Bread Bag

This is the bread bag I made today for my sewing lesson.  The tea towel was already embroidered with the flower basket patter and had the pink edge on it.  I sewed the casing for the drawstring into place, sewed the straight hem along the left side, and then followed the scalloped edge of the pink trim for that hem.  Can you see the darker thread in the next picture?  That's my hem.  Then I threaded the ribbon through for the drawstring and voila!  A pretty bread bag!  I only had about 2 hours, and I worked on the rest of my napkins too.  My teacher suggested we spend a whole day working on stuff, so while my son is at my parents house in a few weeks I'll spend a day working on sewing projects.  I traded her a dozen eggs and a qt of milk for the lesson.  Next time I'll take more stuff, she said she'd like to try my goat cheese.

I won, I won! Part Two

Seems only fitting after having part one and two of Some-things Cookin' to do a part one and two of I won, I won, especially after I won back to back blog giveaways!  Yes, I won two giveaways in a row-how cool is that?!  This time it's a book The Town That Food Saved and when I'm done reading it I plan to have another giveaway and pass this book along.  It looks very interesting and I can't wait to read it.  You can read the review on the prize donor's blog The Local Cook. 
Now off to read more from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

Shattered

Shattered, Struck Down, Bit Not Destroyed by Frank Pastore with Ellen Vaughn...my review.

This book was very easy to read, an excellent account of someone that thought he was an atheist, only to discover that God had a much better plan for his life, and that his childhood belief system was skewed.  Frank takes us on a journey through his troubled childhood, raised in a very dysfunctional family, through the transformation of the awkward, new kid at school nerd to the all star sports hero, academic scholar, popular guy on campus.  His new found popularity just increases his desire for more and because he has real talent, he has the ability to acquire more.  However, he eventually realizes that no matter how much you've got, you always want more.

After a devastating injury he begins to ask questions, and the Christian players on the baseball team he plays for continue to answer and share God with him.  He eventually accepts Christ and is then on fire for God.  He shares details from every aspect of his life with readers.  I felt a connection to his transformation and the passion he feels for Christ centered community activism.  While sharing of his time in counseling, I began to ask myself some tough questions.

I like that it was easy to read, but still called to something deep within me; that it showed what many felt prior to becoming followers of Christ, and how it's all so twisted in the collective public opinion.  This would be a good book to share with those that think they have all the answers, but still seem to be searching.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book and it did not influence my review.

I won, I won!

I forgot I had even entered, but I won a set of reusable produce bags from Chico Bag.  You can see what I won here.  I went to the blog site to see the list of winners and it said "Kelly" and that if there was a message on the page after logging in, you were a winner.  I didn't know there could be email messages to me on someone elses blog, but I looked in the list of followers and it said I had a message.  So exciting!

My next sewing lesson is Tuesday and I'm making bread bags from tea towels and such.  I plan to have a give-away for one of them when they are done.  Stay tuned!

Some-things Cookin' Part Two

OK, so maybe the blog will be about cooking.  No, just when I think I've done something worth writing about.  I haven't felt like "cooking" for a few days, but don't want to fall into the trap of eating out either.  I get more rundown when that happens.  The ideal solution for me when this happens is crockpot meals, so today I dumped 3 containers of turkey stock into the pot and when they thawed, I added rice.  Voila-dinner is ready!  To make it more delectable, I made another loaf of french bread, which was a great device to soak up the yummy stock.  The stock is from the turkey we raised and butchered for Thanksgiving.  My husband thought it was a great meal, commenting that he really likes the bread, then adding that someday soon he'll also be saying that he likes the butter too.  We have the churn, we just need to try it out.  The added bonus of crockpot meals is that they're ready and waiting when we've finished evening chores.

This evening we helped a friend move her horse trailer.  The place it's being stored is along the Verde river and has been for sale for several years, several hundred thousand dollars out of our price range-still.  But it's GORGEOUS!  I was glad to have a chance to see it more than just from the road.  There was a large branch from a cottonwood tree broken off and I asked if we could haul it away for goat food.  That started a conversation and the homeowners seem interested in saving all of their tree trimmings for us!  They have a lot of trees too!  I gave them my card and I think Tony is going back Saturday to help cut up that branch and bring back a truckload full.  I love free feed for our animals!

I got some preliminary info regarding the selling of our eggs.  Apparently we can sell up 750 dozen (she wasn't sure if that was a lifetime limit or per year) from our home or farmer's market with no permit required.  If we want to sell to a restaurant or other retailer, we have to be inspected.  I have the phone number of the state agency I need to speak with and will call them tomorrow to see how much red tap and money is involved.

Oh, and I found 80 or so canning jars for sale on craigslist, but they are in a town an hour away.  Price is "make offer".  I need to call him back tomorrow too.

One last thing.  I printed the materials for the Fundamentals eCourse at GNOWFGLINS today and will pencil in times that I can take the various classes over the summer.  Did you know she changed the program to open enrollment and Donation Only for payments?  Check it out!  I'm going to start with the water kefir course.  I bought crystals last summer and tried it twice, both times failures.  I really want to learn to do it though because fizzy drinks are my weakness and if I can make one that is good for me then I can indulge freely!

Some-things Cookin'

1. It occured to me that many of you may think, based on the title of my blog that it's mostly about cooking.  If you knew that my last name is Cook, you'd see the twist.  I wanted to incorporate my name and also convey that there wasn't a specific topic for this blog, so that's where the some-things part comes in.  Enough about me, let's talk about what I made for dinner!
2. After some consultation with Polly at Polly's Path, I knew what I needed to do with the last batch of chevre that came out more solid and kinda strong on the goat flavor.  Today I put it in the crockpot with about 1/3 cup of milk while we were out planting more seeds, after Tony got home from work.  I added a very generous scoup of asiago parmesan tapenade that I got from a local olive mill.  I then sprinkled it all with salt and Italian seasoning and let it warm until dinner time.  I've been trying to use food from our freezer (imagine that!) so the cheese sauce went on shrim and crab stuffed ravioli.  Yes, it was GOOD!  We had more of the salad from the other night with the buttermilk dressing.  Speaking of the dressing, does anyone have a good recipe of what goes into buttermilk/ranch dressing?
3. After dinner I started moving food to the fridge we brought home from Tony's shop.  4 gallons of milk and 9 dozen eggs.  I wonder if I could contract with a local restaurant to buy my excess eggs?  It's a small place-old bungalow style house converted into a restaurant-and I think they're only open 5 days a week.  I should ask how many eggs they go through a week and see if they're interested in featuring free range, local eggs on their menu.  Hmmm...

We've got a banty rooster!

Local and Homemade

Today I baked french bread.  I took a picture of it before we devoured it, but the software is acting up so I can't upload it.  We needed some yummy bread to complete our dinner of butter greens and spinach grown locally.  The ironic part of the greens is that we had to drive about 60 miles to obtain produce that was all grown within 5 miles of where we live!  I was going to take a picture of the salad too, but we were hungry and it was getting late.  The peppers were colorful and regional, but not local.  The tomatoes came from the grocery store-don't think anyone around here has tomoatoes yet.  The carrots are organic.  The dressing was homemade-from buttermilk I made from our goats milk.  I just added a bunch of herbs and spices, but I need a recipe.  It was good, but it needed something else.  Then we had artichokes with hollandaise sauce, made with our fresh eggs-I think it might have been the best sauce yet, and I've been making it for 33 years!

