Scavenger Hunt/Migraine Guard

Have you heard of GEOCACHING?  

Have you ever gone GEOCACHING? 

I have known about geocaching for some time now 

but just recently decided to finally take the time to investigate.

So after searching the geocache website, we decided to give it a try.  We started simple and very close to home.  The geocache we chose was entitled 

Migraine Guard.  I downloaded the info from the website onto our GPS (easy peasy)  and off we went.

 Here's what we found....

Our GPS took us to this bridge (and excellent fishing hole)....

We searched for the cache and found it (as the title implies) in the end of this guard rail.

The cache was actually an aspirin bottle.

Tucked inside the bottle was a piece of paper to sign and verify you found the cache (not to be confused with cash).

If you have never heard of geocaching, you can find out more about it here. It's a scavenger hunt of sorts.  It's for individuals and families; it's for the young and old alike. The geocaches range from easy to find, to more difficult to find- easy terrain to difficult terrain.  Check it out!  Give it a try! 

 I'd love to hear about your geocache experiences!

In case you're wondering, we used the hand held GPS (Garmin rino) that my husband uses for hunting in the mountains of Virginia.  In my opinion, this is a complicated piece of equipment.  However, it was fairly easy to use after downloading the data  from the internet.  

Last week, I ordered this Geomate Jr.  It is specifically for geocaching.  When you turn it on, it immediately gives you the closest caches.   I'll keep you posted on how this works.  I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival.  I am hoping to get it and use it over the 4th of July weekend.   

And speaking of anxiously awaiting a new arrival.....we are getting anxious for the arrival of our 2nd grandbaby.  Can't wait!

Our daughter, due in mid August

Again, for more info on GEOCACHING, 

go to https://www.geocaching.com/default.aspx.

If you live in, or plan to visit South Central Pa. (like an upcoming visit to Gettysburg), go to

http://smgeotrail.blogspot.com/ to find out about the 

South Mountain GeoTrail.

Until next time.............

Happy Caching!

Scrappy Saturday- Road Trip

Today's Scrappy pages are from a little road trip hubs and I took two summers ago.  We didn't go far...just over the mountain to Adams County (near Gettysburg.)  We spent a beautiful sunny day driving around with no agenda, just soaking up the beautiful scenery and stopping at random places.  

Click here to learn more about this Historic Round Barn

Click pics to enlarge

The view from this winery is gorgeous.
 It looks out over the acres and acres of orchards as well
 as a perfect view of the Round Barn.

Foto Friday- Flower frenzie

(click to enlarge)

The flowers are springing up,
  the season of singing birds has come,
  and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.

Song of Songs 2:12

Grandma's Fresh Apple cake

I know it's not apple season yet.  But this was too good to save.....

Several years ago, I gathered together my mother's recipes and scanned them into my computer,making her a recipe book of all her favorite recipes.  I kept all the original recipes for myself and gave her the compilation of recipes I had created.

The other day I was pleasantly surprised when I came across the collection of recipes.  I had to look through them again to see if there was anything I was wanting to bake, make, cook or create in my own kitchen.

I found several recipes of interest.  But this recipe is the one that popped out at me!  It was one of my Grandmother's favorite recipes written in her own handwriting. So I decided to give it a try.

This Fresh Apple Cake is written in my grandma's handwriting
(the title is in my mom's writing)

It was a big hit!

Fresh Apple Cake

1-1/2 cups oil

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Beat these 7 ing together and then add:

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup coconut

3 cups chopped apples

Bake in a tube pan  ( I used a regular cake pan) sprayed with Pam or other non stick spray. 

Bake 1-1/2 hours at 350.

Icing

1 stick of butter

1 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. milk

(I added a pinch of cinnamon)

Boil for 2-1/2 minutes.  Pour over hot cake.  Leave cake in pan until cold.  Place on serving dish.

We of course just ate the cake from  the cake dish.

Pour (and spread) icing over cake

Enjoy

My Grandma.....miss you muchly!

A STINKY PROBLEM

We've got a stinky problem......

