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Crazy Kacie the Lab, Retrieving Machine!

2012-04-08T22:36:56Z

Crazy Kacie the Lab earning her keep!

Birds for the dinner table..

Beers for guests on the deck....

Camp Kathy New Towing & Hauling Machine

2012-04-08T14:30:39Z

My much beloved Durango graduated from nickel diming us to $1,000 dollaring us to death. It was time for a change like it or not. The era of the Durango is now the era of the Ford Expedition EL.

This is the first non Dodge/Chrysler vehicle we have owned in 22 years. We have owned 7 Dodge/Chryslers during that time and began to experience more & more reliability issues. When Dodge/Chrysler decided not to honor our warranty on our Durango, (one of their senior customer reps admitted that we had a legitimate claim and stated we weren't the only ones having our warranty claims denied) while they were getting a taxpayer bailout, it was the final straw.

We are now giving Ford a try and hoping they appreciate us as a loyal customer more than Dodge/Chrysler did. So far........She is a SWEET ride!

Camp Kathy Kitchen Project

2012-04-08T14:14:20Z

Yes, it is hard to be Camp Kathy without the Camp Kathy kitchen. There hasn't been a Camp Kathy kitchen since February. I am sure you have noticed the hit or miss blogging as of late. Hard to be Kathy let alone Camp Kathy without a kitchen.

Here are a couple pics

What was the laundry room which will be expanded as laundry room/butler pantry.

Foundation issues found when ripping out the kitchen floor to the studs.

This isn't a kitchen remodel, this is renovation of the entire one end of this 150+ year old house. This is a slow process but will be stunning and solid.......someday.

2012 Camp Kathy Garden

2012-04-07T22:44:27Z

It's gardening season baby!!!!!!!

243 plants have been started in the cellar. As you have come to expect from Camp Kathy, they are all heirloom/organic. Here is the break down:

144 Tomato Plants (5 different kinds)

42 Halladay's Mortgage Lifter
21 John Baer
21 Earliana
36 Sudduth's Brandywine
24 Large Cherry

56 Peppers (2 different kinds)

31 Purple Beauty Peppers
25 Quadrato Green Peppers

16 Listada De Gardia Eggplants

27 Copenhagen Market Cabbage

I have 200 onion sets ready and waiting and rounding out the garden with rows of green beans, beets (2 different kinds), cucumbers (4 different kinds), zuchinni, summer squash and my favorite Seed Savers Lettuce mix.

I showed you mine, now you show me yours......what's in your garden this year??

Wild Boar Tenderloin Medallions w/Caramelized Onions

2011-12-05T01:24:51Z

Two nights in a row! Dinner hunted and cooked by the hubby. Paired it up with some corn that hubby & girl child cut & froze from a local farmer. Yet another meal out of our self-sustaining playbook! OH!!!! And must love the cast iron pan!

Wild Boar Tenderloin

2011-12-03T23:28:21Z

Hubby made dinner tonight. Hubby hunted for the dinner he made tonight. Mmmmmmmm.

40 Is The New 30?

2011-12-03T23:18:29Z

Is 40 the new 30? Boy, I hope so. Anyway, that is what I am counting on in body, mind & pocketbook.

I have never made a secret of my adventures of trying to restore my body to that of my youth. It is a challenge. I am sure many of you will agree. Well, I am stepping it up a notch.

Today I got the call back I have been waiting for. It was the phone call from BodyLogicMD. If you have ever read anything on anti-aging or watched Oprah or read any of the Suzanne Sommers books you have heard about BodyLogicMD. Well, I am making an investment. An investment in me. It is not a small one.

The closest doctor is in Naperville. I am going. I have the appointment, have already paid for the preliminary testing procedures and will be fulfilling them within a week. I can't wait!

I already have the best personal trainer around and now I am taking it a step further. If there is anything we owe ourselves and those close to us is to make sure we are healthy. That is what I am doing. Stay tuned.

Life of a Camp Kathy Tomato

2011-09-12T04:51:48Z

There are 67 tomato plants in the Camp Kathy garden this year. I have just started canning the fruit of all the labor from planting the seeds, to planting in the garden to picking them to canning them.

If you would like your hand at canning tomatoes, I have found the best instructions for this process are in the back of the Betty Crocker cookbook. Enjoy the pictures of the life of a Camp Kathy Tomato!

