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Growing Food

Joey and I started getting reading for planting our seeds last night. I’ve got coriander, sage, and thyme planted and ready to grow. I’m very excited to get started with an herb garden!  Joe  made pots out of rolled newspaper and paper bags (I’m completely impressed by them) and got his soil in them. I know he’s excited about getting the seeds started soon!

Ravelry

After a long hiatus, I [think] am returning to my blog

My domestic projects lately  have been of the knitting variety, and I have become consumed by and addicted to Ravelry, a knit and crochet community. Not only do I have a host of free patterns to choose from, but I can catalog my books and projects. I find myself motivated to start and finish projects, and inspired to take photos along the way!

My mom and friends have also caught the fever and are excited to try new things as well

Tangy Chicken Breast

Tonight I made tangy chicken breast with corn and rice. I think it came out superb! I used half the recipe for 4 chicken breasts, but it was enough, and I saved the left over marinade for maybe another breast later on this week.

I was lucky enough to find parboiled rice here. Uncle Ben’s no less! And I was also fortunate enough to find that parboiled is the same in Bosnian as it is in English. Ha!

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Place chicken in a single layer in a bowl or pan. Mix together Worcestershire sauce, oil, lemon juice, and garlic; pour over chicken. Cover. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
2. Take chicken out of marinade, and place on broiler pan or grill. Broil until done, approximately 7 minutes on each side.

So yummy!

A True Story

There once was a mouse (we’ll call him Winston). Winston was unlike many others. He dreamed of traveling the world.

Winston lived in a house in Maine where he would scurry about with the other mice in his family. Sometimes he would go outside and depending on the season he would look for food in the meadows, or frollick in the snow.

But Winston was restless and one day he overheard the girl who lived in his house, named Nicki, talking about traveling to Bosnia. Winston needed to go with her. He needed to travel the world.

One day Winston found Nicki’s suitcase and crawled into the otside pocket. “No one will notice me here,” he thought to himself. The he waited. He waited and waited. Days went by and Winston got hungrier and thirstier, but he would not leave for fear that Nicki would leave without him. He waited and waited, and eventually winston died.

Eventually Nicki pulled out her suitcase and started packing. A few days later she noticed that her suitcase smelled pretty bad, but she didn’t see anything wrong with it. “It must be mildew or mold,” she thought to herself. “I hope my things don’t get ruined, but I really need to use this bag.” And so she finished packing, placed her pillow on top of her things, closed the bag and ziped it up.

Nicki did indeed travel to Bosnia. When she arrived she was very tired, and hadn’t had mor than 2 hours of sleep. She waited for her three bags, but only one came.

Winston’s dead body lay in one of her missing bags; the one containing her knitting needles and most of her winter clothes.

Nicki filed a mising bags report at the airport and was told she would receive her bags the following day. The following day, those bags came, and Nicki received them after her first day working in the English Library she was there to work in.

That evening she started unpacking her things, and the bag smelled worse than she remembered. She took her pillow out, and it smeled just as the bag did.

When dinner came by delivery, she set down her unpacking task and ate while watching a movie with her friend, J. When the movie ended Nicki decided to go to the office to talk with her fiance, Joe.

Nicki didn’t get back to her home until 2AM, but still she wasn’t tired enough to go to sleep. She decided to continue unpacking her stinky bag. Once everything had been unpacked and put away, she checked the outside pocket, and she felt something unfamiliar. As she pulled it out she discovered Winston’s decomposing carcass.

She screamed, but Joy did not wake up.

She thought, “I can’t leave it there, I need to find something topick it up with.” There were no paper towels or napkins. The she spotted a washcloth she had knit. “This will have to do.”

She picked Winston up, photographed him, wrapped him in a plastic bag and disposed of him in the trash.

She thought, “I must tell this mouse’s story for him.”

And that is Winston’s tale.

Buttermilk Scones

Today I made scones for breakfast. Mmm.

While in Kansas, Joe’s mom was telling me that the key to good scones in Buttermilk. A couple weeks ago I thought I would give it a try and see how well it came out. I looked online for a buttermilk scone recipe (it helps me if the recipe already calls for that ingredient rather than trying to substitute in baking).

