Winter Storm Warning

Dear Mom,
Preparing for the predicted Winter Storm …. from the heavens, it must look like ants scurrying around a crushed hill.
To heck with Bread and Milk, I say. Make sure you have heavy cream and whiskey on hand, because Homemade Irish Creme will keep you a whole lot warmer than french toast.

Homemade Irish Cream

1 c strong coffee

1 1/2 c heavy cream

1 T dark cocoa

1 T sugar

1 T honey

1 T vanilla extract

1 T almond extract

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 c Irish whiskey

Thoroughly whisk cream, cocoa, sugar and honey into a saucepan of simmering coffee. Simmer for about 20 minutes, whisking frequently. 

Pour into a glass or ceramic pitcher and whisk in the sweetened condensed milk. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Whisk in the whiskey until completely blended. Allow to cool to room temperature* and serve over ice.

May be kept refrigerated for up to one week.

*I made some of this just before Christmas and Bonnie Jo stopped by to sample. We may not have actually waited for the "cool to room temperature" part. And please note that the empty glass in that top photo is Bonnie's.

Be safe and warm. 

Love,

Kim

Happy B-Day

Dear Mom,
Today was damp and drizzly and little bit cold. I barely roused myself to do much more than nap. But napping with a dog curled behind your knees is the best sort of nap I know. (And yes, napping with Olive curled behind my knees means I let her on the couch. Just this one time. Until she is fully healed and then she can nap there as much as she wants!)
Now that it has been gifted to you, I want to share the Bee version of Chickadee that I knitted as your birthday gift.

Except for the dark brown used for the bee motif, all the yarn in this sweater is my own handspun. The body is lambswool dyed with Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum) harvested last fall from your gardens.

I stumbled upon some bee motifs  HERE, and the knitter generously shared her charts. I used one of those, and tweaked it to fit within and replace the chickadees in the original pattern. This way I could change the motif without changing any increases in the yoke and the fit of the sweater.

don't know why this is blurry

The buttons are salvaged from a Goodwill sweater.

And Bonnie Jo? I know you want one. I have the yarn for it already. ( Not handspun though. I don't want to make you wait that long.)

We had chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. Delicious homemade soup made from scratch and instinct. Four skinless chicken thighs simmered until the meat fell off the bones.  I glopped a healthy spoonful of vegetable broth base in the water while the meat was simmering and I gave it a couple of glubs of some cranberry apple wine.  I used about 3 T of the homemade onion soup mix I keep on hand and chopped up 3 carrots and about 2 cups of celery, added the rest of a box of penne pasta, and man-o-man is this soup wonderful. 

Be warm!

Love,

Kim

Blak Beest

Deer GramUdder,
 
A big blak beest kam to our koop.  

Ant Kim sed "Oluv leevit"!  The beest triid to get us. 

Gloria ran so fast that she got a kramp in her drumstik.  We hided in the koop.   Gloria wus SO SKARD!

 
We r  O K.  Mom sed the beest kant visit us eneemor.  Just chikins.
 
Luv, 
Marge

50

Dear Bonnie Jo,
In honor of your Big Day, here is a list of 50 very random memories of things that we've shared over your 50 years...

