Water Everywhere, Yet Not A Drop To Drink....

Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration. :) We have been under a boil order for several days now. We are lucky enough to still have running water...people to the south of us have no running water at all. We are to conserve what we do have though, which we have been. Today they were getting the water main break fixed...and then there was the report that yet another main broke! May be be a loooong waterless weekend. :)

Makes one think though. We are fortunate that we have a well at the bottom of our driveway. I planted a few more tomato plants today and watered them in with water from that well since we need to conserve the tower water. Put put up a 16ft pool over Memorial Day weekend...filled it with well water. Last year we only watered the garden with well water. If we loose water all together we'll still be able to flush the toilet easily. That thing comes in handy!

I have been boiling a big pot of tap water in the morning and then using it in the evening to wash dishes. Honestly, it is a little exciting, this water situation- finding alternate ways to do things. Hubby has been coming home from work and going for a swim instead of a shower. One thing though, tea made with bottled water is not nearly as good as tea made with tap water!

Our anniversary is Monday...we are thinking of escaping from the kids and taking a weekend trip in alone. Hubby's birthday is Monday as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING AND I AM HAPPY TO BE YOUR WIFE!! THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE AND ALL THAT YOU DO. YOU ARE THE BEST! :)

We moved the 9 Guinea babies (3 weeks old now) to the little coop today. So far so good. I have about 34 eggs in the incubator. Wow. We may have Keets coming out of our ears!

Really, things are just very content around here right now. :)

Guinea Update....We have babies!!!

I am happy to report that 10 out of the 15 eggs hatched! One did die, so we have 9 keets. They are a week old now and growing like weeds! Our other hen is sitting on a nest of 30 eggs! We just got home from a weekend of camping, so I think I might move them to the incubator. I hate to take the eggs away from the momma...she is doing so well with them....but I think they will have a better shot if we take them.

Anyway, super busy here! Bet it is at your place too. Whatcha up to?? :)

Guinea Egg Incubating Update....

Thanks you so much to all of you who chimed in with advice!! :)

I candled tonight and I am happy to report that all 15 babies are developing, alive, and wiggling around in there! All air sacks are present and accounted for, blood vessels look good and healthy! WOO HOO!! :)

I still am not sure on their hatch date. They have been in the incubator for 17 days now. One of them I labeled in crayon with a number 1...he looked bigger or further along than the others. The rest all looked about the same.

I am sad to report that we are missing 5 ducks! Gone without a trace. The creek had gone up due to rain and flooding, so I am hoping they got swept down stream and are living happily ever after. Maybe they'll come back! I am not getting my hopes up, but it still doesn't hurt to hope!

School is just about over for the summer, my middle child will be a teenager as of next weekend, we are car shopping for my oldest, my new carpet gets here next Thursday, and yes, the Guineas will be hatching! The garden is in, save for the melons, squash, and green beans. Kittens are 3 weeks old tomorrow and are beginning to act like toddlers, starting to walk around the house already! Life is good. :) How's it going in your neck of the woods?

Guinea Fiasco: Part Deaux....

Well, we never did catch that mama Guinea. Not even with the help of a net duct taped to the end of a long pole tree pruner! That was Hubby's idea. I kid you not, we are the King and Queen of "Good in Theory". :) So, we are now the proud owners of this....


An incubator. Just a basic no frills incubator.

Last night made the 6th day they had been in there. I made a candler using a round oatmeal box and a lamp. I candled and 15 looked good, 2 were iffy, and 4 looked clear and infertile. So I returned the 15 to the incubator and went about cracking open the infertile and the two iffy ones. The two iffy ones were in fact viable embryos! Whoops. :( I have since read (and now know first hand) that if you are iffy about any eggs, to leave them be and check again in a week or so. 3 out of the 4 infertile were in fact infertile. The fourth had an embryo, but it did not look like the two iffy ones...so it was either at an earlier stage or it was what is known as a "quitter" - one that started development and then stopped. Sorry I didn't get pictures. It was a super busy weekend and I did this last night right before bed and I was beat!

