Another One Bites the Dust

Wow....December 29th....another year coming to a close.  Hard to believe it has been a whole year since I began this homesteading journey in earnest.  In ways I feel I have accomplished so much...others, not so much.  I am thrilled to be doing my crafts again.  That is something I have truly missed in the last 10 years.  And I find that I am working on more challenging patterns now, instead of being afraid of not doing it right - which is something I have battled all my life.  If I think I will mess it up, I just won't try it...or I will try it "in secret", with no one knowing, so if I do mess up, no one will know :-) 

So, in the past year, this is what I have accomplished:

• Knitting and crocheting again
• Making butter - we never buy it at the grocery store anymore!
• Learned to make bread - I started baking some again yesterday - I really missed the way the house smells when I didn't bake it all summer
• Produced more vegetables in the garden this year than last - still not enough to put up for the winter, but we are making more progress each year
• Grew fruit - our blueberry bushes are small, but did put out a decent harvest to have in yogurt for breakfast for about 2 months - I would like to plant a couple more bushes next year
• Got chickens - fresh eggs are definitely the way to go!  We have had 2 "no egg" days in the past two weeks...not bad considering we only have four girls and we have been getting 1-2 eggs every day even with the shorter days (we are not using supplemental light in the coop; I figure Mother Nature has a reason for the winter slow down)
• Cooking more from scratch - not buying so much of the prepared foods.  It really does make a difference and doesn't take that much longer to make

What I would like to accomplish next year:

• Would like to get a couple more pullets - we really love the "home grown" eggs!
• Learn to make yogurt - I love yogurt, especially blueberry - so if I learn to make my own, and add my home grown blueberries to it, that would be cool!
• Grow enough in the vegetable garden to be able to try canning
• Learn to make cheese - not sure how much "extra" time I will have, with the full time job, dogs, cats, chickens, etc.. but it is something I would like to try
• Possibly raise some meat chickens and learn to process them - the thought of raising home grown chicken appeals to me - but the processing scares me!!

I think we are making good progress on learning to be more self-sufficient.  It is a lot of work, but very gratifying.  Now, I am not a doomsday type of person, but I am uncomfortable with the direction the world seems to be going...on any given day, the news headlines are chock full of murders, bombings, child abductions, etc.  So much so, that I usually try to avoid looking.  I rarely watch the news anymore, it is just so darn depressing.  Anyhow, I believe there will come a time when something will happen, and those who don't know how to provide for themselves, or don't have the grit to just do it, will not make it.  I just hope there is enough time before that happens for me to learn more.

I hope everyone has had a great year and I look forward to learning much more from all of you next year!

Hello?!?!?

Where have I been?  Well, let's see...another week of December has slipped through my fingers.  On top of both of us working full-time jobs, we have been working outside - gathering deadfall, cutting up downed trees, splitting wood...and I have been busy trying to finish up making Christmas gifts so I can get them shipped out.  As I say every year, if it doesn't make it there by the 25th, then consider them Happy New Year gifts LOL!!  I will post pictures of what I made for everyone after the 25th - don't want to spoil the surprise in case they are reading :-)

My posts will probably be few and far between until I begin my vacation on 12/22...I hope everyone is doing fabulously and I will check in as I am able.  Stay warm!!

Whiny Wednesday

• Rainy and sloppy all day today
• Dolly is NOT happy
• After all the rain today, the overnight temp is going to be 29F....yep....below freezing...
• I have to commute to the big city tomorrow....yep....on ice....oughta be a hoot
• Whine away!!

Tidbit Tuesday

• One week of December is already gone - poof!
• I am LOVING Carla Emery's book!!
• 65F today....wow...
• They are logging the property to the north of us...and now we can see the trees falling as they approach our property line....sad.
• Less than 3 weeks until Christmas - what??
• We put up our tree Sunday...so far we have the lights and garland on it....It looks so pretty like that, I may not put ornaments on it this year LOL
• Hope everyone had a super day!

The Holy Grail

For my birthday, my husband asked what I wanted.  I told him about a book I really wanted.  It was not one I had checked out of the library...but wanted to read badly.  Everywhere I go to look for information on homesteading, this one book kept popping up...it is supposed to be the bible for homesteading.  The Holy Grail of information, if you will.  So, he told me to order it - and I did.

