Mountain Mother Goose

This is a test post to see if I actually can get into my blog!!


This is the set from "Mountain Mother Goose"

The Quilts

Claudia's wiener dog quilt

Christmas is over. Technically. But I still have my tree up. It just cheers me up to see the twinkling lights. Now I can post pictures of the quilts I made for the girls.

Maddie's skull quilt

Today is Claudia's 11th birthday!  She lucked out and got a "snow day".  We need to venture out at some point, though.  But it would be nice to build a fire and vegitate all day!!

Christmas Clues

What I've been working on for Christmas

cutting board

Our new addition, Pukey the cat

I've been working on Christmas, but I can't show yet!!

My #1

I can't believe it has been 14 years since Maddie came into my life.  She changed me in ways I cannot explain.  There is no doubt, I had to become a grown up really fast.

Born 6 weeks early, she thrived beyond our dreams. We brought her home on Thanksgiving...we were terrified. My mother stayed with us for months, putting her life on hold to be there for me. There is no way JP and I could have done it alone.

As you can tell, I'm feeling sentimental, sad, excited, and....unexplainable emotions. As she is starting to pull away, I want to pull her closer.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

10 Years in the Making...

I bought this ottoman about 11 years ago at an antique store in Huntington, WV. It was truly gross...old, ratty upholstery, horsehair stuffing. So I took it all apart and my sister Leslie came for a visit so that we could totally re-haul it. We did the whole shebang - sewed in springs, and everything. We covered it in a white muslin, and I looked for fabric that I loved to make a slip-cover. FINALLY, 10 years later I have finished the slipcover, and I have a completed ottoman!! Leslie will be so proud of me...

Feels Like Fall

We had a nice weekend, full of applebutter, blustery fall weather, and friends.

October 13, 2011

After a year, I have decided to ignore the random Chinese comments and power through with my blog. Yes, it's taken quite a bit of consideration, and I hope I made the right choice.

Chinese?

I'm so baffled. I keep getting comments written in Chinese. What's up, Doc?

No-Knead Bread

This is my new favorite thing - No-Knead Bread. It is so miraculous. All you have to do is put ingredients into a bowl, and wait for about 12 - 18 hours. Then you punch it down, and turn into the bread pan or dutch oven, and let rise again for another couple hours. Then bake. So easy. The only problem I foresee is being able to plan ahead for when I want warm bread, fresh out of the oven.

I've been trying to take a hike with the dog everyday. It is good for both of us to get out of the house. I took some pictures today. I just haven't been wanting to take "snow pictures", I mean, who wants to look at more snow? But I took some, nonetheless. I suppose I have a bit of spring fever. Today Libby was tracking all the deer prints we came across. She would just veer off our path and into the woods, with her nose to the snow.

Swedish Pancakes

So, way before I was born, or even conceived, my parents hosted an exchange student from Sweden. I guess maybe he was homesick or something, and mentioned that he loved Swedish pancakes. My mother's ear's of course perked up, "what is a Swedish pancake?". And so the legend begins. These were not everyday fare. We would have them for desert, maybe once a year. To start with, you need a "plet" pan, or a mini-pancake maker pan. My loving sister Rachel bought one for me years ago. (Thank you sister) The batter is basically crepe batter, very egg-y and delicious. Then you need sour cream (I often use plain yogurt because I never have sour cream), and lingonberry sauce. I NEVER have lingonberries (unless I go to IKEA), so we substitute cranberries. Once you have assembled all these ingredients, you get to stacking it up. Pancake, sour cream, berries, pancake, sour cream, berries, etc. I like to stack about 5 or 6. Then once you put your fork into it, it all falls to pieces into a gooey, delicious mess. I love it so much.

Swedish Pancakes

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
3 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP oil (I use canola)

Beat eggs well and add sugar, salt and flour and milk. Add oil and blend all together (I use a food processor or hand-held mixer). Get out your "Plett" pan. I use 1 TBSP batter for each cake. Make pancake ahead of time and store in fridge. Serve with cooked cranberries and unsweetened yogurt.

