Tid Bits

Just some tid bits of what has been happenin'.....

Quality time with grand-daughters.......

Ben had butchered a beef for a friend and that beef had lots and lots of fat on it.  We asked if we could keep it and boil it down to make tallow.  Tallow can be used to make soap and it can be used like lard in recipes.  We haven't used it yet for either, so I cannot tell you whether I recommend it or not.  This is the process .....

The hunks of fat are run through a meat grinder and put into a big butcher kettle with small amount of water to prevent sticking...

It is cooked til completely melted and all water evaporated.

Once you start to hear a "crackling" noise, it is time to get out of the kettle and fast! or it will burn.  We used a kettle with a handle as a dipper and poured it through a strainer into a tin container.  These little fat hunks are called "cracklings" after they are pressed in a lard press.  We decided to not take the time to do that and threw them away.  Not the most nutritious food, but the old-timers would have eaten them anyway....

The tallow solidifies after cooled. We then removed it from the tins to clean the sediment off the bottom and remove any water that may have collected in the bottom of tin.  This is the finished tallow ready to use.  Needs to be stored in the cool.   The same process is used to make lard, which is fat from hogs instead of beef.

We have been working in the fields planting grass for the cows.  Being out in the open fields working the soil is one of my all time favorite things to do on the farm.  It is a time when I can get out of the house, enjoy the sunshine and think clearly without interruptions.  The men folk had done the planting and allowed me to roll these fields while they started chores. 

We have been enjoying the warm temperatures and watching the blossoms burst forth from the trees and bushes.  Winter is past and Spring is here!  Joy!  Joy!  Joy!                                                                  

Until next time...............                                                                                                                              

My Rich Husband

There was an American missionary and his thin wife who went to Africa to live.  An African man came up to him and asked him how much he paid for his wife.  The American proudly replied that he didn't pay anything, his wife was free.  The African replied, "I thought so, I wouldn't have paid anything for her either!"  You see, over in Africa if you have a chubby wife, it was a sign that you are wealthy.   What a concept!  I informed my hubby that he is a rich man after all!  heehee! Many of you have probably watched the movie "Fiddler on the Roof."  Do you remember the song "If I were a Rich Man?"  One of the stanzas begins with these words,

I'd see my wife, my Golde, looking like a rich man's wife
With a proper double-chin.

Oh, my goodness!  a proper double-chin!  The whole idea strikes my funny bone.  If a chubby wife gives the world the impression that her husband is a rich, wonderful provider, why are so many of us women-folk setting goals that will make our husbands look poor?  Who is influencing us anyway?  Who dictates who is "fat" and who isn't?  Our society?  The government?  The medical field?  Which country you live in?  Maybe we should ask each of our husbands what they think we should look like and set our goals accordingly.  Which maybe I should take back those words, for my hubby don't have a problem with me being "chubby", it's me having a problem with it.  Is he supportive of me wanting to lose weight?  Yes, but only for the reason he wants me to feel better and improve my health.   Which brings me to updating my journey to that end.  First, I want to clarify something.  Am I meaning to degrade thin people and say they are poor?  Nope!  I want to be thin and some husbands love thin.   It can be a matter of opinion and different perspectives.      

While on my journey, I have become stuck at a roadside rest with a flat tire for weeks now!  I must have run over a nail in one of my detours.  Or, let's see, another excuse could be is that my dog ate the map.  Yep, that must be it!  It's all because of that nail and my dog that I am still sitting here not moving forward.  The good news is that I haven't backtracked either.  Stuck!   but, really whose fault is it?  My own!  This journey has made me feel mentally exhausted at times.  It requires thinking and sometimes I feel like I can't think anymore.  Let's see....don't eat that, eat this....but I don't have "this" right now, it's still at the store.....eat at this time, but at "this time" I am doing something else, I would rather eat at "that" time.....what can I pack for a snack when I have to be on the road.....need a protein along with a fat along with a grain along with some veggies along with some fruit.......I need more time in the kitchen......when should I take my walk.......I need to remember what I ate so I can write it down, write it down, write it down.......  ssscccrrreeeaaammm!!!

Stop!  Refocus, get another copy of the map, get rid of dog, change the tire, start the van and pull out on that highway once more, for while on the highway is when I feel the best - that is what I want to do.  I want the road to be clear of all obstacles, with huge road signs that prevent me from taking the wrong exit.  I want my husband's reputation is stay in tack, so I will be reasonable in my goals.  : )  All these I wants are goals, but I will refuse to stress and be miserable about them.   Which brings another story to mind.  On a radio talk show a question was asked, "would you rather be fat and happy, or skinny and miserable?"   One man called in and said "I would rather be skinny and miserable" and the host ask "why?"   "Because now I am fat and miserable and if I am going to be miserable either way I would rather be skinny."

Until next time..............