HOW TO SURVIVE A SNOW STORM....and life in general!



Those trees off in the distance is what I was shooting for. 
All I have to do is keep the truck on the road...but where is it?
This is a normal morning commute home from work in the winter.



It seems I always have a story to share with my family and friends and the following was an email I sent out to them in the wee hours of the night..  Apparently SOME (and you know who you are!) were rather entertained by this one and suggested I share it...so here it is.  This happened to me on Wednesday night.

*************************
Well, it was quite the evening for me and I don't care to repeat it any time soon or if ever!
I did not travel safely tonight. We have 30 below wind chills and I got stuck about a 1/2 mile from home ( I thought it was a mile!). I called Hubby and told him I was stuck and would see how far I got shoveling. The worst part was a LARGE woman trying to put on coveralls in the front seat of a pickup. Not pretty at all! First I had to take my work boots off to get the coveralls on. Do you know how many laces are on work boots? Too damn many! I was huffin' and puffin' and almost too out of breath to go shovel snow. I then realized that my coat with the hood would not fit over the coveralls so I had a sweatshirt I tied over my head for warmth and three scarves wrapped around my neck. I looked like a human cocoon! Well, I got out and tried to shovel but the wind kept blowing the sweatshirt off my head and over my face. I was fighting with that and it was so cold and the wind was blowing so hard. It tried it for awhile but I am also doctoring with a bad shoulder and it was just not happening. I got back into the pickup and what do I see coming down the road...a flashlight! Hubby was coming to save me! LOL...and all I did was yell at him to get in and warm up. He was not supposed to come and shovel because I had told him to stay put. Oh, well, he never listens to me anyway! No one is supposed to walk in this kind of cold! Well, he shoveled and I got it to move about 30 feet total and we sat in the pickup and decided the only way to get out of this mess is to leave the truck! We should not have even thought about leaving the vehicle as we are always told not to do but we did. My allergy to cold was about to be tested...to the limits.


Anyway...I bundled up as best as I could and I left only a small spot in front of one eye to look out of.  Hubby told me to hang onto the handle of the shovel and he would guide me.  Do you know how dark it is out at night. Pitch black! I think I went about 10 feet and I got stuck in a snow bank and twisted my bad knee and went right down. Oh, I was covered in snow and couldn't get up right away. Hubby's biggest fear was that he might have to carry me back to the house! I finally rolled around like a garden slug and was able to get a footing and got up. It didn't hurt so bad that I couldn't walk so off we went again. I told him that I needed both hands for balance or I would fall again so I let go of the shovel. I felt the cold air coming in that little spot I left open so I just covered up my head completely with the jacket I was carrying for more warmth. He held the shovel in front of his face to deflect the wind because it was so bitterly cold.  He then proceeded to direct me to go to left or to the right and led me down the road. OH, it was quite the ordeal and I would have loved to have seen us on camera! I was definitely sucking wind the whole way!


I was never so glad in my life to get to our driveway. The truck will be in an even bigger snow bank tomorrow and we now have no vehicle until someone rescues us. I have to call someone early in the morning and make sure they do not send a snowplow down there or it might get hit. Probably smuck our truck and it will fly out in the field somewhere in a million pieces. Oh, I really hate winter! I am too old for this crap!
I took a nap after I got home because I was so exhausted and slept until 4 a.m. and to think I was planning on being at work all night!
One thing is for sure...if Hubby will walk a mile in a snow storm to rescue me...I better behave myself!
***********************************


UPDATE...NEXT DAY...THURSDAY

Well, I called a township board member and told him our situation and to be sure not to let the snowplow come down here because the truck was sitting smack dab in the middle of the road stuck.  He said he would get the message out. 