I am now the proud owner of "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery.  Do I hear angels singing!?  I am in heaven...or what I think is heaven as I am not an overly-religious person.  This book is HUGE!  It is the 10th edition, 35th anniversary copy.  I have started reading it, but it will take me a l-o-n-g time to finish it.  I hope to be able to review it by 2013!!  There is soooooo much information in it, I think it will start leaking from my ears soon.  It is been updated to include websites, etc. Every list of books and/or other places to find information that I encounter, I get sidetracked for hours looking to see if I can get those from our library or perusing the websites and getting lost in all of THAT additional information.  But I am so excited!!  I have already learned so much in the year since I began my foray into homesteading.  And there is still so much more to learn.

Have any of you read this book or own a copy?  What are your thoughts?

Ahhhh....

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We sure did.  After two days of cooking and cleaning, I am exhausted.  So much for vacation!!  But it was all worth it.  My daughter and her fiance came over, as well as a friend of theirs who is now a friend of ours.  There was a lot of good food (I guess I learned from my grandmother to make too much food), good conversation and a lot of "ahhhhhhhs" after everyone's belly was full to the brim!

Now we have a ton of leftovers and will probably still be eating turkey and dressing until Christmas :-)  Which will be here before we know it!!  I think I may try to make some turkey stock from the carcass...I am just afraid we will have too much of it!  I roasted a 23 lb. turkey....how long will turkey stock last if I can it??  Well, it all depends on how much energy I can summon up to even attempt the canning process for it.  This has been a jam packed week with work, cleaning and cooking, on top of the everyday chores of taking care of all the animals - pets and livestock.  As well as trying to get through it all on the 3rd anniversary of my father's passing.  But, I did make it through...and got everything done.  One more hurdle, the dreaded birthday, and I am home free until Christmas.

There is much baking of Christmas cookies, gifts to finish making, shipping the gifts, on top of everything else to get through in the next few weeks.  Then it will be New Year's!!!  Wow....this year just flew by.

Enough rambling for me...time to go out and help my better half split some wood.  Have a great day!!

Traditions

Since Thanksgiving is in a couple of days, I thought I would share our traditional Thanksgiving feast and invite you to do the same.

• Roasted turkey - we got a 23 pounder this year.  We like to have lots of leftovers!!  We will also have 6 people for dinner.
• Whipped mashed potatoes - after being mashed, add butter and milk and whip with the mixer
• Sausage dressing - I always make a double batch as it seems to be a fan favorite - my secret?  Use 1/2 regular sausage, 1/2 hot sausage....sage...and for the bread cubes, I use 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat.
• Green bean casserole - though I do not eat it, when my husband and I got married, this was something he could not go without on Thanksgiving, so I make it for him
• Broccoli with cheese sauce - fattening, I know...but oh so good!
• Winter squash - I go on a search every year here in the south to find the frozen block in the grocery store, to no avail.  So this year I am making it from scratch using butternut and acorn squash.
• Cranberry sauce
• Crescent rolls
• Pickles and olives
• Homemade pumpkin pie - made with sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated...I know, same as the cheese sauce :-)
• Homemade whipped cream for the pie

Someday, I hope to be able to make this meal with more from our own garden and possibly livestock.  But for now, I will make the butter and whipped cream, bake the squash myself and mix it up.  The rest came from the grocery store, but everything is made with something that you just can't buy in the store....a whole heaping helping of love and being grateful to be able to prepare this meal for the people I love, know they are well fed for a day, and be able to spend it with family and friends. 

I hope you will share your traditions too!

This time of year....

Is difficult for me at best...I lost my father 3 years ago this week...right before Thanksgiving....and my birthday....so it is a very sad reminder when it should be a happy time for me.  Well, the birthday part used to be happier when the number wasn't so big!!!

However, I am still thankful for how many years I was able to share with him before he passed.  I am also thankful for all he taught me over the years.  A lot of which I am able to put to good use here on the homestead.  Learning how to stack wood so it would dry; loading it into the basement through the window to use in the wood-burning furnace we had for a few years.  How to start the fire in it; how to clean the chimney and the pipes; what kind of wood to burn.  I may not chop the wood with an axe like he did, but I have respect for the logs - the size and heft - and how they will split.  He also taught me how to be careful when working with tools and how to do it safely.  These things are important when you are operating a high-powered log splitter and watching how the pieces will fall off the unit so you don't end up with a broken foot.  It doesn't matter if I am just using a Phillips head screwdriver or a table saw, pay attention, don't overwork the tool and put it away when you are done.  Important stuff...