Almost A New Year

This is what we have been doing in the LaFollette household. Her name is Libby Duppydog LaFollette. Our Clara never showed up, so the best we can hope for is that she has a new home, with a nice warm doggy bed. The saddest news is that Capone passed away. He was such a good, loyal dog.

The holidays are almost past, and I feel like I haven't taken the time to enjoy them. We are going to Mom's tomorrow, and I plan to take the time to enjoy my family and my many blessings. It is so easy to forget how blessed I am, and easy to focus on the many irritations and annoyances that plague me every day. Maybe this should be my new resolution for the New Year. At any rate, I'll try and we'll see.

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone???

Clara has disappeared. It has been 2 whole days now. I have called places, looked places. So now I am feeling sad. But this is her picture, and if you see her, please let me know!

Monkey Bars

These are pictures I took of Claudia and her friend Megan last weekend.

Happy Autumn

Finally!! I finished my big rug-hooking project. It took me 2 years from start to finish. It is also my first real rug-hooking project. I should learn to start small. I dyed some of the wool, and all of it is recycled. I have a couple projects in the works of my mind, but haven't executed anything yet. I did clean out my craft/sewing room, and when everything is in its place, I will take a picture. I am grateful for having such a space, but I do wish it had more storage space.

Claudia is home again today. All of her playmates have tested positive for H1N1, so I am assuming she has it, also. She is feeling much better, but gets tired easily, so I kept her home. It has been a good incentive for me NOT to home school. I don't know how others do it. My patience is wearing thin, and we haven't even had big problems with the homework. There is just so much of it. She needs constant motivation to keep at it. I am easily distracted by all the other "stuff" that needs doing. She really just wants to watch Pinocchio, and we will, she just has to get her work done. Then we will lay down for a rest.

Fungus

Fungus. The interesting looking kind. I'm a little obsessed. I just want to take photos of them all. In fact, this week I may go on a fungus forage through the woods.

Sometimes I feel my life is not meant for blogging. I mean, there's just not much going on. Today I took Claudia to the doctor, which didn't make her better, she's only worse. So, I could blog about taking care of a sick child. But, that isn't very intriguing.

So instead, look at pretty fungus.




Plus, I threw in a seed-head for viewing pleasure.

Pumpkin Cookies

I know my heart has turned to fall when I get the urge to make pumpkin cookies. They are so good. So good, in fact, that it is hard to type as I eat them. I tried a new recipe this time, and I think I like it better. It has more spices, and more depth. I added dark brown sugar instead of light. The recipe I used is from George Duran on the Food Network. I must stop eating these. Save some for the girls.

This is not road-kill. It is our 15 year old cat, Iggy who loves to sun herself, exposing her tummy. I wish I could do that.


I am getting obsessed with Christmas, also. As in, what to make for people this year. I have some ideas, but I won't share, I wouldn't want to spoil the fun!

Tomato Time

You wait patiently, and then impatiently for your tomatoes to grow and ripen. Magically overnight they are red and ripe. Cancel, all appointments and plans. You must now can these hard-won fruits. Such was my day. Once I get into the mind-set I actually enjoy canning. I turned on my WVPR and grooved to some classical music. I wore a groovy scarf on my head. When did I become a scarf-wearing person? I remember Mom wearing one when she made bread. We had to go over her person to make sure there were no stray hairs anywhere. (Who wants hair in bread? yuck.) My sisters (in the 70's) wore scarves. And now I carry on the tradition.

Tomorrow I hope to borrow Heather's pressure canner and "put up" some beans and beets.
I love beets! I make a delicious Russian Borscht. I'll post the recipe someday when I make it.

Pop! Pop! My jars are sealed!

