S-l-o-w-l-y Learning My New Camera

Here are two photos taken with my new camera. I still need to set up folders and do a number of things to get all things working right, but it is coming.



















William of Orange (picture taken through the window in the door)



















Early morning

I'd love to take the time to wax poetic...but, NOT ENOUGH TIME!

Keep on workin'--
:-) Jean 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:

• We had a great trip to Paul Nelson's victory party.
• I bought a new camera! It's a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30.
• It is a beautiful day.
• My turkeys survived my son's forced fast.

The Bad:

• Paul Nelson lost. A lot of Republicans lost last night. I'm not so much Republican as conservative, and I know that we will see changes once again in the comming year, changes that will not follow the lines of a conservative who believes in absolutes.
• I have gotten my battery for my new camera charged and have taken a few pictures, but I have not figured out how to download them into my computer. I'll keep trying!
• We started the day late, and I know we will not finish all of our school work today.

The Ugly:

• After our getting to bed at 2:00 am, you ought to see the hair in this house today! LOL!

Life is still good--
Jean

News From the Farm

Election day. Don't forget to vote! We will be attending the Paul R. Nelson campaign party tonight. I'd like to think that our area is conservative enough to vote for someone with Paul's values. We will see.

I need to check my turkeys this morning. We had a communication glitch, and when I asked my son to feed them two days ago, he did not know how much to give them. I discovered that they had gone 24 hours with no food since he'd not given them nearly enough. Last night when I went out, they would not even talk to me (sniff). I hope they will be O.K. No more back problems to get in the way of feeding those birds, right?

We are waiting for a calf to be born. Her name is Drive Me, granddaughter of Kiss Me who was my daughter's show heifer that died a while ago. If I can get a new camera, I'll take photos for you!

Have a wonderful day!
Jean
















This ball of fluff is just our Ruffy washing herself up.


















Can you guess whose nose this is?





















The beauty of the farm.

Watch Your Tail

I went to bed early last night--my back was giving me problems. I was up at 12:30 to chat with Snowflake and my bottle of Tylenol. Sometime later I found Snowy curled up beside me, but I did not stay awake long--that is until my son come up at 6:30 to tell me that we had visitors. Two Amish children had come to ask for a ride to another farm. Their parents are not home and their milk cooler was not working. I ended up taking Ben, the little boys' neighbor, to another farm to get a ride rather than doing the trip myself.

When our Amish neighbors come, they usually walk. They come across our pasture rather than taking the road. They are usually barefoot, but now that the weather is getting cool, they are wearing boots again. Our cats have never adjusted to their coming; they are so quiet that the cats frequently do not notice them until they are walking up the deck. This and their straw hats and black bonnets (my cats are afraid of hats--I don't know why!) cause all the kitties on the deck to go into a panick. They jump, scatter, and dart as if their lives were in danger. Silly kitties.

Well, it is Monday and time to start school. We start with reading a chapter in the Bible and praying through the World Mission Prayer League prayer letter. Then I work with my daughter with Spanish and any other work she needs to do. I then move to working with my youngest. Lunch, farm chores, and working with my 3rd child keep me busy until 4 or 5 o'clock. In the evening I struggle to keep enough momentum to get the house cleaning done. I usually curl up with a book sometime after 8:00. I just finished reading the Theban Trilogy: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. Last night I started reading The Great Gatsby, which I've never read before. I enjoyed reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight earlier this year, and I also really enjoyed Song of Roland. If you read these, though, I highly recommend a good electronic dictionary! My Franklin 11th Edition Speaking Dictionary has a lot more of the Old English words in these books than my Sharp.

O.K. I've rambled on long enough! Off to do school! Have a wonderful day!

Jean 

Coming Up From the Rear

Orion finds a comfortable spot. (Photo's quality is poor, but I couldn't resist sharing it!)























Orion and Charcoal--their tails tell us if their are any birds visiting the feeder.

























Snowflake seems to enjoy his rides...

Have a wonderful weekend!
Jean 

Kitty Funnies

I know I use to sit here. What happened? The place seems to be smaller today. O.K. I have three paws on. Now how do I make room for the fourth? A camera? Oh, go away.




















The boy in the house? Um, well--I love him, I love him not...

























I started out by walking along the deck railing. I decided to stop for a moment to think, but then I realized how much work thinking can be so I decided to put my head down a moment and...



















Love like brothers... 

Mystery and Intrigue

I scrolled through Picasa this morning and carefully chose two pictures for you. I wrote about them and then hit "publish." I waited and waited and waaaaaited (as usual) and then they posted. Yeah!

But they did not show up here.

Is someone wondering why they have photos of cute kittens and a fall scene on their blog this morning? Did they vanish into cyber space? Will they still "appear" out of nowhere?

Sigh.

Barbeque Chicken

4 large chicken breasts (these are our home grown chickens--maybe 6 of those in the bags at WalMart?)
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or less)
1 teaspoon salt (twice)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dash garlic powder
1 1/2 cups flour

Cut chicken into 2" chunks. In bag add flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Add chicken and shake. Place in warm fry pan and brown lightly; remove from pan. Place olive oil and onions in pan; saute. Mix all other ingredients and add to onion. Warm through. Add chicken and stir to coat. Place in baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

My Camera Still Needs Replacing

Today I'll give you another favorite recipe of mine since I've not purchased a new camera yet. I've made a few changes to the recipe, but the original recipe came from the Elisabeth Elliot Gren newsletter. This Danish Puff never sticks around too long. Elisabeth says she makes it for Christmas, but once a year is just not often enough for me! Unlike my whole-wheat breads and muffins, this does not classify as a healthy snack, but it is goooooood!

Danish Puff

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or baking margarine
2 tablespoons water
----------
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter or baking margarine
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs
----------
Powdered sugar frosting

Mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup butter and 2 tablespoons water as for pastry crust. Divide in half; pat into approximately 12" x 3" strips on a cookie sheet. Then mix the 1 cup water with the 1/2 cup butter and bring to a boil. Add 3/4 cup flour and stir with fork. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Spread this on top of pastry. Bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees. Frost with powdered sugar frosting.

(Elisabeth's instructions say to bake this for one hour, but I have not found that we needed to bake it nearly that long. Do whatever you need to make it baked but not brown. I prefer to make my powdered sugar frosting runny enough that I can drizzle it in crisscross patterns all over the pastry.)

Cheese Soup

A friend of mine gave me this recipe years ago. It has been a family favorite; we usually call it cheese soup. In the corner of the card there is a smudged reference to some issue of an Ideal magazine I think. Hope you enjoy it!

Walker-Stalker Cream of Parsley Soup

2 cups chopped fresh parsley (remove tough stems)
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup margarine
3 cups vegetable broth (I frequently use plain water)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 cups milk
2/3 cup powdered milk
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese (best if you buy a chunk of Parm and grate in the blender)
2/3 cup grated cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste (I use 1 1/4 teaspoon salt)

Simmer parsley, onions, margarine, & broth until parsley is dark and limp (about 15 minutes). Stir water and flour together into smooth paste. Add to parsley mixture. Stir and cook 'til thickened. Add milk and powdered milk. Continue stirring until smooth. Salt & pepper to taste. 5 minutes before serving, add cheeses. Cook until cheeses are melted and soup is heated through. Stir slightly each time you ladle out a scoop--the cheeses sink to the bottom.