I used to work alongside my father no matter what he was doing.  I think it was my thirst for learning by doing.  He showed me how to work all manner of power tools - radial arm saw, table saw, skil-saw, drill press, and non-power tools - screwdrivers, wrenches, ratchets, and the list goes on.  I helped him build picture frames, doll houses...was right by his side watching as he fixed things around the house.  I used to help him sort his nails, screws, nuts and bolts into baby food or pickle jars that he would nail the cap to the underside of a board and then screw the jar up into it.  He taught me how to paint and stain.  He showed me the basics of car maintenance - checking and changing the oil, changing a tire, how to check a radiator without getting 3rd degree burns, how to change windshield wipers.  He always had the time to teach if you wanted to learn.  I am glad I took the time to learn and had the opportunity to spend so much time doing it with him.  Even in my later years, before I met my husband, I would call and ask for his knowledge to do something around the house or ask his opinion about something.  And he always made the time.  Special memories for me.

He may not be here, physically, on Earth anymore, but I feel his spirit close to me and still feel his hand guiding mine and can hear him helping me through life.  Still...after all this time.  And it is very comforting.

If I had it my way, he would still be here.  But some things are out of our hands...and the mere fact that he is no longer suffering is good enough for me.  I miss you Dad and love you.  Always.

Whiny Wednesday

• Ok....so is going to be in the 70s or the 50s????
• Dark, dreary and rainy today...yuck!
• Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK?!?!?  ALREADY?!?!?
• We need more chickens...this 1 or 2 eggs a day is not enough (from 4 chickens!)
• I need more vacation time....can I just take off the rest of the year?!?!  Not...
• Is it ever possible to get "enough" sleep?

Whine away everyone!

Tidbit Tuesday

• 99........100!!  Wow!  This is my 100th post!
• I wanted to have some killer theme for such a momentous occasion, but alas...I've got nothing...
• So after some very low overnight temps last week (got down to 29F one night), my shrubs began shedding their leaves...the high for today is going to be 76F...so now they are growing new leaves!!  I guess everyone (and everything) is just plain confused nowadays :-)
• Had a nice, long 4-day weekend - took a vacation day, Friday was a holiday.  How much did I get done?  Not very much!  In-laws were in town so we did some family partying :-)
• I did get to operate a skidsteer - not just drive it up and down the driveway - I attempted to run into a pile of dirt and scoop some up...was able to achieve some degree of success - but it will take a lot more practice to get it right!
• My husband spent the weekend fixing the driveway - we had a section that wasn't draining properly so he dug it up, repacked it with the big gravel, took down a tree so he could trench the side of the driveway better, and then tucked it all in with some crusher run...cross your fingers that it works!
• Cooked my first acorn squash the other night for dinner - I may have to try to grow these next year.  Cut it in half, scooped out the seeds, placed in a pan with an inch of water, put butter and brown sugar in the middle, covered and baked for a little over an hour....DELISH!  Although you all probably knew that already :-)
• Hope everyone has a great day!

Take It Easy

This weekend we kind of took it easy.  The only "major" thing we did was fix the chicken run.  The other night, we had a rain storm come through that didn't dump a lot of rain, but must have packed some pretty high winds.  The next morning, there was a significant amount of leaves on the ground and no longer on the trees, and the tarp we had covering the run was ripped and hanging off one side.

So today we got another tarp and put it over the run.  The girls did NOT like all the strange noises coming from the tarp scraping over the chicken wire we have on top to keep hawks out.  They kept running and flying all around trying to escape the noise.  But once it was done, they were a lot happier!  In the spring, we are going to put a roof over the run.  My husband is researching a new kind of roofing material called Ondura.  Supposedly it withstands the sun very well and doesn't break down as quickly as the plastic or fiberglass panels.  But it is a little on the pricey side.  And since we will have another semester's tuition, property taxes and the holidays to pay for in the next 6 weeks, the roof will have to wait until after the New Year.

We were going to split some more wood, but didn't.  We were going to cut up some more pallet wood, but didn't.  I guess we all need a little down time after go, go, going all summer long.  It's not like we are low on wood, just wanted to stay ahead.  We have been using the wood stove overnight as the temps have been hovering around freezing and also in the morning to take off the chill until the sun rises high enough to shine in the windows.

I hope everyone remembered to "fall back" this morning.  I forgot all about it until I got my Farmcast text from The Weather Channel.  I thought it was 8:10 AM, but it was really 7:10 LOL!!!  It was nice to have that extra hour - didn't feel so rushed to get nothing done today :-)

Whiny Wednesday

• I REALLY hate my commute sometimes
• Didn't get home until 8:15 PM last night - almost 1-1/2 hours later than I should have
• It's NOVEMBER already?!?!
• So much to do....so little time
• Whine away!!

