Top Blog Posts from 2015!

2015 was a great year for our family and our first full year here on our farm in Georgia. So many new things we’ve seen, done, experienced, tasted, learned. And much more to come in the years ahead. Thank y’all for being a part of it. I hope to spend a little more time in 2016 writing and posting articles for this blog. What do you want to see? More food recipes? DIY bath and body products? More photos? Personal articles? It’s tough for me to decide what to share, it’s my regular ol’ ordinary life – what in the world is of interest to the readers? I’d love to hear from you. Please share your comments on this article about what you’d like to see more of on the blog in ’16. Comment on the other articles as well so I know what’s interesting to you.

Since it’s inception in late 2013, this little blog has had more than 3,100 visitors! At least 800 just in 2015 alone. That’s crazy amazing and I thank y’all so much for stopping by! I hope you find something of interest on here. The majority of our website visitors are in the USA, however, we’ve had a great many guests from Russia, Malaysia, France, and Germany and a few from other places around the globe as well.

So without further adieu, below are your top five blog posts of 2015:

#5…Herb Beginnings posted April 6, 2015 – this was just a simple quick post showing a few pics of my herb seedlings. It makes me a little hungry and a lot ready for planting seeds! Though I’m not sure why it was so popular to be honest. It beat out Muscadine Jelly by one visitor! J Could be those awesome, recycled items I used for planters? Who knows.

#4…Summer at Ramsey Farms posted August 28 –
this article covered our busy summer season here at the farm updating you, our readers, on the late summer plantings, the muscadines jelly processing, the solar clothes dryer, a photo of some pretty roma tomatoes and a profound quote from yours truly about life and your perception of your own skill.

#3…My Favorite Biscuits posted March 11 –
this didn’t even contain the recipe! But I guess including the words “biscuits” and “Grammaw” in the post title was the trick to this post’s popularity. The third most visited post of 2015 shows some pics of delicious, homemade, mouth-watering biscuits and gives a prelude to our fave biscuit recipe. There is a link to that biscuit recipe that I added later. More people read this “teaser” than the actual recipe so go check out this #3 post here and be sure to follow the link at the end for the actual biscuit recipe! 

#2…The Top Posts of 2014 published on February 3, 2015 – Tons of people during the course of the year have read this summary of my 2014 blog posts! Go check out the links to those articles. I think 2014 was a good year for my blog, a lot of posts, pictures and more heart-felt personal writing. We had high-speed cable internet that worked 99.99% of the time and no data limits, I had more internet time for blogging in 2014 when we lived in the city! J I do hope to post more in 2016 and look forward to hearing your – the readers’ – feedback as to what you want to see more of on this site. There is even a link to the 2013 top articles! I love a good review!

And the top-read, most visited article on the Simple Life blog spot for 2015 was….

#1…Teamwork posted August 21 – I loved writing this article. It’s one of the few “in-depth / personal” works published on the blog in 2015. Teamwork is a top quality to achieve goals and dreams. Even loners have teams, so remember that next time you accomplish anything that there was probably someone else on your team. Are you a team player or do you hinder the attainment of objectives? This was one of my favorite writings that even summarizes some of our teamwork of buying a farm and moving to another state. This post reminds me that regardless of how we feel, we’re really never in it alone. This article has links to similar articles,  more of my favorites on the blog.

Since the blog has been around more than two full years now, I decided to also show you the top 3 blog posts of all time, just for fun! Be sure you check ‘em out if you didn’t when it was new or just to read them again. 

 #3…This Week at Ramsey Farms March 16, 2014 – I miss writing these weekly posts that outlined our days of digging through worms, cleaning up messes, making salsa, seed exchanges, homemade lotion, ranch dressing, ketchup, baking, cooking, eating, tilling, harvesting, and celebrating our daughter’s birthday and life!

