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Sunday, October 27, 2024

Late October

 Hello dear friends!  Well!  We are finally having one of those cozy days I have been longing for.  Fall certainly is slow at arriving this year, but it is glorious!

This is the lane to our dear Amish friend's store.  There is no place like home!  I didn't expect Fall to be so beautiful this year with the drought and all, but it's turning out to be glorious.  Although I do believe the plants are confused; we have roses and honeysuckles blooming and the pussy willows have little gray "kittens", but we have also had a hard frost.  Truth be told, I wish the warmer weather would go away until next Spring, I am ready for the cozy season.


Which reminds me! We had a new wood stove installed this week.  Our old one had some cracked soapstone tiles and was getting pretty old, so we took the plunge and bought a new one.  By the time we factor in the costs for repairs to the old one and there's a tax rebate on the new one, we weren't saving much, so we thought it was wisest to just replace the old one while we were able. It's not as cute as the old one, but it is more efficient.  And the nicest thing about it is that it has a built-in hotplate.  Made sauerbraten on it today.  Yum!

Penny Wise

Every year we see those bags of "deer carrots" at our local gas stations.  Do they have "deer carrots" around you?  They are twenty-five pound bags of carrots that they sell to feed the deer.  The local commercial carrot farms bag up the carrots that are too big or have undesirable shapes that they can't sell commercially and sell the cheaply to folks that want to feed them to animals.  Well, I was always curious about their quality, so I took the plunge and spent six dollars on a bag.  Was I ever happy I did! They were beautiful carrots.  I canned up thirty-six pints of carrots (that's six pints for a dollar!) and had plenty for eating fresh.  Nothing at all wrong with them.  As a matter of fact, they were so good that Ran and I decided we won't grow our own carrots next year, as the seeds for our own cost about as much as a bag and we always have a frustrating time getting a good crop to grow. So next time you are filling your gas tank, check out the "deer carrots", you can save yourself a lot of money.  If you don't pressure can, you can always cut up and blanch the carrots and freeze them. 

There's always so many ways to save money on groceries.  It is the custom around here for the neighbors to put out excess produce from the gardens in a box by the curb with a "free'" sign.  I could have had all the grapes, plums and pears I could desire this year for no cost.  Not to mention zucchini. Ha!  There's always zucchini!

When I was younger, there was a dear old lady that allowed me to glean her tomatoes fields, she grew them commercially.  I could gather as many tomatoes that were left behind after picking for $1.  I usually picked more than a bushel.  Bless that sweet little lady!  Little did she know those tomatoes kept the wolves from the door many a time. Many old farms have abandoned apple orchards and some kind people will allow others to pick them.  They might not be beautiful, but you can always cut off the bad spots and make applesauce with them.  A friend of a friend was all too happy to allow us to rake up the walnuts from her lawn last year.  It was a winter project for us to crack the nuts, but it yielded  several pounds of nuts, which we froze.  You know, nuts are a protein too.  Walnut croquettes are a clever way to use nuts as a main dish.  I need to look that recipe up again.

Sharon left a comment a few posts back that reminded me of another way we used to save on groceries back in the day and that was to form a sort of informal co-op with our friends and families.  You may not need or want twenty-five pounds of carrots (although I can't see why you wouldn't), but perhaps if you go in with a few family members and share the cost, you might enjoy having five pounds around.  I shop at the Mennonite bulk food store and buying in bulk saves so much money.  You can buy a big wheel of cheese for less than two dollars a pound.  Split among several family members it isn't so daunting.  They have twenty pound pails of peanut butter, split five ways, most families can handle four pounds.  The trick to forming an informal co-op is to work only with people you trust, that is why I suggest family members.  And have everyone chip in the money before shopping, no IOUs. We liked to have a little get-together and agree upon what is to be purchased, then designate a few people to go shopping.  After the shopping, everyone gets together and divvies up the haul.  It can be fun!