Yum

Yesterday, since it was cool out, we decided to make dinner in the crock pot.  Beef roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery.  Yum!

I also baked some bread.  I found a recipe on Libby's website for pumpkin-apple bread that I thought was rather fitting to welcome in Fall:

Boy were they good!!  A nice, hot, hearty dinner followed by a sweet, cake like dessert.  The apples really made a difference in this bread.  It was a great day despite the fact the Panthers lost....AGAIN....

Changes

Today, our high temp was 77F.  Tomorrow's forecasted high is 49F...I think Fall will make it's debut tomorrow.  I like fall, with the cooler temps and pretty colors.  What I don't like is the weather that follows, or the short, short days.  I started taking my Vitamin D a couple of weeks ago.  They say it can help to keep your spirits up for those of us who have "SAD" - Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I have it...my husband hates it.  But I think this year may be better with all that I have learned, or re-learned, this past year.

I still make my own butter every week.  I will begin baking bread again with the cooler temps - just couldn't bring myself to do it during the summer when it was 100F outside and the air conditioning was running non-stop.  Only this year, I will try to make it every weekend, instead of only when we need it.  I will freeze the extra so we have some during the warmer weather too.

I will be busy making my crafts too.  I found some cute patterns for crochet and knit and have been working on them.  I am receiving some very good feedback from family and friends, and may start renting tables at the local festivals next year to try my hand at selling them.  I have also looked into setting up an Etsy store.  This year, I am making a lot of the gifts we will be giving, instead of buying something I am not sure the person will like/use, or giving up and just getting a gift card.  I am certain the hand-made gifts I have selected will be very well received...or at least I hope so!

I think having the chickens this year will help me as well.  I never tire of watching their antics, listening to their "conversations" with each other, how Emmy Lou waits at the gate for me when it is time to go to bed, or opening the nest boxes and finding beautiful, home-grown eggs inside...

I am looking forward to my holiday baking using my home-made butter and home-grown eggs this year.  They can't help but make everything taste better.  We are filling up the freezer slowly but surely - chicken noodle soup two weeks ago and chili last week. 

This weekend, I will pull the last vestiges of tomato plants from the other raised bed and we will cover the greenhouse.  Last weekend we covered the pool.  It is time to start closing down and putting everything up for the winter to come.  Before I know it, the holidays will be upon us (Monday is Halloween already!!).  I still have vacation time at work I have not used - I look forward to being able to sleep in a little when I do finally take them.

Hope everyone had a great day!

Whiny Wednesday

• Covered the pool on Saturday....today the cable holding the cover on the pool snapped - as in broke apart...now we get to do it all over again...
• 76F today...can we decide if I am lighting woodstoves or running air conditioning please?!?
• Ever try to type with every other fingernail being broken off?  Let's just say there is a lot of "backspace" going on!!!
• I just saw the biggest potato plant ever!!  In my compost bin....oy...
• My favorite tree in the fall is losing it's leaves before the tree turns its gorgeous colors :-(
• Ok everyone - whine away!!

Tidbit Tuesday

• I'm back :-)
• Voice still comes and goes a little, but MUCH better
• There is only one week left in October....wha???
• I have had to fire up the woodstove a couple of times in the morning to take the chill off
• Glad we were able to split some wood before I got sick!
• Got the pool covered last weekend....yep....it's that time again....
• My roses don't care about the weather change - they are still sending out new shoots and blooms
• It's nice to have a window or two open now.  I actually have to close them to keep the heat in at night!
• Hope everyone is having a great day!

Almost back to normal....

Wow...been a long two weeks....this cold kicked my butt!   I think I am finally at the end of it though.  My voice just keeps coming and going now.

Thank you all for the tips and hints.  Unfortunately for this round, Sudafed was my best friend.  But I fully intend to look into the suggestions you gave and be ready for the next time!

I also had my husband make a big pot of chicken noodle soup and ate it for lunch and dinner for a week straight.  He makes such FABULOUS chicken soup.  If I could have hooked it up to an IV, I would have.  Every time I had a bowl I felt a ton better.  So now we have about 5 containers of it in the freezer ready to heat and eat :-)

This past weekend, we were supposed to have our 3rd annual bonfire, but only a couple people showed up, so we just had a fire in the firepit instead.  But we made up a big pot of chili and froze the leftovers so the freezer is now stocked!

