More Brrrr⛄️

New buzz word of the week is Polar Vortex! The circular air surrounding the North Pole
Gets distorted and dips down to capture the Midwest! So Brrrr...
I find I'm still cozy by that warm wood stove. Thanks to much wood stored up last spring!
Thanks to the work of my husband.☺️
So to all the schools closed around Iowa hope all have kept out of the Polar Vortex

I'm thinking, to warm the house even more, lets do some baking!
My son, Stephen while home this past holiday baked us this simple good crockpot bread.
http://www.simplysogood.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.htmCrusty Bread

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon Instant or Rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours. Overnight works great. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.



It was very easy and quite yummy!
So bake some easy bread and stay warm.

Winter Cold

January is coming in with a cold blast that Iowa has not seen for a bit!
Temps have been dropping all day. Brrr ....⛄️❄️❄️❄️
I find myself today with much gratitude for my lovely warm wood stove.



- So I will be enjoying sitting in my cozy chair by this warmest part of my cabin.
I plan to keep my hands busy though, finishing up some projects. These didn't quite find the way under the tree as gifts.
In fact, I'm liking the quietness of working on them without the close deadline.



So hope my friends and family have a quiet warm place to enjoy the weekend.
My friend, Brenda over at simple pleasures is probably enjoying a warm cup of hot chocolate. See her post...
http://www.simplepleasures-bb.blogspot.com/2014/01/recipe-for-one-perfect-cup-of-hot.html

New Year Time

- 2014
Years come and go with speed. Does anyone else feel that way.
My last post was the end of October. Oh my!
Now the busy two months of Christmas stitching and family gatherings have quickly passed.
This morning on TV, they suggested instead of goals for the new year....
Find just one word to focus on this year!
In the conversations, it was said, think on things that are important to you and the word will come...
For me I think Gratitude. Yes, I will feel Gratitude this year 2014.
This will be My word for the year.
If you could choose one word for 2014, what would it be?
Can you feel it?






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October is Over

Oh my,last day of October!
Halloween never has been one of my favorite holidays. But, how I do enjoy the colors of fall.
Even though it was a rainy cloudy day yesterday and today....
the colors of the trees in southern Iowa seem to be in their peak.




It was a month of my family birthdays, moving a daughters family to a new home, learning to make corn husk dolls, (For" Harris and Me "Day at the round barn with the Jr. High students), finishing some little projects for another daughter's (Eyes Open Iowa) conference auction.
That was quite another doll learning process. They were called "Dammit Dolls".
I did some experimenting on a few before I got them figured out. When i ended up googling them, I found a whole gambit of versions.
This is what I eventually came up with....



The dolls have a poem...
Whenever things don't go so well, And you want to hit the wall and yell. Here's a little Dammit doll. Just grasp the legs firmly and find a place to slam it. And as you give it whacks, yell dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
When I sent to my daughters office her coworkers added the little crowns... Nice touch girls. ;).

Indeed it was a busy month and now my mind is filled with thoughts for November.
Which I planned to kick off with having book club here to discuss my November choice.
"The Chair" by James Rupert.
So on to thinking about fall food and home decor.
Oh yes, sadly the vultures left this week. So the colors of winter will be coming soon.
Take care and have a safe holiday today.


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Fall Enjoyments

Fall evenings enjoyment are the watching World Series ( St. Louis Cardinals) with a hot cup of gingerbread tea. My Dad always loved the St. Louis Cardinals. So I find myself rooting for them against the Red Sox's team.
He would of also got a kick out of watching the 22 year old rookie pitcher Michael Wacha. He was born in our state of Iowa, but grew up in Texas. Quite a pitcher Dad!


Ingredients:
Cinnamon, roasted chicory, ginger, natural flavors, (soy lecithin) roasted carob and luo han guo.

My evening also a included a warm bowl of homemade chili with bonus of using final pickings from the garden.
This afternoon, I finished picking items from the garden before losing to the coming freeze tonight.
So I decided to make a soup using up that harvest.


