Pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures, hopefully ya'll forgive me.

For me one of the highlights of the weekend were sights like this:


Being in the company of shooters who even attempt a five hundred yard shot with a revolver, let alone get hits called (and yes, I do believe they hit the target, even if they didn't punch holes in it... it's metal, it's a long-ass shot, and they were shooting with pistols, fer gawd's sake) is enough to humble just about everybody. Except them, of course.

I think this may have been mom's favorite view of the weekend:


Folks enjoying her food always makes her happy. I also had to include it because, well, everyone has been picking on AD and this is one of the nicer photos. He's such a good sport about photos, and frankly manages to make so many hilarious photo ops, that he makes it pretty easy to pick on him. But we love you, AD. Really we do.


Farmdad got some shooting done with guns as well as the camera, which is good, because otherwise he'd whine.

I got some shooty action too:


Love. That. Rifle. Seriously, I want to ask NFO if I can be in his will just for that rifle. Sooo sweet.

Speaking of shooty goodness, this guy has always been one of my favorite people:


Not only is he a great person, and an absolute sweetheart, but he ain't skeerd of nothin, and definitely lives life to the fullest. I wasn't a bit surprised at his ringing the gong offhand with this rifle, although he impressed several of our visitors.

It was a fantastic weekend and we're definitely looking forward to next year!

Biscuits, Biscuits, Biscuits!

Last night some of you were asking for the biscuit recipe. Well here ya go folks! Since I can't make and edible biscuit (they turn out like hockey pucks, Farmgirl used to play fetch with the dogs with my attempts. ) there will be no photos this time.

Biscuit Mix

9 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups shortening ( not oil! )
Stir dry ingredients and sift 3 times
Work shortening in until mix is the consistency of corn meal
Store in a closed container at room temperature.

To make a batch of biscuits

3 cups of mix
2/3 cup of milk
add milk to mixture and stir about 25 strokes
Turn out on floured board and kneed about 15 strokes
Roll out to 1 1/2 inches thick
smear half of dough with butter and fold over other half.
Cut biscuits and place on a greased cookie sheet
turn biscuits over on greased cookie sheet
Bake at 450 degrees till golden brown

Good Luck!

General Update

Well, Farmmom's recipes seem to be a hit! The poll is hopping, and so far, Chicken Fried Steak is in the lead.

Donations for Jane are going well, thank you guys so much. Chapter six is nearly ready to go and will be available in a week. Thank you cards for last week's donations will go out today, rather than yesterday like I had said, because I didn't get home in time to get them sent off yesterday. Sorry!

The hunt for a pickup has begun, and will continue. My favorite used car guy is looking for me, and I'll know what he was able to find probably Friday, after his trip to Denver.

A pickup is a nice chunk of change (for a new-ish used pickup with the things I need to make it a viable work truck such as four wheel drive and a tow package, I'm looking at a range of ten to fifteen grand,) and I'll be batting my eyelashes and looking cute at loan officers around the start of next week.

That's probably around the same time frame that I'll be making a come-back in the waitress arena. There is a construction project going here right now that would pay better, but there are two problems with that plan:

First, it's not the company that I spent my entire road work "career" with, so I'd be low man on the totem pole again, which means stuck on an end in freezing cold weather with bad knees... worse than waiting tables, at least then I'm moving around. And inside. Brr.

Second, I refuse to work for idiots on the road, and from what I've seen, the supervisor on this job is just a short step up from a fencepost in IQ.

I've always said that any honest job is a good job, and I'll do anything up to and including digging ditches if that's what it takes. Which doesn't mean digging ditches or standing on the side of the road when it's freezing out is my first choice.

Things will work out, I'll get my pickup, and all will be well. I'm sure of it.

Open Carry

During the blog gathering there were a lot of things that folks enjoyed, as you can read on their blogs.

I think one of the things that had the biggest impact, however, was Open Carry.

Here we had a bunch of people, almost all from out of state, in a tiny town, openly carrying their firearms. A couple didn't have much choice, their states' concealed carry permits not being honored by Colorado, but for the most part, it was a choice to carry openly. And for a few, a treat.

