Busy Bee

In spite of some really, really lousy weather - uh, SNOW! again and still! - which gives my headache license to rhumba I managed to get some new soap made. Not at the same time I was baking the bread. That would not have been good. Not to mention the fact that there is so little room in my kitchen I can barely get the three loaves of bread made let alone accomplish anything else at the same time.

I hadn't made soap in a bit and my stocks were getting low so it was definitely time to get crackin'. I was in a summery mood scent wise so I started with strawberry. I love the smell of fresh berries. That got me to thinking about cool summer drinks so I added some tart lemon fragrance oil to the strawberry and we now have strawberry lemonade. It smells delightful - the lemon comes first but the strawberry is there to sweeten things. I also made some sweetgrass as I was about out of it. I love the smell of fresh cut grass.

I have two friends coming over today and we are making some more soap. They would like to learn how. It should be interesting; three of us in my teeny, tiny kitchen. But it will be fun. I haven't quite decided what scents I will use this afternoon. But no matter what, the trailer will surely smell good.

Oh, and by the way, it is snowing again today. *sigh*

Thinking of My Nieces and Nephews

One of my favorite times of year is Halloween. Halloween you scream - it's only March! Yes, Halloween. I love it! The ghosts, the jack o lanterns. The candy. I used to love having trick 'r treaters come to my house. Even better I used to love to dress up and go out with my little munchkins - my nieces and nephews. That to me was the best.

Weeks and weeks before Halloween I would bug my munchkins about their Halloween costumes. We would look in stores and online. My nephew in particular. He was always on the lookout for that extra special costume. We would look all over the place for boys Halloween costumes. Finally he would settle on exactly what he wanted to be - usually something gruesome. But he knew he was cool! Now me - I had to be a princess; isn't that every girl's dream? If I could talk the hubby into participating I would let him browse through the adult Disney costumes and let him make his choice. I won't even begin to speculate....

The best Halloween would be the night when I could go out with ALL of my nieces and nephews but that rarely happened as they are so disparate in age so they went at different times. I tried to be there as much as I could and I do miss them now but I get sent photos of the big night. Maybe that is better because then I don't have all that candy lying around for me to eat.....

Someone Stop Me Before I Turn into A Giant Loaf of Bread!

It is really, REALLY embarrassing to admit this but I am baking bread again. If you read this post which I only wrote LAST MONDAY you will remember that I baked THREE loaves of bread. Granted one loaf was an experimental monkey bread but still - there were (note WERE) three loaves of bread in my house on Monday, March 23rd.

As you may have noted I wrote that I am baking bread again. Yes, that is right. The two, count 'em, two adults in this household consumed THREE loaves of bread in less than a week. We had no company. I didn't drop any on the floor. While the mouse we currently have in the trailer - in spite of having three cats - is a big one, HE DID NOT EAT ANY OF THE BREAD. *sigh* Perhaps I shouldn't make the Challah which is just sooooooo good. But guess what is now rising in my kitchen? Yup, that's right! Three mores loaves of rich, eggy, yummy Challah.

And to make matters worse I decided to play with one loaf again. I made cinnamon raisin bread Challah. How good do you think THAT is going to be? I mean I haven't even baked it yet and my husband asked for a piece. How long do we think these loaves are going to last? I suspect that cinnamon loaf is gone before tomorrow night.

I only have two bread pans so I decided to try and make a circular braid with one of the loaves. I am always experimenting. I just can't seem to leave well enough alone.

Now if I could only leave the bread alone.....

Post baking comment: I taste tested the cinnamon bread to be sure it wasn't poisoned or anything and I now suspect it won't make it through tonight......

My Victorian

I moved to Montana from New Jersey. Sometimes I miss the house I had. It was a gorgeous Victorian style house that had been built in 1904. Big wrap-around porch, circular turret, gingerbread. The whole Victorian nine yards. We were in the process of renovating it which I think was going to be a full time job; but worth it. My husband was painting the exterior - three colors, of course, and we needed to replace the exterior shutters. The main body was a lovely cream color and the accent colors were khaki and oxblood red. I think I would have gone for red cedar shutters. I could have put a complimentary stain on them and they would have looked stunning.

I wish I had a photo to show you but I lost all the pictures when our laptop fried. Ugh! Fortunately I do have some prints but don't ask this computer bobo how to scan, etc. You can take my word for how beautiful the house was.

Ugh!

As I have posted many times in the past I am currently living in a fifth wheel trailer while my yurt is being built. I have been living in this trailer for almost 7 years now. Part of that time was while I was still in NJ after our house sold. It sold more quickly than we expected so we moved into the trailer for about 8 months until my husband retired. Then we took off on our odyssey around this beautiful country.

We spent three amazing years driving from one coast to the other exploring almost all of the states. Except Kansas. I wouldn't go to Kansas. I live in fear of tornadoes. Iowa too. No offense to the fine folks who live in those states but an irrational fear is an irrational fear. Anyway the traveling was fantastic. I saw so many gorgeous National Parks, National Monuments, State Parks and just plain places. The hubby and I spent two months in Carlsbad, New Mexico, just exploring the area and going into the caverns as many times as we wanted. It was off season and there were hardly any people there. We missed the bats which was a shame but the caves were to die for. I can't begin to describe them. And Utah - wow! Zion and Bryce were among the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We got stranded in Moab one year; ended up staying three weeks instead of the one we had planned. Arches and Canyonlands provided scenery galore. Utah truly surprised me. The Grand Canyon in Arizona has to be seen to be believed. Those pictures you see in books do not begin to represent the sheer massiveness of the canyon walls. Glacier and Yellowstone in my new home state awe me with their vistas.