What I created was....

Sauté 1 chopped onion with 2 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil and cumin.
Removed and set aside
Cooked in same skillet 1/4 lb. of ground beef (a little added Worcestershire, salt, pepper) then to that added remainder of those last picked tomatoes. Chopped all together while cooking. ( love using that ground beef pounder from pampered chef)
I Also Added from my garden some of my chopped carrots , shelled green beans, parsley.
Then 1 carton of chicken broth
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
1 can corn
1/4 cup of quinoa
Now I added back the onions and garlic
Simmered for 90 minutes
Baked some cheese biscuits.
Let me say it was indeed yummy!
Husband agreed and we both went for that second bowl.

So now watching those St. Louis Cardinals hit the runs ( know you are up there happily watching Dad) but i know Dad would of been enjoying a cup of coffee not gingerbread tea.
But for me it completes a warm finish to a great fall evening.

Fall Blessings

Fall has arrived rapidly bringing beautiful colors. It also brings many of my family birthdays along with many activities of harvest time.


A visit to the Harvest Barn, last Sunday was indeed sunny and full of fun. Everyone enjoyed many kid friendly activities and fall displays at every turn. Smiles were a constant on little 2 year old Hudson and our 4 year old Laura faces. Madalyn was very focus on finding just the right pumpkin for artful carving.
Joella and friend Kole took time away from college to enjoy this fun also. It allowed time to catch-up with them and learn about their college life.


Hudson insisted on pulling those pumpkins all the way to the car. Such a strong 2 year old.
It was indeed a day of enjoying granddaughters and daughters too. They moved among the many displays, sipping on hot chocolate and munching on caramel apples. It was a memory I cherished.
Oh how,Life is good!

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Plaids and Clansmen.

Scotsmen along with butterfly's have been filling my thoughts this week.
Having just finishing reading the voyage back to clansmen in the "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon... It kept me in thoughts of plaids and Clansmen.
Today, Susan of Plays with Needles blog had posted these Scottish pictures from the 2012 Chanel fashion show at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. Plaids appear to be alive and going strong.
But drum roll for me was.... I went Centerville to do some more family research this week on the Cochran family who also came to Iowa in 1830s. Actually the first one came to America in the early 18th century. That ancestor was born Angus Dunkee, Scotland.
The Drake library had much on this early pioneer settler whom who was born Bourbon county, Kentucky (1815). Along with his wife and children traveled across Indiana and settled in Appanoose County Iowa.

In fact, their roots come from Scotland along with Ireland. They were known to come from the Clan Bucaleugh with allegiance to Clan Campbell. They shared the plaid with them. Large square of dark green and black, enclosing a smaller square of narrow white and yellow stripes.






This looks close, but not exact it seems. Oh yeah, maybe not so red.
I have learned that your plaid colors representing your Clan was always very distinctive and very important.
Note, from my niece Jessica's husband, Gary ( born and raised in Scotland) is that tradition is not so much in ,during present day. Mostly used on soccer teams etc.

So on this day, to Centerville i did find the grave for J.W. Cochran. The Cochran clan who brought the family to Iowa. He died here in Sept. 3,1855 of cholera at home in Centerville, Appanoose County. Was there a outbreak in area? Was there more w
Who lost their lives? Guess I need to look more into that part of the history too.
J. W. Cochran is the only family member at Oakland Cemetery. Ironically, close to my husband's early settlers graves.
J. W. Cochran's wife, Elizabeth and son James H. Cochran is buried at Salem Cemetery much further south but still in Appanoose county at Exline. I had found those graves many years ago.
James H. and his Brother Harvey fought in the Civil War. It was much easier to find their graves.
My husbands ancestors also fought together in Iowa regiments. I imagine they knew each others families. Wish I knew more of their stories...
Funny how our families have shared the same paths.
On this first day of August, I will put this on hold for a bit and go back to reading about the monarchs butterfly's and maybe a bit more stitching.