Monday, June 30, 2014

One of the Best Quick Breads I've Ever Made

From Grape Nuts. .Yes. .You heard me right. .Grape Nuts. . Don't rule it out until you try it!
 
 
To tell you the truth, I would NEVER have tried it myself if I hadn't found half a box of Grape Nuts from who knows what year in the pantry. . .I have enough Scottish blood in my veins that it is almost impossible for me to throw anything out. . .that and I was raised by parents who went through the Great Depression. . .I mean, how stale can Grape Nuts get? . .They're hard as a rock to begin with.
 
I remembered a vintage recipe I'd seen in my cookbook collection for Grape Nuts Bread. . .I also remembered questioning, "How good could that be?" as I put the cookbook back on the shelf. . .This was my opportunity to find the answer to my question. . .I'll try anything once. . .Let me tell you, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I tried the first slice. . .I was utterly surprised. . .It was very moist and light, just sweet enough, and scrumptious. . .There's no other word for it. . .I could have eaten the entire loaf right then and there.
 
This one's a keeper. . .Seriously. . .
 
NOTE: ADD OIL INTO THE WET INGREDIENTS ALSO
 
We're diligently at work here on the farm but one day this week, I'm having time out for tea (iced tea, of course), slices of Grape Nuts Bread and maybe homemade peach jam on the side. . .Won't John be surprised? . .Tea Bread to stave off hunger til supper. . .Yum. . .
 
LIFE IS GOOD. . .
 
 



Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Ever Changing $35 Shabby Shed


We have several small buildings here at the farmstead. . . .each one with a purpose. . . .but my favorite is the one that John and I built together a couple of years ago for $35. . . .We literally built it with 'found' materials. . . .The base was an old farm trailer from the barn. . . .In fact, just about everything came from there. . . .

It began as a Shabby Shed, when I was in the Shabby Chic phase of life. . . .I'm pretty much over that now. . . .More of a Plain and Simple approach. . . .The plan all these years has been for this still shabby shed (with a small 's') to be an addition to the yard at the log house. . . .Since we hope to have a roof on the log house within the next month or so, I'm turning the shabby shed into a Prim (as in primitive) Work Shed for 'the pioneer man of the house'. . . .Back to the barn for supplies. . . .(grin). . . .It's still a work in progress. . . .one that I'll add to as I find possibilities. . . .I already like it much better. . . .It looks old enough to have been built long, long ago. . . .But that will be our secret. . . .OK?









 
 
If you'd like to see how we put our $35 shed together, there's a tutorial here:
 
 
 
LIFE IS GOOD. . . .
 


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

these are a few of our favorite things. . . .


'Raindrops on Roses, and Whiskers on Kittens. . . .'
(as the song goes)
Definitely favorite things. . . .but that's for another time. . . .another post. . . .
 
We hit the road this weekend for one day and no place in particular to go. . . .Found ourselves in Missouri. . . .junkin' for a few goodies. . . .We laughed all the way home about how the items that we buy, no one else wants. . . .(chuckle). . . .It might be better if we visited peoples trash piles. . . .since we need a constant supply of those things that most people cast aside. . . .(chuckle again). . . .Beat-up, rusty 'no-good' buckets, baskets, enamelware--anything that  most people throw away as junk, to us are diamonds in the rough. . . .They are perfect for use on the farm tours where we encourage hands-on experiences, especially for school groups. . . .Making-do was a way of life on our Delta farm. . . .Utilizing well-used finds fit right in with the story we are trying to tell. . . .which is why we find ourselves roaming the back roads and scouring the countryside at least once a week. . . .We've been known to do a little  'dumpster diving' too. . . .Always an adventure looking for:
 
Galvanized Buckets, Tubs, Containers of any kind and any shape. . . .Enamelware. . . .Wooden Crates and Boxes. . . .Crocks and Pottery. . . .Wire Baskets (metal freezer baskets are great). . . .Vintage Canning Jars and Tops. . . .Old Tools. . . .Gardening Items (yep, we sometimes ask visitors to chop weeds). . . .Worn and Well-loved Aprons in all sizes (to help with the chores). . . .Iron pots for the Open Fire. . . .Carts and Wheel Barrows. . . .Wooden ladders. . . .Farm chairs. . . .Benches. . .  .Vintage Denim. . . .These are a few of our favorite things. . . .So exciting when we find these treasures. . . .We look at each other and truthfully say. . . .
LIFE IS GOOD. . . .
 


Saturday, June 21, 2014

From the Porch. . .

 




















A couple of months ago, I made my way to the porch's far side. . . .trying to catch John as he went by on the tractor. . . .and surprise. . . .surprise. . . .I fell through the porch floor. . . .That was the day John decided a porch replacement was necessary this year. . . .We had put it off too long.

