River Otters Return

Yesterday morning after I got up I saw a beautiful sunrise.  It has been cold, but when it is sunny it doesn't seem so cold.

As soon as the sun appeared, it was gone and the day became hazy.  I was hopeful that the sun would reappear, but it didn't.  As I was looking out on the marsh, I saw our three doe running across one after the other.  Our injured doe is still limping but she seems to be able to keep up with the others.  Next I noticed something else.  There were two otters playing and going in and out of two openings in the water.  We have River Otters every spring, and they are very entertaining.  They love chasing each other and jumping in the water.  Some people trap these animals.  I hope they stay on our private property and hide from human predators.  That won't protect them from eagles and coyotes but maybe that is why they have learned to move so quickly.  We usually see them when the stream has completely thawed.  It is still quite frozen except for a few small openings.  If they get closer and if they remain until the thaw, I will try to get better pictures.

Kind of an odd view.  I don't know if he is coming out of the water or going back in.

The otters appeared off and on all afternoon,  but they didn't come any closer.  About 5:00, I decided to go outside to see if I could get a closer picture.  It was getting dark, but I wanted to try.  We had seen an eagle several times during the afternoon, but I didn't make the connection.  As I was trying to take some more otter pictures, an eagle swooped down toward them.  The otters disappeared into the water and waited.  Soon one of them peeked their head out of the ice.  It caught me by surprise so these are the only two pictures I managed to capture.

The little hole directly under the eagle is where the otter were playing.

It wasn't a minute later, and this brave otter came back out of the water.

It got colder again today, and I don't see the eagle or the otter.  If they reappear when the warmer weather comes again, I will report.  The otters are probably the reason the coyote visited us a couple months ago. 

 http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/a-coyote-in-neighborhood.html 

I like the coyote and the eagle, but I don't want them eating our otter.

Baked Club Sandwich

We have a Green Bay television station, WLUK Fox 11.  They have a morning program called Living with Amy.  She is a bit of a local celebrity and is a spoke person for Festival Foods.  She has two cookbooks published and makes food that normal people can easily make.  Today she made Baked Club Sandwiches.  I had chosen something else for my Tuesday recipe, but I tried this for dinner tonight and it was very good.  They are about 200 calories for 1/8 of the sandwich.

Baked Club Sandwich

1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated French bread
1/4 cup prepared ranch dressing
6 slices ham
6 slices turkey breast
6 bacon strips, cooked
1 tomato, seeded and diced
2 chopped scallions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I only used 1/2 cup to save calories)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning or dried parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll dough on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Roll out into a large rectangle. Spread with Ranch dressing, leaving about 2 inches on each side. Layer on ham, turkey, bacon, scallions and tomatoes near one edge. Top with cheese. Roll up the dough and press to seal the end seams. Brush with butter and sprinkle with Italian seasoning or
parsley. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Bake for 30 minutes to a golden brown.

For more Living with Amy recipes, she is on Facebook as well as Pinterest.  http://www.pinterest.com/wlukfox11/living-with-amy-recipes/

My Valentine Amaryllis

After Christmas is a great time to get some bargains for the next year.  The problem is by the time Christmas is over, most of us just want to put things away and not think about it anymore.  The good part is that you can get some great deals on decorations and by next year you have forgotten about it.   It's like giving a gift to yourself.  I saw some ornaments for 90% off last week.  After the first of the year, I saw a whole table of Amaryllis for sale.  They were marked down, so I bought one.

I potted it up in the planting mixture and the ugly plastic pot that came in the box.  I followed the instructions and in no time the plant started to grow.  I didn't like the pot so I found a doily that I had made a while ago.  It was from a Coats & Clark book from the 1970's.  I wrote them to see if I could post the pattern because I don't want to infringe on any copyright laws.  I did not hear back so this is the book.

This is the book, copyright 1978.

Here the doily looks darker because it is wet from being blocked.

After I blocked the doily and it was dry, I threaded a similar colored thread through the outside and gathered it up.  I put the doily around the plastic flower pot, secured the thread and tied it with a ribbon.  I'm not crazy about the ribbon but until I find something better, you get the idea.