1. corn blankets
2. Minturn Lane
3. Harmony Road
4. Loretta
5. Going to the circus with Grandma and Grandpa.
6. That time the circus clown kissed Mom. On the lips!
7. Bringing home the chameleon, Liz, from the circus.
8. That time Liz escaped.
9. Riding bikes.
10. Roller Skates.
11. Playing dolls.
12. Penny Bright, Chatty Cathy and Tracy.
13. That time The Twins flushed Tracy's doll dress down the toilet.
14. Betty Coulsin
15. Ann, Allison and Evelyn
16. Cindy and Jinks; Herbie
17. That time Herbie got too big for the tank and Mom and Grandma had to get him out and they both screamed.
18. Cuddles and Ruddles
19. Dwarf and Zeke
20. Car rides to Dairy Queen
21. Burger Chef ( but only when the power was out).
22. Girl Scouts
23. Your prize winning Reindeer Cake.
24. Climbing Harry.
25. The mouse nest under Harry.
26. When Laurie fell out of Harry and broke her arm.
27. Playing out in the fields and coming home when we heard the church bells chime 5:00.
28. Discussing, in front of her, whether Mom was capable of driving on 465. ( She was younger than we are now!)
29. Swimming at the Dodds.
30. Riding in the Corvair on benches so we could see out the window.
31. Cars without seat belts; hand cranks to roll down the windows.
32. The Twins
33. Rotary telephones
34. 846-9194
35. 251-6677
36. When you learned how to whistle. I still can't.
37. Making potholders.
38. LP's, 8-tracks and cassettes
39. transistor radios and walkmans.
40. TV before remote control
41. The 6Million $ Man and The Partridge Family
42. Captain Kangaroo, Cowboy Bob, and Popeye & Janie
43. The Moon Walk
44. Schoolhouse Rock and AfterSchool Specials; H.R. Puffinstuff
45. Being scared to tears by The Wizard of Oz
46. College Wood
47. Seeing The Million Dollar Duck at the drive in.
48. Monopoly games that Daddy always won
49. Amish Palmers, cranberry cordial and "Don't Tell Mom's"
50. YEARS OF HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

Happy Birthday, Bonnie Joke. I am thankful I have You.
Love,
Kim

Around My Backyard

Dear Mom,

( The End )

Love,

Bonnie Jo

KnitKickers

Dear Mom,
A new design flew off my needles last spring and I had hopes of it being accepted by Knitty, but it didn't make the cut. Ah well. I can debut them here, instead.

I'd been wanting a little boot topper, but something lacy. Something that could be worn as a dressy accessory and something that would make a dressed down work boot look pretty, too.

I called on Bonnie Jo and my Young Lady to do some modeling for me, and Bonnie Jo gets credit for the clever name.

More details about KnitKickers can be found HERE.

Love,
Kim

Celebrating the Life of a Chicken

Dear Mom,

On March 26 , Golda was buried under the maple tree in the backyard.  She would have been 4 years old in August.  Her death was not a surprise, as her health had been declining for many months.  It is my belief that she had ovarian tumors, but I'll never know for sure. 

As her outlook worsened, I made the decision to allow her to remain in the coop with her sisters rather than move her into a hospital cage.  To my surprise, Marge and Gloria allowed her to keep her positon at the top of the pecking order.

As Golda grew weary and reclusive, her sisters lovingly tended to her.  The day before Golda died, I watched as Marge cleaned off Golda's beak and straightened her feathers.   The following morning, Marge and Gloria remained in the coop with her lifeless body.

Golda was my Blog Star!  She was the first to lay an egg (on Christmas Eve!) and later produced the much-talked-about giant egg. 

She received regular spa treatments, complete with shampoo and blow dry.

She loved tomatoes.  She lurked in the shadows as we harvested, waiting for the chance to grab a cherry tomato!

She was quirky and silly.  She was bossy and strong-willed.

 

She had the biggest and floppiest comb!

She wore a purple sweater.

If anyone ever tells you that chickens are stupid, don’t believe it for a second!  Chickens are inquisitive and interesting little creatures with intelligence and personality.  I have witnessed a social structure, communication, and distinct personalities among my backyard chickens. 

Love,
Bonnie Jo

Shipshewana Part 1

Dear Mom,

Thanks to the miracle of antibiotics and lots of napping, I rallied and our weekend in Shipshewana went as planned.
Wedged into the back seat, and with Bonnie Jo behind the wheel, we departed on schedule Friday morning. A slight detour to Culver for a quick errand and some lunch had us arriving in Shipshewana mid afternoon.

We did a tiny bit of shopping before checking in to our B&B, and then made our first attempt at meeting up with the gentle, kind Amish lady who would be finishing a quilt for CarolWhoseHouseGotStruckbyLightning. This was my Main Mission. It took us a couple of tries (and would have taken only 1 attempt had I rung the doorbell that first time.) We eventually met with her on Saturday morning, so all ended well.