Just Peachy

2011-09-05T02:08:33Z

Friend of the hubby's at work got more peaches than what they had anticipated so we bought some of the excess....two big boxes worth turned into 28 pints of peach jam. So good. See the transition below!

Mmmmm peaches in a jam!!

This is freezer jam made with the recipe in the LIQUID Certo Pectin box.

Jam is really good, but wow, what a sticky mess the kitchen became!

Garden Transitions

2011-09-05T01:43:45Z

From This:

Transitioning Peppers To This:

And..Transition The Eggplant To This...Eggplant Parmesan

I don't have a formal recipe for Eggplant Parmesan. This is what I do:

Take 2-3 small eggplants (I like Listada) and slice.

Scramble 2-3 eggs with a little bit of water in a medium bowl.

Crush saltines and spread on plate with parmesan cheese.

Dip sliced eggplant in egg and then coat with saltines/parmesan cheese mixture and saute in olive oil on both sides until delicate brown in a non-stick or cast iron pan.

Cover bottom of a baking pan with your favorite pasta sauce. Place sauteed eggplants on top of sauce, then lightly cover with a little more pasta sauce. Cover pan with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Serve eggplant with left over pasta sauce over whole wheat pasta.

So easy for a meatless meal!

Camp Kathy Founders Reunite August 2011!!

2011-09-01T01:14:25Z

We had a get together, thanks to the one responsible for naming Camp Kathy, Camp Kathy and the great friends that spent almost every weekend here a few year ago. Things have changed, people have moved states away but one thing has not changed; good friends! Realized how much I missed seeing everyone every weekend for some paintball fun and the food and drinks that followed.

Below are some pictures of those who stuck around for a VERY late dinner after an afternoon of target shooting getting ready for the wild boar hunt coming up next weekend. These are special people here at Camp Kathy, and they all have a piece of my heart.

Our Dinner 8/31/2011

2011-09-01T00:50:44Z

Ahi Tuna & Listada eggplant from the Camp Kathy garden on the grill for dinner tonight.

Want more daily updates like this. Find me on Facebook kathleen.rehberg See you there!!!

Top Gun Camp Kathy Style

2011-08-24T03:32:45Z

Time to buzz the chicken coop!!!!!

Spinach/Swiss Chard Fettucine

2011-08-24T02:10:05Z

Got Spinach or Swiss Chard galore in your garden. Try this, you'll like it!

1/2 lb. spinach/swiss chard
1 clove garlic, mashed
2 Tbs. chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
8 ounces medium egg noodles
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
pepper to taste

Remove and discard tough stems from spinach/swiss chard; tear or coarsely chop leaves. In pan, cook garlic and onion in half the butter until golden. Add spinach/swiss chard, cover and cook until just wilted. Meanwhile, cook noodles as directed on package, drain and mix with remaining butter. Then toss with cream, cheese and spinach/swiss chard. Pepper to taste.

Yum!

Cukes In Sour Cream

2011-08-24T02:01:38Z

Got a few cucumbers? Have you tried this?

2 med. cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 med. onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine cucumbers and onion in bowl. Add mixture of remaining ingredients, toss gently. Chill, covered, until serving time, stirring occasionally.

Day of Yea

2011-07-05T01:48:33Z

Another day with a chunk of time spent in the garden. That is a good day.

Hubby & I mulched around all the pepper plants, eggplants, cabbages, cucumbers, zuchinni, summer squash, butternut squash & watermelon.

While I watered, hubby planted another row of beets for me & re-planted some cucumbers that my hens had dug the seeds out and ate. God love them.

Tomorrow night, after I get home from work, we will tackle the two plots of tomato plants. We would have had more done if we did not have to deal with the leaking shower which resulted in a huge hole in the new ceiling of the re-modeled bathroom downstairs. It was a semi easy fix with only 1 trip to Menards required but has made quite a mess.

I did chores again this morning & it felt good to be doing some of the things I used to do before the back injury. I'm a little taken a back by how much strength I have lost. Taking it slow. Today was a day of yea.

I Don't Know What Happened, He Went For Load Of Straw & Never Came Back!

2011-07-04T00:39:00Z

Remember that old saying, "He went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back" when talking about men leaving their wives? I kind of put my own spin on it for another wacked out day at Camp Kathy.

Hubby has been working extra shifts again this week due to people calling in sick etc. so we were looking forward to grilling out & having a couple adult beverages tonight.

