Sewing Progress In July

 

This month I have been working on the stuffed baby whale toys that I was working on last month. 

I did the zigzagging around the edges to finish the seams.

I turned all the whales right side out and stuffed them with poly fill.

I hand stitched the openings shut through which I had turned the whales right side out and stuffed them.

Now for the eyes. I have a lot of eyes to sew on!

I didn't finish all the eyes yet.

I made one baby whale from start to finish and took pictures of every step to create a sewing tutorial. You will see that in a couple weeks.

I sewed a button on to one of my dresses. The new button isn't the same shade as the other buttons on the dress. "This is not about perfection. It is about function!"

Spy the new button?

Speaking of function: I always sew my buttons on with a shank. Buttons function better when sewn on in this manner, in my experience. I have a tutorial on how to sew a button on with a shank if you want to learn more about that, HERE is the link.

That sums up the sewing that I have done this July. I hope your hobby projects have been going well this month!

Amusements By Henry Beer (Poem)

 

Amusements

Amusement is a theme quite strange,
What could one's motive be

To see in verse this modern word,

Which charms society.

Amusement is a fleeting joy,

Attracts the modern mind;

Such transient joys allure the soul,

But leave it cold and blind.

Amusement - vain and fleeting art!

If we are not aware,

Will crowd the noble virtues out,

And leave us groping there.

Amusement, made and framed by man,

Is Satan's cunning snare;

For some will say, I see no harm,

Such simple joys to share.

My soul, take heed, be on thy guard!

How can our Saviour go

With us if we would crave such joys,

And still His grace bestow?

If mere amusement, transient joys,

Take up our leisure time,

Then much is lost - How can we gain

The things which are divine?

The time we spend is not our own;

Then squander not His days!

And may our time, and what we do,

Redound unto His Praise.

By Henry Beer

Page 109 in

My Garden of Verse 

Corn Dog Recipe!

This recipe is from some friends of mine who I came to know as a teenager. My family threw an annual county fair themed party when I was young. My family and many of our friends were heavily involved in the local 4-H county fair. After the fair had concluded my parents held a party for our friends that we called The Survival Of The Fair Party. The food that we made for the party was all the fair foods that we were too cheap to buy during the actual fair. I don't blame my parents for not buying us children fair food. There were 8 of us at the time and it would have cost them an arm and a leg to feed us all at fair prices. I can only remember eating an elephant ear from the fair one time and we had to split it up between us all.

That doesn't mean we were deprived, though. Mom could make us dozens of elephant ears at home for the price of one fair-priced-elephant-ear, and she did!

During the Survival Of The Fair Party we feasted on corn dogs, pork tenderloin sandwiches, Philly steak and sausage sandwiches, perogies, lemon shake ups, funnel cakes, and elephant ears! Everything was delicious! 

This is the corn dog recipe that we used.

One of our friends gave us this recipe to use for the Survival Of The Fair Party so this recipe bears their name. 

Whitesell's Corn Dog Recipe 

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1 c. Bisquick (or into a 1 c. measurer add 2 t. baking powder, 2 t. sugar, 1/2 t. salt then fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with flour.)

2 TBS. cornmeal

1/2 t. dry mustard

1/4 t. paprika

1/8 t. pepper

3 TBS. sugar

1 lb. hot dogs

Mix the batter ingredients together.

Pat the hot dogs dry with a towel or paper towel.

Pour the batter into a tall glass or drinking cup. Using wooden skewers dip the hot dogs into the batter.

Deep fry at 375° F. until golden brown.

For mini corn dog bites:

Cut the dried off hot dogs into 1/4ers.

Using a fork dip each hotdog piece into the batter and then slide it off of the fork into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Chocolate Zucchini Sheet Cake Recipe!

It is that time of year again! Zucchini and yellow squash are coming out every gardener's ears. :-)

I have a few good recipes for using up zucchini.

One is Zucchini Confetti Relish

Another is Zucchini Pizza Crust

And here is Chocolate Zucchini Sheet Cake:

Chocolate Zucchini Sheet Cake 

1 cup of oil

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Mix together oil, cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and zucchini.

