Yummy Rhubarb Bars (taken from Cooks.com)...Delish!

Good morning!

David is at Cattle Congress buying some plants at their huge plant sale. I requested some sweet potato vines, 'wave' petunias, salvia, verbena and another hydrangea. We'll see what I end up with...

My daughter, Diane, requested that I publish the rhubarb 'bar' recipe I made yesterday. I got it at cooks.com, so it is available for those who don't remember to write it down from my blog. Here it is:

Rhubarb 'Bars'

1/2 c. chopped nuts (I had almonds, so that is what I used...I think I'd also like pecans)

1 1/2 c. rolled oats 

1 c. brown sugar

1/4 t. salt

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. butter (I never use margarine; butter tastes so much better and fat is fat!)

1/4 t. baking soda

3 c. chopped rhubarb (we had really thick stalks, so I cut them lengthwise into three slices, and even   through the middle if they were especially thick, and then into about 1/3" pieces...rhubarb can have tough strings, so if you cut it small enough, those are not a problem)

1 1/2 c. cane sugar (less sugar could be used, or just eat a very small portion)

2 T. cornstarch (I always use organic corn starch)

1/4 c. water

1 t. vanilla

Mix crust ingredients until crumbly. Pat half into 13"x9"x2" baking dish (I use glass since rhubarb is somewhat acidic)

Combine rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is somewhat more clear, and cornstarch is cooked. Stir in vanilla.

Pour filling over crust in baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining crumb mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool, and serve. (I tried to cut this into bars, and it might work if you have smaller stalks of rhubarb, but these had so much liquid in them that it was just easier to scoop out the dessert into a bowl or onto a small plate.) Add very good quality vanilla ice cream, if you wish, and enjoy! (I like Breyer's French Vanilla.)

BTW....David just returned home from the plant sale. Turns out it is other gardeners who have perennials they want to divide and share. So, he got quite a few things....and found a new outlet for our own perennials when it comes time to divide them. 

I will be posting David's recipe for Rhubarb Beer. Stay tuned...

Old Friends...Good to have them...

Today we had a surprise visit from an old cohort of David's from his research farm days. It was Arlie Penner. Arlie had a load of plants to deliver to the research farm at Nashua and more to take to the farm at Kanawha. He was near Gladbrook, and decided to stop here for a visit before heading up to Nashua. 

We sat down together in the kitchen, and the guys enjoyed some rhubarb bars and coffee while I drank a cup of tea. Arlie has a 'gift of gab' and entertained us with stories of people David knew from his work at the research farm at Kanawha. 

With the yard all freshly mowed, David is spending the rest of the day making rhubarb beer. So, the house smells of malt and mash, and the other beer-making aromas. We have enough rhubarb coming up already, and with the recent rains, there will be even more. I am trying not to eat much of the desserts we make from it, though, since it takes quite a bit of sugar to keep it from 'puckering' your tongue, and I'm trying not to eat a lot of sugary things. But, I do allow myself a small bite, and that helps me not feel quite so deprived.

The lilacs are almost done, and the daffodils have bloomed and gone. The little plum bush with the burgundy leaves was in bloom last week when Diane and Jerry were here, but it is about done now, too. It has some kind of 'web worm' nest beginning in the crotch of two branches, so David will have to go out and scrape that off and burn it. We don't need those ugly webs in our pretty yard!

We bought a new birdbath since the bowl of my old one fell off in a strong wind and got broken. This one is metallic copper in color and had a 'screw' type post that fastens the bowl onto the stand so it will be much harder to fall off. We also bought a cone-shaped pink and white dwarf, 'all-season' hydrangea. I will be thrilled to have that plant, if it produces some nice flowers that I can dry and keep over the autumn season. 

The lily-of-the-valley are going to be blooming soon, and my friend Kate gave me a beautiful crystal vase just the right size for those flowers. I can't wait to get a bouquet of them into my living room. The smell just can't be beat (although the lilacs are awfully nice too...)

I've got the bird feeders out and filled, and we are seeing some cardinal 'couples' hanging around. That makes me very glad, since all those years in Kanawha (37 total!), we only had one cardinal. It is just a bit too cold in that part of the state to attract them. There's something absolutely joyful about a red bird of two hanging around a person's house! Welcome, cardinals!

This afternoon I'm going to leaf through a pile (and I do mean a 'pile!' - about 10 inches deep...) of magazines and catalogs. Some will get donated to the local library, and some will be taken to the recycling bins in town. Some will be kept, especially catalogs that have an outfit that might make a nice 'grandmother of the bride' dress for my oldest granddaughter's wedding in the fall. 

So, time to quit gabbing, and start paging...  I'll warm up my cup of lapsang souchong tea, and get into my recliner, and start the process. It's something I do enjoy, so even if the sun is not out this afternoon, I will enjoy the view out the front window as I go through these publications.

