Two Very Busy Days With Our Grandchildren

Earlier this week, we had four of our five grandchildren staying with us.  Dylan couldn't come because he was away at EAA Air Academy camp.  They were all very good kids but oh so LOUD!  We barely speak in our house.  My husband has heard all my stories over the course of nearly fifty years and I have heard his.  I lived with dad until I graduated from high school and then talked to my mom every day until her death.  There may be a few stories that haven't been told, but not many.

The kids chatter much of the time.  They love their electronic devices.  They try to explain what they are playing and how it works.  I usually don't have any idea what they are talking about.  We confiscated all the electronics before bed on Monday night.  The allure is way too great, even in the middle of the night.  The only one spared from the electronic addiction is the four year old.  He still plays with actual toys.  The downside was that our only granddaughter has her alarm set on her ipod.  It went off at 5:30 am and then every 10 minutes until she got up.  I couldn't shut it off.  She has a code that has to be punched in to turn it off or turn the volume down.  I guess she needs to get up at 5:30 to get some alone time from her little brothers. 

I did insist they go out and play a little.  They had fun with the squirt guns.  I let them go outside in their pj's because I knew they would get wet. 

 

Later in the afternoon, we had round two of the squirt gun wars.  I loved seeing them giggle and run around.

The squirt guns were a big hit.  They got soaking wet but it was worth it to get them outside.  Melissa is almost 14 and doesn't want anything to do with all these boys.  She found some skeins of yarn in my yarn stash.  Then she found a sweater pattern on the internet and started to knit.  She only did five rows but it kept her occupied.  I taught her to knit several years ago, and she is good at it.  She just doesn't have the patience yet.  She wants the project to be done in a couple hours instead of several weeks.

After supper, I took the little one to his mom and then we met my son in law for Melissa's softball game.  As we were sitting there, the day changed from hot and sunny to cool and cloudy.  Pretty soon, it started to sprinkle.  The beauty of being a grandparent is that you don't have to sit through games if the weather is bad.  Parents have to stay no matter what.  As we headed home, the sky opened up and it poured down rain.  As we pulled into the driveway, the sun came out again.  As I walked into a quiet house, I saw a beautiful rainbow.  It was a perfect ending to two very busy days.

Crustless Broccoli Quiche

This is a fantastic gluten free recipe. 

Crustless Broccoli Quiche

4 cups broccoli florets
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups coconut milk or heavy cream
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Butter a 10 inch round baking dish.

Cook broccoli in the microwave or steam for 4 minutes.

Whisk the eggs, milk or cream, butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Stir in broccoli and cheese plus any other ingredients you like.
We used Canadian Bacon but you could use sausage or regular bacon.

Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes or until it is set in the middle.

Mukluks Were Born In Princeton Wisconsin

How many of you know what these are?  Most of us have worn them in our lifetime.  There are even photos of Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn and President Eisenhower wearing them.

Give up?  They are called Mukluks.  What you probably don't know is that Mukluks originated in Princeton, Wisconsin.

In 1939, a woman named Martha Hiestand was making crocheted and knitted items for her family.  Many woman did that back in those days.  Heck, I still knit and crochet but it never turned into anything.  The difference was that Martha and her husband Ernest turned this hobby into a flourishing business.  Ernest was a traveling salesman.  He took some of the handmade items on the road and came back home with several orders.  Martha couldn't fill all the orders, so they hired some local women to help.  Their company was called "Handmade by Hiestand".  They had eleven employees between 1939 and 1940.  As the popularity grew, the demand for their product grew.  They ran the business from their house.   Soon they outgrew their home, and they moved to a building in downtown Princeton.  It was at this time they added durability to the socks by adding leather soles.  That is when the Mukluk was born.  It was hard to keep up with orders at this time, so they started purchasing pre-made wool socks and ready made soles.  The twenty five employees they now had would hand stitch and decorate the Mukluks. 

Between 1943 and 1950 this company grew to 400 employees.  They moved to an even larger location.  They purchased a few machines to stitch the leather but the soles would still be put on by hand.  A large majority of the work still took place in the employees homes.

I found some leather soles in my stash to make my own Mukluks some day.