It wasn't all local, it wasn't all organic, and it wasn't all homemade, but it was all D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!  I'll add the bread photo later!

Oh, and here's the view I had while planning my menus for the month:

Food for Thought

Luke 14:13-14 states:
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

I read this passage tonight and it made me pause to think, "how can I do this?"  If the people I know don't fit into any of these categories, how do I find those that do, and make them feel welcome in my home as I serve them a feast?  I know that if a stranger invited me to dinner I'd be suspicious, so how do I get to know the poor, maimed, lame and blind?  I do know a few who could be called poor by American standards, but I'm sure if I called them poor in their presence they'd argue that they have all they need.

Here I am with 5 or 6 dozen eggs and gallons of fresh milk in my fridge, and I don't know who to share it with.  I do know a man with 5 kids that just got laid off.  Do I take him some of my bounty?  Does that qualify according to the Scripture above?  I've asked God a few times to show me who needs some of this blessing He's given me, and no one really comes to mind when I do.  Maybe the thing to do is invite this family to "breakfast for dinner" and serve lots of buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage.  Hmm, think I'll run that one by hubby and see what he thinks.

Got any suggestions for breaking into circles of people who aren't like me?  Expanding my horizons, so to speak...

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

After a morning of outdoor chores, we came in to have a smoothie.  I already had the bananas and yogurt blended together when I decided to see what it would taste like to add sweetened cocoa powder to the mix.  Not bad-espcially considering the tartness of this batch of yogurt!  My son took a drink and said "mmmm".  It's simple, but here's how I did it.

16 oz plain yogurt (homemade is best!)
2 bananas
2 Tbsp sweetened cocoa powder (I have this ready for hot chocolate-ratio of two parts sugar to one part cocoa)
Blend until smooth-enjoy!

Economics of Homemade Laundry Soap

Last summer I made homemade laudry soap for the first time.  Based on the small initial investment, and the large quantity of soap made from a small portion of those ingredients, I knew it was really CHEAP to make this soap.  I never did the math though, and when telling anyone about it, I always said it broke down to pennies per load. 

Well, I just ran out of the batch made last summer and had to start another one, so I did the math.  I get 10 gallons of laundry soap for $1.21!  It only takes 1/4 cup per load, so 640 loads to a 10 gallon batch makes it .00189 cents per load, not even a penny!!  Not even half, or quarter of a penny!  If I do 5 loads a week it's still not a full penny per week.

If you need to cut costs, I highly recommend this as one way to do it.  It takes 15 minutes to mix it all up and then it sits for 24 hours, so it's not even labor intensive.  Here's what I did:

Grate one bar of Zote soap (some use Ivory or Fels Naptha) and dissolve in hot water.  I put it in a large pot on the stove, brought the water close to a boil, then added the grated soap and turned the temp down to low.  I whisked it a few times while it dissolved.  While this is happening, heat 2 gallons of water and add to a 5 gallon bucket.  When the Zote is dissolved, add it to the bucket with 1 cup of washing soda, and 1/2 cup of borax.  Whisk it all together to mix well, then add enough hot water to fill the bucket and stir once more.  Put the lid on and let it sit for 24 hours.  After that, use a smaller, handy container to hold your soap-perhaps an old laundry detergent bottle.  Fill it halfway with the soap, then add water to fill the bottle.  This is how you end up with 10 gallons of soap from a 5 gallon bucket.  Shake it well prior to each use.  Most directions I've read say to use hot water to fill the bottle, probably to break up the gelled soap.

Mine didn't gel this the first time, probably because I didn't have a lid for the bucket.  I still used the soap though.  My clothes come out clean.  I didn't dillute the first batch though, but now that I think about it, just because it didn't gel didn't mean there was less soap, so I should have.  I'd still have soap if I did!

More laundry recipes and a FAQ can be found here.

Tattler Give Away

My friend Amy over at Homestead Revival is giving away a set of BPA free Tattler canning lids!  Check out her blog to see how you can enter.  The link to Tattler is at her blog too, so you can check out these gems for yourself!

I really should keep it a secret so I have better odds of winning, but that wouldn't be very thoughtful, would it?  :-)

Menu Plan Monday

I do more than plan the weeks' menu on Monday, but it has a nice ring to it.  I stole it from Jennifer at PJ Academy blog.  I also fill my son's snack drawers-1 in the fridge with fruit, cheese, boiled eggs, and small cans of V8; and another in the drawer where his cups, plates and bowls go with mixed nuts, dried fruit, and bunny crackers.  We also have a basket on the counter with fruit in it (he and I prefer it room temp).  He can choose snacks from any of these throughout the day, giving him independence and a bit of responsibility.
I also make more yogurt, buttermilk, cheese and any other dairy product I can come up with to reduce the qty of milk in the fridge.  Even after two weeks of having other avenues for milk consumption I have three and a half gallons of milk.  Two and a half qts of yogurt, a pint of buttermilk, and another half pint incubating along with another batch of chevre and ice cream round out the variety of our dairy products.  I write milk on our menu plan at each dinner, but that doesn't always translate into drinking it every night.  I also have smoothies down each morning, but the same thing applies.

I know that if I were drinking more of the milk I'd be better nourished and thus less fatigued.  It's hard to overcome 30 years of non milk drinking though.  I am getting better though.

Polly-we tried the chevre warmed and it was more creamy.  I took it to a BBQ and the hosts loved  it, so I'm making a batch for them.  I tell everyone that tries any of our dairy made concoctions that they won't hurt my feelings if they don't like it.  I think most have been honest, as I get a variety of responses.

Today for MPM I even cleaned out the fridge and made an inventory of contents.  Then I planned meals around what I could make from those ingredients.  We bought a large bag of organic carrots a while back and I need to get them used up.  I used two for carrot raisin muffins this morning and will put a bunch in the crock pot tomorrow for pot roast.

Summer

I knew my list wasn't complete nor comprehensive-I forgot the premiere of Toy Story 3!  My son loves the first 2 movies, and we went to see the 3D double feature release of 1 & 2 last fall.  TS3 comes out June 18th and I don't even have it on my calendar!  My mom's birthday is a few days after the release and I think that's how we're celebrating.  She and I chatted this evening and she wants to have him spend a week at her house.  Go Grandma!

HenPals Nesting Boxes

If you raise chickens, you may be interested in these handmade nesting boxes for your gals.  They're giving one away, but you have to enter before midnight EST on May 19th.  Check 'em out!

Milestones

Over the weekend I noticed that I had made 100 posts.  I think that's a milestone.  I was also thinking of writing of my life now vs one year ago and that's another milestone.  Choosing to buy a buck is another one, but I already told you about that.  My son's first year of preschool came to an end last week, we could call that a milestone too.

