There was a local mama's page I follow on facebook and a newly budding photographer offered a session for mamas who wear their babes.  Hey, I'm one of those mamas!  This young lady was sweet as can be and had a backpack with her own 11 month old daughter packed along for the photoshoot.  She did a great job with the pics, and it barely cost me anything as she is trying to get herself established so she only charged $10!!!  

I have often heard it said from children of big families that they don't have as many pictures, I vow not to have that be the case with my children.  I love pictures, I love taking them and capturing moments that skip by too quickly.  In fact, if my entire house and all my belongings were lost to me, I would want only for the material possession of my photos.  

So here are a few of the pics from that photo shoot.  Let baby #5 not say he didn't have time in front of the camera!

In the beginning of garden season I had more pepper plants than space so I just decided to throw a few pepper plants in my flower beds.  They did amazingly well and added a pop of color to the front walk as well!  I was out the other day and decided since the nights are getting colder I had better go ahead and pull the last of the peppers of those plants and make hubby some pickled peppers. 

While I was picking, this little guy startled me.  He was about 6 inches long!  My son was quick to my rescue and told me not to touch him as my son learned the hard way that they pinch (I didn't know that!)  Glad he was there to rescue me!

Off to pickle these peppers!

My grandmother's story is as follows:

   Women of the older generation always wore an apron while working around the house. The main use of grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath.  The same house dress was usually worn all week long and the apron would be changed as it became soiled.  It was easier to wash an apron than a dress.
The apron had so many uses, it was for removing hot pans from the oven, cleaning a perspiring brow, carrying all sorts of vegetables in from the garden.  The apron was used to bring in apples and pears that had fallen from the trees and wood chips and kindling fire wood were brought in with that same apron.

Women had good aprons and everyday aprons.  The good aprons were were worn on Sunday while preparing dinner for company.  When the aprons  became faded and thread bare, they were worn for dirty work, like pulling weeds from the flower beds or cleaning out the hen house.

Great grandma always wore and apron, she would put it over her house dress each morning and she always had safety pins fastened to it.  She said it saved hunting when someone in the family needed a safety pin.  Great grandmother always had a pocket in her apron and if one of the children needed something saved they would put it in her pocket knowing it would be safe.

The generation of women wearing aprons is mostly gone now.  With today’s laundry rooms, aprons are no longer as needed.  Aprons had their day and served many purposes, now they are mostly just a memory to the present generation.


I always remember my grandma and my great grandma wearing aprons.  Since moving to our farm I now realize just how helpful they are for all the reasons mentioned above.  I usually have a tissue and a few legos as well in my pockets.  Nowadays there are not as many families serving Sunday dinner, though I am thankful that at our church having company over for dinner is still practiced and I can wear a cute apron.  My grandmother's aprons will always hold warm memories for me.


In honor of my grandmother I mentioned earlier this week that I am giving away an apron that I made from re-cycled denim.  I randomly selected from those who participated in the giveaway by signing up to receive email blog updates.  I use my version of this apron for outdoor work as it is very sturdy and somehow makes me feel a bit more girly when working on the farm.

My winner was chosen at random and has been sent an email with details.  Check back for more giveaways!!!

A few months back I posted about my great grandma Hazel's canning adventures and how she would race her sister in laws to see who could be the first to put up 1000 cans for the winter, you can read that older post by clicking here.  

I was curious to see if I canned all that I could from my garden, just how close I could get to that tally, a lofty goal but I was curious.  All that you see below came from my garden with the exception of the peaches, pears and apples which I either purchased in bulk or was given.  Now, to be fair I do not know if great grandma canned primarily in quart or pint jars (as this would make a difference in the final number I have recorded for myself being that my quart jars would be 2 pints each)  My jars are almost all quart jars due to the size of our family.  Great grandma had 4 children and we have 5.

Also, great grandma would have been canning her meats as they did not have reliable methods of freezing like we do now.

so...drumroll please...I have a total of 212 quarts of food put up for the winter.  I canned spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, pickled peppers, green beans, peaches, applesauce, pearsauce, peach butter, and strawberry jam.  I have to admit, it makes me feel good to stand back and look, but it is just over 20% of what my great grandma used to put up and I have it so much easier than she did with the modern conveniences of my kitchen with an electric stove, air conditioning while I can and plenty of clean running water at my disposal.