The City of Princeton recently set up a museum to show the history of the Mukluk which is intended to help support the local downtown businesses.  Apparently after all these years, a few boxes of memorabilia were found in the basement of a local building.  Many of the items found are being shown in the museum.  Many family members of the Heistand's still live in the area.

The Hiestands eventually expanded into leather manufacturing and bought a company from Milwaukee called Gene Edwards.  That Gene Edwards building still stands in Princeton, but it is no longer in operation.   It still has many sock knitting machines and equipment in the building.  It is sad to see they are no longer in business.  The Mukluk is still being made.  The brand was sold to a company called the "Reliable in Milwaukee".  I imagine there are many copy cat companies making this product now, but no matter what the name is, they are probably referred to as "Mukluk's".

*It was pointed out to me that the Hiestand's probably didn't invent the original Mukluk.  That was footwear created by American and Canadian native Indians.  Many museums have articles of clothing and footwear from the 1800's, and there are many pairs of beaded mukluks there.  They were made out of animal skin and fur.  I believe these were the first knitted Mukluks, and they probably borrowed the name for their marketing purposes. 

Aquaponic Grown Food

If I were many years younger, I would definitely be interested in starting an aquaponics system.  For those who don't know what this is, it involves raising fish and growing organic food in a small space through the use of circulating water.   It combines soilless gardening called hydroponics and aquaculture which involves raising aquatic life.  The fish live in a tank.  Their excrement in the water is filtered through gravel and rocks.  The water is pumped past the roots of the plants which cleans the water by taking the nutrients and neutralizing the fish water.   Bacteria naturally found in the water further cleanses it.  The water is then returned to the fish as clean water.  There is a science behind it, but basically it is a self contained system that needs to be monitored but works the same as it does in nature.  The plants grow very fast because they are constantly getting nutrients and the fish grow and stay healthy.  This process can be accomplished in a small home setting or a larger commercial setup.

This little aquarium uses the same technology but you wouldn't be eating this fish.

We have a place about 10 miles away in Montello Wisconsin.  It is called Nelson and Pade Aquaponics.  It is a larger commercial aquaponic greenhouse.  They sell fish and produce that they raise in their greenhouses.  I bought some romaine lettuce the other day at a local grocery store.  This is the package.

 

See the roots are still attached.

I am anxious to try other produce items as well as the fish they raise.  For those who are serious about this and want to know the science behind it, they offer 3 day seminars.  Some are even for college credit.  It saves water and fossil fuels and at the same time provides good healthy food to eat.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

I haven't had a lot to blog about lately.  Summer is busy and there isn't a lot of crafting or new projects going on.  Today is different.  It is recipe day.  Since the strawberries are in season, I thought I'd make a strawberry bundt cake.  Last year I blogged about taking the stems off the freshly picked berries.  This method makes it fun to clean the berries.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/06/strawberry-season-in-wisconsin.html

Everything you need to make the cake.  You need a bundt pan, mini marshmallows, jello, strawberries

and a cake mix.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

2 cups of fresh sliced strawberries
6 oz. of strawberry (I used cherry) jello
3 cups mini marshmallows
1 yellow cake mix

Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray or grease the pan well.  Then in the bottom of the pan put the 2 cups of sliced strawberries.  Sprinkle the dry jello powder over the strawberries.  It looks like a lot but it will be fine.  Next put the 3 cups of mini marshmallows over the strawberry/jello mixture.

Now make the cake mix according to the package directions and pour into the bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let it cool some before turning it out on a plate. 

Fresh out of the oven. 

I turned it out a little too soon.  Let it cool enough so the juice will be set up.

The strawberries sit on top and swirl through the cake.

This cake should be stored in the refrigerator.  It can either be frosted with icing made from butter, powdered sugar and strawberry juice or topped with whipped topping.

Baby Animals All Around

This is the time of the summer where all the new animal babies are being born or are about to be.  We have several in our yard.  We don't have a garden, so we don't mind these cute little bunnies.

The baby birds are plentiful.  The baby Tree Swallows are about to fledge.  They are hanging out right at the edge of the birdhouse opening.