So, the only issue I am having at this point is trying to figure out when their hatch date is. This is important to know because you have to turn the eggs several times per day UNTIL the last three days when you do not turn them because, well, it can kill them. Since they are Guineas, they take 28 days to hatch. Chickens take 21 days. So even though I checked this site that contains embryo pictures and our babies (the iffy ones I opened) look like a 6 day chicken embryo, I have yet to figure out what that means in Guinea terms! Do I start the day that we put them in the incubator? Do we count the days that Mama sat on them? And even then, we don't know for sure how long that was so that won't be accurate either. Pardon the pun, but it looks like we'll be winging it. IF YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE, PLEASE GIVE IT!! I have been researching and know some signs to look and listen for when the time gets closer, but I can use all the help I can get. If we go by the date we put them in the incubator, they are due May 24th. I have been hanging out on the Backyard Chickens message boards trying to glean all the info I can!

We do have some happy delivery news...Kitty meow had her babies! Three little cuties...here they are 9 days old. Photos courtesy of my 6 year old...

They have just started opening their eyes! :) And the momma has become a whole new cat...she's nice and lovey now! And has no problem at all with us messing with her littles. And believe me...my youngest wallers and hugs and kisses and loves on them constantly! :)

So that is that for now. I'll keep you updated on the Guinea eggs and please, if you have advice, let me know!! :)

Guinea Nest Moving Fiasco: Part One....

Oh. My. Some things are just way better in theory than they are in real life! The plan...I'll distract her, hubby will grab her from behind, I'll grab the eggs, and they'll immediately be reunited in the nice safe coop where life goes on safely. Simple, right? Keep in mind we have never done anything like this before.

We managed to somehow drop the ball on grabbing her off the nest. While Hubs chased her, I had no doubt in my mind that we'd catch her. Yes, that is the La La Land that I live in, where things go fine even when they don't go fine. Darn that optimism! So I went ahead and gathered the eggs and moved them. Only we didn't catch her! Between the roof, and the trees, and then it got dark...we didn't catch her. Crap! Plan B! Plan B! Oh hell! There was no plan B! And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is where we failed.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, plan A SHOULD have been to secure the hen, THEN gather the eggs and move them all happily. Plan B SHOULD have been: if she could not be secured, then leave it alone and try again. That way she would have gone back to sitting on the nest, thus easier to catch (If there is such a thing as easier. Have you ever tried to catch a Guinea?!?!?!) and her eggs would not be too disturbed. Instead she ended up in the tree for the night. Once the eggs had been moved, and it was dark and chilly, and no hen to sit on them...this is what happened....

I didn't know what else to do! She had been sitting on them so wouldn't getting cold overnight kill them? I dunno. I dunno! I dunno!!! So I brought them in the house, kicking myself the whole time, and sprinkled water on the grass and put a heat pad on top to maintain 99ish degrees - with the intention of catching her sometime today and hopefully, HOPEFULLY getting them in the coop together where she'll happily shed a tear over the reunification with her littles-to-be and commence sitting until they hatch, which they will do, because I so ingeniously kept them warm in her absence. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh!

Crap. Crap! Crap!!! I feel horrible. Maybe it will all work out? Please, God, let it all work out!

So, tip of the day....When attempting to move a Guinea Hen and her nest to safety, secure the bird BEFORE going any further! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Brain Dead...

Dinner brain dead that is. Last week's menu was Pizza, Tacos, Spaghetti, Meatloaf. May as well have been Dull, Mundane, Boring, and Not Again!

Truly, I have been so out of ideas. I had been "Ad Shopping", as in, when the weekly ad came out, I made a menu around what was on sale. That got me by for a little while.

So I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan...we used his plan to get out of debt. E-Mealz is advertised on his show and I had thought about signing up. But what spurred me on was talking to a co-worker and hearing she is signed up for a similar menu service and loving it. So I signed up for E-Mealz and we are loving it! For a buck and a quarter a week, the menu is planned and the grocery list made. It is two pages...page 1 is the weekly menu with the recipes right there, and page 2 is the grocery list. All the meals have been good and the amount of prep and time to make pretty easy. Maybe eventually I'll get my dinner mojo back, but for now this has been a life saver!

In other news, the Guineas have started a nest! It is not in the coop...it is between the duck house and creek in a bramble of fallen tree branch. Our plan is to keep an eye on it and when she has a full clutch and starts sitting...move her and the nest to a confined area. Last count she had 13 eggs. And she is not sitting on it yet, so it is not time. Hopefully this will go according to plan and we'll have Guinea Keets someday!

Oh, and we have a pregnant cat. She's not a very friendly cat so all kinds of questions come to mind...like will she be a good mom? Will her babies be friendly? WILL SHE LET ME PLAY WITH HER NEWBORNS?!?!?! I hope so! :) We are getting her spayed after this litter, which is her first litter.