But I digress from the point of my post. Trailers bought in 2000 start to need repairs. This week it was the hot water heater. Not having hot water just sucks. The hubby could go to the house and haul me up a couple of pots full of hot water to do the dishes but that was about the extent of my hot water for the last week. I had to actually go to a friend's house to take a shower so I could get the goat stink off. This is embarrassing. Phone call to friend:

Me:Hi! Uh, did you mean it when you said you would do anything to help?
Friend: Sure!
Me: I have no hot water, can I use your shower?
Friend: Uh, sure - just let me clean up the place.

Like, wow! I wanted my friend to have to feel compelled to clean up for me to take a shower. But I did stink...the goats do that to me. And it is good to have friends. The new hot water heater arrived yesterday and the hubby put it in today so all is right with the world again.

But I want my house. And a real shower.

Springtime Fun

As I noted in yesterday's post, Spring is in the air even if snow is on the ground. That leads one to thoughts of outdoor activities. One of my husband's favorite pastimes is riding his bicycle. Actually I should say bicycles because he has more than one. There is the road bike, the off road bike and the bike that will do both. Why one needs so many bikes escapes me as I don't ride bikes any longer due to the fact that my balance issues assures me that I will promptly fall off of them.

Of course when he hauls his precious babies out of winter storage they always need some kind of fixing. That leads him to shopping for various bicycle components. I don't begin to understand the odd looking things that arrive but I know they make him happy. Soon he is off on his two wheels exploring the beautiful country we have here in Western Montana. And he is content. What more could a wife ask?

Spring Comes to My Little Corner of the World

Sort of...

Spring is somewhat of an phantom around these parts. The calendar tells me it is Spring but the weather belies the telling. We will have a day of beautiful warmth and sunshine; enough to fool the plants attempting to push their way out of the cold ground. Then it will snow again. Last year we had 4 inches of snow on June 10th - that is just not right. The goats are shedding their warm winter underfur yet the nights are still below freezing. At least they have been this week. Last week they were not. All of this confusion from Mother Nature just messes with the plants, animals and humans around here.

I think one of the most perfect examples is shown in this photo:

The first bright yellow buttercups of Spring - with snow all around them. *sigh*

Happy Spring everyone.

Lampwork Bead Maker Extraordinaire - Lynne from Fireball Beeds

I would like to introduce you to a wonderful lampwork artisan and friend, Lynne from Fireball Beeds (that is not a miss typing - that is how the shop name is spelled). I have known Lynne for several years online and have had the great pleasure of meeting her in person. She makes beautiful beads - I can say that because I own many of her wonderful works. Lynne is a member of The Artisan Beaders Street Team with me and many other talented jewelry designers.

Lynne has a shop on Etsy with the name IslandGirl - she does live on an Island but not the kind of island that usually comes to mind. At least not to my mind; I think of warm tropical places. Lynne lives on an island in Canada. Brrrrr. But that is neither here nor there when it comes to the pretty artisan glasswork she produces. Like this jellyfish bead; it is so dramatic with the lavender/silver color of the jellyfish shimmering against the black backdrop. It would make a glorious focal bead for a necklace.





I am a proud owner of one of Lynne's jellyfish series beads. Mine has a beautiful ocean blue background and one day I will actually make a piece of jewelry with it instead of just stare at its beauty. But this one is mine, all mine I say!



Lynne does not just make beads, though, she also makes jewelry - or jewellery as they call it in Canada. This is a handcrafted necklace utilizing one of her lovely lampworks with an iris motif all done in my favorite color, purple.





In addition to these talents Lynne is also an expert knitter. She occasionally offers her knitted and felted creations in her shop; like this delightful hat. (The gloves are not currently available). Looks warm. I like warm.




In the summer Lynne has a gallery on her Island that offers handcrafted items by artisans from different areas of Canada. She also teaches lampworking classes. Makes me wish I didn't live so very far away. I don't think she can pack up all her glass making paraphernalia for the next time she comes to visit me.


She also writes a very entertaining blog.


I hope you have all enjoyed learning about Fireball Beeds and the many talents of my friend, Lynne.

Oh Yeah, THAT Dream....

You know the dream I am talking about; the one where you win the lottery. I am not talking about the scratch off ticket. I am talking about the Mega-Millions. The one where you have enough money to do whatever you want. To buy whatever you want. THAT DREAM. It's a great dream, isn't it?

Well, my husband loves to flyfish among other things so wouldn't it be great to go looking at fishing property for sale and find him his dream oasis? I mean that place where he could just fish and fish and FISH whenever he wanted - of course obeying all laws in place. He could just relax and have someone build the house for him because of course we won that lottery and had all the money in the world....

Oooh, and then for the goats we could look at ranches for sale and find them all the room to roam they might want. They might even meet some of their cousins the deer and elk if they had a nice big spread. They would have a huge, state of the art barn too because of the big lottery winnings. Hmmm, Pricilla would be so excited then.