Tree Swallows

Babies waiting for more food.

A month or so ago I wrote about the Baltimore Orioles building a nest right off our deck.  Now the eggs have hatched.  I can't see the babies yet, but I can hear them.  The parents are so busy going back and forth from the grape jelly to the nest to feed these babies.

This link shows how the nest looked as it was being built.
 http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/05/summer-2014-baltimore-orioles.html

 This is it today.  It is pretty well camouflaged.  It is hard to see from most angles, but the babies are so loud I can easily hear them.

Male and Female Baltimore Orioles gathering jelly to feed their babies.

The birds have to clean the jelly off their beaks regularly.

The turtle eggs won't hatch for a while but we have several areas in the yard where the turtles have laid some eggs.  Very often the eggs are dug up by raccoons, but we put a barrier up to protect the snapping turtle eggs.

Sometimes they choose the strangest places to lay eggs.

Not very attractive, but keeps the eggs from being destroyed.

This is what happens.

I suppose our terrible lawn looks inviting and easy digging for these turtles.

It's hard to imagine that these cute little critters can cause a lot of damage.

We have baby ducks, baby turkeys, fawns and a number of baby birds.  These birds left the nest right after I took this picture.  I hope I didn't scare them out too early.  It is fun to see how fast they grow and how quickly they are out in the cruel world to fend for themselves.

They needed to leave the nest before they fell out.

Creamy Vegetable Soup and English Muffin Bread

I really messed up my Tuesday recipe today.  Recently I remembered a cake my mom used to make a lot.  I have made it too, but I can't find the recipe.  It was a peach cake made with canned peaches.  I swear that all you do is put a can of peaches with the juice into a cake mix and mix it up. I don't think it had eggs or oil.   It was so good and perfect for a summer day.  I found a recipe on the web that used a white cake mix and a can of sliced peaches.  I was excited that it was what I was looking for.  I mixed it up and baked it.  When I took it out of the oven, I was so disappointed.  It was only about an inch high.  It didn't taste good either.  I will keep looking for the original recipe.  Sometimes you can't use cake mixes with pudding in them.  That could be the problem.   In the meantime, I am reposting the first recipe I posted when I first started this blog.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

 In a big kettle, probably 8 qt. or so, bring to a boil 7 cups of water.

Add:

1 bag ( 12 oz) of frozen mixed vegetables

1 bag (16 oz) of frozen broccoli florets or fresh broccoli if you have it.

Bring back to a boil and then add

1 bag (32 oz) of frozen hash browns.  I like the southern style which are little squares

6 chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup chopped onion

Simmer for a few minutes and then add

2 cups milk

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup

12 oz. pkg. of American cheese slices (stir in until melted) 

I like the real American cheese that you can separate but isn't packaged separately.  It's a pain to unwrap 16 slices of cheese or you could chunk up some Velveeta but it takes longer to melt.

English Muffin Toasting Bread

You could just mix this up in a bowl, but I picked up a bread machine at Goodwill for $4.99.  There are a ton of them in thrift stores because people thought they were a good idea and then didn't use them.  I put the ingredients in the bread machine, set it for the dough cycle, when it beeps I dump it out into a regular bread pan,  cover and let it rise and bake it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  I figure a loaf costs between $.25 and $.50.

1 1/4 c. of water

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda (English muffin bread always has baking soda)

3 cups of flour

3 Table. dry milk ( you can eliminate this and use milk instead of water for the first ingredient)

2 teaspoon of yeast ( I buy this in bulk at a local Mennonite store)

Dad's Legacy Stone Placement Ceremony

It is Monday June 16, 2014.  I finally have a chance to sit down and write about the fantastic weekend we had.  Last Saturday, my dad was honored for his World War II service.  Last year I wrote about a wonderful Veteran's Memorial called The Highground in Neillsville Wisconsin.  It is a memorial for all veterans living and dead.  Being a non-profit organization, they raise money through donations and by selling items such as the Legacy Stones.  These granite stones are engraved with the veteran's name and any information that can fit in 60 spaces.  Then once a month from April until October they have a big celebration to honor the veteran by laying the granite stone in the walkway for all to see for years to come.  They usually have a morning and afternoon ceremony.  They also have a registry for each person with pictures, letters or any other information the family or person would like to share with the public. 