Garden is well under way. Onions are growing, Potatoes should be sprouting any time now, and the first succession of Carrots, Spinach, Chard, and Lettuce seeds are in. My Tomato, Pepper, Ground Cherry, and Broccoli plants are in the process of hardening off. It is a pain in the rear to drag them in at night and out of the house in the morning, but I keep telling myself it won't be long now! We have had an amazingly mild and warm spring. I am getting ready to start Melons, Pumpkins, and Squash seeds. I will start them outdoors in flats - they'll stay outside during the day and come in at night. A lot of people around here are planting warmer season stuff already....I am still leery so I am sticking with my original timing schedule.

That is about it for now! How's it going in your neck of the woods?

How To Know Spring Is Here....

Some people look for the usual signs of Spring... like Tulips coming up, grass greening, trees budding, birds singing, baby chicks hatching, and baby animals being born.

Not me.

Here's how I know if it is Spring....

Is my baby in mud? Check!

And is she lacking pants and shoes? Check!

And there you have it. Now I know Spring is here. Thanks Baby! :)

A Surprise In The Coop...

And a pleasant surprise at that! The Guineas have laid their first eggs! :)

We have 2 females and one male. They have been roaming the farm and roosting in the trees at night, so we weren't really sure where they'd lay them. We were prepared to start scouting out their nest. But today there are two eggs in the coop! So hopefully they are planning on laying their clutch there. That is where we would have moved the females and the eggs and nest had they laid elsewhere. We are hoping some will hatch!

I'm so excited! :)

The ducks have been enjoying the creek and greening grass and bugs during the day. A few weeks ago hubby opened their gate and let them out of their play yard. Now they play in the creek during the day and they go back to the coop at dusk and we lock them in. They are loving it! We have seen a coyote in the pasture eyeing them. So far our black lab has done an excellent job of scaring him off. And the coyote has not managed to make it through the fence around the pasture. Hopefully he won't!

Gorgeous sunny day here today after a weekend of SNOW! It is pretty much melted off now...hopefully Spring is here to stay now! :)

Painting Vertical Window Blinds......

I got the fabric Vertical Blinds painted and new valances sewed! I did all three sets that we have in our big living room. A smaller window, a bigger window, and then the set that covers the deck doors.

This picture shows the original valance and the original faded country blue vertical on the left, and the brown that I painted on the right. Keep this color of brown in mind when you get to the last few pictures...the color looks very washed out in some, but not in this one.

A closer look....and the brown looks beautiful in this one. I am in love with chocolaty brown colors!

I used regular wall paint. I started with the left over Dark Toast from the laundry room walls. Needed more so bought a second gallon. Now, if you do this and your vertical blinds have the weighted chain things at the bottom that keep the vanes connected, you can just just snip the vane off straight right above where the chain and weight runs through the bottom. These blinds are old and two of them I had already snipped the bottom off a long time ago because they were broken. The blinds work fine without them. I removed each vane (Be careful! I broke two of the little hookymebobbers that hold them and had to make shift wire the vanes back up after a failed super glue. No biggie, but try not to break them!) and laid on newspaper taped to the table to paint. I only painted one side. I hung them back up wet and got the next one down to paint. The fabric soaks up the paint, so no dripping. Also, since it soaks up the paint, work quickly and keep your brush moving. If you were going to have these on a window that you care about what it looks like from the outside, you may want to paint both sides, but let one side dry before you do the other.

Here is the bigger window before....

And after.....cept' the blind color is darker than that, these pictures make them look much lighter than they are.

I bought fabric and sewed a flat valance for each window. I doubled the fabric over to make them more opaque. The seam is about 1/3 way down in the back...I ironed them to have a good solid crease on the bottom.

The fabric up close....it is Jacquard, I love it. Chocolaty beauty!

This was a very fast project. I got it done in one day. And I would definitely do it again! It turned out much better that I ever expected it to and it dramatically changed the look and feel of the living room. And I saved a ton of money! I spent $50 on fabric and paint. The fabric I used was $8.44 per yard and I used 3.5 yards. If you have priced new verticals, you'd know they are not cheap! Now...if it would EVER warm up, we could stop using the wood stove in this room so I can get my new carpet in there!! We are also going to do ceramic tiling in front of the deck door (currently wall to wall ugly country blue carpet that is faded and stained) and also ceramic tiling under the wood stove - right now it sits on an ugly black piece of metal that is on top of the carpet! Ugh! :)

Garden Seed Starting & Planting Schedule & Some Seed Starting Tips....