Add dry ingredients and mix to combine.

Pour into a greased jelly roll sheet pan.

Bake at 350° F. 30-35 minutes.

Yarn Dolls

My children and I had fun with this craft recently.

I got the idea from a website called The Craft Train: LINK

We made a whole bunch of yarn dolls. 

We made girl dolls and boy dolls. 

We made mama dolls and papa dolls. 

We made tiny baby dolls. 

We made tall dolls and short dolls and skinny dolls and thick dolls. 

We made whole families! 

This activity kept us busy for hours! Then we had fun staging photos with our yarn dolls.

Here's how you can make your own yarn dolls:

Wrap yarn around a book or stiff piece of cardboard. The taller the board the taller your doll will be. Wrap yarn until you have the desired thickness. 

You will have created a loop of yarn.

Cut the loop at one end. Now you will have a bundle of yarn string all the same length.

Twist the bundle at the center and bend it in half at the twist. This is called a bite. Use another piece of yarn to tie the bite in place, forming the dolls head.

Separate the tassel into three portions; two for the arms and 1 for the body.

Braid the arms, tie the ends with extra yarn, and trim them to the right length. The tighter the braid the more it will hold it's shape when maneuvered.

Use extra strands of yarn to tie around the body, making a waist and hips.

Trim the ends to even up the skirt and give it a finished look.

If you are making a boy doll divide the skirt into two legs, and braid the legs, tying off with extra lengths of yarn.

I hope you have as much fun with this project as we did!

July By Henry Beer (Poem)

July

The days are hot, the weather dry-

It is the month we call July.

We hope to have a bounteous yield

From grain that's ripening in the field.

The grain is threshed and gathered in,

What a thrill to see it fill the bin!

The wheat and barley, oats and rye

All ripen in the month of July;

And nature with a bounteous hand

Pours out her blessing in the land.

A fairer sight is rarely seen

Than the waving corn in fields of green.

It is a festive sight to see

The cherries ripening on the tree,

Which robins view with envying eye

And often take a fair supply.

The ripening raspberries we may view,

Which sparkle in the morning dew;

And blackberries upon the vine

Are seen to ripen at this time.

July displays ins beauties, too,

With bergamot in shades of blue.

The bouncing Bet along the way

And Queen Anne's lace their blooms display.

And often in the month of July

The storm clouds gather in the sky.

There's lightening, thunder, - and the rain

Refreshes garden, field, and plain.

And on a hot and sultry day,

The youth will often wend their way

Into the lake or swimming pool

To be refreshed in waters cool.

July the fourth we celebrate -

It is our Independence date.

For underneath each day and scene,

There rules a wondrous Power Supreme

Which, if you know, you will acclaim,

He's worthy of the highest name!

Page 85 My Garden Of Verse 

Selling My Hair Again

Here's an unusual way to make a few dollars.

I grow my hair out really long and then cut it once every few years and sell the growth. 

When I first started doing this I could wait 3 years between hair cuts. As I have gotten older my rate of growth has started to slow. My hair is thinner than it used to be, too. 

(There are other factors besides age, though; diet, hormones, multiple pregnancies, treating my hair a little rough,...) 

Honestly, my hair growth has not slacked off that drastically. I used to get 6 inches in a year and now I get 5 inches in a year.

June was the month I wanted to cut my hair. 

The buyer who bought the last hair that I sold commented that he would be interested in buying again. I told him that it was going to be 4 years before I cut my hair again, but I would let him know when the time came.

Having saved his shipping address from 2019, I wrote him a letter and told him my asking price and that I had some pictures and videos of my hair that I could share via email in order that he could see the product.

He was happy that I had remembered to contact him and he said he would buy my hair again.

Score for me! $150 without having to pay any ebay fees.

Ways to get a high price for hair:

These factors can help your hair be the best quality possible and, therefore, fetch a premium price.

