Long time no see

Yep I'm back again.  I've been busy just doing day to day things.  I've been selling things on Ebay and getting rid of other things just to get ready for the cabin adventure.  I've been sewing a lot and knitting a lot too.  Here are some pics:

Some socks for me.

Thought I better start making some socks as ours are getting rather hard to mend anymore what with all the holes :)  Next on the needles are some socks for hubby.  I also have on the needles a sweater for hubby and another one for myself.  Yes I multitask LOL.

Don't know if you can see this but I wanted to show you how to piece batting on something you are quilting.  You line up the pieces and sew them together.   

It's an excellent way to use up scrap batting for small wallhangings or table toppers.

This is the batting all sewed up and ready for my table topper.

And here's the top of the table topper.  I have since finished this.  Need to get a pic of the finished topper for you.  To make this topper you need 5" squares and 2 1/2" squares.  Place the smaller squares on opposite sides and sew from corner to corner (you can mark them on the back but I just winged it).  Cut off the excess triangles.  (Don't throw these triangles away.  I have an idea I'll share in a later post)  I squared them up to measure 5" and then tried out the placement on the table to see how they looked the best and then sew them together.  I used a 5" border. I used two packages of precuts for this and had plenty left over to make another one plus.  The squares I used weren't even from the same designer but I think they look great together.

On the home front, our chickens have started laying again.  Boy did we ever miss our home grown eggs.  We were getting them from an Amish farm but their eggs just didn't even compare to ours.  They keep their chickens penned up and ours have access to fresh grass - big taste difference!  We've been juicing and drinking our green juice every chance we get.  I give the pulp to the chickens.  They do not like carrots and their run is looking a little orange ;) but they do like the greens.  I even had some chard and parsley growing in the garden so pulled some chard leaves for the chickens and juiced some of them for us too.  I picked a little bit of the parsley (left some to grow) and dried it.  mmmm parsley potatoes mmmm.

I started some seeds and the plants are up and just waiting to get bigger and the weather to cooperate so I can plant them.  The weather today is pretty yucky.  It's turning colder and it's raining.  Last week we were over two inches above normal for the year.  Hope it keeps up and we have no drought this year.  I have to wait for a sunny day to hang my clothes out on the line so I did them yesterday since it was so beautiful out but the week before I had almost two weeks worth of laundry.  No fun doing that much laundry.  Took me all day.  

Cabin News-  We burned a lot of brush and small twigs.  We pulled up some rotten tree stumps but need to take our saw with us next time so we can cut some of them out.  The wet weather does help with this kind of job.  It would have been so much harder if the ground would have been really dry.

I guess that catches you up on my life, how's yours been?

I'm BACCCCCKKKK!

Surprise, surprise, surprise!  I've been one busy little person what with canning, the holidays, work and being sick for the past 2 1/2 weeks with this cold crap.  Yes I said crap and I'm still feeling a little bit like that LOL.

We got our yearly 1/2 beef and 1/2 a pig this year to go with it so I was trying to clean out our freezer as much as possible (read empty completely).  Surprisingly with all that meat I got it fit into our upright freezer and stashed the bacon in our little freezer.  Boy it was close!  Don't think we will do that again.  At least we could space it out so I don't have such a problem stowing it away.  So we have a lot of meat, a lot.  It should last us a little over a year.  The only problem is they cut the roasts a little too big for us so when I made a beef roast the other day we had to keep eating it and eating it and eating it.  It was huge!  I just put in some salt and pepper and some bay leaves and cooked in the slow cooker. Hubby made homemade noodles to go with it.  Yum.  Then I made some barbequed beef sandwiches today and still I had some left over so I guess I'll be using the rest in a soup of some sort.

So since I cleaned out my freezer I had all these tomatoes, peppers, berries and beef bones (which really take up room in the freezer).  I canned berry jelly since I had boysenberries, blueberries and raspberries; pepper relish; tomato soup and beef broth.  And I had gotten 10 pounds of pig fat to make lard.  I did all that in one week...boy was I tired and so we come to the fact that I got run down and got sick.  Was it worth it?  You betcha cause now we have a whole lot of food stored up.

