Queen's Edge Farm

Monday, October 26, 2009

The kittens are on the prowl, again, and getting very rambunctious.

Co-op was canceled for the day, so we took advantage of the free day and went to the laundromat. I was able to get the majority of the laundry done. I plan to go back in the morning and wash a few blankets. I think I will cover the washer and dryer with a tarp for the winter. It takes entirely too long to wash and dry clothes in this cooler weather. We'll just go to the laundromat for a while.

We met the tenant at the house and gave her a copy of the lease and gave her the keys to the house. There are a few repairs to be completed and cleaning to be done. We'll get started on that tomorrow afternoon. We did stay at the house and the girls finished their schoolwork. Had dinner in town, and then came home to put the laundry away. The girls bundled up (very cold out here, compared to in town) and played in the mud while I cleaned. James sat on the rug in front of the wood stove, while I threw stuff away, brought in wood, put most of the laundry away, and started cleaning the bedroom. The kitchen needs to be done, and a few storage boxes put in the barn, then I'll be done.

Applied for a job at USAA that my friend Lorie told me about.

It is supposed to be 46 tonight, so we'll see how the heaters hold out here in the bedroom. I keep forgetting to get another heater for the bathroom. They are $9 at Lowe's, and it works very well. I may get two after I get paid this week. Checking into a space at the local flea market, it is an inside booth with a door. That way I can have a place for selling stuff, if it isn't too expensive to rent.

Off to take care of the baby.

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I forgot to say it started raining early this morning, and continued to rain until this evening. It was also quite chilly too. Very cold! Started a fire in the wood stove, and it is keeping the front room quite comfortable. The heaters in the bedroom (yes I have two) one by the door, and one that blows across the bed under the lot. This keeps the bed area nice and warm. Since it is supposed to so cold tonight, I may hang a blanket across the bed opening to keep the warm air inside. Good thing I finished the laundry so everyone has their warm pjs and thick socks to wear. I wish I would have washed the blankets earlier, they would have really helped. But I hadn't checked the weather until tonight.

Things to do:

go to post office, mail package
call and get estimate or exterminator
rent carpet cleaner
clean blue house
clean cabin
sort through laundry and get rid of old/too small, etc.

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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.