Coffee Klatch

How nice that you had such a great visit. I bet it was really hard to say good bye.

Nines,
My trip to Ga got cut short, we had a family emergency and had to return so I never got to Nashville or Gatlinburg, that was a bummer.

Now I am getting ready to go full gear into the soap company, most of my supplies are in and I have 500 molds on the way from China so hopefully things will get moving.

TB good to hear from you. Hope your trip is nice and I hope your Dad does well.

SO, it must have been so hard to leave that baby. Sounds like you had a good time while you were there and it's exciting that you they'll be coming to visit in a month. Mama probably really enjoyed her breaks while you were there too. Maybe after the visit, they'll decide to move on out your way. Wouldn't that be a win win! 8)

Flav, so sorry about your trip and hope everything is ok now. Just a darn shame. You've worked so hard and needed a vacation and were looking forward to it. Maybe you can plan another one real soon. Sure do hope so. You can only work so long without a break before it starts taking a toll on you. Take care of yourself and grab the moments you can.

I know Nines but there is no time. Baby shower in September, then the baby, the holidays, then start to plan for the wedding. The good news is the quilting is relaxing. The bad news is my real estate work is busy right now and I barely have it in me.

We are going away for the weekend in August so that is something but damn I really need some R & R

I know sweetie. You really do need some R n R and I hope you get it before it gets the best of you. You're going to get it when you find yourself sick and unable to do things. Would be best to make it a priority before that happens. But, you know that. Sorry. Just wish there were an easy answer for you. Things just keep piling and piling and piling up on you don't they? The stress must be incredible. Seems like everyone is pushed to the limit. Glad you're enjoying quilting. That's going to be such a treasure!

I am enjoying the quilting, its a release for me. I am also going away in two weeks for the weekend and I can recharge pretty fast. Just a lot all at once with work. Everyone wants the moves complete before school starts so this is a busy month for me.

Hi guys! Been busy catching up here on the homefront. Two weeks of the garden only getting watered but not weeded really added up. Fighting crab grass like crazy!

My garden this year is a mess, I didn't even grow one but got some volunteers. We weed wacked it this past weekend.

Also, aside from Blacky the pig having 9 piglets, pinky also had 7 last week so now I have 16 piglets! I got rid of Daddy yesterday, gave him to a farm, and Delilah is going to the butcher in a few weeks.

Were going to sell of most of the piglets and keep a few of them. They are so damn cute!

My quilt is almost done and I think it looks great. I will try to upload a pic tomorrow.

Looking forward to a quilt picture. I know the pigs are for food so that makes sense. I'm sure the piglets are adorable. Good thing I never tried to raise my own meat. I don't think I could follow through with something I had spent time with. I love getting farm fresh meat - so long as I never saw it growing up. Guess I'm not destined to be a rancher. lol

You guys been busy, busy, busy. Glad your garden got water while you were gone SO. It's probably a challenge getting it back. Must be a treasure hunt finding all your goodies amongst the growth. LOL.

Know what you mean about raising your meat. Think I'd go back to not eating meat if I had to raise it. Flav is a strong woman. Sure would be fun watching the little guys grow. Piglets are the cutest and sweetest little things.

Looking forward to seeing your quilt Flav. It's going to be a real beauty. Can't believe you have it finished already!

Last Edited by Nine's - IN MEMORIAM on 07/31/2014 08:36 AM

Working on setting up a proper "guest" bedroom for when oldest daughter and grandson get here. This weekend is shopping for a new quilt and curtains. I'm not wanting it to look to baby-ish though.

The picture is terrible, I had to reduce the hell out of it to upload it but here is the quilt, the back isn't on yet but that is just solid pink with pink trim

Flava - that is really pretty. Looks like a work of love!

Awwww, Flav, that's just adorable. Bound to become a treasured heirloom. I see a second business in the offing. SO is shopping for a new quilt. Hustle, woman. Hustle. 8)

Bet you're having fun fixing the room, SO. Your daughter will be so touched that you went to the trouble to do it for them. Must be an exciting wait you're having. Hope you have a lot of fun and DD falls in love with your area and decides she wants to live there.

Saw TB today and met D. He's real nice, interesting, intelligent and very polite. TB looked good as always. We had a nice, but short, visit. They were on their way home. Long drive so bet they'll both be dragging tomorrow.

Don't know if you guys are interested in the Ebola thing, and don't know if the person I'm about to tell you about is allowed to be mentioned here, but the "be a victor, not a victim," and the "prepare, prepare" guy is going to be on the second half of C to C radio program tonight talking about Ebola and some other dark subjects. Going to be an early one for me. Bout ready to drop here already, but I'm sure to catch some of it when he goes off raising his voice and has that certain tone that wakes a person from a deep sleep. LOL.