Plus with all the money we wouldn't be tied to one place. We could travel. We could hire very competent goat sitters and have places all over the world. Why not research argentina estancias
for example. We could have a home on every continent. THAT would be too cool for words.

Dreaming is so much fun. I am glad the internet can help me with those dreams.

Sweet Nothings - A New Series from Broken Teepee Designs

I am happy to report that I actually made some jewelry yesterday. It has been far too long. I had been struggling with my muse and then life got in the way and I could give a litany of excuses that would just bore you all to an untimely death. Rather than do that I would just rather focus on the fact that I started anew and felt that creative spark. It was a small spark but I was back in the sparkle (hee hee) nonetheless.

Given the current economy and the fact that most folks are scaling down, plus a request from a customer I made eight - you read that correctly - pairs of twinkling earrings perfect for day or evening. They will be the start of my Sweet Nothings series. With time and luck on my side I hope to add complimentary necklaces to the line. The goats and the yurt have been keeping me busy - especially with Pricilla's kids due any day and my ability to finally help my husband with projects around the new house. Add that to not feeling well most days and who knows when I will get back to jewelry design. But I am happy for today.

The new earrings are dainty but that does not mean they don't pack a punch of color and sparkle. I am still using the same high quality of gemstones and either sterling silver or gold fill for the leverbacks. The findings are also sterling, gold fill or vermeil. I had so much fun playing with color, shape and sparkle while trying to stay dainty. My customer has first pick and then they will start to appear in the shop over the next week or so. Here is a sneak peak....

The earrings all fall around 1/2" from the lobe and they will cost between $17.50 and $33.50 which includes a gift box and shipping. Some of the gemstones used include London

blue topaz, golden rutilated quartz, smokey quartz, mystic pink topaz, champagne quartz and Baltic amber. That is not a complete list but just a taste.

So be on the lookout for these new little treasures in the shop. I think they suit the times just perfectly.

Hmmm, What Movie is Cool? What Band is Hot?

I have been watching a lot of movies lately. Often I will see a title and it sounds interesting but I don't know much about the flick or if it will be worth my time. Now I have a place to go to see what others think about those movies I might want to see. I can check out reviews and opinions before I waste my time and better yet my money on a movie ticket or rental fee. Instead of having to check out a variety of different places for reviews I can do it all on one site.

Even better I can also check out music reviews of the latest songs and CDs. I almost typed records - boy would THAT have shown my age! I can't believe a whole generation has already come and gone by and they don't know what a record is. My nephew laughs at me when I try and explain to him how I used to listen to my favorite bands on my record player. But enough of the far distant past. I am still into the rock music of my golden days and I can get great rock music reviews so I can keep up with the latest and greatest. Not to mention the oldies but goodies; and I am not talking about Elvis! THAT old I am not!

I am so glad when my life is made easier; especially when it comes to how I spend my money.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

I type this today utilizing my new DSL service. I am so very happy. I wrote in an earlier post about how grossly unhappy my husband and I were with the service we were receiving from HughesNet, our satellite internet provider. We were just waiting for the DSL to be installed. Well, they came yesterday and put a temporary line into the trailer. They can't dig in the ground yet to install the permanent line but they were so very accommodating about getting the line to us as quickly as possible. I think I am about to do the famous goat dance of joy as my Pricilla would do.

Now I can stay on the computer as long as I might like. I can actually watch You Tube videos. I could even watch a movie or TV show where I couldn't before. I am no longer constrained by something as unfair as Hughes Net's supposed Fair Access Policy. I can even go back to dropping my Entrecards. Woo Hoo!

My husband hasn't gotten the wireless up and running yet. Linksys has been less than helpful in this process. They want to charge to transfer from one service to the other. But he is smart. I know he will figure it out. It just amazes me that you buy a wireless router and you want to change from one provider to another and the company won't help you. They just want to charge you. Well, the cost of the "help" is about the same as a new wireless router from a competing company. If it comes to it guess which way we will go?

I Love the Smell of Fresh Baked Bread

Since I do so love the smell of fresh baked bread, not to mention the taste of the same I decided to bake some bread today. I actually bake all of our bread. I haven't bought bread for years. This way I can have exactly what I want and I know exactly what is going into my bread. My KitchenAid does the hard work; that mixer is a workhorse. I have had it now for 27 years. It was a shower present. When I bake, I bake in bulk - I put enough ingredients for three loaves of bread in the mixer today. If I were in my new kitchen I probably would have done two batches but my tiny little stove just can't keep up and I didn't want to be baking until late this evening.


My bread of choice today was Challah. My favorite white bread, eggy and rich. When I bake for my hubby I bake 100% whole wheat but I still have some of that in the freezer so today was for me. Although I did play with some of the dough and I am sure he will enjoy what I did. I made two rather classic loaves; I braided them and put them in my bread pans.



















They came out of the oven looking brown, shiny and yummy. They will go well with tonight's cream of broccoli soup.



















I decided I would have some fun with the dough for the third loaf and instead of making cloverleaf rolls as I usually do I thought I would make a kind of monkeybread. I split the dough into thirty six pieces, rolled them into balls, dipped the balls into butter, then rolled them in cinnamon sugar. I don't have a small bundt or angel food pan so I just put them in an 8 x 8 pan to rise.



It smelled like heaven while baking and it came out looking a bit odd but it tasted delicious.




I just hope I don't eat it all before my husband comes home!

