Hidden Treasures.........

I love this ol' ranch, considering it's ONLY eighty-five years old, one can only fathom the treasures left behind by others.

When we first moved in, all I seemed to stumble upon was broken glass.  That was rather frustrating since I have grand children and animals that could be injured on such items.  Then I began to find utensils.........in the strangest places.  I've found spoons, forks and knives in the pastures and corrals, it's like all the ol' time cowboys were out on the fence eating "Beenie-Weenies" all day, and keepin' an eye on the "doggies."

But then one day, I started really focusing on my finds.........purple glass shards, pottery shards, railroad spikes, beautifully designed broken plates and cups, old buttons, coins, a compass, kids play jacks(the old metal ones), marbles...........the insurmountable treasures I have found now grace my home and yard. 

I have been collecting purple glass for many years now.  Beginning in the 1860's glass makers in the United States started using manganese to give glass clarity instead of lead due to the lead shortages created by the civil war.  Glass containing manganese eventually turns a light purple when exposed to sunlight, a side effect that was unknown at the time the practice started.  By roughly 1915, most companies in the United States switched from manganese to selenium to maintain clearness in glass.

Also.........the multitude of machinery parts I have found, sheep shears (hum?....I thought this was a cattle ranch), bolts, hammers, hand tools, and some pieces I have NO clue as to their origin.........abundant to say the least.  It's truly like a treasure hunt out here, one just need be aware, and pay attention, and "ye shall find."

These railroad spikes have been found in abundance on our lil' ranch......we did have a railroad running just in front of our home many years ago.  I've seen these in the antique stores as high as $4.50 a piece.  I'm thinkin' we're sittin' on a small fortune here at the ol' homestead.

We have lived here for almost four years, on the first of January 2010, "The Man" and myself decided to head outdoors to finish a fencing project that needed to be completed.  I was on one side of the fence tying wire, "The Man" on the other side.  I leaned down to tie wire to the bottom of a post when low and behold.....I found a real treasure.........a button....... a sea-shell button from a womens garment.  I was very excited, my grandmother used to collect sea-shell buttons, in fact my sister and I split a few of her buttons years ago so we would have her collection to remember her.

Over the years I've often felt her presence near me.  I have been told by her two children that she would have loved this ol' ranch.  So this find sends a very positive omen to me, I know she is with me daily, edging me on to till the soil, fill my lungs with fresh air, plant and can, spin my wool and be with God here in my humble abode.  I take nothing for granted, all these treasures were meant to be found by us.......thanks for guiding me grandma.....I love you!

"2010.......A Pro-Liberty Year!"

This year marks the end of an indefinable era.  We have seen changes to our world like few other decades have seen.  There have been so many shaping events in history, who can forget that this decade began with millions questioning whether or not our civilization would collapse as we faced Y2K. The first decade brought the horrors of a date whose name and significance would forever change our understanding of freedom, and with it a new America.

It held a massive catastrophic natural disaster those names would forever become synonymous with devastation, and nearly stole an iconic major national city from us.  We saw the Boston Red Sox at last beat a curse held since 1919, finally winning the World Series not just once, but twice!  Then there was a War....a decade of bloodshed as we worked to free the world from a force that has been a shadow throughout the world.

We have seen the lowest deeds of man come to light with the difficulties of torture, the unremorseful Bernie Madoff (made-off with all your money!), and an epic economic failure that our country felt immune from.  Then there were the elections that would go down in history, with Bush's second time around and the endless jokes about Florida's  inability to count, and the most memorable of all....the first African American President.

The Constitution is based on six basic principles.  These are deeply ingrained in the mindset and landscape of US government...allegedly!

Let's start with "Popular Sovereignty," this principle states that the source of governmental power lies with the people. This belief stems from the concept of the social contract and the idea that government should be for the benefit of it's citizens. If the government is not protecting it's people, it should be dissolved.

