Bonfire

The other night we had a bonfire with the pile of weeds I talked about here.  We had a few of our good friends over to watch things burn up.  Okay, so having a fire is an excuse to have friends over.....well because we are social people and wanted to roast wieners and make s'mores {except Sher'rie someone ate most of the marshmallows right out of the bag}.

It was a perfect night for a bonfire because we actually had a break from the wind {which was long overdue and much appreciated} and had a recent rain.  

The kids always have fun.

And climb trees.

And ride Molly the dog {who is more worried that someone might drop a hot "dog" and she would miss it}.

I did manage to snag a marshmallow.  It took some "sweet talking"!!!

I like them a little burnt.  Crunchy on the outside and melted gooey-ness on the inside!!!

Perfect!!!!  Check out that bokeh {it is a photography term}!!!  Oh and my old looking hands.  If you had to guess my age by my hands you would think I was 76 years old.  I could never be a hand model....sigh!!!

So that was our perfect night with friends and fire!!!  Thanks for stopping by!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

The Farmer's Wife

Polka Dot Pot

I am so ready for spring to stick around.  We have had all four seasons the past six days.  It snowed, rained, the wind has blown and blown, and this afternoon the sun finally peaked through all the clouds which was so rejuvenating!!!

Since it is spring and since I still have spring fever {because mother nature keeps teasing us with this weather} I turned a plain old terra-cotta pot into this adorable polka dot pot.  The flowers just scream "SPRING" don't they!!!!

I spray painted the pot with this very cheery robin's egg blue color.  I didn't care if my paint wasn't perfect because I prefer a "shabby" look.  Then I added some chocolate brown polka dots with acrylic paint.  Nothing like waiting for paint to dry......{yawn}.

After the paint was dry I used aging glaze and rubbed the entire pot with it to give it a "weathered" look. I attached a bow made out of burlap to continue with the "shabby" look.  Gorilla glue or any strong adhesive should do the trick.

Now I can enjoy my little piece of SPRING!!!

I have 2 smaller clay pots that are painted and patiently waiting to be spruced up.  Hmmm what shall I do with the other 2??!!??

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

Confused Calf???

Tonight Yogi got out of the barn an in with one of our horses.  The barn where Yogi resides opens up to one of our corrals so he wasn't "out out".  Yogi was running back and forth across the pen.  He thought he was big stuff {he told me he was}.  He loved having room to run and was all sorts of hyper.  He is cute {not as in Ryan Reyonlds cute....but as in baby animal cute}.

The kids were watching him run and play and they were laughing because he was being so goofy.  Then all of the sudden Yogi spotted something......could it be his mama?!?!?

NOPE!!!!!!

Yogi is a bucket calf and Cartoon is a horse.....a gelding too {that means he is a boy, but won't ever be able to make babies}.  I think Yogi may need therapy when he is old enough to understand this picture.

 

Yogi followed Cartoon all over.  How am I ever going to get Yogi to understand Cartoon is NOT his mama????  Yogi is confused!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

Best Ever Banana Bread

If you have noticed I have been doing a little work on my blog to make it easier to find things.  I started with recipes and couldn't believe I had not posted this recipe for the best ever banana bread!!!  My son loves to help make this bread.  We make it into muffins as well.  This is a large recipe so I usually put a loaf in the freezer and save for another time.  If you don't freeze ripe bananas you need to start so you can make this recipe anytime!!

1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees YES only 300. Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  Grease pans or use cooking spray. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture. THIS IS KEY...YUMMO! In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar (if there is left over sugar/cinn mixture I use that as part of the 3 cups). Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Divide into prepared pans. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top (be generous here because it adds to the yummyism of the bread) Hayden and I made muffins too. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Enjoy!!!


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{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

A Family Photo

I take pictures on a daily basis, but for some reason I can't seem to get a family picture done.  The last "professional" family photo we had taken was almost eight years ago when Alivia was a newborn.  Something always comes up when I think we might have the opportunity to snap some photos.  Someone is always in need of a haircut, or someone is always gone, Mike needs to shave, or I have a big zit on my face {seriously, I thought those darn things shouldn't appear on a 33 year old woman} that could be beyond photoshop.

I have a goal this summer to get a family picture taken after the corn is up and a nice shade of green {I have seen dry years when we didn't have green corn}.  I also want to have a big green and yellow machine in our picture too.  It will be a perfect picture for our farm family.  You gotta have goals!!!

Since Mike is gone {and he needs to shave} and I am in need of some hairapy I did the best I could to capture our "family" photo.  Drum roll please............

Aren't we cute?!?!?

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

HELP!!!!!

I went to the eye doctor a couple weeks ago because I was 4 years past  due for a check up.  I have noticed I can't read things as well as I used too.  I do have glasses that I wear only at work because that is where I need them the most {I am sure all our patients appreciate me being able to see....just guessing!}.  I bought a pair of "readers" to wear when I am at home because I have noticed that I am struggling more and more everyday!!!!

