October/November 2010

Greetings Friends and Family,

It is October already! This month we celebrated our 2nd Anniversary. Of course we celebrated by going to the Texas State Fair in Dallas, TX. The rides, food, music  it was all worth it!

The food this year was fried pizza, fried chocolate, fried  margarita, fried Frito pie and many other foods. Some of these were good, while others really left things to be desired! It will be interesting to see what they will have next year!

We have been busy studying up on electrical code, home inspection, and homesteading. The employees at Barnes and Noble are going to know us by our names by the first of the year because we frequent the bookstore on almost a daily basis. Where else can you sit, read, and get your caffeine fix all in one place! lol 

We are hoping that with this a door will open for us to share, teach and live out what we are learning. Sandra is looking into starting a homesteading group that meets once a month. To teach people the basics of homesteading. We will see only the good Lord knows what come next in our lives.

The garden is doing very well. It has produced more fruit since the fall weather has set in than any other time this year. We have peppers, tomatoes, coming out our ears. I know someone will be doing some canning again and soon! She has already made several jars of fig jam and boy it was good but it did not last long.

Bo and Luke and grown in leaps and bounds. They have turned into 2 sweet Golden's! Here are current pictures of our 4 legged children.

We wish everyone a safe and Happy Howl-o-ween!

Sandra & Steffon

Home beer Brewing

We are currently looking into brewing our own beer. The kits/supply's are pretty basic. It looks like fun. It takes about 9 weeks before it is ready. We found a supply store here in Austin and will check it out this week!


Below are some sites if you are interested in brewing your own.
http://www.homebrewers.com
http://www.austinhomebrew.com

Sticky Notes Dealing With Dementia

Mom seems to be back on schedule so far. I think we have her back on a regular schedule. Memory seems to be better. Today she remembered just about everything in her daily routine. I hope she continues to improve!!
When taking care of someone with Dementia it is important to keep a routine. Keep the routine simple and repeat daily tasks at the same time everyday. It will help when a bad day comes along .

Rag Quilt

I love making rag quilts! They are sooo easy and make a quick baby gift.

To make the quilt pictured here. I used 1 1/2 yards of a printed flannel and 1 1/2 yards of a solid. For the back of the quilt I used old blue jeans(2 pair). I do get more fabric than what the pattern calls for because I usually make matching pillow and several burp rags, bibs. I cut my fabric in either 3", 4" or 5" squares. I think I used 4" on this quilt(remember the bigger the square the more fabric you need). Cut 18 out of your print, solid and blue jeans. After you have all your squares cut then your ready to sew. take one print and one blue jean square. put the print side up on top and the back of the blue jean to the back of the print. Repeat with the sold fabric. Your next step is to make your blocks like the picture. Remember seams on top. You want it to Frey when you wash and dry it. Once you have the quilt made all you have to do is wash and dry it. I wash and dry mine with towels it help Frey it better. I also because it is for a child put binding around the edge for safety.

here is the quilt after being sewn, washed and dried. I now need to trim the long threads and put binding around the edges. Will post the finished picture soon!

homemade by jill: Diaper Cake Tutorial

homemade by jill: Diaper Cake Tutorial

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken spaghetti

Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese


1/4 cup bell pepper (I used 2 Jalapenos finely chopped)
1/4 cup onion(I used 1 whole onion)
1 Jar pimentos(used 1 can rotel mild)
2 cups chicken broth from pot
1 teaspoon salt(used sea salt)
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (left out)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar

Cook 1 cut up fryer chicken and pick out the meat to make 2 cups. Cook spaghetti in same broth until dente. Do not over cook. When spaghetti is cooked combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup cheese. Place mixture in casserole dish top with cheese. cook at 350 for 45 minutes

Sticky Notes Dealing With Dementia

Has anyone ever had a loved one with dementia? Dementia can effect anyone. It has twisted and wormed its way into our lives recently. This past year my mother in law was diagnosed with it. This wicked disease robs your memory slowly . Yes we are dealing with this beast. The medicine the doctor has given her helps. But we still deal with forgetting medicine, forgetting dad's work schedule, forgetting to pay bills, forgetting to lock doors and the list goes on. We are also dealing with a mild case of sun downers which is when you get your days and night mixed up.  I thought and with my husbands permission I would journal our experience with dealing with aging parents.  And so this post was born! Hopefully our experience will be helpful to others and we journal our experiences.

What is Dementia?


Dementia is not a specific disease. It is a descriptive term for a collection of symptoms that can be caused by a number of disorders that affect the brain. People with dementia have significantly impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with normal activities and relationships. They also lose their ability to solve problems and maintain emotional control, and they may experience personality changes and behavioral problems such as agitation, delusions, and hallucinations
While memory loss is a common symptom of dementia, memory loss by itself does not mean that a person has dementia. Doctors diagnose dementia only if two or more brain functions - such as memory, language skills, perception, or cognitive skills including reasoning and judgment - are significantly impaired without loss of consciousness.
How are we dealing with it at the moment?. Well for one she is not driving anymore. She also writes everything down she need to remember on sticky notes. Yes we have sticky notes posted everywhere! Also someone is home most of the time encase she has a problem. That is all we all we are doing at the moment. We have looking into getting hired help when the time comes. We are taking care of ourselves until we need help.
We keep a positive note and keep plugging along!

Sandra

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

EASY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 c. butter 1 c. brown sugar, packed 1 egg 2 c. buttermilk baking mix (Bisquick or Jiffy mix) 1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional) 1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix butter, sugar and egg together. Stir in baking mix, nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches part on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Makes 4 dozen. *** I used my homemade vanilla which is posted here on this blog. OOHHH  it turned out goooodddd!!!!!

Here is something a little different for those who like fresh fruits. Steff and I went to the Strawberry Farm.
  located in Marble Falls , Tx

 Here is the Link http://www.sweetberryfarm.com. I recommend this place for all ages! The Strawberries are Awsome!

Homemade Brown Sugar

Natural brown sugar is a name for raw sugar which is a brown sugar produced from the first crystallisation of the sugar cane. As such "natural brown sugar" is free of additional dyes and chemicals. There is more molasses in natural brown sugar, giving it a higher mineral content. Brown Sugar
Recipe #1 (makes 1 cup)
1 cup Sugar (white)
1 TBS Molasses (for light brown) or
2 TBS Molasses (for dark brown)



Mix ingredients together well with a fork or with your hands. Store in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag.

Duckling Pictures!

The Kitchen-Homemade Vanilla Extract

This is a good way to save some money. Vanilla extract is really expensive these days. Some here is how you can make your own and save several dollars!

1 bottle of Vodka
1pkg vanilla beans(2 beans)

cut up the vanilla bean and put in the vodka. shake every day for a week. It is usable after that. With the other bean you can cut it up and make vanilla sugar. Fill a mason Jar with sugar and add vanilla bean. shake it every day for a week. It is then usable after that.

Ducklings

We bought our first Ducklings for our small farm to be on March 9th 2010. They are 1 week old.
We think they are Male and Female will not know until they get feathers.
I will post more on ducks and there care as we learn to care for them.