Is all Learning Good? Read at Your Own Risk....

I am not sure I have mentioned it on this blog, but I know that Pricilla, my goat has mentioned it on her blog - we are getting chickens this spring. They will be arriving by mail on or around May 1st. In order to be sure I am ready for this addition to our little farm I have been reading various books and magazine articles to educate myself on how to keep said chickens. In fact, last night I read a very informative article in Mother Earth News. I learned that the chicks can safely arrive in the mail because the remnants of the yolk is enough to sustain them for the trip.

I learned about making a little brooder so they stay warm enough. I learned about how warm they have to be kept. I learned about what to feed them until they can go outside and eat on their own.

And then I learned about PASTY BUTT.

Yup, you read that correctly, PASTY BUTT. Now if you ask me this was a bit more information than I might have wanted for my before going to sleep reading. Apparently little chicks can develop diarrhea and it can harden on their little butts and stop them from pooping. This can lead to their untimely death. Very sad. The solution to PASTY BUTT is to watch the little chicks and if said diarrhea starts to occur and harden YOU HAVE TO PICK IT OFF THEIR BUTTS. Uh, yuck!

Since my near hysterical laughter at the phrase "PASTY BUTT" didn't calm for close to 10 minutes my husband now says it will be my job to deal with if it should occur with our new chicks.

I repeat, YUCK.

I ask all of you to please pray/send your good thoughts/whatever you do for the good pooping health of my chickens.

Or you might just get pictures.

Consider that a threat.......

Can it be Spring?

I am so happy today! The sun is actually shining. It is a beautiful bright yellow ball in a Montana blue sky. It is warm - yes, you read that correctly - it is WARM. I am doing my laundry today and I have a load of wash hanging on my line to dry. I haven't been able to do that since September. I love the smell of my clothes when they have been hanging outside. It is so fresh and clean. The sheets are going on that line next. They come in with just that touch of roughness but smelling like sunshine and breezes. Ooooh, I am going to sleep well tonight.



The goats are happy too. They are all outside of their little houses just basking in the sun. This is something a goat does with admirable talent. They are masters of lying around and doing nothing. I sometimes envy their ability; I always have something that needs to be done. They don't have a care in the world beyond where their next meal is coming from and they have me for that. I guess Pricilla has a bit of a worry being due to kid in the next week or so but I am sure she is not losing sleep over it unless one of the little goatlings is kicking her too much!



I am going to leave the computer now and go hang another load of wash and then, then I get to - you will be jealous - sand sheet rock. *sigh*

Stepping Out in Style

As I mused yesterday about my goat shoes, today I turn my thoughts the others- the shoes I get to wear when I am NOT in the goat pen. Boy, do I treasure those times! My feet are safe! My feet actually look pretty!

I imagine a night out on the town. Do I go classic and conservative or do I rock the town? My hubby would be equally decked out in a pair of classic Bostonian Shoes in soft black leather. Mmmm, wouldn't we look good? If you ask me a girl CANNOT have too many shoes.

But I don't go out all that often and my feet need to feel comfortable when I am just bopping around running my errands. Sneakers are good but why not a pair of cute little wedges to dress up my jeans? Then there are these flashback beauties - at least for someone my age - they were delightful when I was in High School, I am sure they are just as comfortable now.

Crocs Shoes offers an outstanding range of choices in so many colors you could create a complete wardrobe just with them. Who would have thought a garden shoe would prove to be so versatile?

So I guess I better start building that closet in my new house to have place for all of these shoes, hmmm?

No More Sore Toes

As you know from some of my other posts I have a small herd of goats. They are Nigerian Dwarf goats and even though they are small that does not mean they don't hurt my toes when they step on them. It is a hazard of animals that want their hay/water/grain/apples that they will do whatever they must to get to what they desire. That often includes stepping on my toes or butting me. I can't do much about the butting except being aware of the charge but after some looking I think I have found a solution to my sore toes: work boots !

Especially this really cool pair with steel toes. I think that if one of my little darlings stepped on my foot and I had these beauties on my toes would be quite safe. They also look like there might even be a touch of padding for my shins. Oooh, that would be so lovely; no more shin bruises.

I wonder if they make knee pads?

Milking My Goat(s)

I, or I should say my goat Pricilla, has a blog called The Maaaaa of Pricilla. She IS the official spokesgoat for Happy Goat Soap and of course needs a platform for her job. She muses about life on the Farm and talks about soap and such. She was asked by a reader about what it is liked to be milked so that is the topic of her post today. She isn't being milked currently as she is due to kid in about three weeks. A goat needs time to rest from milking before she has her next round of kids. So the post shows photos of Abigail being milked. Abigail is not the nicest of goats so it was a bit of a crapshoot as to whether it would work or not. Fortunately Abby was in a good mood last night and we were able to pull it off. Abby is often wont to stamp on my hand rather than be milked. More grain will solve the problem but too much grain is not good for her.

Abby gets milked twice a day. After about a month with her kids Pricilla will also be milked twice a day. Tomorrow Pricilla will be answering questions about how goat's milk tastes and about goat's milk cheese. I have made several different cheeses with my goats' milk including feta, chevre, mozzarella, colby and cheddar. All fun, not all successful.

