Was it really in October the last time I posted anything?  My bad!

Ok, a new year, a renewed effort.  DD has promised to beat me into submission

Part of the problem, I think, is I hate computers.  Actually I hate technology.  Don't get me wrong I love the convenience it allows but I desperately want a "stupid" button.  A lovely button that when I get confused, don't know or understand what to do or get where I want to be, I could hit the "stupid" button and all things would be fixed!!!!! Yes I am a dreamer. (DD would just like to interject that she IS the stupid button, or as close as is available. So underappreciated! :P)  I just like things simple and unfortunately technology makes simple sooooooooo complex!  Actually it is probably more of payback.  When my mother would get confused when using the VCR, I'd breathe a sigh and would go fix it for her.   Luckily my DD doesn't sigh, at least not within my hearing.  We won't even discuss my "smart phone" that is smarter than I am, just saying!

We topped of 2013 by Ladybug (one of the droolers) having surgery.  We have 3 Basset Hounds and they sometimes get these fluid filled sacs in between the skin layers.  So she had one burst and get infected (105.3 temp) so off to the vet we went.  She now has a stapled incision across her back.  We have been fondly referring to her as frankenweenie! (Or Frankensausage) Staples come out day after tomorrow but she is back to her old self.

Thanks to DD we have a new addition to the blogsite.....our etsy button takes you directly to our etsy store!  She is so good! (:D)

We also would like to introduce you to the droolers, Freckles, Snickers and Ladybug (before surgery!)

Here's wishing that the best of your past be the worst of your future!

The Perfect Corndog

I have been on the perfect corndog search for awhile.  The recipe wasn't as important as just how to get them to look like corndogs instead of a squashed fried amoeba!  This technique may not be new to some but to me it was a gift from heaven!!!!!  Yeah, so it doesn't take much to get me excited.

I don't remember where I found this tip but I would like to give them a great big HUG.  Here is the tip.......pour your batter into a tall glass or container....how easy is that?  Flour your hotdogs lightly and then stick them in the batter twisting gently.

Here are the results.......not bad at all.  I (usually) use a cast iron dutch oven with about 3 inches of oil to fry till golden brown.  Aren't they pretty!

Here is the recipe I use:
      1 1/2 C yellow cornmeal
      1 1/2 C all purpose flour
      1 T baking powder
      1 tsp baking soda
      2 tsp sugar
      1 tsp salt
      1 tsp cayenne pepper
      1 3/4 C buttermilk
      4 eggs slightly beaten
      8 hot dogs
      2 -  3 inches of veg oil in dutch oven or pot of your choice (large enough to float your hotdogs)

Stir all dry ingredients in bowl.
Whisk in buttermilk and eggs until well mixed.
Dredge hotdogs in flour.
Pour batter into tall glass.  I use a tall plastic container deep enough to submerge the hotdog.
Skewer hotdogs (or not) and place in batter and twist gently thoroughly coating.  Place in hot oil and fry 5-6 minute.( I keep my oil around 350)

On to the next search......how to get my flour tortillas as thin as the ones in the store.

How do they do it?

Ok............I'm a total fail.....at blogging!  I read bunches of blogs.  Some people blog every couple of days.  They have children, grandchildren, homeschooling and some even have other jobs!  How do they do it?  My children are grown and I'm retired...so what's my problem?  Possibly (?) I've cluttered my life with tooooooooo many things to do.  Have you see my Pinterest board lately?  More on that later.*

So what have I been doing for the last almost 2 months.  Well, I have an etsy shop...doesn't everybody?  This is the address for the few people who accidently trip into this blog: Ladybug's Homestead.  I do love to do tole painting. ( I started this over 20 years ago as a way to de-stress from my regular job since basket weaving was beyond my ability to comprehend!)  Gaye Schoell is my favorite designer but I also do my own designs. 

I knit and crochet.  Currently I'm working on a knitted afghan for one of my granddaughters that is based on a quilt pattern.  Will gently tug at my daughters arm to post it for me when I'm done. 

I also sew and quilt.  I have multiple projects in the works, too many and too embarrassed to mention.  I did manage to finish two sets of curtains, nothing fancy, blue and white gingham checks, but they brighten up the room.

Confession:  Do not imagine that I finish everything I start...at least not right away.  I started an embroidery wreath for the holidays for my son when he was a baby.  It was soo cute with animals and toys and goodies.   I finished it right before his 32 birthday.  Just saying!

