Wednesday Medley and Bits of Life Wednesday

Neighbor Bill's Barn
An eyesore? or a thing of beauty?





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we write the answers.

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Thank you, Terri, for this week's

Wednesday Medley!

It's all about - What, what, what???

1. What is your claim to fame?

 I have lived a long time. I remember a one-room schoolhouse. I've shot and eaten an alligator.

2. What is something you like to do the old-fashioned way?

I like to make soap, to actually cook food using ingredients, and to bake bread (nut breads and regular yeast breads).

 This is banana bread, baked in pans 

that used to belong to Mr. C.'s grandpa

3. What did you think you would grow out of but haven’t?

I thought I'd grow out of being silly, but I realize now that my dad never did, so why would I have expected that I would? 

 Fall has come to an end.

I finally gave up on covering the mums at night

and let them freeze.

4. What is the dumbest thing you’ve done that actually turned out pretty well?

I homeschooled our kids for a zillion years. I never thought it was dumb to do, but certainly many other [skeptics] did, and this was 1981. I'm happy to report that it did turn out pretty well. The only difficult thing is getting rid of all the things I used during the years I homeschooled. I'm just not good at getting rid of stuff. Well, except for the kids. They left a long time ago, and honestly, I'd always trade all the stuff for a houseful of them. Not doing it all over again, mind you, but just from time to time.

 I finally took photos of the entire timeline on our walls

so that I could take it down. That worked.

5. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

Probably Benedict, for it would help explain how I could have lived out in the middle of nowhere for so long. 

 via

6. What is something random you can tell us about this week?

My week is comprised of reading, praying, voting, cooking, baking, making soap, visiting friends, tending to Tommy & Smokey, and writing/drawing in my journal. 

Another thing about the week is that I have Daylight Saving Time withdrawal. It's now darkish by 5-something, and when I look at my watch at 7:30 PM, I can hardly believe that it's not 10:30. This is terrible.

Tommy & Smokey

***

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Hodgepodging Childhood Memories

 My maternal grandma as a teen
She was at least one generation removed from the photo grin.
And I wouldn't smile either - with that stiff collar choking me!

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1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.

Oh yes, I was close to both sets of grandparents. I remember my maternal grandma bringing bananas and doll clothes out to the farm, I remember her sweet nature and her love of Jesus, her leading Child Evangelism classes in her home, and her generosity to her neighbors even though she certainly did not have an extra penny to her name. Even so, she paid for me to take a taxi from her house to my piano lesson (in town), gave me old copies of McCall's magazine so I could cut out the Betsy McCall paper dolls, fed me raspberry sauce as a treat, etc. etc. And I mostly remember that her house was cluttered and INTERESTING. (Take that, you spartans!)

My paternal grandma kept nothing extra, but she made up for it (having a kind of boring house) by making great homemade bread (and putting butter AND salt on it), teased my grandpa about the fact that he spoke Swedish when he was a kid, had a very dry sense of humor which I loved, and gave me fond memories of her - AND of my grandpa, whom I remember praying in church and crying as he prayed. Because he was an emotional person? No. He was a humble man who loved God, who was overwhelmed by the realization that God became man to rescue him (and all of us) from ourselves, from our sin, from eternal death - because God so loves the world. And I'm totally with my grandpa on that. It never ceases to choke me up.

You really got me with these first two questions, Joyce, and you can consider yourself lucky that my answers aren't longer than they are!

 Shammar looked kinda like this horse, 

with a white blaze the length of his face.

2. What's an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?

First, I was attached to my horse, Shammar, who kept me slightly scared of him the entire time, although I loved him. He was Arabian/Welsh and beautiful, scared of butterflies and would freak out if a fly or butterfly flew past him as I was riding. Then I had to simply hang on for dear life as he bolted back to the barn. I can't tell you how many times that happened. Sometimes I wasn't lucky enough to stay on and had to brush myself off and walk back to the barn. You can tell I wasn't a great horsewoman, but I loved that horse enough to decorate his side of the calf barn with photos of other horses, took him sugar lumps and carrots, etc. He totally didn't deserve me.  And when I was out of school, my dad sold him to some people in a neighboring village. I don't know whatever happened to him.

Secondly, I was attached to my shoebox full of baseball cards. All the best players: Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Bobby Richardson, Hank Aaron, Juan Marichal, Roberto Clemente, etc. etc. etc. And my mom threw them out the year I was in Bolivia. I've complained about this before, so I'll let it go without piling on. But they would have been worth something today. See? It pays to keep stuff.

 Henry and Mr. C. playing frisbee in the south yard

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain.