Oh, I milk into an All-Clad Cop-R-Chef Pan. I find this highly amusing for some reason. I wonder what All-Clad would think of this? I sincerely doubt they ever intended their professional level pots and pans to be used for goat milking......

Looking Back 32 Years

Wow - it came to me today that it has been 32 years since I graduated from High School. I cannot imagine that I am really that old. I do have to say that it has been a jam packed 32 years full of highs and lows.

I have been married to the same perfect man for 27 of those 32 years. He has taken me on a variety of fantastic trips in those years including to Hawaii more times than I can count, Italy, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Seattle, a camping trip through New England, our honeymoon in Quebec, the Bahamas, Florida, way too many NASCAR races, and a truly magnificent three year odyssey in a fifth wheel trailer traveling around the U.S.

I attended two delightful high school reunions since I graduated; my fifth and my twenty fifth. The fifth in my opinion was just too soon. Most of us that attended were still living in the area and didn't have much to report. I was married and did have my new hubby to introduce but that was about it. Now the twenty fifth was a blast. Time had removed most of the stigma of high school and it was so much fun seeing everyone who appeared. So many more people came to that reunion and it was fun to sit and share stories.

Now I am living almost completely across the country from where I went to high school and don't know if I will make any more reunions but a girl can dream. I now live on a goat farm with chickens soon to arrive. So many of my old friends would never believe this new me. And wouldn't THAT be a tale to tell?

Mmmmmm, Candy!

I have the world's worst sweet tooth. I love candy . I love danish pastry. I love anything, well, sweet!

I am not kidding. I can sit and eat an entire bag of Hershey Kisses. And I do not mean one of those little bags . I mean the big monster sized bag. One burp and I am ready for more. Then I might be ready for something else. Mints! Yes, that would do the trick. I love mints.

If I were lucky enough to own a candy store I would stock it with all of my favorites. There would be Wrigley's Gum and Jelly Belly's (in chocolate pudding of course) and my all time favorite Pez! My goddaughters know me well - they send me a new Pez at every holiday.
But I think there would be a problem with me owning a candy store; I would eat all the stock!
This would not be good. I think I will stick to just having a few of my favorites on hand and having a way to get more when I need to replenish.

I am thankful that I can eat all of this candy and not gain weight. Don't hate me......

Photographer's Lament

I am fortunate to live in an area that attracts bald eagles. In fact, we have a nest not too far from our house. Even after almost three years of seeing one of these magnificent birds two or three times a week I still get a thrill when I walk out my door and I find one sitting in the tree on the end of my lot. Yesterday was one of those days. I had some time so I grabbed my camera and tripod and set myself up to try and get some photos of him. I knew it was a him because it was a small bird. He knew I was there. He looked straight at me. He was fascinating to watch. I saw him react to other bird sounds. He head was bobbing and weaving. I watched him watch the river for fish. At least my time wasn't completely wasted as he was full of movement.

I know I am capable of getting nice, sharp shots. But yesterday was not my day. I have no idea what I did wrong. My husband thinks it was something with the settings on the camera. I draw a complete blank when it comes to doing anything other than pointing and shooting. I need him to change any of those settings. When I looked through the view finder it looked clear, but such is the lot of the super amateur photographer.

I have a wonderful camera; a Cannon Rebel XT. My husband gave it to me for Christmas year before last. It takes amazing photos - when I understand what to do with it. But my poor brain simply doesn't retain all that information. I used to be very retentive - my husband said they cut some wires when they did my aneurysm surgery. I am inclined to agree....

I took 175 photos. Easy to do with a digital and not wasteful except of time. Which is the beauty of these cameras. It, of course, has the ability to shoot multitudes of photos while holding done the button. Ask me how many were usable? Go ahead, ask me.

NONE!

For some reason every single one was fuzzy. Hubby was looking into the settings last night. I had it on the tripod so it wasn't me holding the camera. I would have expected the first photo in the series to be fuzzy due to the pushing of the button but not the subsequent ones. I even did a few on the timer and they were also fuzzy. *sigh*

The really sad component of this tale is that he took off while I was shooting. The photos WOULD have been fantastic. So I guess I am whining the photographer's lament - what might have been:

Dreamin' of a Fast Ride

I used to have a Ford Mustang. I LOVED that car. It was sea green. It had a stick shift. It was FAST. I was browsing this site and learned that I could have made my beloved ride go even faster. Now that is something I could have really enjoyed. I am not sure the Freightliner that pulls the trailer is the ideal candidate for such turbocharging but after reading up on how it all works I know some friends that would certainly have lots of fun with the site.

I can see them taking advantage of the audi turbocharger for their car. They would soon find themselves flying down the highways loving the breeze in their hair. I am going to let them know all about this new knowledge of mine so they can read up as well.

It is too late for me and my Mustang but it is not to late for any one else who might want to get more out of their car. So go and check in on turbochargers.

Aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

Did you hear that scream?

My husband says he thinks they heard it in Hawaii and that it probably will register on the Richter Scale. Why, you ask, am I screaming?

BECAUSE IT SNOWED. AGAIN.

Not only did it snow. It is still snowing. I have really about had it with Winter this year. In December I we went through a period where snow fell EVERY DAY for three weeks. Not mountains of snow but just enough snow to be annoying. And now it is about happening again. Instead of every day it is coming every other day with rain on the opposite days. Can you just imaging the lovely mess these weather systems are making in my yard?