I bake bread everyday and challah on Friday mornings.  I do just about everything from scratch. I did English muffins last week.  My favorite recipe is from King Arthur.  They are the best.  Discovered them when I lived in Vermont just down the road from Norwich where they are located.  The best place if you like to bake.  I don't think there is anything they don't have.

Here's my English muffins. They will go great with the lemon curd (I'm addicted) that I made. Yum!

Obviously I should have been blogging about this stuff.  I was mentally trying to fit myself into a category....any category...... I don't fit in a category. 

Soooo... I will blog at least once a week.  I was going to jump off the cliff and say twice a week but that will just set myself up to fail. I (actually my DD, also known as toots) will take more picture

I found this on Pinterest and it says it all:  I am currently unsupervised, ( I know it freaks me out too), but the possibilities are endless!


*I will pin less ( maybe just a little less) and do more.  Check out my "Done Did It" board if you want to see how I'm doing!

Time flies!

When you're having fun....really......fun?  Sorry about the lapse.  We moved from a much larger house into a little itty bitty place so as to stay within the newly retired budget. Stumbling and falling over boxes and bins for weeks I finally decided I had to do something!  Everytime we went to do anything we had to look in 10 different places to accomplish whatever task we were attempting.  So we are now more or less organized (mostly less but a vast improvement).

 

Periodically we would fling ourselves outdoors to get a break from all that organizing.  We put a   garden in front and one in back.  We didn't expect much because it takes time for my chickens to produce enough manure and no extra cash for mulch etc.  We did start a compost pile but obviously that takes time as well.  This is what happens when you plant a garden at the beach!  Well we are not truly at the beach but you would think so looking at this "dirt".  This is truly an epic FAIL!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Ok...lesson learned...I guess.  I have to say that apparently not all sand is equal.  The first year we were in Tuba City, Arizona we planted a garden in the red sand there and everything grew well...who knew!

 

 

 

My DD's sunflowers have done much better!

 

 

 

 

 

Onto the backyard (so to speak).  This is doing much better, though nothing to brag about!  Less sand/more dirt.  At least when DH rototilled this area the dirt looked dark, not white!

 

 

The weather here has been stormy for weeks.  Luckily I have a battery pack on my computer which will last for 45 minutes once the power goes out, to give you time to finish up and turn

off.  We just had a CRACK....BOOM that struck a tree in the front and it's down, away from the house thank goodness.  I can take a hint.

TMI

Thought I would tell you a little about me and DH.  It will help you to understand the dangers involved in us doing anything together. 

Together we make one whole person.  He has had a severe head injury...my brain is still functioning (more or less).  We both have bad backs...............his hurts when he sits; mine hurts when I stand.  He has 1/2 a stomach (from accident #2) and can eat anything and everything without gaining a pound.  I have all my stomach and can gain weight breathing air.  There are other missing parts but who cares...you get the idea!

The point is it's hard to do things like build a fence with only one person (even if it looks like 2 people)!  We have also come to learn that we don't speak the same language.  (Recent example related to a piece of wood:  "Put the side facing up.....no that's the wide part....oh you mean the edge....no the wide part.....the plane?)  We can and do drive ourselves crazy.  Thankfully it is a short drive and doesn't take long.  This is the point when I just leave and go into the house.  He did finish the gate and the only thing we really had to change was turn the latch right side up!  There is a disconnect in his brain between what he wants to do and how he does it.  However the male part of his brain that won't read directions is intact!

Here is the finished gate.  Giggles are allowed!

Do Over

Have you ever wanted a do over?  I have.........lots of times as a kid and more than a few as an adult!  I always pictured it as a sorta "Peggy Sue Got Married" kind of thing.   Not so much!

Bankruptcy is not fun or easy.  It is humiliating. No we weren't spendthrifts, actually we were way more frugal than most people.  Things happen that you don't expect and can't control.  We fought hard for a year and then we lost everything. 

But this blog is not about what we lost, it is about what we found!   A simpler life.

So we are starting over.  A do over if you will. 


           

It is definitely a must that I get the photo thing figured out.  Yesterday was the monthly trip into town.  While browsing through the Goodwill my husband found a great pair of Nike shoes.  Cost $4.  Problem: they are bright blue/grey with orange trim and laces!  He plans to wear them for working out with the chickens.   The girls may not be ready for this.  A picture would be self explanatory.  I'll work on it.