Hectic Heaven

Rednezvous

We are back. It was a beautiful site that sits about 4200 feet in the Cascade mountain range.  I made a laof of sourdough bread each day, and within an hour or so it was usually gone.  I never could get it to crisp up like I do here at home.. but it still tasted really good.  DH and I also made main dishes for the contest, he made his Chile Verde, and I made the chicken enchilada casserole, along with the bread.. I got second place with my casserole:>  and won a neat clay pot insert for my dutch oven.  My SIL won first place, with a black forest choc cake, it was really good.

We didnt have as large of a turn out as we had hoped for..80-90 shooters..  it was nice in the fact that both my brothers and their families were up there and we camped fairly close. 
The weather was horrible from Friday on, lots of cold wind and rain, mixed in with fog, ice pellets and snow.  COLD!!! very cold... I was so glad to get home and get a shower, after we unpacked the pickup and had to setup the wet tent and hang up the wet fly.

No more school,

Things are changing around here a bit.. School is out for summer.. YIPPEE! I will miss my little friends but look forward to some down time.  

I have only left the property once since school let out.. that was to go get a packet of  hubard squash seeds.  My dad likes them very much...and that was just to the little feed store down the road... I suppose DH will drag me off the property tonight. I am very much a homebody!

We are going to get two cots to go with our camping supplies... we decided the air mattresses although nice were not to our liking so much...

We have a rendezvous next weekend...I have been practicing my sourdough bread several times a week.. It getting really good.... I will make it for the dutch oven cooking contest next weekend...

The garden is doing well... we are done with the broccoli, I will start some later in the summer for a fall planting, we are enjoying peas and lettuce and an occasional sweet onion.   I am still planting some things...

The chickens are doing well,  we did lose a hen last week as we had a visitor (dog) show up during a thunderstorm(scared to death) we were keeping him hoping his folks would see our signs and call... he ended up going to the dog pound,  his family called several days later... I hope they got him back.. he was  a really nice guy...but I didnt want to chance losing another hen.... or some of the young pullets... I am thinking we should start getting more eggs  towards the end of July. 

I have decided to really start cooking from scratch...that means  homemade mayonnaise, salad dressing,  breads, Cheeses, and anything else we eat.....staying away from more processed types of foods

My daughter finished her classes yesterday, she is taking one class this summer... in the fall she will move to Klamath falls... this is going to be really strange...for both of us... I am both anticipating and dreading this  move.   I will miss her terribly... she is a good friend.. but it will be good for her to be on her own...

Well cant think of much more to write about... I am around  but mostly just the daily grind kind of stuff going on....

First harvest of the year...

I picked 13 oz or mesculin (sp) salad mix  and 4 lbs 4 oz of brocolli....

We sold  5 of the 21 chicks we raised... this was planned in the beginning... and I have  3 larges loaves of soap gelling on my table...will equall about 48 bars...  DH is on his way to the dump.   Its shaping up to be a  productive day..  We will eat some of the brocolli and I plan to freeze some of it as well as take a mess of it, and the lettuce over to my folks... We will be planting corn, beets, carrots, and some okra this weekend.. perhaps a few beans...  all in all its shaping up to be a busy and VERY HOT weekend.. supposed ot be in the mid to high 90's.... Immmmm wilting......already just thinking about it... 

still working with the sourdough

I have been baking most weekends.. at least one loaf of bread  but usually 3 or more... I have made lots of waffles...and today I made biscuits.. they were pretty good but I think I overworked the dough a bit.. it was rather tough..

If your interested in getting a start here are two sites I have dealt with,

The first starter I made and really liked was obtained thru this site..  http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/    this one is free.    This one has been my work horse....I like it very much..  very mild sour flavor

The second starter I started is called northwest  and I obtained it thru  Northwest sourdough   http://northwestsourdough.com/starter.html    these cost....  I like this  one to but have not used it quite as much yet... it has a good flavor...     I also ordered the french  starter and the austrailian one...  I have not started them yet....

It takes a few days well more like a week to get them going good.. but they are sure fun to play with....

This weekend I was quite upset to see the non stick coating coming off my waffle iron... so I threw it away and am now in the process of looking for a new one... I think I will opt for a cast iron one... I dont care for the non stick coatings...