I have had several requests to share my garden schedule....so here is a condensed version! Keep in mind...I am in MO where we have nutty weather and I am zone 5.

End of December/Early January: Start Onion seeds indoors.

Late January through February: Start a few Romaine and Butterhead lettuces and Spinach every 2 - 3 weeks. I am starting a few at a time for succession. I recently ordered Swiss Chard seeds, so I will be starting those too when they get here.

Week of March 19th - Start Tomatoes, Peppers, Ground Cherry, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Radicchio, Herbs, Stevia, and Flowers indoors.

Between March 26 - mid April: As soon as the ground can be worked in this period, I will harden off and plant outside the Onions, Lettuces, and plant Potatoes, Carrot seeds (which will also be succession planted every 2 weeks or so thereafter), and more successions outdoors of Romaine & Butterhead lettuce seeds and leaf lettuce seeds.

Week of April 16th: Start Pumpkin, Squash, Melons, and Cucumbers indoors.

After May 15th: If the weather is looking good, I'll have everything started the weeks of March 19th and April 16th hardened off and ready to plant around May 15th, or more toward the end of May if things aren't looking so good. I'll also direct seed Green Beans, Dill, and Cilantro. It is definitely worth it to wait until things are warm enough, or to take measures to protect from the cold.

Right now we just got about 8 inches of snow. February has been cooler than average. It makes me wonder about Spring! I keep thinking of the March saying...In Like A Lion, Out Like A Lamb. I hope that is true! At this point, I just hope the temps are average and that things dry out so we can get the garden ready by the end of March.

Seed Starting Tips:

Here are a few of the things I do to start seeds.

• I use a sterile seed staring mix. I mix it in a bowl with water until well moistened. Then I put it in whatever container I am starting in, add seeds, cover with soil to desired depth, and cover with a dome or plastic wrap. As soon as they sprout, the cover comes off and it goes under grow lights. Sterile seed starter has no nutrients so transplanting into a larger container with soil when the seedling starts to get true leaves is a must.

• I use both store bought flats and food containers to start seeds. Seeds can be started in just about anything!

• Some things are picky about having their roots messed with and don't care to be transplanted. For them I have had great success by filling a 4 inch pot 3/4 of the way with regular soil and the rest of the way with sterile mix and starting as stated above. This way they get the benefit of the sterile mix while germinating and then they grow down into the regular soil and get the nutrients. I never start anything in straight potting soil though. Too risky. I have also used this method this time of year when I have extra space under the lights.

• I have tried both grow lights and starting in a window. A southern facing window is great, but I only have one, so I have two separate grow light set-ups. One is a book shelf with a 24 inch grow light mounted to the underside of each shelf, for a total of 3 lights on it. The other is a wooden frame Hubby built and holds a long fluorescent shop light, suspended by chains so it can be moved higher or lower depending on plant height. I keep it close to the plants without touching. I keep my lights on the seedlings about 16 hours per day.

• I don't use heat mats. We use wood stoves so it is plenty warm in the rooms with a wood stove to get things to germinate. I do move the cooler things, like onions and lettuce, to a room with out a heat source one sprouted. I will keep the warmer things, like Tomatoes, in the heated room.

• I do have a whole different set up to start Stevia! It gets special attention because it is a picky one to start from seed! :) The way I started it last year worked beautifully and I am going to do it again.

• Hardening off is a must! At least a week, 10 days is better, gradually expose seedlings to the outdoors. You can also start this indoors by letting a fan blow on the seedlings some; it will help to toughen them up.

• I am starting several things indoors that could be started outdoors. Like Melons, Squash, Cukes, Pumpkin. I am doing this for several reasons. It gives them a nice head start. When I direct seed, the weeds also start to germinate about the time the seeds do and this makes it easier to differentiate. It also gives the plants a good head start on the weeds and makes it easier to hoe around and weed.

Well, that is it for now! Keep in mind, I am not a gardening expert! :) I learn as I go, I read all I can get my hands on, I ask A LOT of questions, I try and try again, I modify when something doesn't work, and I have fun doing it! :) With that in mind...if you have any questions...please ask away! If you'd like me to start rambling about growing each specific thing, let me know! :)

What are you up to in, or in preparation for, your gardens? Are you more than ready for Spring to get here already, as I am? I called Mother Nature a bad name under my breath this morning when I woke up and saw all this darn SNOW! ;) LOL

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing....