That means next year, I have a lot more work to do!  But at least this winter I will be able to keep my grocery budget down as the math for the funds I put into the garden (cost of my seeds and incidentals) vs. what I pulled out of it (the produce I canned only not including the fresh eating) made my pint jars cost me less than 20 cents each!

There is nothing like fresh from the oven homemade biscuits.  Especially when topped with real butter and some homemade jam or peach butter.  Years ago when I was still a working mama I used to buy those pillsbury pop open cans of biscuits thinking I was rounding out a meal but they have nothing on some quick homemade biscuits and if you read the ingredients on them like I finally did...maybe like me you will think twice about eating those.

So many people are intimidated by homemade breads and biscuits but they are really not hard at all and once you get the hang of it you can whip them up in under 10 minutes.  But they will go fast!!!

Here is my go-to recipe:

Baking Powder Biscuits:
1/2 cup shortening (butter, crisco, or lard)
2 cups flour
1 T sugar
1T baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

First I put all ingredients except for the milk into a bowl.  Then I use a pastry cutter (see below) to mix the dry ingredients with the shortening until I get fine crumbles.

see my crumbles?

I forgot to take a picture of adding the milk but that is the next step.  Your dough should be soft but not too sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour on the biscuits before pressing out if dough is too sticky.

Now here is where you gauge your time, if I am in a super big hurry I just make drop biscuits as below...you litterally just drop them like cookie dough

Honestly though a few extra minutes and my family likes them better this way.  I smoosh (is that a word?) the biscuits out and then cut them with a small glass or cup.

Ready to bake:

Here is the pure delicious-ness!!!  We gobbled these up and at this point I am making a double batch for my family as one batch is only about 10 biscuits and we like seconds!

By being a homeschooling family we read...ALOT!  I typically pick out 8-10 picture books for my toddler a week at the library and I try to switch them out weekly as he is an avid "reader."  I don't have a sound method for picking out books it honestly usually just involved me grabbing a handful of books out of whatever section I am able to contain my toddler and baby to while I browse, and I try to make sure that the stories are relatively short so we won't be grabbing a bedtime or naptime book and spending 20 minutes or more reading it.   Oh, and of course they have to be visually entertaining with great pictures.  

I grabbed this one and it was kind of a rushed choice but when we got into the car this was the first book that my toddler grabbed...afterall he has a bit of an infatuation with trains, and of course we are potty training.

It is now the go to favorite and I believe we will not be able to return it to the library until I have ordered our own copy...it is very cute!  A simple easy and quick read, about trains and going potty.  Win-Win!!!

Bee sting? no problem! 

 A good friend of mine who has shared her vast knowledge of essential oils with me had told me awhile back that she had found an awesome fix for bee/wasp stings.  Being that I am a barefoot country girl for every season but winter, I was all ears. (There are downfalls to being barefoot all the time, namely bee stings!)  I went ahead and bought this oil just to have on hand as she swore by it after her teenaged son was nailed by a wasp.  My friend used this oil on her son, and he reported immediate relief in the stinging, swelling and pain arena.  So, I figured I would just hold on to it in case (kinda of like having triple antibiotic ointment on hand, just in case).

Unfortunately, it was not me that I had the first opportunity to use this on.  My 11 y/o was heading to the barn (and even wearing flip flops!) when she came tearing back into the house howling because she had been stung by a bee.  Supermom to the rescue! (not really but it sounded good) I pulled out the oil blend I bought and put it on her toe just after removing the stinger.  Her howling turned into a wimper, then to just a complaint.   disclaimer...she has not ever been stung by a bee before so she has no comparison for the pain she was feeling, but she said the oil made it not burn/sting so much.  Within 45 minutes she was no longer complaining and the swelling and intense itching that I usually experience with a bee sting did not happen to her.  She did not mention her sting again to me for the rest of the day (and this child will tell you if she is experiencing discomfort!)  

The oil is a blend from my favorite company, Doterra, it is called "Purify" and is a blend of the following:  

Lemon Peel, Lime Peel, Siberian Fir Needle, 
Austrian Fir Needle, Pine Needle, Citronella 
Grass, Melaleuca Leaf, Cilantro Herb essential 
oils.

So, for this farmgirl, I am thinking that I will keep this oil handy in the summer months around here...and I might just keep some on hand for out and about too!

