Easter Greetings From Just 2 Gypsies And The Freak Show...

Easter Greetings!

WE'RE BAAAACK!


At this very moment, Siobhan and I are elbow-deep in our own Easter traditions--boiling and dying Easter eggs; filling candy baskets ( for each other and for Liam); eating Peeps and Peeps and more Peeps...
 I'm washing mine down with glasses (pleural) of  Dennis Vineyards Spring Muskadine Wine.  (You can order your own at:  www.dennisvineyards.com)

 


 Siobhan is washing hers down with multiple (also pleural) peep-tinis (recipe to follow).

Peep-tinis

Ingredients:
corn syrup
yellow, purple and pink cake sparkles or sugars
yellow, purple and pink bunny Peeps
1 cup vanilla vodka
1/2 cup cran-strawberry juice, such as Ocean Spray

Directions:
1. Spread a thin layer of corn syrup on a paper plate. Sprinkle each color of cake sparkles or sugars on additional paper plates.
2. Dip rim of glass in corn syrup and then in one of the colors of sparkles or sugars.
3. Make a small cut in bottom of each bunny and place on rim of glass.
4. Combine vanilla vodka and juice. Pour into prepared glasses.

Makes 4 servings. For just a single serving combine 1/4 cup vanilla vodka and 2 tablespoons juice.

- See more at: http://www.jerseybites.com/2014/04/peep-tini-the-cutest-thing-youll-ever-drink/#sthash.Qvi7NyJC.dpuf

Serves	1
Meal type	Beverage
Occasion	Easter
Source     RobynWright.com

Ingredients

• 1.5oz Sobieski Lemon Meringue Vodka
• 0.5oz white chocolate liqueur
• 1oz cream
• sugar, for rim
• Peep, for garnish

Directions

Dip rim of chilled martini glass into sugar to coat. Add Sobieski Lemon Meringue Vodka, white chocolate liquor and cream in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into sugar coated martini glass. Garnish with a Peep and serve. Tip: you can cut a slit in the bottom of the Peep to help it stay on the rim of the glass!

Peep-tinis

Ingredients:
corn syrup
yellow, purple and pink cake sparkles or sugars
yellow, purple and pink bunny Peeps
1 cup vanilla vodka
1/2 cup cran-strawberry juice, such as Ocean Spray

Directions:
1. Spread a thin layer of corn syrup on a paper plate. Sprinkle each color of cake sparkles or sugars on additional paper plates.
2. Dip rim of glass in corn syrup and then in one of the colors of sparkles or sugars.
3. Make a small cut in bottom of each bunny and place on rim of glass.
4. Combine vanilla vodka and juice. Pour into prepared glasses.

Makes 4 servings. For just a single serving combine 1/4 cup vanilla vodka and 2 tablespoons juice.

- See more at: http://www.jerseybites.com/2014/04/peep-tini-the-cutest-thing-youll-ever-drink/#sthash.Qvi7NyJC.dpuf

The fact that Siobhan's recipe calls for marshmallow rabbits led to a lengthy discussion on Peeps.  Being the senior authority on Peep anatomy, type, genus, sub-genus, etc, I contend that only chick-shaped Peeps are true Peeps.  All the others--rabbits, jack-o-lanterns, and snowmen--are not legitimate Peeps, and are therefore Bastard Peeps. Siobhan obviously doesn't agree with this theory, as she is snorting with laughter, and Peep-tini is coming out her nose.  Regardless of my daughter's Spraying Fountain act, I assure you it's true-- all of the  non-chick peeps are commonly known as Little Bastards. These should always be eaten first, just to put them out of their misery.

As to Peep anatomy--they all have a bad case of Gone-Ass (flat bottoms), and no legs at all.  The least said, the better.




Another common Easter misconception concerns chocolate rabbits.  Most folks assume the ears are the best place to begin eating one.  Well, that is just Wrong.  The kindest way is to whack his entire head off with a meat cleaver, and after waiting 20-30 minutes, eat the whole thing.

As I look around our kitchen, I realize that all Easter candy is either an animal or an animal by-product (lambs, chicks, rabbits, eggs). Which kinda raises a whole new set of questions...What kind of candy do vegetarians put in their children's baskets? Do they have candy bean sprouts and marshmallow soy beans?  Chocolate tofu?   Do they dye their boiled potatoes? Hmmm...After a few more glasses of wine, I might call up a few and ask them.  Meanwhile...

