Fixed a blogger problem

I just wanted to post that I think that I fixed the comment box.  I have no idea what happened, but I think that the box is back on.  Go figure....
Thank you for the emails notifying me of the glitch.
I just looked at the updated weather, and we get a little snowy here.  Again, I'm not going to hold my breath until I actually see something :{-)
I will try to post something from the Countryside Magazine for you over the weekend.
Hugs to All

AWOL

Good  Morning everyone!


I apologise for being away from blogging.  I haven't actually be "away" *I wish* I could disappear for a while, but alas, all of the problems, and chores would still be here. I have been visiting all of your blogs and keeping up with all. 
I have been working around the house, just doing house things.  Trying to clean up the rest of the outside and put mowers, and tools up and away. Also, parent care.  Wrapping the porch up in my ugly white tarp to keep the cold wind and air out a little.  It isn't pretty but gets the job done until I can get a more sturdy shutter system up.
I have not felt real good the last few weeks also.  I have a terrible ear infection, from a bad wind storm we had here a few weeks ago, and it blew something in and I and several cats have been ill from upper respiratory infections. I have a doctor's appointment this morning, so hopefully I can get something to calm it down. My ears and jaw hurt really bad and its very painful to bend over to pick up things. I am so very stuffed up.  So I have been running the cool mist humidifiers and trying to keep the air moist.  Its so very dry here. Still no rain, or moisture of any kind since I wrote last.  We are *supposed* to get some snow tomorrow. This will be our first real cold Arctic air, so I got the furnace filters changed and vacuumed out the furnace. Everything else is pretty much done and put to bed until spring.

I have mentioned that I have been playing around with wine making.  I have made several rounds of wine. My very first batch was a kind of Sangria, which I like.  I personally thought it turned out fantastic for my first time around.  I thought it tasted so very much better than what I got at the liquor store.  I will tell you that it does have a alcohol content as it does have a *kick*, but I was very pleased with it.
I have two 1 gallon jugs going with a grape juice and wine yeast, and another with a apple, cherry raspberry juice with champagne yeast.  I am experimenting with different yeasts as it gives a different wine. (I'm learning).  I need to get some bottles, which I have some, some recycled coffee syrup bottles, the 750 ml size.  I just need to wash, sanitize, and then rack my wine up.  I want to start another batch of Sangria and also a white or rose. What I am using is just the frozen juice you get in the store.  I get the canister which has no added sugar and then go from there.  As I can afford to do, I will try the fruit mixtures the brewing company I buy from.  Oh, and by the way, I am ordering from Midwest Supplies Co. in Minneapolis, www.midwestsupplies.com  I also am ordering some kits for making a fermented fruit brandy.  This is for some holiday gifts for my house neighbors.  I need to start soon as it takes about 3-4 weeks for this to ferment and be bottled up in time for the holiday.
  I am very pleased with their service and have had no problems getting things in the mail. They even have yogurt cultures which I have ordered and have used and I am VERY pleased the way my yogurt has turned out.  I love creamy rich yogurts, and not low fat ones either.  I use whole milk, and evaporated milk,  so since I have used these cultures, they are creamy and rich and very nice in the morning for breakfast. They also carry cheese making supplies and brewing supplies for beer, if this is your bag.  I highly recommend them., so far. I will try to post what I am doing with this.  I do want to let everyone know that it is very simple to do, and you do not need complicated equipment, just some gallon glass jugs, and a few CO2 vents to vent off the gas so you do not explode your jugs. Sugar, yeast *I first used just regular bread yeast*  and a warm place and you are off and running.

This year, I am doing all homemade holiday gifts, mostly food gifts.  I just do not have money for gifts, and personally, I do not have family to give expensive gifts to anyway.  D's family was one of those, which you had to spend huge amounts of money on to show how much you loved them, the more money spent, the more you were appreciated.  I did not fall into this trap and stopped it right off the bat.  You also had to buy gifts for the nieces and nephews and other shirt tail relatives, which I did not do, as I did not have the money to do this.  So I stopped it, and was considered the *outlaw* in the family and was shunned ever since, which as you can tell, doesn't hurt my feelings or bother me. I love gifts that are from the heart, and from the soul.  So, I am going to start here very soon on food, and then freeze it so its ready when the holidays come around.