Note...You can purchase this product from me in the sidebar store. (disclaimer...I am a doterra rep because I LOVE their products and use them for my own family)

Okay, as this blogging thing comes along I am learning as I go.  I ran into a friend over the weekend who said she noticed I had not posted on my blog in awhile (I try to post often) but because she was only checking when I shared my posts on facebook she didn't know that, she then said she has lots to catch up on!  I have now figured out how to offer email subscriptions to the blog so that when a new post goes live, you can get an email about it.  All you have to do is sign up on the right sidebar with your email and then confirm your subscription when you get an email from "Feedburner."

To promote this (and to see how many of you will keep up with me) I am doing a giveaway this Friday.  You will be entered into the giveaway when you complete the feedburner email sign up by clicking the link that you are sent after entering your email on the right side of the page here.  I will close the entries Thursday night at 8pm and randomly draw the winner to be announced Friday when I do a post regarding "How grandma used to...aprons."

The winner will recieve the above handmade "Farmgirl" apron! yay!  For those of you who saw this posting on facebook, my model only wore the apron for the shots, I made a duplicate apron for myself and this one is brand new and ready to be worn.

So remember, sign up with your email, and check back on Friday to see if you are the winner!

I don't think I even have to say anything besides...WOW!  Here is the original post with photos...

I don't prescribe to the notion of letting my littles cry it out or fuss for very long.  I don't know if it stems from my inability to tolerate crying or because innately I believe that when a little is crying, he needs something that he cannot communicate to you in any other way.  Here is a perfect example...My little was very fussy a few days ago and no matter what I did, he was still fussy.  I had fed him, changed him, carried him, put numbing salve on his teething gums...nothing was appeasing him.  I was kind of at my wits end and many other mamas I know beleive that at that point you just let them fuss. 

 I just can't do it.  

Later that same night I was bathing my baby when I noticed that he had an odd spot on the skin between his pinky toe and another toe.  Something I had not noticed as I do not regularly peek in between my baby's toes.  What I discovered was a very large splinter that was infected.  I actually had a hard time removing the splinter and the area required antibiotic ointment for a few days afterwards to treat the infection.  I am guessing that this may have contributed to the fussy baby I had, but had I just given up in frustration and let him "cry it out" as is often the advice of seasoned mothers, he would have continued to have something wrong with no mama to try to soothe him.

Today is another example.  I don't know if it is again with the teeth or if we have a respiratory infection going on as well but wee one is super fussy and for the most part inconsolable unless in my arms.  Last night was rough, he nursed on and off all night long and ended up sleeping the majority of the night right on my chest while I as in a semi sitting up position.  Just think for yourself though, when you don't feel good often it is comforting to be cared for, not left to cry and fend for yourself. I know when my other children are sick they always prefer to be snuggled, coddled and cared for.  

So, here we are, managing our day as best we can with him attached to me as you see below.  He is much happier and I can still get some things done.  I believe the mamas in other countries who practice baby wearing on a regular basis may understand thier littles the best.

He is happier, I am happier and on goes the day...

We began the process of shutting down the garden to prepare it for winter.  In doing so we began digging up some of our root vegetables (carrots, potatoes) to prep for storing.  I had a few helpers, enticed by being allowed to dig out their favorite homegrown carrots, and possibly some allowance for their help in weeding.  While digging, my oldest son came across a prize winning carrot of epic proportions.  This thing was the biggest I have EVER seen.  It weighs in at just over 1 pound and I could not get my adult hand all the way around it!

The treasure that my daughter found was just as cool, we called them lover's carrots.

Here is another picture of the prize winning carrot and a smaller one next to it for size comparison.

Winter will seem long until I can get my hands back in the dirt and start fresh produce again.  I always feel a bit sad when it is time to stop the heavy growing season, though my children remind me of how hard it is when all the vegetables come on and need to be processed at the same time.  Kind of funny how that works, it seems overwhelming at the time, but it is over so quickly.

Some of the carrots had bites missing out of them or had been gouged while digging them up, these went to the rabbit who was so happy about the garden scraps!

My grandma has always been so very special to me.  I was the first grandchild and therefore had several years as the cherished grandchild before there were more blessings born to share that title with.  My grandma embodies so many qualities that I aspire to attain.  For example, in all my years I do not recall her ever raising her voice, seriously, can you imagine never raising your voice when upset???  She raised three girls and ran a preschool full of 3-5 year olds for I believe 20 years and I never heard her raise her voice.  That in itself is something that is almost unbelievable!  I was disciplined, I even remember getting spanked with a "thinking stick" a time or two, but she never raised her voice.