I wasn't in the holiday mood this year so I didn't even put up our tree.  I did decorate our fireplace mantle and put up the wreath on the front door but that is as festive as I got this year.  But it did save me from having to put all that stuff away too.  It didn't lessen in any way our Christmas though.  We still had our presents to open on Christmas day and we got some Christmas cards too.  Not as many as I sent out but I think it's because it is getting so expensive to mail them.  Postage is going up again in a couple of weeks so I hear.  Hubby got me just what I wanted this year too!  I got an immersion blender (so much easier to do soups with) and a spice grinder which will be nice to grind all those spices and herbs I'm going to be growing this year (maybe LOL).  Hubby was shocked I got him so much but why not, he's worth it.  I got him an old fashioned straight razor shaving kit with everything included except for a sharpening stone which I'll get him later.  He tried it the first time and cut himself all to heck...Geez-Louise.  He said I need your help I cut myself.  I went running and had to put cotton balls and band-aids on each side of his face.  Since he's on blood thinners he bleeds a lot when he gets cut.  He did eventually stop bleeding.  I think a styptic pen is on order for him.  Now he says he scared of it...and hasn't tried to use it again yet.  I think he was holding it wrong and trying to go too fast.  I think he needs to practice.   Cause if I have to put cotton balls and band-aids on him again I'll bust out laughing, he looked really funny.  He even laughed about it.  Looked like a poor man's Santa or  maybe a really weird looking chipmunk :)  I also got him a weather thingy.  It's a tube that is supposed to tell you the weather a couple of days ahead of time.  Don't know if it works yet.  He left it in the package so we can take it to the cabin.  I got him a CD of info on solar power from Mother Earth News and a puzzle.  He said he owed me something else and has decided to get me another gun...not really what I was looking for really LOL.  It will be a revolver cause I really don't like the way the pistol handles that I already have.  I think it will give me more control but we'll see.

The chickens have stopped laying...completely.  No eggs since November.  We have been getting eggs when we go up to the cabin but it's not the same and they don't taste as good as ours were.  I'm still hoping that they will start laying a few when it warms up.  We got a ton of seed catalogs last week.  I love looking through them although I don't think I need any more seeds right now.  Since the world didn't end, I guess I can spend more money on plants and seeds ;)

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Denise

Cabin pics

Well the cabin is finished, here are some updated pics of it for you to see.

 It has four windows and two doors.  I didn't take any pics of the inside since I already took some last time and the inside really didn't change yet.  We are getting it moved to the site soon and then the real work begins!  We need flooring, electrical work, walls, ceiling....you get the picture ;)

On a sadder note, we lost another chicken, Shirley.  She was egg bound.  I went out and petted her for a while and told her it was OK for her to go.  I could tell she was in pain.  She died a little while later after I went in to make supper and we buried her with the other chickens, Lucy and Lettie and our beloved cat, Molly.  We are now down to 5 chickens and only getting 1 egg every 3-4 days.   Since the Golden Comets are made to lay large numbers of eggs in such a short period of time, they seem to age very quickly.  We'll keep the five we have until they die naturally but the next batch will only be with us for two years and then we will take them to a butcher to process.   It's not easy being a homesteader/farmer...

Pics

Just thought you might like some random photos since I haven't posted any lately:

DH with Lucy.  I think they have something going on out there in the chicken coop she gets so much attention ;)

Penny wanting back in

One of these things is not like the others.  It was the size of a quarter.

My early lavender.  Don't know what kind it is but I brought it with me from PA and it's doing really well down here in AL.  It gets really big heads on it, it blooms in April and the bees love it. (yes most of these pics are from Feb-March)  So sad I'm so slow on posting pics really it is.

Been away from the blog for a while...

To update everyone on how much I've been doing...and how exciting my life is...

The chickens are laying again...a lot.  I have several dozen eggs in the fridge.  We eat eggs almost every day for breakfast and I even made some egg salad the other day for lunch.  I really don't want to eat them for supper too, really I don't.

