Take a Moment – Giving Back

Posted on July 28, 2011 by wagfarms

An organization that I follow on Facebook (and happen to be involved in) has put out this request for assistance…and I’ve decided to join in the fun and send out my own request for help:

Here it goes:

Now, we all have heard about the flooding in Bismarck and Minot. And although the mess and destruction is tragic, we hardly ever think of the little things…like the little ones that are also struggling to make sense of it all, and are wondering when their world is going to be “normal” again. Well, we can help, at least a “little.”

Family Voices of North Dakota, VSA North Dakota: The State Organization on Arts and Disabilities and NDCPD are partnering together on a project to let children who have been affected by this disaster know that others in communities around the country are thinking of them.

They are asking for these things:

Notes of kindness
Notes of hope
Picture drawing/coloring from children about the flooding and their thoughts

The purpose of this project is to collect the submissions and to put together a collage. One will be for Minot (and surrounding area), and one will be for Bismarck (and surrounding area). The collage will be used for an exhibit in the months ahead, as recovery is in full swing.

Donations will also be accepted, serving as a fundraiser for these communities.

Notes, pictures, drawings, colorings and monetary donations can be sent to:

Family Voices of North Dakota, PO Box 163, Edgeley, ND 58433

Questions??? Call (888) 522-9654

If you are sending in a picture or drawing, please send it in a large enough envelope as not to fold it (they would hate to have such hard work be destroyed by creases!!!).

Alrighty, folks, those are the details…now get to being creative, inspiring and colorful! And don’t forget to involve your children, you daycares, your schools, your churches…anyone who would love to share some love and joy (and a little sunshine!)!

Wordless Wednesday – Weather…nothing new

Posted on July 27, 2011 by wagfarms

The storms keep coming, the sky keeps turning sickening shades of green…and I keep shooting pics.

Here’s the latest batch from July 26, 2011:

Is it a blizzard? No, just rain. As in 1.75 inches in 25-30 minutes.

Starting to clear up, right?

The sun is there...somewhere.

As my 4-year-old says (EJ), "These clouds creep me out!"

Tired of the storms...

Even when they bring beauty.

The Littlest of Blessings

Posted on July 25, 2011 by wagfarms

A few weeks ago, I received a great surprise in the mail. The boys were so excited because it came in this HUGE box…

: So COOL!!!

It wasn’t what they expected, but I was still really stoked about it!. It’s a beautiful garden bench plant stand from Avant Garden Decor.

I LOVE IT!!! It’s so beautful, and fits in with any outside decor.

And it’s tough. (But I’ll get to that in a minute.)

First, I purchased some flowers to plant, and prepared my area.

: Getting everything ready to go!

Then, I got to work and it turned out wonderfully! I was so excited about my planter!

It fit in so nicely!

It was growing to well, and the flowers were really taking off…and then the storm hit. I thought for sure that my beautiful little planter would be toast, gone with the wind, vanished into thin air. For pete’s sake, the wall to our shop was caved in, how could a little plant stand stay put???

But it did.

A little rough, but still standing...hope for us all!

The flowers were a little rough around the edges, but they’re coming back. My precious little planter withstood winds that our great cottonwoods couldn’t stand up to…and it taught me a lesson.

Sometimes in life, it’s not the largest, strongest that survive. And sometimes amid destruction, you can find a little beauty.

If you would like to win a Hanging Basket of your own head over to the Real Farmwives of America & Friends Blog and sign up for their giveaway!

Avant Garden Decor did provide me with this product to review, however the thoughts, opinions and photos shared about this product on this blog are my own.

King Arthur Flour meets Grandma Vivian’s Dumplings

Posted on July 22, 2011 by wagfarms

I’ve joined a party…and am creating history all at once!

As part of A Latte with Ott, A’s King Arthur flour Iron Chef Challenge, I decided that I would make Brandenburger family history…I would use my Grandma Vivian’s Dumpling recipe. (Mind you, this recipe has never been written down [to my knowledge] and for certain isn’t on the internet.)

This recipe isn’t something you just “throw” together for a quick lunch, but it’s a wonderfully delicious authentically German dish that is requested time and time again at my house. Especially at family gatherings!!!

