If you happen to follow us on Instagram or Facebook this past weekend you probably saw quite a bit of activity. I was posting photos throughout the day Saturday while preparing for our annual landlord appreciation dinner.
Including our family of three we fed 16 people! We had to drag out the white six foot table to add to our dining room table to have enough spaces. We are fortunate to be blessed with eight families as landlords and all but one was able to attend! I love to host dinner parties and this is quite a special one to me! There is just something about all of us sitting around the dinner table, I guess because some of my own childhood memories were made around my Mom’s table is why it means so much to me.
The menu we chose this year was…..
Everyone seem to enjoy it. The potato recipe I pulled from my Pioneer Woman cookbook, they are kind of labor intensive. But I found that the taste of them made it well worth the work! The green beans were found via Pinterest and they were quite delish! I used frozen verses fresh as that was less expensive for me.
The blackberry pie was from our own blackberries I had in the freezer and the custard pie was made with farm fresh eggs. We have an abundance of eggs right now so I made two of those pies. My mother used to make custard pie, I never cared for it but my other three siblings like it. Whenever I fix this recipe at least one or two people rave about it, so here is the recipe if you want to take a try at this very simple pie! The cheesecake was a box mix by The Cheesecake Factory, I personally mixed my small piece with a piece of the blackberry pie. YUM! YUM! YUM!
The farmer baked the ham on his Green Mountain Grill and we served the dinner rolls you buy in the freezer section. We kept it somewhat simple, we wanted it to feel like a Sunday dinner with family around the table. To be honest, it was one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve had. We listened to stories and laughed and it lasted for almost three hours!
One thing that came out of the conversation was that Milton’s father started farming some of the rented ground after he came home from being in the Army in the Korean war that ended in 1953. So in 1954 Richard began farming the land that sits next to his homeplace to the east. Milton and I began farming this particular set of rented acres in 2015. Sixty three years.
When one of the current landlords said “that has a lot to say” it felt very profound to me. I talk about legacy here on the blog and this is part of that legacy. The point they were getting across was that their family had owned the same land for many generations and then that the family that had rented from them was still the same people for sixty three years.
That has something to say about both families, especially my father-in-law since the landlords can pick and choose whomever they want to farm their ground. It was a proud moment and I hope the legacy continues for many years for both our families.
No one knows what the future holds for us. One year we may lose some rented ground, another year we may gain some. I’m proud of my husband because he has done a good job on farming, not only for his own acres but the rented ground as well. Milton really does care for the land. He doesn’t just throw some seed in the ground and not do the work that needs to be done to produce good crops. There can be areas with drainage issues or weed issues. Needless to say I’m proud of the work he does.
Our evening ended with little bags of goodies going home with the guests! This year we included sticky notes with our farm name and address, a seasonal pumpkin, some candies, and of course homemade jam! I hope they enjoy it all!
A couple of the landlords brought us this BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement too! I just love it! Fall colors always are so lovely to work with!
Until next year!
Julie
In Between the Sunsets of Life 
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