By now, most people are keenly aware that a terrorist brazenly attacked the peaceful and innocent patrons of Pulse, a club in Orlando, Florida last weekend. I really don’t feel that I have anything unique to add to the conversation that has naturally arisen online and in the media concerning this event.
I do feel that the best course of action is to sit politics aside (we probably should do this more often, but I digress…) and focus, instead, on our shared humanity and whatever compassionate response that each of us can offer.
The moderator of a quilt group that I am involved in, offered a unique way to be of service to others and also show compassion to those affected in a very tangible way. I have known for many years that quilters and other crafters are some of the most caring and generous people around. This project is a great way to give a tangible “hug” to those who need it most right now.
The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild is calling for quilt block and finished quilt submissions to be given to the survivors of the Orlando attack, the families of those who perished, and the police, ambulance, and hospital staffs who helped injured survivors. For the complete blog post and specifics, click here.
As they are requesting both single blocks (10 inch square) and finished quilts (48 x 60 inches up to twin size) it is possible for most quilters to be able to participate without an undue drain on time or finances. The requested theme is Rainbow Hearts and they ask that each quilt and/or individual block have at least one heart motif in it. I’d bet most of us quilters have enough scrap fabrics to applique a quick heart block (or 12) without having to dig through even a fraction of our scraps and stash. Mix a hodge podge of those blocks together with lots of riotous prints and colors and you will have a rainbow of sorts. With beauty coming from the combination of many different elements.
Kind of like the good ol’ U.S. of A.
What are YOU quilting lately?
Till next time,
en rely heavily on visual input. Some rely heavily on auditory input. It helps these children to hear about what they are learning as much or possibly more so than just seeing the topic or reading about it. During the infant and toddler years, children put things into their mouths as part of their explorations. For some students, adding experience through taste helps them to learn. Other students need kinesthetic input to enhance their learning. And to top it all off, most children use all of these sensory inputs to greater or lesser degrees than others.
nivores creates a great situation for feedings. Frugal families can feed many things to their pigs safely, thus reducing the monthly food bill. The following are just a few ideas of things that pigs can eat and grow on.
free and low cost foods to their pigs to keep the feed bills lower. As for now, we are finding enough for our growing piglets. I will likely be exploring more ways in the future as they grow and require more food.
connecting with it. Your blog grows slowly, but it grows! Soon, you have people waiting to see what you will share next.
write really well and can effectively proofread their own work. The truth is simple; it is far easier to proofread someone else’s work than to objectively work on your own.
Another day of repetition around here. Today, I began putting up the second large stock pot of turkey bone broth and some leftover turkey meat. It feels good to put a bit of quality food back in the pantry for use later. I like that I know what goes into my jars, where I might not be entirely certain when I purchase products.
load, more or less. But, it will wait on low heat overnight until it is time to get started.
One thing that I don’t have on my little homestead is a chicken coop full of hens and chicks. We are in an agrarian area, but covenants that came with our property specify no large livestock. We can have horses, but no cows, pigs, etc. However, a neighbor once cleared land with goats and nobody batted an eye (so I am assuming that goats aren’t considered large livestock) and a couple of others down the road raise chickens, so I am pretty sure that would be okay here.
The secret to a superior chicken soup is really all in the broth. If you can avoid it, try not to use chicken stock. Stock is made from the meat and isn’t cooked very long. Stock will be straw colored and not nearly as rich and tasty as a good bone broth. Broth is made by cooking bones and some meat with or without veggies and salt. I always put onion and garlic in mine (you can even put the skins in as it will all be filtered out later), but there is no rule that says you have to. If I have carrots, a celery heart (or the end pieces that have leaves on them), a piece of cauliflower that has seen better days, broccoli stems, onion peels, etc. then I will throw ’em in. Basically, it’s a good way to take iffy looking produce and use it rather than throw it out. I would throw in just about anything except collard (with or without stems) because the only catch is to keep delicate leafy things like herbs out until the last 30 minutes or so, so they don’t get cooked to death! Oh, and I usually throw about 5 whole peppercorns in at the beginning, too. To learn more about preparing broths, 
But, back to the soup. In my large crockpot (I think it is a 6 quart model), I will chop up a fresh onion, add 4-5 cloves of minced garlic (we love garlic, if you don’t then cut it in half), a stem or two of finely chopped celery, and 2-3 peeled carrots cut into small rounds. I toss in a couple of cups or so of chopped or shredded chicken (can be cooked or uncooked), a Tablespoon of salt, a few grinds of fresh, black pepper, and 2-3 quarts of homemade turkey or chicken bone broth. If I add 2 quarts of broth, I will add 1 quart of water and two bullion cubes or the equivalent in granules. You can always add more water or broth if you want a fuller crock of soup, just remember to add 2 bullion cubes for every quart of water you add.
Another Hatchett Job.... 