Other news....

I found out a week or so ago that I will  probably have my job next year... I    say probably because in the letter I received it said that they  were withdrawing their layoff notice, but in the next paragraph it said that they anticipated more layoffs.. and they could affect me... so I will have to wait and see... there were 3 of us that got these notices,  that sad part of it is that 3 general ed aids  will lose their jobs instead... our district with the new contract had to redo their RIF  (reduction in force) order...  with the new contract  aids are now in different category's...  special ed and general ed...  anyway I should know more by the end of the month. 

The garden is growing well... the broccoli is coming on.. I think we will have a mess by weeks end... the onions peas and garlic are doing well to... we planted potatoes... and are waiting for it to dry out now a bit to plant more of our garden...

The chicks are doing well... they are growing and alot of fun to watch... anyone have any idea when  person could put them in with the big girls?....  they are about 2 months old now, also at what point do you start feeding them regular chicken feed...?  seems like last year  this was about the age I put the new ones in and then they were changed to the regular chicken feed...

sourdough bread

This loaf is  100% sourdough as leavening... my first try.... I am pretty pleased with it.... tastes good too:>  This was  cooked in a kitchen dutch oven...  we also had some really good waffles this morning for breakfast.

I think my camera is dying on me... it wouldnt flash and the focus was doing really weird things  lol 

Sourdough

My MIL ordered a bit of sourdough starter for me from this site   http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/   They will send you a free start if you send them a self addressed stamped envelope.... I got mine last week some time and  so far we have had wonferful waffles made from it as well as a yummy loaf of bread... It is not a strong sour taste..  but it is good...   I  think tonight I will get some out to make waffles tomorrow.... I thave been enjoying working with these invsible critters....  

Right now I am all alone... and its so nice and quiet... well except for Jessie panting....   round 2 with the squirrels from yesterday....

This morning I got all my potting stuff out and planted... seeds to set out,    I have several different heirloom tomatoes,  amish paste, cherokee purples, Japanese black trifele,  and another with an odd name.... I also planted  cosmos, columbine, and carnations, as well as bell peppers, jalapeno, serrano and aneheim chiles....  the house will be nice and warm over the next few days so it should help them get a good start.... 

The chicken are enjoying armfuls of fresh vetch and grass... the chicks are at that   awkward juvenile stage... they are part feathers and part down  lol... homely....fits them nicely.    not much else going on around here....

Farm TV

I read an article on the mother earths news site, where a lady talked of  watching farm tv.... Its fun to do... all you have to do is find a comfortable place to sit,  and wait for the channels to appear.... tonight we had a mixture.....

The first channel I beheld an amazing musical... it was a mixute of  wild and domesticated choirs.... The chickens picking at their food in the coop next to me... the covey of quail softly cooing as they made their way across the field.... there were a few wild soloists that appeared from time to time, singing beautiful songs... as well as a  group of  peacocks very insistent on singing their song...... t

The second channel that rolled out before me was rather a sitcom.. it involved Jessie the Lab and a  sqirrel bent on torment... they went many rounds... I beleive the dog lost... she came in with great resolve to get the sqirrel tomorrow... after a good long nap. 

The third channel that appeared was a  who dun it mystery... There is a very mysterious critter that is eating its way thru our brocolli plants.... he leaves no sign except for a wilted soon to die plant, that has had its root mass eaten off.... there appear to be no holes...  I have seen  3  episodes of this  show and am about ready to quit watching it.... as soon as that pesky little bugger is caught, I will gladly give up this show....

Happy Easter

We had a very pleasant day...  I cooked a ham, made a pea salad, stuffed eggs and scalloped potatoes.   There was just 5 of us... DH, DD, DSS and his girlfriend.   Most of the rest of the day has been resting and trying to get ready to go back to work....

I think my body has been collecting all the bugs I have been exposed to since school started... and last wens, they all hatched...  Thur and friday I felt pretty rough.. but saturday (a week ago) was the worst... I ended up in the ER having a very hard time breathing.   I am coming out the other end finally, I think..  I missed all last week and to be honest I am not really ready to go back yet... but I need to try.... at least I only work  3 days this week...My DD and DH have both had this as well and it hangs on and hangs on...