Baking

I kind of regret not taking up the neighbor on the offer of free pears.  With the drought our tree dropped most of its fruit before they ripened and the ones that clung on were on the smallish side.  I had such high hopes for my pears this year.  Well, what is that saying about counting your chickens before they hatch?  I had just enough to give a few to my grandson, Felix (he loves pears) and make this one small tart:



Pear Tart

1 pie crust

Pears, peeled and sliced, enough to fit into your tart pan

2 Tbls. flour

2 Tbls. butter

3/4 C. sugar

Fit pie crust into a tart pan. Place peeled and cored pears over top. Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over the pears.  Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 35 minute.


This has to be one of the simplest recipes ever.  But it is very good, especially when served with a dollop of cream atop.

Knitting

It's been my goal to use up all those single skeins of yarn that I purchased at the thrift stores for less than a dollar. I just cannot resist when I find a brand that I recognize or has some luxurious fiber  and its only fifty-cents.  Finding projects can be challenging though.  But I guess that's the fun of it.  I made these mittens:


from a skein of some Irish tweed wool.  They are ridiculously long! As you can see, the cuffs come up almost all the way to my elbows. No wind will be blowing up my sleeves!  I was intrigued by the color, "Irish Coffee".  I've never seen plum and turquoise Irish coffee have you?  And I think if I did, I wouldn't drink it!

Other things I have knitted from my one skein stash are a tea cozy and a cowl.


I also sewed an apron from a linen tablecloth that I purchased for fifty cents and remade a skirt that was unflattering into another apron. I wear a lot of aprons.  I have a sort of uniform: a long swirly skirt, blouse, tights, hand-knit socks, a classic styled wool cardigan or a hand-knit shawl, a petticoat with lots of lace, a headcovering, boots, and of course and apron to top it all off.  Whew!  No wonder I feel like I'm dragging around an extra ten pounds in the winter. Ha! No wonder people are always asking me if I'm Amish ( which I do not find offensive in the very least)  Do you have a "uniform"?

Well, Ran just came in with a cup of coffee and a piece of warm gingerbread for me.  Such a wonderful life I live in my little dollhouse of a home!  Many may say that there is nothing extraordinary about my life, but I beg to differ. I am blessed beyond measure.  I hope you are too!


Hugs

Jane


 

28 comments:

  1. Hi Jane! Beautiful mittens! You might need them that long this winter. I've never hear of deer carrots. They do sell deer corn here that is used by hunters as bait for deer hunting. I do know, since I"m originally from Pennsylvania, that it is illegal to feed deer in that state. Also our lake development there had a law against it also. To feed deer something out-of-season can give them some sort of stomach disease or something and kill them. I can't remember all the details. Deer can go two months in the winter without food, although they used to eat all my bushes! Your pear tart looks delicious! hugs, andrea

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    1. It's illegal for hunters to bait deer here, too, Andrea. Which makes no sense why they sell this stuff at the beginning of deer season. Judging by how many apples and such the deer eat in and out of season in my own backyard, I doubt that it does much harm to the deer. Laws are funny things, you can let the apples fall off your tree and hunt in your orchard, yet you can't dump some apples in your hunting spot and wait for the deer to appear.. Farmers can do a not-so-great job of clearing off their cornfield and hunt on it, but can't dump some corn to attract deer. I knew of plenty of poor families that survived on venison growing up, so I may be prejudiced, to me, it's just another example of people making laws without any understanding. Deer hunting wasn't just a sport, it was a means of survival.. I guess my libertarian views are showing. Ha!

