This 4th of July we continued a tradition with new twigs on our family tree. We drug out the old train from the barn my husband made years ago from plastic 50 gallon drums. Each car has its own steering wheel. Try as they might, the cars never go their own direction–they just follow the rider in front. I have only one regret; that he’s no longer here to watch the next generation enjoy something he so lovingly made so…
When I inspected my hives last month, one had a missing queen. How did I know? No eggs! If their are no eggs, soon you won’t have a hive. Worker bees (immature females) live less than 40 days. I had to act quickly. I ordered a queen from the bee store near 107 and Pflumm on Monday, June 3rd. She arrived on Thursday, June 6th in a small crate, 1 x 3 inches (pictured above.) She also came with four…
Several years ago I knitted this rug that sits in front of the kitchen sink. It began as a VERY long snake knitted from leftover yarn. I sewed the knitted strip around a large cotton cord. Then I stitched it into this oval. The stitching loosened in several places and had become very soiled. I spent the next couple of nights re-attaching each row with carpet thread. The yarn was polyester, but I didn’t know if it would survive a…
In the 70s and 80s Pyrex put out what they called a Bake A Round. I had a little too much whole wheat bread dough for the seven bread pans I had available the other day, so I went on a hunt in the garage for this bread pan. I hunted the internet for instructions and couldn’t find any. I looked in the box. There in the bottom lay the instructions with several recipes. I smushed the extra dough into…
My Peony patch got the word to pop out even earlier than usual this year. The sad part, all this rain will make them too heavy to stand up straight and they’ll be gone even sooner. Years ago, we always decorated graves with this flower–but now, they seem to bloom earlier each season. I wish I had smell-a-vision on this blog for you to enjoy this heavenly scent. Are your plantings coming out sooner than expected?
Weekend before last I attended a picnic at church. I wore a black sweater. I didn’t realize it was gone until Tuesday. I hunted the house high and low, to no avail. I even asked my Bible study to pray I’d find it. In desperation, I went on a mental scavenger hunt. The last time I remembered having it was at the picnic. We’d had high winds from Sunday to Tuesday. I made a special trip to church to search….
While everyone looked at the eclipse last week, I chose a different view by looking at the ground in a parking lot. This view shows the eclipse through a tree. See the crescents? What did you observe during that time? Now, we’ll have to wait until a total eclipse across the U.S till 2044. I don’t think I’ll make it that far!
After the main meal is consumed and desserts are a mere memory, family gatherings take a funny turn. The kids drag out the junk from an old toy box upstairs and let ‘er rip. Beside the usual toys, there are old Halloween masks and ancient wigs in the treasure trove. The picture above is of one of the twenty-five guests who gathered for Easter this year pretending to be a feeding horse. later, various ones try on the old wigs…
When winter becomes a drag, I turn to cooking. This apple cake was one of my family favorites. I included it in my book Family Favorites From the Heartland. Gram’s Raw Apple Cake Ingredients: ½ cup butter2 cups sugar2 eggs2 cups flour2 teaspoons sodapinch salt2 teaspoons cinnamon1 teaspoon nutmeg5 grated large apples or 7 small ones (Granny Smith work best) Combine all ingredients, adding apples last. Bake in a 9 x 13 cake pan at 350 degrees for 50 min….
January 2024 Fluffy white cushions grace patio furniture.Six inches of powder rest on split-rail fence.Each tree branch thickly-laden in white.The only footprints—a rabbit’s trail across the landscape.I snap a picture before weather warms,erasing it all. My books are available at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sally-Jadlow/author/B007F5H0H4