Fannie Farmer

The original Fannie Farmer was a woman who lived between 1857 and 1915. At 16 she had a paralytic stroke which kept her from walking for some time. She turned to cooking and eventually converted her parents home into a boarding house with a strong reputation for great food. At age 30 she entered the Boston Cooking School, became a top student and later became the schools principal ! She lectured at top schools like Harvard and went on to write the Boston Cooking School Cookbook  which contained 1,849 recipes. It also contained information about houskeeping, and food preservation.

Due to her own physical struggles, she held a special place in her heart for those who were ill or convalescing and often geared her recipes towards the use of fresh food.

She became so popular, her cookbook became known as "Fannie Farmers Cookbook" which is still available today.  http://www.homeshoppingmart.net/

This is OUR Fannie Farmer

I bought her last Christmas for Keith. A full blooded Great Pyrenees she is now just 10 months old but weighs well over 100 pounds. She stands at my hip, which is very close to Stands With A Lisp but not quite. She does not cook but she will eat any dead thing (very handy on a farm) AND she is a master drooler. At any given time one might notice the Niagra Falls dripping out of her mouth. Often the unsuspecting visitor will reach down to pet her and come away gagging when they notice their slimed hand. It is, in my opinion, Fannies only fault.

She is devoted to our grandchildren, she stays with them constantly when they are here. In fact, in this picture , the kids are sitting on the ground just a few feet from her, having a picnic. She does not bother our small chicks, ducklings or peafowl. She often lays in the hutches with the calves to keep them warm on cool days (or maybe just to keep herslf warm, either way she appears heroic).

At night she lies on the back porch barking back at the coyotes, warning them that she is here all night to protect us. And I mean ALL NIGHT. At 10 pm I am telling her. "Good girl, now go to sleep". At 1 am I am yelling out the window. "SHUT UP !!!!"  At 3 am I am hoisting the living room couch at her. She does not waiver. We are hers to protect whether we like it or not. So now you know why so many country folk have upholstered furniture on their porches. It's really more than just bad design taste.