How Do You Cook Pork Steak?

Pork Steak is often on sale. And I just got this week's ads to begin planning my menu and lo and behold...Pork Steak...$1.49 per pound. So what do you do with Pork Steak? How do you cook it? I'd love to hear your recipes and ideas!

Oh, one more thing...in my fabric stash I had a nice thick cotton sage and white gingham table cloth that I haven't used for years, but kept because I thought I might want the fabric someday for something. Guess what I did to it? It is now DISH TOWELS to replace the paper towels! That thing made a whopping 16 towels!! I just cut it up, double folded and ironed down the edges (didn't even pin them!) and stitched away. Hooray!! :)

It's Budget Time! Toilet Paper...I'll Miss You!

I love paper products. I do! I love them. I love using them. I love stocking up on them. But I've decided we are going to try giving up paper towels and Kleenex. I was just kidding about the toilet paper. I'm not even going to go there! :)

We spend A LOT of money on disposable paper products. A lot. I am in budgeting mode at the moment. We aren't broke, but we have been very lax with our budget lately and hubby is not working as much due to the weather. So I have been thinking about how we are spending our money. We were more diligent about our budget while we were getting out of debt and saving for an emergency fund. Once those things were done, it was really easy to slack off and just float along and live. We really need to follow a budget all the time, not just when things get snug.

Paper towels...well, the one thing I was thinking I would really miss these for would be to clean up cat poo or puke. Yuck. I had contemplated keeping a roll on hand for that purpose, but I have decided that I can have old rags for this purpose that can just be tossed or burned, or toilet paper will work just fine for the cleanup. I bought a yard of gorgeous kitcheny thicker cotton fabric a couple of weeks ago and yesterday I made it into 4 tea towels. I want to make some more, but will probably go through my fabric stash before I buy anymore fabric. There will be a nice stash of those as well as my dish towels in the kitchen. But even going through a lot of kitchen towels a week isn't going to affect my laundry enough to matter. Toilet paper will also be the replacement for Kleenex. Toilet paper is so much cheaper! Savings....I'd estimate between $15 - $30 a month. Since I haven't been paying much attention to the budget, I'm not sure what we have been spending. All I know is we are out of paper towels and Kleenex every time I turn around and adding them to the shopping list!

Another budget friendly change is that when school starts back next week, my kids are packing their lunches. We can save at least $40 a month doing that. Hubby already takes his lunch to work.

I am also going to shop the store ads on Wednesdays and do my grocery shopping first thing Thursday mornings. I always make a weekly menu, yet it is always what sounds good instead of what is on sale. I have set a dollar amount and I am planning on using the envelope system with cash instead of the bank/debit card. While I love the card's convenience dearly, I think using actual cash will help me to stay on budget! I also plan to give some extra though to our menu and make cheaper changes when I can...like using dried beans instead of canned. I think the savings in this category will probably be substantial. By setting a budget and shopping the ads...I am guessing we will probably save an additional $25 - $50 per week.

Hubby and I also talked about cutting out little things. For example, last night he ran to the store with out youngest to get night night pants for her. In all of the holiday happenings, she ran out. But they also came back with Skittles and Sprite for her! Didn't need those! He has a much harder time saying no to her than I do. And it would be nice to get her out of the night night pants too!

So, these are phase one of spiffing up our budget! This all goes along with my last post about focusing. Our budget and money definitely need our attention. If we don't tell it where to go, we'll wonder where it went! :) Yes, we got out of debt. Yes, we have an emergency fund. But I'd really like to have an emergency fund for our emergency fund! Is that silly? The thought of using it really freaks me out. Really, it is odd...I look back to the days when we were in debt and had ZERO saved and the thought of an "emergency" (or an emergency fund) wasn't even on my radar. Maybe I am getting old! :)

The Seed Catalogs Have Started to Arrive!

Yes, I know...we haven't even made it through Christmas OR New Year's yet! Seed catalogs make me smile! Such a wonderful reminder that the cold gloomy Winter won't be here forever. I LOVE LOVE LOVE garden planning! And I so love starting seeds indoors. Weeding? Not so much so.

We have decided to move the garden up to the yard this coming year instead of having it down in the field. Last year we were in way over our heads. WAY OVER. Like we were drowning in weeds, squash bugs, sweat, AND zucchini. Lesson learned. We are going to have a much much smaller garden. This year I would like the focus to be on properly maintaining what we plant and eating fresh through the Summer months. Storage will not be a focus. And I am NOT planting any zucchini! None! Not a one! I know, I'm such a rebel! :) LOL But I am planting Butter Nut squash again! That is some yummy stuff all slathered with butter and brown sugar and baked! ;)

And I am hoping that some things that didn't make it last year...like the green onions, lettuces, broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts...will make it this year. I think they will have a fighting chance if we go for smaller and more manageable. Some things I am not going to even try again...like pop corn or peas or watermelon. Or zucchini. Snicker...snort...bwaaahaaahaaa! :)

And I am half way thinking about quitting blogging. I really either need to give it up or get it in gear. On the bright side I am good at rambling and I do so many interesting things! Yet I never manage to get pictures or update. I have a bit of a follow through problem. Let's just say I am a big thinker and I have the best of intentions, yet I seem to lack the focus and follow through. In other words, Half-Arsed describes my madness quite well. I truly think I try to do too many things and put a little effort into a lot of things, instead of putting a lot of effort into a few things and doing them well. I have too many "hobbies". And part of the problem is trying to manage our double life style in general - one aspect being our typical life (kids, school, work, extra curricular, etc) and the other, the wanna-be lifestyle (homesteading-ish). So one of my goals for the new year is to work on doing what I love best and on follow through. Focus my attention. At this point I am not sure if blogging will be a part of that - is it something I am going to set goals and work on? or is it something I am going to let go to focus on something else? Time will tell! :)

So in the meantime, has your ever so wonderful mail person been bringing you Springtime catalog goodies? Are you loving them or are you not quite ready to "GO THERE" just yet?

Light Bulb Moments....

I love light bulb moments! And I love my friends because that is where I learn so many great things!

Today I was speaking to a friend and she told me how she handles Christmas presents for her children....

Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read.

Wow. You would have thought she had just told me the secrets of the universe, I was that excited inside! As I was wrapping my children's Christmas presents just now, her method was on my mind and I felt the need to take a break and blog about it.

I have a hard time not going Christmas crazy. As much as I wanted this year to be different, I got caught up. Again. I love my kids and love making them happy and there are just so many neat things to buy for them! Yet I also want them to grow up balanced. Since I find it very challenging to myself to stay balanced, you can imagine my quandary. And understand my failure!

A guideline such as the one my friend told me about sounds like it could be a wonderful solution to both keep me in check and to teach my children. Knowing my boundaries would help me to stay on track. Setting a budget along with it would really help! And the lessons for my kidlets...some of which could be less materialism, more focus on what they really want and enjoy and with less to take care of perhaps that could also mean more appreciation and taking better care of what they do have?

I also thought it would be nice to add a fifth category...Something to give. We need to work more on that too.

So, it is pretty much too late this year (unless I wanted to do a LOT of returning, which I don't!) but I am definitely going to be promoting this for next year. And maybe over the next year I can convince my kids that this is a GOOD thing! :)

Do you have a method to your Christmas gift giving madness, especially when it comes to your children? What do you think of this method? I would love to hear your thoughts!

You Simply Must Check It Out!!

My friend, Breanna, has three wonderful blogs going and I'd love to share them with you!

This one, her original, has a lot of neat stuff. Delicious yarn photos (she spins and dyes and knits!), pictures of neat places she has visited, her beautiful children and family, pugs, some neat crafty ideas, and more. Go on, have a look-see!

