ONCE A WEEK

SOAP

Smoked Ribs, Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob, Salad

Getting to 'trace' with soap

Fried Chicken, Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob

This new blogger, I am not having fun with! I can't move my pictures around and blogger won't load them in the order I try to put them, sooo, I get this mish mash sequence of pictures! Ugh....

A couple of weeks ago, Caitlin and I decided to 'make' one day a week. Our first week was...

Canning Pickles. We put together Refrigerated Pickles and Dill Pickles. We forgot to put horseradish in the Dills, ( just something to rachet up the flavor, oh well next time.)

The pickles came out amazingly! It's hard  to let the jars sit and the spices to do their magic, but patience is a virtue, so I am told.

The second week, we made SOAP. I love homemade soap, I love making it and the only thing I love more, is to make SOAP with Caitlin. Of course, while making two basic batches of soap, we are planning our next batch....Goat Milk, and what essential oils to use. It is endless our plans and Caitlin has already found a local source for that goat milk!

Two year olds can be sooo funny! Gus walked into the kitchen and told his Mom, "I going to the library to pick up books and I have my mask on!" Cuz, you know all the germs out there. 

Kids, they will never know how much sunshine they spread in this crazy world.

After replacing all our appliances , I have been cooking and Eric has been smoking. 

I will say this stay at home thing, it has allowed us to cook some yummy, comfort food. And right now, I need comfort food a couple times a week!  The other thing in the kitchen happening is making dishes from scratch that before would of  been bought ready made at the store, like potato salad and all salad dressings. The hits have been, potato salad, cole slaw, and several salad dressings. The one pictured about, not so much, its Creamy Cucumber, needs some work. 

Are you cooking? I would love to hear all about your kitchen experience. 

99 days to November 3.

Last week was a tough week here at Little House. We had to say good bye to our 'fat boy Sam! He blew his back out, not the first time, but this time the drugs were of no help. He became paralyzed and in so much pain we had him put down. I am grateful for having the decision to calmly  put a dog down, but what a decision to make, gut wrenching! Sadie, Sam's sister is here and she is lost without her mate. Just one more thing to get 'use to' in this age of weird 'get use to' COVID time. 

Friday, my daughter and I canned! I love canning and taking pics of all those jars filled with color and food. We did Refrigerated Pickles and Dill Pickles. We each had 10+ pints to put away at our home.  WE are planning one day a week 'making/doing' something in the kitchen. This week will be Lye Soap. 

Other things on our list:

Pasta noodles

peaches

raviollie with peas, or cheese or meat, etc.

dumplings, (Caitlin is a great at Chinese cooking)

Tamales?

Salsa [canned] 

etc, etc,etc.

99 days to VOTE- TRUMP -OUT -OF -OFFICE!!!!!!

TWIRLING

We spent last week in the mountains and as my 2 yr. old grandson says,'in grandpa's camping house'. It was hot here down under the Rockies so we went up into the Rockies, where it was 10-20 degrees cooler, cloudy most of the week with just the right amount of sunshine.

I spent the first 3 days sitting by the river knitting, reading and just plain listening...heaven!

Eric spent his time fishing and was honored to bring in several fish a day, all released back to the wild river of course. The last 2 days the littles came up and Betty declared at dinner, "I love camping, it is just so much fun." 

This little girl is at that wonderful stage where 'twirly' dresses are the end all. And I have material and time ! 

The magic of twirling!

SAME SONG, VERSE (LOST COUNT)

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  Monday, Monday-another week of staying in for COVID. Sam old-same old. Blah..blah...blah.
  
  
  Things going on in my very slow life.
  Casted on a new pair of socks. Vanilla pattern, yarn Must Stash, Kama color way.
  The colors are very cheery and just what I need at the moment.
  Books: A Sin by Any Other Name
  Interesting book, written by a minister who is a relative of Robert E Lee.
  
  
  I have spent the day recovering my computer that I thought had TOTALLY crashed this morning. Over the years I have done so many 'work arounds' on this computer that nothing was working well, if at all. So I decided to down load a new upgraded system. Oops, I forgot to back up stuff, oh dear, I couldn't even open the new operating system and the computer kept turning off unprompted. Frustration plus! After many hours and loads of password changes,(which will only be very confusing to me down the road), I got this 'ole bag' up again. We will see how long it works, it usually goes hay wire every 3 months or so. Love them, hate them, can't live without them! Especially during a lock down, stay at home life.
  
  
  Meet Tilda, my grand-dog, and the back of my son down at Montrose Beach, (a high school hangout for me), Lake Michigan. 
  
  
  Keep safe!!

KNITTING WEDNESDAY

The heat here is oppressive! That dry heat here under the Rockies keeps me in the house with air conditioner running all day and into the evening! Yes, our humidity is low, but to walk outside, it feels as if my skin is burning to blisters within seconds. Summer, you are my least favorite season!

On the knitting front, finished the Indian summer sweater for my 2 year old guy and he is pleased over the moon with it....today. 

Started a 'Rainbow' sweater for the 4 year old per her request. Both yarns have been in my stash for years and I mean 10+ years. Since COVID has settled in, I have used this (opportunity?) to use what I have. My goal is , I finish 3 articles using stash then I can buy some yarn for one project only! Don't you love the silly rules we knitters make for ourselves, I know I am in good company with my knitting 'rules'.

Since I had finished more than 3 projects, (not all shown here), I went on line and purchased some self stripping sock yarn, from Must Stash. The colors give me hope for fall sock wearing weather.

I picked up 4 books yesterday at the library, curb side pick up only for now.

I was so excited for C J Box ' Long Range, only to realize I had already read this book in April! Such dissapointment for me yesterday!

I then started and completed "A Sin by Any Other Name" by Robert W Lee.

Robert Lee is a nephew of Robert E Lee. 

The book is about racism and Southern life, good and bad! He believes statues of Robert E Lee needs to come down and be buried with the lost cause of the confederacy. Robert W Lee is a minister, now without a church due to his position on these statues. He writes that it is time for reparations for the sin of slavery and for the South to come to terms with the sin of slavery. Only by doing this can the South move toward healing and social justice.

COVID this week has taken me to a low place, a place I have been from fighting from entering for a while. The virus is now out of control with little hope of containing its spread. My anxiety revolves around the leadership from federal gov. is beyond bad, it is advancing such lies regarding how this virus is behaving, giving little to no guidance on how to contain and fight its spread. It feels to me, the citizens of this country are thrown in a deadly pool of virus and being told,'don't worry it will just go away' and oh, by the way we are enacting policies that will make it all most impossible for you to fight the virus. I'm thinking about the long lines for testing, the feds pulling funds for testing, the slow dismantling of the ASA, no evidence base policies in reopening the economy. Just , if you are a trump supporter, hope to see you on the other side, definitely in November , if not a trump supporter, your health and life is dispensable. 

Oh Lord, how much longer?

Joining As Kat Knits