First of all, you need bread dough…and this is where the King Arthur flour comes in. For those that have been reading my blog for a while, you know that our youngest son has OTC, which limits his protein intake to 10-12 grams per day. Well, it just so happens that King Arthur flour has a product that is lower in protein! Woohoo!!! And I used this flour for our bread dough (although it’s labeled for wonderfully, delicious and super light pastries, pies, etc.). It worked beautifully!

Anyway, on with the recipe:

Grandma Vivian’s Dumplings

Ingredients –

3 cups flour (I used King Arthur Perfect Pastry flour – only 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup!)

1 1/2 TBSP. butter

1 cup water

1/4 cup milk

1 package instant dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 TBSP. sugar

1 qt. chicken broth (liquid)

potatoes

2 cups heavy whipping cream (pic shows half and half, which is what I used…but Grandma always used heavy whipping cream…half and half tasted just as good!)

Everything you need!

First, we need a simple loaf of white bread dough. This is a simple, easy loaf recipe…and trust me, if I can make it, anyone can!

Mix together 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Set aside. Then mix together water, milk and butter, heat until hot to touch, but not boiling. (I microwaved for 40 seconds.)

When making this dough, mix together dry ingredients, then mix and heat wet ingredients before combining.

Then, pour your wet ingredients into the dry and mix until a dough-ball is formed. Take the 1/2 cup flour that’s left-over and add as needed to make a smooth dough-ball that doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. (I ended up using just about all of the flour this time, but it will vary, depending on your humidity, etc.)

Dough - finished but not raised.

Cover the dough with a cloth for 10 minutes, to let it rest. Then shape into a ball again and let it raise for 1 hour.

Fluffy, yummy dough ball!

Now, we’re ready to make dumplings! Peel and cut your potatoes, enough to fill the bottom of your kettle (4 or 5 quart kettle or dutch oven works wonderfully!).

Enough potatoes to fill the bottom of a kettle, or maybe even a little more!

Add the chicken broth. (I use chicken broth instead of water to boil my potatoes. It adds great flavor!) You can flavor your potatoes if you’d like, with salt, pepper, onions, etc. Whatever you would normally do for boiling potatoes. You won’t be draining any of the liquid.

I use chicken broth instead of water with my potatoes. Yummy!

Heat the potatoes to a boil.

Potatoes are boiling!

Remove the kettle from heat. Punch down the dough. Tear off about quarter-sized bits of dough and layer across the kettle, on top of the water and potatoes.

Pull apart the dough, enough to fill one layer across the potatoes in the kettle.

Dough, completely covering potatoes and ready to cook!

The next part is very important: Place lid on kettle, put it back on medium heat. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID!!! In fact, if your lid does not seal well, or isn’t a very heavy lid, place something on top of your lid…such as:

If your lid isn't heavy enough to make sure there's a seal, set something heavy on top of the lid! Be creative!

Why is this important? The steam from the potatoes and water is cooking the dumplings. If the liquid in the kettle evaporates too quickly, your dough will fall and will be more solid, than light and fluffy. (Grandma would call them “klutzy” when that would happen.) Once you can hear the potatoes boiling again, turn the temp down a bit and simmer. Cook for 30-45 minutes or until the “dumplings start talking to you.” (Grandma’s terms) In cooking terms, this means to listen to the kettle and the dumplings are done when you can hear them starting to fry a little bit.

And then lift off the lid and pray…just kidding…it should look something like this:

Dumplings are done!

Next, stir up the dumplings, mixing the dough, the potatoes and whatever liquid is left. Then pour the cream on top of the dumplings and stir.

Add cream to the finished dumplings.

And finished product, all mixed up...yum!

And that, my friends, is my Grandma Vivian’s Dumplings…actually wrote down and save for all of posterity. She would have been proud of me! She was my best friend, and has been gone for almost a year now. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her, and wish that I would have just one more day with her. She taught me so many things about life, but the thing she cherished most was laughter…and good German food! 😉

These are authentic German dumplings...made from scratch! (And low protein!)

Grandma would normally serve this with chicken, but it goes well with any protein item of your choice: beef, lamb, pork, etc. (Not sure it would go well with fish, but go ahead and try! Life is made for rules to be broken, right???) With this particular meal, my sister and I ate these dumplings all by themselves. Just because we could.

Enjoy!

King Arthur did provide me with flour to use for this recipe contest however the opinions listed here are my own.