This one is one of her new blogs and it is about FREEZER COOKING!! :) I really want to get into doing this. She has some great recipes up. Check it out!

And last but not least, she is a preschool teacher. She was my youngest daughter's preschool teacher last year and I give her an A+! She's a wonderful teacher. She has recently started a blog about Montessori activities . It's new, but one you'll definitely want to follow especially if you have little ones!

So there you have it. If you are getting hit with this winter storm as we are, go grab a cup of cocoa (Or coffee for you in particular Coop Keeper Jayme! Or decaf tea in my case because I mixed a packet on cocoa in coffee just a bit ago and I am on caffeine overload!), snuggle in your warm robe, and go check out Breanna's blogs!

Alive and Kicking...

Just a quick update to let you all know that the wounded Divas are still alive and well! It truly must be a miracle. I did not expect them to even survive the night they were hurt, yet here they are. Have a great weekend! :)

Three Dead Divas and A Dead Raccoon....

I heard the girls making noise after dark, which they never do, and sent hubby out to check on them. Hubby caught the coon in the act and shot him dead. I have many choice words for that raccoon. Three of the Diva's are dead. Three more are wounded. We thought only one was wounded, but upon further inspection at least three are. Two appear to be terminally wounded - their behinds are chewed off. :( They are alive, they are walking around with the flock, but it is just a matter of time. We are contemplating putting them down, I'd rather they not suffer. This is so hard. The third I couldn't get a good look at, but doesn't look nearly as bad as the other two - I am hoping tomorrow I will find that she is just missing a few feathers. My poor girls. :(

It is our own fault and I feel terrible. :( The electric fence still isn't working and we haven't been consistently locking them in at night, even after we lost some of our Guineas to a coon and knew they were our number one predator. We must be more diligent.

It's Makeover Time!

I have been in the process of making over the house, and also realized that I need to make over this blog! So much needs to be updated and changed! I have so much to talk about too! Things that have worked and not worked this past year, things I have learned, and on and on. So that is one of my goals over the next month. Please be patient with me! :)

And I SWEAR I am going to post pictures of stuff soon. Currently, I have no idea where my camera is. Pathetic, I know. I think I need to put it on a leash. ;)

So how are your holiday preparations coming along? Can you believe it is December 1st today? WOW!

I'm So Excited! And I Just Can't Hide it!

I won! I won! I won Jayme, The Coop Keeper's, book give away. I get a signed copy of Pioneer Woman's new cook book! And here is how it got signed - please pay particular attention to the picture of the Rocketdogs next to the boot. And pay attention to the Rocketdogs in this post too. :) Jayme loves her Rocketdogs. And her Rocketdogs LOVE being photographed. They outshine any and all other footwear.

I am also excited because GASP...I just learned that you can paint old laminate counter tops to look fancy and new. Think granite! Think updated look! Think beauty! Think something tat will resemble the gorgeous new counter tops I saw in Lowe's the other day! So in the near future, I plan to update my kitchen AND bathroom counter tops! I am so excited! :) I will try VERY hard to actually take pictures! I so suck at that part!!

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

My Son Got a 9 Point Buck....

During youth deer season my son got a 9 pointer...took him down with 1 shot!

They are hunting again tomorrow...hope to have two more by the time they are through. We processed the deer ourselves (and let me tell you, this is pretty new to us!). I just about cut the tip of my thumb off because hubby sharpened the knives. I do not like deer burger, so we cut the back straps into steaks, then other cuts into bite size chunks to make grilled kabobs (we made some the other day marinated in Italian dressing and it was amazing!) and/or stew meat. The rest we are using to make jerky. My husband had a batch of jerky in the dehydrator right now and the house smells delicious! Happy hunting!

And the Winner Of the Total Money Makeover Book Is.....

As much as I wish I could send a copy to all of you (and I did consider doing just that!!) my youngest daughter pulled a name from a bowl and the winner is....Tonia!! Check out her blog at http://allnaturalsimplelife.blogspot.com/

Congrats Tonia, I'm sending you an email. :) I hope you'll enjoy the book and find it as useful as we have. :)

Also, Married to the Farm (Jena) opened my eyes to a new message forum called Living Like No One Else that pertains to working the Dave Ramsey plan. I got signed up there yesterday and it is really neat! Hope you'll drop by!

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!! :)

My 100th Post...And My First Give Away!

Wow...One Hundred posts! So here is what I want to do to celebrate...I want to 'pay it forward' and give one lucky person a copy of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book. Just leave me a comment telling me why you want it or need it. And if you don't need it but would be willing to pass it along to someone who does if you win...leave a comment and let me know! :)

I always thought I'd give away things I made. But time is short with the holidays coming and it is really in my heart to pass on Dave's book because it has done so much in our lives!

So leave a comment between now and next Wednesday (November 11) and I'll announce the winner next Thursday. GOOD LUCK!!! And thanks for reading my blog. :)

Professional Pictures of My Niece and Nephew....

You must check these out! They are precious! And if you are in Kansas or Missouri, she's a wonderful photographer! http://tenderportraits.com/blog/?p=1243

Happy Monday!! :)

Wal-Mart is Now Selling Caskets and Urns....

Just when I think I have seen it all. I absolutely did NOT see this one coming! Wal-Mart? Caskets? Urns? Yes, it is true. I think a major line has been crossed here. I think someone needs to put a stop to it. I swear, one day Wal-Mart will take over the world. And we'll be forced as a society to wear those blue vests to show our loyalty, or be shot. ;)

I'll admit, I shop there ALL the time. All the time. Several times a week in fact. They are a lot cheaper in so many aspects. And convenient too. But today I am seriously considering not shopping there ever again. That would be a total life challenge as well as having an huge impact on our budget. Understand what I mean when I say they will take over the world?

This may be one of those times that I have to put my personal interests aside and do what I think is in the best interest of the world at large. Maybe that sounds completely silly, but really, where does one draw the line?!?! Wal-Mart? Caskets? Urns? Anyone else think that is totally "off"?

Anyone Else Freak Out at the Thought of Painting the Woodwork?

It is just the thought of covering up that beautiful wood. And knowing that it would take A LOT of work to undo it if I ever were to decide to. Seems so permanent. Such a BIG commitment! HOWEVER. I have seen some gorgeous rooms lately with painted door frames and baseboards and they look so put together and wonderful! I love and long for the look of it! Yet I am pretty sure I lack the courage. What is your take on painting the woodwork? Done it and loved it? Done it and regretted it? Eeeek! :)

By the way, I bought a gallon of paint today! It is called Dark Toast. Yummy name, eh? I swear, pictures are coming soon and I will do before and afters. Currently, I took a paint brush and painted a few splotches here and there to get a feel for and decide if I loved the color before I paint the entire thing. Do other people do this too? Hubby seemed to think it was odd! :) I am not sure it is as dark as I want for the little living room, but I think it may be perfect for the laundry room! I know, a brown laundry room?!?!?! Weird-O! I just really have a thing for brown earthy tones! Pictures. I promise!

The Quandry: Strong Urge to Redecorate but Lacking the Talent! HELP!

I need help. I really want to do a little redecorating around our house. Nothing too fancy, some paint, new curtains, maybe some table decorations and DEFINITELY on a budget! The rooms I am shooting for are the big living room, the little living room, the laundry room and my daughter's rooms.

The only ideas I have so far are....