Limited Government: Since the people give government it's power, government itself is limited to the power given it by them. The U.S. government does not derive it's power from itself.  It must follow it's own laws and it can only act using powers given to it by the people. americanhistory.com

There are four more principles you can look up for yourself, but I have to speak my mind here.  I DO NOT believe our government speaks for the majority of the people.  When the government decides that you must be "forced" to buy a government service (the new health care bill), it is unprecedented!!  They are ramming a health care bill down our throats that over 70% of us said we don't want because it will actually raise healthcare costs and decrease benefits for most of us!  Do you want the United States of America to become the United Socialist States of America?

It's like they are telling us, "give up all your liberties so we can help you!"  Or better yet, George Carlin's quote, "people go back to bed, your government is IN CONTROL!"  Scary s--t if you ask me. 

I love my health care plan as it stands now....I don't want any part of the "governments health care plan."  "If I choose not to participate and you throw me in jail............please Obama, make sure you give me a HD, flat screen, T.V. in my cell."

I'm not socialist and I don't want to live in a socialist country, I'm not "anti-government," but I am "Pro-Liberty!"

Christmas Crafts and Bubble Baths

You know, sometimes in your life, certain things hit you hard in the heart and you know you're changed forever.  This past week-end that happened to me (us). 

We had the honor of watching three of our five grand kids for several nights while their parents went out of town.  What an initial whirlwind that was.........kids arrived with huge pieces of luggage, talking non-stop all the while, and the baby (who just learned to walk) grabbing goodies as fast as you could put one up.  I knew we were in for a "treat."

And that's exactly what we got...........once the initial hurricane settled into the eye of the storm, everything went smoothly.  The only time I really felt a bit of anxiety was at meal time, the baby would cling to my leg crying and hungry, Brady would TELL ME what HE wanted for dinner, Kiley would say, "Nana I'm really hungry."  Once the babe was strapped into his high chair with fresh fruit, things calmed...............I could then focus on the meal.  Mind you this was three times a day with snacks in between.  Aside from the starving lil' chicks, the time spent with them was fun.

Kiley and I made Christmas crafts for her "second" family (her biological father, his wife and their four kids).  I knew she was "stressing" over what to make them as they are kids that apparently are very "picky" about what they get for gifts.  After a small pep talk with Kiley about homemade gifts vs. store bought, she buckled down to make meaningful gifts for her siblings.  I have to tell you, she put her heart and soul into those gifts for her siblings. 

 I have "stuff", craft stuff...........in bags, in containers, in boxes, you name it, I have it.  She pulled everyone of those out to "design" her Christmas gifts.She embellished those crafts with paint, lace, ribbons, roses, and tacky glue.  She measured, cut, and painted those crafts into some of the cutest "shabby chic" lil' designs ever!  They turned out darling and she was soooo proud of her artistic work.  She made one sign, designed in a heart that said........"Every girl has a story to tell......"  Now she came up with that lil' saying on her own, I personally want her to do one for me that says.........."Every woman has a story to tell....."  She's a gifted, artistic child and I'm glad I was able to devote the time to her.I couldn't have spent the one-on-one time with her either if it hadn't been for "The Man" holding down the rest of the fort...........two boys bouncing off the walls!!! 

Now for those two boys...................wow!  They are a handful but oh so adorable.  If you are a woman who's never had the honor of having a son, you won't understand the following, plain and simple, you just "can't know."  Boys are a breed of their own, they wipe snot on their sleeves or the bottom of their shirts, they smell sweaty, they "fart" and think it's "so hilarious."  I mean, they are completely from another gene pool altogether....left side, right side brain....I don't know but they are certainly different than lil' girls.  These two lil' boys wanted to play outside (in 30-40 something F.), they wanted to dig in dirt, build mountains, paint on wood, saw wood, hammer and nail.......all I can say, "Thank GOD for "The Man."  He knows how to do this "boy thing" with the boys very well.  Chase (aka Coursey) I did indeed bundle up both days and let him check out the critters for about an hour.  He needed the fresh air, Vitamin D and I needed him to tucker himself out walking and navigating the ranch.  That he did, he took great naps for his Nana. 