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/09/the-highground-veterans-memorial.html

Kenneth W. Dux

I think I will start from the beginning.  As I stated in my blog, we visited The Highground last year and learned about the Legacy stones.  Anyone else interested in doing this, all the information needed is found online at http://www.thehighground.org/  After completing the process for purchasing the stone, we had to sign up for an available date.  We chose June 14, 2014 at 1:00pm.  It seemed so far in the future, but time passed very quickly and before we knew it, the date was here.  We live a little over two hours away.  I knew dad would be excited so we went the night before and stayed in a motel.  I figured if we left from home on that day, he would be up and dressed by 5:00 am.  I thought if we were closer, he would know we couldn't be late.  I was wrong, he was still up at 5:00 am.  My sister and her husband also came the night before.  They came from Michigan so it did give us some time to visit and go out for dinner.  My uncle came to visit later in the evening and that gave us time to talk without a lot of people around.  When it was finally time on Saturday, we drove to the Highground.  I thought we would drive in and park.  Oh my gosh!  We drove in and there were people everywhere.  They were already filling up the third parking area.  We drove in closer and my husband dropped dad and me off.  He went to park the car.  Then we worked our way through the process for picking up the stone and carrying it to a registration area.  They gave us a clipboard with pages for any guests who would be coming to the ceremony.  The guests were to sign it and write anything they wanted to share about the veteran like their relationship and memories.  Then we carried the stone on to the next area to choose the spot in the walkway we wanted.  They were laying 21 stones that day.  Next we took the stone to a table, set up our lawn chairs and waited.  The process was a little disorganized in my opinion, but we got the job done.

Dad holding his Legacy Stone.

Area prepared for the stones to be placed.

The  kids were so good.  It was a long day for them.

Soon it was time.  There is a replica of the Liberty Bell on the property.  They rang the bell and then the color guard marched to the area.  We all said the Pledge of Allegiance and a young twelve year old girl sang the National Anthem.  She was fantastic.  Then they took a vial of dirt from the spot and spread out a vial of dirt from the previous ceremony.  At this point each veteran with their friends and family were called up one group at a time.  They took photos of each group.  It would be too chaotic to have everyone take photos so they used volunteers to take the group photo.  After the photo, it was time for the veteran or their representative to place the stone.

The stone weighed 22 pounds so Dylan helped great grandpa hold it.  We were asked to put hands on each others shoulders.

The placing of the Legacy Stone.

As each family finished, they removed their lawn chairs to the outer perimeter.  They formed a circle.  At this time several people left, but we stayed for the entire ceremony.  There was another long wait while every family went through the placing process.  It was a good time to visit with those we hadn't seen in a long time.  My dad is almost 90 and he is still fortunate enough to have a younger brother and sister.  They both came with their families.

Dad with his sister Patricia and his brother Jeff.

When everyone was settled into the circle, they passed a microphone around with the vial of the earth gathered that day.  Anyone who wanted to say a few words was given the opportunity.  It was very emotional.  This was especially true for the Vietnam veterans.  They were finally given the honor they deserved and didn't receive back in the 1960's when they returned home.  Even my dad was put on a Dutch freighter when he had fulfilled his time in the service.  It took them a month to get home.  During his time on the freighter, the war was over.  He landed in San Francisco, somehow made his way to Fort Sheridan and was given his duffel bag and discharge papers.  It was up to him to find his way home.  My daughter and my brother in law spoke.  Even my grandson spoke saying how proud he was to be great grandpa's great grandson.  It was priceless.  Dad said a few words about how wonderful the day was and how overwhelmed he was with everything.  There were hundreds of people there.  I was not brave enough to speak.

Dad thanking everyone.  My sister recorded it for which I was grateful.

When everyone had spoken a lady suggested we all sing God Bless America.  Then they reversed the circle and everyone passed by shaking everyone's hand.  It was a perfect day in so many ways.  I am so grateful that my dad was still alive to enjoy it and he certainly did.