#2…is a tie between two articles, Last Week at Ramsey Farms from May 2014 and Teamwork from August 2015. The Last Week article from 2014 was truly one of my favorite articles to write (and revisit to read from time to time). It was a stressful time in our lives as our NC home was on the market without any real interest and we had found the farm we wanted to purchase down in Georgia. We were stuck in a stressful time of waiting and I needed to help myself take a deep breath, slow it down, watch the sun set and intentionally set boundaries and time for reflection & rejuvenation. 

And our top visited, most read article of all time….

The Cold Frame! This was a continually updated, time-lapse photo album of the building, installation, planting, growing and eventual harvesting of our cold frame at the NC house. Photos show the progress of this planting project from January until July 2014. Then, we moved! There were blog updates every week and it is an awesome project. We loved our cold frame but have no plans to build one here in South Georgia, our growing season is longer than in the Piedmont of North Carolina.

Thanks for reading! Keep on reading and let us know what to post!

Make the most of the time you are given...laugh as much as you breathe and remember that only YOU have the power to make the changes you want in your life. 
~Ramsey


Check out the top posts of 2014 and 2013 here.

New Page to Find All the DIY Bath & Body Recipes

Now you can get all the DIY recipes for my bath and body products in one place! CLICK HERE

Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are an old-fashioned favorite! It had been years since I had eaten these, remembering them from family reunions and church potlucks. Just as easy as using one of those mixes and so tasty! The crust is a delicious crisp shortbread-like texture and the ooey-gooey lemon bar will hit all your taste buds at the same time! Rich, sweet, and sour...these are not just ordinary cookies! These will become one of your family's favorites.

Lemon Bars

Yield: 2 dozen   *   Prep Time: 15 minutes   *   Bake Time 55 to 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• ½ cup sifted powdered sugar
• ¾ cup butter
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine 2 cups flour and ½ cup powdered sugar; cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Spoon mixture into a greased 13x9-inch pan, press firmly and evenly into pan, using fingertips.
2. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
3. Combine remaining ½ cup flour and baking powder, set aside. Combine eggs, 2 cups sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice, stir in flour mixture. Pour over prepared crust.
4. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool on a wire rack. Dust lightly with powdered sugar, cut into bars.

Check out all the recipes on this blog here!

Muscadine / Grapevine Wreaths

Now that the late summer grapes are long gone, their jams stored in my pantry and cupboard, it's November and the mighty muscadine leaves have started turning yellow. Those marvelous muscadine vines can continue to provide even without its precious fruits. 

I knew one could make wreaths out of grapevines, I just needed to finally get out there and try! (And you know what happens when you try?!) My trusty clippers and I trimmed up the muscadine vine that grows around my porch swing. You simply twist them around into shape then add more vine, continually wrapping and tucking the ends back into the structure of the wreath!

It was so easy! And a perfect way to spend some time outside in our hot South Georgia afternoons & evenings of November.

The one shown here hanging on my swing is about 30" in diameter. I found all sizes of grapevine wreaths for sale online with an 18-inch wreath for $6 at JoAnn's up to a decorated moderate size wreath at Pottery Barn for $89! If you would like to buy a grapevine leaf from Ramsey Farms, I'll make you a great deal! :)

I made a smaller wreath that is hanging on the door to my bedroom. You can also make wreaths from honeysuckle or other vines as well. However, I would advise you to avoid the thorns! I did attempt a honeysuckle vine wreath but it is not as sturdy as the robust muscadine / grape vine and would not hold its shape very well.

"Do what you can with what you have where you are," is a famous quote by Teddy Roosevelt. I think that in not just making wreaths from vines, but in life contentment can be found by doing what we can with what we have right where we are. It's isn't about going out and buying up the latest and greatest things,buying a bigger prettier house, spending money on trendy new clothes and hairstyles, driving fancy new cars, or going into debt for the holidays or a vacation. Valuing the wrong things can lead to very disillusioned lives. The best life can be found in ordinary moments of simplicity. Slow down! You'll miss those moments if you're racing through life. Take the time to create something this week using what you have where you are.

