Green Tomato Cake

Even though the recipe said to use an electric mixer, I did not.

Even though I did not have an entire 2 1/2 cups of diced green tomatoes....

I still baked my first tomato cake.  I was drizzling the frosting when the the first two kids got home from school.

"OHHH!  That looks so good!  That would be great with coffee!" one of them said.

Of course they kept telling me to stop reminding them it had green tomatoes in it too.  Ha ha ha!  It was pretty good too. I did not have enough butter to make the brown butter frosting, but simply used powdered sugar and goat's milk instead. 

I had been out in the garden to check on things.  I saw one tomato plant had sprouted new tomatoes and I just couldn't let them go to waste.  I also brought in about a dozen more green peppers.

I made another crock pot full of steel cut oats and goat's milk.  This morning, my daughter said she milked the goat in 15 minutes and got over a quart of milk.  She's really becoming a pro at this.  


This morning, after the first bus left, I took one of the dogs out.  I ran back in for my camera.  There was a layer of fog over the fields that was kind of neat.

When I told the kids I should take a picture, and that it was pretty they said, "Mom it would be better if it came with a 2 hour fog delay."

Before I came back inside, I was watching the goats.  The early cool air must be firing up everyone today with energy.  They were playing queen of the stump.

 

After I came inside, I looked back out and saw Peanut standing on that small stump.  In fact, she's still standing on it now.  I think we should find them a wider stump to play on.  

Meanwhile, the dogs are fired up with the cool weather, and Jesse is barreling around the house all excited now.  Even Tiger, my youngest daughter's cat is flying through the kitchen, skidding around corners.  It's definitely perfect camping weather.

Project Catch-Up Day ~ Or So I Thought

Yesterday I thought I could work on some unfinished projects while the dinner potatoes got fried.  Ha!  For the first time every, I had a bad crafting day.  I was too much in a hurry to get some embroidery done.

I have to get this towel finished before the pattern fades away.  I started to outline the cat in gray, but with the color of green I used on the dress, it appeared as a moss green cat.  

So, after doing the bottom feet, tail and one paw, I started to take it out.  I re-did one paw in black, and it looks much better.  Now I need to take two paws and a tail back out. 

This is the first time I have had a long, frustrating crafting day.  I decided that I was not even going to work on tatting - no way at all.  I did get some knitting done, but I still have a crocheted blanket to finish.

I tried to teach my 12 year-old daughter how to do it, but she whined, "Moooooom! You made everyone elses!"

Guess I can't get out that that one, huh?

While I was out on my porch, having afternoon devotions, followed by my crafting experience, my son pointed out a blimp flying over.  I got these neat photos of it:

 Just thought I'd share!

I have one sick daughter home today.  I hope it's just a passing virus.  Time will tell.

Unwelcome Guests

Wolf Spider

Grass Spider

We get both of these types of spiders in our house.  Every time we come across one we call my son, who rescues it.  However, today, the grass spider got the shoe.  I had to borrow a photo on-line to show you what they look like.  They are not small either.

I went to make my bed this morning and one was curled up in my bed covers.  The difference between the two spiders, is that the grass spider can crawl up things - ewwww is right.

The other day, we discussed this, and I said to my 12 year old daughter, "just imagine what's in your clothes when you put them on."

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! she cried.

I killed one the other day on the bedroom floor too.  We are getting more than we'd like inside this year.  I hope that's not a sign that we will have a hard winter.  

I guess I better be cleaning down any spider webs there may be in here.  Sheesh.  I opened a tool drawer and there was one in there too.

I guess it's that time of year where we need to check the insides of our shoes, boots and slippers, and shake out the blankets and clothes. 

Morning Wake Up Call ~ Missing the Gym

"Mom!"

"Huh?" I asked in a groggy, sleepy voice.

"You wanna still milk Peanut?"

