Birthday Girl

Karina, your birthday is almost here! Nine more days! Poppop and I are leaving tomorrow to come to your birthday party. Can't wait to see you!
Here is a picture from your second birthday.

Grandma has jumped on the "No Knead Bread" Bandwagon!

After years of carefully prepping and kneading tons of bread dough finally someone came up with a way to make bread without kneading it, and I'll have to tell ya its GREAT! (Bold print in the recipe are MY notes and are not part of the original recipe.)

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two. (Grandma's note: if you use whole wheat or any whole grain flour you need to add extra gluten to the recipe to make it rise and taste good. You can order this online or some groceries have it. )
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, (overnight) at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
(Grandma's note: you can put this dough in the fridge and let it get cold before shaping into a loaf. It makes it way more easy to handle.) You can also speed up the process and add 1/2 t. yeast let rise till doubled, 1 to 3 hours, put in fridge till cold then shape and let rise. Then bake.
3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. You can be really sure that the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of the loaf reads 210-220°F. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
(Another Grandma note: You can bake this bread with a pan of lava rock in the bottom of the oven. Shape your dough and put it on a piece of parchment paper. Heat an unglazed tile or pizza stone in the oven 450 degrees. Slide the dough still on the parchment onto the stone and quickly and carefully pour 1 cup of very hot water on the lava rock and close the oven door quickly. PLEASE BE CAREFUL you can get steam burns if you don't do this quick. bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with an instant read thermometer. This recipe can be doubled/ tripled and you can take out of the fridge what you want for a loaf and leave the rest in the fridge for up to two weeks.)

Naomi Ruth Osborne....

Pictures of your Nana from 1956. She flew planes!

Jesus Made Everything....

Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," Scripture shows that the second person of the Godhood, Jesus, did the actual work of creation. Colossians 1:15-16 says of Jesus, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." John the Apostle says of Jesus, "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3). The writer to the Hebrews attributes God the Father as saying to His Son, "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands" (Heb. 1:10). Jesus accomplished the work of creation. He is preeminent in all of creation, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as the Creator.

Laundry Sprinkler

I remember these. I would help Mom or Grandma sprinkle the clothes. Mom took in ironing to make a little extra money.
I grew up ironing and still love to iron.

Below is a story someone emailed me and I thought I'd share it with you.
MEMORIES from a friend :
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it.. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea.. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons.

Fried Green Tomatoes

This is one of the cards from the family cook book, and all of my Grandchildren will get a copy of all the recipes. I thought I would share it with others.

You are....

My Grandmother said, "You are the company you keep."

Proverbs 24:1 Be not envious of evil men,
nor desire to be with them,
2 for their hearts devise violence,
and their lips talk of trouble.

Listen to this...Brick by Brick.

Romans 12:9-21

A great fortress finds its strength not only in its overall design, but also in the multitude of small components that make it up. It’s the individual brick, perfectly aligned and firmly in place, that adds strength and durability. In Brick by Brick, John MacArthur addresses a rapid-fire list of Christian building blocks that will add strength, durability, and character to everyday living. Packed with positive, biblical actions you can put into practice on the job, in the home, and in the church, this study can help build your walk with God to new heights.

Finger Knitting

Learn to do it at Craftzine. It's relaxing and will teach you the principles of knitting without the needles.

Good Words are Kind Words...

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such [a word] as is good for edification according to the need [of the moment,] so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29

Grandma Callie 1916 Thaker, WV

Grandma Callie (My Grandmother, She would be your Great, Great, Great, Grandmother) is the one all the way to the right of the picture. Along with her siblings and parents. She was 10 years old at the time. She was born Feb 4th 1906.

Zucchini and Green Tomato Relish

I used my food processor with the blade attachment and pulsed the vegetables to small pieces. You can also use a knife to do this, just takes more time.

Ingredients:

* 4 1/2 cups ground zucchini, about 2 1/2 pounds
* 2 cups ground green tomatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds
* 1 large red bell peppers, ground
* 1 large onion, peeled, ground
* 1/3 cup pickling salt or kosher salt
* 3 cups cider vinegar
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoon mixed pickling spices
* 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Preparation:
Put ground vegetables in a large stainless, enamel or glass container with salt; gently stir to combine. Top with about 3 cups of ice cubes, cover, and let stand for 3 hours. Drain and lightly rinse.

In a large, stainless, enamel or glass kettle combine the vinegar, sugar, spices, and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add drained vegetable mixture and bring slowly to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Pack into clean jars. Wipe rims with a clean damp cloth and seal with 2-part lids. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Makes about 5 half pints.

Girls, canning is no big mystery. Get a "Ball Blue Book" and follow the directions. It is very satisfying to fill your pantry with home canned food from your own garden, and hunting.

Things to do with your Grandchildren

This is a great rainy day activity with your Grandchildren. Get a very large piece of paper and draw a stove top on it. Give them a pot, a spoon, and bowls and use it To teach them about safety around a stove and cooking terms.

Button Buzz Toy

This is a toy my Grandmother made me. I haven't made it yet for Karina. She's just turning 3. Maybe a couple more years...
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It is constructed by centering an object at the midpoint of a cord or thong (a large button works well) and winding the cord while holding the ends stationary. The object is whirled by alternately pulling and releasing the tension on the cord. The whirling object makes a buzzing or humming sound.

Poke Salad Recipe

Poke Salad

a mess of poke
2 pieces of bacon fried crisp and crumbled.
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add poke. Let boil for 10 minutes. Drain. Rinse leaves in a colander and rinse out the cooking pot. Add more water to the pot and bring to second boil. Add poke and boil for another 10 minutes. Drain. Rinse leaves again and squeeze out the excess water like you would with spinach. Cook bacon in a large skillet till crisp, remove and crumble. Add onion to bacon fat in skillet and cook till soft. Add poke to skillet with the bacon, onion and the fat. Cook down a bit and season with salt and pepper.

This is what it looks like when it's not fit to pick...Please make sure you know what you are picking. Poke is poison when it gets over a foot or so high.

Grandma picked poke and other greens like lamb's quarter, cressy greens, and water cress.

Old Pictures

Me, My Grandmother, and my Son 1983 Damascus, Virginia

A Godly Grandmother....

"When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also"- 2 Timothy 1:5

A Grandmother's Journey

When my Granddaughter was born, my prayer was that the Lord would lead me to be to her as my Grandmother was to me. She taught me to be wise, creative and faithful to God.
I had the privilege to have her near me for a year. The blessings that God gave me are innumerable. Now that they are 12 hours away I am struggling with the task of being a long distance Grandmother. I was never near my Grandmother for very long, and she still managed to teach me to cook, clean, sew, crochet, run to the Lord and have a gentle and quite spirit. I pray to be able to teach her all those things and more.