On Saturday, I made buttermilk biscuits, with buttermilk that I made myself, from goats that I hand milked.  We ate it with sausage made from a goat we raised.  I'd say lovingly, but my attitide towards him wasn't so warm for the last few months.  Not that anything in his care changed, just my attitude toward this kid that was drinking my milk and ramming me in the legs.  I also baked brownies from scratch, made a peach pie from scratch, made homemade ice cream.  I finished off a second batch of chevre that I shaped into a pretty ball for a BBQ we went to on Sunday.  I made bread dough in the machine and used it to make chicken in a bread loaf for dinner.  I kept the kicthen relatively clean all day too.

In addition to those kitchen duties, I washed all of our bed sheets and made fresh beds, folded and put away 2 loads of my sons clothes, and took care of the daily animal needs.  For some of you, this may sound like any typical day.  For me, it caused me to realize how far I've come in a year or so.  Brownies came out of a box, biscuits from a can (though from time to time I would make a batch from scratch), cheese was something I'd never even contemplated making, and ice cream wasn't something I really enjoyed enough to keep in the freezer.  Dinner was eaten out more often than home and the dishwasher was only needed about once a week.  While I cook at home a lot now, we still don't use enough dishes to run the machine daily, but getting close!

I've started using cut up old wash cloths to clean my goats' udders instead of paper towels.  I made a few cloth napkins at my first sewing lesson, and I use cloth pads instead of disposable ones now.  This will be a nice accounting of where we are at this point in our journey and some day I might read it and say-that's all  I did??  For now, I'm pleased with the progress and hope to keep taking steps in the direction that brings us health.

The Buck Stops Here

We broke down, gave in and bought a registerable Alpine buck last night.  I've been looking for one to use as a stud since we got our girls last year and we found one Alpine, but he wasn't registered and lived too far away.  This guy comes from registered parents, so we just need to do the paperwork.  He is VERY calm-I was surprised.  The town where he used to live is about an hour away from here and he didn't make a sound the whole way back, nor when we took him out of the truck to go into the pasture.  He's even kinda handsome.  No pictures yet though.  Previous owner called him Bolt.  Not sure what we'll go with.

On an unrelated animal note-we had to take Purrsy to the vet again when we got back from buying the goat.  She looked thin, but wouldn't jump up onto the dryer to eat (does anyone else have cats and dogs and have to keep the cat food up high?) so I reached down to pick her up and felt something wet.  She's not quite a year old and a small cat, but had a rather large gash on her underside.  Several inches long and kinda deep.  No blood though-maybe she had already cleaned herself up, but none was even visible.  We are fortunate to have a 24 hour vet in town.  I haven't heard from them, guess I should call and see if she's ready to come home.

Best Fed Chickens in Town

I think we've got the best fed chickens around!  Today they got at least a half gallon of whey from my first (successful) cheesemaking venture, and then Tony found a recently killed snake in the yard, so he cut it into large chunks for them.  They're still pecking away at it.

In related news, Mr Redofrd likes the chick feed, so he's figured out how to get into their opened pen to eat it.  We've moved their pen to the backyard and open it during the day.  Mr Redford hops right in and sleeps on their straw and eats their feed.

About that cheese...I love it!  Tony doesn't seem too excited about it, and our son is turned off because he likes "orange" cheese.  I told him the orange part isn't the good part, so he tried it and asked for more.  He still hasn't eaten the little bowlful I gave him, but he says he likes it.  I doused it with sea salt and then a bell pepper rub.  I'm thinking almost any seasoning would be fabulous with it.  Maybe cilantro lime...For those that have experience making chevre, can I do anything to make it more firm/less crumbly?

I also made buttermilk.  Tony is the only one to try it so far and he said it's the best he's ever had and he'll drink it straight.  I plan to make buttermilk biscuits with it tomorrow morning-to go with our fresh eggs and goat sausage.  MMMMMMMMM!

Morning Off Schedule

But it's exciting!  My culture order from NE CheeseMaking Supply arrived this morning before I took my son to preschool.  I quickly read the directions for chevre and realized I could start that as soon as I got back, as well as a qt of buttermilk.  So-the 5 quarts needed for both are warming to the proper temps and then I'll add the starter culture.  In my morning milking I acquired another 2 and a half quarts so my net change in milk quantity is just 2 and a half quarts.

I was getting a bit frazzled when my tummy growled and I realized I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I whipped something up and sat down here to read my friends' blogs.  Then it hit me-except for the butter on the toast, everything was homemade or purchased locally.  The ham came from a hlaf hog we bought from a local grower, toast from homemade bread, with butter and homemade peach jam.  I should be drinking another glass of fresh milk too...

I need to go get the kitchen cleaned before it's time to pick up kiddos at preschool.  It's my day to have 2 extras and we go to the park for a while, so I need to have water and snacks ready too.  Check back Friday for results of my first cheesemaking attempt...

Tuesday Tidbits

My first thought for a blog today was to share that our pet bunny, Rabbit Redford, has learned how to get into the house using the pet door.  Not sure what to do about that!  I've got the door closed off for now, hoping he'll forget that he can do it, but I'm not hopeful that would work.  Silly rabbit.

Then I found this site with printables I like, so I wanted to share it.  There are vintage looking calendar pages also.  The link takes you to a pretty page to record an inventory of food you already have at home.  I'm going to put one on the door of the freezer with quantities written next to it, so when DH brings something home he can cross thru the highest number to know we now have this many left.  For instance, fresh bacon: 10 9 8 7, etc, where he crosses of #10 the first time he takes one out and we know there are 9 left. 

I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of my dairy cultures by mail.  I ordered quite a variety for cheesemaking, plus sweet yogurt, buttermilk, and sour cream.  Can't wait to try them all!

It's cold in my neck of the woods today-or at least cool.  I'm wearing long sleeves in the house.  Nice to know the heat isn't here to stay.

We planted grape vines yesterday, thanks to a generous gift from Polly at Polly's Path blog.  Some day they will be a beautiful edible border along the north side of our property line.

Got a little miffed while reading this story.  I think she's a little off base, but entitled to her opinion.  The prevalence of historical revisionism is partly to blame, I think.

So that's what's on my mind today.  Thoughts?

On Books and Reading

I already confessed a passion for books and reading.  My passion is starting to cost me a few dollars here and there in over due book fines.  My local library network has a decent online tool that shows me what I have out and when it's due.  It also emails me 2 days before an item is due to remind me.  I'm usually quite good and either getting it back to the library or renewing it, but lately I'm either TOTALLY forgetting that I even got the email, or there has been a breakdown in their system.  I logged in tonight to place a hold on another book that looks interesting and learned that I have two books that were due May 1st.  That's over a week ago!  The odd part is I owe $1.20 for one and .25 cents for the other.  If they were both due on the same day, then there must be different rates based on which library it came from.  In the big picture, I don't mind so much, as the fees go toward building projects (I think), but it's one of those things that I used to NEVER let happen that has changed since becoming a mom!  At least I got to renew them online tonight so that the fees stop accruing.

Got Milk?

Or eggs for that matter!  The bowl on the 2nd shelf is yogurt that I'm straining (another 2 qts of milk used) and behind that is a gallon jug full of milk.