"UGH"

That's right, I got woken up by my 14 year-old daughter.  She overslept, and was to be on a school bus at 6am for an all day farm display field trip.  

I walked out to the kitchen, and said to my husband, "why don't you go milk her?"

"Cause I don't have time. You always wanted to be a farmer," he said in a poor southern accent.

We had both set alarm clocks at 4:30am.  We were supposed to be at the gym, working out at 5am.  Somehow, my alarm did not go off.  

I was done milking by the time my husband drove past the barn in his truck to go to work.  

Peanut did great.  She loves to turn her head and watch me milk.  She got a bit restless when I had her about empty.  Little guy, Rue, did not cry like a baby when we put her in the stall to milk her either.  Misty however, was being a hog with the food, so I had to give Rue some more.  She's used to being all by herself, so she has to learn to share now.  The good part is, that Peanut protects Rue, and makes sure Misty doesn't eat all the food (when she's out there with both of them).

Now I need to get a shower since I smell like a billy goat.  I had to feed him too, when I was finished with the milking, and he's not smelling too bad anymore.  Just enough to make you want to shower it off.

The feeding didn't end there.  The barn cats were standing up against the house door, looking in.  As if they were saying, "where's our food?"

After that the house cats, the dogs, and soon the chickens will need their coop door opened. My husband reminded me of the weather we are having, in regards to the hen laying on her eggs.  I guess we'll see. It's pretty warm here today.

I guess I have to fit exercise in my day somehow now.  Hopefully tomorrow we will both be up at 4:30am. I can't go to the gym until after 3pm.  The gym is in our old high school, and closes after 9am.  I think I will walk on the treadmill, work the speed bag, and some other weights.  Maybe a bike ride too.  I have spent the entire summer with garden, I almost feel like playing hooky again, and just paying attention to myself for once.

November ~ NaNoWriMo

I really need to get a writing schedule going.  I participated in this last November, and my kids asked to read my story.  The novel has been under lock and key since then.


I've been random writing daily, in between chores and baking, to get a routine going.  I think I write more on my blog than anything - ha ha ha!


I best get back to work.  As soon as this rain and wet weather dry out, it's back to splitting wood, barn repairs, and finishing the goat shed.  Oh....and the chicken coop .....and..........


.........some long days ahead.  Winter will be here before I'm ready for it.

Motherly Chicken ~ Goat's Milk

We have one hen that refuses to leave her eggs.  My 14 year-old daughter wanted to let her sit on some.  It's colder now, so it's probably not going to work out too well, but we do have heat lamps.  We marked the eggs and it takes about 22 days to hatch, according to my husband.  We don't even know if these are fertilized, but will soon find out.  This hen is so motherly, she picks up straw with her beak and puts it in her nest underneath her.  My daughter and I saw her lay this egg right in front of us.  After my daughter marked it, the hen went back in the roost, and pushed them around with her beak, and sat back down on them.


We are getting about 2 quarts of milk a day from Peanut.  My daughter is enjoying it very much.  In fact, the goat does not even kick when she milks her, and she doesn't even use the hobble. 


We re-purposed an old wooden coffee table that was stored in the garage.  We butted it up against the side of one barn, and next to an old extended cattle feeder.  It's working out perfect for us.


With the goat's milk, we are saving $5.00-$6.00/gallon for organic milk.  We use about a gallon a day with our large family, so this is another step towards self-sufficiency.

Sunflower Power

I used pieces of cheese cloth to cover the head of my sun flowers, and tied it on with string saved from feed bags.  Hopefully the birds won't get to them anymore.

I'm now on the hunt for recipes using sun flower seeds.  I mentioned, to the family, that foxtail grass seeds, and the other red flower we found, is edible.  My  husband looked at the kids and said, "you guys can all take the first bite." He's just a big chicken when it comes to foraging. Although, he is up for mushroom hunting.  We may be taking a mushroom hunting class to familiarize ourselves with what is edible and what is not.