Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Happiness.

Today I just want to post some things that make my heart smile.
In no logical order whatsoever...

Our chickens, posing for portraits...

This is Henrietta, the escape artist.  Pretty lady.

Picking apples in a friend's orchard... and making cider!

Lotsa apples...

 My happy man who loves his new cider press.

Morning gratitude walks... 


such beautiful things to see

Words to live by...


Kitty feet~ 

Being silly with friends..

My new chicken ornament... with glitter!!! love love love


xo
reenie


Monday, November 28, 2011

Turkey Soup~

Yesterday I used the turkey remains to make a big batch of soup. With homemade egg noodles!
It turned out so delicious I wanted to share.



Here is a rough recipe... since everyone has different ingredients and different sized turkeys... plus I don't cook in measurements, I go more with my instincts, like my art!

Pick all remaining meat from the turkey bones and set aside.
Add the carcass to a large pot and cover with water. Our turkey was 21 lb. so I used a pretty large stock pot. I added two large onions (roughly chopped) and about 6 carrots (big pieces are easier to fish out later), as well as salt, pepper and some garlic powder.
Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and let it go for and hour or two, depending on how big your turkey is. I simmered it for almost two hours (probably more, I didn't time).

Remove the solids (I used a colander) and return the broth to the pot.
In a cast iron pan, sauté two onions in a blop or two of olive oil. If it seems too dry add some of the broth to keep it from burning. When the onions are clear, add 6-8 minced garlic cloves and seasonings (I used dried parsley, oregano and black pepper). Once all hot and mixed together well, add to the broth. Sautéing the onions and garlic give them a different flavor than boiling them in the soup.... more savory I think.

Slice carrots and add to the broth and bring to a boil to soften. Use your instincts as to how many carrots, depending on how much broth you have. I think I used 10-12 skinny carrots.

When carrots are soft, it's time to make your noodles!

I used this recipe, and it took four batches for my soup.  Since I did not have any tiny cookie cutters (on the list to buy), I used the top of a glass bottle to cut mine out. But I really like the idea of making stars or hearts so I am definitely getting some cutters....

Add noodles to the broth, making sure it is at a rolling boil. If they are thin and smaller they only take about 10 minutes to cook.  Once the noodles were in for a while I added the remaining shredded turkey meat (since it was already cooked it only needed heated, adding too soon makes it chewy and overcooked) and chard ribbons (chard cut into long pieces). The chard only takes a a few minutes to cook, so add them last.

SO good! Plus plenty to share with the friends and neighbors.

Add a crunchy salad and some homemake bread and enjoy!



It lights the whole sky~


This quote came to me from three different sources within 24 hours.
Love when that happens, it's pure magic!



Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Mason Jar Bird Feeder~

Hello!

Today we spent some time poking around our local farmstore, one of my favorite places!

We came across some chicken feeders that fit on a mason jar!!!
So I bought one and we rigged a bird feeder for our deck.

The base is a repurposed cement succulent planter...
(I cannot seem to keep succulents alive...shhh)

The feeder fit inside perfectly... 

We attached a 2 quart mason jar...

...and gave it a pie tin hat!

It is on the deck, filled with sunflower seeds, waiting for the birdies to arrive...
Still in test mode, if the pie tin keeps the rain out of the base, I will epoxy it to the base of the jar.
LOVE the way it looks on the deck!

So far, no birds, and the sun is going down... 
Tomorrow we will try to get pics of it with the birds.







Wednesday, November 9, 2011

New Blog URL~

Hello!

Newsflash!
I just changed the url to this blog.
Wanted to let you know so you can change it in your blog feeds...

OLD url... http://www.reeniewhirled.blogspot.com
NEW URL
http://www.reeniehanlin.blogspot.com
OR http://www.reeniehanlin.com

Thanks for your patience while I get my urls and blogs all in order.
I appreciate you!


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Monday Morning Studio Pics~

I give up. Actually I gave up years ago...
It's impossible to have the studio clean and tidy... there is always something dug out and spewn all over.
And I LOVE IT. 
It means that creative energy is alive and active and zippity-zapping all over.
So here are shots of my studio this lovely morning in November... in all it's cluttery glory! 

 The light is a bit dim. We are having a typical PNW overcast sky...

  New Japanese tapes and paper, dizzying fabric and new yarns...

 Henrietta is our escape-artist chicken. (see her outside the window?) 
She has mastered jumping out over the fence. She is one wiley girl.
and a total pain... bad chicken!

  Flannels all washed and ready to be sewn into new jammie pants~!

  Paintings in progress waiting their turn...

  Book shelves crammed with yarn and fabric...

  Journal supply shelves...

  Great- Grandma Hanlin's quilt (that she made) awaiting repairs...

 Painting/sewing end of the studio... see my new inspiration board on the easel?

  Felted sweater bin spewed about... who did this?!

 My mom is here visiting from PA... here she is with the girls in my messy, messy kitchen.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Morning Gratitude Walks~

One of our favorite things to do as a couple is walk around our farm.
We call them our "Gratitude Walks". We follow the rhythm of the seasons, noting changes and discussing plans for future events and modifications....we love to plan.

Yesterday morning I came across this lacy, lovely, dewey beauty.

  Reflections...



 Misty orchard as seen from the forest edge.

 Our house waking up...

I am so very thankful for this man and for my girls, and for my lovely, magical farm.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Repurposed Pillow Sham~


I was browsing through the linen section of Goodwill and found these really cute quilted pieces that I thought were table runners.
Got them home, washed them, and realized that they are actually king sized PILLOW SHAMS.
giggle. hair toss.



We used them on the table for a few weeks, but they are too billowy and vases tend to topple over 
due to said billowiness. (is that a word?)

So I simply snipped the back fabric panels off.



Voila!

So pretty... plus I have some new cute fabric squares for my stash!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

We used to call it being FRUGAL... now it's GREEN

My grandfather called it being a scrounge.
Whatever you call it, I love saving things. 
However, there IS a difference between saving and hoarding.
There are many, many things I save to reuse and pass on to others... 

You know those nasty vinyl zipper pouches that sheets and pillow cases come in? 
ugh.
I have a pile that friends have saved for me, and I use them for a lot of things, 
mostly storing projects in progress and craft items. 

Here is our embroidery clump in one... 
Know why I call it a clump? I also have a bin of yarn clump.

But they don't last forever. 
Today this one died. 
I try to reuse as much as possible in my home, without my time becoming a liability.

This bag had a fantastic tan zipper,  so I cut it out and added it to the zipper tin. 
There was a plastic bias tape sewn around the zipper... so I ripped that off.

This zipper is exactly the same as one you would buy at the fabric store for $2.00- $3.00!


The vinyl can also be reused...  

 I sew it onto my art journal pages to make spiffy see-through pockets.
OR use your washi tape stash or duct tape to tape two pieces together to make a fun add-on journal page. (no pic of this-sry)


What do YOU frequently repurpose? I love new ideas...