Taking a Break Blues

I'm singing the blues today. . . .It's not a song I can say I'm enjoying . . . .

but one that's become necessary--"due to circumstances beyond my control". . . .
and believe me, I've tried my hardest to control those circumstances!

 

 

This summer has been a long and complicated one. . . .

health issues. . . .time issues. . . . deadlines to make. . . .

borrowed computers. . . .a broken camera. . . .

issues with the net provider. . . .It's just gone on and on. . . .

 

The last straw was the loss of my computer. . . .

It all began over a month ago, when I opened it early one morning

and only got a blank screen. . . .

Took it to the doctor (Geek Squad). . .

They thought they could bring it back to life.

One day last week, they notified me of the grim news. . . .

The computer was "gone". . . .and where did I want to bury it?

 

I lost five years of documents. . . .and this entire year of photographs.

I can salvage a few of the documents from my flash drives. . . .

and many of the photographs from my blog and Facebook. . . .

but it's still been a huge loss.

I had just bought a portable hard drive with the intention of storing our files on it. . . .

It was still in the bag when my computer went down.

Wouldn't you know it?

 

 

And now, 'duty and responsibilities' also call. . . .

John needs my help with the remainder of the farm maintenance and renovations

before winter sets in. . . .

There won't be a minute to spare with all the projects we need to complete. . . .

My health issues this summer have hindered our progress.

 

There's also talk from two popular magazines that plan

to feature The Country Farm Home next year.

We're very excited about that. . . .plans are in the making. . . .

but first we have too finish our renovations and projects already started.

 

The bottom line is. . . .

I must take a break from blogging at The Country Farm Home for a while. . . .

I won't be totally 'gone' though. . . .

I'll be visiting your blogs and you can email me anytime. . . .

I plan to continue to add links on this blog's side column for older posts

that you might want to read again or might have missed the first time around. . . .

plus, I hope to pop in every now and then to give you an update on our progress, too.

 

You can also join me at

Pinterest,

Facebook 

. . . .AND at. . . .

 

 

where orders will be filled, as usual.

 

 

During this break at The Country Farm Home,

 I'll be posting now and then  at Our Old Country Store.

I have lots of goodies and tips to show you there. . . .

not just about Rag Rugs

 but Farmhouse crafts, quilting, junkin' finds, apron patterns, and more. . . .

Nothing fancy. . . .

Just some good old Farmhouse style inspiration. . . .

from myself and others. . . .

 

 

 

 So. . . .even though I'm singing the blues here at
The Country Farm Home for a time, I haven't totally left you.
I just find myself in need of time to re-group, re-think,
and do my share of the work around the farm.

Let me apologize to you who have emailed and/or commented
this summer and haven't heard back from me.
When I did have a computer, there was too much 'paperwork' to take care of.
I hope to purchase a new computer soon
and everything should calm down a little--I HOPE!

Again, you can join and/or follow me anytime at these locations:

Our Old Country Store 

Pinterest 

Facebook 

 

Dell, Arkansas.com 

or Email Me


I'll be in touch. . .You stay in touch, too!
Time to put my overalls on and get to work!

. . .from my farmhouse to yours. . .

 

 

Two Family Recipes for Tomato ChowChows--Easy and Delicious

Got an abundance of green and red tomatoes in the garden? 

Fall is a good time to make Tomato ChowChows (pickle relish) for the long winter ahead.

There's nothing like a good Tomato ChowChow on beans or peas. . . .It's a staple in our family. . . .There are as many recipes for ChowChow as there are cooks. . . .I've tried a lot of them, but none compare with the following two recipes that have been handed down for at least four generations of my family. (ChowChow is the local name for a pickle relish.)

My brother emailed me last week, wanting the recipes. . . .said he hadn't had good ChowChow in years. . . .He plans to 'can' his own this year. . . .If he's going to all that trouble, you know it's GOOD!

Thought I'd share the family recipes with you, too.

My favorite is the Green Tomato ChowChow. . . .

Green Tomato ChowChow

1 gallon green tomatoes
5 sweet green and/or red peppers
12 medium onions
3 hot peppers

1 stalk celery

1 medium cabbage
1 quart vinegar (white)
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp allspice

1 tsp white mustard

1 tsp cinnamon

Grind vegetables (I chop mine), put in a bag and let drip 20 minutes. Mix altogether. Bring to a boil and cook until hot through and through. Put in jars and seal.*


My Mom favored the Red Tomato ChowChow. . . .

 

Ripe (Red) Tomato ChowChow

18 ripe tomatoes, med size
5 onions, med size
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
Salt to taste
Hot peppers to taste

Mix well and cook until thick. Seal in jars.*

*Do you know how to seal the jars?
We use the hot pack method of canning for our ChowChows. Everything has to be sterilized and hot.  Check out the following link if you're not familiar with the method. It's a post on peach jam but the canning would be done the same way:

 Hot Pack Canning

To be on the safe side you might want to process your ChowChow in a water bath for approximately 10 minutes.

All this talk of ChowChow has my mouth watering for a big pot of beans, greens and cornbread. . .hmmm. . . . 

Guess where I'm heading? . . .(grin)

, , ,from my farmhouse kitchen to yours. . .

 

Country Sundays--Daily Walking

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . .from my farmhouse to yours. . .

 

 

 



Shabby Media Stand from a Vintage Vanity

 

 

 

 

 

  

Living in a 1930s farmhouse has it's challenges. . . .one of which is 'what do I do about the TV and media players with their tons of cords?'

 

For our 'new' living room (renovation in the process), we'll use the same theme and colors as the kitchen. . . .painted furniture, white walls, maybe a black and white painted floor, and of course there will always be touches of denim and red.

 

Til now, the TV has been sitting on a vintage oak cabinet, ca 1920. . . .No way would I paint it!. . . .So, I've been on the hunt for an alternative. . . .When I found this shabby vanity--already painted and from the same era as our farmhouse--I grabbed it in a jiffy! . . . It was the perfect size for our TV, and we could hide the media players underneath and the DVDs, 'clickers' and such in the drawers. . . .Found locally, it's so shabby that I love it!. . . .Fits right in with my 'make-do' attitude. . . .

 

I put John to work. . . .He added shelves underneath. . . .Then we realized our DVD player wouldn't fit. . . .Back to the drawing board. . . No problem. . . ..John built a little cubby hole box and placed it on top of the vanity--without nailing it down--for the DVD player. . . . The TV will sit on top of the box. . . .We can remove it easily if necessary. . . . 

 

He also added rollers to the vanity's feet for easy moving.

 

To hide all the other players and wires on the shelves, I used a Gold Medal Flour Sack. . . .will also use an additional one to hide the DVD player once everything is in place.

 

Now, I have to come up with an idea on how to hide the TV itself. . . .Any thoughts?. . . .We use it a lot, so hiding it may be a matter of a cloth cover of some kind. . . .Need to think on it, don't I?

 

 

Once we move the TV back in and the oak cabinet out, one more corner of the living room will be done. . . .Yes!

 

I love checking things off that 'to-do' list!



 

. . .from my farmhouse to yours. . .

 

 

 

1930s Painted Vanity $20--Hwy 61 Flea Market, Blytheville, AR

Gold Medal Flour Sack $1.50--Antique Mall, Kennett, MO

 

 Sharing this post with: * Knick of Time

 

 

Country Sundays--Love

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . .Sending Much Love to You this Country Sunday. . .