Our stinky problem is the hoards of stinks bugs that have moved in, not only to our area…but into our home as well. 

Stink Bugs love fruit and are
 damaging to orchards

They moved in last summer in full force.  And then they found a hiding place in the house for the winter.  They are attracted to light.  So every evening when we’d sit down to watch TV, they would emerge, attracted by the recessed lighting in our living room.     

                                                                                        

It was not uncommon to kill a dozen or more every evening.

At the advice of a friend, I began keeping a plastic cup of water mixed with dish soap sitting on the counter to throw them into when we’d catch them.  While this technique does kill the stink bug and it does so without having to squash their hard shells and smell that odor they release (hence the name STINK BUG), you still have to touch them!  Yuck!          

                  

When spring arrived, the stink bugs began to congregate in the garage, clinging to the windows.

I couldn’t take it anymore.  So I decided to try anything and everything to kill those little buggers!      

While there isn't really any "cure" for stink bugs, I found this bug spray to be very effective.  

I sprayed all 5 windows of the garage with it.  It killed some of the bugs immediately.  But others just seemed to walk away. 

However, the next day, there were dead stink bugs everywhere.

I had applied the spray very liberally.  It appears that the residual spray is continuing to kill the bugs. 

Over the weekend, I cleaned up the mess. (after about 2 weeks)  

 And this is what it looked like.   

Now that's a lot of stink bugs!

click to enlarge

A video  has been circulating around the internet.

It's a how to video on how to make a homemade stink bug catcher. 

So of course I had to make one of my own........

and now we wait!

Click here to read an interesting article in the New York Times on stink bugs.

Strawberry Season (Strawberry Shortcake)

Hubs making his way around
the Strawberry Patch
Taste-testing!

Strawberry season is well under way here in the mid-state.  We have been totally enjoying this juicy fruit! I can boldly say that we loovvveee all things 

STRAWBERRY!

In Honor of these delectable little beauties, here's one of our favorites.  It's a recipe I've been making for years. I got it from one of the Reiman Publications.  
(Taste of Home, or perhaps Country Woman)


Strawberry Shortcake


1 qt. fresh strawberries, sliced
1 to 2 TBLSP sugar


SHORTCAKE:
1-3/4 c. flour
2 TBLSP sugar
1 TBLSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c cold butter or margarine
1 egg
3/4 c sour cream


TOPPING:
1 c whipping cream
1-2 TBLSP sugar
1 tsp vanilla


Combine strawberries and sugar; set aside. 


 For shortcake, combine dry ing. in a large bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. In a small bowl, beat egg; add sour cream.  Stir into crumb mixture just until moistened. Turn onto a floured board; knead 25 times or until smooth.  Roll out into a 7-1/2 inch circle.  Cut a 2 inch hole in center to form a ring.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.  
For topping, beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form; stir in vanilla.  Just before serving, split cake horizontally.  Spoon juice from berries over bottom layer.  Top with half berries and half of the cream. Top with cake layer, remaining topping and berries.  
Serves 8 friends!

ENJOY!

Scrappy Saturday-Homestead pics

These are some older pages created with pics taken from around the homestead.

(click to enlarge)

Enjoying the Homestead

A look  in the opposite direction.  Our little table blends right in with its surroundings. The cornfield behind us (on the right) is a great place to see deer at dusk.

A view from the table looking out across the garden and the field across the road
 where we often see deer coming out to feed in the evenings.

We have a field that we refer to as our garden.  Adjacent to the garden, is the chicken/turkey yard.  In between is a strip of grass and an old wooden table.  

During the summer months we spend a lot of our evenings in the garden and just sitting at the table...talking, enjoying a cool drink and being entertained by the chickens.  We also enjoy watching the wildlife.  Here's a 

look at a typical evening.  

(click to enlarge)

The Oriole family that has a nest over the chicken yard keeps busy feeding the little ones.

Hubs sampling some berries

Runaway Chicken- She is an escape artist!

 Josie entertains herself by chasing butterflies...

 or chewing a stick!

What a cutie!

It's difficult to see, but there are several deer grazing in the corn field at dusk.