1. To dye the ugly faded 80's country blue cloth type vertical blinds in the big living room brown or tan with RIT dye. Do you think it will work? I have a snipped off piece and it is soaking in hot water right now to see how it holds up. :) I am thinking of getting the dye tomorrow and giving it a go! We are getting new carpet come spring, and also going to put ceramic tile in front of the deck door and under the wood stove. Currently the also faded old country solid blue carpet runs right up to the door (UGH!) and the wood stove sits on an ugly square black piece of metal stuff. I am going with a dark multi tone brown shag type carpet, and thinking of doing tans/browns for the tile, maybe throwing in a little color, in a circle under the wood stove and a half circle in front of the door.

2. The laundry room. Currently the walls are an old gross pale matte pink and the cabinets are white. It has flat utility type carpet that is a pain to sweep/vacuum, but I am not sure if we'll be changing that anytime soon - just the wall and cabinet color. To what colors? I have no clue! And it has one window that I would like to get a vertical blind for and make a new curtain.

3. Youngest daughter's room. It is currently pink bare walls. See? I am not much of a decorator! She mentioned blue with flowers and butterflies painted on. I am fairly artistic and like to make things, so I could probably manage that. Hubby also wants to add a chalk board painted section. She also recently got a bunk bed and the bottom is full size and folds into a futon/couch thing. I would like to make a curtain to cover the bottom bed so she could use it as a tent or hideout or place to read, etc.

4. Oldest daughter...well she is 16 and is probably going to want to do it how she wants to! Luckily she has a lot of style! :)

Now, a couple of barriers....dust. We live on a farm, use wood stoves, and it gets really dusty in here really quick! I am not a nic-nac person for that very reason - keeping up with the floors, walls, fans, and ceilings is work enough! I actually just packed up the baskets with fake plants in them because they are so hard to keep clean. So stuff has to be easily washable. Money...there is so much I would love to do here, like actually remodel and update! But for now, it is just some surface level tinkering to make things look a little nicer. The cheaper, the better, of course. :)

So if you have ideas or favorite websites sites or tips on how to put a room together or pictures of your own decorating...please let me know!

Three Guineas Down! OH NO!!!!

Two confirmed dead, one unaccounted for but found some feathers with tissue attached in the adjacent barn lot. Not sure what got them, but my main suspicion is raccoons. It rained all day yesterday and got cold, so our black lab was under the carport on the other side of the house last night. He has been sleeping on the deck near the coop and I think he keeps predators away at night. While the Guineas have been sleeping in their coop at night, we have not been locking them in. For sure we will from now on at night. There must have been a ruckus in the coop by whatever got them...their roosting sticks were all knocked down and one bird the only thing remaining was its head and neck.

Ugh. Poor babies!

Guineas on the Loose!!! And What to Name This Flock?

We let them out of their pen! We removed the fence/yard part so they could roam and hopefully stick around! For some odd reason, hubby didn't realize I would want to be part of that process. I called his cell Friday to tell him to come eat dinner, knowing he was around the farm somewhere, and he told me he was right in the yard letting the Guineas out. WHAT? Without me? What on earth would make you think I would NOT want to be part of that? He says 'well, we talked about doing it'. Um, yes, WE did. God bless him, I about strangled him!

So I get out there and NO Guineas. They were all up roosting in the trees, which is exactly what I did not want them to do! Crap. On top of that, he did this at dinner time so then it was dark and we could barely see them. And we could only count 7. Where was #8? Oh dear.

Saturday morning they were in the yard but still only 7 of them. No evidence of any foul play for number 8, it was like he was gone without a trace! I had to be gone Saturday night and part of Sunday for my oldest daughter's sweet 16 party, so hubby texts me Saturday evening and simply says "There's 8!!!" So he found his flock again, or they found him. That made me happy!

Saturday and Sunday nights they roosted for the night back in their coop. WOO HOO! I was so glad! Their food and water are in the coop, as well as a light for heat and branches to roost on. I think after a night of freedom in the tree (and it was cold that night!) they decided the coop was much cozier.

Today it got really warm so our house is being invaded by those orange and black polk-a-dotted beetles. The Guineas are definitely getting their bellies full between those and the crickets!

Now, what to name them? The first thing that comes to mind is The Search & Rescuers - they all get in a line and peck along eating bugs - it reminds me of a search and rescue team! However, they are on a mission to eat bugs, so how about The Search & Destroyers? One other one though...anyone remember the movie The Lost Boys? The way the Guineas go one at a time when they do fly up in or out of the trees reminds me of the train track scene in that movie when one at a time they drop down and then Michael follows. Man, Michael was a hottie! :) Anyway, The Lost Boys is in the running too. What do you think I should name them?

Fertility or Infertility. Another Duck Egg Link.....

I found some more detailed info about how to tell weather your eggs are fertilized or not at this site.

As much as I believe that we do not have any male ducks or fertilized eggs, I gave another friend some eggs and told her they are not fertilized....after she cracked some this weekend she said she thinks the eggs are fertilized. She did like eating them and commented on the bright colored yolks! ! :) I'm in the process of finding out what she is seeing and thinking. Until then, of course I am doing more Internet research and egg cracking to compare pictures!! :) I am certainly no egg expert, but I was really confident that they aren't fertile. I may attempt incubating just to be super sure. It wouldn't bother me if they are fertilized...they are still fine for eating, but then they could also be hatchable too - I'd just like to know so that I can tell people if they are or aren't and be sure about it! I thought I was sure, now I am not so sure! LOL :) Story of my life.

Yesterday I hard-boiled some Duck Eggs....oh man, were they delicious! The kids loved them! Going to try making deviled eggs with them soon!

Just a Friendly Reminder....

Depending on where you live....it is either 72 or 73 days until Christmas. :) How is your holiday prep going? Mine is just so-so!! :)

Welcome to the World!!

Please welcome the newest members of our family.....

From left to right....Little Miss Calie, Big Sissy Sam, and Little Mister Kain. Gorgeous & healthy! :) Hooray!!!!!

Those Naughty Dirty, Dirty, Divas.....And Everything You Wanted To Know About Duck Eggs...

Or you can call this post "Yes, we have NO bananas". (If you have read the book 'Eat, Pray, Love' it just made that banana reference even funnier. Sorry, I'm in a good mood and thus my warped sense of humor shines through)

There is not a drake one in our flock. That is, not unless he does a VERY good job of female impersonation. No one has a darker head. No one has any curved tail feathers. No one has anything characteristic of a boy duckie. They all look just alike, even the one that sounds a little different. I know what you are thinking...but the pool surfing and the weird egg thing.....Yes, let me tell you what I have learned!!!!!

Over at The New Agrarian under the section of Raising Ducks: 4 - 5 months They reported this from their female duck experience....."More new behavior: when the ducks get into the pool first thing each morning, they hump each other. It seems to be the same ducks every day, but it doesn’t correspond to what we thought was the pecking order. It began just after we found the first eggs, and the ducks we believed to be laying first were the ones being humped, so our best guess is that the ducks who were less sexually mature were a bit confused by the new hormones in the flock. But the morning ritual continues now that everyone is laying, and so we really have no idea what is going on."

Humping....surfing....po-ta-to...po-tat-o. :) Apparently this is something that girly ducks do. They are ornery like that, you know. Why do they do it? I have no clue. Maybe I'll become the Duck Whisperer and we'll find out. Or maybe you are a Duck Whisperer and you can tell me?!?!?!

Eggs....Consider this your crash course on duck eggs. While I didn't get to see the egg that my hubby's friend thought was fertilized, I have seen two from ours that I think may be what they saw. Mink Hollow Farm has a great page about duck eggs. There I learned about Meat Spots.....

This is a meat spot. (Photos courtesy of Mink Hollow Farm)

This is a Meat Spot visible through candling.

