Lorena

Herb Garden

2009-06-04T04:37:00.000-07:00

Here are three pictures of my herb gardens. The stone path is made from stones I hauled last year from the lake in a back pack a little at a time. My form of weight bearing exercise.

Blue Spider Egg

2009-04-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

While digging in the mulch compost to put on the path to the bees I discovered this spider holding her large blue egg, after I tried to pick up the pretty blue thing and discovered the spider was holding it!!!!!! Yikes! I let go immediately! Guess I scarred her as bad as she did me since she stayed still until the camera was gotten, then retreated to darker ground in the mulch. Click on it to enlarge.

Poor Sandy

2009-04-27T05:27:00.001-07:00

Growth removed from Sandy's Head!
Don't know what it was yet waiting for
the results.

How uncomfortable wearing this cone in hot
weather

Making our bee hives

2009-04-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

We put together more than just ours!

We made many new friends that day.

And learned allot.

This little helper latched on to Steve and even

set up a box table for the two of them to eat
lunch on.

Teagan's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-04-22T06:38:00.001-07:00

Teagan age 2! Her favorite word while opening

presents, OMG! Oh, my gosh!

Yum a Baskin Robbins Birthday Cake!

Isn't this cool! Know what it is?

Tyler got it for Christmas.

It's a voice activated water gun!

Proud Auntie Kristina the photographer!!

Food for Teagans Party!

Easter and SOUP !!!!!!!!!

2009-04-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

My Sissy and her Bird! Only she could get his trust and train him.

My sisters idea that everyone get a picture made with Rabbit ears for Easter.

Oh it tickles when he is under my hair!

Aha, Kisses!

Guess how much soup we made last Friday!

22 Quarts = 5.5 gallons!

One of Steve's favorite salads..... He had to take a picture! It is just grape salad. Mix cream cheese, sour cream and half & half together, stir in grapes seedless white and purple is what I used, seedless of course. Then I sprinkle a little brown sugar on top with crushed nuts, garnished with strawberries. Very refreshing for Summer.

The Finished Arbor

2009-04-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Steve using our new toy. First time for the drill press.

Steve enjoying looking at the fruits of our labor from the front porch.

Another Project

2009-04-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Know what this is a picture of?? These are seed pods I saved from my Pom Pom Poppies. Aren't they neat looking, and so fun to harvest the seeds from inside. After drying on the plant I cut the stem and turn them upside and spin between my fingers to spin out the seeds inside of this dried casing. The seeds are great used in a cooking. A friend Marilyn gave me this wonderful salad dressing made with poppy seeds in it.
Poppy seed salad dressing
-----------------------------------------------------
Ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions: In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard and onion and process for 20 seconds. With blender or food processor on high, gradually add oil in a slow, steady stream. Stir in poppy seeds.

I have this arranged in reverse order Sorry, but you can see how the arbor up the front walk is taking place. We still have to put the top rails on. So another pict to follow on this one.

Great find and More

2009-04-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

A Great find, someones Trash is another's Treasure. A Doctor in the neighborhood was discarding this nice rug, large 12 1/2' X 9 1/2'. Not sure where we will put it yet. Can you picture me struggling with it to get it into the back of my Jeep Wrangler! A determined woman.
Summer come quick the Squash are blooming! I am snipping off the blooms as they appear hoping to save the plants until I can transplant them outside. I think I started the seeds to soon, don't you!

Instead of a fire we are looking at the Amarillo blooming in the living room.

Aha, the simple pleasures of life, fresh spinach from the fall planting. That along with strawberries, Salmon and fresh baked bread. As Steve says it doesn't get any better.

A hungry Squirrel nibbling on my cow skulls that are on the arbor leading into the orchard and upper garden.

A new look for the two love seats in the living room. Throws that protect and add color.

The Early Garden

2009-03-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Our early garden, spinach, onions, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, Swiss chard, and peas.

