Our Life In The Pacific Northwest....

                            (This years ornament to commemorate the completion of our new barn)                                I love the Christmas season... The family traditions and rituals that we celebrated in Christmas's past live on in our celebrations of today. Now that our three oldest children/girls have homes and families of their own, some of our families traditions will evolve/grow and be carried on.                                          (Our 1st ornament bought 35 years ago)  In our home Christmas usually starts the weekend after Thanksgiving. The hubby brings in the ever growing boxes of decorations and sets up our tree in the stand. After that, the job of decorating falls to me and who...

One of those old time honored chores, a trip to the wood shed.:( This shed is one of the most important structures on our farm. We cut on average 7-8 cords of wood every Fall for our winter heat. A HUGE money saver for us. Plus the trees we cut in the woods are dead or blown down trees which cuts down on dry brush. From here we store about a 1/2 cord in the garage for convenience which the "Hubby" usually keeps stocked. Unfortunately we went through quite a bit during the last cold snap so... I'm going to load a wheel barrow full for now, and when he gets home he can restock the garage.;) Life here is always about planning and prepping ahead... Have to give credit to the two guys... Cutting the wood is the first step, unloading and splitting goes a lot faster when you have a log splitter and a assistant.

   This is our eleventh winter on the farm.... Much of life here on our farm revolve around projects and scheduled routines. A life that the "Hubby" and I thrive on. When we bought our 20 acres it was a blank slate, just pasture land. We had so many ideas, always keeping in mind to plan wisely as we grow older and someday retire. We drew our dream layout of what our farm would look like in five years. Each year looking back at our design and checking off the projects we completed. The five year plan contained the house, decks and garage, done. The woodshed, done, 20 acres fenced and some cross fencing, done. The small lower barn and tack room, done, lower fruit orchard done, large fenced vegetable garden, done, landscaping surrounding the house, done and chicken house and runs, done. All projects were built and completed by the hubby and I with our son Nick to save money, other then the building of our home and garage.   The one item that wasn't completed in our five...

A little of this, a little of that, and add some red pepper, scallions, sprouts and seasoning, you get one tasty Lo Mein for supper last night. It's as good as Take Out..... Cooking is one activity that I and the Hubby enjoy doing together. He is a awesome cook and loves trying new things. This recipe is one we fix quite regularly. It's even better if you open a nice bottle of wine to enjoy while prepping the recipe. ;) The chicken looks fantastic in the wok after marinating in the  Hoisin sauce 30 minutes. This delicious meal is simple to make and a nice change up from the usual meal planner.... We will add what ever we have in the fridge. This had red bell pepper, scallions,sprouts, shrimp and chicken breast. Enjoy.... Please feel free to share and comment. 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1 red pepper, finely sliced 8 oz bean sprouts 2 tablespoon oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger 4 scallions, choppe...

                                                                                                              Nothing tastes better or looks more delicious then big juicy tomatoes. That is unless they look like this. This post offers a few tips on helping prevent splitting tomatoes in your garden. Why do Tomato Plants Split? Spitting is usually caused by the tomato plant absorbing water too quickly.  The inside expands from the water absorption but skin can’t stretch to accommodate the extra fluid.  So, the skin splits and heals up. This can be caused by several scenarios... You forget to water regularly and the soil gets to dry. When you do water, the plant absorbs the water quickly and th...

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for new, easy and affordable meals for my family. This recipes fall into all three categories. This recipe is great for using up veggies in the fridge. If you aren't a clam fan, forget the clams and add leftover chicken, or more veggies. It's up to you.... Here's what I did.... Ingredients... 1 30oz. bag of frozen diced hash browns 1 32 oz box of chicken broth 1 can of cream of chicken soup (10 oz) 1 10oz can Clams and liquid. 1 6.5oz can Clams and liquid Carrots to your taste Broccoli to your taste Green Onions to your taste 1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz, not fat free) 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese to your liking) salt and pepper to taste Directions: Empty hash browns in crock-pot. Add chicken broth, cream of chicken soup. Add salt and pepper to taste.... Cook on high for 4 hours. Add clams with juice, carrots, broccoli (or whatever veggies you like) to crock-pot. Continue to coo...

January 2016 blew in with a vengeance here on the Farm... But that never stop Half Pint from accompanying me on morning chores... The walk from the house to the chicken coop every morning was an adventure... With average snow depth of four feet, you went out prepared for anything... The Ducks didn't seem to mind the snow at all... They love to snuggle in... I think their only complaint could be is that their run and house was buried in 4-5 feet snow most of the month... Many a morning was spent digging them out... Watering the animals is always fun when the weather gets so cold that the "Frost Free" faucets freeze,,, Carting five gallon buckets from the house became the norm... Lots of beautiful sunrises were to be had in January... The sun seemed to dance off the blanket of snow... Tempers did flare when barn doors became frozen shut, (I won't be naming names) Or when somebody dare challenge the hierarchy in the barn.... B...

, Chores complete.... Wood brought in and I am back inside enjoying the warm fire and a cup of coffee while catching up on emails.... I've been emailing back and forth with a old friend who I grew up with. Catching up on her family and our lives on the farm since our "big move" (as its become to be known as), to Oregon from California back in 2005.... She and her husband have been talking about making a life change, but haven't taken the final step.   I remember her joking with me in 2004 about us moving out to the boonies and becoming hermits... Now, they are looking at their hurried and stressful lives and are asking the same question that we asked ourselves in 2004, "Do we want to spend the rest of our lives living this kind of life".  She confided how much they admire us... How they have been considering moving to the country and buying a place.     She summed up her email with,  "You seem so happy and content".  "Do you have any ...

Our sign today... One of my New Year’s resolutions is to continue to eat right and exercise…. This morning I decided to walk down our driveway to the main road for the morning paper. As I bundled up in my jackets, (plural) boots, gloves and hat I thought, "what a great way to start off the new year right". Plus I can get my some “Fit Bit” steps in… You gotta love “Fit Bit”. Always on your arm to guilt you into living up to ones exercise regimen. Plus I can take some pics of all this lovely snow… (If you were in my head you could hear the sarcasm.) Here is a pic taken this past summer of our sign to legitimize my whining about the snow…. I did have two of my faithful companions along for the walk… If you are wondering what’s up with Penny face, she chased a rabbit into a hole and it was a one sided battle. Rabbit one, Penny zero…. I did pick up the pace on the way back up the driveway…. A good cold -3 degree north wind will put some pep in...

Isn't it funny how food can bring back such wonderful memories... My great grandmother was a wonderful cook. As a child the trip to the barn where the dark scary root cellar was,  is as clear in my memory today as if it happened yesterday. When you'd turned on the light, all the canned peaches, apricots, bread and butter pickles, tomatoes and anything else she canned  from her garden stood neatly on the dusty shelves. Lots of wonderful family dinners and memories were made at their table... Eating home grown and preserved foods made with love for her family... Growing and canning food here on our farm gives me the same wonderful feeling I felt all those years ago...       I love this simple recipe...  Following this recipe I get firm canned peaches....  Nothing more rewarding then filling and sealing the last jar.... DIRECTIONS Wash jars and bands in hot, soapy water. Cover lids w...