It was pretty amazing to see how fast the plant grew.  Every day you could see the growth.

In less than a month a dried up amaryllis bulb turned into this beautiful flower.  There are two more buds on the other side that aren't open yet, but they will be soon.  Hopefully I can keep the bulb and do it all over again next year.  Instead of a Christmas Amaryllis, this year it is my Valentine flower

Another bud ready to open in a day or two.

Another Fingerless Mitt Pattern

It's Super Bowl Sunday and there probably won't be a lot of you out there reading my blog.  It's a day for football and chicken wings.  I learned something about chicken wings today.  They should NOT ever be called Buffalo wings.  They are made from chicken and not buffalo.  Next they should always be fried and NOT baked.  They should always be dipped in Blue Cheese dressing and NOT ranch.  Who knew?  Not me, I'm not sure I ever had a real chicken wing.  Football fans watch the game even if their team isn't playing.  Others watch for the half time show and the ads.

I thought for today I would post another pattern for Fingerless Mitts.  I found a very simple pattern, and they make up quickly and fit well.  The pattern uses regular worsted weight yarn which can be purchased any place that sells yarn.  They look funny when they are completed, but don't worry.  They feel great.  The pattern is mostly Knit 2, Purl 2 for a ribbing pattern except the thumb side has a knit 3 section.  I'm not sure why that is, but I followed the pattern as written.  Just like the last pattern I posted last week for Fingerless gloves (http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/01/basket-weave-fingerless-gloves.html), it is a free ravelry.com pattern.  This one is courtesy of Amanda Gill of Gaea Creations.  She has several interesting projects that can be seen  http://www.ravelry.com/people/gaeacreations

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fingerless-mitts-5

These fingerless mitts look too small but they stretch.

The pattern is written for 4 sizes.  This is the woman's size.

If you knit during the game, you could finish one in the time it takes to play the game unless you eat chicken wings and then I wouldn't suggest knitting at the same time.

A Day In My Life

It is almost impossible to find things to write about on these long winter days.   Today was a good example of how uneventful a lot of these days are.  I won't bore you will an hour by hour account.  It is get up, make coffee, turn on the news, watch the birds, wait for my dad to get up, give him his coffee, watch more news, blah, blah, blah.

It snowed a little today and the birds were very busy at the feeders.  I take pictures through the window.  So far I have so many pictures of birds, I will have to start deleting them very soon.  How many pictures does a person need of the same birds.

 

We did go to the feed mill to buy more shelled corn for the deer.  We bought 100 pounds so that should last for a while.

I imagine they thought this was really funny.

We went to the local Piggly Wiggly and bought the special deals.  Regular priced items, from the only grocery store within many miles, are very expensive.  Our store has a carry out lady that is at least our age or older.  I always feel weird when she puts on her Babushka to carry out our groceries.  Today we declined and said we could handle them ourselves.

Later this afternoon we went to the school to walk.  Tonight we did 18 trips around the school and I got over 4000 steps.   That was good considering I was down on my steps today.  We are usually the only community people walking.  That surprises me especially when the sidewalks and roads are so icy.

 

That's it for today.  Kind of boring but that's my everyday life.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast Soup

This Tuesday's recipe is Slow Cooker Pot Roast Soup

 
Today was another one of those polar vortex days.  When I got up this morning the thermometer registered minus 18 without the wind chill.  It has warmed up to 8 degrees this afternoon, but it is still very cold.

We definitely need comfort food today.  At least it is sunny, so looking outside doesn't seem so cold.  It is actually bright and beautiful.

Although he is hunkered down slightly, this squirrel is just hanging out in the sunshine.

Despite the minus 18 temperature, the spring fed pond has not frozen over.

