The Snowstorm of 12-22-2013 Finally Arrived A Day Later

Yesterday we were supposed to have a big snowstorm.  Many places in our area had six or more inches of snow.  We didn't get all that snow.  We probably got three inches.  We were disappointed because we want to go snowshoeing on Christmas Day, and my husband has a new snowblower that he hasn't been able to use.  We were pleasantly surprised when we got up this morning.  We had another three inches of unpredicted snow overnight.  It was very pretty.

My husband finally got a chance use the new snowblower.  There wasn't as much snow as we thought, but enough to try it out.  We found out that we should have raked the leaves a lot better in the fall.  The leaves and pine straw made it a little more difficult, but it worked well.

We are all plowed out.  It looks like the temperatures will remain cold enough to keep the snow for a while.  In a month, I will be telling a very different story.  The first snows of winter are exciting, but after a while all we want is Spring.  That is the beauty of living in Wisconsin.  We have four distinct seasons, and we love it that way.

Blog Updates From Fabric Bags to Pulled Pork and Beef Sandwiches

I haven't been blogging much the last few days because I have been busy getting set for Christmas.  I did make it much easier on myself by making the fabric bags.  They aren't pretty but wrapping the presents was quick and easy.

Presents wrapped and under the tree.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/making-fabric-gift-bags.html

We were expecting a big snowstorm last night, but that didn't amount to much.  My husband got a new snowblower a couple weeks ago, but hasn't used it yet.  He is hoping the wind will kick up and the snow will drift enough for him to use it tomorrow.

We got some snow but not enough to cover the grass in the marsh.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/happy-birthday-mike.html

I lost the first gold crown I had put in 44 years ago.  I will have to call my dentist tomorrow.  It doesn't hurt so I don't know when I will get in to get it fixed.  Hopefully I will be able to have the quick fix method and not something more extensive.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/10/high-tech-dentistry-in-our-little-town.html

Lastly I have an update on a blog I did earlier.  It was for the Pulled Pork and Beef sandwiches I make often.  I took a short cut today and it worked out beautifully.  Instead of putting the Pork Roast and the Beef Roast in the slow cooker for many hours, I used the pressure cooker and pressured them for 1 1/2 hours (from frozen) in some water.  They became very tender.  Then instead of shredding the meat with two forks as I usually do, I put them in the bowl of my Kitchen Aid mixer and set it on a low speed.  It shredded the meat perfectly.  No mess and such a time saver.

I know I have a lot of gadgets but I cook a lot, and they save so much time.

The pork and beef shredded to a perfect size.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/10/pulled-pork-and-beef-sandwiches.html

Be Careful Where You Store Your Birdseed

I'm going to start this blog out with a disclaimer.  If you are eating or are the least bit squeamish then either wait to read this or don't read it at all.

As you know, we feed the birds.  We feed them all year long.  I know that some people don't feed the birds in the summer because they feel there is plenty of natural food.  We not only feed the hummers sugar water and the orioles grape jelly, we feed the other birds a variety of seeds.  We feed them for many reasons.  Mostly to keep them close by so we can enjoy seeing them all the time.  They also depend on us because they know we have available food when they are hungry or need to feed their young.

Generally we buy large 40 pound bags of sunflower seeds.  This lasts us quite a while, but after a period of time we started noticing some cupboard moths in our garage.  Then we noticed them in the seed.  My husband thought that the seed wasn't sealed up tight enough, and the moths were getting into the seed.  So next time the sunflower seeds were on sale, we bought a bag but didn't open it.  Eventually we used up the old seeds, and then a few days ago we opened the new bag.  Guess what we found?  The moths were not getting into the seeds, they were in the seeds themselves.  Apparently there are eggs in the seeds.  If not used within a certain period of time, the eggs hatch.  Fortunately it is winter and everything had frozen.

Laying on top of the sunflower seeds was a mass of larvae.

As you can see in the photo, on top of the seeds were a mass of larvae.  They were intertwined in a heavy duty web that resembled tissue paper only it was very strong.  I scooped it up in one sheet of web and worms and put in on the platform bird feeder.

 A sheet of web embedded with worms.

Isn't this disgusting?  

The larvae are frozen and I think the good part is that all the eggs have hatched in the sunflower seeds.  What is left is probably fine to feed to the birds.  The positive part of this story is that I no sooner had put the larvae out on the feeder, and the purple finches showed up in record numbers.  They were fighting to get to them.

Not only had the finches come to feast, so did the chickadee's and the sparrows.