Literally, I see the forest. This is rural Wisconsin. Figuratively, although I love detail, I think I'm pretty good at seeing the forest, the bigger picture, and try to look at all angles of a situation and being willing to admit that I was wrong. Or that I've been wrong for years.

Greek Yogurt with Raspberries!

The raspberries in the garden are ripe about three weeks earlier than usual.

4. Do you like sour candies? Which of the 'sour' foods listed below would you say is your favorite?

No, I don't like sour candies, except for the sugared sour gummy things, whose name escapes me, but I don't go out of my way to buy them. If they happened to be the only candy in the house, I might eat a couple - if all the chocolate chips were gone.

grapefruit, Greek yogurt, tart cherries, lemons, limes, sauerkraut, buttermilk, or kumquats 

I don't think of Greek Yogurt as being sour, but I do love it - and tart cherries.

Have you ever eaten a kumquat? What's your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list?

Not a fan of kumquats. I would love a tart cherry pie, but I'd probably be eating it all by myself while Mr. C. ate a bag of salty chips. So I'll pass on that one.

 The gluten-free cherry pie I made for July Fourth

I wasn't thrilled with the crust, but the cherries were good.

GF dough is nearly impossible to weave because it breaks.

And guess who ate most of the pie. Somebody had to get rid of it.

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it's going so far.

Like every summer in Wisconsin, it's going far too fast.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 One of my favorite places:

The Amish community near Westby, WI

 Another Barn Raising nr. Westby

 I made the mistake of draping a fresh-clean blanket over the bench.
Tommy and Smokey, cute as usual

Linking to Maggie's Mosaic Monday

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Hodgepodging The End of May

The Neighbor's Barn

on Sunday, May 28

(taken with my crummy cell phone)

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Thank you, Joyce, for all of your work

and dedication to this weekly Hodgepodge!

1. What makes you feel accomplished? Explain.

I'm not even sure what you're meaning by that. I don't think I've ever felt 'accomplished.' As a great man once said, 'There's always room for improvement.' Maybe a feeling of being accomplished is more suited to the generation after mine.  I am not from the 'self esteem' generation. In my generation, doing what you had to do was simply what was expected, nothing extraordinary.

Drive-by pic of a farm north of Bloomer, WI

2. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? Tell us why.

I would invite Diana from The Nana Diana and 'Katie' from Preppy Empty Nester and Debby from Debbys Favorite Things - because I think it would be a blast. :-) And the next week I'd choose three other bloggers that I've enjoyed getting to know over the past years! And I'd probably also have Tommy & Smokey in attendance to keep order. I can see things getting out of hand FAST with that crew!  LOL

Tommy & Smokey

Eager to take charge

3. Do you have a great burger recipe? What's in it? What do you like on a hamburger and where is your favorite spot to order one out?

I rarely eat burgers, and never with a bun, so I guess I'd say that I'd want mine grilled with lots of lighter fluid flavor in it and also I'd have a skillet of onions fried in butter to put on the top. Maybe some coarse, dark mustard too. That sounds good to me.

Giving me the evil eye

4. What's the biggest anxiety producing thing you do on a regular basis?

I probably shouldn't have joined the Hodgepodge today, because my answers are all pretty lame, but actually I tend not to do things that produce anxiety. Why would I? Although I'll admit that it does produce temporary anxiety when Etsy changes something and makes it more complicated than it has to be.

Mr. Blue Eyes, getting the lawn ready for

Memorial Day weekend

5. This is the last Hodgepodge of May. Tell us about your summer plans.

Summer and fall are Mr. C.'s heavy workload months (in the contracting business) so we rarely have summer plans. We save all the fun for winter, where we huddle beside the fire and wait for spring to arrive. BUT, the first few weeks of my summer will be taken up with jury duty, which means you can't really go anywhere in case you're called in. But on the weekend I am going to go visit my sister who is in Minnesota after spending the winter in Florida. She lives in the lakes area around Minneapolis, and I've not been to their new place yet, so if it doesn't rain, it should be a great day. Also, we're spending a weekend in Door County (my first time ever!) with our daughter and son in law next month (looking forward to that!) And I'm hoping to get a few weekend trips to Duluth and to Copper Falls. And then there's the best summer weekend, my birthday weekend in August. AND I will be buying train tickets and Oyster cards for an upcoming fall trip to England. Other than that, summer will, I hope, involve seeing more of the family. Grandkids are allowed to bring their parents along and I promise to feed them.

I take it all back about rarely having summer plans.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

a.  I'm hoping to get to the Westby area again soon for another visit to my second favorite part of our state. 

Red Dot=Where We Live

Blue Dot=Westby

It's about a 3 hour drive...a 3 hour drive. 

Get out of my brain, Gilligan!

b.  Mr. C. just pointed out a couple of sign's that had unnecessary apostrophe's. It is a pet peeve that we share. So if I ever put them in blog post's, be sure to let me know.