I have photos of  Dexter and Sophie.  I am still trying to figure out the new blogger interface and will get those up, I am just afraid that I will mess up and delete the blog into the cosmos and Internet purgatory.
I also have some photos of the jams I did put up, so I will try to get to that this weekend.  I need to dig through my very old recipes for a blogger I have met, and send her a recipe for *scrapple*.  This is a very old recipe from the Penn-Dutch, Amish colonies.  My grandmother made it and I have grown up on it when I was younger.  It is a mixture of ground  pork, and spices, and then mixed with corn meal and made into loafs and then baked and  can be fried.  The mixtures are as many as the stars, and can be mixed with, pork, chicken, turkey lamb,  or beef.  When I find this basic recipe, I will post it, and then make suggestions.  It sounds gross, it does take some to get used to it,  but its not.  Just think meatloaf.  It is very filling and makes a great breakfast or lunch fixing with stews or soups.  It also can be crumbled up into a casserole and baked with veggies, or noodles.  It is a great filler.

Well, I am looking at the clock, and I need to get ready and head to the doctor's office so I can be looked at and see if I can get this ear ache and infection out of the way.  It makes me feel miserable and not able to get what I need done.  But I hate going to the doctor anyway.  Not one of my favorite places.

I wish everyone a wonderful day, and a wonderful productive weekend.  Stay warm, and just be so very thankful for your many blessings and gifts that we are given, no matter how small, or simple.

Hugs to all

Cider making - A pressing concern by Anita B. Stone from the September/October, 2006 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal

Cider making - A pressing concern by Anita B. Stone from the September/October, 2006 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal

Ambitious Monday

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Well, its October 22, and I am pretty ambitious.  Over the weekend, I had some red and black plums that I had received in my Prairie Paks, (like Angel Food Ministries), and these did not get eaten.  They were starting to get soft, so I cooked them down and ran them through my squeeze-O matic and made a plum jelly/butter something.  It looks like it will set up good.  I also had two quarts of peaches from my house neighbor's tree that did not set up when I canned them, so I had them in the frig until I could get to them, which was today.  Since I had the canner and everything up and going, I thought I'd better get the peaches done.  Its a cool day here and perfect when you have to heat up the kitchen.
I also got some golden delicious apples, and pears from my October prairie paks which I picked up Saturday morning.  I think that I am going to let them ripen up more and then peel and core and process them also for some jam/butter.  These fruits are very hard, and not real good eating, but I can doctor them up for jam or butter and use them up.  I hate to waste fruit,

It isn't too bad here today, cool and in the mid's 40's F. Later in the week, its supposed to change to much colder.  We still have no rain, or  moisture.  We are around 12" below normal for our area, which is very, very dire.  Farmers around here has started putting in the hard red winter wheat, and there is little if any soil moisture for the seeds. We also need snow cover for the seeds to be protected from the cold winter air.  If we do not get any moisture soon, the 2013 wheat crop will be history.

Well, over the weekend, my car quit.  I went Saturday morning to pickup my Prairieland food paks.  They are similar to the Angel Food Ministries that are around the country.  My old car started and I got to the church and picked up my paks, and then the volunteers loaded my car up.  Get in the car, and.....nothing.....  I thought it was the battery.  It is old, about six and half years old.  One of the older men who volunteer came out, and got his pickup over and tried to jump start  my car, and nothing,  and another came out and listened under the hood, and thought it may be the starter.  So, I called my house neighbor and she came and picked me and my load up, and then had to call a tow truck to tow it home.  Its a Cadillac and has hydraulic brakes and steering and you cannot tow it behind a pickup as there is no steering or brakes if its not running.  SOOOOO........I have another bill I don't need.  It needed a starter and so D went to check on prices on starters, and then started working on it, then another PROBLEM........the bolt broke in the frame that holds the starter on, SOOOOOO....this morning, the tow truck picked it up again, and towed it to our mechanic so the bolt can be drilled out.  While its up on the hoist, the starter will be put in, its there, and so it will be done.  And SOOOOO another bill.

Really not much else going on.  Its been very quiet, which  is fine with me. I have not heard if the sale of the park went through or not.  I have not heard anything from the man who was possibly going to purchase my  contract.  I really suspect that the sale will not go through.  With the non existence of titles, and no VIN's, I do not think that a title company or an owner would risk a very pricey purchase.  But I guess, if the moron owner wants his money, he'll have to get to work and produce titles, VIN's and bill of sales on all trailers, including mine.  He (the owner)  is a true moron in the first degree.

I did not get to my patio over the weekend.  Plans changed when the car had problems, and we pulled the car into the carport to work on it, so my space to put the porch things under there while I sorted through everything was taken up.  I am going to shoot for tomorrow to work on the porch.  It will be the last day of nice weather, and then cold, and possibly rainy? (I'm not going to hold my breath).  It's so funny, you have all these plans to get something done, and wham, something else moves into position and makes sure you don't get it done.  I am really perturbed about the car, as I wanted to get my sewing machine.  That's burns me the most.  I am not a car person.  I know they are to take you from point A to point B, but I am not a car nut.   They have their purpose but I am not excited about cars.  And it bothers me to locate  the parts to repair them, the parts  are almost beyond my income,   Leaves a lot to be desired.