And voila!

I added chocolate chips instead of currants to the scones pictured. The scones I made for breakfast this morning were plain, and I had them with butter and jam. Mmm.

Kansas Times

Well, my time with Joe in Kansas. Let me share with you some of the highlights!

Day 1 – Joe’s mom was there to greet us at the airport. When we got back to the Corridoni’s, Joe’s good friend Dan was there waiting for us. He had driven all the way from Arkansas to visit. “The Dan” is taking some photography classes so he took some pictures of us.

Day 2 – In the morning we went to the bakery where Joe’s mom works, baking cinnamon rolls, scones, and cookies.

After that, we went to get jeans for Joe, and the grocery store to buy ingredients for the evening meal. I volunteered to cook.

I had used the recipe for carrot soup taken from Elizabeth Carroll’s blog. I did, however, change a few things. I needed to triple the recipe and we didn’t have any dill. I didn’t make the pesto at all (because Joe doesn’t really like it). I used 2 onions instead of three. When I went to puree the carrots, it didn’t turn into the thick baby-food consistency I was looking for. OH NO! I added

6 small potatoes (peeled, cubed, and boiled till done)
1 small bag mixed vegetables
1/2 c. bacon (fried till crispy) for flavor

I also fried the rest of the package of bacon and crumbled it into bits to sprinkle on top, and grated sharp cheddar cheese (parmesan may have been just as good and easier).

It was delicious! I don’t know what went wrong as far as the thickness of the soup, but Mm, mm, good!

When we got back to the house, Dan took more pictures. He had a project to do for a class and Joe and I agreed to be used as his subjects. It was fun.

Day 3 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE! In the morning, Joe’s mom made us biscuits and gravy. So good! Dan hung out for a little while, and then left us to meet some of his friends, and then to drive back to Arkansas. We took Sam to his ballet practice, and I don’t think his teacher liked us very much. O’well. In the evening we went to Joe’s grandma’s where she showed me how to make noodles and Joes favorite chicken noodle soup. It was delicious. We had chocolate cake and apple pie for dessert along with coffee. Joe and I BOTH had presents to open! Joe’s mom had them for my month ago birthday. He got some money, and I had given him some books by Eric Sloane and John Seymour. I got a new rotary cutter and some cutting rulers. So fun! We played Catch Phrase and Golf till about midnight, and then went home

Day 4 – Church, hanging out, and more grandmas. Grandma made briskett (oh man!) and again, showed me what to do to make it. Grandma gave me tons of recipes for foods, and pattern for a really cool bag, and a precipe for making your own lip balm (though I’m not allowed to give out the lip balm recipe). So I can’t wait to get started!

Day 5 – Joe and I went to meet Joe’s friend Jeff for coffee. Joe’s mom and brother showed up. we hung out at Starbucks for an hour and a half.

I made cinnamon rolls (pictures will be posted soon. sorry I’m not allowed to post the recipe) that were super yummy.

We went out to bring Sam to his voice lesson, and then to the post office where Joe mailed himself his dad’s bow saw (which was given to him). We also went back to Borders for a little while.

In the evening Joe and I went out to eat with his parents. That was really nice.

Day 6 (tomorrow) – wake up at 3:30 am. leave at 4 am. flight at 6am. home at 12:51 PM.

My pseudo-farm home

I went outside today and decided it would be a good opportunity to take pictures. It was just the right time of day.

Dad and Mom bought chickens and a few pigs at the end of the fall. I haven’t seen the pigs really since they were piglets, so I really wanted to get out to see how big they were getting. We’re gonna have fresh pork in the spring. Too bad I’ll be in Bosnia.

I also wanted to see Joe. He’s been working on carving a fork with the wood carving tools I bought him for Christmas. I think it’s coming out pretty good.

Today I’m going to learn to knit in the round.

Oh, and my grandfather bought my tickets for Bosnia. I leave March 16th!