I asked my eye doctor about contacts since I hate wearing glasses and can't stand to not wear sunglasses {no I will not consider transition lenses}.  He thought I would be a candidate for contacts so I was willing to give it a shot.  He put them in my eyes and I did pretty good letting him {I hate touching my eyes} put them in.  Then he had one of his assistants go over putting them in and taking them out with me.  I thought I was going to get along great because I seemed to do well at the eye doctor.

The next morning I got up 30 minutes early to allow ENOUGH time to mess with them.  I couldn't get them in....well 1 of them.  I called my SIL and asked her to help me which she was willing to do.  I drove to town with 1 contact in which was quite a joy ride...let me tell ya!!!  She was able to get them in with no trouble.  I called work and let them know I would be late because of my new morning routine {they laughed}.  Then later that day I had to have my co-worker help me get them out because I couldn't {we are a close knit group at work and are willing to stick our fingers in other peoples eyes}.  

See Amy is taking out my contact {because I suck at it} when we were
traveling to our state dental meetings.

I went back to eye doctor the other day and he is ordering some different contacts for me because words seem to be 3-D when I am reading.  He told me he was hoping that wasn't the issue because I have a slight astigmatism, but was hoping to avoid it with my stronger prescription.  I haven't received my new astigmatism contacts yet, but I am continuing to try these other 2 pair I have.  I fight getting them in {they fold up} and have mastered getting them out {knock on wood}, but when they are in I can tell they are there and my eyes burn and itch.  Is this normal?  Anyone have any suggestions??  Am I a hopeless contact lens wearer????????????

Anyhow, I seem to have a "good contact day" once every 3 days and the rest have been VERY FRUSTRATING!!!!  I am about to give up on them.

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

Kid Conversation

Alivia wanted to color in Hayden's John Deere coloring book {you can imagine how precious this coloring book is to him}, but she could not find it.  She was looking all over for it while Hayden was helping me cook.  After looking for it "forever" {like 1 minute and 12 seconds} she gave up and was begging him to tell her where it was.

This is how their conversation went....

Alivia- "Where is your John Deere coloring book at Hayden?"

Hayden- "I hid it from you Alivia!"

Alivia- "Where did you hide it?"

Hayden- "In MY safe place so you can't find it!"

Alivia- "Where is your safe place at Hayden?"

Hayden- "Come here, I will SHOW you!"

I was trying to keep from laughing too loud.  Kids are so fun!!!!!!!!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

PS  I probably should have went and checked out his "hiding" place!!!  Hmmmm.....wonder if he will show me?!?  If not, Alivia will tell....she tells me everything!!!

HOLY COW!!!

I had big plans to get a lot of yard work done because the weather was absolutely gorgeous and one should not be inside on days like these {and I haven't seen a snake yet so I am still willing to go dig around in the weeds}.  I got each of the kids a pair of leather gloves so they could help out {there isn't child labor laws when it comes to your own kids.....is there?!?!?}.  Jordan and I pulled the gigantic weeds and tossed them in piles.  Alivia and Hayden were suppose to carry the pulled weeds over to the burn pile.  We had a good system going and I was looking forward to accomplishing a lot!!!!

I got a phone call from Mike asking to head to the farm to help move cows.  You can never tell how long these adventures will take.....but I figured my yard work was done for the day!  So we headed to the farm to help out.

When we got there Emma was trying to get this calf to follow all the cows.  He wasn't  up for the adventure and seemed to be a little weak.

Mike and AJ used the 4 wheelers to gather the cows up.  I am not crazy about 4 wheelers....well I should say I am not crazy about watching them go wild on the 4 wheelers.  I can't count the number of times I have seen daylight between the tires and the ground when Mike is riding one.  I feel much more at ease when he rides a horse.

We needed the cows to cross the bridge so the kids and I blocked an area we didn't want the cows to go to.

We did our job because the cows went across the bridge without a hitch.

Except for this cow and her calf.  We call her the Mouse Cow....I don't really care for her.  She isn't the prettiest one of the bunch and she always seems to cause problems {there is one in every herd}.

We decided the weak little calf should come home and be a bottle baby.  Hmmmm....we only have two 4-leelows {remember from an earlier post...that is what Hayden calls them} and a mini-van.  So I did what any farm wife would do {only because I didn't have my new vehicle....and the calf hadn't ate so I was sure he wouldn't "eliminate" anything}.

We loaded up Yogi {that is what Alivia named him....I'm sure we will get the birth certificate in the mail soon} and brought him home.  He is doing well taking his bottle and is quite ornery.

Oh, and Mike helped with yard work the next day and we accomplished a TON!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

Spicey Sirloin Kabobs

Spicey Sirloin Kabobs

I love to make kabobs and EAT em too!!!  You can use any veggies you like (that will stay on the stick).  I used green, orange, and red pepper, yellow squash, zucchini, purple onion, and mushrooms.  I would normally add some cherry tomatoes, but our store didn't have any.  I used a large sirloin steak, but you could use chicken as well.

Cut your meat and veggies into 1 inch chunks.  Put the meat in a ziploc bag with the marinade.

