I spent most of the day today making dog food. This is not something that I do on a regular basis. I just purchased a case of frozen pizza dough rounds at Sam's Club over the weekend, however, and I needed to make room in the deep freeze for it, so I decided that the random cow parts that came with the beef we bought in the past year and a half needed to go. I'm talking heart, tongue and liver here, people. I always intended to give it to the dogs, but it's just one of those things...
These parts have been thawing in the extra refrigerator for the past 2 days, and I figured they were thawed enough this morning to grind up. I hooked up the meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid, and got to work. The hearts didn't bother me...I work in Surgery after all, and I actually found the valves fascinating. Liver, eh...ate lots of it growing up, no big deal. The tongue though, ugh, it was extremely nasty. I've eaten tongue in the past (tasted like Mom's pot roast,) but I've never actually handled one before. It made me shudder every time I touched it.
After this was all done, I realized that I didn't have enough canning jars to can it in, and it was time to leave to pick up the girls at school. After about 45 minutes of internet research, I decided I would have to cook it first as well. The girls were blessed with the tempting smells of cooking ground offal during home work time. J told me that she was going to pass on dinner before I came clean and told her it was for the dogs.
Offal - great word, isn't it? I now have a great, steaming bowl of ground offal ready to can tomorrow. Meatloaf anyone?
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Mud on Your Face (a Big Disgrace)
We are running low on fire wood for our outdoor wood burner. It really plows through the wood. JP has been attempting to get a tri-axle truck load of long wood for about 6 weeks now. They finally arrived today, after it has been 45* outside and raining for 2 days.
Yep. Things are muddy. I have some sort of mud sucking rugs in front of all of the doors, and they work really well. Those, combined with the fact that we typically leave our shoes in the breezeway, and there are towels at the front and back door to wipe the dogs' feet, the house is staying fairly clean.
The big truck made it up our hill without problems, although it left 4 or 5 inch deep ruts in places. The driver refused to go much farther than the chicken houses, and ended up unloading in the grass near the girls' sandbox. Now the road there is perfect for making mud pies.
It is super squishy near the chicken houses too. I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone this morning (*no birds were actually harmed in this story*,) so I raked the Hickory nut hulls laying under the tree by the chicken run around the houses to make a little mud-free path. I think it should work well.
I am not feeling well. I think the stress of dealing with my youngest daughter these days is really getting to me. I am working on getting some answers to the problems...more about that later. I'm just trying to keep from getting sucked down in the mud...some days it's harder than others!
Yep. Things are muddy. I have some sort of mud sucking rugs in front of all of the doors, and they work really well. Those, combined with the fact that we typically leave our shoes in the breezeway, and there are towels at the front and back door to wipe the dogs' feet, the house is staying fairly clean.
The big truck made it up our hill without problems, although it left 4 or 5 inch deep ruts in places. The driver refused to go much farther than the chicken houses, and ended up unloading in the grass near the girls' sandbox. Now the road there is perfect for making mud pies.
It is super squishy near the chicken houses too. I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone this morning (*no birds were actually harmed in this story*,) so I raked the Hickory nut hulls laying under the tree by the chicken run around the houses to make a little mud-free path. I think it should work well.
I am not feeling well. I think the stress of dealing with my youngest daughter these days is really getting to me. I am working on getting some answers to the problems...more about that later. I'm just trying to keep from getting sucked down in the mud...some days it's harder than others!
Friday, January 10, 2014
Togetherness
The girls and I have spent way too much together time lately, with all of the holidays and snow days and 2 hour delays. Tonight they have completely worn me down.
I could hardly wait to ship L off to school this morning. Despite laying out clothes the night before in order to make the morning go more smoothly, nothing was right for her this morning. She switched underwear 3 times, and jeans 3 or 4 times. The socks she had picked out were "too thick," and she didn't have any other socks to wear, so I actually hand washed a pair of socks for her to wear today. Then there was absolutely NOTHING in the house that she wanted to eat for breakfast. After that, her shoes didn't go on right, and she didn't like the first way I fixed her hair, so she took it out.
It was a kind of a downer day at the office. We faced insurance issues at the front desk (it is January and people have new policies and new cards, some of which don't work), our nurse has some seriously ill family members, and the surgeon is getting a bit weary from being on call 24/7 since Nov. 15th. Top that all off with the fact that we saw some seriously sad cases today...ones that just make my heart feel heavy.