I confess. . . .It's mostly my fault. . . .(Quit smiling, John). . . .When the wrap-around porch was added to our home seven years ago. . . .(has it really been that long?). . . .nothing would satisfy me but one of those beautiful perfectly painted floors that I was seeing in all the top magazines and books. . . .We found stacks of tongue and  groove pine in the barn previously, so I insisted we use that for the porch floor. . . .reassuring everyone that "we'll just have to keep it painted". . . .Yeah. . . .Right. . . .Little did I know about the harsh weather conditions. . . .When you're house is stuck out in the middle of a cotton fields with no windbreaks or protection, things quickly deteriorate. . . .Poor John. . . .Every year he'd have to scrape and repaint after replacing and repairing that year's rotten wood. . . .I felt badly about it. . . .yet, neither of us could find the time to change it. . . .Last year I told John to not bother with his yearly ritual. . . .We'd replace the floor soon. . . .Me falling through was the last straw. . . .John said it was time. . . .No argument from me. . . .I had lost interest in painted porch floors. . . .Funny how that happens. . . .(grin)
 
 
Two sides down and one to go. . .Treated wood that will weather to a soft gray. . . .No paint. . . .Able to run around barefoot again. . . .so very much better. . . .The eight white rockers will soon come out of the barn. . . .I have a date with one of them when that happens. . . .A whole afternoon with nothing to do but look out over the farm. . . .count my blessings. . . .and rock my cares and troubles away.  . . .LIFE IS GOOD. . . .
 
 
 

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Voluntary Simplicity

 
Life has gotten too busy. . . .but Simplifying life is not easy. . . .Many think that since we live in a rural area-on a cotton farm where all there is to do is watch the cotton grow--Life is simple and sweet. . . .Well. . . .yes, it is. . . .and it isn't. . . .We can get caught up in the busy-ness of the world just like anyone else. . . .Most days we juggle to-do lists, phone calls, emails, our loom business and down-right time-consuming hard work around the farm. . . .often causing me to forget to step back and enjoy Life. . . .Time passes quickly by. . . .the Years come and go. . . .before a person knows it, he or she is caught up in the proverbial 'rat race' of Life instead of in the simple and sweet of it. 
 
And yet. . . .Simplicity is my goal. . . .unencumbered and meaningful. . . .
 
The Quakers call it "Voluntary Simplicity". . . .I like that. . . .
 
Tossing the credit cards (except for one), embracing our small but cozy farmhouse, ending shopping addiction, getting rid of excess stuff. . . .moving toward simpler lives that focus on what really counts. . . .That's where I'm going. . . .You'll see it reflected more and more in this blog. . . .Nothing fussy. . . .Nothing staged. . . .REAL LIFE. . . .fun, meaningful, filled with a deep appreciation for the simpler things. . . .and always with the reminder that
LIFE IS GOOD. . . .
 
Hope you'll enjoy our journey. . . .
 
"Tis a Gift to be Simple, Tis a Gift to be Free, Tis a Gift to come down where we ought to be. . . ."
 


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Found: Priceless Vintage Cola Bottle

What a find!. . . .Priceless?. . .Yes--to me . . .But now we have a mystery. . . .I love mysteries, don't you? . . .The avenues I go down to solve one sometimes frustrates others but never me. . . .I have my suspicions about this one's history but have yet to find confirmation. . . .Maybe you can help?


We found the Moody's Made Right Beverage bottle under our own C. A. Smith Grocery. . . .It must date back to the early 1930s to 1940s. . . .According to the net, beginning in 1933 a form of silk screening was introduced to put colored labels on bottles. The colored label was actually fused to the glass. This was cheaper and faster than using the molds needed for embossed bottles. . . .Their 'heyday' was during the 30s-40s and are very popular with collectors. . . .

I suspect this one came from the L. M. Moody Grocery in downtown Dell, Arkansas. . . .I'm thinking maybe a local cola bottling plant produced beverage bottles inscribed with any logo. . . .because. . . .we've found many similar ones around the farm. . . .Some with cotton bolls. . . .Some with family names. . . .Some with embossed glass and silk screening . . . .This is the first one I've found that I can 'almost definitely' tie to the local area. . . .and for sure to the Delta. . . .I've been so excited about it that I'm very anxious for an answer . . . .So, if you can solve our mystery of the Moody's Made Right Beverage bottle, please email. . .Or, if you can verify that a local bottling plant produced personalized beverages, we'd appreciate that information, too. . . .I remember the Coca Cola Bottling Company in Blytheville. . . .Could they have produced this one?

No matter what we find or how long it takes. . . .this little piece of Delta history will be proudly displayed in the C. A. Smith Grocery Museum. . . .Finds like this make all our work with preserving history worth it. . . .
Yes. . . .LIFE IS GOOD. . . .


Want to read more about painted soda bottles?