So what is a meat spot? Mink Hollow Farm says that "Meat spots, while unappetising, are generally considered to be harmless. They are thought to be what's left of some tissue that has been sloughed off during or shortly after the yolk was released into the oviduct. The most likely explanation is that the meat spot is a piece of the follicle that once held a yolk. Sometimes a bit tears off. Another possibility is that a follicle that is no longer functional breaks down and 'falls off' from the ovary.Eggs containing meat spots are generally considered unsuitable for hatching. The meat spot can usually be easily removed."

So the presence of a Meat Spot does not mean an egg is fertile. I have begun candling all of our eggs to spot anything unusual and I have had two that contained a meat spot. I suspect this is what hubby's friend saw too.

Next egg fact...the Chalazae. Go here to hear that word spoken. I did, but I still can't say it right! The Chalazae is the white cloudy looking stuff. See it? Bottom left? Sometimes it looks like a tiny squiggly pig tail or a teeny tiny umbilical cord, which it pretty much is, and anchors the yolk. It is a normal part of an INFERTILE egg. It is perfectly natural and normal. It's presence also means your eggs are FRESH. As the egg ages, the Chalazae shrinks and becomes less noticeable. So they are really noticible in our eggs!

And the next egg one...you can almost barely see it in the picture above (top center of the yolk, not the bright camera flash spot on the bottom right) but our duck eggs tend to have a tiny noticeable light dot on the yolk. This is called the True Egg. For an egg to become fertile, it must be present, but it's presence does not indicate an egg is fertile. It is just a normal part of an egg and means it is a good egg.

Last but not least, the shells are thicker than a chicken egg shell, so you have to make sure you give them a good hard bonk on the side of your cast iron skillet.

So, there you have it. No boy ducks and lots of crazy egg info! I'm sure I have left something out that you are dying to know, so any questions? Ask away! :)

Oh, The Busy Life and Being Sick Do Not Mesh Well!!

The sun is shining today! That is a good thing. I have been fighting off the crud and now I have some weird thing going that I initially thought was my gallbladder but now I am thinking it is Costochondritis - which is an inflammation of the rib cartilage, probably related to the crud and coughing.

Yes, I SHOULD go to the Dr but, argh, I just don't want to! Stubborn and silly, I know. My husband told me to quit acting like I am 10 years old. :) LOL And I am the QUEEN of self diagnosis. Not that I am always right, you remember the recent ER trip that I thought was a massive heart attack that ended up being anxiety? Other than THAT one, I am usually right. And God love the Internet for self diagnosing! :) And I am such a total 'wait and see' type too. And then there is the long sordid story of insurance and everything where we live being out of area, having to drive two hours to get anything covered, blah blah blah blah blah. I am just not in the mood! I have things to do!

Thursday my sister is being induced to have the twin babies. Hooray!! :) Thank goodness I am off Thursday!!!!

This week and weekend is booked up with school home coming festivities - the parade, the football game, every day is a different theme for spirit week, and the homecoming dance Saturday which my oldest daughter is going to. My youngest daughter is on the dance team for the half-time show so she has practice this week.

Then the next weekend is my oldest daughter's sweet 16 party which I am in the process of planning.

I am trying to keep up! :)

Today I have been taking the time to go sit in the sun for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. All the latest research is talking about vitamin D deficiency and the impact it can have. And really, I DO feel better! I think there is something to that. Most of my "spare" time lately has been spent napping since I have been sick...the sun is doing me some good.

Oh, and my hubby is laid off this week. He was off last week too, but will be back to work next week! :) But since he has been around he is a lot of help and has saved the day with me not feeling well. He's a wonderful man.

We have been getting between 10 - 14 duck eggs per day. I have been giving a lot away, and I think I am going to try selling them. The guineas are great too...they love life in their new coop and they are getting so big!!

Alrighty, I am signing off for now. Back to your own busy life you go now! :) Thanks for stopping in and I am wishing you peace and happiness and HEALTH! :)

Ladies & Gentlemen...I Think We May Have An Impostor Among Us...

Well, an impostor among the Dirty Divas, that is. I think one may very well be...A BOY! Well, a drake, technically, but a boy nonetheless. What makes me think this? Two things. Three actually. Wait, four.

Number one....remember this post about our first eggs when I said we noticed some odd duck behavior in the pool? One duck was surfing on another's back and hanging on to it's neck feathers with its beak? Faith from over at Lemonade Adventures commented and said that she thought it was mating behavior. At the time I thought it was funny, because they are all girls! Right? RIGHT? I'm not so sure now!

So...number two. We had this one egg that we found in their play yard instead of in the coop. It was different than the others. It was darker, kind of splotchy looking. I thought maybe since it sat outside for who knows how long it was just a bad egg. Since we are new to this whole duck and egg thing, I marked it with a black X with the intention of looking into it further. However, I went ahead and put it in a carton with other eggs until I could get back to it, because you know I am a busy mom and all, and my husband gave that dozen to a friend of his! Which was lovely, but then he found out that when they cracked that egg with the X there was an embryo in it! Or so that is what they think it was. Since I didn't get to see it, and probably wouldn't know what I was looking at if I had, I have no clue if that is what it really was. Man, I wish I could have seen it!

Number three...there is one duck that does not sound the same as the others. It never has. I never gave it much thought...until now!

Number four...we ordered a straight run of 15 Khaki Campbell female chicks and they threw in an extra chick, as hatcheries tend to do, so perhaps number sixteen IS a boy?

So my suspicions are heightened and I have a lot of observation to do to get to the bottom of this foul mystery!

Can you spot the fake...I mean Drake?

Me neither. But I'll keep you updated on this investigation!!! Oh and one more thing, if there is a boy, I will be absolutely thrilled! I had planned on getting a couple this spring! :)

I Was Just Thinking I Should Update You About My Pregnant-With-Twins-Sister...

Remember me asking for prayers because she went into preterm labor and had to be in the hospital on bed rest? Well, after that she went home on bed rest. Then after that she made it far enough along that the babies were out of danger they let her off bed rest! And now.....

SHE IS STILL PREGNANT!!!! One more week and they are actually going to INDUCE her!

The happy couple....isn't she absolutely gorgeous? :)

Daddy's hands.....(and her crazy outie!)

Yeah, go ahead and kiss now you two...

....because you are going to be way too busy to kiss after those two babies get here! :) LOL

I just think it is amazing that she went into preterm and we were so worried and here she is pretty much full term! :) Thank you all for the prayers...PRAYER WORKS! :)

The Guinea's New Coop.....

My most awesome husband built the Guinea's First Home! THANK YOU SWEETHEART!!!!Everything used to make it was re-purposed stuff we had around.

They aren't quite sure that to make of it all yet! So far (the whole 20 minutes they have been out there!) they spend their time in the corner on a pile of pine shavings....I think because that is what they were used to on the floor of their brooder.

But we ushered them out and they seemed to enjoy it! Just still too new to them...you know, like the first time you let your baby touch grass and they give you that adorable yet confused "WHAT?!?!" look? It's like that.

Their food and water are inside the coop. We also have sticks strategically placed inside and out for them to roost on. That was the signal they were ready to be out of the house...every time we turned around one was up on the edge of the brooder! A time or two they'd make it to the floor and nose around chirping loudly until we put them back in with the flock. Amazingly enough I have both a cat and a dog in the house and neither one bothered or ate the Guineas.

I think I am officially a Poultry Enthusiast. :) I've got big plans for these fellas and plans in the works for some more birds. Like Silkies. Instead of the old lady with a billion cats...I'll be the old lady with chickens everywhere. :) LOL

Three and a Half Eggs.......

My son went out to collect duck eggs this evening. He's how it went....

Him - Mom, guess how many eggs I found?

Me - How many?

