24 July 2017

Our Sunday

Sundays feel different here, I guess they always have, but the reality of it is that Sunday is just another day. There are no weekends when you work every day. But instead of painting that as being drudgery, you know as well as I do, that this lifestyle, even on its worst day, is far from drudgery. So yesterday, our Sunday, I was up early, read the overnight news and watched my two favourite live streams. Yes, in addition to the bears in Alaska, for the past couple of weeks, I've been visiting the interesting and lovely sheep and turkey barns at Sanctuary Farm in Watkins Glen, New York.


The farm has been running since 1986 and provides a safe and comfortable life for farm animal that have been rescued from unethical factory farm practices. They have sheep, goats, cows, alpacas, chooks, turkeys and pigs. I know many children read here with their parents so I've been watching silently for a couple of weeks to make sure there was nothing that would upset them. I'm happy to report the farm is run by gentle and kind staff who seem to genuinely care for the animals they tend. I watched one staff member administer medication to a number of animals before the gates were opened and there is a goat with paralysed back legs who is attached to a wheeled walker. Many of the animals are housed in large barns with straw-covered floors at night and are let out to enjoy the sun and pasture during the day. It's easy to spend 15 minutes there drinking tea while thinking about the internet and the power of the many good people in the world.

Back in the physical world, Jamie arrived around 7.30am, Hanno cooked his favourite breakfast of baked beans and an egg with a cuppa, while I wandered outside looking at the bush house wondering if it would be the day I actually tidied it up. I cut back a few wild plants and selected some pots I'd plant into later in the day.  Gracie was outside, the chooks were let out, the sun was shining and all was right in my world. I went back inside to wait until the temperature rose above 9 degrees.  Brrrrr  ⛄️



On Saturday I made a really delicious soup. I slow-cooked some marrow bones, parsley, thyme and bay leaves for 18 hours and in a separate 9 litre pot cooked 1½ cups of barley and cubed gravy beef. In the food processor, I roughly chopped onions, carrots, parsnip, turnip and celery and added it to the half-cooked beef and barley. Then I added my seasonings - 2 tablespoons miso, 2 tablespoons Worcester sauce, 1 tablespoon paprika, salt and pepper. Then I added the stock from the slow cooker to the pot, topped it up with water and put the lid on to slowly simmer for another two hours. It was one of my best soups ever. We had it again for yesterday's lunch and I added herb dumplings then because I had the extra space in the pot. Fresh local strawberries and cream followed and all of us agreed, it was a very good lunch.







I wanted to bake something that Jamie likes so he could take a few home to share as well as take to school next week.  Having a Swedish grandma, cinnamon rolls are one of our traditional family foods.  I don't make them often, maybe once a year, but when they're sitting on the kitchen bench, the smell is divine and it just calls out for tea to be made. Immediately. We had a roll each for afternoon tea while we watched Grace run around the front yard filling her eyebrows and beard with weed seeds.  Pffft.

I'm looking forward to the coming week. The only plans I have are for a haircut on Wednesday and then to travel over to see Kerry at his new sushi shop to wish him a very happy birthday. I might just take some cupcakes with me for him and his staff to have with coffee when they have a break.  The rest of the week I'll be gardening, saving seeds, tying up tomatoes, tidying the bush house (maybe), cooking and knitting.  It's still cold here so our food will continue to be hearty and warm. I've planned a pork rack on our little charcoal grill during the week and Hanno has already asked for another tray of cinnamon rolls.

What are your plans for the week?


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21 comments

  1. Thanks for another great live cam link Rhonda. I will have it going off and on during my day. Just had a quick glimpse of the sheep and I found it very relaxing so I'm sure that's how they feel too.
    Another happy busy week here making home cooked meals, baking for school, enjoying the outside world. As always a lot of chatter with our Samson and chooks.
    Have a great week.
    Oh and your cinnamon rolls look so soft and delicious.
    Kylie

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  2. Goodmorning Rhonda,
    I love the sound of that soup recipe, so full of goodness, just perfect for this time of year. This week we are getting ready to go on our trip to Canada and Alaska, this trip has been saved for, for 8 years, we will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary while in Juneau, Alaska. It is our trip of a lifetime and I still can't believe it is actually happening. So, in preparation for going away I have written lists of jobs to do everyday, I have a few appointments outside the home, but mostly I will be at home, cleaning, washing, sorting and packing. Have a lovely day.
    Fi

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  3. I hope to start on a dress or blouse this week. Also,a few chores around the garden such as potting up some mint, re-sowing some lettuces for salads, feeding beans, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, and making a couple of meals to store in the freezer for late or especially frantic days.