The chicks have been promoted to the barn.... they are thrilled with their room to run... Yesterday was the first time I had been able to get out to see how they were doing... DH was there mom most of the last week... he has even hand tamed a few of them  lol. 

Today is also our anniversary... we have been married 6 years...sometimes its seems like we have been married forever and sometimes it seems as if it was just yesterday we married... but after 6 years I guess  Ill keep him:>

The garden is doing ok... we are having some problems with critters in the garden.. and Im not sure what they are.... we have had a couple of  broccoli plants knawed off from the bottom... the whole root system eaten.... then today one of the garlics were knawed down from the top.    We are also having some problems with ground sqirrels...

I have not got my indoor plants started yet... I am hoping this week sometime...as energy permits...

we also need to get a hold of a tiller and get  the rest of the garden ready... we also need to get our mower fixed so we can get ahead of the grass.... just starting out and already feeling overwhelmed...  Im sure It will improve as I get my strength back.....

Chicks

The original 20 is still going great.. their wing feathes are filled in quite nicely, and they are getting their tale feathers... the urge to roost is now kicking in so every morning there are a few teetering on the waterers and feeder...  

The 5 DH brought home did not fair so well.. we only have two left of the original 5... Im not sure what was going on..they would seem fine then you would notice one day that  one was a bit smaller then the others... then they start sleeping all the time... eventually dying..

Now I am not sure what to do... this particular breed is very shy and docile so in a regular flock they tend to get picked on horribly...  after I read that (when we had all 5) I thought no problem we will build them a  smaller separate pen... but for 2 chickens?   I might try to get 3 more.. but then they are so "fragile" as per the guy that sold them to DH...(funny he didnt mention that when  we bought them  )  I guess this is probably why they are considered an exhibition chicken rather than the utility breed they were back in the 1800's... but then they didnt have to make a journey half way across the country when they were just hours old... 

DD and I are going to run to town today... I want to go buy the cheese place and pick up a  thermophilic starter and some new rennet... then we are going to run by a craft store and get a frame for the counted cross stitch DD just finished... it took her a couple of years but wow... it turned out so nice... and then we are going buy the bowling alley to check out bowling balls.. I am getting one for my B-day..  and I am taking DD out to lunch to celebrate the fact that she has finished her 5th math class..she had trig this term and got an A... not sure how that kid came from me.... hmmm maybe she was switched in the hospital:>   So I guess I ought to get the chick pen cleaned put and get ready to go...  

Spring break

The mighty fishermen just headed out the door for the local lake, so I thought I would take a few minutes to blog before I get myself going....

The kitchen is alive with the sound of .......Chicks... we have  25 babies....10 black austerlorps, 5 production reds, 5 americauanas, and 5 salmon  faverolles, these are intersting chickens and I am looking forward to seeing them as they grow...they are supposed to be a dual purpose breed and supposed to be good winter layers... they are a breed from france... they have muffs, beards and 5 toes, they are supposed to be pretty docile, the hens are said to be shy, and the roosters are not  known to be aggressive..that said they tend to be at the bottom of the pecking order in flocks,   so I think this bunch will probably rate a chicken tractor of their own..after all they ARE DH own personal flock  hehehe..

I thought we were done getting chicks after the first 20 showed up... but yesterday while I was at work... DH went to get some Alfalfa...so he told me over the phone.. and he said there were bunches of chicks... then silence... so the question begged to be asked,  "Dear how many chicks did YOU buy?" "only 5"  lol...

I am hoping to build a few chicken tractors over the summer...I would like to be able to move the chickens about  the property... with the garden I dont feel we can just turn them loose.   So I am looking for plans...

I dont have any concrete plans this week except turning 48 (actually I will be 29 for the 19th time) on Wens and that particular event seems unavoidable... I think perhaps I am in the middle of a mid life something or other.. because crazy as it seems.. I am thinking about going back to school... I am thinking I would like to go into teaching, special ed...

The peas are looking good, and the broccoli is growing well.. I think perhaps today I might poke a few onion starts into the ground... and maybe plant  DH cabbage since he has not managed to do it yet. 

