Archive | home & garden

November {a little this & a little that…}

November 2, 2013

This is Ms. Ellie, one of our 7 chickens.

Ms. Ellie has been living in our house for the past few months. Still not sure what is wrong with her, but she is doing better. I have been trying to get her back with the flock, but not quite there yet. I am very hopeful, just one of the chickens still likes to peck her {any advice will be greatly appreciated on this subject}. She does go out and mingle with the other chickens during the daytime and at night, her home is in the our house. The first time I forgot to bring her back in, the search began with a flashlight and calling for her {I don’t think that helped} just to comfort my anxiety. She was nowhere to be found. Finally, my daughter Hannah called me to look out the back door to see Ms. Ellie waiting patiently to come inside. I haven’t had any problems finding her now.

Although it’s late in the season, I finally started to clean the garden. These little green pumpkins are just some that I’ve collected, not sure what to do with them yet. I will keep you posted on that.

It’s time to pick the last remnant of apples for my applesauce and put away my favorite old rickety ladder.

Already made four batches of applesauce, one more to go and I will be done. I put a little twist on the recipe the last time I made it and substituted 1/2 pound of cranberries and added a little more sugar. It turned out great. {find the recipe Here}

It’s moss season, actually it’s moss season year round… just more now and into spring time. These branches are simply beautiful to look at, the variety, colors and textures in one area. I think a wreath may be a d.i.y. project in the near future. I love using them in decorations, but not so much when they completely take over the yard like unwanted weeds.

A drive around town to see the fall colors.

A view of farm lands and mountains in the distance.

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

Ideas are stirring in my head while putting this post together. Can’t wait to try them and if successful, I’ll be sharing with other things this November!

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posted by: Kay

2 comments

Halloween & Spider Webs

October 31, 2013

God’s little creatures created this beautiful web in my garden along with the other two in the pictures shown below. It was early in the morning with just enough dampness in the air for the tiny water droplets to still be clinging to every part of the web. The intricate detail of it all glistened and sparkled the moment light hit it.

A close-up of the water droplets on the spider web….. amazing!

A spider’s day of work completed.

Have a fun & safe Halloween everyone!

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posted by: Kay

2 comments

Fall Love… Duck hunting, Firewood, NFL Red Zone

October 19, 2013

Getting to know Bill and me on a little ~~deeper~~ maybe more on the weird level since our kids have told us often that we are “weird parents”, so we must be. The things we look forward to during the Fall Season may not always be high on many people’s lists of priority: hunting, firewood and the NFL “Red Zone”.

To be out hunting or fishing is Bill’s ideal thing to do this time of year. The opportunity came and he took it without any hesitation. Last week was the first day of duck season. He and a friend went out at midnight to their hunting spot to prepare and set up duck decoys. Seven o’clock in the morning couldn’t come fast enough for the guys. That was the official opening time and knowing Bill, he probably was completely awake the whole night with excitement. Opening day was a success for the guys. They got a total of eleven ducks that day.

Watching Duck Dynasty might be as close as I will get to any duck hunting, even though the guys on the show really don’t show a lot of duck hunting. Duck Dynasty has become one of our family’s favorite shows to watch.

I feel like a squirrel collecting nuts for the winter, but it’s firewood. To see a LARGE stack of firewood in the backyard to last us from winter into spring makes me truly happy. I will gather and stack them and with Bill’s help when needed. The warmth of a fire during the winter just feels right. Winter brings with it unpredictable weather and power outages. In having a wood stove as the source of heat, a place to cook and bake, we can withstand those situations a little easier.

This cut timber came from our property and is soon to be firewood for the next winter. See how the guys took down these trees last year. {here…}

“NFL RedZone delivers all of the touchdowns, key moments, and nonstop action that NFL fans want to see every Sunday afternoon,” said Matt Lederer, Director of Sports Marketing.

Football Season is definitely kicking into hight gear. Our newest cable channel that we can’t be without is the “NFL RED ZONE“. It’s on Sunday between 10:00am and 5:00pm from September till the last NFL game in January. When I discovered this at my brother-in-law’s house a few years ago, it was literally love at first sight! {weird??} I was able to see the games in real time without commercials, timeouts, delays etc… No more of having to click from channel to channel and possibly missed out on a great play. If you are a football fan check the Red Zone out. Go Broncos!

What do you love about the Fall Season?

image/sources: Facebook.com/duckdynasty ⎜ NFL Red Zone

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posted by: Kay

0 comments

It’s Pumpkin {Squash} Season

October 12, 2013

Pumpkins are here! Every year there is a temptation to buy just one more pumpkin and add it to the growing collection at home. And I give in, one too many times! There are many varieties to choose from at the grocery stores and local markets. At this time of year, the local farms are bursting with fresh fruits, vegetables, and pumpkins. Out in the fields is where I love to go in search of pumpkins and squash, especially when they are still attached to the vines and ready for picking.

This beautiful Cinderella pumpkin {Rouge Vif d’Etampes} peaked out from beneath the vines and dead leaves to reveal its bright orange/red color.

What a sight to see, Green Goblin Pumpkins {Marina Di Chioggia} with knobby skin are quite a unique squash with yellow/orange sweet flesh. They are great for baking and a source of vitamin A.

