The best turkey ever!

I know this is late, but this is about Thanksgiving. I have been wanting to cook a turkey in a pit for awhile now. We did it on Trek , but as a girl I was never involved with the actual pit, fire and cooking part. I have been trying to tell hubby that it would be fun to do at a reenactment, but he was extremely skeptical about how well it would work. He, however, is the one who decided we should do it for Thanksgiving. The afternoon got a bit hectic, so I only got pictures of the fire, and the pit after we buried the Turkey. I have however turned hubby into a believer. It was the best turkey I have ever cooked. add one more survival skill to my belt. We are even considering cooking turkey dinner for our entire regiment next thanksgiving, as the Americans always plan an event for that weekend.

Temple Blessings

We had a fabulous weekend! We had the opportunity to go to the temple on Saturday, and do some long awaited work. The time finally came (and then some), to do the work for John's grandmother. We also did the work for his mother's grandmother, and a child who died very young. It was a very spiritual, and long day (six hours) at the temple. We started with our neice being baptized for these three, and then confirmed. The day ended with sealing spouses and children together. I am so greatful that we live in a place where the temple is close enough to go to regularly.

ups and downs

The last two weeks have been full of ups and downs. I found out the painful way that I have an abscess tooth. It is no longer hurting or infected, but I find that I still have to be careful not to over stimulate the over sensitive nerve. I am now saving up, to get a root canal.
We went to Trenton, to our District Pioneer Days last Saturday. John and I were asked to do some cooking demonstrations. I was completely surprised to learn that they have a fire pit at their chapel. It is up the hill, at the back of the property, but I did not know you could do that. We were a complete hit. We made a pie, a stew and some fine cakes. They devoured them all. I borrowed clothes from our local fort, because none of mine were right for the time period. I curled the front of my hair in rag curls, and had several ringlets. We got asked a few times if we were supposed to be Joseph and Emma, so I guess we got the look right.
I am back to sewing, and realizing just how much work I have ahead of me. It is turning into quite the business. I have decided to start a new blog, focused on the sewing. We will see if I am able to keep it up. My new blog is astitchofhistory@blogspot.com.

Trials and blessings

So I recently wrote about how blessed I was to have such wonderful friends in my life. They really are the best. We pushed ourselves crazily hard, and managed to finish the order I had. The coats were delivered, and payment was received. I also had another order in the middle of all this, that had me pushing to dress 9 musicians. As I have been taking a break for a few days (my machine is in for servicing and my house desperately needed cleaning), I have found other struggles. I developed an abscess tooth over the weekend. I was nearly in tears as I wondered how I could possibly pay for this when I received word that the money for the musician coats came in. John's business has been slowing greatly, and I have found that I am being blessed with the ability to earn enough to make up the difference. It looks like we are in for a bit of a roller coaster as John transitions from being self employed, to working for someone else. The Lord is opening doors and providing a way to take care of ourselves as we make the transition. Now I have to keep myself organized, and keep moving forward on the orders still waiting for me.

Sooo Blessed

This week has really been an interesting one for me. I have been under a crazy schedule lately. I make a point of meeting my sewing commitment, sometimes to my detriment. There have been a few late nights sewing the last of a lining, and several buttons. I am a procrastinator, so last minute has somewhat been my thing. I have worked really hard with these last few contracts, to change that habit. As I was sewing this week, I realized I was ahead of schedule. I was so pleased with myself, that I let a bit of pride creep in. I imagined how impressed people would be when I delivered more coats than were expected. The thought in my head was, "Just call me a sewing Goddess!" The next moment I was hit with a very quiet, humble thought,"No, I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me. He loves me so much he gave me the talent and ability to complete an insane amount of work, in a very short amount of time." I was able to enjoy that thought and the feelings it brought me, for a couple of days. I felt great peace and joy. I was overcoming my procrastinator tendencies, and felt I was progressing in that aspect of my life.

Last night brought total chaos into my world. I had sub-contracted half of a job to another lady. I do not really know the pattern, and I really did not have time to do it all. In checking in with her, it was revealed that she would be unable to complete her portion. The reasons as to why, and the fact that it is not even started are beside the point. I am on the hook for this order. Panic set in for a brief period, because I went from having 5 coats to 10 coats still needing to be started (with a delivery date 2 weeks away). That is on top of 14 I am trying to finish for next weekend.
It occurred to me that I needed to turn to my dearest friends for help. I have been blessed with two amazing ladies in my life. When I called the first, she calmed me down, and assured me that I am not alone. Both ladies have committed to helping me meet this obligation, and are actually starting the first part of the order, while I finish one of the other orders. Both of these ladies are my counselors in relief Society. I feel so blessed to have such dear and special friends, who are there to help me.

