Time Out from Life to Blog.

These are painting projects. I am going crazy. We are going to have company all month. The family is having a BIG family reunion. Most of my Hunny's kids are coming. We will have 5 adults and 2 kids plus us, over here for a week. Then one day off and 2 cousins that we love, will be here for 3 days. There goes the month!

My bathroom was a disgrace. I showed my cute little Brazilian friend, she had a fit. She came over and started taping and slapping paint on the walls. My kind of little buddy!

Like the color? I love love love the color. You do not get to see the nasty before pictures. The walls were a light lavender, but where we had cleaned the paint turned blue and it was streaked and a MESS. Yuk.

There are lot of nooks and crannies in the bathroom. I had to use some mud and fix some corners; work work work!

This is still waiting, it's just primed.

We have also been cleaning up the yard. Lots of cleaning, hedge trimming and weeding. I STILL haven't replanted my irises and fixed up the bulbs.

Tidy.

Where the garden was and is no longer. I am waging war on fire ants, piss ants and chiggers!

A few little pretties remain, just a touch of fall color for you.

The mums, are going to explode, there are millions of buds.

I am working my keister off!! Is that a word keister? I have no idea how much blogging I am going to do this month. Much as I love ya, there is just to stinkin much work to do and I am running out of time. the big crew gets here Thursday. I will of course take hundreds of pictures of the grandchildren. This will be the first time we see that little boy he's 3 months old already.
Yeah, we are excited. I have borrowed a baby swing a port a crib and a bouncy seat, and we are cleaning up the piles that live on every table. Holy cow!! Like I said the keister...

I need to shut up and paint!

Sunday Celebration

Where two or more are gathered in my name.

If My people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

It's up to us, those who believe, to bring revival to the land. Where two or more....

Can You Call This A " Daily Agenda"?

This is what I am supposed to be doing. I told the Hunny I would paint today. He put the roller in the freezer and it is frozen solid. That is my excuse anyway. I am feeling unbelievably lazy today. The weather is insanely gorgeous, the windows are open, the fans are blowing. I am in vacation mode. Not in the big project paint, bend over and stretch mode. Not feelin it.

And hungry. Seems I am always hungry. I am by myself. That calls for a great brunch. Coming right up! I can however work up a bit of enthusiasm for this.

Yesterday the Noble Pig posted about a cake that has sauerkraut in it. It passed the test of her man and boys. I am too curious not to try this. Maybe today, maybe not, like I said I am feeling lazy. We have not had a desert for a long time. The cake has peanut butter frosting on it.

I can't in good conscience waste the entire day. So my big agenda is to put labels on my spices. I cleaned out the spice cabinet and have put fresh herbs in unmarked jars. I used to keep spices and herbs for years. I have been converted to toss them periodically and start fresh. I like unmarked jars better and buying herbs bulk from Fresh Market. When you start to have a lot of jars with no labels you better have a very good nose. I can tell but just in case somebody else might want to know...


I bought this little nifty label maker. It cost too much, it was $20. I think that is ridiculous but I paid it because I went to the store for this. If you go to the store for something and it costs more than you think it should, do you buy it?

I am now not so smart for buying my herbs bulk.

I have just made saving money more expensive.

There is always a catch.

If a fool and his money are soon parted, then I know where I fit in. I can't go to the store and get out for less than a $100. We are however going to a cash system. I may be in line counting the change in the bottom of my purse soon. GAH!!!

It did however give me a bit of satisfaction looking at the nice labels of the jars that can be recycled, by me, and re labeled. I did find the jars at the Goodwill, but that isn't really helping me get over the 20 bucks for labels. Yeah, I am the lady who was commenting to "no reply blogger," and also my favorite color is clear. What's your excuse?

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OK seriously why do so many of you regular commenters set yourselves up with "noreply" on the comments. Do you know that for awhile I was stupidly replying away to "no reply"? Yeah well no one ever accused me of being rocket science material.

How am I supposed to answer you when you leave a question?

Trudy do not try and cut your own hair. I used to be a hairdresser.

farmlady the recipes are in the photos just click on them. Your comment about seperating the men from the boys was funny.

coffee bean you crack me up.

Chris I thought you were tougher than that, especially after your cow post. Now that was ewww.

Ok so now please go change your settings and then I will answer your comments, because I like to answer. I am OCD like that.

Danish and French

My new favorite cookbook, and nutrition philosophy which supports the idea that the old traditional diets were in fact quite healthy before we messed them up. We messed them up with processed foods and making fat the enemy. Fat is not the enemy. Corn syrup on the other hand could very well be!

You asked about the liver pate. It is very easy. you simmer, you puree and you bake in a water bath like custard. This is the Danish part of this post, well all of Europe actually. Pate could be like a battle over the poodle; just who had these wonderful treasures first?

If you click on these they will enlarge and you can read them. I love this little story about the blue bereted gascon eating his foie gras.

OK and now for the KD tweak on the dish. I did not have duck livers. So I used one half chicken liver and one half portebella mushrooms. For the wine I used extra dry vermouth. I also used chicken stock because that is what I had on hand. The thing about liver is preparing it. I really didn't know a whole lot about that. I know more about human anatomy...ewwwww.