Have you ever seen a yellow pumpkin as bright as this one!

The Blue Hubbarb Squash is teardrop-shaped with a hard outer shell and orange sweet flesh. They are great for pies, and soups.

Fairytale Pumpkins {Musque de Provence} originated from France, they will start out green and gradually turn brown/copper in color when ripe.

The striped pumpkin {Kakai} is popular for hull-less deep green seeds. The seeds have a wonderful nutty taste for snacking and for oil to be used in cooking.

A field full of orange pumpkins is a sight I never get tired of at this time of year.

Arrival of the fall season brings with it pumpkins. Place them outside at the front door {see it here…} or scatter them throughout the house. A large bright pumpkin could stand alone as the center piece of the table or on a mantle. Group similar color/size pumpkins together in a bowl, platter or other containers to brighten a room. Here I’ve gathered some simple and easy ideas to decorate with pumpkins.

Kim at Simply Domestic used little white and striped pumpkins to decorate her kitchen and dinning room . {see more…}

A few orange pumpkins placed in the middle of the kitchen island gave this neutral kitchen a nice pop of color.

A collection of pumpkins and squash with other items of similar green color brought cohesiveness to the display on the shelves.

This large wooden cake stand with two pumpkins stacked together created a wonderful display.

Have fun finding pumpkins and decorating with them!

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posted by: Kay

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Welcome Autumn . . .{with Ree Drummond & Brad Paisley}

September 21, 2013

Autumn!

When a season ends another begins and as always I want it to last a little longer. But it wasn’t until I began compiling pictures for this post that I realized how ready I have been for the change in season. I’ve thought about soups, FOOTBALL, pumpkins, squash recipes, blankets, candles, and often times gravitated to orange things without much thought as to why {i.e pics above and below}. The night before the above picture was taken, a big rain storm came through overnight and took down my beautiful large marigold plant. Not wanting to leave the broken stems scattered on the ground, I gathered them up and arranged the cut flowers into a large white bowl to be enjoyed for awhile longer. {thinking of autumn?!!}

{pumpkins: Cinderella-bottom, Musquee de Provence-center, jack o lantern-top}

Wanting to welcome autumn, but keeping it simple and a little rustic by stacking a variety of pumpkins in a pot to greet visitors at the front door. The green leaves on this freshly made wreath will slowly change to brown through the season.

The weather was gray and cloudy with rain on and off while vacationing with Bill and the kids. Each vacation day was full of busy activities outside. But when it was quiet time in the house, the kids got out their phones, iPad, watched a movie or played on the Xbox and checked out for awhile. My quiet time was spent next to the gas fireplace on an ex-large and ex-comfortable sofa where I read, had coffee, listened to music and moistened my extremely dry lips. Complete contentment …..until one of the kids yelled from upstairs for me to turn off the gas fire because they were roasting. .

Autumn Cottage Magazine

Anyway, here are some favorite pictures from the Autumn Cottage magazine to awaken the autumn spirit in you.

Autumn picnic.

Decorating the house/table in the colors orange, yellow, brown and red.

Simple packaging ideas using twine, jars and brown paper bags.

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, A Love Story

The thought of bringing a book and having time to sit and read it on vacation NEVER occurred to me because my time was often filled with entertaining the kids, feeding them and doing laundry {kinda like being back at home}. This vacation was a turning point, they are older and didn’t need my help as much, “What am I to do with my time… me time?”. The house we stayed at had a small selection of books to read and the one that got my attention was {the orange book}, “The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels-A Love Story”. I know who Ree Drummond is from having enjoyed making regular visites to her website, The Pioneer Woman. I wanted something light-hearted and maybe funny too and this was perfect. In the story, Ree took us into her first encounter then the “juicy” details of dating Marlboro Man as she often referred to Ladd Drummond and finished off the second half of the book chronicling their first year experiences of marriage and living out in the country. A beautiful love story with twists and turns, unexpected events and sometimes funny would grab my attention and take my mind off to a different place and time. Other times her emotions would spark memories of young love and how it felt when Bill and I were dating {20+ years ago}. It was a joy to read this book.

For more information and excerpts from the book, click on the links below:

The first time Ree cooked for Marboro Man. He later revealed to her and said,
“I really hated it. But I really liked you.” {continue Here…}
Why Ree Drummond wrote “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels” {continue Here…}
Ree mentioned Marbora Man’s house often in the book, see pictures
{Then: continue Here…} {Now:continue Here…}
Read a few chapters from the book or purchase it {continue Here… }

This Is Country Music, by Brad Paisley

To make my ‘quiet time’ a little sweeter, Brad Paisley’s songs were playing in the background. Here are two songs from the CD I was listening to {music videos: This Is Country Music & Remind Me}.

Samples of other songs from Brad Paisley’s CD, “This is Country Music” {Here}.

Have a wonderful start to your autumn season!

images/sources: The Pioneer Woman, HarperCollins Publishers ⎜ Brad Paisley

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posted by: Kay

6 comments

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image/sources: Facebook.com/duckdynasty ⎜ NFL Red Zone

images/sources: The Pioneer Woman, HarperCollins Publishers ⎜ Brad Paisley