Grandma also always had time for me.  I am guilty of often trying to multitask and not giving my full 100% attention to my children at times, grandma did.  When grandma talked with you it was like you were the only one in the world.  I remember spending time just "being" with grandma.  We used to lay in bed and she had this wood paneling in her livingroom, we would lay on the pull-out couch that would sometimes be my bed and look at the designs in the wood paneling.  This was much like the game of looking at the clouds to see what one can imagine, same thing with the wood grain.  Grandma always had time for a lesson in the kitchen too.  So many early memories encompass learning things like how to cut pie crust scraps into strips and sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon for a tasty treat in the oven.

Grandma also always valued people over things.  If she had something very fragile and precious to her, she would still allow a curious little girl to handle it, gently.  My mother also garnered this trait as she too allows things that are precious or fragile to be handled.  There was a great- grandmother who, story goes, had all these special treasures in a kind of curio cabinet that you could look at, but never touch.  Not grandma.

Grandma has also kept up with the times, when I had my first child grandma and I got "online" about the same time and would email one and other.  Didn't know any of my friends who were emailing, but grandma was not afraid of something new!

As I have grown into an adult and grandma has gotten older, she has always remained a special part of my life, and now a special part of my children's lives.  She has taught me so many things and we share so many things, including a love of good books, and good recipies!

So, on this day, September 18th, I am wishing that special grandma a Happy 84th birthday.  She is an amazing woman, and she will be the first one reading this post and cheering me on as a blogger, tha its just what grandmas do.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Look mommy! Earthworms are just sooo much fun!

Around here one of my favorite go-to breakfasts for a healthy start to the day is Baked Oatmeal.  It goes very fast in this house and all of the kids love it, plus its healthy and isn't hard to make up.  Even the leftovers are great the following morning.

I am actually at the point where I double the recipe when I make it because it is never enough!  I also add pear or applesauce to the recipie (In addition to the oil) when I make it as it is extra moist that way...and tasty!  

Don't be thrown off by some of the ingredients I have below, I use Almond Milk in place of regular milk only because we have a child with a milk allergy.  I actually prefer it with cows milk but this is a decent substitute.

Just look at this yumminess!  I don't have a milk allergy so I really like to add a pat of butter.  Healthy and yummy too!

Things are starting to change around the farm.  The garden is all but done with just the potatoes and carrots left in the ground and the occasional tomato, zucchini, and a few beans randomly coming on.  It is time to start prepping the farm for winter and getting the garden ready for next growing season.  I am sad at this, I love fall, it is my favorite season but I hate to see summer come to an end because it means soon saying goodbye to barefoot outdoors.

We were outside yesterday enjoying the cool morning when we found two critters.  This wooly caterpillar...

and look closely...I was picking through the tomatillo plants searching for some that were good for seed saving when I happened to see some strange spots in the mulch.  I thought there was some kind of strange fungus growing in the wood chips until I took a closer look.

The photos don't do him justice, this toad was as big as my adult fist!  I love finding all the living things around the farm.  I let this guy be though without telling my toad crazy 8 y/o son what I found as he would have captured this guy for his collection (a collection from our farm that currently has 2 water frogs living in an aquarium in the livingroom!)

I hate to be "schooled" by one of my children.  What I mean by this is that sometimes the words that I so often echo to them come back to my own ears, and appropriately so.

The story starts last week.  I had an old washer and dryer that were for the most part doing their job.  When our washer went out about a year ago some dear friends gave us their old one to get us through, it was working well so we just kept on using it as we didn't want to go out and spend a bunch of money on a new one (and at the time didn't have the funds to do so).  After saving up the money for the replacement we knew was going to be ineveitable, we thought we would just wait until the washer finally quit working to buy a new one.  However, it was my dryer that went out on me.  Not a biggie right?  I do have a clothesline that I prefer to use anyway.  As it went though when the dryer went out, I was already behind by several loads (when you have a family this size one day without a load of wash will put you in the rears!)  Okay, so I will just wash and then hang to dry the clothes until we can find a dryer.  

Not so much.... it rained off and on for the two days following the break down.  So now I had a load of wash that had been completed but was unable to be dried (and trust me we took that thing-the dryer- apart and tried everything we knew to fix it).  And hubby was working a few days in a row, really long shifts, so I had to wait for him to help me as I certainly cannot lift a dryer solo.

