Hickery Holler Farm

A Man Named Pearl

2012-01-28T13:33:00.000-06:00

An inspirational man and gardener with an inspirational message.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Silent Observer

2012-01-27T07:57:00.000-06:00

Gypsy has found a new vantage point . When I am downstairs she gets on the stairs and watches me silently from above.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Homemade Noodles and Chicken

2012-01-26T04:00:00.000-06:00

Homemade noodles give a new meaning to homemade. The greatest thing for a cold ever. I made these after having baked chicken for dinner one night and taking the drippings skin and bones and simmering to make a thick broth. I put the broth in jars in the fridge and the next morning made a batch of homemade noodles.

You can find the recipe for the noodles HERE on yesterdays post.

Then take half an onion chopped and saute in olive oil in the bottom of a pot until clear

Then add your broth( I had 2 quarts) in with the onions. Also add 1 teaspoon dried thyme, rosemary, parsley, dried celery and half teaspoon black pepper.

Bring to a boil and drop noodles into boiling broth and spices. Do not stir just take your wooden spoon and make sure they are submerged. Allow to simmer until soft.

Add 2 cups chopped leftover chicken to pot and allow to simmer for 5 minutes to heat through.

I served mine warm with sides of smothered mustard greens

crusty homemade bread

and baked sweet potatoes.

And the best thing is that everything was produced on this farm except the flour for the noodles and bread. That sentence alone gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment you can imagine.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Homemade Egg Noodles

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-06:00

Everyone has their own idea of comfort food. For O Wise One it is homemade noodles. His mama's homemade noodles no less. These noodles she made and froze when eggs were plentiful. They were added to chicken broth, beef broth or even wild game broth such as goose, venison, pheasant or duck. I don't always make my noodles from scratch but on a cold and wintry day they definitely hit the spot. So when the weather gets nasty I dig out his mom's old hand written recipe.

Grandma's Noodles

1 cup flour

2 whole eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 Tablespoons cream or evaporated milk

It's pretty simple. Mix, roll thin, cut and drop in hot broth.

First mix the flour, salt and baking powder

Add eggs and milk and mix well

Dough will be sticky but pull away from side of bowl

Now add a little flour at a time and work in until dough is no longer wet and can be handled easily.

Roll thin

cut into noodles either with a knife or a noodle cutter

Hang on rack to dry until ready to add to broth.

I'll post tomorrow on making the broth for the noodles and cooking.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to return to Dandelion House Blog Hop

Another Project Done

2012-01-24T06:49:00.000-06:00

My cream colored shawl that I was crocheting is finished. Another project done. If you like the pattern you can find it HERE . I love finding free patterns on the internet. I am like a kid in a candy store there are so many. I remember when you had to buy a pattern book or a magazine to find patterns. I remember my mother got a little magazine in the mail called The Workbasket. It was nothing but crochet and knitting patterns.Sure wish I had them now.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Canning Implements

2012-01-23T08:33:00.000-06:00

Amazon Link for this set

After doing my carrot canning tutorial I had several questions about tools. Above is a link from Amazon.com for a starter set for water bath canning which is a great place to start. This set is made by Ball. It includes the following.

A funnel for filling hot jars

This tool has a magnetic end to lift those hot lids out of the hot water without burning those finger tips

This little tool has a dual purpose. One end is for releasing trapped air bubbles from your jars

The other end has a handy set of measurements to help guide you as to how far your food is from the rim of the jar.

These are for lifting hot jars to either place in or take out of your pressure cooker or hot water canner

Although not in this set the Ball Blue Book is probably one of the most important tools you need to can food. It includes instructions and recipes for canning almost anything. And the new ones also have info and recipes for dehydrating and freezing also. If I were starting new to canning I would follow this closely until I get comfortable with the skills than you can branch out and try different recipes and skills.

Amazon link to pressure cooker

Above is a link to the Presto pressure cooker that I own. You can buy it new on Amazon for $81.54. There are more expensive ones out there but I have used this one for 20 years and the only thing I have ever had to replace are the rubber gaskets which I buy at my local Ace Hardware. And I have used the heck out of it.

There are other things that are necessary such as a good set of heavy pot holders, some large pots for boiling water and a large colander are really helpful But most of us already have that in our kitchens.

This post is aimed at all of you newbies to canning. Anyone who cans please feel free to add to this list.

What canning supplies have I forgotten that you use regularly during your canning?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

New Life

2012-01-22T07:36:00.001-06:00

There's a miracle happening in my laundry room. More precisely on my light stand. New life is beginning. And again this old gardener is in awe of the majesty of it's emerging. Small green shoots pushing forth from the warm earth. Reaching for the bright light of the sun. Simultaneously pushing tiny thread like root down toward the earth's core. Happening over and over throughout the millennium since the dawn of creation. No less miraculous each and every time. And I as the caretaker providing warmth and moisture for this new life. Knowing that eventually this will become food for nourishing myself and my family. Another year of gardening begins and the cycle continues.

And for this blessing on this Sunday morning we are thankful.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Seven Lies about Homeschoolers

2012-01-20T08:36:00.000-06:00

As most of you that follow this blog know I am a homeschooling parent for my 16 year old daughter Baby O. A friend sent this link to me on YouTube and thought I would repost it for you.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Canning Dried Beans

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-06:00

Canning dried beans is like canning convenience food for our family. Instead of reaching for that can of beans we reach for a jar instead. Dried beans are a welcome addition to taco soups, chili and refried beans. A slow winters day is the perfect time to put some in jars for just such occasions when they are needed. Many times I stock up on bagged dried beans when they are on sale and even grow my own for just this purpose.

For those new to canning you can follow along with these instructions on page 66 of the Ball Blue Book under Dried Beans.

First make sure that your jars are washed and then put in a large pot/ dishpan of boiling water to sterilize.

Then take your dried beans and go through them to make sure there are no rocks or trash of any kind in them. Then wash several times to clean well. Place them in a large pot and fill water to at least 2 inches over beans, put on stove and bring to boil. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let them soak for 1 hour.

Drain

Add beans back to pot and again add water 2 inches over beans. Bring to boil and boil for 30 minutes.

Drain again.

Now put pressure cooker on stove and put 2 inches of water in bottom. Turn on medium heat and warm water. (no lid) Put another large pot of water on to boil also to pour over the beans as a packing liquid.
On a back burner put a small sauce pan of water on low and add your lids to warm. (do not boil)

Place beans in hot sterile jars adding 1/2 teaspoon canning salt to each pint jar.

pour boiling water over beans to 1" from rim.

remove air bubbles

Wipe rims off with coffee filter to remove any food or residue

place hot lids on hot jars

put on rings and tighten

Place hot jars in canner

Canner ready for lid to go on

Now put lid on pressure cooker turn heat to medium high and warm pot until a steady stream of smoke comes out of vent pipe on right side. Notice 0 pounds pressure and safety valve on front is in down position.

Now place pressure regulator on vent pipe. Notice front safety valve is now in up position and steam is building on gauge. Reading 2 pounds pressure.

Gauge is now reading 10 pounds pressure and beans need to be cooked at this pressure for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Watch very closely !! After your time has passed turn burner off and walk away. Allow pressure to go to 0 on the gauge.

Your lid will again look like this with your gauge at zero and the small pressure safety valve in front in the down position. Only then will you remove your small round pressure regulator. Unlock and remove lid. Carefully open away from face and allow steam to escape.

Remove jars from canner and place on folded towel to protect counter from hot jars. As jars cool the lids will sink in and make a pinging noise to signal that the jar is sealed. Allow to sit overnight and cool. Remove rings and wash with warm soapy water to clean. Dry thoroughly and label with contents and date it was canned.

Store in cool and dark place until ready to use

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Return To Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Storing Lettuce And Produce.

2012-01-18T04:00:00.000-06:00

I am sure like most I struggle with keeping my produce fresh once I get it home.They now make produce bags...they don't work. You name it and I have tried it until now. Somewhere I saw a post on keeping lettuce and such in mason jars in your fridge and I am here to tell you. IT WORKS! I bought this lettuce for tacos on January 2. Plans changed and I washed and dried it good in my salad spinner and put it in these jars. January 16th and I took some out and I swear it looks and tastes just like when I put it in.

Works with these too. I like keeping them in these jars and with a small container of ranch dip beside them I find that they are much more likely to be eaten if they are ready to eat with no work. Healthy snacks ready to go with no work involved.

Here's a site on it where she actually seals the jars with her food saver. I don't seal mine but it still stays really fresh for a long time.

Salad In A Jar

Try keeping your lettuce in jars and see how it works for you.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

How to Can Carrots

2012-01-17T04:00:00.000-06:00

Canning is a year round endeavor for me. As jars are used and emptied it seems as if there is always something waiting to go back in them. For today there were carrots that I had caught on sale and after making several dishes the remainder needed to be dealt with. So it was time to put them in jars.

For those of you who have not canned before you can follow along in the Ball Blue Book on page 67 under Carrots. If you are new to canning this book is the first place to start. It is sort of the canners bible.

The First thing is to wash, peel, and slice your carrots. As you can see these carrots were trying to sprout.

Next thing place your pressure cooker on the stove and put in about 2 inches of water and turn on low to heat the water. Place another large pot on the stove of water to boil. This will be poured over your carrots in the jars as a packing fluid. I also put a small pot of water on to get warm and put my lids in the water.You do not want your lids to boil but are rather heating them and then keeping them warm until they go on your jars. While all of this is going I take clean jars and heat them to sterilize them.

I have heard of many people doing this differently. Some run them through the dishwasher on a sani cycle. Some put them in a low oven on a cookie sheet to keep them warm. For me personally I put them in a large pot and pour boiling water over them and put the lid on the pot to hold the heat until I am ready to use them.

I know from experience that my canner will hold 9 pints easily and that is about the amount of carrots that I have to be canned. .

Once your large pot of water on the stove is at the boiling point I turn it off. Then I take my carrots and place them in the hot jars. To each jar I add half a teaspoon canning salt.

Fill jars 1" from the top rim of the jar. The blue tool you see there measures the distance from the rim of the jar.

Then pour boiling water from your big pot over the carrots and salt in the hot jars. I dip a large Pyrex measuring cup full and then pour it into my jars.

The other end of this flat blue tool goes around the edge of the jar helping to release trapped air bubbles in your jar. Do this to each jar. (Do not use a metal knife)

Then I take a clean coffee filter and wipe off the rim of the jar to clean any food particles or salt off of the rim. If not these can prevent your lid from sealing properly. (coffee filters leave no lint)

Then place hot lids on clean jar rims. This can be done easily with a small tool that can be purchased with a magnet on the end made just for this. No burned fingertips.

Now take the rings and screw down on the jars. Just until they are tight. Do not over tighten as this will cause your lids to buckle. Notice the blue magnet tool in front of the jars.

Now place the hot sealed jars in your pressure cooker with the hot water in it. Never place hot jars with boiling water in them into cold water in a pressure cooker. They will break! You always want to heat your water before the jars go in. Also notice the tool for lifting jars. A must for canning.

Most pressure cookers only require from 2 to 3 inches of water in the bottom. Your pressure cooker should come with directions. Some cookers may vary.

Now put the lid on your pressure cooker. This is a dial gauge pressure cooker. See the gauge in the middle, this measures your pounds of pressure right now it is on zero. The small pipe sticking up on the right is a vent pipe. The small round circle in front is just smaller than a dime and is the safety valve. Right now it is in the down position. I now turn my stove to medium high heat and you want to heat the pot until heavy steam comes out of that vent pipe for about 5 minutes.

