  When melted, stir and remove from heat.  Add honey or glycerin and the E oil.  Stir well.  If you want to add essential oils for fragrance, you can.  Pour into tins, lip tubes, or glass jars.  Cool and cover.  *Add more oil if you want it creamier.
...........................................................................

For more skin soothing tricks... I've been having an oatmeal bath every so often.  It's so easy to make a little pouch out of a piece of muslin or a piece of cheesecloth or with a chunk of an old tea towel.  Or you might run across some of these muslin spice bags to fill.  Just scoop a good handful or more into a pouch and tie it shut, or you can use a rubber band.  Then toss the "Oat Float" into the bath and squidge it around in your hands to release the oat-i-ness.  You can also use the pouch to give yourself an oatmeal facial and then moisturize your entire body.  When you are done you can dump the oatmeal out, rinse, and re-use the bag and start over.  One winter I made several "Oat Floats" by sewing cheese cloth pouches, filling them with oats, then labeled and bundled them for giving. I gave them as Christmas gifts to some of the women I know and made several for my own winter bath nights.  I like keeping it natural as much as possible.

One moment in a day...

George Faulkner Wetherbee (American-born artist, 1851–1920)

 The Harvest is past - The Summer is Ended

There is always one moment in a day when I think my heart will break.  Such a moment I think all women have, and men too, when all the meaning of life seems distilled and caught up and you feel you can never, never, bear to leave it.  It may be when you turn and look down a blazing autumn road or it may be when you see your house under great ancient trees or it may be, in the city, when you look up at a towering apartment building and see one light and think "that is mine."  It may be any one of a number of things, according to the circumstances of your life.  

But there is the moment, and all the heartaches and sorrows of your life suddenly diminish and only the fine brave things stand out.  You breathe sharp clean air, your eyes lift to the eternal wideness of the sky.

Anybody has moments like this to store up, but some people are too busy adding up their frustrations to appreciate them.  And yet all we need is an awareness of the beauty in life to make us richly content.  My definition of happiness is just the ability to garner the perfect moments.

~Gladys Taber, Stillmeadow Daybook

My moments:
Last night the Littles and I looked at the great, big moon together -- not quite full, but almost. 
Peach and I saw a long legged Blue Heron fly up from the pond near our house.  Wow.
Toodles sings the Swing Song by herself.

It's Tea O'Clock...

 

Seven years ago my daughter and I went on a 12 day trip to England to see what we could see, and we saw All That We Could See in that amount of time, including my British friend, A. who took us out romping in the Midlands and showed us great hospitality.  It was at her home that I first saw an electric kettle, an essential now in my own home. Oh what a time we had together!  Today A. mentioned that she was having a cream tea in my honor and since my daughter, G. gave me this dotty Stoke-on-Trent mug, made in the year of the Queen's Jubilee, I decided to have my own cream tea this afternoon.

Cream tea does not mean "pouring cream in tea," but instead it means having scones (what we call biscuits in rancher talk) and plopping them with whipped cream and jam.  This is a real treat!  I used my own strawberry jam on these.   Hubs enjoyed it too although he did not take any tea with his biscuit.

 

I enjoyed re-reading some lovely cards.

 

Then I decided to take a turn around the garden.

 

I love moss roses and they are thriving in the heat of the sun...

  

...and lilies and hollyhocks are holding on.

 

Mrs. Robin and her fledglings were out and about the yard.

It's another hot afternoon, but still, taking a cream tea was very refreshing to the soul.

If you are cold, tea will warm you.  If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you. 

 ~Gladstone, 1865

Let's see your true colors....

That's why I LOVE you!

Rose water made from your own roses....

Every time I see the rambling rose bush in a riot of yellow blooms, I want to make something rosy-smelling with the petals.  There are SO many, many petals that fall each day, that a lady could make gobs of rose water in a couple weeks while the bush is still blooming. Today while Toodles was napping, Peach and I went over and plucked handfuls of yellow roses petals and stuffed them into mason jars.