More About Time

About ten years ago I read an article that questioned whether our modern day appliances really saved us any time.  The author suggested that the time it takes to run the dishwasher might be longer than the time it takes to wash them by hand.  She went through a whole list of examples and the whole time I was thinking to myself, "true, but I'm not standing at the sink the whole time the dishwasher is running" or whatever the device in question might be.  A few days after that, I was making dinner, baking bread, washing dishes and doing laundry-and I wasn't even home!  There was a meal in the crockpot, dough in the bread machine, etc.  I was getting 4 things done at home while I wasn't even there.  Obviously that article has stuck with me all these years.  I was reminded of it again this morning as I was warming milk in the crockpot to put it into the yogurt maker, and the ice cream maker was running-all while cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Her point may have been right, but I feel it was shortsighted for reasons already mentioned.

Now-when those with foresight to create items that help us can come up with the self cleaning kitchen....

A small kitchen gets destroyed quickly, but it also doesn't take too long to clean it up!  Now off to the store to get the ingredients for this marinade to make goat fajitas for dinner.  A friend has homemade tortillas too!

Time Conflicts

Do you ever wonder how we'll handle eternity?  Knowing there is no end?  It's a concept I can't wrap my brain around in a world where no one seems to have enough time!  I'm either busy living life, while simultaneously thinking  about how I want to present this experience on my blog, or sitting here reading other blogs and web sites learning to do  things that will take me away from the computer.  There are days I could make 4 or 5 posts, but then I'm not sure if they'd all get read or simply lost in the shuffle, so I wait.  Then a whole week goes by and I haven't blogged!  So just a quick summary of things that have been on my mind:

1. This is our first year planting heirloom seeds (I think I'm using the right terminology-seeds that can be planted and seeds from its fruit can be saved for next year) and the package tells me I can't plant a different variety from the same cultivar with 1/4 to 1/2 mile of each other.  What??  So I can only have one type of melon?  Or beet?  Or cucumber?  Anyone else had any trouble with this?
2. We went to the County Fair the other day and had a great time!  I called it our Official Kick-Off of Summer Fun.  Got some good pictures, then my poor husband sat down with it in his back pocket.  The screen cracked and you can't see anything on it anymore.  It still takes pictures though.  Looking at eBay for another one.
3. I want to have a contest to name the trio of goats that arrived at our home April 15th.  I need good pictures of them first.  The prize will be a homemade bread bag, and I wanted to post pictures of the tea towels I bought to make them with.
4. My husband and I celebrated the 4 year anniversarry of our engagement last night by attending the Celtic Woman concert in Phoenix.  My parents watched our son and we got a hotel room afterwards.  It was a fabulous time and I want to find links to youtube videos of this concert to point out some of the highlights.  In addition to the amazing voices of the singers, the musicians are unbelievable too.  Dual percussionists-quite entertaining to watch.
5. Tonight we got to watch a local performance of The Sound of Music.  It's my favorite movie, my husband enjoys it, and every now and then our 4 year old son asks to watch it.  We took him with us and he did quite well.  He preferred the singing parts and got a little restless during speaking parts, but never so much as to be a nuisance to those nearby.
6. I'm getting 3 quarts of milk a day from our goats.  We aren't keeping up with using it!  I've run out of canning jars to store it in.  And gallon jugs.  We have 2 gallons away this week.  I made 4 quarts of yogurt in the last 10 days.  2 quarts of ice cream.  As soon as I place the order for cheese cultures I can start making cheese!  I thought I might be able to find some in Phoenix, so waited til that trip was over, but never even found a cheesemaking supply store.  Polly-did you say you get yours from the NE Cheesmaking Co?  I checked their site and will probably order their goat cheese starter kit tomorrow.  Hubby said he could make a cheese press for me.

Those are just the ones I can remember.  I probably ought to set a time just for posting, but I'm not good at sticking to a regular schedule.  I'm enjoing reading the blogs I follow, and I'm making some "friends" in the process. More later.  Thanks for stopping by!

One happy boy riding the tractor wagon to the fair entrance last week!

My First "Official" Book Review!

I love to read.  I used to read a lot of fiction and devour everything an author had if I liked the style.  These days, my time is taken up reading non fiction in the form of research and discovery.  For my health, and that of my family; and for learning new skills.  I recently visited the publisher's web site of a book I had just finished-to see what else that author had written.  While there I learned of their "blogging for books" program and decided to apply.  The first request for a review arrived by email recently, with a preview of the first chapter of the book.  I dilligently read, taking special note for a review.

The first few pages really made me stop and think.  I was tempted to quit reading and forgo the review based on just a few pages, but I kept at it and saw a bit of a change.  Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream by David Platt IS radical if it can shake me up with just a few pages.  It was the topic of conversation at the dinner table, in which my husband noted that it really had affected me.

The author asks two questions.  Do I believe Jesus? and Will I obey Jesus?  The simple answer of yes came to my mind before examing the Scriptures Mr Platt has used to define radical faith.  At that point I had to decide if I was willing to accept Mr Platt's interpretation of those Scriptures-was his definition really what is said?  That's for the Holy Spirit to decide, so I'm listening and waiting to see what He has to say.

Jesus's disciples gave up everything to follow Him.  Family, home, career, comfort, stability, everything they held dear was set aside to follow Jesus.  Am I willing to do the same?  Are you?  One passage mentioned the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what he must do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus's reply was to "go and sell everything and give to the poor, then you will have treasure in Heaven.  Then come, follow Me."  The man was not willing to do so.  Had he been willing, do you think Jesus still would have required it of him?  I immediately thought of Abraham and Isaac upon reading this.  Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, but was not required to once the act of obedience was shown.  Would this have applied to the rich young ruler?  Does it apply to us today?  If we're willing, yet are not led to, is that obedience?  What characteristics are used to measure willingness?  If God called me to serve as a missionary somewhere in Asia, I'd go, but perhaps not joyfully.  I think about what they eat there and it's not on my list of enjoyable foods to eat.  But knowing that God called me, I'd know I'd be taken care of, so I'd do it.  But as far as I can tell, He hasn't called me there, so I'm staying put!

Having only had access to read the first chapter, I'd say this is one book I'd like to explore, just to see where the author takes  us.  He mentioned something that I do firmly believe is amiss in America.  Two headlines in a major church related publication, one large touting the $23 million raised to build a huge, ornate church.  The other, smaller, noting the $5000 raised to help Sudanese refugees.  Yes, there is something wrong with that picture!  Beyond writing this post, what am I personally willing to do about it?

You can request a free copy of The Radical Question by clicking here.  You can also download and read the first chapter here.  If you do, please come back and share your thoughts. 

Blogging Bee #2

I tried this about a month ago and was going to do it every week, then didn't-I think the next one I wanted to do was more involved than what I had time for, or something like that!  This is from Amy at Homestead Revival:
The Blogging Bee is simply an opportunity for bloggers to share what they gleaned from reading other blogs during the week by writing about it on their own blog. It could be something new you leaned or simply just a great idea that you'd like to share. Besides passing on good information, it's designed to recognize other bloggers. Thus, the reason why you post links to their blog in your write up.
There are three steps to this fun event:


1) Write a post telling something(s) you learned or liked this week from another blog that is worth passing on.

