Gee I haven't been very faithful in posting lately. Oh well :)
Lets see what has been going on... The goats have all found a new home. We've made the decree that never again will goats be found in our pasture. 'nuff said.
Hubby wants to get some baby cows who can get fat and then hit the freezer. We will need a fence upgrade though. So we'll see about that. I still wouldn't mind some more sheep. They don't push through fences (stupid goats) and eat our garden (ARGH!) 3!!! times and devastate our newly planted fruit trees, blueberry bush, cherry bushes, etc etc, and walk through all of our garden beds making huge dents in the soft soil and then make off with most of the salad greens, some corn and various other plants (but not the tomatoes thank goodness).
But I'm not bitter.
They are gone now. Some to continue with their life as fiber animals. Some to be roasted over a spit.
I can now feed the chickens in peace.
The baby chickens are not so baby anymore and we heard the first rooster crow the other night. It was pretty quiet and we haven't heard it since. I'm crossing my fingers that this will turn into a rooster we can keep.
C finished her tball season and was running the bases and hitting the ball pretty well. Now if we can only get her to pay attention to the ball. She is so cute dancing around the outfield though.
They will start swimming lessons in a few weeks. That should be a lot of fun. I have fond memories (for the most part) of when I took swimming lessons. and Mom would ask me what level I was at and I would say "Beginner 1". I think I took that class a few times.
There is a lot of fruit on all of the trees and I'm so excited for the harvest. Speaking of harvest, the tomatoes are doing awesomely. Hubby has pruned all of the suckers and used pantyhose strips to tie the plants along the fencing we have there for support. I was a bit scared but within the first week we noticed that the tomatoes we had were growing faster than I've ever seen and we had gone from 4 tomatoes to 20 tomatoes in about a week and a half. Very worth it.
Did I mention the goats ate the pepper plants again. We replaced them on Saturday with some of the money we sold the goats for. Should be interesting. We got green, purple, orange, and chocolate green peppers. Yes, I may have gone overboard, but they all sounded so cool and we had the room!
We also planted a bunch of dent corn. This is the kind of corn that they use for animal feed. We've gotten a few tips on how to grow it and then after drying will use our hand wheat grinder to crack it a little for the chicken. Hopefully this will cut some of the costs associated with feeding chickens.
Another chicken benefit is that we are trading 5 doz eggs a month for $10 off of preschool tuition. This and getting 1/2 price for me helping out half the time will bring tuition down to around $22.50/month. Believe me that is a bargain! This lady had C reading and I am so proud of her!!!!! I think that because A will have her for 2 years, she will get even further ahead.
The baby chickens are now about 13 weeeks along and should be laying in about 5 more weeks. I'm still uncertain how many roosters we have. I know we have 1 RIR rooster, but the 2 Ameraucana chickens are really hard to sex. So maybe 1 rooster, maybe 3.
On a serious note -
Since my last post I've had emotional ups and downs. I had a really bad day where I came face to face with reality about the baby. Yes it was a baby. Yes it didn't have a chance. But Yes, it needed to be mourned. I was pretty emotional for a few days and was sad. But I'm doing great now. I think my avoiding the issue and not facing it truly, might have made it harder on me and everyone else. But once I faced it I realized that that was why I had been so emotional about the whole changing calling thing and other things that were going on at that time. But I still say it was very wrong of the counselor to release me on my answering machine. I will make a point to say that to him. but now I know that I'm over it and it will be more of a by the way point as opposed to a super emotionally charged thing that it would have been a few weeks ago.
That last paragraph sounds a little unemotional, but just to assure you, I was plenty emotional about it for a little while there. I just think I've processed things and accepted it since then.
Anyway...
We're off to Utah next week for a family reunion. I'm not sure why we are going there since no one lives there. And I'm not sure if more than 3 families will actually make it. But! We're going. We'll stay at my brother's house if he hasn't forgotten about us.
I think the only activities are going to Lagoon (because my b-i-l 's F-i-l is the head grounds keeper there. But can't get us any free or even discount tickets. We're not going because we are not stupid enough to pay almost $140 to take a 3&5 year old to an amusement park which would only amuse them for a few hours. Maye as many as 4.
And the other activity is dinner at the Olive Garden.
Oldest bro won't make it. Sister can't make it. Gay bro will make it due to nothing else to do (currently living with Mom and no job) and another bro may make it due to same issue. Oh, but he is on disability. so that makes it better.
Mom, Us, bro from AZ, and bro from BYU-I, and maybe 2 live at home bros. I guess more will make it than I thought. I think I'm actually looking forward to it more. Still seems like a long way to drive when the cost of gas is so much. Oh well. Its a vacation and we will have fun.
Anything else to add? I think that may be it.
Over and out.
fight.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sometimes its hard to make lemonaide
The animals in my life are forever changing. The angora goats aren't growing a type of fiber that I can use. It's annoying, but they will have to find a new home. No use in feeding them through the winter if they aren't pulling their weight.
We just went to a family reunion at Downata Hot springs near Downey Idaho. Wow that place was a rip off. They didn't charge to much to camp, but you were so close to your neighbors that it felt like we were sardines. They charged 50 cents for a 6 minute shower. Not only were you surrounded by campers, but the pavilions were everywhere. I'm glad we left on saturday because there was no way there were enough toilets for the amount of people who showed up by mid morning before we left. My biggest gripe was how much they charged for swimming. My 3 year old was $1.50. No big deal, right? Well, 4-13 or so paid 8.50. As adults, we paid $10.50. OUCH. Yes, this was an all day pass. Yes, they have 2 huge hydrotube slides and 2 smaller ones at the pool and a water park. And they did give everyone $1 off since we were camping. But with 2 little ones and us, we swam for about 2 hours and were done. Hardly worth the $28 or so that we paid. But as hubby reminded me, it was vacation and we were going to have fun. And we did. But I won't ever go back. We also had to drive 5 or so hours to get there. The cost of gas, camping, swimming, etc. and it was pricey. But we had fun and it did provide a much needed vacation.
We also had some big things happen in the past few weeks. About a week and a half ago I started having some low back pain and some bleeding. I have an IUD so my period is very irregular. I wasn't worried until that afternoon I stood up and felt light headed and woozy. I had my 5 year old bring me the phone and I called my hubby. I called him and asked him to leave work early because I was feeling weird and didn't want to faint in front of the kids and freak out. Something felt wrong. It was about 15 min before 5pm, so I was sure he would probably be able to. The pain I was having was in my left low back. I've never had cramps there before.
I laid down and waited for my hubby to come home and thought about what might be happening, maybe receiving a little inspiration, who knows. By the time my hubby came home I had a suspicion that I might be pregnant, and if I was, it was ectopic.
When he came home, he dug out a pregnancy test. I should point out that ever since I got an IUD I was paranoid about pregnancy because if it were to happen with an IUD it would most likely be ectopic. so whenever I felt weird, had a strange period, etc, I would take a test. I went through about 3 tests in 3 years, so I wasn't all that paranoid. Just enough that hubby would give me a box of tests for a gag gift in my Christmas stocking.
Anyway, he dug it out and to our surprise it came out positive. We were stunned. I called my doctors office right away and the doctor on call called me back and said call for an appointment first thing in the morning or if your pain gets bad, go to the ER.
Well, I woke up around 1:30 with bad pain. We went to our local ER instead of driving to the hospital my doctor is associated with. It was closer and I was in pain. Thinking back I probably could have held out for the other hospital, but I think it was for the better because it allowed our friends to easily pick up our kids and ward members to visit without having to drive 30 minutes.
Anyway, after a catheter, and drawing blood they were able to confirm that I was pregnant. Well, duh.
They had to do a pelvic (oh joy!) but at least the doctor was nice. In fact strangely cheerful for it being so early in the morning. Next I got to endure a painful vaginal ultrasound. Yeeha! The ultra sound tech said that she couldn't tell me anything. The radiologist had to be the one to do that. Ugh.
Back to my room to wait for the results. We waited for about an hour.
The kids did great this whole time. After the first hour or so, Milton took the kids home to change their clothes and then over to Wal-Mart for snacks and treats. He came back about the time I came back from the ultrasound. Things are a little fuzzy here, but at some point the cheerful doctor came in to tell us that a local OBGYN was coming in to consult and that if he was a women he would go to this doctor and that he highly recommended him.
Anyway to make a long story short the ultrasound showed a growth in my fallopian tube and I would need surgery. We discussed the possibility of it being simply a growth and what would happen if the pregnancy was in my uterus etc. the doctor was great and said that if all possible he would preserve the pregnancy.
I have to say that I was pretty sure that a baby would not come of this pregnancy. It just didn't seem possible.
So at 9am I was off to surgery. I was freaked out since I've never done this before. The kids were picked up by a friend right before we went down so Milton was able to be with me right until I went into the OR.
It was a huge room that was way to big for just me. the anesthesiologist was LDS and Milton and he were talking BYU sports before we went into the OR. He and I were joking about how he didn't need to talk to me about drinking or smoking. I said, "yeah, and all those recreational drugs". It was funny at the time.
Anyway within about 5 minutes I was under. It was unpleasant because I remember opening my eyes and not being able to focus. Also they put this thing over my nose and mouth and I couldn't breathe comfortably. I remember saying over and over "I can't breathe" and that was how I went under. I think next time I'll be having a conversation about how I want to go under.
I woke up and remember saying "I feel like crap" and it was like I couldn't wake up. You know those sunday naps where you just can't seem to come out of it? That was how it was. After a while I came out of it enough to go up to a room. What was strange is as they were rolling me out I remember seeing another man on a gurney near me. Maybe he was next? I don't know. but that would freak me out to be him! Can you imagine being wheeled into an OR where someone was already out?
I spent the next 5-6 hours in a room trying to wake up. I slept a lot and remember hubby saying, I just want to take you home. I suspect he was tired and wanted to sleep but I was pretty out of it.
We went home about 5 or so and a lady from the ward brought dinner. She also came and got the kids the next day. the ward brought dinner over for 6 days. It was so nice.
I'm doing fine now. Almost all healed. The baby doesn't seem real. I don't think it seemed real at all until a girl in my nursery class today said "did your baby die?" and then for some reason it hit me. We only knew for about 15 hours about the pregnancy and the baby didn't have a chance. On one hand I feel shallow and on the other hand I'm glad it's not a huge deal, and then sometimes I feel a little sad for what could have been.
The result is that we will most likely try and get pregnant soon. I'm not sure if it's the healthiest choice for me, since I need to lose weight. But we are thinking hard about it. We'll see.
The other thing that is bugging me is that the ladies in my ward are now all weird towards me. I'm moving on and getting over things but they keep giving me sympathetic looks and "how are you doing?s. You know the ones. They are the ones that can't be answered with an I'm fine how are you?
I also was released from my calling in the nursery. This one ticks me off because the guy released me not only over the phone, but on our answering machine. That was cold.
And! didn't even call me back when I left a message on his machine asking him to.
I think it's someone's mistaken thinking that it will be hard for me to be in nursery.
On the contrary. When I was released today (never got to talk to the counselor) I started crying. It made me sad and I felt like I was being punished. I cried more over that than the baby. Maybe I was more affected by that because of the baby. I don't know.
Anyway, now that hubby is in the elders quorum we can't teach the wolf scouts together anymore. I really really don't want to have to be with another partner. It will be so hard after doing that calling with him. If one of us was having a bad day, the other one took the lead. We would get all the chores done together so that they house would be clean and ready. We had so much fun. I don't want this calling anymore.
But how do you ask to be released from a calling when you're sure that would be a bad thing? You don't ask to be released from callings.. And who knows what calling I would end up with after that.
UGH. Why does everything have to be hard at once?
Why can't I just be in nursery and not have the scout calling anymore? That is what the stake councelor told my hubby is what would be happening, so that is what I was expecting.
Anyway, sorry for the whining. Its been a TOUGH day and not a great month.
We just went to a family reunion at Downata Hot springs near Downey Idaho. Wow that place was a rip off. They didn't charge to much to camp, but you were so close to your neighbors that it felt like we were sardines. They charged 50 cents for a 6 minute shower. Not only were you surrounded by campers, but the pavilions were everywhere. I'm glad we left on saturday because there was no way there were enough toilets for the amount of people who showed up by mid morning before we left. My biggest gripe was how much they charged for swimming. My 3 year old was $1.50. No big deal, right? Well, 4-13 or so paid 8.50. As adults, we paid $10.50. OUCH. Yes, this was an all day pass. Yes, they have 2 huge hydrotube slides and 2 smaller ones at the pool and a water park. And they did give everyone $1 off since we were camping. But with 2 little ones and us, we swam for about 2 hours and were done. Hardly worth the $28 or so that we paid. But as hubby reminded me, it was vacation and we were going to have fun. And we did. But I won't ever go back. We also had to drive 5 or so hours to get there. The cost of gas, camping, swimming, etc. and it was pricey. But we had fun and it did provide a much needed vacation.
We also had some big things happen in the past few weeks. About a week and a half ago I started having some low back pain and some bleeding. I have an IUD so my period is very irregular. I wasn't worried until that afternoon I stood up and felt light headed and woozy. I had my 5 year old bring me the phone and I called my hubby. I called him and asked him to leave work early because I was feeling weird and didn't want to faint in front of the kids and freak out. Something felt wrong. It was about 15 min before 5pm, so I was sure he would probably be able to. The pain I was having was in my left low back. I've never had cramps there before.
I laid down and waited for my hubby to come home and thought about what might be happening, maybe receiving a little inspiration, who knows. By the time my hubby came home I had a suspicion that I might be pregnant, and if I was, it was ectopic.
When he came home, he dug out a pregnancy test. I should point out that ever since I got an IUD I was paranoid about pregnancy because if it were to happen with an IUD it would most likely be ectopic. so whenever I felt weird, had a strange period, etc, I would take a test. I went through about 3 tests in 3 years, so I wasn't all that paranoid. Just enough that hubby would give me a box of tests for a gag gift in my Christmas stocking.
Anyway, he dug it out and to our surprise it came out positive. We were stunned. I called my doctors office right away and the doctor on call called me back and said call for an appointment first thing in the morning or if your pain gets bad, go to the ER.
Well, I woke up around 1:30 with bad pain. We went to our local ER instead of driving to the hospital my doctor is associated with. It was closer and I was in pain. Thinking back I probably could have held out for the other hospital, but I think it was for the better because it allowed our friends to easily pick up our kids and ward members to visit without having to drive 30 minutes.
Anyway, after a catheter, and drawing blood they were able to confirm that I was pregnant. Well, duh.
They had to do a pelvic (oh joy!) but at least the doctor was nice. In fact strangely cheerful for it being so early in the morning. Next I got to endure a painful vaginal ultrasound. Yeeha! The ultra sound tech said that she couldn't tell me anything. The radiologist had to be the one to do that. Ugh.
Back to my room to wait for the results. We waited for about an hour.
The kids did great this whole time. After the first hour or so, Milton took the kids home to change their clothes and then over to Wal-Mart for snacks and treats. He came back about the time I came back from the ultrasound. Things are a little fuzzy here, but at some point the cheerful doctor came in to tell us that a local OBGYN was coming in to consult and that if he was a women he would go to this doctor and that he highly recommended him.
Anyway to make a long story short the ultrasound showed a growth in my fallopian tube and I would need surgery. We discussed the possibility of it being simply a growth and what would happen if the pregnancy was in my uterus etc. the doctor was great and said that if all possible he would preserve the pregnancy.
I have to say that I was pretty sure that a baby would not come of this pregnancy. It just didn't seem possible.
So at 9am I was off to surgery. I was freaked out since I've never done this before. The kids were picked up by a friend right before we went down so Milton was able to be with me right until I went into the OR.
It was a huge room that was way to big for just me. the anesthesiologist was LDS and Milton and he were talking BYU sports before we went into the OR. He and I were joking about how he didn't need to talk to me about drinking or smoking. I said, "yeah, and all those recreational drugs". It was funny at the time.
Anyway within about 5 minutes I was under. It was unpleasant because I remember opening my eyes and not being able to focus. Also they put this thing over my nose and mouth and I couldn't breathe comfortably. I remember saying over and over "I can't breathe" and that was how I went under. I think next time I'll be having a conversation about how I want to go under.