Now place your pressure regulator over the vent pipe. The pressure regulator is that small round weight with a little black handle on top. This blocks the steam from escaping and now your steam is building in your pot. Look in the very front and you see where your little dime size safety valve has popped up. The gauge here is now on about 2 pounds pressure.

In this picture your gauge is now on 10 pounds pressure. You want to hold this setting by adjusting your burner down if it starts climbing higher. Carrots need to cook at 10 pound pressure for 25 minutes. At the end of 25 minutes turn the eye off completely and walk away. ( Do not take top off until your safety valve has dropped to the original down position and your gauge in on 0 pounds pressure. Now remove your pressure regulator off of vent pipe. Remove lid carefully. Remember there is still a small amount of steam in the pot that will rush out when the lid is opened so open away from your face.

Remove your jars and place them on a folded towel to protect your counter or table.

When you first take your jars out the lids will have a small dimple in the top just like when you put them on the jar. (don't be surprised if they seal as you are taking them from the pot)

As they cool the lid pulls down and that dimple disappears. When it does it makes a pinging sound. Music to my ears when my jars start serenading me. I usually let my jars sit overnight to cool completely. Then I remove the rings and make sure all my lids have pulled down or sealed. Then my jars are washed down with warm soapy water to remove any residue from cooking then dried. I write the name of the contents and the date. From there they go into my pantry to be stored where it is cool and dry.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to return to Homestead Barn Hop

Accidental Strokes Of Genius

2012-01-16T08:43:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it seems as if my life is a never ending circle consisting of random mistakes and simultaneous, accidental strokes of genius. This winter I have been researching herbs and wild edibles. I think that this alternative food and medicinal choice is an area on our farm that I would like to know more about. Seems like that is one thing we always have is plenty of healthy weeds. I wanted to know how many were medicinal or edible. One that I fight in our gardens and flower gardens is Purslane. We have been pulling it up by the 5 gallon bucket fulls and feeding it to the rabbits and chickens. They love it.

Come to find out Purslane contains more omega 3 fatty acids than any other plant source in the solar system, and an extraordinary amount for a plant, some 8.5 mg for every gram of weight. It has vitamin A, B, C and E — six times more E than spinach — beta carotene — seven times more of that than carrots — magnesium, calcium, potassium, folate, lithium — keep you sane — iron and is 2.5% protein. Two pigments, one in the leaves and one in the yellow blossoms, have been proven anti-mutagenic in lab studies, meaning they help keep human cells from mutating, which is how cancer gets started. And you get all that for about 15 calories per 100 gram (three ounce) serving. Seems that it is eaten in every country but the U.S.

And here I have been feeding it to the chickens and buying Omega 3 supplements. These are those random life mistakes mentioned earlier.

But on the flip side we eat both the chicken meat and eggs. I know from experience that Omega 3 rich eggs in the supermarket are twice as expensive as regular eggs. So if my chickens are fed a regular diet of Purslane hence the eggs should be high in Omega 3. See these are those accidental strokes of genius I'm talking about. I think maybe the chickens will be sharing their Omega 3 laden greens in the future.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Planting Seeds

2012-01-14T00:44:00.000-06:00

January is the time to start planting seeds indoors for my area. I start out planting with the cold weather crops. The first plants to go in my garden will be onions around the time that we plant potatoes which is St. Patrick's Day. So I am planting onions now so that my onions will have around 8 weeks to grow before they will be set out. For these small seeded vegetables I like an organic seed starting mix.

First I place the soil in a large dishpan and put it in my big laundry sink. I add just enough warm water to moisten the mix but not to make it soupy.

Then I add the soil to my flats. I have had these flats for many years. I wash them out at the end of the growing season with a little bleach and water solution then store them until the next year. As long as they stay out of direct sunlight they will last for many years. These have 72 compartments each. Using these flats each shelf will hold 288 plants. Or 864 plants total which is more than I will ever need.

In the past I have also used solo cups with small holes melted in the bottom with a hot nail or even yogurt cups.

I have even made pots from recycled newspapers.

If using flats I always leave one celpak open in the corner. This is for watering. This way I water through this one opening so that the plants absorb water from the bottom of the flat and I can see how much water is down there.

The other things I use are a pencil, a white saucer, small craft sticks and a fine point permanent marker.

Today I am planting Australian Brown Onion from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds here in Missouri.

Green Bunching Onions and also my Laura Bush Petunias from Johnny's Wild Seeds.

The white saucer is for the seeds. White so that I can see them and a saucer so that I can pick them up easily.

A pencil to use as a dibble to make a small impression in each compartment or celpak for the seeds. It's simple to make a shallow depression in the soil and place two seeds in it. Put on some nice relaxing music and settle in for awhile. Once all are planted make sure that the seeds are covered but not too much. These little seeds don't need much soil on top. the soil is already moist so no watering is needed.

Write the name of the crop on the small craft stick and the date on the other side. Make sure your marker is permanent. Don't have craft sticks then try cutting up tags from old plastic milk jugs or bleach bottles.

The great thing about the small craft sticks is that the clear covers will fit over them.

Then my seed trays are placed under the lights. You want the light within just a few inches of the top of the cover at first. Keep your lights always as close to your plants as possible without touching.

My seed rack is homemade and has 3 shelves. It sits by my freezer in the laundry room so that I have never needed heat under my seeds. It seems that the small amount of heat generated by the freezer seems to be more that sufficient to keep my seeds nice and toasty. Very rarely do I have a problem with something not coming up.I keep atleast 10 hours of light on my plants a day.

The rack is on wheels so that it can be easily moved allowing access to the freezer.

Each shelf has it's own light switch so that I can run 1 shelf or three depending on my needs. Each shelf holds 4 black seed trays.

Each light can be raised or lowered as the seedlings grow.

Once you start seeing these small green threads your onions are up and it is time to remove the clear lids. Keep your lights as close as possible to your plant top helps to prevent spindly plants. When these are about 4 inches tall I will move them to the cold frame.

Once in the cold frame they are hardened off for the garden.

Every gardener has their own way of starting seeds and this seems to be what works for me.

How do you start your seeds?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to Return To Homestead Revival Barn Hop

Chicken Pot Pie

2012-01-13T04:00:00.000-06:00

My family loves pot pies. Not those frozen ones that are bought in the freezer section of the supermarket but real homemade pot pies. Warm and oozing with chicken or turkey, garden vegetables and a creamy broth. All cooked in a flaky pie crust. They aren't really as hard as you think.

First for the crust:

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 2/3 cup additional flour

2/3 cup shortening

( This is a great no frill super simple pie crust...flour, shortening, salt, water. You would really be surprised at how flaky it is)

Measure out 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup flour and 1/2 tsp salt

mix the flour and salt with the water to make a paste and set aside for now

Now in a bowl measure out 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

then cut in 2/3 cup shortening with hands or pastry cutter

it should be consistency of large crumbs

then add your paste mixture to the crumb mixture and stir lightly with fork until soft ball forms. ( You might have to add an additional teaspoon of cold water at a time to get it to form a ball. Don't add too much)

Do not overwork dough or it will be tough. as ball forms take dough ball and put into plastic bag.

Place sealed bag in refrigerator and allow to chill. I made mine in the morning to use that afternoon. Will keep in refrigerator for several days.

Filling

1 quart canned chicken or turkey in broth

1 Tbsp dried onions

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder or dried garlic

1 tsp dried celery

2 cups either canned or left over vegetables (green beans, carrots, corn)

1/4 cup butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup all purpose flour

I start out with a quart jar of canned chicken or turkey in broth. If you don't have that then 2 cups of cubed cooked chicken meat and 2 cups of chicken broth should be just about right.

I add my meat and broth mixture to my large skillet and add onions, rosemary, thyme, pepper, garlic and celery and on low bring to a simmer until all onions and celery are soft and cooked. ( I use dried spices because I dehydrate my own and therefore that is what is in my pantry feel free to use fresh and just saute first before adding broth and meat.)

In a small 6 inch skillet or saute pan melt 1/4 cup butter and add tablespoon of olive oil and 1/3 cup flour

Stir to make a paste and cook on low until it bubbles stirring constantly. Once it starts to bubble continue to stir and cook for several minutes. (You are making a roux or cooking your flour to get rid of the flour taste. It will take on a slightly nutty taste and aroma.)

Once your roux has cooked for several minutes add to simmering broth mixture and stir broth mixture and allow to simmer until it thickens. This will make a thick gravy for your pot pie.

Now add your vegetables. I had left over green beans and carrots already cooked fro the night before in the fridge. So I sliced the baby carrots and tossed all in my pot pie.

Turn off your hot filling and let it cool slightly.

Now to finish your crust:

Take dough out of refrigerator and cut it in half.

Roll out on floured surface

Place dough in pie pan

Add filling to bottom crust and place second crust over top. Seal edges and crimp

Then I placed my pie on a covered cookie sheet to protect my oven from spills and brushed a mixture of egg and milk over crust to help with browning. Then bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the top is brown and the filling hot and bubbly.

Take out of oven and let cool before serving. As it cools the filling thickens. If you cut it while it is still really hot it will still be runny.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Liebster Blog Award

2012-01-12T04:00:00.000-06:00

Unlike many other online activities Blogging has been such a fun activity for me personally. I have met some great people, learned things that I would have never thought of otherwise and both gotten and shared some great ideas. Hickery Holler Farm was recently presented the Liebster Blog Award by Kathy Felsted Usher over at the Moving On To The Past Blog Spot. To quote Kathy:

The origins of the award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Upon accepting the award the recipient must then pass it on to five more blogs of note.
Here are the rules:

1- Choose FIVE up and coming blogs to award the Liebster to. Blogs must have less than 200 followers.
2- Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3- Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites.

Well it just thrill me that someone took the time to recognize this small blog but am so grateful for the love and appreciation. Thank you again Kathy! This was a hard decision for me because I read so many different blogs on gardening, quilting, sewing and canning along with self sufficiency blogs that I just want to recommend everyone. So in the spirit that this blog award was given I will pass it along to these 5 people.

Survival Kitchen is a wonderful blog about living in and renovating a 100 year old house, cooking canning and just plain good living.

Freedom Acres Farm is another great blog with subjects such as gardening, cooking homeschooling and good clean rural living.

Providence Acres is another small blog all about organic food, frugal living, and rural skills. Wine making, herbs and cooking are my faves.

Woodridge Farms is also a small farm blog. Lots of gardens,goats, quilting, cooking and canning. Just a great all around site located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Ozark Mountain Family is a homesteading and self sufficiency blog located in the Ozark Mountains of Southern Missouri. Lots of gardening, livestock, canning and cooking located in a beautiful area.

You can find all 5 of these blogs on my sidebar and I read them regularly also.