We spent the day in the garden pulling weeds & roto-tilling 5 of our garden plots. Hubby found someone who was selling some straw and made arrangements to go pick it up so we could line the area around our tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbages etc to keep down the weeds.

As he was getting ready to go, I thought I heard running water. My investigation found water pouring thru our remodeled downstairs bathroom ceiling as girl child was taking her shower. Yippee. Seems like every time hubby has some down time, Camp Kathy decides to dump on him.

He hustled girl child out of the shower and proceeded to tear down the new ceiling he put up not that long ago. Then he left, taking my Durango and some cash. The only thing that came to mind was all those prior tv show lines from the deserted wives.

I watched the clock. He did return. Whew!

Durango vs. Deer Duel At Dawn

2011-06-18T01:34:53Z

It has been 12 years but it has happened yet again. The dreaded deer duel with whatever I may be driving. There are no winners. The deer never win & I am left with deep sadness, guilt and twisted metal. Case in point:

This latest match up happened on my way to work day before yesterday. Week 3 of my new job. Luckily I was leaving a little earlier anyway and was still early to work even with the mishap. Really screwed up hubby's morning plans though. The call from the wife waking him from his slumber, the quick 2 mile run to see what damage was done to Durango before sending her on her broken way, call to the DNR & deer harvesting for the freezer. Some expensive venison italian sausage just been added to the freezer.

The last duel also happened on my way to work bout 12 years ago. It did turn into a kind of funny story though that is repeated at every family gathering.

My Uncle Gary was staying with my Dad at the time & he came down to our place to find my van sitting in the driveway. The damage was facing the opposite direction. Knowing I should be at work, Uncle Gary found it strange to see my van sitting there. As he was pondering this, the hubby came around the corner covered in blood from field dressing the latest deer hit.

Now, anyone who has known me for any length of time knows I can be, well, difficult to live with at times. Well, Uncle Gary was caught so off guard at the bloody scene he blurted out to the approaching hubby "What did you do to Kath!" as he was backing up. My understanding was that the hubby was not that struck that something like that would be said to him & just calmly pointed to the very undriveable van facing away from where Uncle Gary stood. I guess the hubby's non-shock that he would be accused of doing harm to his difficult wife should concern me if I think about it....but I get it.

Just another day in the life of Camp Kathy.......to be continued.......I'm sure.

Chchchanges.........

2011-06-15T00:43:44Z

Whose wine? What wine? Where the hell did I dine?

That is a line from one of my favorite Peter Frampton songs. That pretty much sums up how my mind has been working lately.

Yes, I have gone back to work in my "chosen" field. I have been out of the "traditional" work schedule for 3 years now & it has been both exhilirating & challenging getting back into the swing of things.

I like it. I almost hate to say it out loud out of fear of jinxing it. I just hate being the new person. I liked it much better when I was the go to person. Not there yet. Hope to get there soon. Have boy childs college tuition to pay for.

I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate the Camp Kathy part of me in the day to day right now. Mostly because of this nagging back thing. Not only that, but I am mentally challenged by the time I get home. Brain drain.

It will all get there....eventually. Looking forward to that. I like this new job. I like my Camp Kathy hobby farm. I would very much like to marry the two Kathy's..........SOON!

Garden of Guilt

2011-06-05T03:38:15Z

By now you are just as sick of hearing me whine about my back injury as I am of talking about it......and feeling it. This has really thrown a wrench into my gardening abilities.

The good news is that the garden is probably 85% in the ground....but not by me.

Lot 1: watermelon & butternut squash in...not by me.

Lot 2: 2 kinds of green beans, lettuce mix, beets, zuchini & yellow summer squash... not by me.

Lot 3: 5 different kinds of cucumbers...not by me.

Lot 4: hybrid green peppers, heirloom green, purple, orange & red peppers, mild hot peppers, eggplants & cabbages...not by me.

What is left is 2 plots of a combined 8 kinds of both hybrid & heirloom tomaoes, 1 plot of onion sets and dill in the plot that also holds the rhubarb. Only the asparagus doesn't have to share a plot. That is all that is left to be planted...but not by me.

I feel guilty putting all this on the family. I did get the seeds started & I will be doing the canning/freezing but it doesn't have the same satisfaction. I liked starting the babies, planting the babies and caring for them all the way to the kitchen & freezer. But not this year. Not by me.