Vintage Home and Farm

While working on remodeling our downstairs bathroom, we removed a giant mirror that had covered the entire upper half of the wall over the sink and countertop. After setting the mirror down in another room of the house, we went back into the bathroom and discovered several old messages taped to the wall where the mirror had been. The tape around the messages had yellowed with age. Cobwebs and dust drooped over the surface of the wall. What are the messages about, we wondered, and why are they here? The first one appears to be of a political nature. It says, "Vote for Tricky Dicky [Tricky Dicky is crossed out], Crafty Richard, and Zorba the Veep!" Who is Zorba the Veep? We had to look them up. Apparently, this was the nickname given by Democrats to Spiro T. Agnew, who was the 39th Vice President of the United States. The second sign says, "Attencion por favor, Odoriferous material is deposited within these catacombous hollows." I guess we can all figure out what that...

Last Christmas, my sister gave us three of these ceramic "The Original Apple Baker" dishes, one for each of us. I've been using the Basic Apple Recipe that's on the company's website. This is my favorite treat right now! The apples are so good baked this way. We bought two boxes of apples from Sunny Farms for pressing cider. I then hid about a dozen of the apples for making baked apples. The baked apples are really good with a scoop of ice cream. The ice cream begins to melt right away because the dish is still warm from the oven. In the middle of each Apple Baker dish is a post that you slide through the cored apple. The ceramic post's presence in the middle of the apple helps the apple bake evenly and keeps it warm as you enjoy eating your baked treat. Anyway, these dishes are so wonderful that I just had to share a note here about them. 

There is a wood stove in our family room (The Corral) that has just enough space on top for a small cast iron pan. I've been thinking about trying to cook on the wood stove for five years now, ever since we installed the wood stove, and finally, this year we bought a small cast iron pan just for this purpose. Isn't it adorable? I didn't realize they made such tiny cast iron pans. We also bought the two hot pads that go around the handle of the pan.  There isn't much space on top of our wood stove for cooking. The vent pipe comes out the middle of the stove. Also, the wood stove is partially recessed into the fireplace, which doesn't give much room above the stove for a tall pan. This short pan is about the size of a slice of bread. In fact, it's intended for making paninis. But, we can also cook eggs and other things in it. There's room on the other side of the vent pipe for another small cast iron pan. I think I will have to go back to Swain's and buy t...

We made apple scrap pepper jelly the other day. I was going to post a recipe here, but this was one of those science experiments where I kept adjusting it as it cooked. Have you ever made jelly that way? I wasn't sure it would turn out, but amazingly, it came out perfectly. Just the right thickness, sweetness, and heat. Sadly, I have no idea as to the exact ratios of ingredients used, so I'll probably never replicate it again.  We used the apples we harvested from our winter apple tree, along with serrano and Asian five-spice hot peppers we grew in the garden. The "apple scrap" part of this jelly is made by boiling the apple peels and cores for a few hours until you have apple juice. This is then the juice that is used in the jelly recipe. Except, I didn't realize how important the cores are for adding pectin to the recipe, and I gave the cores and yucky bits of apple to the deer. So, I only had apple peels. This meant I needed to use pectin in the recipe. I sort ...

Today was the day we have been dreading, the day the kittens and Momma Cat return to the Humane Society so they can find their forever homes. While we were sad to say goodbye, when asked if we would foster kittens and adult cats again, we all said "YES!" It was a wonderful experience, and we are especially glad we could help the wee ones get a good start. Also, Momma Cat went from a scared barn cat to a loving family pet thanks to all the attention she got while here. She started sitting on our laps and purring in the evenings.  We hope the cats will find homes quickly. They will be at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society (Kitty City) for about a week while they all get spayed and neutered. Then, they will likely go to Petsense, a pet store located in Port Angeles that works with the Humane Society. We asked the director at the Humane Society if she was concerned the kitties wouldn't find a home, and she said that kittens and young cats like Momma Cat tend to find homes e...

Nine months ago, we offered to become foster parents for the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society. There weren't any foster opportunities then, but we stayed on their list in case they needed help. Then, in mid-July, we got the call. They had a momma cat and three kittens for us to foster. The momma was found in a barn when she was pregnant, and now that she had given birth, the kitties needed a foster family to take care of them. They would be with us for 8-10 weeks, and then the Humane Society takes it from there. It has been a great experience, of course, except I forgot how crazy kittens get when they are big enough to crawl out of their pen. They were only in their pen for about two weeks. Since then, it's been total wild chaos in The Corral, which is the room of the house that they are in. Luckily we have a big enough house that it's not too overwhelming. The kittens love to race like bandits around the room, climbing up the furniture, clawing, and chewing on everything. ...

Time is just flying by, and I realized I had not posted anything here in quite a while. So, I updated our bee journal and garden journal with all the latest. I thought I'd share what else we've been up to here in the blog as well. We volunteered at the Lavender Festival in our local beekeeper's association tent a few days ago. It was so lovely there at the George Washington Inn's lavender farm. My daughter and I both wore long dresses and straw hats. The day before the lavender festival, we went clam digging. It was our first time digging for clams up here in this area. We've dug razor clams many times on the Washington coast. These were a bit different. We each managed to get our limit, about 10 pounds each, of butter clams and horse clams. I made Manhattan Clam Chowder last night and froze the rest for enjoying later, either as clam fritters or New England Clam Chowder. Our clam digging location was Fort Flagler , which isn't too far from Port Towsend, Washi...