Mr. Smarty Pants

Photo by John

Saving the best for last:

c.  At kindergarten last week, our grandson's teacher told the class that they were going to learn about putting an 's' at the end of a word to  make it plural - more than one.  Henry piped up, 'Oh, like bacteria and bacterium. Bacteria is plural and bacterium is singular.'

Uh, right.

That poor teacher. :-))

***

Also Linking to Eileen's Saturday's Critters

and Tom's Barn Collective

***

Father's Day is June 18

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In addition,

Check out this Father's Day Special
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Our Father's Day Special includes:

Clockwise, from upper left:

Country Gentleman

Highland Tweed

Patchouli Grapefruit

Morning Brew (Coffee)

Another Father's Day Idea:

New! Photo Greeting Cards

(with envelopes)

now in my Etsy Shop

(Professionally printed on premium heavy card stock)

Wisconsin Farm Animals set

Also available:

Wisconsin Barns

Wisconsin Amish Life

England Sacred Spaces

North Yorkshire

England Favorites

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Homemade Vegan Soaps - The Perfect Mother's Day Gifts

 

Handcrafted, vegan soaps pictured above:
Upper left, clockwise:
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Southern Magnolia
French Lilac & Lavender

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Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe

 Cranberry Orange Scones (Gluten-free)
and new Losse Clay Studio mug
(Dallas, Wisconsin)
and I love that pretty blue interior

On Wednesday I pictured my Canterbury Cathedral mug and a gluten-free cranberry orange scone. A few of you (here and on Instagram) have asked me to post the recipe, so here it is!

First, I have posted two variations on this scone theme in the past. One was the blueberry-lavender scone and the other was a pomegranate orange scone. Recipes are at the links shown.

But today it's Gluten-free Cranberry Orange  Scones Recipe:

 I see that I forgot to get the salt and half and half into the photo.

2 c. Gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill in this one but have used Krusteaz in others and found it just as delicious. I've also used my own mix of gluten-free flours, but really, this is so much easier and since I don't make them every day, it's worth it to me to have the large bag of Gluten-free flour mix on hand, usually purchased from Sam's Club, so a better price than other places.)

1/3 c. sugar

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into chunks

3/4 c. half and half (or heavy whipping cream)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 1/2 c. Craisins (dried cranberries)

2 T. orange zest (I happen to like a lot of citrus)

Glaze: 

1 heaping half cup of powdered sugar

4 t. freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cold butter in food processor until it's a fairly fine texture. You can use a pastry blender to do this, but the food processor is lots easier.

Grate the orange peel until you've got about 2 T.

My new little grater sure is a lot sharper than the old one

and thus works far better.

Toss the dried cranberries with an extra teaspoon of flour just so that they don't clump together in the recipe.

Stir dried cranberries and orange zest into the flour mixture.

In a small bowl, beat egg and half and half. Then stir that into the other ingredients, just enough to moisten evenly.

Use a large spoon to drop large clumps of the dough/batter onto a greased jellyroll pan. I got a dozen scones on my one large jellyroll pan.

Place in 375 degree oven and bake for 16 minutes.

Remove from oven when they're firm to the touch and very slightly golden in places.

Allow to cool on the pan.

When completely cool, drizzle with glaze:

Whisk 1/2 heaping cup of powdered sugar and 4 t. freshly squeezed orange juice together. Drizzle over room temperature scones.

Place scones in a refrigerator to set glaze.

When glaze is set, remove from refrigerator and serve - or freeze them for later.

 You'll notice that I snitched half a scone to taste test them.

I did it for you. :-)

Another variation on this recipe is, instead of the cranberries and orange zest, use raspberries and mini chocolate chips (less is not more) and add a few drops of almond extract. And that one, instead of glazing with orange, I'd glaze with the same amount of powdered sugar and 2 T. half and half along with 1/2 t. almond extract. So delicious!

Also, to the Cranberry Orange recipe in this post, I might add some chopped almonds another time.

Love that new mug!

The glaze is so smooth and I get to see that

pretty little bird every time I drink my coffee.

***

 MOTHER'S DAY IS COMING SOON!

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Hodgepodging into February

More Wisconsin barn scenery


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1. Can you believe it's the end of January? What was the best day of January 2017 for you, and why?

The best day of January was when we visited both of our daughters. When traveling to visit Daughter 1, we stopped for a bit at Daughter 2's to see the kids (and the parents of course) and to get a break from the sitting.

The second best day was the day Mr. C. and I spent in St. Paul, visiting the Cathedral (coming in Friday's post), Como Park Conservatory, and having coffee (and pie!) at Cafe Latte.

