It's All About the Dough

I took that first bite of homemade sourdough rye and closed my eyes. I would have sworn it was store bought Beefsteak Hearty Rye, only better.  The loaf, chewy crust with soft, airy insides, releases the earthy flavor of ground caraway, bringing a normal sourdough to exquisite heights with every bite.

My husband is the baker.  He grinds the wheat, feeds the sourdough, proofs and bakes every few days, using a variety of wheat we order from a farm not too far from home. The process takes about 3-4 days, although not much time during that day. It is definitely a regimented process though.

 We purchase in 25# lots per grain, ordering two types at a time since shipping is about the same for one lot as for two. He has his working grains on hand, marked with labels he creates, but the bulk of it is stored in special buckets with gamma seals to keep it fresh.  

Clove is also pictured here, not for bread, but for the special clove tea he makes to drink either hot or chilled. It is tasty and also good for regulating blood sugar.

Our grain mill is built into the cabinet, with the motor below, although you can hand mill if necessary. It takes only a few minutes to grind enough for a batch of bread and well worth the investment to know where your grain comes from and what is in the bread you are eating.  I have to watch my sugar levels and sourdough, due to the fermentation, will take longer to digest which helps to control sugar spikes.

The grain mill is hand made in Montanna, by Grain Maker which is a family-owned business.  Not only is it very well made, it is also pretty enough to have it openly displayed in the kitchen. 

Grain:  Janie's Mill Organic Flours   

Janie's Mill

Grain Mill:   Grainmaker Grain Mill #99

    Grain Grinder

Birthday Dibblet and Widger

I treated myself to a dibblet and widger for my birthday this year, having wanted them for a bit now.

Many of my friends might ask, What? Ha, ha.  Yes, not high tech and strange sounding at that.  One makes holes to plant seed. It has markers to help you get the depth right in the garden.

The other helps to remove seedlings from starter trays more easily or even make the holes to pop the seed in.  

There you have it, what more could a gal want?

 

Huckleberries

 

I loved Huckleberry Hound when I was a kid, I even have a stuffed Mrs Huckleberry Hound doll up in the attic.  So, when I saw Baker Creek had them, I had to try.

These are the garden huckleberries, they will grow like a pepper but get a few feet high, 1 to 3, with berries. When the berries are dark and ready to pick I plan to try either a pie or jam.  

I hear it is good.  I will keep my fingers crossed! 

L

GreenStalk

 GREENSTALK

I love our GreenStalks! These are amazing, versatile, convenient and a great conversation starter.  They are made by a family business and have become the hit of the garden circles.

Self watering from the top, there is a drip system that keeps your plants moist after filling the top tray.  Each layer has an internal tray that fills into the pocket below.  We ordered the caster system so we can move them, even into the garage during an unexpected cold snap.

Look at the results! We are still filling in with flowers, herbs and vegetables.  And I still have my other gardens.  This allows even the apartment or condo owner access to fresh grown food at their fingertips

A Saturday of my Own

 I have a Saturday to do anything I want, which in this case is sipping coffee on the top porch as I listen to the early birds trying to get those worms.  

After that I will slip on my garden shoes, grab my gear and plant the huckleberries I started from seed earlier this year.  I have never grown them but they are suppose to be similar to peppers and make delicious pie.

I have some reading material to catch up on or crossword puzzels to fill in. 

My husband is going to pick up the new lawn tractor as ours had a mishap with some sort of internal part shooting its way through the deck above the blades, creating a giant hole.  If you need a tractor you better start looking, most here are out of stock and not expecting them until September.

I have been watching my new two favorite garden YouTube vloggers, Roots and Refuge Farms and Whispering Willow Farms.  If you have time take a look.  They are teaching us their garden methods but learning along with us at the same time.  I truly enjoy them.

Hello Everyone!

Can you believe it has been about two years since I posted on Blogger!  A lot has happened but I am happy to say that things are going well.

What has stayed the same?

I am still crazy about raccoons!  I have a a couple of mamas that visit every night, eating up spare cat food and begging for marshmallows.  I am still gardening, quilting and taking care of cats!

What has changed?

I got older!

I took a voluntary severance package from my company for almost 20 years.  I got a new job before I even left my old one and I am very, very happy with it.  It's still about an hour away but worth the drive!

My granddaughter, Taylor, has become quite a pretty young woman.  We took her to a nice Italian restaurant a few weeks ago.  She is all of 14 now and will be going to high school next year.

I volunteered to help out at Lowe's for my company and participated in a radio station's Facebook post.  We handed out treats, had raffles and provided garden and bug information to consumers.  Somebody won a nice grill, a wheel barrow filled with product and concert tickets.

This is my drive to work due to the flooding.

This is actually a farm field but looks like a lake.

The Jeep finally gave out so I now have a Ford Explorer

which promptly got recalled!

It won't be my every day car since I drive an hour

but will be nice if bad weather threatens.  I actually drive a 

Ford Focus for my normal commute.