"The Man" and his lil' buddy Brady (aka Bingo), had a hoopla of a time building bridges, tunnels, cabins, and lakes out of the left-over sand from the well drilling.  They made a city, actually "Bingo" called it his town in Alaska, it was so dubbed, "Alaska City."  After interminable hours outdoors, playing in sand and sweating, Nana called the boys in for baths.  I had absolutely NO problem getting those boys in for baths either as they love the new claw-foot tub(their deeper than modern day tubs).  Strip em' down, get em' naked and start the bubble bath...........easy as pie.Gettin' em out was the hard part!

What changed this Nana over the week-end?  I realize that life is short, grand kids grow up too fast, time spent one-on-one with each of them is precious beyond measure.  I cherish these days with my grand kids, they are truly the "light of my life."  I just HAPPEN to love kids, I like to tease the grand kids, I like to wrestle with the grand kids, give kisses and hugs to them............it makes you younger, lighter, the load less heavy.  Life is precious and grand kids are a treasure.

In denouement, "The Man" and myself were in bed by 8 p.m. Sunday evening, we were plum tuckered from playin' so hard with those kids..............and it felt GOOD!!!!! I think it was a week-end....... "Jesus approved."

NANA'S MUSSELS DI NAPOLI

A GRAND KIDS REQUEST RECIPE!

4# mussels

2 Cups white wine

1 cup salted butter

10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

4 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 Tablespoons Italian herbs

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Gently cook garlic together with olive oil until the garlic gets soft.

In a large saucepan combine the mussels, wine and butter.  Add garlic and any remaining olive oil.  Cover the pot and bring to simmer over medium heat.  Mussels are cooked when the shells are open.  Add all remaining ingredients, stir carefully and simmer gently on low heat for about two minutes.  Serve in bowls with plenty of bread to soak up the delicious juices!!!  Add a salad and Bon Appetit!!!

*My two grand kids will eat a pound of mussels on their own.......believe it or not!!!!!

The Reincarnation of Veggies, Shrimp Shells and Bones

I tend to be a thrify person, re-using/recycling as much as possible.  It's important to me to leave as small a footprint in my life-time as possible.  I recycle windows, doors, wool, paper, plastics...........just about everything.  I even feed apples gone bad to my sheep, diced up small, thrown in a bucket with beet pulp to give them a treat during cold weather.  I've been this way for a very long time. I was always the one child growing up who saved her allowance, it's in my nature to save.

I make my own cleaning supplies because they are not harmful to the ground water, my lungs, my skin or the critters that drink from our gray water ditch (that feeds the fruit trees).  I like the idea that one action begets another in a positive way.

I also make my own stocks for cooking.  During the week, I have a produce bag I keep in the fridge, as I use veggies throughout the week, I save bits and pieces of them.  Stems from fresh herbs (which I always grow indoors in  the winter), lettuce with a small brown spot, potato, mushroom and carrot peels, onion tops and bottoms, just about any lil' stem, spine or leaf I can save, I do.  Once a week, I take out a large stock pot, add a tablespoon of olive oil, dump the bag of veggie bits in, saute' to weep and add water.  It's that simple.  It usually makes about four quarts of wonderful, salt-free, rich stock.......nothing esoteric, just simple, superior stock.

Sometimes I add wine, always I add a bouquet of whole peppercorns and Herbs de Provence, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.  To me, it's common sense to reincarnate these veggie "throw-aways" to make a superior stock.  When I'm done with the stock, I take the used, cooked scraps out to my chickens who devour it in minutes, another process in recycling. 

I also compost for our garden.  I keep a bucket under the sink with a lid, add hair, lint from the dryer, coffee grounds, egg shells (cleaned and crumbled).  You'd be amazed at how much garbage one person can save in a household, just reincarnating our "trash." Using our garbage to better our gardens, our bodies, our animals.  Dogs love left-over rice, pumpkin, cottage cheese, bananas..........it's good for them and it doesn't go into the trash can.

I also save all my shrimp and crab shells for homemade seafood stock, chicken pieces for chicken stock, lamb bones for lamb stock, veal bones for veal stock..............these are stocks that cost a whole lot of money if you had to purchase them for a particular dish.  Seafood stock is a bit trickier than the others, but a good seafood stock can make or break a good chowder, seafood fondue or Etouffee.  Sometimes I spend a day making different stocks, I also pressure can them for the cellar.  I have quite an assortment of yummy stocks made from kitchen scraps most people would throw away.  Not this girl, not ever. Stocks are the basis of cooking, a good stock produces good food.  You stop by my lil' ranch one day for a chowder, soup, or sauce, and I can bet ya' that your lil' ol' palate will be in heaven.