I woke up and remember saying "I feel like crap" and it was like I couldn't wake up. You know those sunday naps where you just can't seem to come out of it? That was how it was. After a while I came out of it enough to go up to a room. What was strange is as they were rolling me out I remember seeing another man on a gurney near me. Maybe he was next? I don't know. but that would freak me out to be him! Can you imagine being wheeled into an OR where someone was already out?
I spent the next 5-6 hours in a room trying to wake up. I slept a lot and remember hubby saying, I just want to take you home. I suspect he was tired and wanted to sleep but I was pretty out of it.
We went home about 5 or so and a lady from the ward brought dinner. She also came and got the kids the next day. the ward brought dinner over for 6 days. It was so nice.
I'm doing fine now. Almost all healed. The baby doesn't seem real. I don't think it seemed real at all until a girl in my nursery class today said "did your baby die?" and then for some reason it hit me. We only knew for about 15 hours about the pregnancy and the baby didn't have a chance. On one hand I feel shallow and on the other hand I'm glad it's not a huge deal, and then sometimes I feel a little sad for what could have been.
The result is that we will most likely try and get pregnant soon. I'm not sure if it's the healthiest choice for me, since I need to lose weight. But we are thinking hard about it. We'll see.
The other thing that is bugging me is that the ladies in my ward are now all weird towards me. I'm moving on and getting over things but they keep giving me sympathetic looks and "how are you doing?s. You know the ones. They are the ones that can't be answered with an I'm fine how are you?
I also was released from my calling in the nursery. This one ticks me off because the guy released me not only over the phone, but on our answering machine. That was cold.
And! didn't even call me back when I left a message on his machine asking him to.
I think it's someone's mistaken thinking that it will be hard for me to be in nursery.
On the contrary. When I was released today (never got to talk to the counselor) I started crying. It made me sad and I felt like I was being punished. I cried more over that than the baby. Maybe I was more affected by that because of the baby. I don't know.
Anyway, now that hubby is in the elders quorum we can't teach the wolf scouts together anymore. I really really don't want to have to be with another partner. It will be so hard after doing that calling with him. If one of us was having a bad day, the other one took the lead. We would get all the chores done together so that they house would be clean and ready. We had so much fun. I don't want this calling anymore.
But how do you ask to be released from a calling when you're sure that would be a bad thing? You don't ask to be released from callings.. And who knows what calling I would end up with after that.
UGH. Why does everything have to be hard at once?
Why can't I just be in nursery and not have the scout calling anymore? That is what the stake councelor told my hubby is what would be happening, so that is what I was expecting.
Anyway, sorry for the whining. Its been a TOUGH day and not a great month.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Something for nothing?
Check out this blog post for a free fathers day gift!
http://christinescoupons.blogspot.com/
It worked for me!
http://christinescoupons.blogspot.com/
It worked for me!
Summer is almost here!
Yesterday we took our scouts to the local fish hatchery. It was a lot of fun. Did you know that it takes a whole year to get from fish egg to fish ready to be released? And they start with 80k eggs and only about 70k eggs will hatch? We learned many exciting things during the 30 minutes that we were there. We will most likely do this next year too.
One of the goats got out on Sunday. It ate some apple tree (newly planted), some raspberry plants, some blueberry plant (and would be berries!), 3 different cherry bushes, lettuce, and peas. It tasted a little of everything in the garden. It even tromped through most of our newly seeded grow boxes. Needless to say its hard to figure out who wanted to strangle it most. Me or hubby. It got out through a part of the fence that mysteriously came undone from its fence post. Still trying to figure that one out.
I spent time on Saturday skirting the fleeces from the sheep. I've come to realize that I have no idea how to skirt fleeces. I pulled out anything that had guard hairs in it. These are stiffer hairs that would make the wool itchy once it was spun. And then I just pulled out anything that was too matted, to yucky with poop or lanolin, or too short. I've put these aside for the future in case I'm feeling overly creative and ready for a challenge.
My mothers day was great. I was throroughly spoiled by my hubby who made me dinner, did the dishes, made a surprise cake for me (and let the kids help!). I also got lots of chocolate from church! And from hubby and the girls. And I got a surprise in the mail. It was a shirt with a picture of my kids on the front. It was very cute and it surprised me that he went to the trouble. When he asked me what I wanted I just told him a nice dinner that I didn't have to cook.
Well Mom and Dad hit the mission field yesterday. I'm sure they will get their assignment, apartment, etc today. I can't wait to hear all about it!
The baby chickens are getting huge. They are over 6 weeks old now and almost as big as my silkie. On a whim, yesterday I moved the silkie over to their hen house. She was showing signs of going broody again, and I thought this might snap her out of it. She could be the bully for once since she is usually the one being bullied. We'll see how that goes. It was pretty comical to watch yesterday.
I am hoping that she will give these babies lessons in being chickens. Roosting, scratching, eating anything interesting on the ground, etc.
I've discovered the beauties of conditioner for my girls. We've been using conditioning shampoo up to this point. The other day I decided to try a little conditioner. Not only did their hair comb out a lot easier, but A's curls seemed a little more curlier! So we bought some conditioner for them. They just have to remember to keep their eyes tightly shut.
One of the goats got out on Sunday. It ate some apple tree (newly planted), some raspberry plants, some blueberry plant (and would be berries!), 3 different cherry bushes, lettuce, and peas. It tasted a little of everything in the garden. It even tromped through most of our newly seeded grow boxes. Needless to say its hard to figure out who wanted to strangle it most. Me or hubby. It got out through a part of the fence that mysteriously came undone from its fence post. Still trying to figure that one out.
I spent time on Saturday skirting the fleeces from the sheep. I've come to realize that I have no idea how to skirt fleeces. I pulled out anything that had guard hairs in it. These are stiffer hairs that would make the wool itchy once it was spun. And then I just pulled out anything that was too matted, to yucky with poop or lanolin, or too short. I've put these aside for the future in case I'm feeling overly creative and ready for a challenge.
My mothers day was great. I was throroughly spoiled by my hubby who made me dinner, did the dishes, made a surprise cake for me (and let the kids help!). I also got lots of chocolate from church! And from hubby and the girls. And I got a surprise in the mail. It was a shirt with a picture of my kids on the front. It was very cute and it surprised me that he went to the trouble. When he asked me what I wanted I just told him a nice dinner that I didn't have to cook.
Well Mom and Dad hit the mission field yesterday. I'm sure they will get their assignment, apartment, etc today. I can't wait to hear all about it!
The baby chickens are getting huge. They are over 6 weeks old now and almost as big as my silkie. On a whim, yesterday I moved the silkie over to their hen house. She was showing signs of going broody again, and I thought this might snap her out of it. She could be the bully for once since she is usually the one being bullied. We'll see how that goes. It was pretty comical to watch yesterday.
I am hoping that she will give these babies lessons in being chickens. Roosting, scratching, eating anything interesting on the ground, etc.
I've discovered the beauties of conditioner for my girls. We've been using conditioning shampoo up to this point. The other day I decided to try a little conditioner. Not only did their hair comb out a lot easier, but A's curls seemed a little more curlier! So we bought some conditioner for them. They just have to remember to keep their eyes tightly shut.
Monday, May 05, 2008
My brain feels overloaded
For some reason I haven't felt like blogging. I think it has to do with how busy we've been.
Mom and Dad reported to the MTC this morning. they will be leaving for Texas Next Sunday.
We bought a web cam, but I don't have anyone to talk to until they hook up their camera. My sister in Michigan just moved and won't have a permanent connection until she moves here. I'm not sure who else I could call? Can I call you? Well, over the next week or so I'll hook it up.
We planted most of the garden. I think we have a few more boxes to fill still. I'm happy with our square foot garden concept, but I'm slightly frightened at the amount of stuff we have planted. I still vow to freeze, can, and cook everything I possibly can!
We mowed Mom and Dad's lawn today for the first time. That took a while and really wiped hubby out. Mostly because he had just tired himself out making bird house kits for scouts. He is now at a softball game. I don't think he'll have trouble sleeping tonight.
I just brought Mom and Dad's change to one of those Coinstar machines tonight. They had over $67 bucks in change. Of course Coinstar had to take $5-6 bucks. what a ripoff.
Mom is so funny. When they were trying to leave she was busy scrubbing the bathroom, trying to vacuum, and everything while Dad was trying to pack the car and leave. Needless to say, they left nearly 2 hours after they had planned.
Did I mention we have new animals at our house? We picked up the 3 angora goats that were free. I'm a little nervous about them still. When we first picked them up they stank to high heaven. Oh so bad! Dad thought it must have something to do with what they were eating. they basically were fed everything. their pasture had no grass at all. Something like, if we eat a lot of garlic, it can make us smell like garlic. Anyway, since coming off of alfalfa and now eating grass and rose bushes, they don't smell much. I still want to give them a bath though.
The 3rd goat is sick with a staph infection (not catching). When we got her we knew this. We had to buy medicine for her through her vet. Anyway, it ended last Friday, and I'm not sure exactly how to tell if she is over the infection. I'll just keep an eye on her. Buying her medication has so far been the only cost. At $15 it certainly has been a bargain.
Tomorrow C's preschool class is coming for a farm day. They are going to help me feed the chickens, gather eggs, feed the goats and sheep (they will get a special treat of alfalfa to lure them to us) and then we will look at the garden, have a spinning display, and then play with the not so baby chicks.
I think it will be lots of fun. they'll be here for about 45 minutes. I'm pretty sure that will easily take up all of our time.
I'm pretty excited about it!
Mom and Dad reported to the MTC this morning. they will be leaving for Texas Next Sunday.
We bought a web cam, but I don't have anyone to talk to until they hook up their camera. My sister in Michigan just moved and won't have a permanent connection until she moves here. I'm not sure who else I could call? Can I call you? Well, over the next week or so I'll hook it up.
We planted most of the garden. I think we have a few more boxes to fill still. I'm happy with our square foot garden concept, but I'm slightly frightened at the amount of stuff we have planted. I still vow to freeze, can, and cook everything I possibly can!
We mowed Mom and Dad's lawn today for the first time. That took a while and really wiped hubby out. Mostly because he had just tired himself out making bird house kits for scouts. He is now at a softball game. I don't think he'll have trouble sleeping tonight.
I just brought Mom and Dad's change to one of those Coinstar machines tonight. They had over $67 bucks in change. Of course Coinstar had to take $5-6 bucks. what a ripoff.
Mom is so funny. When they were trying to leave she was busy scrubbing the bathroom, trying to vacuum, and everything while Dad was trying to pack the car and leave. Needless to say, they left nearly 2 hours after they had planned.
Did I mention we have new animals at our house? We picked up the 3 angora goats that were free. I'm a little nervous about them still. When we first picked them up they stank to high heaven. Oh so bad! Dad thought it must have something to do with what they were eating. they basically were fed everything. their pasture had no grass at all. Something like, if we eat a lot of garlic, it can make us smell like garlic. Anyway, since coming off of alfalfa and now eating grass and rose bushes, they don't smell much. I still want to give them a bath though.
The 3rd goat is sick with a staph infection (not catching). When we got her we knew this. We had to buy medicine for her through her vet. Anyway, it ended last Friday, and I'm not sure exactly how to tell if she is over the infection. I'll just keep an eye on her. Buying her medication has so far been the only cost. At $15 it certainly has been a bargain.
Tomorrow C's preschool class is coming for a farm day. They are going to help me feed the chickens, gather eggs, feed the goats and sheep (they will get a special treat of alfalfa to lure them to us) and then we will look at the garden, have a spinning display, and then play with the not so baby chicks.
I think it will be lots of fun. they'll be here for about 45 minutes. I'm pretty sure that will easily take up all of our time.
I'm pretty excited about it!
Friday, April 18, 2008
pictures
Charlie still hasn't decided if he can trust the rest of us yet, but he likes A. He normally likes to chase her around the pasture. She runs, so he runs after her. The worst he's ever done is push her in the back with his nose. But today he let her do this.
It was very cute.
Here is a picture of what is happening in our garden.
And finally, all the wool I ended up with.
Hubby and I went out to celebrate our 7th anniversary tonight. I can't believe we've been married that long. And we have a 5 year old! WOW. It has gone by so quickly.
We are thinking about getting one of those cash back credit cards. It's a little scary considering the fact that I've believed my whole life that credit cards are bad. And they are. but if you were to pay it off each month and just use it for normal purchase you would have enough money for 2 Christmases (at our house at least).
It something we're considering.
The chickens are in their new house. This one has 7 nests and the outside area is twice the size of the other house.
The old house will be disinfected,if necessary and the new chickens will move in once their feathers are fully in and it doesn't look like they could get through the chicken wire.
With Mom and Dad going through their entire house and cleaning up I'm having to battle with my tendency to be a pack rat. Pairs of earmuffs? yeah, that would be great for winter for the girls. Someones unclaimed hoody. Wow its cute and one day it could fit! Bags and bags of cards... well, I'm still not sure on this one. I just think Mom may have been trying to get rid of them and giving them to someone felt better than throwing them out or donating them.
I will either be sharing or donating. I don't need 3 large bags of cards. I don't really send cards. I guess I could start though...
Anyway, this happens right after we spring clean. So unfortunately I've got oodles and oodles of space.
MUST RESIST!
It was very cute.
Here is a picture of what is happening in our garden.
And finally, all the wool I ended up with.
Hubby and I went out to celebrate our 7th anniversary tonight. I can't believe we've been married that long. And we have a 5 year old! WOW. It has gone by so quickly.
We are thinking about getting one of those cash back credit cards. It's a little scary considering the fact that I've believed my whole life that credit cards are bad. And they are. but if you were to pay it off each month and just use it for normal purchase you would have enough money for 2 Christmases (at our house at least).
It something we're considering.
The chickens are in their new house. This one has 7 nests and the outside area is twice the size of the other house.
The old house will be disinfected,if necessary and the new chickens will move in once their feathers are fully in and it doesn't look like they could get through the chicken wire.
With Mom and Dad going through their entire house and cleaning up I'm having to battle with my tendency to be a pack rat. Pairs of earmuffs? yeah, that would be great for winter for the girls. Someones unclaimed hoody. Wow its cute and one day it could fit! Bags and bags of cards... well, I'm still not sure on this one. I just think Mom may have been trying to get rid of them and giving them to someone felt better than throwing them out or donating them.
I will either be sharing or donating. I don't need 3 large bags of cards. I don't really send cards. I guess I could start though...
Anyway, this happens right after we spring clean. So unfortunately I've got oodles and oodles of space.
MUST RESIST!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sheep shearing
Today the sheep got sheared. It took about an hour and a half for all 4 sheep. I guess that because they are Cormo, which is 1/2 merino, they have a lot of wrinkles. That means that you have to shear slowly.
Unfortunately the shearer didn't realize that until he was done with Charlie. Poor Charlie. He got nicked quite a few times. The shearer had a powder of sorts that had an antiseptic and a blood thickener or something like that that he only used on the big cuts. Charlie had 2 big cuts. He also had a lot of small nicks that the flies just loved. I wasn't sure if flies laying maggots in his skin was a good thing or not, so smeared them with Bag Balm which seemed to at least keep the flies away.
The second 2 sheep did pretty well. I think they got some minor cuts. But the last sheep (after escaping the shed and being recaptured) had a large chunk of skin taken out (think quarter sized). The shearer put some of his powder on it and the darn sheep wouldn't let me near to see how it was doing.
I didn't see a whole lot of flies on the others backs (which is all they would let me see) so rather than freaking them out again by trying to catch them and bag balm them, I decided to just watch them.
Am I freaking out? Is getting cut this many times a normal thing? I thought shearers prided themselves on not cutting the animal?
I may research this to see if I need a new shearer or if I just need to calm down.
In other news, the shearer knew of someone giving away 2 angora goats. for FREE.
We'll have to think about that one.