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Wordless Wednesday – The Beauty Behind the Storm

Posted on July 20, 2011 by wagfarms

This storm passed by our farm on Sunday.

If you remember, we were hit by 125+ mph winds just a week before.

Thankfully, we sustained no damage this week...

although communities just to the north of us sustained tremendous amounts of damage.

My attempt at a full-rainbow picture. Mother Nature can be difficult, but there's beauty in it all.

Not a Mommy Blogger

Posted on July 19, 2011 by wagfarms

Now, before you go off, accusing me of lying and thinking that I’m discounting a HUGE portion of the blog-o-sphere…let me explain. I’m not sure Mommy Bloggers exist.

What?!?

Yeah, that’s right…there’s no such thing as a Mommy Blogger. That term ranks up there with Big Foot, Toothfairy and Santa (just don’t tell my boys!). Why? Well, it’s simple. When you’re a mom, there’s no way you’re writing just about the cutesy-precious things your children do…and there’s no way you’re just writing about how many diapers you change. Being a Mom is so much more than that.

Last week, I had an online conversation with a friend of mine. She’s actually partially responsible for the creation of this blog in the first place! Let’s just say that she gave me that final push to get this blog started.

Anyway, we were talking blog stuff and the Mommy Blogger title came up. And again, I’m not sure such a thing exists. You see, when you’re a mom and you’re writing about your kids, it’s not just your kids that you’re writing about. Do I have you confused yet?

You write about society, you write about coping skills, you write about recipes. You share cleaning tips, you ask for advice and you share humor and entertainment. You write about education, you write about the future, you write about the past. You explain the simplest of life’s lessons, you share photos of the world and you pass on travel tips. There isn’t a piece of the pie that you don’t touch at some point in time. And all of that information can be translated into different realms.

Read about how a mother convinces a three-year-old that it’s their idea to take a nap. That same reasoning can be used to deal with the most difficult of customers in the retail world. Don’t think so? Trust me, I’ve done it.

Explain to a 7-year-old why our cows don’t make the milk that we drink, but they make the hamburger we eat. Then use that same conversation to base your ag education off of…trust me, a 7-year-old will ask you every hard-nosed question most reporters would think of!

Yes, in every essence of the term, I am a Mommy Blogger. Yet, I’m not. Actually, I’m more of a Farmmy Blogger.

When you come in to my blog, you will read about my children, my farm and my view points. You will learn about cattle, about crops and about life. You will hopefully laugh a lot, cry a little, but come back for more. And I will do the same.

Talk about a complicated answer to a simple question, eh?

Now ask me if I’m Republican or Democrat. 😉

Life of a Celebrity

Posted on July 18, 2011 by wagfarms

Something that happened to me on Friday had me thinking all weekend about how celebrities handle regular life.

Let me get you caught up: I’ve been feeling like doggy-doo for a few weeks now. At first I thought it was this mysterious rash that came and wouldn’t go away. Then that got better, but I still wasn’t feeling well. I was having other “issues” as well…but I put it all off, thinking that with time, everything would improve. After a month of misery, I finally made an appointment.

I called and they scheduled me for the “earliest” appointment available, which was the last week of July. *sigh* Oh well, I was going to suck it up until I could see MY doctor. Late last week, the doctor’s office called with bad news. Something had come up and my doctor was going to be unavailable for my appointment…could I reschedule? I was leery about what that would mean. I had already suffered through a month of misery, how much longer would it take?

Well, surprise, surprise…they wanted to reschedule for Friday! Yep, a rescheduled appointment that was actually going to take place almost two weeks prior to the original appointment. How sweet is that?!?

So, on Friday I went. I explained to the nurse my symptoms, went throught the pre-appointment gobble-dee-gook, weight, blood-pressure, pulse…and then waited for the doctor. Up until the point she came in, all was textbook. And then, the door opened…

The doctor came in, telling me how much she enjoys reading my articles, how entertaining they are and so true to life. And then she told me how the OB staff on third floor cuts out my columns and puts them up for a chuckle (apparently, once you’ve had four children, the OB nurses kinda think of you as family). She asked about my son and my brother and the rest of my family and after a bit, we got around to the appointment part.