Sons of Liberty

“Give me liberty, or give me death.” – Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

Growing up, homeschooled in New England, I have a large measure of patriotism in my blood.

By patriotism, I do not mean that I think America is right and every other nation should be just like us. I believe that the American Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of independence are not outdated quaint documents, and should be upheld. We should work toward holding our leaders to our founding documents and fight for our rights while still respecting our elected authority.

Last night, my parents, Joe and I attended a meeting at the home of a brother and sister from church. They were trying to get people together who would be interested in things like self-sufficiency, reviving the lost arts (canning, bartering, home grown living, etc.), and constitutional rights. All were welcome, churched or not.

As I walked into their restored, old New England, post and beam home, I felt as though I had stepped back in time, but at the same time hadn’t. There were pots and baskets hanging from the wooden beams in the ceiling of the kitchen. A long table took up the dining room with a wooden bench that had a back and arms on one side, chairs on the other, and then rows of chairs set up at the back of the room for extra company. There was an large old brick fireplace blazing that had a warming oven built into it.

There was an American flag table runner on the table, and at the back of the room a flag hung upside down. I felt exactly like I was in a secret meeting of the Sons of Liberty. No, we didn’t conspire. All we did was discuss the way people felt concerning things people were interested in learning, and how the local (state, city/town) government is affecting self-sufficient living, and what we would like to discuss/learn at future meetings.  It was really just a nice friendly get-together which fostered community. It was pretty great!

I’m excited to live, even as hard economical times are upon us!

Joe leaves again and gets another homemade card

I got my newsletter done this week while Joe was away. And I even cleaned my room quite a bit, getting rid of things!

I picked up Joe from the airport yesterday around 11:30 and took him out to brunch (IHOP).

He hadn’t slept at all the night before or on the airplane so he was pretty beat. He slept the whole 45 min. drive home, and then went right to bed when we got in. He slept until I woke him up at 5:45 so that he could eat.

After dinner we watched House (Season 1), and Joe took another nap on my shoulder. Around 9, we put on Darjeeling Limited which he stayed awake for.

Now Joe’s off to Bar Harbor for a snow-shoeing expedition with some of his pals. He won’t be back until tomorrow night sometime. I feel like I haven’t gotten to see him at all, but I would never begrudge him his manly outdoorsy trips. Especially since I’m leaving him for about 7 months in order to go to Bosnia!

I made him a card this morning while I was at work, and I gave it to him when he came by to say goodbye to me. But not without taking a picture first!

****************

Joe just called me to tell me he was really impressed with the card. He apparently wasn’t aware that I could draw.

I’m an amateur. I’m just excited that he liked it. He REALLY liked it.

Decorating for a new home ahead of time

Joe and I got engaged on October 25, 2008. We aren’t planning to get married until the springtime of 2010 because I’ll be in Bosnia for a good part of 2009. That, and Joe’s not working right now, so we can’t afford to get married right away.

But I can still DREAM about what I would like for my future home!

Joe wants to have:

- a post and beam home (which should make for a nice and cozy rustic feel. Mmm.)
- lots of acreage (for farming and hunting)
- pigs, chicken, goats, rabbits (not a lot)

We also want to have an energy efficient house in order to help us save money in the long run.

As far as decorating, and making our home homey, I’ve been thinking of what we should do.

I would like:

- a red kitchen.
- hanging pot rack, and butcher’s block island.
- a brown corduroy couch.
- wood cook stove
- brick fireplace (in my bedroom!)
- a tabby kitty (to take care of any mice that might want to move in too)

That’s all I got so far! There are sure to be updates!

Oh, and I’ve been checking out Craig’s List furniture. I’m drooling over this. Maybe I could try my hand at reupolstering?

‘Green’ is a label; just be a good steward.

Joe posted on his xanga a while back about why he isn’t ‘going green’. However, he (we) believes in eating as organically as possible, and living a simple, self-sustaining life for the benefit of our health, and being good stewards of God’s earth.

‘Going green’ seems to be, currently, a cultural trend. Trends fade. So a lot of these people who are being green because its hip will be on to the next thing five-ten years down the road.