I got the patio swing cushions and canopy DONE! And I am very pleased with how it all turned out. :) You will have to wait for pictures...I will take some when it warms up a bit and I put them back outside on the swing. Right now they are living behind my couch!

Today I was thinking about organizing my plastic Wal-Mart bags and, since we stopped using paper towels, organizing my "rags" who were living in a plastic Wal-Mart bag in the pantry! So I found this site and made three bags...one for the Wal-Mart bags, one for rags that are to be used and kept, and one for rags that can be used and thrown away. I already had the fabric and ribbon, so it was a quick easy project. She has a lot of neat projects on her site...go check it out and get your sew on! :)

http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/01/grocery-bag-holder.html

My awesome Hubbs is in town right now getting a board and some hooks to hang them on the pantry wall, as well as some other things. Currently there are nails in there to hang things on and things are always falling off the nails or the nails themselves fall out of the wall. It will be nice to have stuff stay put.

I started onion seeds a few weeks back. They are doing ok, but for some reason I don't much care to start them from seed. Go figure because I love starting everything else from seed! I think this year I am going to do an onion experiment...plant some onions from seed, some from local sets, and some from local plants to see what does the best. Maybe I can get out of starting them. I'll have to post again about what is going in the garden this year. I have everything picked out, all seeds in hand, and a schedule made to know when to start them and when to plant them. However, tonight we are supposed to get a couple of inches of SNOW. Bah humbug. Come on Spring...I miss you!

Ok, I am off to cook some supper. :) have you been up to?

Instant Gratification for Knitters....

I knitted a Gnome! No pic, of course, because...apparently that is how I roll. Anyway, if you are wanting some nearly instant knitting gratification, go here and knit one of these...and she posted pictures so you can see how cute they are. She also sells them, in case you want one and aren't into knitting! http://plainandjoyfulliving.blogspot.com/2009/02/fun-knitting-gnome.html

I am truly amazed at how fast this project went. I am going to make two more today...and I'll still have plenty of time to spare to finish up the patio swings refashion! And on that topic...I have the cushions done and the pillows done. I have started on the canopy. I have decided I actually like working with gigantic pieces of heavier material! And I did find for sale online the actual replacement cushions and canopy for our model of swing and I have saved a ton of money doing it myself - about 1/3 of the price! That IS a good thing!

I have been doing a lot of blog reading, but not much commenting. Just wanted to say that you all rock and I love reading your blogs! :)

Have a great weekend! :)

A Math Scholar, I Am Not....

Wal-Mart carries outdoor fabric! I was thrilled. $9.97 per yard. I bought four yards. Turns out I needed 6 1/2! So I'll have to get back in to get 2 1/2 more yards. But the four yards I have is the perfect amount to recover the patio swing cushions and recover the pillows. When I was researching online yesterday I was thinking of ordering wider outdoor fabric, which would mean fewer yards. But since I bought it local and it was not as wide, that is where I got confused and didn't redo my math. Duh.

I also bought some size 18 needles for my machine for the heavier fabric and a spool of outdoor thread. Did you know they made outdoor thread? I didn't! :) And Wal-mart carries it! Ahhh...my love/hate relationship with the Wally-World continues.

I have also consulted with several sewing friends, as well as you all, and I am confident that both myself and my sewing machine CAN do this! I am excited. I promise, promise, promise I am going out right now to take before pictures. I'll warn you now...the swing looks terrible, the pictures WILL be scary! I will warn you now, I am the queen of "make it up as I go along" sewing. I am not so good with patterns...but give me a sewing project to figure out on my own and I'm a genius. Ok, not quite a genius...I have had a lot of things go south with this method....but this one is fairly straight forward and I am certain it will go well!

Ok, off to take pictures now and then....I am going to get busy and git-er-done!!

I Need Your Input...My Patio Swing Needs Desperate Help!

My patio swing is only a couple of years old, but the fabric is already worn and tearing. Has anyone ever remade the cushions and canopy for a patio swing? Any ideas on what is the best place to get the outdoor fabric? Can it be sewn on a regular machine? Please, help! :)

Speaking of Herbs...Wish I Had Some Comfrey AKA Knitbone!