But Mother Nature can be oh so cruel. Every so often she teases with a few hours of sunshine. She did that yesterday afternoon. She reminds of the beauty that will come. And they she dumps more snow on you. She is sitting - somewhere warm and sunny I am sure - and laughing at us all.

Grrr! I went out this morning. I dusted off all of the surfaces for the goats. And now it is snowing again. If it keeps up I will probably just keep the goats in the barn. I hope it doesn't snow all day.
Ha! Knowing Mother Nature she will probably change it to rain just for fun.

Diving in The Deep Blue Sea

I used to scuba dive. I loved it; the freedom I felt underwater was amazing and the fish basically treated me like another, albeit odd looking fish. Pacific Ocean diving was my favorite because the water was warm and the fish were stunning; both in their colors and in their shapes and varieties. Sadly I can no longer dive but there is a way to enjoy the beauty of these magnificent creatures in the home.

I almost felt like I was back underwater as I browsed through this delightful saltwater fish store. I even found some of my old friends from my diving days including the Yellow Longnose Butterfly, the Butterfly Fish, and my all time favorite the Moorish Idol. I actually had a Moorish Idol peck me on my mask while diving on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Reading about the keeping of saltwater fish is important. You must learn and educate yourself before you embark on maintaining a salt water aquarium. You wouldn't want to have your beauties sent home to you and find you have the improper set up.

I also learned that you can keep live corals in your aquarium. How cool is that? I had no idea that you could buy coral that way. Wouldn't that make for such a beautiful environment for your fish. It would make them feel right at home!

I am going to continue to browse through the beautiful fish and dream of someday having my own saltwater haven in my home. Watching the fish swim is so peaceful and relaxing.

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Useless Weekend

Compared to last weekend I got nothing done this past weekend. We had a serious of storm fronts roll through and I just felt miserable. The low pressure systems really mess with, well, my sytem. My head was pounding and I had no energy whatsoever. I basically sat in my chair and listened to the rain fall. And fall. And fall. And fall.

So now the mud is so thick I not only fear for the goats I fear for the barn. Not really but mud season just depresses me. You walk outside and it is all suck, suck, suck as the muck pulls at your feet. And then what do we do? (Well, not me 'cause I love the heat) Everyone around here complains about all the hot dry days in the summer without rain and they wish they could have all the wet of spring back. The rain never seems to come when it is wanted or needed, does it?

I just know that I am a whinin' today and I guess there is nothing much gonna stop me. Nor from using some pretty poor spelling and grammar. THAT is how you know I am in a sucky mood. No pun intended.

And yes, it is raining, grey, cloudy and miserable today. Could you tell?

Oh and stupid Hughes Net is at it again. It seems I am supposed to KNOW how many megabytes a site will use BEFORE I open it and I am supposed to KEEP TRACK so that I don't exceed the Fair Access Limit. Not that I know what the limit is - I just can't exceed it in any given day or my computer speed is reduced to less than dial up. We have applied to have the DSL line put in but it is going to take about a month so in the mean time I won't be able to visit and read as many blogs as I would like. THIS DISAPPOINTS ME TO NO END as I have enjoyed all the new blogs I have read while dropping my Entrecards. As soon as the DSL is up and running I will be back to full time dropping. I hope the people that have been so kind as to visit me here understand and will still drop in now and then.

I Wish I Was in the Desert

I will tell you that every winter I spend here in Montana I long for the days I spent in the desert. I LOVED Arizona. It was gorgeous, it was warm and I could go outside every day without having to wear 14 layers of clothing and a hat.

We lived in our fifth wheel trailer for three years traveling around the country and we spent a LOT of time in various places in Arizona; near Phoenix, in Quartzite and by Scottsdale. It was one of my favorite states to visit and I would love to go back. I loved the myriad of colors you find in the desert. I love the warmth of the sun. I love the bright blue skies and the days that don't end. I get them here, but only for 6 weeks at high summer. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have them all year round?

I am sure it would be easy to use Arizona relocation services to move to the balmy 80 degree Arizona sunshine. Doesn't it sound glorious? I know I woke up to 12 degrees this morning. Brrrrr! Give me the warm sunshine anytime!

I would really love to live in one of these gorgeous condos. Wow! How great would that be? Talk about living the good life!

Feature - Etsy Jewelry Artisan VickiOrion

I would like to introduce you to a delightful artisan and wonderful person - Vicki from Orion Designs on etsy. Her handmade artisan jewelry is simply gorgeous; full of color and sparkly gemstones. She is a friend and a fellow member of The Artisan Beaders Street Team. Vicki has been writing and coordinating the Technique Tuesday articles for the Artisan Beaders blog. Her range of crafting skills is extraordinary - from knitting, card making, jewelry design and even poetry.

I love the way Vicki creates her handmade earrings. They are pleasing to eye but always with a little something extra; take her Friday Night Lights earrings, for example. Who would expect the delightful and flirty touch of pink?

I have been in love with the Labradorite Flash Earrings since I first saw them. The cut on the labradorite is such a surprise. I had never seen it before.

Vicki also designs and creates a full line of artisan necklaces in sterling, brass or copper, and mixed metals as well as handmade bracelets and beaded barrettes. I told you she was talented! Be sure to check out her sale section too!

Vicki writes a blog about all of her endeavours in crafting and her life in Alaska. You can find it here. You won't be disappointed.