Chickadee with a larvae in its mouth.

They are still digging in for a few that are leftover.

He found one.

The lessons learned are that you should use the seed you buy within thirty days in the warm summer months.  It takes about 30 days for meal moths to go through their life cycle but a little longer if the weather is cool.  

Never store bird seed in your house. Heat from the house can cause the eggs to hatch and grow quickly. You don't want the larvae to hatch into moths and then get into your cupboards.  A shed or garage is the best place to store your seeds. 

Rosettes Are A Family Tradition

It's the holidays and there are some recipes that are tradition.  One of those is Rosettes.  Rosettes are a Scandinavian deep fried cookie type thing. They are very delicate and need to be fried individually.  My mother who was Danish made them, and almost every year I try to make them too.  My family doesn't care that much for them, but it's tradition and they look so pretty on the cookie plate.  This year my cousin Kim wanted to make them.  I had an extra rosette iron to give to her.  She is a very good cook, so I knew they would turn out.  I gave her a food network recipe as well as the recipe my mother had.  I believe she used the Food Network recipe.  They turned out great.  They were better than any I ever made.  She was so kind to share, and we really enjoyed them.  Not only that, I didn't have to make any this year.

Rosette Iron

This is mom's recipe.

Or if you prefer, the Food Network link.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rosettes-recipe/index.html

Making Fabric Gift Bags

I finally have most of my Christmas shopping done.  I have a few things coming that I ordered online, but basically I have everything.  I decided to try something different this year.  Usually I pick up wrapping paper when it's 75% off for use the next year.  I didn't do that last year.  I had a plan.  All summer I looked for fabric at garage sales and thrift stores that I could use.  I found shades of red and green and some winter patterned fabric.   I decided to make fabric gift bags this year.  Any kind of fabric would work.  I think velvet bags would be pretty, but I chose a more homespun look.  It would be the ultimate recycling program.  There wouldn't be tons of wrapping paper going into the landfill, and the bags could be used year after year.

The first thing I did was cut a piece of fabric 36" by 20".  This size fit most of the gifts, but you can cut any size you need. 

A piece of fabric cut to whatever size you want.

Use whichever edge you want to be the top of the bag.   I used the 36" edge.   I folded it over 1/2 inch and then made a second fold 1 1/2 inches to make the top placket.  

Hem an edge by folding it over and stitching down.  This is the top of the bag.

Then I stitched two rows of stitching to make a space for the cording.  One where the hem would be made and another 1/2" down from the top (the folded side).  If you don't have a selvage edge, you may want to fold in the edge a little so you don't have a raw edge or use a pinking shears.  Then fold the whole piece in half putting right sides together.  Now stitch a seam on the side and bottom,  and then turn it right side out.

When finished with the sewing you have a bag with a hem on top.

Next you will need some type of cording to tie the bag shut.  I found a couple rolls of this cording that someone made.  It is the kind you make with a spool but I suspect someone made this on a cording machine.  Any type of cording would work.  If you use nylon cording you will have to melt the ends so they don't unravel.

This is the cording I found at a garage sale, but any cording will do.

Next take a safety pin and pin it to the cording.  Thread the cord through the placket.  I used a cord 4 times the width of the bag.  That way when the bag is opened all the way, you won't lose the cording inside the hem and have to redo it.

The bag is now finished, just put the gift inside the bag, pull the draw string tight and tie it with a tag to show who the gift if for.  I'm excited about doing this.  It's actually is going pretty fast.  Not quite as fast as wrapping but next year it will be so easy.  My husband is cutting the fabric pieces for me, so all I have to do sew them up.

A Very Busy Sunday

This was a busy day.  We got going early this morning and headed to church.  We went to see three of our grandchildren in their church Christmas program.  Last year we missed the program because it was held in a barn in the country and the barn was too small.  It was full before we arrived, and they shut the doors before we could get in. 

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2012/12/no-room-in-barn.html

This year it was at the church.  Melissa read a bible passage while another girl lit the advent candles.

They had a little program about the Nativity.  They used a more modern story to tell about the birth of Jesus, but I prefer the traditional story.  They sang jazzy songs, played blowup guitars and used puppets as some of the characters.  We all sang Christmas songs.  The kids were very cute.

Jack playing a fake blowup guitar and singing.

Sam singing also.

And Melissa too.