    Those cinnamon rolls look scrumptious!

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  4. I have the entire week off, so I will be sewing, reading, doing my regular household chores, and researching for a new vacuum. I want to make a wise choice this time when buying a vacuum, nothing that will burn out and end up in the landfill in two years!

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  5. Hi Rhonda, Your soup sounds divine, and your cinnamon rolls look delicious. I am finishing knitting an alpaca throw for an Etsy customer. I am also notating some tap choreography from a workshop I took over the weekend. Cheers.

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  6. Wow those cinnamon rolls look amazing , love your blog . I have bowls and bowls of lemons 🍋 I'm drying a whole batch to but on top of my cold pressed soap . Also I have made 4 jars of lemon honey which I'm about to eat with a bowl of ice cream . I'm trying to make bread trying one loaf a week not working to well might try another tomorrow. Have a lovely week

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  7. Thank you for sharing about your life, Rhonda. So nice to read about your grandmothering. My grandchildren are precious to me, too. Your home cooking looks delicious - I hope to be doing more of this as I'm retiring at the end of the year. Thinking about how my life will change. Thanks, again.

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  8. The cinnamon rolls look amazing. We are going away at the end of the week so I'm trying to harvest fruit from the garden,do the laundry so we have the clothes we want to take away and use up food in the fridge. Tomorrow making some cupcakes with lemon curd and mascarpone to use them up and getting through paperwork so everything's up to date. Thanks so much for the pictures about Gracie - seeing her sweet face gives me a lift.

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  9. Thank you for sharing your lovely Sunday. I'm enjoying your blog and having a go at putting some of your ideas into practice. I've made the flat bread and it's delicious, easy and, you're right of course, they freeze well. Next Monday someone is coming to take out some troublesome hedges from my teeny block so that I can reclaim the area and plant some herbs and veges come spring. I'm feeling very excited at the prospect.

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  10. Rhonda. I love your blog and have been reading it for a couple of years now. I am going into surgery this afternoon for a knee replacement and you will most certainly be my daily read during my recovery. It's like having a big hug and I will be sitting here in my sunny patch in my study keeping up with what you are doing.

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    1. Sending you my best wishes for your surgery, Lorna.

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  11. Hello Rhonda, I made a tasty beef stew today for the first time. The heat has left for a few days so I was also able to put some more perennial flowers around the house and look after the vegetables I also have growing. My most awesome feat this week was I harvested my first ever potatoes I grew! So I was able to add homegrown potatoes to my stew! Thank you for having your blog and helping me to thoroughly enjoy and explore gardening. Have an awesome day.

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    1. Mary, that is wonderful news. You got your stew right at just the right time. Home grown potatoes are the best and perfect in a stew. Well done. 😀

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  12. Sigh, what a lovely post. Think I'll make soup today....

    Rhonda - I rarely comment, but always read, and have both of your books in constant rotation for ideas and inspiration. Thank you so much for all you share. Sincerely :)

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  13. Your soup sounds wonderful - can't wait until it is cool enough here to return to cooking things like that - much too hot at the moment though. The same for baking unfortunately but I do remember the first time that I made cinnamon buns - my niece and nephew, then about 4 and 8 were over visiting and once the buns were in the oven the smell just became irresistible and the pair of them parked themselves on seats by the oven door and watched the timer intently until they could come out! :-) They were delicious!
    This week I'm concentrating on this Saturday's garage sale (like a car boot sale) - a friend is having it at her house so Thursday I'll be taking everything over - thank goodness another friend is bringing his truck over as I cannot believe the amount of stuff piled up in my dining room! I've been purging for the past couple of years and have given tons of things away but still have a lot to go! But this is it - I will only have one remaining closet to go through and that is mostly garbage or shredding so once this is out of here the end is in sight! It has been a long process of simplifying my life in many ways and once completed I look forward to more cooking from scratch - baking - and learning how to knit and craft my own cards - your blog is a real inspiration for appreciating the simpler things so thank you.

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  14. Your post makes me wish I knew how to cook better....homemade soup, cinnamon rolls....oh my goodness!!!!

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  15. Rhonda have you seen Alaska live? It's on bbc iPlayer - it's fantastic with loads of information about the brown bears. Whilst watching it, I thought of you and have decided for my first ever comment, despite reading your blog for years to recommend xxx btw Gracie is its lovely x

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    1. I would love to use iplayer, Laura, but I think it's only available in the UK.

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  16. I just discovered your blog and I like it. I should say that your cinnamon rolls looks delicious.. I love it :)

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