My favorite: Fruit Tart

Because it's health food, of course :-)

You can see their entire Dessert Menu HERE

2. What sounds make up the background noise in your life?

Mainly, the fan next to the stack of wood in the living room, which circulates air and helps dry the wood. After that, I'd say the very quiet whirr of the wheel on my recumbent exercise bike that I use twice a day to strengthen ye olde hip, music on the CD player, the whining of Tommy (Smokey is not a whiner) when he wants to be held, and NBC news, Wisconsin Public Radio, Laura Ingraham, and Michael Medved. I try to keep current with all sides.

Alas, I do not seem to have a photo of my recumbent bike in my files,

but when I searched them for 'bike' this was one that came up.

In 2013, these two cuties were using the bike as a rock(et) launcher!

3. I read on the Power of Positivity website a list of ten things to drop from your life right now. They are-

anger outbursts, people who put you down, regret, negative self talk, being a people pleaser, the notion you need to be perfect, the past (but keep the lessons learned!), gossip and judgment, comparing yourself to others, and the word hate (focus on what you love instead)

Which thing on the list do you most need to drop? Are you trying or will you try?

I've read this through at least three times and I have to honestly say that I don't have a problem with any of the above. What I do have a problem with is my bad attitude toward winter, especially the last two years. Although it is beautiful, it is just Far Too Long here in NW Wisconsin. Except for a year when I lived in Bolivia (and got to ride motorcycle through the jungle and got to go alligator hunting in the Beni River) and a short time living in Arizona, I've lived in this area (NW Wisconsin) my entire long life. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, wouldn't you.

 Maybe I just need another German Shepherd

4. What is sacred to you?

Literally, the Word of God and places and friends that promote worship. If you're speaking figuratively, then I'd say the time I get to spend outdoors from May through October, and particularly walking. Walking in the country is the best thing. It gives me such an appreciation for the beauty of God's creation, his love and generosity toward us, and makes me feel refreshed, physically and spiritually.

 Look at that, I even need to clean out my Bible!
(Making great progress on main-floor rooms, btw)

5. January is National Oatmeal month. Are you a fan, and if so how do you like it?

Unnecessary mega carbs that I don't even particularly like. I could handle a tablespoon of oatmeal if it had about a half cup of pecans in it, I suppose.Or just give me the pecans.

6. What feelings does twilight stir up in you?

My first inclination is to remark about the hair starting to grow on my knuckles. 

But aside from that, I'd say the need to think about what to make for dinner tomorrow, making sure the kitchen is clean and the cats are taken care of, and getting ready to either a) read aloud with Mr. C. - which we tend to do in the evenings, followed by b) digging out a good movie. Right now we're going through the Pie in the Sky series again. They're so much fun.

photo found online somewhere

7. Something you're looking forward to next month?

I'm looking forward to going to the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis to see King Lear with Mr. C., getting a checkup from my (yeah, 'my,' like my own personal, Ha!!) hip surgeon at Rochester, and having our Daughter 1 (and her husband) visit us on her birthday weekend. Yea!!

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

After watching the news yesterday morning, I am so thankful yet again that my parents watched me grow up a tomboy, pretending I'm Roy Rogers, drinking from mud puddles (I was pretty young), riding horse (not so young), playing football, swinging from saplings, building rafts to float in the creek, swinging from a rope over the creek and dropping in for a big splash, pulling bloodsuckers from my legs, building forts and lean-tos, not loving dolls or tea parties, camping with the neighbor kids, climbing trees, etc. etc. and that they DIDN'T try to tell me that I must really be transgender - or something. You can't convince me that these young children aren't being coached by someone with an agenda, or someone who's very confused in this day of the 'gender identity' smorgasbord.  From ABC News, here's a link to 58 current 'gender options.' Is our society confused or what? Can't kids be allowed to be kids, and what does a four, six, or eight year old know about sexuality? 

So, back to this old woman who desperately needs low-lighting and a haircut: Here I am today, with a wonderful husband who loves me, wonderful children and grandchildren who love me, and no inner questions or conflict about who I'm really supposed to be. Thank God for my parents and teachers who let me be a tomboy without worrying about my sexuality. 

Even now, at heart, I still am really a tomboy who would rather be outdoors than attending a tea party, often like the better colors found in men's clothing than in the ladies' department, and would rather drink from a mud puddle than play games at a baby shower. 

I think instead of our constant navel gazing, we need to look outside ourselves for a change: Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God and Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Psalm 145:17-19 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

 Roy Rogers (l), Dale Evans (r)
Who would want to be Dale Evans?

God help all young tomboys who have to grow up in today's American society. 

Linking to Eileen's Saturday's Critters

 ***

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A kitty's life is so exhausting.

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