Hubby decided to walk back to the truck and see what he could do.  As he walking towards the truck...off in the distance he sees the snowplow coming!  He said he tried to shovel like crazy to get it out but nope...the plow came right up to the pickup.  I guess there had been a slight miscommunication!  The poor operator had to then back up about a 1/2 mile with the snowplow and that is no easy feat.  A neighbor had spotted Hubby out shoveling and called another neighbor and told him that he was out there shoveling like a mad man.  Apparently he had seen my Hubby the same time Hubby saw the snowplow!  That neighbor came down and then another neighbor came also.  I was curious as to what was going on and he does not know I was watching them all with the hunting field glasses all from the warmth of the living room window!  Amazing what you can see thru them!  They did quite a bit of "Shootin' the Bull".  Awhile later a Bobcat Skid Steer loader comes in the yard and snow is blowing everywhere.  The neighbor had not only cleaned out the road and got the truck to safety, but he blew out our yard also!  WOOHOO.
What a great place to call  home!  What a great bunch of people to have around!

Yes, and that is my life on the farm....amazing how I manage to keep living and telling about it! 

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO, THREE POTATO, FOUR!

Microwave Potato Bag

I know there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to make one of these but I thought one more wouldn't hurt. I think I do mine just a bit different as far as finishing the ends. Let's see if I can get this information out there in an easy and informative way and without leaving out too much. This pattern makes 4 of them from a yard of fabric. I know you are going to want to give some away so why not just cut them out and do them? Here we go!

Equipment needed:
Sewing Machine
Rotary Cutter
Cutting Mat
I want to stop here and tell you, if you do not have a rotary cutter and mat by now you really need to get one. I use mine not only for my sewing and quilting but also for my paper crafts. You will also see in my photos that I occasionally use it too much and ended up with paint and stain on it. Oops! Don’t do that! OK…back to list…….
One yard of COTTON fabric, No need to prewash…that comes later
One yard of COTTON muslin or any other fabric you want for a liner
1 1/3 yards of COTTON batting, it is called Warm Tator
COTTON thread in your choice of color

I found all my fabrics HERE.


By now you have gotten the feeling you need to buy COTTON for this. Yes, you do. You do NOT want anything that is not COTTON. Right down to the thread. It is because anything that has something else like polyester in it should not to be used in the microwave. It may melt or start fire or be embedded right into your food or God knows what kind of mutation might happen to you.  I have never had it happen YET and I just don’t have time to clean up any smoke damage right now or I would try it just to see.


The first thing is to press the fabric nice and flat. Fold it lining up the selvages together. (Selvages are the thick sides to the fabric) You may need to slide it back and forth to get it to hang straight and you might also end up with edges that don’t match but do it just get those selvages matched nicely and that the fabric hangs nice and straight.


I tried to make the following graphics to scale as much as possible. They are supposed to represent a 24 x 24 mat.  OK...use your imagination!


Now you lay your fabric on the cutting mat lining up the folded edge on a line at the bottom of the mat and the selvages to the top. You are going to straighten one side of this fabric. Lay the ruler along one edge using the mat as a guide for making it straight. I don’t care if it is the left or the right, whatever is comfortable for you, just make sure one edge is straight.






Cut off the excess sticking out from ruler.

Now that you have one edge straight cut a piece of fabric from that edge at 23 inches.  You will have about a 13 inch piece left over. Keep that for later. 

  We will now turn the fabric on the mat and cut off those selvages.  Your fold will now be to the right.

Once you have the selvage cut you will make your first cut at 11 inches.Your fabric is doubled, you will get two pieces from it at this first cut.

Set those two pieces aside and open up the folded piece that is left. Now you have one single layer on the mat.

Cut another 11 inch piece from the one straight edge. You should now have three - 11 x 23 pieces of fabric


With the piece that is left on the mat cut out three strips that are 2 1/2 inches wide and 23 inches long. These are going to be the bindings on the edges of the bag. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, binding is very very easy…really it is!

Now fold those skinny long pieces in half the long way and iron them. They should look like this.

Now for that left over 13 inch piece. You will open that up and cut off the selvage and cut a 23 inch piece from that end and from that cut an 11 inch piece. There will be enough left to cut one 2 1/2 inch piece that is 23 inches long for the binding for that same piece.  Press it as you did with the others. You will now have one more 11 x 23 piece for a total of 4 pieces.  You should also have 4 skinny pieces for binding. 