I thought to myself, “How does J.K. Rowling handle this? Diane Sawyer?” Just kidding. But yet, it was a little awkward for me. I mean, after hearing about how she likes what I write, I really didn’t want to tell her that I wasn’t feeling well. I’d hate for the next time she read my column, all she could think about was, “Oh, this is the gal who couldn’t figure out why she felt like doggie-doo.”

Anyway, I got over my irrational thoughts and got down to the reason for the visit…and after some talking, and an ultrasound, it became obvious. No, I was not hitting menopause at 34. No, I was not hitting puberty. No, I am not expecting another child. But I do have a somewhat annoying cyst that is causing all of my problems, symptoms and misery (well, except those caused by the four children, mentioned previously). In six weeks I get to go back and have a recheck…and hopefully avoid any type of surgery.

But at least this time I’ll be better prepared. I’ll have my “handler” call for the appointment, I’ll use an assumed name and I’ll wear shades with a big floppy hat. That should keep it low-key, right? 😉

Something for the future

Posted on July 16, 2011 by wagfarms

I was reflecting on the past week, and something came to mind that I wanted to put down in my blog, so that someday Big Bro can look back and remember the impact that one little statement had on me.

As we were preparing for the Buy’N Show at the county fair (remember, the Reserve Champion ribbon that he didn’t want to compete for?), Big Bro had to fill out a form for the emcee to use to make a narrative for the Style Show part of the competition.

One question was: “Where would you like to go someday? Or where would you like to visit or vacation?”

His response caught me a bit off guard.

Big Bro asked if he could write, “Nowhere.” I asked, “Why?”

He replied, “I have everything I want right here…why would I need to go anywhere?”

Yeah, I had to wipe tears from my eyes, too.

The best gift that my son could give me...reminding me that everything I could ever want is still right here.

Back to Business

Posted on July 14, 2011 by wagfarms

Well, we’ve spent the last few days cleaning up, tearing down and getting ready for life to resume some normalcy.

In the excitement of it all, I forgot to give a wrap up on our fair happenings! This was our first year as a 4-H family and the boys enjoyed sharing their projects and watching others, as well.

Scooter is now a kitchen safety expert!

Since Scooter is only 7, he’s a Cloverbud, which means that he can show projects, but he only gets participation ribbons. There’s no competition for him. It was GREAT for him to receive nothing but praise and suggestions for future years. I only wish I would have had the foresight to do the same thing for Big Bro…but he still did a SUPERB job!

Gak, Gluk, slimy stuff...whatever you want to call it, Scooter made it.

Big Bro took nine projects to the fair…including: two fishing lures, one pop-can lamp, three photo projects, two dog projects and one bug display. He received six blue ribbons and three reds! I was so proud of him!!!

Big Bro was researching all the different jobs that "working" dogs do...he thought it was so cool!

On top of that, Big Bro tried the consumer choices competition and received a third-place ribbon.

Then, on Sunday, Big Bro and Scooter had both volunteered to participate in the Style Show. Scooter showed off his tee-ball uniform in the Have ‘n Show (just a show with clothes you already have…no judging) and Big Bro showed a school outfit he picked out in the Buy ‘n Show.

Big Bro and his Buy 'n Show school outfit...lookin' sharp!

Big Bro was interviewed by two judges on the price of the outfit, uses, how to care for it, whether it was a smart purchase, etc. He was nervous about participating because he was the only boy, but once he warmed up, he did great. When it came time for the judging and the ribbons, we were both surprised when he was named the Reserve Champion! Talk about a happy boy!!!

So, in all, the fair was so much fun and such a great experience! The boys are already talking about next year…and I couldn’t be happier.

I did see one amazing booth at the fair that I really wish more people would have been able to experience:

This display on North Dakota ROCKED!!!

This “North Dakota Feeds the World” display was absolutely amazing. It had actual crops growing, commodities available to view, information, great pictures, etc., etc. The only problem was that it was only set up for Thursday afternoon/evening. And that means that not a lot of non-ag people were able to view it. I’m hoping that we can get it back in the area soon…and I’m looking into it. If you see it in your area, be sure to check it out. You won’t regret it!!!

Wordless Wednesday – Storm Damage

Posted on July 13, 2011 by wagfarms

My last few posts have been just about our yard and things that are damaged pretty close to the house. Let me give you a little tour of the rest of the farm…we were truly blessed with no injuries throughout the area that was hit by Sunday’s storm.