Rare opportunity to see Cedar Waxwings

2009-03-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

The other day we had the rare opportunity to see a flock of cedar waxwing birds come and devour the Pyracantha bush of ALL the red berries at one time, it was quite a site to see. Our picture may be to small to see the actual bird so I am attaching a web site to view what the bird looks like. It is very pretty with a yellow tip tail and red tips on the wings with a crest like a tufted tit mouse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Waxwing

Steve's favorite cookies!

2009-03-26T11:35:00.001-07:00

Oat meal Cookies

1 1/3 C Butter

1C Brown Sugar

1C Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cream together

Mix the following

1 C WW Flour

1 C White Flour ( I use bread flour)

1/2 tsp B. soda and salt

1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder

combine with cream mixture then stir in

2/12 C Oats

1 C Raisins

Bake 350 12 min.

The Wedding

2009-03-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Melissa's Wedding this past Saturday!
The love for each other was shining! What a special man! He loves the 3 boys also and will make a great father. Best Wishes

Like mother like son, they look so much alike!

Gloria with a new special friend Paul. Seems like a nice man and you can tell he is smitten with Gloria!

Cousin Debbie and her man Jon. They made the trip all the way from PA.

Cousin David, Karen and Katie, (big/little) David did not make it.

A lovely event and fun visiting with family.

Doing what I love

2009-03-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

Doing what I love, staying home, working on plants and cooking.

Hopefully we will get some new plants to share

Jade plant after pruning and cuttings put in dirt to hopefully root!

Jade before pruning

Somewhat healthy banana bread
Cream together 5 Tbs. butter
2/3 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
Flour Mix: 3/4 WW Flour, 1 cup bread flour
1 tsp B. Soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp cinnamon, salt, nutmeg
Add flour mixture alternating with 1 cup mashed bananas.
I added some dried cranberries, dark choc. chips and chopped nuts.
Bake in greased loaf pan 350 for 1 hour

Nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread this has a dusting of corn meal on top, hence the light color. It was added when put in the pan to rise and slits made on top. This is our staple bread. Made with 1Tbs salt, 2 Tbs yeast, 4 cups warm water, 4 cups WW Flour, 4 cups bread Flour and 1/2 ground flax seeds. It is a wet dough, you let it rise until it falls then put the dough in the frig in a covered container, not sealed. Then all you have to do is take out how much dough you want and let it rise and bake with a pan of water in the oven to retain the moisture. I use it for everything, pizza, rolls,cinnamon buns etc. It makes 2 loaves bake 375 40-50 min depending on if you are baking one or two loaves. I bake 2 and freeze one.

Spring Outside

2009-03-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our Home! Happy Spring Outside!

Yesterday I picked our first asparagus! It was delicious, we had fresh cress that grows wild and raw asparagus with a little ground nuts and a homemade creamy basil dressing. I loved it Steve was not so impressed, he like the dressing the best but to his credit he ate it all. He said he likes his asparagus lightly steamed, good so far, but then likes to dip it in mayo. I meant to take a picture of the salad, I will next time

Spring inside

2009-03-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

Steve stained the duct work to go in the craft room, note he cut the hole for a vent in that room. Next will be cutting a hole in the floor from the craft room into the dinning room! Yikes that scars me, hope it is in the right place! Oh yea and the large hole into the living room wall above the quilt rack. Great fun making things happen!

Spring has come to the inside, the hibiscus is blooming in the bed room!

I am off to the dentist today to have a filling replaced to the tune of 250 dollars! Then going over some line dance moves with a friend then off to lunch with more friends.

First Blog posting!

2009-03-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Steve had some excitement last week, on Wednesday he was holding something and someone else was operating a saw cutting what ever it was he was holding and it jammed or slipped or what ever but it cut a flap open on his finger and he had to go to the emergency room to have stitches. It required 7 stitches, he was lucky, it didn't hit either knuckles or cut the nerves on the sides of the finger.

In the work shop is the beginning of the duct work for the ventilation system we are trying to make.

Can you see the squash flowers starting?

Oh Yea see the tract lighting Steve put in this weekend in the dinning area!

It is chilly and raining here. Those April showers next month we will get the March winds.

I hope the blog works for those of you that would like to follow what we are up to. I thought this way I wouldn't be bombarding you with unwanted emails.