I gained a further testimony of the love my Heavenly Father has for me, and the influence he has in my life. As I grew in this testimony, the adversary threw a trial in my path. I was blessed yet again, to be made aware that the Lord has placed people in our lives to help us through those trials. I know He loves me, and is mindful of me as an individual.

Snow Balls

I know, I know, it is spring, and the snow has melted there are no snow balls. I must beg to differ, and my goodness they are delicious! Our reenactment season is starting again, and with it comes the annual "Cast Iron Chef" competition. John and I have decided to enter this year, so the practice begins. We have been pouring over our 18 century cookbook (the recipes have to be accurate for the period). For desert we decided to try Carolina Snowballs. They are actually easy to make, it is plating them that is tricky. You take a piece of cloth, on it you place about 3 tablespoons of rice. On top of that you place an apple that has been peeled and cored. Place a little lemon zest in the hole, and tie the cloth tightly around the apple. This is far easier to do with two people, and I found that it helped to push the rice up, and around the apple (smoothing it out a bit). These pouches (Parker said they look like money bags) are placed into a pot of cold water. The water is brought to a boil, and then left to boil about 25 minutes. The tricky part is removing them from the cloth, without breaking the layer of rice that has formed. There is a sauce that is poured over this snowball. It is made with a 1/4 pound of butter, a cup of white wine (we used white grape juice), cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. It is so tasty, I think this will be one of our favourites for quite some time. We have learned that the recipes of old were very rich and had an extremely high fat content, it reaffirms how different life really was. This one though, is not too bad for fat. If you choose to try it, you won't be sorry. I best go, I think I want to try to get the last snowball.

Blue Cheese!

I seem to have recollections of liking blue cheese as a child. I have vague memories of going to visit Rodgers, and eating it with Chris. At the time, I was also on a schedule of getting two needles three times a week, to keep my allergies under control. As I grew, I somewhat outgrew my allergies. That is, until I went to high school, and they started construction. Going to school in that environment, had brought my allergies back with a vengeance. What brings seemingly meandering thoughts? I went out to dinner with my dear husband last night. I decided to try the veal cordon-blue. Not thinking things through, it did not occur to me that it had blue cheese in it (I know, the name says it all). I thought nothing of it until later in the evening, when I started to break out in hives. I know I have been told that cheese mold is close to penicillin, so I guess I have to pay more attention to what I eat. It sometimes amazes me, how seemingly small things can become big things, yet we take it for granted.

SHOES!!!

For those of my family who are on Facebook, you already know that I have been trying to make shoes. It has been an ongoing process, as I try to get the shape right. You may wonder why I would try something so crazy. We really enjoy our reenacting hobby, but some aspects can be quite expensive. One of these aspects is footwear. I was fortunate enough to be given a used pair of shoes that work well for everyday wear. I have however been desirous to have shoes that went nicely with my fancy gown. Shoes of the 18 Century had a particular shape, and so I cannot just go down the street to buy a pair at Walmart or Payless.
These shoes would only be worn a couple times each year, and so I did not feel that I could justify paying $100-200 for a pair of fancy shoes. (yes, some people do pay that for a nice pair of leather shoes) I started looking online to see if I could alter a modern pair and fake it, but I did not find much I could use. I did however find a book that teaches ladies how to make their own shoes. The techniques are modern, but I figured I could alter them enough to get the look I wanted. I have a friend who had a pair of shoes made after she embroidered the pieces 20 years ago (they are the ones in the bottom picture). She let me trace her shoes, and the fun began. The shoes are not perfect, but for a first try I think they turned out pretty good. I used scrap pieces from my camp gown for the first pair. With some minor readjustments, I think I will be ready to make another pair soon. If they are right, then I can use the remnants of my fancy gown to make another pair. I will be dressed for high fashion indeed.

Back from the West

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the west to see family. It was great to get together and just enjoy each other's company. For those who did not know, this trip also included our girl moving out. We stopped in Manitoba on the way back, to visit friends and get her settled. She starts her first day at the bakery today.
Our trip home from Manitoba, was the least enjoyable part. We faced horrible weather delays, to start. This had us arriving home a full 24 hours later than planned. There was one poor girl who was sick the whole time, and we had the unfortunate circumstance of having to hear her in the bathroom for 24 hours.
All of that being said, we are happy to be home, and returning to our regular routines. I just received a bolt of wool to start sewing coats again, Hubby is back to the hectic pace of two jobs, and the boy is back to school. (We all took yesterday to sleep, and recuperate. Two nights on a bus do not amount to a good rest.) We are also starting now to put a little money aside, to allow us to FLY out again. We hope to come in the summer.