a catch up and the "real" me...

March...spring hasn't officially arrived, but somehow, I can tell it's coming - it's a wet, grassy smell that means the seasons are changing. Spots in the yard and fields are soggy, but still, the warming sun and brisk breezes are beginning to dry them out. I can hear cardinals and robins singing in the distance, I'm sure they're busily doing a little spring housekeeping and mending their nests. 

Fields and trees these early March days are filled with crows, but one day last week, my daughter and I were amazed to spot two Bald Eagles...honestly, what a thrill to see these majestic birds. One sitting high in a tree observing the world around him, while the other was in flight. 

However; not as thrilling was our close encounter with a large owl a couple of weeks earlier...we spotted him alongside the road as we drove by, when suddenly he took flight and flew right at us, just grazing the windshield. Either a Barred Owl or a Great Horned Owl with his tufts laid back, we can't be sure which, but what we are sure of, there's nothing quite like that experience to begin the day!

As promised, following Billie Jo's fun post over at her blog, I thought I'd share some odds & ends about me that you may find interesting...

Here goes!

I have a BA in Design, and my favorite job was being a Senior Cookbook Editor (the story is here) writing, brainstorming, layout, and yes, it included taste-testing recipes - yum! 

I am truly a homebody...taking an unknown adventure road or a day trip suits me fine, but I have no desire to "see the world."  Gladys Taber said it best: "I would be willing to go around the world, if I came back in time to light the candles and set the table for supper." 

I really enjoy gardening, both flowers and veggies. And, if you stopped by while I was gardening, you just might find me outside dancing or singing...good thing the neighbors aren't very close!

Autumn, for me, is perfect...there just seems to be a wisdom to it.

I'm smitten with my 1963 vintage camper named Maizy!

I love traditions...pumpkin carving, decorating the Christmas tree, and coloring Easter eggs

I cry easily...as you know if you've been reading about recent high school graduations; those emotions are at the surface.

I like very simple things...county fairs, a big field on the 4th of July with a picnic basket, curling up to re-read a book, family movie marathons, small towns, twinkling fireflies, barn sales, porch swings, and picket fences. 

Favorite music? give me the 1940's, I'll choose Glenn Miller any day!
Favorite color? Blue
Favorite food? spicy anything
Least Favorite food? rosemary anything

Growing up, I was convinced being a vet in the Yorkshire Dales was the calling for me. I've read and re-read the James Herriot books so many times I've lost count. However; the realities that high school chemistry and physics were not my strong areas meant it was time to shift focus.

I love old things...houses, barns, furniture, quilts, old-fashioned values, and simple ways. 

A wrap up? wife, mom, goat wrangler, chicken whisperer, farmers' market baker, renovating an 1864 farmhouse...I live in an apron. Welcome to my world!

baking with Mae...

When the December sky is a gun-barrel gray and any warmth from the sunshine is lost behind the thick clouds and blown away by the brisk winds, there is always something that I know will bring me warmth...baking in the farmhouse kitchen. 

Built 158 years ago, I often think back to the many women who prepared meals in this old farmhouse, and as someone who loves history, it's been fun over the years to cook in the kitchen fireplace...an antique tin kitchen/reflector oven makes the best roast turkey! 

But this past week, it was Mae and I who did the baking. Just for fun, I've named some of my vintage items...the little 1963 Camper is Maizy, my road-side find 1956 sewing machine is Fern, and Mae is my 1950 Hotpoint stove. Mae is a big 40-inch-wide workhorse...if you'd like, you can read the story of how she came to the farm here.  With 2 ovens she can bake double what I could before - she's a gem!

Pies were needed for a church get-together, and then I thought I'd try a couple of recipes from my blogging friends.

Staci at Life at Cobble Hill Farm, was kind enough to share her recipe for cranberry-orange biscotti - I've never made biscotti before, but I love the combination of cranberries & orange...it was wonderful!

Not nearly as pretty as Staci's - I need to work on my rolling/cutting skills, but they were oh-so delicious!

Then I wanted to make the sticky ginger cake from Jules at Along the Way. Excited to try her recipe, I dusted off my food scale and I was meticulous in converting grams to cups.

However...my apologies Jules. I didn't choose the correct pan size, so I had an overflowing, not-so-pretty loaf. Well, to try and save the day, I used my cookie dough scoop and made sticky ginger balls. Again, not the exact recipe from Jules, but the flavor was amazing and it's a recipe I'll make again (with a larger pan!)