Summer is Over

Summer is almost over, and I haven't written anything at all!! That is because we have been busy with the business of daily life. Plus, I got a job at a local fabric shop. I can't even think on one outstanding thing to say about my summer. Other than my childhood friend was able to visit with her family, and I survived VBS, and we didn't go on a vacation. But, I went to Romney last week and Eric's girls Katie and Alexa were visiting. They are actually on their way to my house as I write. Things went pretty well in Romney. It was nice for the cousins to spend time together, getting to know each other.

I finally finished my shawl that I started last fall. Maddie and Katie went to town on knitting, also. Subsequently, I am now obsessed with knitting. I think I have craft A.D.D. I just have to try everything, and I will go through phases of sewing, rug-hooking, knitting, whatever. It must be summer coming to an end that makes me itchy to be arsty. Summer is so busy with swimming and gardening and grass cutting. But fall is for cozy craftiness beside the fire. I can't wait. Of course, it is about 90 degrees here right now. Makes me dream of snowy days, and icy creeks and warm quilts.

I wanted to get some photos of Mom knitting. So here they are. Did I mention how much I love my mother?? She has such patience with me, with us. Any knitting snafu she can fix, without cursing. I wish I had inherited that trait.

More Surprises

You just never know what you will find around here. This morning when I let the sheep out of the barn I found one of our long-lost bantam hens sitting in the middle of everything. Claudia and I both assumed she'd "disappeared" or "relocated" a couple weeks ago. BUT NO. She hops up and there is a chick. Just one. So tiny, maybe 2 days old. I tried to get some pictures. They didn't turn out well. I hate using the flash, but it is so dark in that barn. I told myself I wouldn't interfere with what had happened naturally. But I just couldn't stand it. The sheep and lambs were tromping all over the place and that poor chick was running around like mad and mama chicken was having a fit. Soooo, I moved them into the other side of the barn, where apparently I have another broody bantam hen. It just makes me smile. Under my best efforts of hatching out eggs, mama just goes into a dirty old barn and takes care of business.

Lambs are well. They don't like to be held anymore, and they can run really fast. Ohhhh...THAT'S what shepherd crooks are for!!!!

Today is the last day of school. As in years past I have sworn we WILL have a schedule, we WILL do crafts AT LEAST once a week, and we WILL all work outside as a happy family. This is assuming I can get them out of bed and deal with all the whining about " this is my vacation! I don't want to work!". I'm not good with the whining.

Sorry about the bad pictures. At least you get a ballpark idea. That little thing beside the chicken is a peep.

This is the one who had a change of heart. Amazing!





I have a few updates. The ewe that was going to explode, she only had twins. For real! I was shocked there weren't five lambs in there. She started laboring early Friday morning. I was able to take pictures, until we had to ASSIST! I knew this was going to happen! My pics are pretty graphic, more for my observations than for public consumption, so I will spare you those. JP came home from work, and after watching this poor sheep struggle for TOO LONG we had to pull the lamb out. Very quickly after that another slipped out. Unfortunately, mama sheep was not interested in her babies at all. She wouldn't clean them off, or even look at them. This started our stressful weekend. We were not going to let her get away with this, if only for the fact that I did not want to be bottle-feeding two babies around the clock for weeks. What we did was this: One of us would hold onto mama around the neck, and the other would gather babies and help them nurse. The first day mama wanted to struggle and we would have to chase her around the barn to catch her, but she finally knew that when we came in, DARN IT, she was going to have to let these annoying babies nurse. On Sunday JP went out to check on them and couldn't believe it - she was standing there letting them nurse BY HERSELF. Shocking, really. So there you have it. Now they are all out in the pasture, and it is a distant (for mama, at least) memory.

I took some self-portraits of myself with a lamb. Sans makeup, grey hair and all. That is how much I love everyone and want them to see lamby up-close. It has rained on and off since last night, and thankfully cooled off. So I took some pics of the farm today. I love days like this. I have nothing against the sun. I usually feel more cheerful when it is sunny. But I loooove a rainy, cool, grey day.