but these go with it.
Friday, March 13, 2009
They aren't dead,
they are taking a long winter nap. If they were dead, they would look like this tree in our yard,
and would be home to some of Oribel's favorite channel on "Kitty TV".
and would be home to some of Oribel's favorite channel on "Kitty TV".
PS4
North March 9 6 PM
North March 10 7:30 AM
North March 115:50 PM
North March 12 6:50 PM
North March 1310:20 AM
Thursday, March 12, 2009
If I had had my act together yesterday,
there would have been a WoW post, and this is what you would've gotten.
Oribel was helping watching me wash dishes, and keeping track of her kingdom for invaders at the same time.
Sure enough, she spotted one!
It moved in closer,
even closer, and onto the deck, so of course that required a different approach.
(As always, you can click on teh pictures to get a better view of her nemesis.)
Oribel was helping watching me wash dishes, and keeping track of her kingdom for invaders at the same time.
Sure enough, she spotted one! 
It moved in closer, (As always, you can click on teh pictures to get a better view of her nemesis.)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Boston Brown Bread (a la MIL)
One of my family's favorite foods from Hubband's mother is her Boston Brown Bread. Recently I shared some with several friends, and was asked if I could share the recipe. So I asked my MIL if it would be alright to share the recipe here with all of you and, being the sweet lady she is, of course she said,"Yes."
You will need four empty cans, about 28 ounce (796 mL) size. (No this one isn't empty, but I am showing it to you for a "rough" example of what size you need. I bought it special, just for you all out there and this recipe post. Think also of "family size" soup cans, since that is what my MIL uses). Grease your clean and dry cans and set aside.
You can preheat your oven to 225° now if you want, or you can turn it on to that temperature when you are ready to put your bread loaves in the oven. You get to pick when, just don't forget to turn it on.
Mix together in a large bowl:
1 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking soda
Add and stir to combine:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
Add and mix in:
1 cup of raisins (If a few extra fall in, nothing horrible will happen. I promise, I have never been struck by lightening when extra fall into my BBB, and extras are always falling in when I make it. If you are thinking you will be sharing this with your dogs, you can leave them out, but yes, I am sure diced dried apples will be fine. Let me know how it turns out when you do it.)
Fill each of your greased cans half full with batter (which will be thick). I promise, you really don't want to over fill your cans!
Cover each can with greased foil and bake at 225° for 2 1/2 hours. Test with a long skewer to make sure it is done all the way through.
Remove from oven, remove foil and let cool on a rack for about 40 minutes.
(See why you don't want to overfill your cans?)
After the forty minutes are up, run a knife around the bread in the can, and remove. Let sit on rack to finish cooling.
My MIL's mother used to use screw-top coffee cans in a steamer, as did my MIL. But, "When we were planning to go to Indiana for a year I debated whether I should take the steamer and cans which I had been given after her death. A friend told me that since the cans were covered I didn't need the steam - I just needed to keep the temperature about what the steam would be. I started doing it in the oven. This meant I could do two batches at a time. I switched to tall Welch's grape juice cans and aluminum foil which made 3 loaves per recipe. When the tall cans were no longer available I used shorter V8 juice cans and now use the family size soup cans (4 cans per recipe)."
Super easy to make, well worth the time, and "Oh, so very delicious!" (No mixers involved, so safe for someone to do with her kids). Store in the refrigerator, and it freezes well.
You will need four empty cans, about 28 ounce (796 mL) size. (No this one isn't empty, but I am showing it to you for a "rough" example of what size you need. I bought it special, just for you all out there and this recipe post. Think also of "family size" soup cans, since that is what my MIL uses). Grease your clean and dry cans and set aside.You can preheat your oven to 225° now if you want, or you can turn it on to that temperature when you are ready to put your bread loaves in the oven. You get to pick when, just don't forget to turn it on.
Mix together in a large bowl:1 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking soda
Add and stir to combine:3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
Add and mix in:1 cup of raisins (If a few extra fall in, nothing horrible will happen. I promise, I have never been struck by lightening when extra fall into my BBB, and extras are always falling in when I make it. If you are thinking you will be sharing this with your dogs, you can leave them out, but yes, I am sure diced dried apples will be fine. Let me know how it turns out when you do it.)
Fill each of your greased cans half full with batter (which will be thick). I promise, you really don't want to over fill your cans!
Cover each can with greased foil and bake at 225° for 2 1/2 hours. Test with a long skewer to make sure it is done all the way through.
Remove from oven, remove foil and let cool on a rack for about 40 minutes. 
(See why you don't want to overfill your cans?)
After the forty minutes are up, run a knife around the bread in the can, and remove. Let sit on rack to finish cooling. My MIL's mother used to use screw-top coffee cans in a steamer, as did my MIL. But, "When we were planning to go to Indiana for a year I debated whether I should take the steamer and cans which I had been given after her death. A friend told me that since the cans were covered I didn't need the steam - I just needed to keep the temperature about what the steam would be. I started doing it in the oven. This meant I could do two batches at a time. I switched to tall Welch's grape juice cans and aluminum foil which made 3 loaves per recipe. When the tall cans were no longer available I used shorter V8 juice cans and now use the family size soup cans (4 cans per recipe)."
Super easy to make, well worth the time, and "Oh, so very delicious!" (No mixers involved, so safe for someone to do with her kids). Store in the refrigerator, and it freezes well.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sock knitting
I have been knitting away on (half of) a pair of socks, watching it grow, and loving the colors. It has grown from a tiny bit of ribbing since you saw it last, to having a heel and most of a foot in the last few days. 
This afternoon I pulled it out to help it finish growing to the point of being ready for a toe, and discovered a problem. I have heard of a few folks having trouble with the join of these needles, so I thought I might be able to stick them back together, and I could at least check out the policy on replacement. 
But then I found the other end in my sock bag, and discovered the situation was much worse than I had first thought. Fortunately, I do have some DPNs in this size, so tomorrow I will be transferring stitches (and probably seeing about getting a new long circular in this size). Needless to say, I was disappointed about this development, but am glad I found out about it before heading out with it as my project for tonight!(I might have another pair, or three, in process as well.)
I have knitting and life content,
but need to leave for pot-luck and movies. I am taking this Asian Noodle Salad, and will get back to you later tonight with some of the life and knitting stuff.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
PS4 March 5
North 2:30 PM
The first part of Project Spectrum involves the following information
Lolly, the genius behind PS, suggested the other day to face North and take a picture of what you see. Thus, the pictures of the trees/yard yesterday. Today I went out and wandered about the yard, looking for green, things that reminded me of the earth and my connection to it, and bits of winter. I never cease to be amazed at the moss and lichens that grow on everything around here. If I had wandered a bit out into the forest, I am sure I would have seen some on rocks as well. I am thinking it would be fun to take a picture everyday to watch the season change.
Jelly-ear Fungus
The first part of Project Spectrum involves the following information
NORTH (March/April)
Color: Green
Material: Stones/Gems/Rocks
Season: Winter
Element: Earth
Lolly, the genius behind PS, suggested the other day to face North and take a picture of what you see. Thus, the pictures of the trees/yard yesterday. Today I went out and wandered about the yard, looking for green, things that reminded me of the earth and my connection to it, and bits of winter. I never cease to be amazed at the moss and lichens that grow on everything around here. If I had wandered a bit out into the forest, I am sure I would have seen some on rocks as well. I am thinking it would be fun to take a picture everyday to watch the season change.
Jelly-ear Fungus
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