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Installing Sub-flooring, Insulation and Hardwood Flooring in South Pen
The South Pen The south pen was always my “safe spot” to start. It wasn’t as dark as the north side of the house and it seemed to be in better shape than the north pen as well. It isn’t surprising, then that this room is the one that is most finished. I don’t know that our 1846 Texas Homestead will ever be completely finish, but at this point, we are living here and that is all that matters…for now anyway. Renovations are exhausting. But at one point, we were focused on things like sub-flooring, insulation, and selecting a hardwood flooring. But before we got there, we had a lot…
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Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons
Preserved Lemons I had never heard of preserved lemons until I wanted to make a Moroccan chicken recipe. Of course, the recipe called for preserved lemons and the cookbook helpfully included the recipe for the lemons. Some would say that I am a planner. I make lists and I use sticky notes, but doesn’t everyone? I do not however, plan my meals three weeks out. And that is how long it takes to preserve lemons. The recipe called to me though and I had continued to put off making it because of those danged lemons. There was only one thing to do. Make the lemons and have them ready and…
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An Experiment Born of Inconvenience
Y’all know that I am a bit strange and I love to try things that most others wouldn’t do on a bet. I have a fascination with the past and how people lived (and ate) back in the day. When a storm knocked out our power for almost two weeks, I was thrown into the past living without water, septic, or power. It sort of became an experiment in survival (we stayed in at home the entire time) while we attempted to live comfortably without the conveniences of modern life. With Hurricane Dorian looming off the coast, several of my friends on Facebook are talking about their hurricane preparation and…
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A Beach in the Back Yard? Why Not?
Today is my husband’s parents 60th wedding anniversary. In honor of this pretty amazing accomplishment, I wanted to take a second and look back at the celebration we had a decade ago. We decided that life was a beach (literally) and we turned our subdivision, useless back yard into a white sand beach and threw a luau for their 50th anniversary. The Problem with the Yard The problem with our back yard was that it was nonexistent. It was tiny and damp. Mosquitoes ruled the land. There was a small creek that went through the thick, dense trees. Weeds were knee high, but grass wouldn’t have grown there due to…
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Wood Family Reunion: Saturday, April 25, 2020 CANCELLED
Below is the original post for the reunion. Unfortunately, we are cancelling the reunion, but hope to reschedule it in the Fall of 2020. Keep checking back for more information. Thank you, Jana A Gathering of the Clans We would like to once again gather as family to share our rich heritage. The reunion was traditionally held on July 4th on White Rock Creek and later at the Brandon Community Center so that everyone could enjoy the Texas heat. Ha! The Community Center has air conditioning now, but we thought we could try an earlier date in the spring. After much discussion, we did come to the realization that there…
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The Wood Family Descendants
Our Families James and Isabella Riddell Wood left Scotland in 1851 for Texas. They brought their nine children with them. Daughter Christina and son James died in Leon County. Daughter Martha died less than 24 hours after arriving at Ft. Graham. Their oldest son, Hugh, became a teamster for the U. S. Army and died in the Mormon Wars in the 1850s. Son John joined the Confederate Army and died on July 26, 1864 in Cloutierville, Louisiana after taking ill. Only four of the Wood children survived to have families of their own. These are the families that constitute our family reunion. Margaret Wood and James Ransom Davis Margaret Wood…
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The Cheese Making, Goat Milking Lifestyle Surprise
Hobby to Lifestyle Change Looking back, it is easy to see how I went from cheese making to a goat milking lifestyle. I can, sort of explain it to most open-minded people. It made sense (really?) to get goats to milk. When we decided to make cheese, the natural progression was to make cheese we need milk. To make goat cheese, we need goat milk. Goat milk comes from goats. We should get goats to milk. But the addition of the goats meant that a cheese making quickly went from a lark hobby to full-on lifestyle. Once upon a time I said I wanted to make cheese. Our favorite cheeses…
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Five Cheeses for the Beginning Cheese Maker
Plans Are Like Swiss Cheese… Some have holes in them. Certainly, my cheese making journey had plenty of holes. If you want to know how many holes, check out this blog post. If I were going to begin the cheese journey again, I think I would focus on making the soft cheeses that are ready in a week or two and leave the aged cheeses to the professionals. And yes, there would be lots of my favorites that would be left off my cheese making list. However, there are several soft cheeses that will keep us satisfied for a lifetime. Here are our top five cheeses that are perfect for…
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Dangerous Cheese Making: Lessons in Time Commitment
Hobby or Major Time Commitment? Cheese making as a hobby is a pretty cool choice. We are a cheese crazy family. We love nibbling on all different types of cheese. Indeed, we have spent a fortune at cheese counters around the world purchasing our favorites and trying out new cheeses. It appeared to me that cheese making was a logical thing to learn. But not all cheese is created equally as I quickly learned. Cheese making can be a serious time commitment if you let it. The time requirements vary greatly for different kinds of cheeses. Some take months, some just a few days. Some you drain the curds, salt…
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Want DIY Experience? Here’s How To Get It
Welcome to Square One It is an age-old problem. How do you get DIY experience when you have no experience? First time DIY projects can sort of feel the same way. How do you justify the risk of a first time DIY project? The potential of saving yourself labor costs is a motivating factor certainly. However, DIYers must also examine the likelihood of them successfully completing the project. To fail may mean having to hire a professional to do the job (and repair any damage) along with material costs for a second go around. Successful DIY projects save money and add value to a home, unsuccessful ones can become nightmares.…