DAG NAB IT ! or the things we used to hear....

 The Old Farmer's favorite swear word when he hit his thumb with the hammer was  ...                                                                                                                         DAG NAB IT!

   And he often said
            AS THE CROW FLIES....
     Crows are believed to fly straight to
 their destinations.
          How far to Jenny's house, 
    1 1/2 miles, By crow only 1 mile! 

Excuse me, a little elbow room please.....TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN

    Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup-"what did you put in there! I already did that!"

                  
 That poor dead critter is ....STIFFER THAN A BOARD
             
  or ....DEADER THAN A DOORNAIL...why is a doornail dead? I have thought about this and believe it is because they were pounded through the door and the point bent over so they couldn't be removed, making them dead, and not reuseable in any future time.

 A penny saved is a penny earned

Crooked as a dogs hind leg

Finer than the fuzz on a bee's butt

 Its not my fault! I didn't do it! ....
The Old Farmer's Wife favorite saying was...

 Like a bat out of hell

A stitch in time saves nine

 Tongue in cheek

Not worth a plug nickel



 Safely walking along the road....SINGLE FILE INDIAN STYLE, FACING TRAFFIC ALL THE WHILE...I think our young folks could use a refresher course on this one now.

(I suspect many may be uncomfortable with the use of Indian. 
 Native american is a Washington political pc thing.
I have contact with many "native americans" and many prefer the use of 
American Indian or first peoples.
 See.... http://www.compusci.com/indian/ )

    Did you ever
         
           take to something
                         
                 like a duck takes to water?                                                  

Another of the Old Farmer's favorites was  
"Not a fit day out for Maaaannnnn nor BEAST" 

What is your favorite old saying? 

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The Old Farmer's Schooldays

The Old Farmer was a model student....

He was a gruff man and one of his favorite stories 

was when the music teacher used to come in.
Music and art teachers used to travel from room to room.
She would roll her cart in with maybe a record player on it.
Sometimes she might have a box full of  recorders

and rhythm instruments. This was a fun day!

So one day they were all encouraged to sing along

So he joined full throated, the teacher looked at him and said

"Okay, everyone sing, except you, you don't have to sing ! " 

 Discipline in his day was a sturdy ruler in the hands of the teacher.
The teacher would walk up and down the aisles as speaking
or during tests. If you were doodling, down came the ruler across the knuckles!

If you were talking out to turn, WHAM, down came the ruler. 
If you were caught passing a note or teasing the girl in front of you, whap! 

 

Listen to the echos of children long ago, children's voices will always
be the same, innocent and fun loving through the generations. 

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One Room Schoolhouse

School Days, The One Room Schoolhouse.
Not so long ago.

This Old Farmer's Daughter remembers her
older siblings went to the one room schoolhouse
on the corner of our rural road.

No central heat, no plumbing, walking uphill both ways in the dead of winter! Uh huh, yea!

Actually all that is true, there was a kerosene heater in the room. 
A well out side and water in a bucket with a dipper inside. 
Toilets, not quite. Pit toilets on each side of the entranceway, boy's and girl's, 
at least they didn't have to walk outdoors. How did they keep the smell down? 
Perhaps a handful of lime each day? 
Walking, every day, parents did not spoil the children with a ride, even in bad weather. And our road did go up and down a little each way, but with a substantial hill 
at the top of the road.

A real treat at lunch was porridge, kind of a tapioca pudding. 
They did put on plays for the parents

and decorated the room for the holidays.

This was life until the central school opened in 1956. Then it was a half hour bus ride and embarrassing pictures getting picked up by the bus on the first day of school each year. 

(With interview notes from Old Farmer's Older Daughter : )

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Zucchini Orphans

Something for all those who have found these orphans on the front door step...

Are there a surplus of zucchini? 
The stores pay you to take some.
Your neighbor finds them every morning in his mailbox. 
You have a flute made out of a Zucchini.
Someone leaves a basket full on your porch overnight....

So what to do, I will offer a sweet and a sour, or a sour and a sweet.
You can find many great recipes with zucchini, breaded, lasagne, breads, etc.

ZUCCHINI RELISH (tastes just like pickle relish)

 10 Cups Seeded, skin on zucchini
4 cups onions
5 Tbs Salt
 ...Coarsely ground vegetables, salted, soak 8 hours drain and rinse
2 1/2 Cups Vinegar
4 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Tbp Nutmeg
1 Tbs Dry Mustard
1 Tbs Tumeric
1 Tbs Cornstarch
2 Tsp Celery Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Green Pepper
...Simmer all for 30 minutes, stir occassionally.
Hot water bath can. 

ZUCCHINI BREAD (really good lightly toasted and buttered)

  2 1/2 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cup Oil
2 Eggs, Beaten
2 Cups Grated Zucchini (or more)
2 Tsp Vanilla
3 Cups PreSifted Flour
1 Tsp Soda
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Nutmeg
2 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cups Nuts
Mix all up to and including vanilla.
Mix the next 7 ingredients together and add to the first.
Grease and flour two bread pans.
Bake at 350' 60-70 minutes, until firm.