Happy Easter!    


 





      

Peep-tinis

Ingredients:
corn syrup
yellow, purple and pink cake sparkles or sugars
yellow, purple and pink bunny Peeps
1 cup vanilla vodka
1/2 cup cran-strawberry juice, such as Ocean Spray

Directions:
1. Spread a thin layer of corn syrup on a paper plate. Sprinkle each color of cake sparkles or sugars on additional paper plates.
2. Dip rim of glass in corn syrup and then in one of the colors of sparkles or sugars.
3. Make a small cut in bottom of each bunny and place on rim of glass.
4. Combine vanilla vodka and juice. Pour into prepared glasses.

Makes 4 servings. For just a single serving combine 1/4 cup vanilla vodka and 2 tablespoons juice.

- See more at: http://www.jerseybites.com/2014/04/peep-tini-the-cutest-thing-youll-ever-drink/#sthash.Qvi7NyJC.dpuf

Peep-tinis

Ingredients:
corn syrup
yellow, purple and pink cake sparkles or sugars
yellow, purple and pink bunny Peeps
1 cup vanilla vodka
1/2 cup cran-strawberry juice, such as Ocean Spray

Directions:
1. Spread a thin layer of corn syrup on a paper plate. Sprinkle each color of cake sparkles or sugars on additional paper plates.
2. Dip rim of glass in corn syrup and then in one of the colors of sparkles or sugars.
3. Make a small cut in bottom of each bunny and place on rim of glass.
4. Combine vanilla vodka and juice. Pour into prepared glasses.

Makes 4 servings. For just a single serving combine 1/4 cup vanilla vodka and 2 tablespoons juice.

- See more at: http://www.jerseybites.com/2014/04/peep-tini-the-cutest-thing-youll-ever-drink/#sthash.Qvi7NyJC.dpuf

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

There is a haunting beauty in all of Ireland—in its windswept cliffs and its rock-strewn shores…in a rose that still blooms by a cottage door, abandoned long ago…in a lonely churchyard, shrouded in the morning mists, its tombstones   tilting over moss-covered graves…in sad and solemn castle ruins, where placid sheep now graze…

 You will see beauty in the lined faces of Her old…you will hear it in the lilting music of their voices…

The beauty of Ireland will creep beneath your skin and into your very bones.  It will warm your heart while you are there, and tug at your heartstrings when you are away…

My heart shall always yearn for Ireland.






           Lake Isle of Innisfree

I will arise and go now, and go to Innesfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made,:
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

          -W. B. Yeats

                                                        Happy St. Patrick's Day...

                        *******************************************************


Traditional Corned Beef And Cabbage--Slow Cooker Recipe:

Ingredients 

Original recipe makes 8 servings Change Servings

• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
• 10 baby red potatoes, quartered
• 1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 cups water

• 1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet
• 6 ounces beer
• 1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Place the carrots, potatoes, and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker, pour in the water, and place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour the beer over the brisket. Sprinkle on the spices from the packet, cover, and set the cooker on High.
2. Cook the brisket for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, stir in the cabbage and cook for 1 more hour.

                                                                  ************

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Original recipe makes 1 1 1/2 pound loaf

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

March Musings

              MARCH

"With rushing winds and gloomy skies
The dark and stubborn Winter dies:
Far-off, unseen, Spring faintly cries,
Bidding her earliest child arise; March!"

                            --Bayard Taylor


"March already!" I think, as I turn yet another page on my calendar ( it seems I only bought it  yesterday...)  Hard to believe, but it has been a year now since I first began this blog.  What a year it has been!

Twelve full, rich months shared with Siobhan and Liam, and our four-legged farm family of dogs, cats, horses, and goats... Weeks filled with work days and holidays, family dinners and Freak Show gatherings, family births and family deaths; Red Letter Days spent at the circus,( and one wonderful evening spent with Hugh Laurie and The Copper Bottom Band)...Countless happy hours spent doing the things we love best-- gardening and making fresh chevre, growing herbs and making healing salves; riding horses, kayaking, or hiking; working on our beloved gypsy wagon...faithfully writing weekly posts...then reading them aloud to Siobhan, and laughing-- always laughing...