Spicey Marinade

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp beef bouillon granules

3 garlic cloves chopped

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp course ground black pepper

½ tsp salt

Add beef bouillon to the water and stir.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix.  Add to the meat in a ziploc bag and shake until all the meat is seasoned.  Allow at least 2 hours for the meat to soak up all this spicey goodness.  I use wood skewers so I always soak them in water for at least an hour.

Add your meat and veggies to the skewers.  You can make them all the same if you suffer from OCD.....but I don't!!!  After they are put together take 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil and brush each kabob until coated.  

Preheat your grill on med to high heat.  Then grill these wonderful yummy-ness on a stick for about 12 minutes to achieve the perfection (steak will be done to about medium...a nice pink center).  Turn them often so all sides get done.

After they are grilled to perfection.....

Eat them!!!!!  You won't be sorry!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

The Farmer's Wife

Fresh Strawberry "Pizza"

Here is a simple dessert that involves my favorite things....chocolate and cream cheese!!  You can make this on a pizza pan and serve it up by the slice.  I make it in a 9x13.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  You will need sugar, flour, butter, cream cheese, vanilla, cocoa, and fresh strawberries. 

Mix ¼ cup cocoa, 1⅓ cups flour, and ½ cup sugar together.

Cut in ¾ cup of butter and mix until the mixture will stick together.

Press mixture into a greased pan and pat down to make the crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

Mix 1 brick of cream cheese,  ⅓ cup sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla together.

Slice up 1 pound (or whatever the container size is....remember I don't like to measure) of strawberries.

After the crust is cooled spread the cream cheese mixture over the top.

Spread the strawberries over the cream cheese mixture.  I think it looks a little plain...don't you?

So I added some chocolate syrup.

Serve up a piece.

YUMMY!!!

Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Crust

• 1⅓ cups of flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa
• ¾ cup butter

Mix flour, sugar, and cocoa together then cut in the butter until it sticks together.  Place in a greased 9x13 pan and pat down to make the crust.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Filling

• 1 brick of cream cheese
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together and spread over cooled crust.

• 1 pound of sliced strawberries
• chocolate syrup

Slice strawberries and place on top of cream cheese mixture.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Enjoy!!!

The Farmer's Wife

It's a Tough Job....

My hubby was kind enough to help me with laundry {gasp, I will let you catch your breath) the other night.  There wasn't much to fold so I "thought" he could handle it.  Here is what he did.

Yep, they are folded.  He just laid them on the counter rather than putting them away.  He has some of them folded in half and then in half again and again.  Then there is one just folded in half and then ALMOST in half again.  The one on top is folded with the design to the inside....sigh!!  So I did what I had to do.

I had to refold them to MY standards.  I am not picky about laundry except when it comes to towels.  They should all be folded with the rolled side facing me {it is so much easier on the eye....and my towel anxiety}.

I put the towels away.  It is amazing we have a drawer in the kitchen specifically for kitchen towels.  Who would ever think to put them in there after you fold them?!?!

Whew, now I will be able to sleep knowing they are properly folded AND put away.  It was touch and go there for about 3 minutes.  Looking at my towels now I have noticed it is probably time to upgrade....they are getting thin {unlike myself}.

{{{HUGS}}}

PS  My hubby will probably never help me with laundry again.

Clothespin Board

I made this clothespin board the other day.  I had a piece of baseboard trim leftover from our bathroom remodel that I painted white {it was already white...but sometimes I am an overachiever like that}.  Then I beat myself up over taking seven clothespins from my stash {this might run me a little short when I climb Mt. St. Laundry....AGAIN}.

My choice of supplies included the board, scrapbook paper, clothespins, scissors, paper trimmer {everyone needs a paper trimmer}, spray adhesive, mod podge, aging glaze, hot glue, foam brush, & ribbon {which didn't show up for the photo shoot}.

Steal borrow a shop rag {you can find these in coverall, jean, and shirt pockets of most farmers} and dip into your aging glaze.

Rub the glaze over the board to give it an aged look.  If you get a little too much glaze on you can use a damp cloth and wipe some of it away.  Rub it on until you get your desired look.

Use your paper trimmer and cut a piece of scrapbook paper the width of a clothespin.

Then cut the paper to the length of the clothespin.

Repeat until you have all the scrapbook paper cut to fit the clothespins.

Use the spray adhesive and spray the pieces of scrapbook paper and stick them on the clothespin.

Repeat until all the clothespins look "purdy".

Then lay out your clothespins on your board.  I didn't like the "raw" look of the wood clothespins.

So I used the aging glaze and made them look old.

Then I covered the clothespins with Mod Podge so the paper would be good and stuck.  Let them dry.

Use hot glue and apply it to the back of the clothespins and attach them to the board.

Then I used the ribbon (that failed to show up for the photo shoot) and hot glued it to the board.  I used two pieces of ribbon and tied a bow.  I will hang it my office so I can attach my bills to it {I probably should make a bigger one since I am using it for bills}.

{{{HUGS}}}
The Farmer's Wife

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