This coming week will find my son home from college for Christmas break...he has a couple more exams and my daughter just completed hers - and so the holidays begin!

In a drafty old country farmhouse on a cold December evening, it's time for me to settle in on this Sunday evening...a cozy blanket, a mug of cocoa, and our local PBS station is showing 3 back-to-back episodes of All Creatures Great and Small...heaven for me!

I'll say goodbye with a photos of Santa on the blue barn shelves and some of my favorite ornaments on the little old-fashioned tree.

...have a good week, friends!

old-school recipes...worth revisiting!

 

"Old School"

...the values of an earlier generation, retaining something good, others have lost.

That's the definition I've found makes the most sense to me...old-fashioned values, passing down traditions & recipes, sharing the stories behind sweet family photos before they're forgotten. Holding on to things that seem to be at a loss in these "hurry up" times.

In a world that seems to spin faster every day, I'm making an effort to slow down that pace a bit by dusting off some handed down recipes that have been tucked away for far too long. 

Once-upon-a-time, I was a Cookbook Editor, what a fun job with the best people! We spent time researching recipes, testing recipes, and of course eating the fruits of our labor. Because of that job, I collected several old cookbooks found on country store shelves and in small town bookstores. You know the kind...cookbooks that "needed a home." 

This one is completely handwritten; wish I knew the year...

a 1959 Farm Journal Country Cookbook...

Good Neighbor recipes from 1952...

I have exactly 5 handwritten recipes from my grandmother
(everyone called her Mom)...

and while sorting through my my mother-in-law's garage after she passed away,
I discovered an old recipe box filled with dozens of handwritten recipes...

While it's fun to try new recipes, I think you can never beat a time-tested classic, so I've decided to share these old recipes. I'll show you the original recipe, let you know how it turned out, along with any changes I might make the next time I prepare it. Some of the handwriting and ingredients are faded and hard to read, but I'll do my best!

Maizy is what my grandmother always called me, and Mae is the name I've given my 1950 Hotpoint stove (Mae was my grandmother's middle name). So together we'll be working our way through the vintage recipes I have on hand.

And so, with that long introduction, next week you'll find a retro recipe worth revisiting! We've already tested Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pasta Sauce & Meatballs, and Bread & Butter Pickles. Next on the list...I'm thinking the Perfect Fried Chicken from 1959 would be great this weekend!

PS...

if you've been reading here awhile and wonder how we weathered the lack of propane and heat for 3 weeks in February, you can read all about it here

Settle in and put your feet up, it's a long read!

sweet October days...

Golden filtered light, a cat or two for company, and a smiling goat...so many simple pleasures this time of year. One of the best, is being outdoors. 

Mornings are crisp and still dark when Bailey and I go outside, and like clockwork, we're sure to hear a loud greeting from our rooster Bandito...most likely telling us it's time to start the day and he'd like a little breakfast!

  

                    

Rains have been continuous all summer, making the grass thick and green...this morning it looks as though it was sprinkled with little diamonds. 

The sinking sun has given evenings a fiery glow...

as it dips below the horizon. 

Corn has been harvested...using two combines when the day is long and rain is in the forecast. 

The farmers were working so long to beat the rain, that they had pizza delivered...no time to stop for dinner. And it made me laugh...

it is just me, or does this look like the famous Big Foot photo?!

 

And before those predicted rains come, Maizy is covered to protect her from the leaks vintage campers are prone to...getting that tarp on is a two, or sometimes three, person job. Hoping to enjoy her a little bit longer before tucking her away for winter.

This morning the fields were covered with mist, while rays of sun peeked through the Magnolia tree...

in a minute, it was gone.

Which got me to thinking...

(Source: here)

Senior pictures have been taken and last night the marching band performed at the final high school football game...don't get me started: time is flying. 

I'm trying hard to remember that the days can easily become full of "things to do" ...  but time with each other isn't endless. 

Enjoy the season you are in...

favorite country things...

The wind is picking up and blowing across the fields surrounding the old farmhouse. Even though the weather is still warm, I can see it...that unmistakable glint of gold, you know it: a coppery glow that comes just before the sun sets. I can hear it...the rustling of drying field corn as the towering 8-foot tall stalks sway back and forth bumping into one another. The seasons are changing, and it's time to stack wood, put the garden to bed, and do all that needs "doing" before winter arrives. There's a cozy feeling that comes from knowing "all is well" before the snow flies and the temperatures drop.