We were hoping to get a rear tined tiller, but the one we went to look at, that we could afford, would not start, and then the handle fell off the string.. DH had seen enough :<   It is better that we hang on to our cash at the moment.. as a strike seems immenent.  I am hoping that the negotioations of yesterday and today bring the good news of a new contract.  

I have no news on the spinning , knitting  or cheese making front..as work is taking up most of my time and energy, I think I might get to play some this week  with these hobbies. 

I did try a new way of making bread that I like very much, no kneading...it was on the  mother earth news web site... here is the url    http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-12-01/Easy-No-Knead-Dutch-Oven-Crusty-Bread.aspx  The first time I made it I let it set for  18 hours... the bread was pleasantly chewy,   the second time I made it I only let it set  6 or so hours.. the bread was more tender, and also very pleasant....  the second time I also added some garlic powder which was very good.

There is another article for bread on there right now and you make up bulk and cook it as you need it.... I have not tried this yet, but may do so this week.   here is the url  http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx  

I guess it is time to get on with my day... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend...

Chicks arrived finally

I got the call this morning from our local farm store that our chicks were in.. all of them... Last week we were supposed to get 10. 5 production reds, and 5 black austerlorps, then this week there would be 5 more americaunas...   When I got there they had all of my order plus they had some extra austerlorps... so I got 5 more...20 total...  

I got a few extra because the lady I work with wanted a few hens and I told her I would raise her some...  Funny thing is I looked up and she was standing there asking me what I was doing... told her I was buying her chickens  lol...  they are cheeping peacefully in their pen in the kitchen... they must be content... I will keep them in for a few weeks... then move them out to a protected pen outside... they sure are fun to watch...

Jessie my Lab is very curious about the noise in there... she keep tilting her head and looking in there...

The garden is coming up nicely.. well what is planted is... The peas are coming up nicely, the broccoli looks great, and the garlic I think I could almost watch it grow.   I am going to plant some onions tomorrow.. I have  60 sets of sweet onions and  80 sets of yellow onions... I will store some and dehydrate some...

Work is till abit worriesome... I have good days and bad.. and it doesnt help that I am about half hormonal.    I beleive I am at the top of the list... so It is possible that I may get my job back... when they do a RIF (reduction in force) if you put your name on their list they have to call you back in the order of your seniority the recall list is good for 27 months. anyone they hire back they have to take from that list.... so we shall see... If not I will sign up for unemployment and start looking until things open up back there again..   There were a  total of 36 postions lost...  4 others were IA's. which is what I do.

Believe it or not we very likely may be going on strike:<  I cant beleive some of the things this district is pulling... talk about bad faith bargaining... I am hoping is settles before a strike happens... they are negotiating today and thurs and friday... if nothing happens we will have a strike vote probably on the 31st of March...after spring break...  I plan to walk out of that school on Friday and not think about it again until March 30th at 5am.   I guess I ought to get ready for bed... 5 comes early...

Laid off

I got the grim news today...I am one of the folks to be let go...along with 35 others:<   The thing that breaks my heart the most is that this job is such a good fit for me... my last day is June 9.   

playing in the dirt, cutting corners, and a new chicken run

Today turned out  to be a beautiful day.. somewhat cool but not bad... and we got quite a bit accomplished.. we weeded and worked up the last third of our raised bed.  Tore down the old chicken run and got most of the way done with the new run.  Pulled up some kind of tree/brush that is taking over the back of the chicken house. 

DH offered to treat me to breakfast out this morning and I asked him to drop by the local feed shop on the way home.. I wanted to order some chickens and boy am I glad we did...they basically have everything they ordered sold...so I ordered some.. not the breeds I wanted, but I am glad to have them,  we ordered 5 americaunas, 5 black austerlorps, and 5 productions reds. they had a special going that if you ordered so many and paid for them you got free feed.. so we got 25lbs free as we were already planning on buying the chickens, that was a nice deal...

 I was going to order cuckoo marans and some black java's but they have sold out alread y for the year...  Later today I did find a place in Ashland that has cuckoo marans so I may try to get a few of them as well.. we will have a very mixed flock but it ought to be pretty. 