None of them had any nefarious plans, nor acted like it, and no fuss was raised.

Because, guess what? Around here, we don't care. Well, for the most part. There was a bit of grumbling to the owner of the restaurant where we met for breakfast every morning, mostly from the little blue haired ladies. Such grumblings were met with the assurance that what those people were doing was completely legal, they were here yesterday morning too, and they're really nice folks. Now, did you want toast with that or a biscuit?

The ability to walk down the street with a gun on your hip and garner strange glances not at the piece in your holster but rather at the Texan guy in a skirt is something that I tend to take for granted. Seeing how much it was enjoyed by everyone attending was a nice reminder of what Small Town USA is like to those who don't get to live there.

Open carry versus concealed carry is not so much an argument here as a fashion choice. Do I wear a cover garment or is it too darn hot?

So the next time you're arguing the topic of "open carry" remember this: In a small Colorado town, where you turn your clock back fifty years when you cross the city limits, it's not a big deal. Our sleepy little non-metropolis takes a gun on your hip with the same even stride as a horse being ridden down Main Street, or an electricity-generating windmill going up on the outskirts of town.

And maybe, just maybe, all those argumentative folks making such a big fuss (on both sides of the issue) could learn a little something from that.

Pan Gravy Ala FarmMom

Ok Phlegmmy, here ya go Lady.

For good pan gravy the very first thing you MUST do is fry up some good dead critter be it beef, chicken or whatever suits your fancy.




Then decide how much gravy you want to make. For Farmdad and I, I leave about 1/4 cup of the grease that I fried my meat in in the bottom of the pan. Make sure your grease is hot but not smokin hot.


Take a few tablespoons of flour and stir it into the grease. It needs to be just enough that it doesn't leave extra grease on top of your mess in the skillet. It should look somewhat like a thin paste:



Now the real secret to pan gravy is to let the flour cook into your grease. Do not under cook the pasty substance or you will be left with a very starchy tasting gravy. Actually most people think they are going to burn the gravy if they leave it too long and in a way that is exactly what you are doing but not enough to blacken it just get it to a nice golden brown. This usually takes 2-3 minutes.



Now the next step is the hardest. You really can't leave your gravy at this point. Take your jug of Whole milk,( whole milk makes a richer gravy) and start pouring it into the pan stirring constantly. ( Love my coated whisks for this. ) Put plenty milk in to start with or you will end up with a sticky glop. You must keep stirring the gravy and adding milk slowly as it thickens to get the right consistency. It will start out very runny but will thicken pretty fast. Add a little milk and let it thicken then add some more and so on. Keep adding milk and stirring till the gravy is bubbly and the consistency that suits you. If you happen to get it a little thinner than you want just let it bubble for a minute or two and it will thicken some more:


Stir, Stir, Stir! Too little stirring will leave you with lumpy gravy.


At the end, your gravy should cling to the spoon. It's going to be slightly more runny than you think it should be, but don't worry! It will thicken as it cools down:


Now you're ready for a delicious meal!


Once you get the hang of it good pan gravy is easy to make and will impress your friends to no end. (obviously LOL ) The best advice I can give is just practice till you get it the way you want it. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time. I had many failures before I got my first GOOD batch of gravy.



*post written by Farmmom, photos, editing, and compilation by Farmgirl.

Wow

I've already gotten more response than I expected from the serialization of Jane.

I have the very best readers, obviously. Ya'll are great.

I'll leave Chapter Five (with which you get everything posted on the blog with a bonus of the prologue) available for another week or so, if I can get Chapter Six polished to satisfaction in that time.

Once Chapter Six is announced, if you need Chapter Five and previous, you'll have to note that on the paypal page when you make your donation.

I'll do my best to get chapters out in a timely fashion, from here on out.

Thank you guys, really. You all Rawk!

Poll

Over to the right there's a poll. If you want to weigh in on which recipe(s) Farmmom posts on here, speak your mind there.

I'm so helpful, I can't hardly stand myself.