Thanks SO. It was labor intense but also relaxing at the same time. I am hoping to sew the back on today and I also have to sew curtains. They are all pinned but need to just be sewn.

Thanks Nines. No second job here, I would have to charge a ton and better to do this once every 5 yrs or so.

Let me know what the guy says on your c to c show. I am so busy right now with work that I haven't had a minute and besides the boys hog the tv at night and god forbid there is any noise going on, they flip out so I sew or watch silent youtube stuff

Sounds like a nice visit with TB. Hope her family is doing well.

For sure Flav. Know how busy you are. It was sick humor. 8) That baby will soooo appreciate her grammy.

Missed everything on the c2c program. Really wanted some sleep so I kept it on low volume.

It was nice seeing TB again.

I finished it and took another pic so I am waiting for mod approval. Much better light on this one

I finished it and took another pic so I am waiting for mod approval. Much better light on this one

Here it is.

Nine's you crack me up! Flava - you have your hands full with finishing your projects, don't worry about me pining away for one of your quilts. lol

I am so excited to have oldest daughter home and some serious snuggle time with the grandson. She sends new pics and videos every day. He seems to change overnight!

Glad you got to see TB, I wish we could all meet some time, some place. Wouldn't that be a hoot?!

Ebola is worrysome, but we are insulated in our little valley here. Not many folks traveling from Southern Oregon to Africa, but it still makes you pause and think about the big picture.

Beautiful!

thanks SO. There is so much detail that you cant see in the picture. Its much better in person. Enjoy snuggling with the baby, I know I will

I just made me some coffee.

Fair trade organic coffee from Colombia.

+ dark cane sugar from the French Carribean

Delicious.



You all have a good day/night

Please keep away from all the crap, viruses, storms and all that

Congrats on your quilt.



I like the colours. Very lively.

Quite a nice piece of work.

I make them too - all by hand - i can't care less how long they take to finish. I work on them whenever.

I always finish them - I just don't know when.

It's even more beautiful than the first pic shows. I love the way the binding coordinates with the colors. Hard to believe you didn't have a pattern for it. The way you've blended and contrasted to make it come together is very awesome. The flowers look like they were done separately and attached and rise above the quilt itself. Were they, or is it the way you've used color to make it appear that way? Sure is nice, Flav. Lots of work in it!

Yes nines they do rise above and you cant even see the eyelet on the turrets in the pics but so do they. And the white around the yellow in front are raised white rosebuds made of satin. There is a lot of raised stuff.

Thanks for noticing that. The binding really does make a difference

Glad you popped in! I did everything by hand and then used the machine to sew it together. Its a good stress reliever and keeps me busy when my husband is watching a stupid show on tv that I have no interest in.

Hope you pop back in

Your coffee sounds wonderful! Thanks for stopping in, hope to see you here more often.

Ok everyone, have any of you ever rendered lard? I am diving in on that one this weekend or next week.

I have looked online, and I think I have this but I seem to remember someone telling me to put all the oil in water and cook it to get it cleaner.

Anyone with advice.

Bacon in pan. Fry. Drain grease and let it harden. Lard.

Seriously, Grandma used to make it each time they butchered a hog. I was little, but observant and listened. She was the best Grandma ever, taking time to answer a child's questions.

She put her fat in separate piles. When I asked why, she said because it's used for different things. She showed me which pile would make a white lard that didn't smell. That would be for pies, cookies, and biscuits.Another pile would make lard that would have a pork taste. That was for beans, cooking, etc. She mentioned kidneys and I think that was the real white one that didn't smell...but not positive. The other was a browner color and smelled a little.

She cut each pile into little pieces and put them in a big cast iron post over low heat and watched it real close. Said if it got too hot the smell and color wasn't as nice.

She had me watch the floating bits and told me to let her know when they were the color of the eggs of (forget the chickens name), but it laid light tan eggs. She said don't let them get as dark as A Rhode Island Red's eggs. (they're a darker brown.) What it amounted to was that you want the solid bits ("cracklins") to be a light tan.

Then she strained the melted lard through a cloth. The cracklins were my treat and they were delicious. One of the batches of lard went into canning jars, another batch went into a thick crock pot that was stored in a cool place in her food room. She put something over the top. Can't exactly remember if it was a lid or a cloth, but it had a cover.

I've read of people putting it in the oven with the same process as Grandma used, and others doing it in a crockpot with water.

The good thing is that if it gets rancid, you'll know without a doubt. Grandma's never did. It all stayed fresh til it was gone. Good luck Flav. Make sure you sample those cracklins. 8)