Unfortunately the shearer didn't realize that until he was done with Charlie. Poor Charlie. He got nicked quite a few times. The shearer had a powder of sorts that had an antiseptic and a blood thickener or something like that that he only used on the big cuts. Charlie had 2 big cuts. He also had a lot of small nicks that the flies just loved. I wasn't sure if flies laying maggots in his skin was a good thing or not, so smeared them with Bag Balm which seemed to at least keep the flies away.
The second 2 sheep did pretty well. I think they got some minor cuts. But the last sheep (after escaping the shed and being recaptured) had a large chunk of skin taken out (think quarter sized). The shearer put some of his powder on it and the darn sheep wouldn't let me near to see how it was doing.
I didn't see a whole lot of flies on the others backs (which is all they would let me see) so rather than freaking them out again by trying to catch them and bag balm them, I decided to just watch them.
Am I freaking out? Is getting cut this many times a normal thing? I thought shearers prided themselves on not cutting the animal?
I may research this to see if I need a new shearer or if I just need to calm down.
In other news, the shearer knew of someone giving away 2 angora goats. for FREE.
We'll have to think about that one.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
ugh
so this is what happens when you don't blog for a while. You have so much to say that you feel overwhelmed and it seems easier to just not blog.
I'm going to attempt it anyway.
Last week hubby took a week off of work and we made huge strides in the all of our projects.
We put in screen doors! Yay!
We got our square foot garden all put in and even planted some things. We ended up using plastic sheeting under the whole garden including the walkways. Its in huge sheets (not cut up) so we should have 0 weeds coming up. The only holes in the plastic are from the metal anchors used to hold edges of the plastic down and also some fence posts hubby put in for the tomatoes. I'm so excited! We have peas, lettuce, onions, shallots, garlic, and strawberries all planted.
I found a place for extra strawberry plants. My parents garden. They won't need it this next year, and my sister won't want it this summer (she is staying in their house). So I'll either be selling strawberry plants or strawberries next year.
Our broody hen is no more. I ordered chicks to put under her and 2 days before they were supposed to arrive she decided that sitting on a nest was for the birds. So I'm currently raising baby chicks inside in a cardboard box. Yay me.
While I'm sharing pictures, here is Charlie. he is ready for his spring haircut!
I've been plucking our rabbit already this spring (basically gently taking her loose, shedding fur from her). I blended some with some wool last night and boy was I in heaven. It made such a soft yarn. And it didn't take a whole lot either. About 10 parts wool to 1 part rabbit fur. so soft!
So last week we were able to go through almost every room in our house. We cleaned, went through boxes, organized... it feels so good to have everything so organized!!!
Back to the chicks. I ended up getting 2 Rhode Island Red hens and then after much discussion with hubby, a rhode island red rooster. That was done with the understanding that he could quite easily become dinner. I also got 2 straight run Ameracaunas. Straight run means that they haven't been sexed. I also let my 5 year old choose the chicks from the brooder so it would truly be random. So I could have 1 rooster, or 3. Since you only want 1 rooster per 8 hens, we would then have to cull or eat 2. I'm not as traumatized by that thought as I once would have been.
We found a cutter bee house on Craigslist for $30. These are those square box like houses that you see in farmers fields around here. We bought it to make into a hen house. Our current house is just not big enough for 9 chickens...well, it might be, but it would be a squeeze.
Another thing about that darn not-broody chicken. She hasn't been laying me any eggs! So she is eating for free. When chickens go broody they stop laying. so she stopped clear back in March. I may have to resort to the cayenne pepper method that is much talked about over at www.backyardchickens.com . Basically you feed them some cayenne pepper and it does something to kick their egg laying abilities back into gear.
The goats may have to go. They were being agressive with the sheep this morning. They were out of water and I filled up their trough. Well the goats were butting the sheep to get them out of there. Goats could kill sheep that way easily due to their horns and even (in the case of no-horns Lucky) just butting them. Sheep don't butt. Goats could kill sheep because they are so much bigger and they like to butt. Because sheep give us wool and goats don't do anything but eat our weeds (which sheep also do) then the goats are automatically out.
I think that is everything that has been going on around here.
Mom and Dad leave in about 3 weeks! AGH!
I'm going to attempt it anyway.
Last week hubby took a week off of work and we made huge strides in the all of our projects.
We put in screen doors! Yay!
We got our square foot garden all put in and even planted some things. We ended up using plastic sheeting under the whole garden including the walkways. Its in huge sheets (not cut up) so we should have 0 weeds coming up. The only holes in the plastic are from the metal anchors used to hold edges of the plastic down and also some fence posts hubby put in for the tomatoes. I'm so excited! We have peas, lettuce, onions, shallots, garlic, and strawberries all planted.
I found a place for extra strawberry plants. My parents garden. They won't need it this next year, and my sister won't want it this summer (she is staying in their house). So I'll either be selling strawberry plants or strawberries next year.
Our broody hen is no more. I ordered chicks to put under her and 2 days before they were supposed to arrive she decided that sitting on a nest was for the birds. So I'm currently raising baby chicks inside in a cardboard box. Yay me.
While I'm sharing pictures, here is Charlie. he is ready for his spring haircut!
I've been plucking our rabbit already this spring (basically gently taking her loose, shedding fur from her). I blended some with some wool last night and boy was I in heaven. It made such a soft yarn. And it didn't take a whole lot either. About 10 parts wool to 1 part rabbit fur. so soft!
So last week we were able to go through almost every room in our house. We cleaned, went through boxes, organized... it feels so good to have everything so organized!!!
Back to the chicks. I ended up getting 2 Rhode Island Red hens and then after much discussion with hubby, a rhode island red rooster. That was done with the understanding that he could quite easily become dinner. I also got 2 straight run Ameracaunas. Straight run means that they haven't been sexed. I also let my 5 year old choose the chicks from the brooder so it would truly be random. So I could have 1 rooster, or 3. Since you only want 1 rooster per 8 hens, we would then have to cull or eat 2. I'm not as traumatized by that thought as I once would have been.
We found a cutter bee house on Craigslist for $30. These are those square box like houses that you see in farmers fields around here. We bought it to make into a hen house. Our current house is just not big enough for 9 chickens...well, it might be, but it would be a squeeze.
Another thing about that darn not-broody chicken. She hasn't been laying me any eggs! So she is eating for free. When chickens go broody they stop laying. so she stopped clear back in March. I may have to resort to the cayenne pepper method that is much talked about over at www.backyardchickens.com . Basically you feed them some cayenne pepper and it does something to kick their egg laying abilities back into gear.
The goats may have to go. They were being agressive with the sheep this morning. They were out of water and I filled up their trough. Well the goats were butting the sheep to get them out of there. Goats could kill sheep that way easily due to their horns and even (in the case of no-horns Lucky) just butting them. Sheep don't butt. Goats could kill sheep because they are so much bigger and they like to butt. Because sheep give us wool and goats don't do anything but eat our weeds (which sheep also do) then the goats are automatically out.
I think that is everything that has been going on around here.
Mom and Dad leave in about 3 weeks! AGH!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Strawberry plants
Our strawberry plants went wild last year. I didn't know how wild until I started digging them up.
It all started Saturday morning when I heard my hubby get up, get dressed and fire up the truck. I was still asleep because I had stayed up late blogging the night before. Please note that my last blog entry was written past midnight. And on a laptop. So that is why all the non-capitilization and why its a bit hard to read.
Anyway, I heard him fire up the truck and knew he was going to rent a rototiller that we had discussed a few weeks back. I hurried and got dressed. He got home and started the rototiller up. I hurriedly rescued some onions that had come up from last year. Then I started on my strawberry patch.
Last year we started out with 49 plants. 25 bare root Quinalt ever bearing strawberries and 24 Fort Laramie plants that we got at a greenhouse shop for a great price. For a couple of reasons I let them run last year. Meaning I let them make as many new plants by sending runners that they could. I was hoping to end up with about 100 plants or so.
As I dug plants up I realized that I had way more than 100 plants. I introduced the idea of selling the plants $5 for 25 plants on Craigslist. Hubby liked the idea and I posted on Craigslist that I had around 200 plants or so to sell.
My first call was for 25 plants and my second call was for as many as I could dig up. By the time the 2nd lady came I had counted out 260 plants. She was in a hurry so couldn't wait for me to count out any more.
I realized I had a lot more still to get rid of at this point so posted again on Craigslist.
A couple came by for 50 more and then a weird guy came by for 100.
I again realized I still had tons and so asked for it to be announced in Relief Society that I had 200 or so plants to get rid of. One lady took 100, another lady took 50. Then another call from the Craigslist ad for 25 and then another lady took the rest (89).
I kept 225 plants. I hadn't intended to keep so many but hubby built me some large garden boxes and according to the square foot gardening guy its 4 plants per square foot.
Anyway, did you do the math? Its about 900 plants or so. And considering the fact that I didn't count plants that were struggling, and I also included 5 or so extra plants with each order (to ensure that people got at least the amount of healthy plants they wanted).... well the numbers are huge.
From 50 plants to over 900. Who would have guessed?
I made $90 from my Craigslist ad. I didn't charge for the ones I gave to family and friends from church.
This will help us pay for some plants for the garden! I'm even thinking about doing this again. I just have to find the right location. And a loose soil would be a plus since they would be easier to dig up. The initial investment would be buying 50 or so plants. That would run me about $12 or so. So A neat profit without much care besides remembering to water the plants. And a bonus of strawberries!
For some reason I'm full of money making ideas right now. The other thought I have is about getting a rooster. Then my chicken eggs are fertile. Then I buy/borrow another silkie (very broody birds) and keep them busy raising chicks for me. But this idea fails because of the cost of feeding those chickens. But people around here are willing to spend $5-$7 per laying bird. And I could just sell the eggs for ~ 2.50 per dozen before they are sold. But you also have the smell. And we would need a bigger hen house. I also wouldn't want more than 25 birds at a time. So don't know if this one will ever happen.
It sure is fun to come up with all of these ideas.
It all started Saturday morning when I heard my hubby get up, get dressed and fire up the truck. I was still asleep because I had stayed up late blogging the night before. Please note that my last blog entry was written past midnight. And on a laptop. So that is why all the non-capitilization and why its a bit hard to read.
Anyway, I heard him fire up the truck and knew he was going to rent a rototiller that we had discussed a few weeks back. I hurried and got dressed. He got home and started the rototiller up. I hurriedly rescued some onions that had come up from last year. Then I started on my strawberry patch.
Last year we started out with 49 plants. 25 bare root Quinalt ever bearing strawberries and 24 Fort Laramie plants that we got at a greenhouse shop for a great price. For a couple of reasons I let them run last year. Meaning I let them make as many new plants by sending runners that they could. I was hoping to end up with about 100 plants or so.
As I dug plants up I realized that I had way more than 100 plants. I introduced the idea of selling the plants $5 for 25 plants on Craigslist. Hubby liked the idea and I posted on Craigslist that I had around 200 plants or so to sell.
My first call was for 25 plants and my second call was for as many as I could dig up. By the time the 2nd lady came I had counted out 260 plants. She was in a hurry so couldn't wait for me to count out any more.
I realized I had a lot more still to get rid of at this point so posted again on Craigslist.
A couple came by for 50 more and then a weird guy came by for 100.
I again realized I still had tons and so asked for it to be announced in Relief Society that I had 200 or so plants to get rid of. One lady took 100, another lady took 50. Then another call from the Craigslist ad for 25 and then another lady took the rest (89).
I kept 225 plants. I hadn't intended to keep so many but hubby built me some large garden boxes and according to the square foot gardening guy its 4 plants per square foot.
Anyway, did you do the math? Its about 900 plants or so. And considering the fact that I didn't count plants that were struggling, and I also included 5 or so extra plants with each order (to ensure that people got at least the amount of healthy plants they wanted).... well the numbers are huge.
From 50 plants to over 900. Who would have guessed?
I made $90 from my Craigslist ad. I didn't charge for the ones I gave to family and friends from church.
This will help us pay for some plants for the garden! I'm even thinking about doing this again. I just have to find the right location. And a loose soil would be a plus since they would be easier to dig up. The initial investment would be buying 50 or so plants. That would run me about $12 or so. So A neat profit without much care besides remembering to water the plants. And a bonus of strawberries!
For some reason I'm full of money making ideas right now. The other thought I have is about getting a rooster. Then my chicken eggs are fertile. Then I buy/borrow another silkie (very broody birds) and keep them busy raising chicks for me. But this idea fails because of the cost of feeding those chickens. But people around here are willing to spend $5-$7 per laying bird. And I could just sell the eggs for ~ 2.50 per dozen before they are sold. But you also have the smell. And we would need a bigger hen house. I also wouldn't want more than 25 birds at a time. So don't know if this one will ever happen.
It sure is fun to come up with all of these ideas.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Projects
Oh the projects that we have committed to right now. Thinking about them makes me tired, but not stressed. That's a good thing. Last year I spent about 4 months stressed out due to trying to put a lawn in, landscaping, and having an outside wedding next door. Helping my parents get their yard ready was stressful. they did most of the work, but I helped out a bunch in the weeding, planting, ideas department. Don't think that is much? You try and dig out bulbs that haven't been dug up and seperated for at least 7-10 years. I ended up with hundreds and hundreds. And I didn't get them all. We ended up with a nice crop still coming up this year. that is ok though. the plan all along was to dig them up (they were so thick that weeding and making the bed look nice was nearly impossible) and putting a normal amount back in this year. The problem was that after all that stress and hard work that when the time came to put them back in we were too tired.
Fast forward to about a week ago. We were talking about the yard and Dad says something to the affect of we need to put those bulbs in soon. they've sprouted because of the leaky roof in the garage. So we pulled out the boxes of bulbs and sure enough they were happily sprouting in their boxes. There were some gross and slimey ones that we couldn't save. But most were just fine. We ended up giving about half of them away on Craigslist. The other half we planted in an out of the way flower bed that is still sort of a holding place until they get back from their mission (leaving in 6 weeks!) and can figure out where they want them.
Anyway, projects. I've decided that we don't really have the money to buy new furniture that is needed. Our old stuff is truly wearing out. We have worn holes in the fabric. So we went over to our local craft store with our handy dandy 50% off coupon and spent about $350 for fabric. 25 yards of it. Cross your fingers for me. The nice thing about this project is that it will keep until I have a lot of time to devote to it. That is why it isn't really stressing me out.
Next project. Screen doors. We need these for bug control. Last year the flies were horrible. This year we decided we had enough money to buy screen doors. Front and back door idealy since the kids are so young and love to leave the door open. We went to Lowes and found that they had reasonably priced screen doors. We were even able to special order one in a matching color for our front door for a small fee. The back door is just going to get plain white.
Next project. We bought and planted 4 fruit trees. this project is ongoing. We still need to buy those tree rounds to put at the bottom of them. But this project is pretty much done. Just needs to be finished up. You may say this isn't a project, but planting trees takes an hour or two if you do it right. So that is a project in my book.
Next project is the garden. We are going for a modified square foot gardening thing. We love so many things about the square foot gardening method. First of all, very few weeds. Last year we were overtaken by weeds by early July. With all the stuff to do for the wedding I gave up around mid July. I just couldn't stay on top of it. Hubby has built boxes. These boxes will have plastic sheeting on the bottom to keep out existing weeds like the dreaded bindweed we have so much of around here.
The dirt you use is actually considered a "soiless" mixture. Basically its equal parts vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. The only maintanence on this soil since it is so loose is to mix in more compost each year to enrich the soil.
I was skeptical but Mom and Dad did this last year. Their plants were beautiful. they grew faster than mine and looked nice and healthy. Best thing? VERY FEW WEEDS! Dad said that most of the weeds were due to the type of compost he used. Another thing we plan on doing is putting something, probably weed barrier if we can afford it, down between the grow boxes. This will keep the weeding to a minimum. HALLELUJAH!
We will have to continue to weed the yellow raspberry plants. that is pretty much unavoidable due to the nature of raspberries and how you want the plants to send up new starts.
The last project that I'm trying to avoid thinking about is Mom and Dad's yard. They will be leaving in about 6 weeks. That leaves us to take care of their lawn. And the grapes. And the fruit trees. And the blackberries and raspberries. And any other things my Mom thinks she needs to plant before they leave like golden raspberries.