Well, more later.

Just stopped by to say Hi!

Is Anything Cuter Than a Bee Butt?

Yep!  It's a cutie alright.

I saw this little round bee butt sticking our of my hosta.

Pretty soon here it comes, covered in pollen and all happy.

Read below to see why I was a bit worried today.

I had a scary moment today.

I had to drive THE TRUCK and not only the TRUCK

but also pulling the BOAT TRAILER!!!

And, I had to pull it out of the water,

no boat on it though.  I had to pull it out while

my husband, Tom, and graddaughter, Taylor,

were holding the boat on shore as they prepared to leave.

I still can't get wet yet so out of caution I stayed home.

What did I do with the truck and trailer once I left?

Ahhhh, here was the tricky thing.

I can maybe drive it on the road IF I don't have to back up.

You can't see out the back so you have only the side mirrors

and while I can back my car up OK, not the truck with 

a trailer on it.  So, I left it parked out front until I can

get my brother in law to back it down the curved driveway for me.

I would have pulled in but then I'd have to back out.

No, No, No.

Someday I'll learn to do back it up.  Just not today.

Tiny Frog

This tiny frog was resting on the rocks I stacked up in our

fountain for a landing pad for our bees to get a drink.

This cutie is smaller than the nail of my little finger.

He is so pretty and perfect that he must be brand new.

You can see all the tadpoles in the water with him,

there must be thousands of them!  

Reunions

It was our 40th High School Reunion!

Wow, we are OLD.

Now we didn't go to the "real" reunion but attended

the pre-parties arranged by fellow classmates.

Thursday was a nice dinner with friends from elementary school-

yes, elementary school.  We still keep in touch!

Friday was a group meeting at a little pub near our old school.

It was nice to see old friends and guess who was who.

They carried it on to another bar but we left by then to 

pick up our granddaughter since she was staying with us 

for the weekend.  We stopped by the Elks lodge and had 

a drink or two (me iced tea) with my daughter and her

boyfriend.  I think we are going to join.  It's a nice place

to sit where you don't have the public coming.

I don't care for bars, you just don't know who will 

come in or what might happen.  This is 

a small town and people are known.

My college roommate was in town Saturday and I 

wanted to spend some time with her, which is why

we didn't attend the "real" reunion.   We drove

up to St Charles, MO and spent the day walking up and 

down the cobblestone streets shopping and having 

some lunch.  I found some little miniatures, which I love.

I purchased a Hurdy Gurdy and selected The Battle Hymn of

the Republic from the various tunes they had.  Additionally,

I got a little raccoon and opossum.

Coincidentally (wink, wink) there was a Quilt Shop!!!

Quilt shops across the US, Canada and Europe are having their

Row by Row Experience event where they offer either a 

free pattern or a kit to make a single row.  You can collect

and sew these rows into a quilt with rows from your state,

from various locations using a theme, etc. 

The rules are that you have to go into the store, it's a promo.

Then there are contests for who completes one the first for

each store, a junior row by row with a contest and of course

shopping while you are in the store.  No on-line sales until

after the event which ends in the Fall.

I see the surgeon tomorrow in order to schedule my next

surgery which will include a week in the hospital again.

This should be the last one!!

I'll be glad to get this over with.

Row by Row Here I Go

It is time for Row by Row!

Quilters will visit shops between now and fall to collect

either free patterns or kits designed by the shop.  This 

introduces them to new shops, lets them visit old favorites

and offers skill building as we try different techniques.

Some quilters will combine their rows into full 

quilts, others will continue on to the contest.

Me, I'm just having fun.

I just completed these two.

One is of the Mississippi River with boats and the 

other is from last season where I visited 

Quilts and Quilts in Branson MO.

I thought this would be hard, but it was so much fun!

You cut out all the little strips that you can see inside the 

US map, sew them together and bond a cut out

of the country on top of them.  The entire area underneath

still has the various fabric strips.

Then you add the letters using a bonding material but

you have to sew around everything to keep it in place

for a long time.

The top two are from last year too

(they have been tucked away in a drawer so need ironing)

The middle two are this year and I have already

discussed HOME.

I hope to visit a couple more shops in St Louis this weekend

and pick up a couple more patterns or kits.

My real quest is to build a Kathy's Life quilt but

the logistics are in the way.  I just can't get to some 

of the places I need to get the kits.  I'd start 

out from when I was born and add rows to get

where I am now.  You actually have to be there,

no ordering on line.

Kansas City, MO  Born there but 4 hours away

Aurora, MO  4-5 hours away

Various ones from St Louis I can do.

Hot Springs, AR where I visit my mom. 

Who knows, maybe they will have a kit left over after

the collecting period is over and I can get one mailed to me.

I tried with Aurora last year but she was out of kits.

The Missouri Row by Row provides a map, printable list of shops

 (Travel List) and images of the rows (Pictures) submitted by shops for 2017,

they also have a Facebook site.

It should be fun!