So anyway, I did  some fun things in the kitchen.  I hope that my jelly/jam/butter sets up.   I am not a master when it comes to jellies.  I hope that it was worth it.

Well,  its getting late,  and I am tired.  Standing gets me in the back and I stood in the kitchen for a few hours, and I think its time for some herbal tea and jammys.

Have a wonderful week, everyone.
Hugs

A Little more to add on

Good Morning Everyone,

I thought before I start my day with my ADD and all things considered, I thought I would insert a thought from the post on the copyright article I posted late yesterday.

From that post, I did gather that is is supposed to apply to copyrights of music and artists work, BUT, from some other articles who have been talking about this,  I am very sure that this will be perverted into a total control of selling and buying.  All it needs it a little re-wording and a little song and dance and its a law.
Now, I do not like to get political on my blog, but I am active in local community politics here, as much as I can be.  For us in the U.S., we are NOT paying attention to what is going on with our elected officials, period.  Part of the problem is the fact the country is in such turmoil, and the economy is in a twist enough to re-arrange the cosmos,  that we all are just trying to keep our head above water, pay bills, try to keep a roof over our heads, and food on the table, keep what jobs we have, which is a daily battle in itself.  But with all this going on, our government, and elected officials, are banking on the fact that you do not pay attention and go on and sign your rights and liberties away like flushing the loo, and then one morning you are awake and "poof", you have nothing.

Everything from this article's report to the present administration's control of all things by executive order, including, food, energy, transportation, medical, communications  and all manners of life in general, by executive order.   I find our young people totally oblivious of what is going on around them, they are too worried about buying the new I-phone, or the new shoe, or the new whatever.  I guess what I am trying to say is this is what the government banks on...you not paying attention and the government is  throwing your life under the bus.

So, I finish this part by saying, please vote, which ever way you feel is important to you, but please remember, your vote also impacts all of us in the U.S. and what will happen in our future and the future of every one's children and grandchildren. It impacts everything. So please choose with wisdom and caution.

Now off of the political soap box.....

I forgot to add something else to the post yesterday.  And Ilene at her blog mentioned something that has something to do with my post this morning.  Parts for appliances, or  other things that we use in our homes, and included cars and parts.  What am I talking about you ask?  Well the cost of parts to repair things and whether its worth it to fix or get a different or a new unit.

Ilene at the Sun Rose and the Wind Bluewww.thesunroseandthewindblue.wordpress.com was talking about her washing machine, and that it needed a new part.  If I recall, the part was about $50+ dollars, and her husband was able to fix it. 
I had a problem with my old sewing machine over the weekend.  I drug my old Viking 960 out to fire it up so I can start some mending and plugged it in and....nothing.  So, D dismantled it clear down to the casing.  Found out it was the motor that was fried, totally.  I am not sure even what happened.  I had not had it out for about 6 years, but it ran when I tucked it in the closet.  At first, we thought it was the power cord, so I got online to a sewing machine parts company and looked up for a power cord and foot pedal for the 960.  I just about fell over when the power cord and the foot pedal was around $160.  The power cord and the foot pedal were separate so you had to purchase both.  Plus the shipping was around $30. Talk about parts shock. I didn't even look to see about motors for Vikings, as I figured it was beyond the price of the machine, which was  very old, 1982, and is not worth fixing.   Sounds like trying to find car parts, like finding a needle in a haystack.

So,  I went to Walmart, and put on layaway a Brother sewing machine.  It will do me fine for a while.  And its nice that I am able to lay it away. 

It just seems that we strive to live a frugal and simple lifestyle, reuse, repair, re-purpose things and try to stretch it out.  But you find that sometime the cost to repair the object that you are trying to save is next to impossible or to even find parts to fix it, and then add in the costs to fix it.  Sometimes, you just want to throw in the towel. And then, if you can get the part(s), the next problem is if you can fix it yourself, have someone who can fix it, or if you have to have a repairman come out to fix it.  If you have to have a professional repairman come out, that adds to the cost of the part.

Anyway,  I just thought I would start the morning on the soapbox and end it probably under the soapbox.  Told you, I'm always in trouble.
Have a wonderful day and week
Hugs

Goodbye Goodwill: Implications Of The First Sale Doctrine Decision

Goodbye Goodwill: Implications Of The First Sale Doctrine Decision

Making Your Own Lotion

Making Your Own Lotion