I'm not all that stressed because I'm trying to think positively. If we get overwhelmed, I do have 4 other siblings and their families who have offered to help out. And Mom and Dad and us have discussed the possibility of hiring someone from church to help out for an hour each week or something along those lines. We are going to try to do it ourselves first. Hubby wants to do that. But I will be asking for help from the family when I feel it's needed.
Last project. Collect and organize food storage for one year. We've really been working on this lately because of the price of food going up up up. We've got our wheat and a lot of other stuff. We found a food storage calculator on about.com and modified it to fit what our family eats regularly. We don't want to store food we don't eat regularly because then it would go to waste.
We've also added things to our list such as toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant cocoa powder, things that I wouldn't want to live a year without if something were to happen or if we got into a financial bind.
So those are our projects. Overall, I'm not feeling stressed. I feel like we have time. Most of the projects can be put off until we have time to accomplish them. the only one that can't be put off is Mom and Dad's yard. I feel very positively about that though. They are going on a mission. Their house and yard will be taken care of. I just have a good feeling about it.
I am going to miss having Mom to go chat with and Dad to bounce ideas off of. I've really been spoiled by that. The kids love going to grandma's for the toys and treats. I guess we'll live though.
Fast forward to about a week ago. We were talking about the yard and Dad says something to the affect of we need to put those bulbs in soon. they've sprouted because of the leaky roof in the garage. So we pulled out the boxes of bulbs and sure enough they were happily sprouting in their boxes. There were some gross and slimey ones that we couldn't save. But most were just fine. We ended up giving about half of them away on Craigslist. The other half we planted in an out of the way flower bed that is still sort of a holding place until they get back from their mission (leaving in 6 weeks!) and can figure out where they want them.
Anyway, projects. I've decided that we don't really have the money to buy new furniture that is needed. Our old stuff is truly wearing out. We have worn holes in the fabric. So we went over to our local craft store with our handy dandy 50% off coupon and spent about $350 for fabric. 25 yards of it. Cross your fingers for me. The nice thing about this project is that it will keep until I have a lot of time to devote to it. That is why it isn't really stressing me out.
Next project. Screen doors. We need these for bug control. Last year the flies were horrible. This year we decided we had enough money to buy screen doors. Front and back door idealy since the kids are so young and love to leave the door open. We went to Lowes and found that they had reasonably priced screen doors. We were even able to special order one in a matching color for our front door for a small fee. The back door is just going to get plain white.
Next project. We bought and planted 4 fruit trees. this project is ongoing. We still need to buy those tree rounds to put at the bottom of them. But this project is pretty much done. Just needs to be finished up. You may say this isn't a project, but planting trees takes an hour or two if you do it right. So that is a project in my book.
Next project is the garden. We are going for a modified square foot gardening thing. We love so many things about the square foot gardening method. First of all, very few weeds. Last year we were overtaken by weeds by early July. With all the stuff to do for the wedding I gave up around mid July. I just couldn't stay on top of it. Hubby has built boxes. These boxes will have plastic sheeting on the bottom to keep out existing weeds like the dreaded bindweed we have so much of around here.
The dirt you use is actually considered a "soiless" mixture. Basically its equal parts vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. The only maintanence on this soil since it is so loose is to mix in more compost each year to enrich the soil.
I was skeptical but Mom and Dad did this last year. Their plants were beautiful. they grew faster than mine and looked nice and healthy. Best thing? VERY FEW WEEDS! Dad said that most of the weeds were due to the type of compost he used. Another thing we plan on doing is putting something, probably weed barrier if we can afford it, down between the grow boxes. This will keep the weeding to a minimum. HALLELUJAH!
We will have to continue to weed the yellow raspberry plants. that is pretty much unavoidable due to the nature of raspberries and how you want the plants to send up new starts.
The last project that I'm trying to avoid thinking about is Mom and Dad's yard. They will be leaving in about 6 weeks. That leaves us to take care of their lawn. And the grapes. And the fruit trees. And the blackberries and raspberries. And any other things my Mom thinks she needs to plant before they leave like golden raspberries.
I'm not all that stressed because I'm trying to think positively. If we get overwhelmed, I do have 4 other siblings and their families who have offered to help out. And Mom and Dad and us have discussed the possibility of hiring someone from church to help out for an hour each week or something along those lines. We are going to try to do it ourselves first. Hubby wants to do that. But I will be asking for help from the family when I feel it's needed.
Last project. Collect and organize food storage for one year. We've really been working on this lately because of the price of food going up up up. We've got our wheat and a lot of other stuff. We found a food storage calculator on about.com and modified it to fit what our family eats regularly. We don't want to store food we don't eat regularly because then it would go to waste.
We've also added things to our list such as toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant cocoa powder, things that I wouldn't want to live a year without if something were to happen or if we got into a financial bind.
So those are our projects. Overall, I'm not feeling stressed. I feel like we have time. Most of the projects can be put off until we have time to accomplish them. the only one that can't be put off is Mom and Dad's yard. I feel very positively about that though. They are going on a mission. Their house and yard will be taken care of. I just have a good feeling about it.
I am going to miss having Mom to go chat with and Dad to bounce ideas off of. I've really been spoiled by that. The kids love going to grandma's for the toys and treats. I guess we'll live though.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
New baby, new trees, spring is here!
My sister had her baby earlier this week. Mom flew out to Michigan to help her out. From the pictures I've seen and the webcam, she looks like such a cutie! She might have red hair like her mother and she has rolls of fat. Her birth weight was 9lbs 1/2 oz. And my little sis did it naturally. Not by choice, in the end she wanted the drugs. But She made it through it and everyone is healthy.
We have had a busy day. We started the morning with a Ward breakfast and Easter egg hunt. That was fun and the kids loved it. Needless to say we've been eating to much candy.
Next we came home and relaxed for a little bit. Then Hubby went over to help with changing some brake pads, (he's never done). My Dad and hubby get along well and Dad loves to teach my hubby all sorts of new skills. My hubby really appreciates it as well. He didn't have to many of these sorts of opportunities growing up.
After than hubby went and (after a short course of how to use it) used a chain saw to chop a bunch of wood we got cheap. He had to get it down to a size that would fit our fireplace. Then I guess he stacked it.
While he was doing this I was keeping my Dad and sister company while they changed the oil in their cars. The kids were playing with a neighbors grandson. They traipsed all over our yard and Grandpa's.
We stopped for a nutritious lunch of cereal and milk. Then we relaxed some more and then we decided to plant 4 fruit trees that we bought a few weeks ago. We just finished that. Now hubby is asking about dinner and we are all tired!!!
Oh, and we also put the sheep in with the goats. Dad's pasture had much more grass than ours and we hopefully will save some money on alfalfa by the sheep eating more grass.
So yesterday Hubby called me from work and said that a co-worker whom he had chatted with about chickens had brought in a blue/green egg for him. The co-worker has a rooster. So the first thought I had was, bring that egg home and put it under our broody chicken.
Yeah, this means we have a 50/50 chance of a rooster. Also, we really don't know the breed of chicken. Easter egger, americauna, auracana? Also, it was refrigerated. The hatch rate goes down to 50%.
Oh well. If nothing happens, I can still buy some chicks and slip them under the chicken. She is so cute in her broodiness. She just sits on that nest and stares ahead. That would drive me nutty. But this little chicken is determined.
So hopefully we'll have news on that in the next 20 days or so.
We have had a busy day. We started the morning with a Ward breakfast and Easter egg hunt. That was fun and the kids loved it. Needless to say we've been eating to much candy.
Next we came home and relaxed for a little bit. Then Hubby went over to help with changing some brake pads, (he's never done). My Dad and hubby get along well and Dad loves to teach my hubby all sorts of new skills. My hubby really appreciates it as well. He didn't have to many of these sorts of opportunities growing up.
After than hubby went and (after a short course of how to use it) used a chain saw to chop a bunch of wood we got cheap. He had to get it down to a size that would fit our fireplace. Then I guess he stacked it.
While he was doing this I was keeping my Dad and sister company while they changed the oil in their cars. The kids were playing with a neighbors grandson. They traipsed all over our yard and Grandpa's.
We stopped for a nutritious lunch of cereal and milk. Then we relaxed some more and then we decided to plant 4 fruit trees that we bought a few weeks ago. We just finished that. Now hubby is asking about dinner and we are all tired!!!
Oh, and we also put the sheep in with the goats. Dad's pasture had much more grass than ours and we hopefully will save some money on alfalfa by the sheep eating more grass.
So yesterday Hubby called me from work and said that a co-worker whom he had chatted with about chickens had brought in a blue/green egg for him. The co-worker has a rooster. So the first thought I had was, bring that egg home and put it under our broody chicken.
Yeah, this means we have a 50/50 chance of a rooster. Also, we really don't know the breed of chicken. Easter egger, americauna, auracana? Also, it was refrigerated. The hatch rate goes down to 50%.
Oh well. If nothing happens, I can still buy some chicks and slip them under the chicken. She is so cute in her broodiness. She just sits on that nest and stares ahead. That would drive me nutty. But this little chicken is determined.
So hopefully we'll have news on that in the next 20 days or so.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Broody Hen
We have a broody hen! I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. The weather has been very spring-like around here. Also, the broody chicken is a black silkie. I've heard that not only are they the broodiest chickens out there, they also easily adopt other chickens chicks to raise. So a good combo!
Saturday morning I found the silkie in the nesting box sitting on her egg. I pushed her around and grabbed the egg. When I looked out at the run later she was running around and scratching like the other chickens. Sunday she showed no signs. Monday she laid another egg, but this time just left it in the box as usual.
Later I found her sitting on a Rhode Island Red egg. I grabbed a golf ball from hubby's stash (don't cringe, it was scuffed, so not very desirable anymore) and swapped an egg for a golf ball. I'm going to head out there this morning and check on things again.
Strangest thing though, yesterday she tried to peck me. This has been the most docile of my chickens. I actually caught and picked her up once! So I'm not afraid to pick her up as much as the others. Now though, I'm considering gloves! Anyway, I just thought it was funny that such a docile chicken was all of a sudden so protective and wanting to be a mother. She's only been laying off and on since December if memory serves me correctly.
Anyway I hope to be able to get some chicks in the next week or so. I'm going to have to get her off the nest somehow and then swap the golf balls out. I've got to get her to graduate to 3-4 golf balls. Then I'm going to pick up 2-3 Rhode Island Reds and an Easter Egger (blue/green eggs).
Speaking of babies... my sister in Michigan is in the hospital this morning being induced with her 2nd child. At the doctor yesterday they did and ultrasound because they thought my sister was measuring bigger than her due date. After the ultrasound, they estimated the baby's weight at 9+ pounds. This freaked my sister out. As it would most mothers!
Anyway, my thoughts are with her this morning. I'm sure she'll do just fine. She had her first baby naturally and I know she will do just fine with this one.
Saturday morning I found the silkie in the nesting box sitting on her egg. I pushed her around and grabbed the egg. When I looked out at the run later she was running around and scratching like the other chickens. Sunday she showed no signs. Monday she laid another egg, but this time just left it in the box as usual.
Later I found her sitting on a Rhode Island Red egg. I grabbed a golf ball from hubby's stash (don't cringe, it was scuffed, so not very desirable anymore) and swapped an egg for a golf ball. I'm going to head out there this morning and check on things again.
Strangest thing though, yesterday she tried to peck me. This has been the most docile of my chickens. I actually caught and picked her up once! So I'm not afraid to pick her up as much as the others. Now though, I'm considering gloves! Anyway, I just thought it was funny that such a docile chicken was all of a sudden so protective and wanting to be a mother. She's only been laying off and on since December if memory serves me correctly.
Anyway I hope to be able to get some chicks in the next week or so. I'm going to have to get her off the nest somehow and then swap the golf balls out. I've got to get her to graduate to 3-4 golf balls. Then I'm going to pick up 2-3 Rhode Island Reds and an Easter Egger (blue/green eggs).
Speaking of babies... my sister in Michigan is in the hospital this morning being induced with her 2nd child. At the doctor yesterday they did and ultrasound because they thought my sister was measuring bigger than her due date. After the ultrasound, they estimated the baby's weight at 9+ pounds. This freaked my sister out. As it would most mothers!
Anyway, my thoughts are with her this morning. I'm sure she'll do just fine. She had her first baby naturally and I know she will do just fine with this one.
pattern corrected
Just wanted to say that I've corrected and cleaned up the pattern that I posted for my church bags yesterday. I must have been in a hurry because when I reread it this morning it was missing all sorts of basic instructions and the handle instructions were wrong.
If anyone has any questions about the patterns, as them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.
If anyone has any questions about the patterns, as them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Crochet pattern for small church bag in previous posts
I just don't want to lose this pattern I made up. Right now its on a random post it.
For anyone who wants to use this pattern - I made these out of 100% wool yarn that I spun myself. (If you don't spin, you can buy 100% wool yarn. MUST be 100%) Then I threw them in the washer (in pillowcases) and filled the tub with hot/warm water. I set the agitation to Heavy duty. Then I turned the washer on and with the lid open let it go through the agitation cycle twice, checking the bags every so often. You leave the lid open so the washer doesn't drain. That would be an awful waste of water if you had to refill the washer.
This is called felting. Basically it shrinks the wool yarn and makes the bag look totally different. Sometimes you can no longer even see the stitches.
Bottom
CH 30 Turn and sc 7 rows.
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Long side
CH 8
SC 31 rows (ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Big fat side
ch 31 dc 15 rows.
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Handle
sl stitch 3 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 22 rows of sc.
sl stitch (3 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
For my larger church bag
Bottom
ch 30 sc 52 rows
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Side
ch 31
dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
other side
ch 45 dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
handle
sl stitch 5 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 36 rows of sc.
sl stitch (5 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
For anyone who wants to use this pattern - I made these out of 100% wool yarn that I spun myself. (If you don't spin, you can buy 100% wool yarn. MUST be 100%) Then I threw them in the washer (in pillowcases) and filled the tub with hot/warm water. I set the agitation to Heavy duty. Then I turned the washer on and with the lid open let it go through the agitation cycle twice, checking the bags every so often. You leave the lid open so the washer doesn't drain. That would be an awful waste of water if you had to refill the washer.
This is called felting. Basically it shrinks the wool yarn and makes the bag look totally different. Sometimes you can no longer even see the stitches.
Bottom
CH 30 Turn and sc 7 rows.
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Long side
CH 8
SC 31 rows (ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Big fat side
ch 31 dc 15 rows.
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Handle
sl stitch 3 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 22 rows of sc.
sl stitch (3 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
For my larger church bag
Bottom
ch 30 sc 52 rows
(ch2 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
Side
ch 31
dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
other side
ch 45 dc 27 rows
(ch3 and turn at end of each row except last)
finish off
handle
sl stitch 5 times on the bag where you want the handle to attach. Ch 2 and turn.
sc in each sl stitch, skipping the first one (that one counts as the first sc).
Repeat until you have 36 rows of sc.
sl stitch (5 times) to attach handle to bag
Sew all parts together using a whip stitch.
Friday, March 07, 2008
I'm afraid of chickens
Yes its true. Chickens can frighten me.
Now I'm not afraid of eating chicken. I'm not afraid of their eggs. I'm not afraid of the animal themselves.
What I'm afraid of is when they get out. How are you supposed to catch them?
So there it is. I'm afraid of my chickens when they get out.
Today I was talking on the phone to my sister in Michigan. I was a little late in feeding the animals. I usually feed them around 10 and It was about quarter after. The kids had wanted to play outside and so after getting socks, shoes and a jacket on, I let them. I was wandering around the house as my sister and I talked. I was sitting at the computer when C brought me an egg. Look Mom! I got the eggs! And I fed the sheep.
Well I went to look out the back door to make sure all was ok. The sight that greeted me was a door to the coop open and 3 chickens on their way out. It was kind of cute. A had opened the door to be like her sister. She was watching and dancing around in glee with all of the animals around her. I asked C to close the door and she headed out. She brought me another egg, but the door wasn't closed. She couldn't latch it.