On Thurs while I was pulling the garbage can up the hill, a chore that I hate doing and DH is supposed to do, I had this amazing thought... get RID of garbage service... most everything we use could be recycled,  DH and I both drive by a recycle center on our way to work.  The food scraps will go to the chickens, dogs and or compost pile, so we should have a very tiny amound of actual waste,  and we can make a dump run every once in awhile... savings 22.50 a month.  The challenge will be to figure out a way to keep from adding to the landfill and costing us money.  I think I have enough containers and room to set this up this weekend..

I started a loaf of bread a little bit ago.. its called no knead bread and I found the recipe on  Mother earths news site... you use a very small amount of yeast and let it work for quite some time before cooking...and since my kitchen aid burned out I figured this was a good time to try it out,  It is supposed to be pretty good... 

the garlic is popping thru pretty good.. the broccoli looks great and the peas are just starting to pop thru.

Tomorrow we are supposed to have a blackpowder shoot at the range, but it supposed to be pretty cool, and with DH and myself fighing colds I think perhaps we will pas... we would like to go bowling but may pass on that as well and just rest and get ready for the next week...

I have also been doing some research on preserving food.. mainly dehydrating.. I am going to try to put ujp as much food as I can this summer...hopefully the garden will do well.. 

I will feel more secure, I very likely will not have a job next year.... the school district I work with is laying off 35-40 people,  I am afraid I will be one of them.. DH I think is high enough seniority wise he should be ok... Its not so much the money that breaks my heart about all this.. I just really like what I do.. I should have some answers hopefully in the next few weeks... 
I know we can make it if I lose my job...it would be a challenge, but we would do fine.  I just finally am doing something I love... its seems most of my life I have had jobs that were just that.. jobs... Im sorry... I know many others are facing the same thing..so I will stop now... I know things will work out ok.... hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

busy weekend

DH and I spent saturday morning working out in the raised bed... I wanted to get the peas planted before it set in to rain.. we planted the peas, some garlic and some broccoli, still have 6 cabbage to plant... we went to town looking for seed potatoes.. wow have they ever gone up... used to be a fairly good sized box  for 7 dollars and now you get  a bag with 10 TINY potatoes in it.. for almost 4 dollars, you cant even cut them to get more starts they are so small.   I am also starting my onions.. I want to plant quite a few and dehydrate them..

Every other Sunday we meet various parts of my family in at the local bowling alley for a hour to two... we never know for sure who will be there so its fun to show up and see...yesterday it was my sis and her family and  DH, myself ,and DD.  We had a nice visit and had fun, I got te first strike I have gotten in years, plus tried to take my daughter out... the ball slipped out of my hand and went backwards...how embarassing,  I didnt see it but I'm sure my daughters eyes were as big as saucers..  lol..

After bowling DD and I went to safeway and she got her supplies she needed.. they had chickens 79 cents a lb so I got 3.. put 2 in the freezer and made chicken soup out of the third, for lunches this week... I  also made  some cheese and acutally used the press this time... I took it out this morning and it looks great...its drying in the kitchen now... I usually make the curds but they are so small I decided to try it this way... this is how I did it.. 

2 gallons of milk warmed slowly to 96

added  1/2 tsp of  calcium cloride disolved in 1/4 cup water. and  6 oz of plain yogurt

set the timer for 45 minutes,

added  1/2 tablet of rennet that had been disolved in 1/4 cup water for 45 minutes

cut the curds and let set 5 minutes.. then started warming the curds very slowly up to 116 (this part should take about 1/2 hour)  the curds shrink quite a bit during this time... Keep at that temp another  15 to 30 minutes

drain whey off and  hang to drain for an hour,  you want the curds to stay as warm as possible so I hung it over the pot of warmy whey.  I then put them in a colander and broke the mass up to walnut size pieces, and  added   1 1/2 Tablespoons cheese salt... and about  1-11/2 tsp. of chipoltle powder...