2) Grab the graphic above, add it onto your post and link back to Homestead Revival. To do this, just click on the title above, copy the URL, and link it or embed it in your blog.

3) Come back and add your name and your own URL to Mr. Linky below.
 
My favorite's this week:

1. Amy had a post about processing chickens the day after my husband volunteered to help a friend that has never done it.  Tony processed our Thanksgiving turkey, but beyond that he's never done it either!  The photos and basic steps will be helpful!
2. Polly gave me good instructions for making Chevre with all of our newfound goats milk.
3. Kat has been inspiring me with many of her posts, but this one was probably the most influential so far-how to have some purpose in our laid back attitude for summer!

So that's a blogging bee! Just do the same over at your own blog, add the graphic, link here, and come back and add your URL to Mister Linky below. I can't wait to read the treasures you've found!
 
 
 

Udder Amazement

Pun TOTALLY intended.  OK, so Claude is almost 11 months old-6 months past freezer time in my book.  Since that's Tony's job though, I didn't push.  Until Claude started pushing me.  Monday he rammed the back of my leg with his horned head and left a nasty little bruise.  That's when I issued the ultimatum.  Claude is gone by the end of the week or I stop milking.  Claude left yesterday.  I showed up to milk today and poor Annie had such a HUGE udder she was walking bow legged.  I usually milk her 2nd, but in her condition had pitty on her and did her first.  I didn't bring enough food to entertain her while I milked her out, so I didn't get it all.  Molly's udder seemed a bit fuller too.  My estimation from how full the pail was, was close to a gallon.  I was a little off, but I got 5 pints where I've been barely getting 2!  Plus there's probably another quart left between the two of them.  Time to go to twice a day milking and taking more food with me!

Claude-the-Milk-Stealer

Annie-Claude's mom and first place winner for most milk at a single milking!

Molly-my prancer-dancer.

I Made Ketchup!

I know that shouldn't be so exciting...but it's one more thing I did for our family that didn't depend on consumerism so much.  And no corn derivitives.  Here's what I did:

4 lbs tomatoes
1/2 C vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1/2 ounce salt (rough measure)

I cooked the tomatoes in the crock pot until they could be smashed.  I removed as much liquid as I could and put the rest thru the blender to smooth it out.  In the crock pot I put the rest of the ingredients and stirred til the sugar and salt were dissolved.  I added the tomato mix and it's simmering now-lid off-to let any more moisture cook out.  It tastes a bit salty, so maybe less salt.  It looks like it will yield about a quart.  I don't plan to give it a hot water bath.  I think the vinegar, sugar and salt will preserve it until we've used it all.  It'll be kept in the fridge too.

Why Eggs from Free Range Poultry are Better for You

I've tried three ways to copy the article here so you can read it, but as you can see it won't paste. It's an interesting article though. :-)
Take Action with the Grassroots Netroots Alliance

What's for Dinner Tonight?

I've been trying to be more pro-active with that question.  I've printed a blank monthly calendar to fill in dinner plans for each night, also trying to use what we already have.  It's been helping, but I need to get out of the rut of the same few options, so I subscribed to The Homemaking Cottage.  I spent an evening on the couch with my laptop perusing the Recipe section while my son watched movies.  This one sounded like a good option for nights when I won't be able to spend time cooking.  Although I have a tendancy to adapt recipes to our needs and what's on hand, so mine was a bit different.  It's in the crock pot now, I'll have to leave a comment about how we liked it. 
Someone gave us a couple of spaghetti squash, so I used one instead of noodles.  I split it and placed it in the crockpot with water for a few hours on high.  It might not have needed that long, but I was doing other things.  Then I oiled the crock pot, scraped the squash into a bowl and added the eggs and paremesan cheese.  I used ricotta cheese and spicy Italian sausage.  I forgot to buy sauce (hey, I had 3 preschoolers in the cart!) so I used diced tomatoes, drained.  I layered everything and topped with a bit more parmesan.  When it's almost time to serve it I will put the shreeded cheese on top.  If I had really been on the ball I would have put some bread in the machine.  Oops!

Look what I found!

This time I'm the one that found where those rascally chickens have been hiding eggs!  My son usually finds them, he's got a closer view of the ground.  This time I spotted the secret nest.  Of course they haven't laid an egg there since I found it Saturday, so we'll have to continue our search missions.  The log for the daily gathering looks a little odd, since we have 12 hens and I gathered 18 eggs.

A Fitting End to the Day

I had every intention today of doing a post "picturing" my day.  I took pictures of a few of the events that happened this morning, with plans of continuing that into the afternoon.  My son and I ended up at the creek playing and I didn't have the camera, nor could I leave him at the creek to come get it, so we missed those.  We were going to snuggle with a movie for quiet time, but I noticed at 1:51PM that I had an appointment to donate blood at 2.  So much for resting! 

I arrived at 2:04PM and they were behind.  It would be at least 2:30 before they could get me in.  This is a blood mobile, so there wasn't even a place to sit down.  My husband had forgotten his appointment at 12:45, but came when he heard I was running over for mine.  We stood around talking and I let him go first because he needed to get back to work.  Son and I waited in the car.  At 3:10 they called me for my turn.  Preliminary questions are asked and my finger is poked to check my iron level.  12.4.  It has to be 12.5 to donate.  Try again.  12.2.  OK, so instead of quiet cuddle time with my son, we spend an hour and a half waiting to find out that I can't even donate.  Oh well, at least that helped move the schedule along-the next person didn't have to wait so long.

Internal debate now becomes whether to skip milking the goats and just go rest (hey, my blood iron level is low, I have a good excuse for being tired!) or do I delay the rest I was seeking and do what needs to be done?  Milking won.  We got everything ready and headed over to the pasture.  We had extra ripe bananas to give them for snacks.  They each got 3 or 4 before we even went thru the gate.  Molly was extra stubborn.  Started prancing WAY before usual and still had food.  I wasn't going to let her win this time, but I didn't have any supplies there.  I took the old knife I use to stir up the food and tried hacking through a piece of rope to tie her back legs.  She was on to me.  She got belligerint and so did I.  The whole milk stand ended up on its side.  Took her away and brought Annie in.  SHE started in with me too!  She's usually the mild mannered one that lets me do whatever I need to do.  I got what I could from her and quit before she could step in it and really make me mad.

Oh yeah, one of the reasons that Molly was so agitated was because my son wouldn't quit hollering to me from halfway across the field.  We irrigated yesterday and he was running through it.  That would have been OK, but I didn't want him to get his clothes wet and thus the inside of the car muddy.  He did anyway.  Walking abck to the car (on the opposite end of the pasture) he chose the muddiest path of all.  Yes, he is a boy.  I forget.  I also forget what a tom boy I was.  So I gave up my nap to milk the goats, got about half of what I should, and a muddy child to boot!  And still no camera.

Alright, driving home I chose to change the course of the events and attitudes and took son out to the goat pen here at the house to feed raisins to our new goats.  I forgot to take the camera again.  But that's OK because as I plugged the cable in to upload and prepare this post, it stopped working.  It beeps like it should, but never uploads.  I'll have to try again later.  Isn't that what I should have expected today?