We planted cabbages, peas, lettuce, basil, potatoes in the garden.  I guess too early cause guess what, we're getting a freeze tonight and tomorrow night...hmmm hope we don't lose the blueberries and grapes.  I wanted to cover them tonight but hubby said they should be OK since it's a light freeze so he can't blame me if they freeze and all the berries drop off.

Dad and mom called yesterday to let me know that they had to rush to the hospital cause mom was having chest pains at 1 a.m.  Turns out she has a hiatal hernia and not having a heart attack.

We close on some new property we are buying tomorrow.  5 acres of land in Tennessee!  No house on it but we are planning on building one or getting a trailer (I don't like trailers, been there, done that and don't want to do it again :)  Hubby was thinking we might just build a pole building and then do the inside like we want but he wants to have a garage door...what?  Anyway he says then it will be easier to move in the furniture and appliances.  Guess  you can't argue with that logic huh?

My brother is moving to New York.  Dad and mom finally got him on the phone, hadn't heard from him for over two weeks.  I had left a message a couple of days after he had called me drunk.  He's an alcoholic and fell off the wagon again.  Glad he's OK.  Wish he would get his act together.

Our geriatric cat is on his last legs I'm afraid.  He's dragging his back leg and peed on our bed the other day.      I couldn't yell at him or anything, he's so old.  If he gets any worse, we'll probably have to take him to be put to sleep.  As long as he's eating and drinking, we'll keep him and love on him as long as possible.  Had to give him a bath tonight though he stunk so bad (all the peeing I think).  He's good about going to the litter box usually though.  I have shut him out of the bedroom.  I had the devil of a time getting the top pillow top clean (we have an air bed) and the top zips off.  It is so bulky and barely fits in the washer.  I put it outside to dry.

Hubby has been sick  but won't go to the doctor until after we sign the papers for the land.  I'm calling the doc to make an appointment when he's outside tomorrow...sneaky huh?

I got one cross stitched picture done.  I need to take some pics of it.  It's a fruit label and I'm making quite a few others to go with it.  I think I will make a quilted hanging out of them.  I'm still working on several sweaters and a pair of socks as well.  I get bored with one project and go to another one.

Well that's all I can think of for now.  Hope you had a very nice Easter!

Denise

I took a break...

for a couple of days but now I'm baaaaaak!  I didnt go on the computer for a whole 2 1/2 days!  I went on Friday and got some peaches and cream corn and canned that (see totals on side bar)...we even had a couple of ears for supper that night.  It was really good.  It was grown just down the road from me.  Nothing like local.  None of my popcorn came up this year :(  Oh well, there's always next year.  Sunflowers didnt come up either...but my squash and cukes are all over the place (have a couple of squash peeking out from under the leaves) and we have tomatoes!  They're still green but some of them are turning.  Still picking blueberries.  I ordered some more potatoes (fingerlings this time) and am waiting for DH to rototill up some rows for me.  Kinda hard for him to because of the rain we've been getting on and off.  Told him I had to plant them this weekend or they'll rot...got sweet potatoes growing on the windowsill and would like to plant them as well.  Dont know if we'll get too many, it is kinda late but worth a shot. 

It's been so hot and humid.  The air is thick....really thick.  Chickens have slowed down on the eggs which is a good thing really.  We had so many eggs and I have pickled all we will ever need that I had to throw a couple dozen in the compost.  At least it isnt wasting them but it still is upsetting.  I think for a couple of people 3-4 hens is all you need.  We have 8.  We ordered 15 but gave some of them away.  Cant imagine having all 15 laying can you? 

I go out in the morning to pick berries for a half an hour and come back in and that's when the sweat is just dripping off my face.  Never used to have that problem.  When I was young I didnt sweat too much, my face would get really red but not much sweat.  After I had my hysterectomy though something must have broke loose cause now I sweat A LOT.  It's good for my pores I guess LOL. 