After the program we went to our daughter's house.  She made birthday cupcakes for her dad and two kinds of soup for lunch.  Our other daughter came over with her kids.  After lunch, the kids played, and my dad, my son in law and my husband watched football.   My daughters and I made Christmas cookies.  We get together every year to bake.  We made the usual kinds and a few new ones.  We wanted to make some new varieties that were gluten free.  We made peanut butter temptations, Mexican wedding cakes, chocolate dipped pretzel rods, peppermint bark, soda cracker toffee, mint chocolate chip cookies and new kind with dried cranberries, gluten free pretzels, nuts in dark chocolate. 

Chocolate dipped pretzel rods.

Some of the cookies we made today.

I was really tired today.  I have been going to bed way too late and getting up way too early.  Some people love to sleep, but I'm not a fan of it.  I have never been a good sleeper.  I must have been a difficult baby.  We all know it is necessary and sometimes I have to give in and sleep.  So we got home, ate some dinner and I put my pajama's on.  Now the sugar has kicked in from all the cookie sampling and on top of that the Green Bay Packers beat the Cowboys in an amazing come from behind victory.  I'm not tired anymore.

It's been quite the day.

Happy Birthday Mike

Today is my husband's birthday.  He should have gotten a gift that is fun, but instead he got a practical gift.  At least we will call it a gift because we needed to buy this item anyway.  You know the term, killing two birds with one stone.  Last winter our snowblower was still working well.  It moved a lot of snow from our various snowstorms, but it must have worked itself to death.

This year it just wouldn't start.  At least once a year it would need to be in the shop for repair.  We thought it was time to get something dependable.  We haven't had enough snow so far this winter to use a snow blower, but that is just a matter of time. 

So Happy Birthday Mike.  Enjoy your special gift.

Trying out his new snow blower.  It looks like he is blowing leaves instead of snow.

Happy Birthday To My Sister

Today is December 12th.  It is my little sister's birthday.  She is three years younger than I am.  That is a big difference when a person is young.  We are four grades apart because I was one of the youngest in my class and being born in December she had to wait until she was five to start school.  She was also little and I was big.  They used to call her PeeWee.  Despite the size and age difference, our mother thought we were twins.  She dressed us alike until I needed big girl clothes and my sister was still in children's sizes.

It all started when I was four and my sister was one.  She started to dress us alike.

Carol Dux, Mark Anding, Me, Janice and Uncle Jeff Dux.  Yes Jeff is my uncle even though he is younger than me.

Then a year later they made us sit on a rug on the front porch.  Notice the snow.  This must have been the next year's Christmas photo.  Mom always told me not to sit on cold concrete or I would get hemorrhoids.  That's probably the reason for the rug.

Barbara age 5, Janice age 2

I think the next picture was taken in the same year.  The porch is the same and so is my same horrible hairdo.  No wonder I wet my pants everyday so I would be sent home from kindergarten. Maybe my hair was my embarrassment and not that I was shy.  My sister and I are dressed alike though. 

I was getting a belly even at age 5.

Then it was Christmas of 1954.  My mom's best friend had made us Christmas stockings.  I still have the stocking and have copied the pattern many times.  See our matching pajamas as well as the matching stockings.

Mom continued the trend of dressing us alike.  This next photo was taken at Christmas of 1955.  My sister had just turned five and I was eight.  It looks like we even have matching pajamas again.  Pin curls and a turban to keep them in place.  Geez, I hope my hair turns out as lovely as it usually does.  Good grief mom, what were you thinking.  I do like the Christmas tree.  All those individual icicles all over the tree.

Christmas 1955.

1957 when we first moved to Stoughton Wisconsin.

The matching theme continued.  We have matching winter coats in this picture.   This was the winter of 1958.  That year our dad flooded a skating rink in the backyard.  Often after school we would go outside and skate.  Those were the days when kids played outside and entertained themselves without electronics.  We barely watched television.  I remember television stations only broadcasted a few hours everyday, not 24/7 like it is today.

Posing with our matching coats and ice skates.

The next summer I was eleven and my sister was eight.  We are still dressed alike.  I could bore you with many more examples, but I won't.  Mom ordered from the Montgomery Ward catalog, and she ordered the same outfits in different sizes as long as she could.

Happy Birthday little sister.  I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane.  

A Coyote In The Neighborhood

Last weekend we finally got some snow.  We got about two inches, but it was enough to see the animal tracks.  I noticed some unusual tracks out on the frozen ice.  The deer make a trail, so I knew it wasn't deer tracks.  The small animals have their own distinct little tracks. I thought perhaps a dog had been walking around.