Sister Kat's Cafe Vegetable Stock

1 large bag of veggie scraps (celery, onion, carrot, potato, leek, parsnip, turnip, zucchini, mushroom.........whatever you're cooking with that week)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Bouquet Garni (definitely add peppercorns)

Large, heavy bottomed stock pot

15 cups of water

1 1/2 hours of your time

Heat the stock pot over med-high heat for a few seconds, add olive oil, swirl and add veggies scraps. Saute' the veggie scraps for about 7-10 minutes stirring often to prevent burning.  Add water and bouquet garni. Lower heat and cover pan.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Once done, remove from burner, take the lid off and cool.  Once cooled, strain broth and pour into quart jars.  Refrigerate, use within one week.

Texting and The Messenger

This is our sweet granddaughter Kiley Renee', since birth the family has called her "Nay-Nay," or "Nay."  Our roots derive in the South, if you're a Southerner than you know that's it's mandatory that everyone in the family has a "nick-name."  As a child mine was "Katrinka," our friends even had nick-names by my parents.  "The Man" and our son Jared have the same nick-name........."Boo."  I can holler at "Boo" and either one of them will know by the inflection in my voice, which one should respond.  Stifles people how that works..........it's a Southern thing!

Recently our 10 year old granddaughter has learned to "text."  She is fascinated by her ability to communicate with the family without making a single phone call...........call it progress I guess.  Now I'll be the first to tell you that I was "never going to own a cell phone."  However, at much whining from the kids and my sister, I ended up with a cell phone  given me on a "heck of a plan, so it's FREE!"  "We're the Verizon family!"  My mother is on it, my sister, nephew, kids, husband...........just about anyone I care to talk to............sooooo, I'm part of the "texting," and "cell phone" world.  I admit, I'm a quick learner, I can take pictures(zoom in and out), save um', send um', and I can use Word to text(I'm actually getting pretty fast), I can add contacts, fill the calendar and have it remind me of "very important stuff," and I can even use vibrate(so I'm not disturbed with a cell tone in the middle of something important!).  Yeah, it's a pretty fascinating world we live in!

Every morning I get on my computer, rarely do I miss a day, and since I wake anywhere from 4a.m. -5a.m., I'm on-line before most of the U.S. When my darling granddaughter is done with chores for the morning, it's become our routine to "poke" one another on-line.  I actually love that she thinks of me immediatley, see's I'm on-line and starts sending me lil' pokes and jabs. I'll be typing away, checking out various "stuff" on-line and all of a sudden I hear the "pop."  Someone has sent me a message...........it's Nay-Nay.  She's discovered Yahoo messenger!  However, I did teach her(on-line) mind you, how to create an avatar, you know the lil' picture you create that has the words spewing out of it's mouth on messenger?  Yesterday, I'm surfing the web when I hear the ever familiar "pop," it was her.  And of course I had to send her a message back saying, "Oh no, not you again!"  That of course set her up for her favorite part of messenger..............poking fun at her "Nana." 

I actually hate that our granddaughter is growing up soooo fast, learning how to text, send text's via the internet, Yahoo messenger, talk about boys.................oops, did I say that?!  However, I love that she has a means to communicate with me without even picking up a phone, that we can chat daily, I can tell her how much I love her, to have a good day at school, stay away from the boys! 

Yesterday's chat did benefit me quite well, she asked me what I was doing for the day(she always does), I told her I HAD to clean house and I sure wish she could help me, I'd even buy her lunch.  She liked the idea of a lunch with her Nana, but didn't relish the idea of housecleaning.  Throughout the conversation through messenger, she must have asked her mother (the school teacher) if she could "ditch" school for the day, come out to the ranch, help her Nana clean house for a "free" lunch.  "Well I'll be" if Jessica didn't go with it(that was actually a bit short of miraculous for both Nay-Nay and myself) as Jessica is a strict parent, rarely bending the rules when it comes to her childrens education.  Once both of us were over the shock, I drove 17 miles into town, picked up my sweet lil' girl and drove her back out to the ranch. 