Recap:

1. Cut my thumb while cutting pineapple for breakfast.
2. Tried to mow lawn with riding mower-battery is dead because ds turned the light on and left it.
3. Decided to do as much as I could with the gas push mower-the ignition cable came all the way out.
4. Late for blood donation and then didn't get to donate because of low iron.
5. Fiasco with the goats.
6. Pictures won't upload.

Seeing the good when I can:

1. I got to laugh with my son while playing with the goats.
2. I got to laugh again watching him play in the creek.
3. We got to see Daddy in the middle of the day.
4. We got to see 17 geese and 2 ducks hanging out at the pasture in the irrigation water.
5. We are in pj's at 6PM!
6. We will snuggle and watch movies tonight and maybe even order pizza in-Daddy is working late.  Oh check out why he's working late...

Tony builds carbon fiber cello's for a living.  This is the detail work he's doing on the current one that the customer is paying a premium to have.  Each of those diamonds and squares is hand punched and placed.  Yes, he has talent and patience for tedious work!
As I got up to get my phone and transfer this picture, I saw one of our baby chicks laying in an awkward position.  The kitten had got her with her claw and she didn't survive.  Maybe I should just go to bed now?!

My Favorite Blogs This Week!

I've been having so much fun reading these great blogs that I haven't written my own!  Here's what's been keeping me from writing my own:

This one sparked a lot of comments about food at Homestead Revival.  She also hit a nerve with this post about routine and flexibility.  A good nerve.  :-)

This one is from a friend that lives nearby, but is moving soon.  :-(  The Ultimate Blog Party banner took me on a few rabbit trails!

Aren't these photos gorgeous!  These gals encouraged me to follow through with an idea I've had for a number of months-you'll see it in the comments.  She also wrote quite a nice description of the early hours on her homestead.

I think we all need this reminder!

And isn't this cute?

If you're like me, you'll see something at each page that interests you and takes you to another blog or web page that takes you to another, and on and on!  I hope you enjoy this list!

Hello Friends!

I think of my blog much more often than I actually WRITE in it lately.  ;-)  I've been having so much fun reading everyone else's that I haven't made time to write in my own!  I have a plan for my next post, and maybe I'll actually get to it tomorrow!  There are several photo posts I should add too.  Like the new goats we got today.  One mama and month old doe, and a yearling that's due in June.  Or the beautiful trees along the creek-all leafed out for summer.  Or the bushy vine that grows over the hen house that's about to burst into a gazillion blooms.  So thanks for being a follower and hang around for more to come!

Need Something from Pampered Chef?

My mom is having a book party, so I'm helping her spread the word.  If you need something, go here and follow the prompts to shop online.  The hostesses' name is Myra Sullivan.  Your purchase will be credited to her party and the items will be shipped directly to you!
Thanks for taking a look!

Cat Bird

Click here to view these pictures larger

Homemade Crescent Rolls

OK, so when I read the recipe and title I thought I'd end up with the flakey style rolls you can get from a can, but with natural ingredients and made from scratch.  Turns out that crescent just refers to the shape.  Bummer.  Warm fresh rolls from the oven were still yummy, it just wasn't the texture we were hoping for.  I used a basic dinner roll recipe from the book, Bread Machine Magic, by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway.  We took pictures...

Mommy Telesummit

Once again, as I read one blog that lead to reading another, etc, I found this site called 30-Minute Martha.  Wanting to know more, I subscribed so I would get a reminder to read it.  Click here to see what I read today, and see if it's something you'd find useful too.  Good night!

Our Easter, in Pictures

Click here to view these pictures larger

Food and Faith Challenge

Tony and I have recently committed to being part of the solution to this country's food problems by NOT participating in the problem!  It's not something we can complete overnight, so it's a work in progress.  Maybe because that's our focus, or maybe because it's the focus of a lot of people right now, there are a lot of blogs dealing with leaving the mainstream food market.  This post looks like a good way to keep the issues forefront for us and I want to share it with you.  Let me know if you choose to participate!

Learning to Sew

I just heard from a friend of mine that she is willing to teach me to sew!  YAY!  Progress toward reaching one goal!  Our date is Tuesday, April 13th.  I'm not sure what we'll be doing, but I'll be sure and post of that experience.  Thanks to Amy at Homestead Revival for her cloth napkin tutorial as the impetus for making contact with this friend.

Note to Self

Children + Goats + Wind + Picnic does not equal a good time.  What was I thinking?  Apparently I wasn't.  We did manage to eat without giving the goats anything besides banana peels though.  'Nuff said.

What's Your Story?

I found this blog thru a blog of a blog that I found thru another blog.  Confused yet?  I am!  I am discovering soooo many blogs I want to read and keep up with, but there are only so many hours in a day.  KWIM? 

Anyway, I do want to share this particular story with you and encourage you to really think about your story.
Inspired to Action

Then there's this one that just relaunched that I also found thru a blog of a blog...oh you get the picture!
Ladies Against Feminism
They are trying to get the word out about their new look/site and are offering a free MP3 dowload of "A Wise Woman's Guide to Blessing Her Husband's Vision".  Since I think feminism is a big fat lie, I'm more than happy to help spread the word!  Hope you are blessed by it!

Learning About Passover at a Seder Dinner

Tonight we went to a Seder dinner at our church to learn the symbolism of the items used in the Passover celebration.  It was quite interesting and I wish I could say that I clearly remembered each item, but I don't.  There were OT remembrances as well as NT and the presenter gave an interesting perspective on that that I might go into on another post.

• It started with eating parsley dipped in salt water.  The green herb representing spring, the time of Passover and the salty water representing the tears of the Hebrew slaves and the water in the Red Sea.
• Then there was a big to do over lighting the candles-but now that I think about it that was probably first-yes it was.  The mother lights the candles to illustrate the mother of Jesus bringing Light into the world.
• After the parsley there was a big to do over taking matzah bread from the center of the Unity Bag and hiding half of it after it's wrapped in a special linen bag.  The remaining half is distributed to each family member-3 pieces each. 
• The first piece is eaten with horseradish to represent the pain of the slaves, immediately follwed by the other two pieces topped with an apple mixture, the sweetness of God taking that pain away.
• Somewhere during this we have taken 2 sips of our "wine" after a prayer is read.
• There are roasted eggs on the table to eat, but I can't recall their purpose.
• We stopped at this point to share in a pot luck meal.
• After the meal, a child is sent to find the piece of hidden matzah, and is rewarded for finding it.  The linen bag it was tucked into has a saying on it that is Greek for "The I Am that has come".  Greek?  I thought the slaves were Hebrew.  This practice came AFTER Jesus, proving that many Jews in that day became believers.
• One thing we did at the beginning was to dip our right index finger into the "wine" 10 times, shaking the drop off onto our plate-1 for each plague.
• The newly found matzah is shared communion style with another sip of "wine".

There was a bit of hostory taught, as well as some other customs.  It was an interesting lesson and I'm glad we went!