I did use a scissors and snip the ligaments away and find the little gall bladder and remove that little bile filled yukky tasting thing. If I had questions about it I tossed it. If the liver looked fatty or unhealthy, tossed it. I was picky about this stuff, it had to be basically free from anything questionable. No, you do not want to see pictures.

Recipes from Grandmas book. You can see there is a lot of flexibility in this. Cooking times, what you put into it. The main thing is of course, butter, cream and wine. I did add some flour to mine because my Grandma always did. I only seasoned with salt and pepper for this first one. One warning about this, it does not smell good while it is cooking. It is however good when it is finished, how weird is that? These recipes actually call for pork fat. Where is Heidi anyway?

Also the good news is, that with the food processor we no longer have to grind and beat and all that other labor intensive activity. A blender will also work.


Now for the French...

This morning I really wanted French toast. Really really really, like I wanted it bad enough to make it. I make mine the way my Dad taught me. We were a family of cooks and bakers, everybody had something to do.


Take some nice bread....*sigh* I'm already drooling, stomach is on the warpath. You can hear it right?

Place the slice into a mixture of beaten eggs with some milk and a little vanilla. Let it soak until it is totally saturated. I even poke it with a fork to let more in. I know a lot of people like the dip and flip; but not me. Soak it till it could fall apart but doesn't.


Then you put it a frying pan and cook it until it is golden brown and it will puff up high, that is how you know the inside is done. You do this on a low fire it takes longer than the quick version but it is so worth it.


When it is golden brown like this, you plate it, you put a pat of real organic butter on it, go ahead use the real thing, and then you top it with this lovely golden sweet maple syrup. Maple syrup made by Rosie Kate and her family, from paint splashes, and shipped to you as a gift.

It doesn't get any better than this. When you read Nourishing Traditions you can eat it guilt free. You can eat a lot of rich delicious food and lose weight, just by eliminating the ones that harm and don't nourish. The body when treated right will reward you. This is my breakfast and I am losing weight. What did you have?

How Do You Spell Contentment?

Babies, visiting babies and seeing his little chunky monkey sweet self. This little cutie has a very in hair do. His hair is falling out and he has a little Mohawk and a little tail at the nape of his neck. It's really hilarious and very cute. The lighting actually blurs out his curly top knot, but trust me it's there.
This baby has always been really strong and does things he's not "supposed" to be ready for, like standing up gripping your hands and he is 4 months. Yeah that's what I said too. Isn't his Mommy pretty?


Daddy is trying to get some giggles. We had a blast we always do, love these guys.

If we are not out visiting and are home, then yours truly is in the kitchen. Is there any other room really to be in? Today I made a whole pan of liver/mushroom pate. A loaf pan. I had to do it; it was a compulsory act.




Tucker thought he should eat some and Kayla whisked him away just in the nick of time. I gave him a teaspoon of it.

This is why I had to make the liver pate. I was raised on open faced leverpostej sandwiches at my grandparents house. Pate is so delicious on just the right flavor of bread. This batch hit the hip hip hooray button. I bit it and swooned, there melting into my palette was that wonderful flavor of childhood. I have improved it a bit because the original was a sandwich loaf, not sourdough. But Sour dough Sigtebrod, is to put it quite humbly; to die for.


Crunchy crust with soft airy bread inside, air holes and moist. It is a blend of rye, wheat and white flour. Perfecto. Anske LIBE! Skol!! Where's the pickles and beer?


Look at this, please don't mind me if I brag because I can't help myself. If I could flip a cartwheel I would.

Now this people, this is living! This is homemade Sigtebrod, with homemade liver pate, and homemade from the garden Danish pickles! I am dead and I am in heaven now. Fresh home made pickled beets, and an ice cold beer. Any takers? Actually I am so full I don't know how I am writing this post.

Dinner, this is dinner for those very un-Danes who gag at the sight of my feast and won't come to the table while I am eating it. I am positively giddy, that means that I alone will consume a whole loaf of liver pate single handedly; not in one night of course. If you must come and help me eat it I will even give you a beer.

I am so happy, this is living the good life. I love being home.

New Specs.

I am getting old and wrinkled. Pictures can depress me and I am not fishing I really can see the age happening. I better get cool with it quick. I have been cutting my own hair, I like it. What do you think?

These are my new reading glasses. They are very comfortable, and the frames were only 10 bucks! The lenses well that is a nuther story, gee whiz-highway robbery!

Is it my imagination or are these brand new glasses ridiculously crooked? I kept telling the lady they looked "askew". Maybe she needs her eyes checked! Makes my face look funny. Go ahead and ROTFLYAO.


Check out the side shot, this is why I picked these I thought they looked pretty cool. You know how it is when a granny tries to upgrade, a bit scary.



Good hair cut---if I don't say so myself. You don't have to be impressed I was a hairdresser in my old life. I don't even have to style it, get out of the shower and fluff it, add a dab of oil and that's it. What? You hate me? No, don't do that just come on over and I'll do your hair for you. Then we can pig out on bread.

Kayla strung up the peppers! She used to have a Mexican neighbor that taught her a lot of neat things. She keeps telling me she knows how to make tortillas. I think I'm going to let her have a crack at it.

OK so what's your vote on the glasses? #1 they'd look alright if they were adjusted or #2 take them back and start over?