Three hundred sixty-five days. Sixty posts.  By now you must know me and my family well--Siobhan and Liam.  The Freak Show...You have seen glimmers of our thoughts and dreams, glimpses of our daily lives.  And now we have come full-circle. 

 Once again it is Spring...Time to sow seeds and begin our garden; time for diligence in finishing our wagon; time to free our kayaks from winter storage, and heed the call of  our rain-swollen river. Time to write less and live more...

But this is not The End.  I will continue to post wagon updates each month until our wagon is complete....  And  even then, I have had entirely too much fun with this blog to just cast it aside--for that reason alone I will continue to write nonsense and drivel when I feel inspired...

As for now,

Sastimos!
(Good Health!)

and

Latcho Drom!
(Good Journey!)



--Grainne

"King James Is An A**hole!!"

    

As I lay peacefully sleeping in my bed last night, a storm of  indignation was brewing in my daughter's heart...I awakened with a heart-pounding jolt when my door banged open, and in rushed an Avenging Fury.  It was Siobhan, of course.  And with eyes blazing, she eloquently proclaimed "King James is an A**hole!"

 Did I really hear that?!  I yawned and said "I'm sorry, Siobhan--what did you say?" My daughter repeated her profound statement:  "King James is an A**HOLE!"   Bewildered, I asked "WHAT are you talking about?" Trembling with anger, Siobhan replied:  "KING JAMES!  I'm going to take our Exacto knife and cut his name off every Bible in this house, because the man is an A**HOLE!!"

Whatever.  All I wanted was a little sleep...I groaned and said "Siobhan!  The man's been dead for hundreds of years--there's nothing he can do about it now.  Cut him a little slack!"  I proceeded to roll over and bury my head under my pillow, while Siobhan drifted back up the hall--all the while muttering about murder holes and dungeons until her voice was just a faint memory...

 I woke up this morning the same way I went to sleep last night-- laughing. Out loud.  My righteous daughter...How could you not love her?

  

Just2Gypsies in the Snow...

Snow has been falling for 3 days now...Giant feathery flakes drifting downward, or fog-dense flurries of tiny sparkling flakes...but always snow.  It hinders our farm work, to say the least--slogging through snowdrifts, making endless trips with buckets of water and feed. At day's end, we have aching arms and tired backs. But even then, it is hard to ignore winter's silent  beauty...






It sifts from Leaden Sieves —
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road —

It makes an Even Face
Of Mountain, and of Plain —
Unbroken Forehead from the East
Unto the East again —

It reaches to the Fence —
It wraps it Rail by Rail
Till it is lost in Fleeces —
It deals Celestial Vail

To Stump, and Stack — and Stem —
A Summer’s empty Room —
Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,
Recordless, but for them —

It Ruffles Wrists of Posts
As Ankles of a Queen —
Then stills its Artisans — like Ghosts —
Denying they have been —


Emily Dickinson






Most days, when our evening chores are done, Siobhan and I have just enough energy left to sled down the biggest hill in our pasture...at least once!  Snow is a wondrous thing--it brings out the inner child in all of us...

Happy Valentine's Day From Just Two Gypsies

Siobhan and I both are mad for vintage valentine cards.  We eagerly buy any that catch our fancy.  We have a particular fondness for those featuring gypsies.  Or circuses.  Or horses.  Or dogs.  But especially gypsies!  Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, we want to share a few a few of our favorites... 












 
 
 
 



 




























 




 












The last is not a true valentine; it isn't even a card.  It is the simple lyrics of a song, both sweet and sad.  The music that accompanies it is a hauntingly beautiful tune... 


The Gypsy's Song

A gypsy came to the castle gate
He sang so sweet and wild
And with his song he stole away
The Master's only child.

Oh, she cast away her silken gown
She cast away her pride
And ran with him into the night
Down to the sea so wild.

"Come home, come home, my bonny little  child
Come home again to me
Sit once more by your own fireside
With your head upon my knee."

"Oh, I'd rather live an hour here
Than seven long years with thee
And feel the salt spray on my cheek
And know that I am free."

She danced in the wind and she danced in the rain
On the edge of the cliffs and the shore
And she tasted the salt upon her cheek
And never came home no more.