My recipe today came from the Wisconsin Beef Council.  It is called a Slow Cooker Soup but it is pretty thick and is more like a stew.  I used extra beef broth to make it more like soup.  This soup can also be made on the stove top and simmered until the meat is tender.  I made it in the Pressure Cooker and it only took 30 minutes to get the meat tender.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast Soup

Beef Shoulder Roast Boneless (2-1/2 pounds) 

2 cups chopped onions  (I used 1 cup)

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with green peppers and onions, undrained 

1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes (cubes) 

1 cup beef broth  (I used 2 cups)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used a fresh garlic clove, chopped)

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 

1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon pepper 

2 cups broccoli slaw 

1/2 cup frozen peas

1. Cut beef roast into 12 equal pieces. I thought these pieces were too big so I cut them into much smaller bite sized pieces.  Place in 4-1/2 to 5-1/2-quart slow cooker. Add onions, tomatoes, potatoes, broth, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 to 6 hours, or on LOW 8 to 9 hours, or until beef is fork-tender. (No stirring is necessary during cooking.) 
2. Stir in broccoli slaw; continue cooking, covered, 30 minutes or until broccoli slaw is crisp-tender. Turn off slow cooker. Stir in peas; let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Basket Weave Fingerless Gloves

Fingerless gloves are really popular right now.  I made a pair for my daughter for Christmas a year ago.  My other daughter also wanted me to knit her a pair, and I finally did.   They would not be warm enough in this bitter cold weather we are having, but I noticed my daughter layered them over another pair of gloves for warmth.  There is a basket weave pattern in these.

The pattern for these basket weave fingerless gloves is a free Ravelry download.  If you aren't familiar with Ravelry, it is social networking site for knitting, crocheting, weaving and  spinning.  If you go to Ravelry.com, it is easy to sign up.  It is a very useful site for those interested in this type of thing.  You can find almost any type of project and answers to questions related to fiber arts. 

This is the link for the free pattern.  You can also see pictures of this project that others have knit.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basket-weave-fingerless-gloves

Baked Taco Bowls

Yesterday we decided to go out for some things we needed.  We knew it was going to snow and get very cold again later in the weekend.  It was a pretty nice winter day.  The first place we went was Menards.  For those who aren't familiar with this store, it is based in Central Wisconsin and throughout the years has grown into many many stores throughout Wisconsin and at least 14 other states.  I think they built their first home improvement store in the early 1970's and have been very successful.  They always have a gimmick to bring people in.  This weekend it was 14% off everything you can fit in a paper grocery bag.  We had fun filling it with stuff.  We bought mouse traps.  Yes even though I'm a wild animal lover, I do not like mice and don't feel bad when we kill them.  We bought suet cakes for the birds,  and we even bought 3 slabs of barbeque ribs.

The purchase that I wasn't so sure about was the Baked Taco Maker.  My husband thought this was a necessary gadget.  It was $3.99 minus the 14% equaling $3.43.   He likes taco salads but the calories in a fried taco shell bowl is almost 400 calories.  He thought that baking the shell would save a lot of calories.  So today for lunch we tried baking a flour tortilla and a low carb tortilla.

We baked them according to the directions in the package.  They said to bake them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  We liked how they looked when they came out of the oven.

They turned out great and looked very good.

The salad looked even better.

As we all know, looks can be deceiving.  They tasted like baked cardboard.  I guess all the that fat is what makes those taco bowls so tasty.  I wasn't going to give up.  Next I sprayed both sides of a tortilla with Olive Oil spray.  I figured that wouldn't add very many calories, and it might make it taste better.  I also baked them a little longer.  It did make it slightly better.  In fact, I broke it into pieces and it tasted good with salsa.   I still prefer a tortilla in a wrap.  I think I will have to find another use for those cute pans.  At least we didn't pay a fortune for them, and it gave me a topic to blog about.  There is always a silver lining.

Pinterest Idea To Clean Your Tub or Shower

I know most of you who read this blog have joined Pinterest.  I know that many of you have tried this technique for cleaning the tub and shower because it has been posted on Pinterest many times.  For those who haven't, I want to say how great it works.  All you need is white vinegar and dish soap in equal proportions.  I usually measure out a half a cup of white vinegar and heat it in the microwave.  Then I add 1/2 cup of dish soap.  This small batch does a large walk in shower floor.   The recipe calls for using Dawn detergent but I used another grease cutting dish soap, and it worked just fine. 