Do come again, won't you?

Here they are...the two Toulouse baby geese!

Cute, aren't they?

The two-week old Rouen ducks are bigger than these two-day old babies, but you just wait...

Babies....of all kinds

This afternoon we drove 1 1/2 hours to pick up two just-hatched Toulouse geese from a hatchery. On the way back home, I put my hand on the little backs and tried to act the way their mother would have acted...providing a safe and warm spot where they could huddle as they became accommodated to this strange, new world. They seemed to like my hand there, in fact they 'chirped' loudly when I moved it. So...we sat there in the moving car, enjoying these tiny little creatures we were transporting to our cardboard pen in our garage so they can join the 14 little ducks who already are growing fast there. 

When we put those new babies into the pen (after making sure they had a drink of fresh water), they rushed happily toward the ducks who were laying near each other, which caused the ducks to get up to meet the new occupants. Unfortunately, our new babies were still a bit unsteady on their feet, so after watching the 'herd' of ducks run over them a few times, David decided we needed to rig up an  area of the pen where the new guys could find their 'land' feet on their own. He put an old long screen from a casement window across one corner of the pen, and put in another watering jug and another egg carton bottom with feed in the compartments into their special corner. The little geese began chirping loudly as they saw the ducks drinking from their own watering jugs and walking around the other part of the pen. 

Geese form strong bonds with each other, and perhaps with other bird species as well. But, until they are able to run away and stay out from under the ducks (who are a couple of weeks older, and are larger), we will keep them separated. As they get bigger, I'm sure it will be the geese who will call the shots, but for awhile...they just have to watch each other through the screen....sort of a 'poultry play' being presented on both sides of the stage front!

Our dog likes these little birds, but today he was a bit envious of all the attention given to the new babies. Don't worry...he'll get his share, once we go inside the house. 

Eventually, all the ducks and the two geese will share a movable hen house in the back yard, but they have to wait until they get feathers so they can keep warm and dry out there.

Photos will come. Stay tuned!

Crafts and Other Stuff...

I have always been an 'artsy/craftsy' kind of person. I try almost anything related to making things with my hands...sewing, knitting, crocheting, painting, drawing, sculpting, designing, photography, etc.

Here are some of the projects I have made, and remembered to photograph:

 

I made this child's hat 

and jacket several years ago 

for a little girl who loved 

wearing hats. 

This baby sweater set

was made for the

granddaughter of some

friends.

These 'cheerleader' bears were

made for the 'big sister' of a new

baby in the family.

This knit elephant

teething ring was made

for the new baby.

And, this knit set of sox and 

fingerless gloves were made for me! 

Stay tuned...

Empty Nest....Again!

So...today my daughter Diane and her husband Jerry left to head back to their home in Phoenix. It's hard to live in this day and age, when your kids may go to jobs and homes far away. It just isn't the same way it was when most people stayed fairly close to where they were born and raised. 

In my own family, there were five daughters. As they began to marry and have families, several of them stayed in Iowa. In fact, three of them eventually lived in Cedar Rapids, where my folks also lived. I lived close enough so that I could spend holidays and other occasions with all of them. It was a fun group, and we did a lot of laughing and enjoying each other.

Things are so much different now. I have one child in Arizona, one in Nevada, one in Texas and one close to me here in Iowa. With all of that distance, and the high cost of travel and missing work, we have to make our times together extra special. 

But, I try to treasure each time we are together, and keep those memories for the long, cold winters here...so I can 'pull' them up in my mind and recall the fun and closeness to help keep me feeling 'warm.' 

So, you two, have a safe trip, and let me know when you are back home. Give the 'grand-doggies' each a pat or two for me, and know that I had a really nice time having you here with us at our house.

I'll miss you both, and do so appreciate the little 'chores' you did to help me get things done that we have difficulty doing by ourselves...like getting the VCR hooked up properly, helping me get this 'blog' set up, and especially, Jerry, for being willing to drive all the way back to the house to make sure Suny was let out and ready for being there by himself. You guys are the best! Love you both, so take good care of yourselves, and we'll look forward to seeing you both and the rest of the family at the big 'do' in the fall!

A note to any readers of this page...make the most of those times when you are able to be with your family. Time flies by so fast...so make each moment count!

Later, folks...

April 4, 2015 - Here we go!

Good Afternoon!

So....I finally got my daughter Diane to help get me enthused to get this set up, and here I am! 

I will warn you... I am very opinionated, often political, and liberal in my beliefs. Sometimes my opinions have frustrated those who read them, and although I don't write them with the intention of offending anyone, they are my personal opinions, and I 'own' them, and do not apologize for them. If I should say something that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to tell me, or simply don't read my posts in the future. I try to post my honest opinions.

I may not post on a daily basis, but when I feel strongly about something, or have something I consider interesting to share, I will try to talk about it.

So, join me at my 'musings' site!

See you...