I do not believe in gun control or animal rights.

I don’t believe in the greenhouse effect or global warming. I don’t think the polar icecaps are going to cause worldwide flooding (and God promised He’d never flood the earth again). I do believe that people should not be wasteful, and should be good stewards of the earth that God has given us to live in and take care of.

I do believe in eating organically. We should be taking care of our bodies with untainted (by hormones and pesticides) plants and meats because that is what God created, and instituted for our diets. It’s when we try to play God by engineering our own food, and not working that we start getting fat and having lots of medical issues that we shouldn’t.

Last night I started reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I’ve only gotten through the introduction, but I think I’ll enjoy it because it lines up with Joe’s and my ideas of how we should be eating more naturally and even biblically (though the author isn’t coming from a faith based point of view). I also hope it will challenge me to be conscious about what I eat, and eat better.

It’s hard when we live in a country of convenience and everything about our country tries to make it so you should think as little as possible. We should be more thoughtful about what we put into our bodies, what we buy, what we can do without, what we will have to recycle or throw away.

I admit I’m not there. I am an American consumer, and sparkly things dazzle my eyes. But I’m trying not to be. I’m trying to learn skills, spend less, become a good future wife, and ultimately glorify God in my heart and with my life in as many areas as possible.

Pointy Kitty

I’m not really a pet person. I’m of the opinion that I shouldn’t have an animal that doesn’t have some sort of practical use. I love kitties, but we just got rid of ours because she was too much of a pet and not catching mice, but bringing in fleas, and costing more than she was earning herself. But I do love kitties. So I made one!

Pointy Kitty

It’s unfinished. I still have to put on the felt stripes, eyes, and nose. But he’s cute, and this is the most complex thing I’ve sewn yet.

Andi Bib, LOTR & Rosie Thomas

were SO easy!Last night I whipped up a couple of bibs for Andi to go with her diaper bag while Joe read to me from The Fellowship of the Ring. They were SO easy!

The pattern calls for snaps, but I’m just going to sew on velcro. I have to see if my mom has some, otherwise I’ll have to stop at Wal Mart on my way home from work.

I’ve been trying to help Joe accomplish some of his goals (albeit small ones). Last winter he read The Chronicles of Narnia series in Kansas, and in Maine I read it too.  This year Joe wanted to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I read The Hobbit years ago, but never LOTR (only saw the movies). So I asked Joe if he would read them to me and we could be doing something constructive, and free as an activity together (since neither of us enjoy games, and Joe’s more of a homebody than me). It’s given me opportunity to be doing something with him while I sew also. I’ve been loving it!

We’re almost finished with The Fellowship, and I think we should have it done before Christmas. I’m really hoping we can get through the trilogy before I leave for Bosnia. Shouldn’t be that hard.

I also, just recently, purchased this Rosie Thomas cd. I love it. I haven’t been listening to music as much lately, but this has captured my attention (and ears). I’m so glad. Guest artists are Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado, and Denison Witmer. Lovely.

Favorite song on the album as of today: Much Farther to Go

I think I may be at a phase of my life where I’m growing out of my childhood. I may have mourned it before, but now I’m looking forward to it. So I’m just not interested in listening to the same music these days. Rosie, you are refreshing my soul. Thank you!

Joe’s Cookies

The power that went down in my house because of Thursday night’s ice storm FINALLY came back on this afternoon around three.

I was going to make cookies for Joe on Friday, but couldn’t without electricity, so after supper tonight I made them. He was so happy!

Bee’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/2 c. (3 Sticks) butter
• 1 1/4 c.  sugar
• 1 1/4 c.  brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp.  vanilla
• 2  eggs
• 4 c.  flour
• 2 tsp.  baking soda
• 1/2 tsp.  salt
• 1 (12 oz.) pkg.  semi-sweet choc. chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Whip on low with beater: butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs.
Mix in with fork: flour, baking soda, and salt (nuts if desired)
Bake 11-14 minutes.
Makes about 4 dozen.

These are Joe’s favorite. He says all other chocolate chip cookies fail.