Okay, so 3 days have passed and I am desperate for a dryer (did I mention that laundry piles up fast around here?)  Hubby and I searched craigs list and some other places as we do not use credit cards and do not want to go into debt for a washer and dryer but I did want a nice replacement set that matched.  We found a set that we liked from a guy who re-builds washers and dryers and off we went.  After making the purchase and heading home I have to admit I was pretty excited, I was now going to have a matching set of pretty appliances (the other ones were not from the same decades and were different colors to boot)  

We got home moved all the appliances around and learned first that the new set were an extremely tight fit.  We learned second that the washer did not work, some computer error message.  So I had gone from having a working washer and broken dryer to a new broken washer and working dryer....grrr...  We called the guy we made the purchase from and he ran over with a second washer to replace the first.  It worked at the start of the cycle, but as it went through its wash cycle the computer board became more and more erratic until it dove into the spin cycle and sounded like a jet plane was landing in my kitchen!  UGH!!!  Oh, and did I mention that the dryer started to display an error message too?  By this point I have to admit I was starting to stomp around the house in a bit of a temper tantrum and probably resembling my toddler more than I would like to admit.

That's when it came, the schooling.  My 14 year old said, and I quote, "Mom, you still need to be thankful.  You have water, you have a home, and we still have clothes to wear.  Be thankful for all of that."  She wasn't being a smart aleck, she was simply repeating the words she has so often heard me tell her.  And, she's right.

So, there, I am choosing to be thankful.  I am here whining and fussing about a washer and dryer, but there are mothers all over this world who don't even have enough food to eat.  Mothers who dont have clean water for their children to drink and not even clothes for their children to wear and I and am whining like a spoiled brat.  

Therefore I am choosing thankfulness.  It is a choice.  If I choose to focus on all of the things I am so very blessed with and thankful for, the things that are not going right begin to pale in comparison.  I find that we have to make this choice often, to be thankful.  We live in a world of entitlement and any other mother I would tell this story too would agree with my irritation and frustrations and tell me I was totally entitled to those feelings.  But, am I really?  I don't think I will dwell there.  I think I will choose thankfullness.  I will be able to get another set of appliances in a few days time and the man we purchased from promised to make things right.  I am thankful we have the funds to purchase these appliances that save us so much time and labor.  I am thankful I have all these dirty clothes piled up because they represent all the people in this home whom I love living out each day here with me.  I am thankful I can heat up a cup of tea and go take a hot shower to start my day. 

 Even if I have to wear mismatched socks because most of my socks are still dirty.

I found this idea on pinterest last year before the holidays and my kids made some of these for their grandparents, when I was asked to teach a class on photo crafting at our annual church ladies conference, this was an immediate thought.  

However, there were a few things I wanted to change after I made these last year, so learn from my error and I think this is a better way to do them.  All of the tutorials I have seen say to use Modge Podge...well when I did this I found that brushing the modge podge across the pictures sometimes starts to blur the image.  So this time around I did not use Modge Podge as an adhesive nor as the top coat and I am much more pleased with the results.

Supplies:
Tiles (Lowes 16 cents each)
cork backing (bought a large roll at Hobby Lobby for $9.99 with 40% off  so a little over $6 for a large roll that will easily make you 5 or 6 sets of four coasters.
Spray Adhesive (Again with Hobby Lobby $6.99 with 40% off so a bit over $4
Spray Laquer (Ace Hardware $4.50)
Photos

Your total cost out put is going to be just shy of $15 if you use the coupons but you will not use but a fraction of the spray adhesive and you will have some laquer left over too, if you make 6 sets of 4 coasters each your per project price should be less than $2 per set.

I started off with picking out my photos and purchasing tiles, again only 16 cents each at Lowes.  Your 4x6 pictures will be a bit too big for the coasters so just use the coaster as a guide and crop down the photo, I like to do it just enough that the coaster has a small border around the picture.

Here are the other two products I used, I think any lacquer would work, I just happened to have some of this left over from other projects I was doing, just don't make the mistake I made first and purchase the Lacquer without checking the color of the cap...yup, I did that and when I started spraying black spray paint lacquer all over my to-be Christmas gifts I nearly had a heart attack! So, make sure you purchase lacquer with a clear cap!

I had my cut photo, I held it over the kitchen trashcan and sprayed the back of it with the spray adhesive and then carefully placed it on the tile and smoothed it down so there were no tiny air bubbles.  I then was immediately able to take the photo coaster to the garage and spray with lacquer.  I let the layers of lacquer dry about 30 minutes to an hour between and I usually do between 2-3 layers of lacquer.