Our generous B&B hostess directed us towards Emma's Cafe for a light dinner Friday night.
It was the perfect place, with good food and atmosphere- a kind of general store/soda fountain, oil cloths on the table
 kind of place. The old jukebox played a wide variety of oldies and soon Rockin' Robin had us swinging in our chairs. (4 obviously not Amish, non-local women DANCING might have been too much, so we kept our fancy moves confined to our seats, swaying from the waist up. Plus we didn't want to hurt ourselves.)

Bonnie Jo and I ordered tea, and after our first sips, realized that our tea was instant, not brewed.
A little doctoring was required and we decided to turn our teas into Arnold Palmers. Behind our table was a refrigerated case with a variety of juices and soft drinks. No lemonades.
But! There was a raspberry lemonade and we decided we could make do with that.
Not exactly an Arnold Palmer....

An Amish Palmer.

Love,
Kim

Happy Birthday, Bonnie Jo!

Dear Bonnie,

I hope...
   
    someone gives you a calico kitten
    you do whatever YOU want to do today and nothing you HAVE to do
    that you can take time to sip something cold and slushy on your back porch
    that your bees give you lots of honey
    that your chickens lay an extra egg or two today
    that we have many many more years to share.

Love,
Kim     

The Birds and The Bees

Dear Mom,
As you know, upon Bonnie Jo's request I reported bright and early Saturday morning to your backyard, camera at the ready. Bonnie Jo would be inspecting the beehive she recently set up there and wanted me to document the event for the blog. It is hard to take pictures when you are dressed like this:

Things seemed rather serious when I arrived because there was crouching down and leaning in involved.

As I understand it (and Bonnie Jo may have to jump in and correct any errors), the main purpose of the Hive Inspection was to search for Queen Amelia. When a Princess Bee comes to live in her new castle, it seems the first thing she does is fly away to go visit some bachelor bees before she can come home and be Queen. Sometimes the Princess Bees never come home. Maybe because they can't find their way back, or maybe they just really like the bachelor bees. Considering that this Princess Bee was named after the famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart, there was some concern that she may have lost her way somewhere over the reservoir never to return.

Thankfully, unlike the other Amelia, this Amelia's flight had a happy ending.

Bonnie Jo was pleased and proud to find Queen Amelia in the hive and laying little bee eggs like all Good Queen Bees are supposed to do.

In her official capacity as family beekeeper, Bonnie Jo declared that Amelia "IS A BEAUT!"



Where's Amelia?



All those jigsaw puzzles we did with Daddy when we were little must have been practice for finding bees later on. And if I remember correctly, Bonnie Jo was a gifted jigsaw puzzle piece finder.

Anyway, now that I know where Amelia is in that photo, I can find her, too. Let me give you a close up.



Queen Amelia

Before leaving, we took a peak at your nest of Barn Swallows.

It looks like these guys are running out of room and will be making flights of their own soon.

Especially this guy.

And let me just add here that the way "the Birds and the Bees" was explained to me all those years ago included NOTHING about spending time alone with a bunch of bachelor bees.....

Love,

Kim

Gentle Chickens

Dear Mom,

Before I acquired my backyard chickens, I did some research to find a docile breed with a calm and patient personality.  I chose the Orpington. 

From the moment the chicks arrived, they were treated with gentleness.  We softly sang to them and said, "Chick, chick, chick" whenever we approached the brood box.  We spent time with them, walking slowly, talking quietly, and offering treats.  They were never chased or grabbed.  We picked them up, pet them, and released them carefully back onto the soft ground.  The chickens soon learned to recognize our voices and come running when called, always to be rewarded with a handful of corn!

We taught the curious neighbor children how to get acquainted with them.  Of course, there were times when they tried to chase them...but they quickly learned that slow movements, and clumps of grass and fresh worms fed by hand got better results!   



The girls are begging for treats from Little J

The hens have a good life and the children have a rewarding experience.  I have the joy of raising a healthy flock of backyard chickens and making some great memories with these adorable children!

Miss A and Gloria

Love, Bonnie Jo