Honestly, at first I wasn't sure what I'd do with the rose water.  I tried making a "lotion.", but I ended up with a bowl of oily rose water with a scum of beeswax on the top -- I guess it didn't emulsify.  Perhaps I don't know what I'm doing which wouldn't be the first time!  Upon hunting through the interwebs, I found these useful ideas:

1. Refreshing mist: Pour rose water into a spray bottle and store in the fridge.  Use as a cooling mist to refresh yourself on hot days, spraying on face, neck and chest.  Or carry a small mister in your purse to freshen make-up.  It won't run, but instead, moisturizes.
2. Toner: Soak a cotton pad and wipe over face to remove dirt and oil.  Use it for treating acne and skin irritations; rose water nourishes and hydrates your skin at any age.
3. Hair rinse: Work a palmful of rose water through your hair after conditioning. Leave for 1-2 minutes, then rinse. 
4. Light face/body moisturizer: mix together equal portions of rose water and glycerin.  This product doesn’t contain preservatives, so use it within a few days.
5. Light scent: When it’s too hot to use traditional perfume, dab rose water on both wrists and neck for a summery, refreshing scent.
6. Sunburn and bug bites: Rose water is a natural anti-inflammatory tonic and can be applied as a topical treatment for sunburns and allergic skin.
7. Bath: add a few tablespoons to a warm bath for added relaxation and moisturizing.
8. Dry Skin Treatment:  Mix together rose water, milk and honey with some oatmeal to form a paste and use it as a nourishing face mask.
9. Make Rose Syrup:  recipe from Storybook Woods and one from Epicurious.
10. Rose Recipes for ice cream and cocktails here and here.
11. Laundry Mist: Pour  a couple tablespoons into a spray bottle and fill with water filtered water.  Use to mist clothes when ironing.
12. Freshen up bedding by spraying rose water mist on pillowcases and sheets, let air dry, make bed.
13. Give for gifts.  Print this vintage French Rose perfume label and add to the bottle.

Quick Method for Making Rosewater

*Gather fresh, fragrant rose petals and pack them tightly in a jar.

*When you get home, bring some filtered or distilled water to a boil.  Pour about 3 cups over petals, cover lightly with jar lid.  No need to put the screw-on top over the lid.  Steep for 20 minutes.

*Strain petals from water.  I used a coffee filter and my coffee funnel to strain out the tiny particles from my rose water, but you could use your coffee pot filter holder and do the same thing, or you could use a strainer with a coffee filter or cheese cloth.

*Allow rose water to cool to room temperature without a lid.  Then add a clean lid and screw top and store in the fridge.

Here is a more complex method of making rosewater. 

Tonight after my face washing, I will apply some lovely scented rose water to my face and see if it adds its goodness to my complexion.  I think my girls might enjoy a bottle for their beauty needs too. 

Addendum:  Since there are no preservatives in this rosewater, I am going to freeze some of it in ice cube trays and store them in ziplock bags so I can have fresh rosewater anytime.

The Rose Family

The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose -
But were always a rose.

~Robert Frost

(yes, you are!)

Magnesium, the miracle mineral...

I'm no doctor.  I'm no nutritionist, but I am a human being with a body that knows its limitations and its struggles.  I know about aches and pains, fatigue and restlessness, mood swings and mental fuzziness.  It is interesting to me that so many of the "symptoms" I have point directly to magnesium deficiency.

I didn't come upon the miracle mineral directly, but rather it was indirectly when I was doing some research about breast health.  I had a mammogram come back that was not satisfactory to the radiologist so I had a re-do and still, he was not happy with it.  Later I went in for an ultra-sound with a surgeon who would do a needle biopsy.  As it turned out, the doctor was not convinced it was a necessary procedure.  At that point, I was a little scared and nervous and wanted to understand more about breast health in ways other than self examinations, which I had always been diligent about, and yearly mammograms.