      They predicted a long hard winter this year, but so far I'm not seeing any indication of that. But ask me about it in March, I'll probably have changed my mind!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    2. Oh, you're right! I thought baiting was allowed in Pennsylvania. I knew feeding deer (like neighbors feeding deer, not hunting reasons) was not allowed, but I just looked it up and baiting is not allowed also. Which is weird because the local Walmart sold big bags of corn. I grew up with venison too, although I never liked it, even if my mom tried to disguise it in meatballs, etc. But the deer population needs to be thinned so that the herds will remain healthy. Hunting is an expensive sport now though. hugs,andrea

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    3. Yep, it was in our local newspaper that a man was fined $1000 for baiting deer, Andrea. We grew up eating venison too. A lot of it was made into sausage. I guess all the garlic in it, covered up some of the gamey taste. I was never too fond of it either, but that was what we could afford and I guess when it comes down to venison or starving, venison wins. Though not by much. Ha! Nowadays people pay a lot for it. I can't believe it!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    1. Hello Rose! Well wild hogs are at least one pest I don't have to worry about. Done quite a bit of damage a few counties west of us, though. Around here, it's deer. They cause so many accidents. There must be a dead one every 1/2 mile along the road we travel to get to our nearest "big" city. Disgusting!

      That's a lot of free food! I have never heard of eating acorns, except for roasting them and grinding them into flour. Do you have to boil and rinse them several times like you do when making flour? The neighbor has a heartnut tree, but the squirrels usually get to the nuts before they get out of their green stage. Ditto for our hazelnuts. Squirrels are another pest about here. There's a lot of "free" food if people care to search, isn't there?

      Hugs
      Jane

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    3. It looks like a lot of work, Rose. It is intriguing, though. Probably all those acorns are the reason you have so many hogs. One of my son's friends takes his pigs to the forest to fatten up on acorns before butchering them. My son says his pork tastes like no other. If times really get bad, we will always have squirrels. Hope it never gets that bad! I am not terribly fond of rodents. An old family friend used to bring us rabbits that he hunted and even as a little kid, I couldn't get past the fact that I was eating a rodent. They were tough old things to boot! I think if it came down to it, I would go back to being a vegetarian. Ha!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    5. I suffer during the summer heat too, Rose. I can only imagine how unbearable it is. Lots of gauzy skirts that blow in the breeze is what I wear. And thin cotton voile blouses.

      I found the most remarkable Edwardian petticoat at an estate sale for a $1. It was in among the children's costumes. I also sew winter ones from flannel sheets (from the thrift store) using Folkwears pattern. A king-sized sheet yields a lot of yardage!

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    7. No, I don't believe I do, Rose. I'm terrible about labeling my posts. I'm sure I've recommended books in the past and I usually mention the books I get knitting patterns from, but no specific posts. You're a long way from breaking a record, once a dear reader and I exchanged about 40 posts, discussing the TV series Home Fires. Ha!

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  3. Here they might call them " Horse Carrots" Huge, misshapen, and still taste just as good. A massive bag that can be, as you do, divided up or frozen. Lovely mittens, you are gearing up for winter.

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    1. Hi Jean! I was thinking they'd be great for horses. Sure is a cheap treat for them. Yep, winter is coming, I hope! And you are getting ready for warmer weather. Hope all is well!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  4. During the winter I miss the huge wood range that came to us with the Amish farmhouse we refurbished and lived in for nearly 5 years--before deciding it was too large a house! When we built our smaller house we installed a "Cunningham' wood burner that provides most of our winter heat. The top is wide enough to hold a teakettle or a big skillet, and could heat food during a power outage.
    Re buying at the local discount/surplus stores; we've had to learn that most items coming in food service size packaging aren't a good fit for us. We've tried repacking in smaller freezer containers but not always happy with the resulting quality. [I gave up on my vacuum packaging device.]
    I'm still struggling to downsize amounts of food cooked--I don't mind leftovers but husband isn't fond of any dish making a 3rd appearance on the table.
    Over the years I've done considerable repurposing and refurbishing of thrift store or charity shop items. We dress well in clothing from Goodwill or ebay sellers--I watch for quality items that would have had a hefty original price tag.