Cheers!
Ramsey

Work Hard, Play Hard, Learn Hard, Love Hard

What better way to learn than to train hands-on with your Dad? Children require a solid foundation to build strong character, confidence, and compassion. Working side by side with family on projects, chores, and hobbies helps establish work ethic and helps the kids discover their own passions, the things they love to do, while you create memories they will remember always. Want your kid to fall asleep quickly and stay in bed all night? Get them a shovel and a plot of dirt! Seeds are optional…baths will not be!

“Climb ev’ry mountain, Ford ev’ry stream, Follow ev’ry rainbow, ‘Til you find your dream.” 

~ Sound of Music

Pumpkin Pie

So I had never made a "real" pumpkin pie with an actual pumpkin versus a can of pumpkin etcetera. Have you? And to be honest, the last pie crust recipe I made...well we scraped out the pie and threw away the crust. That's how that went. My philosophy is, if you fail at something the first time get a new recipe and try again. So I did and made a perfect cinnamon graham crumb crust.

That went exquisitely with our homemade homegrown pumpkin pie recipe. Of course, we harvested and cured the pumpkins a back in late summer. Then processed, cooked, pureed, canned and froze the pumpkin meat in September. (Pumpkin processing post.) My daughter made a huge batch of iced pumpkin muffins and I knew we just had to make a pumpkin pie (it's our fave) once I found a pie crust that was actually edible.

Creating the pumpkin pie was just as easy as using a can of pumpkin (well mine was in a jar by this time). But the outcome? Well worth the extra time and effort, I can tell you for sure! I don't know that I've ever tasted a better pumpkin pie than this. We are saving the rest of the frozen pumpkin from the garden for Thanksgiving pies!

Sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top of the pie, too!

Served warm and topped with butter and fresh homemade sweetened whipped cream. This pie did not have a long life. It was all gone by the next day!

"If you fail at something the first time get a new recipe and try again" ~ Ramsey

Pumpkin Muffins

If you missed the Pumpkin Processing article, be sure to check out the first part of the pumpkin story there. By the way, I just wanted to say "thank you" - this little blog is nearing the 3,000 visitor mark! I don't do any advertising or use this to feed my income at all. I just enjoy sharing some cool stuff with you in a journal-like style and so my mom can see what I'm up to! :) This blog is my fridge art to my mom! Thanks for checking it out! Now back to the pumpkin...

La cuisiniere!

I wrote a few weeks ago that the original oven here in the farm house quit baking or broiling or cooking. So viola! Meet una cuisiniere! We are enjoying the newer, larger, more modern oven. It wasn't a planned purchase, but I don't regret it. We have cooked 30 dinners, a dozen loaves of bread, dinner rolls, bagels, two pies, and yes...some pumpkin muffins in the new oven and so far it's my favorite oven ever. I am so excited about cooking the thanksgiving feast in this beauty!

Our frozen stash of pureed, cooked pumpkin has nearly been depleted! We couldn't contain ourselves...the draw of the pumpkin was huge. Are you ready to get your own pumpkin on? You can use homemade, fresh cooked, or store-bought canned pumpkin for these recipes. You will not regret it for a moment if you use fresh pumpkin versus canned! (I promise.)

The Ramsey Farms Pumpkin Muffins 

This tasty treat actually started culinary life as a recipe from Food.com called "Mom's Best Pumpkin Bread" (MBPB). My mama didn't make it and the smaller muffins work so much better than a big loaf. So MBPB is now "My Daughter's Awesome Pumpkin Muffins"! She added the frosting that didn't appear in the original recipe. You know, we get a little wild and crazy around here sometimes!

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup water
• 29 ounces (3 2/3 cups) pumpkin
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix ingredients together in the given order.
2. Scoop out into greased muffin pans; filling about 3/4 of the way into each muffin cup.
3. Bake at 350 degress for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Frosting: Mix 1 1/2 Tbsp milk with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Mix well then drizzle over cooled muffins.

In the next post, we'll take a look at PUMPKIN PIE! Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Hungry for more? Be sure to also see the posts about Pear Butter and Muscadine Jelly. Check out all the recipes on this blog here!

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~Henry David Thoreau