Thanks again Kathy and I hope you enjoy visiting all of them.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Predator Control

2012-01-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

Living out here off the beaten path isn't always pretty. We constantly are at odds with Mother Nature it seems sometimes. One of these areas is predators. In actuality we are a smorgasbord sitting right in the middle of the forest for many wild animals. When we first moved here we were horrified when a raccoon chewed all the legs off our chicks through the wire in the bottom of the brooder. Or the skunk cleaned out the chicken eggs for the 100th time. Or our barn cats were found half eaten by coyotes. Eventually we learned to fight back. We learned to bury wire around the perimeter of the chicken yard and turkey run to prevent them from digging under. We learned to cover the chicken yard with a mesh overhead to stop owl and hawk attacks. We learned to put cages over hens nesting on the ground at night to keep out the rats and possums. To never leave eggs in the nests overnight. To cover all feed storage containers with sturdy lids and keep all compost piles far away from these areas. The little dogs all must stay inside at night to protect them from the coyotes and we no longer even try to have cats. One of the greatest tools to prevent loss of livestock and crops is population control. There were years when we did not get one ear of corn. Even with electric fences, radios, and sprays. You name it we have tried it. Years ago O Wise One started trapping the area immediately around our house to help keep that population down. The result has been a considerable decrease in the loss of livestock and crops. An added bonus being some years we get a nice price for those pelts. We also hope that by carefully discouraging the wildlife from coming to the livestock areas by making it harder to get at the livestock and trapping every year to keep the numbers low in the immediate area that we will also discourage outbreaks of rabies, distemper, and mange that are so often found in wild populations of coyote, raccoon, possum and skunk. And especially skunk as the number of skunk seen this year have been more than we have ever seen. Reducing their numbers every year through trapping has made a huge difference in our struggle to garden and raise livestock in an isolated setting.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

January 2012

2012-01-10T04:00:00.000-06:00

One plus to blogging is the ability to look back from one year to the next and compare weather conditions and crop productions and failures. January of 2011 looked like this:

And January of 2012 looks like this so far:

January for 2012 here in North Central Missouri is starting out as one for the record books. With consistent record breaking high temperatures and a snowfall total for the winter so far of next to nothing. The small town cafe is buzzing with news of global warming. The soil is dry. I don't think I have ever seen a January this dry. The large farmers are disking fields, laying fertilizer, burning grass banks and fields. Normally this is done in March. With soybeans prices at record highs it amazes me at the people that are plowing under pasture and grazing land and planting soy beans this year instead of running cattle or cutting hay.

With the last 4 springs being extremely cool, with warm weather not coming until late June and very wet. I haven't had to water my gardens in years other than maybe to sprinkle new transplants as I plant them or water in seed beds. I fear that maybe we are in for a hot and dry spring and summer at the rate we are going.

How's the weather for everyone else out there?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Packaging Meat

2012-01-08T10:14:00.000-06:00

O Wise One killed three deer this year which is about normal for us. His aim is for 3 young antlerless deer for the most tender meat he can get. This he home processes for a grass fed local alternative to corn fed beef. The problem with venison is it's low fat content. In some things such as meatloaf,sausage and burger without some fat content you get a dry end product that has a hard time holding together when cooked. So O Wise One cuts some of our venison into about 1 inch cubes and freezes it. We than purchase preferably local grown, grass fed beef when one of our neighbors butcher and have it ground into burger. From there we take it home and then the venison is thawed out and ground into burger on our small home grinder.

Ground venison

Then the ground beef and the ground venison are added to this meat mixer at a ratio of half and half. You turn the crank and the paddles inside mix the two meat together.

This is probably one of the handiest contraptions you can own if you are going to make your own sausage in large quantities.

Once the two meats are mixed then we put it in our large hand sausage stuffer and shoot it into one pound bags ready for the freezer.

This situation is not an ideal one having to freeze the venison but the local butcher shops do not butcher cattle during deer season because they can not butcher cattle and venison at the same time. It has to do with safety laws. So we either have to freeze the ground meat before deer season or get ground beef after hunting season is over and freeze the venison. It just depends on when a beef is available locally for slaughter.

We like this process as we think it improves the venison for things like meatballs, burgers and meatloaf and also has the extra benefit of extending our meat supply to last longer. All of a sudden 25 pounds of ground beef becomes 50 pounds of beef/venison combination. By purchasing our own meat processing equipment we save the expense of meat processing and packaging fees. Although the equipment can be expensive we purchased our equipment years ago and it has paid for itself many time over in savings through the years. We know our meat is clean, we keep our work areas sanitized and our equipment and know exactly how it is handled and packaged.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link To Return To Blog Hop

Foot Care

2012-01-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

With the heater running and drying out the air O Wise One and I have started to have a problem with the heels of our feet. For us this problem comes with over exposure ( going barefoot or wearing flip flop or garden clogs) during the summer, a lack of exfoliating and moisturizing ( shame on us) , and dry skin. It seems with heating the house it flares up every winter. From what I have read this is also something that older people tend to have problems with as well but we won't go there. Part of our New Year's resolution is to pay more attention to this part of our bodies. In my web surfing over the holidays I ran across several DIY products that have really helped us with this issue.

DIY Foot Scrubs

During the holidays you find lots of these recipes floating around the net as homemade gifts. I personally don't give cosmetics as gifts but that doesn't keep me from experimenting with these for myself. I made up a wonderful concoction by mixing brown sugar, vanilla, and olive oil. I put this in a small jelly jar and placed it in the bathroom. At night I exfoliate my feet with this foot scrub and they feel wonderful. I guess the sugar helps get rid of that dead skin on your heels and the olive oil moisturizes. I have started also using it on my elbows and knees to exfoliate and moisturize. It works wonderfully. The only downside is you need to make sure and clean the tub afterwards with a little baking soda as it will leave your tub slippery.

Basically I add enough brown sugar to loosely fill a pint jar then add enough olive oil to make a paste and a Tablespoon of vanilla extract. Stir well and put top on jar. At bath time you just dip your wash cloth in the jar and get a small scoop to wash heels and elbows. Sometimes it will separate and settle and you may have to take your finger and remix your scrub.

You can find lots of these sugar scrub recipes at this link : Tip Junkie

I think a small tub of this for washing those dirty gardening hands will be by the bathroom sink this summer as well.

DIY Moisturizing Lotion

The other foot care product I have started making is a homemade lotion.There is a great tutorial for making this lotion over at Lisa Takes Six Blog Spot

Following her advice I went to the Dollar Store and bought a jar of inexpensive Vitamin E Lotion, Petroleum Jelly and Baby lotion. Put them all in a bowl and got out my mixer. This whipped up a quart jar and a pint jar of fluffy moisturizing lotion that we must say is the best we have ever used on our feet. Although with the Petroleum Jelly it is a bit heavy to use anywhere else. We keep a jar in the end table between our recliners. We put it on every night while we sit in our chairs and watch tv, read or crochet. We use a foot file first to remove any dry skin and put on clean white socks after applying the lotion. I must say the improvement has been wonderful, and inexpensive.

In the future I would also like to experiment with making a beeswax and olive oil solid lotion bars for a little more natural approach. But for now we are seeing a daily improvement to that dry itchy skin and cracking heel problem that so many older people experience.

Anyone else have any great cures for this ailment?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Last Year's Garden Successes

2012-01-06T04:00:00.000-06:00

2011 was a good garden year for us. But like every year we have our successes and our failures. Some through no fault of our own. Some just a combination of luck, ongoing experimentation with different varieties and ever changing weather patterns. Last year we had a cool wet spring but were able to get many of our cool weather crops in really early. In those conditions we had a phenomenal potato harvest and still in January are eating fresh potatoes although they are disappearing fast. Also a bumper crop led to extensive potato canning and experimenting with dehydrating both hash browns and sliced potatoes.

Last spring we extended the strawberry bed and moved our struggling rhubard plants (2) to a new location at the end of the strawberry garden. This was a great success because not only are they thriving but by separating the roots we now have a huge rhubarb patch and are looking forward to lots of rhubard to use this spring.

Another great addition was a new variety of pea last year.Through Seed Savers Exchange we acquired a new variety of garden pea called Champion of England . This pea was a phenomenal grower for us reaching a height of almost 6 feet and loaded with peas holding sometimes as many as 10 peas in a pod. We planted 2 rows one for eating and one for seeds so with good germination we are hoping for a really good crop this year. Another great heirloom from Seed Savers.

Another great performer last year was an heirloom, open pollinated pepper we call Italian Pickling Pepper. This seed was given to us by a family member and we are unsure of it's origin. It has for the last several years exceeded the yields of any pepper we have ever grown of this kind.

2011 here was the year of the petunia..For the first time we planted Laura Bush petunias. An open pollinated petunia that was a great performer here. It withstood dry spells, 100 degree weather, rainy seasons when other petunias would have been beat to death. It just kept on blooming, blooming and blooming. With very little care of any kind. This variety is definitely a keeper and can be obtained through many wild seed companies. My hope this year is to obtain the lighter pink version of this plant. My husband laughs and says we will probably end up with acres of this stuff but I don't care : )

As I pour over the new seed catalogs for this new year and read magazines and online reviews I have to wonder what will be the superstars of the garden this year. The one thing I missed last year was the bumper crop of fruit that we had enjoyed the year before. Our hope is that Mother Nature will cooperate this year and we will have lots of fruit for the coming year. No late frosts and freezes, and no tornado force winds and torrential rains blowing off the young fruit. I'll just have to pray about it.

For this coming year I want to add more herbs to my gardens and to learn more about wild edibles and herbal tinctures. I also want to add more herbs for my new found soap making projects. I also want to add a potager or kitchen garden closer to the house.

What garden successes did you have last year?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Dreaming Of Green Grass And Gardens

2012-01-05T07:23:00.000-06:00

Dreaming of green grass and gardens indeed. The seed catalogs have arrived. They started in November and there has been a steady stream in the mailbox in the last week or so. Just in time for the dead of winter with not a blade of green in sight. And long dreary overcast days spent pining over the array of colored flowers and those succulent vegetables and fruit. It's like teasing a toddler with a lollipop. Like offering ice water in the middle of the dessert. I'll be making my list and checking it twice.

Who's your favorite seed company?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

My First Quilt Of 2012

2012-01-04T04:00:00.000-06:00

I have my first quilt of the season on the frame. It is a beautiful Embroidered quilt with a hexagon representing each state with the bird and flower. I did not make this quilt but am quilting it for a friend. I do very few quilts for other people. I always feel so guilty about charging people so much for hand quilting and I think usually probably never charge enough. Besides I have plenty of my own to do.

I am quilting this one along the edges with stars to match the stars in the quilt and in the ditch along edges of the squares. It has a natural muslin backing.

Hoping to finish it in six weeks to two months but we shall see. I set aside atleast an hour or two each day just for quilting. I'll take pictures when I am finished.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Crochet Projects

2012-01-03T05:36:00.000-06:00

Cold weather for me means needlework and a creative time. A break from gardening and canning. A time of rest. A time of planning and regrouping. This is a shawl I am crocheting for myself for around the house. I got new yarn and Tunisian crochet hooks for Christmas. I am trying to learn Tunisian crochet. It's kind of a mixture of knitting and crochet. Another of those new skills I am learning online from tutorials and Youtube videos.

Also working on some new potholder for my kitchen. The old ones are pretty ratty and I love these new yarns from Sugar and Creme. 100 % cotton from the USA too!

And you never have too many hats around the house during the winter.

And already planning for next year with some crocheted snowflakes for my own tree and gifts. These are not starched yet.

Won't they be pretty starched and with shiny white ribbon hanging from the tree.

What are your winter projects for this winter?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

The Eagles Are Back

2012-01-02T08:43:00.000-06:00

Every year the eagles return to the area about the same time as the geese. Some usually remain in the area and can be spotted in the tree line and foraging on the various carcasses of dead animals such as deer that have been hit lying in the fields roadside.

Here in Hickery Holler we keep a pair of binoculars in the dining room window to watch these beautiful birds in the tree line.

Of course we always have plenty of these fellows around. Which is why I have netting on top of not only the chicken yard but also the turkey run.

People often ask if we get bored living so far in the country. What they don't know is that Mother Nature goes out of her way to keep us entertained.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Why?