Him - Three and a half!

Me - Huh? Was one broken?

Nope, just tiny! It is adorable! Do we have a tiny duck hiding out there amongst the Dirty Divas?

And he is way excited to eat that tiny egg for breakfast tomorrow! :) I still haven't had a chance to eat a duck egg, maybe tomorrow morning, but my son has and he loves them! He said they are way better than a chicken egg. That made me smile! :)

Much more to update about my follow up trip to the Dr today and the Guineas. But for now I am hitting the tub with some lavender Epsom salt and then heading to bed. Big hugs to all of you and I wish you a peaceful night!

An Emergency Room Trip at 3:00am.....

Short version: About 3am Saturday morning I thought I was dying.

Longer version: I woke up around 3ish to go potty, as usual. But on the way to the bathroom I noticed my abdomen hurt a little. By the time I was on the way back to bed, it hurt a lot. Then the left side of my chest hurt. Then the next thing I knew my heart was racing out of control. Really, I didn't know a heart could beat THAT fast. I thought my heart was going to explode. And about that time as I was waking up my husband to tell him I don't feel right at all, this strange burning sensation was overcoming my body, and when it hit the back of my neck and then back of my head and my heart was racing and chest was hurting I told my husband to call 911, that I thought I was dying.

This is the scariest thing I have ever been through.

So the ambulance comes. Slowly, because we are rural, and might I add that they turned into our drive and then pulled back out and then my hubby chased them down the highway and brought them back. He's such a good hubby, bless HIS heart, I scared the crap out of him. We really need to make our address HUGE on our mailbox. If I wasn't already dying, the trip down our front porch stairs on the stretcher was about enough to kill me! It was like a roller coaster ride, which I do not do. But while I was waiting for the ambulance I was shaking all over uncontrollably, but my heart rate was slowing, which I was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing so I laid on the bed in one position, scared to death to move. My hubby had to put some jammie pants on me because I had went to bed in a tshirt and undies. I have also been really run down the last week or so - taking a lot of naps and going to bed early. I thought I was fighting off a bug so I didn't give it too much thought...UNTIL all of the sudden this was going on - then I was sure it was because something was terribly wrong with me.

So in the ambulance they are trying to get an IV in, which they could not, and they hooked me up and monitored me. The paramedic told me I had the most beautiful sinus rhythm he had seen in a long time. I blushed.

At the hospital they ran a bazillion tests. All tests came back negative. My heart is fine. My electrolytes and all that jazz are fine. My blood is all fine. My chest x-ray was fine. My thyroid was even fine. They kept referring to my test results and "Perfect" and "Beautiful". Which made me think...are they normal because I am crazy?!?!?

So I have to see the Dr on Monday. The ER doc suspects a massive ANXIETY attack, which I misinterpreted as a massive HEART attack. And the more I research nocturnal anxiety attacks, the more sense it makes. I have had some issues with anxiety before, but nothing compared to the magnitude of this experience. I really hope to never go through that again! So my suspicion this far is that perhaps I was either in the process of an anxiety attack when I woke up and it escalated. Or in my sleepy stupor I had an anxiety attack in response to the abdominal pain I was having. I don't really know.

So I spent yesterday resting and taking it easy. I still had a little bit of abdominal pain off and on. Last night I slept in a chair because the thought of sleeping in my bed was just not appealing at all. When I woke up for the usual bathroom trip at 3am last night, I was wide awake and nervous just thinking about the night before. I did a lot of deep breathing to get me through last night. I'll see the Dr tomorrow after work and go from there.

So there it is. Anyone have anxiety issues? Nocturnal anxiety attacks? I could really use some "You are not crazy" hugs right now! While I am thrilled there is nothing wrong with me, something IS wrong with me. Know what I mean? Ugh.

Some Very Egg-citing News!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Dirty Divas have laid their first eggs! These three were in their house today. They laid them on the floor...not an egg one in the nest boxes.

How many ducks can you fit in a kiddy pool? Sixteen!

We also noticed some interesting duck behavior today...when they were all in the pool one was standing on another one's back and holding onto it's neck feathers with it's beak! Some kind of odd duck surfing? :) These are the three duck eggs on the right and a regular store bought chicken egg on the left. Only fitting that the Dirty Divas lay dirty eggs! :) LOL

And last but certainly not least...the Guineas! Aren't they cute? I should have taken pictures last week...they have more than doubled in size and are getting feathers already! Orschlen had chick days going on last week so I came home with eight of these babies. We lost one to a nasty case of what I think was pasty butt - we tried to save him but it didn't work - luckily they replaced him so we still have 8. We got three Pearls, three Royal Purple, and two Lavender.

They are talkative little fellas! One of the first things I noticed is that they chirp non-stop when they are awake.

A tiny little pumpkin update...the squash bugs got the main vines, but not until after we had harvested a lot. The neat thing is that on the back side of our house in the pasture we have volunteer pumpkin vines growing from pumpkins we tossed out there last year! So this means we WILL have more pumpkins for Halloween! There are a lot on the vines and not one squash bug in sight. I hope those dirty beggars stay away!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Congratulations on 44 years of marriage!

We love you!!!!!

Help!!! I Need Some Parenting Advice......

Kids quitting activities is the subject. When my daughter wanted to quit soccer a couple of years ago, which she thought she would love, I had her finish out the season because she had made a commitment to her team and she never had to play it again. My 7th grade son wanted to play football, so he is, but after loving it at first, now he says he hates it and wants to quit. When I ask him why, he throws out some reasons like his uniform pants are too big (I can alter them!) or he doesn't know the plays (So study them!). The thing is, he tends to want to quit things. He plays the sax and wanted to quit it this year. I didn't let him and he hasn't complained about it at all. I did let him quit summer school because it wasn't necessary, I signed him up to keep him busy and he hated it so after a lot of thought, because I did not want to give him the impression that quitting is taken lightly, he didn't have to be there so I let him quit. When he wanted to quit the sax, he told his sister that I would let him quit because I let him quit summer school. Ugh!

So my thinking is that they haven't even had their first game yet. I think he should finish the season, which isn't very long and the middle school team he is on only has like four games. If he still hates it, he never has to play again but at least he gave it a full chance since he wanted to play in the first place. Then again, I hate for him to be miserable and waste time that he could be using for something else more fulfilling. But perhaps the underlying message, which would be to follow through on commitments, is more important. Then again, maybe I am thinking too seriously about this and over thinking. :) I also think that maybe hubby or I should talk to the coach.

So what do you all think? How do you or did you handle your kids wanting to quit something? What would you do in my shoes? And where is that darn Child's Owner Manual when you need it? :) Parenting is definitely the toughest job in the world. Yet also the most rewarding! :)

Time Marches On....

Hello everyone! I have been reading and enjoying all of your blogs, but not posting many comments or on my blog lately. School started which means I started my part-time nurse job at the school and I absolutely love, love, love it! I haven't worked outside of the home for a good 5+ years, and I thought it might be more of an adjustment, but really it has been smooth sailing! Hooray! :)

My sister...she is home on bed rest now, no babies yet! Hopefully she can hold off on labor for another couple of weeks. Every extra day in there is a good thing for the babies! Yet if she were to deliver now, I am confident they would be ok, but spend more time in the hospital. I took her a big scrap booking kit and that has helped her occupy the time some.

The weather has been gorgeous and cooler so I have been able to have the house opened up, which I adore! But it is supposed to warm up for the next few days, so I'll probably turn the AC back on until later in the week when it is supposed to be back in the 70's.