Cut out your muslin backing the same way only you will not need the binding pieces. 
Now we have to cut the batting in the same way. Your Warm Tator batting actually comes 23 inches wide so all you really need to do is straighten it and then cut it into 11 inch pieces just like you did the fabric. You should end up with Four – 11 x 23 pieces.

Now we will layer them all together. The muslin backing is on the bottom. If you have chosen a print fabric for the lining, make sure that it is RIGHT side DOWN. Next lay the batting on top of that and then the outside fabric with RIGHT side UP. See Photo below.

Now we are going to stitch all the layers together. This is called quilting. It is best to pin or baste the layers together just to hold them while you are quilting it. That is up to you but I highly recommend it.   I do because it keeps it from wandering around while you sew.

I like to quilt it together with just a simple meandering stitch. If that is not for you, you can just do some straight lines down the middle both ways. It is just to hold it all together when you wash it. You don’t want your batting getting all bunched up! 

This is what my meandering looked like.

OK...now that you have that done...here comes the binding!  All you have to do is match the raw edges of the skinny piece to the short side of the quilted piece.  I start out at the top edge with it hanging past about 1/8 of an inch.  I will cut that flush with the long edge when I am done.  I put a white piece of paper so you cold see where the skinny piece was.  It was hard to tell with those spuds all over the place!  Sew it together using a 1/4 inch seam.

 I like to keep sewing along the edge so when I get to the edge of the first side I grab the other end and butt it up against the side I just sewed and keep sewing. It looks kind of funny but then you just cut it apart. You only have a 23 inch piece to work with so you want to be frugal with it. Maybe these photos will help.

 

When you have it all sewn on, cut it apart between the gap. You will have a binding now on the top and bottom of the quilted piece. All done at once! WOOHOO

Now that you have them cut apart it is time to iron them. Press the binding piece away from the quilted piece and then up and over to the inside.  Folding it over the edge and press it well so it stays folded over.

 You can pin it in place if you wish. Now just stitch in the ditch. That means to stitch right in the seam. Be sure you are catching the folded over edge. See below.

THERE! You just put on binding and didn’t even know it. Now wasn’t that simple? This is what the other side should look like. Oh, it is lovely!



You are now on the home stretch. It is just a matter of sewing up the sides and turning it right side out.

I set my piece down, right side up. I fold the left side over 6 inches and then the right side over the top of it about and inch or so past the other edge.  It should measure about 10 1/2 inches overall. That is about what I come up with.

Pin this all in place and sew up the sides. I used about 3/8 inch seam. You can maybe do that or even 1/2 inch seam. I like to trim the seam with a pinking shears but that is up to you. You might want to trim the corners before turning right side out to reduce the bulk.

The worst part of this whole thing is that you now have to wash it to remove any of the sizing that is in the fabrics before you use it. That is easy to do, just swish it around in some cool water and a bit of soap and then stick in the dryer or just let it hang to dry. I know you can’t wait to try it so if you really want to and need to…you can use a dry iron and iron it until it is almost dry. A little moisture won’t hurt and it will just keep the spud moist while you cook it.

Here are the instructions per the Warm Tator Wrapper

It's not just for potatoes anymore!

Potatoes - 2 Large - 8 minutes
Red Potatoes - 2 Large - 8 Minutes
Sweet Potatoes - 2 Medium - 10 Minutes 
Corn on the Cob - 2 Large - 6 minutes
Rolls - 3 medium - 20 seconds


Estimates based on an 1100 watt microwave oven with a turntable. If you do not have a turntable, you will need to turn your bag over at the midpoint of the suggested cook time to prevent scorching.  Wash raw vegetables prior to cooking.  Drying is not necessary as the extra moisture aids in cooking.
Do not leave microwave unattended while cooking in case flames shoot out the door and up the ceiling and engulf your entire kitchen. 
Just kidding but you might want to keep an eye on it the first few times you use it so you know how long to cook something.

Happy Tator Bakin’!!!

GLASSES SVG

I thought being I was putting out a tutorial on making something for potatoes I would make a SVG to go with it. Glasses? Well, yes, of course, you know how many eyes a potato has!

