hey friends! I’m back with another “Good Things” list! I missed last week. If you want to find out all about what I’ve been up to the past two weeks, you can read this post. This week’s fun is all about recipes, homesteading, and photography! Of course it is. What else would it be about?
Recipes
1. If you tuned into Homestead Update #4, you saw a picture of blueberry muffins, but, sadly, I didn’t write down the recipe so I couldn’t share it with you all! I have been thinking about those muffins and how I needed to make them again so I did just that this past weekend. AND I wrote down the recipe! I also shared it over on Instagram in my stories so if you didn’t get the recipe there, it will live on in perpetuity here. (On a side note, the “KA” in the ingredients list refers to King Arthur Flour)
2. I also wanted to share Hannah Queen‘s cookbook, Honey and Jam, with you. I know I’ve shared it with you before, but I love this book. I love the recipes. I love the pictures. It reminds me of home (of course it does! She lives in the southern Appalachians just as my family does. But still. It reminds me of home). The book is so soothing. I just love looking at the pictures. And I’ve made a lot of the recipes. I most recently made the orange-cranberry cake and the rosemary-lemon custard cake. Both are good. I would omit the rosemary from the custard cake, but it is really good as it is.
Photography
3. I think I told you about my friend wanting me to take pictures of her rental apartment. Well. I have certainly been challenged by this project! The apartment is on the third floor of a building and doesn’t have a ton of natural light in the interior rooms. So one of our friends is a pretty phenomenal photographer and he is letting me borrow his external flash. I can’t wait to play with it! I feel like I need to be challenged when it comes to my photography anyway. I’m ready to take it to the next level. I’ve been using manual mode this past week for most of my photos. The three pics above are all taken on manual mode. I’ve also been playing around with my editing. Edit features I liked in the past, I’m not really liking now. So we’ll see what happens.
The Homestead
4. We have a feral cat that has been hanging around for years. We don’t know how she’s survived (I am assuming it’s a she). I also think she’s Corny’s Mama. So I call her Mama Kitty. Anyway, since it’s been so cold lately I’ve been feeding her on the back porch. She is now coming down at 6:30 (pretty much on the dot) to eat. But she spooks very easily and will run off before she is finished eating. She always returns though and finishes up before morning.
5. I moved my office in anticipation of the fishing guides moving back in soon. I have a post almost ready for you explaining all about living at a fishing lodge (amongst other things). I love changing things up so I’m happy with the results. It’s not the same as having the house to ourselves, but I’m okay with the new layout.
6. And I can’t let another week go by without saying how grateful I am for the Mister, Anna Lee, Bobby Jack, and Corn Monster. And the chickens. It’s been a struggle this past year, but I have really enjoyed my time at home with the critters (this includes the Mister. hehe). Remind me of this in a couple of months when fishing season is in full swing and I’m overwhelmed with all the things going on! HAHA!
I’ll leave us here for this week. I’ll be back soon with an update on the chickens, a fun blog post ‘introducing’ myself, and another homestead update!
’til next time
-k
xoxo
Daenel T.
When we lived in Missouri, we had a feral cat too. I promise that girl could tell time. She left and arrived at the same time every day. When we moved, we left the patio chair that she slept on so she wouldn’t be too disrupted. I’ve wondered if the new owners kept her.
Those cakes sound very different. Butternut squash cake? Is that what I saw?
Good luck with your photo project. I hope you’ll share.
chickenlibrarian
It’s funny how they can tell time. Our girl got scared and doesn’t show up at 6:30PM anymore. I haven’t seen her in a few days but I know she’s eating…the food is gone and I see her tracks. I miss seeing her though. We do see her out and about when there’s no snow on the ground.
And yes, butternut squash cake! Maybe I’ll make that one next!
Tracy
What a nice post to enjoy over coffee, Kristin! Thanks for posting it up! Lemon-Rosemary Custard Cake? O-M-G! That sounds awesome! I just did a google search and found a bunch of recipes. When “no-grocery-shop/spend” February is over, I will pick up any missing ingredients and give it a whirl. I do make something called Lemon Pots from a Laura Calder cookbook (she also does Coffee Pots, which Mr. Gordon loves), and it’s very good.
Aww, the poor feral is lucky to have you. My goodness, you wonder how they survive in this cold? When I was a teen a female feral (who my father eventually cold get pretty close to) lived in their garage for, gees, 15-ish year? Pretty old for an outdoor feral. He did manage to trap her when she was fairly young, so they had her spayed early on after 1 or 1 small litters. Anyhow, he kept the garage heated and had blanks for her. Like I said, she lived for a long time. My heart always breaks for the strays and ferals, though. I’m so glad you are making sure she’s getting at least one reliable food source!
Looking forward to your “living at the fishing lodge” post! While I know I’ve picked up some bits about it through your post, it’s interesting to learn more. Plus, then instead of trying to explain it to Mr. Gordon, I’ll just read him the post out loud. 😀 (I had one of your YouTube videos up on the Alexa this weekend while I was cooking in the kitchen – your pie one, I hadn’t watched it before – and he comes in, stops, looks at the screen, and watches for a few. He – like me – admires the work and effort you put into those videos. I’m thinking of trying my hand at one… not a live one, but a recorded one. We’ll see. I probably shouldn’t add MORE to my list! Egads!) Anyhoo…
Photos are great! Good on your for continuing to pursue excellence! 🙂
Happy Tuesday (I wish it was Friday)! 😀
chickenlibrarian
It’s amazing how the feral cats can survive! Ours has been around for years. I’m not sure if it’s a he or a she. I just assume it’s a she. I also don’t know if she’s been fixed or not. I can’t get close enough to her to tell. Usually they clip the ear to mark them as fixed. I’m thinking we should trap her this spring and find out. Anyway, she’s hanging in there. I can’t believe your father had a stray kitty live for that long! That’s pretty amazing.
The rosemary lemon cake was good. I would leave out the rosemary though. We actually prefer the orange-cranberry cake from the same cookbook. We even made it with lemons instead of oranges last week. That was even better! But you can’t go wrong either way.
And one of these days I’ll have the time to sit and write that introduction post! It just keeps growing every time I think about it and what I want to put in it! haha.
As for photography. Sigh. I always strive to be better….I have so much left to learn and figure out! Again, one of these days!
Thanks for stopping by!
Tracy
PS: forgive those typos above. Good grief – sorry! Obviously not enough coffee! 😉
chickenlibrarian
no worries! It’s hard without enough coffee 😉
Joanne
Those blueberry muffins sound delicious! Pinned.
chickenlibrarian
oh yay! Thank you!
gkgirl
mmmmmm that cake!!! I wish I could bake! Haha.
and you will LOVE the external flash. 🙂
chickenlibrarian
the external flash was amazing! I’m sorry that I have to give it back to its rightful owner!