My youngest daughter broke her index finger Friday! She's almost 6, and a daredevil at that, but it wasn't anything dare-devilish that led to the break. She was running laps in gym class, lost control of her feet, and hit the wall. Truth be told, at the time I was more worried about the lump on her noodle than I was about the hurt finger. I was on duty at the school and I iced both. Her head was fine. The next morning though, her finger was very swollen, painful, and bruised. So off to the ER. The middle bone in her finger is broken clean through. She has a plastic splint for the broken finger and it gets "buddy" wrapped to her middle finger. She isn't thrilled about the wrapping, but she is tolerating it well. She took a nice bath today and got to take it off for a bit. Afterword, she sat and watched a movie and kept her wrapped fingers on ice and elevated. She's a trooper!! :)

I was just thinking it would be nice to have had some Comfrey on hand to make a poultice. So far in my research, it seems to have many uses - treating breaks by encouraging healing is only one of them - so I think I may be growing it this year.

And in my 16+ years of being a parent...this is our first broken bone!

What Are the Most Useful Medicinal Herbs and Home Remedies?

I have a fascination with medicinal herbs and "old fashioned" remedies. To me, they just make so much sense. I'm a nurse, and I am not knocking modern day medicine by any means - I just think so much can and should be treated at home as simply as possible.

One of the things I would like to do is to replace some of the OTC medicines in my arsenal with herbs. And I'd like to grow those herbs!

Now, taking into account my strengths and weaknesses, I need to decide on some basics, do some planning, and start small. If not, I'll plant a billion herbs that cover EVERYTHING and will be overwhelmed and confused. I need to keep it simple. Believe me, I started a "wish" list of herb seeds from my Richters catalog and it is a LONG list! I need to narrow it down. I have to narrow it down. I MUST NARROW IT DOWN!!! :)

So I'd like to start small find herbs to cover the things we use most.

1. An herbal pain reliever/fever reducer. I think this is the one thing we use the most around here.

2. Something for coughs/chest congestion. Because we always end up with a cold or two each year.

3. Something that has antibacterial and antiviral properties - that can be used internally or externally. Some thing to treat external wounds, or colds internally.

I need them to be kid friendly too. I also need them to be able to grow in zone 5. Am I asking for too much?

So any ideas? Do you use medicinal herbs? What do you think the most important or useful medicinal herbs are? I'd love to hear what you think!!

PS We have applied for new insurance! It is a process though...so no news yet! And more to come...we are building another seed starting light! And I am gearing up to start seeds - planning, plotting, purchasing, and day dreaming for Spring! More on that later.

$17,000 a Year for Health Insurance? Are You Kidding Me?

Yesterday Hubby had his annual work meeting to go over health insurance and stuff. Mind you, he is currently not even working due to the weather.

Now, in 2008 our family plan for health insurance was $10,000 for the year. That is strictly health...no dental or vision so we pay for those things out of pocket.

Last year it jumped up 34%. Last year we paid $13,000 for health insurance for our family.

This year? He came home to tell me that it is going up 34% AGAIN and that for 2010 it will be *gasp* $17,000! Seven-teen-thousand-dollars. SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! That is a hell of a lot of money. That is about 1/3 of his income.

Now, another thing...there have been no raises to go along with these increases.

And...since the winter months are especially unpredictable for work, they take the entire insurance premium out of his check from spring through fall over a period of 28 weeks. I'm not even going to do the math on that one as to what that means weekly or monthly over those 28 weeks.

Needless to say, we are looking into alternative companies to find something cheaper. We thought about doing that last year, but in the grand scheme of things, I didn't think 13K was that horrible or outrageous. 17K is a different story. Going up 34% every year is a different story. Where does it stop?

In the insurance company's defense, I will say that they are insuring a group of construction workers in a small company. A lot of them are older. I know there is one with cancer, one who has had a massive heart attack and surgeries. A lot of them are heavy drinkers and smokers.

And as a society we are in a health care crisis. Though we are in crisis in a lot of ways if you ask me. I suppose no one ever said it would be easy. Or cheap. I know the impact this has on us...and we are getting by OK, debt free, emergency fund in place. And it makes me wonder how others, who don't have those things, manage. What a mess indeed.