CLICK HERE to download SVG
for your Cricut

I think it would be fun to add to a picture in a scrapbook or maybe a card.

For instance:

I just can't see my life without you in it

We might not see eye to eye but....

Seeing is not believing

The eyes are the windows of the soul

I only have eyes for you.......

I can see clearly now

I hope you can see it my way

Oh, I see where you are coming from....

MIXING BOWL

Everyone can use a mixing bowl.  Here is my rendition of an old fashioned one.  You can add your own shadow or fill it with something!

CLICK HERE to download SVG for your cutting machine.



KITCHEN MIXER

I thought being I put out a recipe today I would also put out a kitchen type of SVG design.  I think a person could use this on a scrapbook page of maybe kids making cookies, maybe on a recipe card, maybe on one of those gift jars with a cookie mix in it.  You could always add more to it but at least this is the basic design.  Have fun with it!

Click Here to download SVG

CARAMEL ROLLS

Now these Caramel Rolls have always been a hit and I am sure they will be at your house also.  Only requirement…follow the directions!

Ingredients:
One – Five loaf package of Frozen White Bread Dough: Now here is where you can mess up. Don’t buy a cheap brand and check the label…it must be fresh. Buy the good brand when it is on sale and throw it in the freezer. Around these parts we have dough made by Rhodes. You can experiment and maybe you have a store brand you like but for your first batch…if you have it…get Rhodes.
2 Cups of Brown Sugar: NOT Dark Brown sugar…regular brown sugar.
2 Sticks of Butter: Yes, it has to be butter. If you think you can get by with margarine, you might as well quit right now. It must be butter and two sticks equals 1 Cup.
2 Cups of New York Vanilla Ice Cream: OK…you better be buying a good ice cream. Do not buy cheap ice cream, it is too full of air and not enough milk fat (cream) in it to make good Caramel Sauce. I use New York Vanilla because it has a wonderful Vanilla taste. If you just can’t get that, add 1 tsp. of Vanilla after you have melted all the other ingredients.

Additional items:

1/4 Cup of Regular Sugar
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
 Baking Spray for pans and top of rolls.
2 – 9 x 13 baking pans. Do not use Air Bake Pans…they just don’t cook as well.
1 pair of Kitchen Shears

The first thing you should do is fill up the sink up with hot soapy water. I always tell people to do this before you start baking or cooking a meal. Your mess will be cleaned up before you are actually done baking. Just a really good habit to get into. Yes, I have a dishwasher but this is just faster.



I have a plastic pan in my sink so I don't have to fill it all the way up.
It saves on water and sewer!

Next put the 2 Cups of Brown Sugar, 2 Sticks of Butter and 2 Cups of Ice Cream in a kettle and let it all melt completely. All it has to do is be a smooth sauce. You do not have to cook or boil this, just be sure all the sugar is liquefied into the ice cream and butter. It takes just a couple minutes and be sure to stir occasionally. Set this aside.

Mix the 1/4 Cup of Sugar and 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Spray your pans well with the Baking Spray.

Next start cutting up the bread dough into a pan. You will need a kitchen shears for this. I am NOT talking about anything but a Kitchen Shears. Everyone should have one and you should covet it as much as you would any sewing shears. You do not use it for anything BUT food! It does not touch anything else. No one else but you or someone you designate to be cook is to touch it. Children under 25 cannot even look at it. You also wash it completely after each use, dry it and hide it again. Or if you do not have one, cut small 1/2 inch pieces on a cutting board with a knife but that might take awhile. I suggest you run to the nearest store and get one. You will love having it anyway!

You just snip snip snip the dough into the pan. Shears are good for herbs, cutting candy or fruit for decorations...lots of things!  Well worth it!  OK...I digress.....

You will be using 2 loaves per pan. You will cut up one loaf of dough into small half inch chunks into one half of the pan and then turn the pan around and use another loaf of dough and cut into the other half of the pan like shown below.

Do this to both pans.  It is just a way to keep it even.

After you have the dough in both pans, spray the tops of the dough with a little of the Baking Spray. Sprinkle each pan with half of the Sugar Mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double. This doesn’t really take long. Probably at the most an hour sometimes just half an hour.