In my searching I stumbled upon vitamin D3 and read lots and lots of articles about its benefits to breast health as well as for immune health.  The sunshine vitamin is truly good for what ails ya,  and most of us, even in sunny climes, don't get enough.  Those of us who live above the state of Georgia certainly don't get enough D and especially during the fall and winter months.  When I read an article by Kerri Knox, RN who shared that raising a woman's vitamin D levels could reduce her chance of getting breast cancer by HALF, I went to the store and bought some D3.  I took it for a couple months before the next ultrasound/biopsy was scheduled and the surgeon who was viewing the live ultra-sound and comparing it to the old snapshots said he saw improvement!  I have been taking D3 ever since and try to get my natural vitamin D through sunshine whenever I can.  My last mammogram came back fine.  I also found myself to be far more healthy through the cold and flu season after taking D.

It was through the research I did on breast health and vitamin D that I found more information about magnesium.  I thought it was a fairly normal thing as I aged to have more aches and pains, to feel tired and a bit fuzzy-brained, but as it turns out, these are just a few symptoms of low magnesium levels.  I had always, ever since I started having babies, had terrible low back pain.  There were times when I was totally incapacitated from the horrible back spams and pain.  I lived with it.  There was a point when I thought to myself, "Well, this is your fate.  You will just have to live with it."  That was before I found magnesium.  I read this article and also ordered the book The Magnesium Miracle by Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND.  Since then, I have listened to pod-casts by Dr. Dean and read more articles about magnesium on The Nutritional Magnesium Asssoc. website and I started a magnesium regiment daily.  I won't say that I am totally cured of every single thing that ails me, but I no longer have the back pain I once woke up with every single morning of my womanly life, nor do I have insomnia or muscle aches and twitches.  There are many, many other symptoms that point to magnesium deficiency, so please check out the links to see if you might benefit from taking magnesium.

Since understanding how much I needed magnesium for my health and well-being, I started working harder at making sure we eat real foods that are high in the mineral -- whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.  I realize that I probably can't/won't eat nearly enough to take me from deficiency to proper levels of magnesium, so I take the supplemental magnesium citrate or magnesium malate.  I have  read that the cheaper version of magnesium supplement, magnesium oxide, is much less absorb-able than the citrate form.  I also like to take Epsom salt baths every now and then as another way to absorb necessary magnesium.

Just for the record, I am in no way connected to Dr. Carolyn Dean nor to any of the other people from the websites I have shared with you.  I don't get kickbacks from the Epsom salts industry nor from the supplement industry.  What I do get is a good health kick from these two supplements and I'm so glad that I found them.  I wanted to share my health happiness with you.  Please read the info for yourself and judge whether or not this is for you, and as always, you may want to consult with your health practitioner or doctor.

Coffee time...

I am literally sitting here at the computer having my afternoon coffee time.  And this (muffin) is what was once on my plate.  Now am picking the crumbs and will soon lick both crumbs and sugar from the plate, washing it down with the last of my strong, black coffee.  It's a good thing!  Is it any wonder I must have my 3:00 cup of coffee every day?  You want it too, don't you?  Some years ago I started this afternoon coffee thing, and enjoyed it so much that I don't intend to quit.  This morning I made a batch of what was supposed to be Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins, but as I started into the recipe and was nearing the end, I went to the pantry and found no canned pumpkin so I did what any cooker would do, skipped it and baked them off as they were.  Oh my!  I didn't miss the pumpkin one itty bitty bit.  They were just perfectly delicious with interior doughnutty spices of all-spice and nutmeg and an exterior coating of melted butter and cinnamon & sugar.  If you want to make these yummy muffins, you can find the recipe here.  Just omit the pumpkin!  Actually, I baked them at 380*F (I don't know why I chose that temp) for about 15 minutes or so.  I don't think you should have to bake muffins for a half an hour, but that's just me.  Maybe if they had had been made properly with pumpkin in them, they would have taken longer to bake, but I will never know.