After all of this is done and the coaster has dried sufficiently overnight you can place it over the cork roll with sticky backing and use the coaster as a guide to cut the cork.  Stick it to the back of your coaster and viola!!!  Magic!

I have learned something living out in the country.  Country folk, for the most part, are a whole different breed of neighbors.  Let me explain myself.  When we first moved to our small farm it was mid March and 2 days after we moved in it snowed, I mean it snowed a lot.  We had almost 4 inches on the ground and we have a long driveway.  I was at home with then 4 littles and hubby was sleeping after working an all night shift.  I heard an odd noise and went to the window to see our new neighbor plowing our driveway...we had only met him for a moment when we had looked at the home before buying it, just to ask a few questions about the pasture.  He plowed the entire driveway...just to be kind!

Time and again we have experienced it, it is like an unwritten rule of country living, we look out for one and other.  Both of our neighbors are fantastic, and most others that I meet who live on some land seem so giving of what they are blessed with.  We watch out for one and other, share wisdom, and help when needed.  Currently we are feeding and caring for our neighbor's horses, as he had surgery.  When we are out of town we can count on him to feed ours.  When we need a tool we borrow, and when we have something someone needs, we share.  When our crops are in abundance we trade, when I bake, I make extras.  It just seems the unwritten rule of country living.

I learned something really cool though this last week.  Country kindness extends beyond immediate neighbors.  I had posted on a local facebook page that I was looking for farm apples that weren't being used (I hate to see them go to waste).  I got a subsequent message from another young lady who said she didn't have apples but had pears in abundance and was willing to share.  YAY!  I went over with my 4 youngest and we picked away.  The other mama was sweet as can be and we swapped some country wisdom as she is also a new farm owner.  I took over some peppers we had in abundance to share and came home with what you see below.

What you see here is an over-flowing bushel of pears.  Almost 90 pounds of pears!

I chopped them up, cooked them down and made pear sauce by running the cooked pears through a food mill.  So far I have processed half a bushel which has yielded 14 quarts of pear sauce, I imagine I will be at almost 30 quarts of pear sauce when the job is done, pretty good for free produce and meeting a sweet new farm mama to boot!

I have always been blessed with good neighbors, friendly and kind.  But I must say that my country neighbors (and like minded country mamas) are the best kind!

I am always on the lookout for ways to make our homeschool lessons fun and exciting.  I came across this idea as we were studying rock formations and rock layers in the earth.  We did some core sampling to learn how scientists can see layers of rock in the earth and make summations about how they were formed.  We first "core" sampled our unknown "earth" layers and then cut cross sections of them.  

Our "Earth" was candy bars and when we used a straw to take core samples of snickers bars, zero bars, and Take 5 we learned that each core sample can look different.  We then cut cross sections of the candy bars and wrote scientific expositories of what kinds of rocks we saw (ie nougat was likened to magma and peanuts were like boulders).  I'd say we had a fun science day and even better was that we ate the core samples...a treat in itself!

I wish I had learned science this way, I think I would have enjoyed science much more.

Here is the cross section of our "unknown" sample (a Zero bar).  Pretty neat, huh?

Homemade potato skins are absolutely one of my favorite appetizers EVER!  This last week when I was running out of lunch ideas for my hungry crowd I decided to start a number of potatoes baking in the oven after breakfast and serve up this yumminess.

Amazingly these are so easy, I wonder why I don't make them more often.  I just take the potatoes, wash and pierce once or twice with a fork before setting on a cookie sheet in the oven on 375 for about 1-2 hours (until the potatoes are tender to the touch).  Then I pull them out and let them cool until I can handle them without burning myself.

When they have cooled a bit I slice them lengthwise and scoop out the insides (I put all of those in a tupperware container in the fridge for fried potatoes in the skillet at another meal)  You can see in the picture on the right that I accidentally scooped part of the skin away at the end of the potato, don't do that, just make little boats by scooping the flesh out.

Then I put the hollowed out skins back on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler in my oven for about 5-6 minutes, watch them closely though as you do not want them to burn! (I forgot to take a picture of this step).

Meanwhile I was frying some bacon strips which I crumbled to add to the potato skins.

And I ran to the garden for some chives to chop up and add also.

So after the second round of cooking the potato skins under the broiler I pulled them out, topped them with cheese, bacon and chives and then put the oven back on bake from broil (very important step) and bake them at 350 for another 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese melts.

served with sour cream and some salt...YUM!