I lined the mold and  then put the curds in the mold... I put 10 lbs of weight for 10 minutes  took the cheese out and redressed it and turned it over, this time I pressed it with 20 lbs for 10 minutes... I took it out of the mold and dressed it in a fresh pieces of butter muslin and put back in the mold turning it again.. this time I pressed it with  50 lbs for 12 hours or so... Ill let you know how it turns out.. I will let it dry today and tomorrow then we will cut it  and see... If I  had the place I would age it, but right now I dont have the proper place to age it... will update this later... 

I like adding the flavorings, like the chipoltle, garlic is also very good...I have seen sage added but have not tried it before... the sky is the limit..

Work is still pretty stressful with all the budge problems.. and no contract yet... they are talking about  dropping 12 days from the year... and our dear  govenor seems to think that  we (people that work in the schools systems)  should donate the days to keep the school open...  I dont think most folks realize how much time people donate already... I get paid for 7 hours... I work closer to eight. +.. so I am in fact giving 5+  hours a week to our district almost another whole day every week...

The union has called and Impasse now so I am hoping that things will start moving soon.. I try to stay positive and optimistic, but this stuff is so drainging...  Plus next year they are laying off 35+ people and I am concerned I may be one of them... I finally found something I LOVE to do and this comes up..it would be heartbreaking to me... I know everyone is having a hard time  so please forgive my pitty party... Have a wonderful day...

Frugal endeavors

I have spent a great deal of time lately fine tuning our buget and trying to  pinch every penny until it crys uncle. 

I am building up an emergency fund, trying to pay a few things off that I got a bit behind on (property taxes) and also paying off some medical bills... if we follw the plan It should be done about august.  Thankfully DH is on board with this... I think he would agree to anything if he doesnt have to deal with the money end of things.. he gets so stressed out by it all.  

 We have DRASTICALLY cut down eating out... we have a set amount that lets us go to one kind of nice dinner or two fast food dinners a month....  We are doing great with this... it has been over three weeks since we ate out, probably a record for us.   I am making more soupy food stretching kind of meals... I take my lunch to work each day.. savings 10 dollars a week.   We only do one big food shopping trip a month.  We only get paid once a month  since we both work for the school district.   I might do better if I shopped more often.   We probably could do  more but I think if it gets to severe DH would mutiny.  So unless things get really bad I will leave his cable alone  lol

We are planning on going shopping for a wood stove. I am hoping we can possibly find one  on sale at the end of winter.   Mostly right now its just to price what it would cost to buy one and have it put in so we can save up for it.., I will start watching craigs list and see If we can find one used... around here is has to be certified and also mobile home approved.  We dont often have severe winters but it would be nice to have it for a back up and to cook on if the power goes out for an extended period of time, and I just plain love wood heat.  There is something comforting about a fire place/woodstove.

I am planning my garden now. I want to plant a large one (since I will not be working away from home this summer) and can quite a bit of it.   I would like  get my seeds ordered  next payday. 

We will be working on my car tomorrow, the brakes went out on it on my way to work today... thankfully I got to work with out causing any damage to myself or anyone else..at first I thought I was sure hitting alot of ice I didnt really notice anything other then the car just kind of kept going  when I tried to stop much like it does when your on ice ,as it was kind of slick this morning as well, when I got to work I stepped hard on the brake and it just kind of mushed into the floor:<  DH tells me its the master cylinder that went out.  DH will be working on it.. 40dollars out of the emergency fund.. Thankfully it was there. 

Not much going on in the craft dept.   a bit of spinning occasionally, I have also been carding a bit of  super wash wool to spin.   I am also still practicing knitting. 

DD got accepted into the college of her choice for next year so she will hopefully be moving  there in Sept.  I am hoping the money thing works out for her.  It is so very expensive... She also has to get accepted in the program (sonagraphy) and I hear its pretty competitive... she has sure been working hard on her school work.

Heck If I could figure out how to finance it, I would go back to school as well, since  I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up...

That pretty much catches you up on the news around here... not alot   going on.

Making Cheese curds

Here is the site I used when I first started making cheese curds

http://www.cheesemaking.com//Recipe_CheeseCurds.html

I have  used a mesophilic starter(orginally heat milk to 86 instead of 96) rather then a thermophilic starter, but one could use either.  Each starter will produce a somewhat different taste... You can order the starter s from this site as well or you can use.  If you use the mesophilic starter then only heat the curds to 100 instead of 116...  