The girls rode the bus to my office after school, and started in non-stop bickering that almost had me crazy in the 45 minutes it took to get from there to J's voice lessons. Afterward, I told L that we were going to Walmart to get more socks and jeans, because I didn't want to hear the complaining any more. Bicker, bicker, bicker (ok, the word is starting to look a little weird now) all through Walmart and the entire drive home.
At home L "couldn't" untie her shoes by herself, so she laid on the floor and whined while the rest of us ate dinner. After dinner both girls whined because they didn't want to check the chickens or do homework. JP and I hid in our bedroom, but they BOTH brought their homework in there and talked over each other and needed help and silence in order to "concentrate" all at the same time.
I'm hoping that a cuppa tea and a good night's rest will change my attitude toward my family, and also improve the way they interact. If you hear any primal screams coming from Poplar Ridge this weekend, that would be me letting off steam.
I could hardly wait to ship L off to school this morning. Despite laying out clothes the night before in order to make the morning go more smoothly, nothing was right for her this morning. She switched underwear 3 times, and jeans 3 or 4 times. The socks she had picked out were "too thick," and she didn't have any other socks to wear, so I actually hand washed a pair of socks for her to wear today. Then there was absolutely NOTHING in the house that she wanted to eat for breakfast. After that, her shoes didn't go on right, and she didn't like the first way I fixed her hair, so she took it out.
It was a kind of a downer day at the office. We faced insurance issues at the front desk (it is January and people have new policies and new cards, some of which don't work), our nurse has some seriously ill family members, and the surgeon is getting a bit weary from being on call 24/7 since Nov. 15th. Top that all off with the fact that we saw some seriously sad cases today...ones that just make my heart feel heavy.
The girls rode the bus to my office after school, and started in non-stop bickering that almost had me crazy in the 45 minutes it took to get from there to J's voice lessons. Afterward, I told L that we were going to Walmart to get more socks and jeans, because I didn't want to hear the complaining any more. Bicker, bicker, bicker (ok, the word is starting to look a little weird now) all through Walmart and the entire drive home.
At home L "couldn't" untie her shoes by herself, so she laid on the floor and whined while the rest of us ate dinner. After dinner both girls whined because they didn't want to check the chickens or do homework. JP and I hid in our bedroom, but they BOTH brought their homework in there and talked over each other and needed help and silence in order to "concentrate" all at the same time.
I'm hoping that a cuppa tea and a good night's rest will change my attitude toward my family, and also improve the way they interact. If you hear any primal screams coming from Poplar Ridge this weekend, that would be me letting off steam.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Frozen
In keeping with the weather, I ordered the Disney "Frozen" soundtrack from Amazon this evening. The girls have been BEGGING for it, and have been watching endless hours of "Let it Go" on YouTube. This transaction allowed us to listen to it immediately on Amazon's Cloud Player - whoooo - we are too high tech for words!
The low on Poplar Ridge last night was -10 F. We discovered this morning that water pipes to 2 of the lesser used bathrooms had frozen over night. That's right...pipes IN THE HOUSE were frozen! With judicious use of a space heater in the drop ceilings (*do not try this at home*), we were able to thaw things out. Now I am on a 30 minute cycle of checking the heater and turning on showers for a couple of minutes. It isn't supposed to get to zero until afternoon.
The kitties' water had a half inch of ice on top this morning. Luckily I left the chicken waterers in the craft room last night, because it froze in the garage (where I usually keep it over night.)
I am happy to announce that all 17 hens survived the cold last night! I was a bit nervous about what I might find when I went out first thing this morning. Guess what happens to eggs when they freeze? They split open - very cool to peel off the shell and see an egg shaped raw egg!
The 20 degrees in the breezeway felt balmy when I came back in from the outside this morning, and it is cozy inside.
Only 8 minutes until I have to check the showers and space heater again...maybe I can squeeze a cuppa in before then!
Stay Warm, y'all!
The low on Poplar Ridge last night was -10 F. We discovered this morning that water pipes to 2 of the lesser used bathrooms had frozen over night. That's right...pipes IN THE HOUSE were frozen! With judicious use of a space heater in the drop ceilings (*do not try this at home*), we were able to thaw things out. Now I am on a 30 minute cycle of checking the heater and turning on showers for a couple of minutes. It isn't supposed to get to zero until afternoon.