Michael's Goat Pen

I spent yesterday hoeing out Michael's goat pen.

I hate hoeing out goat pens. It smells. Especially buck pens. Mostly because bucks smell. But my husband is busy with his job as fire chief and he is building the yurt so I sucked it up and entered the hay. I got it all out of there and put down new hay for him. You would think he would have appreciated his new clean smelling pen. Oh wait. He is a male of the species.....

I walked him up to the barn to send him in for the night and he wouldn't go in! He missed his old smelly hay. He wanted nothing to do with his new clean hay. Stupid goat! I had to shove his hairy butt in the pen. Fortunately he saw that there was still grain to be had and this made him happy. For a while. He couldn't seem to fathom that smelling good was, well good. Oh right, HE IS A MALE OF THE SPECIES. But it won't matter. By this morning he will have sprayed and sprayed and it won't smell fresh in there any longer.

I hate hoeing out goat pens. I get to tackle the doe pen this weekend. Pricilla is due to kid and we need to make some adjustments. *sigh* At least the doe pen doesn't have eau de buck.

A Weekend in the Kitchen

I had a wonderful weekend. I spent it in my teeny, tiny kitchen. One of my most favorite places to be. Of course I would rather be in a large, spacious kitchen but that is not my lot in life now and my teeny, tiny kitchen is surprisingly well laid out. My main complaint with it is the little 15" oven with the three burner stove on top. There are so many things I can't do in an oven that small. For example; I can't bake both layers of a cake at one time so it takes me twice as long to get the birthday cake done. But I have learned to make do and I know I will be beyond ecstatic when I get into my yurt with my gorgeous, GORGEOUS Dacor range that is just waiting to be installed. It has four big, strong burners and an oven to die for. I will be able to bake eight layers at once if I want to. Oh the fun that awaits me....but for now I deal with my little baby.

I was really having a craving for some danish pastries. So I went to the basement and dug up my cookbooks and ..........couldn't find a recipe to save my life. I was so disappointed. I thought I had a recipe for everything. I have this one bread baking cookbook that I SWEAR by; it is called Secrets of a Jewish Baker by George Greenstein. I am on my second copy - in hardback this time - because I wore the first one out. I thought for sure there would be one in there but no luck. I know I could have found one if I searched the 'net but I am old fashioned when it comes to the kitchen. I like a cookbook. So I settled on a recipe for something called German Wedding Cakes in a gorgeous book from Greg Patent called A Baker's Odyssey. I even took photos to show you, but they were all blurry so you will just have to imagine them. I used apple pie filling I had canned this summer and I made up some quick cherry filling with cherries I had frozen. They took all day with the rising, etc. but they were worth it and I am embarrassed to say they are all gone.

I also started the process for Cherry Sorbet with some sour cherries I had picked and frozen in August. I finished it up on Sunday and it was a delicious reminder of summer; brightly colored, tart and fresh. We will be enjoying it for the rest of the week. I froze several batches of cherries for just this purpose. Yum!

For dinner Saturday night I had bought a whole chicken which I cut up for a variety of meals. Saturday's was a lovely Piccata (I've linked a recipe but I improvised mine)
with one of the breasts. I love that white wine/lemon combination and the meat was very moist. It was quick and easy after working on the Wedding Cakes all day.

Sunday's dinner was a delicious Ham Corn Chowder. I had a ham bone that I boiled with half an onion, some carrots, pickling spices and a bay leaf. After a bit I strained it and added a corn soup base I made over the summer when I froze my corn harvest - basically I boil the cobs for about half an hour after I take the kernels off of them. It makes a lovely sweet base for corn soup or whatever else I might dream up come winter. I added six cups of my frozen corn, the ham cut off of the bone, three peeled, diced potatoes, a bag of frozen carrots I had put up from the garden plus three cups of the goats' milk. Thickened with a bit of butter and flour it was delicious! I then just baked some corn muffins and we had a meal fit for a king. There is enough soup for several nights and then I will freeze some for later. I LOVE soup on a cold dreary day.

When I feel well I revel in my time in the kitchen so I had a wonderful weekend. I tried to find a photo of the German Wedding Cakes on the web but was unsuccessful. They were pretty tasty and I know I will be making them again. It wasn't the first recipe from Mr. Patent's book that I have used and I know it won't be the last. He traveled and compiled family recipes from across the country and they are well written and easy to follow. It makes it even more fun that he is a fellow Montanan.

March Snow

The weather had started to take a turn towards Spring. But I was not fooled. It would do this in New Jersey as well. Lull you into thinking about warm breezes and sunny days and then....the snow would fall again. Ironically it DID happen in New Jersey and here in Montana almost at the same time. My family is still back East living by the coast and they were hit with a pretty good snow storm. It was the first good snow for them all winter. Ha! I said. And then another snow fell here. 95% of the snow was gone. I could see my driveway. The goats could actually start to graze. And now it is all covered again by March's first snow. I know enough to not expect it to be the end of the snow. Last year we had four inches on June 10th. There is just something so wrong about snow in June. Even in Montana.

I went out and took some photos. Fresh snow on the trees is beautiful in spite of all my griping. These are not black and whites. But they do show what I mean about the unrelenting grey around here.....

