Queen's Edge Farm: In Memory of...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

In Memory of...

My daddy....he passed away late Sunday evening at the age of 59. This was very unexpected. He left my home at 8 pm, and stopped to help a family who was involved in an accident. While helping them another vehicle had a blowout, struck the guardrail, which then broke off and killed my poor little daddy.

I am so glad that he showed up unexpectedly Sunday evening. We went to dinner for his birthday which had been on Thursday. We talked that evening about finishing his will, and what he wanted....which kind of was creeping me out. He told me he wanted to be cremated, which further made me cringe, as I have a hard time with cremation.

My sisters, Ann and April came over today and we spent the time talking, making plans and contacting the necessary people. My brother flew in from the army base in Louisiana. My mom and youngest sister will fly in Tuesday night, while my dad's sisters and mom will come in from Maryland and West Virginia.

Trying to decide what to do with the contents of the house....a very daunting task.

I have an appointment with the funeral director here in town in the morning to sign the release papers for them to handle the arrangements, etc. Then off to pick up my dad's car from the police station, and to start cleaning his house, as our out of town guests will be staying there....

My poor little daddy......

8 comments:

Peggy said...: My prayers are with you and your family Amy.; August 21, 2007 at 7:41 AM
Bob Westbrook said...: God how my heart goes out to you. I am thankful you had that last visit with him. I wish I knew the words to say that would help. I don't. Love you and will pray.; August 21, 2007 at 9:24 AM
meggie said...: Here from Peggy's.
My heart goes out to you Amy. I am so glad you got to see him, & spend that time with him.
Losing a parent always hurts far more than you ever thought possible.
Hugs from Australia. ((((0)))); August 21, 2007 at 4:47 PM
Terri Steffes said...: I am so sorry for your loss. My prayers are for all of you.; August 21, 2007 at 5:58 PM
Alice said...: Dear Amy - what a tragic thing to happen, and to a man with plenty of years and life left. I'm glad you had that last evening together, and I hope that once the shock and grief ease a little you will be able to remember your Dad through your happy memories.; August 21, 2007 at 6:27 PM
tlawwife said...: I'm here from Peggy's to let you know you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.; August 21, 2007 at 6:56 PM
Patty said...: I dropped in from Peggys and wanted to let you know how sorry I am to hear of your loss. My daddy passed away from a short illness 2 and a half years ago and I miss him so much. I know how hard this must be for you. I just wanted you to know someone cares.; August 22, 2007 at 9:54 PM
peppylady (Dora) said...: I was at Peggy and heard about your lost of your dad.; August 23, 2007 at 10:04 AM

Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.