Anyway, that was our morning. It was kind of fun to chase chickens. It brought back the memory of a story mom told about getting in trouble for chasing chickens when she was young. They make funny noises and run around crazily.
I might have to let them out now and again just for the show.
Maybe if I wasn't so afraid of trying to catch them :)
by the way, the way we were able to re-catch them was by leaving the big coop door open (the one we use to access the hen house for cleaning) . I simply herded them that way. When they saw home, they hopped right in and proceeded to eat the breakfast I had prepared for them.
I was just checking on them again and one hen is trying to lay her morning egg.
From what I've heard, we might see an interruption in the egg laying for the next week or so. Thats ok. The entertainment was worth it.
Now I'm not afraid of eating chicken. I'm not afraid of their eggs. I'm not afraid of the animal themselves.
What I'm afraid of is when they get out. How are you supposed to catch them?
So there it is. I'm afraid of my chickens when they get out.
Today I was talking on the phone to my sister in Michigan. I was a little late in feeding the animals. I usually feed them around 10 and It was about quarter after. The kids had wanted to play outside and so after getting socks, shoes and a jacket on, I let them. I was wandering around the house as my sister and I talked. I was sitting at the computer when C brought me an egg. Look Mom! I got the eggs! And I fed the sheep.
Well I went to look out the back door to make sure all was ok. The sight that greeted me was a door to the coop open and 3 chickens on their way out. It was kind of cute. A had opened the door to be like her sister. She was watching and dancing around in glee with all of the animals around her. I asked C to close the door and she headed out. She brought me another egg, but the door wasn't closed. She couldn't latch it.
Anyway, that was our morning. It was kind of fun to chase chickens. It brought back the memory of a story mom told about getting in trouble for chasing chickens when she was young. They make funny noises and run around crazily.
I might have to let them out now and again just for the show.
Maybe if I wasn't so afraid of trying to catch them :)
by the way, the way we were able to re-catch them was by leaving the big coop door open (the one we use to access the hen house for cleaning) . I simply herded them that way. When they saw home, they hopped right in and proceeded to eat the breakfast I had prepared for them.
I was just checking on them again and one hen is trying to lay her morning egg.
From what I've heard, we might see an interruption in the egg laying for the next week or so. Thats ok. The entertainment was worth it.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Japanese Anime
So when I think of Japanese Anime, I've always thought it was wierd little cartoon like shows. Not really my cup of tea.
The other day I found out that a book I quite enjoyed, "Howl's Moving Castle" had been made into one. I thought that sounded great!
...until I watched it. It was awful in my opinion. If you hadn't read the book you would probably like it. But It was so far from the book...in fact they changed the whole story. At the end they had changed so much that it was pretty much a different story altogether.
But the person who told me about "Howl's moving castle" had also recommended 2 other anime's. "Castle in the Sky" and "Spirited Away".
"Castle in the Sky" awful. I couldn't get into it.
"Spirited Away" on the other hand caught my interest. It was interesting, imaginative and fun. It starts out with a family and their child moving to a new place. They get lost on the way their and find a building with a tunnel going through it. They go through the tunnel in a spirit of exploration and find themselves spirited away to another place altogether. They are trapped and the parents are turned into pigs before they realize it. The story is how the child is able to become strong and courageous and save them all.
So I searched YouTube for more.
I found "My Friend Tortoro" Yet another one I enjoyed. The story of another family moving to a new place. This time without the mother (in the hospital) and 2 daughters with their father. The 2 daughters befriend a forest spirit named Tortoro. It is fun and light and enjoyable. The Mother in the hospital storyline for the most part is ok. The girls are just sad not having their mother with them.
Now for "Grave of the Fireflies". A very interesting storyline. When I think of anime, I think if imagination, lightness. A cartoon for goodness sake. This show is the most depressing show ever. Everyone dies. The Mother, Son, daughter. And not all at the same time. One and then the other, and finally the other one. Sad and depressing. But if you don't mind a good cry, watch it. WWII and the mother dies in a bombing leaving the son to care for the 4 year old daughter. He does all he can but she manages to die of malnutrition. HE then follows from depression, malnutrition, etc.
This show did however make me very thankful for certain things in my life. For one thing I am grateful that I have enough food on my table. My husband has a good job and we are able to save money.
Also, I'm grateful that we have not had to endure a war here at home. Can you imagine air raids in the middle of the night. Every night. Food Scarce, people scared and stressed out.
I just want to say how thankful I am that I and my family live at this time. In a place where there is peace and we are free to buy food at the corner supermarket and grow more in our back yard.
Anyway- on to less depressing subjects.
Yesterday hubby and I were able to go down to the local Lowes and buy nice bareroot fruit trees. They were selling all sorts of trees. From fruit to landscaping trees. If you need trees, buy now. Priced from $15 - $30 they are going fast.
We bought 2 Honey crisp apple trees. Sweet and delicious apples for eating. We had intended to only get one, but it needed another to pollinate it.
We also bought a nectarine and a peach tree. We are still talking about where to put them. The nice thing is that we don't have to decide for sure until it gets a bit warmer. The trees are nice and dormant and we probably have another month until they have to get into the ground.
So this makes 50 strawberry plants, 20 golden raspberry plants, 1 huckleberry, 2 Marionberry, 1 blueberry bush, 3 pie cherry bushes, 2 apple trees, 1 nectarine tree, and 1 peach tree. Do you think we have enough?
I'm actually really excited about having so much great fruit to freeze, can, and make jam out of. Oh and eat. Can't forget the eating part. In fact for all the low to the ground fruit, A will most likely find and eat it all. I think I need to educate her on poisonous berries. If only she will listen.
While Mom and Dad are gone on their mission we also get to care for 15 blackberry bushes, 10 raspberry bushes, 4 peach trees, grape vines, golden raspberry bushes, 2 apricot trees, 2 granny smith apple trees, 1 nectarine, 1 plum tree, 2 pears (?)... I'm actually uncertain of all the different types of trees in their orchard. There are around 12 though. Lets just say that I'm glad their is a lot of family close who can be called on to help out on the consuming part. And hopefully the harvest and care part also.
I guess we'll see. I'm just leaving myself open to asking for help from the ward if necessary (I'm hoping that they'll see it as service to help care for the yard of a couple serving a mission). And if there are not enough people in my family willing to eat some of this stuff, I'll ask the ward to help out too. Maybe that will provide help for a family that wants to can or something. We'll see. The nice thing is that next summer my sister will be here to help out with all of Mom and Dad's fruit.
The other day I found out that a book I quite enjoyed, "Howl's Moving Castle" had been made into one. I thought that sounded great!
...until I watched it. It was awful in my opinion. If you hadn't read the book you would probably like it. But It was so far from the book...in fact they changed the whole story. At the end they had changed so much that it was pretty much a different story altogether.
But the person who told me about "Howl's moving castle" had also recommended 2 other anime's. "Castle in the Sky" and "Spirited Away".
"Castle in the Sky" awful. I couldn't get into it.
"Spirited Away" on the other hand caught my interest. It was interesting, imaginative and fun. It starts out with a family and their child moving to a new place. They get lost on the way their and find a building with a tunnel going through it. They go through the tunnel in a spirit of exploration and find themselves spirited away to another place altogether. They are trapped and the parents are turned into pigs before they realize it. The story is how the child is able to become strong and courageous and save them all.
So I searched YouTube for more.
I found "My Friend Tortoro" Yet another one I enjoyed. The story of another family moving to a new place. This time without the mother (in the hospital) and 2 daughters with their father. The 2 daughters befriend a forest spirit named Tortoro. It is fun and light and enjoyable. The Mother in the hospital storyline for the most part is ok. The girls are just sad not having their mother with them.
Now for "Grave of the Fireflies". A very interesting storyline. When I think of anime, I think if imagination, lightness. A cartoon for goodness sake. This show is the most depressing show ever. Everyone dies. The Mother, Son, daughter. And not all at the same time. One and then the other, and finally the other one. Sad and depressing. But if you don't mind a good cry, watch it. WWII and the mother dies in a bombing leaving the son to care for the 4 year old daughter. He does all he can but she manages to die of malnutrition. HE then follows from depression, malnutrition, etc.
This show did however make me very thankful for certain things in my life. For one thing I am grateful that I have enough food on my table. My husband has a good job and we are able to save money.
Also, I'm grateful that we have not had to endure a war here at home. Can you imagine air raids in the middle of the night. Every night. Food Scarce, people scared and stressed out.
I just want to say how thankful I am that I and my family live at this time. In a place where there is peace and we are free to buy food at the corner supermarket and grow more in our back yard.
Anyway- on to less depressing subjects.
Yesterday hubby and I were able to go down to the local Lowes and buy nice bareroot fruit trees. They were selling all sorts of trees. From fruit to landscaping trees. If you need trees, buy now. Priced from $15 - $30 they are going fast.
We bought 2 Honey crisp apple trees. Sweet and delicious apples for eating. We had intended to only get one, but it needed another to pollinate it.
We also bought a nectarine and a peach tree. We are still talking about where to put them. The nice thing is that we don't have to decide for sure until it gets a bit warmer. The trees are nice and dormant and we probably have another month until they have to get into the ground.
So this makes 50 strawberry plants, 20 golden raspberry plants, 1 huckleberry, 2 Marionberry, 1 blueberry bush, 3 pie cherry bushes, 2 apple trees, 1 nectarine tree, and 1 peach tree. Do you think we have enough?
I'm actually really excited about having so much great fruit to freeze, can, and make jam out of. Oh and eat. Can't forget the eating part. In fact for all the low to the ground fruit, A will most likely find and eat it all. I think I need to educate her on poisonous berries. If only she will listen.
While Mom and Dad are gone on their mission we also get to care for 15 blackberry bushes, 10 raspberry bushes, 4 peach trees, grape vines, golden raspberry bushes, 2 apricot trees, 2 granny smith apple trees, 1 nectarine, 1 plum tree, 2 pears (?)... I'm actually uncertain of all the different types of trees in their orchard. There are around 12 though. Lets just say that I'm glad their is a lot of family close who can be called on to help out on the consuming part. And hopefully the harvest and care part also.
I guess we'll see. I'm just leaving myself open to asking for help from the ward if necessary (I'm hoping that they'll see it as service to help care for the yard of a couple serving a mission). And if there are not enough people in my family willing to eat some of this stuff, I'll ask the ward to help out too. Maybe that will provide help for a family that wants to can or something. We'll see. The nice thing is that next summer my sister will be here to help out with all of Mom and Dad's fruit.
Friday, February 29, 2008
American Idol
Am I the only one who thinks that American Idol is just bad karaoke? I would like to dedicate my new blog music to the American Idol contestants who sang really awful songs this week and last. Here are some awesome songs that you COULD have sung.
I can't wait until Nashville Star comes back. That is an awesome singing contest. And whatever happened to Rock Star?
I can't wait until Nashville Star comes back. That is an awesome singing contest. And whatever happened to Rock Star?
Google Reader
Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways!
So my sister told me about Google reader yesterday. Now instead of clicking on a bunch of different links to check on different blogs, all I have to do is log in!
I'm really excited now because there were blogs that I just stopped checking because the person would update every month or so. I got tired of checking. Now I can check all the blogs at one time. I love it!
With all the spring weather I'm thinking about shearing sheep (April - May) and planting the garden. Also taking the scouts fishing before they all start turning 9 in April.
The sheep shearing should be quite fun. I'm also thinking about keeping my ear to the ground for a black merino sheep. It might be fun to work with dark fiber. If I was able to find a bottle baby then even better. Cheaper anyway.
Here are my latest projects.
Church bags for C and A. What do you think?
I think its about time. They are 3 and 5 and don't need a diaper bag anymore. I was thinking that C was old enough to carry around a Book of Mormon and A could put 2 toys in her bag for Sacrament meeting. I would then confiscate the bag. I am pretty sure that if I let her take it to her class I would play find the bag after church every Sunday.
Here is my bag. It felted differently than I expected it to. I'm also not done with it and am facing a few decisions about it.
First does it need a thin board in the bottom to help it keep its boxy shape.
Second I was thinking I might want to put a few pockets in the bag. These would be crocheted and then felted and then sewn into the bag.
Do I want a liner. If I put a thin board in the bottom, then I would want a liner so I could line the board. I could still put pockets in it but I don't think the lining fabric could support much weight. So they would be small pockets. I don't know how helpful those would be.
Anyway, things to think about for me.
Does anyone think it needs more flowers?
So I went into the other room and saw a chair pushed over to the cupboard. A decided to help herself to some dum dum suckers that we bought yesterday for a treat. I went into their room and their were C and A eating suckers. C says "A got the suckers". I then gave her a lecture about how she could have come and told me rather than sharing in the bounty. I confiscated all of the suckers and told them that they were stuck in their room for punishment.
I guess it could have been worse. They could have found more crayons and gone to town on their walls again. Have I mentioned that Magic Erasers are my friend?
So my sister told me about Google reader yesterday. Now instead of clicking on a bunch of different links to check on different blogs, all I have to do is log in!
I'm really excited now because there were blogs that I just stopped checking because the person would update every month or so. I got tired of checking. Now I can check all the blogs at one time. I love it!
With all the spring weather I'm thinking about shearing sheep (April - May) and planting the garden. Also taking the scouts fishing before they all start turning 9 in April.
The sheep shearing should be quite fun. I'm also thinking about keeping my ear to the ground for a black merino sheep. It might be fun to work with dark fiber. If I was able to find a bottle baby then even better. Cheaper anyway.
Here are my latest projects.
Church bags for C and A. What do you think?
I think its about time. They are 3 and 5 and don't need a diaper bag anymore. I was thinking that C was old enough to carry around a Book of Mormon and A could put 2 toys in her bag for Sacrament meeting. I would then confiscate the bag. I am pretty sure that if I let her take it to her class I would play find the bag after church every Sunday.
Here is my bag. It felted differently than I expected it to. I'm also not done with it and am facing a few decisions about it.
First does it need a thin board in the bottom to help it keep its boxy shape.
Second I was thinking I might want to put a few pockets in the bag. These would be crocheted and then felted and then sewn into the bag.
Do I want a liner. If I put a thin board in the bottom, then I would want a liner so I could line the board. I could still put pockets in it but I don't think the lining fabric could support much weight. So they would be small pockets. I don't know how helpful those would be.
Anyway, things to think about for me.
Does anyone think it needs more flowers?
So I went into the other room and saw a chair pushed over to the cupboard. A decided to help herself to some dum dum suckers that we bought yesterday for a treat. I went into their room and their were C and A eating suckers. C says "A got the suckers". I then gave her a lecture about how she could have come and told me rather than sharing in the bounty. I confiscated all of the suckers and told them that they were stuck in their room for punishment.
I guess it could have been worse. They could have found more crayons and gone to town on their walls again. Have I mentioned that Magic Erasers are my friend?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Spring is here!
Yesterday I thoughtI should check on our snow crocuses. Well guess what? Their up! About 5 are blossoming and about 15 or so are up and we're still waiting on the rest of the group to show up.
Here is a pic of Callie. She is the one sheep who day after day gets her head stuck in the fence.
What is funny is that you'll see her stuck and so you'll head out to help her out.
She can get herself out. The other day I thought, I'm going to pet her and get her used to me a little more. By the time I get out there she is standing up and trying to pull her head out. I pet her once and then she was out. Stupid sheep.
Here is a pic of the mob.
Except someone is missing...the last scaredy sheep.
Here is a pic of our chickens.
We're going to get 2-3 more chickens from a person who advertised on Craigslist. At $3 each its a great price. And their in the same town as us! Yay!
Here's a bonus pic of Callie and the freckles on her nose.
Here is a pic of Callie. She is the one sheep who day after day gets her head stuck in the fence.
What is funny is that you'll see her stuck and so you'll head out to help her out.
She can get herself out. The other day I thought, I'm going to pet her and get her used to me a little more. By the time I get out there she is standing up and trying to pull her head out. I pet her once and then she was out. Stupid sheep.
Here is a pic of the mob.
Except someone is missing...the last scaredy sheep.
Here is a pic of our chickens.
We're going to get 2-3 more chickens from a person who advertised on Craigslist. At $3 each its a great price. And their in the same town as us! Yay!
