Privacy Policy

This privacy policy will tell you all you need to know about how your personal data is collected here on www.pinkpapercottage.blogspot.com, what it is used for and how it is kept secure. This Privacy Policy is made in order to comply with the new GDPR regulations being enforced in Europe on May 25, 2018.  My blog is a secure site, and when you enter my blog, you will be automatically directed to an https address (which is secured by the addition of the "s"). 

Cookies are used on this website to collect information on your browsing behavior. Cookies are placed on the device you are viewing this site on and remember when the device accesses this website. These cookies do not collect personal information while you are browsing. These cookies and the information they collect help improve this site for yourself and future visitors by monitoring traffic of users and success of particular content. Cookies can be disabled by your web browser, although this will vary depending on what you're using. 

This website also uses Google Analytics which is a third party service. Google Analytics collects standard internet log information and details of traffic, and visitor behavior patterns. This information is used by me to calculate information such as number of visitors in a year or in a month, plus the popularity of certain blog posts or content. This information is published on my blog and in my media kit but is not processed in a way that identifies individuals. I do not make, nor do I allow Google to make, any attempt to identify any individual accessing this website.

I have a "widget" on my sidebar to Bloglovin' if you would like to sign up to follow me there. Bloglovin' has their own privacy policy as to how they use your information, which you can view HERE.

I use the Blogger commenting system on this website which collects only name, phone number (if applicable), email address, and a URL if applicable, so if you have a website or blog, that URL will be public.  The data collected is stored by Blogger.

If I link to anyone's blog, I will obtain their permission first if their blog is not public. I do not publish anyone's personal information here, and any lists of my favorite blogs are only blogs that are public.

You are of course entitled to view, amend or request the deletion of the personal information that is held by Blogger.  If you would like to do this please email me at pinkpapercottage@yahoo.com.

This policy will be reviewed regularly and updated when appropriate. It was last updated on May 24, 2018.

Something different......

Hubby thought he'd try something different the other day. He likes to experiment with "one dish" meals, or crockpot meals. So he decided to make a deer burger meatloaf! Ugh you might say??  Any of you who have eaten venison, know that only the best cuts are (normally) edible. I've usually only been served the steaks or backstrap of the venison or antelope (when I lived in Wyoming) and always thought the "burger" would be too wild tasting. 

Hubby grew up hunting with his dad in southern Oregon. His family practically lived on deer meat year-round. Those were the days when people hunted for FOOD... not for sport. So he's quite adept at cooking deer meat the correct way.

Well I must say... I was totally WRONG about the deer burger. The meatloaf was DELICIOUS!

It's big and round since he cooked it in the crockpot. He used 1 lb. of deer burger and 1 lb. of a mild deer sausage. My sister and her husband  hunt every year, so we pretty much always have a supply of deer meat!  There was NO "gamey" or wild taste. I think most people would have thought it was just regular hamburger. I was pretty amazed, I must admit.

In fact, we had two dinners from it and I had a meatloaf sandwich for 2 days. Who doesn't like meatloaf sandwiches? Raise your hands! They are one of my favorites.

And to top it off, this can be a Paleo meal as he didn't add any flour, crackers or bread crumbs, which are usually called for in meatloaf recipes.  We had the last of it tonight, added into some sweet and sour cooked cabbage. Yum!

Here's the recipe in case you're interested or if anyone ever offers you some deer burger (and if they do, take it!).  We both think that cooking deer burger with lots of onions really helps take away the gamey/wild taste. Also, we used some Bragg's Nutritional Yeast Seasoning which we LOVE in most dishes, and I think that helps take away any wild taste. It's great (and healthy) on everything (scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, in casseroles, fried chicken, etc.).

Ground Venison and Deer Sausage Meatloaf

And of course, be sure the burger was made and cured properly as no amount of cooking will take away that gamey taste if it wasn't processed right away and packaged right away. 

Enjoy!

~ Marilyn~

Interlude............

I think my "sewing roll" is done! Sorry to say.... maybe I'll get back to it one day (soon I hope).

In the meantime, I've been busy with company and play. My son and his fiance came for a visit from Astoria, OR to our house the last weekend of April. What a joy to be able to give my big "boy" (age 39) a big hug!

Can never get too many hugs!

Their favorite place to go is the Richardson Rock Ranch here north of Madras. My son's fiance, Terra, has a rock, gem and jewelry store in Astoria, OR called Terra Stones. So of course, they both LOVE to go rock hounding!  And Richardson Ranch is THE place to go for Thunder Eggs. They also have exotic rocks from all over the world. It was a fun day of enjoying rocks (who would have thunk?) and a nice picnic.

The countryside and "ranch" are beautiful, and it being Spring still, everything is still green.

This is one HUGE Oregon agate!

Piles and PILES of rocks everywhere...... they are sold by the lb. and most of the piles have the types of rocks/gems (in the rough) these are, and what part of the world they come from.

We didn't do the actual "rockhounding" where you drive out away from the main store (about 8 miles into the countryside) and actually DIG for Thunder Eggs. My son and Terra have done that before and they love it. Me... not so much. I'd rather look here and go into the store to see the finished products, which have been cut and polished.