The kitties' water had a half inch of ice on top this morning. Luckily I left the chicken waterers in the craft room last night, because it froze in the garage (where I usually keep it over night.)
I am happy to announce that all 17 hens survived the cold last night! I was a bit nervous about what I might find when I went out first thing this morning. Guess what happens to eggs when they freeze? They split open - very cool to peel off the shell and see an egg shaped raw egg!
The 20 degrees in the breezeway felt balmy when I came back in from the outside this morning, and it is cozy inside.
Only 8 minutes until I have to check the showers and space heater again...maybe I can squeeze a cuppa in before then!
Stay Warm, y'all!
Monday, January 6, 2014
Chilly
I just came back in from taking water to the chickens for the 3rd time today, and adding wood to the burner for the 4th time. This time I started with warm water, so that it might take a bit longer to solidify. It is 1 degree F out there - cold enough that even for the 3 minutes it took me to take out water and throw on a log, I bundled up in coat, scarf, hat, boots and gloves. My nostrils froze together anyway, and the water that I spilled on the way out the door was an icy patch by the time I returned. The kitties have a heated water bowl for winter, and there was even ice on the top of that a few minutes ago.
All of these chores haven't left me much time for blogging (for those of you who keep checking...yeah, you know who you are!)
Today was supposed to be my first regular Monday to work. The 5:30 AM call from the school district about inclimate weather causing a 2 hour delay woke me sufficiently so that I never returned to sleep. By the time I came in from checking the wood burner for the first time this morning, the delay had been changed to a full on Snow Day, so the girls hung out with my parents for a few hours.
At the office, the staff frantically called patients, and changed most of the appointments to the morning, so I worked through lunch, and then came home early today. Not so bad. I think that everyone has already cancelled for tomorrow.
The temperatures are supposed to drop into the negatives overnight.
The wind is howling, as it always does when the weather changes so dramatically. (When I went to bed last night, it was 50 degrees and raining!)
I have been worried about the chickens. I put additional panels around the bottom of the Egg Cart'n this morning to block the wind and some of the cold. They seem perky enough out there, despite the deep freeze. I have already collected 7 very cold eggs today, which is a big improvement over numbers in November and December. If we can keep these ladies from turning into Chick-sicles overnight, I think things might be making a turn for the better!
Poplar Ridge weather report - over and out...
All of these chores haven't left me much time for blogging (for those of you who keep checking...yeah, you know who you are!)
Today was supposed to be my first regular Monday to work. The 5:30 AM call from the school district about inclimate weather causing a 2 hour delay woke me sufficiently so that I never returned to sleep. By the time I came in from checking the wood burner for the first time this morning, the delay had been changed to a full on Snow Day, so the girls hung out with my parents for a few hours.
At the office, the staff frantically called patients, and changed most of the appointments to the morning, so I worked through lunch, and then came home early today. Not so bad. I think that everyone has already cancelled for tomorrow.
The temperatures are supposed to drop into the negatives overnight.
The wind is howling, as it always does when the weather changes so dramatically. (When I went to bed last night, it was 50 degrees and raining!)
I have been worried about the chickens. I put additional panels around the bottom of the Egg Cart'n this morning to block the wind and some of the cold. They seem perky enough out there, despite the deep freeze. I have already collected 7 very cold eggs today, which is a big improvement over numbers in November and December. If we can keep these ladies from turning into Chick-sicles overnight, I think things might be making a turn for the better!
Poplar Ridge weather report - over and out...
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Starting the New Year With Clean Ovens
Over the past couple of days, I cleaned out both of my ovens. It's really not a big deal with the self cleaning feature and all...I just never manage to get around to it for one reason or another. So...both ovens are sparkling and clean...all ready for me to dirty them up this year.
The girls have gone to bed a bit early tonight. It is our feeble attempt to make up for all of the late nights over the past week and a half, especially last night, when we all stayed up to watch the ball drop. It has been nice to be hanging out with JP and the girls again. He has been working so much lately, that it sometimes feels like we are ships passing in the night. That is not to say that I haven't been completely fed up with the whining and fighting at times over the past few days either!