Here's a bonus pic of Callie and the freckles on her nose.
Friday, February 22, 2008
I'm strange
I can deal with that. :)
Am I the only one who will have my blog in the background when I'm surfing the net because I like the music so much?
Today its snowing. We've just had the most wonderful days of warm weather. Its been in the 40's and even a day in the 50's I think. Anyway, it was so nice! My hubby said something about precipitation this morning. That means rain right? Wrong. I guess it means snow :( . But I just called him and he said that the roads were clear and its actually about 32 degrees out there. So hopefully it will be pretty for a while and then melt. But you know, it sure is pretty. Its coming down thick and fast and covering everything. The sheep are all standing around in it like it doesn't bother them. I remember going out there after one bad snow storm and they all had like 4-6 inches undisturbed on their coats. I tried to brush it off and they didn't like that.
C continues to be a great reader. She and I went over the words 'cannot' and 'she'. Her teacher explains it using marriage. The 2 letters s and h get married and make a new word. So I told C that 2 words can get married also and make a new word. She is reading so well! I love this preschool! I have A signed up for next year and just found out that the teacher is already taking names for the year after. So I put A in there for that year also. So 2 years of preschool. The teacher is so awesome! And truthfully A has been so envious of C being able to go to preschool. So I couldn't put it off a year if I wanted to.
This last week we had 2 days where we got 4 eggs. That black silkie looks like she may be getting regular. The last time I wrote about her she had started giving an egg every other day. Then she stopped for about a week and a half. Well she's back on that again. I think it may stick now. I've read that chickens take a month or 2 to become regular.
We're probably going to buy 1-2 more chickens or chicks this spring. We have just enough eggs for us but one of the chickens eggs are really super sized meaning that she is on the older end of the laying 2 years. So we just want to have another chicken in the chute and ready to take over.
I've been very blessed the past month. My local wool shop where I bought my spinning wheel called me a few times with free wool. Some had gotten wet in their barn and some was too short and some was yearling wool. Then they called me again after learning that I'm going through an obsession with bag making and felting and offered me some wool that was to coarse to sell to spinners or wear next to your skin. But perfect for bags. I have washed and stored the first group, but haven't gone through the more coarse stuff to see if I can use it. I'm sure I'll be able to. I'm so happy and excited that they thought of me when they came across that.
Mom and Dad got all the paperwork submitted on Wednesday for their mission. So they will have a call in the next 1-3 weeks. I'm super excited about it. I'm trying not to be nervous about taking care of the fruit trees and yard etc (acre and a half ) until my sister gets here. I'm sure we'll manage. Besides, I do have family in town who we could call for an emergency yard care session.
So yesterday I had a fire going all day. When it got up to 69 I closed the draft most of the way, but didn't want it to go out and have to restart it in the evening to keep us warm all night. So I kept adding wood. Anyway, I didn't keep it in check very well. It was around 75 in the hallway when I finally went to bed around midnight. Whoops! I loved it. Hubby hated it. Oh well. I love our wood stove. We have had the heat pump on a total of 1 time this year.
Am I the only one who will have my blog in the background when I'm surfing the net because I like the music so much?
Today its snowing. We've just had the most wonderful days of warm weather. Its been in the 40's and even a day in the 50's I think. Anyway, it was so nice! My hubby said something about precipitation this morning. That means rain right? Wrong. I guess it means snow :( . But I just called him and he said that the roads were clear and its actually about 32 degrees out there. So hopefully it will be pretty for a while and then melt. But you know, it sure is pretty. Its coming down thick and fast and covering everything. The sheep are all standing around in it like it doesn't bother them. I remember going out there after one bad snow storm and they all had like 4-6 inches undisturbed on their coats. I tried to brush it off and they didn't like that.
C continues to be a great reader. She and I went over the words 'cannot' and 'she'. Her teacher explains it using marriage. The 2 letters s and h get married and make a new word. So I told C that 2 words can get married also and make a new word. She is reading so well! I love this preschool! I have A signed up for next year and just found out that the teacher is already taking names for the year after. So I put A in there for that year also. So 2 years of preschool. The teacher is so awesome! And truthfully A has been so envious of C being able to go to preschool. So I couldn't put it off a year if I wanted to.
This last week we had 2 days where we got 4 eggs. That black silkie looks like she may be getting regular. The last time I wrote about her she had started giving an egg every other day. Then she stopped for about a week and a half. Well she's back on that again. I think it may stick now. I've read that chickens take a month or 2 to become regular.
We're probably going to buy 1-2 more chickens or chicks this spring. We have just enough eggs for us but one of the chickens eggs are really super sized meaning that she is on the older end of the laying 2 years. So we just want to have another chicken in the chute and ready to take over.
I've been very blessed the past month. My local wool shop where I bought my spinning wheel called me a few times with free wool. Some had gotten wet in their barn and some was too short and some was yearling wool. Then they called me again after learning that I'm going through an obsession with bag making and felting and offered me some wool that was to coarse to sell to spinners or wear next to your skin. But perfect for bags. I have washed and stored the first group, but haven't gone through the more coarse stuff to see if I can use it. I'm sure I'll be able to. I'm so happy and excited that they thought of me when they came across that.
Mom and Dad got all the paperwork submitted on Wednesday for their mission. So they will have a call in the next 1-3 weeks. I'm super excited about it. I'm trying not to be nervous about taking care of the fruit trees and yard etc (acre and a half ) until my sister gets here. I'm sure we'll manage. Besides, I do have family in town who we could call for an emergency yard care session.
So yesterday I had a fire going all day. When it got up to 69 I closed the draft most of the way, but didn't want it to go out and have to restart it in the evening to keep us warm all night. So I kept adding wood. Anyway, I didn't keep it in check very well. It was around 75 in the hallway when I finally went to bed around midnight. Whoops! I loved it. Hubby hated it. Oh well. I love our wood stove. We have had the heat pump on a total of 1 time this year.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
not pregnant
So Bertha the goat is not pregnant. Just really REALLY fat. Needless to say she needs to go on a diet :)
Well, I should say we don't know for sure that she isn't pregnant. Just that my sister who has experience in this arena gave her a once over and said that it seems very unlikely that she is pregnant. Many factors came into this discover. One being that we thought she was due the first of February. She'd be bursting out all over with baby by now.
I'm happy. Now I don't have to worry about her.
Well, I should say we don't know for sure that she isn't pregnant. Just that my sister who has experience in this arena gave her a once over and said that it seems very unlikely that she is pregnant. Many factors came into this discover. One being that we thought she was due the first of February. She'd be bursting out all over with baby by now.
I'm happy. Now I don't have to worry about her.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Valentines Day
We celebrated half heartedly. As my husband said last night, 'I don't need a holiday to tell you how much I love you'. Awww. He is pretty sweet.
On the spur of the moment I made cupcakes and the kids and I went over and shared them with Grandma. I saved some cupcake batter and I had more in the oven as hubby came home. That must have inspired him because he decided to make our favorite sweet and sour chicken for dinner. And he wouldn't tell me what he was making. So that was a yummy surprise.
All in all it was a nice day.
C got to have her first Valentines day celebration with kids at Preschool. It sounded like they had a pretty fun party.
Preschool has been a great decision for her. She can read words like A, At, An, My, the, see, and more than I can remember right now. She's progressing very nicely. She should be reading really well by the end of the year, and hopefully I can work with her over the summer. I'm excited for where she'll be in kindergarten. But I am sad to think of her in kindergarten all day (or half day?). I'm going to miss her helpfulness. Hopefully A will mature a bit more in that way.
On the spur of the moment I made cupcakes and the kids and I went over and shared them with Grandma. I saved some cupcake batter and I had more in the oven as hubby came home. That must have inspired him because he decided to make our favorite sweet and sour chicken for dinner. And he wouldn't tell me what he was making. So that was a yummy surprise.
All in all it was a nice day.
C got to have her first Valentines day celebration with kids at Preschool. It sounded like they had a pretty fun party.
Preschool has been a great decision for her. She can read words like A, At, An, My, the, see, and more than I can remember right now. She's progressing very nicely. She should be reading really well by the end of the year, and hopefully I can work with her over the summer. I'm excited for where she'll be in kindergarten. But I am sad to think of her in kindergarten all day (or half day?). I'm going to miss her helpfulness. Hopefully A will mature a bit more in that way.
oh wow
So I have had a real problem with dry skin all over my hands this year. I think it may have something to do with taking care of animals at cold temps. Or maybe its just being outside more. Who knows. I just know I've had to use a lot more lotion that normal. I've been really using Mary Kay's Santin Hands Hand Cream. We all know that Cream is much better for your hands than lotion. But anyway. This cream came as part of my satin hands hand kit. It has this way cool kit that totally makes your hands feel like satin.
Step one is called Extra Emollient Night Cream. This is a heavy greasy feeling but nicely scented substance. The next step is Buffing Cream that is blue and has some grit in it to help get all the dead skin off. After this you use Cleansing Gel which I'm not sure if its just supposed to clean all the other stuff off of your hands or if it is supposed to clean your skin extra well. Next comes the Hand Cream. After all of this your hands feel SO good. They are so soft.
But the problem I was running into this year was that my thumb knuckles just didn't seem to take the moisture at all. They were ROUGH.
And life went on and I forgot to moisturize with just eh hand cream often enough and last night it was just awful. I was looking at my hands and noticed that some of my other knuckles were starting to have sections of skin split. I've never had something that extreme happen and didn't know if cream would be enough.
So I tried putting on just the Extra Emollient Night Cream last night just before I hopped into bed. I thought, 'hey, that is what the label says, right?'.
Anyway, I am happy to report that my hands this morning are impressive. They feel so much better!
So go check it out. I highly recommend Mary Kay's Satin Hands line. Especially the kit. Its AWESOME! Go find a Consultant!
Step one is called Extra Emollient Night Cream. This is a heavy greasy feeling but nicely scented substance. The next step is Buffing Cream that is blue and has some grit in it to help get all the dead skin off. After this you use Cleansing Gel which I'm not sure if its just supposed to clean all the other stuff off of your hands or if it is supposed to clean your skin extra well. Next comes the Hand Cream. After all of this your hands feel SO good. They are so soft.
But the problem I was running into this year was that my thumb knuckles just didn't seem to take the moisture at all. They were ROUGH.
And life went on and I forgot to moisturize with just eh hand cream often enough and last night it was just awful. I was looking at my hands and noticed that some of my other knuckles were starting to have sections of skin split. I've never had something that extreme happen and didn't know if cream would be enough.
So I tried putting on just the Extra Emollient Night Cream last night just before I hopped into bed. I thought, 'hey, that is what the label says, right?'.
Anyway, I am happy to report that my hands this morning are impressive. They feel so much better!
So go check it out. I highly recommend Mary Kay's Satin Hands line. Especially the kit. Its AWESOME! Go find a Consultant!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
ignore that last post.
Nothing to see there. I just re-read it and boy did I ramble.
A couple of interesting things that I didn't cover in that post... Mom and Dad have completed all of the medical stuff that they needed for their mission papers, and said that they will be making their next appointments with the Bishop and Stake Pres this next week! I'm really excited about that! Also a little worried, but that is for selfish reasons. I'm a little uncertain about maintaining this property without them until Aug when my sister is moving into their place. Besides that I'm totally excited!!!
Also, did I mention that Bertha the goat was pregnant? I think I did. Anyway it was the neighbors sneaky pygmy goat that did the deed. This is the second time in the last 3 years we've had this problem. Of course the first time it was different goats on both sides. Anyway back to the point. Bertha will be having the goat any day now. I'm hoping for a girl so that we don't have to worry about fixing it. Also, I'm thinking about keeping the goats. I know I've said I would be getting rid of them, but I'm a little worried that the sheep won't be able to keep the pasture down on their own. So I think We'll keep them until we know for sure. If the sheep need help, then we'll keep the goats (and don't tell hubby, but we might think about getting a couple more sheep if the price was right, and THEN get rid of the goats). My real deal is that the goats have no return. You don't have to do much to maintain them, but feeding them all winter for no value in return gets old.
I need to post some pics. I'll see if I can get on that :)
A couple of interesting things that I didn't cover in that post... Mom and Dad have completed all of the medical stuff that they needed for their mission papers, and said that they will be making their next appointments with the Bishop and Stake Pres this next week! I'm really excited about that! Also a little worried, but that is for selfish reasons. I'm a little uncertain about maintaining this property without them until Aug when my sister is moving into their place. Besides that I'm totally excited!!!
Also, did I mention that Bertha the goat was pregnant? I think I did. Anyway it was the neighbors sneaky pygmy goat that did the deed. This is the second time in the last 3 years we've had this problem. Of course the first time it was different goats on both sides. Anyway back to the point. Bertha will be having the goat any day now. I'm hoping for a girl so that we don't have to worry about fixing it. Also, I'm thinking about keeping the goats. I know I've said I would be getting rid of them, but I'm a little worried that the sheep won't be able to keep the pasture down on their own. So I think We'll keep them until we know for sure. If the sheep need help, then we'll keep the goats (and don't tell hubby, but we might think about getting a couple more sheep if the price was right, and THEN get rid of the goats). My real deal is that the goats have no return. You don't have to do much to maintain them, but feeding them all winter for no value in return gets old.
I need to post some pics. I'll see if I can get on that :)
blah
So I don't have anything specific to blog about. Just a bunch of random stuff.
We've been getting a lot of snow for the past few weeks. The last few days we've had new snow. This morning about an inch and yesterday about 3 inches. I'd normally stay home and enjoy it all but preschool and feeding the animals has me out and about.
Our chickens are doing just fine with the cold weather. Egg production has been down a little. We've gone from getting 3 eggs some days to about 2. Our Black silkie is now and official member of the egg producing society. For the past week or so she's been giving us an egg every other day. Which according to the web is normal. so Yay! We get a cute little taupe colored egg every other day. Its cute, but I'm a little afraid to use them in my cooking due to most recipes asking for a large egg. I already have to deal with all the different egg sizes that my rhode island reds hand out. They give X-large and large? I think. When making bread I grab 2 of each size in the hopes that it will average out to the right size.
The sheep are growing fluffier and fatter with wool all the time. Charlie, the lone male is still very friendly. Cally (or gladys as I've re-named her) has become slightly jumpy when I'm around. I think its because she got out a few times and I had to catch her. For some reason that seems to make the sheep jumpy for a few months. One of the scardy sheep has warmed up a bit. She and Gladys hang out and are equally jumpy together. Then there is still one holdout for the scardy sheep status.
The rabbit continues to do well despite the cold weather. She hasn't gotten out since the last episode. Mostly because I don't get her out. Well, except that once when she was covered with snow and I grabbed her to wipe it all off. Still hoping to find a home for her.
A fellow ward member was telling me that they had a coyote get 2 of their chickens. They never put them in a coop before this, so I guess it sort of serves them right. But it still isn't pleasant. And since they live about a mile away it makes me a little scared for my chickens and sheep and rabbit. And reminded me about when the neighbor last summer told us about hunting for 2 wolves that were hanging out around the neighborhood. A little scary for the animals.
Oh, and on the wool front. Cleo over at The Sheep Shed was so nice this past weekend. She called out of the blue and asked me if I wanted some wool! I was all for it. Who could say no to free? Anyway, she gave me a couple of bags of wool that had been in a wet corner of her barn. They needed to be dried out before storage. But besides that they were just fine! She said that she had found ice in one of the bags! Anyway, a day or so in front of our fireplace and they were dry as a bone! I'll probably was them this month sometime and then store them until I decide what color and what I want to do with them.
She also gave me about 1 lb 9 oz of brown merino. I've never used dark brown wool before so that has been an adventure. First I did some research and found that I had to wash it in water that was 160 degrees. That was almost boiling! So it took me a while to get water that hot. Then I couldn't let the water get cooler than 160 degrees or the lanolin could redeposit on the wool. So I got the water to about 170 degrees and it sat in the water for about 15-20 minutes. But you know what? that wool had almost zero felting!!!! That is big for me. I usually handle the wool way to much and end up with a lot of felting.