This ranch has been around for many many years, originally as a cattle ranch, and then after the Thunder Egg beds were discovered, the owners and family, have turned it into a rock hounders' paradise. Over 60% of the Thunder Eggs sold around the world, originate from this ranch!

Watch this 5 minute video if you're interested in finding out more and seeing people digging for the "eggs".  Grant's Getaways Visits Richardson Ranch.

Some of my favorites:

Chrysocolla from Morocco.

Mookaite from Australia.

Lavender quartz from Madagascar.

Of course, I LOVE the rose quartz, which is pink! I bought a tiny rose quartz "apple" to match a larger apple I bought last year (but now can't remember the name of the gem).. for my pink and green bedroom.

Raw piece of the Rose Quartz that my son gave me for my last birthday.

 

Here, a big cylinder piece has been cut out of this rock. The inside of it is GORGEOUS but now can't remember the name of it. It would make a beautiful fountain! There were smaller rocks all around that had the cylinder cut out. I'm not sure what they're used for but sure was unique.

There are two HUGE rooms inside the store with rocks and gems that have been cut and polished... many many agates, small animals and figures carved from the different stones, jewelry, polished Thunder Eggs, crystals, and much much more!

LOVED this peach colored stone (below), but now can't remember its name. I can imagine how beautiful it would be all polished. All around the piles of rocks, there are water bottles, so you can spray the rocks to give you an idea of how they would look after being polished. 

I saw this last year before we had painted our house, and thought to myself..... hum.m.m.. I want my house this color!

 Well......we came close in color!

Another favorite:

WOW was this stunning!

One other small excursion:

As my son and Terra left to go home, we followed them up to The Dalles, OR which is about 90 miles north of us. They were stopping to see my son's dad (my ex). Hubby and I were invited to dinner there (yes, we are all sort of friends!).....  their backyard was absolutely envious....... huge 20 foot tall lilac bushes and a stunning pink flowering tree in the front (dogwood?). I was in Heaven.

On the way home, the moon was just coming up from behind the sagebrush covered hills and it was enormous and yellow/orange, but I couldn't get hubby to pull over in time to get a picture of it in that state. We finally pulled over but by then, it was too far up in the sky and just "normal" looking. Oh I wish I could have taken a picture of it when it was in all its glory!

Have a nice weekend everyone. It's been warmer here so I've been planting a few things and trying to spruce up our yard. I'll show you in another post. Still SO MUCH to do!

~Marilyn~

On a roll #5!

HAPPY MAY DAY everyone! 

I thought I'd better post my last "on a roll" project! Plus, I actually sewed one more wonderful, pretty project (pillow cases) a few days ago, but FORGOT to photograph them... and I gave them away as a gift. Darn it! I can' believe I forgot to take pictures!

Here are two other UFO's that I actually finished........ first is a "strata star" table centerpiece mat.

I took a class with my sister a few years ago to make this. I don't know why I picked these colors! It doesn't match anything I own..... but..... I had all these fabrics in my stash so I know I just pulled out some to use for the class, figuring I could always make a better one if I liked it. Well I DO like it,,,,, but it was alot of work, so another one will probably be non-existent.

I had fun "colorizing" this photo.

Look at these glasses! I LOVE them.... they belonged to my grandmother... and the crystal pitcher belonged to my aunt.

This looks complicated to make, but it actually wasn't that hard, just time consuming.

The next finished project was this table runner I started at least 7 years ago! It was almost all done except for putting the backing and binding on and quilting it. I love the colors in this one, but decided to finish it and give it to my "baby" sister (age 61) for her recent birthday. It matches her log cabin so well.

The quilting was done in straight rows, plus I did some "stipling" in the little rectangle areas.

 Here's a picture of my sister's "log cabin". 

I did the binding the same as on the recent jelly roll placemats I made. Those corners were a little tricky! But all done with machine zig zag stitch. 

Dressed up all pretty with my mom's hobnail vase. I remember this sitting on her dining table from when I was a little girl. The sweet creamer and teapot, my mom brought me from England when she visited there years ago.

I'm trying to keep this post short, so will end it for here. 14 photos..... that's not so bad! 

March and April have been super busy for me. I've had two three sets of company, plus I made a birthday dinner for my baby sister in mid-April... so lots of house cleaning, rearranging, cleaning up the clutter.... and cooking! I don't love to cook so much anymore, as I worked full time for over 40 years, raised two kids and did tons of cooking for family over the years.... so now..... I'm pretty much done with cooking, except on a special occasion here and there. 

I DO love to bake though.... desserts! But......... am trying during the month of May, to quit eating sugar and desserts entirely. I've gotten into the habit of eating too much sugar and carby things... so trying to lose a few lbs. by my birthday in late June! I'm not setting a "goal" or number, just would like to lose anything! We'll see how well I do.

That's it for now dear friends. I still have NO PICTURES to post of our yard or flowers. It has been a very cold and cloudy and unpredictable Spring so far.

~Marilyn~