FILIGREE ON FENCES

A THING FOR VINES THAT CLING.....

Here are some pictures of the various vines in my gardens! I love them. First are the vines on the back garden fence. Next is the morning glory and bean pole in the vegetable garden.

The biggest vine is my honeysuckle that grows at the entrance to the English Garden. I started it from a cutting.

A scarlet runner bean grows out in the English Garden on an old set of springs from a baby bed. I picked them up at the edge of the road. The picutre would not post for some reason.We painted the side rails and made trellises out of rest of the baby bed too! They sit in other parts of the garden.

"Between the house and the barns was a small stone building, an old milk house with rambling vines creeping slyly up its corners." From "The Fields of May"

Here is the Amish Frosting Recipe I promised. I do not vouch for it's health properties--it's not something you want to make a steady diet of!!!

1 cup milk

4 heaping Tbl. flour

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

Cook milk and flour until thick. Let cool completely to room temperature or cooler. Beat butter and shortening together for four minutes. (The beating time is important-do a full four minutes)

Add sugar to this mixture and beat 4 more minutes.

Add milk and flour mixture and beat 4 more minutes.

You can beat in a bit of vanilla if you desire, but I usually do not.

I usually double this recipe. I bake a nice fudgy chocolate cake in two round pans, cool, and then slice the layers to create 4 layers. Use a nice long bread knife and be careful not to break the cakes. Divide frosting evenly between layers, top and sides. I like this best when chilled. If it gets too warm, sometimes it tends to separate.

We are enjoying incredibly beautiful fall weather here this week. I hope you are too. Please add a comment with your vote (previous post discussions) for your favorite method of breadmaking--by hand or by bread machine! Blessings, LORI

BLESSED BREADMAKING!

BLESSED SHALL BE YOUR BASKET AND YOUR KNEADING BOWL Deuteronomy 28:5"She was putting the finishing touches on a green salad when the oven timer went off, alerting her that the dinner rolls were done. She opened the oven door and peered in at the pans of crusty, golden buns looking like amber bubbles, their beckoning aroma wafting through the cherry kitchen. She removed the pans from the oven and set them on the counter to cool. She rubbed a generous portion of butter over the tops and let its golden sweetness drip down over their sides." from "The Fields of May"

How are you doing today? I guess you can easily see how I spent my day! Of course, that wasn't all. The breadmaking occurred between laundry, interneting, and cleaning. These rolls are for our Thanksgiving celebration. I'll freeze them until our get-together on Saturday. I've used this recipe for years. We made probably about 500 of them for JT and Kori's wedding a few years ago. Talk about a job! They are made from oatmeal and are a family favorite. Today I accidentally doubled the batch and now we'll have plenty to spare! Oh, well!

Did you notice the verse I included at the top of today's post? I like this and the many other blessing verses listed in Deuteronomy. It reminds me that my homemaking is blessed by God. This week while you are cleaning, cooking, baking, and preparing for Thanksgiving, Christian ladies, remember that your efforts are blessed by God! Read the entire chapter I cited and learn all about the many blessings you can enjoy. Deuteronomy is full of little nuggets of exciting truth and wonderful gems for the Bible student. (I guess that's true of all scripture, right?)

I guess there's nothing more rewarding for a Titus 2 woman (I like to think I qualify!) than breadmaking! I used to do much more of it than I do now, but I still enjoy the results! We promptly used some of the rolls for our supper, knowing there were too many for the upcoming dinner! Awww!!!

As well as breadmaking, I prepared to enjoy another of my biblical-woman style hobbies today--sewing. I was thrilled to finally get a piece of pinwale corduroy in hunter green yesterday--at half price nonetheless! I've been wanting to design a dress that appeared in "The Fields of May." It is Carrie's Christmas dress that she wore to the Blooming Hills Christmas Banquet in an early chapter of the book. I will wear it when I do speaking engagements from now on as a further promotional for the book if it turns out well. Because I am doing some "design" work to make it unique, there is always the chance that it will flop! I sure hope not! I am trying to have it done to wear for an upcoming Christmas banquet I am invited to. Today I washed the fabric to prepare it for cutting. Will feature the results later--good or bad! Stay tuned, Blessings, LORI