This time I put the wool in mesh laundry bags and didn't handle it much at all. I just handled the laundry bags. I also spun the wool dry in the washing machine. by the next day it was dry and ready for carding.
Well, I'm about halfway through with carding the wool and so far have about and oz of wool that got clean, but still has a bit of lanolin on it. Which is fine. Its much easier to boil a pan of water than it is to get a whole laundry bucket of water boiling. After I'm done with this, I'll clean the other wool. I'm planning on using the mesh bags again and hopefully I'll be successful again with the lack of felting!!!!!
On to other subjects....
Mom and A have a really bad cold. They have of course spread it to Myself and C. But that's life.
With all of this snow we've been spending a bit of time over at mom and dad's house. Since they live next door its fun to go over for a change of scenery. We've been working on fun puzzles and the kids like to play with grandma's toys. Over all, its been great fun to have somewhere to go when the weather is horrible.
I've finished spinning enough wool for a church bag for myself. I'm really excited to get started on it! I did have enough wool spun at Christmas, but then my mother in law saw the bag I made for my mom and requested one for her birthday. She requested it several times while she was over for Christmas. So what could I do? I just wish that people who don't know how to do crafts realized how long they took. Her birthday was january 14th. lets just say I worked like a madwoman. Also, I wasn't able to put as much thought into it as I would have wanted. But it was cute. Somehow it turned out much bigger than the one I did for Mom. Also instead of a tulip, I put daisy's on it.
I think on my bag I'm going to got back and do the tulip again, but this time I'm going to use the picture from the cake that you make in Nancy Drew and the Secret of Shadow Ranch. Its a really pretty tulip in red and green. Although I'll probably change the color to white or something that will look good on a purpley pinkish bag.
We've been getting a lot of snow for the past few weeks. The last few days we've had new snow. This morning about an inch and yesterday about 3 inches. I'd normally stay home and enjoy it all but preschool and feeding the animals has me out and about.
Our chickens are doing just fine with the cold weather. Egg production has been down a little. We've gone from getting 3 eggs some days to about 2. Our Black silkie is now and official member of the egg producing society. For the past week or so she's been giving us an egg every other day. Which according to the web is normal. so Yay! We get a cute little taupe colored egg every other day. Its cute, but I'm a little afraid to use them in my cooking due to most recipes asking for a large egg. I already have to deal with all the different egg sizes that my rhode island reds hand out. They give X-large and large? I think. When making bread I grab 2 of each size in the hopes that it will average out to the right size.
The sheep are growing fluffier and fatter with wool all the time. Charlie, the lone male is still very friendly. Cally (or gladys as I've re-named her) has become slightly jumpy when I'm around. I think its because she got out a few times and I had to catch her. For some reason that seems to make the sheep jumpy for a few months. One of the scardy sheep has warmed up a bit. She and Gladys hang out and are equally jumpy together. Then there is still one holdout for the scardy sheep status.
The rabbit continues to do well despite the cold weather. She hasn't gotten out since the last episode. Mostly because I don't get her out. Well, except that once when she was covered with snow and I grabbed her to wipe it all off. Still hoping to find a home for her.
A fellow ward member was telling me that they had a coyote get 2 of their chickens. They never put them in a coop before this, so I guess it sort of serves them right. But it still isn't pleasant. And since they live about a mile away it makes me a little scared for my chickens and sheep and rabbit. And reminded me about when the neighbor last summer told us about hunting for 2 wolves that were hanging out around the neighborhood. A little scary for the animals.
Oh, and on the wool front. Cleo over at The Sheep Shed was so nice this past weekend. She called out of the blue and asked me if I wanted some wool! I was all for it. Who could say no to free? Anyway, she gave me a couple of bags of wool that had been in a wet corner of her barn. They needed to be dried out before storage. But besides that they were just fine! She said that she had found ice in one of the bags! Anyway, a day or so in front of our fireplace and they were dry as a bone! I'll probably was them this month sometime and then store them until I decide what color and what I want to do with them.
She also gave me about 1 lb 9 oz of brown merino. I've never used dark brown wool before so that has been an adventure. First I did some research and found that I had to wash it in water that was 160 degrees. That was almost boiling! So it took me a while to get water that hot. Then I couldn't let the water get cooler than 160 degrees or the lanolin could redeposit on the wool. So I got the water to about 170 degrees and it sat in the water for about 15-20 minutes. But you know what? that wool had almost zero felting!!!! That is big for me. I usually handle the wool way to much and end up with a lot of felting.
This time I put the wool in mesh laundry bags and didn't handle it much at all. I just handled the laundry bags. I also spun the wool dry in the washing machine. by the next day it was dry and ready for carding.
Well, I'm about halfway through with carding the wool and so far have about and oz of wool that got clean, but still has a bit of lanolin on it. Which is fine. Its much easier to boil a pan of water than it is to get a whole laundry bucket of water boiling. After I'm done with this, I'll clean the other wool. I'm planning on using the mesh bags again and hopefully I'll be successful again with the lack of felting!!!!!
On to other subjects....
Mom and A have a really bad cold. They have of course spread it to Myself and C. But that's life.
With all of this snow we've been spending a bit of time over at mom and dad's house. Since they live next door its fun to go over for a change of scenery. We've been working on fun puzzles and the kids like to play with grandma's toys. Over all, its been great fun to have somewhere to go when the weather is horrible.
I've finished spinning enough wool for a church bag for myself. I'm really excited to get started on it! I did have enough wool spun at Christmas, but then my mother in law saw the bag I made for my mom and requested one for her birthday. She requested it several times while she was over for Christmas. So what could I do? I just wish that people who don't know how to do crafts realized how long they took. Her birthday was january 14th. lets just say I worked like a madwoman. Also, I wasn't able to put as much thought into it as I would have wanted. But it was cute. Somehow it turned out much bigger than the one I did for Mom. Also instead of a tulip, I put daisy's on it.
I think on my bag I'm going to got back and do the tulip again, but this time I'm going to use the picture from the cake that you make in Nancy Drew and the Secret of Shadow Ranch. Its a really pretty tulip in red and green. Although I'll probably change the color to white or something that will look good on a purpley pinkish bag.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Hiding
I'm currently hiding from my mother in law. She stayed the night last night. I think she was lonely. But now she is cleaning my kitchen and probably putting everything in the wrong places (I still hide things from myself, will my kitchen ever recover?) of course I'm joking. but I am hiding. I just needed a break. My back was hurting. But now it feels fine. Should I go shower and let her continue to clean, or go and help. I feel like a bad person because this is even an option for me.
On the whole, it feels quite hilarious.
I think I'm in a weird mood.
On the whole, it feels quite hilarious.
I think I'm in a weird mood.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Just a little whining
So for the last few weeks at church, things have been a little up in the air. Last week they put in a new primary presidency and this week they put in a new relief society presidency.
The real problem is this. The new primary presidency is the old Sunbeams teacher. The problem being that those little sunbeams are still getting used to primary and for the last 2 weeks have had substitutes. Good Subs, but still subs.
I have a hard time seeing it because we sent the cutest most ready for sunbeams class I could have imagined. I was so proud of them.
Yes, there were some cold feet but they were adapting well.
Then this week comes (second week of subs) and at least 3 girls didn't want to go to class. Two were girls who don't normally have a problem. My little A was one and is very independent. I know I was in nursery with her, but she didn't care if I was there or not.
anyway, I'm just concerned for these kids. I had hoped they would have a new teacher in today but no dice.
It makes me sad and now I'm a little worried about these kids. Probably more so because my kid is in the group.
I'm sure they'll get it ironed out. I just wish it was sooner rather than later.
Thanks for letting me whine. I know they must be trying to find the best sunbeam teacher ever :)
The real problem is this. The new primary presidency is the old Sunbeams teacher. The problem being that those little sunbeams are still getting used to primary and for the last 2 weeks have had substitutes. Good Subs, but still subs.
I have a hard time seeing it because we sent the cutest most ready for sunbeams class I could have imagined. I was so proud of them.
Yes, there were some cold feet but they were adapting well.
Then this week comes (second week of subs) and at least 3 girls didn't want to go to class. Two were girls who don't normally have a problem. My little A was one and is very independent. I know I was in nursery with her, but she didn't care if I was there or not.
anyway, I'm just concerned for these kids. I had hoped they would have a new teacher in today but no dice.
It makes me sad and now I'm a little worried about these kids. Probably more so because my kid is in the group.
I'm sure they'll get it ironed out. I just wish it was sooner rather than later.
Thanks for letting me whine. I know they must be trying to find the best sunbeam teacher ever :)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
blogging in my head
Someone over at MormonMommyWars said something that really hit me. She talked about blogging in her head.
I had to read that again...because I thought I was the only one who did that!
Like last night I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep and letting my thoughts wander. I remember thinking about a topic and then started thinking about what I would write.. then I fell asleep.
So if I ever remember what that topic was, I promise I'll write about it.
:)
I had to read that again...because I thought I was the only one who did that!
Like last night I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep and letting my thoughts wander. I remember thinking about a topic and then started thinking about what I would write.. then I fell asleep.
So if I ever remember what that topic was, I promise I'll write about it.
:)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
more funny
I forgot to mention that the comedian's name is Elna Baker.
that is my attempt at putting a video up on my blog. :)
that is my attempt at putting a video up on my blog. :)
Funny
I was listening to this american life this morning. I think it was the show that they aired last week. Anyway it was titled "Matchmaker" or something like that.
I was enjoying the last story, and as it ended Ira Glass (the host) said blah blah blah has a new book coming out entitled "The New York Regional MORMON Single Adule Halloween Dance" and other memoirs. Of course this caught my ear and I had to google it because I had missed the authors name.
Turns out there is a very funny Mormon New York comedian.
Check out her my space page. The video clip is extremely funny. http://www.myspace.com/elnabaker
or you can listen to her other story at www.thisamericanlife.org
I was enjoying the last story, and as it ended Ira Glass (the host) said blah blah blah has a new book coming out entitled "The New York Regional MORMON Single Adule Halloween Dance" and other memoirs. Of course this caught my ear and I had to google it because I had missed the authors name.
Turns out there is a very funny Mormon New York comedian.
Check out her my space page. The video clip is extremely funny. http://www.myspace.com/elnabaker
or you can listen to her other story at www.thisamericanlife.org
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Nursery
I've been in Nursery since last March. I was originally called with my hubby just for 4-5 months to fill in until another person was called. Well, after that time, they did call another couple, but again, just to fill in. I should mention these weren't official calls, just requests from the bishopric and primary presidency.
Anyway, I would sub when asked and after about 2 months the other fill in couple moved into their new home in a new ward.
So I kept filling in until about 4 months ago when they finally made the calling official.
The nursery was run very well by 2 ladies when we first went in. They had both been there for over 2 years. The first one was released soon after we joined the crew. She was immediately put in as the stake nursery leader.
The other lady was a very sweet, smiley lady whom all the kids were drawn to. I was thankful for her because I'm all thumbs when it comes to convincing a child they want to stay. Although after all this time, I'm getting much better.
The smiley lady was just asked to teach the valiant 10's, and started Jan 1st.
So now we have a new leader in nursery and me. The new leader is very nice and sweet. But I must say that like me she has back problems and should not lift children. I'm sure we'll get by though.
The nursery has been well run up until now and I don't want to blow it.
We had 14 kids on the roll, but our class size fluctuated from 8-12 normally. Our typical schedule was this:
When the kids would first come we would switch back and forth from play dough to toys. Toys one week and playdough at tables the next.
Then we would go to toys. If we started out with toys, it just meant that toys were played with longer. If playdough was first, it just meant that toys was shorter.
After that was snack. This was followed by lesson/singing time. We split the group in half. we were lucky enough to have a large room that we could separate by one of those curtain door things. She would take half and do singing time, and I would do the lesson with the other half. then we would switch. Also, we teachers alternated months on who would do the lesson and who would do singing time.
It was a lot of fun and I felt that we sent a very ready group of sunbeams.
This year I've made a few changes and I hope they are for the better. Also, we only have about 6 kids.
I want to start off with the same thing each week. I think this will help the kids a little with stability. They will know that they can count on toys first every week. This will help those who need that stability.
Next we will have snack. I thought this was important to keep next because the kids are used to it being after toys.
Next we will have singing time. I put this next to keep us from being up to the tables for a long long time. Also should mention since our group is down to 6 we no longer need to split for lesson and singing.
After singing time, I thought we could have a time called finger play. This would be for play dough or any other crafty thing we might want to do. Last week we failed miserably with color with water pages. :( They are still too young of a group for that.
After finger play is lesson time. Again, they were used to this being last, so we kept it last.
So far we've done this schedule once. I'll give it another few weeks before tweaking anything.
I also wanted to mention how important it is for the nursery kids to learn certain things so that next years sunbeam teacher has an easier time of it.
Its very important that the kids learn to sit in chairs. If they can do this by the time they leave nursery, then the sunbeam teacher has one less thing to deal with.
Its also important to figure out the kids who cry. We had one kid who had a really hard time of it. His parents would always drop him off and he was heartbroken the rest of the time. they would then stay for most of the class. They tried dropping him off and just seeing what would happen and he would cry for most of the time. It was really tough. Then the idea of having his sister drop him off came up. I don't remember where it came from , but it worked!
Another little boy is reluctant to stay, but can be easily bribed (usually). Last week I merely mentioned a cookie and he was fine for the rest of the time. He even forgot about the cookie by the time I walked over, got it, and brought it back.
Another little boy would stay, but was sad, and didn't want to be involved. We would try and get him involved, but that would make him cry. So one week we decided to just leave him alone. He wasn't crying, but was standing by himself by the wall. Eventually he realized we were doing something fun and joined in. He hasn't been a problem since. He's now a sunbeam.
Currently we have the last boys little brother. Now that his brother is gone, he is very sad. He has a loud recognizable cry, so a walk to the drinking fountain isn'g possible without his mom or dad hearing him and coming out to get him. So we tried treats. This was great and he would stop crying. Still wanted to be near the door, but wasn't crying. I hope that he'll come around like his brother once he realizes we're doing something fun. One thing that I think is a clue for us is the fact that for snack time, he didn't want to sit at the table but would let my hubby (who was a sub) hold him and feed him the snack. Interesting. Ideas anyone?
The next problem we're having is another almost 18 month girl. She's very sweet and does very well until the other boy starts crying. That starts her crying. If anyone has any ideas, I'll take them!
Anyway, other ideas for helping to get your kids ready for sunbeams:
The 2 weeks before nursery we had the kids who were moving up visit primary during singing time (do they call it that any more?) for about 10 minutes. This introduces them to primary.
Also, we talked about Sunbeams a lot. And along with our last lesson we colored a little certificate that said something about being a sunbeam now.
Anyway, I would sub when asked and after about 2 months the other fill in couple moved into their new home in a new ward.
So I kept filling in until about 4 months ago when they finally made the calling official.
The nursery was run very well by 2 ladies when we first went in. They had both been there for over 2 years. The first one was released soon after we joined the crew. She was immediately put in as the stake nursery leader.
The other lady was a very sweet, smiley lady whom all the kids were drawn to. I was thankful for her because I'm all thumbs when it comes to convincing a child they want to stay. Although after all this time, I'm getting much better.
The smiley lady was just asked to teach the valiant 10's, and started Jan 1st.
So now we have a new leader in nursery and me. The new leader is very nice and sweet. But I must say that like me she has back problems and should not lift children. I'm sure we'll get by though.
The nursery has been well run up until now and I don't want to blow it.
We had 14 kids on the roll, but our class size fluctuated from 8-12 normally. Our typical schedule was this:
When the kids would first come we would switch back and forth from play dough to toys. Toys one week and playdough at tables the next.
Then we would go to toys. If we started out with toys, it just meant that toys were played with longer. If playdough was first, it just meant that toys was shorter.
After that was snack. This was followed by lesson/singing time. We split the group in half. we were lucky enough to have a large room that we could separate by one of those curtain door things. She would take half and do singing time, and I would do the lesson with the other half. then we would switch. Also, we teachers alternated months on who would do the lesson and who would do singing time.