 Source

I got a couple pounds of onions planted in one of the raised beds today --  mulched it and watered it.  The bread dough is rising and spilling over the bowl so I must quit this coffee-ing and chit-chat and get myself back to work.  I hope you took a little time for an afternoon cuppa.

Making bone stock...

Being a cattle rancher's wife, I have learned a lot about cooking a whole beef, not all at once, but hunk by hunk, cut by cut, bone by bone.  One of the packages we get from the butcher is labeled "soup bones."    Our soup bones are generally quite meaty, cut from the shank or legs.  I make beef stock from them and honestly, they make the nicest, most flavorful beef broth for French Onion Soup that you can imagine.  As many times as I have made beef stock, I never really realized the nutritional value of boiling bones for a long period of time until recently.  I thought three or four hours of cooking soup bones was plenty, but now I'm reading about cooking them slowly for 12-48 hours and the reason why is nutrition.  It takes some time to fully release the nutritional goodness from bones.

Grandma was right, homemade soup is the very best medicine.  I recall watching several old movies where a gun-shot cowboy was lying- on his death bed, and what did the aproned homemaker feed him?  Broth.  What did the white-capped nurse feed the ill and infirmed who were in her care?  Broth.  When motherless babies were found on the prairie and there was no milk to be had, what were they given?  Broth.  It's the stuff that brings you back to life!

As I have aged (49 so far) I have noticed a few more aches and pains.  My skin is not as supple as it once was and my mind is not as sharp. I have realized how very important it is that I'm getting enough vitamins and minerals to keep my immune system strong and my body healthy and pain free.  Hubby and I really do not like taking pain relievers and so I have been on a quest to find out how to best support our joints and bones by nutritional means.  Lately I have been researching bone stock.  Bone stock can be made from the bones of any animal -- beef, pork, lamb, chicken.  The idea is to save bones from your cooking or to get soup bones (or dog bones) from your butcher and throw them into a slow cooker with a little vinegar (to break down the minerals from the bones) and gently cook them for a good, long time -- from 8 to 12 to 24 hours -- until the bones have released as much of their minerals as possible.  This creates a delicious and nutritious stock that you can sip from a mug or add to soups, gravies and stews.  The stock is loaded with good things for your body!  From bodyecolog, here is the good news:

Bone broth is rich in minerals to strengthen the immune system and support healthy digestion. Bone broth also contains collagen to strengthen tendons, joints, ligaments, bone, and skin.
The collagen in bone broth will help heal the lining of the gut to relieve heartburn, GERD, and other types of intestinal inflammation. On top of that, collagen will support healthy skin to make it supple and strong to reduce the appearance of cellulite.  You can make bone broth at home and even use it in your next fast to give your body ample nourishment. The glycine in bone broth will detoxify the body of harmful chemicals, improve sleep, and boost memory and performance.

Did you read the part about reducing cellulite, boosting memory and performance, and improving sleep?  I'm into that!  Minerals that bone stock provides include calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfate, and fluoride, all of which are delivered directly to your body from food, not pills.  I think of it like this:  everything YOUR bones and joints need comes from bones -- boiling down animal bones into a stock (broth) that is highly digestible and is readily absorbed by the body.

You might think, "Well now Miss Jody, making homemade stock fine for you since you are at home and can keep watch over the stock pot on the stove, but I have a job away from home and I can't possible monitor a pot around the clock."  Me neither!  I have lots of things I want to do that don't involve the kitchen, so an easy way to slow-cook bone stock is to use the slow cooker.  Simply put your bones to the crock pot, add some peppercorns, a few hunks of onion, carrot, celery and garlic (or skip the veggie part), add 1/4 c. vinegar and COLD water and plug it in.  I turn my cooker on high until everything comes to a boil and then turn it down to low and let it slow cook for 12 hours or more.  I've read articles where a lady keeps her slow cooker going constantly and removes stock from her pot as she needs it and replaces the amount she took out with fresh water and leaves it cooking.  Doesn't that sound like something from Little House on the Prairie?  The perpetual stock pot -- just add more water and more bone or veggie scraps.  Making beef stock is not only nutritional, but it is economical as well. If you use the bones left over from a roasting a whole chicken or turkey or bones left from your pot roast or steak, you've got something to make bone stock with.  You can also ask for soup bones or dog bones from your butcher and get them at a minimal cost or for free.