                                            -author unknown
                                                                   



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                                                 BEST WISHES

                                                      FOR A

                       HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

                                                       from

                                           JUST 2 GYPSIES,

                                  GRAINNE AND SIOBHAN

Building A Gypsy Wagon-- Part 9 / Tiles, Heat Shields, and Wood Stoves--Oh My! / TheTightrope Between Safety And Aesthetics

Siobhan and I have been busy drawing plans and assembling materials for the tiled wall / wood stove section of our wagon, as that is the section we will be working on next...We have spent quite a bit of time researching heat-proof and heat-resistant materials...

For the most part, Siobhan and I have managed to use natural materials in our construction up to now, avoiding plastics and keeping chemicals to a bare minimum. For safety reasons, we will be forced to overlook that rule in regard to flame-resistant materials...we have no intentions of burning our lovely wagon to the ground the first time we use our stove!

That being said, below is a general idea of our plans, as well as some of the materials purchased so far...


 The first (and possibly the most important) purchase we've made for our wood stove / hearth project was an antique parlor wood stove (circa 1849), small enough in size to accommodate our wagon (12"  x 24"  x 20" tall ), reconditioned and in mint condition, and very ornate.  We bought it from our favorite antique and junk dealer for $100.00; Siobhan and I considered it a steal!

We don't have photos of our own stove yet, but this one is very similar...

We plan to install a heat shield (*not yet purchased) onto the bottom of our stove to reduce the amount of heat radiated onto the floor.  As further protection, the stove will sit on a 28" x 32" type 2 fireproof metal floor protector , covered by a 100% hand-woven hearth rug.

Type 2 metal stove board thermal floor protector

Hand-spun wool hearth rug

We plan to install a rear heat shield (*not yet purchased) on our stove to reduce the necessary wall clearance.  Three inches behind the wood stove/rear shield will be an antique cast iron fireplace surround, with summer cover / door. 

Fireplace surround with summer cover

 Behind the surround we will build a 36" wide wall, using 2" x 2" lumber for framing.  We will construct it using 1 " spacers between the new wall and its framing; the framing will be attached to the existing 18" wall of wagon ledge, as well as the right side wall of the wagon itself.   The upper half of the wall will be built of tongue-and-groove lumber, matching the rest of the wagon's interior.   The lower half of the wall will be a heat-proof wall panel, made of 3" x 5" cement backer board, tiled with antique majolica tiles and grout.

Tile backer board, Lowe's

 


















Siobhan and I have been collecting antique tiles for some time now.  These are a few we plan to use on our wall...

6" x 6" majolica tiles

6" x 6"majolica tile, purchased from Barcel

  

Unbrand England, 6" x 6" art nouveau tiles (my favorite!)

6" x 6" majolica tiles (Siobhan's favorite!)

We plan to use double wall black chimney pipe (*not yet purchased) for venting our wood stove through the wagon roof to the outside.  This seems to be the safest pipe to use, and has less clearance requirements (distance to nearest combustible surface) than single wall pipe.  Our choices (as far as brands) are somewhat hampered by the fact that our stove requires 5" pipe, rather than the standard 6", but we are considering at the DuraTech chimney pipe components...

                                                   
 

5" ID DuraTech Chimney Pipe System

                                        

                                                           
                                                         




                                                          
                                                                
                                                

                                                             


                                           
                                          
                                             
                                             
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                           
                                             
      If anyone out there knows of a better pipe to use, we are open to suggestions!



Until next time--

Grainne                                                      



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**CHARTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS USED TO COMPLY WITH REQUIRED CLEARANCES TO                                                  COMBUSTIBLE SURFACES**

Illustration showing recommended measurements for clearance to combustible surfaces for wood stove with no protection.

Illustration showing correct way to install cement tile backer board using heat resistant spacers.

Minimum Clearance To Rear And Sides Of Small Wood Stove (14" x 24" x 21")
(taken from Vermont Castings Handbook)

*With no protection:
    rear-   36"
   sides-  24"   

*With Stove And Stove Pipe Heat Shields Only:
    rear-   13"
   sides-   24"


*With Wall Protection Only:
    rear-  16"
    sides-   12"

*With Wall Protection, Stove And Pipe Shields:
   rear-   9"
   sides-12"