Food, Inc

We just finished watching it and it has renewed our desire to grow/raise as much of our own food as possible!  God did not create livestock to be crammed into space barely larger than its body, eating food engineered to maximize growth and ignore basic health!  The consequences of these actions are being played out in each and every life of the persons eating these animals, and it wasn't even our direct choice to let this happen.

We do vote with our dollars though and we are going to focus our votes on healthy food.  It's not going to be easy though.  Or cheap.  I just agreed to buy half a pig at a cost of twice (maybe even more) of what we pay on average for pork at the grocery store.  One segment in this documentary dealt with Wal-Mart buyers and they stated they purchase what the consumer is willing to buy-and they're getting a large demand for organic food and hormone free milk.  The producer of the documentaty said that because of WM's size they can have a large, POSITIVE impact on what dairy producers do with their cattle. 

I also learned that the calf our cow just had in January won't be ready for the freezer for at least 18 months when feeding on grass.  That's longer than I thought, so we may be looking for grass fed beef to purchase too.  We've got a lot of work to do, but renewed intent and desire.  May God lead us to the best way to reduce and/or eliminate the industrialized stream of food entering our bodies!

Here are links to the resources we've learned the most from. 
Future of Food
Food, Inc
Eat Fat, Lose Fat
The Untold Story of Milk
Most of them link to amazon.com to show the image of the movie or book cover.  I'm not an affiliate though.

On a silly, unrelated note-I was thinking of organizing a group of seamstresses to make pj's and sell them online.  I'd call it pajamason.com.  What do you think?  ;-)

Hurry!

This is a resource site I joined a few months ago.  I never know how long a free resource will be available, but as of late Sunday night this one was still good.  Based on the title I thought some of you might be interested.  I've saved it, but not viewed it.  Let me know what you think!

Making Time Work for You

About that Blogging Bee...I hope I'm doing it right!  The instructions said to highlight something I've learned at another blog.  Right now I'm excited to have been able to follow the directions to do this, and to have found one of the sites.  I'll start small and work my way up.  I hope you'll try it out!

One post I enjoyed was found at PJ Academy meets PJ Acres.  I appreciated the photo-story in both its simplicity and the way it flowed from one picture to the next.  Now, if someone can help her remember the password to get in and change her playlist, she'd be grateful!

I was also grateful to discover A Wise Woman Builds Her Home thru an online friend at Homesteading and Homekeeping at Whisper Wind Farm.  Every time I read that verse in Proverbs 14 I ask myself if my actions and behavior are building my home.  [Side note-want to learn the Proverbs and be able to apply the lessons to your life?  Try reading one chapter per day each month.  There are 31 chapters, no month has more.  ;-)]  I digress-the Wise Woman site is new to me this week, and there are so many links there that I want to explore and just haven't made time.  Maybe after this post I'll make myself a cup of tea and READ! 

Over at Whisper Wind, I admire Kat's detailed writing about her journey as a homesteader and what her daily life looks like.  She works hard all day AND has time to write about it!  I seem to just read, need to get better at the "do" part!

Reading vs Doing

I love to read.  I have a stack of books from the library that probably exceeds my ability to read in the amount of time I have them, and that's with using a bit of restraint while at the library!  I also have a number of blogs I follow and each one has SO much that I want to explore-and THEIR list of blogs THEY like, and on it goes.  I've been reading blog posts for over an hour now and it causes me to think, "when do I stop reading and start doing?"  There's a lot to be said for research-learn the ins and outs before doing it, but at some point I just have to do it, right?  One of the blogs I just started following had a post about a Blogging Bee that sounds like fun.  I just need to read it again to understand how to do it correctly!  More reading before doing, haha!  ;-)

News This Week

• Elsie went to Charm School.  Or is it Finishing School?  Her previous owner offered to take her and see if she can train her to be a good milk cow.  We jumped at the chance! 
• Our son now enjoys playing in the pen with the goats because Elsie isn't there to trample him!
• My weekly plan seems to be working.  I feel a sense of purpose AND freedom.  Nice combination.
• Car trouble abounds.  We returned home from small group last night to discover a nearly flat tire on the minivan.  Tony took it to be repaired today and the guy broke the brake line!  It's just a little shop-I doubt the guy's gonna be able to pay for the repair, but we're gonna ask anyway.  Need a spare for the truck before we head to Flagstaff tomorrow.  Good news is we have an awesome mobile lube guy that comes to our house to change the oil.  How perfect is that?
• Male readers be forewarned-the next statement is totally feminine and might not be suitable for you to read.  I did more research on washable, cloth pads for use during my period.  I think I'm going to order them.

I'm tired today.  Maybe because it was cloudy AND it's paperwork day, so I was focused and intent on my work.  Think I'll go to bed early tonight!

A Song for Mommies

This song has great lyrics to touch a mama's heart, just wanted to share...

Out of Africa

There's a wildlife park in our town called Out of Africa.  They used to be located outside of Fountain Hills, a suburb (sorta?) of Phoenix and I went a lot the first few years they were open.  I haven't been since they moved here, and probably for 10 years now.  My bil gave us tickets for a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and we just went today!  Our son loved it-he was running ahead, eager to see each new lion or animal.  Towards the end he even made a friend who was visiting with his family from southern Mexico.  He can't whistle, but he can sure immitate the sound and he'd get ahead of us and "whistle" for us to catch up to him.  We got to "feed a tiger" and follow along with the feed truck as they tossed chunks of meat to all the carnivores.  Now we know why hyenas are called laughing hyenas-it was a funny sound!  Not sure why I didn't take a picture, but there was a small leopard/cheetah/some type of cat that was missing its front right leg.  She did alright without it!  Tony got some great shots of the giraffe.  It was a great Sunday outting!  Enjoy the pictures.

Spring 2010

I love reading other people's blogs, especially those who have common interests, and many have been writing about Spring. I think living in central AZ I take spring for granted, but I do love this time of year! It's warm enough to be outside in shorts during the day, but still cool enough to need a jacket and long pants at night. We don't get snow here, so it's not a matter of being glad it's gone, it's just a welcome change of season. I decided to take some pictures of what spring looks like around here, because I have some friends in the midwest and east coast that are still dealing with snow. Hop on a plane and come visit!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Day Two of My New Plan

Yesterday I started a new approach to my many and varied tasks.  Mondays are focused on food-meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep.  I had a longish list yesterday and rather than feel bad for not completing it, I readjusted my expectations to a more realistic level and had a full day.

Tuesdays are for paperwork.  Personal financial stuff, the never ending "To Do" things, support for Tony's business, foster care requirements-anything like that.  Today's list was even more unrealistic, but I did accomplish two very mundane, time intensive, tasks.  I think if I stick with it I will chip away at the mound of stuff to be done.

Wednesdays are child focused.  He goes to preschool in the morning and then we'll probably have lunch at the park, play for a while and go to the library.  I'll spend the day focusing mostly on my son.

Thursdays are housecleaning day.  Ugh.  It's a small house though, so I should be able to clean it all in a few hours.  That means I can have some unplanned time too!