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

This morning I watched the last sunrise of 2011. The last day or so has been spent doing those things that I do every year this time. Changing my smoke alarm batteries, cleaning out my email folder of old emails. Those end of the year chores that symbolize the cleaning out of old and the beginning of something new. This last year has been an interesting one with the beginning of teaching our daughter at home, the weekly 2 day babysitting of our toddler grandson and the usual madness of our farm life. As I cleaned out my email inbox I came across several emails that I had saved from various sources but all offering to stream my blog to other sites. Several of these emails categorized this blog as a survivalist blog. Needless to say I respectfully decline those offers just as I decline all outside advertising. To those who look at this as a survivalist blog I assure you that should the world fall apart that I would feed, care for and probably take in everyone that showed up at my door. Therefore I will probably perish with everyone else.

In the interim I will strive to live as I always have as frugally, self sustaining, organically and natural as possible. It reminds me of the late 90's when a friend of mine came over and we were having a discussion while picking over a row of green beans on a hot summer morning. Just two old neighbor ladies laughing and visiting over the green bean row. Y2K was looming and we laughed that all of a sudden the things that we normally used and purchased were sold out or hard to find because everyone was buying supplies for Y2K. We figured out that we didn't need any preparations because we lived that way everyday. If the water didn't run guess we'd have to use the old well again. If the electricity went out guess we'd drag out grandma's old lamps and the oil we kept for when the lights went out. We already had pantries that were well stocked and the jars and lids to preserve what we needed. Guess we need to air out all the quilts and chop plenty of wood but indeed this was nothing new for us two old farm wives. Well Y2K came and went and we picked up some great garage sale finds that next year. They say the world is ending in 2012 but again the larder is full and the lamp oil is waiting. The quilts are on the bed as they are every winter. O Wise One and I just hold hands and love one another and pray alot. I guess maybe they are right and indeed we are survivors. And no matter what fad comes along we'll be right here on the farm working hard everyday, trying to live right and take care of ourselves, our family and this land.

The other file of emails that I cleaned out was what I call my " WHY" file. Those emails I get wanting to know why I bake bread when it is cheap at the grocers. Why I quilt when the stores are full of cheap blankets. Why I garden when it is cheaper at the the store. My philosophy is if I have to explain why then you will never understand. What this blog is about is not about surviving it is about enjoying. Trust me I am a terminal cancer survivor and if anyone understands fighting to survive I do. So for all my readers out there my wish for 2012 is that you enjoy what I have. That you all know the feeling of eating fresh corn standing in the middle of a garden still warm from the suns rays. With sweet corn juice and a stubborn silk or two stuck in your teeth. Smiling because you beat the coons to it this year. Or the joy of your grandson toddling along the sweet green pea row stuffing green peas in his shorts pocket. Or the taste of a ripe peach dripping off your chin and elbows. The tug of your line as a fish takes your worm. The thrill of watching eggs hatch and new life come forth. The taste of watermelon cooled in the creek. The satisfaction of sitting down to eat and knowing that everything on that table you grew on your own land with your own hands. Of picking up nuts under the trees that you planted. Or sleeping under quilts made by not only by your hands but the hands of the last 2 generations of women in your family. The smell of fresh baked bread or fresh mowed hay. Of walking land that is yours. Not the banks but yours. Land that you cleared and a home that you built. Humble as it may be. Livestock lovingly tended on that land living dignified existences. Well cared for and tended for the duration of their lives. And when their lives are taken for your own sustenance they are taken respectfully and humbly.

Hickery Holler is not about surviving it is about enjoying and graciously thanking god everyday for the privilege to do so. Hickery Holler is a lifestyle!

So to all of you for 2012 I wish you love. The love of my heavenly father and the love of family. My hair is now gray and the flush of youth long gone from my body but when I am laid to rest they will say she has been loved. When I was sick with cancer I remember going through chemotherapy and laying in bed and being sick often. I would lay there and cry as I looked out the window overlooking my flower garden and watching the weeds slowly overtake my beloved plants. I awoke one day to see an old man on his hands and knees crawling around out there in my flowers pulling weeds. This is a man who has never flower gardened in his life. Much less pulled a weed out of one. And as he pulled you could see the tears flowing down his cheeks and knew he was praying for the life of his love. So for all of you I wish you all that kind of love.

But most of all may you never have to ask me why!

Please have a safe and happy New Years Eve.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Bad Feather Day

2011-12-30T03:00:00.000-06:00

Remember our determined hen turkey that hid her nest and hatched a late batch of babies. O Wise One took her and the chicks and put them in a brooder under a heat lamp to keep them warm and safe because of the cold temperatures so late in the year. Last week a 4-H member came and bought the babies for his project next year so mama turkey went back in the turkey run with the other adult turkeys.

She immediately lost all her feathers. Talking about a bad feather day. We think it was from being under the heat lamp. Thank goodness we don't have snow or really cold temperatures right now. O Wise one put some extra straw in the turkey house for her.

As you can see she is already getting her pin feathers back. If it gets cold I may have to make the poor thing a sweater.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Hank's Hide Out

2011-12-28T13:51:00.001-06:00

In the spirit of making as many of my Christmas presents as possible this was one of my grandson Hank's gifts.At 18 months he loves to crawl inside things. Dog boxes, boxes and cabinets are hide outs for him to play. So when I found this on Pinterest I knew I had to make it for Hank. The great thing about it is that it fits over my card table so I can fold the card table and put it away when he is not here to play. I made it like a fitted tablecloth with a door. I crocheted him a camouflage blanket to go on the floor in the bottom and he has a hide out all his own.

Complete with his name.

And windows and a front door flap

And plenty of space to play with his animals and trucks

This will stay at grandma's house since he doesn't have room in his parents small house for it.

We bought him a shiny new red tricycle to take home. Complete with tassels and a horn.

There are so many inspiring sites and patterns to be found on the internet now it makes those hand made gift ideas much easier for grandma.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Christmas Injuries...

2011-12-28T13:16:00.000-06:00

We are finishing out the year with a bang here in Hickery Holler. We all have the flu. Baby O went into the local high school on the last day to interview the English teacher. It was part of her career planning class assignment. While there of course all her girlfriends that she hadn't seen lately had to hug her. Thus she came home and within 48 hours had the flu. Of course passing it along to first me and then her father.

So we celebrated Christmas here with the flu. I put a baking hen in the crock pot on Christmas morning and had a frozen dressing in the freezer. Made some rolls and cooked a jar of green beans and made a blackberry pie with a jar of my blackberry pie filling and that was Christmas dinner. The next day the leftover chicken and broth became chicken soup again in the crock pot.

Then I sat in my chair to mend Baby O's Christmas stocking which I made before she was born. It had a few missing sequins etc after 16 years of hard use. The phone rand and I got up to answer it.

The sewing scissors were sitting in my lap and when I stood up the scissors fell impaling my foot. Needless to say I bled like a stuck hog. Baby O had to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Only I can hurt myself sewing in a chair. So now on top of the flu I am hobbling around with an injured foot. Sure hope this isn't a sign of times to come !

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Merry Christmas To All

2011-12-24T07:53:00.002-06:00

We have finally received our first snow here in Hickery Holler. Late this season but here none the less. Nothing for the record books and it won't really last long with temperatures still a little warmer than usual for this Holiday season. We managed to miss the blizzard in so much of Kansas this last week.

O Wise One continues to run his trap line again this year. He has been blessed with good weather and a good hunt. It makes it so much easier without ice and snow. Season will close the end of January.

I have been doing lots of baking

And cooking, cleaning and present wrapping. My older children will be spending Christmas with elderly grandparents on their father's side. So O Wise One, Baby O and myself are having a quiet Christmas at home. We have scaled down the menu just for us and already have the games to play ready and movies waiting. We are gonna spend this Holiday eating good food and being together.

We thank you for your support and comments through out the last year. We would like to wish each and every one of you a blessed and happy Christmas this year. We wish you good health, wisdom, peace and happiness in all your endeavors for the new year. We shall return again to post after January 1st.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Christmas Decorating

2011-12-20T06:51:00.000-06:00

With the wrapping of presents and the baking of cookies and all the other Holiday activities time is short here at Hickery Holler.

Please be patient when posts are few.......

We will return as time permits.......

We send tidings of good cheer to each and everyone of you this Christmas Season.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Venison Jerky

2011-12-17T10:45:00.001-06:00

As many of you who have followed this blog for any length of time know O Wise One is a hunter. He grew up running these river bottom lands of the Grand River. His great grandfather was a river boat captain on the Missouri River before moving here. He then ran a sawmill and raised a family.

His mother was born right on Locust Creek. No one lives on Locust Creek now because it floods out. She told stories of her father going out and killing hundreds of ducks at a time. The ducks were brought home and picked and cleaned. The feathers saved for mattresses and an individual duck put in a quart jar. They were then processed in a hot water bath and capped with fat. That is how they were preserved. Her father raised a family off the game that was killed during the depression. Extra money was earned for the family from the hides that were trapped. They got a new coat every year and shoes for the winter from the walnuts and pecans that were picked up and sold. So as you see the cooking and eating of wild game is a regular occurrence here on the farm. Wild game supplements the pork, chicken, rabbit and turkey that we produce for ourselves. We do occasionally buy beef. We also eat lots of local fish caught out of our own ponds or out of the rivers and farm ponds in the area.

We prepare venison pretty well the same as beef. O Wise One always kills young does or a button buck as table meat. Very rarely does he horn hunt anymore. We have found that we get about 30 pounds of pure trimmed meat from an average deer. He skins and cuts up our deer right here on the farm. I like that he is more careful with our deer than anyone I have ever seen. He soaks the meat out for several days before doing anything with it. It is completely trimmed of any fat and hair free when he gets finished with it. Then it is vacuum sealed and frozen so no freezer burn. On average each year we process about 3 deer which gives us about 100 pounds of grass fed, fat free, pure meat. There are always roasts for pulled venison or pot roast. We mix the ground venison with ground beef at a half and half ratio for chili, burgers, meatballs, meatloaf and tacos. We make smoked sausage, andouille, and Italian sausage mixing it with a little pork. If not the sausage will be dry without that extra fat. We also make jerky. Thought I would let everyone follow along making jerky.

First freeze your meat until it is firm but not frozen. Partially frozen meat slices easier. We cut ours about a 1/4" thick.

Then the meat is put into quart ziploc bags and the marinade recipe below added. Then the bags are placed in a large bowl just in case one leaks and put in the fridge. At least several times during the marinading process we take the bags and redistribute the meat and marinade so that it all marinades completely. We always let ours marinade overnight.

Venison Jerky
1 lb venison (fat and skin removed)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon A-1 Steak Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
Slice venison about 1/4″ thin (slightly frozen meat will cut easier). In a large bowl, stir all of the ingredients together; add meat and let marinate several hours, or overnight.
You can cook this in a dehydrator, or in the oven.

Then the meat slices are taken out and laid on the trays of the dehydrator. Set the temperature to the jerky setting of your dehydrator. On mine the setting is 145 degrees but each brand of dehydrator can be different.

The meat is then dehydrated until it is completely dry.Ours dehydrated for 7 hours until dry and brittle.

Once the jerky is done then we let it cool and put about 6 pieces or so in small ziploc bags. Then the small bags are put in a gallon bag and put in the freezer. If we are going to be keeping it long term then we vacuum pack it. We take a bag out of the freezer as needed and put in the refrigerator to defrost. This jerky won't last long with all the kids around for the Holidays.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link To Return To Homestead Revival

Twelve Days of Homeschool

2011-12-16T17:54:00.001-06:00

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Tree Trimming

2011-12-15T11:59:00.001-06:00

Well the tree is trimmed and the lights are hung. I wish I could say the presents are all wrapped but not there yet. Cookies are baked and delivered to the elderly. Still have some baking to do for my family but will do that next week. Saturday we will be having Christmas with my oldest daughter (Fred) and her family since they are going to visit her father's family for Christmas. I will be baking the rolls for that gathering.

