Dairy Daze...and Now Beyond

As promised at the beginning of this NaBloPoMo shindig, I have faithfully kept track of all of the mail order catalogs I received in the mail this past month. We actually did order something from catalog number 2, "The Sportsman's Guide." That was a pair of insulated boots for me to use this winter while out doing chores. However, I calculated that if I'd made a $10 order from each catalog, even the duplicates (supposing I'd forgotten to order something from the first one and needed to order again from the next) and then had tacked on a very conservative estimate of shipping and handling, say $5...I'd have spent a grand total of $570 dollars. !Ay, carumba! Ha! I have them all saved up here on the computer table. Actually I got the last 4 of them today. I was going to take a pic, but it's too dark in here now. Here's the list: November 2009 Catalog list 1. Back in the Saddle 2. The Sportsman’s Guide * 3. Figi’s 4. L.L. Bean 5. The Literary ...

Ellen was so taken with her new doll house yesterday that she insisted on sleeping with the little "kitchen," as she calls it. It's the little stove/oven piece. She had to take it with her down to show her Grandma and Aunt this evening. **** Hubby and I were discussing, over our fresh bread from the bread machine tonight, how glad we were to be out of school. I am so glad I do not have to go through my adolescence and teen years and all yet again. Urgh! I watch what these kids go through now and I don't envy them at all. **** On that note I recall when I was in Jr high and highschool some of the fads that were out. Neon colored clothes, leg warmers, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Michael Jackson music...ummm...what all else? I forget. **** We were also discussing that spelunker who died a few days ago. He was only about 19or 20 I believe. He wedged himself into this teeny crack in a cave, upside down no less, and couldn't get out. They were unable to get him out, no mat...

Once, the first year here, we babysat our inlaws kitten. As most kittens do she loved to climb, so I tucked her into my plant stand, and she was happy to sit and pose for a few shots. She is part Siamese and is very vocal to prove it. ********** Ellen got a veritible treasure trove of toys and whatnot today. A friend from church was cleaning out toys she'd had at her house and was very kind enough to bring them over to us. Ellen's favorite is the new little doll house. It's a little platic job that folds in half and comes with all kinds of accessories; bed, tables, chairs, sofa, ottoman, fridge, stereo...etc, even a house plant. It's missing the mommy though. We will have to find a mommy to go along with the daddy and two kids and a dog. There is also a 3 foot tall Winnie the Pooh jigsaw puzzle, along with several other puzzles. And one of those Buckaroo games, too. The one where you hang objects on a mule until he bucks them off. Hubby, of course, had lots of...

This is not what I was going to blog about today, but by popular demand here is this recipe. It's the kind of thing you can throw together fairly quickly using stuff you have in your pantry. Ellen, aged 2.75 years, loves to help measure and stir this, so it's a good one to make with kids as well. If you are new here to this blog, pardon how boring everything else is. I have been blogging every day for 2 months straight now and am having trouble being interesting. If you want something interesting or something to laugh at go to one of the posts from the past at the right. I need to add a couple of my bull stories over there someday, those are fun too! Ha. Without further ado: Can't Leave Alone Bars (From Vera's Family Favorites -an Amish cookbook) 1 yellow cake mix 2 eggs 1/3 cup oil 1/2 stick butter (or margarine) 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk Combine cake mix, eggs and oil; reserve 1/2 cup. Press remaining mixture into 9x3" pa...

I think I left off at number 10 last time. 11. Dessert. What would a good dinner be without one tacked on at the end? 12. Good books. I know I included that on my What Makes Me Smile list, but it qualifies for Thankfulness too. 13. Country living. Never easy, but fulfilling nonetheless. 14. A great church. We are all more like family and everyone is so supportive. There is no infighting and everyone loves to laugh together. 15. A full fridge and freezer. You can never rightfully claim poverty if you have these. 16. Running water. My mother-in-law tells stories of having to pack water from the creek; up hill, fighting chiggers and seed ticks and whatnot in summer. And let's not even talk about ice and snow in winter. 17. A cat. Sometimes she annoys me, but there's something cozy about a purring cat. 18. The postal service. I love getting mail. 19. Dry onion soup mix. (ha) It's a quick seasoning for lots of different things. 20. Knowing how to read and wri...

It's in the oven. It would seem that I have usually been asked to bring a pumpkin pie to the Thanksgiving holiday repast. And I do not have a very good record with my pumpkin pies. For some reason mine never are "set" within the recommended amount of time. Once I brought a rather soggy one to my brother's Thanksgiving dinner. I ended up leaving it there since my SIL said she would do something with it. I strongly suspect it ended up going down the drain, but I dunno. Maybe she has more patience than I have, with regards to re-doing things. On the opposite side of the coin; just a few years ago I was in charge of the pumpkin pie here to take to mother-in-law's Thanksgiving, and I made the mistake of thinking I'd just pop it in the oven an hour or so before time to go over there. Bad idea. Two hours later we were still waiting for the stupid thing to "set." I think I just finally took it and it turned out OK, but not great. My MIL said that s...

It is a cool and blustery day here. It misted a bit on me when I did chores this morning, but otherwise has been dry. Glad I did laundry yesterday. This whole November has been really mild overall. I don't think we have had but maybe one or two days where it froze at night. We got another little bull calf a few days ago. He's already gone. His mother isn't much of a producer. Hubby says we are going to put on the milk meters and measure how much each one is giving and then cull the bottom producers. We usually do this in the fall. No sense in feeding a bummer cow all winter if she's not producing enough to pay for herself. My Tuesday Thankful List 6) Great in-laws. It is common to be snarky about one's in-laws, but I got really blessed in that department. No complaints here. They are always supportive and fun to be with. 7) A good husband. Maybe both of these, #6 and #7 ought to be included in #1, along with family. But it is worth mentioning separa...