The Dirty Diva's are still doing grand! No eggs, yet. My hubby tried an experiment...he left their gate open while he was relatively close by to see if they would go out. They didn't. He said they'd go check it out because it was something new, but they never went out. Suspicious they are! Curious they are! Brave and smart, they are not. :) LOL But we love them! No Guineas yet, still. I still go back and forth about getting them.

We did some outside work this weekend, got the pool drained and put away for the season. It was bittersweet, I'll miss summer, but I love Fall and I am so excited for this fall and winter! Round about January & February I will be drooling for Spring and Summer.

Hubby made some 'burn your taste buds off' hot salsa this evening. I didn't even try it! I plan to make some mild in the next couple of days. Thanks for the tomatoes Mom & Dad! And I am looking forward to some apples too! Mmmmm...apple butter! :)

Life is just clicking along and time's marching on. 123 days until Christmas! :) LOL I hope to get back into the blogging groove soon!

Requesting Prayers.....

My sister went in for her regular check up yesterday, she is at 31 weeks with boy/girl twins, and found out she was dilated to three. They put her in the hospital with drugs to stop any contractions and also did a series of steroid shots to help the babies lungs with the hopes that she would be in for 24 hours and then go home on bed rest. Today when the Doctor checked her she is dilated a little more so they are transferring her to a larger hospital, just in case. Hopefully the babies will stay put for a few more weeks, if not they will all be in excellent hands at the new hospital.

Please keep her and the babies in your prayers! Thank you. :)

And Then There Were Fifteen....

Well, for a few minutes anyway! One Dirty Diva accidentally flew over the fence while I was changing their water! They all took off for the opposite side of their yard when I walked up to them, a couple of them flying, and she flew right over the fence! She looked a little stunned, out in the tall grass, and went directly back to the flock, but she was stuck on the other side of the fence! She bumped into it a time or two and I went about dealing with their water and feeding them to see if she might make her way back over. All the while she stayed right next to the flock and in the flock, only separated by the fence - they kind of looked at her like they knew something wasn't quite right, but they weren't sure what it was. She continued to do whatever it was they were doing, but when they all started to abandon her for the fresh pool water, I went around and lifted her back over the fence.

It was definitely interesting! They truly are one unit, the flock. They only thing she knew to do was to get back near her sisters! :) Even if she couldn't quite make it back to them. She could have made a mad dash for the creek and showed off her freedom, but she didn't. Oh, and the black lab was nearby and saw her and left her alone. That made me happy!

What? Only 139 Days Until Christmas?

Yes, it is true. Only 139 days until Christmas. And holiday pumpkin pies are on my mind! I baked the pumpkins, then I scooped the meat out, pureed it in my brand new food processor, bagged it up and put it in the freezer. Each bag has enough for two pies in it. Yum! I was going to make some pumpkin bread this evening but got busy and ran out of time. I have only done these two pumpkins so far and they made enough for 7 pies! WOW! I remember my Grandma Edna baking THE BEST pumpkin bread in coffee cans! I wish I had that recipe...does anyone have a good Grandma one?


This recipe ROCKS! It is battered jalapenos and oh man, are they good! I made them last night and served them with some cheesy queso dip. Delicious! You can find the recipe here. I am going to slice up some jalapenos to freeze to make this recipe later this winter. I think this would be a perfect way to use up frozen peppers, and freezing is so easy.

Grating up Zucchini to freeze, for the ducks. Let me ask you....how did I ever live without a food processor? Don't laugh...I have been grating zucchini by hand! With one of those flat cheese graters! Until I broke it while grating all that gosh darn zucchini! : ) LOL The thought of grating up a gazillion more pounds was just a little daunting, so I invested in this baby and it has already earned it's keep between the zucchini and the pumpkin! I can already think of a ton of uses for it. I have no idea, however, where I am going to store it!

Some of the peppers I canned today. More mild jalapenos and cherry peppers.

Knitted Babe momma and boy/girl twins I made for my niece's birthday. Tomorrow is her party and I am very excited to give them to her! I hope she likes them.

I hope you have a great weekend! :) Next week I think I'll do a Christmas Is A Craft update....How are you doing on your Christmas preparations?

And the Harvest Continues...

Next year I will be sure to plant some pumpkins later too...these will be good for eating - I plan to bake, scrape, puree and freeze - but I am not sure if we'll have any around Halloween time for Jack-O- Lanterns! After hubby got home he brought 4 more up to the house. I'll salt and bake seeds too. And keep some seeds too. Especially from that perfect gorgeous one!

Tons and tons of peppers...cherry peppers, mild jalapenos, bells. I just put 13 quarts to brine overnight and will can them tomorrow. Then I am going to make stuffed peppers. Lots of stuffed peppers. After hubby got home he also picked a huge amount of hot peppers. I stick to the mild ones. He deals with the hot ones. All the peppers in these pics are mild.

Butternut squash. First year growing it...and excited to eat it! Next year I will plant less zucchini and more Butternut and some acorn too.

A Zucchini about as big as my baby! Those suckers sure do get out of control fast! These biggies are not going to waste...we have been grating them up and feeding them to the ducks! They love them!

More peppers....and a few tomatoes! My hubby got me all excited...he said there really are a lot of tomatoes down there...more than you think. Ummm, one Wal-mart bag full honey? One? From 55 plants? Last year I only had a fraction of the amount of plants and had laundry baskets full of maters! Oh well...we'll make some salsa and life goes on.

And more zucchini...and see that blue dutch oven? That is the cutie I got for my birthday!

And the Guineas....have yet to be ordered. I still have reservations. We have a ton of toads everywhere and apparently they will eat them too. That bugged me a bit, I like the toads everywhere! Hubby didn't think it was any big deal and said "Order them!". :) LOL We did talk about where we'd build them a house and how we would go about raising them. I imagine before too long we'll have some new babies around the house.

The Dirty Divas? Doing awesome! I need to take pics...hubby built them 3 nest boxes. No eggs, yet. I imagine later this month or early next. They fly, which they have been doing for a while now, but they don't fly out of their play yard, which really surprises me because they are right close to the creek, and as much as they love water, one would think they'd just fly down there and fly back up in the evening. They just fly into their pool, or out of their pool, or across their yard. But not out of it. Not so far anyway! And I am a little amazed that we still have all of the original 16. I thought for sure we'd lose a couple to illness or predators or small children...but nope, so far so good!

Pickling Tip of The Day...

Well, the pot that I used to brine/ferment the cukes in was stainless steel, but apparently the rivets that held the handles were not! So, now the pot is handle-less and I had used a lid from a smaller pot and a dinner plate to weight the cukes down and that lid's handle is off too! Oh yes, and it leaked out of the rivet holes!

I can't help but to laugh about it. It was hilarious! And what great chemistry lesson for the kids about the power of acids!

The Shack....

My last Guidepost had an article about the author of the book The Shack. Yesterday at Wal-Mart I picked up a copy of the book and read it between yesterday evening and this morning. I don't read like"normal" people, as my husband would say. In fact, we tried reading a book together over the winter, both of us had our own copies of The Oath - a book that I felt had enough spiritual significance and relationship stuff to keep my interest and enough manly stuff and sci-fi to to keep hubby's attention. A balanced book we'd both enjoy. We were going to read a chapter and discuss it, and then read some more, etc. Except I couldn't stop myself from reading the whole thing in a day or so, which frustrated him because I was so far ahead of him....and I was frustrated because I was ready to discuss and he was barely into the first chapter! Needless to say, that effort failed and he still hasn't finished the book. But he wants to finish it. And since then I have read dozens of books. We just weren't meant to read together. Or maybe we are and we're supposed to learn a lot through the very challenging process! :) LOL

Anyway, if you are looking for a fabulous book...let me recommend The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. I have to say that I truly LOVE this book and am already looking forward to reading it again! It is just THAT good. But first...I MUST PICKLE! :) LOL I have cukes in brine in the basement that had to ferment for 2 - 3 weeks. Today is the day that they will be canned and hopefully we will also can some regular dills (using a packet of Mrs. Wages dill spice stuff that I have never tried before but have high hopes for!) and maybe some peppers too.