Clean house....................yes she did.  She scrubbed down the bathroom, dusted our bedroom and mopped both those floors for me while I attended to the remainder of the ol' homestead.  I paid up on my end of the deal as well, at noon we went to her favorite lil' Mexican restaurant in town La Concina de Evas.  She ordered a red chile cheese enchilada, a shredded beef taco and a side of beans, and "yup" she ate every bite and downed it with a Dr. Pepper.  Afterwards, we came home and played several games of backgammon, she whipped my butt by the way, she even backgammoned me the first game.......ouch!

So, technology...........not always a BAD thing.  This technology has allowed me to stay closer to a lil' girl that is growing up quickly before my eyes.  I know that when she becomes a teen-ager, I'll probably be the last person she text's, messenger's or whatever may be the newest, latest wave, but for now.............text/mess away "Nay."  I love you more and the most!

The Resurrection Fern

I am at my best in the mornings, I'm happy, ready to greet the day, and feeling positive. I'm definitley a morning person.

Routinely after my morning chores I sit down to my computer for news updates, email, banking/bill paying, and of course blogging.  Listening to music is essential to my morning.  I have a terrific radio station I've been listening to for quite awhile , it's an internet station out of the U.K. 

As I'm aging, I'm  more into music that evokes emotion, earthiness, acoustical, pastoral.............FOLK!!  Particularly, Indie Folk music. Indie folk music arose in the 1980's and 1990's from singer/songwriters affected by indie alternative/rock music.  Festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella demanded the genres rise.  It's a musical style primarily categorized by "independent" smaller music labels supporting progressive folk music artists. I'm sure this genre of music appeals to me because of the many, talented musicians I lived among, hung with, and was friends with,  in Northern California many moons ago. 

One morning while listening to my radio station, I heard a song that truly hit me to the core....."Resurrection Fern," a twangy, haunting, folksie, pastoral, radiant...............song.  It's the epitome of "indie genre" and I fell in love with Iron and Wine, especially the poet Sam Beam.  I can actually say, "I want to mother his  children"................o.k., well maybe not mother his children but pretty darn close. 

After listening to it several times I pulled up a botany website, this is what I found about
the "resurrection fern."  

Biology of "resurrection fern" :

a resurrection fern is an epiphyte(non-parasitic, does not grow in the ground, like the ghost orchid) that grows on the branches of cypress and live oak trees.  It's name is derived from it's ability to survive long periods of drought.  When there is no rain, the ferns will curl up their undersides and turn brown, appearing dead.  Then, when the slightest bit of moisture is present, it will immediately "resurrect" and restore itself to it's rich green color.  With ferns most water is absorbed on the undersides of the leaf blades, making the resurrection fern particularly clever.  These plants can lose almost all their water which is needed to hydrate cells and still survive.  Botanists have long held that the resurrection fern could go 100 years with out water and still revive after just one rain shower.

It's hard not to see how this remarkable plant can translate into our own lives. It's a beautiful thing to ponder, but today I'll let you draw your own conclusions.............listen to the song...............!

'Resurrection Fern'

In our days we will live

like our ghosts will live:

pitching glass at cornfield crows

and folding clothes.

Like tubborn boys across the road

we'll keep everything:

grandma's gun and the black bear claw

that took her dog.

When sister Laurie says, "Amen"

we won't hear anything:

the ten-car trains will take that word

that fledgling bird.

And the fallen house across the way

it'll keep everything:

the babys breath

our bravery wasted and our shame.

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire

both our tender bellies wound in bailing wire:

all the more a pair of underwater pearls

than the oak tree and the resurrection fern.

In our days we will say

what our ghosts will say:

we gave the world what it saw fit

and what'd we get?

Like stubborn boys with big green eyes

we'll see everything:

in the timid shade of the autumn leaves

and the buzzards wing.

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire

our tender bellies wound in bailing wire

all the more a pair of underwater pearls

than the oak tree and the resurrection fern.