And speaking of mess...here is a little paper-towel-free update. One of the outdoor cats was inside yesterday and poo'ed on the floor. Gross!! Hubby cleaned it up with...with......one of my newly knitted kitchen dishcloths! Yes, I was appalled. Come on...use toilet paper...it was closer to the mess than the dishcloth. Use an old rag, the bag of them was closer too. But, no, he used...the dishcloth. And it was a runny kind of poo too. Is this a male vs female thing? Because I am pretty sure there isn't a woman alive who would use a kitchen dishcloth to clean up cat poop. Especially one she knitted herself. I wouldn't think it would be a man thing either...but I obviously got proved wrong already on that one. There is at least one man on earth who would. And I married him!

Oh my.

Why Things Should Be Labeled....

I thought I was thawing out a bag of precooked hamburger and onions to throw into the Cow Poke Chili I was making for dinner. I was cooking up the Italian sausage for that recipe and when I added the "hamburger and onions" I found it was actually precooked breakfast sausage and onions! Week before last I had made a crock pot dish that consists of cooked breakfast sausage and onions over quartered potatoes. Yummmmmmy. I like to at least double meat cooking and throw one recipe's worth in the freezer. Of course I didn't label it because I was sure I'd remember what it was. Apparently not! However, the Cow Poke Chili turned out just fine made with Italian AND breakfast sausage...and without the V8 juice because I forgot that too. :) I also don't make it with rustic croutons...I just buy the Texas Toast brand garlic and cheese croutons. But I have been saving bread butts and left over rolls in the freezer to make those rustic croutons someday!

One other idea from this week...We made Chicken Ranch roll ups yesterday. Instead of slicing up the chicken and pan cooking it with the fajita seasoning, I put the chicken in the crock pot and mixed the fajita seasoning with a little water and poured it on. Cooked on low for about 4 hours and then shredded the chicken with two forks and put the crock pot on keep warm until we were ready. Some tortillas, shredded cheese, lettuce, bacon bits, and ranch dressing and dinner was ready!

I am happy to report that we are doing well on our weekly budgeting and grocery shopping. I did check out a once a month cook book at the library today. I am not motivated at this point to try it, but maybe the inspiration will strike.

It has been a snowy cold week with Thursday and Friday off of school due to the weather. I have got a lot of spring cleaning done! My sewing/craft/seed starting room is now cleaned so I am organized to start seeds. My kitchen cabinets are all cleaned out too. So is my file cabinet...so I am ready to do the taxes when the time comes soon. And I got 6 dishcloths done for us to use. Hubby commented today how soft they are. I just love using them. We are on our last roll of paper towels, so I'll be reporting about a paper towel-less life soon!

Another Successful Recipe! Easy Chicken...

This time with chicken breasts. It is a modified version of a recipe I came across online. Put your chicken breasts in the crock pot (I had a pack of 3). Mix a packet of dry Italian dressing mix in a little bit of water and pour it over the chicken. Cook on low for a few hours. I then took out the chicken and shredded it. Then mix together a package of cream cheese, a can of cream of chicken soup, and a can of water in the crock pot. Add the shredded chicken back in and cook for another hour or two on low. Serve over pasta, we did bow ties, the Barilla brand (I think that is what it is called!) with the omega 3's and what not in it. I was a little leery, something about the cream cheese in this recipe sounded weired, but it turned out delicious! Like an Alfredo type sauce. We had it with a salad and homemade rolls. Yummy!

It is stinkin cold here and supposed to get even colder! Below zero temps, snow on the ground, and more to come. Winter has made itself known! Pretty sad when you wish it was 25 degrees! That would be a welcome relief! I have been knitting a set of dish cloths to go along with the table cloth dish towels. Oddly enough, these are the first dishcloths I have knitted for us! I haven't been doing anything fancy...cast on 36 stitches and knit each row til it is an even square and bind off. I can get 3 of them out of one ball of yarn! :)

Are you staying warm?

Pork Steak Recipe Success!

I bought already tenderized (pounded on) pork steak. They had that and regular. I bought a pack that had 6 in it. Browned them in my cast iron skillet, then placed them in a 9x13 baking dish and sliced up an onion over them (and cried because it burned my eyes!). I mixed together 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, a couple of soup cans of water, a packet of dry onion soup mix, some pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, and poured that over them and covered it with foil. Baked it for about an hour and a half (actually probably for a little longer). Served it with mashed potatoes, and green beans cooked with onions and a piece of bacon, and it was a huge hit with the hubby and kids! Definitely not low fat/calorie/sodium, but tasted good! And the meat was super tender, melt in your mouth. It made A LOT of gravy so I do think next time I will cut the soup to one can and the water to one can.