Friday is for outdoors-either hiking, enjoying the weather, or working on projects.  Another one of those seemingly unending lists, but the time spent working outside will be fun, right?

Now I just pray for perseverance!

Weather and Moods

I've never officially studied what science calls "seasonal affective disorder", sometimes called cabin fever, but I know enough to say "duh"!  Does it really take scientific research to confirm how seasons and weather affect mood?  For those living in cold winter climates, I'm guessing you can attest to the need to get outside ASAP once the snow starts melting and the sun starts shining.  For my local friends, I think it can happen even in summer-you know-when it's over 100 degrees for days or months at a time and you're stuck inside.  Personally, I need sunlight (or is that SONlight) regularly and the feeling of freedom that I get from being outside regularly.  We've had about 3 days of perfect weather now and I notice that I'm in a better mood, able to adjust better to things that might have triggered stress last week as a result of spending time outside.  I'm indoors writing this right now because I got too warm while sitting outside.  I do feel fresh and rejuvinated though!

It helps to be low to the ground...

Last week we bought a dozen 10 month old laying hens.  The next day we had a dozen eggs (we already had 3 hens).  The day after that, 9, and one of the new ones drowned in the goat/cow water trough.  We've been getting 8-10 a day since.  Today we could only find 2.  They've been using a nesting box inside the hen house and sometimes just laying on the lawn.  We decided to check a spot that some hens we no longer have used last summer.  Jackpot!  However, I couldn't see them, even bent over.  My 4 year old son was all excited and I thought he was just being silly until I leaned in for a closer look:

There are 10 eggs there, so we got another dozen today.  We're finally getting more than we use!

Last summer a similar thing happened, but we thought they had stopped laying because of the heat.  We'd find one or two every couple of days (I think we had about 7 hens) and I had searched all the usual places, near the usual places and places we've never thought to look.  Once again, my son was swinging a stick like a sword and pushed aside some vines that grow up around a tree and found their hiding spot.  There were 29 eggs there! 

 

More had been laid, as there was evidence of broken egg.  I was told that you could put a egg in water and if it floats, it's starting to go bad, so we did that as we used them and only 3 were bad!  By the way, did you know that if you have hens you shouldn't wash their eggs until you are ready to them?  There's an invisible protective layer called the bloom that keeps air out.  If you wash the egg you remove that protective layer.  Just FYI.

The Marvelous Multitasker

Several things have happened recently to cause me to look at a few things from a different perspective.  One of the online groups I belong to had a post recently about various approaches to housecleaning. My reply to that post stated that I've tried various approaches and just can't seem to make any of them stick/work for me. I've tried cleaning the whole house in one day, I've tried breaking it into smaller chunks to do on a daily basis. Neither keeps my home clean!

A series of events last week led me to the conclusion that I am not the marvelous multitasker that I thought. I've always kinda known that when I get busy doing something, I forget about the other things that need to be done.  My most notable issue is spending too much time at the computer.  Not all of it is for fun, there are work/business/family tasks that need to be completed here too, but it's with the fun stuff that I lose track of the day. 

About 10 days ago my hard drive gave out completely.  While waiting for HP to send a new one, I used Tony's computer, but it's not the same as using my own.  It's not "mine" and it's S.L.O.W.!  So I did the bare necessities and walked away.  During those few days, my son and I were getting along marvelously.  I associated that with the fact that he doesn't have to see his bio parents anymore and hadn't seen them since the end of January, something I had predicted would happen.  Tony noticed that I was more relaxed, not so high strung, and able to roll with things better.  Again, I attributed that to son and I getting along better as a result of severance.  The next day, a Family Support Specialist was here visiting and made almost identical comments.  We agreed that it was likely a result of him not seeing bio parents anymore.

About the same time these comments were being made, my new hard drive arrived and I installed it.  The next day I spent hours installing all the programs I have and personalizing everything, so my focus was on getting that done.  Guess what?  My son started irritating me again.  Uh-oh.  Is the cause my lack of attention to him?  Were we getting along so well because I spent more time (click to read about another mom's solution) with him?  Ugh!  Not easy to contemplate. 

As I look back I see that I was enjoying our time together too, so why not continue that way?  Because that was more like a vacation and this is more like real life.  Can't there be some middle ground though?  I already feel overwhelemed with the quantity and variety of tasks that I need to do on a regular basis, how can I carve out more time to spend with my son, so that we are both happier (and possibly healthier)?  Here's what I've come up with, noting that I am not the Marvelous Multitasker:

I can do several things within the SAME category at once, but my focus stays on that category. For instance-I love to chat with my friends at said group, but while I'm doing that I'm updating posts, researching something on another site, checking email, stuff like that. All those tasks are centered around the computer. What I'm NOT doing while chatting is housework, outside chores, or playing with my son. So with this new(er) revelation I've decided to give each day a major focus. What I can't decide is if each day should also have a minor focus. That might look like this: Monday is grocery shopping/meal planning/basic food prep day-Major Focus. Should it also have a Minor Focus of tidying our weekend mess? (or whatever) The reason I can't make up my mind is that each day also has to have its Daily Tasks. Those things that have to get done every day, regardless of whether they fit the Major Focus. Like eating, meal prep, feeding animals, milking animals, collecting eggs; and the fun things like checking up on my online friends. Is having a Minor Focus defeating the point of having a separate goal each day?  I might just need to try both ways and see how it works out.

Thoughts?

Income Tax Prep

Ugh!  If the Founding Fathers knew what our current government requires of us in regards to taxes especially, they'd start another revolution!  I used to prepare my own taxes using TurboTax before I married Tony.  Now we are in a situation that is beyond my ability and that of TT.  I do MORE work to prepare the taxes for the CPA than I used to have to do to prepare my own!  I would love to be able to simplify this situation, but even trying that is complicated.  I even finished of a carton of mint Dibs and don't feel any better.  :-)

Budget Cuts

Interesting visual aid:
http://www.wimp.com/budgetcuts

Miscellaneous

I have so many tings I want to blog about, but haven't been able to for time limitations, laptop problems, or sleepiness.  My eyes are burning right now I'm so sleepy, but it's only 9 o'clock.  It's been a full week of all kinds of things and one day I might get around to blogging about it all!  We got new chickens, had one drown, learned some stuff about our family dynamics, learned more about a new friend...so many things.

Keep writing your new blogs cuz I like reading them!

Disaster Turned to Play Time

So this normally "no fun" mom finally just let go and enjoyed the moment for what it was-a chance to play with my son and have a good time. 

I've been having problems with a hard water residue being deposited on my dishes while in the dishwasher and wondered if it might be my homemade dish powder, so I put a little liquid (not meant for dishwasher) soap in the dispenser and ran it.  We started noticing the bubbles shortly after and just used it as an opportunity to clean the floor.  Once the load was done I opened the door to asses the damage and the bottom had about a six inch layer of suds!  I took the bottom rack out and grabbed a big load of bubbles and blew them at my son, who decided it was like snow and we had a "snowball" fight in the kitchen!  He loved it and I didn't mind that we were making a mess!  Afterwards he helped me clean up without even being asked!  I'll have to try that approach again...  I was going to take some pictures, but that would have ended the moment.