On an uplifting note; I was out taking care of the goats this morning and looked up. There were two HUGE birds flying above me. I looked for bald heads, but no they weren't bald eagles. To my immense surprise it was two golden eagles. We do have them here but they are a rare sight and to see two of them was really remarkable. They are magnificent raptors and I was truly honored to be in the right place this morning. This is one of the reasons I love living here.

An End

I chronicle over on my other blog the final moments of my Christmas tree. Yes, on March 4th I finally got rid of my tree. This was not due to some overwhelming sentimental attachment to it, although it was a wonderful gift from my brother and his family. It was that I am just now able to clear up some space in my little trailer and make room for uh, I don't know - MY LIFE!

As I have mentioned we are building our house. We have been building our house for over two years. Those of you who have attempted this are now laughing at me. Those of you who have not will never understand. My husband decided it would be cheaper to build than to buy that nice modular I had fallen in love with. He has finally admitted I was right and we should have bought that nice modular.

What was that honey? I WAS RIGHT?! Gee, what a surprise. I have lived with him for 27 years. He has NEVER finished a home improvement project and he thought he would finish a HOUSE?!

So we live in our 400 sq ft fifth wheel which is stuffed to the gills. We had to move a crapload of stuff out of the basement while he drywalled the ceiling. We had to do this because the insulation dust was getting all over everything. So the trailer was filled floor to ceiling with boxes in addition to all of my canning. I can. A lot. There was a small walkway so we could get to our chairs, to the electric fireplace for heat and to the TV.

But the drywall is now done in the basement and I can move everything back. Hooray. This is why the Christmas tree could finally leave the trailer. I could actually GET TO IT. I am not sure the cats are happy with this new openness. They no longer have the stalking opportunities all of the boxes afforded them before I moved them back to the house. Perhaps I can now walk into my living room without fear of a sneak attach from a frenzied feline.....

Brrrr!

I am always cold. Cold to the bone cold. Doesn't matter really what the temperature is, I am just cold. As I sit typing this the catalytic heater (a lovely device hooked up to the propane system) is pointed at my feet. I am wearing wool socks, silk long underwear, fleece pants, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a fleece sweatshirt, another sweatshirt and an Icelandic wool sweater. Fortunately the wool sweater is from my fat days and fits over all those layers. I look rather like the Michelin Man only in colors. I am also wearing a fleece hat.

I still feel cold. This just sucks.

It is worse on my "bad" days and today is one of those. After I am done here I am going to crawl under my down blanket and hope for warmth.

I am really happiest at the height of summer when it is about 100* degrees and I am in my kitchen canning. The interior temperature of the trailer gets upward of 110*. My husband goes nuts and can't understand how I can stand it but I am in my glory. I swear I am evolving for global warming. I have said this before and I will continue to say it. I am post-menopausal so there is no hope there....

I have a wonderful, wonderful friend who just sent me the most glorious scarf that she knit. She knows I am always cold so as a complete surprise she packed up this delightfully soft and incredibly long scarf to help keep me warm. It is even in my most favorite of all colors, purple. I wrap it around my neck and head and am embraced by the softness of the wools and warmth of friendship. What could be better? In it I do find some sense of warmth and I thank her......

Glorious but Short Lived

It was a glorious day yesterday. The temperature was up into the high 40ies, the sun was shining and it was a big , blue sky with no clouds to be seen. We haven't had one of those days around here in months. I mean it - months. I have posted about the winters here before and believe me they are as grey as a battleship. So yesterday was well, a little bit of hell given that today it is back to being grey, grey , grey. I sometimes wonder why the weather gods do that to us. Is it to laugh in our faces? Is it to say look what's coming but you can't quite have it yet? Is it to teach us patience?

I have no blessed idea but I just plain hate it. I reveled in yesterday but now I can hardly believe it happened because I am again wrapped in my straight jacket of grey. Was I dreaming? I don't think so because I took pictures of my goats and there is indeed sunshine in the photos so I don't think my mind was playing tricks on me. Ugh! I HATE GREY!

It also poured last night so the yard is a mud pit. Mud season is an absolute joy to behold. It will literally suck the shoes off of your feet. I wear my rain boots. So far the mud has not managed to take them. Last year the mud ate one of my LLBean Ducks. It did eventually spit it back out but I missed it while it was gone. It was none the worse for wear 'cause those shoes will live through anything but one Duck will not do me any good now will it? I dare the mud to suck my boots off. They come up to my knees. If it has that much suck power I will just plain stay in the trailer 'til summer. If it has that much suck power I might just lose a goat.....

How Does the Cat ALWAYS Find my Bladder?

Every morning the alarm goes off. My husband hit snooze a couple of times but ultimately we do have to get out of bed. We are still living in our fifth wheel trailer while the house is being built so there is not much room in the bedroom. Therefore we get out of bed to get dressed one at a time. He goes first. It never fails that at soon as he gets out of bed my cat Fred will jump up on the bed, onto me and always, ALWAYS right onto my full bladder.

HOW DOES HE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO LAND?

It never fails. EVERY DAY. He never sits on my stomach. He never sits on my chest. He sits on my full bladder. Is it some manner of punishment for not giving him the right treats? The wrong cat food? Or is he just a perverse feline?

He has the uncanny ability to do this when I am relaxing in my chair trying to last through a program until the commercial. He will jump up and land on my full bladder.

So much for lasting 'til the commercial.

Stupid cat.