After I canned the corn, I started sewing.  I almost have two quilt tops done.  Might get to work on them before the weekend and if I get the quilt tops put together I'll post some pics.  I'm on the last book (I think) of the Wheel of Time by R. Jordan.  He had died but made notes and another author worked on the last two books.  If you have never read his books, give it a try.  I really like the characters and it's getting really good in the last book.  Final battle coming up...

I'm really bored with food this week.  Do any of you have any good recipes?  Maybe I'm just tired of my cooking.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Strange egg we got last month...

It was all crinkly...

compared to the others we got that same day.  It was actually a normal egg inside.  I thought it would be hard to crack but nope it wasnt...

Last week...

I pickled 3 quarts and 6 pints of pickled eggs...umm I think the girls either need to slow down on production or we need to eat a lot of eggs...and I mean a LOT of eggs.

Eggs, Chickens, Gardening and Crafting....

Here are two eggs that our chicks laid.  The one on the right is large...

Here are the same two eggs showing how large they actually are against a dollar.

And here it is in the frying pan.  The larger ones seem to be more watery and not double yolkers.  We havent had any double yolkers in a while.

More egg pics. 

And here is the biggest one we have had yet.  Ouch that must have hurt coming out!

Here are our tomatoes and peppers under the grow light.  You're not supposed to look at the light and of course I kept looking at it so covered it with a couple of napkins.  Makes the dining room look kinda psychodelic....

This is Lettie!

This is DH with Lucy.  She likes to poke him in the bum and fly up on his shoulder.

This is a close up of Lucy.

This is the clothes basket I made from clothesline and 1" strips of cloth.  Didnt think I would ever get it done.  I used a little over 100 feet of clothesline and at least 6-7 yards of cloth.  It works really well.  It is much easier to carry out the back door since it is so flexible and you can actually reach the doorknob which was kind of hard before to do.

Here is another pic.  I used a lot of different colors.

Here is the bottom.  Not too pleased with it but it held quite a bit of wet laundry so it turned out OK.  Starting the basket was the hardest part and I just continued to weave it when I watched TV at night for a few hours.  All in all it was a good project and easy to do.  I had some left over clothesline and started another basket (really small one).  If I do another clothes basket I think I will use thicker cord because this was on the thin side and if it is thicker you wouldnt have to do so many rounds.  Thicker cording means thicker fabric strips as well.

Here is DH with the new and improved Chicken run and if you look real close you can see Lucy is on his back/shoulder.  We planted some of our garden.  You can see DH's experimental plots behind him.  He planted oats, alfalfa and clover for the chicks to graze on this summer.  Our garden (not for chickens) has potatoes, walking onions, garlic, beets, peas, cabbage, swiss chard, and collard greens.  Now we are wondering if we should have waited cause we have been having major rainstorms here.  Hoping the seed doesnt rot in the ground.  We had a bit of a heat wave a couple of weeks ago but since then it's been colder.  Even had to cover our blueberries, raspberries and grapes because we got a hard frost.  Luckily I have plenty of pieces of fabric for the job.  Told hubby he didnt know how lucky he was to have a wife with so much fabric LOL. 

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Ooops there goes another one

another egg that is.  Seems one of the girls has decided to lay her eggs up by the waterer.  hmmm.  It might be the smallest one, Lettie.  The others pick on her so she is kind of a loner.  I sure do wish she would lay it in the nest box though.  We are up to six eggs a day.  They are really noisy when they are going to do it too lol.  I told my husband that it probably freaks them out the first time they lay.  Minding their own business and then ooohh have to go to the bathroom and ouch out pops an egg.  Anyway we need to eat some eggs cause they are piling up ;)

Talk to ya later

Denise

More eggs please

The girls are up to 5 eggs today so only 3 more have to start laying.  I guess our talk a week ago got through to them lol.  My lavender jelly did actually set up!  I'm so proud of myself, I actually got jelly to work.  I had it on toast this morning (homemade wheat bread) and it tasted so good.  DH got out the papaya salsa last night and really liked it.  He ate 1/2 pint of it. ;) 

We got our dehydrator the other day.  It's an Excaliber.  Cant wait to try it.  You can even do yogurt in it.  Need to try that out.  I was going to buy a yogurt maker but if I can use the dehydrator that will not only save me money but also space in my kitchen. 

