New Kittens

We have five little kittens that are looking for good homes. Their temporary names are Shelby, Sally, Dash, Bullitt (aka Steve McQueen), and Eleanor.

Pen Turning at Prairieland Herbs Sample Sunday

One really interesting event at the Prairieland Herbs Sample Sunday this week was this demonstration of hand-turning pen barrels. Rick and Ryan Nail brought along a lathe and showed us how it is done.


The picture shows (clockwise, from top left) Rick working on a piece of yellow acrylic; a close-up of the turning in action; a polished pen barrel on the lathe; a display of finished pens; and centre, another view of the lathe in use.
These pens make unique, beautiful and practical gifts, and Rick and Ryan will be back for future events, so keep an eye on centraliowasmallfarms.com for details.

Sex On The Bike Trail

Having come home from a nice bike ride the other day, we were disappointed to find that we didn't have the necessary ingredients for our drink of choice, sex on the beach. Not to be thwarted by this, however, we came up with our own concoction, which we thought should be named "Sex On The Bike Trail"

(Makes two)

2 oz. Vodka

1 oz. Apricot Brandy

1 oz. Peach Schnapps

Juice of one orange

Stir in mixing glass, then pour into two glasses with ice (I think crushed ice would work best, but cubes will do fine). Float a slice of orange on top, push a straw through the centre, and enjoy!

Cards

My first greeting cards ready to go on sale at Prairieland Herbs

First Harvest

From our own garden!

Out with the old...

I finally said goodbye to my old Bike, a very elderly and clunky Cherry. It's been donated to the Des Moines Bike Collective, who do wonderful work repairing and restoring old bikes, and selling them at very reasonable cost to new owners. 

...and in with the new

My new one is this awesome Scott S40. It fits me, it rides beautifully, it's light and comfortable, and I'm very happy with it. RAGBRAI, here I come!

Hurricane

After a long day's work, and a bracing bike ride, there's nothing nicer than to come home to one of these!

Hurricane recipe
1 pt light rum
1 pt orange rum
1 pt mango rum
1 pt amaretto
1 pt triple sec
1 pt sour mix
3 pts fresh orange juice
3 pts fresh pineapple juice
sink dash of grenadine to bottom
float black strap rum on top

Enjoy responsibly :)
(BTW, pt stands for "part", and not "pint"!)