Such a busy time of year!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Time To Crochet

2011-12-15T08:21:00.000-06:00

This is the time of year when those long cold winter nights drag on. I curl up in my recliner and watch tv with O Wise One and crochet. Winter seems to be about the only time I get to watch much television but when it gets dark so early we watch a movie or show or two about every night. Lately the crochet project has been dish cloths. I love working with 100 per cent cotton thread. And this is 100% US cotton. Yes I am still on that SHOP U.S. band wagon : ) I love making wash cloths because I use them to learn new stitches and edgings. It's like a mini afghan.

I make these up and keep them for gifts throughout the year. Great for wedding and housewarming baskets. I love the crocheted dish cloths and think that they clean the best of any. I think I am going to use them to wrap homemade soaps in as gifts because they could be used as face cloths as well .

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

I Am A Soap Maker

2011-12-14T06:45:00.000-06:00

I did it! I made Soap.......

I love learning new things, even at my age. Better late than never right...

Above is my goat's milk soap made with lard and coconut oil, the lard produced and rendered right on this farm.

It has chamomile flecks and a light grapefruit fragrance.

This is an olive oil and coconut oil based soap with a coconut and lemon grass scent. It smells light, fresh and heavenly. I'm pretty well hooked on this soapmaking thing. I could enjoy making soap in the winter and make enough to last my family all summer.

Just beginner soaps nothing fancy. I collected the supplies through out the year as they went on sale. A mixing wand, some essential and fragrance oils here and there, many at a reduced price. I saved milk cartons as molds. And most importantly I researched, I watched videos and tutorials and I learned. For a mold I just recycled some cardboard milk cartons. I made this cold pour and still have enough goats milk for one more batch in the freezer. Thanks Terri at Our Crazy Farm for the goats milk recipe and the tutorial.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Right On Schedule

2011-12-13T06:17:00.000-06:00

Just in time for the Christmas Season my Christmas cactus has burst into full bloom this week. It is so nice when everything is brown and dead outside to have that burst of color inside.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Homemade Ornament Ideas

2011-12-12T10:02:00.000-06:00

Looking for something quick for those Sunday school kids to make. Little flower pot reindeer fit the bill. Simple and cheap to make even for those little fingers. As I decorated this year I picked out a few ornaments that my kids have made through the years that I thought were both cheap and simple to make.

How about this: a Styrofoam ball with two pieces of wide wired ribbon brought up over it and tied with raffia. Can't get simpler than that!

My three oldest boys all went to a religious parochial school during the first 9 years of their academic careers. Each of the boys has one of these from the second grade. It has their name and their class and year simply wrote on a fake apple to hang on the tree. A keepsake from the teacher. in expensive, cute and they have held up for almost 30 years.

I have my little apple orchard on my tree every year. Those boys are now in their thirties.

One year I crocheted 50 of these as gifts for my cub scouts and my children's class mates. Each had a candy cane in it and could be hung on the tree.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link To Return To Holiday Barn Hop

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-11T08:38:00.000-06:00

"Hurry take a bite before Mom looks "

Baby Hank went to see Santa. When he thought everyone's back was turned he slipped Santa some candy.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodwill Towards Men Finale

2011-12-10T06:06:00.000-06:00

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

St. Matthew 5:16

This is my final post for this series of posts this week which I called Goodwill Towards Men. I hope I gave you some ideas or maybe inspired you to go out into your community this holiday season and make a difference. I shall end by quoting Dr Seuss.

Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss..How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodwill Towards Men Friday

2011-12-09T01:30:00.000-06:00

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

St. Matthew 5:7

I do this every year. The week before Christmas I buy large bags of both dog food and cat food and drop off at my local animal shelter. Please neuter and spay your pets.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodwill Towards Men Thursday

2011-12-08T01:30:00.000-06:00

National Foster Care Youth Statistics

There are more than 500,000 children and youth in foster care in the U.S.; approximately 20,000 youth “age out” or emancipate from foster care each year.
100,000 foster youth live in California.
In California, 65% of youth leaving foster care do so without a place to live.
Up to 50% of former foster/probation youth become homeless within the first 18 months of emancipation.
Twenty seven percent (27%) of the homeless population spent time in foster care.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of all young adults accessing federally funded youth shelters in 1997 had previously been in foster care.
Less than half of former foster youth are employed 2.5-4 years after leaving foster care, and only 38% have maintained employment for at least one year.
Youth in foster care are 44% less likely to graduate from high school and after emancipation, 40 – 50 percent never complete high school.
Girls in foster care are six times more likely to give birth before the age of 21 than the general population.
Sixty percent (60%) of women who emancipate from foster care become parents within 2.5-4 years after exiting care.
Parents with a history of foster care are almost twice as likely as parents with no such history to see their own children placed in foster care or become homeless.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart. Kids and especially foster kids. You see I am an illegitimate child born of a teenage mother and a young father just coming home from the war. Neither stuck around long enough to raise me. I was abandoned and later adopted by my parents. I am also an adoptive mother. Yes one of my sons was adopted from the foster care system that I participated in for years. My son had so many problems that it would take me pages to describe them. He is now a healthy well adjusted thirty something year old man. He is articulate and kind and moral, a successful business owner and a wonderful loving man. He is the apple of his mama's eye and I could not love him more if I had given birth to him. But he, like myself, came from one of the worst backgrounds you could imagine. He was deemed unadoptable at 3 and faced a future of living out his childhood bouncing around the faster care system. His health issues, emotional scars and learning disabilities made him undesirable to those looking to adopt. To those looking for perfection he was broken and unmendable. My god and I knew better. Was it hard work? You better believe it. Was he worth it. They all are. There are no disposable children in my eyes.

Looking for a charity for the Christmas season to donate to. This is my pick. Buy a foster child that pair of basket ball shoes that the foster parent can't afford. Or help pay for those braces that child needs to correct that speech impairment. Offer to pay for that catchers mitt or cub scout uniform. This all comes out of the foster parents pocket. Volunteer to help tutor a struggling child. Or maybe be a big brother or sister. Or take a foster child for holiday dinner. There are lots of teenagers in children's shelters with nowhere to go and no one to go to.

One of the most gratifying things I have ever volunteered for was to be an instructor years ago at a home for unwed mothers. I literally taught these young girls how to be mothers from the ground up. Many had not had mothers themselves. Many had come from the streets. I taught these girls how to feed and diaper and love and care for a child.

I also used to do public speaking on what to expect being a foster or adoptive parent from these kids.

Not just Christmas but anytime of the year kids need guidance and leadership and someone to care.

Be a girl scout leader I have.

Be a Boy Scout Leader. I have!

I have 1 Eagle Scout and 2 Life Scouts for sons. I myself hold the Wood Badge award in Boy Scouting. Yes I can camp with the best of you.

Even more so if you are a family looking to adopt, please consider looking in your own community. There are so many children out there needing homes. They may not be new born, they may not be perfect but take it from a mother of 5, they never are no matter where they come from.

Don't want a baby? Many children linger in foster care for their entire childhood and then at 18 are thrown into the world. Many emotionally scarred, unprepared to function in an adult world, with no adult support system of any kind. Many end up homeless. They are not children but they sure could use a hand.

He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

Psalms 72:4

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Good Will Towards Men Wednesday

2011-12-07T01:30:00.000-06:00

During the 20th century, the number of persons in the United States under age 65 has tripled. At the same time, the number aged 65 or over has jumped by a factor of 11! Consequently, the elderly, who comprised only 1 in every 25 Americans (3.1 million) in 1900, made up 1 in 8 (33.2 million) in 1994. Declining fertility and mortality rates also have led to a sharp rise in the median age of our Nation's population -- from 20 years old in 1860 to 34 in 1994.

According to the Census Bureau's "middle series" projections, the elderly population will more than double between now and the year 2050, to 80 million. By that year, as many as 1 in 5 Americans could be elderly. Most of this growth should occur between 2010 and 2030, when the "baby boom" generation enters their elderly years. During that period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8 percent annually. By comparison, annual growth will average 1.3 percent during the preceding 20 years and 0.7 percent during the following 20 years.

Another consequence of the relative scarcity of elderly men is the fact that elderly women were much more likely than men to live alone. So much more likely, in fact, that 8 in 10 noninstitutionalized elderly who lived alone in 1993 were women. Among both sexes, the likelihood of living alone increased with age. For women, it rose from 32 percent for 65- to 74-year-olds to 57 percent for those aged 85 years or more; for men, the corresponding proportions were 13 percent and 29 percent.

Every year our family bakes lots of cookies for our annual 4-H cookie and fruit delivery. All the families donate cookies and fruit and we assemble after school to put the plates together. Then the children break into groups of 3 or 4 and are given directions to homes of the elderly and shut ins in our town. The parents drive the kids from address to address and the children sing carols outside their door and deliver the Christmas plates. Then the children all return to the school for hot chocolate and cookies provided by the parents. We have done this for 8 years now.

Also remember the sick of your community. I remember when I had cancer how wonderful it was to have a neighbor drop off a casserole for my family for dinner the next day. Or the postmaster offer to come and cut grass or help my husband drive me to therapy or watch my child. I especially remember the women of my community just dropping by when I was bed ridden with a great smelling skin lotion or a new pair of slippers or a pretty pair of new pajamas, or a beautiful scarf to cover my bald head. A short visit was the highlight of my day. Don't forget the sick of your community.

Another great way to help the community is the meals on wheels program providing holiday meals for those who can't prepare them or get out. In our community we also have a senior center that serves hot meals for those who can drive. These programs are always looking for volunteers.

Do you know someone alone for the holidays? Consider sharing your family and home with someone alone this season.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodwill Towards Men Tuesday

2011-12-06T01:30:00.000-06:00

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; And it giveth life to all that are in the house.

Mark 5:15

On any given night in America, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless, according to estimates of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

According to a December, 2000 report of the US Conference of Mayors:

single men comprise 44 percent of the homeless, single women 13 percent, families with children 36 percent, and unaccompanied minors seven percent.
the homeless population is about 50 percent African-American, 35 percent white, 12 percent Hispanic, 2 percent Native American and 1 percent Asian.

According to the 1996 National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC):

single homeless individuals in 1996 reported an average income of $348 during the last 30 days, about 51 percent of the 1996 federal poverty level of $680/month for one person.
28 percent said they sometimes or often do not get enough to eat, compared with 12 percent of poor American adults.
44 percent did paid work during the past month.
21 percent received income from family members or friends.
66 percent of the homeless have problems with alcohol, drug abuse, or mental illness.
22 percent have been physically assaulted.
7 percent have been sexually assaulted.
38 percent say someone stole money or things directly from them.
30 percent have been homeless for more than two years.

Many of us live in the country. Just because we don't see people sleeping on park benches doesn't mean your area doesn't have a problem. You would be surprised to know how many homeless there are even in small communities. How can you help this Holiday Season.

One year my Girl Scout Troop collected personal hygiene items ( toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, hairbrushes, etc..) and baby items (new diapers, onesies, blankets, stuffed animals and books) and made emergency kits for mothers and took to the local abused women's shelter. What a great lesson to those girls and a wonderful community service.

Shelters this time of year are always looking for coats, hats, gloves, blankets, sleeping bags etc. My daughter right now through her 4-H club is writing up a grant to put together small bags for men with soap, shave cream disposable razors, toothpaste and toothbrushes, gloves. hats and a small bible. The parents and kids will help to put these together and maybe throw in some snacks of some kind and locally donated items and take to the local homeless shelters. Yes we have them even in the country.