We have eaten well this Holiday: tamales, scallops sauteed in butter, rare beef tenderloin, home made crab cakes, as well as LOTS of Christmas sweets and tonight - champagne. We have laid around reading and watching plenty of movies. J spent an evening in the city with a friend to see the Nutcracker ballet. L had a birthday. We took the girls to Build-a-Bear.
It hasn't been all excess and lounging, however. The girls and I spent about 90 minutes sweating it out to Dance Wii the other day. JP and I spent several hours over 2 days building a bin for coal out behind the barn. We also spent most of another day cutting and stacking wood. I raked up the hulls from beneath the 2 hickory trees out by the girls' sandbox. And of course, I got those ovens cleaned!
The lunches are packed for JP and the girls for tomorrow. The notes are written for busing. All is finally quiet. It is time to start my personal pep rally, because we are GOING to get off to a great start in 2014. I am aiming for organized and efficient this year...OK, just being ON TIME would be great!
Farewell to 2013, year of insanity. Welcome 2014, when it all calms down.
The girls have gone to bed a bit early tonight. It is our feeble attempt to make up for all of the late nights over the past week and a half, especially last night, when we all stayed up to watch the ball drop. It has been nice to be hanging out with JP and the girls again. He has been working so much lately, that it sometimes feels like we are ships passing in the night. That is not to say that I haven't been completely fed up with the whining and fighting at times over the past few days either!
We have eaten well this Holiday: tamales, scallops sauteed in butter, rare beef tenderloin, home made crab cakes, as well as LOTS of Christmas sweets and tonight - champagne. We have laid around reading and watching plenty of movies. J spent an evening in the city with a friend to see the Nutcracker ballet. L had a birthday. We took the girls to Build-a-Bear.
It hasn't been all excess and lounging, however. The girls and I spent about 90 minutes sweating it out to Dance Wii the other day. JP and I spent several hours over 2 days building a bin for coal out behind the barn. We also spent most of another day cutting and stacking wood. I raked up the hulls from beneath the 2 hickory trees out by the girls' sandbox. And of course, I got those ovens cleaned!
The lunches are packed for JP and the girls for tomorrow. The notes are written for busing. All is finally quiet. It is time to start my personal pep rally, because we are GOING to get off to a great start in 2014. I am aiming for organized and efficient this year...OK, just being ON TIME would be great!
Farewell to 2013, year of insanity. Welcome 2014, when it all calms down.
Happy Birthday Little LAM
L has long been waiting to have a Birthday Party sleep-over. She has a handful of school friends that she had intended to invite this year. She blew it, however, and lost the Birthday Party during her 3+ hour temper tantrum before Christmas.
Consequently, her party this year was small and quiet - just the family at home. We did take the girls to Build-a-Bear earlier in the day as part of their Christmas gift, and each of them picked out a sweet animal to bring home. I'm sad that L doesn't get that sleepover that she has been wanting for years, but I'm a bit relieved that I don't have to throw together another party in the next couple of weeks. Is that terrible of me?
L asked for "the kind of cake Daddy gets for his Birthday" this year...a 5 Flavor Pound Cake. This was also pretty simple...no crazy design or fancy frosting, just an almond glaze (although I did go all out and sprinkle the top with gold sugar!)
Her favorite gift was a big box of art supplies: crayons, colored pencils, markers, oil pastels, water colors, and acrylic paints along with sketching pencils, erasers, and paint brushes. She has already been creating some art with all of the above!
Happy 8th Birthday, my lovely girl! Let's aim for that BIG party next year!
Consequently, her party this year was small and quiet - just the family at home. We did take the girls to Build-a-Bear earlier in the day as part of their Christmas gift, and each of them picked out a sweet animal to bring home. I'm sad that L doesn't get that sleepover that she has been wanting for years, but I'm a bit relieved that I don't have to throw together another party in the next couple of weeks. Is that terrible of me?
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| The brown puppy, "Mommy Puppy", was her Build-a- Bear friend from age 2. The polar bear, "Julia", just joined the family this year! |
L asked for "the kind of cake Daddy gets for his Birthday" this year...a 5 Flavor Pound Cake. This was also pretty simple...no crazy design or fancy frosting, just an almond glaze (although I did go all out and sprinkle the top with gold sugar!)
Happy 8th Birthday, my lovely girl! Let's aim for that BIG party next year!
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