"Cinnamon Girl"

I had this incredible idea a couple of weeks ago, I was going to make some "homemade, yeasty, scrumptious, cinnamon rolls."  Now I know that there are "cheat-sheet" ways to make cinnamon rolls, I was in home-ec once upon a time.  You know the type, start with the Pillsbury guy "whomp biscuit" dough, roll it out..........you get the idea.  NO, I wanted some that were authentic, from the farm table, cinnamon rolls!

I obtained a remarkable recipe from a reputable person(on a blog herself), and went for the gusto.  Let's just say, we started this dough with 1 quart of milk, 2 packages of yeast, 9 cups of flour and I won't tell you how many pounds of butter I went through, you WON'T want to know.For the making of these "beauties" I had to clear an entire counter top, butter six pie tins and have buckets of flour, sugar, and cinnamon available at the ready.........along with butter.  Now I don't know about ya'll, but I haven't dappled in cinnamon dough in a few moons.  I got the rectangle rolled out, proud as could be that the dimensions were right on target.  Then I read the next portion of the recipe................"drizzle 1 1/2 -2 cups of melted butter over the dough."  SAY WHAT????  I re-read it again, I went back on-line to her frame by frame example on "her" blog, yup', sure enough, she was pooooouring butter over her dough.  Well, who am I to question this women's family recipe for cinnamon rolls, let alone her butter intake(lethal).  So I took the plunge and did it!!!!!  Let me remind you, this was just HALF THE DOUGH........ yeah, we still had another half to go with 1 1/2 -2 cups of butter drizzled(more like poured) over it.

I rolled the dough like "she-devil" told me to on her blog, towards me, with all the yummy, gooey, butter-sugar-cinnamon comin' at me like a damn tsunami!  It rolled right on out of that dough, onto my kitchen cabinets, floor, feet............!!!! Now what the h--l do ya do?  I thought to myself, "self, cut this into rolls, stuff those suckers in the pan and clean up."  But it dawned on me, I still had another HALF to roll out, along with the "ladled butter."

While those first "disasters" were rising nice and pretty in their lil' pans, I started on the next half.This time I out-witted "miss she-devil, homemade, my hinny."  This time when I rolled out the beautiful rectangle, I didn't immediately ladle butter on top.  This time, I waited until the butter started coagulating in the pyrex measuring cup, slowly poured it on the dough, let it coagulate a bit more, then sugared and cinnamoned the heck out of the dough.  I let it set awhile longer(No butter is going to outsmart me), then slowly rolled toward me...................worked like a champ!  No tsunami, no mess, perfect! By the way, I instantly took pen to my printed recipe and made LARGE notations about my discovery with the butter.

Next came the "nice ladies" Maple frosting recipe to top these beauties off........1 bag of powdered sugar, maple flavoring, coffee, BUTTER.  I stirred it in the pan until all ingredients were smooth, thick, but still pourable, frosting.  She said in the recipe, "don't skimp on the frosting, go CRAZY!!!!" Well hell, it made enough frosting for an entire table-top. 

Well let me tell ya, this lil' homespun idea I had was a memorable experience.  This recipe made six pans of cinnamon rolls.  I think I have a quart of maple frosting in the freezer left-over (for next time, yeah right!).As I pulled them out of the oven nice and warm, who walks in the door but "The Man" and his buddy from work.  The house smells like heaven, the rolls look beautiful, and I'm feeling just a bit ridiculous having SIX pans of cinnamon rolls sitting in front of me.  So what do I do, I give a dozen to Shane, I load "The Man" up with a dozen to take to the neighbors, I have a dozen for tomorrows wood-cutting and I've still got three left...I froze um'.  I'll pull um' out when the nephew arrives over Thanksgiving.

Now I will tell you this, you could get marriage proposals off sharing these babies, you'll have a man wrapped around every finger you possess with these lil' jewels, you will have people in love with you.  They are a labor of love with just a smidgen of BUTTER!!!!  Oh yeah, the "nice lil' lady" who has this recipe on her blog, I think her name is Ree, she say's she's a pioneer women, I think she's just a bit "crazy."

Bon Appetit!