It was a lot of fun and I felt that we sent a very ready group of sunbeams.
This year I've made a few changes and I hope they are for the better. Also, we only have about 6 kids.
I want to start off with the same thing each week. I think this will help the kids a little with stability. They will know that they can count on toys first every week. This will help those who need that stability.
Next we will have snack. I thought this was important to keep next because the kids are used to it being after toys.
Next we will have singing time. I put this next to keep us from being up to the tables for a long long time. Also should mention since our group is down to 6 we no longer need to split for lesson and singing.
After singing time, I thought we could have a time called finger play. This would be for play dough or any other crafty thing we might want to do. Last week we failed miserably with color with water pages. :( They are still too young of a group for that.
After finger play is lesson time. Again, they were used to this being last, so we kept it last.
So far we've done this schedule once. I'll give it another few weeks before tweaking anything.
I also wanted to mention how important it is for the nursery kids to learn certain things so that next years sunbeam teacher has an easier time of it.
Its very important that the kids learn to sit in chairs. If they can do this by the time they leave nursery, then the sunbeam teacher has one less thing to deal with.
Its also important to figure out the kids who cry. We had one kid who had a really hard time of it. His parents would always drop him off and he was heartbroken the rest of the time. they would then stay for most of the class. They tried dropping him off and just seeing what would happen and he would cry for most of the time. It was really tough. Then the idea of having his sister drop him off came up. I don't remember where it came from , but it worked!
Another little boy is reluctant to stay, but can be easily bribed (usually). Last week I merely mentioned a cookie and he was fine for the rest of the time. He even forgot about the cookie by the time I walked over, got it, and brought it back.
Another little boy would stay, but was sad, and didn't want to be involved. We would try and get him involved, but that would make him cry. So one week we decided to just leave him alone. He wasn't crying, but was standing by himself by the wall. Eventually he realized we were doing something fun and joined in. He hasn't been a problem since. He's now a sunbeam.
Currently we have the last boys little brother. Now that his brother is gone, he is very sad. He has a loud recognizable cry, so a walk to the drinking fountain isn'g possible without his mom or dad hearing him and coming out to get him. So we tried treats. This was great and he would stop crying. Still wanted to be near the door, but wasn't crying. I hope that he'll come around like his brother once he realizes we're doing something fun. One thing that I think is a clue for us is the fact that for snack time, he didn't want to sit at the table but would let my hubby (who was a sub) hold him and feed him the snack. Interesting. Ideas anyone?
The next problem we're having is another almost 18 month girl. She's very sweet and does very well until the other boy starts crying. That starts her crying. If anyone has any ideas, I'll take them!
Anyway, other ideas for helping to get your kids ready for sunbeams:
The 2 weeks before nursery we had the kids who were moving up visit primary during singing time (do they call it that any more?) for about 10 minutes. This introduces them to primary.
Also, we talked about Sunbeams a lot. And along with our last lesson we colored a little certificate that said something about being a sunbeam now.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Stupid rabbit
It was cold outside and my hands must have been stiff or something (at least thats what I'll tell everyone) and I picked up the rabbit and accidentally dropped it. It ran under the chicken coop and I spent the next half an hour freezing my behind off trying to get it.
It took myself, hubby, and a broom to get it out. By that time I was frozen. The knees and a generous part of the leg of my pants were soaked from wet and frozen ground that had an unhealthy mix of sheep urine and poop all over it.
Yum yum.
It took myself, hubby, and a broom to get it out. By that time I was frozen. The knees and a generous part of the leg of my pants were soaked from wet and frozen ground that had an unhealthy mix of sheep urine and poop all over it.
Yum yum.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Politics
I wish people whose blogs I read would avoid the political discussion/rants.
The reason being is this.
I am innocently reading some of the blogs I read regularly and all of a sudden I'm disgusted because that person is pro the weirdest guy running and on another blog there is someone saying they would never vote for some guy who I was thinking of voting for.
Neither one with plausible arguments. And it tells me something about some of my favorite bloggers that I maybe didn't want to know.
Anyway, it shouldn't matter to me this much except that I guess maybe I read those blogs for fun and bringing up politics makes things sticky and makes people take sides.
So don't do it!
Please?
The reason being is this.
I am innocently reading some of the blogs I read regularly and all of a sudden I'm disgusted because that person is pro the weirdest guy running and on another blog there is someone saying they would never vote for some guy who I was thinking of voting for.
Neither one with plausible arguments. And it tells me something about some of my favorite bloggers that I maybe didn't want to know.
Anyway, it shouldn't matter to me this much except that I guess maybe I read those blogs for fun and bringing up politics makes things sticky and makes people take sides.
So don't do it!
Please?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I am so tired
Remember that poopy sheeps wool I started to was yesterday? Well after the first wash, there were still spots of lanolin. There was enough of it that I felt I needed to start the wash process over.
This was my first time washing wool in pillow cases. I think that is what part of the problem was.
Anyway I was up until 1am washing wool. And as I was pulling it apart to dry... I found lots of lanolin build up in places.
I threw up my hands and went to bed at that point.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do now.
I may have to start the whole process again.
This was my first time washing wool in pillow cases. I think that is what part of the problem was.
Anyway I was up until 1am washing wool. And as I was pulling it apart to dry... I found lots of lanolin build up in places.
I threw up my hands and went to bed at that point.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do now.
I may have to start the whole process again.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Happy... something or other!
Our black silkie laid its first eggs in the past few days. Hooray!
We had a steady snowstorm going all day yesterday. So I was only a little surprised that we didn't get any eggs today. But I wanted to make sure so I opened the side of the hen house (hubby was thinking ahead for easy cleaning!) and took a look.
I was so surprised to find an egg in the main area near the corner. Also I found that I had overlooked an egg in the main nest that all the hens like. She was making an awful lot of noise in the hen house on Sunday, so I think that was when she laid the first one. Then after figuring out what was happening she then decided that she needed to be like the other hens and lay in the nest.
So that was our exciting day!
I've also just put some poopy and dirty sheeps wool in to wash. It actually looked like good stuff. Just the muddy brown that most wool looks like unwashed. I think it may have been the cleanest stuff I've had to wash though.
My spinning wheel is so fast that I've spun through all of my fiber except for a grocery bag that is half full of wool I may keep for needle felting. There isn't enough of each color to spin, though I might if I don't use it in the next little while.
I've also decided that I like dying unspun wool better than spun wool. If you dye before spinning, its a whole lot easier to blend the fiber and cover up any uneven dying.
So, back to the snow. On Sunday we received around an inch, maybe 1 1/2 inches. Yesterday we received more. I think its around 6 inches, but I'm just guessing.
We're trying to eat healthier, but its been hard for me. Since Christmas we've been eating all sorts of junk food and candy. The hard part for me is going from a bunch of chocolate to no hard candy. But we're trying. Since Sunday I've cut back from a whole heck of a lot to today where I've had (so far) 2 mini butterfingers, and its already dinner time. There aren't any more of the mini butterfingers though, so they won't be calling to me from the cupboard!
We had a steady snowstorm going all day yesterday. So I was only a little surprised that we didn't get any eggs today. But I wanted to make sure so I opened the side of the hen house (hubby was thinking ahead for easy cleaning!) and took a look.
I was so surprised to find an egg in the main area near the corner. Also I found that I had overlooked an egg in the main nest that all the hens like. She was making an awful lot of noise in the hen house on Sunday, so I think that was when she laid the first one. Then after figuring out what was happening she then decided that she needed to be like the other hens and lay in the nest.
So that was our exciting day!
I've also just put some poopy and dirty sheeps wool in to wash. It actually looked like good stuff. Just the muddy brown that most wool looks like unwashed. I think it may have been the cleanest stuff I've had to wash though.
My spinning wheel is so fast that I've spun through all of my fiber except for a grocery bag that is half full of wool I may keep for needle felting. There isn't enough of each color to spin, though I might if I don't use it in the next little while.
I've also decided that I like dying unspun wool better than spun wool. If you dye before spinning, its a whole lot easier to blend the fiber and cover up any uneven dying.
So, back to the snow. On Sunday we received around an inch, maybe 1 1/2 inches. Yesterday we received more. I think its around 6 inches, but I'm just guessing.
We're trying to eat healthier, but its been hard for me. Since Christmas we've been eating all sorts of junk food and candy. The hard part for me is going from a bunch of chocolate to no hard candy. But we're trying. Since Sunday I've cut back from a whole heck of a lot to today where I've had (so far) 2 mini butterfingers, and its already dinner time. There aren't any more of the mini butterfingers though, so they won't be calling to me from the cupboard!
Monday, January 07, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
It just occurred to me
What if its not the recipe at fault here, but something I miss-measured or forgot to put in when I was putting the thing together?
But the flavor was the same in both bags... so it was something I did more than once.
Ugh.
I don't think I'll do those again. Well, maybe in my own kitchen...Then I could set up stations and get a few friends together to help. And re-read the directions over and over again.
But the flavor was the same in both bags... so it was something I did more than once.
Ugh.
I don't think I'll do those again. Well, maybe in my own kitchen...Then I could set up stations and get a few friends together to help. And re-read the directions over and over again.
brownies
so, our ward does one of those ultra craft days where you can make something like 6 different items and most would make great Christmas presents.
This year they offered some great stuff, some ok stuff, and some good values.
The good values were in the form of brownies in a bag, and pumpkin muffins in a bag. At 50 cents each, this was a good value.
I ordered 4 of each. I thought these would make great co-worker and neighbor gifts.
I showed up at the activity to make my mixes. they even provided a cute holiday themed bag!
Anyway, I think we gave 6 away and were given one.
So a few nights ago I thought, yum, lets make some of these brownies. Since we had a choice we decided to keep the brownie mixes for last just in case we didn't give them all away.
So I followed the directions, except I used a substitute for the buttermilk. Seriously, who keeps or buys buttermilk on a regular basis? So I bought one of those containers of dry powder that you use to replace buttermilk. It was in the cooking isle.
So I followed the other directions to a T. I put it in an 8x8x2 pan and dutifully set my oven to 400 degrees and my timer to 40 minutes.
At 40 minutes my fork didn't come out clean. (I was out of toothpicks). It was so bad that I set the timer for another 20 minutes. After that it was still not clean.
I set it for another 10 minutes.
After that, I think I went for another 5 and then it was finally done.
The top of the brownies were slightly burned, but the brownies were done!
And the result. They just weren't very chocolatey despite the extra chocolate chips that were in the mix. Even my hubby didn't like them.
Well, tonight I decided to try them again. This time I put them in a 9x13 cake pan.
I wasn't certain that this would solve the problem that I had the other night, so I set the timer for 35 minutes to hopefully avoid overbaking.
At 35 minutes they were almost there and I set them for another 5 minutes.
they were done.
And they weren't very good! I thought that because they were made with chocolate chips and buttermilk that they would be extra yummy. And they were just not very good.
I'm totally surprised and a little bummed because we have another mix on the cupboard to be used. I guess if I throw it away it was only 50 cents.
So the moral of this story is this - if you make a mix at a super activity, try it out before you give it away. Lucky for us the only person we gave the brownie mix to was a bachelor and will most likely never make it, or will re-gift it.
I'm mildly worried about the pumpkin muffin mixes we gave out....
This year they offered some great stuff, some ok stuff, and some good values.
The good values were in the form of brownies in a bag, and pumpkin muffins in a bag. At 50 cents each, this was a good value.
I ordered 4 of each. I thought these would make great co-worker and neighbor gifts.
I showed up at the activity to make my mixes. they even provided a cute holiday themed bag!
Anyway, I think we gave 6 away and were given one.
So a few nights ago I thought, yum, lets make some of these brownies. Since we had a choice we decided to keep the brownie mixes for last just in case we didn't give them all away.
So I followed the directions, except I used a substitute for the buttermilk. Seriously, who keeps or buys buttermilk on a regular basis? So I bought one of those containers of dry powder that you use to replace buttermilk. It was in the cooking isle.
So I followed the other directions to a T. I put it in an 8x8x2 pan and dutifully set my oven to 400 degrees and my timer to 40 minutes.
At 40 minutes my fork didn't come out clean. (I was out of toothpicks). It was so bad that I set the timer for another 20 minutes. After that it was still not clean.
I set it for another 10 minutes.
After that, I think I went for another 5 and then it was finally done.
The top of the brownies were slightly burned, but the brownies were done!
And the result. They just weren't very chocolatey despite the extra chocolate chips that were in the mix. Even my hubby didn't like them.
Well, tonight I decided to try them again. This time I put them in a 9x13 cake pan.
I wasn't certain that this would solve the problem that I had the other night, so I set the timer for 35 minutes to hopefully avoid overbaking.
At 35 minutes they were almost there and I set them for another 5 minutes.
they were done.
And they weren't very good! I thought that because they were made with chocolate chips and buttermilk that they would be extra yummy. And they were just not very good.
I'm totally surprised and a little bummed because we have another mix on the cupboard to be used. I guess if I throw it away it was only 50 cents.
So the moral of this story is this - if you make a mix at a super activity, try it out before you give it away. Lucky for us the only person we gave the brownie mix to was a bachelor and will most likely never make it, or will re-gift it.
I'm mildly worried about the pumpkin muffin mixes we gave out....
Life
So, here it is. New Years Eve.
Our big plans? We're going to stay home, go to bed at our normal time. I guess we're just boring.
Hubby has tomorrow off.
AND!
Tomorrow I get to pick up my spinning wheel!! Hooray! I've been waiting nearly 3 weeks. It had to be shipped from New Zealand.
Anyway, I'm super excited about that.
C and A had a great Christmas. They've been playing madly with their new Christmas toys and only destroyed about half of them so far.
I still haven't decided if I like the whole 'buy my own Christmas gift' thing we did this year.
I was told I was going to be released as a nursery teacher a few weeks ago, but that didn't happen. Yesterday they gave me a roster of sorts for next year. so I guess I'm staying. It had my name on it.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Each week my back hurts and is sore for days after nursery. I think that had to do with all of the bending and lifting. I'm going to try and stay in the game for a while longer. I like nursery. Just don't care for the pain.
Our nursery is going to be down to about 5 kids (YAY!). We were up to 14 when everyone was there. But that didn't happen often. We averaged about 10-12. I'm hoping with the reduced number of kids there will be reduced pain. If so, I'll stay. If not, I'll try to stay a few months and then I'll ask to go.
If last week had been this week, and the older kids had already moved on to Sunbeams, we would have had 1 kid. It sounds like a vacation to me! I think we may take the time to clean out the toys closet and organize our other suppplies.
Hubby and I also serve with the 8 yr old scouts. so if I ask to be released from nursery, its not like we're slacking.
Anyway, I really hope that it all works out.
Our big plans? We're going to stay home, go to bed at our normal time. I guess we're just boring.
Hubby has tomorrow off.
AND!
Tomorrow I get to pick up my spinning wheel!! Hooray! I've been waiting nearly 3 weeks. It had to be shipped from New Zealand.
Anyway, I'm super excited about that.
C and A had a great Christmas. They've been playing madly with their new Christmas toys and only destroyed about half of them so far.
I still haven't decided if I like the whole 'buy my own Christmas gift' thing we did this year.
I was told I was going to be released as a nursery teacher a few weeks ago, but that didn't happen. Yesterday they gave me a roster of sorts for next year. so I guess I'm staying. It had my name on it.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Each week my back hurts and is sore for days after nursery. I think that had to do with all of the bending and lifting. I'm going to try and stay in the game for a while longer. I like nursery. Just don't care for the pain.
Our nursery is going to be down to about 5 kids (YAY!). We were up to 14 when everyone was there. But that didn't happen often. We averaged about 10-12. I'm hoping with the reduced number of kids there will be reduced pain. If so, I'll stay. If not, I'll try to stay a few months and then I'll ask to go.
If last week had been this week, and the older kids had already moved on to Sunbeams, we would have had 1 kid. It sounds like a vacation to me! I think we may take the time to clean out the toys closet and organize our other suppplies.
Hubby and I also serve with the 8 yr old scouts. so if I ask to be released from nursery, its not like we're slacking.
Anyway, I really hope that it all works out.
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