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    1. Thanks for your input Sharon! I bought a five pound wheel of Guggisberg Swiss cheese the other day for $10 and gave half to my son. We can handle 2 1/2 pounds of Swiss cheese. Ha!

      I've learned to cut all my baking down to 8" square baking pans. Regular size cakes and pies are just too much. It is sometimes difficult to cut soups down to smaller portions though. Once you add all the vegetables, we end up with enough for an army. I usually just freeze it and trot it out when I'm in a hurry and need to put a meal on the table quickly.

      I always say the expensive brands cost the same as the cheap brands, so you might as well buy the best. I love classic cardigans from Woolrich and Orvis and have amassed quite a lovely collection of them. Ran jokingly calls them my babies.

      Hugs
      Jane

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    2. I'm smiling at your comment about soup: no matter that I intended a small 'batch' things keep getting added and it grows!

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    3. Yep, Sharon, there's no such thing as a small pot of soup. We still laugh about the big cauldrons of chicken soup Ran used to make when the boys were home. We never seemed to reach the bottom of the kettle.

      Hugs
      Jane

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  5. This is such a cheerful post with good old fashioned wisdom! God bless you!

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    1. Thank you so much, dear Mrs. White!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  6. Jane , there was a mix up with my Google account and my comments were deleted ( if you noticed).
    I apologize for any confusion!
    God bless💛🧡🤎

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    1. No need to apologize Rose! I'm the queen of Google account mix-ups. For the longest time it wouldn't allow me to comment on my own blog!
      Hugs
      Jane

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  7. I say bring on the cozy too. I laughed at the deer carrot story. I was anticipating you would be sharing how you feed deer...then I read" I canned up thirty-six pints of carrots". Wonderful, I do things such as that too. I have not canned carrots in several years, I should revisit canning that food source.
    I would think those mittens going up the forearm would be added warmth as long as your coat sleeve can get over the bulk.
    Blessings!

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    1. Can never have enough carrots canned, Cathy! They are so convenient. Well, I guess I do feed the deer, they eat out of my herb garden and orchard all winter. They've become so spoiled that they actually wag their tails when we encounter them in the backyard. Yep, those are definitely the longest pair of mittens I have ever knitted. Ha!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  8. I've never heard of deer carrots, but have seen deer corn and apples on occasion around here. That sounds like a great deal you got on the carrots. Years ago, we gleaned a dried corn field (grown for cows) several years, after the pickers went through, for our chickens, and often got a 55 gal barrel or two (on the cob). The newer machines are more efficient, so there's nothing left to glean now. One year, we were allowed to harvest a fresh corn field, after the owners had gotten all they wanted, and filled up our pickup truck. I canned a lot of corn that year! It seems we both have a cozy season mindset. Enjoy these October days!

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    1. Hi Laurie! Bet the chickens enjoyed that corn! I can only imagine how much time it must have taken you to can all that corn. Around here the deer glean the cornfields. They are just finishing up harvesting around here. Been so dry the farmers left it out on the field extra long before bringing it off the fields. Cozy season is the best!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  9. Hooray! I was hoping some of the thrifty bloggers would post about their uniforms!

    I am heavy, and my 'work around the house uniform' is shorts with pockets, and a short-sleeve tee. Gotta be short sleeves because of all the times I got my sleeves wet washing dishes.

    When I leave the house, I wear an elastic-waist skirt over the shorts. I often change my shoes from my oldest sketchers to a newer pair.

    In the winter, I wear the skirt over shorts or leggings. Also sometimes sneakers and wool socks.

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    1. Hello! Yep, sleeves are important. They have to be loose enough to either roll up or push up. None of those silly bell sleeves for me. People that wear them must never do any housework. Ha! Once you've got your uniform down, you needn't look at any other style of clothes. No point in pretty dress-up clothes, I never go anywhere dressy. I require two things from my wardrobe, that it is modest and that I can move in it.

      Hugs
      Jane

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