I started our first batch of kombucha today.  Will have to let you know how it turns out. 

It's all good!

Denise

Wanted chicken escapee...reward

Just kidding about the reward although we did have one of the ladies make a run for it this morning.  Hubby woke me up and said one of them is loose and I need your help catching her.  So I whipped on some clothes and went outside.  He was talking to her trying to get her to come closer, no deal so I kind of herded her towards him and he caught her.  This is the second time one of the ladies decided to take a little take off ;)  The first time she went out the coop door and landed on the top of the run wire.  She was looking down at all the others "how did I get up here and how do I get back to you guys?"  Hubby was freaking out.  He was afraid that she would fly over the fence.  I dont think that any of them would.  They just want to be closer to us and dont have a problem going back in the run or anything.  Today the one that escaped (Matilda I believe but I was only half awake) flew out the egg box as hubby was trying to put in new bedding.  She was just doing her little chicken dance around the outside of the run like she belonged there. 

We have been getting one egg a day.  7 total so far.  The shells are pretty hard so I guess we are giving them enough calcium. 

Our blueberries are doing fine.  I am collecting them every other morning.  They are slowing down in production.  The pieces of garden hose are working really well to keep the birds away from the berries but dont seem to make a difference to the bugs which nibble on some of the berries.  I suppose they were thirsty since we hadnt gotten any rain for a while but they should stop because we did get rain yesterday and today.  I hung out clothes today thinking to get them dry before the rain started...WRONG...it poured on them but I just left them out in the rain since according to the radar the rain was supposed to stop before afternoon and it did.  Boy did the rain get them soft! 

I made some wheat bread today from the wheat that we ground yesterday.  I should say that hubby ground it and ground it and ground it.  It takes a while to get fine flour.  As I said I made bread but and here it comes...it didnt rise as much as it should have.  I was so discouraged.  Hubby said that he would eat it though anyway.  I cut it up a little while ago and tried a piece. It actually is pretty good even though it is really heavy.  I think I might have had my water a little too hot for the yeast.  I said that I would make more but didnt have enough flour to make another two loaves...hubby gave me this look, you know, the look.  I guess he didnt want to grind any more wheat...guess I'll wait another couple of days before I mention it again.  I would have ground some more today but my wrists are kind of sore from the kneading.  You had to knead for 15 minutes and then let it rest and then knead for another 10 minutes.  I'll toughen up though and be making bread out the yazoo in no time ;)

Hubby's co-worker brought him some more cukes along with some green bell peppers yesterday.  I went through my cookbooks and have found a cucumber relish that I am going to try.  Got some red bell peppers tonight at the farmer's market so maybe tomorrow I will make up the relish.  I had done relish a year ago but it was my grandma's recipe for green pepper relish.  Really good!  And very useful in other recipes.  You can make your own tarter sauce with it, use it in sandwich spread (Grandma used to use a can of deviled ham and add relish and mayo to it) and of course use it on hotdogs and hamburgers.  Yesterday I made up 5 pints of mild papaya salsa.  I had a can of papaya in my pantry that had been there for a while.  Dont know why I had it just did so used it up.   I have a couple of cans of crushed pineapple and found a canning recipe using that so will be making up some other "stuff"...

Hope everyone has a great week!

Talk to ya later,

Denise

Found another egg

Yes there was one hidden in the nesting box in the corner that I didnt see when I went out the first time.  No wonder they were so loud this morning.  There must have been two laying at the same time.  They didnt want me messing with the eggs, they wanted me to pet them, silly girls. 

Talk to ya later!

Denise

First Egg!!!

I'm doing a happy dance today.  One of the chickens laid the first ever egg for us this morning.  I even called my hubby at work to tell him.  I know, nuts right? 

Talk to ya later!

Denise