In the past whenever I have made beef stock, I would freeze what I didn't use immediately so that I'd have it on hand for another time.  It is so easy to do and so convenient to have some good stock in the freezer.  I never thought about freezing stock in ice cube trays or muffin tins, but that would be a convenient way to add nutrition to any meal or to warm up in a mug for a cup of soup.

One of my favorite ways to make beef stock is to first brown the soup bones in the oven.  I pour a little olive oil over them, sprinkle with salt and pepper and stick them into a 400* oven for 30-45 minutes until they are dark brown, being careful not to burn them.  The browning gives your beef stock a rich, brown color that is tasty and hearty.  After browning the bones, I add them into the stock pot (or crock pot), add a little vinegar and cover with water.  I often add onion, garlic, a bay leaf, and peppercorns for extra flavor, but you don't need to.  Allow the stock to come to a boil and then reduce heat to low and allow it to simmer slowly for many hours.  I generally add a teaspoon of salt to a large pot, but it is best to salt it later on when the stock is completed if you feel it needs more.  Strain the broth and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate and skim off the fat.  Use the stock however you like.

Do you make bone stock?  Any tips or ideas?  Perhaps you have memories of Granny or Auntie making stocks and soups.  Were you the invalid who was brought back to health on bone stock?  Do tell.

For additional reading about bone stock, enjoy perusing the links below.
Bone Broth:  Heal Your Gut and Lose Cellulite
Beef Stock Anyone?
Perpetual Soup:  The Easiest Bone Broth You'll Make
Broth is Beautiful (lots of info on the nutritional value of stock and recipes)
Stock Recipes from Simply Recipes

The Leatherman...

How many women do you know that you can call Super Woman?  How many tools do you know called a Super Tool?  I only know a woman or two that I might call Super Woman, but there's only one tool called The Super Tool, and that is the Leatherman.  Some folks call this special tool a Swiss Army Knife, and it is very similar, but I think the Leatherman is a lot tougher and sturdier than most.  I've had this ol' workhorse in my junk drawer for years and years.  It's actually Hubby's, but it's in the drawer for all of us to use.

Today I used the Leatherman for a small project for a sweet Peach.  She and I had been digging in her mommy's garden and the gosh darn handle broke right off her Little Girl Shovel.  I thought Peach might just burst into tears then and there, but I told her I would fix it for her while she and her family were away visiting her Nana and her cousins for the day.  ~smile~

The first thing to do was to saw off the jagged end of the wooden handle.  The Leatherman has a really sharp saw blade that whizzed right through.

Next I needed to whittle off some of the sides so the handle could slide all the way down into the metal shaft.  That was easy to do with the knife blade.

Lastly, when the handle fitted perfectly into the shaft, I needed to put a couple screws into it to hold the handle securely onto the shovel.  The Leatherman had a Philips screw driver that handled the job.  Now the shovel is fixed up and Miss Peach thinks I'm SuperGram!

You, too, can be Super Gram, Super Mom, Super Wife, Super Girl or Super Man!
All you need is the super tool.... The Leatherman.  Getchya one!

Cookies and cookie balls...

It was another windy day on the prairie.  On the Beaufort Wind Scale, I'd say we had a force of  8 -- Gale.  On land, whole trees are in motion, resistance is felt walking against wind.  Yup, a gale.  I really don't enjoy outdoor work on gale force wind days, so this little housewife stayed inside next to the oven.  I didn't do a Big Bake like the other day, but I did a small bake of chocolate chip cookies.  The men were out vaccinating the steers and so I thought they'd really love it if I made them cookies for their afternoon snack, and was I ever right on that!