Maybe donate time during the holiday season to help prepare and serve a meal at the shelter. Or maybe help out by donating food. Maybe offer a homeless person a job.

On a personal note as this is being posted we are getting our first snow of the year. Temperatures are in the teens with a wind chill in the single digits.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodwill Toward Men Monday

2011-12-05T01:30:00.000-06:00

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

St. Matthew 5:7

This time of year you see lots of advertisements on television asking for donations to feed the hungry. We have all seen the pictures of starving African babies with big eyes and extended stomachs. What most people don't know is that there is a hunger problem right here in America. I found these statistics over at worldhunger.org

In 2010, children were food insecure at times during the year in 9.8 percent of households with children (3.9 million households.) In one percent of households with children,one or more of the children experienced the most severe food-insecure condition measured by USDA, very low food security, in which meals were irregular and food intake was below levels considered adequate by caregivers (Coleman-Jensen 2011, p. vi).

In 2010, 46.9 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007 -- the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty . This is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty rates have been published .

20.5 million Americans live in extreme poverty. This means their family’s cash income is less than half of the poverty line, or about $10,000 a year for a family of four .
49.9 million people or 16.3 percent of the American people, do not have medical insurance .

Trade. It is important to understand some basic economics. We in the United States live in a rich country, that has a large amount of capital--machinery, etc.--to produce things relative to the amount of labor--people that want to work. Poor countries have a lot of labor, but relatively little capital. There is a basic idea of economics--the factor price equalization theorem--that states that wages in rich countries will tend to go down and increase in poor countries through trade (Wikipedia 2010b). Thus China, with low wages, puts pressure on wages in the United States, as production is shifted to China from the United States. This movement of production from richer to poorer countries is initiated by corporations, not individuals, but it does shift jobs and income to poorer countries and people, and has been doing so for the last 30 years or so. Lower income people in the United States are particularly vulnerable to such shifts.

Yes in America people are going hungry. There are children going to bed without food right in your own area.

This year my daughter's 4-H club hosted a hunters breakfast for the local hunters who come in from out of town. Half of those proceeds are donated every year to buy meat products for the Christmas baskets for the local food pantry. Children banning together to help feed their own community!

At a time when the needs are so great, many food pantries are struggling as fewer people can afford to donate.

Those shelves are running pretty low at many food banks. So on my first Goodwill Towards Men post I will suggest donating food to your local food bank. Or maybe going and helping to put together Christmas baskets for the elderly that many food banks do at this time of year. Or maybe donating food to churches that have programs to help people with food.

Give a hand up to a neighbor, help feed a child. During garden season I open my garden to my neighbors once I have all that I want. My husband killed and butchered an extra deer and cut, wrapped and delivered to an elderly couple in our community.

It's a long cold winter so don't just do this during the Christmas season.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodwill Toward Men

2011-12-04T01:30:00.000-06:00

As the Christmas season rolls around for another year blog land is full of yummy recipes, cute gift ideas, things to do and places to go, and beautiful decorations for your home and tree. For the next week I am going to blog about something different. For the next week I will write a daily post about ways to help your fellow man. I hope you will visit and all of you will feel free to add suggestions.

Ye are the light of the world.A city that is sat on a hill cannot be hid.
St Matthew 5:14

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Christmas Melancholy

2011-12-02T18:38:00.001-06:00

As you may have noticed I have not posted for several days. After 15 days straight of company for Thanksgiving I am just wore out. Indeed it has been a rough end of the week for me. I am fighting a personal battle right now not to be a scrooge. I just was not finished giving thanks yet and then I feel like I got Christmas crammed down my throat. O Wise One and I have made a decision we are fighting back. EVERYTHING this year is going to be homemade, American made, locally made or at the very least made in the USA.

What has brought this on you may ask. Several things really. The last of our guests left on Monday and we spent the day processing the deer O Wise One had killed over the weekend. Starting jerky in the dehydrator, washing sheets and getting the house back in order. Tuesday morning we got up and watched our normal news and weather report out of Kansas City. We have a regular routine of watching the morning program and liked the team. Especially the little weather guy. Wednesday evening we find out that the same weather man went home that morning and killed himself. I guess at 31 years of age he felt he couldn't go on. Even sadder leaving behind a young wife and child to mourn his loss. Even sadder was the psychologist giving numbers on the amount of people that commit suicide during the Christmas Season. That this beautiful young man could find no hope during a season that should symbolize hope and joy.

Also this week a national manufacturer closed down their plant in the local town just one town over from where we live. Two weeks before Christmas no less! These folks are now without a job. A large majority of these employees are our neighbors and friends. One young couple expecting a new baby in just a few months. Losing their healthcare also will hit hard. Because this company is moving their plant to Mexico. Below is a statement released by their company.

HANESBRANDS TO CLOSE GEAR FOR SPORTS CHILLICOTHE, MO., PLANT WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Oct. 3, 2011) – HanesBrands today announced that it will close its Chillicothe, Mo., apparel decorating and screen-printing plant in December and move production to a new lower-cost company facility in Mexico. “We regret the loss of jobs for our Chillicothe employees,” said Craig Peterson, Gear For Sports general manager of operations, finance and administration. “The Chillicothe plant is a well-run operation with a tremendous workforce. This decision is not a reflection on the capabilities and dedication of our employees. We would like to thank them for their contributions over the years.” To maintain competitiveness, HanesBrands is opening a new apparel decorating and screen-print facility in Reynosa, Mexico, that will replace the Chillicothe plant’s production for Gear For Sports and will supply other HanesBrands retail apparel businesses. The new plant will operate with lower costs and higher efficiency, consistent with HanesBrands supply chain strategy of operating fewer, larger facilities in lower-cost countries.

HanesBrands

HanesBrands is a leading socially responsible manufacturer and marketer of everyday basic apparel under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, JMS/Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra and Gear For Sports. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, children’s underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear produced in the company’s low-cost global supply chain. Hanes has approximately 55,000 employees in more than 25 countries and takes pride in its strong reputation for ethical business practices. More information about the company and its corporate social responsibility initiatives, including environmental, social compliance and community improvement achievements, may be found on the Hanes corporate website atwww.hanesbrands.com. Hanes is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2010 and 2011 and ranks No. 91 on Newsweek magazine’s Top 500 greenest U.S. company rankings.

My response to Hanes is that I hope these people in these "lower cost countries" are gonna buy your products from now on because I Won't. I can sew just about anything including drawers and bras and this is one old broad that won't be buying your Wonderbras because I choose to support ( no pun intended) companies that employ Americans.

So in the spirit of Christmas my husband loaded me up in the 1964 American made pickup truck and we put on a Willie Nelson Tape and we went to Amish Country. No Super Stores, no big box stores. No crowds, lots of parking and lots of help. Just remember where you step because that horse poop can be awful slippery.

Advertising was Great !

Who wouldn't want a homemade basket maybe stuffed with a homemade apron and some homemade jam and cookies. Or maybe some herbal tea and mugs. Don't forget a jar of that local honey.

I bought some beautiful 100 % cotton yarn that will make some beautiful pot holders and maybe washcloths with some homemade soap to go in one of those baskets.

And no trip is complete without going to at least one quilt shop. And lets not forget that Missouri honey produced less than 5 miles from my door. And some beeswax for soaps. And some fresh goats milk and cow milk. Some creamy fresh butter to go with it.

Now I know that everyone can't live near an Amish or Mennonite community but you can shop American. Better yet look around your own community. If nothing else there are so many great Etsy shops and sites out there selling goods produced right on their own farms.

At a time when we are supposed to be celebrating the greatest gift of all. God's gift of his own son sent to earth to save the souls of men. Search your own soul and maybe help a brother or a neighbor. Keep your community alive.

Invest in your community, invest in your nation, invest in your neighbor, invest in your brother.

Shop American

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Vision

2011-11-30T01:30:00.000-06:00

If we will have the wisdom to survive,

to stand like slow-growing trees on a ruined place,

Renewing it, enriching it,

If we will make our seasons welcome here,

Asking not too much of earth or heaven.

Then a long time after we are dead

the lives our lives prepare will live here,

Their houses strongly placed upon the valley sides,

Fields and gardens rich in the windows.

The river will run clear,

as we will never know it,

And over it, birdsong like a canopy.

On the levels of the hills will be green meadows,

Stock bells in noon shade.

On the steeps where greed and ignorance cut down the old forest,

An old forest will stand,

Its rich leaf-fall drifting on its roots.

The veins of forgotten springs will have opened.

Families will be singing in the fields.

In their voices they will hear a music risen out of the ground.

They will take nothing from the ground they will not return,

whatever the grief at parting.

Memory, native to this valley,

will spread over it like a grove,

and memory will grow into legend,

legend into song, song into sacrament.

The abundance of this place,

the songs of its people and its birds,

will be health and wisdom and indwelling light.

This is no paradise or dream.

Its hardship is its possibility.

Wendell Berry

Canned Venison

2011-11-29T01:30:00.000-06:00

Canned Venison

Trim venison of all fat and cartilage and chop into small pieces.

Put venison into skillet and just cook until just slightly browned on all sides. (Use very little oil)

Put into hot jars fill jars with hot water or broth leaving 1" head space( I fill mine with a weak beef broth)

Seal jars with hot lids and rings and place in pressure cooker.

Cook at 10 pounds pressure for 90 minutes.

This is great for stew, chunky chili, venison soup, and even pot pie.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to Return to Frugally Sustainable

Leftover Turkey

2011-11-27T11:07:00.000-06:00

What do you do with those turkey bones and trimmings. Put them in a pot and add some water, onions and celery and put it on the back of the stove and let it simmer slow for an hour or so and you have the best turkey stock ever. Just cool, strain and can or freeze.Great for turkey and noodles, turkey soup or gumbo.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Thanksgiving Cooking

2011-11-27T10:46:00.001-06:00

Like most people my Thanksgiving consists of a great deal of cooking. Many of the recipes are recipes from the women of my family that have already passed away. Isn't it funny how the cooking carries on though. Like my mama's duck dressing.(For those of you who do not hunt, duck season is around the Thanksgiving holidays.) Made with Duck meat instead of turkey and loaded with chopped eggs and duck meat and broth. Onions, green onions and corn bread and sage. What a great addition to that roasted turkey.

And hot rolls brushed with melted butter straight out of the oven.

And my Mama's Chocolate Sauce Cake made with buttermilk and cocoa. A moist chocolate sheet cake

topped with a chocolate icing and chopped pecans

Baby Hank has learned a new word......More

What dishes did you serve that are passed down through your family or friends for Thanksgiving?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

New Mopheads

2011-11-26T01:00:00.000-06:00

What kind of mop do you use? For almost 8 years I have used this mop and love it for wood and laminate floors. When I purchased this mop new it came with white terry cloth covers with elastic around the edges that you apply to mop and then take off and launder. This mop can be used two ways. When my floors are really dirty I can put a plastic tub in my sink and put vinegar with hot water. Then I can take the mop cover and immerse in mop water and ring out and put on mop. As the head becomes dirty it can be taken off and rinsed and reapplied. Changing the water as often as needed.

In between moppings, usually right before my toddling grandson visits I can also take a spray bottle of vinegar and water and spray small areas of the floor at a time and running the mop over the areas as I go to touch up my floors as needed. The heads can simply be rinsed out by hand and hung up to dry to reuse the next day.

Over the years my terry cloth covers originally purchased with the mop have become really ratty and it was time for new ones. Instead of buying them I decided to make them myself.