Keep your hair in good condition. I like to wear my hair in a bun all the time. Other protective styles include braids, French braids, French knot, Chignon bun, and Heidi braids to name a few. 

Hair is weaker when it is wet. Waiting to brush and detangle your hair until it is dry can help you avoid unnecessary breakage.

Keep your hair away from heat. Curlers, straighteners, and blow-dryers can all weaken your hair.

Minimize the use of chemicals on your hair. Things like dyes, bleaches, and perms can negatively effect the strength and texture of your hair.

Take good care of your health. Nonsmokers and non-drinkers are able to get a higher price for their hair.

I hope these tips help, if you're interested in trying this with your hair.

Lambsquarters | Wild Edibles

 

Lambsquarters is a common weed that is usually very easy to grow. For some reason there was no established presence of lambsquarters in our yard when we moved here a few years ago. Disturbed soil is all the invitation that Lambsquarters needs to come take up residence. True to form Lambsquarters seeds have found their way to my garden beds, finally. I am sure to never have a shortage of lambsquarters from now on. Lambsquarters self sow prolifically, and you know that I going to be letting my lambsquarters go to seed. :-)

Lambsquarters is a very easy to identify wild edible. The leaves are triangular in shape with rough toothed edges. The underside of the leaves have a powdery white coating this coating is on the topside of young leaf clusters. The stems can have purple streaks. Sometimes this purple color is a feature of the young baby leaves at the tips of branches.

I found this highly accurate while also humorous quote on Sam Sycamore's web page about Wild Spinach:

"Lambsquarters is yet another example of an extraordinarily common and nutritious edible wild plant that most farmers and gardeners exterminate in order to make room for their inferior lettuces and wimpy salad greens." 

I couldn't agree more. Lambsquarters is easy to grow, easy to harvest, and easy to prepare. And it has a mild flavor. You can use lambsquarters in any application that you would use spinach. And that is simply because Lambsquarters is wild spinach! 

I like to eat lambsquarters raw in salads, and in sandwiches. I use lambsquarters in cooked dishes like pasta, egg casserole, potato hash, and soup.

The tender stems can be eaten raw like broccoli stalks dipped in ranch dressing. 

Lambsquarters leaves can be harvested by picking them individually or (what I prefer) by snapping off the young few inches of leafy stems at the ends of branches. By continuously clipping back new growth you cause the plant to branch out and turn into a shrub like shape. This gives you much more area to harvest from.

When I harvest lambsquarters I like to pop it into a bowlful of water. The leaves with retain their crispness if they are in water which is nice if you are eating them raw. Even if the lambsquarters has been picked for a while and gone limp it will perk right up if you pop it into a bowl of water.

Have you tried Lambsquarters? Do you have a favorite way to eat it? Please let us know in the comment section!

Hamburger Bun Recipe

 

This recipe is a good one to know. I have wanted to make hamburgers for a meal but had no buns on hand. Did I want to go to the store to pick up buns? The answer is always, "No." That is when I pull this recipe out and make a batch of hamburger buns.

These buns don't stay fresh as long as store bought buns. They are best when used the same day they are baked or the next day. After two days these buns are little too dry for sandwiches, but really good for garlic toast. 

Hamburger Bun Recipe

3 1/2 to 4 cups Flour

2 1/4 tsp. Yeast

1 cup Warm Water

1/3 cup Oil

1/4 cup Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1 egg

Combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. 

Blend the water, oil, sugar, and salt; add to flour mixture. Add egg. Beat at low for 1/2 minute.

Beat 3 minutes on high.

Stir in as much flour as you can with a spoon. (Unless you're using a stand mixer. Then you can stir the flour in by machine, as well as do the kneading.)

On floured surface knead in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth.

Place in greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down. Divide in thirds. Rest 5 minutes Divide each third in the four balls.

Roll each ball until smooth and press flat between hands to make 3 1/2 inch circles.

Place on greased baking sheet. (I use saved chicken fat to grease my pans. You can read about that HERE.)

Let rise about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375°F. for 13 -15 minutes.

Cool on wire racks.