They radio'd me, "Mom, do you have any cookies for us?"

"10-4, you bet I do.  Fresh from the oven!"

Here's a little trick that I do when I've had enough of baking a double batch of cookies.  I bake off all I want and then I roll the rest of the cookie dough into cookie balls.  I put them individually on the cookie sheet and then freeze them until they are hard and sack them up in a ziplock for another day.  The nice thing is that I can bake up a dozen cookies or just a few or eat the cookie dough right from the bag.  When it's time to bake the cookie balls, you can either defrost them and bake as usual or you can leave them frozen and add just another minute or two more to the bake time.  These cookie balls have come in handy when pop-in company arrives  or when the urge for a fresh chocolate chip cookie hits.

Good Things....

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs..... 
I've been making hard boiled eggs since I was a 19 year old bride.  I did it like my mom and step-mom did -- over-cooked!  When I was asked to bring deviled eggs for Easter, I cringed a little because I have such a devil of a time peeling the eggs.  I've tried all kinds of tricks but my dear mother-in-love used to say that you need to use old eggs, not fresh for best results.  Well, when you live in the country and have laying hens, you mostly have fresh eggs.   It makes me wonder how old the eggs at the grocery stores are.  While waiting up last night for my son to come home, I was looking at some of my favorite cooking blogs.  I found the "recipe" for the perfect hard boiled eggs here!  And mother-in-love was right!

Fruity Water....
A friend, Abby, told me about this.  She said while staying at a ski lodge in Colorado this winter, the lodge supplied pitchers full of fruity ice water.  I thought I'd try it at home.  I filled my glass with a couple frozen strawberries and some lemon slices and added ice and fresh water.  What a treat.  Subtly sweet and  refreshing and pretty to look at.  Throughout the afternoon, I just added more water and ice to my glass.  Think of the fruity combinations you could try.  Another friend, Joyce, said to try cucumbers.  I haven't yet.

Frozen Fruit....
Speaking of  fruity water, this reminds me of frozen fruit.  I just love the stuff.  Since I live a good hour from a grocery store, I don't dash to the store for fresh fruit.   I buy fresh when I can, but I stock up on frozen too.  I use it for breakfast smoothies (strawberry, banana, orange), for my Strawberry-Yogurt Scones, for fruity water, to top my breakfast yogurt, to top plain cakes, to make jam and syrups, and to eat right out of the bag.  It's always there, always fresh, and never spoiled.

Bone Stock....
"Good broth will resurrect the dead," says a South American proverb. Some members of my family have been suffering from nasty head colds or some strain of flu so I decided it was high time to make some good stock.  I make mine mostly out of beef soup bones, but you can make good stock out of any bones, not just soup bones. Chicken, and turkey make delicious stocks and so does lamb and pork although pork carries quite a bit more fat which can be removed after chilling.  Homemade stock is loaded with vitamins and minerals that come from the bones which break down under slow cooking.  Stocks have been made for centuries to nurse the ill and to build healthy families.  My favorite recipe for beef stock comes from Karey Swan's cookbook, Hearth & Home which is now out of print, but available through used book sellers.

Browned Beef Stock

In a large stockpot add:
6 lbs of beef soup bones (neck, shin, shank or marrow bones)
1 large onion
2 medium carrots, cut up in chunks
Place these in a 450* oven and let them brown evenly for about 30 minutes, turning once.  When beef is browned, add 3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1 large tomato, cut (opt)
8 whole black peppercorns
4 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
1-2 cloves garlic, halved
1 T. sea salt
12 cups cold water
(I also add any other veggie scraps or herbs you like and a splash of vinegar)
Bring all to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 4-5 hours or more.  You can use a crock pot and simmer broth over night.  Remove beef from bones and strain stock.  Stock may be cooled and frozen into quart containers for later use.
When chilling homemade stocks, you will notice it turns to gelatin.  That is GOOD! 
For more good information on homemade stocks, click here and  here.