I found terry cloth dish towels on sale for $1 each. I cut the edge from around them and cut a piece of flannel of the same size. I sewed these together leaving a turning hole. Once they were turned I then sewed a 1 inch pocket for elastic completely around the edge. Then threaded the elastic and sewed up the hole.

I now have a double sided mop cover, one side terry and one side flannel. The terry side used wet to mop the floor and the flannel side used as a dry mop head similar to a swiffer for picking up dust and hair.

Reusable and homemade.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to Return To Barn Hop #38

Laundry Days of Old

2011-11-25T08:16:00.000-06:00

Laundry Days Of Old

1.Build fire in back yard to heat kettle of rain water.

2. Set tubs so smoke won't blow in eyes if wind is pert

3. Shave one whole cake of Lye soap in boiling water.

4. Sort things, make 3 piles. I pile white, 1 pile colored and one pile work britches and rags.

5. To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

6. Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and then boil. Rub colored, don't boil, just rinse and starch.

7. Take things out of kettle with broomstick handle, then rinse and starch.

8. Hang old rags on fence.

9. Spread tea towels on grass.

10. Pour rinse water in flower bed.

11. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

12. Turn tubs upside down.

13. Go put on clean dress. Smooth hair with combs. Brew cup of tea and sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

Paste this over your washer and dryer. Next time you think things are bleak, read it again,

KISS THAT WASHING MACHINE AND DRYER AND GIVE THANKS !

First thing each morning you should run and hug your washer and dryer, also your toilet- those two holers used to get mighty cold!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T04:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Hickery Holler Farm

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T06:37:00.000-06:00

Winter has settled deeply here in Hickery Holler. The days have steadily become darker and colder. The last of the flowers are now gone. The beautiful colors of the leaves on the distant horizon are also just a memory. Now the view will consist of bare trees and snow. It is a time of thankfulness and a time of rest. A break from the land to plan and regroup. The gardens are prepared for a rest. The hay is baled. The venison shot. The butchering done. It is now a time to sew, quilt and read those books we put off during the long growing season. A time to eat those jars of vegetables lining the pantry shelves. The first of the seed catalogs have arrived so on those long winter nights I will have plenty of beautiful pictures to dream over. But most of all it is a time to be thankful. For home, family, friends and health. For food to eat and the health to harvest it. Thankful for the land that nourishes not only our food but also our souls. For happy and healthy grandchildren toddling on chubby legs. The continued good health of all my children and jobs all around which we are extremely thankful for. Thankful for a warm home to gather in. And most of all thankful for a loving God.

So as we all gather to share a day of Thanksgiving I hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving day and we lift a special prayer for those overseas fighting for our country and those less fortunate than ourselves.

God Bless

Happy Thanksgiving

O Wise One, The Canned Quilter and Baby O

Easy Meal Clean Up

2011-11-21T07:16:00.001-06:00

Yes indeed Baby Hank enjoys his food. As toddlers go he has quite an appetite and will eat just about anything as long as he can feed himself.

This arrangement works great for gypsy. She is always ready to lend a helping paw.....

As the official clean up crew : )

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Making Linens

2011-11-21T01:30:00.000-06:00

There was once a time when most linens were handmade. Women took great pride in creating beautiful linens and household items. No self respecting mother would send her daughter out into the world of marriage without a well stocked hope chest of linens. Pillowcases, tablecloths, tea towels, potholders, bedspreads and scarves all lovingly embellished with crochet, embroider or maybe tatted lace. The hope chest I think is pretty well a dying tradition. My hope chest sits in my closet now and I will probably pass it to my granddaughter. Both my daughters have hope chests and my god daughter. I have kept that tradition alive in my family but I am sure it will die with me.

I look at the dainty pillowcases above done by my mother and grandmother. All will be passed to my granddaughters.

I have started embroidering pillowcases again to go with my quilts. The pillowcases above copy the pink rosebud theme of the quilt backing. Both the quilt and pillowcases hand done.

But this week it was time just to make those everyday linens. During the winter and especially cold season I like to change my pillowcases often. At least a couple times a week. My husband sweats in his sleep and I can't stand a musty pillowcase. So needless to say I go through lots of pillowcases. I buy white or neutral color sheets and then make lots of pillowcases to match curtains or quilts or what ever my little heart desires. I usually watch for good quality cotton blend materials to go on sale during the year and then buy lots of yardage specifically for that purpose.

It was again linen sewing time. I made lots of pillowcases in lots of mix and match colors that will go with both our bed and the guest bedroom.

Good sturdy pillowcases out of material that doesn't require ironing.

With hidden french seams and sturdy stitching to hold up to lots of laundering.

There are lots of tutorials on the web but easier yet just take a pillowcase apart and use it as a pattern. If you need a tutorial this is a great one because of the french seams.

Pillowcase and French Seam Tutorial

Try making some of your own linens it's pretty well all straight seams and not very hard at all. A great way to get started if you are new to sewing. Send me some pictures if you decide to try it so I can put them up for everyone to see!

Anyone out there keeping a hope chest for a daughter or granddaughter?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to return to Barn Hop #37

When I Am Old

2011-11-15T05:32:00.000-06:00

Although I love you all I will be taking a break from blogging for a week or so. My oldest son will be flying in tomorrow for 5 days and I will be spending time with my family.

I will leave you with one of my favorite poems and God Bless from Hickery Holler.

The Canned Quilter
and O Wise One

Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Homemade Swiffer Duster Pads

2011-11-14T01:00:00.000-06:00

Just like most people I love convenience. I just object to the cost of it. My house is full of ceiling fans and I live on a gravel road which means that I have more than my share of dust. Especially when it is nice outside and the windows are open. I love my Swiffer duster with the pivot head. It makes it so easy to dust without a ladder especially with those 9 foot ceilings.

And now that I can make my own duster pads it is nice that I don't have the added expense every month of buying these pads only to throw them in the garbage when I am done with them.

Basically I took some scrap flannel and made my own duster heads.

Made to fit the existing plastic duster handles that I own. They are nothing more than layers of flannel sewed together and then frayed. As they are continually washed and dried they will only get better.

I made 16 which should last me for awhile. All were made from left over scraps of flannel from various sewing projects through the years. I love that I am using up scraps and that I am saving money while still being able to use handles that I already purchased. Not to mention keeping those disposable heads out of the land fills. Once I am finished dusting they can simply be thrown into the laundry and washed and dried for the next dusting. With every wash they will get fuzzier only making them better . It's a great idea and you can find the tutorial HERE !

And how do they work? Well just look for yourself although I hate to admit my house is that dusty.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link To Barn Hop # 36

Refilling The Cookie Jar

2011-11-13T08:20:00.000-06:00

It's a cold Sunday morning here in Hickery Holler. We have lots going on though. Baby O, now president of the local 4-H club is hosting a hunter's breakfast to make money for the club. O Wise One is cooking eggs for a crowd. I am home dealing with venison. Yes O Wise One got his first deer of the season and didn't even leave the yard. He shot a small button buck out by the chicken yard. We have progressed long past hunting horns and hunt for freezer meat instead . We want young and tender animals that will butcher well. We kill the animals off our own farm hoping to keep the population down enough to help with our attempts at growing a garden. Last year we took three small does and ate all three.

I am including a link to the cookie recipe above HERE Great site and a great recipe.

Hoping everyone a blessed Sunday!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Bacon and Hams

2011-11-11T17:20:00.001-06:00

On a cold wintry morning this will taste mighty good with

These.....

And maybe some of these : )

And plenty of ham for the upcoming Holidays. And the best thing about it is that it all came off this farm.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Homemade Liquid Lard and Lye Laundry Soap.

2011-11-11T10:13:00.000-06:00

I have been making my liquid laundry soap foralmost a year and love it. I wanted a soap made from a sustainable resource andthat Baby O's skin could tolerate. She is especially sensitive to the chemicalsadditives, preservatives and dyes in most soaps. One day while looking atdifferent sites I came across this soap forum HERE.MikeInPdx had posted this recipe and I have been using it ever since. Daughterhasn't had a severe break out since!

Thisis what Mike had to post :

I keep this soap on hand all thetime. It takes a few days to set up but it's really easy to make and works wellin soft water. People withhard water will want to have it softened with borax or washing soda beforeadding soap.

1 gallon heavy plastic or glasscontainer with wide mouth

1/2 gallon cold water

2.25 ounces lye

1 lb lard, melted

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax (up this to 1cup if you can't find the washing soda)

Fragrance oil or essentialoil of your choice (optional)

Hot water to fill thecontainer

Add cold water to container.Add lye; stir well (this barely gets warm because lye is so diluted) Add lard,washing soda, borax, fragrance oil. Add hot water to finish filling thecontainer and stir well with a wire whisk.

Whisk 3 times a day or so until set up.Initially, it will start with a glob of soap on top but will set up more eachtime you whisk it. After three days or so, you will be left with a nice,powdery liquid that you can use in your laundry.

Add 1/2 - 1 cup for a toploading machine. Dissolve in hot water before adding to a very cold wash. Otherwise, just add it while themachine is filling. Use less in a front loader; this one WILL suds if you addtoo much.

**************************

SinceI had just rendered lard and was almost out of laundry soap I decided to showyou how I make liquid laundry soap.

PLEASE USE GOGGLES AND GLOVES AND FOLLOW SAFETY DIRECTIONS FORWORKING WITH LYE

First I took my 5 gallon bucket with lid and sat it in my sink. Filled it with 1/2 gallon cold water and using goggles and gloves and careful not to breathe fumes added lye (in that order) then stirred with stainless steel spoon to dissolve. (Use Adequate Ventilation)

Once Lye is dissolved and water is clear add melted lard. Careful not to splash!

Add Lard that has been melted in microwave

Add 1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup washing soda

stir well

Add additional 1/2 gallon hot water and stir again. Then I place my bucket in my large sink by the washing machine and put the lid on. For the next three days several times a day as I walk by it I will take a whisk and stir it by hand. On the first day or two it will just look like water with a thin white soap foam on top. Just be patient and keep stirring.

After about three days it starts to look like yogurt and it is done. I use about 1/2 a cup per load.

There ya go a cheap liquid lye based laundry detergent that can be made in less than 30 minutes not counting the curing time. I make a double batch at a time that usually lasts me about 3 months.For those of you that don't like using animal fats this can also be made with coconut oil.

I do treat stains and since I have hard water add about a Tablespoon of extra borax before my detergent. I use a vinegar rinse and if throwing them in the dryer I put a couple drops of my favorite essential oil on a wash cloth and throw in the dryer with my clothes. They come out clean, soft and smelling wonderful. No preservatives, dyes, or petroleum products that I am aware of.

I am using fat from my own organically pasture raised pigs, humanely raised. In talking to my butcher I actually save him money because if I don't take the fat then he has to pay to have it disposed of.

I know that most people just grate Fels Naptha and use that . If it works for you that is wonderful. But Baby O's skin just couldn't seem to tolerate it. So I started looking into what was in it......this is what Fels Naptha contains.

Soap (sodium tallowate*, sodium cocoate* (or) sodium palmate kernelate*, and sodium palmate*), water, talc, cocnut acid*, palm acid*, tallow acid*, PEG-6 methyl ether, glycerin, sorbitol, sodium chloride, pentasodium pentetate and/or tetrasodium etidronate, titatium dioxide, fragrance, Acid Orange (CI 20170), Acid yellow 73 (ci43350)*contains one or more of these ingredients

The fatty acids are a mixture of tallow (probably cow) coconut, and palm oils. fragrances and dyes and this :

potassium penetate An inorganic salt used as a water softener, emulsifier and dispersing ingredient in cosmetic cleansing creams, lotions and soaps. Can be an eye irritant

titanium dioxide Studies have also found that titanium dioxide nanoparticles cause genetic damage in mice.

tetrasodium etidronateSynthetic preservative that can be irritating to the eyes/mucous membranes.

