Carla Burke

r ranson wrote:Oh, pretty!

Mini accordion folding sketchbook

I made one! It's going to be my Secret Santa gift for one of my dear friends, in my local fiber arts group (made up of folks with a very eclectic range of talents!). She also makes beautiful soaps, lotions, etc, and loves to paint & trade watercolor trading cards (2"×3"), so I know tiny will be perfect for her. She loves sunflowers & bees, and her favorite color is purple. So, those are the details on the cover, but I also made a matching tiny watercolor tin/ palette for her. The trading cards are 100% cotton, and so is the watercolor paper interior of the book. (my paints are about 15yrs old, my brushes are cheapo-crappy ones, and it's been about 29yrs since I've painted anything, and never anything so tiny, so please forgive the crudeness of my art)

Flies = 'sky raisins'
Moths & butterflies = 'fluffy sky raisins'
Bees = 'spicy sky raisins'
Wasps, hornets, etc = '🌶🌶🌶spicy sky raisins'
Worms,  grubs, etc = 'juicy mud noodles'
Soft, fluffy caterpillars = 'fluffy juicy noodles'
Bristly caterpillars = 'spicy noodles'
Soft "OCP" (Other critters' poop) = 'funky mud pies'
Pellet type (Goat, sheep, bunny, guinea pig) "OCP" = 'after dinner mints'

I make a tarragon vinegar, with white vinegar or white wine vinegar and tarragon - that's it. But, it makes for an amazing homemade cole slaw dressing, combined with homemade mayo, a few drops of stevia, a pinch of Himalayan salt, and a bunch of black pepper...

Just a spoonful of cole slaw makes the 'medicine' go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go down...

(Also great with fish, chicken or pork, on veggies...)

Spaniels & a wolfhound - we have plenty of land for them to roam, but it's not fenced in, and we have too many predators, and are only 1/2 mile by road & 1/4 mile as the crow flies, from a 55mph road. Needless to say, our girls are never off-lead. We don't do long walks, but we do frequent ones.

Nice work, everyone!! I'm so proud of this team - there's no other site like this one!!

We had one, but a different brand. Like everyone else says - so slow. I'm not sure if ours was just a cheap one, but after a year and a quarter, the hydrolics went out (not just a leak - apparently a log jammed, and somehow hit it), and it's toast. They definitely set a limit on the size log, too (both length and diameter). Since then, we've also blown out an electric one. It just won't do anything - so we're on a 2nd electric one, because our physical issues demand it. At this point, we are starting our own splitter cemetery...

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Judson Carroll wrote:

Carla Burke wrote:Amazing herb for sore throats, particularly when I need to be able to sing! I ferment & infuse it in honey, and either take a spoonful or stir it into tea. Especially great for scratch throat, but works well for the tight, painful but not scratchy type, too.

That is a great use - I'll have to try that!

I've also used it as a tea, and a gargle - it works beautifully, but the flavor is pretty intense. Not pleasant, at an immediate, acute treatment strength, lol.

Amazing herb for sore throats, particularly when I need to be able to sing! I ferment & infuse it in honey, and either take a spoonful or stir it into tea. Especially great for scratch throat, but works well for the tight, painful but not scratchy type, too.

Also, remember if it fits in the freezer now, the leftovers will fit, when it's their turn, too. When we get a turkey (for just the two of us), John thaws it, breaks it down into more reasonable sized chunks for 2 - 4 people. Some (particularly the meat that's stuck to the bones) becomes soup. Some gets set aside for a specific meal or two, some gets poached in the broth of the soup, to cook and be chopped or sliced up, to make other things, at some future date. But, for Thanksgiving, we do extra, just so we can have a variety of planned leftovers, like a dressing & turkey based leftover casserole, the leftover sandwiches (of course), and all the yum Thomas mentioned, as well as just grabbing a nibble from the fridge, when we want it.

So, for example, this year, our bird is a heritage bird - a lovely gift from a friend who unexpectedly had to clear freezer space to make room for the bull that turned on her husband. The drumsticks (John's favorite part to do renaissance style) are a little smaller, so he left the (also smallish) thighs (my favorite part) attached, and plans to smoke them. The carcass & wings got broken down to fit into a smaller package, to make soup when we have more time. The breasts were packaged individually, and put back into our freezer. So the leg/ thigh quarters, will be our Thanksgiving dinner, and still afford us a couple days of leftovers, the breasts will each make 2 meals for us, later on, and the soup will feed us for at least 3 meals. For something like 9 - 12 meals, total. Oh! And, the skins on the leg quarters will be eaten with the meat, and the rest will be either baked & turned into 'chips', or rendered, for a turkey version of schmaltz.