However; before that snow flies, there's still much to do...and these cooler, breezy days with no humidity are perfect for trying to check off as many jobs as possible on my (seemingly endless) to-do list. 

And because I know wherever you are, your days are full, this post is short on words and instead filled with snapshots of our days on the farm.

Savor it all friends, the winding down of summer and preparing for autumn...gathering, harvesting, putting-by. Ahhh, the lingering days of summer's pleasures.   

Oh this one? Nah, it's not on the farm.

But wouldn't it be great pulling Maizy?
 A 1953 Packard...
sigh.
I think I'd name her Lilly-Mae or Ida-Belle.

Must. Have. Vintage. Car.

or 

Truck...I'm not picky!

snapshots from the farm and a free find!

Like so many of you, we're finding the July days filled from beginning to end...there is much to be done. I remember hearing that having much to do is a simple country pleasure, and that's absolutely right...gardens to harvest & jams to make are paired with star-gazing & taking walks. Much to do, but so much to enjoy.

So today's post is short & sweet: a few snapshots of what you'd see if you stopped by for a visit. 

zinnias in the old stock tank

bee balm 6 feet tall!

a little afternoon lunch

trying my hand at a 4 Sisters garden

tedding in the field after the winter wheat harvest

And a story to share, just because it just makes me laugh! 

My daughter and I were out for a little drive and passed a "FREE" sign by some furniture. At first I drove by, then we both looked at each other and said, "Hey, that little table was nice."

And so we turned around, went back and found that little table was really a vintage heavy-duty White 651 sewing machine in a lovely wooden cabinet. The farmer came out, in the pouring rain, and offered to put it in the car for us. I'm so glad he did...it probably weighs 50-60 pounds!

I'm searching online for a manual and will then give her a little maintenance, but what a find; a true workhorse that lives up to the saying, "They don't make 'em like that anymore!"

My friend says every vintage item needs a name...Maizy is our 1963 camper, Mae our 1950 stove, I'm thinking maybe Fern for this 1956 sewing machine!

campers, campers, everywhere!

 

As you probably know, I LOVE our little 1963 Yellowstone camper named Maizy...the story of how she came to be ours is here.  We laugh every time we read her owners manual that says she
"will sleep 4-8 comfortably."

13 feet long, 6'6" wide and about 6'3" tall...and that's without the cab-over!

courtesy of: Tin Can Tourists

Really...4-8 comfortably? Even 4-6 is a a bit of a stretch (okay, more than a bit)

I'm just saying, in my mind, she's a 2-person camper. Maybe if there were littles to tuck in one of the beds or the crow's nest, but honestly, nope...she's a 2-person gal. We did squeeze my daughter in the crow's nest for one sleepover and my 6'3" son on the larger back bed and it was, um, well, cozy might be the best word.

Maizy

So anyway, as I've been out & about, I've noticed lots of fun vintage campers, and I thought you might like to see them. Clever, classic, retro designs that make me smile..

I passed this shiny little Airstream today...

and saw this vintage lady peeking out of a barn...

a little Casita looks ready for a road trip...

 

while this camper was doing double-duty as a traveling food "truck" at a
favorite farm show.

Lastly, we spied this on the way to school one day..oh-so tiny, but look, it has
an airconditioner!

While reading a blog by MaryJane's Farmgirl Blogger Nicole...aka the Suburban Farm Girl, she wrote a great post about vintage radios (click here to read) and she inspired me. 

She shows snapshots of tabletop vintage radios that no longer work, and how she "hides" a smart speaker behind it...the look of vintage charm that "works"; how clever!

When we bought Maizy, she came with lots of goodies, one was a turquoise Zenith tabletop radio...the fun, colorful plastic version. A little sleuthing and I found out it's a 1961 Art Deco Tabletop Tube Radio. Because it didn't pick up anything more that just static, it has been stored away.

But after reading Nicole's post, I pulled out the radio, dusted it off, and tucked our tiny bluetooth speaker behind it. Soon I was on Pandora searching for the top hits from 1963...

and like magic, it's as if the radio was playing...as Nicole says, instant charm and atmosphere!  

There will only be a short time to enjoy Maizy...soon enough she'll be covered and safely tucked away for winter. In the meantime, she's just perfect for quiet, mother-daughter time.

My mother-in-law always said, these will be the best days of your life.

She was right...