12 ounces white vinegar (I used 1/2 cup or 4 oz.)
12 ounces liquid, blue dawn detergent (I used 1/2 cup or 4 oz.)

Directions:

Heat vinegar in microwave until hot and pour into squirt bottle.

Add the Dawn soap. Put the lid on and gently shake to incorporate.

You now have a powerful cleaning product that will melt soap scum and tub and shower buildup, clean sinks, appliances and just about anything. Just spray it on, scrub, rinse and be amazed. For tough soap scum build-up, spray the mixture on and allow it to sit as long as overnight. Then, scrub and rinse.

The solution is slightly thick so it clings and stays put.  

I use one of my hand crocheted scrubbies to scrub it clean.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/10/nylon-net-scrubbies.html

Watch The Calories In Those Mini Muffins

In the month of January you will see a common theme threaded through my blogs.  It is diet and exercise.  Every year I get focused in January and then forget it the next eleven months of the year.  It is obvious that I have lost the same ten pounds over and over again.  It is such a fine line between having enough calories and going over just a little.  If you have too few calories, the metabolism slows down and it goes into starvation mode.  It happened to me yesterday.  Myfitnesspal.com told me that I hadn't eaten enough to lose weight.  This is a foreign concept to me.  On the other side of the coin, just going over a few calories can put weight on.  It only takes 3600 extra calories to gain a pound.  This brings me to my point.  Yesterday I made mini muffins.  My dad has to have his sweets and at his age he should.  At age 89 you should be able to eat anything you are hungry for.  I got out a boxed Double Chocolate Muffin Mix.  It wasn't a good choice to even have it in the cupboard, but I had bought it on one of my "off" moments.  Instead of making a dozen big muffins, I got out the mini cupcake maker.  I purchased this mini baker at Goodwill before they got popular.  I wonder if the person who donated it, regretted it.  The stores were full of this type baker over the holidays.

Super easy way to make cupcakes or muffins.

I quickly mixed them up.  All it took was the mix and one egg.  How bad could that be?  I got forty little muffins out of the recipe.

I put them into a plastic bag to grab when we wanted a little snack.

Fortunately I decided to figure the calorie count before I ate one or two or more.  I did the math several times because it just didn't seem right.  Can you believe that these tiny little mini muffins have 53 calories each?  They are one bite.  It would be very easy to eat six of them in less than a minute.  I will still eat them, but not as many as I thought I could.

This is a snack plate and the muffin still looks little on it.

Exercise Wherever You Can

Sometimes it is really hard to get exercise.  Except for feeding the birds and walking to the mailbox, we don't get enough exercise.  We joined a fitness center once but it was 20 miles away.  It was like having a full time job.  We would get ready, drive for a half hour, exercise for an hour, get hungry, stop and eat more calories than we burned and then drive back home.  That only lasted a month.  We are eligible to use the equipment at our senior center, but walking on a treadmill or doing wii bowling just didn't cut it for me.  Plus they keep inviting us to the pot luck meal.  My husband plays cards there, but I'm not ready for that.  The best thing for us is just taking a walk.  It works great for most of the year, but not in the winter.  We can handle the cold, but the icy roads are a different story.  Today we found a solution to our walking dilemma.  We went to the school and walked the halls for 30 minutes.  I can see how it would get boring doing it everyday, but two or three times a week is going to be great.  So until the weather gets better, that's what we will be doing.  It's an easy way to add an extra 3600 steps to our usual day.  I'm still 70,000 steps behind both of our daughters for the week, but at least we are trying.

It doesn't look like I will get to 10,000 again today.

Make Your Own Vanilla

Yesterday in my blog I talked about wanting to make Vanilla Extract.  I didn't have the proper ingredients at the time, but today I found some vanilla beans for the recipe.  My daughter makes this vanilla extract so I know it works great.  Just make sure your vanilla beans are pliable and not all dried out.  They also need to be split so all the flavor inside the bean can come out.

All the ingredients necessary to make Vanilla Extract.