 Range Calving....

I went with Hubs this morning to check the cows on the range.  We found two new babies today.  The clouds and fog were just rolling in as we took this pair through the gate.

While digging in the dirt today....

.... I saw this little guy hopping around.  At first I thought it was a grasshopper and I was about to be totally disgusted that a grasshopper should be out chowing down this early in the spring.  But upon closer inspection, I found him to be a tiny Leopard Frog, the same frog family that sings me to sleep.  I caught him and put him in a jar for awhile until I could take more time to study him.  He is one of the common frogs we have here on the northern plains and it's probably the ONLY frog we have in our area.    

 Here he is in the jar looking out with sad eyes that begged me to release him, which I did.  

I wonder what I looked like to him through the glass?  

See how tiny he is?  About two fingernails in length.

It was a glorious day here at my house -- 70 degrees, partly cloudy with a light breeze.  Perfect weather for working outdoors.  I spent from 9:00 to 3:00 out working in my yard -- smoothing out some patches for grass seed, planting grass, laying down some weed and feed over the lawn, and carrying shovels full of rotted sheep manure to plants and garden beds.   I got a really good workout, one which I know I will "feel" tomorrow.   Raking, digging, shoveling, and carrying all take a toll on my out-of-shape winter body.

When you garden and turn over the soil, do you ever find things?  I do.  All the time.  Mostly I find toys and things that my children were playing with when they were little.  In the past have dug up those green army guys, a yo-yo, multiple Hot Wheels cars, spoons and forks.  When we bring up the manure compost from the old sheep shed, sometimes I find interesting things did not come from my own family.  Old coffee cans and cool-looking bottles or docking tools.  Here's what came up from my diggings today........

An old hand trowel (I wondered where that went!), a jaw bone of a sheep, a pliers rusted wide open which I'll soak in some oil, and a golf divot mender that says it was from Lake Oahe, a place we golfed quite a few years ago.  Funny how these things surface.

I am so, so pleased with my accomplishments today!   I even got the sheets washed and hung on the clothesline to dry.  You know that Monday is Wash Day and I hate to mess up the weekly program.  The only thing I didn't complete was spading  two of the four raised beds.  I just decided it could wait another day.  My arms and my digging foot had had enough for one day.  Now all I need to do is wait for the rain which is promised for tonight and tomorrow and maybe even Wednesday.  That would be just lovely on my newly sown grass and my fertilized lawn.  

Hubs and J. worked on their "tee box" today and over-seeded the grass there.  Our family is a golfing family (everyone but me) and so we have a nice spot close to our house where they like to practice.  They drive  their balls out into a large pasture to the south of our house.  It's kind of a "Willie Nelson Golf Range" but it's pretty darn nice in the spring and early summer.  The guys try hard to keep their tee box in good repair and I do the most of the mowing.  I'm not a golfer, but I like to watch them play while I walk the courses admiring the pretty flowers, the trees and the lush grass.  My kids say I could be good if I'd  "get serious" but I just can't.  I'd rather look for birds and not worry about making eagle, birdie, par or a snowman.  A snowman is what we call an 8 which is something you don't want on a single hole.  Nope.  Just give me my Birks, some sunscreen, my camera and let me walk the course.

Speaking of Birks and walking, I have an excellent product to share with you as you move from your clogs and heavy boots to your sandals and flip-flops.  It's called Corona Ointment (aka:  udder butter).  I buy this product at the local farm and ranch supply store.  We mainly use it when the cows have chapped teats and on horse hooves, but it makes an excellent cream for dry, cracked heels and chapped, hard-working hands.  It's made of 50% lanolin (from sheep wool) and so it's an excellent, protective balm for the skin.  I've even used it on my chapped, red nose when I have a cold.   I don't like the Udder Butter in the green tin that you sometimes find in department stores; Corona is much, much better.  Good stuff.  Get-ya-some.