Martha Mitchell's Page

My *very* handy son, Jesse, created this for my Christmas present this year. Everyone gave their input on which books to choose, and it took several days to whittle the list down to 13 books.  BeforeAfter…See More

  I tried something new this week - dehydrating hamburger. Not only have I not done this before, but I had never even heard of this being done!I came across an article with instructions, and thought "What a great idea!" Our family was given 1/2 a deer on Saturday, so I was determined to try my hand at this. Sunday, Colton processed the meat, placed it in a big pot full of salt water to soak overnight.Monday morning I started in on the meat.I kept a couple roasts, but the rest I ground into…See More

In Blue Ridge, VA, it's the year for the 17-year cicadas to emerge from the ground.They crawl up out of the ground, where they've been for the last 17 years. They break, crawl, push, out of their shells or casings, climb or fly (yes, they have wings with orange veins) into the trees, where they live until they mate, and they lay their eggs in the limbs. Apparently, they can be detrimental to trees, because they bore into the wood to lay their eggs.Once the eggs hatch, the larva drop from the…See More

    Do you have a wood-burning fireplace or wood stove? For several years I have been making fire starters, and have found them invaluable! What does a fire starter look like? Well, it's not pretty - a cardboard toilet paper tube stuffed with dryer lint which has been soaked in melted wax.    Jesse told me the other day that we were getting low on fire starters, so as I began my bread making this morning - four loaves to sell, four for the family, plus 2 pans of rolls -I put a pot of wax on the…See More