Vanilla Extract

2-3 Vanilla Beans
1 cup Vodka
Glass jar with tight fitting cover

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise down one side.  Leave it connected on the end.

Put the beans into a glass jar and cover completely with the vodka.  Make sure the beans are covered.

Store it in a cool, dark place for at least 2 months.  Shake it once in a while when you think of it.

After you start using the vanilla and need more, you can top it off with more vodka.  Shake it when you add the new vodka.  It can last for many years.  There are cute colored bottles available to buy to store the vanilla in.  It shouldn't be stored in a clear bottle unless it is kept in a dark cabinet.

My daughter is also trying to make vanilla sugar for the first time.  She buys vanilla sugar at Penzey spices, but it costs about $8.00 for a small amount.  Apparently you can put a split vanilla bean in a container of granulated sugar to make your own.  The vanilla bean will infuse the sugar with vanilla flavoring.  She will check it soon to see how intense the flavor is.  I will update this blog when I find out how well it works.

*The following link makes vanilla with Brandy.  It may be worth trying.

http://www.thedarlingbakers.com/homemade-vanilla-extract-with-brandy/

It Was A Long Day

Everyone has heard of the dog days of August, but they don't compare to the long days of January.  Yesterday I talked about embracing the winter and enjoying it.  Today I did not practice what I preached.  It was a miserable day.  I got to start it out with giving haircuts to my husband and my dad.  Next and the part I hate the most was toe nail clipping.  Yes I said it.  I have to clip my dad's toe nails.  It ranks right up there with life's most gagging moments. 

My husband is also obviously bored with winter.  The last two weeks he found things to do that usually get overlooked.   He cleaned the freezer we have in the basement.  He found a lot of stuff that was not usable anymore, and reorganized what was left.  He has cataloged every item and wants me to check off the items when I use them.  This way we can keep track of what we have, and what we need to buy.  I'm not sure how diligent I will be at doing it.  We have a lot more room in the freezer now because he took out many many cold packs.  Why we have so many is one of those questions with no answer.

Next thing on the list was organizing tax papers.  It is a job that needs to be done but it makes a big mess.  Of course, my husband has everything organized by date and type.  He has spreadsheets and plastic boxes with everything labeled.  That's the good part.  Everything else is still sitting on the dining room table and needs to be dealt with soon.

I made chili today, went to Dollar General for some new socks and otherwise I was just lazy today.  I was going to make perpetual vanilla extract.  My daughter never buys vanilla because she makes it herself.  All you do is put 3 vanilla beans into a cup of vodka.  You store it in a glass jar for a couple months and then it's ready to use.  I didn't have any vodka or vanilla beans so that stopped that project.  We went to the store to buy the ingredients but vanilla beans are too fancy to sell in my town.  I picked up some other groceries and when we began checking out I saw a gigantic bottle of vodka my husband had put in the cart.  He asked the check out kids if they needed to see his ID.  They said "uh, NO".  I only need a cup and since we don't drink, I will have to make a lot of vanilla.  We aren't teetotalers but we just don't like the taste of booze. 

Thank goodness it is almost bedtime.  Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting. 

Enjoy the Winter Instead of Complaining

We live in Wisconsin.  There is no escaping winter.  Sometimes it is mild and sometimes it is long, snowy and cold.  We live here because we love all four of the seasons.  People complain all the time about the cold, but it isn't something new and there is nothing to do about it but enjoy it.  You have heard the term, "if your handed lemons, you make lemonade".  That is what we do.  It makes the winter more enjoyable.  Instead of wishing your life away, have fun.

Today we stopped at my daughters house.  They were outside playing in the snow.

It's nice to have a sledding hill in your own backyard

Dylan working on the snow fort.

Heather having just as much fun as her boys Ewan and Dylan.

Piper too.

Snowmobiles going up and down the river.

The shark may not be happy with the weather, I believe he is frozen solid.

I also heard from my other daughter this morning.  She spent the morning snowshoeing on one of the many trails available to us.  It looks like she had a great time too. 

Fun, fun, fun