Here is the cinnamon sprinkled over the dough.

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Don’t forget to take the plastic wrap off of the pans. Now pour the caramel sauce over the dough dividing it up between the two pans.
Put both pans in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. If your oven runs hotter than most, you might want to try 20 minutes. The tops must be a nice brown color when they are done. I like 25 minutes it is perfect for my oven so you may have to wing this part of it. If they are not completely done they will fall in the middle when the rolls cool.

While they are cooking, wash up all your utensils. Also prepare some pans for dumping them onto. I like to line the metal tops of my baking pans with a large piece of tin foil. Not everyone has metal tops that came with their 9 x 13 pans so you can also use just a cookie sheet. I like to use the tin foil because when I set the pan and foil on top of the pan I am going to flip I kind of pull the tin foil down around the bottom pan. Then I grab both pans together tightly and flip the whole thing over and the rolls plop out of the baking pan and onto the cookie sheet. I also pull the side of the foil up around the rolls. That way I can loosely put a sheet of tin foil over the top while it cools. Not too tight, you want the warm air to escape but I do not want a fly or any other insect to get in there!



Ooey Gooey Sensation!



I pull the foil up around the rolls.





Loosly cover with foil.





Once they are cool, cut each pan into 12 rolls or 6 large rolls per pan.

Suggestion:  If you really want to really WOW someone, put chopped pecans on the bottom of the pan before you put in the dough and then use Butter Pecan Ice Cream in your caramel sauce instead of the New York Vanilla.  When you flip them over on the pan the nuts will be on the top and they are a very buttery nutty roll. 

Last Loaf of Dough

You may be wondering why there is an extra loaf of dough left.  Well, they always came in a package of 5 loaves.  I use the extra dough for a homemade pizza.  Just pull it to flatten it out into a large cookie sheet making a little lip to hold the sauce.  Add some pizza sauce, all the toppings you want, add a ton of mozzarella cheese and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Watch it closely.  I highly recommend precooked meats only. (hamb. sausage, chicken..etc.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1 loaf of frozen bread dough. thawed

1 cup of cooked chicken chunks, I prefer white meat

1 jar of Garlic Alfredo Pasta Sauce

1 Can of sliced Olives

1 jar of pimentos- chopped, I use about 1/2  of the jar

1 - 8 oz. package of Mozzarella

Spread out the dough in a pizza pan or cookie sheet.  You have to use your hands for this.  Make a lip to hold the sauce.  Spread the Alfredo Sauce over the dough.  You might not need it all.  Use as much as you like. Sprinkle the chicken all over the pizza, top with olives and pimentos and sprinkle the cheese over the top.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Check it often. 
 These are not a diet foods but you will be happy and will be tootin' gluten for 24 hours.

CALENDAR OVERLAY WITH INVISIBLE BACKGROUND

A friend of mine was wondering how to put a picture in the background of a calendar page and was wondering if I knew now.  WelI I didn't!  I went and watched a You Tube video and then tried it on my own.  It worked out so well that I decided to share the file. I used Photoshop Elements 8 for this project.

This is an example of what I did.  I am not going to explain this in too much detail.  If you know how to use a graphic program this will be very easy.  Especially if you know how to use layers.  Even if you are not real familiar with those programs this Calendar page has an invisible background and anything will show through it if you put it over the top of it.  You could even have a collage of words for a background or a scanned sheet of paper or fabric.  Just call up this file as if you are adding a photo to the picture you already have as a background. 

In my photo, I made a layer with the lilacs and a layer with my dog.  I then pulled the blank calendar over the top of all of it.  Now I can add numbers that will fit the month and I can also add the name of the month above it and also add events, birthdays, anniversaries etc.

This also works in Microsoft Word.  Just bring in your photo and then bring in the Calendar file and lay it over the top.   


I haven't added the numbers on my calendar yet.  I was just experimenting with it.



Download the BLUE calendar grid HERE.




Download the PINK Calendar Grid HERE



Download the WHITE Calendar Grid HERE.