The chickens have started producing more eggs - which I thought was strange as the temps have fallen quite a bit here in the last couple of weeks.  But, I will take it!  We are now averaging 2-3 eggs per day, and we even had a couple days where all 4 laid in the same day.  We had a couple with very thin shells, so I have added a small bowl of oyster shell for them, free choice.  They don't seem to mind the chilly mornings - but I have also started giving them some scratch grain in the evenings when I know it will dip below 40F - 45F overnight.

They are loving the grass clippings with all the leaves in them, as the leaves are falling faster than they are changing color.  I guess it is because of the hot, dry summer we had this year.  But there is still some pretty color here and there.

Sorry that I have been MIA - I feel guilty for not posting my Tidbit Tuesdays or Whiny Wednesdays, but you will have them both this week!

Hope everyone is healthy and getting to enjoy some cooler fall weather and some foliage displays!

Down for the Count

So, you may have noticed the small number of posts recently.  I have been sick...very sick.  My husband was down for the count last weekend.  Now it is my turn.  I started to feel bad Wednesday...I woke up Thursday feeling like a Mack truck had hit me - twice.  I stayed home from work, put an out of office message up, took some meds and went back to bed.  Now, this is monumental for me.  I NEVER go back to bed.  But I was feeling so terrible, I really had no choice.

When I woke up, I tried looking for some home remedies for relieving sinus pressure...yeah, the ole drum and bugle corp were at top volume in my head that day.  I found one, made it up, and almost gagged to death on it!!!  Wowee!  How do people drink that stuff!?!?!?  You were to boil water, put in a mug, add 2 TBS apple cider vinegar, 2 TBS of honey and drink it down.  BLECK!!!  So now, not only was my head pounding off my shoulders, but my stomach was doing somersaults.... great...

Then I remembered, one of the executives I support went to Japan last year, and brought me back a fancy canister of tea.  Now, I cannot read Japanese, go figure, but when I brewed the tea, it was green - I thought, perfect.  Green tea is supposed to be fantastic for you.  It was okay, I am a coffee drinker, not a tea drinker.  But when I am sick, I will choke down the tea.  It did make me feel a little better, but the congestion would not break up.  I finished off every bottle of over the counter medicine that was left from when my husband was sick, and spent a very restless night trying to sit up enough to try to get my sinuses to open up so I could breathe!

So, for this round, I went to the store today and got the only thing that works for me - Sudafed 12 hour - the real stuff, behind the counter - not the fake PE stuff.  Also got some Ny-Quil and cherry flavored Halls, so now I am set for this cold.  Within one hour of taking the Sudafed when I got home, my sinuses started clearing out. YAY!

So, does anyone out there have any suggestions for the next round?  I would like to try to do more homeopathic stuff and not rely on the pharmaceuticals (but this time desperate times called for desperate measures)...I have read about ginger tea, tea with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and honey, peppermint essential oil facial steam baths, etc.  But I am looking for something that you have tried and it WORKS.

Cuz when I am sick, there is no time for messing around.  I have got too much to do and can't be down for the count.

Whiny Wednesday

• My husband was sick over the weekend, had to stay home Monday....now I'm sick!
• Windshield did not get replaced yesterday - company didn't come in the morning while it wasn't raining...they waited until after lunch when it was POURING
• Have to commute to the big city tomorrow...while being sick...oh what fun!
• It POURED this morning....would have been a grand day.....if I were a DUCK!
• Feel free to whine away......I'm going to take more Thera-Flu, Excedrin and whatever else I can find that my husband didn't use up the last few days :-(

Reba's better

She laid an egg around 1:30 PM yesterday - so I took that as a good sign.  I went down a couple more times to try to give her more oil and tip her to see if anything else would come up.  Nothing else did - I got maybe 1/2 teaspoon of oil in her.  Later in the afternoon, she started hanging with the other girls, not staying alone under the coop.  Then around dinner time, she was acting more like her old self.  Pecking around with more vigor and when someone else found a tasty morsel (a bug) and ran off, she ran after them with the others.

This morning she met me at the pop door when I went down to let them out and started eating right away.  Not as fast as she usually does, but still, an improvement over yesterday.  I will continue to watch her but she is much more alert and doing more of the normal chicken thing than she did yesterday.

My husband and I started cutting up some more pallets for the wood pile and are just now taking a break.  The pallet pile is starting to get smaller, and the cut pile is growing nicely.  We figure we have about a month's worth cut so far.  Maybe later today we will get to do some splitting - I love doing that!  The pallet wood burns well in the stove, and hot enough to keep the whole house warm during the day, but you can't replace split wood.  There is just something about it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and gets to partake in some gorgeous weather like we are here!