Yogurt (thermophilic) with live active cultures

Buttermilk (mesophilic)

a couple more things, you dont have to have calcium cloride, but it does help give store bought milk a cleaner break,    you do need some sort of fabric to drain them in... if you dont have the butter mulin  available to you then perhaps you could find a loose woven muslin to use...

one more thing... Mozzerella cheese is great fun to make as well:> and very easy... If you have any questions holler...

Love the feeling

of getting my house back and everything looking nice and tidy... well we are not quite to the tidy part yet but is it looking better..  in spots:>   My DD made a good will run, her car was full and if I had not run out of boxes I probably would have had more for her...    she could have always tied them to the top of her car hehehe... dont tell her I said that.. she is a good kid but I think  I would have had a mutiny on my hands....

Things I need to do today, 

Unload and load dishwasher

make cheese curds

make baguettes

make  jalapeno popper dip

vacuum living room

Load and unload dishwasher again  lol

wash some cloths....

hmmm that ought to keep me out of trouble for a few hours anyway... Have a safe and Happy New Year!

declutering

I packed Christmas away this morning.. I had so many boxes of various things...it has all been compiled into one tub.. of the things I love and cherish most.    I have been working on my kitchen the last day or so.. today I have a cupboard I want to go thru.. there are things in there that I am sure have not seen the light of day for  5 years or so...  I'm sure someone will give them a good home..

Tomorrow evening we are going to my Brothers... I am going to cut up some of the summer sausage I made and make some fresh chees curd... flavored with  garlic and some with sage.  I am going to make some  french bread.. and also I found a recipe for jalapeno popper dip on  allrecipes that really looks good... I have some fromage blanc chees I can use for it...it very similiar to cream cheese...

Well off to declutter the cupboard... gotta have a place for my pie Plates  lol... Have a great day

productive weekend

I have been breaking the grinder in... I have ground up 20 lbs of hamburger,  made  17 lbs of breakfast sausage,  a couple of pounds of  jerky, and about 8 lbs of summer sausage..  It has been raining here quite a bit so it was a good weekend to stay in and mess around... the jerky and summer sausage turned out a bit salty.. will have to rework the recipe...

This morning we went to the local bowling alley and met my sister and 3 of my nephews and Mom and Dad... Sherell and Jim bowled.. I didnt... just watched and heckled... it was fun...

Tomorrow.. I will make some cheese curds for New Years eve.. we are getting together at my brothers house.. we are a pretty tame bunch... I am also going to take down the Christmas tree and drag my spinning wheel out of the other room... I want to start spinning again.. a bit every day... Its a very calming activity and sometimes that is just what the doctor ordered..

A wonderful Cast iron Christmas

We woke up to a skiff of snow Christmas eve morning...the day was pleasant...we spent alot of it preparing for the family get together later in the day... I made stuffed eggs, and fudge and pepperoni pizza, DH made a Chocolate silk pie and stuffed celery, and DD made brownies.  Our meal had a Italian flair.. my SIL  is Italian and she hosted this weekend... It  was a great evening... we ate and visited and opened a few presents and ate and visited some more... about 8 it started to snow so  we headed home...

The next morning I got up and started the lights on the tree and made a cup of tea..  turned on some celtic Christmas carols and waited for   my family to wake up...we opened a few presents and I think everyone was happy... I got some cast iron pie plates... and a cast iron muffin tin...

Later in the day DH used our new grinder and ground up some pork and venison.. this morning I seasoned some of it for breakfast sausage and this evening I seasoned the rest of it for  summer sausage...I will pack the casings tomorrow..

We went to town today  we have a place here that sells to resturants and so on... we got some pork for 1.26 a lb and some beef for 1.69 a lb... we are going to make some sausage, and hamburger and I will make some formed jerky as well..  I know I cant  buy hamburger for 1.69 a lb...especially  as lean as this will be... I think this grinder will save us some dollars...

It has been snowing on and off all day...but its supposed to warm up tomorrrow... so the snow will be mostly in the hils....  we never did get more then a skiff at a time:< but its as close as we have been to a white Christmas... I love watching the big fluffy snow flakes fall..