Download the BLACK Calendar Grid HERE.

There are no days of the week on this one in case you like to make your Calendars starting with Monday.

Download the BLACK Blank Calendar Grid HERE.

(Thanks to my friend Dennis for such a great idea!)

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, oh, crappola

Yes, we are getting pretty sick of the snow. We are having one heck of a time finding the road. I have no idea how the blade operator can even see where it is after a snow storm. Once it snows and blows, there is nothing but white in the bright sunlight and heaven forbid...try driving at night like I have to...and the road just does not exist.

I wanted to share a few photos of just what it is like to live where I do. It is wonderful in the summer, traffic seldom goes by, the air is very clean, and you can always hear the birds singing. There is usually wind in North Dakota and it makes our trees rustle like the sound of an ocean right outside our window. Kind of cool sounding...very relaxing indeed.

THEN...along comes winter. Ripping around the corner of the house like a locomotive, howling like a pack of wolves in heat and snow so thick you can’t see in front of your face. You are constantly bundled up with enough clothing you could roll down a hill and never get hurt. (If we had a hill.) The cold is so bitter that you can’t breathe and vehicles burn up more gas just warming up than it takes to get to work. We are not wasteful we just like to be able to breathe when we drive. I tried holding my breath once but it was so cold I stayed blue for a week. We are not Smurfs. Yep, it pretty much blows the heck out of the relaxing summer we just had. Kind of makes you want to go out and rip that sign down that says…Welcome to North Dakota…and put one up that says, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK! They say it keeps out the riff raff. Oh, no, they are here because you have to be a little crazy to live here year ‘round.

So it goes…come on…share a day with me…the sun did shine for these photos.



Of course our dog drinks Aquafina and he never goes on a road trip without it! Doesn't yours? 

 

He knows he buried a bone right there just last summer.
Yes, winter is tough on the Willy dog.
He seems to love the cold except when he has to poop.  He will get halfway done, it freezes and it just snaps off.  He never knows if he's done or not.



Here is my road going east.

  

Here is my road going west.

Can you really tell what direction you are going?

 I know by now you are pretty excited about North Dakota.
Do you ever wonder why our unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation?  It's because you will want a job, any job just to keep moving so you don't freeze to death.  And also, don't you think maybe, just maybe, you might get a bit tired of staying home and looking at this?  Yes, work is nice.....

Here is our farm from a distance.

This is as close as we want you to come without an invite...so says hubby.

Here is our house from the end of our driveway.
This is where hubby would like a gate...with a huge lock!

I let him think he really is tough...

Well, yall come back sometime! Ya hear!  Maybe spring?

SALT AND PEPPERS SHAKER SVGs

OK...Some of you may want to take my stories with a grain of salt.  So be it...but you might also want to take them with a little pepper too!



Click here to download SVG



Who doesn't need a little spice in their life?

You could add little sparkles or glitter to simulate salt coming out of a tipped shaker and maybe small beads for pepper?

HEART STAMP

Click here to download SVG

This is in two pieces, the shadow is already made for it as it shows in the picture.

Heart Borders

Click here to download SVG

I made these to fit a 5.5 card edge but you can resize them to any size you want.  There are 3 pieces that will be on your mat.  Just break them apart and you can choose which back ground you would like to use.

HEART CARD FRONT

Click here to download SVG

This comes in two pieces on the mat.  You can break it apart if you wish to make changes.  I made it to fit the front of a 4.25 x 5.5 card but of course you can resize it to suit you!

HEART KISS STAMP



Click here to download SVG



This is just a little stamp to add to an envelope or card. 

I'm raising my prices if Hubby
forgets February 14th...maybe 10 cents a kiss!

HEART SWANS

Click here to download SVG

This was a request that was made last week.  I didn't get a chance to get it online but I did send it on to the person that requested it.  This week I thought I would finally get it on here and share with the rest of you.  It comes with a shadow background and the beaks and eyes are separate on the mat.  When you import this just split it and you will be able to move it around to where you want it.  Be sure to size it before you split it or the beak and eyes won't match up.  You don't even need the beak and eyes.  I just added them this week.