Have a great day! :)

To Guinea or Not To Guinea. That is the question...

So I have it in my head that I really want Guinea keets. They are supposed to be relatively easy to care for and are awesome at tick and insect control, which we could really use around here. I think I have it in my head that we'll train them to stay in boundaries, which I have read can be done, and we'll train the dogs to leave them be so they can live fairly freely, which I think is attainable too.

And the hatchery we got the ducks from has a Guinea special going on right now, which would make them a tad bit cheaper. I think I'd like to get them now so they could be in full swing in the spring.

But still, something holds me back from placing that order. Do any of you have Guineas? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

And what do you think...should we do it?

Now, I Am Far, Far, Far From An Expert Gardener.....

But even I know that this.....

Is NOT Rosemary! But that is what grew in the pot that I planted the Rosemary. What the....?!?!?!

FLASHBOOM!!....Guess What Happened?

No, it wasn't fireworks! It was LIGHTNING! And Sunday it hit the tree in our front yard, while I was standing under the carport a mere 100 feet from it! All at once there was a giant FLASH and BOOM and the house shook and it happened so fast that I didn't realize what had happened until bark flew off the tree! My heart pounded. I was shaking. Wow.

I bought some tree wound stuff to paint on so hopefully the tree won't die. It also blew our modem, so it got replaced today.

And just a friendly little PSA reminder...stay away from trees during a thunderstorm.

I can't see the garden through the weeds. There are just too many and it is too big. I have started a "weed directly around the plants only" protocol to keep up the best we can. I also did resort to Chemical Warfare in The War Against Squash Bugs. Sevin dust.

We pickled a whopping 24 pints of peppers over the weekend.

And I am sure there is a lot more to update but I have have HAVE to get the wood floors waxed!

The Squash Bugs Must Die!

Happy Belated Independence Day! I hope you had a safe and happy one.

We spent the weekend camping at a lake like we do just about every year, with a big group of friends. Despite rain on and off, we had an absolutely wonderful time.

However, when we got home, I did a garden walk through and found that in the two days we were gone, the squash bugs went wild! There are eggs everywhere. Ugh. I picked a lot off and squished them, and found several adults and they met their demise as well. I also found some nymphs, baby squash bugs, which means some eggs have hatched. Those are the first babies I have seen, so I think I had been doing a decent job of keeping up with them up until now. There are some on the pumpkin vines now too.

Tomorrow morning the kids and I are going to do some major garden work. We have got to get things down in the garden caught up. There are peas and peppers to pick, potatoes to dig, weeds to pull, and THE SQUASH BUGS MUST DIE!!!!!!

Oh, one more thing...my mother in law got me a dutch oven for my b-day! It is gorgeous, blue enamel cast iron and she also gave me a matching blue cast iron trivet with it. I fell in love with it. It is gorgeous and I am excited to use it! If I can force myself to...it really is THAT gorgeous! I just want to stare at it and take in its beauty. Silly, I know. :)

Feeling Out of Whack.....

Summer is a double edge sword. I enjoy the lack of routine, yet the lack of routine also drives me insane at times. :)

We had a death in the family, so have been busy and have had a lot of family in town. Rest in peace GG Pop. We will miss you! We have also had some other family members in town who stayed with us. Always fun, yet chaotic!

Garden is growing, most things are doing wonderful, but the tomatoes look terrible. We had a ton of rain and I don't think they liked having their feet wet for so long. Maybe they will snap out of it. I have picked a few yummy cherry tomatoes. And have eaten a few sugar snap peas off the vine. Oh yum! :)

I dug some red potatoes for dinner last night and they were so delicious!

I am about to pick our first Zuchinnis. I have also been hand picking and squishing squash bugs and searching the leaves for their eggs and smashing them too. Other than that, no major garden bugs yet.

The ducks are doing wonderfully. We need to get their nest boxes built sometime in the next month.

I have been knitting. I made a trip to a Hobby Lobby and drooled all over the yarn isle. I bought yarn for gifts I am making for Christmas. I got one of the newborn hats done for my sister's twins-to-be and have started on a pair of matching booties. It kind of amazes me that I have acquired the needle and yarn stash that I have already! And I have so many projects going on at once. I am a "bouncer" though...I work best when I have a lot of irons in the fire instead of just doing one thing to completion and starting another.

I have been working on some organizing and cleaning out and getting rid of stuff. Where does all of this stuff come from? I think the Stuff Fairy must sneak in at night. I am filling up the back of the van to make a trip to the Goodwill for a drop off.

We are all healthy and happy and life is good. How are you and yours?

A Heartbreaking Tragedy....

An 11 year old boy in our community was killed in a very tragic accident yesterday. I wasn't fortunate enough to know this boy well, but my son played with him at recess and my daughter is good friends with his older sister. Both of my children are still in disbelief that he is gone, that this could happen to such a great kid, to someone so young.

My heart aches for his family and I am compelled to hug my own kids a little tighter and thank God for them and for the time we have together. It is so easy for me to get caught up in day to day life and forget to be thankful.

Please keep this boy's family in your prayers as they face the difficult days ahead.

Another young boy was injured in this accident. Please keep him and his family in your prayers too.

And give your loved ones an extra hug tonight.

Who Wants To Talk About Christmas?

Me either, but I have this Dave Ramsey saying stuck in my head...Christmas is a Craft. That is, until you are out of debt anyhow. We are close, but not quite, and some things have come up in life that are postponing our debt free scream. If you listen to Dave on AM radio then that will make sense. If not, go listen and then it will make sense. Due to the delay I have the urge to scream other not so nice things. However, I will refrain and instead will focus on things that move us toward our goal.

(This is not my house...it is last Christmas Eve at hubby's moms)


The whole Christmas is a Craft thing brings up a few thoughts. Do people think you are cheap for making instead of buying? Or do they realize the value in a homemade/handmade gift? I certainly see the value, so I guess while this worries me a bit, it wouldn't stop me because it is something I would like to get. And what if they hate what I have made? Ok, I don't plan to make any of my nephews pink bunny suits. I do know I would do my best to make things they would use and enjoy and to make them of good quality. Actually, I have had an easier time coming up with a list of ideas to make for my loved ones than I ever have when thinking of what to buy them and the store! And odd things come up that would make good gifts...did you know my 12 year old son was surfing my Ravelry account and wants me to knit him a stuffed Yoda? Who ever would have guessed THAT one? :) And there are several things that one just cannot go wrong with. Like food gifts! :)

(Kids had fun building it and we all had fun eating it!)

So why am I talking about this when it is barely June? Because I am sure that handmade/homemade means more planning and time for creating. To do it this way is going to be a bit more involved than a last minute dash to the stores two days before Christmas! And I could really use some good frugal ideas! I have started a list over on the right of some ideas I have had so far. I would love to hear about handmade/homemade gifts you have given or received and what you do for Christmas of gift giving in general!

Canning Jar Quandry.....and Garden and Dirty Diva Duckie Updates

Hello everyone! Today my laundry is being dried by the gracious sun and I am cleaning out the pantry. Ugh. It never ceases to amaze me how easily it gets out of hand. In the process I am taking inventory of my canning jars. I currently have amassed....