Many different tracks in the snow.

Every morning when I get up I scan the horizon to see what I can see.  I was surprised.  At first I didn't know what I was seeing.  We have seen fox in the area so at first that is what I thought I saw.  Then as I looked closer, it was too big for a fox.  Maybe it was a wolf.  It started coming closer, and it turned out to be a coyote.  Thank goodness I don't have chickens or pet rabbits because they wouldn't have a chance with this animal.  He stayed for quite a while and I was able to get some photos from our dining room window.

Here he comes.

Even though he's a predator, he certainly is a beautiful animal.

 Later in the afternoon, he returned.  It looked like he was nosing around the area where the beaver or the muskrats live.  I didn't see him find anything and later saw him walking away.  I don't know if he got separated from his pack or if there are more in the area.  I love living where I do, you never know what you will see.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

My Tuesday recipe for today is one that I found in my recipe box and then improvised a little.  A few days ago I wrote a blog about making homemade Christmas ornaments.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/homemade-christmas-ornaments-are-best.html

I used dried yellow split peas for the ornament.  As I was putting the bag of peas back into the cupboard, I thought that I should use some of the peas to make some soup.  I bought the yellow split peas because I thought the soup might look more appetizing than the green.  There is something about green pea soup that those from my generation find a little distasteful.  I think it stems from seeing the movie "The Exorcist" many years ago.

The original recipe called for chicken broth but I had a big ham bone in the freezer since last Christmas.  We were given a huge ham last year.  It was delicious, but when we had enough, I froze the big bone with some meat attached.  I had intended to make something from it sooner, but I actually forgot about it.  I took it out of the freezer and put it in a big pot of water.  I simmered it for a while get the flavor into the stock.  Then I followed the recipe substituting the ham broth for the chicken broth.  I also cooked it in the pressure cooker for only 15 minutes instead of cooking on the stove for an hour.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

2 Tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced

Melt the butter in a large stock pot.  Cook the onion, celery and carrots until they are soft.

Then add:
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
some salt and pepper to taste
8 cups of chicken stock (I used the ham stock)
2 cups of dried yellow split peas
2 potatoes, diced
Add some cubed ham if you like, but it isn't necessary. (I used the excess that was still attached to the
 ham bone)

Then simmer for an hour in the stock pot or 15 minutes on high in the pressure cooker.
The recipe says you should blend everything together after it is cooked but I just left it as is.  The split peas cook until they are smooth, and I like the other vegetables in the soup still in tact. 

In case you don't remember my pressure cooker, it is digital and I use it whenever I can.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/01/my-favorite-small-appliance.html

Dad And His Lucky Sweatshirts

My dad is pretty sharp for his age (89).  He remembers things I can't.  I want to say that he doesn't have as much to keep track of, but I think he just "gets it".  Because of his poor eyesight, he listens and pays attention.  Then he retains the information.  More than once he has had to explain foreign policy to me or the impact of a sports injury on a team.  My mind tends to wander when I watch the news or sports.  Last winter, my sister gave him a Michigan State sweatshirt.  They live in Michigan and are huge sport fans.  He is a Wisconsin fan, but when they are out of the picture he will root for Michigan.  Last Saturday Michigan State played Ohio State in football.  We had gone to the grocery store, and when we returned dad was sitting in his chair with his good luck Spartans sweatshirt on waiting for the game to start.

I guess it worked because Michigan State won the game and is going to the Rose Bowl this year.  We will see if the luck holds on New Years Day.  The next game he watched was the Green Bay Packers.  When he got dressed on Sunday, he put his Green Bay sweatshirt on.

 

The Packers also managed a win, so it must be the magic in the sweatshirts.  You can bet he will be wearing the appropriate sweatshirt every game day from now on.  That theory will disappear if or when his teams lose, but it's fun to think about.  Right now, he is waiting for the Mike McCarthy show to come on.  Between meals, snacking, his audiobooks and some TV shows, he is always busy and that's a good thing.

One Year Of Blogging

A year ago I started writing this blog.  In a year I have written 311 blogs.  I can't believe I found that much to write about.  I don't know if I will have as much to say during the next year, but you never know.  One of my first blogs was written about the snows of December 8, 2012.

http://cabincountess.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-view-from-cabin.html

It was a little different this morning from a year ago.  No snow at all.  We haven't had enough to shovel yet this year, but it is very very cold.  Tonight they predict some snow so maybe by morning it will look more like winter than it did this morning.

December 8, 2013 looks more like fall than winter.