Hmmmmmmm Any of these could be the culprit !

Baby O has a skin disease called Keratosis Pilaris. It is a plugging of the hair follicles. This is what it looks like and can appear all over her body. This disease may slowly be outgrown in some patients.

Her dermatologist recommended White Dove or Lever 2000 purchased soaps that she can use. The basis of both of these soaps are a mixture of coconut oil and animal fats(most probably cow tallow). She has been using White Dove and her skin tolerates it reasonably well.

However this is what a bar of Dove Soap contains:

A Dove Bar contains sodium cocoyl isethionate, stearic acid, coconut acid, sodium tallowate, water, sodium isethionate, sodium stearate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium cocoate or palm cocoate., fragrance, sodium chloride, tetrasodium EDTA, trisodium etidronate, BHT, titanium dioxide and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate.

That's a mix of coconut extracts, stabilizers, scents/coloring, andseveral ingredients made of or by processing animal fat:

stearic acid (usually derived from animal fat unless otherwise stated on packaging),
sodium tallowate (treated animal fat),
sodium stearate (also usually derived fom animal fat unless stated otherwise).

But it also contains

sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (a colorless salt with useful preperties as

a surfactant. It is usually produced as a mixture of related sulfonates. It is a major component of laundry detergent. The salt has LD 50 of 2.3 mg/liter for fish. about 4X more toxic than the branched tetrapropylenebenzenesulfate. It is however biodregraded more rapidly. Oxidative degradation initiates at the alkyl chain. (Wikipedia)

Tetrasodium EDTA..EDTA is in such widespread use that it has emerged as a persistent organic pollutant, It degrades to ethylenediaminetriacetic acid, which then cycizes to the diketopiperizide, a cumulative, persistent, organic, enviromental pollutant. An alternative chelating agent with fewer enviromental pollution implications is EDDS.

EDTA exhibits low acute toxicity with LD50(rat.) of 2.0-2.2g/kg. It has been noted to cause reproductive and developmental effect. The same study by Lanigan also found that both dermal exposure to EDTA in most cosmetic formulations and inhalation exposure to EDTA in aerosolized cosmatic formulations would produce exposure levels below those seen to be toxic in oral dosing studies. (Wikipedia)

My research stopped there as I think that alone was enough to maybe understand and justify her skins reactions to these chemicals. Now that I have found an animal based laundry soap that she can tolerate my goal this winter is to experiment with making herbal soaps that she can use to get completely away from purchased soaps. I want to experiment with a coconut and lard based soap maybe with oatmeal and some healing herbs. Any soapers out there with recommendations please feel free to help. I have lots of Lard in the freezer.

By the way Thanks MikeInPdx !

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to return to Farm girl Friday Blog Hop # 32

Saving Heating Dollars

2011-11-10T04:00:00.000-06:00

How do you save on those heating bills. Here are a few ideas I will share with you. Number One is INSULATE. When you think you have enough insulate some more. It's kind of like never being too thin or too rich : ) Don't forget those outer wall electrical sockets.

I like these door snakes. Made from the legs of old blue jeans filled with rice they snuggle up to those doors and don't let that cold air under. Now if I could just figure out how to keep the grandbaby from playing with them : )

We invested several years ago in this infrared heater which was a wonderful investment. Cheap to run it sits upstairs and at night although the heater may be set on 60 this can be turned on low to keep the area where we are watching tv or me sewing or quilting nice and toasty. It is even on wheels and comes with a remote control.

Invest in lots of these. Quilts,blankets, sweaters, sweat shirts, heavy socks, and throws. They are much cheaper than petroleum or electricity. Turn that thermostat down and try to relearn the art of snuggling.

I get up first most mornings and turn on the coffee pot and in the winter I love to throw on that pan of biscuits. I just think hot food just warms you up in the morning. That hot oven helps take the chill right off the house. Or maybe throw on a pot of soup to simmer most of the morning. You have to feed them so use that heat to your advantage. I also save canning to do in the winter. I can my dried beans for chili in the winter. I freeze my fruit juices and some fruit that I may not have time to deal with during the frantic summer gardening rush. When the snow is falling crank up that canner and make jam. I usually have jelly jars that have been emptied by then.That canner will put heat in the house when you need it and not when it is 100 degrees outside and you don't.

What have you done to help save those heating dollars?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Full Freezer

2011-11-09T06:21:00.000-06:00

The pigs were butchered November 1. O Wise One picked up our meat Friday morning except for the bacon and hams which are being cured.

And the butcher sent me extra fat knowing that I wanted to render it for soap. The butcher that owns the meat market in town is also my neighbor and owns the property next door. I was amazed to hear that he actually will give me all the pig fat or beef tallow I want because he actually has to pay to have it disposed of. I guess no one uses it any more.

My freezers are pretty well bursting at the seams. Lots of breakfast sausage, pork burger, pork chops , pork steaks, pork ribs and pork roasts. It should round out our meat supply along with chicken, rabbit, fish, and turkey. All coming right off this farm. And plenty of veggies to go with that. Now a deer should pretty well finish it out for the year.

We have a few more chickens that O Wise One wants to butcher and then our meat supply is done other than venison. The chickens are older ones that have quit laying and will go in jars and be used for broth.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Reuse and Recycle

2011-11-08T06:33:00.000-06:00

Although many of the things used to build my home were new, such as windows and exterior doors.We also collected architectural items for many years to recycle into our new home.Such as these screen doors which are from a house that was 100 years old that the owners were tearing down. They were too narrow for modern doors but took them to the Amish who were able to add additional wood to the sides to increase their width. They have been in use for 8 years now and other than repainting have performed wonderful.

Each one unique and beautiful. It makes me smile to think of the children in a century that have slammed these doors. If only these doors could tell their stories.

Even some of my interior doors are salvaged from old houses. This beauty I bought out of a shed for a 12 pack of beer! (That's what the guy wanted!)

I stripped 16 coats of paint off that door. Took me forever......It has the original door bell and hardware and then I repainted it. This door also had to be widened by the Amish. I guess doors were much narrower back then.What is so unique about this door is that the cranberry glass or red glass in the door is original. Complete with bubbles and dimples. When I took this door to have the Amish widen it I was offered a pretty penny for this door from someone in the woodworking shop. I use this door on my guest bedroom. .

All the interior window and door frames consist partially of salvaged items also. The corner bulls eye blocks

(look at the squares in the very corner of the frame) these were recycled from a turn of the century bar that was being torn down.

Those wide window wells are also of recycled wormy maple. Almost impossible to find these days. O Wise One found it at a lumber mill in Louisiana and had it planed down and it made beautiful window frames through out our house. It took me many hours with sandpaper and steel wool to get that shine on that wood.

So there again think outside the box and look to houses being torn down and there are even stores now that specialize in architectural salvage items. It's good for the environment and sometimes cheaper though not always. The quality of workmanship on these doors are wonderful and far above anything that you would buy from a box store or lumberyard today. So keep your eyes open for those bargains.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Rendering Lard

2011-11-07T05:04:00.001-06:00

That Scottish blood runs deep in O Wise One and following Samhain tradition October 31 was the day of slaughter. The pigs went to butcher before the butcher shop closed down to process deer which starts next week here in Missouri.

The butcher was very generous with pig fat and sent me a whole 1/2 garbage bag of it. Already ground up and ready to render. As soon as I got it back we started the rendering process.

I started out with enough to cover the bottom of my large cast iron dutch oven and my crock pot and large roaster. Setting both to a low setting and putting the large cast iron pot on the simmer eye. I added enough water to cover the bottom of the pots to give it time to melt down some without sticking. The water will cook out.

Once the fat starts changing color or rendering then I continue to add fat until I fill the pot almost full but still able to stir it comfortably.

As the fat melts I dip off any scum that forms on top. Once you get a large amount of oil collected on top I start dipping off the clear fat and running it through a colander lined with cheese cloth into a bowl. With a funnel I start putting the hot liquid lard into clean sterile jars to cool. As you can see here the liquid fat will be somewhat clear and then when it cools turning white.

I continue melting and filling jars until I get to the bottom layer of fat with just enough liquid remaining to cover it. Once the remaining fat pieces start to brown I stop collecting liquid lard. I turned up the heat just a little and allowed the small amount that sinks to the bottom to brown completely and become crunchy then dip them out and run them through cheese cloth and put them on paper towels to drain.

These are cracklings which are nothing more than fried crunchy pieces of fat. These are a great addition to corn bread and was my father's favorite corn bread.

Once cool I put these in pint jars to be used in corn bread through out the year. They will go in the freezer.

The remaining lard that the cracklins were cooked in will be much darker than the first liquid lard that you collected. I put this darker lard in separate jars. It will taste a little more like meat and was what my mother used to melt and put on the top of her biscuits to make them nice and brown on top with just a hint of a meat taste.

I ended up with 18 quart jars of lard or 32 pounds to make soap with or use in baking. Also there were 8 jars of cracklins for cornbread making. In the picture above you can see the darker lard in the second jar from the left. Once the jars were cool I put on lids and all went into the freezer. The entire process took me a little over 14 hours from cooking to having jars completed. Then I let them cool overnight before freezing.
I will take them out as needed and let defrost for soap making. If I want to bake with it I put mine in the refrigerator.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Link to return to Frugal Ways Blog Hop #2

Link to Return to Homestead Revival Barn Hop # 35

Living Underground 2

2011-11-06T00:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote about living underground. Most people expect something dark and closed in until they actually come inside. No longer living with those 7 foot ceilings these are now 9 foot. We painted all the walls light and bright. Also installing lots of lighting helps.We tried to keep most of the storage areas such as closets and pantries to the rear of the house where no windows are required but made sure to install adequate lighting.

This is the dining room. Open and airy with plenty of room for 2 rocking chairs to sit and shell beans or visit over coffee. My son in law loves those rockers and is threatening to furnish his house with them. This room opens directly into the kitchen pictured below.

And a galley kitchen with walk in pantry complete with small freezer. The small oak table is great for eating breakfast or extra counter space when needed. It also serves as the grandkids table a great deal of the time.

Laundry/mudroom with 1/2 bath and room for chest freezer and I also put my seed starting shelves in there.

The Master Bedroom....with walk in double closet.This is actually only half of the room in the picture.

Baby O's lair ! This room has 2 walk in closets

Think she might be a reader

And right across from her room the messiest place in the house...her corner with school work everywhere.

The upstairs family room complete with bathroom. A couple cozy recliners and warm snugly throws to watch TV or curl up with a good book. This room is actually 30 foot long. Huge room and during the winter a retreat.

Even a corner complete with ironing board, sewing machine and quilt frame that I can leave up year round. Right across from this is a walk in closet that stores linens and sewing supplies as well as lots of quilts.

A guest room 20X20

Lace Curtains and lots of green plants to help brighten up even those winter days

As you can see not a dark room among the bunch with lots of sunshine even on a dreary autumn day. By thinking outside the box an alternative house design that has paid off for us in big ways. And by being able to use the existing slab we were able to save thousands. Downstairs all doors are extra wide to accommodate a wheel chair. All bathrooms have handicapped toilets and shower bars. Eventually when all the kids are gone and we are no longer able to maneuver stairs we can simply live on the bottom floor alone comfortably with everything we need.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter