Amazing Etsy Artist: Sarah Storm.

Etsy, to me, is such an amazing place. Full of incredible artists, photographers, and creative people. It is an inspiration to look at all the wonderful shops that fill the site. One artist that has recently come to my attention (and actually has two shops--what an overachiever) is Sarah Storm. What a nifty name, no?

Her first shop that I'll tell you about is a fine art shop named "Created by Storm." Filled with wonderful watercolor paintings of nature. All sorts of lovely fauna and flora for your enjoyment. Here are a few that caught my eye:

Aspen Grove No. 1

Woodsy the Owl.

Cicada No. 1

Aren't they beautiful. But painting isn't all that she's capable of. Oh, no, she's also a very talented photographer. Her other etsy shop, which is full of her photographic accomplishments, is aptly named "Taken by Storm." She's so clever. Here are a few of my favorites:

Solace.

Salutations.

Quintessential.

I told you she was amazing, didn't I? She's quite the inspiration. The best part about it, there are even more talented artists to be found on Etsy. More and more join, and start their own shops everyday. I love showing their remarkable work on here, but I do believe you should go and check them out for yourself as well.

Craigslist Cravings.

Got the ceramics itch again. I'd really like to get myself a wheel, and kiln and get back into it. This one was on Craigslist in Bloomington for $600, but I think I can find a better deal someplace else.

Chow Down.

Image via Voodoo & Sauce.

I've been treating our rabbit meat like chicken when I cook it because it's a bit difficult to find any true rabbit recipes other than the usual roasted or fried varieties. Lucky for me it happens to be the year of the rabbit, so a lot of food blogs are writing about new rabbit recipes. This one sounds delicious. A braised rabbit ravioli that was on the Voodoo & Sauce blog. Looks very fancy doesn't it?

Here is the recipe.

Been Busy: Shop Updated.

Sorry for my lack of posts the past few days. I was working on a deadline to get an order into the printers on time. I just sent it out, and I feel completely exhausted. I've been working during any free moment that I have on my inventory for The Gallivanting Girl. I decided at the beginning of the year that my etsy shop was getting a complete overhaul. I found a professional printing service, bought a negative scanner, and I've begun the long process of editing and creating new work to add to the shop. Things are looking great though. My first order to the printer had over a hundred prints (all on metallic paper, which I'll be excited to see). Below are some of the items that are going to be in my shop (if they haven't been added already). I'm hoping to get all the new listings added by this Friday. Tell me what you think.

"Will You Wait?"

"Morning Graze"



"Is it any Wonder?"


"Foggy Morning"


"Bright Eyes"

I'm really liking my new edits. They should make really neat postcards/notecards which is something I'm hoping to add to my shop too. Right now I've just got 4x6s listed, but have prices up for larger sizes, and I ordered some 5x7s so they'll be getting listed too. I'm also wanting to design a 2012 calendar to sell next fall as well. Never a dull moment around here.

In other news, I put my buck and doe rabbit together again, so in about a month we'll have another litter of rabbits. I've moved them to their new quarters down at the barn which will make life a lot better for all of us. They had been bunking in temporary cages in our little shed by the house and they had plastic catch-trays that I was having to wrestle out to dump in the icy tundra that is our yard. Down at the barn their cages are suspended above the stall area, so clean up is a breeze. The bucklet, as I call him, (the only remaining kit from their last breeding) has become my little buddy. He loves attention and is a very pretty boy. I'm hoping to buy him some ladies this spring, so he'll get to be the new breeder buck.

Walmart / Healthy?

I watched the news last night (believe me, I'm not a fan of the news, so this isn't a regular occurrence), but there was a bit about Mrs. Obama supporting Walmart in their push to lower sodium, trans fats, and sugars in its house brand products. They said it would help lower childhood obesity. Are you kidding me? That's like saying changing the color in wine will cure alcoholism.

I'd much rather see them re-work the recipes in their products to quit adding so much corn and soybean substances that aren't necessary, as well as the chemicals, preservatives, and unnatural ingredients that fill the ingredient panel (as well as scare the crud out of me). I understand that things must have a shelf life, but it makes me a bit uneasy when I read the ingredients of bread and there are so many additives besides what should be there: flour, salt, water, and yeast. On a common brand of honey wheat bread this is the ingredient list: unbleached enriched wheat flour (flour, malted barley, niacin, iron, thiamin, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, yeast, whole wheat flour, honey, high fructose corn syrup, wheat gluten, wheat bran, soybean oil, salt, cultured wheat dough conditioners (ethoxylated mono-diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, distilled monoglyceride, calcium peroxide, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, enzymes), calcium carbonate, yeast nutrients (monocalcium phosphate, ammonium sulfate), calcium sulfate, soy flour, vinegar, and soy lecithin. I don't know about you, but that really makes me feel sick. I don't know what half of those things are and yet it's just in plain old bread? I don't want to feed my daughter that. Not even if somebody told me that every one of those ingredients is safe in the amounts they are in, and you want to know why? Because the only things that really need to be in it are flour, water, yeast and honey. End of story.

No, the true obesity problem is that we are a nation obsessed with convenience. The faster, simpler, and easier we can get to exactly what we want we are hooked. Diet pill promising results with no exercise or dieting, sold. Supper in a matter of seconds in the microwave, why not? We don't care where the food comes from as long as it's cheap and can quickly get to the table.

Not me, I enjoy taking a meal from a batch of simple ingredients to a nice, healthy supper. It isn't nearly as time consuming as it is made out to be. Honestly when was the last time you cooked a meal from scratch? No boxes of Macaroni with the bright orange cheese, no packets of pre-mixed spices, no frozen pre-made entrees. Just a recipe card and fresh ingredients? That's what I think would help the obesity problem more than ever is teaching the population how to actually use all the beautiful produce and meats out there. If more people used them, then more farmers could grow them to meet the demand, and the prices would be more consumer friendly. I'm a big believer in the farmer's markets.

Here is an example of a farmer's market in Jackson, Mississippi via NatalieMaynor on Flickr.

I see this and I want to run to the computer and search for a yummy way to use all the pretty vegetables. It's not daunting, but exciting. I imagine it will take a major change in our behavior as a population for the food industry to try and bring the quality and nutrition that a farmer's market can offer, but at least farmer's markets are becoming more prevalent in our society. I just wish they were the norm instead of the exception. Maybe that will change in the next ten years.

This is an example of a farmer's market it Dallas, Texas via muddbutter on Flickr.

All I'm saying is that the thing we need to change is the fact that we can't raise enough healthy food (ie, produce, meat, and dairy) in a way that we can feed everybody without significant change on everybody's part. If you want to eat steak, why not contact a local beef producer and ask about purchasing some from him? If you want eggs, stop in at one of those signs along side of the road advertising for "Fresh Brown Eggs." If we take advantage of what's right next door, then we not only know who raised it, but also that it is fresh and healthy for us. I also wish we'd push legislation to bring direct-to-consumer agriculture into everyone's life. Smaller farms would have a better footing in the industry which would help local economies, build community (by getting people out and talking with their neighbors), and would (in my opinion) greatly reduce the food quality issues that we have now (smaller scale/diversified farms don't run into the myriad of problems that the larger scale 'factory farms' do.


I also would like to see cities allowing backyard and rooftop flocks of chickens, and lots of gardens in any available plots (rooftops included). I'd like to see dairies in all states find a way to be able to sell directly to consumers (even if it would require a signed paper indicating risks that the consumer acknowledges because as far as I can tell that's all that's holding it back is liability). All-in-all I'd like to see Americans be able to fend for themselves a bit, and be actively involved in where their food comes from instead of what is commonplace: opening a bag or box and placing it's unknown sourced contents into the microwave and not caring what you're putting into your body at every meal.


What do you think?

Real Estate Hankerings.

This property is located at 5455 E High School Road in Butlerville, Indiana. The asking price is $24,900 for a 3 bed, 2 bath, 3,784 square foot home on an acre of land. If it was sitting on about a hundred acres with a few more outbuildings this would be my heaven. I love the porches. I hope somebody brings this one back from ruin into its original glory. Beautiful house.

Goose Eggs and Rabbit Meat.

Don't let that sweet face fool you...she's dangerous.

That's my daughter Joelee. Yesterday she gave me yet another gray hair. I was making some hot tea with a blanket around my shoulders, and she was playing in the blanket. As she was swinging back and forth behind me she was getting more and more wild. All at once she flung herself headfirst into the metal cabinet to my rear. I picked her up (and she quit crying immediately in perfect Joe fashion--this kid is as tough as they come), and I gave her to my mother-in-law so I could finish our tea. Not two minutes later I walked over to check on her (being that I found a giant dent in the metal cabinet), and it looked like she was growing a second forehead. I've never seen a goose-egg like that. Thank goodness it went down in a hurry, and Joe is just left with a bruise over her left eye. Oh the things about motherhood that nobody tells you about.

I've gotten almost all of our garden seed in the mail. Four varieties of dry beans, green beans, peas, spinach, onions, garlic, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, pumpkin, eggplant, and carrots. I got a $25 coupon for spending $25 from one of the seed companies, so I bought myself a cherry tree too. This is going to be a big garden year, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm hoping to start more seed than I need so I can sell some of the seedlings and make some of the money I've got invested back. This garden is hopefully going to produce enough to freeze and can and use fresh to feed my family this coming year.

On new year's day, we butchered my first batch of rabbits. I got a buck and doe last summer for free and their first litter (9 kits) were all sold to other people, and the second litter (8 kits) I kept all for myself. Believe it or not they were all bucks. There were two blacks, and five grays, and one very odd colored buck that was a creamy colored with dark points and red eyes. I decided I'd like to keep him and buy a few new does next spring to breed him to, and that the other seven kits would be butchered for my family to eat.

I'd heard so many things about rabbit meat, and I wasn't going to be making any judgement until I tried it myself. I'd butchered chickens before (which for the time and effort didn't really give me much meat), I've raised cattle most of my life, and I'd even raised rabbits quite a few years, but never for meat. People told me the meat was stringy, greasy, gamey, fatty, etc. I now had almost thirty pounds of rabbit meat neatly packed in ziploc bags ready to go in my freezer and I wasn't even sure if it was edible. Believe me, it is delicious. I'm really not sure what causes such a balking factor with rabbit meat for people. It's easily supplied (a rabbit's gestation is only a month, and it takes about four months of grazing to raise a kit to butcher size and you get about five pounds of meat), it is very lean and healthy (where people thought it was fatty or greasy I'm unsure), and it tastes and has the texture of white meat chicken. It was a very pleasant surprise.

There is something very empowering being able to feed your family with food that you've grown. Food that you've cared for and tended to. You know they were raised in a way you approve of and you know exactly what was put into them. No hormones or antibiotics just grass and sunshine and the occassional apple or carrot that they eat from your hand. Same goes with the garden. You cultivate the soil, drop in a seed, and weed, water, and toil, and ta-dah a few months later you're harvesting a bounty of delicious, fresh, healthy food that far outweighs the time and sweat you put into it.

Have I mentioned I'm really ready for spring?

Artistic Moment of the Week.

via greenzabiha on flickr.

Learning How to Write.

A photo of my Grandma around my age. Wasn't she beautiful?

I have such a hard time actually writing what I'm feeling on this blog. It's not that I can't write about such things. I keep a journal and write in it almost daily, but for some reason I hold back so much I'd like for all of you to know. Perhaps it's because I feel a fear of sharing too much, or even worse, you not wanting to hear what I have to say. I've decided to get over it, and write, and we'll see what happens.

Life on the farm is a bit stagnant. This time of year gives me a slight case of the blahs. Spring is my favorite season, the warmer days, the greening of things, all the baby livestock, it doesn't get much better, so I get a bit anxious in waiting for that time of the year to get here again.

My grandpa's birthday is today; he's eighty-one years old. My husband, Mike, Joelee, and I went up to see him on Sunday, and I hate to say it, but Alzheimers has changed him so very much. He's just a shell of what used to be my grandpa. It's really hard to visit, he's so quiet anymore, and that's the one thing my grandpa never was. He used to know it all, and could keep you entertained with stories for hours. The bright side is that he does know who Joelee is and he fawns over her whenever she's around, and I can't ask for anything more than that.

While we were there, my dad gave me an awesome present. A box of slides that my grandma and her family had taken in the late fifties. Hence the photo from above. I never thought I really resembled her until I saw this particular photograph. The smirky smile has traces of me all over it. I'm really excited to find all these glimpses into her life when she was my age, you know? She looked so strong, and happy, and she's such an inspiration to me. You see, she died when I was about nine, and she was sick a lot of those nine years of my life. I have a hard time remembering what she was really like. Honestly, Ma Kettle, and a few other strong-roled, funny actresses make up a majority of what I've lumped together as what my grandma was like.

I've been slowly scanning the slides onto my computer, along with a huge batch of negatives from my numerous years of using film photography. I'm expanding my shop and I've started using a professional printer, in readying for my next big venture which is getting out there and selling my work at markets, festivals, and bazaars. So far, this year is turning out to be incredible. My optimism is through the roof.

There I think that's a good start at opening up. Maybe tomorrow I'll share a few facts about me, and some talk about my garden plans...I'm sure you'll be just sitting at your computer waiting for me to put the post up...ha.

Chow Down.

Photo via Framed Cooks.

I have absolutely become a 'foodie' in the past year. Never did I think I'd be the girl scouring the internet for food blogs and drooling over the beautiful food photography. I envy the bloggers who take amazing photos just for their blog. I usually end up having to go through my archives for a photo of mine that matches the theme of the post. That's something I'm going to try and work harder at this year. I've got to do a better job at taking my camera everywhere with me and actually taking photos with it too. It's a habit I got out of, and that needs to change.

Anyway, back to my post: there are so many amazing food bloggers out there (that's why I started the 'Chow Down' themed weekly post, so I could feature them), and the blog "Framed Cooks" is definitely amazing. The photography alone makes me so jealous. She's one of those bloggers I'm going to try to emulate in the coming year. This is her recipe for "Naked Ravioli" and it looks delicious.

Naked Ravioli via Framed Cooks:

1 Pound ground meat (beef, pork, veal, etc.)
1 Egg
1/4 Cup grated parmesan
1/4 Cup fresh parsley
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 Pound bow-tie pasta
4 Tablespoons butter
20 Fresh sage leaves
1 Cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper
Extra grated parmesan for garnish

1. Combine meat, egg, cheese, parsley, and onion. Roll into balls about 1/2 inch in diameter and pop into fridge until ready to use.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of salt. Cook meatballs in boiling water for five minutes and remove with a slotted spoon. Put in a bowl and cover to keep warm. Cook pasta in same water until done, adding peas in at last minute of cooking. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain.

3. Meanwhile, cook butter and sage leaves in small pot until butter is light brown, about five minutes. Toss pasta and butter mixture, researved meatballs and pasta water to make a light sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Add parmesan and serve.

Sounds delicious.

Craigslist Cravings.

In Seymour someone is selling barn doors from an old horse barn. I'm going to use a few someday for our upstairs doors that I'm going to put on sliding tracks because our floors are so uneven our doors always catch or don't close all the way or numerous other issues. Plus, I love the look, so it's a win-win.

Real Estate Hankerings.

This property is in Arcola, IL for 49,900. It's 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, and almost 3,000 square feet. It needs lots of work, but there are a lot of beautiful features on the inside.

Artistic Moment of the Week.

Schibli Organic Dairy Farm via Crackers on Flickr.

Gotta love Brown Swiss. I swear I'm going to have some again someday. I like the colors in the photo. Slightly muted and soft. Very beautiful.

Craigslist Cravings.

He's gotta be the cutest thing ever. He was in the Indianapolis Craigslist Pet section. I don't need a puppy, but they are fun to look at. Maybe next fall will find me a bit less busy and a pup will join the farm then. Until that time, I'm going to look at various puppy pictures and say 'Aww.'

Getting a Good Start.

Image by Dorothea Lange (October 1939) via Library of Congress

Detail said: "Interior of Mrs. Botner's storage cellar. 800 quarts of 'food for the winter.'..."

This is my dream pantry. I'd love to not have to go to the grocery ever again. That would be glorious. I have already ordered my garden seed for the year, and I'm really looking forward to what it will yield for us. I got $25 extra to spend since I spent $25, so I also bought a Cherry tree which I'm giddy about. My other purchases were: green beans, peas, carrots, roma and cherry tomatoes, onions, spinach, butternut squash, broccoli, pumpkin, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, black turtle beans, red kidney beans, eggplant, and garlic. I'm going to be a very busy girl this summer.

I also ordered myself a scanner from Canon to digitize all my film negatives. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but I could literally do a jig I'm so happy. I've got my film from photography class in college as well as film from before I had my digital Rebel that I've not been able to reprint and after I get them on the computer they will be easily printed for selling. Hopefully this will push me to sell at festivals and bazaars because I won't have any excuse not to.

Otherwise this spring is going to be full of livestock. Currently I only have a small batch of chickens, two goats, and three rabbits (my original buck and doe and one of their buck kits). Just a week ago I had seven other kits, but we got them butchered and put in the freezer. I was leery about how I'd take the butchering, but it was quick and not as awful as I'd envisioned it to be. I'd never had tame rabbit before and it was a very nice surprise how delicious the meat is. Rabbits are a very dismissed meat animal. They are cheap to raise and very prolific breeders. Butchering 7 kits I got 28 pounds of healthy, tasty meat. They give a much better return than cattle, hogs, chickens, or lamb for sure. I'm going to build three or four grazing pens to raise kits in, and I'll be buying three or four more does this spring. I'm also going to raise a box of ducklings and perhaps another box of chicks, and I'm hoping I can find some goslings as well. We also have three horses, but they don't contribute to the farm much except for their manure which goes on the garden.

I'm a very busy girl, but I couldn't be any happier!

Chow Down.

Did you know that January is National Soup Month? I didn't until I started reading the food blogs and there was much hullabaloo about it. Funny thing was that I was actually looking for a soup recipe when I went to reading the food blogs in the first place, so I'm calling it fate. More specifically I was looking for a "Beef and Barley"-type soup. I found what may be a new favorite (I haven't tried the recipe yet, but I'm just going out on a limb): Portobello, Beef, and Barley Soup found via the Washington Post.

Portobello Mushroom, Beef, and Barley Soup:
(4 Servings)
Ingredients:
2 tsp. vegetable oil
8 oz. lean top round, cut into cubes
Salt
Pepper
4 C. beef broth
1 C. water
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 leeks, white part only, sliced crosswise (I'll probably omit this just because of lack of availability).
1 medium onion, diced
4 medium portobello mushroom caps, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1/2 C. pearl barley
1 C. diced canned tomatoes

Directions:
In a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the beef and cook until the cubes have browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the beef broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and skim off any fat from the surface. Add the carrot, celery, leeks, onion, mushrooms, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the barley and cook, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, or until all the vegetables are barely tender and the barley is fully cooked but still firm. Add the tomatoes with their juice and cook for 1 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Sounds wonderful for tomorrow since we'll be getting some snow. I'm sure I'll tweak the recipe while I make it, but that's the reference recipe I'll be using. Stay warm everybody.

Proposed Projects.

Someplace on Tumblr, but I lost my notes. If you know who to give credit to, please tell me.

Via Woman's Health Magazine on Books.google.com

Georgia O'Keefe via hubpages.com

I'd like somebody to do a photoshoot of me. Is that a strange want? Probably, but I love the candidness of the photos above and I'd like to have photographs of me that give me something to look back on someday. I don't have very many photos of me anymore, and the ones I do have are usually me making an awkward face because I was talking or unprepared. I'd like to get prettied up and get a few images of me and Brute for old-time's sake and definitely one with my camera and a few with Joe and Mike. Just a random thought floating through my head today.

Compelling Compositions

Image via Best Life Magazine via Books.google.com

"A former creative-writing student at Columbia, Janssen says the surest way to win her heart is to read to her in bed. 'I think that is so delicious,' she says. 'My dream is to find a guy who will actually make up stories for me, someone who can tell me a different bedtime story every night. I need to find the John Irving of my age.'" --Famke Janssen inerview in the June 2006 Best Life Magazine.

I am a quote-aholic, and I read way too many publications, subjects, and genres in a day to be normal. I found this quote and I could have easily written it. I didn't find that guy though. My husband won't read to me or make up stories, but it would be amazing if he would. That would be the epitome of perfect.

New Year's Resolutions.

Photo via Me. And can be purchased here...hint, hint.

I've got a nice big list of resolutions. I love writing down goals; it's actually a guilty pleasure. I have multiple lists and I go back over them often to see what I've accomplished. Silly, sure, but I get a big sense of pride knowing my dreams are coming true. My biggest want for this year? Well, I want to get stronger. Pregnancy took a lot out of me (and added a lot to me I'm afraid), but I've vowed to get myself back to where I feel like myself. My weight is fine where it is now (I've been working my butt off for that), but now it comes down to toning and building some of my muscle back.

Another resolution is to take my camera with me everywhere. I have a really bad habit of coming across perfect potential photos when I'm sans-camera. I was really bad about only taking my camera with me on scheduled gallivants, but this year I'm going to not only take my camera with me everywhere, but take tons more photos too.

I also have made a resolution to sell my work at a minimum of three festivals, learn a new skill, enter projects at our county fair again, plant a decent garden, write (not mattering what or how much, just write), go to five (new to me) auctions, try a new recipe a week, and quite a few more that I won't bore you with. I highly suggest, if you have a free moment, to grab a piece of paper and jot down a few resolutions of your own. It might just spur you to complete one or two of them.

Happy Belated New Year.

Blog of Note.

This blog is an inspiration of mine. So many beautiful images combined with lovely quotes. I go through and say, "Ooh this is my new favorite quote." And then I scroll down to the next one and it's "Ooh this is my new favorite." It's not that I'm fickle, but that there is just too many good things to be had on the Daily Poetics blog. Take a look for yourself and have a wonderful weekend.

Real Estate Hankerings.

I can't believe what you can get for just a little money and some work. This property at 515 Washington Avenue in Evansville, Indiana features 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, and is 3,151 square feet for only $32,000. What an amazing piece of architecture. Sigh, yet another place I'd love to save.

Real Estate Hankerings.

I'm a sucker for old houses. I want to save every last one of them. Look at this beauty: a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 2,461 square foot relic built in 1890. They want $28,900 for it, and it would make an amazing house. It looks like there used to be a porch on the front, and I think there should be one on there again.

Craigslist Cravings.

image via craiglist

The picture aren't very clear but they are of a book of river maps. I think they'd make a neat batch of framed prints for the walls of this house (once we have walls of course). Here is the listing if it's still available.

Chow Down.

I've got some wheat germ in the fridge and I got to wondering if I could use it to make a healthier bread. Sure enough cooks.com has a recipe for it. Here it is.

Wheat Germ Bread:

4 c. warm water
3 pkgs. yeast
8 c. flour
1 c. wheat germ
1/4 c. honey
1/3 c. oil
4 tsp. salt

Combine yeast, water, and honey and let sit for five minutes. Add flour, salt, wheat germ and knead. Pour on oil and knead. Let rise until double; punch down. Cut into three equal parts. Roll out with a rolling pin, then roll like a jelly roll and put into three loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove and brush with butter.

Sounds easy enough, I'll let you know how it tastes when I bake some in a few days.

Real Estate Hankerings.

This cute bungalow is at 842 Bellemeade Avenue in Evansville. It has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, and 1,269 square feet. It was built in 1919, and I think it would be an adorable first house. I love the architecture.

Artistic Moment of the Week.

Image via GoldenGreyBlue on Flickr.

I am in love with this photo. One reason is I used to sit on my old truck, Brute's, cab like this. Another reason is just the composition of the photograph. And lastly, because I really want to know the story behind it. I come up with pretty good ones in my head. I've got an awful head cold, and it is frigid outside. I'm longing of spring about now.

Craigslist Cravings.

This is a supposed plott hound mutt they had listed in Terre Haute. I want a pup so bad (I'm not too picky on the breed) for Christmas, but I'd take a piglet or bottle lamb just the same if somebody wants to give me one or all three I'd be perfectly okay with that...hint, hint.

Chow Down.

Image via Martha Stewart

Image via All Recipes.

This evening I made Shepherd Pie (with ground beef instead of lamb, and I added mushrooms and garlic), and homemade French Bread. Very tasty, and surprisingly easy. The links to the recipes are above, and as always I just use them as a rough guide. I'm not very good at keeping to the original recipe, but so far things have always worked out pretty well. My family said supper was delicious.

Proposed Projects.

Image via here.

I've got to make a few new grazing pens for my rabbits next year. I'm going to buy about five does and when they kindle I keep them in smaller pens, but as soon as they kits eyes open I move them out onto the grass to let them get most of their diet from the grass and whatnot. This past year since I just had the single doe and buck I just used my two grazing pens I used for my chicks before they were old enough to be turned out with the flock. These pens aren't very good for rabbits (the one doesn't have an indoor area, and neither of them have a bottom in them). Rabbits tend to dig, and their predators do too, so I'm thinking something similar to the set up above is what I'm going to go with. I've just got to get out to the shop and start putting something together.

Compelling Compositions

Image via IMDB.

I watched the movie WALL-E again last night. I'd forgotten how terrifyingly, potentially real the movie's plot line really is. Corpulent, lazy people who let convenience take over their lives. I know I harp on it, but it's scary what is in other peoples' shopping carts at the grocery every week. Absolute JUNK (soda, chips, cookies, tv dinners, and not a fruit of vegetable to be seen). In WALL-E everything the people ate was 'in a cup,' and any more you can get anything "pre-made" from individually packaged frozen pb&j-s to 'baby carrots' (really, we can't whittle down a regular carrot ourselves anymore). I move for people to just try making a habit of making their meals from scratch. It isn't as time consuming as you'd think, and you know exactly what your family is eating. I still feel guilty that I go to the grocery store at all. I'm hoping within five years I'll be raising all our food right here on the farm.

The other factor in WALL-E is essentially they covered the Earth with trash until it wasn't conducive to supporting life. It would be ideal if the grassroots effort of 'back to the land' and just a waking up of the average person to realize that progress and convenience aren't always for the better would become popular culture. Just a re-invention of a 'do for yourself' mentality. Personally I'll clutch to the past. I read ag books from the early 1900s for my advice on livestock raising and gardening and I'm getting along just fine. People, me included, need to take a hard look at their choices and the consequences they have on ourselves and the big picture as well. I get into this sort of bad mood thinking about where the world is heading. I wish I could shout from my rooftop and get others to see things my way. I've got some world changing ideas, but they are pretty radical and it would require everybody to have to work really hard to make the changes happen. So, it's probably a slim chance that anybody would listen. I'll do my best to push them forward, and we'll see if they get off the ground around my town, and potentially on a grander scale (ha).

At any rate, WALL-E makes you think. It really makes me want to get up and do a few jumping jacks to keep me from looking like the people aboard the Axiom. The ending is nice though, and it is a very good movie, although not one I'd consider a kids' film. I think it's dark undertones are lost on many kids and adults alike. It should definitely not be taken lightly.

Blog of Note.

I recently found this blog, and it is my new favorite. The architecture and interiors featured make me swoon. Definitely worth a look, but be warned, you'll be there the rest of the day.

this is my absolute favorite image from this blog so far. Amazing building isn't it. What a beauty.

Real Estate Hankerings.

This house is located at 1114 N Third Ave. in Evansville. It has five bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 2,322 square feet. It was supposedly built in 1899, and it has very unique architecture. I especially like the little building behind the house. It would make a neat bed and breakfast.

Artistic Moment of the Week.

Image via evencleveland.blogspot.com, but was originally from a 1906 National Geographic. It amazes me that even in 1906 an image like this was possible. I'm thinking I need to go back to shooting in Black and White for a bit.

Craigslist Cravings.

Very pretty handpainted trunk on the Bloomington Craigslist this morning. They are wanting $100 or best offer. I think it's pretty neat, but I have lots of other things at the moment I need to spend money on more. Someday...

Winter isn't much fun on the farm.

Everything is a bit more complicated when it gets below freezing. The water has to be kept broken and thawed for the livestock, and you have to provide as much shelter for them as possible. Yesterday's winter storm had all the animals confused. I went down to the barn to get a tarp to cover up the rabbit hutch and protect them from the north wind. I found three hens that decided to bed down in the aisle of the barn instead of in the safety of the coop. I fed the horses and proceeded to try and catch the wayward birds. One red hen let me nab her fairly effortlessly so I stuffed her in my coat so that I'd have two hands to hopefully catch the other two. After another five minutes I grabbed the White Brahma hen and carried her by her back legs while attempting to catch the last hen (my mare didn't like it too much when we walked into her lot to get back in the barn via her gate). I gave up after a few more minutes and decided to take the hens I did have and the tarp back up toward the coop and rabbit hutch (again the mare thought I was after her for sure when I started dragging the tarp past her to the door of the barn). She went out of the barn snorting and wide eyed and prancing like an idiot.

I met my husband halfway to the house and I can only imagine what I looked like: a bundled up wife with a white chicken hanging upside down in one hand, a giant blue tarp in my other hand whipping in the wind and a bulge in my coat quietly cooing and snuggling (she was quite content to be warmed up by my body heat). I told him there was still another hen at the barn, so he went down to see if he could find her.

I placed the girls back in the coop and set down the tarp next to the hutch because I saw Mike coming back empty handed. I went back down and chased the last hen around (trying to catch her before the barn cats did), and I finally cornered her and stuffed her in my coat too because she was squawking like I was ringing her neck. It just muffled her, but she never quieted until I put her with the others in the coop. We got the rabbits sheltered the best we could and went inside ourselves to get some feeling back in our limbs. I hadn't planned on playing a round of tag with the hens, so I wasn't dressed nearly warm enough.

I've never had the chickens not go back to the coop at night, and this morning there was four more chickens huddled outside the coop gate, so they must've hunkered down someplace last night in the storm and tried to get back in the coop this morning. It was easy enough to get the three hens in, but one of my roosters ran for the barn instead. I was going to just keep the chickens locked up today because it was so drifty out, so eventually he got herded back into the coop as well.

Chow Down.

Gourmet Traveller is an Australian magazine that has lots of yummy potential meals. This one is for Whole-wheat pasta with almonds, parsley, and ricotta. I like the recipe mostly because it has you making everything from scratch from the ricotta to the pasta. It looks so tasty I can't wait to try it out. Image via Gourmet Traveller.

Real Estate Hankerings.

This property has really nice big windows that let in lots of light, and with some work I think would make a lovely house. I could think of lots of things I'd like to do with it. It could be a real beauty. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1,390 square feet for $17,000.

Real Estate Hankerings.

This week finds a big diamond in the rough. It's at 215 Adams Ave. in Evansville. It's listed as a 2 bed, 1 bath home with 1,284 square feet of living space. I like it for the concrete block outbuilding (I'm thinking it would make a good studio), and the beautiful windows in the second story. It could be a real looker with a bit of love and work.

Artistic Moment of the Week.

This is a photograph by John Drysdale. If you've never heard of him be sure to look him up. My mom gave me a book of his photographs entitled, "Our Peaceable Kingdom," and I was so jealous of his children getting to grow up with all of the wild animals (elephants, hippos, kangaroos, etc.). This picture, though, could've came from my house. I trained my first calf to ride when I was only 5, so riding a sheep would've been a piece of cake for me. It looks like they are having a blast, and I hope Joe gets to have that kind of childhood. I'm trying my best to ensure it. She gets to go out and feed the livestock every morning. So far her favorites are the goats, the rabbits, and one particular barn cat, but I'm sure the list will grow as she gets older.

Craigslist Cravings.

They wanted $30 bucks for this hammock. I've never seen one like this, but it looks nifty. Of course this isn't quite hammock weather (it was snowing this morning), but a girl can dream of warmer days.

Chow Down.

This is a few days late of course, but I made this as a side dish last night and my anti-anything-green husband said it was very good and I should make it again. I started with this Spinach and Rice Casserole Recipe from Taste of Home, but tweaked it as always.

Spinach, Mushroom, and Rice Casserole
Makes Enough for 6

1/2 a Yellow Onion Chopped
6-8 Button Mushrooms Sliced
2 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 Cup Jasmine Rice
Two handfuls of Orzo Pasta (I added them on a whim)
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1/2 Packet Frozen Chopped Spinach
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375. I sauteed the onion in the butter while I sliced the mushrooms. Then I added the mushrooms and let them cook with the onions while I squeezed the water from the spinach and measured out the rice. I added the rice to the skillet and stirred until they were lightly toasted then added the spinach, orzo, and broth. I let it come to a boil and simmered it for at least ten minutes. I added the salt and pepper right before putting it in a 2qt. casserole dish. Top with Parmesan Cheese and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. Extremely tasty, and very easy.