Canned Pears

I canned another batch of pears a couple of days ago. This time I added a vanilla bean to the syrup and small pieces of cinnamon stick to the jars. I love vanilla and I love cinnamon so I think these will be tasty. I also made a batch of pear-cranberry sauce. It will be good with turkey for Thanksgiving.

Canning

The last few days I have had my canners going. I got brave enough to try canning last year and I am hooked. This week I have canned pears, chicken, chuck roast, and pear jam. We get pears from Colorado. I don't care for pears in a can from the store. They seem to taste like metal. I canned some pears last year and yum! I use a light syrup so they are not too sweet.

When I thought of canned meat, I thought "Ewww, gross!" But after trying some, it is fantastic. It is so handy to have meat ready for a casserole or soup. Last year, I used the hot pack method on some chicken and pork. It was good, but really time consuming. This time I tried the raw pack method. Easy! I had a jar of chicken that didn't seal so I used it to make chicken fajitas. The chicken is so tender it falls apart. We also tried some of the chuck roast I canned. I used it to make some beefy noodles. It was really good also.

I have made sandhill plum jelly, grape jelly, pear jam, and apricot jam. If I am able to make jelly, I will never again buy it at the store. Homemade jelly and jam tastes like fruit! I have some strawberries in the freezer and can't wait to try some strawberry jam. I had a few pears left yesterday so I chopped them up and made a batch of jam. I added a little cinnamon and it turned out delicious.

A Friend from South Africa

The driver from Machinery Link got here this afternoon to pick up the John Deere combine. Leon visited with him while he was loading the machine and found out he is from South Africa. He comes over here on a work visa for a couple years at a time. He was a police officer over there and retired. Then he went to night school and became a certified electrician. With the way their country has become, he can make 3 times more driving a truck in the United States than he can as an electrician in South Africa. He talked about the health care over there which is the same as what was passed over here. He said if he was in a car accident over there he would fight the paramedics with every ounce he had if they tried to take him to a hospital in South Africa. They are nothing but slaughter houses and if you end up in one, you don't make it out.

He had the combine loaded up and ready to go when we had supper ready. Leon grilled pork chops and corn on the cob and Lorena made mashed potatoes and gravy. Lorena went out and invited him in for supper. He gladly accepted and we all had a great time visiting over the meal. He told us a bit about the history of South Africa and what has gone on over there. It was really interesting hearing it from someone who has lived through it. We have it so good here in the USA and take it all for granted. For those who don't think this is a great country, you can pack your bags at any time and leave. Yes, we have some problems right now and there are a lot of things that need fixing but we are free. We need to remember that freedom is something we need to protect and it is being eroded away bit by bit. I really don't want the government telling me what kind of light bulbs to use, what kind of car to drive, what food to eat, etc. In fact, if people want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, or drive around without a seat belt, then why shouldn't they be able to? Yes, I think it a lot safer with a helmet or a seat belt and I wear my seat belt always. But why should the government tell us what to do? If I choose not to and get hurt then I am responsible for my actions. Just something to think about.

I am really glad our new friend accepted the invitation to eat with us. I pray that he has a safe trip hauling those green beasts to different places for harvest. I hope we see him again someday, maybe next year before wheat harvest!

Wheat Harvest 2011

Wheat harvest has come and gone! It seems like we were just getting ready for it and now it is already over. It was shorter this year for us for a few reasons. One, we didn't have as many acres of wheat planted this year. We are trying to get more of our land in the rotation with milo and not plant wheat on it every year. That way certain weeds and diseases that inhabit wheat can be controlled. Two, the wheat was not very thick so we could cut a lot faster this year. And three, we had no major break-downs. Yea!
 
We were very thankful for the wheat we did have. Since January, we have only gotten about an inch or so of rain. It is amazing that we had crops do as well as they did with no additional rain. Someone made a comment to me that we weren't going to have any wheat if it didn't rain soon. I told them God could make it rain anytime He wanted to. Come to find out, God can make the wheat grow without rain!

It was really rewarding for me to be able to cut the wheat that I drilled last fall. I drilled some of the white wheat we had this year, then cut it. Soon I will clean it and grind it to make bread. I feel like the Little Red Hen!

Now we are cleaning up the John Deere that we lease so it can be picked up and taken to the next farmer who is going to use it. They don't want water used on it so we have to blow all the dirt, straw, and chaff off with an air compressor. It is a super dirty job! We try to get it as clean or cleaner than it was when we got it. Next, we will take the duels off. That always makes me a little nervous since if one fell it could crush a person. Taking them off is a lot easier than putting them on!

We can take more time cleaning up Bertha Belle. The girls can put on their bathing suits and play in the water while they are washing the combine. The grain cart and both semis will have to be cleaned out too.

We have gotten a little more done on the house since harvest. We got the siding put up on the walls that we had added. and replaced the other set of windows in the old living room. It did have a set of double windows and we replaced it with a big slider. The living room is so much lighter now! The only old window left is the set of two over the kitchen sink. Maybe we will get it put in soon.

First Sunday in June

Today was the last Sunday for Herb to be our pastor. He is officially retiring and we will have a new pastor next week. Luckily we know the new one, Max Whipple. He is our Farm Bureau insurance agent. Herb and Leora have been such a blessing to our church. They are great examples for us to follow and have become part of our church family.
Lorena taught Emily and Katie a song in sign language and they did that for special music today. Lorena played the piano and sang while they signed. It was really pretty! We plan on learning sign language this year in school. They are excited to get started.
Herb then had an excellent message. He talked about how stories of faith help people in tough circumstances. Those stories that have been passed down are sources of strength and hope. What kind of stories are we telling our children? Are we letting the TV or society tell the stories or are we directing them to the truths of God? Something to think about.
Since it was the first Sunday of the month, we had dinner after church. We had a great meal and even better fellowship with Herb and Leora.
It was a wonderful day!

New Window

Yesterday, Leon and Lorena tore out one of the old windows in the living room and installed the new one. We put in a shorter window and then an air conditioner below that. That way if we are not using the air conditioner and want to open the window, we can. Now my job is to figure out how I want it trimmed and finish it out.
The great thing about doing things yourself is you are not limited by someone else and their ideas or time table. It is taking us longer to get everything finished than it would if we would have hired someone. But we are enjoying the learning process and I love the smell of freshly cut wood! I have learned how to use several power tools and I have researched and found things like milk paint, soy gel, and citrus solvent. Great alternatives to the harmful paint strippers and thinners out there. The soy gel strips paint, varnish, and other finishes without any harmful fumes. You can use it inside the house. I tried it on one of the leaves of our dining table and it works great. After I get the table stripped I plan on refinishing it with pure tung oil. I remember my dad made some oak cabinet doors with a hand-rubbed finish. They were beautiful! With a tung oil finish, you can easily fix any dings or scratches by rubbing more oil into it. Check out the website here! Real Milk Paint
Anyway, I love my new window and I can't wait till we get the rest of them put in the old part of the house!

Plans and House

We were at the farm show in Garden City a couple of weeks ago when my daughter, Lorena, called me. She told me that Cody had proposed so now they are engaged! They are planning on a September wedding in 2012. We want to get our new kitchen and dining room finished before then and a lot of other work done on the house. Maybe since we have a deadline, we will get to work on it more.

We have been working on the roof. Right now we are taking one layer of shingles off and covering with roll roofing. Just trying to protect it until we have time to put on a metal roof. Hopefully after wheat harvest! The wind was blowing 40 mph with gusts up to 62 yesterday. Leon noticed some of our hard work was trying to blow away so up we went. It is crazy being on the roof when the wind is blowing like that! But we got everything nailed back down.