18 Quart Jars
29 Pint Jars
3 half-pint jars
A million saved glass jars that are for storage and refrigerator pickles, but not canning

So, how many canning jars does one need? I have no idea. How many do you have? Is it enough? Where is the best (best meaning cheapest) place to buy them? How many do I need? Can you tell me? How and where do you store yours when not in use?

I have been working on some "canning goals" and going through that fabulous Ball Canning book and picking out the recipes that I plan to use. I figure that is a start. Is that a start? Is that a good start?

My camera sucks cow butt so I have no pictures right now. But will soon!!

The garden....is overall doing very well. I do need to weed and plan to do that this evening. We used hay (straw?) mulch around everything. One and a half of those GINORMOUS round bales to be exact. So far so good.

Successes include....

Tomato seedlings
Pepper seedlings
Cucumbers
Popcorn
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Squash
Radishes
Carrots (have just recently made their appearance! I was so excited!)
Beets
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Strawberries
Green Beans
Peas
Melons - I am leery about the seedlings, so I direct planted some as well.
Stevia is still in pots and doing well
Recently planted Dill in the garden and Rosemary in pots. Will wait a bit longer to plant some Cilantro because last year by the time we needed it it was bolted and spent. I do have a volunteer Cilantro coming up. I let it grow. Just in case we need some sooner.

Iffy Things....

Sweet Potatoes - some of the slips are growing so we'll have some
Onions - the dozen or so I got in the ground early and then waited on the rest because I thought the soil was too wet are actually doing very well. However, ones I planted later are so-so and not a lot are making it. Even the green onions are having issues.
Lettuces - Some are coming up, but I think they needed to be planted earlier and will try a fall crop and use the cold frame
Okra - I was inspired to plant a few (thanks Mrs. S!) but so far they aren't doing so well. I am going to try re-seeding to see if we can't get it going.
Watermelon - Looking puny. Remember I tried seedlings? I went ahead and direct seeded to see if those would do better.

Total Failures...I think due to planting late

Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts


The Dirty Diva's got a little rearranging. As I have said and anyone with ducks knows....they are THE messiest little things when it comes to water. Their set up had their food feeder and a 5 gallon waterer inside the duck house, with their pool outside, and we'd let them out in the mornings and they'd put themselves up in the evening and lock them in. Well, they were emptying that whole 5 gallons overnight, and a lot of it (most of it!) was ending up on the floor which is essentially dirt covered with straw. The problem is that it was stinking to high freakin' heaven, to the point that I couldn't even clean it out, hubby had to do it, because I was gagging horribly! It was also becoming a breeding ground for those annoying little gnats.

So we (meaning hubby...I watched!) got the inside scooped out and cleaned up and laid down a nice thick fresh layer of straw. It is now their sleeping quarters only. Their their food got moved outside next to their pool in their play yard. When they go to bed at night, we do not shut the coop door in case they need to eat or drink overnight. Do they eat or drink overnight? I have no clue. But I do know this is working out very well and they are doing just fine. We are thinking of ways to improve the inside of the coop so they can have a waterer in there. But this will do for now. I have contemplated cutting our flock in half. My original plan was 6 or 8, but to get this kind (Khaki Campbells) we had to order a minimum of 15. No way could I eat them, they are too sweet, but I could sell some. Hubby thinks we should just keep them all. We'll probably just keep them, we'll see. Sixteen ducks is A LOT of ducks.

We are thinking about moving the majority of the garden up to the yard next year in the spot where his grandparents always had their garden. Hubby brought home a gigantic roll of thick black felt that they use under bridges. If we do, I think we are going to lay it down to (hopefully) kill off the grass over the summer and then we will remove the felt and till in some leaves to compost over the winter. But then again we may just stick to what we have been doing and keep the garden on the edge of the soybean field. We go back and forth. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

I also did another totally cool re-purpose! The kids have a swimming pool, you know those easy set pools with the blow up top ring and soft sides? 12 X 3 I think. They love it. Anyway, last year the black lab dog chewed up the chlorine floater thing. I looked at them at the store a week or so ago and they were a whopping $10! Saving money tends to get the wheels in my head going. So I decided to make my own. I used an empty 2 liter soda bottle with lid and a small sour cream container with lid. I tied a string tightly around the neck of the soda bottle. Then poked a bunch of holes in the sour cream container and tied the string in holes on each side. I wish my camera worked, I'd show you! I'm really proud of it. :) The chlorine tablets go in the sour cream container, lid goes on, and in the pool it goes. The sour cream container fills up with water and sinks, dissolving the tablets, and the pop bottle stays afloat to keep it floating around. I'm a freakin' genius! :) No, not really.....just a momma motivated to pinch pennies and squeeze George til he screams and who saves way too many empty containers. :) LOL Or maybe that makes me a Redneck? :)

Oh, I have been knitting too. More of those Knitted Babes. I knitted a newborn one for my daughter to go with her big girl, hope to get a picture up soon. And I knitted a big one for my niece's birthday and am going to knit her TWO newborns since her mom is pregnant with twins.

Well, I think I hear the pantry calling so off I go. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Uhhh....There Are Fungus Mushroom Thingies Growing In the Basement....

Ok, first I borrowed this picture from the net when I did a search to identify what in the heck the mushroom fungus thingies growing in our basement are. That is what ours looks like. I have never seen such a thing in my life! I have to say, I am grossed out. I decided we should tackle the basement chaos. When I say chaos, I am not exaggerating. It is a disaster area. There are generations of crap down there. Not mass quantities of crap, but what is there is rotting and rusting away. Now I am wishing we had started with the attic instead. Alright, I am headed back down there....if you never hear from me again, know it was probably the fungusy mold that got me. Or a spider. Lots of them down there too. Or maybe it was just a spider's web that got me...plenty of them that I can see myself getting twisted and trapped in forever.

I may have to take a bath in bleach tonight.

Oh, one more gross thing while I am thinking about it. When I dumped the Dirty Diva's pool water yesterday to clean it and refill...there was a dead bird lurking in the water. Gaaaarrrrooooosssseeeee!

I guess no one ever said farm life was pretty. :)

Introducing....My Newborn Nephew....

Isn't he adorable? They live in another state so it will be a while before I can meet him. Until then I will enjoy every picture they send and close my eyes and imagine that newborn sweet baby smell and soft baby skin. If that stinky diaper smell memory trys to creep in, I will push it far, far, far out of my mind. :) My sister who is only an hour away is due with twins this fall. TWINS! :) I'll definitely get me a baby fix then!

The Suspicious Minds Of Ducks....

The Dirty Divas are suspicious by nature. It's a duck thing. Or maybe it's a Diva thing.

Anyway, they were VERY suspicious when I replaced their little cut off mineral tub spas with a kiddie pool. They wouldn't even come out of the coop. They would come up the ramp, see the pool, and then go right back in. And repeat. Finally, they got brave and came outside. They'd eyeball it, then forage, and move a little closer, and forage and eyeball it some more, and forage some more, and move a bit closer. And over and over and over until they FINALLY went to check it out and poke and peck at it.

Now, you know I had this little duck fairytale in my head that they were going to just love the pool, know exactly what to do, and jump right in. Uhhhh...yeah. Didn't happen. There was a lot of neck straining trying to reach the water for a drink. I felt terrible! Poor things straining to get a drink...what kind of duck momma am I? I told hubby that the ducks is dumb. I know! That was not a nice thing for a mother to say about her ducklings at all!

But then, then they FINALLY figured it out! I was so happy. They love it!

Like the ramp I built with a plank and some fire wood?

Hey kids, while were in the van want me to tell you a story? Great!

Once upon a time, there was a slightly odd woman who got 16 ducklings and named them The Dirty Divas.....

Oh, no. Please. Not THIS story again....... :)